Saturday, April 14, 2007

The Cry of the Hypocrites At KLF

It's easy to say that something is assor, but it takes a real talmid chacham to say it's mootar.
– KLF people explaining how a rabbi that permitted Kitniyos is a talmid chacham by doing so.


I do not know who your posek is, but I am sure that he cannot approach Rav AY Kook zt'l whom I quoted.

– KFL people to the KDL on why Jews visiting Eretz Yisrael should not keep two days.


Here's the kicker…


Rav Kook Z”TL did NOT eat Kitniyos on Pesach!


Let say that again… bold this time. Repeat it with me:


Rav Kook Z”TL did NOT eat Kitniyos on Pesach!


In fact he paskened k’halacha kitniyos are forbidden to Ashkenazi Jews – even those living in Eretz Yisrael! The most Rav Kook permitted was sesame seed oil that was processed in a very specific manner (R. Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, ZT"L objected to this psak creating a huge controversy on the matter.)


So either the KLF believes


A. C”V Rav Kook was not a talmid chachum since he could not find a way to permit Kitniyos.


Or…


B. The rabbi that permitted it is a greater posek than Rav AY Kook.


File both arguments under “Shtuth.”

3 comments:

Yehudhi said...

Eliyahu, why don't you discuss the Halakha in the Mishna, The Gemara, the Tur, The Rambam and the Shulchan Aruch that says CLEARLY that when you leave a location permanently, you no longer are bound by the customs of that place?

Why don't you accept that Halakha?

It is unanimously accepted in all Halakhic sources.

You keep skirting the issue.

Eliyahu Ben Calev said...

"When you leave a location permanently, you no longer are bound by the customs of that place?"

So if a Jew moved to Antarctica he would no longer have to keep any of his father's minhagim? What a foolish thought that has no basis whatsoever! Certainly if you move to a community that has “community minhagim” surely you are obligated to adapt them. Those communities were known as Kehillas. And they are not very common in our day and age. All we are left with today are our parents’ minhagim and praiseworthy is the Jew that values what he parents taught him!

Let's take Yerushalayim. What exactly is minhag Yerushalayim. There are none. (If anything the only argument you could make for minhag Yerushalayim is that it follows the minhagim of the GRA whose talmidim settled here. And he did not eat Kitniyos.) Since there are none you follow the minhagim of one’s parents, grandparents and great grandparents.

That said you miss the entire point of this site. There is a VERY strong basis for those Jews that keep this minhag. Why then should G-d fearing Jews that are keeping the minhagim of their parents be accused of causing sinas chinam? If your parents traditions mean little to you and you want to follow this sole opinion that it your decision. But why don't you show any respect at all to those that follow the majority opinion? The notion that all Jews need a uniform dress and uniform customs to achieve harmony is a myth with no basis and is even harmful. Achdus will only be realized through tolerance and mutual respect for differences (ala Beis Hillel and Beis Shammi) which is why the very concept of a KLF is seriously misguided.

Anonymous said...

Now I'll respond.

"So if a Jew moved to Antarctica he would no longer have to keep any of his father's minhagim?"

That is correct. He would be in a makom chadash and would be able to shed (the Mishna Berurah used the term Nifqah)those minhagim that he used to follow.

"What a foolish thought that has no basis whatsoever!"

No basis except for the Mishna, The Gemara, the Tur, The Rambam and the Shulchan Aruch. Look it up in Tav Samech Chet in the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch. It says clearly there and in the mishna berurah that when you leave a location permanently, you no longer are bound by the customs of that place?

"Certainly if you move to a community that has “community minhagim” surely you are obligated to adapt them."

Oh, and I am sure that if you moved to Morroco, you would start eating Kitniot, right?

"All we are left with today are our parents’ minhagim and praiseworthy is the Jew that values what he parents taught him!"

That is a lie. There no Halakhic requirement whatsoever for us to continue European customs when we live in Israel. It is actually a serious sin to do what most people are doing. It is called "lo titgodedu" It causes nothing but hatred because since you keep Polish customs, you identify yourself as a polish jew. And a Morrocan keeps Morrocan customs, identifying himself as a Morrocan Jew. That is setting up an unbridgable bridge between you two. Almost as unbridgable as if you had a polish gentile and a morrocan gentile and you told them told to live in the same house. Sooner or later, there would be culture clash and conflict. And there is. All over Israel. Wherever you look, there is hatred and rancor between Ashkenazi and Sefardi Jews.

This is avoidable. It is a direct result of ignoring the words of Chazal when they warn against making the Jewish people "agudot agudot" a bunch of different groups. as opposed to us being one group, Jews.

This is partially your fault, because you have devoted a website to ignoring the expressed words of Chazal while quoting nothing but Rabbis who lived in a time when Jews were scattered all throughout the world and minhagim alleast unified Jews in certain geographical area. Now that millions of us are in eretz yisrael, to quote their words is a fraud and a lie.

This hate is avoidable, eliyahu. Be part of the solution, not the problem.