Description of letter to R' Gedalya Schorr from R' Aron Kotler!
From Jeffrey Woolf, senior lecturer at Bar-Ilan
This is a description of a letter from Rav Aharon Kotler זצ,ל to R. Gedalya Schorr זצ"ל, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yorah VaDaas. It speaks for itself. I'd only add, that my wife's uncle, R. Moshe Haim Bergstein הי"ד, was a student in Kletzk and managed to obtain a certificate of entry to Eretz Yisrael from Dr. Zerach Warhaftig זצ"ל. R. Kotler told him not to go to Palestine, that he should wait in Kovno for a visa to the United States. R. Kotler left for the US, and R. Moshe Haim made it to the Ninth Fort.
On contemporary Daas Torah, seehttp://haemtza.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/an-unreasonable-attack.html
On contemporary Daas Torah, seehttp://haemtza.blogspot.co.il/2014/03/an-unreasonable-attack.html
Until the Schorr mishpocho confirms this letter, I don't know how much trust I put in Jeffrey Woolf (regardless of the fact that he is also from your wife's side of the family, which you did not disclose here)
ReplyDeleteYou see, Woolf is a real left winger who gave speeches at the conference of the anti-halacha Edah movement about "creative solutions" for gerus and some kind of poppycock related to women wearing tefillin. People from this part of the spectrum are usually trying to stick it to Lakewood and the rest of the "right wing".
Many rabbonim did the same; advising their flock to remain when at the same time they themselves fled.Satmar, Belz are two examples. Without getting into whether it was a right or wrong thing to do, there's another issue here at hand.
ReplyDeleteNamely, that they're not infallible, not prophets, not seers. Accordingly, the topic of yesterday on this blog discussing the "illegitimacy" of Israel based on Toyre'lech comes into play. They were wrong abouthere and they were certainly wrong on Israel. That said, it's important to know that many rabbonim supported Israel, even urged the people to immigrate there but were unfortunately killed in the Holocaust.You probably won't even know their names because the propagandists bowed down to certain few and made THEM the gedolei hadoros of the last 2 generations. How ironic- In our ALMAH D'SHIKRAH we worship anti-Zionist rabbis and have mostly forgotten the others. What does this say about us?
Of greater issue today is how many millions does the Kotler dynasty have? While Malkiel runs the kollel, his brother fundraises and does the books.
ReplyDeleteThis begs the question of why, per today's style, so many young married maen join the Lakewood kollel brigade, get pittance , Chai cRock, force elderly parents to continue working in support of this twisted lifestyle. Of course- it's Torah. So why aren't some of the Kotler Kollektion treasure filtering down to the kollelites? Curious minds want to know.
senior in my neighborhood asked me the following question:
ReplyDeleteWhy, if learning Torah full-time without learning a trade for young men is so important, then why can't I quit my career, move to Lakewood, learn full time, and let my young sons who are well-fed, rosy cheeked, outfitted with fancy eyeglasses with accompanying i-phones and patent leather shoes go to work and support me? Who says learning is only for young, strapping young men?
My reponse to him was that since he's working hard and honestly for his family, gives some tzedakkah,grabs in a shiyur here and there, he hasn't yet reached the level at which point he will understand this.
In other words, he didn't shteig enough to chapp the lomdos of havanah and iyun that's nitzrach to mammish have a geshmakeh understanding of this shvere m'halach.
Eye, he's not satisfied with my teretz-?,,,, Nu-----
To Anon 1:13
ReplyDeleteI'm not related to Jeffery Woolf, and just because he is a "leftist" (he is actually a conservative) doesn't mean that he is not right?
Woolf is married to a Bergstein - is not a relation with your wife's uncle being a Bergstein?
ReplyDeleteI did not say that Woolf's claim is impossible, just that it is suspect. And if there is such a letter why is no one else verifying it?