Abuse stems from distortion of Kabbalah

Rabbi Metzger: Abuse stems from distortion of Kabbalah

Chief rabbi addresses child abuse affair in Jerusalem, says 'this is horrifying proof of what unsupervised Kabbalah studies can lead to'

Neta Sela

04-18-2008

The disastrous results of unsupervised Kabbalah studies have reportedly led to a series of child abuse cases, Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger said Saturday.

Speaking during a Great Shabbat (the Shabbat which immediately precedes Passover) sermon in Jerusalem, Rabbi Metzger noted that Kabbalah studies by those who have yet to fully internalize the six books of the Mishnah and have yet to turn 40 years old have not been prohibited for nothing.

Even then, he said, this must only be done under the guidance of a famous rabbi with superior knowledge in mysticism.

"If, as a result of studying practical Kabbalah, this person's mind has been disrupted, and if it is true that this 'rabbi' (Elior Chen) explained this acts of abuse as a repair of the soul, this is horrifying proof of what can happen when Kabbalah is studied without being supervised and guided by the greatest sages of Israel who are known to all as having superior knowledge of Kabbalah's wisdom."

'Court has crushed symbol of freedom'

Rabbi Metzger went on to speak about his visit to the IDF base in Tze'elim last week.

"This week I met IDF regiment commanders who told me painfully about the constant drop in the number of officers and commanders enlisting to reserve duty. When we tried to understand the main cause for this phenomenon, there was an agreement that the reservists' value system is worn out, leading to a drop in the motivation for reserve duty.

"And I tell you, gentlemen, when the court crushes with its own hands a sacred Jewish value like prohibiting leavened food during Passover, this crushes the symbol of Jewish freedom.

"The 'matza' we eat in Pesach has served as a symbol of the Jewish people's freedom for 3,000 years. With it we left Egypt with the goal to immigrate to the fatherland. If we trample the flag of Jewish freedom with our own hands, we are to blame for the results. I was sorry to hear that officers refuse to serve because they don’t want to miss work days…

"When I served in the IDF, an officer would be ashamed to raise such an option, but when he sees that the values sacred to the Jewish people are being crushed, including those symbolizing the hasty Exodus in order to reach the Land of Israel which he is asked to fight for, unfortunately he does not feel the duty."

Metzger added, "I am not a legalist, and it is possible that the ruling includes different arguments explaining it, but I am puzzled by the timing of its delivery, just before the Passover holiday."

Opinion

Don’t politicize child abuse case / Rabbi Levi Brackman Horrific story of rabbi-inspired abuse must not be used to stigmatize haredi society Full story

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British Jews: Don't celebrate Israel's 60th

British Jews: Don't celebrate Israel's 60th

'We cannot celebrate birthday of state founded on terrorism… which engages in ethnic cleansing,' says group of prominent British Jews, saying time has come to recognize 'Naqba' as Palestinian equivalent to Holocaust

04-30-2008

Hagit Klaiman

On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day and a week before Israel marks its 60th Independence Day, a group of over 100 British Jews comprised of well-known academics, writers, actors and other public figures has launched a scathing attack against the Jewish state.

'We're not celebrating Israel's anniversary,' proclaimed the letter carried by the Guardian newspaper on Wednesday. Among the signatures of those claiming Israel forced 70,000 Palestinians into a Death March in 1948 are Prof. Haim Bresheeth, a professor at the University of East London who organized the call for an academic boycott against Israel, playwright Harold Pinter, Attorney Daniel Machover, who filed a lawsuit against Maj. Gen. Doron Almog, and Stephen Fry.

"We cannot celebrate the birthday of a state founded on terrorism, massacres and the dispossession of another people from their land," say the letter writers. "We cannot celebrate the birthday of a state that even now engages in ethnic cleansing, that violates international law, that is inflicting a monstrous collective punishment on the civilian population of Gaza and that continues to deny to Palestinians their human rights and national aspirations. We will celebrate when Arab and Jew live as equals in a peaceful Middle East."

"In July 1948, 70,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes in Lydda and Ramleh in the heat of the summer with no food or water. Hundreds died. It was known as the Death March. We will not be celebrating," the letter continues.

"In all, 750,000 Palestinians became refugees. Some 400 villages were wiped off the map. That did not end the ethnic cleansing. Thousands of Palestinians were expelled from the Galilee in 1956. Many thousands more when Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza. Under international law and sanctioned by UN resolution 194, refugees from war have a right to return or compensation. Israel has never accepted that right. We will not be celebrating."

'Israel responsible for attacks on Sderot'

In an interview with Ynet Prof. Haim Bresheeth rejected any claim that the letter was in any way anti-Semitic.

"I don't understand why the signatories are being accused of anti-Semitism and support of terrorism. None of those who attached their names to the letter supports harming civilians or senseless victims on both sides," he said.

"We want Israel and the Palestinians to live side by side in peace, without missiles, without Qassams and without warplanes hovering above. I want to live in Palestine, without killing on both sides.

"Israel is unwilling to talk to Hamas, which won the democratic elections. Hamas on the other hand, is willing to talk to Israel so long as it withdraws from all the territories."

Bresheeth accused Israel as being responsible for the situation in the territories:

"The real terror is the one Israel has inflicted on the Palestinians for 40 years now, the terrorism of a strong state against a relatively weak organization. We are pushing the Palestinians into a corner where they have no choice by the attacks. We must not do this, the fact that the government of Israel cannot ensure the safety of its residents and the safety of Sderot is solely its own fault."

Israel's ambassador to Britain, Ron Proser, responded to the letter:

"Israel is a democratic nation where anyone can speak their mind and freely criticize anything with virtually no restraints, but when a ground such as this one, of Jews and former Israelis, sums up 60 years of Israeli existence with hate slogans like these – they deserve to be denounced and even ostracized.

"We are proud of the marvelous achievements Israel and the Jewish people have accomplished in our 60 years of existence and we will not allow this harebrained group to spoil our celebration."

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Women must not wear pants even when alone: Rabbi Aviner

Women must not wear pants even when alone: Rabbi Aviner
One of Religious Zionism's most prominent leaders defines trousers as a 'self-prohibition,' says women 'must dress modestly also when alone and in the dark'

05-02-2008

Rabbi Levi Brackman

Women must not wear pants even when they are home alone, Rabbi Shlomi Aviner has ruled.

Aviner, Beit El's rabbi and one of Religious Zionism's most prominent leaders, was asked in a cellular Q&A session published in the "Small World" bulletin, "When a girl goes to relieve herself at night, is she allowed to say the 'Asher Yatzar' ('he who formed') prayer while wearing a short-sleeved shirt and trousers?"

The rabbi replied that it is permitted to say the prayer in such a case, but added that "in general, a woman must always wear modest clothes even when she is alone and in the dark, because the Holy one blessed be he is everywhere. And yes, trousers are a self-prohibition even when a woman is alone."

Meanwhile, Rabbi Israel Rosen, head of the Tsomet Institute, has claimed an article published in synagogues over the weekend that "too much modesty leads women to the opposite direction, from abstinence to immorality."

According to the rabbi, this is "an axiom which applies to people who have experienced leaps forward and sharp transitions in their religious conduct throughout their lives."

Rabbi Rosen also slammed the haredi norm to omit names of women from newspapers and from invitations, comparing it to the veil phenomenon in Muslim countries

"For so-called modesty reasons, the woman is only presented as 'his wife', nameless, veiled, and my heart twitches," he wrote in a weekly column published in synagogues over the weekend. "Is there no psychological connection between the hypocrisy of concealing the name and hiding the face under the 'Taliban-style' veil?"

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