Chabad Rescue (Chabad Hurricane Relief #2)

So far, Chabad claims that its sponsored rescue teams have saved 37 Jews trapped in New Orleans, about the same number of people Sean Penn saved in one day. So, what else has Chabad been doing? This:

… On Wednesday, it was Chabad’s turn to be touched when James O’connell, an intrepid and dedicated volunteer from Metro New York Search and Rescue, working closely with Chabad’s rescue mission, braved danger to salvage five Torah Scrolls from the Chabad center in New Orleans. “James was heroic in his daring,” says Sharfstein. When an additional two Torahs from the Chabad synagogue in Metairie were saved yesterday, rescue workers held an impromptu, small celebration.…

In other words, while non-Jews still needed rescue, while there were human lives to be saved, Chabad recovered Torahs from its flooded synagogues. This seems to be a violation of halakha (Jewish Law), which would mandate the saving of human life before recovery of Torah scrolls. This is also another indication that Chabad's rescue efforts are sectarian, and that Chabad's advertising of their efforts as nonsectarian amounts to fraud.

Eliot Spitzer, are you listening?

Comments

[MP]

Scott said: "This seems to be a violation of halacha"
Hmm, I thought we pretty well established that halacha was not an area of your expertise, Scotty. You not being very fluent in Hebrew - the language used by all serious halacha sources.
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2005/08/rabbi_shalom_go.html#comment-9014458

[Shmarya]

Perhaps Chabad can use that same defense before the Grand Jury.

[MP]

The grand jury would be dealing with the law of a given state, not Jewish law.

[Shmarya]

Which is the point of my post.

[rebeljew]

I don't know that Jewish law would put the same value on nonJews lives that you imply here. After all, in the recent words of a famous Gadol and posek, "Do blacks learn Torah?", and he implies that a flood is a fitting end for them.

[Memoo]

Yaaaaaawwwwnn

[Shmarya]

Late getting up from your Shabbos nap?

[Shmarya]

Ariel asked me to post the following comment for him. For some reason, TypePad sometimes – but not always! – bans his comments as comment spam.

By the grace of G-d
Shalom uBrocha!
Shmarya, you said you'll call me so we can discuss some of these issues instead of making fun of each other online, I'm still waiting, but since you didn't do so yet you are "fair game" ( :-) ) so here it goes:
1)As far as halocha is concerned they must 1st save Torah scrolls they know about located in their area before going to another part of the city (country, planet earth etc.)to save non-Jews or Jews for that matter. If you think this is wrong it's unclear what the heck you are doing in your city why aren't you in New Orleans saving people fulltime?
2)As far as state/federal/common law is concerned I'd gues they are also in the clear as long as part of the money raised for "non-sectarian" relief effort ends up benefitting all qualified people who ask for it Jews or non-Jews as long as they don't turn anyone away there is no violation of the law I doubt for example that they'd have to spend money to advertise the Chabad relief effort in say Chinese or African American oriented newspapers in New Orleans to comply with the law.
Brocha veHatzlocha!
Ktivah u'htimah toivah!
Shavua Tov!
Ariel Sokolovsky
PS. Have you ever heard the expression "amei horatzim koftzim be'rosh."?
PPS. Why are trying to play a "moiser" if you really believe that Chabad and Chareidim are full of thugs who use dirty tricks and intimidation etc. aren't you scared some "kanoi" will find a way to deal with you? (not that I aprove of such a thing , just curious).

Long Live our Master our Teacher and our Rebbe King Moshiach Forever and Ever!

[rebeljew]

It seems that in the frum world, force is the ultimate "idea" in the arena of ideas (after all other attempts at competing fail, of course). The Charedim and their kanoyim seem to run out of ideas early in the game.

[Closeted]

SDR:

Send Eliot Spitzer after the Conservative and Reform movements as well... Or, try to provide a hair-splitting distinction between Chabad's Torah rescue and these ones :)

http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/091105/new_jewish001.shtml

Katrina leaves torahs untouched; rescuers take Jewish texts to safety
By VICKI FERSTEL
vferstel@theadvocate.com
Assistant metro editor

Advocate photo by YAEL BANAI
Leatrice Adams of Baton Rouge and her brother-in-law, Dan Alexander, an evacuee from New Orleans, helped store some of the 25 sacred scrolls at Beth Shalom.
The sacred word of God -- lovingly hand-inscribed in classical Hebrew on scrolls of parchment -- was rescued Saturday from Jewish synagogues in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish.

Some of the 25 tempest-tossed torahs and other ritual objects made their way to Baton Rouge's Beth Shalom Synagogue on Jefferson Highway just as lay-led morning prayers had ended on the Jewish day of rest.

Rabbi Martha Bergadine, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Baton Rouge, her husband, Rabbi Stan Zamek of Beth Shalom Synagogue, and a group of about 13 other volunteers from both Baton Rouge synagogues and the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans traveled in a six-car caravan for the recovery effort.

The rescue, organized by Richard Lipsey of B'nai Israel and leaders of the Jewish federations of New Orleans and Baton Rouge, was attempted only after they were assured of the safety of storm victims in the area, Bergadine said.

The rescuers also enlisted the help of Rabbi David Saperstein, the social justice director of the Union for Reform Judaism, who had come to Baton Rouge from Washington, D.C. to offer financial and emotional help.

[Shmarya]

1. The Reform Movement has transparent accounting. Chabad does not.

2. The Reform Movement states clearly that some of the funds raised will be directed specifically to help Jews. The rest will go to the Red Cross, etc.

3. The Conservative Movement has always done the same.

4. But the article you posted says clearly:

"The rescue, organized by Richard Lipsey of B'nai Israel and leaders of the Jewish federations of New Orleans and Baton Rouge, was attempted ***only after they were assured of the safety of storm victims in the area,*** Bergadine said."

5. The recovery of Torah scrolls was done yesterday. Chabad did it's recovery on Wednesday, three days ***BEFORE*** this effort, while there were still many ongoing rescues of HUMAN BEINGS.

[Rebtsvi]

Yeah, the reform movement is so transparent they can't find where their monies went.

Same thing with JTS which is out of money.

There just aren't any blogs looking at what Conservative and reform jews do.

[Economist]

The president spent 3 minutes of an internationally televised speech yesterday, praising Chabad for its hurricane rescue efforts and said that while everyone was running away from the hurricane, Chabad was running toward it. "Chabad saved lives."
(Wall St. Journal TV clip of speech).

"Those who are blind to the good deeds of others are also deaf to their own soul."--A modern sage

Scott,

You have SUCH problems. Don't embarass yourself by talking about halacha you neither understand nor believe in!

OF

[Omer Freilich]

Scott,

You have SUCH problems. Don't embarass yourself by talking about halacha you neither understand nor believe in!

OF