The end of Aidel Maidel?

She's posted just three time since September 29, and in her last message told us to "go leave me alone." Shall we ready the fork? Is Aidel done?

Halacha != Aggada (sources)

1 - I know it is possible that you will seek and find words of individuals from among the scholars of truth, our Rabbis, peace be upon them, in the Talmud and in the Mishnah and in the Midrashot, that indicate that at the time of a person’s birth the stars caused such and such. This should not be difficult in your eyes; for it is improper that we should abandon operative Halakhah and go about [seeking] objections and resolutions. And likewise, it is inappropriate for a person to abandon words of sense, whose proofs have already been verified, and empty one’s hands of them, and rely upon the words of a [solitary] individual from among the Sages, peace be upon them, when it is possible that something was overlooked by him at that time or that those words contain an allusion or [that] he said them at the moment [based upon] an incident that took place. --Iggerot ha-Rambam, II, 488

2 - ...if the words of the ancient [Sages] contradict the intellect, we are not obliged to accept them. -- R. Yehudah ben Bilam of Toledo, commentary on Sam. I,ch. 28 (cited in OHG, “Teshuvot al Hagigah 4b) quoting Rabbi Shemu’el ben Hofni

3 - And it is impossible for us to believe in the veracity of a matter for whose negation there are corroborations, only because some of the ancient [Sages] said it. Indeed, it is necessary that we contemplate the matter with our intellect. If a proof may be found for its veracity, we shall accept it. If there comes corroboration for its possibility, we shall believe in it as something possible. And if it is found to be impossible, we shall regard it as impossible. --Perush ha- Torah le-Rabbi Shemu’el ben Hִofni

4 - Aggadah is every explanation that comes in the Talmud regarding any matter that is not a mizvah. This is Aggadah; and you should learn from it only what arises in the mind.… What [the Sages] interpreted in [Scriptural] verses is [for] each one according to what occurred to him and what he saw in his mind. And according to what arises in the mind from these interpretations, one learns it; and one does not rely upon the rest. --R. Shemu’el ha-Naggid’s Mevo ha-Talmud

5 - One should not rely upon Aggadah and Midrash, even though they are written in the Talmud, if they are unattuned or erroneous. For our principle is: One does not rely upon the Aggadah. Rather, what is fixed in the Talmud, [in] which we find [the means] to remove its error and reinforce it — we should do so; for, if it had no basis, it would not have been fixed in the Talmud. And what we do not find a way to clear of its error — becomes like matters that [do] not [accord with the] Halakhah. [With] what is not fixed in the Talmud, we need not [do even] this much. Rather, one ponders it; if it is correct and becoming, one expounds it and teaches it; and, if not, we pay it no attention. --Sefer ha-Eshkol

6 - Words of Aggadah are not like a tradition; rather, everyone expounds what arises in his heart — like ‘it is possible’ and ‘one may say’ — not a decisive statement. Therefore, one does not rely upon them. --Chai Gaon

7 - ...words of Aggadah, to draw the heart of man ... if you desire — believe them; and if you do not desire — do not believe them, for no law is determined based upon them. --R. Yehִ i’el ben Yosef of Paris, Sefer ha-Vikuahִ

8 - We have a third book called Midrash, meaning sermons. It is just as if the bishop would rise and deliver a sermon, and one of the listeners whom the sermon pleased recorded it. With regard to this book [of sermons], if one believes in it, it is well and good; if one does not believe in it, he will not be harmed [spiritually] -Ramban, Disputation at Barcelona

9 - Consider also the more extreme attitude toward Aggadah ascribed by the Yerushalmi to the talmudic sage R. Ze‘ira, who branded aggadic works “books of divination,” “from which we understand nothing” definitive — urging his preeminent disciple, R. Yirmeyah, to avoid them altogether in favor of halakhic study (Yerushalmi Ma‘aserot 3:4)

10 - It is possible that some of [the stories in the Talmud and Midrash] were stated only in the manner of rhetorical invention [Heb. hamzִ a’at melizah], for some ethical or educational goal. And even if one says that the [apparently historical] stories of Avraham’s life with Terahִ and Nimrod in Ur Kasdim were a rhetorical invention — [we] shouldnot reject [that position] with two hands -- R. Samson Rephael Hirsch

Thanks to Chardal for providing me with an essay written by Rabbi Chaim Eisen which argues conclusivly that midrashim are not canonical. The sources cited above (along with many others) are all more or less verbatim from Rabbi Eisen's endnotes.

(PS: Dear Yus and Ed. Eat it XXOO DovBear)

Hakafa Bet or the Second Circuit Court of Appeals

another long and boring post by The Bray of Fundie

DB: This is not a post. Its just Bray's (mediocre) translation of a Ramban which discusses Azazel and relates to an argument Bray and I having on one of the threads. I don't know why he thinks anyone cares, or why he chose to inflict this tedium on the readership.
Click here to read Bray's (mediocre) translation of the Ramban. Otherwise just scroll down.

As I may have done a great disservice to the Ramban in yesterdays Ok, ad kan Azazel-palooza. thread, not merely by my inelegant translation but by breaking it up into many passages. It is too choppy to be understood. I now present it here unbroken and hopefully easier to read and follow. Color coding explained at the end:

"Whereas Rabbi Abraham (Ibn Ezra) is a discreet spirit who conceals matters, I am no peddler either to reveal his secret inasmuch as our (Talmudic era) sages have done so in many places.

In Bereshis Rabbah it says 'and the Goat will carry (upon itself)'-this is (refers to) Esav as it says 'behold my brother Esav is a hairy (i.e. goat-like) man'. 'all of their sins (avonoTAHM)' this is (refers to) the sins of the wholesome one (i.e. Yaakov) as it says 'and Yaakov was a Tahm=wholesome man'.

And this (the mechanism whereby the Azazel goat bears the sins of Yaakov away) is explicated in Pirkei D'Rebee Eliezer HaGadol : 'For this reason Samael (i.e. the Angel of desolation and chaos AKA Satan=the Prosecuting Attorney in the Court-on-High) was given a bribe on Yom Kippur so as not to negate the offering (of the Jewish People) as it says 'One lot for haShem and one lot for Azazel', the lot of the Holy blessed One for a burnt offering (Olah) and the lot of Ahzahzel as a sin offering goat and all of the sins of Israel are loaded upon it. As it says 'and the Goat will carry (upon itself)'.

"Samael (i.e. the Angel of desolation and chaos AKA Satan=the Prosecuting Attorney in the Court-on-High)" sees that no sin is found among them (the Jews) on Yom Kippur and says before the Holy Blessed One: 'Master of the Worlds you have one nation on earth that is akin to the ministering Angels in heaven. Both are barefoot. Both neither eat nor drink. Both are without knees (the Angels literally and the Jews by standing for all or most of the service). Both live together with their fellows in peace on Yom Kippur(the Jews had forgiven one another before YK began). Both are completely innocent of sin on YK.' And the Holy Blessed One hears the testimony of Israels prosecutor and is mekhaper on (atones for) the Altar and on the Temple and on the Kohanim and on all the congregated Nation as it says: 'and He will forgive the Holy etc.' end quote from this Agadah.

And behold it (the Agadah the PRE) informed us of it's name and its mechanism. (Unclear if he is referring to the Azazel Goat or to Samael). And this is the secret of the matter:

There were idolaters , those who served Elohim Akherim=Angels, who offered them sacrifices that were a savory aroma. As it says: 'and you have placed my oil and my incense and put it before them. My bread, as well, I have given you fine flour and oil and honey that I fed you and put it before them for a savory aroma and it will be (for them) saith haShem Elokim.'. And you must reflect in the scripture the Miqra (way that its written) and the tradition(way that its read). (i.e. it is ambiguous as to who is giving what to whom.)

Now behold the Torah completely forbade accepting their (the angels) power /elohus or rendering any service to them (i.e. idolatry) But The Holy Blessed One commanded that we send a goat on Yom Kippur to the wilderness, to the prince=Angel who has dominion over the places of desolation and destruction. And he (the goat) is a fitting (offering to) him for he (Samael) is his master and from an emanation of his potential/power comes chaos, destruction and desolation. for it is he who is the cause for the stars of swords, bloodshed, wars, quarrels, wounds, blows, alienation and destruction. And in general (this relates) to the constellation of redness=Mars. His (Samael Lord of Chaos') portion among the nations is Esav, heir of the sword and warmongering and among the animals it is the goats (seh-eerim and eezim). Demons fall within his portion/dominion as well. Called Mazeekin=destructive forces by our sages and Seh-eerim scripturally for/and so is he and his nation called; Say-ear

The intent of the 'sent goat' (i.e. the one L'Azazel) is not,khalila=heaven forfend, that we are offering him (Samael) a sacrifice rather it is to fulfill the will of our Creator who commanded us to do this (ritual). An allegory to explain (the difference) follows:

One of the King's subjects made a royal banquet in the Kings honor. Then the King commanded the banquet host 'Give a portion to my subject Mr. X.' In so doing the banquet host is not giving anything of his own to Mr. X and is certainly not trying to do Mr. X honor by serving him a portion. (In actuality) The host has given everything to the King and it is the King has sent a portion to his subject Mr. X with the banquet host serving as the Kings agent to do so. The King, loving the banquet host, intended to ingratiate the host to ALL the guests by having them ALL enjoy the banquet so that they, in turn, would praise the banquet host and not vilify/denigrate him.

and this (avoiding actual idolatry) is the reason for the lots. If the Kohen were to consecrate them (the two goats) verbally (by his own selection designating) one for HaShem and one for Azazel, then it would be as if he were serving Azazel and donating an offering to his (Azazel's )name. Instead he (the Kohen) set (standing) the two goats before HaShem at the opening of the Tabernacle as BOTH (goats) are gifts to HaShem and He, in turn gave to His servant (Samael)the portion which comes to him from HaShem.

While it is the Kohen casting the lots, it is HaShem who apportions them (i.e. determines the outcome of the lottery). This is akin to what it says: 'The lot is cast in the bosom but it's law/determination is from HaShem'. Even after the lottery the Kohen stood the goats up (again) before haShem to emphasize that BOTH goats are His and that are intent in sending one away to the wilderness is none other than to fulfill His will (i.e. to honor and serve HaShem)."

Blue= Ramban
Red= Bereshis Rabbah
Green= Pirkei D'Rebee Eliezer
Parenthesis= my own insertions to explain unfamiliar terms or to ease readability.

Schedule for Yôm Vayyôsha`

Another guest post by MAR GAVRIEL
[Originally posted Feb 27 2008. Backdated for convenience]

Just to clarify a point:

Lots of people seem to think that the practice of staying up all night, and doing what they think is called a "tikkun lel shavu'ot" or "tikkun leil shevues", is an old, widespread practice. In fact, although the practice of staying up all night is mentioned in the Zohar, and it is documented that Rav Yosef Qaro performed it, there was almost nobody performing this ritual until rather recently. And even when it did begin to become common, it wasn't the kind of lerning (and socializing) that goes in today's world. First of all, the תיקון ליל שבועות is not an activity, but a book. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when it began to become popular to do a Shovu`ôs vigil, people used to mumble the words from this book, which contains the beginning and end of each sedro, each book of Na"ch, and each tractate of the Mishno. Symbolically, reciting this stuff represents the complete Torah, but mumbling this book is not exactly "lerning" in the typical sense. When I shrai about the fact that such few people today do the Yotzrôs and Kerôvôs in the davvening on Shovu`ôs morning, I often get the following reaction: "Well, people are tired, because they have been up all night, so they don't want to say that stuff in the morning, and just want to get to sleep." Um, if staying awake all night prevents them from reciting the stuff that Ashkenazzim have been reciting for 1500 years (since before they arrived in Ashkenaz!), then who says they have to stay up all night? The whole point of staying up all night is to prepare oneself to be in a numinous state for the davvening (and leyning of the Decalogue) in the morning. It's ass-backwards and idiotic to stay up all night, and then rush through the davvening and go to sleep.

So, do I support staying up all night on Shovu`ôs? Well, actually yes-- but for a different reason, namely, that I support staying up all night on EVERY Yôm Tôv, in order both to create a numinous feeling for the morning davvening, and to create a sense of comeradery and togetherness amongst my students and friends who stay with me for Yom Tov, while the rest of the world is asleep.

For example, here is a schedule for יום ויושע, the Seventh Day of Pesahh.

7:45 PM: `Arvis. (Yes, of course with פיוטי מעריב.) With minyen, at home.

8:10 PM: Finish `arvis. Come to table. Beginning of seider. Explain what is going on. If there are symbolic foods or objects on the table, explain a little about them. Introduce everyone at the table. (I must do research about whether any communities have symbolic foods for Yom Vayyôsha`.)

8:20 PM: The rav (that is I!) says:

Why is tonight a Yom Tov, and what does it signify? Let me read you a Rashi, on Exodus 14:5, based on a boraitho in סדר עולם רבה:

ויֻגד למלך מצרים. איקטורין שלח עמהם, וכיון שהגיעו לשלשת ימים שקבעו לילך ולשוב, וראו שאינן חוזרין למצרים, באו להגידו לפרעה ביום הרביעי, ובחמישי ובששי רדפו אחריהם, וליל שביעי ירדו לים. בשחרית אמרו שירה והוא יום שביעי שלפסח. לכך אנו קורין השירה ביום השביעי.

The rabbis calculated that the unexpected miracle (nēs) of the Splitting of the Sea took place tonight, on the seventh evening counting from Pesah, and that tomorrow morning is the commemoration of the spontaneous song of praise that our ancestors sang to God upon leaving the Sea. Unlike Pesah, which God planned in advance, and told the people how to prepare for it, tonight’s miracle was something entirely different. We will have much more to say about this later, but for now, let us sanctify the day, and in doing so we will be singing the first praise of God of the incoming holiday.

Another theme of this holiday, as was mentioned in the piyyutim this evening, is the Future Redemption, and the song that will be recited at that point in time. [If in Eretz Yisro’eil, have some focus on this theme over the course of tonight’s seider; if in Hu”l, this can wait until tomorrow night, for the relevant haftoro is leyned only on the second day of Yôm Vayyôsha`.]

8:25 PM: Note that we are not reciting the berokho שהחיינו וקיימנו in tonight’s Kiddush. Although today has its own aggadic and symbolic character, it is halakhically identical to the days of Hôl Hammô`eid that have preceded it, except that the issur melokho is broader on this day. We will have more to say about this tomorrow morning.

8:26 PM: Kiddush.

8:30 PM: Serve hors d’oeuvres at this point. If any of these are symbolic foods, have a talmid explain the symbolism.

8:35 PM: Read the הגדה לליל יום ויושע. (I still haven't compiled this, but it should consist of aggadic passages about the events leading up to the Splitting of the Sea.) This activity will be conducted as follows: we all read a paragraph in unison, then a designated talmid, who has prepared that pargraph in advance, translates and explains, and then, if relevant, the entire table joins in with questions and discussion. Then we read the next paragraph in unison.

9:53: Sing רחום אתה כי גאלת.

9:55 PM: Sing פעולות אֵ-ל מה נוראות.

9:57: Wash for mattzo. (This is going to take a few minutes, because of the large amount of people around the table.)

10:00 PM: Hammautzi.

10:05 PM: A talmid will give a vort about mattzo on the last six days of חג המצות. This could be an interesting shi`ur, with source sheets, mixing hilkheso and aggadto.

10:20 PM: Bring out the chicken/vegetable soup (which must contain carrots, parsnips, celery, onions, zucchini, cauliflower, and green pepper, and optionally may contain turnips). Make some corny line about how the items floating and sinking in the soup represent the various people and chariots which God shook around (וַיְנַעֵר) in the Sea.

10:40 PM: Bring out twelve kinds of alcohol for a shot. Make some corny line about how the twelve kinds of alcoholic drink represent the twelve passageways through which (according to the medrosh) God sent the twelve tribes in their march through the Sea. Have a talmid give a brief vort about the halakhic, liturgical, and ideological diversity that separates the various Jewish communities which together form kəlal yisro’eil.

10:50 PM: Bring out the fish. (Obvious connection to Yôm Vayyôsha`.)

11:00 PM: Bring out the meat, the various vegetable soufflés and kugels, and the vegetables.

11:40 PM: Bring out the fruit for dessert.

11:45 PM: Sing various zemirôs for YômVayyôsha`. (I need to do research about this.) Also, sing אדיר הוא, which is a zemer for the entire week.

12:05 AM: מים אחרונים. Bentshen. Of course, one individual is mautzi everyone else, but it would be cool for each individual to have his or her own כוס של_ברכה, as at the Pesah seider.

12:15 AM: After-broche: על הגפן ועל פרי הגפן.

12:16 AM: The rav (that is I!) gets up, strokes his holy beard, and explains what is going to happen next.

“We are now going to move over to the living room, for the next event on the schedule. The practice of staying up and lerning all night of Shovu`ôs is well known. However, less well known is the practice of reciting the “tikkun” on the night of Yôm Vayyôsha`. Yet this practice, too, is at least a few hundred years old, and possibly older. (I should do some research regarding this practice.) It seems to me that the purpose of each of the practices is the same: to create a numinous mentality when davvening shachrəs and hearing the awesome leynen of the following morning. Just like mattan tôro, Keri’as Yam Suf is a time of great revelation, when people can point and say זה אֵ-לי ואנווהו. However, I would like to remind you all that it is by no means an obligation to stay up all night on Yôm Vayyôsha`, just as there is no obligation to do so on the night of Shovu`ôs.

Tomorrow morning’s davvening should be a very moving experience. Although the actual words of the liturgy will follow Nôsach Ashkenaz, we shall be following the custom of the community of Djerba to davven at the crack of dawn, by the shore of the sea. [[If in Manhttan, this is easy—go to Riverside Park, alongside the Husdon River. If in Jerusalem, this is a bit harder. Does the Siloam Pool, the מי השילוח, count?]] If you think that being awake all night will interfere with your ability to have kavvono during shachrəs, then you really should sleep. I warn you that we davven uncut Nôsach Ashkenaz here, and an uncut Nôsach Ashkenaz davvening on the morning of Yôm Vayyôsha` is quite long. Davvening will be beginning at around 5:35 AM, and may not end until almost 9:00 AM, or even later. I may go to sleep, or I may stay up, depending on how I am feeling. There are plenty of couches here where people can sleep, and upstairs we have four beds, which you can feel free to use, since I will be sleeping on one of the couches down here.”

I would like to note an important difference between the texts of the תיקון ליל שבועות and the תיקון ליל יום ויושע. The Shovu`ôs one contains snippets from the beginning and end of each Porosho, book of Na”kh, and tractate of Mishno, but very little actual content. The Yôm Vayyôsha` one, on the other hand, contains all the various “songs” and song-related texts of Scripture (as listed both in the medrosh and in the piyyut אי פתרוס, which we recite tomorrow morning), as well as all the mishnoyôs of tractate Yom Tov (AKA Beitzo), which has been a traditional Yôm Vayyôsha` text since Geonic times, if not earlier. If you are going to stay up all night, I encourage you all to study, and not merely recite mindlessly, the תיקון ליל יום ויושע.

However, before we begin our study, I would like to give a brief shi`ur on the structure of the Yôm Vayyôsha` morning service. I am delivering this shi`ur now, so that those who wish can go to sleep right afterwards.

12:23 AM: My shi`ur: The structure of the Shovu`ôs morning service. (Explanation of how Yōtzərōs and Kərōvōs work in general, and why we are doing Targum and Aramaic piyyutim in the middle of the leyning.) Explain what people should do if, chas ve-sholôm, they are hardcore Sepharadim or total GR”Oniks, in which case their tradition is opposed to the recitation of Yotzrəs: namely, they should very slowly recite the bərokhôs of Keri’as Shema`, and the Shema` itself, until they reach גאל ישראל; at that point, they should wait silently until the rest of us reach that point.

12:53 AM: The reading of the תיקון. We read each “song”, with trop, either in unison or by listening to a leader—or, better yet, responsively. Stand for שירת הים itself, and have a little dancing after it, inasmuch as is permitted on Yom Tov. After (or before) each “song”, have a student give a presentation about the particular song, the situation under which it was originally sung (according to the biblical text), midroshim about it, etc. Also, it should be noted whether the song is written in the biblical in the form of שירת הים (stacked like bricks), in the form of האזינו (in two long columns), or as prose. [If in Eretz Yisro’eil, put a certain amount of focus on the Song of the Future; if in Hu”l, put devote very little time to this song, because we'll deal with it on the morrow.]

3:10 AM: Chabburə in Mishnoyôs, Tractate YômTôv/Beitzo. (It is traditional to read this on יום ויושע.)

5:10 AM: Wake up (for all the people who didn’t stay up all night)! Let’s all go to the shore of the water, to davven Shaharith.

5:30 AM: Arrive at the shore of the water.

5:35 AM: Pesukei de-zimro.

6:27 AM: Silent Tefillo.

6:37 AM: Hazoras ha-Sha”tz (including the Kedushto and dukhenen, even in Hu”l).

7:30 AM: So-called “הלל בדילוג”.

[[7:45 AM: If Yôm Vayyôsha` falls out on the Shabbos of חג המצות, do Keri’as Hammegillo. Obviously, we'll be inside, rather than at the seashore, because on Shabbos we cannot carry the Torah Scrolls, prophetic scrolls, or megillo-scrolls. (If we have two megillôs, and we have enough people, it could be nice to break into two separate groups, one of which would have a man leyning the megillo, and one of which would have a woman leyning the megillo. Both men and women would be invited to be listeners at either group. Of course, we would first need to do research about whether the reading of Shir Hasshirim with a berokho requires a minyon; or whether כנופיא (a group of people, male or female) is enough, or whether even כנופיא is not needed; also we would need to see how many men or women we have present at the Shabbaton on the particular year.) Add 25 minutes to each of the times recorded below.]]

7:45 AM: So-called הוצאת תורה (really just singing of pesukim, while the sifrei thôro and the scroll for the haftoro sit under talleisəm on top of the table next to the shore of the water).

8:00 AM: Leynen. Include Targum after each posuk. (שירת הים will be recited responsively, either at this point [with the leyner repeating the congregation’s parts, כדי להוציאם מתוך הכתב], or during pesukei de-zimro.)

8:45 AM: Haftoro (with Targum after each three pesukim).

9:00 AM: So-called הכנסת תורה.

9:10 AM: Silent tefillo of Musof.

9:20 AM: Hazoras Ha-Sha”tz (including dukhenen, of course).

9:40 AM: End of davvenen. The rav makes the following announcement:

We are going to have a small kiddush here, with the wine, fruit, and mattze-meal-cakes that we brought along with us to the seashore. (Those who are tired should feel free to go back to my place right now, to sleep. I brought an extra key with me, and will give it to you folks right now.) Let us try to have everything cleaned up by 10:05 AM, so that we can get all the sifrei thôro and other ritual stuff back home soon. We will not be eating lunch immediately, because much of lunch still needs to be cooked. I would appreciate it if a few of you could help me in the kitchen from around 10:30 until around 11:30. The rest of you can hang out during this time. Make sure not to make too much noise in the living room, because many people will probably be sleeping during this time.

11:30 AM: Shi`ur outside on the mirpeset. Topic: why is there no שהחיינו on Yôm Vayyôsha`?

12:30 PM: Wake up! Lunch!

12:35 PM: “Kiddusho Rabbo”.

12:37 PM: Washing.

12:42 PM: Mattzo, with various tibbulim / “selatim”.

12:50 PM: Appetizer: Carcioffo alla Giudaia (“Jewishly-prepared artichokes”).

1:05 PM: Read the סדר קרבן מוסף של_חג המצות.

1:20 PM: Bring out the hearty vegetable soup.

1:50 PM: Read the Abravanel’s essay on the nature of different kinds of “shir”, and his examination of how שירת הים fits into these categories. Like all the other handouts, this will be vocalized and punctuated for easy liturgical reading. Each talmid will read a paragraph of the Hebrew, during which time people can glance at the facing English translation, and then the next student will read the next paragraph.

2:40 PM: Bring out the mashed potatoes, ratatouille, and meat.

3:30 PM: Read the שלש מצוות עשה piece from רבמ"ם, הלכות חגיגה א:א (about the ראייה, חגיגה, ושמחה).

3:40 PM: Have a talmid give a vort about those mitzvôs.

3:55 PM: Bring out the alu gobi.

4:15 PM: Have a talmid give a vort introducing the מאמר הזוהר for Day #1 of Yôm Vayyôsha`, as found in the סדור היעב"ץ.

4:25 PM: Read that מאמר הזוהר.

4:35 PM: Bring out an enormous watermelon, with a huge knife. Split the watermelon into two, using the knife, and say: כך קרע הקדוש ברוך הוא את הים. (OK, I admit that it’s rather corny.)

4:37 PM: Bring out the rest of the dessert.

4:55 PM: Sing zemirôs for Yôm Vayyôsha`.

5:15 PM: מים אחרונים.

5:18 PM: Bentshen. Of course, one individual is mautzi everyone else, but it would be cool for each individual to have his or her own כוס של_ברכה, as at the Pesah seider.

5:25 PM: After-broche: על הגפן ועל פרי הגפן.

5:26 PM: Stretch. Free time until minho. Please be quiet around the living-room area, because many people probably want to nap.

6:50 PM: Minho.

[[7:10 PM: If in Eretz Yisro’eil, then a brief shi`ur about something-or-other, followed by `arvis and havdolo. The Shabbaton ends at this point.]]

[[7:10 PM: If in Hu”l, shi`ur about Yôm Tôv Sheini, Sefiras Ho`ômer, and demarcation of time. Remember, this evening we will reach the milestone of the end of the first full week of ספירת העומר. And, as we know from halokho, מצוה למימני יומי ומצוה למימני שבועי. Aggadically, how does Yôm Vayyôsha` fit into the progression Pesah --> Yôm Vayyôsha` --> Shavu`ôth, which is the progression Bō --> Beshallah --> Yithrō?]]

7:55 PM: Sing מה-טבו.

8:00 PM: `Arvis. (Yes, of course with פיוטי מעריב.)

8:25 PM: Come over to the table, for another seider. Yay! Isn’t everybody hungry?

8:30 PM: The rav gives the following announcement:

This is going to be the final Yontev Kiddush of the week. Let’s start thinking about the ways in which we are moving forward from the חג המצות week, more towards חג השבועות, or the workdays/schooldays of Sefiras Ho`omer, or the rest of the calendar cycle in general. It’s hard to believe it, but in under twenty-four hours we will be hearing the Chometzdikker Borechu.

In some ways, this Kiddush is just the Kiddush of sefeikə də-yômə of YômVayyôsha`— we continue to play the conceit that yesterday might have really been the last day of חול המועד, and today is in fact Yôm Vayyôsha`, so all the mitzvôs that we performed yesterday do not count, so we must repeat them all today. That is a very bedievedike way to view Yôm Tôv Sheini—ideally, we would know what the correct day of Yôm Vayyôsha` was, but since we do not, we keep two days, bedi`eved.

Apparently, that was the view that Jews had of Yôm Tôv Sheini at some point earlier in Jewish history. However, this clearly changed at some point. Rav X declared that locations which were too far to hear the news about the proper days of Sukkoth (because the sheluhim could not travel on Yôm Kipput), even if they could hear the news about the proper days of חג המצות (and mmeilə חג השבועות, whose date is calculated from the second day of חג המצות), nevertheless had to observe two days of each of the spring holidays. It sounds like this Amora was already starting to view Yôm Tôv Sheini as a ləchatchillə.

This comes across very clearly when we start reading about the liturgy of the second days of holidays. In the end of Bavli Megillo, there is a long boraiso detailing the Torah readings for each holiday. The stammo digəmoro interrupts this boraiso after each holiday, to ask: And what do we leyn on the morrow? If day #2 were merely a bedievedike copy of day #1, we would surely leyn the same passages as on day #1. Later on, we see that the communities of Ashkənaz chose different Yôtzrôs and Kerôvôs for the second days of holidays. These liturgical choices often gave the second day a special character, separate from the first day, and when Jewish communities returned to Eretz Yisro’eil in the past few hundred years, they had to figure out how to deal with the special rituals of the second day: which rituals should they move to the first day, and which rituals should they throw out? Thus, the practice of observing one day, which had originally been a ləchatchillə, had now become a bedi`avad.

What is the special character of the second day of Yôm Vayyôsha`? Well, the piyyutim that we recited this evening, and the ones that we shall recite tomorrow morning, definitely are all about the regular themes of Yôm Vayyôsha`, Keri`as Yam Suf and the Songs. In fact, these piyyutim were written just for Yôm Vayyôsha` in general, and not specifically for the first or second day. However, the haftoro tomorrow is עוד היום בנֹב לעמד, from Isaiah 10-11, and it is all about the future redemption, which, it is said, will occur on חג המצות, just as did the redemption of Israel from Egypt at the time of Moses, and the redemption of Jerusalem from the Assyrians at the time of Isaiah. This was mentioned in the piyyutim of last night, and again in the piyyutim that we recited this evening.

The Chasidists, and possibly earlier groups, as well, caught on to this idea of this day as a holiday about the future, rather than the past; they have a special meal in the late afternoon, which they call di məshiyəch sə-idə (די משיח סעודה), which is somehow modeled on the seider of Pesah, except that it points more toward the future than to the past. We, too, will hold such a se`udo tomorrow, which will also be a way to say goodbye to the mitzvo of matzo. (The Go’ôn of Vilnə always used to have a meal in the late afternoon of this day, in order to say goodbye to that mitzvo.)

Later on in tonight’s seider, various people will have vorts to say about this day’s connection to both the past and the future. But for now, let’s deal with the present: halokho says that at the present moment we must make Kiddush. So let’s make Kiddush.

8:40: Kiddush.

8:45 PM: Serve hors d’oeuvres at this point. If any of these are symbolic foods, have a talmid explain the symbolism.

8:35 PM: Read the Haggadah for יום ויושע, in the same manner as last night.

9:00 PM: Sing יום ליבשה.

9:05 PM: Read passages about the future Redemption, and the relevance that vibrant song will have to that redemption.

9:35 PM: Sing אדיר הוא, יבנה ביתו בקרוב.

9:40 PM: Wash for mattzo. (This is going to take a few minutes, because of the large amount of people around the table.)

9:45 PM: Hammautzi.

9:50 PM: Bring out the fish fried in a mattze-mehl batter.

10:05: Bring out the stir-fry of onions, broccoli, celery, carrots, and other vegetables.

10:15: Have some lerning about Jerusalem’s survival of the Assyrian onslaught in the days of Isaiah.

10:40: Bring out the stuffed cabbage and associated potatoes.

11:00: Sing some zemirôs for Yôm Vayyôsha`.

11:15 PM: Dessert.

11:40 PM: מים אחרונים. Bentshen. Of course, one individual is mautzi everyone else, but it would be cool for each individual to have his or her own כוס של_ברכה, as at the Pesah seider.

11:48 PM: After-broche: על הגפן ועל פרי הגפן.

11:50 PM: Ten-minute stretch and breather.

12:00 AM: The rav makes the following announcement:

I know that everyone now is exhausted, but remember that we have only twenty
more precious hours of Yôm Tôv, before we go back to ordinary vokheneyge life.
Therefore, let us be strong, and try to stick together and lern Shir Hasshirim,
in a all together in a chabburə, until dawn. Again, anyone who thinks that this
will prevent him or her from being able to properly davven tomorrow should
probably just go to sleep. One can still catch over five hours of sleep tonight!

12:05 AM: All-night Shir Hasshirim chabburə.

5:30 AM: Wake up the people who didn’t stay up all night reading Shir Hasshirim.

5:35 AM: Pesukei de-zimro.

6:10 AM: Around this time, we reach Borakhu. Wake up the people who didn’t want to get up for Pesukei de-Zimro.

6:27 AM: Silent Tefillo.

6:37 AM: Hazoras ha-Sha”tz (including the Kedushto and dukhenen, even in Hu”l).

7:25 AM: So-called “הלל בדילוג”.

[[7:40 AM: If Yôm Vayyôsha` falls out on the Shabbos of חג המצות, do Keri’as Hammegillo. (If we have two megillôs, and we have enough people, it could be nice to break into two separate groups, one of which would have a man leyning the megillo, and one of which would have a woman leyning the megillo. Both men and women would be invited to be listeners at either group. Of course, we would first need to do research about whether the reading of Shir Hasshirim with a berokho requires a minyon; or whether כנופיא (a group of people, male or female) is enough, or whether even כנופיא is not needed; also we would need to see how many men or women we have present at the Shabbaton on the particular year.) Add 25 minutes to each of the times recorded below.]]

7:40 AM: Taking out the Torah Scrolls and the Prophetic Scroll.

7:50 AM: Leynen. If during the week, begin with כל הבכור. If Shabbos, begin with עשר תעשר.

8:05 AM (weekday) / 8:13 AM (Shabbos): Haftoro (with Targum after each three pesukim).

8:15 AM / 8:23 AM: Mattenas Yod.

8:25 AM: Putting back the various scrolls.

8:35 AM: Silent tefillo of Musof.

8:45 AM: Hazoras Ha-Sha”tz (including dukhenen).

9:05 AM: End of davvenen. The rav makes the following announcement:

We still have a few hours until lunch. I am going to make kiddush now, so that we do not have to starve until lunchtime. There will be snacks here at the table, so that we can have קדוש במקום סעודה. The next few hours will be hang-out time. At 9:30, a bunch of us will be playing table-games (e.g. Apples-to-Apples, and that sort of game) at the eating table. Feel free to play, or not play, or lern, or sleep. If you go out to the mirpeset, you can inhale the wonderful Yom Tov air.

11:30 AM: Gather people together for lunch.

11:35 AM: “Kiddusho Rabbo”

11:37 AM: Washing.

11:42 AM: Mattzo, with various tibbulim / “selatim”.

11:50 AM: Appetizer: Carcioffo alla Giudaia (“Jewishly-prepared artichokes”).

12:05 PM: Read the seider of how they offered some sacrifice or other in the Miqdosh. (I still haven’t yet figured out what.)

12:20 PM: Bring out the potato-leek soup.

12:40 PM: A talmid gives a shi`ur on תביאמו ותטעמו: how Shirath Hayyåm itself ties together past, present, and messianic future.

1:05 PM: Bring out the various kinds of fish.

1:30 PM: Have a talmid give a vort introducing the מאמר הזוהר for Day #2 of Yôm Vayyôsha`, as found in the סדור היעב"ץ.

1:40 PM: Read that מאמר הזוהר.

1:50 PM: Bring out the turkey, the beef, and the chicken, and the associated vegetables and potatoes.

2:35 PM: Sing zemirôs for Yôm Vayyôsha`.

2:55 PM: Bring out the desserts.

3:15 PM: מים אחרונים.

3:18 PM: Bentshen. Of course, one individual is mautzi everyone else, but it would be cool for each individual to have his or her own כוס של_ברכה, as at the Pesah seider.

3:25 PM: After-broche: על הגפן ועל פרי הגפן.

3:26 PM: Come over to the living room.

3:30 PM: Shi`ur. “ואתם כתבו לכם את השירה הזאת: The entire Torah as a song.”

4:15 PM: Get up and stretch.

4:30 PM: Minho.

4:50 PM: Məshiəch-sudə: I don’t really know what goes on at an event of this nature, so I’ll have to do some research into chsidics, and see if there are any pre-chsidic traditions regarding such a meal. The meat at the main course can be buffalo.

7:10 PM: מים אחרונים. Bentshen. Of course, one individual is mautzi everyone else, but it would be cool for each individual to have his or her own כוס של_ברכה, as at the Pesah seider.

7:17 PM: After-broche: על הגפן ועל פרי הגפן.

7:18 PM: Shi`ur: The transition between the week of חג המצות and ordinary life. A mix of hilkheso (about חמץ שעבר עליו הפסח) and aggadto (about dealing with the יצר הרע).

8:10 PM: `Arvis. Havdolo—on beer, if possible.

Is this true?

Two rumors were repeated in my presence this weekend about Rav Moshe Feinstein:

First rumor: His children had mixed seating at their weddings.

Second rumor: His granddaughters... how can I say this gently?... had very brief careers in the magazine business.

Can anyone debunk or embellish?

(Note, I am hoping the first one is true, and that second one is false, If anyone can provide the facts, I'll post them so that the next person who hears these rumors and Googles "Rav Moshe's Granddaughter" finds this post, and,with it, the truth.)

Update after forty comments: No one on this thread been able to substantiate the second rumor. All we have is a lot of 20-year old heresay, which suggests it never happened. Good.

Second Update Collected on the Internet (and posted on the comment thread): The story NEVER happened. It was a Nasty rumor put out over 30 years ago, as part of a vendetta by a low life that lost a din Torah, against a member of said family. ANYONE who was IN THE KNOW at the time Knows it NEVER happened...you can CHECK in 50 years of Penthouse, Playboy,[and]- you WONT FIND such a picture there of them - because aside from a vicious slander, it simply DOESN'T and NEVER DID exist.
Glad to hear it.

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posted April 21, 2005

I have been told that the piece below appeared in the American Yated Neeman.

A Kinus Hisorerus Concerning Bris Mila
This past Sunday evening, hundreds of people gathered at a Kinus Hisorerus concerning Bris Mila, organized by the Vaad L'Mishmeres Bris Kodesh. It took place in the Khal Bnei Ashkenaz Shul in the heart of Monsey, and was graced by Monsey's leading Rabbonim.

The evening opened with a recitation of Tehillim led by Rabbi Mordechai Berg, Menahel of Yeshiva Shaarei Arazim. The Moroh D'Asra, Rav Shraga Feivel Zimmerman, introduced the featured speaker as a leading Rosh Yeshiva and Posek in the Unites States, and as a Mohel Mumcheh, and called upon Rav Yisroel Belsky to deliver a shiur.

Rav Belsky opened with an erudite discussion of whether Metzitza B'Peh is an integral part of Mila or was instituted by Chazal to prevent sakona. He also discussed its ramifications al pi sod. He invoked the teshuva of Rav Dovid of Karlin, that regardless, the Gemara states that it is prohibited to change the Mesora of Klal Yisroel for no reason.

Rav Belsky highlighted this opinion with two vignettes.

He related that Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky informed his talmidim that the two Mohelim in Vilna who didn't do metzitza B'Peh, died from a dreaded disease of the mouth.

He recounted that when the AIDS virus was discovered, many Mohelim were scared to do Metzitza B'Peh. They asked Rav Moshe Feinstein what to do. Rav Moshe answered, "Chas V'Sholom to be mevatel it," and proclaimed "Shomer Mitzva Lo Yeidah Dovor Ra", that one doing a mitzvah will be protected. Rav Reuven Feinstein, who was present, asked his father, "Isn't it your opinion that metzitza isn't part of the Mitzvas Mila? How then can it be a source of protection?" Rav Moshe answered, "A holy Minhag is also part of a Mitzva that merits protection, even though it isn't a chiyuv." This was, and is, the approach of Poskim, regardless of the source of Metzitza.

Rav Belsky noted that a Rabbinic organization representing one thousand Rabbonim, recently proclaimed that Metzitza B'Peh is not necessary. They said that Mohelim should be persuaded to stop this antiquated and primitive practice. Their strident language was subsequently toned down in a public press release. They based their opinion on a study conducted in Israel associating Metzitza B'Peh with the deaths of infants. Their conclusion is that antibodies for herpes, found in ninety percent of the population, is the cause. This study was also cited by the Health Commissioner of NY, with the addition that of the ninety percent of people with antibodies, nine percent shed viruses in their saliva.

Rav Belsky stated that the Israeli medical profession is known for its inaccuracy and its anti-religious bias. Furthermore, the study doesn't present any proofs, only associations. One of the Mohelim even tested negative for antibodies. In a presentation to the city health commissioners, a famed pediatric urologist asserted that after examining two hundred thousand cases of Metzitza B'Peh, not even one infection was found. Rav Belsky calculated that if the statistics presented were correct, there should be five thousand cases a year, and there is not even one. When Rav Belsky presented this to the health commissioner, he replied, "Based on the statistics, transmission is inevitable."

In other words, my mind is made up; don't confuse me with the facts.

Rav Belsky countered, "We are the modern ones, basing our positions on scientific proofs and supplying statistical evidence. It is clear by the light of logic that there is no connection between Mila and infection. It is others that aren't showing cause and effect, engaging in speculation, using kindergarten-level reasoning. Their position is based on primitive emotions and antiquated superstitions." He observed that it is always Mohelim that are more cautious than doctors, delaying Brisos even when the latter say it's okay.

Rav Belsky declared that it is unprecedented for Jews to ask the government to interfere in religious practice. Even those who don't practice Metzitza B'Peh are shocked and nauseated by this. Furthermore, this approach to the government was concluded long before the unfortunate incident of the death of a child, and wasn't based on concern for this incident, but rather to further an agenda.

Rav Belsky further noted that the government is focusing on a certain Mohel. In his professional opinion, "this Mohel is the best of the best, the superstar Mohel", both in talent and in cleanliness. He has already tested negative in all blood tests. If he can be banned, then everyone else is next. Rav Belsky relayed that these forms of unfounded suspicions are a much larger disease, which will claim many more victims, and is far more contagious than any virus. Rav Belsky concluded that all gezeiros are products of our weakening in Shmiras haMitzvos. "If we will strengthen our adherence to Metzitza B'Peh, the decrees will disappear on their own."

The final speaker was Rav Zimmerman. He quoted the Gemara that states that Mitzvos such as Mila, which were done by our forefathers with Mesiras Nefesh, will always continue. That is the secret of its practice in trying circumstances, such as Communist Russia and during World War II. Even those distant from Shemiras Hamitzvos are attached to Mila, because through Mesiras Nefesh, it has become an integral part of the Jewish Soul. When someone causes the Mitzvah and traditions of Mila to be an object of scorn and mockery in the media, it is an attack on the Jewish soul. The outrage expressed by the masses and the strong and sharp speeches of their Rabbonim, are the primal scream of the Jewish soul in pain.

Rav Zimmerman asked "If there was a question, why weren't the Gedolei Yisroel, such as Rav Elyashiv, Rav Wosner and other manhigim consulted? What allows people to meet with the government and the media, with the express intent to regulate Mitzvah observance? What permits destroying the parnossa and reputation of a renowned Mohel, one that has performed seven thousand Brisos in Russia, at great personal danger and no charge? How can one take a Shliach Tzibbur and turn him into a Korban Tzibbur? How can one heap scorn on Shomrei Mitzvos and their Manhigim? How can one mock Mitzvos and Torah Sheba'al Peh?"

He answered that it comes from the hashkafa pesula of 'enlightened' individuals who consider everyone else primitive barbarians, cavemen dwelling in the dark.

Rav Zimmerman declared, "It is this hashkafa pesula and its ramifications that we are protesting tonight and proclaim 'Lo Yaaseh Kein Bimkomeinu'. It is simply not acceptable."

Rav Zimmerman quoted the commentary of Rav Shamshon Refoel Hirsch on Parshas Pinchas that peace - shalom - isn't quiet or appeasement, but rather the restoration of rights, human and divine, and the creation of harmony between Hashem and His creation. He announced, "We are here tonight to create Shalom. Shalom means; restoring the right of Kehillos to follow their Mesorah and Manhigim restoring Kvod Hatorah and Kvod Shomayim - thus creating harmony between Yisroel, Oraysa and Kudsha Brich Hu".

Rav Zimmerman related a story about the Brisker Rov and Rav Chaikin, the Rosh Yeshiva of Aix Les Ban, France. They were walking together in Switzerland, when an impressive looking figure passed by and greeted them. The Brisker Rav warmly returned the greeting. When he was later informed that this individual had caused great harm to Torah institutions, the Brisker Rav said, "Had I known, I never would have greeted him", and proceeded to communicate this individual's faults at length. Rav Chaikin, who was a noted talmid of the Chofetz Chaim asked "Isn't this loshon hora?" The Brisker Rav asked him, "If you see someone in the midst of pick pocketing, may you scream 'thief'?" Rav Chaikin answered, "Of course, if it is a to'eles, to warn the victim." The Brisker Rav concluded, "And if you see someone pick pocketing all of Klal Yisroel, isn't it also a to'eles to warn them?" So too, if people are trying to pickpocket the Mitzva of Mila and its minhagim from Klal Yisroel, it is our responsibility to warn them."

Rav Zimmerman concluded that it is our duty to increase our Emunah. He noted that external appearance and practice can be deceiving. Two Jews can wear the same Tefillin, eat the same Matzohs, and learn the same daf of Gemara, and nevertheless be different internally. "There are those who believe in the divinity of Torah Sh'Baal Peh and those who don't. There are those that believe in Mesorah and those who don't. There are those who believe in Emunas Chachomim and those who don't." Our obligation is to increase our Emunah which will hasten the Geulah. An appeal was made by the Vaad L'Mishmeres Bris Kodesh to contribute to the expensive legal fees involved in this case, by donating to "Friends of Bris Mila", PO Box 642, Brooklyn, NY 11219. Booklets documenting the facts of the case and letters from Gedolei Yisroel were distributed.

Religious police in Saudi Arabia arrest mother for sitting with a man

Religious police in Saudi Arabia arrest mother for sitting with a man
by Sonia Verma
Source: Times of London

A 37-year-old American businesswoman and married mother of three is seeking justice after she was thrown in jail by Saudi Arabia's religious police for sitting with a male colleague at a Starbucks coffee shop in Riyadh.

Yara, who does not want her last name published for fear of retribution, was bruised and crying when she was freed from a day in prison after she was strip-searched, threatened and forced to sign false confessions by the Kingdom's “Mutaween” police.

“If I want to make a difference I have to stick around. If I leave they win. I can't just surrender to the terrorist acts of these people,” said Yara, who moved to Jeddah eight years ago with her husband, a prominent businessman.

Her ordeal began with a routine visit to the new Riyadh offices of her finance company, where she is a managing partner.

The electricity temporarily cut out, so Yara and her colleagues — who are all men — went to a nearby Starbucks to use its wireless internet.

She sat in a curtained booth with her business partner in the café's “family” area, the only seats where men and women are allowed to mix.

For Yara, it was a matter of convenience. But in Saudi Arabia, public contact between unrelated men and women is strictly prohibited.

“Some men came up to us with very long beards and white dresses. They asked ‘Why are you here together?'. I explained about the power being out in our office. They got very angry and told me what I was doing was a great sin,” recalled Yara, who wears an abaya and headscarf, like most Saudi women.

The men were from Saudi Arabia's Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, a police force of several thousand men charged with enforcing dress codes, sex segregation and the observance of prayers.

Yara, whose parents are Jordanian and grew up in Salt Lake City, once believed that life in Saudi Arabia was becoming more liberal. But on Monday the religious police took her mobile phone, pushed her into a cab and drove her to Malaz prison in Riyadh. She was interrogated, strip-searched and forced to sign and fingerprint a series of confessions pleading guilty to her “crime”.

“They took me into a filthy bathroom, full of water and dirt. They made me take off my clothes and squat and they threw my clothes in this slush and made me put them back on,” she said. Eventually she was taken before a judge.

“He said 'You are sinful and you are going to burn in hell'. I told him I was sorry. I was very submissive. I had given up. I felt hopeless,” she said.

Yara's husband, Hatim, used his political contacts in Jeddah to track her whereabouts. He was able to secure her release.

“I was lucky. I met other women in that prison who don't have the connections I did,” she said. Her story has received rare coverage in Saudi Arabia, where the press has been sharply critical of the police.

Yara was visited yesterday by officials from the American Embassy, who promised they would file a report.

An embassy official told The Times that it was being treated as “an internal Saudi matter” and refused to comment on her case.

Tough justice

— Saudi Arabia’s Mutaween has 10,000 members in almost 500 offices

— Ahmad al-Bluwi, 50, died in custody in 2007 in the city of Tabuk after he invited a woman outside his immediate family into his car

— In 2007 the victim of a gang rape was sentenced to 200 lashes and six years in jail for having been in an unrelated man’s car at the time. She was pardoned by King Abdullah, although he maintained the sentence had been fair

Source: Archives

McCain Seals GOP Nomination As Romney Suspends Campaign

McCain Seals GOP Nomination As Romney Suspends Campaign

LIZ SIDOTI
AP News

Feb 07, 2008 13:04 EST

John McCain effectively sealed the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday as chief rival Mitt Romney suspended his faltering presidential campaign. "I must now stand aside, for our party and our country," Romney told conservatives.

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror," Romney told the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

Romney's decision leaves McCain as the top man standing in the GOP race, with Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul far behind in the delegate hunt. It was a remarkable turnaround for McCain, who some seven months ago was barely viable, out of cash and losing staff. The four-term Arizona senator, denied his party's nomination in 2000, was poised to succeed George W. Bush as the GOP standard-bearer.

Romney launched his campaign almost a year ago in his native Michigan. The former Massachusetts governor and venture capitalist invested more than $40 million of his own money into the race, counted on early wins in Iowa and New Hampshire that never materialized and won just seven states on Super Tuesday, mostly small caucus states.

McCain took the big prizes of New York and California.

"This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters... many of you right here in this room... have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming President. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America."

McCain prevailed in most of the Super Tuesday states, moving closer to the numbers needed to officially win the nomination. Overall, McCain led with 707 delegates, to 294 for Romney and 195 for Huckabee. It takes 1,191 to win the nomination at this summer's convention in St. Paul, Minn.

"I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating al-Qaida and terror," Romney said.

Romney acknowledged the obstacles to beating McCain.

"As of today, more than 4 million people have given me their vote for president, that's of course, less than Senator McCain's 4.7 million, but quite a statement nonetheless. Eleven states have given me their nod, compared to his 13. Of course, because size does matter, he's doing quite a bit better with the number of delegates he's got," Romney said.

The Huckabee campaign said the former Arkansas governor would push on.

"We're still in the race and we're still competing for delegates, and today demonstrates how long and windy to the White House this is," said Chip Saltsman, Huckabee's campaign manager.

Romney's departure from the race came almost a year after his formal entrance, when the Michigan native declared his candidacy on Feb. 12, 2007, at the Henry Ford Museum of Innovation in Dearborn, Mich.

Over the ensuing 12 months, Romney sought the support of conservatives with a family values campaign, emphasizing his opposition to abortion and gay marriage, as well as his support for tax cuts and health insurance that would benefit middle-class families.

"We need to teach our children that before they have babies, they get married," he told voters at his campaign events.

But he was dogged by charges of flip-flopping, a criticism that undermined the candidacy of another Massachusetts hopeful — John Kerry in 2004. In seeking to unseat Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in 1994, Romney said he would be a better advocate for gay rights than his rival and he favored abortion rights.

Throughout his campaign, Romney was questioned by voters and the media about his Mormon faith. Hoping assuage voters skeptical of electing a Mormon president, Romney gave speech on Dec. 6 in College Station, Texas, that explicitly recalled remarks John F. Kennedy made in 1960 in an effort to quell anti-Catholic bias. He vowed to serve the interests of the nation, not the church, if elected president.

In early voting Iowa, Romney sought votes by casting himself as the guardian of the Reagan-era conservative triad — a three-legged stool, as the candidate put it — of a strong national defense, strong economy and strong families.

Fueled by what would grow to more than $35 million of personal donations, his campaign hired top-notch staff in the early voting states, and Romney scored an early win when his organization topped the field at the Iowa Straw Poll in August.

By that time, the national front-runners, McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, had virtually ceded the lead-voting state to Romney.

Instead, McCain focused on New Hampshire, second on the calendar, while Giuliani employed an untested strategy of waiting out the early primary contests and instead staking his candidacy on a strong showing in the Jan. 29 Florida primary.

Romney's goal was to score back-to-back wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, clearing the field and creating momentum to roll through Florida — where he enjoyed the support of top aides to former Gov. Jeb Bush — and seal the nomination in the Super Tuesday contests.

Instead, Romney was beaten Jan. 3 in Iowa by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a former Southern Baptist minister who received an unexpected outpouring of support in the caucuses from voters identifying themselves as evangelicals.

Five days later, Romney suffered a second consecutive defeat in New Hampshire, when McCain won the primary in part with the support of independents attracted to his self-styled maverick campaign.

Romney, who headed the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, tried to cast each defeat in competitive terms, saying his second-place finishes amount to "silver medals." He also highlighted the "gold" he won in between and in the little-watched Wyoming caucuses.

Nonetheless, Romney took a cue from Huckabee's win, as well as Democrat Barack Obama's Iowa upset of rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, as a sign voters wanted change in Washington.

On the stump, he retooled his speech to harken back to the theme he broached in Dearborn, that America's future, and that of its government, were dependent on innovation. His campaign also hung new banners reading, "Washington is Broken," as well as a to-do list Romney would complete as president.

Romney and McCain went head-to-head in the Jan. 13 Michigan primary, and Romney won, in part by highlighting his background as a business consultant and venture capitalist. When McCain acknowledged what seemed to be obvious, that not all of Detroit's lost auto industry jobs would be recovered, Romney pounced.

He accused the senator of pessimism, outlining a $20 billion industry recovery package and telling audiences in economically ailing Michigan, "I will fight for every single job."

Romney also tweaked his stump speech to criticize McCain for stating that he was more familiar with foreign affairs and military matters than economic issues.

Highlighting his 25-year business career, he told audiences, "Senator McCain says the economy is not his strong suit; well, it is my strong suit."

As the calendar progressed, however, McCain picked up a big-ticket win in the Jan. 19 South Carolina primary. Romney instead focused on his victory in the Nevada caucuses the same day.

Ten days later, the two squared off again in the Florida primary, where McCain scored a major upset after winning endorsements from the state's two top elected Republicans — Gov. Charlie Crist, a popular figure who had previously said he planned to remain neutral in the race, and Sen. Mel Martinez.

The following day, Giuliani dropped out of the race and endorsed McCain. A day later, popular California Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneger announced his endorsement of McCain, reflecting a coalescing of Republican support behind the senator as he approached a Super Tuesday showdown with Romney.

Romney's final pitch was to label McCain a liberal like Clinton and Obama, a charge tantamount to heresy in the GOP. He was backed by conservative media voices like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter.

Source: AP News

UOJ's Letter

LETTER TO A RABBI [by UOJ]

My entire life I've been battling corruption in the rabbinate in all its ugly forms, shapes and colors. There is no corruption that is worse than clergy corruption.

In business, as in life, if you're astute, you realize early on, that you will get hurt by people, generally the ones "closest" to you. That's because you naturally let your guard down with people you surround yourself with. That could be family members, business associates, fellow members of your community, etc. The hurt is often perpetrated because of the trust you bestowed on your "perceived" trustworthy relationship.

Rabbinic corruption is the absolute worst form of corruption that a Jew can experience. We expect people that having dedicated their life to preaching and "practicing" the wisdom of a Torah-observant life; to simply stated, practice what you preach. So when you discover that to be a misnomer, an absolute falsehood; that the rabbi gets to selectively choose what "they" will practice, many times at the expense of the law, truth, ethics, morals, and the Halacha, you rightfully have the duty to get enraged and go to every legal length to expose this evil, especially if it hides under the guise of Halacha and cloaked in black clothing and beard....

I recently read the book "The Wicked Son" by David Mamet. He is one very proud Jew.(and a highly successful Hollywood personality)

In one of the chapters he describes the "poor shul", the shul without any donor plaques on the wall. He boldly states that any shul that has donor plaques on the wall is not a shul, a house of God, because God does not give any more credence to the rich Jew who can afford to "buy" a plaque, and one that can not.
Basically, taking that thought one step further, the "gvir" or the rich guy, while he deserves credit for donating funds to the shul; but the fact that he has wealth, or has given money, does NOT make him a better Jew. It's the corruption factor that he alludes to, whether it be money or some other source of sense of power. More so, when the corruption comes to the fore in a coverup, knowing full-well that , not only have you "sinned", you will go to any length to cover it up and sin worse than the "original sin." It's the coverup that got Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, Torah Umesorah, the Agudath Israel, Torah Temimah..........

Then we have rabbis, similar to the rabbis of the corrupt Agudath Israel, that will attempt to do anything at all to hide their attempts of coloring the truth, outright lying, creating illusions of truth; even to the extent of committing perjury in a court of law, if that's what it will take to coverup their flawed practices that are in violation of the laws of this great country, that has given us the freedom to practice our religion.

This is the issue I want to address.

Very recently I have come to know that a rabbi has performed a Kiddushin or a Jewish wedding ceremony for a couple, while the woman "was still married" to her first husband. The violation is clear. The rabbi sanctioned this marriage "under the laws of Moses and Israel" while the woman was committing bigamy in the eyes of the law of the United States of America.

This rabbi will be given the opportunity to come "clean", and admit that in fact that he subscribed to a system that is flawed and needs to be corrected. I am informed that this rabbi intends to participate, under penalty of perjury, in a massive coverup of his deeds and that ghastly process of Jewish law, that PERMITS AND SANCTIONS women to marry even though they have not been legally divorced from their previous husbands.

This rabbi, in the winter of his life, had to begin his rabbinical career anew, because he knowingly participated in a heinous coverup of other rabbinical crimes, which at this time, I choose not to disclose.

My message to this rabbi is the following:

Call Lipa Margulies, Yudi Kolko, Shea Fischman, Sheftel Neuberger, Moshe Eisemann, Shlomo Mandel, Yehuda Nussbaum, the Rebbe from Ger, A.M. Leizerowitz, A. Mondrowitz, Moshe Heinnemann, Yaakov Hopfer, Shmuel Kaminetzky, Mattisyahu Salomon, Yaakov Perlow, David Zweibel, Tzvi Berkowitz, CBS News, NBC News, ABC News, Fox News, New York Magazine, The Forward, The Brooklyn D.A., N.Y.P.D., The New York Post, The JTA, The Jewish Press, The Jewish Week, The Village Voice, The L.A. Times, The Jerusalem Post............ BEFORE you go into court and knowingly testify falsely under penalty of perjury!

The Ten Commandments, the last time I looked, considered "Thou Shall NOT Bear False Witness", right up there with "Thou Shall NOT Kill", "Thou Shall NOT Covet Your Neighbor's Wife", and "Observing the Shabbos."

The daring Rabbi Hershel Schachter has sanctioned taking to the Internet when lives are destroyed because of rabbi-molestation. Molesting the law and the truth to protect a "sin" that you committed, is rabbi-molestation. It is utter molestation of the Torah. It destroys lives and families. Call the tzaddik Rabbi Yosef Blau; verify my tenacity of going after the bad guys with a resolve that has been unmatched in recent Jewish history.

I have personally examined all the evidence; and at great personal expense and vast amounts of time, I consulted with the expert attorneys of the claimant. You have no chance of prevailing with your distortions. If you lie, even slightly, they will crucify you! They have been down this road before, and have destroyed the lie and the liar.

All I expect is that you tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth! Let the chips fall where they may!

Rabbi, I mean you no harm. As I warned the previous rabbis prior to destroying them, I am giving you the opportunity to do right. Do right for the sake of Right, for the sake of mankind, for the sake of the Torah, for the sake of whatever is left of your rabbinical career, for the sake of the organization that you sit on the bais din of, for your family, for whatever is left of your family name, and most of all for society. When a member of the clergy lies intentionally under oath to a coverup of a "crime", especially after being warned against doing that, the only member of your new next congregation will be Jonathan Pollard.

If you lie, deceive, color or discolor the truth in any manner, I will use my considerable resources and whatever means is available to me to destroy whatever is left of your reputation and will see to it that you and the bigamist are criminally prosecuted.

YOU ARE WARNED!


UOJ