Search Results for: grossman

Haggadat Hapesah: Bring Korban Pesach Back Into Your Seder!

Pre-Order Haggadat Hapesah!

December 18, 2019

WhatsApp Image 2019-12-18 at 15.34.10.jpeg

  • “What? Another Haggada!? Aren’t there enough in the market already?”
  • “Korban Pesah? Is that even relevant?”
  • “What do you mean some things will change? We’ve been doing the same Seder for 2000 years!”Haggadat Hapesah by Rabbi Avi Grossman is the first Haggada to be used at a seder with the Korban Pesach as the rightful centerpiece, and includes a remarkably familiar but updated text, simple instructions, and explanations regarding the practices that were once done at the seder and will, God willing, be renewed soon.

    Haggadat Hapesah is approved by the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi David Lau, and many other scholars.

    In order to get the first edition in stores as soon as possible, as of now copies of Haggadat Hapesah need to be paid for in advance.

    Pre-order Haggadat Hapesah here: https://forms.gle/fHsKZoqM7hpF8uAcA

Avi

״מה? עוד הגדה?! אין כבר מספיק הגדות בשוק? מה מיוחד בהגדה הזאת?״ ״קרבן פסח? זה לא רלוונטי כיום!״״מה זאת אומרת שליל הסדר ישתנה? אנחנו מסדרים את אותו הסדר כבר אלפיים שנה! זה  כל כך מבלבל.״

הגדת הפסח של הרב אב״י גרוסמן היא ההגדה הראשונה עם הנוסח וכל ההסברים לסדר שבמרכזו קרבן הפסח – שבע״ה נזכה להקריב בקרוב, אמן.
הגדת הפסח נושאת מכתבי ברכה מאת הרב הראשי לישראל הרב דוד לאו, עוד גדולים אחרים, והיא מיועדת לפתוח שיח חשוב.

כדי להוציא את ההגדה לאור לקראת הפסח הבעל׳׳ט, אנו מ״מה? עוד הגדה?! אין כבר מספיק הגדות בשוק? מה מיוחד בהגדה הזאת?״ ״קרבן פסח? זה לא רלוונטי כיום!״״מה זאת אומרת שליל הסדר ישתנה? אנחנו מסדרים את אותו הסדר כבר אלפיים שנה! זה  כל כך מבלבל.״

הגדת הפסח של הרב אב״י גרוסמן היא ההגדה הראשונה עם הנוסח וכל ההסברים לסדר שבמרכזו קרבן הפסח – שבע״ה נזכה להקריב בקרוב, אמן.

הגדת הפסח נושאת מכתבי ברכה מאת הרב הראשי לישראל הרב דוד לאו, עוד גדולים אחרים, והיא מיועדת לפתוח שיח חשוב.

כדי להוציא את ההגדה לאור לקראת הפסח הבעל׳׳ט, אנו מכינים מהדורה ראשונה לזריזים – דרך הזמנה מוקדמת.

אנחנו מחוייבים להאמין, להתפלל, ולצפות לגאולה. להאמין שיש מציאות אחרת, אידאלית, שהיא קרובה אלינו. כל השנים שעברו אמרנו ״לשנה הבאה בירושלים,״ אז השנה הזאת בירושלים.

להזמנה מוקדמת, לחץ כאן: https://forms.gle/BhBCZspbP2hfjgFT6

(בע״ה ההגדה תישלח לפני פסח הבעל׳׳ט.)

From Rabbi Avi Grossman, here.

Pesak Halacha Is Reduced to ARITHMETIC…

Two New Halachic Fallacies Defined

This entry was posted on September 18, 2019

It’s time to add two more halachic fallacies to our ongoing list. Remember, ideally, these types of arguments should not be made when trying to arrive at the true halacha.

1. Lagur Mip’nei Ish (Fearing a Man): Moses himself instructed the judges he appointed to “fear no man” (Deuteronomy 1:17), and this rule is based on the language of the verse. The basic meaning is that the judges should not fear potentially dangerous and vengeful individuals they may have to put on trial. But, on another level, the sages point out that (Sanhedrin 6-8) when rabbinical judges and decisors are called upon to render their opinions, they must be willing, when necessary, to disagree with precedent exposited by someone else, no matter his stature. That is, they should not fear any of their predecessors. For example, there are many around me today who will not entertain any opinion that goes against one of the explicit opinions of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. Now, if they wish to follow the rabbi’s decisions all the time, I can not fault them, but ideally they should at least consider disagreeing with Rabbi Yosef, much like they would consider any side of a dispute, despite those throughout the ages who held otherwise. Another example was the case of Rabbi Eisenstein, who believed that Rav Elyashiv could not be disagreed with. Of course, he does not have a problem with disagreeing with the opinions of, for example, the Shulhan Aruch and other great decisors on occasion. It is only with regard to Rav Elyashiv that he applies the fallacy.

2. In Bava Bathra 36b we find what I will dub the Plurality-Precedent Fallacy:

R’ Bibi inquired of R’ Nahman: What is the reason of those [authorities] who hold that ploughing a field [year after year] confers a presumption of ownership? — [He answered:] A man will not watch someone else plough his field without objecting. [He asked further:] And what is the reason of those who hold that ploughing a field [year after year] does not confer a presumption of ownership? — Because the owner says to himself, ‘The more he ploughs, the better it is for me.’ The inhabitants of Pum Nahara sent the following inquiry to R’ Nahman son of R’ Hisda: Will our master please instruct us whether ploughing a field [year after year] confers a presumption of ownership? He replied: R’ Aha and all G’dolei Hador, the great minds of our generation, hold that ploughing a field [year after year] does not confer a presumption of ownership. R’ Nahman son of R’ Isaac said: Is it greatness to count men? For Rav and Samuel in Babylonia and Rabbi Ishmael and Rabbi Akiba in the land of Israel hold that ploughing does confer a presumption of ownership.

Note that there are three Amora’im by the name of Nahman in this passage. R’ Nahman son of R’ Hisda followed a known ruling by many great Rabbis, and the latter R’ Nahman challenged him, pointing out that although his opinion was well-precedented, it did not take into account that the other side of the argument also had its supporters. When a true decisor is asked a question of halacha, he is not merely supposed to start counting how many authorities would side with his ruling; he must consider all of the sides, and actually draw his own objective conclusion. And yes, it would be good if his conclusion has been reached by others in the past, but that can not be the only factor. Sometimes, I get mentally frustrated reading responsa that reach their conclusions by using R’ Nahman son of R’ Hisda’s methodology without trying to show which opinion best fits with the Talmudic sources.

From Rabbi Avi Grossman, here.

‘LIFNEI IVER’: Half the Time, Kiruv Artists Are Just Efficiency Experts for Meshumadim

Hamodia’s “Inyan” (27 Av 5779, p. 32-33) interviewed Rabbi Yechiel Kessel of Kefar Zoharim (Kiruv for “Off The Derech” youth).

Rabbi  Kessel said this:

“That is the reason Rabbi Grossman invested millions of shekels in this project. All the boys here, without exception, are from chareidi homes. Every society has some ‘neshira’ – youth who leave their particular culture. But there’s a difference. When a boy grows up on Torah and mitzvos, then all his values are based on the Aseres Hadibros. When he leaves Torah, he loses all of them. And when he loses his values he turns criminal. He doesn’t know that even if you’re not chareidi, you don’t steal, because a person doesn’t steal. When a chareidi family deals with a son who is nosher, they’re dealing with a son who not only doesn’t keep Shabbos, they’re often dealing with a son who’s a criminal.

“Rabbi Grossman opened the Kefar to save these boys from criminal lifestyles. As far as teshuvah — it’s something we ultimately want, but it’s not up to us. It’s their own choice, their own bechirah. But at least they should be functional people.”

At the Kefar, the boys are given a vocation so that they no longer need to turn to crime…

Sure, “Derech Eretz precedes Torah”, says the Torah (!). As we have said before: “Those who heal such youth focus on turning them, firstly, into human beings, and rightly so. This isn’t merely about which sins are worse, but a form of “אל תרשע הרבה”.” Also, read Rabbi Hirsch quoted here. But Rabbi Kessel is speaking his mind to us all.

Let me get this straight.

  • Indeed, כל שאינו מלמד את בנו אומנות כאילו מלמדו ליסטות. But there are plenty of places to gain a vocation! If the immediate, not “ultimate” goal is not comprehensive Teshuvah, is Rabbi Kessel then in the business of creating “functional” Meshumadim? What if some of them refuse to do Teshuvah?
  • Without religion, a person shouldn’t steal? Exactly why not (including Bnei Noach)? It sounds like the traditional yeshivish twisting of מצוות שכליות/שמעיות. Furthermore, should loyal Jews, then, stop basing our values on Aseres Hadibros, Heaven forfend?!
  • I quote: “They’re dealing with a son who not only doesn’t keep Shabbos, they’re often dealing with a son who’s a criminal.” Right… Stealing = Criminal. Desecrating Shabbos ≠ Criminal. Why “often” dealing with a criminal? Unlike theft, Chillul Shabbos is a capital offense!

(I interpret “Chareidi” above as plain “religious”, as is clear from the rest of the interview.)

The articles continues (p. 36):

The Kefar stands behind the boys until they can stand on their own two feet. “There aren’t too many other institutions, even very good ones, that put this as their goal,” says Rabbi Kessel. “Our goal is to do everything possible so that our boys will build good, healthy marriages and be able to succeed in this world.”

But what about returning to Torah and mitzvos? Though this isn’t the Kefar’s stated goal, it is the ultimate rehabilitation the staff hopes for.

Rav Kessel says that more of their graduates are shomrei Torah than not. And of those who are not Torah observant when they leave the Kefar, most return to Torah observance at some point down the road.

…

There are no rules about Torah observance in the Kefar. There’s no pressure. We expect our boys to be respectful, so when the’re in the Kefar they must be shomerei Shabbos and they need to wear a kippah, but that’s it…

  • “Build good, healthy marriages” without Hilchos Niddah?! בת ישראל לא תילד את הנכרית מפני שמילדת בן לעבודה זרה.
  • What good to God is a secular’s Jew ability “to succeed in this world“?!
  • Note well: I don’t know percentages, but most ex-religious return to Torah observance “at some point”, either with or without Kiruv.

This is not chiefly about Rabbi Kessel or Kefar Zoharim. I read identical descriptions of Kiruv for “Off The Derech” youth in many publications. I am sure many of them achieve great things. And I have the same Torah disagreement with each and every one of them.

As stated in the title: Half the Time, Kiruv Artists Are Just Efficiency Experts for Meshumadim

Zehut versus Otzma Leyisrael: A Conflict of Torah Visions

Rabbi Grossman explains.

Here’s an excerpt:

What I find interesting this year is a discussion among certain backers of the Otzma Yehudit and Zehut parties. The former are scandalized by how the allegedly libertarian Zehut would, out of principle, allow private bus companies to operate on the Sabbath, if they so chose, and would allow farmers who wish to do so to raise pigs, which are seemingly anti-Torah policies, because a true religious party would seek, when in power, to strictly enforce the Biblical law against driving automobiles on the Sabbath and the rabbinic decree against raising pigs in the land of Israel. In response, the Zehutniks would argue that in the current state of affairs, it is important to secure the rights of the individual to his freedom of movement and commerce, and as long as the Sabbath drivers and travelers and pig farmers do not harm others, so be it. For his part, Moshe Feiglin, whom I have personally supported until today, argues that today, the key to bringing others closer to Judaism is not by force but by persuasion and setting a good example, not by forcing sabbath observance, but by fostering it. As he put its, an Israeli will say a blessing over a cup of water because eventually he will realize that appreciation is part of our unique culture.

I believe that this ideological difference of opinion is actually echoed in the works of the prophets, specifically, in the contrasts between the era of the Judges and the era of the Kings.

…

See the rest here.