Rabbi Yair Hoffman Denigrates the Jewish State to Promote His Agenda!

 

The  World Zionist Congress is holding elections and you can read all about it below!

 Rabbi Hoffman wants you to vote for eretzhakodesh.org! This Eretz Hakodesh is against Yeshiva Bochrim going to the army and I'm not sure if it even recognizes The State of Israel! I may be wrong on this one! 

But what I want to point out is Rabbi Hoffman's Loshon Hara on a country that is the home of the majority of the world's Jewish People! He is pandering to the Satmar/Yeshivishe anti-Zionists (not realizing that he will never ever be accepted by them) and he writes that: 

"The Zionist pioneers who first tilled the sacred soil of Eretz Yisroel came with calloused hands and iron resolve, ready to transform swampland into gardens and deserts into fields. Yet in their fervor to build a homeland, they neglected the very idea and essence of who we are and of what made this land holy – our Holy Torah."

Hey rabbi! Whose fault is that??

Harav Yisachar Shlomo Teichtal in his Sefer Eim Habanim Semeicha put that blame squarely on the shoulders of the European Gedoilim! He writes that the Gedoilim were wrong not to partner with the Zionists, and he praises the very pioneers that Hoffman denigrates! 

"Today's pioneers have caused the settlement to grow and expand, and it is impossible to retract or negate their actions, for we benefit from them. Therefore, even if transgressions were committed in the process, the mitzvah was still fulfilled in all its strength and vigor in both a revealed and esoteric sense! Thus, it is clear that the Omnipresent desires the work of today's builders and accepts their efforts before His glorious throne with love and abounding affection. This is true even if they act sinfully and even if they do not fulfill God's will when it comes to other mitzvot of the Torah (God forbid)."

Rav Teichtal writes:

"The holy Zohar states that even sinners of Israel hold on to the right side and are rooted in holiness. It is, therefore, forbidden to degrade or curse them.. On the contrary, it is a mitzvah to love them and bring them near."

Rabbi Hoffman, to bolster his agenda brings up a sad history of the Yaldei Teheran and the Yaldei Teiman, there was no need to do this, to push his "vote" agenda! 

It was pure Loshon Hara and doesn't add one thing to his promoting the Eretz Hakodesh vote! 

Rabbi Wein recently in a talk in Yerushalaim said that that history was over 80 years ago and that fight is long over, "as the State of Israel is now the quintessential Home for Torah despite obstacles! "

Hoffman foolishly writes:

"We can, however, ensure that such things do not happen again."

I have news for Hoffman, the chances of that happening in Israel is very close to zero, it has a greater chance of happening in the USA, where thousands upon thousands are leaving yiddishkeit and assimilating! 

Then the "chuchim" writes:

"This was not Uganda. This was not Argentina or any other territory once considered by the Zionist Congress as a place for Jews. This was Eretz Yisroel—the Holy Land—"

This just quoted statement was sarcastic! But what Hoffman the "Israel Denigrator" doesn't realize is that Skver, Kiryat Yoel, and Lakewood took this Zionist Congress idea and made it into a reality! There is no difference between the Uganda Idea considered at the First Zionist Congress and what the Skverer, Satmar and R' Aron Kotler did in their towns! 

I can really take his entire article apart as it is riddled with narishkeitin, but we are in Chodosh Adar and I'm still on a high and I don't want his stupidity to bring me down spiritually! 

Remember the Yaldei Teheran and Yaldei Teiman and Vote!

by Rabbi Yair Hoffman

The sign above is a street sign in Hadeira.  But first some context.

The Zionist pioneers who first tilled the sacred soil of Eretz Yisroel came with calloused hands and iron resolve, ready to transform swampland into gardens and deserts into fields. Yet in their fervor to build a homeland, they neglected the very idea and essence of who we are and of what made this land holy – our Holy Torah.

This was not Uganda. This was not Argentina or any other territory once considered by the Zionist Congress as a place for Jews. This was Eretz Yisroel—the Holy Land—whose very stones and dust were saturated with three thousand years of Jewish prayer and Torah. A land that demanded to be built according to its own divine blueprint.

Many early Zionists rejected this spiritual inheritance. Free-thinkers, atheists, socialists, and communists sought to construct a new Jewish identity divorced from Torah—a secular utopia on sacred ground.

And this had repercussions.

The Yaldei Teheran

In 1943, this ideological battle claimed innocent victims. When 730 orphaned Polish Jewish refugee children arrived in Tehran—90 percent from religious homes—the Jewish Agency assigned predominantly anti-religious Shomer haTza’ir counselors to oversee them. These officials systematically undermined the children’s religious identity: serving non-kosher food, preventing them from saying Kaddish for their murdered parents, and ultimately sending more than half to secular settlements. The Gedolim Yisroel condemned this spiritual assault on the vulnerable Yaldei Tehran.

The Yaldei Teiman

The pattern intensified in 1949 during “Operation Magic Carpet,” which brought 50,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel. In the Jewish Agency camps, religious coercion became explicit: sidelocks were forcibly cut, parents threatened with loss of benefits if they chose religious education for their children. Most disturbing were reports of Yemenite infants who disappeared from hospitals, declared dead without bodies ever being returned to their families. Many believe these children were given to secular families to raise—their heritage erased. The subsequent Kahani-Kedmi Commission’s conclusion that most children died of illness was dismissed by many Yemenites as a “whitewash.”

Olei Iraq and Olei Morocco

Similar tactics targeted the Jewish communities of Iraq and Morocco when 157,000 Sephardic Jews arrived between 1950-1954. New immigrants were routinely intimidated: choose secular education for your children or forfeit jobs and financial support.

This was not nation-building. This was spiritual colonization—an attempt to sever Jews from haKadosh Boruch Hu, the Torah, and the ancient covenant in the very land where that covenant was forged with the Avos.

We can, however, ensure that such things do not happen again. True, these four tragedies may be isolated incidents, but the fathers of this country, the United States, did have something when they came up with the idea of checks and balances. 

Wde can create a check and balance system and can vote in the upcoming WZO elections for a frum slate of representatives chosen by Gedolei Torah.

The World Zionist Congress is a body of 532 people from Israel and from Jewish communities throughout the world.  Israel has 38% of the Congress, the USA has 29% of the Congress and the rest of World Jewry has 33%.  It used to be only 500 elected members, but in 2001 – they added another 32. These delegates are elected every five years.  The elections decide the leadership of four main organizations that control the purse strings of much funding. Some say that it is to the tune of two billion dollars a year. The organizations (and the leadership positions) that will be determined by the elections are:

1. The World Zionist Organization
2. The Jewish Agency for Israel [half from WZO and half Jewish Federations of North America]
3. The Jewish National Fund – Keren Kayemet l’Yisrael – KKL
4. Keren Hayesod United Israel Appeal.

America has 152 delegate slots of the 532..  In 2020 there were a total of  123,575 votes.  Arza (Reform Movement) in 2020 received 31,483 votes and were granted 39 seats.  The Conservative Movement slate called Merkaz USA in 2020 received 14655 votes and were granted 18 seats.  Mizrachi in 2020 received 21,692 votes and  were given 27 delegates.  Eretz HaKodesh which didn’t exist until 2020 and received 20,045 votes and  were granted 25 delegates.

If American Bnei Torah were to vote, as Rav Chaim Kanievsky and Rav gershon Edelstein zichron tzaddikim v’kedoshim livracha paskened to do – the dangerous threat of Reform Judaism, Wokism in Eretz Yisroel, and all the other apikorsisha “isms” would be severely diminished. The Rosh Yeshiva of Gateshead, Rav Avrohom Gurwitz shlita, also advised his talmidim to vote for Eretz HaKodesh in the WZO election this year  The largest slate of the delegates is a Reform Jewish organization that supports many projects that Orthodox Jews deem anathema to Torah Judaism.   Arza supports the movement to take away the Kotel from Orthodox Jewish administration among other things.

It would be particularly sad if the great talmid chochom, Rav Shmuel Rabinovitch, the Rav of the Kosel and a mechaber sefer extraordinaire, were to be replaced with “Rabbi Jill.”

It would also be sad if Israel’s public school curriculum would continue to be written by proponents of Reform Judaism rather than those who have been trained in Kiruv Rechokim.  Imagine what an infusion of some of the ten billion dollars over the next five years would do to Kiruv.

This author believes that the two cases, that which is discussed in the Ramah and the current WZO election are analogous.  There are also some five different factors at play here.

First and foremost, there is the issue of Pikuach Nefesh – which also applies to people in spiritual danger. The Torah tells us v’chai bahem – and we shall live by the Torah – not die by them. Saving life is a fundamental Mitzvah. There is Lo Saamod Al Dam Rayacha , a negative Mitzvah of not standing idly by your brother’s blood as well. This is mentioned in Shulchan Aruch (CM 426:1) and in the Rambam. Collectively, if we can stop the funding of the promotion of an anti-Torah agenda and replace it with a Torah-true one, we can ensure that we do not stand idly by our brother’s blood.  There is  Lo Suchal l’hisalaym – and  V’Chai Achicha Imach– The Sheiltos (Sheilta #37), based upon the Gemorah in Bava Metziah 62a, understands these words to indicate an obligation to save others along with you. And finally there is V’Ahavta l’Rayacha Kamocha – The Ramban, Toras haAdam Shaar HaSakana (p42-43) understands the verse of “and love thy neighbor as yourself” as a directive to save him from danger as well.  This would apply to danger from spiritual enemies as well.

Yes, there are Gedolim who say not to vote in the WZO election.  But shaiv v’al taaseh can result in catastrophic new realities and last time Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l and Rav Gershon Edelstein zt”l said to do it. 

THE REFORM ARE RUNNING SCARED

The Reform movement are well aware that all that is necessary for their agenda to be replaced is if the Torah community would wake up and vote. It is for this reason that the credit card that is used for the $5 fee to vote is limited to only 3 people per household. Chareidim have more children and this is their way of limiting the frum vote.

ORTHODOX ARE NON-ENTITIES

There is another issue as well.  American Torah Jews are essentially non-entities when it comes to dealing with secular Israel.  If Torah observant Jews voted on who would be the delegates – the concerns of Torah Jewry would be taken into account more.  Why should we not empower Asra Kadisha?  Why should we allow for archaeological digs to trample upon Kvarim?  Why can’t we allow for more kavod HaMais in contemporary funerals?

Obviously, when Rav Chaim Kanievsky zatzal issued a ruling, there is no need to back up his position.  However, we do need encouragement to make it happen.  The recommended slate is for Eretz HaKodesh and voting can take place here.

To vote – go to eretzhakodesh.org, click on the vote button and follow the instructions there.