tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43713579892542146182024-03-18T03:02:59.436+00:00If You Tickle Us...... boy do we laughIfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.comBlogger264125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-53203444187112049142022-12-27T18:25:00.007+00:002022-12-28T06:36:01.812+00:00Of Making Many Books<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6uFfiTUtvtSb9LE6EC_aB72Jy1Tw2iVo4IA61D3OYZi0iy1lUix_dR73W0JlvlAO5y1rXMr0EF9ZpXeypj9H3KIZKBz9tPzXXixdy3kwWpDyiYaTj_lAkB-R3gq-ucUIJJCmKD04BajPm-FgcZU-D7UQeJiXW9rBFkdKCCz4G9QWU2DPToZ-ugZjgA/s517/Books%20blog,%20heading.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="52" data-original-width="517" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6uFfiTUtvtSb9LE6EC_aB72Jy1Tw2iVo4IA61D3OYZi0iy1lUix_dR73W0JlvlAO5y1rXMr0EF9ZpXeypj9H3KIZKBz9tPzXXixdy3kwWpDyiYaTj_lAkB-R3gq-ucUIJJCmKD04BajPm-FgcZU-D7UQeJiXW9rBFkdKCCz4G9QWU2DPToZ-ugZjgA/s16000/Books%20blog,%20heading.JPG" /></a></div></div>And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end (Ecclesiastes 12:12)<p></p><p><br /></p><p>A pdf version of this essay <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xeP5Cf2MRrP9kV-br1ZiT4jj4GXNOy9D/view?usp=sharing">can be downloaded here</a></p><p><i><b><span>[*] Years in brackets refer to an individual’s or book author’s year of birth</span></b></i></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Thought experiment for the day: Anyone born 1945 would be pushing towards 80 and mostly past their prime. So name any Charedi sefer written by someone born post war that has or is likely to enter the canon, be it haloche, lomdus, al hatorah or mussar. Single one will do for now</p>— IfYouTickleUs (@ifyoutickleus) <a href="https://twitter.com/ifyoutickleus/status/1552332670679523328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p><span style="float: left; font-size: 70px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 50px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">A</span> <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/ifyoutickleus/status/1552332670679523328">tweet in the summer</a> which gained some traction asked for a book by an author born from 1945 onwards that has entered the Torah and rabbinic canon or is heading in that direction. I didn't exactly phrase it this way and some quibbled about 'canonisation'. The word does indeed have a precise meaning though in its popular use it has no narrow definition. Canonisation, or ‘entering the canon’ is generally understood to refer to a book which has gained wide recognition if not acceptance and near-universal reverence and adulation. Alternatively referred to as a ‘classic’, it could refer to anything from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales or any work by William Shakespeare to contemporary creations like the Harry Potter series. In its original sense the canon refers to certain hallowed religious works like the bible, which though not the subject here, still blends the original meaning with its contemporary popular use.</p> <p>I was referring to written works in the field of Torah that have garnered near-universal acceptance and recognition within Charedi communities and from where they usually filter into the Orthodox Jewish world at large. For, rightly or wrongly, what is revered in Charedi communities will generally gain acceptance amongst Torah scholars in the non-Charedi world (yes, such scholars do exist), but which is not necessarily the case in reverse. Save for some notable exceptions – Kehati mishnayos ([*]1910) come immediately to mind – books on Torah subjects from outside the Charedi world do not very often breach the Charedi ghetto walls. Rav Kook (1865) and Rav J.B. Soloveitchik (1893) are a case in point. Both Torah luminaries in their own right, both prolific writers who trod a very non-Charedi path and both remain firmly beyond the pale for probably the majority of Charedim.</p> <p>One argument advanced in the replies was that it's too early to judge. Books, the argument goes, are like a fine wine. They need time to mature and often will not reach their full potential within the author's lifetime. So given my relatively limited and recent timespan, a shortage of canonisation candidates at this point in time should not come as too much of a surprise.</p> <p>My reply to this is that firstly, even if a work has not yet soared to stratospheric heights, the period since 1945 is still long enough for a book to have gained sufficient traction for an imprecise discussion like this. Moreover, there are plenty of exceptions to this generalisation and which firmly disprove the notion that death is a necessary precondition for immortality. <i>Mishne Berureh</i> (1838) took off immediately on publication and the Chazon Ish (1878) had achieved renown already within his lifetime when he was known by the title of his eponymous works. Even closer to our time, <i>Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchoso</i> (1927) was established as a classic well within its author’s lifetime, notwithstanding the controversy upon its initial publication and the sanitisation, or “chumreh-isation”, process it was required to undergo in later editions to make it more palatable for the times.</p> <p>Furthermore, we are by now well into the fourth generation of those born in 1945, and given our young marriage age some may already be closing in on a fifth generation, so sufficient generational gaps have opened up during this period to allow for an author's work to gain fame and recognition. The seforim <i>Chofetz Chaim</i> and <i>Shemiras Haloshen</i> were published when the author was not yet 40 and the first two volumes of <i>Mishne Berureh</i> were published before the same author had turned 50, while the first volume of <i>Chazon Ish</i> was published when its author was a mere 33 years old. By contrast, someone born even in 1965 is now approaching their 60th birthday and it is legitimate to ask where is the magnum opus of the post-war generations and what masterpiece have we produced to show to ourselves and to the future as the fruits of the endeavours of our era?</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">This is a great question. I’m pretty stumped. Does ArtScroll shas or ArtScroll Siddur count?</p>— robertatweet (@robertadrive) <a href="https://twitter.com/robertadrive/status/1552335175954096128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <p>
Most commenters indeed understood the gist of my question and the responses, which were far more numerous than I had anticipated, provide a fascinating insight. What, however, shed most light was not any long or shortlist, but the paucity of serious contenders in the first place and the surprise shortage of worthy candidates. As one respondent put it, the question left him "pretty stumped". Truth said, I was stumped myself when the question first popped into my head and I'm happy to admit that that was my very point. So let's get some stuff clear.</p><p><b><span style="float: left; font-size: 70px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 50px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">I</span></b> am after a work credited to an individual on a Torah subject, be it <i>al hatorah, shas, </i>halakha<i>, lomdus, shalos utshuvos, machshove, mussar, </i>or whatever Torah subject the author has chosen to write on. As I’ll go on to explain, our generation has produced some remarkable works by committee which will likely last for a long time but that’s not what this tweet was about. I’m after that work that is authoritative and revered, or one simply acclaimed as “genius”, which despite the overuse of that label still gives an idea of the how the work is popularly perceived. A Reb Akiva Eiger, <i>Pnei Yehoshua</i>, <i>Noda Biyehudah</i>, <i>chidushim </i>of Reb Chaim or Reb Shimen and countless others that fill the shelves in our shuls and homes. Books that are as known to Bar Mitzvah boys in those circles where they’re gifted seforim as they are to wizened and furrowed brows. Admittedly, not every classic perfectly fits this description and such lists almost invite disagreement by their very nature. Yet it should still not prove too difficult to compile even a contentious and invidious list if there was an abundance of candidates.</p> <p>I chose the year 1945 because it is a watershed year in general and much more so for the Jewish people. Not only was it the end of the most catastrophic war in human history, but for Jews it was also the beginning of a new universe. If we ever came close to a <i>tabula ras</i>a, a wiped slate - I hesitate to use the more common phrase, clean slate, in this context - 1945 must be it. It marks a clear dividing line between what was on the one hand the culmination of the most calamitous half decade for the Jewish nation when countless communities were annihilated and an entire way of life eradicated, but which was also the beginning of a prolonged Jewish golden age. From the rebirth of Jewish life after the carnage of the Holocaust and the creation of the State of Israel to the rebuilding of destroyed communities by Holocaust survivors and others across the world, 1945 truly marked, particularly for Jews, the end of the worst of times and the start of the best of times.</p> <p>For the purpose of this post, the year 1945 also set off an explosion of Torah study and Torah institutions in Israel, the United States, Europe and elsewhere, reaching the unprecedented numbers we are experiencing today. And not just in pure demographic terms as measured by the populace of Orthodox Jewry and Charedim, but even more so in the exponential growth of dedicated Torah students, those who colloquially "sit and learn", making Torah study in one form or another their lifelong occupation.</p> <p>Someone born in 1945 would have come of age in the 1960s by when this Torah revolution was already well under way with the establishment of chadorim, boys’ and girls’ schools, yeshivas, seminaries and kollelim all created and nourished in this new era. Like never before, these institutions took root in a friendly environment where they were permitted to thrive with almost no hindrance by the authorities and broader citizenry and often with the strong support of national and local governments. And so, after several generations nurtured in this hospitable climate, it is fair to take stock and ask, what have we to show for this on the Torah intellectual front?</p> <p>My enquiry is not a value-based question and if, for better or for worse, a sefer has "made it" then it must be included. <i>Oz Ve'Hodor Levusho</i> on tznius by R. Eliyohu Falk (1944) would have deserved a place as a classic of our time, but for the fact that the author missed the nominated period by a whisker. Whether or not one approves of its content, is hardly the issue. The fact is that the sefer is a constant point of reference on a central preoccupation of contemporary Charedi life. Just ask the countless women who've been driven up the creek and the children who've been denied a place in schools on the back of this work.</p> <p>And so getting back to the question in my tweet, it would seem from the generated responses, that the answer, alas, is not much. Sure, some names kept cropping up. <i>Minchas Osher</i> by R. Osher Weiss (1953) seems a strong contender for the future, especially when the current fad for chumrehs has fizzled out. <i>Badei Hashulchon</i> by the recently departed R. Feivel Cohen (1937) was a warranted strong presence, although strictly speaking it is outside the date range. Its volumes are regularly spotted on the laden tables of almost any half decently stocked shul or shtiebel and they often feature as highlights in seforim sales. <i>Piskei Tshuvos</i> by R. Simcha Rabinowitz (c.1950s) was another strong contender with a fair number of mentions. There were also some nominations for <i>Nitei Gavriel</i> by R. Gavriel Tzinner (c. mid to late 1940s) which due to its many volumes, down-to-earth style and encyclopaedic coverage of minhogim has garnered wide recognition. Another nomination given to me privately was <i>Chelkas Binyomin</i> on Yoreh De’oh by R. Binyomin Cohen (son of the aforementioned R. Feivel Cohen) which is written and laid out in a similar style to <i>Mishneh Berureh</i> and which, according to the nominator, may in its field of Yoreh De’oh even surpass <i>Mishneh Berureh</i> in its parallel field of Orach Chaim. I’m not in a position to judge, though for the time being I think it would probably fail purely on recognition terms since both the book and its author are hardly household names and the sefer is not regularly seen or cited. There was then a variety of seforim getting one or two shoutouts plus, this being twitter, a fair amount of facetious suggestions too. Whatever the case, the addition or substitution of one or two nominations will hardly make a dent in the general picture because in total the point has been far better made than I could have envisaged when posing the question.</p> <p>Near enough to eighty years or over three-quarters of a century of an almost unrivalled golden age of Torah and it would appear that we have abysmally failed. An explosive demographic, hundreds of millions if not billions raised in finance for Torah institutions, buildings erected on every other corner, yet when we try to evaluate the fruits to assess what those children have turned into and what those astronomical sums have bought us, the answer is, not that much. Our raison d'etre is Torah, yelled at us in piercing decibels, "TOIREH! TOIREH! TOIREH!" but try weighing up that Torah in tangible intellectual output by those People of the Book doing little else but poring over those books and you draw close enough to a blank.</p> <p>Whether at best or at worst, we have barely more than a handful of indisputable classics by an individual born and raised in this era and within those even fewer that are actually innovative and which take our understanding and knowledge significantly further than where we were before. What is glaringly absent in almost all the nominations is a work of true scholarship by an individual that has gained near-universal adulation. A work where a subject is evaluated, where previous texts are engaged with and, dare I say, even criticised, or at the very least critiqued. I'm not saying that such works do not exist, but from the replies submitted it would appear that if our times have indeed produced a work of this calibre then it must be a very well-kept secret that has not come to the attention of many.</p> <p>Even amongst the nominated titles, very few of them are <i>al hatorah</i>, none on <i>shas</i>, none on <i>mussar</i>, none on <i>drush</i>, none on <i>machshoveh </i>and almost all to a tee are on halakha. And <i>Minchas Osher</i> aside, even the halakha seforim are not so much applying and adapting halakha to modern circumstances, but are either kvetching each se'if in Shulchan Oruch for the last available chumreh, or merely amalgamating, reformulating and re-ordering what is already known and has been continuously said over the years numerous times.</p><p>It is as if the entire Torah has been entered into a giant database and all we are doing is applying ever more creative searches and then re-sorting and re-filtering the results. And once those results are returned, the author runs off to the usual roster of Gedolim and Rebbes for an approbation beginning "How esteemed is the day" to see yet another re-arrangement of the same material. Well, the day may be esteemed but our times are anything but. For if the answer to most <i>shalehs </i>nowadays is negative, not much is required to justify that stance. And in an age when even some of the most prominent poskim respond to <i>shalehs </i>monosyllabically or with a nod, why should anyone make the effort to provide reasoned decisions which no one will ever read and even fewer act upon?</p> <p>To illuminate the point, it is useful to take the parallel period of seventy-seven years pre-, rather than post-, 1945, and compare seforim written by anyone born in the years between 1867 and 1944. Those generations were of course cruelly cut short by the Holocaust and yet they gave us (in reverse chronological order) <i>Shmiras Shabbos Kehilchoso</i> (1927), <i>Tzitz Eliezer</i> (1915), <i>Shevet Halevi</i> (1913) <i>Minchas Yitzchok</i> (1902) and <i>Igros Moshe</i> (1895) all on halakha. That period also produced giants of the stature of the Brisker Rov (1886) and the Chazon Ish (1878), each individually an author of classical works, and Reb Elchonon Wasserman (1874) whose <i>Kovetz Shiurim</i> and other works remain popular in the yeshiva world. In other fields there is <i>Sharei Aharon</i> <i>al hatorah</i> (1932) and <i>Be'er Moshe</i> (1889) also <i>al hatorah</i> but Chasidic interpretations. Also on Chasidus, there’s <i>Nesivos Sholom</i> (1911) which is considered a classic in its field. On <i>mussar </i>there is <i>Chovas Hatalmidim</i> (1889) first published in 1932 and whose popularity isn't related to the author's Holocaust martyrdom, while on <i>machshovo </i>and hashkofo there is Rav Dessler's (1892) <i>Michtav M'Eliyohu</i> (published posthumously). Also on <i>hashkofo </i>there is <i>Vayoel Moshe</i> (1887) which irrespective of one’s stance on the subject of Israel and Zionism is still considered a seminal work and an important contribution to a central issue of its and our times.</p> <p>These are just some examples of seforim by authors born during the same period length, many of which took off during their author's lifetime, and that have so far stood the test of time in that they remain authoritative (especially those on halakha) and are still widely known and referenced. Yet despite the list being far from comprehensive it still highlights how far back we have fallen.</p> <p>Rewinding slightly from this period by just a few years, and there were luminaries like Reb Chaim Ozer Grodzinski (1863) and his sefer <i>Achiezer</i>, seforim by Reb Shimon Shkop (1860) and Reb Boruch Ber Leibowitz (1862) on <i>lomdus</i>, <i>Chofetz Chaim</i> and <i>Mishne Berureh</i> (1838) on <i>mussar </i>and halakha and <i>Shem Mishmuel</i> (1855) and <i>Yismach Yisroel</i> (1853) on Chasidus.</p> <p>Although not directly relevant, the not-too-distant past also produced such Torah giants as R. Menachem Zemba (1883) and the Rogatshover (1858), to name but two, who though not particularly famous for their written works had outsized reputations as Torah geniuses. The Rogatshover especially, is comparable in Torah lore to the place occupied in popular culture by Albert Einstein with parallels even in their respective unkempt hairstyles. Yet our post-war era, despite our far superior living conditions, economic prosperity, tolerant environment and technological advances, has predominantly only <i>likutim</i> after <i>likutim </i>and a mass of chumros to show for itself in written works, and a collection of charismatic babas and shamans in personalities.</p> <p><span style="float: left; font-size: 70px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 50px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">I</span>t is worth pausing here for a moment. For make no mistake, we have not been sitting idle during this period and there has been an outburst of energy and innovation in our communities on other fronts to develop our culture and facilitate our way of life. Buildings have sprung up in our different neighbourhoods to accommodate our explosive demographics and house our flourishing shuls, schools and burgeoning religious institutions. Kosher food has been transformed in range and breadth and the kosher wine industry is beyond recognition. Charedi media has exploded exponentially in Hebrew, English and Yiddish propounding a Charedi outlook and lifestyle. It does so confidently, often swaggeringly, with an increasingly right-wing conspiratorial worldview on everything from Israel and covid to education and Trump. Hand in hand with the thriving media is the political awakening, predominantly in Israel and New York, with its distinct Charedi flavour of victimhood combined with special interests and favours, which is fuelled by the same media. So much so, that one leading Charedi newspaper went so far as to declare its “mission” to protect Trump from his detractors in the mainstream media. Irrespective of where one stands on the politics, it still seems a novel if not strange position to take on a matter which at best affects Charedi Jews only indirectly.</p> <p>On the creative and cultural end, there is of course the never-ending stream of Charedi and particularly Chasidic music in a wide range of genres, from the ear-piercing to the soulful and a fair amount of the doleful too. The visual arts may be poorly served which is hardly surprising given the extent to which we eschew television, cinema and other forms of visual entertainment, but even here there are emerging music videos, advertising and publicity clips and even comedy clips such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAjh07JOThk">Bardak</a> on the fringes, which show creative minds at work. A real gap, though, exists in the pictorial arts which unlike music has hardly moved on from paintings of Kever Rochel, some moss on the Kosel, gedolim portraits and a dancing chosid with a fiddle.</p> <p>And then there is the spoken word. Telephone and online resources like <a href="https://www.kolhalashon.com/New/NewDesign/KhlHomePageNewD.aspx?Lang=English&English=True">Kol Haloshon</a>, <a href="http://torahway.org.uk/">Torah Way</a> and many others host tens of thousands of hours of podcast equivalents in a variety of languages created by Charedim for a Charedi public. Shiurim and talks catering for every taste and preference, including special lines and talks for women, which are constantly being added to and available for the cost of a phone call or less if it’s online. Telephone resources have taken off even more in Chasidic communities that are largely offline (officially, at least) and which have developed phone lines for disseminating communal, local and international news, views, politics, the happenings in the rebbes’ “courts” and with a fair bit of propaganda thrown in for good measure. A trailblazer in this field is Kol Mevaser, a sophisticated telephone-based (recently also online as <a href="https://www.yiddish24.com/">Yiddish24</a>) smorgasbord of news, opinion, shiurim, interviews, call-ins, parsha and yom-tov droshes, business advice, dieting tips, coaching talks and a whole lot more.</p> <p>On the book front too, our printing presses churn out reams of publications that did not make it into the tweet replies, and I’d say for good reason. First and foremost are the numerous bestselling Hamevoar/Hameforash and the likes. Linear translations of the prayer liturgy like sidurim, machzorim, selichos and kinos into a contemporary formulation. I dare not say Modern Hebrew, because when targeting the Charedi market the point is very much to avoid anything sounding too ‘modern’.</p> <p>While classical texts with glossaries and commentaries are as old as Rashi and perhaps older, the current fad is for spoon-feeding the texts in the linguistic equivalent of a baby mush. The phenomenon started around the 1970s with <i>Tehilim Hamevoar</i> by Gedalya Segal, which then took off seriously with selichos and machzorim by Yaakov Weingarten during the 1980s and has since been imitated by many others on a much broader field and far beyond the original liturgical texts.</p> <p>The formula is simple: take any text, reformulate it into a contemporary style, flesh out the often terse text of the original by rephrasing sentences, inserting conjunctions, deciphering abbreviations, adding punctuation and, far too often, by substituting five words for a single word that perfectly fulfils the task. If brevity is the soul of wit, one may ask what the soul of this outpouring of verbosity consists of. Almost any prayer or liturgical prayerbook is ripe for monetisation in this manner and that the style of the original is butchered in the process, converting beautiful prose into raw long-winded verse is hardly a concern to a utilitarian, undiscerning public that finds beauty in noise and aesthetics in size.</p> <p>Walk into any seforim shop before the yomim tovim and it's not too different from entering a mobile phone shop where tens of models, all essentially doing the same thing with only minor differences in size, colour and weight, compete for your attention. Except that we're not talking AMOLED screens and processor speeds, but rather fodder for slowed down brains challenged by any mental leap of its own making. Anyone with even a smattering of an education would find a reformulation of the blindingly obvious a hindrance rather than a help, but these translations are targeted at a market that has not been taught how to parse a sentence. Or rather that <i>has </i>been trained not to approach even the most basic texts without a guide on hand.</p> <p>And when these translations and reprints have been exhausted, some wily publisher will reprint the same text yet again but this time with the addition of <i>nekudos </i>(vowelisation) which suggests that our difficulties are not just limited to comprehension but even our reading skills may also fall short.</p><p><span style="float: left; font-size: 70px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 50px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">B</span>ut<b> </b>let us not pretend that it's all doom and gloom because substantial books are also being produced. If we're scanning the last near-eighty years on the Torah scene, reference must be made to the monumental Schottenstein Shas, which started originally in English, but is now possibly even more popular in its Hebrew version. Similarly, there is the Artscroll siddur translated into English which doesn't have a Hebrew “translation” counterpart. These and similarly translated works are the mainstay of an English-speaking Charedi home and shul and deserve more than a mention when considering the post-war Torah-based intellectual output.</p> <p>The Artscroll publishing phenomenon which started in the 1970s coincided with the Baal Tshuve movement which also emerged around that period. The Artscroll siddur also catered for new generations of English-speaking Charedi women who had moved on from the classic Korban Mincha siddur in Yiddish. Artscroll may for these reasons initially have spent some time lurking at the entrance to the Charedi world before gaining full admission though by now they have well and truly earned their place at the top table. The Hebrew Schottenstein Shas has also more than made its mark and stands its ground despite many copycat, supposedly more ‘heimish’, translations. When the Daf Yomi cycle hits a masechte a sea of royal blue volumes floods shul shelves and tables and no summary of post-war Charedi bookishness would be complete without dedicating space to them. And whatever the criticism of Artscroll, predominantly for chasing popular approval at the expense of intellectual integrity, and not to mention the marketing and industry behind it, the fact is that they have opened up Shas to the masses in a way few other did before them. Thanks to Artscroll anyone with a basic literacy of English or Hebrew can now read and comprehend even the most intractable of Talmudic texts.</p> <p>However, besides the fact that I am looking for a work by an individual, preferably with an innovative streak, and not a project by a committee, one may also legitimately question how Charedi these publications in fact are despite their infiltration into Charedi communities. While the Hebrew translations and reformulations of sidurim and machzorim are largely by Charedim for Charedim, it is questionable whether the same applies to the Artscroll project. Firstly, given the relatively limited exposure to English studies provided even by Yeshivish schools, it is unlikely the Schottenstein endeavour could have come to fruition if it was based solely on a Charedi education. This is not to say that no Charedim are of the calibre required for a project of this magnitude. However, what is considered an ideal Charedi education and what is in fact the education and tuition for the vast majority of Charedim during their formative years would not generally equip those graduates with the required skills to produce a translation on this scale. And even less so on the scholastic level required to translate from Aramaic, extinct to a large extent outside the Talmudic world, into a formal, almost-academic English which barely any Charedi school teaches at a serious level. There is also the huge – lamentably unacknowledged – debt to the very non-Charedi Talmudic philologist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Jastrow">Marcus Jastrow</a> without whose seminal Talmudic dictionary any English translation of the Talmud would barely have been possible. </p> <p>Nevertheless, one cannot escape the fact that these projects have been co-ordinated and led by people of Charedi Yehivish background for the Charedi market and where they are lapped up despite their 73 volumes and a price tag ranging from $1,500 to almost $3,000 depending on the format. Unlike the Steinsaltz Shas which for a variety of reasons is <i>libri non grata </i>in most Charedi institutions or the Tanach with the <i>Daat Mikra</i> commentary which despite its fidelity to traditional commentary has also not properly scaled the Charedi ghetto walls, Artscroll has become a stalwart and trendsetter within the Charedi publishing world and where it remains firmly ensconced.</p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="אנציקלופדיה תלמודית" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=17hW4SInyDbskDHXtTZYOLGmS6U1ZEUqk" style="display: inline; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Encyclopaedia Talmudit editors in 2018" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: left;">Encyclopaedia Talmudit editors in 2018</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Also worth more than a mention, though partially outside the nominated period, is the <a href="https://talmudit18.wixsite.com/talmudit">Encyclopaedia Talmudit</a> in Hebrew which as its name suggests summarises Talmudic topics by subject and imposes a semblance of order to the congruent as well as discordant and discursive Talmudic texts. The encyclopaedia which started in 1942 already runs to 46 volumes but still it remains a work in progress.</p><p><span style="float: left; font-size: 70px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 50px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">W</span>hile<b> </b>acknowledging and even celebrating the above achievements, and notwithstanding that my tweet didn’t ask for such works, the proliferation of many of these works is still informative about ourselves and further enforces my point about the intellectual output of our times, or lack of it. For while the various translations have no doubt opened the texts to the wider public they also expose a vacuum at the heart of Charedi education. For comparison, visit a local bookshop and head for the Shakespeare plays and sonnets or the classical poetry section where you are likely to find plenty of annotated works with glossaries, comments and notes, but relatively few line-by-line translations or reformulations other than those targeted at GCSE students. The average schooled reader interested in such material will by the time they have graduated from secondary school have been exposed to a challenging vocabulary and at least one or two Shakespeare plays and similar works and will not generally require translations at this level. So why does a public reared on Hebrew texts from 5 years old and on gemore from about age 9 to 19 and beyond for almost the entire study day and to the exclusion of almost all else, flock to buy such basic translations and commentaries?</p> <p>If, as some claim, our education develops our critical thinking, why does a public thinking critically not reject translations which much of the time assume that there's only a single reading to complicated ancient texts? Rather than proof of intellectual vibrancy, what we have is a dumbing down of Jewish classics on a scale hitherto unknown. And when considering the industry of producing these reams of volumes and editions, it is apposite to ask whether the purpose is more of monetising the texts rather than developing the ideas behind them. This does not apply only to translations and commentary but can also be gleaned from the books that do take off. Consider as an example <i>Otzar Pelo’ois Hatorah</i> which is a collection of midrashim and other material with some added commentary. The well-thumbed volumes in shul suggest them to be rather popular and which was also confirmed to me by a bookselling friend. Few of the midroshim provide particular insight into the psukim and instead appear to be chosen for their ‘wow’ factor with the more fantastical the source the more suitable it makes it for inclusion. Perhaps we are to conclude that even a ‘vort’ is too much of a challenge for our times and our pious brains lap up only those works that make the fewest demands on them.</p> <p>As to what the seforim scene might and could have looked like, while it’s impossible to say what a latter day Chazon Ish or Brisker Rov would have authored nowadays, though guessing on a successor to <i>Mishne Berureh</i> may be slightly easier, it is still instrumental to look to the past and at what was once popular to get an idea of the scarcity of our times. Take as an example <i>Hamoadim Be'Haloche</i> on the Yomim Tovim by Rav Shlomo Yosef Zevin (1888), which first appeared as newspaper columns in the Mizrachi Hatzofeh newspaper. Each chapter deals with another Yom Tov by summarising the sources and development of the mitzvos and minhogim for the festival plus a brief discussion of some of the main Talmudic and halachic debates pertaining to those mitzvos. Unlike many pre-Yom Tov books which nowadays hit the bookshops, this is not a guide or rule book of dos and don’ts but rather an intelligent discussion of halachic themes. The material is presented in an approachable, easy-to-read style and tailored for a broad newspaper-reading audience, medium brow if you must, though it still assumes a basic education in the classics and is of course predicated on an interest in the content.</p> <p>(Rav Zevin also has a collection of biographical essays called <i>Ishim V'Shitos</i>, where he engages with Torah Greats of the 19<sup>th</sup> and 20<sup>th</sup> century not in a hagiographic way, as we have become accustomed to, but analytically by evaluating their written works for their style and method and peppered with anecdotes that illuminate their character.)</p> <p>Now, move over to the contemporary Charedi world and there are few if any equivalent seforim. There is either what could be fairly titled elitist literature in the form of books and quarterly journals which few will scan even the opening page, or mounds of seforim on halakha and reams of legends, shallow 'vorts' and 'inspirational' message of the chicken-soup-for-the-soul variety for the masses. </p> <p>Where, however, there is a huge gap is at the intermediate level, for those intelligent enough to follow but lacking the interest for in-depth disquisitions. For them a market hardly exists. Whereas in the past works like <i>Mikro'ei Kodesh</i> by Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank (1873) and <i>Mo'adim Uzmanim</i> by Rav Moshe Sternbuch (1926) were published which are expansive essay collections on Talmudic topics and which gained traction in their time, such seforim are no longer being written. In general, seforim on the market today tend to have a narrower subject range, are more utilitarian with a focus on practice rather than theory, and more diffident with a tendency to quote endlessly rather than question, innovate and express a point of view. And even if a number of such seforim by contemporary authors were to be found, the fact that they are not registering in the seforim world as they did in the past and so don’t turn into instant hits or provide any indication that they could be heading in that direction for the future, is itself indicative of the lack of appeal for such works and which must in turn reduce the incentive to write them in the first place.</p><p><span style="float: left; font-size: 70px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 50px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">O</span>ne<b> </b>point made to me as a possible reason for this parched intellectual landscape is that I’m using the wrong measure. In essence, very many Torah scholars are immersed in their subject for the sake of study and little else. While this is by no means universal, nonetheless there are a large number of Torah students who apart from a Kollel stipend, and sometimes barely that, their only ambition is to spend time studying and amassing knowledge of the Torah. They are not studying for prizes, for grades, for publication, for tenure, for a post, for fame, for money, but simply for the sake of study. Often it is for practical reasons to better observe the mitzvos, though sometimes not even that. It may be for a portion of the World-to-Come, for personal fulfilment, for spiritual elevation and a host of other reasons but whose common denominator is that their success cannot be measured in books, articles, speeches or any other output, if it exists at all. In Talmudic parlance they are studying <i>Torah Lishmoh</i>, study of the Torah for the sake of it. And so, the argument goes, measuring the Torah world with a yardstick of literary output while many of its students and practitioners do not even recognise it as a scale, is to apply the wrong test and very much miss the point.</p> <p>While I agree that there are indeed very many in this school, still I must disagree. For intelligence will out. Human nature is such that capable minds provided with information and reasoning will analyse, question, critique, sort, filter, taxonomise, compare, contrast, and all the other processes creative and intelligent minds will apply when encountering information and logic. And when this is done at a superior level with sufficient frequency it is inevitable that some of it will be committed to writing. So if some have decided to forego this and disapply their minds to what they are studying then we are the poorer as a result. I am not challenging their personal choice and if this is how they feel spiritual fulfilment who am I to argue? However, it is equally the freedom of an observer to draw conclusions from such choices.</p> <p>Let us ask ourselves, what would have been left of our heritage had this approach been taken by the generations before us, and how bare our shelves, if not our selves, would have been as a result. Halakha aside which is required for practical purposes, whoever preserved and compiled the very large parts, if not the majority, of the gemore with its dialogue, hypothesis, refutations, arguments, homilies and <i>agadatas, </i>and then the commentary that fills Rashi, Tosfos and the other Rishonim followed in turn by the Achronim and which make up the entire corpus of Torah literature that has reached us, they certainly did not approach Torah in this manner. Quite besides, we pray daily to be given the heart and mind “to study and to teach” and what is writing and disseminating of ideas if not a form of teaching?</p> <p>The scholars of Narbonne, Provence, Catalonia, Andalusia, Morocco, Tunisia, Aleppo, Alexandria, Alsace, Silesia, Moravia, Bohemia, Wallachia Volhynia and any number of other places that Jews settled in during centuries of sojourns and where they set up schools for the study of Torah, these scholars could just as well been studying for study’s sake and fulfilling God’s wish while singing <i>Mo Ohavti </i>and <i>Tov Li </i>but they would have left us vacant minds, some cutesy legends and little else. Because by now the Torah would either have been forgotten altogether or it would have become fossilised like a glorious Rosetta Stone of immense interest to decrypters and decipherers, history students and museum visitors but with little practical application. </p> <p>Some might argue that if the ultimate goal is to delve into God’s laws and teachings then He is just as happy with students simply toiling away at the Torah with no ambition in mind, though they are unlikely to be of an intelligent bent. Because intelligence demands to understand, review, critique and ultimately better what went before and most of the time that requires expression in some form which generally is in writing. There is no reason or evidence to suggest that our generation is any less intelligent than our predecessors and the wider world with its technological and scientific marvels would suggest to the contrary, that we are applying knowledge far more intelligently than our forebears and that we are constantly building on their achievements. So why only in the field of Torah does it feel as if matters have come to a halt? </p> <p>Which returns me to my first question: where are the achievements of our age and era in the Torah world? Why with all our tremendous energy and industry do we appear to come up short precisely in the area that we claim matters to us most?</p><p><span style="float: left; font-size: 70px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 50px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">T</span>he<b> </b>comment, however, that most stuck in my mind was of Yeridas Hadoros, the decline of generations, or diminution of minds. This was offered as an explanation why our generation has not, and perforce never will, match and let alone surpass, the output of our forebears. This supposed explanation, instead of challenging my central premise or offering a solution, essentially agrees with my thesis that our output is sorely lacking in cerebral quality but implies that this is not so much a bug as a feature. According to this explanation, we cannot and should not complain about our dire output because living in 2022 or 5783 is as much the cause as the symptom and given where we are in time we will inevitable fall behind those in 1922 just as they must have been behind those of 1822 and so on until time immemorial.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">I suppose Yerdias Hadoers is across the board. For arguments sake, there's no Beethoven and Einstein either nowadays.</p>— Swartzvald (@Swatrzvald) <a href="https://twitter.com/Swatrzvald/status/1552621652508348417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>Yeridas Hadoros, the decline or diminution of generations, is a doctrine which alongside Daas Torah form the twin pillars of Charedi thought. Applied literally, which is indeed how it is applied, it means an ongoing intellectual and spiritual decline as we move further away from Kabolas Hatorah and the revelation at Sinai. Never mind that the central premise that the closer an individual is to an event geographically and chronologically necessarily makes them greater is itself open to question. And ignore also the fact that the very generation that stood at Sinai went on to worship the Golden Calf only a short while later. This is, however, what the doctrine of Yeridas Hadoros is taken to mean.</p> <p>There's even an apocryphal story to go with it in which a rosh yeshiva meets a non-Jew on a plane - always on a plane because where else do they come into contact with a gentile? - and the non-Jew asks why our society reveres age while the general culture adulates youth. According to the story, the rosh yeshiva replied that if you originate from primates (or 'monkeys' in the classic telling) then you must be improving as you move further away from your earliest ancestors, whereas if you originate from the Patriarchs and the generation that stood at Sinai then you're in perpetual decline as you move further away from those epic events. </p> <p>The story is usually told as much to marvel at the spontaneous wit emanating from the rosh yeshiva as for the message itself. There is also no acknowledgement that the anecdote has an antecedent in the Oxford <a href="https://oumnh.ox.ac.uk/great-debate">Great Debate</a> in 1860 between the biologist Thomas Huxley and the Bishop of Oxford and so misses out on Huxley’s famous repartee.</p> <p>But returning to Yeridas Hadoros, while we can discuss the concept of perpetual decline in a spiritual or revelatory sphere or as a theological explanation why the Biblical nation-founding miracles and revelations no longer occur nowadays, transposing this concept to our practical contemporary life has just one effect and which we see occurring in front of our eyes.</p> <p>If entire generations are brought up on the basis that not only did our ancestors inhabit mountains that they will never scale, but that the very ground they stand on is also in perpetual erosion and decline, then inevitably those occupying that ground will stop climbing. There's no point aspiring to greatness of yore if our destiny is diminution simply by dint of our age and era. And so by indoctrinating our children not with their potential but with their handicap inherent to the times they were born into, one cannot blame those children when they're more eager to regurgitate mediocrity of the past than innovate for the present and future.</p> <p>Worse still, the same tweeter also mentioned Einstein and Beethoven as apparent proof of Yeridas Hadoros, which is what happens when you try and project your worldview onto a broader canvas. So let us be clear. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and Alan Turing and Patrick Steptoe and Stephen Hawking and Tim Berners-Lee and any number of brilliant artists and writers and scientists and innovators of our near-contemporary times have given us the world we inhabit from IVF to DNA to html to organ transplants and all the other scientific and technological marvels of our age. Each and every discovery starts and finishes with a curious and innovative mind that knows and believes that it can build on what's gone before and do better. Only in our rarefied field of Torah have we called a halt to innovation and even proper analysis has become a dirty word.</p> <p>But even that’s an illusion. For if Yeridas Hadoros were true then the combined greatness of Rav Hai, Saadiah, Chisdai and other Geonim (approximately 5<sup>th</sup> to 10<sup>th</sup> century) would have to surpass the genius of their successors like Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Rambam and the other Greats of the 11<sup>th</sup> and 12<sup>th</sup> century. Although I don’t pretend to be an expert on the Geonim, I think I can safely say that the output of the former is no match quantitatively and qualitatively for that of the latter. </p> <p>The flipside of Yeridas Hadoros does not just stifle ambition and pummel confidence but it also works against those courageous enough to buck the trend. Where hermeneutics becomes synonymous with heresy those who do question and think independently will be shouted down and worse, often by those of a similar bent but who have stifled their own creativity and imagination. With the end result that the readership for original thinking and writing diminishes and instead the market gives way to minds numbed by piles of fairy tales littering shul Shabbos tables and mollycoddling vorts which require no enquiring spirit and inquisitive mind.</p><p>Genuine reviews of Charedi books are for this same reason a rarity, for if the book is on-track then how dare anyone cast a critical eye over it? And if it’s out of kilter then far from engaging with it by way of a review, it must not be mentioned at all other than for banning purposes. So why would any scholar invite this horror upon themselves when a collection of the laws of fridge bulbs will heap encomia and hagiographic articles on their heads? From the lambasted first edition of the <a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%AA_%D7%A9%D7%91%D7%AA_%D7%9B%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%94">Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchoso</a> in the 1960s to the current ongoing controversy over <a href="https://forum.otzar.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=20852&start=1200">Pshuto Shel Mikro</a>, only the brave and the mad will try to stand out and ultimately for diminishing returns.</p><p><span style="float: left; font-size: 70px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 50px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">N</span>o<b> </b>man is an island and nothing exists in a vacuum. With the parched mindscape we occupy where questions are heresy and enquiry are silenced, you cannot blame our youth for looking elsewhere, be it grave worship at the more benign edge of the scale and conspiracies and political extremism at the far more dangerous end. Or they leave the fold altogether. Because without a homegrown intellectual base of enquiry and disputation, then all that's left is a shell and façade which must be protected at all cost because that is all there is. Hence abuse, fraud, educational neglect and many other of our society's ills must go unaddressed and unanswered because conformity and blind obedience is the ideal. And if decline is our destiny then perhaps the state we're in is just another symptom to be expected and accepted. Anything better and we might outshine our ancestors which we're told is not just undesirable but impossible due to the simple fact that they preceded us and we succeeded them.</p> <p>But our collective minds are not asleep or dozing and if we won't provide our brains with homegrown fodder and the confidence to develop our own ideas, those skills will be acquired and expended elsewhere. I promised myself that I would steer clear of politics but if proof was ever needed where this is all heading see the political parties we now support with all the vigour once reserved for ourselves and within.</p> <p>You may think that I am exaggerating and so I return to my very first thought exercise: Name a contemporary classic work in the field of Torah, already so designated or with reasonable expectations to be so designated in the future, written by an individual born during the last seventy-seven years of phenomenal Torah-growth possibly unrivalled and unprecedented throughout the entire Jewish history.</p> <p>That stumped feeling is my Exhibit 'A'.</p><p><i>*I would like to thank those who afforded me the time to read drafts of this essay and provide helpful corrections and comments.</i></p>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com82tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-12617087442365680432022-12-22T16:38:00.009+00:002022-12-22T16:50:03.459+00:00Chaim'keh Oy Chaim'keh<div style="text-align: left;">A trip down memory land with this little Chanukah song of unknown provenance. First published 10 years ago it has, due to recent events, still retained its relevance. It now almost needs Rashi with some of the references obscured by the passage of time, though the added stanza (in red) should bring it up to date.</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">חיימ'קע אוי חיימ'קע א רעבעלע א שיינער</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">א האריגע א בייכעלע נישט דא נאך אזיינער</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">אלע נעכט מיט פייגעלעך שפילן מיר</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">זיסע הייסע מיידעלעך טאפן מיר אן א שיעור</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">געשווינדער, צינדט קינדער</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">חיימ'קע'ס ליכטעלע אן</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">דערציילט זיינע נסים</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">גלייבט אין די שטותים</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">און לאמיר ווארפען עפלעך אין קאן</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">דערציילט זיינע נסים...</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">דער קול קורא האט געשריגן</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">אז חיים איז א נואף</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">די רבנים האבן געשוויגן</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">ווייל פרויען זענען טינוף</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">דאס שטעטעלע פון לאנדאן האט ווידער אויפגעלעבט</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">און צו א נייער בית דין האט יעדערער געשטרעבט</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">געשווינדער, קוקט קינדער</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">ווי חיים דער צדיק'ל פרעסט</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">כאפט זיין שריים</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">ראנגלט די יָדַיִם</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">און שמייסט אים מיט האנטעכער פעסט</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">כאפט זיין שריים...</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">ר' חנה האט געשריגן </div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">מען וועט ברענען אין גיהנום</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">דער שוואגער האט געזינגען</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">אז נקבצו יונים</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">דאס שטיבל דברי חיים האט אינגאנצען אויפגעקאכט</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">און פון די נייע גבאים האבן אלע הויך געלאכט</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">געשווינדער, לעשט קינדער</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">חיימקעס ליכטעלע אויס</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">סטראשעט מיט זיידעס</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">און פסל'ט די עדות</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">און גיט אים א סחורה אין שויס</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">סטראשעט מיט זיידעס...</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: red;">חיים זאגט פאר מיידעלעך</span></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: red;">זיי האבן שיינע אויגן</span></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: red;">מ'ברענגט אים א רעקארדירונג</span></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: red;">ער זאגט "ס'יז נישט געשטויגן</span></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: red;">שיינע באבע מעשיות, מיין קול האט מען געפעיקט"</span></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: red;">דאס שטעטעלע פון לאנדאן האט ווידער אויפגעלעבט</span></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">דעריבער, דעם גבור</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">לויבט חיים דעם צדיק'ל הויך</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">פרעגט אים די שאלות</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">אין טומאה נישט טהרות</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">ער קען מאכן בדיקות'לעך אויך</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">יעמוד דעם פעטער</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">מיטן אמשינאווער היתר</div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;">און רעדט פון דעם גברא זיין כוח</div></div>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-5669968706583410482022-12-01T21:33:00.001+00:002022-12-02T04:43:36.722+00:00UOHC Writes to Reb Tickle<p>For those increasingly concerned that Reb Tickle may gradually be joining the Arsekonim class we have some disappointing news: Reb Tickle is corresponding directly with that august body known as UOHC. The only thing I can say in my defence is that they started it by writing to me first and myself being deferential to authority and submissive to Daas Torah had no option but to reply, about 10 lines for each line of theirs. The missive was in response to Reb Tickle's recent droshe. The sender must I'm afraid remain without a name - no UOHC officer with the right hashkofeh would be seen here even in their finest Purim mask - and the cc list, which reads like an A-class shiduchim list, must also remain classified. But due to UOHC's deeply held conviction on the public's right to know permission for republication was graciously granted and hope is being expressed in certain quarters of awarding Reb Tickle in due course a serving of the recently stewed Keddasia alphabet soup.</p><blockquote><p>I reminded [Reb Tickle] that a special B[eis] D[in] <u>was</u> set up years ago & held preliminary hearings. When the police opened a file the case was suspended. When the police closed the matter discussions were held to reopen the Din Torah, & it was planned that certain ladies would present evidence – fine. The other side insisted that they should be able to cross-examine them; the ladies all refused to agree. The BD ruled that such a situation would be unfair; any defendant has the right for witnesses to be cross-examined. Therefore the case had to be left hanging.</p></blockquote><p>Sorry for the delay in reply. I note what you say but I cannot agree.</p> <p>I’m at a distinct disadvantage as I don’t have access to a fraction of the information that you have but subject to that caveat I’ll say this:</p> <ol> <li>The entire BD process at the time was farcical. The story broke immediately after Simchas Torah and the BD announcement came a few days before Chanukah, so a delay of about 2 months. During that time the community was dragged through the mud with no one able to assert authority. I don’t intend repeating the details and the records are there for all to see. At no point did anyone say anything about the victims or even breaches of kedushe and tznius which we claim first and foremost to stand for. There were reliable reports that Reb Sholem F. had raised the issues in the Elul prior to the story breaking or thereabout and it was hushed up. Someone told me that they had heard from a victim in 2011 while the story broke in October 2012.</li> <li>The BD announcement was extracted from an extremely reluctant establishment who could no longer resist the clamour for some kind of action. We all remember the horse trading over its composition, the ambush of Rav Padwa in GG, the letter and retraction and retraction of retraction of CH’s shul remaining a UOHC member, and the months’ long farce when the system broke down. Once again the plight of his victims and the issue of him continuing to see women was forgotten in the circus. CH had an input in the BD but I don’t recall the victims being consulted or having any voice. There weren’t reports of the Rabbinate or their representative meeting with victims. The rabbonim may have had sufficient information as it is but it would have been assuring to the victims and the community that the allegations were taken seriously.</li> <li>There was a fog surrounding the entire BD and other than its existence no further details were released. The remit and parameters of the BD were never made clear. It would have been akin to a professional misconduct hearing because as far as I know no one was demanding money from him and of course the BD would have no powers to punish him except for communal sanctions. But what were they looking for? Criminal activity, acts forbidden al pi haloche or chasidus or simply conduct unbefitting a rov. Most importantly, would the findings have been made public? Some of these may be technical points, but the BD was set up to assure the public and how could the public be assured if the entire process was shrouded in secrecy with the leadership that had betrayed them in control? And if he was found guilty, what would happen next? If his conduct was criminal would he be reported to the police? If his conduct was halachically forbidden would he face communal sanctions? Would the rabbonim apologise to the victims and the community for the chilul hashem? I think we can reliably guess the answers.</li> <li>When the BD finally sat, it was widely reported at the time of women being intimidated with Moshe H. and other CH supporters including his son being present at the venue. The women he saw/sees are vulnerable at the best of times and especially after they’d been through his “treatment”. Many were also in abusive marriages and they could have no faith in the BD. I do not recall any assurances given to witnesses on their safety and wellbeing. One victim said that she drove past and kept going after seeing who was milling about outside. She said it would have been like walking into a ‘lion’s den’.</li> <li>The points above relating to the BD and its remit apply equally to the current “investigation”. There are reports of the appointment of a KC which is assuring but still we are in the dark. The KC (assuming this to be true) will presumably be instructed by UOHC who will pay the fees, set the parameters and decide on the consequences. So what are they? It may be early days but no one’s holding their breath. Even now with more allegations, has anyone from UOHC been in touch with the girl or her parents or with other victims? Has someone independent with a clean, solid reputation and with experience in this field been appointed as a representative for the victims so they can be contacted in confidence and he or she can then relay the allegations and concerns to the Rabbinate and lay leadership?</li> <li>Putting all this aside, the BD issue, as important as it is, was just one of my points. That vulnerable women were sent to CH after all that was known about him, or even rumoured about him, beggars belief. The BD constantly makes pronouncements on far lesser issues and acts much faster but here was something that goes to the root of who we are but we remained silent. If there is one thing that is irrefutable it is that rumours have swirled round him for years yet no one stopped women from seeing him. And all the more so vulnerable women who require counselling. I had heard over the last ten years that he was still seeing women which I found difficult to believe but now I see that I knew not half of it. When a tailor on Dunsmure Road was rumoured to be striking up inappropriate “friendships” with local women, UOHC issued a notice about him. So where was the notice for CH? Speakers and events are banned at almost no notice for far lesser crimes. So what discrete representations were made to rabbonim and communal figures who deal with sholom bayis and similar issues to stop people being sent to him? He is said to have admitted to hand wrestling women with some phoney heter. In any other context such practices would be decried in the strongest terms and rightly so. Yet here nothing was done and he was just allowed to continue.</li> <li>Separately, was CH warned that if he didn’t stop seeing women he would be shamed? Did he have any conditions imposed on him and if so who was to supervise him to ensure he complied? Whether he was banned from seeing women or he was subjected to strict conditions which he then disregarded, it is clear that he breached his “bail conditions” so to speak but nothing happened as a consequence and no action was taken. I’m referring here both to investigations and beth dins and also that no simple precautionary measures to protect women were taken.</li> <li>This is of course not an isolated case and not long ago there was the cover up with Roth and <a href="https://ifyoutickleus.blogspot.com/2021/09/how-to-commit-abuse-and-go-scot-free.html" target="_blank">Paltiel S’s notorious letter in defence of a notorious abuser</a> plus a string of other cases. It’s hardly a defence to say that UOHC isn’t unique in the Charedi world and probably not the worst either. There is a fundamental inability in our leadership to face up to one of the most serious problems of our times and which is one of the main reasons of our youth falling away in increasing numbers. This is besides the huge chilul hashem of the well-founded accusation that we tolerate abuse in our midst. It’s no good pointing to the Harvey Weinstein case because he was prosecuted in the end and he’s locked up. Abrahams was sacked in no time, the Chief Rabbi issued a letter and that was the end of it. But here it rumbled on for a decade and it’s still not over. There has been a complete culture change in the wider world but when ofsted raises safeguarding in our schools we protest. And when scandals like this break we do nothing and just hope it will go away. Even for reasons of self-preservation it would have been prudent to deal with it decisively and move on, but which hasn’t happened. </li> <li>This is a true situation of במקום שאין איש. We have an aging rabbinate and the two new recruits hardly represent a large swathe of Stamford Hill. The extremists may make a lot of noise but there’s a huge crowd completely detached and whom UOHC has nothing to offer. If you don’t believe me go and see how GG restaurants are full of our locals, see how readily people will institute their own eiruvin and the terror tactics needed to stop them, listen to the contempt that our communal institutions are held in. These repeated incidents of abuse and the way we handle them blacken our name and do immense damage to our communal image externally, casting a shadow over our many positives, plus it erodes trust and confidence in our rabbonim and leadership internally. These points may not concern you or others at the top, but people are watching and drawing their own conclusions. Whether by ignoring and ridiculing rabbonim and communal bodies or leaving Yiddishkeit altogether.</li> <li>Doing nothing was never an option though it might have worked in the past. But not anymore. Ban smartphones as much as you like but the statuses tell a different story and I can assure you that people don’t pull out flip phones when they’re chatting to me. I don’t have all the answers but few things are as black and white as the impunity we as a community allow for abusers. And I can only repeat במקום שיש חילול השם אין חולקין כבוד לרב.</li> </ol> <p>Kol tuv</p><p>[Reb Tickle]</p>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-78137130881965102782022-04-08T11:20:00.002+01:002022-04-08T11:34:19.919+01:00The Sixth of Nissan<h1>"44 years", they marvelled, just as they did last year and just as they will keep doing year after year with incremented numbers while measuring their own life by her death.</h1> <p>But 44 years it is and still it feels like this. Still it hurts and still the ground is cold. This morning AL, now with a white beard, recalled how as a kid on his bike at the corner in Clapton Common he heard the news. BS namechecked her and wanted to know if it was only that one name. PF stroked his unfurled almost navel length beard, fresh and untangled after the mikveh, as he told of the photo he has of my mum with myself and my siblings.</p> <p>Forty four years.</p> <p>Others commented on the freshness of the croissant sandwiches while the shy boy stood quietly at the side eyeing the food but too timid to approach the adult table where death was being served up with Scotch. Less shy were the drinkers sipping Lechaim from sample-size cups. In some shuls they wish you a long life but here they're more concerned with the soul's elevation.</p> <p>My nonagenarian pa had joined for shacharis. Over whisky and croissants his memory of pre-war Munkach was being tested, triggering a rant from him on the petulant Chasidic battles of his childhood. </p> <p>"How old were you?", someone enquired.</p> <p>"Ten and a half."</p> <p>Happy now?</p> <p>"Do you remember her?"</p> <p>Obviously not happy.</p> <p>How long does it take to forget an absence woven into the fabric of your life? Can you un-remember a loss that's with you daily even with the little that you comprehend of it 44 years later? What a sham is motherly love if she took off when you barely knew her and then spending the rest of your life missing what you hardly knew you lost?</p> <p>So you do your filial duties, paying a debt you barely owe, sounding your voice in the ancient Kaddish, making up for the sounds you could not make, for the silenced voice you dared not sound, the voice which the only person made to listen to was gone for good.</p> <p>There is no cure and nothing to fill the hole dug fresh when US, himself a boy from an older class, called me out of class to tell me I must go home. The school where they said Tehilim for her during assembly when I was told off by the headmaster for chatting. "They're saying Tehilim for your mother" he said in his Yekkish accent. Because your mum dying of something nobody’s bothered to tell you about isn't enough. You must also shut up.</p> <p>And so after a few hours during which two of the four freshly-minted orphans spent at FB, a benign neighbour trying to break the news by incessantly hypothesising, “What if your mother were not to get better? What if she were to die?”, home we were sent. For Uncle Y. to tell us from the remove of a room's length and beside our father's red eyes "<em>Der mameh's neshome is aroyf in himel</em>". (Your mother's soul has gone up to heaven.) Oh, has it? Well, wonderful. And then followed by the Chevre Kadishe's scalpel slicing into my purple v-neck jumper. ST, a cousin who’d been pacing the house, was now insisting I must leave the house for the <em>levayeh</em>. The funeral from which I was saved by ES, the other kind neighbour with her arm round me on the couch, who said I may stay inside. </p> <p>The same uncle telling me the next morning that I would have to say Kaddish. I had delayed opening my eyes that morning wishing to myself it was all a bad dream. But at ten and a half that at least could be excused. Less so the Kaddish I would run away from to escape the prying eyes desperate to catch a glimpse of the nature-defying kid surviving daily without a mum. Perhaps he'll slip up on the tongue-twisting Aramaic and it'll give them something more to feel sorry about.</p> <p>It's night again and I've paid my dues visiting your deserted stone on a cold and windy morning. Yeah, it’s been 44 years and time to close up that hole for another year.</p>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-41533886086357878912021-10-21T23:13:00.000+01:002021-10-22T08:48:33.597+01:00Yesodey Hatorah Admissions Scam: Admission Numbers<p><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=14kT-eGuTGXFPQzg1bb-90A7rEUzdoZdM"><img title="Hackney website Year 5" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="Hackney website Year 5" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1FKCZUMmqVFEDR8TL2h8MtkErXXpnFb4F" width="1107" height="413" /></a> </p> <p>If you're applying for a school place for your child you'd naturally want to know what you're applying for. But what do you do in the case of voluntary-aided Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls School if the <a href="https://education.hackney.gov.uk/content/admission-yesodey-hatorah-senior-girls-school" target="_blank">Hackney website says that "normal point of entry is Year 5"</a> and yet you know it to be a blatant lie?</p> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1W_hJJs9e4NDrNmmXZY34PXAUzkCrFBXR"><img title="YHS website Year 5" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="YHS website Year 5" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1nvQcdOYXWxVDyB59WlPILEfGm6yS6FWi" width="1184" height="176" /></a> </p> <p>And what do you do when the same lie is repeated <a href="https://yesodeyhatorah.org/PDFs/Admission-Arrangements-for-2022-23-confirmed-with-SIF-YH-25Aug2021.pdf" target="_blank">on the school's website</a> that Year 5 is the "normal point of entry to the school" when it clearly is not. </p> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1wD6w9BjMfpw1md7mlOxitsiUMVQDf6kX"><img title="Hackney FOI, Year 5" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; float: none; display: block; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="Hackney FOI, Year 5" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1yy_9X0jTy9THIizmlpTrbnLUWKAWHNRk" width="647" height="545" /></a></p> <p>A Freedom of Information reply from Hackney shows that there has NEVER existed a Year 5 and Year 6 at Yesodey Hatorah. And not only has there never been a Year 5 and 6 at the school but since 2019 there has been a total of ONE SINGLE application for those years. Which tells you that not only does Yesodey Hatorah know it to be a blatant lie but that no one in the entire community is fooled either.</p> <p>Before creating these fictional Years 5 and 6, <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lQEWQ-aC6egBm1-LSklqEDppy-jlWpUb/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">YHS purported to hold a “consultation” in 2017</a>. In the consultation document the school discussed where the Year 5 and 6 girls will come from (since Years 5 and 6 are not normal points of transfer from primary schools which run from Years 1 to 6).</p> <p>The school wrote, “We have consulted the trustees at the [Yesodey Hatorah] primary school, and they are willing to seriously consider reducing their age limit, and providing an education only for the lower school, namely students from Y1-Y4. Transferring their Y5 and Y6 classes to the secondary school would free up valuable classroom space in that building.” So on paper at least the school anticipated using their usual feeder school for the new proposed year groups of Years 5 and 6. But NEVER did the primary school pupils ever even apply for those year groups. Why not? Because they knew it was a lie and there was nothing to apply for.</p> <p>Yet as the above screenshot from Hackney shows, at the same time that the fictional Years 5 and 6 were created, admission numbers were reduced from 80 to 65. Because this was always the purpose of the non-existent year groups. To reduce admission numbers for Year 7 and exclude pupils not coming from the private fee-paying Yesodey Hatorah Primary School which acts as a de facto – and unlawful – feeder school. In particular, the Year 5 and 6 scheme, or scam, was to exclude pupils from Beis Yaakov Primary School who were around that time applying for the first time to YHS. And this exclusion policy continues to this day.</p> <p>So if there's a query about this blatant lie you'd naturally want to turn to the Yesodey Hatorah Governing Body for an explanation. <a href="https://yesodeyhatorah.org/PDFs/Current-Governors-19-OCT-2021.pdf" target="_blank">The Chair of the Admissions Committee is David Hochhauser while Rabbi Benjamin Dunner is the Chair of the Governing Body</a> and also sits on the admissions committee. But when <a href="https://www.thejc.com/education/education-news/hackney-parents-pray-for-school-places-1.520412" target="_blank">the JC reported on Hackney looking into the</a> fictional year groups, these courageous individuals, who are responsible year after year for bullying parents and rejecting blameless children from their rightful school place, chose to hide behind the apron-strings of the Headteacher, Clare Neuberger.</p> <p>Why is a Headteacher answering on admissions at all which is not within a Headteacher’s remit? Answer: This is Yesodey Hatorah which runs to different rules and can do practically as it wishes because the authorities will turn a blind eye on them.</p> <p>And how did Clare Neuberger explain the non-existent classes? "The building is not designed for that number of students. The classrooms are small".</p> <div><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1r44zZnh4a-DXTa63dy76A2yNe37mw_Ty"><img title="YHS founding (highligh)" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; float: none; display: block; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="YHS founding (highligh)" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1mIPKGS_TqMq3gBjHRT9GAqHzMHbluzTc" width="206" height="763" /></a> <p>The school building was custom built for an intake of 90 children per year. If that’s not enough, the School itself wrote in the <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lQEWQ-aC6egBm1-LSklqEDppy-jlWpUb/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">consultation to start Years 5 and 6</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>"When the school was built and received Voluntary Aid Status in 2005 the PAN was set at 450. The present PAN is 400 with an expected 80 students per year group. <strong><u>The governors’ admission policy agrees with this PAN namely of 80 students per year</u></strong>. At present there are just over 305 students or roll, <strong><u>and the school is therefore operating at well below the PAN that was originally set</u></strong>. This puts the school in a vulnerable position both vis a vis funding and with regard to mid-year admissions." (My emphasis)</p> </blockquote> <p>As the Hackney chart above shows, in 2020 the school was able to offer 81 places. There is also <a href="https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/4043454/charity-overview" target="_blank">Be’er Miriam, a private fee-paying and Pinter-linked 6th Form</a>, which operates rent-free on the school premises and taking up yet more space. But still we are to believe Clare Neuberger that seven extra pupils above 65 “is more than we would have liked”.</p> </div> <p>Yet despite all of this the authorities, Hackney, the Department for Education, Ofsted, do nothing. When cases go to appeal the school succeeds and parents lose. Why? Because the entire system is predicated on an assumption of good faith and is not geared towards a deliberately deceptive school that cheats and lies in order to exclude pupils.</p> <p>The reality of the situation is that as "very sorry" as Clare Neuberger is for the rejection of pupils, there is an abundance of space at Yesodey Hatorah and the entire admissions fiasco is to deny legitimate places to Stamford Hill Charedi parents.</p> <p>These are parents who live in a Charedi neighbourhood, dress as Charedim, daven in Charedi shuls, shop in Charedi shops and are part of the Charedi community for everything except for school places. Because according to fictional criteria concocted by Yesodey Hatorah in cahoots with UOHC for the sole purpose of excluding pupils, they are not Charedi enough for a school place. And even that would not be enough had they not also created these fictional classes to exclude children from a school overflowing with space.</p> <p>This is all funded by you the taxpayer and carried out under the eyes and noses of Hackney, DfE and Ofsted who choose to sit back and allow it to continue year after year unabated.</p>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-2803993985901169152021-09-02T10:09:00.002+01:002021-09-02T13:54:35.117+01:00How to Commit Abuse and Go Scot-Free<iframe allow="autoplay" height="480" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-a4laCyed4ntacGPxvhpw2cOklnQMzdf/preview" width="640"></iframe> <p>Just a short intro to the analysis that follows of <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-a4laCyed4ntacGPxvhpw2cOklnQMzdf/view?usp=sharing">UOHC Dayan Paltiel Schwarcz's responsum concerning the reporting of child abusers to the authorities</a>.</p> <p>The difficulty with arguments on points of Halacha is that it is an obscure discipline which relatively few master, even in the Charedi world. Halachists will, or should, be learnéd in their field of expertise and so are able to draw on sources known only to a relatively small number of scholars and will quote from texts which are rarely indexed and often written in an oblique style that is barely comprehensible to outsiders.</p> <p>In the context of mesirah for child abuse, which is the subject here, or agunot and other contemporary issues, what usually happens is that "progressives" (for want of a better term in this context) and those pleading for change will fall back on broader principles rather than challenge the Halachists at all on Halachic ground. They will refer to Chillul Hashem, the laws of the land, the moral code of the society we live in, contemporary values, common sense, plain humanity and other broad principles in support of their view. In the case of child abuse in particular, they will plead that such crimes must be taken seriously, the long-term effects on victims, that victims must be listened to and not stigmatised, that offenders must be reported and punished, and that children must be protected through safeguarding measures to prevent such crimes in the first place. </p> <p>The traditionalists for their part will retort that the Torah too is a moral code and possibly launch into whataboutism on Western values. Try then to argue that Halacha must bend to contemporary mores and you've fallen into their trap. Your views can be labelled as bordering on apostasy against the eternity of the Torah which shuts down any meaningful argument. </p> <p>It is all the more so when your adversary is an old school conservative with little knowledge and understanding of the modern world and the society we live in. You can try quoting some general universal principles to be found aplenty in traditional Jewish sources and they can quote back at you five times as many sources making the opposite point. If you are lucky you may also get a condescending sneer on how they don't need your types telling them about Chillul Hashem, assuming you aren’t labelled as Reform. After all, does not Reform make such universal principles their central plank at the cost of much else?</p> <p> And so, quite reasonably, to argue Halacha you must counter with Halacha, which is where the traditionalists hold their strongest card. There are relatively few progressives who are familiar enough with the sources and adept at handling the material to challenge conservative positions, whether by quoting their own sources or qualifying the texts quoted at them. This is not much different within or outside Charedi society. Charedi laypersons may have spent their entire childhood, teens and beyond on traditional texts, yet in proportion to their numbers and years of study are almost as ill equipped as anyone else to handle these issues. The difference is only that while Charedim more or less accept the rulings of their elders and leaders and that the rules cannot be deviated from, many in the non-Charedi world wish to bring about change but are unable to make the necessary arguments.</p> <p>The above assumes that Halachists are interested in engaging at all which isn't often the case. In most instances it's their worldview that drives their Halachic opinions and quoting at them other poskim (the Tzitz Eliezer and Reb Osher Weiss come to mind) doesn't advance the argument amongst this crowd. These names are suspect in hyper-conservative circles precisely for the reason that they tend to be quoted by progressives. And so we go round in circles.</p> <p>The above holds all the more when we are dealing with an issue like child abuse on which the traditional sources are of limited use. Not only is it relatively recent that sexual crimes are better understood and treated with this level of seriousness, whether in broader society or in Orthodox circles, but the Halachic questions are equally recent in how they are to be applied in societies where Jews are afforded full civil rights. And so arguments are by analogy and deduction where those with the breadth of knowledge of traditional sources have the upper hand, if not, as will be seen, the ability to commit a sleight of hand. Even where sources are quoted fully and not selectively, the reactionaries will not allow for historical and geographical variations and deviation. They tend to treat the sources as eternal truths to be applied in all situations for all times. </p> <p>For these reasons I will not quote rival or alternative sources to Dayan Schwarcz despite the fact that there are numerous such examples. The heroic Rabbi Zimmerman who personally gave evidence to convict an abuser is just one such exemplar.</p> <p>My point here is to play Dayan Schwarcz at his own game. I aim to take a closer look at how he handles the question in front of him; how he treats – and does not treat - the subject of child abuse and the danger of abusers to society; his selective quotes from the sources; his deductions and extrapolations from the sources he quotes; the reasoning he does – and does not – apply; and how he generally opts for the narrowest of interpretations, slamming shut any window of hope for abuse victims.</p> <p align="center">*</p> <p>It is important to bear in mind the case that Dayan Schwarcz (DS) is dealing with, which is barely alluded to in the responsum. While the facts are not entirely clear, the following is what circulated in the community.</p> <p>A 15-year-old boy from abroad, studying at a local yeshive, was allegedly sexually abused and possibly raped. In the course of the attack, the boy was injured and had to be hospitalised. The suspect, a local man approximately in his 40s, was arrested and possibly charged. As a condition of bail or police bail he was required to live under curfew conditions in one of the new Essex Charedi communities. He was eventually released, either without charge or had the charges withdrawn. The rumour mill is rife with reports of the boy being bought off by wealthy members of the community to leave the country and not return to give evidence, or possibly to withdraw his allegations altogether. The suspect allegedly admitted to rabbis the acts he was accused of but claimed that they were consensual.</p> <p>Another two pertinent points are that the suspect has had similar allegations of abuse made against him over many years and that he is related by marriage to DS. The sponsor of the accused’s bail conditions is a close relative of DS.</p> <p align="center">*</p> <p>The Hebrew date of the responsum equates to 20 April 2021. The story mentioned above broke around February/March 2021.</p> <p>The addressee is redacted but the suffix suggests it is a fellow rabbi.</p> <p>The letter begins: </p> <p>"I am replying to your request that I clarify the Halacha in respect of someone who is accused of abusing children, whether and in what circumstances it is permitted according to Halacha to hand him over [report him] to the authorities.</p> <p>The question can be divided into several parts, namely:</p> <ol> <ol> <li>The appropriate body to adjudicate in this kind of situation</li> <li>The evidence required for it</li> <li>Whether it is permitted to report him to the police</li> <li>Even if permitted in principle, whether it is also permitted if he can be prevented by alternative means whether by treatment or other forms.”</li> </ol> </ol> <p>DS replies to these questions in a number of sections followed by a summary. He then concludes with some additional points.</p> <p><b>Lemigdar Milsa (Public Policy/Crime Prevention)</b></p> <p>The discussion begins with a discussion of <i>Lemigdar Milsa</i> (LM) (literally ‘to fence off the matter’). LM is a doctrine that allows for rabbinic enactments and punitive measures on public policy grounds to prevent wrongdoing and harm to the public. Such measures are in addition to the laws of the Torah and according to some opinions even where such measures violate the Torah (<a href="https://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/41083">see here for discussion</a> in Hebrew). LM has its origins in the Talmud (where in one incident a violent man’s hand was amputated) though its principles were elucidated in a responsum by the Rashba (Spain, 13<sup>th</sup> c.).</p> <p>There is then the question of whether any BD can assume LM powers or whether the BD must also have ‘the king’s consent’ i.e. state recognition.</p> <p>DS then cites the Maharam Schick (Hungary, 19<sup>th</sup> c.) that a BD should rather refrain from carrying out any punishments. </p> <p>DS concludes this section, without citing any source, that even where a BD can take punitive action, this power is restricted to the BD itself executing any sentence. It is not, however, a mandate for a BD to hand over or report a criminal to non-Jewish authorities for them to punish the offender.</p> <p>This last conclusion is telling. One might have thought that if a BD can in principle itself carry out a punishment even as severe as amputating a limb, then surely handing the suspect over to others to carry out a far more lenient punishment of incarceration would also be included under the LM doctrine. It should be all the more so in a country such as the UK where maximum sentences are prescribed by law and approximate likely sentences can be surmised in advance. The BD would therefore know the worst outcome to befall the suspect if convicted.</p> <p>However, and like elsewhere in the responsum, wherever DS applies his own view he takes the most narrow and restrictive approach. For this purpose, he adds “for otherwise every criminal could be handed over to the authorities” which he believes cannot be right in light of “the seriousness of mesirah”. The seriousness of child abuse merits no mention anywhere.</p> <p>There is also a sleight of hand here because it definitely does not follow that if mesirah is permitted for serious crimes then "every criminal can be reported". The discussion here centres on LM, which is a power that lies primarily with a BD, and so it would be for the BD to decide which crimes to punish rather than apply it to “every criminal”.</p> <a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1Y8lIuP2OUKyC8naHgeT72VJ60EjfvCYn"><img align="right" alt="mahram shik" border="0" height="244" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1mpZrfdnwtMB4dDoDnzFHxsiB8RR18crs" style="background-image: none; display: inline; float: right;" title="mahram shik" width="371" /></a> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=17eWkTdQ0CqCm-0stIyLZ28aQBcO4aO3k"><img alt="schwarcz" border="0" height="71" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1E6Z3hkCgYlkSTDnvf1ZgzxS_pbYgOH7l" style="background-image: none; display: inline;" title="schwarcz" width="626" /></a></p> <p>Furthermore, <a href="https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=1495&st=&pgnum=318">checking the Maharam</a> <a href="https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=1495&st=&pgnum=319">Schick</a> cited, DS has committed a glaring omission. The sentence preceding the one quoted by DS states “although one should not protest against others [who carry out the punishment] and whoever carries it out and endeavours to do so is acting lawfully for he has many Halachic opinions to rely on”, nonetheless Jewish leaders should desist. DS is happy to quote that BD should refrain from punishing offenders but makes no mention of the “many Halachic opinions” to the contrary.</p> <p>The real problem though with DS’s reasoning, and which applies to the entire responsum, is the absence of any discussion or even a hint at the severity of abuse, the danger and risk of re-offending and the effect of abuse on the victims. This completely taints his approach because he repeatedly applies sources and arguments to restrict or ban reporting alleged abusers without even once making any argument or quoting a single source which would allow, never mind compel, reporting such individuals to the police.</p> <p align="center">*</p> <p>The next section digresses slightly and focuses on the attributes and qualities of the BD that has punitive powers under the LM principle. DS quotes from Shulchan Oruch on the nature of the BD that it must be "selected from the entire community". He then adds of his own accord that such a BD must "have an understanding in these issues" and quotes a <i>vort </i>(whimsical Torah interpretation) that the expertise must cover both law and fact.</p> <p>To this he adds:</p> <p>"… <b>especially on these issues where there is a multitude of false allegations</b> and the like and so each case must be investigated in depth and one who does not understand these issues can easily err either in leniency or severity" (emphasis added).</p> <p>It is unclear to what purpose DS lists the required qualities of a BD which is repeated several times in the responsum. Such qualities are general principles and ideals which apply to any BD, though whether they are always lived up to is another question. There are, however, no special requirements for a BD carrying out punishments under LM.</p> <p>Furthermore, DS is anyway of the view that a BD, even with LM powers, cannot report a criminal to the authorities, so why harp on about the qualities such a BD must possess? The answer appears to be a tacit acknowledgement by DS that he may have taken matters too far and that a BD that can amputate a limb surely can also hand over the criminal to the authorities. He therefore covers himself by making out as if some special BD is required, which is not at all the case.</p> <p>DS finalises the section by repeating his own innovation that LM would not permit reporting a criminal to the authorities.</p> <p align="center">*</p> <p><b>Rodef (Pursuer)</b></p> <p>The next principle in DS’s discussion is that of a <i>rodef </i>where measures may be taken against a potential criminal for the sake of crime prevention rather than punishment. <i>Rodef</i> is a halachic term that permits killing or injuring a ‘pursuer’ trying to kill or harm a third person. (This is different to self defence as it also applies to a third party.) The principle of <i>rodef</i> has been broadened into a general principle that one may take action - including mesirah - to prevent someone committing certain crimes. (Conversely, someone threatening to commit mesirah without justification can himself be termed a <em>rodef.</em>)</p> <p>The <em>rodef </em>principle is qualified by two conditions:</p> <ol> <li>That there is a risk that the suspect may offend again</li> <li>That there is no other halachically permissible means to rescue the potential victim.</li> </ol> <p>DS considers the above two conditions and it is worth quoting him here in full:</p> <p>"Applying this to our case we must consider in each such incident whether there is indeed a risk that [the suspect] will reoffend. Even where such a risk exists there is still no permission [for mesirah] unless the accused is classified as a <i>rodef</i> which is not always the case. This is because a <i>rodef</i> only applies [in the context of sexual crimes] where he is pursuing someone with whom it is forbidden [according to the Torah] to have sexual relations, and not every child abuser can be termed a <i>rodef</i>. Even in cases where [sexual] relations are prohibited by the Torah if it is in a manner of seduction of a <i>godel </i>(a child who has reached Halachic majority: 12 years old for a girl and 13 for a boy) then the law of <i>rodef</i> would not apply and so there would be no permission for mesirah under this category. And even if someone is classified as a <i>rodef,</i> mesirah would still only be permissible if there is no other way of rescuing the victim… and so if the abuser can be prevented by treatment or other means of whatever kind there would be no permission for mesirah."</p> <p>To summarise, DS excludes any reporting to the authorities of the abuse of a girl of 12 or a boy of 13 or older if it is “consensual”, because since there is no coercion the laws of <i>rodef </i>do not apply. </p> <p>Furthermore, even where the child is younger than 12 or 13, DS would still prohibit reporting the suspect if there are other means to rescue the victim. Here DS veers entirely away from Halacha and applies his own ideas of “treating” sex offenders as a viable alternative.</p> <p>Lest anyone be comforted that DS is “only” dealing with a <i>suspect</i> and an <i>alleged</i> criminal, he makes clear it later in the responsum that in any event the BD must itself first investigate and hear evidence on the crime before there is any question of them reporting the abuser. Therefore, the person he is referring to would be one who the BD has in its estimation already found to have committed the alleged act and yet in DS’s opinion they may still not always be reported.</p> <p>Because like in the case of LM above, DS will use any opening in the sources only to narrow it down to its barest essentials but without even once mentioning the heinous crimes the suspect stands accused of or the potential harm to the community of these particular crimes. The only relevance of the nature of the crime according to DS is the possibility of “treatment”.</p> <p align="center">*</p> <p>The responsum continues with a brief section quoting the Rema (Poland, 16<sup>th</sup> c.) that the victim of a beating can complain to non-Jewish authorities. Once again DS narrows this down, without citing any source, that the Rema permits only the victim personally making a complaint and not someone else reporting it on the victim’s behalf.</p> <p align="center">*</p> <p align="left"><b>Public Harm</b></p> <p>There then follows a longer discussion on a broader principle permitting mesirah against individuals who torment the general public. This is broader than a <i>rodef</i> as the laws regarding a <i>rodef </i>are primarily concerned with violent crimes while this new principle applies also to harassment and financial harm. On the other hand it may applies only where the threat is to the public and not to individuals. The Rema broadens this principle further to cover someone involved in forgery, as he poses a financial risk to the public even if has as yet not committed a crime. </p> <p><a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1yArvj69O3W0tBAebVEEOmMfADFmeXR-i"><img align="right" alt="Chatam Sofer" border="0" height="139" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1gC3kwtLfQR1nHsjLS_qFkc6R8lyqvbal" style="background-image: none; display: inline; float: right;" title="Chatam Sofer" width="850" /></a>(Here too DS quotes selectively from the <a href="http://https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=22732&st=&pgnum=15" target="_blank">Chasam Sofer</a> (Austro Hungary, 18/19<sup>th </sup>c.) and ignores that private crimes can also be reported.) </p> <p>DS then extrapolates from various sources that the public harm principle is a derivation of the <i>rodef </i>principle and<i> </i>so the same conditions must apply that there is a risk of further harm and there are no alternative means of prevention other than mesirah.</p> <p>DS concludes this section that “in our case even if he is a harm to the public and so it is permitted to report him after he’s been issued with a warning, it still would apply only if there are no alternative means of dealing with him”.</p> <p><b>Summary</b></p> <p>The responsum then summarises the discussion in three numbered points:</p> <ol> <li>BD has a power under the doctrine of LM to impose punishments that are not mentioned in the Torah, which includes incarceration. This, however, is limited to a BD appointed by a seven-man executive (a traditional powerful communal executive body) plus the BD must have expertise in these subjects, “all their deeds must be for the "Sake of Heaven" and the BD must mete out the punishment themselves. However, “we find no source” for a BD even with the aforementioned characteristics to report an abuser for the authorities to deal with.</li> <li>LM may possibly apply only where the BD has state authority and which in any event is restricted to BD only and not for individuals to carry out the punishment themselves. DS then again quotes the Maharam Schick that BD should refrain from carrying out punishments. But he again also omits the crucial line in the Maharam Shick permitting others to act.</li> <li>Reporting for the sake of preventing harm is broken down further:</li> </ol> <p>a. The principle of <i>rodef</i> applies only if the accused is pursuing someone who is banned from sexual relations by the Torah. It does not apply if he’s pursuing a <i>godel </i>(i.e. a girl aged 12 plus or a boy aged 13 plus) “by way of seduction”.</p> <p>b. Only the victim themselves may report the crime. (As above, this appears to be DS’s own innovation for which he cites no source.)</p> <p>c. Under the principle of preventing harm to the public</p> <p>DS further qualifies this that even where the above conditions are met, reporting the suspect is still only permitted if there are no alternative means for treatment or other ways to prevent him from reoffending.</p> <p>"As is known there are effective medical means which are used worldwide for these kinds of instances and so there is definitely no permission to report him to non-Jews which is a serious sin and the law of [someone who reports him] is the same as that of a <i>rodef</i> and he has no share in the world to come.”</p> <p>The nature of such ‘treatment’, how the ‘treatment’ is to be administered, who is to supervise it and to what degree of compulsion, if any, is never discussed.</p> <p>DS then adds in square brackets that we must also consider whether it is permitted to beat someone who wants to report an abuser to prevent the person making the report from committing a prohibited act. Here too, DS does not discuss what form this beating might take and who is to administer it.</p> <p>So there you have it. Treatment for the offender; possible beatings for one making a report.</p> <p align="center">*</p> <p>Following the above summary, DS quotes from a letter from Rav Elyashiv to Dayan Dunner and Rav Feldman, both of the UOHC Rabbinate, where Rav Elyashiv writes that it is permitted to report an abuser if he is a public danger, it is certain that the abuse will continue and the Jewish community is powerless to prevent him. Rav Elyashiv adds that an individual cannot decide these facts on their own accord and must refer the matter to a BD who must carefully consider the facts. Anyone reporting an offender otherwise would themselves be a moser.</p> <p>DS returns here to his favourite theme of the type of BD that can consider such questions and which does not appear in Rav Elyashiv’s letter nor in any of the sources cited in this responsum in relation to the principles under discussion. DS also draws attention to the requirement that there are no other means possible to prevent him from reoffending. He concludes that "in our case it is obvious that there are other effective means to prevent him reoffending in the future”.</p> <p>(It is worth noting that Rav Elyashiv sent this letter to the UOHC rabbis in the 1990s in another notorious child abuse case in the community. In that case the child victims were expelled from schools and the family was hounded out of town while the accused had the full support of senior members of the community including rabbinical and lay leaders.)</p> <p>DS again reminds us that even where it is permitted to report the accused, he must first be warned. For this he quotes from a source related to dangerous driving.</p> <p>And then yet another discussion for no apparent purpose of the qualifications of a BD handling such matters. “They must be experts and great Torah scholars and also familiar with medical treatments and to establish the truth… all evidence must be examined and especially since we are dealing with the serious prohibition of mesirah.” Is he suggesting that UOHC or any other local BD is not a BD of this mold and therefore even they cannot report the suspect in this case? Is there any contemporary BD who in DS’s opinion would meet his stringent criteria? </p> <p>There then follows a discussion on the nature of the evidence to establish the “truth”. While generally in Jewish law it is not strictly necessary for a witness to give evidence in front of the accused, DS believes that in the case of allegations of sexual abuse it would be “ideal” for the victim to give evidence in front of their accuser. If that is not possible then the BD must still hear the accused's version of events.</p> <p align="center">*</p> <p>So having set out the parameters and qualifications and caveats relating to reporting an abuser we can conclude that according to Dayan Schwarcz an abuser may be reported if, and only if, the following conditions are met:</p> <ul> <li>That a Beth Din, of great scholars and experts, who all their deeds are for the Sake of Heaven and who have been appointed by a powerful lay executive, that a Beth Din of this calibre has ruled that the allegations are true after holding its own trial and hearing evidence (Grand jury? Voir dire?); and</li> <li>The victim is below 12 or 13 depending if a boy or a girl, or if older that it was not “consensual”; and</li> <li>There is a risk to the public of further offending; and</li> <li>There are no alternative means to prevent him from reoffending which would include “treatment”</li> </ul> <p>only then will mesirah be permitted to report the offender to the authorities. Even under these stringent conditions it is not clear if the victim must do the reporting or if someone is permitted to do it on their behalf.</p> <p>But don’t get too excited just yet for there is one final ace for abusers which DS springs on us at the very end. </p> <p>The very last paragraph is headed, “There is no permission [to report] if an entire family will be destroyed” and is followed by an analogy with monetary inheritance to make the point that you cannot destroy an entire family even “to rescue the public”. Nowhere in the entire responsum is the victim’s family honoured with even a passing mention. Nor is the grave risk to the public or the nature of these particular crimes ever brought into the equation.</p> <p>The valediction to the responsum is an abbreviation of “So are the words of he who seeks your peace at all times” followed by “Paltiel Hacohen Schwarcz”.</p> <p>No flourishes or grace or concern or even half a word of compassion or empathy is offered to the victim who is neither mentioned nor alluded to other than the fact that he is over 13 and may have been “seduced”. And also that there are many false allegations.</p> <p>Let me just again repeat that we are dealing here with a boy of 15 years old, hospitalised after a sexual attack and denied justice by the likes of Dayan Schwarcz.</p>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-80296367857470439352021-07-27T22:26:00.001+01:002021-07-27T22:28:34.879+01:00#MyOrthodoxLife<a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1oKDRPpgmylVRmfm78vV0drXRYGRgm9Zj"><img title="image" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="image" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=17JBUWPxjLq1fVMxRU4pACUr7dEX6BFEe" width="1131" height="667" /></a> <p>BY ANONYMOUS</p> <p>In light of the recent Netflix series which inspired many 'Orthodox' women all over the internet to write how beautiful their Orthodox life is, I will join the trend and talk about my experience too. </p> <p>I grew up in the Chasidic community in Stamford Hill in London. I had a lovely childhood. However, I received zero secular education. When I was a bit older I learned a few years in kolel and received Semicha, but this did not help me put food on the table and so I wanted to pursue a degree. I was ambitious and wanted to do something that will make a change. I wanted to study occupational therapy to help and improve lives of those in need. </p> <p>I searched online for 'Open University' courses but unfortunately they don't offer this course online. I looked at other places but wherever I tried to get in, I had to contend with the entry requirements... Besides my Semicha and my knowledge of Talmud Bavli, I didn't fit any of those requirements. And so I had to start from scratch.</p> <p>I went to the local college to pursue my grades in English, maths and science - it was so difficult to juggle studying and providing for my children. But I persevered with the support of my wife and I managed to obtain a degree - though not in occupational therapy because I didn't have the requirements. But it's still a degree…</p> <p>Now - only a handful of people know about my degree. My close family did not attend my graduation not because they disowned me but because they simply did not know about it. I kept it a secret from them because I knew they would disapprove.</p> <p>You might hear people making fun of those who study for a degree. "We have so many successful people without any degree." "This and that millionaire could barely sign his name in English." Well, of all those "successful" guys, how much fraud and swindling is there among them?</p> <p>How might the community accept my degree if they were to know about it? It is no secret that anyone who steps slightly out of the box is named and shamed by the community. (When I say "the community" I'm not pointing fingers at specific leaders or individuals; it is just our unaccepting environment.) Even minor changes I underwent was the talk of mikves and shtiebel coffee corners... (If I would remain in Yeshivah would they support me?)</p> <p>And now to all those successful women in the Orthodox community. Perhaps you are unaware of the recent campaign against lace-top wigs. I guess in your community women are also not told on what side of the street to stand when saying Tashlich. And your magazines also allow the publication of pictures of women. And you are not disowned by your family for changes in the way you dress if you prefer a more modern look.</p> <p>So Yes, everyone has their own experience and perhaps the type of Orthodoxy you refer to is considered goyish in my circle. But before you bash Netflix look around at your fellow brothers and sisters in Borough Park, Williamsburg, Lakewood etc. and check with them first if their Orthodox life is also so wonderful.</p>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-68179128683442239742021-04-12T23:27:00.000+01:002021-04-13T11:26:08.263+01:00Why? – On Our Conduct in the Pandemic<p><strong><em>This is a translation of the final chapter of an extensive feature in the <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08W6P2KTR/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_S7WF09T3R949EJY70SKF?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">latest issue of the Yiddish journal</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DerVeker" target="_blank">Der Veker</a> focusing on the Charedi, and specifically Chasidic, response to Covid-19. (<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/04/pandemic-covid-hasidic-jews-yiddish/618539/" target="_blank">The feature was also covered by The Atlantic</a>.)</em></strong></p> <p><strong><em>After compiling and analysing figures which show covid deaths amongst New York Chasidim about four times higher than the national average (which is consistent with figures compiled elsewhere), Der Veker dedicated the final chapter to the burning and painful question of “Why?”</em></strong></p> <p><strong><em>Now read on…</em></strong></p> <p>Our reckless conduct during the pandemic has produced grim and heart-breaking results and the conclusion is shattering: we have with our own hands brought upon ourselves a death rate four times worse than that of our neighbouring communities. And the question cries out to heaven, why? As Jews we are raised to be compassionate, our communities have an immense number of social welfare and medical organisations with much of it evident during the pandemic. Even while we were infecting one another we were also at the same time mobilising on a large scale to provide medical and welfare assistance to those affected. Yet how do we reconcile this with our own callous behaviour in bringing about the tragedy in the first place?</p> <p>We turn the world upside down to release our brethren from prison and we move heaven and earth to help them in their hour of need. Would we not wear masks for months on end or desist from shaking hands if we thought that it would release even a single <i>heimishe </i>person from jail? Would we not readily forego huge weddings for a while if we were convinced that it would cure a child from cancer? So why are the lives of hundreds of our brethren so irrelevant that we will not do the least bit to reduce the chances of us infecting one another?</p> <p>How do we explain that the same communities that have spent a fortune to rescue teenagers from a jail sentence or a <i>bal teshuva </i>murderer from a death sentence, cannot persuade themselves to wear a mask on the chance that 99% of epidemiologists are right? How do we resolve that those same people who on Pesach refrain from the slightest chance of machine matzos, which is prohibited on for some mysterious “undisclosed reason”, have nothing but mockery for measures which at the very least reduce the chances of the spread of the virus — and at the very time that people are dying daily from the pandemic?</p> <p>How does one explain that the same people who will trust a doctor sufficiently to perform open-heart surgery on them or grant them a dispensation to eat on Yom Kippur cannot persuade themselves to listen to the same doctors in order to protect the lives of others? How do we comprehend that the same leaders who summon gatherings for every imaginary religious transgression, will not set any example or issue guidance when we are experiencing the greatest life and death crisis of the post-war era?</p> <p>Millions of people, communities and groups across the world are opposed to lockdowns and the fact that many Charedim share those views is hardly news. There are also scientists who have their doubts including the many who signed The Great Barrington Declaration in opposition to lockdowns. However, our communities do not merely oppose lockdowns – we ignore even the least of precautions to protect ourselves from the pandemic. Others who are opposed to lockdowns still believe that it is advisable to regularly wash one’s hands, to minimise large gatherings as far as possible, protect the elderly and assist those who need to protect themselves. It is only in our communities that we have taken an almost unanimous decision that none of it applies<b> </b>to us at all<b>. </b>There is literally no measure,<b> </b>however simple and straightforward, that we will undertake in the universal attempt to try minimise the spread of the virus.</p> <p>Which begs the question: Why? What is it that drives an entire community to bury its head in the sand and ignore a danger of life for which we have been paying the price week after week?</p> <p>The Charedi— and more specifically Chasidic — conduct throughout the pandemic has been both unique and almost universal amongst us. We have constantly been making headlines in the national and international press and across the world our conduct has caused shock and outrage. While there have no doubt been many people who have taken a less restrictive approach to the pandemic, nowhere are there entire communities wherever they happen to be living across the world to have collectively decided by their conduct that the pandemic simply does not apply to them. </p> <p>This is entirely unrelated to politics. It is indeed the case that an overwhelming majority of Chasidim are, or were, Trump supporters and that those on the further political right generally do not take to the coronavirus restrictions kindly. However, this applies more to lockdowns and mandatory masks and similar liberty-limiting measures. There are however no right leaning communities in America acting as if the pandemic does not exist at all and that no action whatsoever is necessary. Our Modern-Orthodox brethren in other neighbourhoods who are just as fanatical Trump supporters still understand, like the overwhelming majority of Americans, that irrespective of politics there are some fundamental measures which must be taken in order to shield from the pandemic.</p> <p>It is easy to point to mistakes made by politicians in their “outreach” attempts to our community, highlight wrong decisions made in the course of the pandemic and accuse them of hypocrisy in their personal conduct, but there is no sense in blaming others when we are the ones deciding on our own conduct and we are the ones paying the price. The politicians can take care of themselves. Our concern is with our own conduct driven by our own leaders and which seems to be universal amongst Chasidim irrespective of their location or local politics. Be it New York, New Jersey, Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Montreal, London, Antwerp, Melbourne, wherever there is a Chasidic Jewish community there is the same attitude that covid does not apply to us and the same defiant conduct. And also unfortunately the same results: significantly higher infection rates and significantly increased deaths.</p> <p>There have been attempts to explain the huge weddings held by Chasidic Rebbes with complete disregard for the cost in human life that such weddings have in recent decades become an integral part of Chasidic life and Chasidim simply cannot give up on these irrespective of the cost.</p> <p>For a start, this is factually incorrect. During the times of the first Satmar Rebbe (d. 1979), who rebuilt Chasidic life in the United States after WWII, there were few such weddings and there are also plenty Chasidic groups which do not celebrate in this manner. Equally, among Chasidim who do hold such weddings, they have become so frequent that they are hardly a novelty and so could easily have been held amongst a more limited crowd. This is quite besides the obscenity of the argument itself that the human death toll we have suffered is a worthwhile price to pay for Chasidic leaders to continue their massive weddings in the face of a raging pandemic.</p> <p>But assuming the role of devil’s advocate let us for a moment accept that the joy and spiritual uplift experienced by a Chasid at the wedding of his Rebbe’s youngest child or grandchild is simply beyond our comprehension. And let us also concede that such is the experience that sacrificing three or four elderly or other vulnerable people who may well die as a direct result of the mass event is a price worth paying simply because such weddings are almost literally food for the Chasid’s soul.</p> <p>Yet even if we were to follow this internal Chasidic logic, how are we to explain that these weddings are held without any precautions at all? How do we explain that there is no demand for people to wash their hands before entering the venue, no ban on people who have not had the virus from attending, and no one is ordered to wear a mask? When it suited them, the Rebbes were able to issue orders that were strictly enforced. To prevent evidence of these super-spreading events leaking out, many weddings had absolute bans on photography or videos which were strictly enforced, in one case even scanning those entering the venue with metal detectors. And indeed very few photos or clips leaked out. So why could they not take similar measures to limit the spread of the virus?</p> <p>Would the supposed spiritual uplift be reduced by taking a few precautions? Does wearing a mask contradict Chasidic life? Would it be so difficult for a Rebbe to inspire his Chasidim to fulfil the religious obligation to protect life?</p> <p>It may have been easier to justify our conduct had our general disregard for precautionary measures been limited to matters that are supposedly integral to Chasidic life. We could point at our unique lifestyle and that if only the world comprehended our way of life it may also have understood our conduct. But, God in heaven! When most of the world wear masks despite the difficulties and hundreds of millions of people across the world have not hugged their grandchildren for a year, and when most people understand the necessity of washing hands and that in these difficult times it is necessary to adjust and forego some of our comforts, yet we cannot persuade ourselves to do anything at all or even barely acknowledge that we are at risk, what is then our excuse? How do we justify that?</p> <p>I do not have clear answers to these questions and the following are just a collection of thoughts. While explanations will vary from person to person and place to place, there are some common threads running through this and hopefully the truth lies somewhere in between. Even as a partial explanation, they will provide something of a picture on the driving force for our conduct despite the price we are constantly paying in human life.</p> <p>1. <b>Lack of foresight </b>–<b> </b>It is unfortunately the case that we tend not to think. We do not carry out a risk assessment prior to holding a mass event with the view of taking a calculated risk, but rather we do not think at all. The potential victims are not in front of our eyes and so we do not think above them. The entire concept of cause and effect and that science can predict certain effects from a particular cause is alien to our mode of thought. We fail to understand that science is a system with its own methods which despite its limitations can accurately predict certain outcomes in the present and in the future. We see this also in our communities in a general neglect of preventative healthcare. We fail to make the connection that an unhealthy lifestyle can be the cause of illness and which preventative action might forestall.</p> <p>2. <b>Black-and-white thinking </b>– We have a tendency to see things in black-and-white with a difficulty in recognising nuance. If we are aggrieved by lockdowns, we decide that any kind of restriction must be a liberal conspiracy. If we are unhappy with a political decision, we will dismiss anything uttered by any politician. We fail to see the many shades of grey and that even if we are unwilling or unable to accommodate some of the more extreme guidelines, there still remain many simple measures which can be adhered to and for which life must adapt accordingly.</p> <p>Similarly, if we see others violating guidelines, for example by holding a protest, we take this as an indication that no one is adhering to the restrictions. We fail to consider that others being wrong does not make us right and that there are also degrees in wrongdoing. A minor infraction, for example, because demonstrations were held in open air where many demonstrators wore masks or they are a one off occurrence cannot compare to an official lifestyle choice such as our daily packed synagogues and frequent mass celebrations. Black-and-white thinking blinds us to the shades and degrees of violations and that even if we are relaxed on some points it does not give us a licence to dismiss all the guidelines and entirely ignore the pandemic.</p> <p>3. <b>To spite </b>– Some of our conduct has been as if to spite, but spite whom? To some of us, because the governor or mayor or some other politician was wrong when demanding extreme precautions, or because they offended our community, or because they may have been hypocritical in their own personal conduct, it arouses in us a feeling of spite. As if these politicians invented the virus and the need for restrictions and because they have occasionally, or even persistently, been wrong we will spite them by defying their measures, notwithstanding that experts across the world have recommended the measures for our own health and safety. And to spite someone or other we will ignore even the most simple and least contentious of the restrictions. Simply put, we are cutting our nose to spite our face.</p> <p>4. <b>Problems with numbers </b>– We often have difficulties handling numbers and statistics. If we see thousands of people outside our communities who dismiss the health measures we adopt an attitude of, “if they may then so may we“. What we fail to grasp is that the US consists of 330 million people and even if 30 million people ignore the regulations it is still barely 10% of the populations and a small minority of Americans as a whole. If only ten or twenty percent of our communities did not observe the regulations we may indeed have been on the same level as the general public and no doubt this would have been reflected in our death figures. But when in our communities the figure of non-observance is frighteningly close to 100% it makes no sense to point at others. In addition, outside of our communities the vast majority observes at least <i>some</i><b> </b>of the regulations in recognition that there is a pandemic about and to a greater or lesser degree they try and adapt. Only we appear to be an entire community<b> </b>doing nothing at all.</p> <p>5. <b>Statistic illiteracy </b>– Often we fail to grasp the concept of statistical chance. The reason for wearing a mask is not to eliminate any chance of catching or transmitting the virus but to reduce those chances. If a person does not observe the regulations it does not inevitably lead to them catching the virus but simply that it increases their chances. But this is something we find difficult to comprehend. When someone who never wears a mask does not get infected we see in it proof that the experts must be wrong. And, conversely, when someone who diligently wears a mask at all times contracts the virus we take it as conclusive evidence that masks are ineffective. </p> <p>6. <b>Problems with scientific methodology </b>– We sometimes fail to understand that criticism of a theory does not necessarily disprove that theory entirely. Likewise, we lack the insight that any new theory must also resolve criticisms of the theory that preceded it and has supposedly been refuted. For example, we often hear, “Shimon locked himself away for 10 month and still he got the virus!”. We take this as proof that no one understands how the virus operates and so there is nothing to be done and we can therefore dismiss all protective restrictions. We do not appreciate that despite any lockdowns no one is hermetically sealed and the virus can still spread in all kind of manner. So instead we reach for wild theories as if the fact that the virus is spread by human contact is itself open to question and as if the idea that minimising contact between people reduces the chances of spreading the virus is also subject to challenge.</p> <p>7. <b>Bad leadership </b>- While every individual is ultimately responsible for themselves and we cannot absolve anyone for their own conduct, there is no doubt that the main blame rests with our leadership. It is they who could and should have set an example but failed to do so. This is all the more so in our communities which are tightly controlled by these same leaders. It is also in their buildings and institutions and at their initiative that the largest and most harmful breaches are taking place and with their participation.</p> <p>Unfortunately, many of our leaders do not think in terms of the general good. In their eyes a celebration in their family is indeed more important than any other concern. It’s not that they think, “Come on let’s kill a few people because my grandchild must get married”. They simply do not think and do not care so long that they get their way.</p> <p>There were several leaders who were indeed strict at the start of the pandemic. However, at some point they themselves became infected and once they had recovered and so were less at risk they dismissed all the restrictions. By their conduct they showed that irrespective of the wellbeing of their followers they only ever cared for themselves.</p> <p>There is no question that our leaders could have made a difference. We may find a mask uncomfortable and, and as the British blogger Eli Spitzer has observed, contrary to our own distinct dress code, but such attitudes would have changed quickly had our leaders, both Chasidic Rebbes and lay leaders, led by example. And in respect of other health guidelines, not only did our leadership not set an example but they set the tone by their defiant conduct that they would be the last to accept any restrictions even for the sake of saving lives.</p> <p>At the start of the pandemic when generally more people wore masks, photographs circulated of unmasked Rebbes surrounded by masked followers. At a large Rebbishe wedding in the Seret-Vizhnitz community in Haifa, the authorities had insisted that masks must be worn and which was complied with – except for the Rebbes on the dais who were all mask-less. The constant message that went out to the public was: masks are for losers and no matter what real leaders do not wear a mask.</p> <p>8. <b>Weak leadership </b>–<b> </b>Many of our leaders, especially at a local and communal level, simply lack the backbone to take a clear stand. Even where they are convinced that something must be done, they will not go against the popular current that prefers an easy life of lawlessness to restrictions that save lives. It is even more so when they see life in rival Chasidic courts continue unabated and they fear they will be left behind in the weekly pursuit of headlines and publicity.</p> <p> 9. <b>Peer pressure </b>– There is no room for individuality in our communities especially with a leadership that cares only for itself. The general public will try and rationalise their leaders’ conduct with blind loyalty and this in turn discourages an individual from taking a principled stand. It also incites the public mood to militancy against such individuals and to ridicule those who try to be careful. This was evident in public mask-burning and the near-lynching of a journalist. This places too high a price for an individual to pay for acting consciously and with reason.</p> <p>10. <b>Cognitive dissonance </b>– When taking care is the rational thing to do but peer pressure leads us to behave differently, the mind can often not cope with these contradictions and so devises a range of illogical explanations to rationalise an escape from logic. We see people whom we revere and respect violate even the simplest of health measures despite that it may protect the lives of other people and our brain cannot reconcile their supposed reputation with their reckless conduct. So we come up with convoluted and disingenuous explanations<i> and 150 grounds to purify a rodent.</i></p> <p>This cognitive dissonance often leads the same person who ridicules the precautionary guidelines despite the advice of doctors, to declare themselves fully supportive of vaccines because doctors have recommended them. And despite trusting doctors on vaccinations, they will dismiss the same doctors’ recommendations to avoid large, super-spreading gatherings.</p> <p>11. <b>External orders </b>– Too often we refuse to see a value in something that originates from outside our own communities. We educate our children to be polite to a stranger for the sake of Kiddush Hahsem (sanctifying God’s name) rather than for the inherent value in civil conduct, and we thus waste the opportunity to educate our young to use their brains and to inculcate them with basic rules of civility. <i>Derech</i> <i>Eretz Kodmo LaTorah</i> (civility supersedes Torah) means that decency and morality are values that exist outside the framework of the Torah. But when these basic principles of a shared commonality are uprooted it creates a certain mental block which prevents us accepting any guidance from the outside world and even in these exceptional times.</p> <p>This in turn gives rise to a cynicism and sarcasm which sees anyone following the safety guidelines as naïve and not shrewd enough to see beyond the dry rules. A popular Chasidic joke doing the rounds illustrates this well: “Corona is like the Egyptian plague of darkness which the Torah tells us was suffered only by the Egyptians while the Children of Israel enjoyed <i>light in their residences</i>. Likewise, while the general public suffers in lockdowns, we dance at weddings every night.</p> <p>12. <b>Insularity </b>– As a result of our upbringing, many find it difficult to empathise and consider the plight of others. We tend to think our way of life so extraordinary and the hardships entailed by the restrictions so unique to us that it entitles us to ignore the rules because no one can understand us. </p> <p>But in truth millions of people have had their lives uprooted in all kinds of manner. Many have lost their livelihoods, children have not been to school for almost a year and cannot interact and play with their classmates, university students cannot attend lectures, grandparent have not hugged or seen their grandchildren face to face, people cannot meet up with their friends, young people cannot date or form relationships and numerous couples have postponed their weddings or married with barely a handful of people, all in compliance with the regulations. Likewise, millions of religious people have not taken part in communal prayers and religious ceremonies, social and cultural events and ceremonies have been postponed, many indefinitely, and holidays which may have been years in the planning have been delayed. Wearing a mask and taking simple hygiene measures are also an imposition for everyone, yet most people understand that these are necessary in such times and must be adhered to for one’s own sake and for the sake of others.</p> <p>Our unique way of life undoubtedly causes difficulties unique to us but then other communities have difficulties which are unique to them. And even if it were true that certain restrictions are a greater imposition on us than on others, then the solution is to find ways to adapt those restrictions to our way of life and our unique requirements. What we fail to take account of is that we are in this together with our non-Jewish neighbours and compatriots and instead we have excepted ourselves entirely and become the only community to reject everything altogether.</p> <p>13. <b>Permanent state of war </b>– As a community, maintaining a constant state of war with the outside world has become an integral part of who we are and what we stand for. We are constantly on the lookout for new enemies who we believe wish to destroy all that we hold holy and precious. We barely know any longer how to exist as Jews without battling someone or another and anything from the outside can only be a corrupting influence that will tear down the Iron Curtain between us and them. There is a quote from a Charedi leader: “if the government orders us to study <i>Babba Kama</i>, we will opt for <i>Baba Metzia</i>!”. Compliance even with something that is for the sake of our health becomes anathema to us if ordered by someone we have labelled an “enemy”. We so dread anything from the “outside” that we have lost the ability to differentiate between the purpose and effect of what we are told to do. Unfortunately this is all that now stands for our identity. (Adapted from blog by Rabbi Dr Nathan Slifkin.)</p> <p>14. <b>Bad leadership (2) </b>– We hold to account those who must make decisions in these critical times but applaud those without the courage to take any stance. It is inevitable that those with responsibility for public health who must constantly monitor developments and adapt their decision making will sometimes make wrong decisions, especially with the benefit of hindsight. Leaders cannot know the unknowable and they must use their judgement and reach decisions on the basis of information they have at hand. This, to many of us, is difficult to grasp. We latch on to Doctor Fauci’s original assessment that masks are not necessary but which he later retracted. Yet the leaders who never change their minds are only those who make no decisions and issue no guidelines in the first place. </p> <p>15. <b>Out of touch with reality </b>– Our communities have been afflicted in recent years with an abundance of superstition and fantasy causing us to abandon rational thinking. Our regular diet of “miracles” and supposed supernatural events which we are now fed almost daily by a variety of organisations and publications has caused us to lose touch with reality. A lack of education also denies us a basic understanding of how our world operates. That there are rules of nature and that scientists study these rules and understand them better, notwithstanding that they sometimes get things wrong. We believe wild conspiracy theories and will accept the words of crooks and quacks against the overwhelming majority of genuine experts. Almost all experts advise that masks can in all likelihood minimise, at least somewhat, the transmission of the virus, yet we readily spit on the risk to human life because we have found a few mavericks who believe the opposite.</p> <p>16. <b>Fossilised Judaism </b>– Our <i>Yiddishkeit</i> (Jewish life) has become frozen in a certain format and as a community we are unable to adapt to the new situation formed by our exceptional times. We have lost the ability to ask, “<i>and presently what does God demand from you</i>?“ Just like we cannot handle children who temperamentally do not fit into our “normal” system of Yiddiskeit, we also cannot handle temperamental times which do not fit our normal patterns. So long that we follow our habits then all is well and fine. But if something exceptional happens that demands that we recalibrate ourselves and adjust our way of life to the current chaos, we feel cast adrift and become like an actor without a script. We are not trained to think in terms of the will of God neither for exceptional individuals and nor for exceptional times. We have become embedded in our comfort zone and irrespective of the cost we simply cannot depart from it.</p> <p>These are just some attempts to understand our irrational and reckless behaviour. The coronavirus pandemic will undoubtedly be studied for decades if not centuries to come and our conduct and the awful price we are paying will likewise undoubtedly be closely examined.</p>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-29316836137057428002019-09-04T11:06:00.001+01:002019-09-04T17:00:29.425+01:00“A tragedy of titanic proportions”<p>A letter sent to the New York State Board of Regents (who run the New York State Education Department) in support<strong> of </strong>the <a href="http://www.nysed.gov/news/2019/state-education-department-proposes-regulations-substantially-equivalent-instruction" target="_blank">proposed regulations</a> for education standards in New York non-public schools, which includes all chadorim and yeshivos, to ensure “all New York’s children leave school with the knowledge they need to succeed in life”.</p> <p>Not surprisingly, the usual suspects ranging from the Williamsburg antediluvians to the well-educated Agudah lay leaders and others have <a href="https://www.jta.org/2019/08/13/united-states/ny-orthodox-schools-are-fighting-a-proposal-that-would-force-them-to-increase-secular-education" target="_blank">whipped up a storm</a> to try and ensure that Chasidic kids remain pig-ignorant until the coming of the Messiah and long thereafter. Amen.</p> <p>For the truth in the ‘equivalence’ of Torah study and the other spin and outright lies commonly propounded over there and over here, keep on reading.</p> <blockquote> <p>Dear Regent,</p> <p>I'm a 36 years old Chasidic man, who grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. When I attended yeshiva, secular education was a little better than it is today. We had 1 hour and 45 minutes of English studies 4 days a week, for 7 years. The studies weren't really taken seriously, and there was no professional curriculum to build on the progress year after year. </p> <p>By the time we were 13 years old, during our last year of secular studies, most of my class was able to read on a third or fourth grade level [Years 4-5 in UK]. In math, we reached up to long division. In the last year, there was an attempt to teach some fractions, but the class wasn't ready and wasn't motivated. </p> <p>We had some books on history, science and social studies. These books were rarely used. Personally, I loved to read, so I read many of those books during recess and lunch time. </p> <p>After I got married, I decided to work on a degree. I went to an Orthodox college, and I was from the lucky ones. The education I got in yeshiva – as dismal as it was – was better than what many other Chasidic students got in their yeshivas. Many of them had to drop out, because it was impossible for them to follow along. Since I was able to read English (albeit on a fourth grade level), I was able to build upon it. It was extremely hard, but I made it through. To me this demonstrated the difference between zero education, and some resemblance of one. No doubt had I had a decent basic education, as the law demands, my path would have been much easier, and I'd have way more opportunities to explore. </p> <p>G-d granted me precious children – including 3 boys. They are in a Chasidic yeshiva, and while the Hebrew studies are now better than they were when I was a child, the secular education is way worse. </p> <p>The kids don't get the basics of secular education. The time allotted for English studies is about an hour a day, 4 days a week, for 5 years. The teachers are in most cases completely incompetent, who can barely speak English and don't know the basics, like the multiplication table. There are almost no books, and there's no curriculum.</p> <p>Our 13 year old, a bright and inquisitive child who's thank G-d doing very well in his Hebrew studies, has already "graduated" the English studies, and he can't write a coherent sentence in English. My wife and I spent many hours to help him get some education, but there's only so much parents can do after a full day at school. Our son reads English well, thanks to the work we did together. He's the only one in his class of 36 that understands and reads English beyond a second grade level [Year 2]. Since he's already 13 years old, there's now zero secular education in yeshivah.</p> <p>Our younger sons are currently in cheder (elementary school), and are going through the same educational neglect. There's no interest in providing a robust basic education. To the yeshiva administration, taking basic secular studies seriously is a laughable and ridiculous idea. </p> <p>The lack of education is even deeper than simple English. There is no educational mindset; there's no real reading or writing curriculum even in Yiddish or Hebrew. (At the start of each school-year kids get a Yiddish writing book, but bring it back home mostly empty at the end of the year.) The average Chasidic teen can't write a simple essay in ANY language. </p> <p>And we don't have a choice here. We are Chasidic Jews, and we want to bring up our children in this heritage. We need them to attend a Chasidic school, as did we, and the generations before us. We should not be forced to drop our heritage, just so our children should be able to get a basic decent education – as is their right. </p> <p>The educational neglect is not a question about Judaism or Chasidic belief. All Chasidic yeshivas – including the big yeshivas like Satmar and Bobov – were originally built with a decent secular studies component. Yeshiva leaders simply neglected their moral, educational, and financial responsibility to ensure their students are properly prepared for their future. </p> <p>Yeshiva leaders are fighting against attempts to fix this horrible neglect, to cover for their gross incompetence. They simply don't want to take upon themselves the responsibility of teaching secular studies – a duty that they so successfully managed to get away with for the last few decades. </p> <p>Yeshiva activists tout graduates of the few ultra-Orthodox yeshivas that do provide some education and the scores of Orthodox non-Chasidic schools that provide an excellent education, and use them to cover up for the educational neglect in most other Chasidic yeshivas. Instead of spending money to correct this horrible problem, yeshiva leaders spend it on PR and propaganda. But if one wants to believe no one, and just wants to find out the hard cold facts: get a group of unbiased educators to visit the Satmar yeshiva on a <strong>random</strong> day, and ask basic educational questions from <strong>random</strong> students. These yeshiva leaders are experts in putting up a show. Talk to random students on a random, unannounced day, and the sad facts will fully emerge. </p> <p>Many parents are afraid of government intervention. But they, too, readily admit that the current situation has to change. It is a tragedy of titanic proportion.</p> <p>Personally, I'm more afraid of the educational neglect than the government intervention. I believe that if the yeshiva leaders would think in terms of actually fixing the issue, and not in terms of how to fool the government, they would have been able to negotiate a solid education for our children that is close to what yeshivas originally provided before the era of neglect, and close enough to satisfy the State. </p> <p>I therefore beseech you to approve Rule # EDU-27-19-00010-P, and to force the yeshivas to comply with the State regulations to provide a decent education. Approximately 3 hours of secular studies a day is fully consistent with the Jewish religion and Chasidic values. We need it, you need it, and most importantly, our children need it. </p> <p>Thank you very much,</p></blockquote>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-29907909278929148022019-04-04T12:27:00.002+01:002019-04-04T14:13:15.595+01:00The One and Only ‘One Individual’<div style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> <div align="justify"></div> <div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;"><a style="margin-right: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6n6bg3rEPMqy4v1i8K2ICZoGlscHONlIW95KU5FPHTjSVtS5YUmrUPYogLI4b0Zssr1JDP12wfYeSIvKuYgpR2KF8AU0VVyTxIL1AoLtjd7TZvlF0B237Pl0lDCOF-ZXleDjXKc7CB35U/s1600/DianAbbot1+%2528002%2529_Page_1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img style="margin: 0px auto 5px; float: none; display: block;" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6n6bg3rEPMqy4v1i8K2ICZoGlscHONlIW95KU5FPHTjSVtS5YUmrUPYogLI4b0Zssr1JDP12wfYeSIvKuYgpR2KF8AU0VVyTxIL1AoLtjd7TZvlF0B237Pl0lDCOF-ZXleDjXKc7CB35U/s640/DianAbbot1+%2528002%2529_Page_1.jpg" width="381" height="496" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1237" /></a></div> <p align="justify">You may be surprised to read what follows and you may be sure that I'm even more surprised to be writing it. Those who follow <a href="https://twitter.com/ifyoutickleus">my tweets</a> (do, they're pretty good) will know that, to put it mildly, I'm neither a fan of Pinter nor of the UOHC Rabbinate. But since the two are almost always on the same page I do not often have to make the invidious choice of who is the better looking or has the tidier beard. This time, however, after their very public falling out it is precisely this choice which falls to me and if needs must we might as well get on with it.</p> <p align="justify">The facts are pretty basic. <a href="https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/jewish-labour-members-in-tears-diane-abbott-s-local-party-passes-motion-questioning-instituti-1.480825">Pinter expressed himself 'shocked'</a> after the local MP Diane Abbott failed to oppose or even speak out during a debate on the local Labour party motion that the Labour party is not institutionally antisemitic. A pen pusher from her office then turned up at the UOHC Beth Din to complain about Pinter following which the UOHC Rabbinate approved the above letter. I have highlighted the salient passage where Pinter is dismissed as a mere unrepresentative 'one individual'. The rest, as they say, is commentary.</p> <p align="justify">Before we move on to the madness and badness of this letter, it's worthwhile putting it into context. A week earlier Shlomo Sinitsky, the chairman of Kedassia, had resigned and the entire Rabbinate debased themselves in order to bring him back. Every one of them personally signed not one but two letters in his support, senior rabbis paid him a home visit, the original offenders issued public apologies and all in an effort to get Sinitsky to retract his resignation.</p> <p align="justify">How then should Pinter feel seeing all of this? Without meaning to devalue Sinitsky’s work, his is an administrative job which with some training can be picked up by another competent administrator without too much disruption. Pinter on the other hand is the public face of our community. I do not agree with much of what he says or does and it would sometimes be nice if he wasn't so much in love with his face. But it's not me that matters here.</p> <p align="justify">From the point of view of the rabbis, Pinter has been providing them and their community a stellar service for decades. I'm not now referring to the schools but to the public relation he conducts on behalf of the community and the rabbis. I've heard from askonim within and from outside journalists how no one but he will speak up for us. It is them rabbis who keep on stepping right into it and parading it to the world thinking it smells of besomim, it is they who time and again abjectly fail in their duties as leaders and it is to him that they turn to pick up the pieces and stick out his neck for them in public.</p> <p align="justify">Speaking out for our community is a thankless task. Far too often we put ourselves out as objects of scorn by seeming to condone if not actively facilitate shady activities, by covering up all forms of abuse, by engaging in practices which win us negative headlines with unseeming regularity. In those situations the rabbis lock themselves away, at best mumble some incomprehensible mutterings into their moustaches and at worst aggravate an already bad situation with pearls of wisdom such as 'the police are not the solution'. It is at times like these that Pinter pops up on the radio, television and in newspapers to spin some yarn on their behalf. Yet it is precisely in this arena where they chose to cut him down.</p> <p align="justify">Gosh, I'm enjoying this so I might as well continue. If there was any logic or calculation behind this I may have tried to understand them. If they had eased Pinter out of 'his' school I would have paid tribute for the credit due to him and optimistically (or naively) looked forward to a new governing body to put their house in order. If they had put the wedding hall on a fair footing I would have cheered them to the rafters. But none of this will change and they at UOHC know that for these reasons the Sinitsky route is not available to Pinter. UOHC is itself a beneficiary of the wedding hall shenanigans and they wouldn't want him to go either.</p> <p align="justify">So they stuck the knife in where they know he cannot strike back, on the public stage he so covets and in relation to the local MP who is also a national figure. And you ask yourself why? For what rhyme or reason? All Pinter had said was that he was 'shocked' by Abbott failing to speak out on a local Labour Party motion. On a scale of 1 to 100 of political expressions, 'shocked' comes in at about 5.5. To put it into context <a href="https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/charedi-rabbi-comes-to-diane-abbott-s-defence-after-antisemitism-debate-row-1.462625">when in a parliamentary debate on antisemitism Abbott caused an outcry by trying to deflect criticism of Labour in pointing the finger at Ofsted, it was Pinter who stood up and defended her</a>. If some of the rabbis are unhappy with the inertia of ChinuchUK they have plenty of opportunity to make themselves known. But this is of an altogether different nature and what calculation however Machiavellian could have been behind it? But there is none.</p> <p align="justify">I know I'd be expected to say something about Shraga Stern but I shan’t. Shraga Stern does what Shraga Stern does best. He claims to speak on behalf of no one, he's a disruptor activist elbowing his way to the top and so far he's been doing rather well. There is, however, absolutely no reason why the rabbis should be behind him if they chose not to. They told Stern to back off on the Board of Deputies demonstration which he did. It is the rabbis who signed the letter in support of Corbyn, again the rabbis who ruled for Stern in his Freedom of Information dispute with ChinuchUK and now yet again the rabbis who authorised this anti-Pinter letter.</p> <p align="justify">This is about the rabbis and them alone. Even if I was inclined to be generous to them by saying they did not mean to give him a kick it would still be beside the point. How stupid must one be not to realise that if a pen-pusher from Diane Abbott's office turns up in front of them he must have been put up to it? Are the rabbis so self-obsessed to think that anyone outside our square mile has even heard of them? They think they are invincible because they can expound on bulls goring heifers and come up with wheezes on a watertight sales contract for chometz and so they must also understand the real world of everything including labyrinthine politics which they neither follow nor understand. Who knows, perhaps they have something to say on nuclear diffusion too.</p> <p align="justify">We now know that they're useless at kashrus which is a central part of their remit - don't take my word for it; 30 odd of the town's dayonim have so confirmed. But yet it hadn't dawned on them perhaps to defer, to discuss, to consult before issuing this letter. And even if they were inclined to proceed, wouldn't common decency and <em>mentshlichkeit</em> prompt them to pause before stabbing one of their most senior lay leaders? Is this what their superior 6th sense of Daas Torah guides them to do? That when a problem is brought before them they grab a knife instead of a pen to kill off the goose that most protects their golden eggs? We confuse the rabbis' survival skills in protecting their positions for themselves and their kids as indicators of good sense. In reality, as this incident shows, there is simply no <em>seichel</em> there in any meaningful way. Even from the vantage point of their self-interest, they shuould not heap ridicule on their public face in this shameful manner.</p> <p align="justify">It’s shameful indeed that it’s left to me of all people to remind them that Pinter is not ‘one individual’. He is a UOHC trustee, he is chairman of the external affairs committee, for better or worse he runs our flagship school and to top it all he more than anyone is the public face not just of our local community but of the national chareidi community.</p> <p align="justify">If senior rabbonim paid Sinitsky a home visit to placate him, then the entire Rabbinate, their wives, kids, daughter in laws and grandchildren should be crawling in front of him. No one expects that to happen but where are Pinter's senior colleagues who should at the very least be extracting a 'clarification' from the Rabbinate on its position. Where is Frand? Where is Baumgarten? Where are Goldman, Rothfeld, Gordon, Kesselman and the other bigwigs who sit round the table with Pinter at those grand-sounding subcommittees? Why when the community at large is firmly anti-Corbyn are the rabbonim knifing Pinter when all he did was to respond to a motion widely seen as anti-Jewish by Jews and non-Jews alike? If the rabbis were naïve in the pro-Corbyn letter what is their excuse in this anti-Pinter missive? And if the rabbis can't see the point, where are the lay leaders?</p> <p align="justify">The answer is plain to see. There is simply no one there. The same people who stab us daily by tripling the price of foodstuffs and weekly by denying us an eiruv will stab their own when it suits them. No calculations, no grand plan, just shamelessness, ineptitude and idiocy on a gargantuan scale. Hardly anything we hadn't known before but from time to time they'll do something just in case we hadn't been paying attention.</p> <p align="justify"></p> <p align="justify"></p> <p align="justify"></p> <div align="justify"></div> </div>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-57157066623550109022019-04-03T13:39:00.001+01:002019-04-03T13:39:09.783+01:00Au Revoir Skulener Rebbe<p>Shabbos Parshath Tetzave…</p> <p>Went to the Skulener's tish simply to see the crowd. I also hoped I'd get to hear some nice singing. I left the house at 9.45pm and I turned up at Yesodey Hatorah School on Stamford Hill and the marquee was rather empty with few people at the top table. By the time I left after 11 the place was full to capacity. They had set up a marquee across the entire girls' primary school garden stretching from Hurstdene Gardens all the way to Northdene Gardens. There is the trunk of a dead tree in the centre of the garden which looked rather atristic in the middle of the marquee, its bare branches looking like a supplicant holding his hands up to heaven. Trust Chasidim not to see something like that and their concern must have been whether the tree may be touched on Shabbos or speculation if it's a fruit tree and so can't be cut down. As if it's a capital crime for a tree not to bear fruit.</p> <p>The Rebbe, who is a tiny little man with a cute smile, enchanted the audience. They were arranged on 7-tiered scaffolding on either side of approximately 100' long tables (though I'm bad on measurements). The singing was warm and he clearly electrified the crowd which must be one of the larger turnouts London has ever seen for a rebbe. Since the songs were not familiar I was wondering who taught them to the crowds who were joining in with gusto. I later heard that a rent-a-crowd was imported from the Wilreijk yeshiva in Belgium who were taught the songs in advance.</p> <p>Having waited about an hour for the rebbe to appear and then a further 20 minutes or so for him to welcome his celestial escorts he had still not proceeded to kiddush, and with only intermittent chanting and singing I beat a hasty retreat. But not before they burst out to sing 'Her sons rise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. Many daughters have done valiantly, but you excel them all.’ A rather mundane song on the border where chant ends and song begins but it appealed nonetheless when sung spiritedly by the imported teens. Besides the Rebbe was his son who is slightly taller than his father though appears to lack his father's gracefulness. The Rebbe clapped his hands and the terraces clapped. He flailed his arms and the terraces lifted as one. Then he stopped and so did they. Rather orchestrated with too little spontaneity other than in the Rebbe himself but no less moving for that.</p> <p>I made my way out and all the roads were leading to Skulen despite midnight being less than an hour away. In the morning I heard that YHS had charged £5k for the hire of the garden for the better part of a week. Estimates of the costs of the marquee and scaffolding for the 'bleachers' and double tiered dais were approximately a further £25k. This Rebbe must be raising huge amounts if so much is being invested though luckily on Shabbos money cannot be spoken about. That though didn't stop them pasting the walls and leafleting the place with information on the Rebbe's institutions in Israel with more than a subtle hint that you're expected to return for the Saturday night jamboree when pockets need not be bare upon entry.</p> <p>I will leave it to the new look Tribune (more face lifts than Michael Jackson, more botox than Jaylo) to report, or rather cut and paste, on the warmth at the tish and the mood that prevailed throughout the Rebbe's stay and the impression the Rebbe left behind without a mention of course of what and how much he'll be taking along with him.</p> <p>All in all, however, this Rebbe as many other rebbes prove the adage that it is better to travel than to arrive. For when the Skulener arrives home to Borough Park in Brooklyn he will find barely 2 score people in his shul and at his tishn. By contrast, here he drew huge crowds by the force of his song, his moral authority as a Holocaust survivor and someone who was imprisoned by the communists for his Jewish activities, his charisma and the legendary songs composed by his father in Romania after the war when he cared for the many orphaned Jewish children. So thank you and au revoir Rebbe for the warm Shabbos though I'm more sceptical over your post Shabbos activities. </p> <p>[I wrote this (with some slight edits) after the Skulener Rebbe visited these shores in 2011 for a Shabbos though for whatever reason I didn’t publish it at the time. The date on the file is 12 February 2011]</p>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-18269787747704841292019-01-27T14:49:00.000+00:002019-01-27T16:20:29.242+00:00A 10-Point Plan for Chasidic Vaccinations<p>What follows is Reb Tickle's 10-point plan for increasing vaccination in Chasidic communities:</p> <ol> <li>Have as senior a member of government as is available pay homage to Chasidic Rebbes, or Grand Rabbis, to request them to urge their followers to vaccinate their children. Ideally this should be the Secretary of State for Health in the respective countries provided it is not a woman. Not only would that make it impossible to show the meeting in frum papers, it would also be immensely disrespectful to report of a meeting between a Grand Rabbi and a woman. The meeting must be handled with great sensitivity so that each Chosid gets the impression that his Rebbe is the only one who truly matters in the corridors of power and that it is he who holds the keys to the health of the nation. Once one visit has taken place a suitable interval must pass before another visit is scheduled with the next Rebbe so that by the time of the second visit the first visit has faded from memory. A visit is necessary for A-class Rebbes only because if every rebbe (with a lowercase 'r') was visited we'd be long wiped out from the diseases that the vaccinations are meant to prevent before the visits are completed. Bear in mind, however, that we are discussing the real A-Classers here. Those who are clad in technicolour coats and are on first name terms and speed dial with Michoel, Gavriel and the rest of the lads. These are not mere mortals. They fly the globe yet have never seen the inside of an airport, handle millions yet don't even have a bank account in their name. To get an idea of how steeped in Avodas Hashem these Rebbes are, some don't even stop at red lights. Imagine that. So get the vaccination message through to them and the rest is a doddle.</li> <br /> <li>Once the Rebbes are on board, or on tish, they must be persuaded to talk about vaxing at very opportunity including shaleshudes, kol nidrei, tekias shofor, shovevim, at the yortzeit seudo for the previous Rebbe and even during the cordial visits between Rebbes when about 139 people crowd into a dining room that seats 8 and they sip from silver beakers, and offer each other slices from a round brown sponge cake which each rejects with a swipe of the hand, and they tell each other stories of the cat that interrupted their grandmothers' dream which is followed by trying to figure out whether they may both be related to the cat. Getting the Rebbes to agree to talk about it is no doubt the most challenging bit though once this has been broken through all else is guaranteed to flow smoothly thereafter. I concede that they do sometimes plumb our plebeian depths and talk about smartphones and even, when they really must, the tightness of women's t-shirts though that depends of course on how eye-popping they turn out to be. But vaxing? Does Rebbe Reb Shmiel Yankel of the farmyard near the wagon stop, 15 miles north-east of Lublin discuss it in his book which angels only browse on Yom Kippur night? Of course not so who are we to be wiser? Such is therefore the task to get Rebbes to put vaccinations on their tish that it may well require intervention by the Head of State himself. Or herself as Rebbes would probably make an allowance when it comes to the Head of State.</li> <br /> <li>A Rebbe alone is not enough as he can only intercede in Heaven while we need someone in an executive role for the mundane tasks of getting the stuff in the blood flow. For that we must appoint a heimishe health czar or macher who is connected to the very highest echelons of government. In fact so high that when there's a government resignation his beeper goes off even in the middle of Tashlich. This macher, or super-macher - though not a Rebbe because besides the reasons above he will also be talking far too much sense than we are used to hearing from the Rebbes - must tell us why for the sake of not making a chilul hashem and because we are in golus and Moshiach is not yet here we ought to vaccinate. He must then promise that once Moshiach, who is due any day, arrives we can safely give it all up. He will also need to assure us on the size of the needle and that the needle has been tested on all the gedoilim and not one of them said, oy, ouch, oy vey, och, ach, ay or anything of like effect. Of course, the czar should not speak to the Times, Telegraph, JC and Vanity Fair as we have one such czar already and stepping on his toes is generally not advisable besides that it can also put at risk your kids' school places. We are talking of a heimishe health meiven who actually talks to us. Us the heimisher oilom. Us in shul, in the shops, at a kiddush with a mouth full of eir kichel, at weddings while yelling over the loudspeakers, at a shive on the back row because you anyway don't have what to say to the mourners. That said, he must still keep a certain distance. Should he talk to us too much then he's one of us and so we stop trusting him (because of course it's a him). He must therefore strike a careful balance: close enough to be trusted that he cares for our interests but distant enough to be trusted that he knows what he's talking about. It will greatly assist if this super-macher has connections to a top Harely Street doctor whom you can approach only through him. This will get all the moneyed families flocking there and so even the schlimazels who can't afford it will still turn to their local NHS clinic in order to keep up with the Getzels and Yehosua Meirs. </li> <br /> <li>Now that the Rebbes are signed up and a super-macher, or an arseken, is in place the next step is to start a campaign. For that we must employ a Chasidic graphic artist to design a campaign in garish colours, close-up, in-your-face photography, drawings of kids with peios, fathers in shtreimels and of course no mothers or sisters chas v'sholom. Then set us in suspense for months on end with blank pages in the various newssheets and only a graphic in the bottom corner so that by the time the full advert comes we'll be rolling up our sleeves, exposing our arms and handing over our kids while begging for any pin prick just to be told what's hiding behind the months of blank. Next, hire every lamppost, tree trunk, shop front and any spare wall or hoarding to paste the campaign and by the end of it we'll be begging again though this time for any affliction even if it means pricking us black and blue just to be rid of the notices, adverts, phone calls half an hour before midnight, loudspeakers on the streets, soliciting stands in shuls and taps on the shoulder while wrapping the tefilin.</li> <br /> <li>Next we want Chasidic copy writers to write the content of the ads. These must warn, threaten, promise, cajole, badger, blackmail that unless your kids are vaccinated you will not inherit the World to Come, your kids won't be accepted in local schools, your Rebbe won't consent to your next child's name and God forbid your WhatsApp groups may even expel you. Whatever you do, do NOT include long expository articles with scientific information on the necessity of vaccinations. Firstly, we don't need no education, is our holy call from Above. Besides, what chutzpeh do they have telling us about science and medicine as if it isn't included in our Torah and Talmud studies. How many times do we have to repeat this? Our Torah studies combine secular studies and we don't do drugs and the supermarkets don't follow our kids through the aisles and therefore our gedoilim can carry out open heart surgery with a circumcision scalpel and they know as much about vaxing as any professor. Anyway, how many kids do they have and how many do we and we need no lesson from them on chicken pox, thank you very much. The copy must of course contain many stories of the 'open' miracles that people experienced a day after the jab, the jabs that were given to heimishe jailbirds and how it strengthened their faith in Hashem and of gedoilim who took a jab for 40 consecutive days and soon after their beard doubled in size. Just one important caveat: do not include any psukim in the ads or that may invoke the wrath of the rabbis. No matter how many times healing is mentioned in the holy books and no matter how many lives may be saved, psukim do not belong in adverts. A baby up, a baby down but keep the psukim out.</li> <br /> <li>Before we get on to the vaxing itself, we must introduce money somewhere. It's difficult to say at this stage what role the money will play especially if the NHS foots the bill and this will have to be figured out or improvised. The money need not necessarily be in the form of a charge for the jabs though that should certainly not be ruled out. And it does not have to be handouts to parents who bring forward their children though that too ought to be considered. But at this stage we're talking money in the abstract. We need something to grease the campaign with plenty of juicy gossip about sticky fingers, hands in the till, the macher who's all of a sudden built an extension, bought a new car and gone to Israel with his family for sukkos. Only this will ensure that the entire vaxing issue is kept high on the communal agenda. One possible way of blending in money could be if those being vaccinated are not told of the content of the vaccination such as whether it's a placebo, blessed water from a mekubal in Northern Galilee or the real thing. However, once the vaccination has been administered those pesky <em>oiber chachomim </em>who must know the content of their injection can be provided with the information for a $500 payment, or $1,000 if the reply is needed within 14 days. (I am using dollars as it’s safer if the data is exported far away from our crazy data protections laws.)</li> <br /> <li>And so for the vaxing day itself. For this we must set up a heimishe kosher wonka factory laden with a rainbow of colours of sour sticks, gushers, cherry nibs, fruit winders, twizzlers, candy planets, mayim chaim cherry flavour and even Chazon Ish-size popcorn helpings. This is not for the babies who are of course too young though they can also be bribed with Ribena, Robinsons, chocolate syrup in the milk bottle and a winky or two. The main purpose of this candy paradise is for the brothers and sisters of the vaccinating child. Trust me, even the most resolute parents cannot withstand an onslaught of 2 dozen Chasidic kids when faced with the multi coloured choice with a mehadrin hechsher. True, it may have a side effect on the teeth but we have already been assured by the Chareidi Health Forum that it's all under control so there isn't really much to worry about. Anyway, since our teeth are anyway rotted we might as well scoff as much nosh as we can get our gums into.</li> <br /> <li>The adults may not be ignored either. Lay on a heimishe spread as only we can. Now don't stereotype about cholent and kugel though of course they should not be given a miss. And while you're at it, just pass me that plate, there behind the herring. But nowadays we've matured and if the government really wants us to vaccinate then we want something serious in return. And that something had better consist of giblets and cold cuts, tongue and lamb, sushi and fish balls, a giant salmon with a leek, cherry-tomato and cashew salad at the side and of course a beverage table with more whiskys than at a St Andrew's ball. Because as Hashem promised Abraham ‘I will multiply thy seed as the carbs at your kiddush and the whisky cups at your chupehs. So just give us that and we'll deliver up our kids to the government for as many vaccinations as are needed so long that protected characteristics are kept off the menu.</li> <br /> <li>Vaccinations with a hechsher should be a top priority. For a start it will assure the doubters and sceptics that it must be safe because which rov in his right mind would give a hechsher to something that might endanger your health? But I'm afraid one hechsher will not do the trick because that would still mean 80% of the <em>oylem</em> refusing to take it because the rov of that hechsher's wife's tights are skin coloured and she also changes to cream tights from a day after we start saying <em>moirid hatol</em>. You need at least 3 heimishe hechsheirim to cover every permutation of the rebbitzen’s headgear and then a U inside a circle plus a KLBD for those Englishe fusspots who insist that they eat only from a hechsher where the mashgichim are paid on the books thus losing all their benefits - that's how big <em>reshoim</em> those Englishers are.</li> <br /> <li>Finally, whatever you do, do NOT mention measles or chicken pox at any cost. Our parents and grandparents and the First, Second and Third Rebbe of blessed memory to the life of the World to Come all had measles and chicken pox and look what they achieved and so we should not try to be any wiser than them <em>chas v'sholom</em>. Mind you they had buckwheat for breakfast while we have Weetabix but that is a question which as a great Rebbe said, questions are a side effect of sinning. And another said, any question is heresy. So don't be so clever and just do as you're told and walk in the footsteps of the lemmings and Hashem and our arsekonim will look after the rest.</li> </ol> <p>Amen!</p> <p>PS These tips are for Chasidic non-vaxers only. Alas, Litvishe non-vaxers actually believe the nonsense they are fed and so unfortunately are beyond redemption. And as Rebbe Reb Ber said, <em>Yad hachasidim al hoelyoino, </em>the [vaccinated] arm of the Chasidim always comes up tops.</p>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-38692553629885757092019-01-26T20:41:00.001+00:002019-01-26T21:10:13.480+00:00“A Time to Act – For the Sake of the Schoolchildren<div style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div> <div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><a style="margin-right: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTvQcNDesNJ2APkOT__y69-J46kVEzB1NVehyphenhyphen_yy0JWtap-MuwFzuxpa9DW_OXfDZ1oruxoruNcKd9NdhkvXh-cRfBbGurByj8nefc9sxueXyjG_gETaCUfFVaY7-GVlORW5sIcXnsUU_/s1600/DxwMXunXgAAcnaP%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 5px;" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTvQcNDesNJ2APkOT__y69-J46kVEzB1NVehyphenhyphen_yy0JWtap-MuwFzuxpa9DW_OXfDZ1oruxoruNcKd9NdhkvXh-cRfBbGurByj8nefc9sxueXyjG_gETaCUfFVaY7-GVlORW5sIcXnsUU_/s640/DxwMXunXgAAcnaP%255B1%255D.jpg" width="384" height="544" data-original-width="1080" data-original-height="1521" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div> <p style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr" align="justify" trbidi="on"></p> <blockquote style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> <p align="center"><b>A TIME TO ACT- FOR THE SAKE OF THE SCHOOLCHILDREN</b></p> <p align="justify">As is well known to our esteemed public may they live, members of Chareidi communities throughout England, <b>the future of the education of Jewish boys and girls to enable them to be educated on the path of the Patriarch Israel and in accordance with our ancient traditions passed down through the generations is in a dire situation</b>.</p> <p align="justify">As that Elder, Jacob, peace be unto him, prepared [in time of crisis] with three strategies [appeasement with gifts, prayer and battle] so have we also followed in <i>the footsteps of the sheep</i>. We have held days of prayer and supplication in all our communities when young and old assembled to tear at the Gates of Heaven to revoke the evil decrees.<strong> Our efforts have certainly had an effect upon High</strong> and<i> behold the Almighty God does not despise</i> the prayers of the many. And we hereby beseech each individual to plead and increase their prayers before the Creator Blessed be His Name to revoke the evil decree. Likewise, we have also made intense efforts to rescind and revoke the decrees in every way possible with a variety of lobbying efforts, both public and private. Obviously many of the discussions with the authorities are best kept secret and [as the sages teach us] <i>the blessing is best applied on matters hidden from sight</i>.</p> <p align="justify">In previous generations when the authorities increased the burden of the exile on the necks of the Children of Israel, communal dealings with the authorities were purposefully through representatives of the communal heads and its sages and they would assess the most appropriate methods for interceding with the authorities in their elevated and difficult task.<strong> Likewise, in contemporary times, the only way, with the help of God, to succeed to rescind and revoke the educational decrees from upon us can be only through representatives who carry out their duties to which they have been appointed by the communal heads and who thereby have the authority of the entire community.</strong></p> <p align="justify"><strong>Therefore, we the leaders of the Holy Nation have gathered to appoint and to endorse the representatives of the Merciful, our representatives, who are the appointees and activists of ChinuchUK may they live, who carry out their work faithfully and whose hands are like our hands. May they go from strength to strength to revoke the difficult decrees upon us by pursuing the traditional methods that have been utilised throughout the generations.</strong></p> <p align="justify"><strong>And this is our message to the representatives: be strong and be fortified for the Honour of His Blessed Name, and may it be the Will that we should merit the revocation of the evil decrees speedily. Amen.</strong></p> <p align="center"><strong>We hereby sign 18 Shevat 5779 [23 January 2019]</strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr" align="center" trbidi="on"><strong>*Bold in original</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr" align="justify" trbidi="on"></p> <p style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></p> <div style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr" trbidi="on"></div>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-80731318564289009592018-12-23T18:58:00.000+00:002018-12-23T23:16:42.526+00:00Hatzola in Intensive Care?<p>It would be disrespectful to the good work of the <a href="http://hatzola.org/" target="_blank">Stamford Hill Hatzola organisation</a> to cover their latest troubles in a mere few tweets, plus since this is a work-free week time is more in abundance. A full bodied blog must therefore be the order of the day.</p> <p>There is a dense fog surrounding Hatzola's latest saga with the main participants reluctant to 'get involved' (a favourite localism) whether out of a sense of loyalty, an unwillingness to further fan the flames or for fear of repercussions, which, given the allegations, may well be real. Our press is of course useless on anything that really matters and even then they'll spin the line they're told to or they know they are supposed to, so there's not much information to be gleaned from them either. However, this is not an excuse to desist from wading in and so if you're still here let's go.</p> <p>Established in the late 1970s or early 1980s, Hatzola is a voluntary organisation of medical first responders serving the chareidi community in the Stamford Hill area. There are other UK Hatzolas with similar names and while they cooperate with each other they are not affiliated and are each run independently. I am referring here to the Stamford Hill Hatzola only.</p> <p>Hatzola is a registered charity though confusingly there are two charities: <a href="http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityWithoutPartB.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=278914&SubsidiaryNumber=0">Hatzola Trust</a> and <a href="http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityWithPartB.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1160299&SubsidiaryNumber=0">Hatzola Trust Ltd</a>. There are 5 trustees and directors of the <a href="https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08390313">charity company</a> and there are then the volunteers, numbered in the low 40s. It is these volunteers who are the embodiment and visible face of the organisation and who are ready 24/7 to go out on emergency calls. This is what wins them the most respect coupled of course with the often life-saving nature of their work.</p> <p>The current problems reportedly stem from a large number of disaffected members who are unhappy with the way things are being run and are agitating for change. This includes representation of the volunteers on the board which those in control will not countenance.</p> <p>They complain of bullying of volunteers by management. For example, a new radio system was recently installed which allows management to disable volunteers' radios remotely and which is allegedly being carried out with little or no prior notice to the affected volunteers. According to the complainants, this new level of control is used arbitrarily without giving reasons so that volunteers suddenly find themselves locked out with no explanation. They also claim that management can listen in to the radios which the volunteers are required to have on at all times. Assurances were sought over who has access to this and they claim the replies given were unsatisfactory. In addition, disciplinary procedures against 'troublesome' volunteers have been commenced and then withdrawn with little or no explanation either way.</p> <p>More seriously, the rebels point to a <a href="https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-3680851815#accordion-1">2017 report by the Quality Care Commission</a> (CQC) which found some worrying failings at Hatzola including staff working above competency level and shortcomings in record keeping. For comparison, the <a href="https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-1958477695/inspection-summary#overall">latest NW Hatzola (which covers the Golders Green area) CQC report</a> also has areas requiring improvement but the Stamford Hill Hatzola list is longer and appears to cover more serious issues. They complain that few of the recommendations have been implemented despite Hatzola being the best funded of the UK Hatzola organisations. Hatzola's income for the last reported year was over £1m while NW Hatzola is only about a third of that.</p> <p>There are then complaints of non-medically trained volunteers who supposedly fulfil no clear role and with whom confidential data is shared. They are also said to be higher up in the pecking order than those on the front line who actually treat casualties in accidents and attend emergencies. There is then allegedly a high turnover of administrative staff with a figure put to me of 'a healthy 15 who have left with grumpy faces, including fundraisers, CQC advisors, trainers etc' all in the last year. Unfortunately, an opaqueness surrounds the group at corporate level and <a href="http://hatzola.org/" target="_blank">their website</a> has no About section telling you who actually runs the organisation. The best I could find on the <a href="http://hatzola.org/our-team/" target="_blank">management team is this page</a> which is out of date and to which there is no link on the website.</p> <p>Things came to a head about a month ago when 31 members signed a letter of no confidence in the management. A meeting was called and management stipulated that it would meet only 4 representatives whom the rebels must appoint. 2 hours were allocated to the meeting and 4 of the trustees/managers were to attend for the board. Of them, one turned up 10 minutes late while another left after 50 minutes. The meeting ended with no outcome other than that shortly after, the very same 4 representatives had their radios disconnected and were ejected from Hatzola. This re-enforced the view amongst the rebels that they are taken for granted and that the management will act as ruthlessly as suits them in order to avoid relinquishing any control.</p> <p>The allegations are multiplying. The rebels claim they helped raise about <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/hatzola" target="_blank">£83,500 towards a new ambulance</a> after one of the ambulances was involved in an accident. Management then decided that the damaged ambulance can be repaired after all and they mixed the raised funds with the general budget without acknowledging the role played by the volunteers. They also claim there are bequests towards ambulances which management refuses to implement. I must admit that arguments on ambulances leave me cold. The kids and youngsters love them as boys’ toys but I somehow doubt Stamford Hill needs a permanent fleet of this size.</p> <p>As an example of the flexing of raw power, they point to a recent email from one of the trustees to the volunteers "Please be aware that there are no rights for a volunteer as there are for an employee" as if the issue here is rights over unfair dismissal or an employee/employer relationship. They also claim that there are amongst their number 2 fully trained paramedics but management won’t recognise them since it would allow them to increase their profile and eclipse those higher up. In addition, they complain that the trustees have never been frontline volunteers and look down at them with disdain and do everything possible to deny them board representation. I cannot say to what extent any of this is warranted but there is not doubt that there are a significant number of disgruntled volunteers and their case deserves a respectful hearing.</p> <p>Now there is talk of the rebels starting a splinter group in association with <a href="https://israelrescue.org/">Ihud Hatzalah of Israel</a>. This would be a huge mistake in my opinion and one the local powers that be will probably never allow. The Israelis may do wonderful things but they are best kept in Israel. Whatever the case, if it is true that up to three quarters of members are disaffected, the current managers will have to give way or they will be left with no organisation.</p> <p>In the court of public opinion the rebels seem to be winning. They have WhatsApp at their disposal to present themselves as the lifesaving underdogs versus an aloof management that won't dirty its hands yet is determined to maintain an unworkable status quo that suits no one but themselves. It may be true that some of the rebels are young hotheads who want more control than can be responsibly entrusted to them and some of the frantic messages will certainly have done them no favours. (The term in one of the Yiddish messages 'Hatzola trucks' for ambulances suggests a hired US hand may have written some of them.) There are, however, also plenty of current and ex-volunteers who are successful in their day jobs but are not allowed to move up. All the trustees but one are no more qualified or educated than the volunteers, their trimmed beards notwithstanding, and some possibly less so. Three of the five have been there since 2013 and are preventing fresh blood from contributing or Heaven forfend taking over.</p> <p>For a broader picture, this seems to be a fight over control and succession which bedevils almost every chareidi organisation the world over and which we are used to from scores of such battles. Letting go and moving on is not in the Ten Commandments and constitutions and good governance is for the goyim and non-frum world which, wink wink, is anyway honoured only in the breach. Our Beth Dins are hardly fit for purpose and governance doesn't occupy too many column inches in the holy books either. So when they look around at other communal organisations like UOHC, the Adath Burial Society, our communal schools and numerous other ‘communal’ charities’ all they see is people in control since time immemorial and so why should they be any different?</p> <p>Unless people leave voluntarily which is a rarity round here or they are removed in a box, it's fisticuffs or near enough every few years wherever you turn. Indeed, Hatzola itself had similar turmoil over similar issues about 15 years ago and no doubt we will be here again in a decade or so. Despite there being nothing unique about Hatzola in this, given how close Hatzola is to people's hearts (excuse the pun) anything relating to it inflames passions like little else. Chinuch for all its problems is something occupying the minds of our elites whereas Hatzola is a grassroots organisation or at least this is how people feel it ought to be. Yet by the sound of it it seems to be run more of a version of the poem: It’s Yankl this an’ Yankl that an’ chuck him out the brute/It’s saviour of your zeide when his heart begins to shoot. Or the appeal is short of fruit.</p> <p>So having set out the issues, Reb Tickle's solution is simple. Trustees should serve a maximum of 4 or 5 years and move on once they have passed their sell-by date. In addition, rank and file members must be represented at every level with a representative of the volunteers at board level and volunteers who have been in Hatzola for a year or longer should have a full vote in the running of the organisation like a shareholder in a company. It would also do no harm if potential users of the service have a representative there too. If Hatzola can have a rabbinical adviser surely it should be no different for a patient rep.</p> <p>Furthermore, term limits should not be confined only to management and should also apply to volunteers. By all means sign up the volunteers when they're lithe and lean and raving to go. They love the air of authority it bestows upon them, the jargon they get to use, the power of revving an engine outside shul on a shabbos morning and the entirely justified pride and sense of achievement after never having sat a recognised exam in their life. But at the same time send packing those of them who when reaching their mid-30s turn into tubs of lard. Though, by that stage they will have accumulated years of front-line experience which makes them invaluable as trustees or in executive roles. They can put themselves forward for election and if they have what to give they will hopefully get to serve.</p> <p>Transparency and accountability, both in the finances and administration, are an absolute necessity to maintain our trust in the organisation. In the days of WhatsApp, emotional blackmail doesn't wash any longer and the entire town knows in an instant what's going on despite the best efforts of those seeking to cover up. Lives saved, injured treated, sick assisted are all very nice for the pre-appeal publicity but we are entitled to be confident that there is nothing untoward lurking in the background. Those to whom we entrust our lives must earn their trust but having done so ought to be trusted to have a say in the running of their own affairs for the sake of all of us.</p>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-27711288717161915622018-09-27T11:08:00.003+01:002018-09-27T11:36:14.338+01:00A Vort for Sukkos<p>Moirai V’Raboisai! Here is my vort Lekovod Sukkos specially for my dear readers and followers.</p> <p>Why is it that on Pesach we pile on the stringencies while on Sukkos it is just the opposite and the leniencies win over?</p> <p>Let me give some examples. The Torah tells us to eat Matzoh on Pesach because our ancestors left Egypt in a hurry or because it is a slave’s ration and yet we spend a lifetime’s saving on some stale indigestible cardboard that supposedly complies with every stringency under the sun. That is also nothing compared to the ban on chometz. The Torah commands us to refrain from unleavened bread for just seven days which might be bad enough. But along come Chazal and add on about three-quarters of a day on Erev Pesach when chometz is also forbidden just in case. And it’s not just the duration of the ban but also the subject matter. Chometz means leavened dough but along came the rabbis and throw rice and millet into the bargain and of course the ashkenazim go even further and ban all legumes. The Torah says only that chometz may not be found in your homes but along come the sages and say it must be burned. </p> <p>But these examples are largely unnecessary because who doesn’t know how crazy Pesach gets. Every other prohibition has a de minimis exemption whereas chometz on Pesach, even the tiniest of particles is forbidden. Which is why we drive ourselves crazy for weeks before and which all culminates in the hide-and-seek game of Bedikas Chometz. All for the sake of eliminating that leavened atom hiding in the eaves of the attic or in the crease of the curtain.</p> <p>Now contrast all this with Sukkos. The Torah could not be plainer by saying, thou shalt sit in booths for 7 days. Or tabernacles. Or sheds. However you translate it, it still comes to something that shields you from four sides and on top. The Torah also gives a reason, for in booths did I settle the Children of Israel when I brought them out from the Land of Egypt. So there you are. A booth is a booth is a booth. Well, so you would think until Chazal intervene though this time in the opposite direction.</p> <p>It needn’t have 4 walls and actually 3 walls will do very nicely. And while we’re at it even 3 complete walls are a tad too much and the 3rd wall can be a mere tefach in width, which is all of about 8-10 cm. As for the height of the walls, they needn’t reach the roof and so long that the gap is not too large we’ll create a legal fiction of the ‘crooked wall’ and pretend the wall reaches to the roof even though in reality it does not. This is still not the end of it and there are yet more fictions to ‘connect’ that which is asunder and to ‘suspend’ invisible walls. And all of this to create a supposed booth even if it is so small that it can hold nothing but the head and the majority of a single human body and little else.</p> <p>Which brings us back to the glaring contrast where on Pesach which is supposedly to celebrate our freedom and yet we pile it on while on Sukkos when we are supposed to shield ourselves from the elements and yet it is all interpreted in the direction of exposure.</p> <p>And so we come to the vort itself.</p> <p>On Pesach we indeed celebrate our liberation from our oppressors and our emergence from slavery to independence and so the Torah and Chazal remind us that freedom need be handled with care. Too much freedom may bring on overindulgence, the liberation of oneself can lead to the oppression of others and and an overabundance of individual liberty may be followed by an abuse of the very freedoms we pined for during our affliction.</p> <p>We needn’t look far for examples. In our times we find countries that in the past fought to shake off their oppressors, whether the Americans of their British overlords or more recently Eastern European countries of Soviet rule, are now electing semi-tyrants with oppressive policies towards minorities and the disadvantaged. The leader of a country formed of immigrants and which gave us the first amendment protecting freedom of speech spends his time viciously attacking migrants and a free press. Likewise, the internet that was supposed to empower individuals, communities and society at large with ready access to information and communication is instead used to spread lies and hate and addict people to the very portal through which their freedom was supposedly to be gained. As the Posuk says in Shiras Ha’azinu after listing the abundance enjoyed by the B’nei Yisroel, And Yeshurun grew fat and kicked - you became fat, you became obese, you became engorged - and he abandoned the God who made him and held in contempt the Rock, his Saviour.</p> <p>Thus on Pesach when we were released from human servitude and we were awarded our first taste of freedom we tether ourselves to a higher duty and more meaningful purpose in order to contain the abuses that may follow the acquisition of too many rights and privileges. To enjoy our newly acquired freedom and liberation we limit them and set ourselves boundaries so as not to become corrupted by instant gratification and inebriated by too much of a good thing. </p> <p>Sukkos on the other hand is the very opposite of Pesach. The Israelites were punished to wander in the desert for forty years when they were prevented from entering the promised land. Sukkos thus symbolises wandering and exile. We say in the prayer on the first night of Sukkos when first entering the sukkah, In the merit of leaving my home may it count for me as if I have wandered far. Also in the <a href="https://yi.wikisource.org/wiki/אַ_סוכה,_אַ_קליינע" target="_blank">famous Yiddish poem</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19uvKOHXyl8" target="_blank">A Sukele a Kleine</a> (A Weeny Sukkah) by Avraham Reisen (<a href="http://www.aish.com/h/su/tai/The_Sukkah_Still_Stands.html" target="_blank">see here for translation</a>) the shaky Sukkoh buffeted by the winds symbolises our exile and persecution along the way.</p> <p>And so when we wander and are afflicted our attitude must be the very opposite of Pesach. We cannot in such times afford to close ourselves off from the world in a narcissism of exactitude and pedantry. Instead we must make allowance for outside winds to blow through our midst. Be they winds of change or be it a cooling breeze, sealing ourselves off from the outside on all sides with top to down walls is not an option. A sukkah with too thick a covering is invalid and instead we are forced to construct a roof through which the stars may be seen. Walls need not be on all four sides and they need not hermetically seal us off from the outside. We may breathe the outside air and we may dream beyond what is close and familiar and yet the sukkah will continue to shield and protect us. Because even in its reduced and exposed state the sukkah is still where God settles the Children of Israel.</p> <p>Have a Good Yom Tov!</p>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-37502404423577250702018-09-12T15:47:00.001+01:002018-09-12T16:50:49.516+01:00Non-denial denial “from UOHC Rabbinate”<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lNh149rDPOU/W5km_S24yWI/AAAAAAAABWw/85NkLuKEiIYt9ynGa3aJ2iIsiFsNXaHvgCHMYCw/s1600-h/IMG-20180912-WA0010%2B%2528002%2529%255B3%255D"><img title="IMG-20180912-WA0010 (002)" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="IMG-20180912-WA0010 (002)" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iFGyNBwYzBw/W5knAJnBk-I/AAAAAAAABW0/vmj2kkvfiGwhqd9sLXyiSWWNB-NnOcHWQCHMYCw/IMG-20180912-WA0010%2B%2528002%2529_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" width="409" height="530" /></a></p> <blockquote> <p>Wednesday ‘Vayelech’, Fast of Gedaliah… 5779</p> <p>[12 September 2018]</p> <p align="center"><strong><u>Denial on behalf of the Rabbonim</u></strong></p> <p>A signed public rabbinical announcement was published on the eve of Rosh Hashono purportedly from the Rabbonim and Dayonim of our holy community have announced their support, intervened or have expressed a view in respect of one of the candidates in the English [British] Parliament.</p> <p>We hereby clarify that none of our rabbonim has signed the public announcement and that our principle remains as ever that we do not intervene or express any view in relation to general political affairs.</p> <p>There Rabbonim and Geonim will in future not express either verbally or in writing any view regarding political affairs. May it be the Will [of God] that no fault should result from us.</p> <p>Signed on behalf of the Beth Din</p> <p>[signature]</p> <p>Registrar</p> </blockquote> <p>There is something odd about this letter it being in Yiddish which is not used for public announcements of this type and extremely poorly written. It also misrepresents the initial letter as if it commented on a specific candidate or party which was never the case. The initial letter condemned other Jews for antagonising Jeremy Corbyn and on this this letter [assuming it’s genuine] is silent.</p> <p>I repeat that I spoke to a signatory himself who confirmed the original letter was a true document. I also know from other sources that Rav Schlesinger signed it. In addition, had it been forged they would have added the Vizhinitzer Rebbe to the original notice but who is conspicuously absent.</p> <p><strong>UPDATE: As initially suspected, this letter is a fake</strong></p>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-68765538756194916822018-09-11T21:36:00.001+01:002018-09-11T21:44:58.225+01:00Oy Jeremy Corbyn – Rabbis for Jeremy<p>Translation of public notice by group of Stamford Hill rabbis</p> <blockquote> <p><strong>Public notice from the Rabbis</strong></p> <p>We were shocked to hear that there are those who are spreading reports that the Jews in England [Britain] are united against the head of the Labour party, Mr Jeremy Corbyn. They have also publicised that as a result Jews are considering leaving the land of England [Britain] out of concern that he may be elected as prime minister.</p> <p>We therefore publicise our views that we are in no way associated with these aforementioned irresponsible activities.</p> <p>Jews who are loyal to God and His Torah seek the peace of the state in which they reside and treat her leaders with respect and, God forbid, we would never contemplate antagonising political leaders. As our sages of blessed memory have taught us and as we have been commanded by the Prophet Jeremiah (29:7), Seek the peace of the city to which I have exiled you and pray for her to God for in her peace will there be peace unto you.</p> <p>In the merit of our acceptance of the yoke of the exile and conducting ourselves with humility in this country as we have during millennia of our exile throughout our generations will we merit to be rescued from various severe troubles and to a Good Inscription and Sealing.</p> <p>Tuesday 'Atem Nitzovim', 24 Elul 5778 [4 September 2018]</p></blockquote>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-70324496417555499782018-02-17T21:10:00.001+00:002018-02-18T14:27:15.955+00:00UOHC Slapped Down<p>In a rare act of public rebuke the full-page ad below was published in Hamodia anonymously but obviously by people in the communal educational sphere. The language and tone clearly shows that they had in their sights <a href="http://ifyoutickleus.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/uohc-on-creationism.html" target="_blank">UOHC’s recent notice on Creationism</a> which reportedly got UOHC into trouble with The Learning Trust for its extreme language. It definitely had many educational heads hopping mad that the UOHC which runs not a single educational institution should be making such crucial decisions without consulting anyone actually running one and is likely to be affected to the tune of millions of pounds.</p> <p>The operative paragraph is translated below and the speeches referred to are a reference to a speech given by the rov of Satmar ‘86’. Notwithstanding the ad, the speech must have been intended for publication as it was delivered at shaleshudes and yet it was fully recorded.</p> <p>Note the defiance in the final words of the translated paragraph calling to abide by the rulings of the rabbonim and leaders of the <em>communities, </em>in the plural, i.e. each community should follow its own rov and disregards the UOHC nonsense. Contrast that with UOHC’s notice addressed to ‘all who abide by our rulings’ to decline early-years funding. Apparently the total to date of those who obey UOHC and have declined funding stands at precisely zero. Including Satmar ‘86’!</p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/ifyoutickleus/status/964953037885399040" target="_blank">According to the JC</a> the early years funding is worth £7m+ to the community annually so don’t expect obedience to UOHC to increase any time soon.</p> <blockquote> <p>And we therefore call on every single person to act with extreme caution not to be influenced by lone extremist operators who have the potential to cause irreversible damage, Heaven forfend. They are causing damage to the wider community and God forbid we should give in to pressure applied by various people to draw conclusions and make decisions based on a lack of knowledge and understanding in these matters. There is no purpose or justification for them to publicise speeches that were delivered privately, and we must follow the <em>Daas Torah</em> of the rabbonim and leaders of the communities</p> </blockquote> <p><img style="margin: 0px 0px 5px;" alt="" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DWQ5ZqiXkAABNum.jpg:large" width="390" height="520" /></p>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-88117218058542608292018-01-27T22:37:00.001+00:002018-01-28T13:13:53.686+00:00UOHC on Creationism<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m_x7IK2Yc-A/Wmz_GK_dyYI/AAAAAAAABWA/1W8rNM7GCDo109C81iYzSTYLL_PWlVO2gCHMYCw/s1600-h/UOHC%2Bcreationism%255B3%255D"><img title="UOHC creationism" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="UOHC creationism" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bGT3ARKA5YE/Wmz_G_WFUjI/AAAAAAAABWE/NBmO1OgB9x0PzIbQu9-GBB38qeM4QfQNACHMYCw/UOHC%2Bcreationism_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" width="420" height="613" /></a></p> <blockquote> <p>To the Heads of our Town’s Boys’ and Girls’ Educational Institutions Who Educate our Sons and Daughters Tirelessly and Wonderfully in Torah, Fear of Heaven and Morals.</p> <p>May God help them succeed in their holy work and flatten the mountains in front of them to a plain to enable them to commit all their resources towards education and to the existence and widening of the institutions without having to worry every step of the way what the authorities will say.</p> <p>Let us express our gratitude to those who brought to our attention and alerted us that [institutions] must sign for the Hackney Learning Trust unwittingly and without understanding what they are signing and there is a great fear whether there isn’t in their signature a risk of heresy God forbid.</p> <p>The Beis Din considered this with great seriousness on Thursday B’shalach [25 January 2018] and carefully evaluated the contract and the guidelines and we found that they place great doubts, Heaven forfend, in the creation of the world with the lie that the world is ancient, may their mouths be filled with earth. This is a lie that earlier sages of blessed memory contended with, and now they wish to infiltrate us with this falsehood. We are obliged to oppose this with great sacrifice and it may not be signed [even] in an ambiguous manner. And if as a result they will withhold from us their grants we will nonetheless not sell out our holy tenets for money. We will be forced to take measures to establish large funds so that our institutions do not collapse, God forbid.</p> <p>Those who will make even greater sacrifices to donate to these funds once they are established will be rewarded many times over. It is, however, impossible for us to allow this situation to remain unchanged and we will have to assist and endeavour to find the funds with God’s help.</p> <p>We therefore inform all those who abide by our rulings that they should not sign up to these clauses and those who have already signed must retract their signatures. They must send a letter attached to the contract [form] so that it is incorporated in the form that their signature does not apply to the clauses relating to this subject [i.e. creationism] both in the contract and the guidelines and that the signature does not pertain to those subjects.</p> <p>This has all been unanimously agreed by all Rabbonim of the Beis Din at the above meeting. May God see our affliction and rescue us from bad and cruel decrees<b><i> </i></b>both in body and soul and that we should continue to succeed in the education of our sons and daughters in holy purity.</p> <p>Signed Friday B’shlach [26 January 2018]</p> <p>[Rav MCE Padwa]</p></blockquote>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-60902020897608237172018-01-26T11:50:00.001+00:002018-01-26T11:53:42.330+00:00Panning the PANs – Afterword<p>In the lengthy posts setting out the backdrop to Yesodey Hatorah's proposals for a Middle School and dissecting the consultation document itself It may be difficult to see the wood of killing off a school for the trees of technicalities on PANs, SLTs, SENs and all the other jargon used to dress up a fundamentally mendacious plan to discard an entire primary school on to the streets.</p> <p>It is not difficult to rant about Pinter and his poodle governors when at almost every move they display their ability to turn anything they touch into slippery slime. When admissions are turned into exclusion, when overcapacity one day becomes undercapactiy on another, when a supposedly charitable wedding hall scheme is turned into a massive black hole for millions of pounds, when an advocate for education on the public stage abuses his power and when public funds are used to try and kill off a school not to his liking the problem is knowing where to start in calling out this thoroughly dishonest lot.</p> <p><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.yesodeyhatorah.org_ContactUs.htm&d=DwMGaQ&c=j-EkbjBYwkAB4f8ZbVn1Fw&r=4U2T7j9jvu0RGH-L7xh3RkRAuxFiZilYkXOUvqSC3Ng&m=ZfRkitSp5QeyiDVqFhO57cP3r2GpXjEJHatTkI5n1Ww&s=RtFFyGD_cGxVBRVURIPXxEv09J-_Fpms8E7TjvfL9GY&e=">There at the head of the table sits gravedigger Bibelman</a>, with decades-long experience at the helm of the communal Burial Society to fleece both living and dead without accounting to anyone on where and how the vast sums are distributed, if at all. There besides him sits Posen of Agudath Yisroel fame, expert at penning letters to the local press on how to extract the last penny in benefits but now conniving to deny kids a school. Further down sits that most upright of men Grussgot with his gracious posterior adorning the Governing Body of both YHS and Beis Yaakov without seeming to bat a manicured eyelid at juggling the two warring sides. He was never on any of the boards for his brains and so why now give up one for the other? Yet further down sits a Rabbi no less as an 'elected parent governor' when no one can recall when the elections were held or who the rival candidates were. While alongside them is a Hackney Learning Trust appointee to keep a blind eye on proceedings.</p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y7nCcpgt34Q/WmsWCAx4j1I/AAAAAAAABVo/OuqNt1QMe_cZFKDm3GS4kK0FVvIl4FELgCHMYCw/s1600-h/YHS%2BGovernors%255B3%255D"><img title="YHS Governors" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="YHS Governors" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mkT68ZpAWxU/WmsWCr_abpI/AAAAAAAABVs/sbGGJmZOd_c5k1bjoP88qZX0I4QWt67DgCHMYCw/YHS%2BGovernors_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" width="409" height="171" /></a></p> <p>And then to finish off this unconscionable lot is a host of governors appointed 'as a parent' giving the wonderfully nice impression of parental involvement but concealing that the school's founding document has the bare minimum of a single <i>elected </i>parent governor. 'Appointed' is the key word here. Of course, there are the requisite staff appointments but with a gaggle of teenage teachers themselves brought up in this repressive environment how many are going to put themselves up for election? And don't be misled by the appointment date either. Many of them keep on being reappointed time and again for the merits of being as ineffective as required and often far beyond their call of duty. </p> <p>But what you will not find anywhere is a Pinter, neither the Principal himself nor anyone carrying that surname. He may feature in the minutes on everything from admissions to resources to finances but like Macavity's Cat he is nowhere to be seen. His resigned daughter is still there despite her been gone for some time but the elephant in the room driving all of this keeps himself off the paper trail and lets his puppets do his bidding.</p> <p>The YHS's admissions information talks about an 'ethos' and 'moral and ethical values' and how 'every aspect of their lives is governed by the codes of Torah observance, and is based on the three tenets of Judaism “Torah, Prayer and Acts of loving kindness”'. 'Every aspect' that is except the actual running of the school that is supposed to instil those values in the children. Where is the ethos in a pack of lies masquerading as a 'consultation'? Where are the 'ethical values' in manipulating admission numbers in all directions to keep deserving students away from the school? Where is the 'loving kindness' in locking themselves behind metal barriers and sticking a finger up at their own family, friends, and neighbours who for whatever reason are 'undesirables' when it comes to school admissions? And where exactly is the Torah in all of this? When you bump into one of those governors this Shabbos don't ask them when they fed the birds but rather why they are killing off a school and dumping the kids.</p> <p>As I said ranting about this lot is not difficult when they act so blatantly in broad daylight but where is the rest of the community as an attempt is made to ethnically cleanse Stamford Hill of Sephardim, Yekes and anyone who does not fit into the Streimel/Tichel crowd? Does Rav Padwa represent only his cronies in '86' or does he represent all the shuls in the area? Reb Yossel Padwa, his brother, is the rov of Beis Yaakov and Pinter also uses him when he needs some rabbinical cover. Why is he silent while a malevolent plan is being hatched to deny scores of girls a secondary school and potentially a primary school too? Where is the entire Rabbinate ensconced in their citadel in Stamford Hill pontificating on sheitels, skirts and fibre optics but with nothing to say on an admissions system with a definition supposedly in their name to keep as many kids at bay as possible? Is Beis Yaakov not a chareidi school? So why can Pinter use their cover to close it down? Let them use some of the time dedicated to campaigning for the dead and set it aside for our living future and some of the more vulnerable in our midst.</p> <p>But let's put Rabbonim to the side. They're part of the vested interests and as nepotistic as Pinter himself. Where are all our spokesmen and women who constantly pop up in the press at the first sign of trouble? Does the self-certified 'intelligent' Chaya Spitz of Interlink fame not have a say on the matter? We're fine for grants of millions, lots of talking shops and seminars and symposiums but when it comes to a real immediate risk, not from Ofsted or the DfE or whoever is designated enemy-of-the-day, but from within there is complete silence. And where is Judith Nemeth of NAJOS? And Baumgarten of UOHC's education committee? And Rabbi Meyer of PaJeS? These people at the helm of acronyms piled up like an alphabet soup all share a table with Pinter, ply the same circuit, laugh at Pinter's bottomless pit of quips but when it comes to the role for which they have been appointed, or appointed themselves, there is only ear-piercing silence.</p> <p>Where are our elected councillors to speak up for their constituents? You find your mouths to oppose speed humps to endanger kids but hide when it comes to provide them with schooling. And where is Hackney Learning Trust as vast sums of public money are squandered to entrench a single family in the stewardship of a publicly funded school? To whom does Yesodey Hatorah belong, to the community or to Pinter, that is the question</p> <p>Let it be known that this is being carried out under your polished noses. You know what is going on, you know what Pinter stands for and how he goes about it and you choose to do nothing about it. You don't even turn a blind eye because it is all done fully within your eyesight. When those kids end up without schools because of some concocted Middle School no one ever asked for or even knows what it is, it will be at you they will rightly point their finger.</p> <p>The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men (and women) do nothing.</p>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-47561946386181727822018-01-26T00:08:00.001+00:002018-01-26T00:08:25.626+00:00Panning the PANs–Part 4: The Consultation <p>And so with the background aside it is time to move on to the actual Consultation with a paragraph by paragraph analysis of the proposals.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>This consultation sets out and explains the reasons why Yesodey Hatorah Girls School wishes to annex a Year 5 and Year 6 in September 2019 to its existing Secondary school and create a cross-phase school which would cater for students from Year 5 to Year 11.</i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>This consultation sets out nothing of the sort. The true reason for expanding the school to year 5 and 6 is to exclude Beis Yakov primary school pupils and the 'reasons' set out in the document are at best disingenuous and at worst outright lies.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>The primary reason behind this move would be to increase the number of students who attend the school in order to reach our Published Admission Number (PAN) of 455. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>If this was indeed the ‘primary reason’ the most logical step would would be to set up a 6<sup>th</sup> form, especially as Be'er Miriam is already on the premises. Indeed, as the extract of the minutes below shows, Be’er Miriam was created to solve the problem of overcapacity’ in the first place. </p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XWhXr7Ez3mc/WmpxXPJeyNI/AAAAAAAABS4/XsGNc0ahO-gCNRCRmA3IzATXTK5EhnoYQCHMYCw/s1600-h/Seminary%2Bminutes%255B3%255D"><img title="Seminary minutes" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="Seminary minutes" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XGhC0dJjMa8/WmpxXiZDHYI/AAAAAAAABS8/NPXvQeNE0Xsmf2U4VairLBCoe0ERnOIsgCHMYCw/Seminary%2Bminutes_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" width="416" height="186" /></a></p> <p>But as was explained above, 6th form is when many girls in the community change schools and so were it to become state-aided the competition for places would be such that places would have to be allocated on an objective set of criteria. This is something YH and Pinter have shown themselves incapable of doing.</p> <p>The only plausible ‘primary reason’ is to exclude Beis Yaakov primary school and to entrench Pinter power at YHS. These girls were mostly rejected when they applied to YH primary school and YHS cannot face the prospect of them joining 'his' secondary school. Although the 7 BY girls from year 6 who applied for admission in the next school year may be accepted (offers of places go out only in March) this consultation is to avoid a repeat next year and the year after and so on.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>Context and Intent </i></b></p> <p><b><i>Yesodey Hatorah was set up for the education of chareidi girls in years 7 to 11. The aim is to provide these girls with a robust and well-balanced education while maintaining the ethos and values that are central to their way of life. We now wish to give some of the younger students the same opportunity that their older sisters to receive a quality education building on the foundations set in the primary school. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>This does not make sense at all unless it is suggesting that YH primary is not providing a satisfactory education. What it may mean is that the younger girls should receive the benefit of a free state-funded education just like their older sisters, though this is not what it says. If that is the meaning, why not apply for the primary school to join the state system as a primary school, especially as the same people are at the helm of both schools? That way the entire Yesodey Hatorah, primary and secondary, would be state aided and which would indeed be a huge benefit for the community. </p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>When the school was built and received Voluntary Aid Status in 2005 the PAN was set at 450. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>This figure was set by the 'Trustees' of the school and advertised (below) by Pinter himself in 2001.</p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FPo62Y61EAs/WmpxYC7WgdI/AAAAAAAABTA/auAOtHpk9j4YBO1caEaGJN-t3pAMPimpgCHMYCw/s1600-h/YHS%252C%2Bfounding%2Badvert%255B4%255D"><img title="YHS, founding advert" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="YHS, founding advert" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B8vjkwXUUvs/WmpxYc8LWpI/AAAAAAAABTE/qwt1xqBbP6wDqZIWZ7Hv3OnQJhwk22qRwCHMYCw/YHS%252C%2Bfounding%2Badvert_thumb%255B2%255D?imgmax=800" width="344" height="1107" /></a></p> <p>Why the PAN was set at this number is not clear. In the advert Pinter states ‘It is anticipated that the school will operate at its full capacity from September 2005.’ Yet we are now 17 years later and despite the community's high birth rate those numbers can still not be filled. Was it to justify being given the large site they now occupy and which others within the community were competing for? Would they have not been granted a £5m Government grant to build the school had the numbers been smaller? I do not know and I can only speculate.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>The present PAN is 400 with an expected 80 students per year group. The governors’ admission policy agrees with this PAN namely of 80 students per year.</i></b></p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IjbcfsNUu4I/WmpxY3F2ueI/AAAAAAAABTI/DozQTYu6mCkRygSNqaWrCROSVHPSVpcaACHMYCw/s1600-h/PAN%252C%2Bminutes%255B2%255D"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6gzmiIPU97w/WmpxZoFeImI/AAAAAAAABTM/815hQus_QNIkpZJMj8gixJlDBLLQGKxQQCHMYCw/s1600-h/PAN%252C%2Bminutes%255B3%255D"><img title="PAN, minutes" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="PAN, minutes" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6npHTzF0kb0/WmpxaEY3uUI/AAAAAAAABTQ/a6W2FyrfXt86tfkXxGblKoLCFCfil2c0ACHMYCw/PAN%252C%2Bminutes_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" width="402" height="293" /></a></a></p> <p>The PAN fluctuates according to the whims of the 'governors’ admissions policy'. As the minutes of 27 October 2010 show the ‘Governors’ considered reducing the PAN from 80 to 70 or 60. The then Headteacher Mrs Pinter complained about the ‘strain on resources’ and the PAN was reduced to 60! Yet now they have set the PAN at 80 and must open a Middle School to deal with this supposed overcapacity. There is no explanation as to why it was lower in the past and why it has now been raised which leads one to suspect that they have artificially increased the PAN to justify the creation of a Middle School.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>At present there are just over 305 students or roll, and the school is therefore operating at well below the PAN that was originally set. This puts the school in a vulnerable position both vis a vis funding and with regard to mid-year admissions. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>This so called 'risk' of funding has not materialised in the last decade and no explanation is given as to why action is suddenly necessary. YHS itself on its school information pages states: <a href="https://www.najos.org/yesodey-hatorah-senior-girls-school"><b><font size="3">“In 2016-17 the grant was £6610. It is expected that both grants will remain the same for next few years” </font></b></a></p> <p>School funding is determined by  complicated formula <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/13bn-for-core-schools-budget-delivers-rise-in-per-pupil-funding">and some information can be found here</a>. However, the basic funding is based on a per-pupil basis and the size of the school plays no relevance in this. As to 'vulnerability' on mid-year admissions, this is non-existent. If there are places then admit the pupils. Besides, the admission numbers have been well below the PAN and the PAN has been well below capacity since the school was established and none of these supposed ‘vulnerabilities’ have materialised.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>It is therefore the governors and trustees intention to increase the numbers through adding two additional year groups to the existing infrastructure and the creation of a cross-phase school which would comprise of two distinct element’s: A middle school for Y5 - Y7 and an upper school for Y8 – Y11. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>This does not follow. As stated above, a far more reasonable solution to the 'problem' is bringing the 'sem' in as a 6th form. They are already on the premises and most secondary schools have linked to them a 6th form. As to this 'middle school' of 2 years it would be a huge waste of resources essentially creating a primary school for just two-year groups. In addition, it would deprive those years of the leadership skills that are often fostered in the older years at primary school because these pupils will be the ‘babies’ of the secondary school rather than the grown-ups of the primary school. As to Middle Schools generally, see <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_school#England_and_Wales">Wikipedia on the subject</a> how they are a rare type of schools and that 90% of such schools have closed in recent years. </p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>Current and Potential Admissions </i></b></p> <p><b><i>At the moment the vast intake at YHSGS, but not the sole intake, is from the Yesodey Hatorah Primary Girls School. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>This is true though it is YHS that is to blame for this. Admittedly, as was explained above, there is generally a low transfer rate in the area from primary schools to secondary schools and so the demand was never likely to be overwhelming. However, YHS has done absolutely nothing to try and reverse this effect. To the contrary, it makes great efforts to keep non-YH primary girls away:</p> <ul> <li>YHS NEVER advertises. Repeat NEVER. The YH nursery advertises its admissions as does the primary school for boys and for girls but not the secondary school.</li> </ul> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sH80X-E8cdA/Wmpxam5V12I/AAAAAAAABTU/Lc0FwVThsuAVapESptZccao3oLL_S-9RwCHMYCw/s1600-h/YHS%2BOpen%2BDay%2Bappointments%255B3%255D"><img title="YHS Open Day appointments" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="YHS Open Day appointments" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dx9rgXkRi3M/WmpxbN0yFYI/AAAAAAAABTY/nscyAr6qbMsfbm9PggZSjReQN6N2DCAEgCHMYCw/YHS%2BOpen%2BDay%2Bappointments_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" width="421" height="488" /></a></p> <ul> <li>YHS holds NO OPEN DAY. The Hackney Learning Trust prospectus (see above) simply states that viewing can be arranged by appointment. By contrast, YH Primary pupils are provided with an open day when only they are invited and which is not otherwise publicised.</li> <li>YHS publishes NO PROSPECTUS for local distribution. An application pack in English, Yiddish and Hebrew <a href="http://ifyoutickleus.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/open-gates.html" target="_blank">has been published by this site</a> rather than by the school itself.</li> </ul> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--HtTAo_bi34/WmpxboCZ_YI/AAAAAAAABTc/dP9p9MeSVeQg48AmEXtWGxDhBbn7NTcJACHMYCw/s1600-h/YHS%2Bcontact%255B7%255D"><img title="YHS contact" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="YHS contact" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PlyllnodXAw/WmpxbzVtJQI/AAAAAAAABTg/lpNuMUGaEA8PJelhG5GFHsr7p2pkzwh3wCHMYCw/YHS%2Bcontact_thumb%255B3%255D?imgmax=800" width="416" height="241" /></a></p> <ul> <li>YHS doesn’t even publish a contact email address on the admissions pages (see above). Those that know the trepidation with which local parents take the step of moving their children’s schools will understand why arranging an appointment or even making a phone call may be a step too far for many of them.</li> <li>Only recently and after a complaint did YHS publish admission procedures online but the web address is not publicised anywhere, not even on its stationery, and so no one would know to visit the site.</li> <li>No assistance is offered to the wider community with applications whereas Yesodey Hatorah primary school parents are told to return the applications to YHS who deal with the application on their behalf</li> </ul> <p>The Admissions Code expressly prohibits schools in the public sector from naming a fee-paying school as a feeder school yet this is exactly what YHS does in practice by restricting publicity and skewering the admission criteria to frighten away potential applicants.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>Based on existing students numbers in the Primary school the expected intake from this source indicates that the Secondary school can expect to remain well below the expected PAN for the foreseeable future.</i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>This is not simply disingenuous but positively deceptive. The expectation they speak of is non-existent and there is nothing to suggest that the numbers will remain 'well below' the expected PAN. Firstly, as stated above, the PAN itself keeps on changing and so it may fall in the future and no explanation is given as why it is now 80 when it has been 60 in the past.</p> <p>More to the point, YHS full well knows that there is a primary school on their doorstep called Beis Yaakov whose students must apply to YHS since that is the only school where, subject to availability, they are entitled to be admitted. It is also in YHS’s hands to increase the numbers by simply advertising the school to the local community, holding an open day, making potential applicants feel welcome and assisting in the application process. All of this is non-existent at the moment and instead stories abound of potential applicants being lied to when making initial enquiries.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>While potentially we could get additional applications from students from other local chareidi primary schools this has mainly not been the case in the past, and this is unlikely to change.</i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>How do they know this if they have never tired? Rather than taking the highly unusual step of a two-year Middle School situated within a secondary school, they should do what most schools do and try and increase the number of applicants.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>Even if the school was to experience an unprecedented 20% increase in applications from other schools we would still be below PAN.</i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>A 20% increase would be 'unprecedented' only because of the active measures currently being taken to suppress applicant numbers and restrict them to YH Primary. By publicising the school and with the addition of Beis Yakov the numbers could easily be filled.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>Yesodey Hatorah Primary Girls Schools and its Relationship to the Secondary School </i></b></p> <p><b><i>Currently most of our students come from the Yesodey Hatorah Primary Girls School all considerations on what is required to create a cross-phase school has been based on information provided by this entity, and in consultation with the SLT at the school. This is to ensure a smooth transition and to enable the Secondary School to best meet the needs of the students. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>This is unlawful because YHS is treating YH Primary as a feeder school in all but name. Again, no mention is made of the likelihood of an entire class of Beis Yakov joining YHS every year from now onwards. This is not mere conjecture as the current Year 6 of Beis Yaakov has already applied and so they can see the likelihood of Beis Yakov applications being made in future years. The idea of 'consultation with the [Seniors Leadership Team]' at the primary school is a joke. It is Pinter talking to himself or to his brother at best.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>It is important to note that the Yesodey Hatorah Primary School (YHPS) part of the Yesodey Hatorah School is a totally distinct organisation to the secondary school, and is in the independent sector. The school is housed in a totally separate campus, has its own governance structure and independent staffing and leadership teams. They also maintain completely independent finances and admission procedures. In common, both schools have a shared ethos with a common goal to provide a well-rounded and comprehensive education to charedi girls in and cater to the same target audience. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>To call YH Primary a 'totally distinct organisation' is as blatant a lie as you’ll get. They are joined at the hip, at the head and everywhere in between. The entire Yesodey Hatorah Schools network is run by the Pinter family who divide the positions between them, name buildings after their own and adorn the walls with pictures of their illustrious forebears.</p> <p>YHS Trust is the charity which runs YHS <a href="http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/ContactAndTrustees.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1113243&SubsidiaryNumber=0">and its contact address is at Pinter’s home</a>. Pinter is also the Principal of YHS. Yet the same Rabbi A Pinter was until recently the registered Headteacher of Yesodey Hatorah School, which is the formal name of Yesodey Hatorah Primary (see below).</p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VoIJFmuJXQA/WmpxcsaVRuI/AAAAAAAABTk/u16HVhAwdfAFT_bF6WrPMHJobK1H081rgCHMYCw/s1600-h/YH%2Bprimary%2Bhead%252C%2BA%2BPinter%255B3%255D"><img title="YH primary head, A Pinter" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="YH primary head, A Pinter" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ElEwLYdvTl4/WmpxdKelnSI/AAAAAAAABTo/K_nbG6n0hy0Mn13zo19ZOKlnGGo0EbtZQCHMYCw/YH%2Bprimary%2Bhead%252C%2BA%2BPinter_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" width="383" height="677" /></a></p> <p>The primary boys’ and girls’ schools are legally a single school (of which more later on) but in fact each school is separately run and occupies an entirely separate buildings some distance from the other(though the grounds at the rear of each school are connected). The boys school is run by the Chaim Pinter (A's brother) branch of the family while the girls’ schools, primary and secondary, are run by Abraham and daughters.</p> <p>As anyone who has had the misfortune to have a rejection from YH Primary will know, all communications and decisions are then with and by Abraham Pinter and no one else. In 2000 at the Din Torah referred to in Part 2 when admissions to the primary school was the issue it was Abraham who represented the primary school. Similarly when there was an appeal on admissions at YHS the same A Pinter turned up (see below).</p> <p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nxSVWdCz4p0/WmpxdkMoUKI/AAAAAAAABTs/-O9bavW-3rIR3lz4Ep52me6y2RoQrsIdwCHMYCw/s1600-h/Pinter%252C%2Bappeal%252C%2Bminutes%255B3%255D"><img title="Pinter, appeal, minutes" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px; display: inline; background-image: none;" border="0" alt="Pinter, appeal, minutes" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ok05aFKKyDg/WmpxeL_rV1I/AAAAAAAABTw/MWmYLfCdyaocbn0OWhvODXIT7j6dDqkJwCHMYCw/Pinter%252C%2Bappeal%252C%2Bminutes_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" width="407" height="145" /></a></p> <p>As to the 'independent finances and admission procedures', this is about admissions so I'll leave finances alone for now. But as was explained earlier, by restricting admissions to YH Primary the admissions procedure at YHS is almost just a formality as the primary school acts as a <i>de facto </i>feeder to the secondary school.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>As a consequence of the recent ruling in the appeals court, YHPS is currently undertaking a major overhaul to meet Government legislation for schools that provide an education for both girls and boys. In order to ensure full compliance the process of registering the school into two distinct entities, each to provide a single sex education, is currently underway and aims to be completed in the near future. This makes it an opportune time for them to consider changes to which Year groups they cater for. We have consulted the trustees at the primary school, and they are willing to seriously consider reducing their age limit, and providing an education only for the lower school, namely students from Y1-Y4. Transferring their Y5 and Y6 classes to the secondary school would free up valuable classroom space in that building. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>This is the devil quoting law for his purposes. The consultation, legislation, registration and consideration is just a smoke screen and padding for something that is no more than a paper exercise if that and with no implications for the day-to-day running of the schools.</p> <p>As explained above, the boys’ and girls’ schools already occupy separate buildings and are to all intents and purposes completely separate schools with different curricula, teachers, head teachers, admin offices and admission procedures. Anyone who knows anything about Chareidim will know that a boys and girls school of any age could not be differently run. Therefore, to talk of 'that building' in the singular is misleading since they are already two separate buildings. The 'valuable classroom space' is also a red herring since no classroom space will be gained or lost by the supposed 'two distinct entities' as they are already entirely distinct in all but name and have been so for many years.</p> <p>The Government legislation' they talk about is not any new law but the recent Court of Appeal judgement that segregated schools breach the Equalities Act. The case related to a publicly funded school whereas YH Primary, boys and girls, are independent fee-paying schools. The effects of that ruling are still being worked out and this is just hiding behind jargon and laws to conceal their true intentions.</p> <p>As was revealed by a senior member of YH Primary girls, the reason for splitting the boys and girls schools <a href="https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/ELS/100287">is the recent Ofsted report</a> of YH Primary when it was found to be overall ‘Inadequate’. Apparently, it was the boys' school, to which journalists and politicians are never invited, that dragged down the girls' school. It is to ensure that in future inspections the primary girls school is judged on its own merits rather than lumped together with the ‘Inadequate’ boys' school that the boys and girls primary school is being split. However, for the purpose of this consultation they have an interest in talking down the primary school with no distinction between boys and girls so as to make the case for a new supposedly improved Middle School.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>With this cooperation, creating a cross-phase school would not negatively impact the primary school. This will allow for a smooth transition and benefit the students currently in Years 5 and 6. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>Losing Year 5 and 6 could have a negative impact as the younger classes will be deprived of being in the company of older girls. Moreover, they are not entitled to consider the the impact on YH primary only and the impact on Beis Yakov and other secondary school age children in the entire community must also be considered.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>Staffing and School Timetable </i></b></p> <p><b><i>The school will be divided into two distinct divisions with Years 5, 6 and 7 being a Middle School and Years 8 through 11 an Upper School. We envisage that the both the Middle and Upper School will be one entity, with one Headteacher responsible for both elements of the school. This alleviates the expense of employing an additional head teacher which will lead to economies of scale and will also ensure that there is one person who has a strategic overview of the full school. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>As a Headteacher has been mentioned, it is worth noting that YH Secondary had until recently both a Principal and Headteacher occupied by Abraham Pinter and his late wife respectively. Within months of the passing of his wife their daughter relocated from Israel with her family to be appointed Headteacher despite her lack of qualifications and experience. Unsurprisingly, this did not work out and she left the school within a couple of years. The Principal however has remained in place throughout and the above does not state what role the Principal will play in the proposed new set up.</p> <p>There have been no advertisements for a new Headteacher since and the post of Headteacher is currently occupied by an Acting Headteacher. There is then a separate 'Menaheles' which is a Headteacher for religious studies.</p> <p>The question is whether a school which is incapable of hiring a truly independent Headteacher should be allowed an entirely new and unusual 'Middle School' and whether it will be capable of meeting the challenges. The price for the so called 'economies of scale', assuming they exist, may well be borne by the students who are being used as pawns in the rearranging of the Pinter decks.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>Deputy Headteachers will be focussed and responsible for a specific division. They will also be the lead person on safeguarding issues with their designated division. </i></b></p> <p><b><i>The Middle School will require a Key Stage Lead who has experience of primary schools, younger children, their curriculum etc. The Key Stage Leader will serve as the line manager for the class teachers, of which there will be one per class. It is anticipated that most of the Y5 and Y6 teachers will apply to the Secondary School for teaching positions and in most cases be offered positions in the Middle School. The staffing structure for the Upper School will remain much the same as the existing infrastructure, including different teachers for different subject. </i></b></p> <p><b><i>The Middle School will have a different daily infrastructure to the Upper School, with the day split up into fewer lessons, and a different start and finish time for the school day. This will be more in line with the needs of Primary aged students, and the school day will end at 4.00pm. Break time and Lunch will take place at different times to the Upper School. The daily infrastructure in the Upper School will remain similar to the existing system. </i></b></p> <p><b><i>Assemblies for each division will be held independently, although on occasion there will be whole school activities. </i></b></p> <p><b><i>SLT will be expected to undertake continuous professional development (CPD) training in how to deal with primary aged students, with a specific emphasis on safeguarding and social and emotional development of younger pupils. In addition it will widen the career prospects for the staff and create more opportunities for areas of responsibility etc. The main advantage of this will be to the aid in retention of staff. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>This would suggest that the 'economies of scale' they mention earlier is just a mirage as all of the above will need to be created from scratch and for which there is no current need in the existing YH Secondary school.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>Meeting the Educational Needs of All Students </i></b></p> <p><b><i>We are conscious that we do not have the existing provision to provide an education for Primary Students, and we have carefully researched how we will be able to deliver an excellent education to these students as well as maintaining excellent standards in the existing Secondary classes. </i></b></p> <p><b><i>The Key Stage 2 Lead will be expected to attend LA Primary School meetings and CPD training on how to meet the Primary School national curriculum so that they can ensure that students are receiving an excellent education in their subject. The KS2 lead will also liaise with Heads of Department to ensure that students are able to transition smoothly from the Middle to Upper School. </i></b></p> <p><b><i>Currently we maintain an excellent working relationship with the Primary School and have a good understanding of their curriculum and how it affects students’ learning once they transition to the Secondary School. In addition, our current Acting Headteacher was previously a Headteacher in a Primary School and she is well placed to assist on overseeing quality in education and to ensure that students at KS2 receive an appropriate and well-rounded education which is age appropriate. </i></b></p> <p><b><i>Over the years we have been concerned that students are entering Secondary School without the necessary skills needed to achieve as well as we would expect.</i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>Once again they resort to the trick of talking down their own primary school. If it is the case that YH Primary school girls are below par it would make a strong case for seeking students from other schools which may have better prepared them for secondary school.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>The Secondary School has very high expectations of all its students. This is borne out by the standards reached at GCSE. This year analysis of our results gave us a P8 0.75 and A8 5.6 well above national averages of 0 and 4.5 respectively. These values put us in the top 5% according to progress and top 9% for attainment in the country. </i></b></p> <p><b><i>The primary school’s SAT results show that the school is clearly underachieving in English. This is not unusual for independent schools in the borough, particularly when taking into consideration the fact that many students speak English as a second language. As the Primary School is privately funded there is little room for specialised teaching.</i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>And yet more talking down of the primary school. They conveniently point to the primary school’s SAT’s result without disclosing the results for the distinct boys and girls schools within the primary school. The girls have good results and it is the boys who drag down the primary school’s results overall.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>In the Secondary School most staff within the English department are either qualified with degrees in English or are working toward gaining the relevant qualifications.</i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>A large number if not most of the teachers at YHS are teenagers who have no more qualifications than a few A-levels, if that. They leave school, attend sem for 2 years and are back teaching the girls with whom they shared a playground 2 years earlier. What are the ‘relevant qualifications’ they talk about? Finding a shidduch?</p> <blockquote> <p><strong><em>We therefore feel confident that should pupils transfer from the Primary School to the new Middle School they would receive specialist teaching in English which would result in better grades at KS2. Research has shown that how well students achieve at KS2 has an impact on their future grades and eventually career prospects. </em></strong></p> <p><b><i>Overall we are confident that that we can provide the same standard of education for the Middle School that we are currently providing for all of our students at YHSGHS.</i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>‘Career prospects’ is a nice word for a school <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yesodey_Hatorah_Senior_Girls%27_School" target="_blank">whose Principal has said</a> on “Our experience is that the better educated girls turn out to be the most successful mothers. For us, that’s the most important role a woman plays”. But then they will say anything to suit any particular moment.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>SEN & Safeguarding Provision </i></b></p> <p><b><i>We have excellent SEN department that works closely with our middle leaders and senior staff to ensure that all students regardless of their ability are able to achieve. The earlier any interventions take place the more likely students will be able to achieve at KS2 and at GCSE. </i></b></p> <p><b><i>The SEN department will be responsible for both the Middle and Upper Schools and will expand their number of staff. They will employ those with experience in primary education to meet the needs of a Middle School and the increased number of children on roll. </i></b></p> <p><b><i>Staff that will be working with the younger children will be given dedicated training on meeting the differing social and emotional needs of younger students. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>Yet more employment further bellying their claim to ‘economy of scale’.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>Recreational Space, Building Capacity </i></b></p> <p><b><i>The school has large play areas, and students in both divisions will have suitable access to recreational areas both indoors and outdoors. </i></b></p> <p><b><i>Our current building is considered suitable for use by 450 students, and we do not expect to exceed this number. This means that we will not have to undertake any building works to absorb the additional students. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>As any visitor to YHS will tell you, despite being granted a site free of charge and receiving a £5m grant for the impressive modern building they currently occupy, the grounds have been defaced almost from the start and continue to be with portacabins, extensions and huts. This is despite the school running at significant under capacity which is the supposed reason for the proposals in this consultation. Since the grounds have been reduced and in view of the additional grounds required for the younger pupils it is questionable whether the grounds are indeed suited for the proposed numbers and for the younger ages particularly with some of the building being occupied by Be’er Miriam.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>Effect on other Schools </i></b></p> <p><b><i>It is not anticipated that the merger would have any effect on any of the local schools, aside from Yesodey Hatorah Primary School. Yesodey Hatorah Girls Primary School will no longer have a Year 5 and Year 6. Discharging the school of two year groups will allow YHPS release value space and possibly give the school the opportunity to re-furbish some of their accommodation. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>This is the most disgraceful and shameful lie of the lot. This will have an ENORMOUS EFFECT on Beis Yaakov as those girls will not have a secondary school to accept them at the end of their primary school because by then YH Middle/Secondary will be full. Even if it is argued that there will still be an admissions process to YHS, they could easily declare the Middle School as a feeder school thus giving the Middle School students priority. Alternatively, it could hold another ‘consultation’ in the future to convert into one large school.</p> <p>The practical effect on Beis Yaakov is that their girls may be forced to apply to be admitted for Year 5 of the new YH Middle School as otherwise they stand no chance of a place at YHS at all. Beis Yakov will therefore have to close Years 5 and 6 as all the girls will by then have left. This in turn may lead to the school with only 4 years not being viable and closing. It will suit Pinter as he will have knocked out a competitor and an indirect challenger to his state-funded hegemony. But where does it leave the growing number of families without schools for their children because the community has decided to wash their hands of them? That this should be done with public funds is scandalous and shameful.</p> <p>Quite separately, YH Primary is a private school and there is no reason why public funds should be used to cater for a handpicked number of families which have been hand-selected by Pinter to be admitted to the primary school. If the primary school requires space and refurbishment let them apply to become state-aided and raise their standards to the level this consultation is so eager for them to achieve.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>Budget </i></b></p> <p><b><i>Current data from Hackney would give an income of £5000 per primary student. With an intake of 130 students minimum this would generate an income of £650 000. The major costs will be staffing namely for six teachers, a Key Stage Leader, admin and SEN staff. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>Note how this is the first times we are given actual numbers. Nowhere have we been told how many applicants they are actually receiving on average over the years, the likely numbers from the YH primary school in future years, the average number of applicants from other schools or the implications of the Beis Yaakov applicants. But now to show the numbers they will be drawing to the Middle School we are told 130 students.</p> <p>They also appear to accept that the 'economies of scale' they mention earlier is non-existent as a whole new staff must be hired.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>The other main outlay would be set-up costs, however it is expected that much of the furniture and resources would come from the primary school. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>They have accidentally let their mask slip here. Earlier we were told <i>“Yesodey Hatorah Primary School (YHPS) part of the Yesodey Hatorah School is a totally distinct organisation to the secondary school.” </i>If that was true, on what basis is YHPS giving away furniture for 130 students to YHS? As they themselves shoe it is all one big pot and the entire consultation exercise and proposal are quite literally just rearranging the furniture.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>An allowance has also been given for SEN as it is highly likely that there will be some pupils who will need extra support and that we will have to employ somebody with primary experience. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>Yet more so called 'economies of scale'.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>As the main infrastructure is well established there will be little additional costs to the day to day running of the school as the additional numbers will not impact the maintenance or administrative costs. </i></b></p> <p><b><i>Any capital funds which the school may incur will be funded by the trustees.</i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>Presumably to mean diverting money from the big black hole called the 'wedding hall'.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>Alternative Proposals </i></b></p> <p><b><i>The Governors and Trustees appreciate that they have to work with the PAN that has been set by Hackney. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>No. It was set by the Trustees and advertised by Abraham Pinter himself as shown above and has fluctuated between 60 and 90. At that time it suited them to hike the numbers up and now it suits them to hike the numbers down to create space for a ‘Middle School’.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>Consideration has been given to increasing the PAN through extending the age range at the upper end of the school through creating a sixth form with a Y12 and Y13. This option was not pursued as there appears to be little demand for such a 6th form within the community. There are already sufficient seminaries that presently meet the community’s needs for this age group. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <p>Yet another blatant and shameful lie. There is a seminary in the very YHS building under the trusteeship of Abraham Pinter himself where of course he wields absolute indiscriminate power on admissions. As shown in the minutes above it was created for the very reason of over-capacity so why not turn that into a voluntary-aided 6th form? The answer is because Y12 is a key transfer stage between school and sem and the competition for admission from other schools would be such that he would not hold the keys. It would also not resolve the lurking 'danger' of Beis Yakov hordes trampling through 'his' school as of right rather than by his grace. To ‘remedy’ this an unheard of Middle School must be created to maintain his powerbase and exclude an entire school in the process.</p> <blockquote> <p><b><i>Admission Arrangements 2019/20 </i></b></p> <p><b><i>A separate consultation is being conducted by Hackney Learning Trust in regards to admission arrangements for 2019-20. Details available on the following link </i></b><a href="https://www.learningtrust.co.uk/admissions/Pages/AdmissionsConsultation.aspx"><b><i>https://www.learningtrust.co.uk/admissions/Pages/AdmissionsConsultation.aspx</i></b></a><b><i> </i></b><b><i>and also from the school office at 6 Egerton Road N16 6UA. </i></b></p> <p><b><i>This will reflect the proposed age and PAN changes and the different entry points into the school. </i></b></p> </blockquote> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="1"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="325"> <blockquote style="margin-right: 0px;" dir="ltr"> <p><b><i>Consultation Timetable Consultation period starts </i></b></p> </blockquote> </td> <td valign="top" width="210"> <blockquote style="margin-right: 0px;" dir="ltr"> <p><b><i>Wednesday 20th December 2017 </i></b></p> </blockquote> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="323"> <blockquote style="margin-right: 0px;" dir="ltr"> <p><b><i>Consultation period ends </i></b></p> </blockquote> </td> <td valign="top" width="205"> <blockquote style="margin-right: 0px;" dir="ltr"> <p><b><i>Wednesday 31st January 2018 </i></b></p> <p><font color="#ff0000" size="2">NOTE THE DEADLINE!!!</font></p> </blockquote> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="323"> <blockquote style="margin-right: 0px;" dir="ltr"> <p><b><i>Governors’ review of responses </i></b></p> </blockquote> </td> <td valign="top" width="206"> <blockquote style="margin-right: 0px;" dir="ltr"> <p><b><i>Wednesday 14th February 2018 </i></b></p> </blockquote> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="323"> <blockquote style="margin-right: 0px;" dir="ltr"> <p><b><i>Governors final decision </i></b></p> </blockquote> </td> <td valign="top" width="205"> <blockquote style="margin-right: 0px;" dir="ltr"> <p><b><i>Tuesday 13th March 2018 </i></b></p> </blockquote> </td> </tr> </tbody></table>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-67988086506783959962018-01-25T15:38:00.001+00:002018-01-26T08:50:19.503+00:00Panning the PANs – Part 3 – The ‘Problem’ of Beis Yaakov Primary School<p>Taking a step back now it was in light of YH Primary's restrictive admissions that Beis Yaakov primary was born. An increasing number of parents were left without schools or were unwilling to conform to the demands of the existing schools and were also unwilling to move to Golders Green or even to Manchester. It was to accommodate the increasing number of these children that parents grouped together to form Beis Yakov.</p> <p>Its first cohort, now in Year 6, is of 7 girls and there are currently about 90 girls in the entire school. Its policies are generally more tolerant than the other schools though they too had to tighten up so as not to be seen as a 'dumping ground' for rejects from other schools.</p> <p>Since Beis Yaakov has no secondary school the 'danger' to YHS is obvious. Here is Pinter like a centurion at the gate guarding the 'purity' of 'his' school virtually from cradle to the wedding bed and here in one fell swoop his life's work risks being undone. If no action is taken an entire cohort of girls with their own ethos and connections and friendships will turn up at the secondary school demanding as of right to be admitted. Not having suffered the indignities of pleading to be admitted to a Yesodey Hatorah school and complying with whatever rules that were imposed on them these girls and their parents will not feel beholden to Pinter & Co and will not have the fear of him branded into their DNA.</p> <p>From Pinter’s point of view this is as intolerable a situation as it gets and which must be stopped at all cost. Pinter himself has made it known to Beis Yaakov that he had a delegation of two YHS mothers claiming to represent 40 YHS mothers to threaten that if BY girls are accepted they will withdraw their children from YHS. This was to convey the pressure he is supposedly under and to ‘persuade’ BY to find another school for their girls. Indeed, last summer there were well sourced reports that YHS was seriously considering going private to avoid having to accept Beis Yaakov girls. This must have proved too high a price to pay and was dropped. Which neatly brings us to the current consultation.</p> <p>One final point before moving on to the consultation itself, it should be made clear that Pinter did not wake up to this situation overnight. Being the wily player he is and knowing what was in store, he has over recent years been relaxing admissions to YH Primary so as to deprive BY of the numbers they require to run a viable school. He has not accepted everyone but often after refusing a child and the child being accepted to BY he has then decided to accept the child after all. The presumed aim being to leave BY with the 'dregs' so that no one in their right mind given the choice would send their child there as a first option. Although he has been partially successful and Beis Yaakov remains a small school despite the local high birth-rate, he has not killed off Beis Yakov altogether and which is why more drastic action is now required.</p>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-41539338026816185792018-01-24T23:06:00.002+00:002018-01-24T23:09:06.655+00:00Panning the PANs – Part 2 - On Yesodey Hatorah Admissions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Before turning to the specifics of the consultation something must also be said about the Yesodey Hatorah Schools and its admission procedure as well as its relationship, if that's the right word, with Beis Yaakov (BY). BY, it will be recalled, was recently established and has only a primary school.<br />
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The Yesodey Hatorah girls school was established towards the end of the 1940s or thereabout. They were the first frum girls' school in the area and served the local 'frum' community as the term was understood at that time. For e.g. initially classes were co-ed even for 12 years olds which would be unheard of today. The background of the parent body was also not necessarily what would nowadays be classed frum. <br />
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As the community grew in number and as the frum world became frummer Yesodey Hatorah moved with the times. Yet despite this it has always been the school which traditionally served the middle ground of the community and remains so to this day. During the 1960s and 70s and first half of the 1980s when there was only Lubavitch, Bnos and Satmar, that meant practically everyone else. Towards the end of the 1980s and more so in the 1990s when the community's exponential growth began and the ‘right’ veered ever more east YHS began being seen as, and still is to a degree, the 'moderate' and 'soft' choice. It may be due to trivialities like the length of hair and skirts, the denier of tights or driving mums but these things matter round here. Out of this arose Beis Chinuch which started life as a frummer and holier version of Yesodey Hatorah and which overall still holds that position.<br />
<br />
Not at all by coincidence, it was also around this time in the 1990s or so that Yesodey Hatorah became progressively more selective in its admissions. As Pinter openly says, he doesn't want to be 'left with' the downs and outs (though he is known to put it in far more colourful language). <br />
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This caused a great degree of anguish throughout the 1990s and 2000s and families were forced to move to North West London or to Manchester and even further afield because they simply had no school for their children. In other cases, parents were forced to remain with the school of their movement because the unaffiliated schools in the supposed middle ground, be it Yesodey Hatorah or Beis Chinuch, would not accept them. <br />
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Those who suffered the worst were families from ‘irregular’ backgrounds. I am referring to ‘dysfunctional’ or ‘nebech’ families, single-parent families, Sephardim, balei tshuva and other non-‘heimish’ backgrounds who must suffer the indignities of a microscopic assessment before anyone will even consider them let alone accept them. They often have no family to fight their cause, no established community to turn to, no money or connections to flex some muscle on their behalf and so they must fall back on the unaffiliated Rabbonim, which is a parlous state indeed. These Rabbonim themselves, without the backing of a large community, can possibly provide sympathy and empathy and lots of chizuk but little else.<br />
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Yet for a long time, besides those who suffered no one really did anything. Because if the schools act as an effective means to keep ‘undesirables’ out and those most likely to stray on the straight and narrow who exactly round here in authority will complain? And in Yesodey Hatorah’s case, if there is anyone whom Pinter will most gleefully reject it is those parents who were born in one mode and who try to rise above (or fall below depending on your viewpoint) their station. He doesn't want to be the first port of call for those smart alecs to whom their parents' and rabbis' lifestyle is no longer good enough. And so long that it is in his power to get such families to conform or move away he will fulfil that role with a relish and with the nod and wink of his elevated peers.<br />
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At a practical level, the main gatekeeping necessary at Yesodey Hatorah (as well as at other schools) is at the primary school entry stage since relatively few apply at a later stage, whether during the primary or secondary years or from primary to secondary. This process at YH Primary as at YHS throughout this period has been and remains the sole preserve, if not the actual creation, of Pinter himself. (At the boys’ school where he is not in charge, admissions are far more relaxed.) This is not to say that he controls every single admission but it is he who devises the strategies to control admission and who oversees its execution. And when there are rejections, of which there is no shortage, it is also to his door, if not his feet, that all communications, negotiations, begging, pleading, phone calls, tears and all the rest are directed.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6zG_4Q3RsvTk4709pPm752qiLHjgCBmgkL1vYAxZ2HOmj_HgM36ZNqohPsr4yiOxf3SFqX8NLyMJaw9_oGJEErlDDYZ1O2ZT-feuVDfr8IaW45Yv1WCL86qjArsFB4wiSkmQL4CISrxhg/s1600/YHS+Rejections.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="604" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6zG_4Q3RsvTk4709pPm752qiLHjgCBmgkL1vYAxZ2HOmj_HgM36ZNqohPsr4yiOxf3SFqX8NLyMJaw9_oGJEErlDDYZ1O2ZT-feuVDfr8IaW45Yv1WCL86qjArsFB4wiSkmQL4CISrxhg/s400/YHS+Rejections.JPG" width="325" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Yesodey Hatorah rejection letter</td></tr>
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<br />
Those who are rejected will testify to the run-arounds, half-truths and outright lies they are given, the deflecting of blame and the sheer contempt in the manner they are treated. The rejection letter will give no reason and simply tell you that you’re not accepted. After that it’s all verbal with numerous phone calls where you can’t get through, visits with no one to speak to, promises that someone will call back and appointments which are not kept and every other tactic designed to wear down the rejects in the hope they will go away or be broken into submission so that they’ll remember forever who the boss is. Except in the very difficult cases when anonymous written threats are received of being reported for benefits fiddling.<br />
<br />
The reason why the admission problem is particularly acute with Yesodey Hatorah because it is a communal school, founded by the community and funded by the community but still they are accountable to no one. They even market themselves as the ‘town’s school’. Yet when it comes to admissions there is no formal procedure, no criteria published, no admissions committee worth speaking of (always ‘anonymous’) and no appeals system and it is at the whim of a single individual that the destiny of entire families are decided. The fact that Pinter likes to present himself to the media and to politicians as the smiling, human face of Stamford Hill also does not help those with the misfortune to encounter his darker side on local display. Even the various Chasidic movements which are far from democratic have their own authorities and their own internal dynamics, be they rabbinical or lay, who are the ultimate decisors and where there exists an appellate system of sorts though not necessarily as formally as the term is usually understood. Similarly, Beis Chinuch is also led by a committee and is guided by local Rabbonim without a single strongman wielding all the power. But with Yesodey Hatorah all the power rests with one individual and who wields it indiscriminately.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9TXXNclsllwY46vQhHLLIC3CnY8QPT67JKtMwgHddASl5M65NmiCRfBKbkfDgWeXTDdb0e0iESudcxjOHOjTlUFxHMFekuc02MfiPBPOmnzd8QAJW2oQUj99neHfaF9P9peruy7NYiaC/s1600/YHS+Din+Torah+ruling.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="626" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9TXXNclsllwY46vQhHLLIC3CnY8QPT67JKtMwgHddASl5M65NmiCRfBKbkfDgWeXTDdb0e0iESudcxjOHOjTlUFxHMFekuc02MfiPBPOmnzd8QAJW2oQUj99neHfaF9P9peruy7NYiaC/s400/YHS+Din+Torah+ruling.JPG" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Din Torah Ruling on YHS Admissions Committee</td></tr>
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In one instance in 2005 there was a Din Torah which the local Beis Din accepted after initial refusals and much cajoling. Pinter appeared in person and alone to represent the school. The Beis Din went on to rule that an admission committee will be set up by the local Rabbinate to oversee admissions. Yet no such committee was ever set up. The ruling was based on the <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/369923718/20121227-Memorandum-and-Articles-of-Association" target="_blank">school's constitution at the time</a> which had nothing to say on admissions and a lot to say on governance but within a short time that charity <a href="http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/RemovedCharityMain.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=312521&SubsidiaryNumber=0">‘ceased to exist’</a> and a new charity with a different constitution took its place. Needless to say, the large lay and rabbinical committees in the original constitution did not make it over to the new one and the rejections continued apace.<br />
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Although the voluntary-aided status of YH Seniors should have put paid to such arbitrary practices in fact little changed. For a start, as I said earlier, few change schools at secondary school. There is therefore relatively little demand for places at secondary school since most girls are by then settled. Yesodey Hatorah has of course done nothing to change that and, as will be seen later, put in much though and effort to ensure it remains this way. Besides, not many know how the local authority application system works and of those who dare to enquire many are fobbed off by the school about availability and criteria.<br />
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There is then the concern about complaining to an outside body which many fear may constitute 'mesire' (snitching) and which Pinter himself bandies about when faced with more difficult applicants. The end result is that few take their grievances to the local authority and are even less likely to appeal a decision against them. That said, on the whole, those who apply and know how to go about it do get in simply because YHS knows it has no alternative.<br />
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As a result of the above, YHS is almost entirely a continuation of YH Primary with the primary school acting as its <i>de facto</i> feeder school. This is not official, though, as the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/389388/School_Admissions_Code_2014_-_19_Dec.pdf" target="_blank">Schools Admissions Code</a> (para. 1.9.l) prohibits a publicly funded school from nominating an independent school as a feeder.<br />
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Notwithstanding the above, there was, and remains a concern that 'undesirables' could potentially turn up at YHS in droves and exclude even what YHS sees as its core applicants from YHS Primary, its feeder school in all but name. To cover for this, YHS drafted <a href="https://www.learningtrust.co.uk/admissions/Supplementary%20Information%20Forms/Yesodey%20Hatorah%20-%20Supplementary%20Form%202018-19.pdf">admissions criteria</a> (an earlier version of which <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384336/ADA2777_Yesodey_Hatorah_Senior_Girls__School_Hackney_8_Dec_2014.pdf">was found by the Schools Adjudicator to be unlawful</a>*), giving the impression that only Chareidi girls who matched a certain definition of 'charedi' would be admitted to the school. To this end they concocted a definition of 'chareidi'* despite that no such definition exists anywhere in the world. It includes such nonsense as 'Very long skirts are not accepted within our Charedi חרדי community and as such are forbidden'.<br />
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Besides it being a non-sequitur it simply is not true. There is a huge difference between something not being the norm to not being 'accepted' and to being forbidden. This, however, is a good example of the social engineering implicit in these rules. There are plenty of Chareidi communities in London and elsewhere where long skirts are the norm and no one has ever banned them. But it is usually slightly more ‘modern’ groups though still Chareidi who wear such skirts. It is these that YHS is trying to keep on the wrong side of the tall gates and if possible to get them to move away altogether. Quite besides that, the rules in the admissions criteria on skirts, wigs and the like are hardly eligible criteria at all. Admissions criteria presuppose that people are adhering to a certain set of rules and by which they are judged rather than setting the very rules solely for those same admissions purposes.<br />
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But it is in the definitions itself that their true intentions are revealed. According to the admissions criteria,<br />
<blockquote>
“In these arrangements “Charedi Jewish girl” means a girl who is a member of a Charedi family that lives in accordance with Charedi principles and ethics as prescribed by the Rabbinate of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations.”</blockquote>
Yet no such definition by the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations (UOHC) exists. <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/369923718/20121227-Memorandum-and-Articles-of-Association" target="_blank">UOHC’s 2012 constitution (Articles of Association)</a> does not even contain the word Chareidi at all. At clause 26.1 it stipulates that to hold office a person must abide “by Jewish law as laid down by the Shulchan Oruch together with its commentaries, as interpreted by the Rabbinate” but otherwise there are no prescriptive rules. Similarly, UOHC encompasses all kinds from shuls in North West like Hendon Adath and Munks all the way to Satmar. Thus, the idea that there is a single definition of ‘Charedi Jewish Girl’ as set out in those criteria would be ludicrous if it was not so shamelessly deceptive for the purpose of excluding pupils.<br />
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The admissions procedures were indeed challenged though on different grounds and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384336/ADA2777_Yesodey_Hatorah_Senior_Girls__School_Hackney_8_Dec_2014.pdf">the Schools Adjudicator upheld almost all of the complaints</a>. The main grounds of challenge were that the admissions procedure gave the impression that it applied to all applicants whereas in truth it applied only if the school was oversubscribed. This was not an oversight on the part of the school. I recall that when the school opened Joe Lobenstein writing in his Ben Yitzchok column made much of the definition of 'chareidi' and how it would ensure the purity of the school, or however he put it. (Though Lobenstein served as the chair of governors of YHS, he never made that point clear even when he excoriated other Jewish state-aided schools for being state-aided.)<br />
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It is also the obsession with admissions which explains why Yesodey Hatorah chose the state aid route for its secondary school rather than its primary school. In general, chareidi schools in the UK have preferred state aided status for primary schools rather than secondary schools. This applies to Pardes House Primary which is state aided as opposed to its grammar school which is not. It is the same at Beis Yaakov in North-West London and was also the case until recently with Menorah Primary versus Menorah High. It is due to the fewer demands of the Department for Education places on the curriculum of primary schools and also due to the greater demands for religious studies in secondary schools. <br />
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Yesodey Hatorah by contrast despite purporting to be the most chareidi of the lot chose the reverse route. The only plausible explanation for this is that if its primary school was state aided it would mean having to accept all applicants by a transparent set of rules at the start of their school life and that is something the powers there will not accept. By contrast, with only the secondary school being state aided and combined with the fact that there are not many transfers locally at secondary school age it believed it could work round admissions and which until now has indeed gone to plan.<br />
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Make no mistake as to the level of Pinter’s involvement in all of this at the Secondary School despite there being a notional Admission sub-committee. As an employed Principal of the school he should have no involvement in admissions at all. Yet, as these extract of the Board of Governors' minutes show he is involved at every level. From setting admission numbers, admissions application, dealing with the ‘problem’ of over-capacity to appeals where he represented the school and which he ‘fortunately’ won.<br />
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I am setting all this out to show how for Yesodey Hatorah admissions is not some passing fad or side issue but an all-encompassing obsession over many years. It is only with this backdrop that the consultation for a Middle School makes any sense.</div>
IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-14436985226591129252018-01-23T22:19:00.000+00:002018-01-24T06:29:46.632+00:00Panning the PANs: On Yesodey Hatorah’s proposed ‘Middle School’ – Part 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As first reported on <a href="https://twitter.com/ifyoutickleus/status/943141792672813061" target="_blank">the linked Twitter account</a>, the state funded Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls School (YHS) <a href="http://www.yesodeyhatorah.org/Information.htm" target="_blank">is consulting</a> on 'annexing' a Year 5 and Year 6 to its existing school and creating a Middle School for those classes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As it currently stands YHS consists of Years 7-11 which is the norm for secondary schools. It also has a notional 6th form (known locally as a 'sem') on its premises called Be'er Miriam Seminary with two years which are the equivalent of Years 12-13. This is a private fee-paying institution of which <a href="http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/ContactAndTrustees.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1127513&SubsidiaryNumber=0">Abraham Pinter is a trustee</a>. <a href="http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityWithoutPartB.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1127513&SubsidiaryNumber=0">Its charitable income in its last financial report was £362,052</a>. <a href="https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/information_on_hire_of_school_pr#incoming-337129">It pays no rent to YHS for its use of the school premises.</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">YHS has now <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/369828908/ConsultationDocument-v7-13-Dec-2017">published a consultation document</a> on this annexation but to understand the issues and the possible motives for YHS's proposals it is important to set out the background of girls' schools in Stamford Hill's Chareidi community.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Just one disclaimer before I proceed. I must apologise in advance for using terms, in inverted comas where I remember, that are often judgemental in origin and intent and particularly cringe-inducing when used for self-serving purposes. As unpleasant as they are, I did not coin them and nor have I formed the community and sub-communities that often define themselves within by those terms. This, however, is the reality of the situation and which I cannot escape try as I may. So irrespective of my own views I have to resort to such terms if I am to provide a frank summary of the situation.</span><br />
<div align="center">
<br />
*<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Stamford Hill community has a number of girls’ schools ranging from Lubavitch on the 'left' and which draws its intake from beyond the broader community to B'nos Yerushalayim on the 'right' which serves the extreme right of Satmar and similarly minded fringes. In the middle is a range of schools generally controlled by the Chasidic powerhouses like Satmar and Belz and more recently joined by Vizhnitz and Bobov. There is then an unaffiliated sector which consists of Beis Chinuch for the frummer end, Beis Yaakov for the moderate end and Yesodey Hatorah somewhere in the middle.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All the local girls schools, with one exception, run from nursery through to the end of secondary school. Round here nursery is often referred to as reception or infants, primary school is predominantly known as juniors and secondary school as seniors. In most cases nursery, primary and secondary schools are not separate schools and often not even different departments but simply a single school where you are enrolled at one end and emerge at the other at 16 years old and almost ready for a shidduch after a year or two in 'sem'. Sem, short for seminary, is our equivalent of 6th form and when a new round of applications and selections take place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The single exception to this is Beis Yaakov (BY), which has only a primary school. BY was founded 6 years ago and its first cohort will graduate in the summer of this year. This class, as well as the classes below them every year henceforth, will need to find a new school to continue their secondary school education. And it is in light of the 'problem' of BY girls joining YHS that the current proposals and consultation must be considered.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Before moving on to the consultation itself it is also important to understand how parents round here generally choose a school for their children. Since most schools are affiliated to a Chasidic movement most parents belonging to the movement will enrol their children in that movement's schools. Where a movement does not have its own schools parents will typically choose (or 'send' as it’s referred to here) the movement closest to their affiliation. 'Close' in this sense may mean in origin and custom to wherever they are affiliated or with historical ties between the different movements. Another factor is also the parents' own level of observance and piety and so they might choose a school that is closest to their own worldview. Or shtetl-view if you like. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But overall, the selection of a school before primary school and then secondary school does not exist here in most cases because most parents 'belong' to this or that movement and so their choice is made up for them. And not only is the child likely to remain at that school for the entire duration of her school but it’s also where her siblings are likely to attend (and it may well influence where these children enrol their own children in generations to come). This is not only due to the way the schools are structured but also because of the manner and the reasoning behind the 'choice' in the first place. Similarly, there is relatively little movement between the schools of the different Chasidic sects as whatever motivated the parents to select a particular school in the first place it likely to remain in place for them for the rest of their lives.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">That said, there is still a fair number of transfers between schools either between years or from primary to secondary. This is for a variety of reasons whether because a child does not settle well in to a school or issues arise whether from the school, the pupil or the parents' end and a transfer becomes necessary. In other cases parents may become disappointed with a school and they decide they want something different. It could be they consider the school too strict, too lax, too frum, too much homework or whatever. These parents may still belong to the movement but yet want something different for their child. This is more common amongst girls as affiliation is predominantly a patriarchal issue and so fathers will typically be more particular about their boys' affiliation and upbringing than mothers about their daughters.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Of this last lot there are then the parents who become 'enlightened', or 'modern' as it would be phrased here. Meaning, that as new parents when they were barely out of their teens they may have opted for a certain school because that is where they 'belonged', that is where his and her parents dictated, whether expressly or implicitly, the child must attend and that is the school where it was as natural to send their child as it was natural for him to attend the shul to which the school is affiliated. In most cases it probably did not even occur to the parents that they had a choice and even if they did give it some though they may well have believed the propaganda pumped out by each movement on the superiority of their schools and the 'dangers' of venturing elsewhere.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">However, as they mature and acquire their own identities they may realise that they want something more 'loose' or unaffiliated for their children and for themselves. In other cases it may be the pupil herself who has moved on and either wants to move to a new school or, in more 'extreme' cases, the school where she was first enrolled no longer wishes to keep her. When we say 'extreme' we're not talking anything as radical as an ear-helix piercing or a thumb ring but merely her hairstyle, her dress style, having the misfortune of being more assertive, prettier or more feminine than her classmates or any other nuance that brings her to the attention of the powers that be.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The above all rests on the premise that the child actually has a school to go to in the first place. Unfortunately, this is not always the case as many parents have come to learn to their anguish when they struggle to find a school for their nursery or primary school age child. There is a difference in this between the Chasidic schools and the unaffiliated. In general, each Chasidic movement will provide a place for the children of its adherents and so Chasidic parents will usually not struggle for a place provided they wish to enrol their child in the movement's schools. This is because 'belonging' to a Chasidus generally involves to a greater or lesser degree conforming to their mores and adhering to their rules and so those within are usually 'kosher' enough to get their kids in to the school. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Chasidim also tend to look after their own and so even parents of a slightly more 'liberal' bent will still be well aware of the limits and the price they must pay to 'belong'. By contrast, those who are unaffiliated or whose movements do not run schools must live by different rules. So long that the parents are conformist, don't ruffle any feathers and don't stand out from the crowd they too will find a place with either one of the Chasidic or unaffiliated schools.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Where the problems arise is when parents of a Chasidic background veer too far from their own movement or where they decide that their movement's schools are not suitable for them. In the case of the unaffiliated it is a similar picture though the threshold tends to be higher as they have no movement they can turn to as of 'right' (provided they conform to some degree) that may choose to overlook their relatively minor indiscretions. The Chasidic schools outside their movement will say you don't 'belong' to us and we don't want other people's 'garbage' (yes, it's often put as crudely as that) while unaffiliated schools like Beis Chinuch or YHS also turn them down on similar grounds, that if they are not 'kosher' for their own they’re definitely not kosher enough for these unaffiliated schools. The unaffiliated schools have the added excuse with Chasidic parents, that these parents have schools ready to accept them and if the parents are unwilling to conform to their own movement’s schools, well then that is their problem.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Such parents are thus left without a school and the kids must languish at home because no school will accept them. True, Lubavitch remains open to such parents and many children do indeed end up there as a very last resort. But for a multitude of reasons, and rightly or wrongly, Lubavitch is not considered locally as a core communal school despite its location in the area. Lubavitch pupil base is also from a far wider spectrum and these parents still feel very much part of the community where their family and friends are and want their children reared within the same community.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As mentioned above, children round here generally stick with the school where they started their school life and so the aforementioned problems with admissions are more common in nursery or primary school because once accepted the child will tend to remain there and if they do decide to change it is more often than not difficult to do so with without a fight. Problems do arise where a child is 'kicked out' of a school or where the parents are desperate to change schools but these are relatively few and far between.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In considering the above it is easy to forget that this is only how things are and not how they ought to be. However, since all the local schools but one (Lubavitch aside) are private schools they do not have to account to anyone for their decisions on admissions and on how they run their schools. It is futile arguing on how things could and should be different since they raise their own budgets and set their own rules.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The one exception to this is Yesodey Hatorah Seniors which is the first and at the moment only Chareidi voluntary-aided school in Stamford Hill. (There used to be Avigdor primary school but that was even further away to the 'left' than Lubavitch.) Since YH Seniors is, notionally at least, subject to the laws on school admissions it might have been expexted that things would be run rather differently there but then that would be without taking into account that the Yesodey Hatorah Schools are run as the personal fiefdom of the Pinter family with the girls schools 'belonging' to the Abraham Pinter branch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">True, they publish a prospectus and admissions criteria, as they must, applications are submitted to the local authority, decisions are taken (again, notionally) by a sub-committee of school governors and rejections can be appealed. But then Russia also has a constitution and courts but we still know how the place is run. And it is in how YH Seniors is run in practice that we come to the crux of the 'problem' as YHS sees it and to the 'consultation' it is now holding.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In case it needs to be stated, this series of posts takes it as a given that Pinter is Yesodey Hatorah and Yesodey Hatorah is Pinter, in particular relating to the girls' schools and even more so in reference to admissions, and that the two are virtually interchangeable no matter how many boards, governors and trustees he hides behind.</span><br />
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IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371357989254214618.post-63388385928384739812017-08-02T19:20:00.002+01:002017-08-02T19:52:10.131+01:00UOHC’s Eye Watering Stuff<p style="font: 14px helvetica,arial,sans-serif; margin: 12px auto 6px; display: block; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none"><a title="View UOHC-Thames Water Powerpoint on Scribd" style="text-decoration: underline" href="https://www.scribd.com/document/355374218/UOHC-Thames-Water-Powerpoint#from_embed">UOHC-Thames Water Powerpoint</a> by <a title="View ifyoutickleus's profile on Scribd" style="text-decoration: underline" href="https://www.scribd.com/user/63365017/ifyoutickleus#from_embed">ifyoutickleus</a> on Scribd</p> <p><iframe id="doc_70466" class="scribd_iframe_embed" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/355374218/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-PEehKxhzrVehVc9JVIMK&show_recommendations=true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" data-aspect-ratio="1.4146341463414633" data-auto-height="true"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })();</script></p> <p>So UOHC brought to the meeting a Dayan, a lawyer, indeed a technician, a handful of arsekonim and a token woman. Truly eye watering stuff.</p>IfYouTickleUshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02269642544675508665noreply@blogger.com5