As the Flag Flies Above the Beis Medrash, Ponevezh Yeshiva Continues to Defy Norms Every Yom Hatzmaot

 

In the heart of the chareidi world, where Israel’s Independence Day is often marked quietly, one yeshiva continues a decades old tradition that turns heads every single year and reminds everyone that we are all brothers.

At Ponevezh Yeshiva, the Israeli flag is raised proudly above the beis medrash on Yom Ha’atzmaut, a practice that dates back to the founding of the country. The tradition was established by the legendary rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, who insisted that the flag be hung each year in recognition of what he viewed as a historic moment for the Jewish people, and as an appreciation for the country that allows its people to live in peace.

From the very beginning of the State, he saw its establishment not necessarily through a political lens, but as a form of divine protection and a moment that strengthened the Jewish identity around the world. And so, every year since, the yeshiva has continued the custom. On Independence Day morning, the flag is raised atop the building and remains there for exactly 8 hours, typically from the morning until the afternoon, before being taken down.

The sight is unusual and frankly quite striking. In a city like Bnei Brak, most yeshivos do not mark the day in visible ways, the image of a large Israeli flag flying over one of the most prestigious Yeshivos in the world is symbolic and inspiring.

For many who consider themselves to be Chareidi, this minhag represents a unique balance, recognizing the reality and significance of the State, while still remaining firmly rooted in the torah world.

Anyone screaming or mocking an IDF Soldier is not part of Klall Yisrael

 

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Ladies wear your Shaitels ...You have who to rely on!

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

  A flood of emails has come in attacking the recent article on how Rav Dov Landau shlita saved the sheitels. 

Ads and articles are circulating that blame the sheitels for the recent car accident tragedies in Lakewood — and for cancer deaths and drownings as well. 

The senders assert that the Chazon Ish zt”l is wrong, that Rav Dov Landau shlita is wrong, and that the tens of thousands of bnos Yisroel who rely on psakim permitting the sheitels are walking around in aveirah.

What follows is the fuller halachic picture.

 Even if one wishes to attack the Chazon Ish’s chiddush — and the attack does not succeed — his view is only one pillar among several in the heter. Even as a mere snif l’hakel, the heter stands firmly in the eyes of numerous Rabbonim and Poskim.

2004: The Year the Sheitelach Burned
In the spring of 2004, frum women faced a terrifying question:

 was the sheitel on one’s head takroves avodah zarah — an offering to idolatry, from which no Jew may derive any benefit?

In Brooklyn, women set curbside bonfires of their own sheitels. In Beit Shemesh, two-thousand-dollar sheitels were traded for five-dollar kerchiefs overnight. In Cleveland, a frum girls’ school closed for a day because the teachers did not know what to put on their heads.

More than two decades later, most of those women are again wearing sheitelach, many made from Indian hair. 

The question has resurfaced —several times by people and advertisements that stated that sheitels are forbidden, even with a hechsher, because in their view the hair comes from idolatrous rituals.

Tens-of-thousands gathered in the streets of Central Jerusalem last night to celebrate Israel’s 78th Independence Day.

 

Every one Living in Israel Has a Story ... All you have to do is ask!

 

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North Miami Beach Resident, Yona (Shaya) Lunger, Arrested Twice, Charged with Multiple Sex Crimes Against Children

Yona Lunger is a resident of North Miami Beach. According to News reporting over the years, he is very involved in a number of community organizations, including one that he founded called Chessed of South Florida. He is also a chaplain, and has served on a number of city advisory boards.

According to a criminal complaint filed on March 25th, Lunger entered a teenage girl's bedroom and closed the door. The complaint alleges that during the interaction he had with her he told the victim to "put away her sexy things" referring to her breasts, and then proceeded to hug and kiss the victim multiple times. He allegedly kissed her multiple times near the lips, asked her to kiss him, and then left the room. The complaint alleges that Lunger, on multiple occasions, expressed a desire for the victim to turn 18. He was arrested and charged with felony lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under 16.

While out on $7,500 bail for that alleged offense, Lunger was arrested again yesterday on new felony charges, lewd and lascivious molestation of a child under 16 and lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under 16. Bail was set at $5,000 each but he is currently incarcerated until his next hearing. The complaint is not yet available for the new charges but we will post an update when it becomes available.

According to Local News 10, after his first arrest another victim came forward and accused Lunger of putting his hands on her breasts for a minute when she was a minor. According to the report, Lunger had come to her family's home and offered to restock grocery items for her family. He then allegedly took the girl to a supermarket where he held her hand. On the drive home, according to the report, Lunger made inappropriate comments toward her, eventually putting his hands on her breasts and trying to kiss her on the lips.

Prior to his arrest Lunger was reportedly davening at Khal Chassidim in North Miami Beach.

Why Begin is not buried on Har Herzl and is buried instead on Har Hazeisim?

 

On the day Menachem Begin died, everyone was shocked to discover that, contrary to expectations, Begin had ordered that he be buried on the Mount of Olives, next to the graves of the pilgrims, Meir Feinstein and Moshe Barazani.

In order to understand Begin's will, we have to go back exactly 79 years from today, to the night of the 2nd of Iyar 5707.

It was night in the death row cell in the Russian Compound in Jerusalem. Two twenty-year-old men were sitting there.

 One, Meir Feinstein, a Jerusalemite, an Ashkenazi. and the other, Moshe Barazani, a Jew from Baghdad.

Both were sentenced to death by the British, And the next morning they were supposed to be taken to the gallows.

But their plan was different. They hid a hand grenade inside an orange. And their plan was that when the sentinels came to hang them in the morning, They will explode along with the executioners.

They decided that if they go, They will not be led like sheep to the slaughter.

Rather, they will walk like warriors, In the sense of ״תמות נפשי עם פלשתים״,, Like the hero Simshon in his time.

But the day before the execution of the sentence, they learned that Rabbi Yaakov Goldman intended to come in the morning and pray with them before the hanging, to accompany them on their final journey.

They understood that their plan might endanger the rabbi, so they called on him to come early, at night. They gave him a Bible with final messages to their families and asked him to get out of the cell and pray in the hallway. He went out.

And they began to sing, "אדון עולם אשר מלך״.  Barazani held the grenade in his left hand. Feinstein clinged to him, chest to chest with the grenade between them

And when they embraced, they turned on the grenades, before the executioner reached them.

The explosion shook the entire building.

When the British broke in, They found two bodies connected to each other. They couldn't separate them as They had  hugged too tightly.

Begin remembered this story all his life. 

And in 1981, when the broadcaster Dudu Topaz,who despised Begin's party ,mocked the members of the Mizrachi Sfardie communities, Begin responded in a speech that was etched in the national memory:

"Our members of the Mizrahi communities were heroic fighters! Feinstein was of European descent, Ashkenazi. Moshe Barazani was a Sephardi from Iraq.

The night after they were sentenced to death, the rabbi insisted on coming and leading them to the hanging,but they didn't want to hurt the rabbi –

After the rabbi left they took a hand grenade and placed it between their hearts. And clicked it!

Ashkenazi? Iraqi? Jews! Brothers! Fighters!"

It wasn't a political speech.It was a real cry from the soul.

And when Begin died, Eleven years after that speech,He wrote in his will:

"My dear Yechiel, when the day comes, I wish to be buried on the Mount of Olives, next to Meir Feinstein and Moshe Barazani."

Not in the section of the nation's greats.

But next to two twenty-year-old guys.

Why?

Because in Begin's eyes, they were a symbol of Israel's unity. Ashkenazi and Iraqi who fought together for Israel's freedom, And when their time came, they embraced so tightly, So much so that it was impossible to separate them even in death.

Today, the 2nd of Iyar 5786, 79 years since that morning, How many Israelis know who Meir Feinstein is? How many have they heard of Moshe Barazani? How many visitors to their grave on the Mount of Olives?

Our job and duty is to make sure that the next generation knows who Feinstein and Barazani were.to make sure that we understand why Begin insisted on being buried there.Because when you forget Feinstein and Barazani, you also forget what we are supposed to be.

Jews. Brothers. Fighters. Ashkenazi and Iraqi, Feinstein and Barazani, together.

May their memory be blessed and cherished in our hearts forever. 🕯️

Satmar Pushes Out a Desperate Kol Korah .."Don't Say Chapters 107-118 Tehillim" on Hey Iyur ....

 This is too funny for words!! Satmar decided to be smarter than the RBS"O and circumvent what HE really wanted!

Satmar has a Tehillim regiment that dictates the chapters of Tehillim to be said on particular days. 

This year Chapters 107 - 118 came out on the 5th of Iyur, Yom Ha'atzmot! 

The problem was that the Hungarian/Romanian ama-ratzim discovered almost too late, that the entire Hallel is smack in these chapters ... Hallel is chapters 113-118!!! Just as the RBS"O wanted!! 

As believing Jews, we believe that there are no coincidences, and the RBS"O wanted Satmar to say Hallel on Yom Ha'atzmot"  

Boy does the RBS"O have a sense of humor! 

What to do??? 

The Imams of Satmar issued a Fatwa that those chapters of Tehillim were to be moved up to 3rd of Iyur!! Far away from the 5th, against the wishes of the RBS"O

And they are not ashamed to say that in their Kol Korah!!

"According to our Seder of Tehillim that we recite each day in our Temples, the Seder that contains Hallel will come out on this bitter day Hey Iyur! The very day that the Tumedika Government was established in our holy land!

Therefore according to the ruling of Our Rabbi, Harav Hagoen Hakodosh Shlitah, we changed the seder "

Chareidie Sinas Chinam Bullying and Sefira

 DIN: I decided to re-post an article I wrote last year, since it is relevant now too, in these days of sefira! May the RBS"O bring the geula today! 

ובני קורח לא מתו

Today I saw a comment on the Beit Shemesh Chat that shook me to the very core!

A lady from Beit Shemesh was sharing that she is recommending a school for High School girls that is based in Yerushalayim that caters to girls who were bullied! She is busing her daughter to Yerushalayim every single day so she would be in a "safe place."

Suddenly, I got an epiphany,  a moment of sudden insight!"

The Gemarrah in Yevamos 62b, tells us that Rabbi Akiva 

"had 12,000 pairs of students and all of them died in one period of time because they did not conduct themselves with respect towards one another"

"מפני שלא נהגו כבוד זה לזה " "because they didn't treat each other with respect"

Let that sink in! 

They died! Why? Because "they didn't treat each other with respect."

Who were these students? 

They were "Tanaim"!

They were the "gedoieli hador"; they were the ones who learned from the greatest Tanna ever, Rebbi Akiva! 

They were the ones to give over the holy mesorah!  and it was their rebbe, Rebbi Akiva that was the one who taught the famous dictum 

ואהבת לרעך כמך זה כלל גדול בתורה

and though they had the greatest teacher, those words had absolutely no effect on them!

None! Zero! Nada! 

I could never understand that, despite the many explanations that the commentaries give, it still begs the question: why did they have to die? 

Did they kill someone? Did they rob someone? Why a death penalty?? 

I saw that even the Baalei Musser struggle with this! 

The Chasam Sofer writes that the students lacked in one specific quality, and that is 

"Loving Hashem's Creatures" .... Wow! What a powerful statement! 

Question remains, why did they deserve death?

The Michtav Me'Eliyahu by Rav Dessler writes that whatever they did, they didn't deserve death, but at the same time, with this bad trait they weren't allowed to carry the mesorah further! If they had lived, they would have passed this trait to others, and Hashem wouldn't allow that! 

Basically, it's not that they deserved death but they couldn't go on living either!

Back to my epiphany! I believe that students of Rebbe Akiva, bullied each other!! Yes! absolutely! 

These great Tanaim bullied those whom they found not exactly like them! And that comes from, as the  Chasam Sofer states from not "Loving Hashem's Creatures"

The latest WZO debate brought out the worst in people! And when I say people, I mean our Torah leaders! 

Why can't a Torah leader state his opinion without degrading those who oppose his opinion? 

Why must they "bully" the other side?

I noticed that those who were opposed to the vote, were writing nasty Kol Koras, while those who supported the vote were very respectful of the other side! Why was it necessary to lie and degrade those Gedoilim who urged to vote?? Why"

And this bashing and degrading was between Chareidim themselves! 

I will bring you an example from my very own blog! 

As you all know I come from a very Charedie Family! 

It took me a while to notice that the extremist element of the Charedie community could not, and would not, tolerate anyone who came from their own community that had an opposing view! 

Hence the battles between Satmar and Kloizenberg, Satmar vs Spinker, Satmar vs R' Moshe Feinstein, Satmar vs Satmar, Bobov vs Bobov, Viznitz Vs Visnetz, Ger vs Ger, Sadegre vs Sadagre, and I didn't even touch the Yeshivishe Communities who hate each other as well! One Charedie Gadol wrote a book where he states unequivocally that anyone who thinks differently than him is an "apikoras" and a heretic! 

This is all between Charedim themselves! 

There are antizionist guys that comment on my blog, that bash, ridicule and degrade in the most vile language other Charedie Gedoilim!

One particular guy, called the Zaken Hador R' Shmuel Kaminetzky.,. "Old Sam" and said that Rav Eliyashiv called him a "Rasha" 

I don't know if this was true, but if it was, you have a Gadol like Rav Eliyashiv calling another Gadol a "Rasha!"

He further wrote that Rav Belsky was "evil" , and that the accepted Poisik Rav Asher Weiss was a "joke in the Torah Velt" ! 

This is a Charedie writing this about his own Charedie Gedoilim! 

Well, you may say that this is just a couple of "nut jobs" but I can tell you that this is actually the Charedie thinking! I know because I follow social media and am on their chats! 

Let me give you another example that happened just this evening in Shul! 

I had some time between Mincha and Maariv as my Chavrusa was late, so I grabbed a sefer called 

אורחות רבנו  

which is about the minhagim of the Steipler  and it is a 5 volume set. 

In one of the chapters I was perusing, I saw that they kept referring (page קס"ו) to someone called "Unterman" ! I soon realized that they were referring to the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Harav Unterman, who was a huge Talmid Chachim and a Talmid of R' Shimon Shkop and was influenced by R' Shkop's unique halachic approach! This sefer didn't refer to Rav Unterman with a title like Rabbi, but just "Unterman!"

As I'm a glutten for punishment, I continued to skim through this volume and it didn't take long to see that they wrote that the Chazon Ish said that it is prohibited to read  Rav Kalman Kahana's sefer since he, Rav Kahana was "נתקלקל" in other words "he went off" meaning the "derech" .

 Rav Kalman Kahana was elected to the First Knesset as a member of the Agudat Yisrael Party! Rav Kahana was instrumental in taking down the third government when he disagreed with Ben-Gurion over the need to strengthen religious education! But that didn't stop the Chazon Ish from branding Rav Kahana for life as a נתקלקל, according to this book!

Again, I don't know if this story is in fact true, but if it is, you have one of the greatest Charedie Poiskim denigrating someone he didn't agree with! 

On a page before (קס"ה), they totally decimate in the name of the Steipler, Harav Ovdia Yosef! They write that Harav Yosef 

מעיז פניו בפיו כנגד שעורי החזו"א, ודרכו ללכת כנגד הרמ"א

"dared to go against the Chazon Ish's measurements, and against the Ramah"

Crazy! Insane! 

Of course, Rav Yosef would not go with the Ramah as the Ramah was Ashkenaz and Rav Yoisef would naturally go with the mechaber who was a Sfardie! 

Also, not one Poisik, be he Ashkanaz or Sfardirie goes with The Chazon Ish's measurements! 

I am not going to go further into this story, you can read it yourself it's in the last volume! 

So the Steipler because he disagreed with Harav Yosef, chastises Rav Yosef because he dared challenge the Chazon Ish, again, according to this book!

Why can't they all just state their opinion? Why must they degrade those who disagree?  

Why can't they just write a sefer and discuss the greatness of the Chazon Ish and the greatness of the Steipler, why must they denigrate others to lift up the Steipler and the C"I?

I believe that all this constitutes "bullying!"

Charedim bully! Even their Torah leaders "bully" those who disagree with them! 

It is interesting that if you read the Teshuvois of Harav Yosef be it "Yabia Omer, Chava Daas Yalkot Yosef, you will never find him ridiculing those who pasken differently than him. He brings down the Minchas Eluzer's psak  with the greatest respect then writes why he cannot go with that psak.. all being respectful! 

I believe that this is the pshat in מפני שלא נהגו כבוד זה לזה, It is not that they disagreed, but it was when they did disagree that they denigrated them! 

And this is a great challenge, even 2,000 years later!

Going back to my introduction, how low have we sunk that they had to establish a school that won't tolerate "bullying" and establish a "safe place" for the girls! 

The reason that children "bully" is because the parents do nothing! 

And the reason that the parents do nothing is because they "bully" as well! 

Yes, we are in the Sefira, a time to mourn, but it is a time to take a valuable lesson and learn from this tragedy, a tragedy that happened to the best, the cream of our Torah Scholars!

"Love Hashem's Creatures"

Yedid Nefesh Sung on the Har Habayis