« June 2005 | Main | August 2005 »

40 posts from July 2005

July 31, 2005: How Jewish Is Chabad's Jewish Children's Museum?
Comments: 17 | Categories: Chabad , Turf Disputes
The New York Times reports: Before the [Crown Heights-based Jewish Children's M]useum opened, some Jews worried that the Lubavitchers would show only their version of Jewishness and try to make people think that was what all Jews were like. Others...

July 31, 2005: Chabad Moves In On The Council Of European Rabbis
Comments: 0 | Categories: Chabad , Haredim , Turf Disputes
The following article from Yated Ne'eman was sent to me by a reader: Last Wednesday, The [Chabad-run] Center of European Rabbis held a conference in Brussels on the state of Jewish cemeteries throughout Europe. Second and third-tier diplomats from 23...

July 31, 2005: Will A Secular Sabbath Save Israel?
Comments: 0 | Categories: Israel
Judith Shulevitz writes in Slate: Jerusalem on a summer Saturday can stun you with its sweetness—its taste of the world to come, the rabbis liked to say—or leave you sweaty and bored. It depends on how you spend it. If...

July 31, 2005: NYC's Worst Slumlords Haredi?
Comments: 0 | Categories: Haredim
GodolHador notes that this list of New York City's Top 10 List Worst Slumlords is dominated by haredim. In fact, it seems to me that (at least) 5 of the 11 are haredim. But, as GodolHador points out, what do...

July 30, 2005: Instigator Of Sharon 'Death Curse' Future King?
Comments: 9 | Categories: Chabad , Israel , Jewish Leadership
The 'Sanhedrin' headed by Chabad rabbi Adin Steinsaltz has within it the rabbi who inacted a 'death curse' - Pulsa Dinura against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. But, worse than that: … For the past several years a group called the...

July 29, 2005: Chabad To Launch 'Official' Anti-Disengagement Campaign
Comments: 8 | Categories: Chabad , Jewish Leadership
According to the Jerusalem Post, Chabad has decided to launch an official anti-Disengagement campaign: On Wednesday afternoon, the Chabad emissaries of Israel met at Nir Etzion, a kibbutz north of Tel Aviv, to launch the campaign. "This should not be...

July 28, 2005: Ha'aretz: Pulsa Dinura Ceremony Fake, Invented By Neturei Karta
Comments: 2 | Categories: Dirty Tricks , Haredim , Israel
Shahar Illan has an article in today's Ha'aretz debunking the Pulsa Dinura ('kabbalistic' death curse) ceremony. It seems that the 'ancient' ritual was made up 50 years ago by a leader of the haredim: It should be recalled that the...

July 28, 2005: The Forward On Baruch Tegegne
Comments: 0 | Categories: Ethiopian Jews , Med-Ethics, Public Health
Sheldon Gordon writes in today's Forward: When Baruch Tegegne, a Montreal resident who played a heroic role in Israel's rescue of his fellow Ethiopian Jews, found a kidney donor, he was hoping to have a transplant at the nearby Royal...

July 27, 2005: Rubashkin Mill Burns For 2nd Time In Two Days
Comments: 1 | Categories: Jewish Leadership , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal
Rabbi Moshe Rubashkin's abandoned Allentown mill has burned for the 5th time since April. The last fire at Montex Mills was Monday. The Allentown Morning Call's Daryl Nerl reports: Contractors hired by the city to dismantle part of the Montex...

July 26, 2005: Right Wing Fruitcakes On Parade
Comments: 18 | Categories: Israel
Ynet reports on the "Pulsa Dinura" (psuedo-kabbalistic death incantation ceremony) performed against Prime Minister Sharon last night by a group of right wing fruitcakes: Right-wing activists claim they had held a ‘Pulsa Dinura’ (curse) that called for the prime minister’s...

July 26, 2005: The Foundation for Biomedical Research Vrs. PETA
Comments: 1 | Categories: Kosher Scandal
The Foundation for Biomedical Research launches ad campaign against PETA in today's Variety. The campaign is aimed against PETA's celebrity spokespeople and their publicists.

July 26, 2005: Rubashkin Fire Involved Hazardous Waste – 3 Hospitalized
Comments: 4 | Categories: Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal
The fire at Aaron and Moshe Rubashkin's abandoned Allentown mill (see the post immediately below this) involved undocumented hazardous waste. According to WFMZ-TV, three people were hospitalized and the immediate neighborhood around the mill was evacuated while the fire burned....

July 25, 2005: Rubashkin's Mill On Fire – Again
Comments: 11 | Categories: Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal
Moshe and Aaron Rubashkin's mill is on fire again: ALLENTOWN, PA-July 25, 2005 — Emergency teams remained on the scene of a building fire and hazardous material situation during the noon hour in Lehigh County. The flames apparently started just...

July 22, 2005: Alter Rebbe's Son Christian Convert
Comments: 39 | Categories: Chabad , Chabad History
Ha'aretz has a stunning article on 185-year-old documents from a Russian archive proving Moshe, a son of the first Chabad Rebbe, Shneur Zalman of Liadi, converted to Christianity. The documents also note that Moshe worked as an adviser to the...

July 21, 2005: The Root Of The Slifkin Affair
Comments: 6 | Categories: Bans & Censorship , History , Jewish Leadership
Do the roots of the Rabbi Slifkin Book Ban go back to the dispute between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai? Perhaps they do. The Observant Astronomer has a post reviewing Menachem Fisch's book Rational Rabbis. He sums up Fisch's work...

July 21, 2005: Chabad: Disengagement=Holocaust, Sharon=Hitler
Comments: 3 | Categories: Chabad , Israel
Joe Schick writes: Yesterday I was walking with my wife and son on Main Street in the Kew Gardens Hills section of Queens when a middle-aged woman stuffed a flyer in my hand and told me that she was collecting...

July 20, 2005: Israel Fails To Meet Goal For Falash Mura Aliya
Comments: 11 | Categories: Ethiopian Jews , Israel , Jewish Leadership
Rabbi Dr. Yosef Burg. His wife was an 8th generation descendant of Shneur Zalman of Liadi. The JTA reports: The fingers may be pointing in different directions, but they signal the same thing — a delay in hastening Ethiopian Jewish...

July 20, 2005: The Truth About Yud Beis Tammuz
Comments: 25 | Categories: Chabad , Chabad History , Jewish Leadership
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn Chabad portrays Rebbe Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn's (hereafter, the Rayatz) decision to remain in Russia as follows: He was the only Jewish leader who chose to remain in Russia following the communist revolution, and built a network...

July 20, 2005: PETA Animal Abuse Case Hearing Postponed
Comments: 0 | Categories: Kosher Scandal
According to HamptonRoads.com: A court hearing was postponed Tuesday for two PETA employees charged with animal cruelty, illegal disposal of animal carcasses and trespassing after Ahoskie police say they saw dead animals being thrown into a grocery store trash bin...

July 15, 2005: Sudan Blog
Comments: 1 | Categories: Blogs , Refugees
Here's an up-to-date blog on the crisis in Sudan – Sudan: The Passion Of The Present.

July 15, 2005: The Truth About Chabad – It's All About The Money, Baby
Comments: 41 | Categories: Chabad
Tzivos Hashem and its Crown Heights-based Jewish Children's Museum, has honored actor Jeff Goldblum its Josef Papp award. Uriel Heilman of the Jerusalem Post interviews Goldblum at the ceremony: I ask him about his Jewish roots, and Goldblum's story seems...

July 14, 2005: Gil Student – The Unethical Censor
Comments: 17 | Categories: Blogs , Haredim , MO & Chardal
Gil Student of Hirhurim has taken to banning commenters without warning. Why? Well. some, like me, have been "disrespectful" to gedolim and/or hazal. Some, also like me, challenge his positions in ways he cannot answer. I earned this ban primarily...

July 12, 2005: Large Ethiopian Heritage Museum To Be Built In Rehovot, Israel – Among Its Founders, Baruch Tegegne
Comments: 6 | Categories: Ethiopian Jews
From Ha'aretz: … "All 21 members of the Rehovot City Council, both coalition and opposition, voted for the establishment of the center," says Abai Zaudeh, a council member and a member of Tomer's board of directors. "It's the first time...

July 10, 2005: The Rebbe Refuted
Comments: 163 | Categories: Bans & Censorship , Chabad , Haredim , Science
Mark Perakh published an extensive article refuting many of the positions taken by members of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists in its book Challenge. He has this to say about the Rebbe's letter on science and Torah: … The...

July 10, 2005: The Battle For The Rebbe's Legacy Dollars
Comments: 2 | Categories: Chabad
New York Newsday has an article about the battle for the Rebbe's legacy. (But it's really all about fundraising dollars and control of community institutions, isn't it?)

July 10, 2005: YU Rabbis On Disengagement
Comments: 11 | Categories: Chabad , Israel , Jewish Leadership
The YU Commentator has an article outlining the views of Rabbis Blau (quoting Rabbi J.B. Soleveitchik), Charlop and Lamm on Disengagement. All three rabbis agree – as do the vast majority of halakhic authorities – that no halakha prohibits Disengagement,...

July 8, 2005: Praying To The Dead, #4
Comments: 8 | Categories: Chabad
The Rebbe's 11th yartzeit is upon us and Chabad.org, the official Chabad website controlled by Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky and Agudas Chasidei Chabad has this advice for readers: Sending a Letter to the Rebbe Throughout the years, the Rebbe received hundreds...

July 8, 2005: Haredism = Lies & Deceit
Comments: 12 | Categories: Bans & Censorship , Haredim , Jewish Leadership
An important piece of disturbing information surfaced during the Rabbi Slifkin Book Ban. It seems that some haredi gedolim permitted ideas like Rabbi Slifkin's to be taught, but only for 'outreach' purposes in kiruv (outreach) seminars and at ba'al teshuva...

July 8, 2005: Why The So-Called Gedolim Are Wrong: Truth>Dogma
Comments: 1 | Categories: Bans & Censorship , Haredim , Jewish Leadership
Haredim have turned belief in the Ari's system of Kabbala into a litmus test for membership in Orthodoxy. This is a shame for many reasons, not the least of which is the misunderstanding of the Ari's place in history inherent...

July 7, 2005: The Dark Side Of Chabad
Comments: 16 | Categories: Chabad , Israel
Larry Derfner writes in the Jerusalem Post: Evidently, it was anti-disengagement saboteurs from the messianic wing of Chabad who scattered nails and oil on the highway into Jerusalem last week, says Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra. On the same day...

July 7, 2005: Multiple Terror Attacks In London
Comments: 0 | Categories: Current Affairs
Multiple terror attacks are taking place in London. Please pray for the victims.

July 6, 2005: Have You Had Problems Leaving Comments?
Comments: 0 | Categories: Blogs
TypePad went through a major reworking over the weekend, largely, it seems, to add a new "knitting template." That has resulted in degraded service, extremely slow comment posting, and other problems including the mangled headlines on this blog. TypePad assures...

July 6, 2005: The American Conservative On The Cruelty Of Factory Farming: Why Rabbis Conservatives Should Care
Comments: 0 | Categories: Kosher Scandal
The American Conservative has a cover story entitled "Cruelty On The Farm: Why Rabbis, errrr, Conservatives Should Care About Animal Cruelty." (As we all now know, rabbis do not care – tzaar ba'alei hayyim is no longer on their preferred...

July 6, 2005: Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's View On The Age Of The Universe
Comments: 16 | Categories: Bans & Censorship
Because of the renewed controversy over the banning of Rabbi Nosson Slifkin and his works, I thought it would be helpful to again summarize the position of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, z"l on the age of the universe. Rabbi Kaplan was...

July 5, 2005: More On The Politics Behind The Hummus Ban
Comments: 0 | Categories: Jewish Leadership , Kosher Business? , Kosher Scandal
From NorthJersey.com: A former chief rabbi, Mordechai Eliahu, ruled that when sesame seeds used to make the tahini paste for hummus are roasted and shelled by non-Jews, the resulting hummus is not kosher, said the aide, Rabbi David Lahiani. He...

July 4, 2005: Rabbi Aharon Feldman's Letter Embarrassment
Comments: 7 | Categories: Bans & Censorship , Jewish Leadership
Rabbi Aharon Feldman's letter on the Rabbi Nosson Slifkin ban appears below. Rabbi Feldman – who defended Rabbi Slifkin – has completely changed his postition and now opposes Rabbi Slifkin. He blames Rabbi Slifkin for the shame brought on the...

July 3, 2005: Gedolim World
Comments: 2 | Categories: Bans & Censorship , Jewish Leadership , PARODY & SATIRE
And, Gedolim Color War returns! (Funny, you can find it here, too!)

July 3, 2005: Rabbi Aharon Feldman Sells Out Rabbi Slifkin
Comments: 10 | Categories: Bans & Censorship , Jewish Leadership
Rabbi Aharon Feldman, a one-time defender of Rabbi Nosson Slifkin, has sold out and now backs the ban against Rabbi Slifkin and his books. GodolHador has written extensively on this. My thoughts on the duplicity of Rabbi Feldman, the Rosh...

July 1, 2005: Putin = Stalin Lite
Comments: 3 | Categories: Chabad , Court Jews
From the Hoover Institution: World democratic opinion has yet to realize the alarming implications of President Vladimir Putin's State of the Union speech on April 25, 2005, in which he said that the collapse of the Soviet Union represented the...

July 1, 2005: Rabbi Groner To PM Sharon: "YOU ARE CAUSING THE MURDER OF JEWS!"
Comments: 2 | Categories: Chabad , Israel , Jewish Leadership
Arutz 7 reports: Rabbi Leibel Groner, who was the personal assistant to the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson - the last Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch Chassidic sect, and someone acknowledged as a world-wide Jewish leader - shouted at Prime...

----------------------

----------------------

FailedMessiah.com is a reader supported website.

Thank you for your generous support!

----------------------

----------------------

----------------------

Search

Please Scroll Down Toward The Bottom Of This Page For More Search Options, For A List Of Recent Posts, And For Comments Rules

----------------------

Recent Posts

----------------------

FailedMessiah.com is a reader supported website. Please click the Donate button now to contribute.

Thank you for your generous support!

-------------------------

Pages

Comment Rules

  • 1. No anonymous comments.

    2. Use only one name or alias and stick with that.

    3. Do not use anyone else's name or alias.

    4. Do not sockpuppet.

    5. Try to argue using facts and logic.

    6. Do not lie.

    7. No name-calling, please.

    8. Do not post entire articles or long article excerpts.

    ***Violation of these rules may lead to the violator's comments being edited or his future comments being banned.***

Older Posts Complete Archives

Search FailedMessiah

----------------------

FailedMessiah.com is a reader supported website.

Thank you for your generous support!

----------------------

----------------------

FailedMessiah.com in the Media

RSS Feed