In Honor of the 13th Yahrzeit of Rav Avraham Shapira zt"l

Rav Shapira passed away on the first day of Sukkot 13 years ago. Here he is with Rav Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l and the Lubavitcher Rebbe zt"l talking Torah:

Interview With the Chief Rabbis

Dan Margalit interviews Rabbi Avraham Shapira zt"l and Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l. How I miss these great and humble rabbis!

Suspected Attempted Terror Attack at Rav Mordechai Eliyahu's Synagogue

Wow, this was close to home:

Three Palestinians were stopped outside of a Jerusalem synagogue on Sunday morning carrying large knives.

The terrorists were approaching the Heichal Yaakov synagogue in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Kiryat Moshe that was full of worshipers who were praying their morning prayers.

The three are suspected of attempting to carry out a large attack on worshipers, they have been brought in for questioning and the investigation is ongoing.

I'm wondering who stopped them and how. Anyway, thank God they were caught. Here's a pic of the synagogue that I took a while back:

Update: Kikar Shabbat has pics of the suspects and their knives.

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu Disassociates Himself From Kashrut Orot Eliyahu

About three and a half years ago "Orot Eliyahu" was born:

A new mehadrin, super-kosher kashrut authority was launched this week from Safed, targeting the national-religious community.

The more discerning members of the crocheted kippa-wearing public will be now able to purchase fresh poultry slaughtered under the auspices of the Badatz Orot Eliyahu authority.

Badatz Orot Eliyahu is the brainchild of Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, chief rabbi of Safed, and Rabbi Ezra Sheinberg, dean of the Orot Ha’ari yeshiva in Safed.

The birds will be slaughtered in accordance with the rulings of former Sephardi chief rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, father of Shmuel, after whom the new authority is named. The nationalreligious Badatz stamp will apply to beef in the coming months.

However, starting from today, 1 Av, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu has nothing to do with "Orot Eliyahu".

FYI.

דרשת הרב מרדכי אליהו ליום העצמאות תשנז

I miss Rav Mordechai Eliyahu. I feel holier and purer just from watching this:

Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l Lighting Hanukkah Candles at the Western Wall

I miss him.

I also miss the Lubavitcher zt"l.

The Old "Shaking Hands With a Woman" Controversy

Here is an old controversy that has come up once again. You are a Jewish guy. If a woman extends her hand, are you allowed to shake it?

Rabbi Yuval Sherlo has recently answered in the affirmative. He says that embarrassing the woman by not taking her hand is a greater sin:

לכן, במקרה שבחורה מושיטה לבחור יד ללחיצת שלום (וכן להפך), איסור לחיצת היד אשר נובע מההחמרה היתירה בקרבה לעריות, נדחה מפני כבוד הבריות והלבנת פנים. מובן שעל לחיצת היד להיות רשמית בלבד, ואין לגלות בה גילויי חיבה יתרים

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner disagrees, and tells an appropriate story about Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l:

פעם נערכה לו קבלת פנים אצל מלכת אנגליה, והיא הושיטה לו ידה, אך הוא נאלם דום והצמיד ידיו לצדדיו לעיני כל בית המלוכה והטלויזיה. בערב התקבלה התנצלות מבית המלוכה על כך שהביכו אותו, ובדקו בספר הפרוטוקולים, וכתוב שאין למלכה להושיט יד לרב יהודי

Once there was a reception with the Queen of England, and she offered him her hand. However he stood silent and placed his hands at his sides in front of the Royal House and television. In the evening an apology was received from the Royal House on that they had embarrassed him. They checked the book of protocols, and there it is written that the Queen should not extend her hand to a Jewish Rabbi.

Rabbi Elyakim Levanon of Elon Moreh has also expressed his opinion on the matter. He is against shaking hands, and has called on the National Religious public to "stop searching for hard-pressed leniencies and to cease justifying ourselves".

I remember my Chabad Rabbi in New Jersey who, when offered a lady's hand, would raise his hand up to his forehead and say, "I salute you".

I am in no position to say who is correct according to Jewish Law. Practically speaking, I think that it is best not to take the lady's hand. One time it may be a little bit unpleasant, but after that people know that you are just that kind of guy and they won't put you in that situation again. One who gives his hand once, will have to give it again and again.

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu - Like Father Like Son

This is amazing! You may remember the story I told not too long ago about Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l: how he explained that Arabs, when told the truth, appreciate it.

Here his son, Rabbi Shmuel, the Chief Rabbi of Tzefat, writing in an Arab newspaper, tells the Arabs the truth and nothing but the truth! In the meantime the article is available only in Hebrew .

Dvar Torah for Chayei Sarah: Honesty is the Best Policy

In this week's Torah portion we read about Abraham's purchase of Ma'arat HaMachpela, the Patriarch's Cave, from Efron the Hittite. Here's a story that I read in volume two of the book "Avihem Shel Yisrael", a compendium of stories about Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l:



Even before the 1929 massacre of Hebron's Jewish Community by the Arabs, the Cave of the Patriarchs was closed off to the Jews. It did not matter that this was the resting place of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah. The Arabs would only let the Jews up to the seventh step of the stairs leading up to the entrance.

After Hebron was liberated by the IDF during the Six Day War, Jews were finally able to enter the Cave of the Patriarchs. Chief Rabbi Nissim sent Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu to take care of the place. Many soldiers were there. Also present were high ranking officers like Rabin, Bar Lev, and Uzi Narkis. Some important Rabbis also came to Hebron to pray at the burial place of the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish People.

The soldiers, some of them wounded, some of tired from days of battle, took a nap on the rugs that were there. Those that were hungry grabbed a bite to eat. Suddenly the Sheikh of the Cave, whose name was Jabri, started yelling at the soldiers and the commanders.

"Get out of here! You are not giving this site proper respect! We Muslims wash our hands five times before entering and remove our shoes. You Jews, have no respect: sleeping here, eating here and entering with your dirty shoes. Get out!

Seemingly, the sheikh was correct. Everyone was silent, except for one.

"Listen ya sheikh," answered him Rabbi Eliyahu in Arabic, a language familiar to him and to most of the high ranking officers. "If the king's servant comes wearing dirty clothes and serves the king food from a dirty platter in front of the the king's ministers and servants, he is certainly liable the death penalty. However, if the king's son, who hasn't seen the king for twenty years, and his father and mother miss him and cry about him at night - if this son, will show up in ragged and dusty clothes, without making an appointment, and will enter in the middle of a meeting of the king and his ministers and say, 'Father, I've come back' - he'll come to his mother and say 'Mother, I'm home' - the father and mother will surely hug him heartily, dirty clothes and all. He's their son."

"Listen ya sheikh," continued Rabbi Eliyahu. "Abraham is our father. Sarah is our mother. We feel at home here. You are the children of al-fatma, the maidservant Hagar. You are behaving here as is proper for a servant to behave, we behave here as is proper for a son to behave."

The sheikh turned red with shame and anger. He lost the argument, and in addition was called "ibn al-fatma". He returned in anger to his office.

The officers there were upset. "We want to live in coexistence and peace with the Arabs. Why did you anger him?"

The rabbi answered, "You have to tell them the truth. That's the only way they understand.

The argument continued for several minutes, until the sheikh came out of his office again. He turned submissively to Rabbi Eliyahu and said, "ya chacham, ya sidi, (wise man and master) please forgive me."

The Rabbi did not answer him. Instead he turned to the commanders and said,
"You see which language they understand. I grew up among them as a child in the Old City of Jerusalem. Tell them the truth and they understand.

Mourning Rav Eliyahu

The memory of the Rav, his Torah, good deeds, and piety, will last long after the mourning notices wither and fade away.

Rav Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l

Last night myriads of mourners packed Reines Street in Kiryat Moshe/Givat Shaul. Some of them were fortunate to be right in front of Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu's synagogue. They were able to see those delivering the eulogies. I was not among them. I showed up early for the funeral, but not early enough. Reines Street was already packed with a diverse group of people that came to pay their last respects to one of the greatest rabbis of our generation.

Like I said, it was a diverse group: National religious, "Lithuanians", Hasidim, Sephardim, traditional and even secular Jews were there. The Rabbi was a not only a great Torah scholar of great piety and a wise man, he was also a unifying force in the nation, respected by all.

He loved the nation, and the nation loved him! He was accessible. Anyone who had a question could visit him in his office. You could also catch him on Fridays outside of the Mikvah building. People would wait for him there to ask him questions after his pre-Sabbath immersion. On Sabbath you could catch him on his way back from the synagogue. On such occasions he was surrounded by admirers anxious to ask a question or to hear whatever the rabbi was saying.

He stood on the front lines against the "disengagement". Despite his prayers, the Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip were destroyed and their inhabitants were forcefully expelled from their homes. He did his best to prevent what was a violation of Torah law, a colossal tactical and strategic mistake, a crime against the communities and their inhabitants, and a crime against the Jewish people as a whole.

Rabbi Eliayahu also made his voice heard with regards to another injustice: the continuing incarceration of Jonathan Pollard. Pollard found in Rabbi Eliyahu a spiritual leader and a source of hope.

Our neighborhood was blessed by three giants of Torah: HaRav Shaul Yisraeli zt"l, HaRav Avraham Shapira zt"l and HaRav Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l. All of them were rabbinical court judges and respected authorities of Jewish law. They are gone and they have no replacement!

Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu Passes Away

He was a great Rabbi, may his memory be a blessing:

Just as Jews around the country were preparing to gather to pray for Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, word of his death arrived.

Earlier in the afternoon, it was reported that his medical condition had severely deteriorated, and that prayers were sought.

Rabbi Eliyahu was the spiritual leader of much of the religious-Zionist sector. Hospitalized for nearly a year in Shaarei Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, his condition was downgraded today to "critical,” and not for the first time. Family members were called to his bedside, and were by his side when he passed away.

No word on funeral arrangements has yet been announced.

The sage was in poor and very painful condition for several months. Two weeks ago, tens of thousands of people gathered in three different locations to pray for Rabbi Eliyahu’s health, following a similar deterioration.

His son, Tzfat’s Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, told Arutz-7’s “Preparing for Redemption” radio program at that time, “The situation is not good. Ever since last Elul [August], the rabbi has been in the emergency room, and is undergoing terrible suffering. The very fact of his long hospitalization leads to a slow deterioration; sores open, close, open... things are going backward instead of forward.”

Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu was born in 1929 in the Old City of Jerusalem; his mother was a granddaughter of the famed Ben Ish Chai. He served as Israel’s Chief Sephardic Rabbi - the Rishon LeTzion – from 1983 until 1993, together with the late Rabbi Avraham Shapira, and the two continued for years afterwards to lead the national-religious public in matters of Jewish Law and thought. He authored several works on both.

Birkat HaChama in Jerusalem

I had the privilege of davening on the rooftop of a high building this morning. A pic before we started:



Can you make out the Jerusalem Calatrava Bridge? I was careful not to look at the sun until we made the blessing. Afterwards I took this picture. Great ball(s) of fire!:



I took a few more pics from the rooftop. Here I zoomed in on the Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu's synagogue. They went out to make the blessing as well:

Rabbi Druckman, Rabbi Sherman and the Conversion Crisis (Part 10)

I saw an article in HaTzofe that gave an answer to a question that I asked in one of my previous posts on this subject. Among other things, I wanted to know what Rabbi Rosen's halachic basis was for certifying the conversions .

Here is Rabbi Rosen quoted in HaTzofe:

שניהם, בנפרד, גערו ברב דרוקמן שהבטיח לא לשנות באיוולת זו, ושניהם הורו שלא לערוך גיור מחודש ואפילו לא להחליף תעודות מחשש לחילול השם. כמובן שקבלתי בשמחה ואישרתי את כל גיורי הרב דרוקמן

My translation:

Both of them [Rabbis Shapira zt"l and Eliyahu shli"ta] , in separate, castigated Rabbi Druckman who promised not to repeat this foolishness [of signing conversion certificates for conversions where he was not present] , and both of them instructed me not to perform a renewed conversion [i.e. the converts do not have to repeat the conversion ceremony] and even not to replace the certificates for the fear of desecrating God's holy name. As is understood I received [this instruction] happily and I certified all of Rabbi Druckman's conversions.

So here it is, black on white, that the former Chief Rabbis ruled that the conversions are just fine in spite of the "forgeries", and as Rabbi Rosen wrote:

With regards to the conversions that were already performed - since in the end there were three rabbis that sat in judgment, the conversion is valid because the certificate as a document is not necessary according to Jewish law, and even if there is 'a forgery in it' this does not harm the conversion. As is understood that such a decision intrinsically implies that he who signed [Rabbi Druckman] this kind of 'forgery', and also Rabbi Avior that caused [Rabbi Druckman] to sign because of a certain interest, and is himself [Rabbi Avior] a signatory as well, there is nothing in all this to cast a personal blemish or illegitimacy to judge [on Rabbi Druckman or Rabbi Avior].

Now I need to try to understand Rabbi Sherman shli"ta and his esteemed colleagues in the Great Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem. In their ruling they quote Rabbi Rosen at length, obviously accepted what he wrote as reliable. The head of the court, Rabbi Sherman wrote:

Among all of the voluminous material that exists in the file on the conduct of the Merkaz Shapira Conversion Court, and the conduct of the Court President Rabbi Druckman and his deputy Rabbi Y. Avior, I did not find any reaction, responsum or opinion by any expert rabbinic authority to the piercing halachic questions of Rabbi Yisrael Rosen, former head of the Conversion Administration.

Nu, because they found nothing in the file they decided to answer Rabbi Rosen's questions by themselves, arriving at conclusions that have serious implications for the converts. They mention that Rabbi Rosen sent questions concerning the matter to Rabbis Shapira zt"l and Eliyahu shli"ta. However, did they bother asking Rabbi Rosen if he received an answer from the Chief Rabbis? Although the answer received from the former Chief Rabbis was apparently oral, Rabbi Sherman obviously considers Rabbi Rosen's testimony reliable since he quoted him at length, as I have already mentioned!

At his point, as far as I am concerned, the instructions of two former Chief Rabbis outweigh the deliberations of Rabbi Sherman and his court. To be continued.

Rabbi Druckman, Rabbi Sherman and the Conversion Crisis (Part 8)

In spite of the fact that there are those that disagree with me, I insist that the "forged conversion certificates" issue is important, perhaps even crucial, to understanding and perhaps solving the conversion crisis. It seems to me, a simple layman, that without "the Rabbi Rosen letters", the cases of Rabbis Atiya and Sherman for casting doubt on at least some of the conversions of the Merkaz Shapira Rabbinical Court would be much weaker.

Perhaps this post should be titled, "The Conversion Crisis: The Missing Document". It seems to me that a very important document is missing from the case. From section 6 of Rabbi Avraham Sherman's ruling we learn that Rabbi Rosen wrote a letter to former Chief Rabbis Shapira zt"l and Eliyahu shli"ta and asked the following questions (the words in square brackets were added by me for the sake of clarity):

מה לעשות עם כל "מעשי בי"ד הידועים לי כ"זיוף", ואשר טרם נמסרו למתגיירים, האם לדרוש החלפתם בחתימת השמות הנכונים?

What should be done with the conversion certificates that I know are "forgeries", but have not been passed on to the converts, should I request that they be replaced with the signatures of the correct names?

מה לעשות עם כל "מעשי בי"ד הידועים לי כ"זיוף", ואשר כבר נמסרו למתגיירים. האם לדרוש החלפתם בחתימת השמות הנכונים? (היבט חמור של חילול ה'!)

What should be done with the conversion certificates that I know are "forgeries", and have already been passed on to the converts, should I request that they be replaced with the signatures of the correct names? (A serious aspect of the desecration of God's name)

מה לעשות בעוד 120-150 "מעשי בי"ד שאותו רב פלוני חתום עליהם במהלך מחצית השנה האחרונה? האם לברר נוכחותו עם המתגיירים במישרין או בעקיפין? חשוב לציין כי אותו רב פלוני מוכר בציבור, ומתגיירים יגלו בעתיד את ה"זיוף", וכדי בזיון וקצף!

What should I do with an additional 120-150 conversion certificates that Rabbi Ploni[Druckman] is signed on during the last half year? Should I clarify his presence with the converts directly or indirectly? It is important to note that Rabbi Ploni[Druckman] is well known, and the converts will reveal the "forgery" in the future, and this will cause much humiliation and wrath [RYR is citing Esther 1:18].

האם אותם פלוני ואלמוני, יכולים להמשיך ולשבת בדין גירות?

Can Ploni [Rabbi Druckman] and Almoni [Rabbi Avior] continue to sit in the conversion court?

ונפשי בשאלתי, למי עלי לדווח או להגיש תלונה אם בכלל?

And my soul in my question [RYR is citing Esther 7:3], who should I report to and issue a complaint if at all?

Now these are heavy duty questions that were posed to two of the greatest rabbis of our generation. What was their answer? Did they answer RYR in writing? If so, does their answer include their halachic reasoning, or did they answer each question without bothering to supply sources?

Rabbi Avraham Sherman wrote in the same section of his ruling:

בכל החומר הרב שמצוי בתיק התנהלותו של בית הדין לגיור במרכז שפירא, והתנהלות אב בית הדין הרב דרוקמן וסגנו הרב י. אביאור, לא מצאתי כל תגובה, תשובה או חוו"ד של גורם רבני תורני בר סמכא, לשאלותיו ההלכתיות הנוקבות של הרב ישראל רוזן, ראש מנהל הגיור לשעבר.

Among all of the voluminous material that exists in the file on the conduct of the Merkaz Shapira Conversion Court, and the conduct of the Court President Rabbi Druckman and his deputy Rabbi Y. Avior, I did not find any reaction, responsum or opinion by any expert rabbinic authority to the piercing halachic questions of Rabbi Yisrael Rosen, former head of the Conversion Administration.

I think we can assume if the file contained an responsum from Rabbis Shapira zt"l and/or Eliyahu shli"ta, RAS would not have dismissed them in such a way. On the other hand, is RAS hinting that there was some kind of responsum in the file, but by rabbis who are not "experts" in his eyes?

Rabbi Rosen wrote in one of his letters:

With regards to the conversions that were already performed - since in the end there were three rabbis that sat in judgment, the conversion is valid because the certificate as a document is not necessary according to Jewish law, and even if there is 'a forgery in it' this does not harm the conversion. As is understood that such a decision intrinsically implies that he who signed [Rabbi Druckman] this kind of 'forgery', and also Rabbi Avior that caused [Rabbi Druckman] to sign because of a certain interest, and is himself [Rabbi Avior] a signatory as well, there is nothing in all this to cast a personal blemish or illegitimacy to judge [on Rabbi Druckman or Rabbi Avior].
After this "move" - I was calmed and did not investigate the subject further. From my perspective the affair was over.

RYR does not explicitly tell us who made this decision. If one looks at the original letter the wording is vague. It could be understood that this is the answer that he received to his letter to the Chief Rabbis, but this is certainly not stated explicitly. If RYR did receive a written response from the Chief Rabbis, this could certainly help solve the crisis. If the response was oral, I don't think that it will carry much weight. What's more, it seems strange to me that RYR would have settled for anything less than a detailed written response to the questions that he asked.

So I ask, what was their answer, and if it is in writing, where is it?

Rabbi Druckman, Rabbi Sherman and the Conversion Crisis (Part 6)

Here's my transaltion of an interesting letter to Rabbi Yisrael Rosen and his even more interesting answer as posted on the Tzomet web site (hat tip: Rav Tzair). Rabbi Rosen's response sheds much light on how Rabbi Sherman's ruling is affecting him as well as many converts. The response also raises quite a few questions and things that I would like to comment on. In the meantime I am posting it as it is without my interjections. I do not claim that this is an exact translation, although I did my best. Words in square brackets were added by me for the sake of clarity:

Dear Rabbi Yisrael Rosen.

Do you confirm what was said in your name in Rabbi Sherman's ruling concerning Rabbi Druckman and Rabbi Avior (concerning the forgeries)? If so - why did you take part in the rally in support of Rabbi Druckman? These are not vexing questions [i.e. in order to vex you] - I want to know since I learn in Rabbi Druckman's yeshiva, and it is important for me to clarify the subject from its source. Excuse [me], and thanks in advance.

The question is not clear to me.
I unqualifiedly support all of the conversions of The Conversion System, including those that were performed by the most lenient [rabbis] (and there are those that say that I am among them...).
The Conversion System is one of my life works, and ever since the ruling I walk bent over and am worried about what will be. Quite a few converts telephoned me in tears, and I had to use all of my power of persuasion in order to calm them.
I took part in the assembly of the Tzohar rabbis in order to express my support in all the conversions, including Rabbi Druckman's conversions, including the years 99-2005 that with regards to them the Great Rabbinic Court, as if it were possible, invalidated. At the end of the assembly they requested signatures - and I signed unqualifiedly.

In the [Hebrew] year of 5760, it seems to me, when I was the head of The Conversion Administration, it suddenly became clear that Rabbi Druckman occasionally signs rabbinic court rulings [i.e. conversion certificates] which he did not take part in. In the wording of the ruling it is said that the signatories confirm that the convert came before them, and that they checked him and found him suitable and he took upon himself [to fulfill] the commandments in front of them [i.e. in their presence] and the like - this wording is truly impossible for one that did not sit in judgment at all.
I did not know what to with myself because of the responsibility that was upon me, and what I must do halachically, publicly and ...legally.

I reported this to [then Ashkenazic Chief] Rabbi Lau , who was my supervisor, and at his suggestion, and perhaps it was my suggestion and with his agreement (I do not remember), I turned to [former Chief] Rabbis Shapira (of blessed memory) and Eliyahu (may he live a long life) to ask them what I should do, and similarly if I should inform these converts and give them a new rabbinic court ruling[i.e. a new conversion certificate signed by the rabbis that were really present]. In order to fulfill my administrative obligation (and perhaps [my] legal and ethical [one]), I put my questions and concerns in writing, in a letter to Rabbis Shapira and Eliyahu that was quoted in the present ruling. By the way, in my letter I accused Rabbi Avior of causing Rabbi Druckman to stumble in this [matter], and I explained the reason why he did this.

To the best of my memory both of them (in separate) called Rabbi Druckman and woke up his ear [i.e.discussed the matter with him] (I did not take part in the meetings. This is what I heard from their confidants) and he on his part promised that such events would not be repeated.
With regards to the conversions that were already performed - since in the end there were three rabbis that sat in judgment, the conversion is valid because the certificate as a document is not necessary according to Jewish law, and even if there is 'a forgery in it' this does not harm the conversion. As is understood that such a decision intrinsically implies that he who signed [Rabbi Druckman] this kind of 'forgery', and also Rabbi Avior that caused [Rabbi Druckman] to sign because of a certain interest, and is himself [Rabbi Avior] a signatory as well, there is nothing in all this to cast a personal blemish or illegitimacy to judge [on Rabbi Druckman or Rabbi Avior].
After this "move" - I was calmed and did not investigate the subject further. From my perspective the affair was over.

At the end of that year I finished my job. The file with the correspondence and its addendum remained in the offices of the rabbinic court management. Years later I heard that the file 'became thicker' with additional events that I have no knowledge of.

It is superfluous to mention, that I never raised a waggling of an argumentation that, as if it were possible, because of this deed Rabbi Druckman should be personally invalid to judge ( and perhaps to testify etc.) as the judges in the Great Rabbinic court impudently argue. It is superfluous to mention that I did not transfer anything to the media, and until I read Rabbi Sherman's ruling I did not at all know that this old material was included in it, and use was made of it that is totally out of proportion.

It is not clear to me what - and perhaps who - brought you to turn to me. In any case I saw fit to clarify [this matter] and you can make fair use of my words by distributing them, or bringing them to whoever thinks that perhaps I have a hand in this trespass.

And be a blessing,

Rabbi Yisrael Rosen

Rabbi Druckman, Rabbi Sherman and the Conversion Crisis (Part 2)

Here's an interesting question that was posed to Rabbi Yisrael Rosen and his answer:

B"H Iyar 5768, 5.08

To Rabbi Yisrael much peace,

I read the ruling that Rabbi Sherman wrote concerning the conversions, and I saw the he relied a great deal on things that you wrote as the head of the Conversion Administration about Rabbi Druckman's forged rabbinical court protocols. It seems to me that in the entire ruling these are the most serious things that are said against Rabbi Druckman and Rabbi Avior.

If you in fact stand behind the things that you wrote why did you add your signature to the announcement protesting the insult to Rabbi Druckman, after all the Rabbinic Court that wrote the insulting things just quoted the words that you wrote?!

And in general, and in general, what is the truth in connection to the ousting of Rabbi Druckman under the pressure of the ultra-Orthodox, as has been publicized?

Answer:

A. With regards to the ruling of Rabbi Sherman:

1. The ruling contains three parts: Chapters 2-5 deal with the stringent conversion policy, including the ability to retroactively invalidate a conversion fairly easily if the convert say that she did not keep [the Mitzvot] so much. The ruling casts a doubt on myriads of conversions (and their offspring), but does not invalidate them in a sweeping manner (each case should be considered on its own).

2. In chapters 6-9 the "forgery affair" of Rabbis Druckman and Avior is described. Rabbi Avior was accustomed to have Rabbi Druckman sign rabbinical court protocols which he was not present at (because without his signature the conversion would not be approved, even though three rabbis were actually present). The wording "In a council of three we sat and came before us...and we checked...and accepted the commandments in front of us etc." is not true. Details further on. Rabbi Sherman tends to personally invalidate Rabbis Druckman and Avior, and as a result all of their conversions since the year '99.

3. The third part deals with the authority of the Great Rabbinic Court regarding the Conversion Courts.

4. I totally censure the first and last part of Rabbi Sherman's ruling, and I publicized a very sharp stance against it in "Shabbat BeShabbato" (Parshat Behar). I signed with both hands on the Tzohar Rabbi's Manifest concerning this, which is completely acceptable to me, including the unqualified recognition of the conversions of Rabbis Druckman - Avior.

5. With regards to 'my part'; When it became known to me (in the year 2000 my last year as the head of the Conversion Administration) the 'sign on blind' procedure I was obligated to act by virtue of my position. In coordination with Chief Rabbi Lau, who was my supervisor, I turned to Rabbis Shapira (of blessed memory) and Eliyahu (may he live a long life) and I spread my distress before them, orally and in writing, including questions if to replace the rabbinical court protocols, and if the conversions are invalid? Both of them castigated Rabbi Druckman who promised not to repeat this way [of signing rabbinical court protocols which he was not present at] . Neither of them instructed to invalidate the conversions or to replace the rabbinical court protocols. I accepted this and I kept quiet all these years and "I closed the file" in my mind.

6. Rabbi Sherman extracted the subject from the files of the Rabbinic Court Administration that administered the conversions after me. He discovered that Rabbi Druckman continued to sign in this way. In spite of this I cannot agree to the ruling that casts a personal flaw!

7. For the sake of Rabbi Druckman's honor I prefer not to relate to the subject publicly. I know that there are those that falsely suspect me of 'collaborating' with Rabbi Sherman. I prefer to be among those that do not answer.

B. With regards to the ousting of Rabbi Druckman as Head of the Conversion Alignment

1. The story of the 'ousting' of Rabbi Druckman on the background of Rabbi Sherman's ruling and 'the encroachment of the ultra-Orthodox' as is being hinted to by the media, is a clever spin. In my opinion the source is the rabbi's advisor, and in the end this will hurt the rabbi himself.

2. The Public Service Commisioner, Shmuel Hollander (national religious) is not working in the service of the ultra-Orthodox. He informed Rabbi Druckman (as well as his assistant, Rabbi Klein) two months ago (!) that he would not continue until the end of his term because of a serious comptroller report on his performance (and the performance of his assistant) in the Conversion Alignment. The central remark with regards to Rabbi Druckman is his great absence and lack of being present, in spite of having a full time position (including a car and a driver). Since the contract expires in 6.08 the reason given was age (75).

3. To the best of my knowledge, there is no 'letter of dismissal' because of the affair of Rabbi Sherman's ruling, and there is no connection between the termination of his work to the 'ultra-Orthodox' aspect. Rabbi Druckman (or his advisor) spoke to the media about a 'focused thwarting' and a 'shameful ousting' in connection to Sherman's ruling. And it is not so! In my opinion, such claims will lead only to embarrassing the rabbi due to the revelation of unpleasant facts.

Yisrael Rosen

And a comment to slanderers: On Yom Kippur eve (!) I sent a letter to Rabbi Druckman and in it I mentioned that I will in no way be a candidate to 'inherit him', and that my criticism was not meant to undermine him, God forbid. My life's work is Machon Tzomet, and in a full time position!

Another Pic

Rav Simcha HaKohen Kook eulogizes Rav Shapira as Rav Mordechai Eliyahu listens: