FailedMessiah.com

Don't Report Child Sex Abuse To Police, Leading Haredi Rabbi Says

Rabbi Nochum Eisenstein, who was the late supreme haredi leader Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv's point man on conversion to Judaism, says Elyashiv did not want most cases of child sex abuse to be reported to police – even though Elyashiv ruled in writing that credible suspicions of child sex abuse ("raglayim l'davar") must in fact be reported to police.

Does Halakha Provide An Easy Way To Avoid Many Shabbat Stove Fires?

It does. Here's what it is, and here's why your rabbi doesn't encourage you to use it.

Controversial Kosher Meat Now To Be More Widely Available

It took more than a 1,000 years to bring to fruition, but now an ancient form of kosher meat will be commercially available on wide scale for the first time since Hai Gaon – and the rabbis don't like it. 

The History You Didn't Learn In Yeshiva: The Taboo Against Eating Pig Predates The Torah And Predates Jews

Many Middle Eastern societies had strong taboos against eating pork, taboos that predate the giving of the Torah. Here's why.

Is Israel On The Verge Of Becoming A Theocracy?

Israel’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation will decide tomorrow if it will back legislation that would sometimes require Israel’s secular courts to issue rulings on the basis of halakha (Orthodox Jewish law).

OU-RCA Joint Statement On Impending Storm And Shabbat-Yom Tov Observance

The Orthodox Union (OU) and the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) have issued a joint statement on storm preparedness, Shabbat and holiday observance, and your sukkah as a large storm with high winds approaches the greater New York City area.

Risking Life In Order To Fast On Yom Kippur

“…There are [haredi rabbinic] opinions that state that a choleh [ill person], who is not currently in  danger and is eating only to prevent potential danger, should begin receiving nutrition via an IV from before the onset of Yom Kippur.…”

The Holy Blow Job And Other Tales Of Kabbalistic Healing

Amid the well-known asceticism and rituals of Rabbi Isaac Luria, better known as the Ari, and his followers – like the Kabbalat Shabbat prayers all Jewish denominations say every Friday afternoon – are some lesser-known segulot and tikkunim (signs/amulets and spiritual repairs). And some of those appear to violate the accepted halakha – like, for example, the Holy Blow Job.

Chabad Kosher, Melbourne Style

What was Chabad's standard of kosher when Rabbi Yitzchok Dovod Groner was still alive? Groner clearly covered up child sex abuse, helped abusers flee justice and enabled known pedophiles, giving them open access to the children put in Groner's care. But was Groner and his personally appointed kashrut team any better about enforcing kosher regulations? Apparently not.

Where's Your Yarmulke, Moses?

Here's a brief history of the Jewish skullcap (yarmulke, kippah) – a history that begins long after the death Moses and, for that matter, long after the deaths of Ezra, Nechemia, and even the Maccabees.

Satmar Rebbe Teaches Grade School Students The Difference Between Jews And Non-Jews

Satmar Rebbe: "What if someone walks on the street in Kiryas Joel and he finds an item that someone else has lost, and what if someone walks on the street of Monroe – do you know that there’s a place called “Monroe” by the goyim [non-Jews]? They (pointing at the kids) know that there is a village called “Monroe” by the goyim? Is there a difference [between the two areas] with regard to if one has to return the lost item? Is there a difference if it’s found in Kiryas Joel or if [it is] found in Monroe?"

Top Haredi Rabbi Orders Charities To Trash Food Meant For The Poor

The top non-hasidic haredi rabbinic leader worldwide, 102-year-old Rabbi Aharon Leib Steinman, was asked in the past few days if heter mechira vegetables can be given by a haredi charity to the poor.

Is The Ashkenazi Ban On Kitniyot A Custom Of Karaite Origin?

"…This customary stringency, or minhag, is strange, to say the least; it stands in stark contradiction to authoritative Jewish law. The Mishna (P'sahim 2:5) clearly states that only the five species of grain - two varieties of wheat and three of barley (TB P'sahim 35a) - when mixed with water can rise and leaven, defined in the Torah as hametz. The claim of one sage that rice should be added to the list is rejected out of hand by the Talmud (P'sahim 114b)..…"

Halakha Of The Day: What To Do If You're Bentching In The Home Of A Goy

"If one eats in a goy’s house or in a similar place, for example a hotel belonging to a goy, there is a discussion in Halacha about changing the Nusach of Bentching, such that instead of saying Horachamon Hu Yishlach Brocho Merubo BeBayis Hazeh, that Hashem should send blessing to this home, which according to many Poiskim is not said when eating in the home of a goy, it would be replaced by a different text…"

Hanukkah Menorah Photographed Together With Snow A Desecration Of God's Name Due To Snow's Connection To Christmas, Haredi Letter-Writer Says

A letter-writer complains to Toys-4-U, a haredi-owned toy store in Lakewood, New Jersey, that its brochure showing a Hanukkah menorah with snow might be a desecration of God's name, because snow is a symbol of "that holiday of the goyyim" – a holiday the letter-writer does not name, presumably because writing the name "Christmas" is a violation of halakha (Jewish law).

Answering The Beit Yosef's Famous Hanukkah Question

Rabbi Yosef Karo, the author of the Shulkhan Arukh, wrote an earlier work called the Beit Yosef, and is often referred to by its title. Karo asked a question several Rishonim (leading medieval rabbis) asked before him and other leading rabbis asked afterward: If the oil in the Temple menorah lasted seven days when there was only enough oil to last one day, why do we commemorate this miracle of oil on Hanukkah by lighting menorahs for eight days? Shouldn't we light them for seven? Shouldn't Hanukkah only be seven days long? The answer to Karo's famous question is actually quite simple – so simple, in fact, that almost all haredim don't have any idea what the real answer to Karo's question is.

Should You Celebrate Thanksgiving? According To Haredi Rabbis, Probably Not

Many haredi rabbis forbid or discourage the celebration of Thanksgiving and some even prohibit eating turkey on Thanksgiving because eating it makes it look as if the eater is celebrating the holiday – even if he's only eating a turkey deli sandwhich as he works in his office. Here's why haredi rabbis oppose Thanksgiving.

Bring Guns To Synagogue On Shabbat, Leading Sefardi Haredi Rabbi Rules

Rabbi David Yosef – one of the four members of Sefardi haredi Shas Party’s Council of Torah Sages and a son of its late head, Shas Party founder Rabbi Ovadia Yosef – ruled today that everyone with a valid gun license is obligated to carry a gun to and from synagogue this Shabbat.

Rabbis Steinman And Kanievsky To Haredi Schools: Don’t Teach Secular Studies, Pull Out Of Government Funding Program, Don't Pollute Children's Minds

"We must stand as a bulwark not change an inch…God forbid, do not be tempted…there's no instruction to permit [joining the state’s haredi educational framework which requires teaching secular studies] at all, and those who have joined already must break away from it, and with God's help we can continue the tradition of our ancestors and our upbringing [and] of our rabbis with no change until the coming of the righteous redeemer,” the two top haredi leaders wrote.

Top Sefardi Haredi Rabbis Overrule Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Ban Israeli Produce During Shmita Causing Firestorm

“People with vested interests, who have mehadrin [stringent] kashrut-licensing businesses whose only purpose is to squeeze money out of the weakest members of our community, charge twice or three times the value [for the imported produce]. The propaganda against heter mechira is because of the interests of kashrut-licensing businesses that want to oppress the public and want to take huge amounts of money from poor yeshiva students."

Jewish Law Was Cited As A Defense During President Clinton’s Lewinsky Scandal

An email sent to Hillary Clinton’s domestic-policy adviser Ruby Shamir during the Monica Lewinsky scandal in 1999 cites Jewish law as a defense for Clinton’s husband’s sexual encounter with Lewinsky in the Oval Office of the White House.

How Big Are Your Esrogs?

Yemenite-custom etrogs are very, very large – the larger the better. Non-hasidic haredi #2 Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky is apparently accustomed to using many different types of etrogim on Sukkot in order to cover all the different halakhic opinions and customs, similarly to way some people put on four pair of tefillin (or the way most hasidim put on two). Here's a picture that will surprise most of you:

IDF Partially Adopts Haredi Rabbinic Opinion, Shocking Many

In what is being called a precedent-setting decision, the IDF has decided to largely adhere to haredi stringencies for the shmitta (sabbatical) year, drawing sharp criticism from of Israeli farmers, most of whom, unlike haredim, have actually served in the IDF.

In Honor Of Labor Day…

In honor of Labor Day, here's a booklet explaining labor rights according to halakha – at least as the halakha was normatively understood before certain groups exploited it.

The Myth Of The Temple Menorah And The Vatican Exposed By Leading National Newspaper – With The Help Of YU Professor, Class

The menorah – the size of a human being and made of solid gold – is purportedly being held captive in the bowels of the Vatican, many Orthodox and haredi rabbis believe. But is this true?

IDF Can Indiscriminately Carpet Bomb Gaza To “Exterminate The Enemy,” Senior Zionist Orthodox Rabbi Rules

A well-known right wing rabbi with a notorious racist background has ruled that Israel may carpetbomb Gaza and completely destroy it if it wants to, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians if it so chooses.

The Forgotten Method of Eating Matzah

You are about to learn the 'best' method of eating your matzoh according to Jewish law as interpreted by haredi (and, to be fair, some 'centrist' Orthodox) rabbis. And in the process you will learn why the Jewish law these rabbis control is likely irreparably broken.

Haredim, Halakha & Sex: "It Is Better To Be Killed Than To Shake The Hand Of A Woman"

"…In the business world a handshake is considered the standard greeting for both men and women. Since one is not allowed to touch a woman as an expression of affection, a question arises if shaking hands with a woman in a business situation is permitted. Horav Moshe Feinstein zt”l maintains it is difficult to say that shaking hands is not considered an expression of affection. In another teshuva he wrote that doing so is forbidden. This is also the opinion of many other poskim. This issur still applies even if by refraining from shaking hands one will cause the woman to be embarrassed. Some poskim say it is better to be killed than to shake the hand of a woman.…"

Haredi Rabbis Rule That A Tax Cheat Can Still Write A Kosher Sefer Torah And Can Be Trusted As A Witness In A Haredi Religious Court

The rabbis ruled that a sofer (scribe) who illegally evades paying VAT or other taxes or is a known cheat in other ways is not disqualified from writing kosher Torah scrolls, tefillin, mezzuzahs and megillahs. Additionally, his halakhic trustworthiness is not compromised, the rabbis added.

YU's Rabbi Hershal Schachter Comes Out Against Women Wearing Tefillin

The rosh yeshiva (dean) of Yeshiva University's rabbinical school opposes women wearing tefillin (phylacteries), not because the Torah forbids it (it does not) but because, essentially, women didn't ask permission first and non-Orthodox women do it. "…We are headed for a civil war, a war between two systems, where these, who continue in the tradition they received from their ancestors, and say that our ancestors did not lie to us, and I also believe in complete faith, like all previous generations, that Moses received the Torah at Sinai; while these scream out loud and say that "only we are the real experts on the historical truth," and claim that with certainty that Moses did not receive the Torah at Sinai, etc... A great part of their position and manner is the claim of 'Korah Avinu' - that the entire assembly is holy, and so forth.…"

A Fearful Halakhic Decision Causes Zionist Orthodox Rabbi To Pause – Should He Do It?

A leading Zionist Orthodox rabbi is caught in the storm in freezing temperatures on Shabbat, and his power – and heat – shuts off. But it isn't a widespread power outage. Instead, it's only a breaker in his building and can be repaired with a flick of his wrist. Should he do it?

Don’t Take Donations From Known Criminals (Most Of The Time) Rabbis Say

A group of Zionist Orthodox rabbis and dayanim (rabbi-judges in the Zionist Orthodox-haredi state rabbinic court system) have ruled that it is often – but surprisingly not always – forbidden to accept charity donations given by a known criminal.

61 Years Ago Today The Prime Minister Of Israel Came Begging A Haredi Rabbi For Sanity, But The Haredi Rabbi Refused

“Two camels meet on a path, and one of the camels is weighed down with a load, and the other camel is not, the one not carrying the burden must give way to the one who is.” The moral of the parable, suggested Karelitz, was that, “We, the religious Jews, are analogous to the camel with the load – we carry a burden of hundreds of commandments. You” – secular Israel – “have to give way.”

OU Misrepresents Haredi Leader's Ruling On Child Sexual Abuse

What this OU author has done is, in effect, endorse Agudath Israel of America's false position that Rabbi Elyashiv held that all allegations of child sexual abuse must be filtered through senior haredi rabbis before police are notified, and only those rabbis have the power to allow that notification to take place.

Can A Synagogue Give A Known Pimp An Aliya?

Can a synagogue give a Torah honor to a known pimp? This question was asked of a gadol, leading haredi rabbi, and was answered. The answer may surprise you.

Haredi Man In Bag On Plane Says Rabbi Told Him To Do It

"I have known him for 25 years now. He is a retired lieutenant colonel who served in senior and classified positions in the Israel Air Force. Before Passover he flew to Israel, and because of a change in the flight he found out that he would be flying over a cemetery. He consulted a rabbi, who ruled that although the plane was a closed place, there was impurity over the cemetery and in order to deal with it – he must reach a situation of a 'container with a lid fastened on it.'"

Senior YU Rabbi Says He Didn't Try To Stop Child Sex Abuse At YU's High School Because He Could Not Be Sure Allegations Met Halakhic Threshold For Truth

Speaking at a rabbinical conference in London, England, Rabbi Hershel Schachter, the rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva University's rabbinical school, says every community should have a board of Jewish yeshiva scholars who are also psychologists. That board should screen allegation of child sexual abuse and other forms of child abuse to determine if the child [or, by extension] making the claim is lying or not. That board should decide whether or not the allegations or suspicions should be reported to police or child services. And he made a stunning admission about the child sex abuse scandal that rocked YU's affiliated high school.

15 Babies Die Every Year In NYC From Metzitzah B'Peh Herpes, Hospitals Cover Up Deaths Leading YU Rabbi Claims

Speaking at a rabbinical conference in London, England, Rabbi Hershel Schachter, the rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva University's rabbinical school, claims 15 Jewish babies die every year in the New York City area from herpes transmitted by the haredi circumcision direct mouth-to-bloody-penis-suction known as metzitzah b'peh. Schachter says that hospitals and doctors cover up these cases because otherwise the hasidim will stop coming to them.

Could A Plague Of Near-Biblical Proportion Ease Poor Israelis Hunger Pangs?

As locusts descend on Southern Israel, controversy erupts over whether or not the winged pests are kosher to eat.

Is Football Kosher?

Some rabbis ruled that boxing, because of it's high risk of serious injury including brain damage, was forbidden. But to my knowledge, no rabbi has ruled that American football is forbidden – even though the evidence that a high percentage of football players have brain damage is now clear. The brain damage causes Alzheimer's -like symptoms and an increased rate of suicide. Shouldn't playing football (or watching it, for that matter) be forbidden? If not, why not?

When Is A Woman Like A Valued Pot?

When she is governed by Jewish law – especially when that Jewish law is administered by haredim.

No Representation, No Votes: Haredi Women Threaten Not To Vote For Haredi Parties That Refuse To Put Women On Their Knesset Lists

A group of haredi women insist that haredi political parties and rabbinical leaders are intentionally "misleading the public" by claiming that Jewish law forbids women from running for public office and serving in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset.

In A First For Israel, State Rabbinic Court Denies Woman Alimony Based On Alleged Lesbian Affair

Lesbian relationships are forbidden under Jewish law but generally bear no punishment and are not viewed as severe violations, unlike homosexual sex or heterosexual marital infidelity, which both carry severe punishments. Even so, the rabbis equated the purported affair with heterosexual infidelity, which carries the biblical death penalty, forced the woman to accept a divorce and denied her alimony.

Chabad's Hanukkah Heresy

Chabad's rabbis again show that ignorance is not only bliss in Crown Heights – it's the new halakha, too.

Is This Any Way To Treat The Poor?

"…Jews believe in charity, but primarily as a private endeavor. The tithing obligation, or the dispensing of gifts to the poor in Biblical times (maasrot, leket, shikcha, pe’ah – known collectively as matnot aniyim, gifts to the poor), are all private ventures, and are not publicly coerced."

New High Tech Doors Trouble Haredi Rabbis

Two senior haredi poskim, decisors of Jewish law, Rabbis Shmuel HaLevi Wosner and Nissim Karelitz, the first hasidic and the second non-hasidic, have ruled that a new type of self-locking doors are problematic and should be avoided – but not for the reasons you might think.

A Jewish History Of Sleep

How the way humans used to sleep impacted the history of Jewish prayer.

Haredi Rabbis Ban Candle Lighting In Sukkahs

Lighting candles in a sukkah is a very unsafe practice, unless someone is going to be awake and watching over them at all times, and is prepared to put out a fire if the candles start one. Haredi rabbis have reacted to years of sukkah fires by ruling that it is better not to light Shabbat and Yom Tov candles outside in your sukkah.

Hasidim Getting Through The Yom Kippur Fast – With An IV Drip

Hasidim who are too sick or too frail to safely fast are increasingly getting hooked up to IV drips on Yom Kippur in order to keep the 'fast' – even though doing so is arguably a violation of halakha, Jewish law.

Is It Permissible To Cut The Social Safety Net Because, As Paul Ryan Claims, We “Can’t Afford” It Anymore?

Among the arguments made by Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan to support his plan to cut the social safety net for America’s poor and working poor is that America just can’t afford these social programs anymore. They cost too much. Does Jewish law support Ryan?