DIN'S Take on Rav Zilberstein's Psak to Boycott Angel's Bakery

The question posed to Harav Zilberstein was by a mother whose child eats only products from Angel's Bakery and refuses to eat from other bakeries. Rav Zilberstein paskened that the mother should tell the child that "we do not bring Angel Bakery products in our home" and as Rav Zilberstein put it to the mother "let him fast."  "This will teach the child two lessons, one, Kavod Ha'Torah and the lesson to be prepared for life."

With all due respect to Harav Zilberstein whom I respect and admire, he has it all wrong here.

When you decide to appoint a Gadol Hador, in this case, Harav Edelstein, as the spiritual leader of a political party such as Degel, you cannot then turn around and say "he cannot be criticized because of "Kavod Ha'Torah."  You cannot have it both ways! This is not fair and not yashar to the other political parties. Degel is a political party just like the others, and therefore should be open to criticism. if you cannot take the heat, get out of the kitchen. And this is a very dangerous path to go on, since this logic that you cannot criticise the leader of the party because he is a rabbi can be extended and applied if the leader of the Arab party is an Imam, how about if they put a reform rabbi as the head of Likkud?

Israel is now at war, all agree that we need Chayalim to man the Iron Dome and David's Slingshot stations. All agree that we need IDF pilots to bomb the living daylights out of the murderers in Gaza! 

Those of you learning the Daf , have come across the Mishna (Sota 44b) 

במלחמת חובה הכל יוצאין אפילו חתן מחדרו וכלה מחופתה

Did DIN just write:

אפילו כלה מחופתה

Even a Kallah goes to war? A female goes to war? 

Yes, but that is a discussion for another time. 

The bottom line is that Chilonim are very upset and angry that their children are going out to war while the children of Chareidim by-in-large are not shouldering their fair share of the burden. Chareidie  Gedoilim will not even allow them to do "sherut leumi" .

The argument that they are doing their fair share by learning Torah does not fly by most frum reasonable people and the Torah does not give an exemption from the army to those learning Torah. Learning Torah is not in the category of exemptions itemized in the Torah!

In addition, the Roshei Yeshiva themselves do not believe that Torah is "matzil" as they all packed up their Yeshivos in Ashdod etc and fled. The worst part of all this is not that Chareidim don't serve, but that they do not respect those in uniform. Frum soldiers are more afraid of their lives from Chareidim accosting them in shul then from the Arabs. How pathetic is this? 

So the CEO of Angel Bakery goes to Harav Edelstein's home to protest what he sees as an atrocity? 

If the Oilom Ha'Torah doesn't like this, then don't appoint a Gadol Hador as your leader of Degel, which is a political party!

Many years ago, this issue came up when Rav Shach left the Aguda political party and allied with Harav Ovadia Yosef to form the party called Shas. It didn't take long when  Rav Shach had a falling out with Rav Yosef and founded the Degel Party. 

So if you are following this, it goes like this:

1) Rav Shach criticises the Aguda Party forms his own party "Shas"

2) R' Shach then criticises Rav Ovadia Yosef  and forms "Degel" 

What happened with  "Kavod Ha'Torah?" 

When Harav Shach was still in Aguda, the leaders had a meeting and the Gerer Rebbe stormed out of the meeting when he didn't like what Rav Shach said, I believe it was when Rav Shach mocked the Lubavitcher Rebbe. 

What about "Kovod Ha'Torah?"

So when it comes to the rabbonim themselves, no one cares about "Kovod HaTorah," but when a Chilonie who has no idea what that term even means and is protesting about something close to his heart, then we jump and scream and boycott ...Kavod Ha'Torah!

I'll tell you what "Kavod Ha'Torah is: 

"Kavod Ha'Torah is not to put into position Gedoilim that will be mocked and ridiculed!

Another important note about this psak, having been in Special Education for many years, I have found that there are children, those on the spectrum, for example, who get fixated on specific foods and won't eat anything and will fast until that particular food is given to them. 

Children by-in-large, even those with particular tastes, will generally eat practically anything when they are starving. If a child such as the one in Rav Zilberstein's story will only eat Angel Bakery products, that is a sign that there is more to this story, and Harav Zilberstein should have added in his psak that this does not apply to special children. This child will not understand the concept of "Kavod Ha'Torah"!

 In the first reference of Daas Torah to the boycott of Angel Bakery, HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Zilberstein said that whoever buys Angel’s products is showing that kavod haTorah is not important to him.

The issue arose in a letter to HaRav Zilberstein by a Chareidi mother whose 11-year-old son is very particular about food. He is used to eating Angel products and every day he takes bread, rugelach and berokas to school and he says he can’t eat baked goods from other companies. The mother wanted Daas Torah on whether she can allow her son to eat Angel products since he simply won’t eat if he doesn’t have the food he likes.

HaRav Zilberstein’s response was published in a monthly booklet published by the Beis Dovid kollel in Holon.

“As is known, there were no orders from Gedolei Yisrael to boycott the company and the Rosh Yeshivah (HaGaon HaRav Edelstein) even gave instructions [to the Yated Neeman] not to relate to that עוכר ישראל and not to respond,” HaRav Zilberstein wrote. “However, after people felt that it was impossible to remain silent about such a thing, to allow those עוכרי ישראל to open their mouths against the yeshivos hakedoshos and then make money off of them – and a protest by those who were pained by it was launched – now whoever buys these products, he’s considered a bit to be separating himself from the tzibur and is showing that the [affront to] kavod haTorah doesn’t hurt him, that [the affront to] kavod Shamayim doesn’t hurt him.”

“Therefore, it can’t be said that it’s forbidden to purchase these products but it can be said that there’s a reason for the protest and whoever doesn’t participate in the protest needs to introspect about why [the affront] to kavod Shamayim doesn’t pain him and why [the affront] to kavod HaTorah doesn’t pain him.”

HaRav Zilberstein then referred specifically to the son’s issue, that he’ll only eat specific food, writing at length about the terrible issues in recent generations of children being spoiled because parents give them whatever their hearts desire, quoting the Steipler, z’tl, as saying that this is the reason for the many mental crises in recent generations.

Rav Zilberstein concluded: “And therefore, the mother should clearly and unequivocally tell her son that Kavod HaTorah is at stake here and we’re not bringing this product into our home and if you don’t want to eat, you are welcome to fast. And the boy will benefit in multiple ways – he’ll receive a lesson in kavod haTorah and will also be more prepared for life.”