Rabbi Yair Hoffman's Disingenuous Argument Against Going Up to Har Habyit

 

Rabbi Yair Hoffman is a very nice guy, but he has an agenda. He wants to make nice to his Yeshivishe followers, most of whom have been brainwashed in their agenda driven yeshivois, by agenda driven Roshei Yeshivas. 

In his halachic analysis of whether it is permitted to go up to the Har Habayis, he leaves out a very pertinent part of the puzzle. He purposely leaves out the fact that the Rambam himself actually went up to the Har Habayis with his father and brother accompanied by the then Chief Rabbi of Akko. Not only that, but every year on the anniversary of the date that he went up on the Har Habyis, he celebrated a personal Yomtov with a Seuda. The Rambam mentions his Har Habayis experience in many other letters as well. The one below is in the Rambam's own handwriting.

To those who may want to say that only the Rambam knew exactly where to go, I have two answers. A) The Rambam may hold that one can actually go on the Makon Ha'mikdash as the  Rambam adds that "I went into the Great Holy Building and I prayed there" so he must have gone into the mosque itself. B) Today we have greater knowledge where exactly the Bais Ha'Mikdash stood because of the Archaeological digs of Charles Warren in 1867, and so we know the areas on the Har Habayis that are permitted. Moreover, we have records that Jews went up to the Har Habyis after the destruction of the Second Bais Hamikdash. According to Rabbi Wein, Jews  went up to the Har Habyis during the times of the Rishonim, and not one Gadol at the time said that it was prohibited. 

The gedoilim that prohibit going on the Har Habayis may have not known of the existence of these letters. The Poiskim alive today totally ignore the Rambam's experience because none of them is brave enough to come out and discuss this. Many of these poiskim that prohibit are only prohibiting because they are afraid to antagonize the Arabs. This argument has been proven false more times than you can count. If Jews would stop going up to the Har Habayis, the Arabs would find other excuses to kill Jews. Why were they killing Jews when the Jordanians had the Har Habyis from 1948-1967, when not one Jew entered anywhere close to the Har Habyis?

Arabs don't need excuses to kill Jews, they murdered Jews before we had the Kotel, Mearas Ha'machpeilah, Kever Rachel. 

My "taaneh" to Rabbi Hoffman is that he was disingenuous in his analysis, omitting the above important ideas that directly oppose his Yeshivishe agenda to satisfy the tiger nipping at his heals. He is a coward!

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com

Recently, it was widely reported that Ben Shapiro and others travelled to and entered he Temple Mount. While the sentiment that lies behind his action is certainly admirable in that he wishes to ensure Jewish sovereignty over har habayis, the action itself lies in stark contrast to the position of the great poskim of the generation, Rav Edelstein shlita, Rav Elyashiv zatzal, Rav Chaim zatzal, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l, and so many others. What follows is a halachic analysis of why we should not, at this point, be praying on the Har Habayis. The author feels bad because Ben Shapiro is someone that the author admires greatly.

Anti-Smartphone Gedoilim Continue to Take Contributions from Smartphone Owners! Yiddish!

Bears visit a Bungalow Colony

 

 

In London Chassidim don't like the Eiruv so they rip it down just like Arabs

 This is what happens when you don't work, there is plenty of time to be busy with "sheigatz shtick"

In Yerushalyim a 50-year-old Father Arrested for molesting 4 of his children

 

No Achdus Between Degel HaTorah & Agudat Yisrael..They Will Probably Split

 

With less than 100 days to go to elections, disputes have broken out in the UTJ party between its current head, MK Moshe Gafni of the Degel HaTorah Lithuanian faction, and the Chassidic Agudat Yisrael faction.

According to years-old agreements, the two factions rotate leadership of the party over election cycles, which should mean that Agudat Yisrael takes the lead in the run-up to elections this winter. However, now that veteran Knesset member Yaakov Litzman has resigned, the leadership of the Agudat Yisrael faction has passed into the hands of Yitzhak Goldknopf, the representative of the Gur Chassidic group, the largest within Agudat Yisrael, leading MK Gafni to protest that a man with no political experience whatsoever should not be leading the party into elections.

Gafni would therefore like to see his own tenure at the head of the party extended for the meantime; furthermore, he wants the 50:50 arrangement between the two factions of UTJ altered to 60:40 in Degel HaTorah's favor, arguing that changes in haredi demographics justify this.

Meanwhile, another dispute is continuing to simmer between Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, the spiritual head of the Degel HaTorah faction, and the Belz Chassidic group (represented by MK Yisrael Eichler of Agudat Yisrael) regarding changes made to boys' schools within the Belz Chassidic group, increasing the hours spent studying mathematics and introducing English into the curriculum.

The two factions have run together in elections for years to ensure that both pass the electoral threshold, but disputes are nothing new, and this year haredi politicians have also expressed the concern that votes may "leak" to the Otzma Yehudit party of MK Itamar Ben Gvir, possibly even losing UTJ a seat to the Religious Zionism party with which Ben Gvir is allied.

Spectacular rare coin from the time of Emperor Antoninus & Rabbi Yehuda Ha'Nasie

 An exceptionally well-preserved spectacular rare bronze coin was recently recovered from the sea bed during an underwater archaeological survey conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority off the Carmel coast at Haifa.

The coin was minted under the emperor Antoninus Pius (138–161 CE) in Alexandria, Egypt. The reverse depicts the zodiac sign Cancer beneath a portrait of the moon goddess Luna. The coin bears the date ‘Year eight,’ the eighth year of Antoninus Pius’s rule, or 144/145 CE. It belongs to a series of thirteen coins, twelve depicting the different signs of the zodiac and another the complete zodiac wheel.

According to Israel Antiquities Authority Maritime Archaeology Unit director Jacob Sharvit, “This is the first time such a coin has been discovered off Israel’s coast and it is a rare addition to the National Treasures collection. Israel’s Mediterranean shores and waters have yielded many archaeological sites and finds that attest to connections in antiquity between Mediterranean ports and the countries along it.”

“These finds, which were lost at sea and disappeared from sight for hundreds and thousands of years, have been remarkably well preserved; some are extremely rare and their discovery completes parts of the historical puzzle of the country’s past.”

The coin was discovered during a survey conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority to locate, document, research, and preserve antiquities sites and ancient finds — cultural assets that are being endangered by accelerated marine development.

According to Israel Antiquities Authority’s Director, Eli Eskosido, “In the last decade, the State of Israel has changed its perception of the sea. Rather than marking the country’s border, the sea is now recognized as an integral part of it in terms of its cultural heritage, in addition to security considerations and strategic and economic concerns. Israel’s territorial waters contain natural resources and cultural assets that must be explored and protected in light of different interests and potential development. The maritime survey off Haifa is part of this process. The rare coin recovered during the survey is a vivid reminder of the importance of the survey.”

Interestingly, the ruler who minted the coin, Antoninus Pius, was a Roman emperor who ruled between 138 and 161 CE. Unlike his predecessors, he was not a military man and never participated in battle. His reign was the quietest during the whole of the Roman Empire and marked the height of the period of “Roman peace” (Pax Romana) throughout the empire. Antoninus had a different approach to running the Roman Empire, preferring to deal with any foreign crises through provincial governors; in fact, he never left Rome himself. He encouraged and initiated the construction of temples, theaters, and magnificent mausoleums, and promoted science and philosophy.

During his rule, the empire’s relations with the Jews were greatly improved, the decrees of Hadrian were revoked, and Jews were allowed to practice circumcision. These steps led to amicable relations between the emperor and Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi.

Convicted Rosh Yeshiva GREER Trying to claw himself out of Jail

 

Very bizarre, Avi Hack testified in open court that he was the "mistress" of the Rosh Yeshiva Greer, and now Greer gets him, his mistress, to testify that the boy (Eliyahu Mirlis) that Greer raped was over 16? What is fascinating though, is that, I believe, that this is the very first time that the holy Rosh Yeshiva admits that he raped young boys, he is only arguing that Eli Mirlis was not 14 or 15, but he was over16!

Incarcerated sex offender Rabbi Daniel Greer left his prison cell Wednesday to come to a New Haven courtroom — where one of his alleged victims testified that Greer had indeed had sex with a former student … but waited until the boy was over the age of 16 years.

Greer was the one who arranged to have the witness come say that, in the hopes of obtaining a new trial.

That was the focus of a four-hour hearing held in Room 6C in New Haven’s Church Street state courthouse. 

Greer is petitioning the court for a new trial based on what he claims is ​“new evidence” provided by Aviad ​“Avi” Hack. Greer is arguing that the 2019 criminal case in which he was convicted on four counts of risk of injury to a minor was based on an incorrect assessment of the victim’s age.

He is currently serving 20 years in prison for the attack on a former student at his Elm Street yeshiva, Eliyahu Mirlis, who was supposedly between 14 and 15 years old at the time. 

Since then, on Oct. 29, 2021, Hack — a former student and then a former employee at the yeshiva who has also described having had a sexual relationship with Greer — signed an affidavit stating that, to his knowledge, Greer did not have sex with Mirlis until Mirlis was 16 years old.

The statute defines a minor as being under 16.

Hack, now 47, testified in court on Wednesday, and asserted that based on his close relationship with Greer, he believed the ​“truth” was that Greer did not have sex with Mirlis until the boy turned 16. Just as Hack said he himself did not have sex with Greer until he was 16.

After hearing the testimony, state Judge Jon Blue continued the proceedings until Sept. 23, when Greer may choose to testify.

The Netziv's View Of Gedoilei Yisrael that called other Gedoilim "Apikosim & Tzadokim"

 

"חשדו את מי שראו שנוהג שלא כדעתם ביראת ה' שהוא צדוקי ואפיקורס"

, "הקדוש ברוך הוא ישר הוא ואינו סובל צדיקים כאֵלו

"They accused those (Gedoilim)  that according to their opinion  did not conform to their views of fear of G-d that they were  Tzadokim and Epicureans," Know that  The Holy One, blessed be He, is honest and does not tolerate such righteous people"

We all knew "gedoiei yisrael" who authored many sefarim and called out other gedoilim that did not conform to their views "apikorsin & meenim." 

The Netziv z"l held that Hashem does "not tolerate such tzaddikim" 

Enough said!

Bahrain Dismisses Its Minister For Refusal To Shake Hands With Israeli Envoy

 A senior Bahraini official and member of the ruling family was dismissed from her position by Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa after she refused to shake hands with the Israeli ambassador in Manama, Arab media outlets reported last week.

Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, who was serving as the government’s Cultural Minister, also opposed plans focused on the “Judaization” of Old Manama neighborhoods.

The handshaking refusal occurred on June 16, at a memorial service held by US Ambassador Stephen Bundy to Bahrain for his father. During the event, Shaikha Mai refused Na’eh’s outstretched hand while the service was being filmed. She then left the ambassador’s house after requesting that the US embassy refrain from publishing any photos of her at the event.

Shaikha Mai has served in various government positions for over years and has been described as a “controversial figure,” according to an Al-Mayadeen report.

A 2014 Forbes report listed her as number six on the Middle East list of the most powerful Arab women.