Tzedek-Tzedek

In his weekly Shabbat morning sermon (Parshat Bemidbar), Rav Hayim Soloveichik spoke out forcefully against a recent “pashkevil” which was distributed in specific locations last week in Bet Shemesh. Rav Soloveichik told his congregants that a “pashkevil” (a public written announcement, see previous article ) had been published and distributed last week, presumably by individual residents of Bet Shemesh, which was unacceptable in both its content and its anonymity. Rav Soloveichik noted that this week’s Torah portion starts with the counting of the Children of Israel – and this reflects the fact that every member of Israel is “chashuv” – important and valuable. What makes us “chashuv” is that we keep Hashem’s Torah (halacha) and we keep to Ruach Hatorah (hashkafa).  Rav Soloveichik said that the recent struggle to retain the local makvaot (ritual baths) under the control of the Municipal Rabbinical Council, is a correct and honorable cause, and the campaign was carefully plann...

Announcement from Rabbi Dov Lipman For weeks we have been working on many fronts to preserve the mikva on Dolev to be under the Rabbanut since this is the mikva in the area of most of the dati women in RBS.  We met with members of Knesset, sent letters to the ministers involved, got messages to Rav Ovadiah Yosef and the Chief Sephardic Rabbi, and were in constant contact with the Rav HaIr and the new head of the city religious council.  In addition, a large number of you showed up today with almost no notice to have a presence at the critical meeting between the Mayor and the Rabbanim involved.    I am happy to announce that Rav Spector signed on an agreement this morning which keeps the mikva on Dolev in the hands of the Rabbanut to service the dati and hareidi women who prefer their approach and there won't be any signs dividing the mikva and the community.  The Rabbonim who had wanted to control that mikva will be given the mikva on Lachish where more of th...

By Rabbi Dov Lippman This is an update for those following the story of the struggle over the running of the Mikva on Nachal Dolev, Ramat Beit Shemesh: - Mayor Abutbol received a letter from the Minister of Religion, Yaakov Margi (Shas), that he cannot appoint a private person to oversee a public mikva. - Despite this letter, the Mayor insists that Rabbi Davidovich will oversee the mikva on Dolev and the Rabbanut will oversee the renovated mikva on Lachish. It appears likely that the Mayor will try to do so by appointing Rabbi Davidovich as an official employee of the Rabbanut. - A stormy meeting took place between the dati Rabbonim of the city and the Mayor during which the Mayor berated the Rabbis for suddenly wanting to follow the psak and leadership of Rav Ovadiah Yosef [ DM: who has been notified that the Rishon Letzion's shittot were being possulled by those supervising the "right" side of the mikva - and Rav Yosef strongly objected to that ] . - Meetings we...

The Action Committee for Integrity in Providing for Religious Services, which includes many of the most prominent Rabbis from Ramat Bet Shemesh, requested that I help the English-speaking public understand the issues encompassed in the struggle to ensure that Mikvehs provide any woman who wishes to utilize Mikveh services with amiable and Halachically-sound service which will promote Mikveh use. I may also write up some summaries in English of the material which has been publicized in Hebrew in the past several weeks; but, first of all, I wish to encourage anyone who wishes to hear the truth from someone who has studied this issue in depth, and whose purpose is simply to promote positive experiences relating to dipping in the Mikveh and other spiritual actions, to contact me by phone or Email for more details. Catriel Lev Mobile Phone: 050-205-7867 Home Phone: 02-991-4332 Email:  clev@actcom.com

[This article is published with kind permission of Catriel Lev; I publish it here in order to encourage an open debate on this issue, with all sides of the current dispute being fairly represented] Rabbi Malinowitz's Opinions on the Mikvaot Controversy, as reported by Catriel Lev I met with Rabbi Chaim Malinowitz on Monday, the 26 th  of April, 2010, to hear his opinions on the Mikvaot controversy. I request that those people interested in the situation read all of his opinions (which are listed below) carefully, and not be deterred by whatever they do not agree with; since, though I am quite certain that some of his outlook is mistaken, it seems to me that most of the disagreements are about what happened in the past, but that there are many points where his opinions as to what should be in the future are identical with what the Dati-Leumi community feels should be in the future. So, since Rabbi Malinowitz is certain that what he has stated is absolutely the way the Mikvaot s...

The issue of the contested Ramat Bet Shemesh (Dolev) Mikva has now reached the front page of a national newspaper in Israel, The Jerusalem Post... Ramat Beit Shemesh residents jostle over control of mikva Friction between two religious communities in Ramat Beit Shemesh has surfaced once again, this time over who should take responsibility for the mikve (ritual bath) in a neighborhood that is equally inhabited by both haredi and  national religious communities,  The Jerusalem Post  has learned. The tension is focusing on a mikve that opened roughly two years ago on Nahal Dolev and was divided in two last summer by the city’s Religious Council so each community could follow its own interpretation of Jewish law. Full article is at: http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=173839

By Guest Writer, Rabbi Dov Lipman Tensions are very high regarding the Mikvaot in Ramat Bet Shemesh with fears that this is only the beginning of a takeover of all Mikvaot in the city by Chareidi rabbonim. The timeline of the events is as follows: 1) A few months ago, the Mayor appointed a Rabbi from Shas to head the local religious council 2) Word got out that chareidi rabbonim were putting pressure on the new council head to transfer control over the city mikvaot in RBS (on Dolev and Lachish) to chareidi control instead of Rabbanut of the city which controls city mikavaot. 3) A group of women immediately met with the council head and with the city's chief Rabbi and both were sympathetic to the women but explained that the decision is the Mayor's alone and they should meet with the Mayor right away. 4) The women tried to meet with the Mayor who refused to meet with them. He also refused to meet with Rabbonim from the Sephardic and dati leumi camps including Rav Chayim Solo...

(Women's Mikvah - Illustrative Photo) There are numerous subcultures in Ramat Bet Shemesh – including Yemenites, Sephardim, Anglos, Chareidim/Ultra Orthodox, National Religious, “Israelis/Sabras”, French, etc..etc.. There are rarely clear-cut lines between the groups, as one person or family can belong to several subcultures; and there can be murky areas between these groupings. Perhaps the most prominent divide is between the National Religious and the Chareidim. Particularly at this time of year, which is the period of Israel's Memorial Day and Independence Day. The National Religious, usually wearing crocheted kippot/skullcaps, are flag wavers, with Israeli flags fluttering from their cars, balconies and other prominent locations. In National Religious synagogues, special services and events are held for Memorial Day and Independence Day. The Chareidim, usually wearing black (suits) and white (shirts) and black yarmulkes/skullcaps or hats, will avoid the flag-waving...