Rav Mordcha Dovid Unger decides to take the path of Peace .... "We will be Bobov-45"

We will give credit where credit is due! 
Reb Mordcha Dovid Unger, Bobover 45 Rebbe, has ruled that he will abide by the USA Bais Din and call his Mosdos, "Bobov 45!"
This was the right thing to do and This is a huge Kiddush Hashem, and we hope this will bring peace amongst the Bobover Camps!
It also gives us hope!

Thousands of Chassidim participated last night, Tuesday, in a monumental gathering organized by Bobov-45, regarding the Borerus that was issued at the end of August, containing numerous clauses against the community.

 Recently, the verdict spawned a storm of controversy concerning its execution, and several Gedolei Yisroel wrote letters condemning the verdict. The Gaon R’ Moshe Sternbuch shlita, Rosh Av Beis Din of Badatz Eidah haChareidis, referred to the verdict as ‘perplexing’. To his scathing letter, Maran HaGaon R’ Chaim Kanievsky shlita added remarks about the importance of peace and that, understandably, this verdict is the antithesis of peace. 

Only Chassidim who had gotten entry tickets beforehand were permitted to attend the gathering, and the three thousand seats filled up quickly. Buses transported Chassidim from all major neighborhoods, and the dais was filled with illustrious members of the Chassidus and with the revered offspring of the Bobover Rebbes zy”a.  

In attendance were many notable grandchildren of the Kedushas Tzion: Rabbi Professor Abraham J. Twersky, Sassover Rabbi Shlomo Freshwatter, and the Sorvosher Ruv Rabbi Burech Duvid Halbershtam , Pokshevitzer ruv, Rabbi Yecvhiel Halberstam among others.

After that, the Gabbai libais Bobov R’ Simcha Pinchos Strohli introduced the event with an explanation of its purpose, the Rebbe of Bobov-45 began his riveting lecture. 

Following is a synopsis of its main points:

“Now that we find ourselves in a situation where there are two paths that we can take, I want to discuss the matter. Rosh Chodesh Elul, shortly after the Borerus regarding ‘Bobov’ was issued, I said that we will hear from the Gedolei Yisroel about the right thing to do, as per da’as Torah. 

I asked the kehillah not to immerse themselves in this matter.  I wanted Ellul should look like Ellul, with the tzibur immersed in torah and Avodah. We assigned the dedicated askanim who went around to the homes of Gedolei Yisroel and revered Rabbanim to ask their opinion in regards to obeying the verdict.

“Now I want to share with you what the Gedolei Yisroel said. The actual Borerus was incomprehensible to them, and every one of the gedolim used a different turn of phrase – several said that it is biased, others said that it is actually a distortion of halacha, while several used even harsher descriptions. There were even several amongst them who said that it is permitted to go to court to obtain a stop-order.

“One of the most renowned poskim in Eretz Yisroel, HaGaon R’ Mendel Shafran shlita, told me in conversation that “It is permitted to go to court to request a stop-order against the Borerus.” I asked him if I may publicize these words in his name, and he clearly replied that I may definitely do so, and that his words could even be recorded and publicized.

Other Gedolei Yisroel told us to turn to a 3^rd party Beis Din, considering that doubts regarding the viability of several Borerim that sat on the Borerus had been revealed, and we received a hazmanah (i.e. summons) from this Beis Din summoning several of the dayanim, as well as an ikul (i.e. stop-order on the borerus verdict).

“Since we have such widespread support against the Borerus, maybe it would be proper not to obey the Borerus that the Borerim issued. 

On the other hand, I fear that by not obeying, we will create a michshol (i.e. stumbling block), and going to court could result in chilul Hashem. Nowadays, when the status of Batei Din in the diaspora is so weak, our disregard of the Borerus could cause the Batei Din to be even more degraded. There will be those who will say that in Bobov, the Borerus was not upheld, which means that one is not required to listen to Beis Din at all. This could chas v’sholom lead to transgressions. People will not realize that in our case, there was a specific heter, and they will allow themselves to follow our lead by going to court. This is extremely undesirable.

“Another  hesitation that I had was that if we don’t obey the Borerus, it will cause the fires of controversy to burn even stronger.”

The Rebbe quoted the mishna that states that ‘it is better to be termed a fool one’s entire life than to be considered a rasha before Hashem for even one hour’. He mentioned an explanation from his grandfather as well as other Torah thoughts.

Thereafter, the Rebbe enumerated the reasons why he should not obey the Borerus: 

a) We have the support of Gedolei Yisroel not to obey the Borerus, 

b) To uphold the honor of his father-in-law, the Bobover Rav zt”l, whose degradation is painful to all. This is a strong reason not to obey, 

3) The humiliation of our kehillah caused by the verdict, and why should we agree to this, especially after all the anguish that this machlokes caused in so many families throughout the years.

“There are two sides before us – one dictates that we obey and one dictates that we should not obey. 

I plumbed the depths of this matter, together with my brother-in-law, HaGaon HaRav shlita, and we made the decision that we will do what our father-in-law, the Rav zt”l, would have done if he would have been faced with such a situation. 

It is clear as day that my father-in-law and his grandfathers, the Bobover Rebbes zt”l, would certainly have chosen the path that is closest to peace, as we have seen in their conduct throughout the years.

“Therefore, this is our decision – to go in the path that is closest to peace. This is not a degradation; this is the path of our forbears. This is the Bobover derech. But this only applies if there will be complete peace. I say this to those who are here and to those who are not here. We are taking this step only to attain peace, and only if there will be peace, will the verdict be obeyed…

“We will go with this distinction – 45 – and as I previously said, we do not view this as a degradation and this is not an accompanying title. Rather, it is a random distinction, and we should note that, linguistically, this signifies the path of the Rav zt”l – ‘vanachni mah’ (i.e. a path of humility, signified by the numerical equivalence of the word ‘mah’ which is 45).

In conclusion, the Rebbe spoke about the glory of the kehillah, with its multitude of branches internationally, and its many magnificent mosdos educating approximately 4,500 students.

“We must now proceed with the building of our Beis Medrash, and several millions have already been pledged by philanthropists in our community. We hope that very soon construction will begin.”

The Rebbe mentioned the gruesome tragedy that took place that day in Yerushalayim and blessed that in the merit of following a path of Shalom and making a Kiddush Hashem, our brethren in Israel should be protected from harm.

The Rebbe referenced the words in this week’s parsha: 

‘And he moved away from there, and he dug another well and they did not fight over it, and he named that place Rechovos, and he said that now Hashem has expanded for us and we have multiplied in the land’. 

The Rebbe concluded his historic remarks with a beracha that we should always merit going in the ways of our forbears.

After the Rebbe’s speech, the massive crowd instantaneously burst into song and dance, led by the Rebbe and all those seated on the dais.

Thereafter, Harav R’ Shlomo Freshwater shlita, Av Beis Din Sossov-London, and a descendant of the Kedushas Zion zy”a, took the floor. He had traveled from London to participate in this historic gathering.

Rav Freshwater described in full detail the greatness of the Rebbe and the community, and the magnitude of the decision that the Rebbe had made despite the fact that he could have easily done otherwise.  He described the strong mesirus nefesth that is inherent in this decision.

That evening, immediately after the gathering, the Rebbe ordered all menahilim and gabbaim to make a Kiddush Hashem and switch the signs, plaques and letterheads as soon as possible to incorporate the distinction.

Neturei Karta Animals Menachem Aval The Family of the Arab that Hung Himself

Despite the fact that the Ministry of Health stated that the autopsy on Egged bus driver Yousef Hassan Al-Ramoni showed that he hung himself, and that there were no findings that indicated the involvement of any external agent in the act of hanging, nevertheless, the Palestinians blamed Israel for his death, and used it as an opportunity to riot, and attack Jews.

The fact that Jews were hurt in these riots meant nothing to the Neturei Karta animals. Instead, they chose to pay their respects to the Palestinian family who hung himself. This by the way, encourages Arabs to riot and blame normal deaths on Jews!

This is the family who claimed that “he was lynched”. 

Arab media  called him a “martyr who was murdered by Jews”, and by visiting them, these Jewish beasts are in fact bolstering this ludicrous statement!

It goes without saying that this was done less than 24 hours after the Har Nof Massacre, when two Palestinian terrorists murdered five people in a Har Nof Shul- including the four Kedoshim as well as one Druze hero police officer who risked his life trying to eliminate the terrorists.

Yemach Shmom V'zichrom 

Midrash "Pliah"

Translation for my English Speaking audience,

In reference to the Akidah:
Says the Midrash.... (Hashem told Avraham) "Take your son"
Avraham asks G-D: " I have 2 sons"
Hashem answers him: "Your favorite one"
Avraham answers G-D: "but I have two favorite ones"
Hashem answers him: "Yitzchok"

Says Rav Kahana:
"Look ... at the Jews ...constantly asking questions, If Avraham would have only taken Yishmoel and slaughtered him ...we would have avoided all that grief"

***Disclaimer: The above is a spoof ... but true :)

Chizuk Note from Rav Shteinman

Details of Attack in Har Nof From Rebbetzin Tzipporah Heller

Yesterday at about 7am my daughter Miri called. “Mordechai just came home from shul. He said that Arabs came in and are shooting, and that a man with an axe is hitting everyone. Some of the people threw chairs at them, but it didn’t help”. The twelve year old had hit the floor along with everyone else when the bullets began to fly.

He was fully aware of what was going on, and what it meant. He somehow found the courage to let go of his father’s hand, crawl towards the exit and break into a run. Some of you know Miri and her family. She has had some of you over for Shabbos and holidays, and others sleeping in one of her kid’s bedrooms when the crowd at my house gets too big to accommodate sanely.

Mordechai is blonde, freckled, and a soft spoken somewhat introverted and studious boy, much like his father, Shmuli. He is not Huck Finn, and the courage he found at those moments were a gift straight from G-d. By the time he finished telling Miri what happened, sirens from Hatzalah ambulances, police cars, and Magen David could be heard telling her that there were casualties.

“Where’s Shmuli” was the thought that entered her mind again and again as the seconds which felt like hours began to tick. She called me and said, “Say Tehillim. There is shooting in Bnei Torah”. I began to say the ancient prayers, stopped myself and called Rabbi Weidan, and told him what was happening.

I then began the Tehillim again, knocked on my neighbor’s door and told her to do the same. Chani called and told me to look at the news to see what was really happening. Nothing was reported as yet. Of course not. It was only 7:10.

I realized that the whether or not the attack was over, that no one as yet knew whether the murderers escaped. I called again, asking that everything be done to see that no one leaves the campus, and then called Miri. Thank G-d she had the sense to stay indoors and not run to the besieged synagogue. When Mordechai came home, the shooting was still happening.

By 7:20 we both realized that if she didn’t hear from Shmuli, something was very wrong. The police and other services had no information as yet to give to the public, but a family friend who had seen the terror with his own eyes, said that Shmuli had been taken to Haddassah EIn Karem. When Mordechai let go of his hand, he instinctively ran after the child placing himself in the sight of the terrorists.

One of them attacked him with his axe, hitting him on the left side of his head, his back and his arm. Somehow he made it to the door. Josh White, a student of Machon Shlomo was riding down Agassi on his bike. He noticed what he described la ter as “a lot of confusion” in front of Bnei Torah asked someone what was going on, and surprisingly (for Har Nof) the man answered him in Hebrew! In the midst of what to him was gibberish, he picked up the word Aravim (Arabs) and immediately grasped what was happening. He approached the shul and saw Shmuli who was still aware. The Machon student took of his shirt and stopped the bleeding, a move which may have saved Shmuli’s life.

The shooting was still happening inside. It was about 7:15! The emergency crew drew back, but because SHmuli was already outside, they evacuated him thus making him the first of the wounded to be taken to Hadassah, another factor in his survival. Before collapsing, he asked where Mordechai was, and when he was told that the boy ran away from the carnage, he said, “Baruch Hashem”. Inside, the terrorists were continuing their “work”. When they entered they turned to their left, and immediately cut down Rabbi Twerski and Rav Kalman Levine who were st anding in the corner. Reb Kalman was the husband of Chaya, formally Markowitz who was a student and later a madrichah at Neve.

Her husband was not a regular attendee of Bnei Torah. He would generally daven in the earliest possible minyan so he could get in a couple of hours of learning before beginning his day. Yesterday he had a question about something he had learned and had gone after davening to Bnei Torah to put the question to its erudite rav, Rabbi Rubin. The question will now only be resolved in the Heavenly Acadamy. Rev Avraham Goldberg, the third man to be killed is Breina Goldberg’s husband. Many of you know Breina as the warm caring efficient secretary cum mother figure at the front desk in the afternoon.

I don’t as yet know how her husband, or Reb Kupinski the fourth victim met their deaths. The only thing that I know, is that it was brutal and swift. The first policemen to enter were traffic cops who knew what they were facing, and also knew that they were not wearing protective gear. They entered anyway and together with the forces that came afterwards ended the bloodbath. By 7:30 the murderers were apprehended.

Miri, my daughter Guli, and her husband were in Hadassah. Miri’s other kids were watched by relatives and friends for the day. Mordechai was urged to speak about what he saw again and again in order to diminish the damage of the trauma he had undergone. The rest of the family flowed in, saying Tehillim and waiting for updates.

The hospital social worker, Aviva, who is blessed with the rare gift of being empathic without being overbearing, and the women of Ezer Mitzion (a volunteer organization) kept us well supplied with food, calming conversation and practical advice. We were allowed to see Shmuli who was put under anesthesia. We don’t know if he heard us or not, but we were talking to him stressing that Mordechai was fine. In the hours before the surgery was done, we found ourselves with Risa Rotman.

Her husband, Chaim Yechiel ben Malka, was also attacked, and the extent of his wounds are very serious. Some of you may know Risa (who if I am not mistaken also is an OBG) and those of you whose husbands learned in Ohr Sameach or who recall Reb Meir Shuster who he helped unstintingly for years, may know him as Howie. The policeman who entered first, passed away. May Hashem avenge his blood.

Every day in Eretz Yisrael is a gift and a miracle. I have no pretensions of knowing Hashem’s will, but I do know that everything He does is purposeful, and that His compassion that is often hidden from the human eye.

Please please continue saying Tehillim for Shmuel Yerucham ben Baila and the other victims. Daven that Hashem give strength to the five new widows and 24 new orphans. Most of all thank Hashem that we are not Them, and treasure Hashem’s Torah and His Land.

Love always,
Tziporah

PM Netanyahu's Statement to the Media

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening at his Jerusalem  office, issued the following statement to the media:   "We are in the midst of a terrorist assault focused on Jerusalem.  Today, during morning prayers, as they were wrapped in prayer  shawls and tefillin, four rabbis were slaughtered, four innocent  and pure Jews – Rabbi Avraham Goldberg, Rabbi Aryeh Kupinsky,  Rabbi Kalman Ze'ev Levine  and Rabbi Moshe Twersky. May their memories be blessed.   We send our condolences to their families. We send our best wishes for a recovery to the wounded and to the heroic policemen whose  action prevented a greater disaster. The human animals who  perpetrated this slaughter were full of hatred and incitement, deep  hatred and terrible incitement against the Jewish People and its state. Hamas, the Islamic Movement and the Palestinian Authority are disseminating  countless lies and falsehoods against the State of Israel. They are  saying that the Jews are contaminating the Temple Mount. They  are saying that we are planning to destroy the Holy Places, that we  intend to change the order of prayer there – this is all lies. These  lies have already claimed a very heavy price. They took the life of a  three-month-old baby, Chaya Zissel Braun, who had been taken for  her first visit to the Western Wall, along with her parents, who  wanted to thank G-d for giving them a baby. They also claimed the  lives of Karen Jemima Mosquera,Jidan Assad, Aharon Badani,  Sgt. Almog Shilony and Dalia Lemkus. All of them were pure souls. All of them were victims  of this mendacious incitement. Today they are joined by additional  victims of the same wild blood libel of the kind that is etched in the  memory of our people.   Yesterday a bus driver from eastern Jerusalem committed suicide.  He committed suicide. The findings of the pathology report have  been published and they prove this unequivocally. He committed  suicide. But this has not prevented those same elements from  inciting and disseminating the blood libel to the effect that he was  murdered by Jews. This incitement contributed its part to the  shocking slaughter that was perpetrated this morning in a holy  place during prayers. But what is outrageous is not only the  brutality of the murder but the shouts of joy in Gaza, in Bethlehem  and in other places. They are giving out candies, waving axes in  the air and praising the shahidim. True, this time Abu Mazen  condemned the slaughter and it is good that he did. I remember that  he also condemned the murder of the three youths but it is not  enough because in the same sentence in which he condemned  today's slaughter, he linked it to imaginary actions – which have no  basis in reality – that Israel is purportedly planning to carry out on  the Temple Mount. There is daily, even hourly, incitement on the  streets of the Palestinian Authority. There, not only do the most  reprehensible murderers become the heroes of Palestinian culture,  but there is unending, constant incitement against the very existence  of the State of Israel, against the security of Israel's citizens, in  schools, the media,  mosques, everywhere, and this is the root of the conflict: The refusal  to recognize – and educate for – the existence of the state of the  Jews.   Last week I traveled to Jordan and held a very important meeting in  Amman with King Abdullah and US Secretary of State John Kerry.  Together, we called to calm the situation and for the restoration of  quiet. To my regret, the answer that we received from the  Palestinian Authority was to declare a day or rage in Jerusalem. And  today we all saw the result. The world sees this slaughter but, to our  regret, does not demand that the Palestinians stop the wild  incitement against Israel that is the root of the conflict. I call on all  heads of state in the civilized world – I want to see outrage. I want  to see condemnation, a deep and uncompromising condemnation of  hese murders of Israelis, of Jews. Do not discriminate between  blood and blood. When there are other acts of murder you express the same outrage and condemn them. But when I see a  three-month-old baby being murdered, when I see these Jews at  prayer in a synagogue, our holy place, just as a church is holy for  Christians and a mosque is holy for Muslims, I expect to at least  hear the same condemnation, in an uncompromising and unreserved  tone. To my regret, there are those who currently insist on giving  he Palestinians a prize in the form of unilateral recognition of a  Palestinian state that does not recognize the state of the Jews. We  will not tolerate this reality; we will fight terrorism and we will  defeat it. We will restore law, order and security to the streets of  Jerusalem.   This evening I ordered the demolition of the homes of the terrorists  who perpetrated the massacre and the hastening of the demolition of the homes of the terrorists who perpetrated the earlier attacks. I  ordered stepped-up enforcement against – and stiffer punishments  or – those engaged in incitement, as well as the banning of  organizations engaged in incitement, and increased security on the  streets of Jerusalem. Alongside offensive actions there are also  defensive actions.   Citizens of Israel, I call on you to show maximum alert and to  respect the law. As a state, we will settle accounts with all of the  terrorists and those who dispatched them. We have already proven  that we do this, but let nobody take the law into his hands, even if  tempers flare and blood boils. We are in a lengthy war against  abhorrent terrorism which did not start today. Terrorism has  followed us through all the years of the Zionist enterprise. We have  always withstood it and we will do so this time as well.   There are those who would like to uproot us from our land and from  our capital. They will not achieve their aim. We are in a battle for  Jerusalem, our eternal capital. In this battle we must be united; this  is the order of the day. We have always known to unite in times of  trial. We must put aside all of the little differences and unite around  one major issue – defending Jerusalem, defending the security of  Israel's citizens. I think that this is what the citizens of Israel expect  of us at this time – to stand together as one, unified and united.  What is called for at this time is national unity."

Karlin-Stolin Rebbe Says Throw the Arabs Out of the Mosdos!

B"H, we have a leader with some Seichal!

Following the massacre of mispallalim in Kehillas Bnei Torah in Har Nof, the Karlin-Stolin Rebbe Shlita has instructed his gabbaim to get the Arabs out of the chassidus’ mosdos; including schools, shuls and batei medrash. 

The rebbe explains that doing so today is tantamount to sakonos nefoshos.

The rebbe is aware that there are Arabs employed in many areas of the mosdos but explains that none of this can justify placing the tzibur in a life-threatening situation.

First Policeman at Scene of Har Nof Massacre Died a Hero

Advanced Staff Sgt. Major Zidan Sayif is the latest casualty in the Har Nof shul massacre. He was one of the first policemen to arrive on scene and actively engaged the terrorists in a gun fight.

His heroic actions resulted in many saved lives since the terrorists had to turn their attention from massacring  Jewish worshipers to face a gun battle with the heroic policeman. 

He lived in the Druze village of Yanuh-Jat in northern Israel.

He leaves behind his wife, four year old baby and a 7 month old daughter as well.

Arab Savages leave 4 Widows and 24 orphans

Thousands of mourners gathered outside the Bnei Torah synagogue in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof to mourn the loss of  Rabbi Aryeh Kopinsky, 43, Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg, 58, and Rabbi Calman Levine - all from Har Nof – who were laid to rest Tuesday afternoon.

The three rabbis– two US-Israeli citizens and a British-Israeli national - were murdered by two Palestinian gunmen who opened fire in a brutal terror attack on the synagogue early Tuesday morning.

Kopinsky and Levine held dual US-Israeli citizenship after making aliya from the United States and Goldberg was a British-Israeli national who immigrated to Israel from Britain.

“How many widows and orphans joined all of Israel this morning, four widows and 24 orphans on one street,” Rabbi Yitzhak Rubin, head of the congregation said at the funeral.

"You cannot take an Ishmaeli and place him in school or university or tell him to be educated because he and his ancestors and his ancestor's ancestors were savages," he said in reference to the attackers. "We will not deal with revenge or responses because we have what Moshe Rabbeinu promised to us," he said.

Kopinsky's death marked a further tragedy for his family as his 13 year-old daughter died two years ago under sudden circumstances. "You were a man of kindness with modesty and humility" his brother Chaim Kopinsky eulogized.

Kopinsky leaves behind a wife and five children.

Yerachmiel Levine, eulogized his father and said he, “used to study [Torah] every day until late at night when he would fall asleep at his chair.”

Levine leaves behind a wife, nine children and five grandchildren.

Pinhas Markowitz, said of his brother-in-law Goldberg, "You were full of love for G-d and studying Torah and love of the individual and of health."

Goldberg who made aliyah over 20 years ago from Liverpool leaves behind a wife and six children.

Following the remarks and eulogies the victim’s children gathered together to recite the mourner's Kaddish.    The funeral procession then made its way to Har HaMenuchot in the neighborhood of Givat Shaul where the three Rabbis were laid to rest.

Thousands Attend Funerals of Har Nof Synagogue Massacre Victims

Family members of Aryeh Kupinsky (C), aged 43, an immigrant from the United States, gather at his body covered in a prayer shawl as two other victims of an attack by Palestinians are also in vans during their funeral service outside the Yeshiva in Har Nof, a religious neighborhood in west Jerusalem, where they were slain earlier 18 November 2014. Also killed was Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg, an immigrant from Britain, and Rabbi Kalman Levine, an immigrant from the US. Media reports state that two Palestinians armed with an axe, kitchen knives and a pistol killed four worshippers and injured eight others at a Jerusalem synagogue early 18 November, before being shot dead by Israeli police. The attack, which lasted seven minutes until the first police arrived, occurred during morning prayers. (Credit: EPA)

The four victims were Rabbi Moshe Twersky, hy"d, 'Rosh Kollel' for the 'Torat Moshe' yeshiva; Rabbi Kalman Levine, hy"d; Aryeh Kupinsky, hy"d, and Avraham Shmuel Goldberg, hy"d. 

Police revealed that all four victims were dual citizens, with three holding American citizenship, and the fourth British citizenship.

Kupinsky (43) lost his 13-year-old daughter Chaya Hana two years ago. 

Goldberg (68) made aliyah (immigration) to Israel in 1991, and leaves behind a wife and six children. 

Rabbi Levine (50) leaves behind a wife and nine children, as well as five grandchildren.

Rabbi Twersky was born in the US and made aliyah in 1990 with his family. He leaves behind a wife, five children and ten grandchildren. Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, a prominent head of the Lithuanian hareidi community, eulogized the rabbi saying "he was a great and holy man. He was so close to G-d in his holy life and was murdered in the middle of his prayer, with the tefilin (phyllacteries) on his head."

Rabbi Twersky's funeral was to be held at 2 p.m. at the Torat Mosheyeshiva in Sanhedria. 

The funeral services for Rabbi Levine, Mr. Kupinsky, and Mr. Goldberg began at 3 p.m. at the synagogue in which they were murdered, theKehillat Bnai Torah Yeshiva Synagogue in Har Nof. 

Thousands showed up for the funeral of the three, including President Reuven Rivlin.

חזקי עזרא

חזקי עזרא

חזקי עזרא

חזקי עזרא