Please enable JavaScript in your browser to experience all the custom features of our site.

RabbiHorowitz.com

Mr. Harry Skydell, Chairman
Mr. Mark Karasick, Vice Chairman
Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, Director
Rabbi Avrohom M. Gluck, Director of Operations
The first 1000 members will have a chance to win a
16 GB
iPod
touch
with Rabbi Horowitz audio

Membership Benefits:

  • Save articles to your favorites folder.
  • Save and print selected articles in a PDF journal.
  • Receive emails containing the latest comments on your favorite articles.
  • Mark articles as "READ".
  • More member features coming soon...

Raffle Rules:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. To enter, complete the signup form and join as a member. Incomplete entries will be disqualified. All entries shall become the property of CJFL. CJFL is not responsible for lost, misdirected or delayed entries.

The contest is open to the general public. Members need to be at least 18 years old. Identification must be produced on request. Employees of CJFL, its raffle sponsor, advertising and promotional agencies and their respective affiliates and associates and such employees' immediate family members and persons with whom such employees are domiciled are excluded from this raffle. ALL PREVIOUSLY REGISTERED MEMBERS WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY ENTERED INTO THIS RAFFLE. The prize is not redeemable in cash and must be accepted as awarded. Decisions of the raffle judges are final - no substitutions will be available. By claiming the prize, the winner authorizes the use, without additional compensation of his or her name and/or likeness (first initial and last name) and municipality of residence for promotion and/or advertising purposes in any manner and in any medium (including without limitation, radio broadcasts, newspapers and other publications and in television or film releases, slides, videotape, distribution over the internet and picture date storage) which CJFL may deem appropriate. In accepting the prize, the winner, acknowledges that CJFL may not be held liable for any loss, damages or injury associated with accepting or using this prize. CJFL retains the rights, in its absolute and sole discretion, to make substitutions of equivalent kind or approximate value in the event of the unavailability of any prize or component of the prize for any reason whatsoever. This contest is subject to all federal, provincial and municipal laws. CJFL reserves the right to withdraw or terminate this raffle at any time without prior notice. One entry per person.


Hafganos Begin at Home
Time to Stand up for True K'vod Shamayim
by Rabbi Yakov Horowitz

  Rated by 48 users   |   Viewed 21750 times since 7/5/09   |   51 Comments
Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size    [ Change Font Size ] Email This Article to a Friend
   

7/5/09

Let’s start with a simple multiple choice question:

What is a greater Chillul Hashem?

A) Non-observant Jews, who never had the benefit of a Torah education, driving cars on Shabbos?

B) Identifiably frum people throwing rocks at police officers on Shabbos and yelling things at them in full view of the media, like, “[anyone who desecrates Shabbos] "must die." And "You will burn in the fire of hell!" (Read this and weep.)

I cannot for the life of me understand how any decent human being, let alone an ehrliche Yid who was raised learning Torah and grew up hearing stories of the Chofetz Chaim can answer anything but “B.”

And I’ll take it a step further and say that anyone who answers choice “A” did not learn the same Torah and the same mesorah that my generation was taught by Reb Moshe and Reb Yakov, Reb Ahron and Rav Hutner, Rav Pam and Rav Ruderman, zichronom tzadikim l’vracha.

And if you feel that the images of a crowd of angry and violent people who dress like you and I, hurling curses at police officers broadcast around the world is a colossal Chillul Hashem and a true physical danger to the safety and security of frum Jews worldwide, I pose the following question:

What are we as Torah Jews obligated to protest first?

A) Non-observant Jews, who never had the benefit of a Torah education, driving cars on Shabbos?

B) Identifiably frum people throwing rocks at police officers on Shabbos and yelling things at them in full view of the media, like, “[anyone who desecrates Shabbos] "must die." And "You will burn in the fire of hell!"

So; let the next protest be called to peacefully and civilly proclaim loudly and clearly, first to our own impressionable children, and then to all decent citizens of the world that this tiny minority of violent radicals does not represent us.

You and I know with certainty that our gedolim shlit”a do not sanction nor support any expression of violence. But the public at large does not know that, and paints all of us with one broad brush. It is for that reason that I am once again writing about this topic.

Tens of thousands gathered a week ago for a beautiful and moving Kabbolas Shabbos to protest Chillul Shabbos in a responsible and peaceful way; while some irresponsibly rioted and burned garbage cans all week long.

We who know what true Yiddishkeit is all about, have a positive role to play. I feel with every fiber of my body that each and every decent Yid worldwide has an achrayus to write letters and emails to every media outlet informing them that these hooligans do not speak for us. For we have no right preaching to others until we have removed this horrible stain from our own kehilos.

And it will remain that way until we change things.

I respectfully ask my readers to take a moment to cut and paste the following text and send it to the Jerusalem Post and Haaretz; two newspapers with worldwide readership, which covered this story – and to pass this on to people on your email lists and ask them to do the same. It is my goal that each of the two newspapers receive a minimum of 1,000 emails within 24 hours, and that then, hopefully, there will be a news story that Torah Jews stood up for the values we hold so dear.

“As a Torah Jew, I am deeply distressed by the desecration of Shabbos in our holy land -- all the more so when it is government sanctioned. However, nothing can ever excuse the type of violence and wanton destruction of public property that has been reported in recent days such as the throwing of rocks at police officers and the burning of garbage dumpsters – all of which is diametrically opposed to the teachings of our Holy Torah. Lest our silence be misconstrued as passive acceptance of the violence, we condemn it in the strongest terms, as do the vast, overwhelming, majority of Torah Jews worldwide.”

UPDATE I was forwarded this link about the firsthand accounting of a reporter who was SPIT ON http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/06/2617502.htm by a mob of "hundreds." Note that she reported that the hooligans were wearing shtreimlech. So don't believe it when people say "it's only kids" (only married people wear shtreimlich except for a few who wear after bar mitzvah.) I would like to say that I don't believe it. However, I do. I have personally seen charedi hooligans spitting on women who were not dressed according to their standards. This report disgusted me beyond words and I am shamed that we have such barbaric savages in our midst. I have no other way to say this other than we need a total revolution at this point. The vast majority of us decent charedim need to peacefully revolt with every weapon in our arsenal. There is no middle ground. Whoever does not publicly protest these disgusting acts has a hand in allowing them. How dare we protest the sins of others when we have such uncivilized people wearing our levush and representing us before the world media? Whoever funds mosdos that have members of theirs committing these crimes like this is guilty as well. My friends, our gloves need to come off. There is no other way.



To sign up for Rabbi Horowitz’s weekly emails, please click here.


Reader's Comments:      Rating & Comments Policy      Rate & Write a Comment!
 Average Rating:              Rated by 48 users    (51 comments)
Subscribe to this Article
(by subscribing you will receive email notification
when new comments are posted)
There are no comments yet. Click above to write the first comment.
Dear Readers:

Please visit our Parenting Resource listing to learn about agencies and services that you can make use of. If you know of an agency that can be of assistance to others, kindly drop an email to our site administrator at admin@RabbiHorowitz.com and pass along the information to him.

I ask that you please consider supporting the work we are doing to improve the lives of our children. Click on these links to learn more about our teen and parent mentoring program that serves hundreds of teens and their families, or our KESHER program, now in 20 schools in 4 states. Your financial support can allow us to expand these services and help more children.

If you believe in the governing principles of this website – to help effect positive change through the candid discussions of the real issues we collectively face, please consider becoming a daily, weekly or monthly sponsor of this website and help defray the costs of it’s maintenance.



Working with Families and Educators on Behalf of our Children

This site is managed by The Center for Jewish Family Life, Inc., 56 Briarcliff Drive, Monsey, NY 10952
Project Y.E.S. was founded by Agudath Israel of America
The Center for Jewish Family Life/Project YES - 56 Briarcliff Drive, Monsey, NY 10952 (845) 352-7100 ext. 114 Fax: (845) 352-9593
email: email@kosherjewishparenting.com


Advertisements