And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end (Ecclesiastes 12:12) A pdf version of this essay can be downloaded here [*] Years in brackets refer to an individual’s or book author’s year of birth 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 — IfYouTickleUs (@ifyoutickleus) July 27, 2022 A tweet in the summer 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
[I cannot vouch for the veracity of this letter which was sent in anonymously but I think it deserves publicity for the raw emotion it displays. It also serves as a useful reminder that amidst all the politicking and buffoonery there are some real people out there who are going through hell through no fault of their own.]
Dear Chaim
You know who I am. I write an open letter to you begging you to do the right thing here.
Let’s start from the beginning. You tried helping us out at our time of need, you were a great help for many years, answering all our questions from the day we got married, you were there for us at any stage we ever needed you. YOU then dropped yourself into this BIG time, you built up such a trust with us that we saw no wrong in anything you did, those late night calls to my wife, the times you told me send your wife in I will "explain" those shallos that didn’t need explaining - but you were trying to help!!!!...then came the time where you over stepped the mark, you crossed that line that was unacceptable by any standards.... You know exactly what you did, have you any idea what hell we went through as a couple for what you did? Have you any idea on the "dinai nefoshos" you put us through? Still to this day, you don’t think every time I see you in the street I want to come over and punch you in the face? But NO, you are the GREAT (R) Chaim Halpern that could do no wrong... how wrong were you and you know it. SO how dare you use the card now that your wife is ill from this all......how ill has MY wife been all these years from the torment you put US through????
Do you know how sickened I was by the Siyum Hashas, by the Internet Asifa to see you stand there and scream about everyone else’s terrible Averious they commit or you reading the Hadren, I will not accuse you of being a fake, you need help but you are not fit to lead or guide anyone.
So what do I ask from you, you have nothing more to lose anymore, leave town before it’s too late, the town is falling apart, everywhere you go the discussions are about the bad you have done. Let’s remember that there was a lot of good you had done over the years, but the bad and the evil has really caught up with you and it’s time for you to go!
If there could be one comfort for the Victims, it is please go… I beg you like you begged me not to publicise what you had done. I beg you to leave and let us try and move on.
To the members who are still there… […] to name a few, you are supposed to be the askonim of the town, […] you can forget about people supporting YOUR schools that you work tirelessly for so long that you continue to support and protect CH.
And Finally, to all the Rabonim out there who I cried my heart out to and your response was you will never win over CH, so leave it and forget about it, I hope you can sleep well at night, I hope you can hold your heads up high and think about what you did to us as a family.
1 of the Many Victims to this sorry story
Dear Chaim
You know who I am. I write an open letter to you begging you to do the right thing here.
Let’s start from the beginning. You tried helping us out at our time of need, you were a great help for many years, answering all our questions from the day we got married, you were there for us at any stage we ever needed you. YOU then dropped yourself into this BIG time, you built up such a trust with us that we saw no wrong in anything you did, those late night calls to my wife, the times you told me send your wife in I will "explain" those shallos that didn’t need explaining - but you were trying to help!!!!...then came the time where you over stepped the mark, you crossed that line that was unacceptable by any standards.... You know exactly what you did, have you any idea what hell we went through as a couple for what you did? Have you any idea on the "dinai nefoshos" you put us through? Still to this day, you don’t think every time I see you in the street I want to come over and punch you in the face? But NO, you are the GREAT (R) Chaim Halpern that could do no wrong... how wrong were you and you know it. SO how dare you use the card now that your wife is ill from this all......how ill has MY wife been all these years from the torment you put US through????
Do you know how sickened I was by the Siyum Hashas, by the Internet Asifa to see you stand there and scream about everyone else’s terrible Averious they commit or you reading the Hadren, I will not accuse you of being a fake, you need help but you are not fit to lead or guide anyone.
So what do I ask from you, you have nothing more to lose anymore, leave town before it’s too late, the town is falling apart, everywhere you go the discussions are about the bad you have done. Let’s remember that there was a lot of good you had done over the years, but the bad and the evil has really caught up with you and it’s time for you to go!
If there could be one comfort for the Victims, it is please go… I beg you like you begged me not to publicise what you had done. I beg you to leave and let us try and move on.
To the members who are still there… […] to name a few, you are supposed to be the askonim of the town, […] you can forget about people supporting YOUR schools that you work tirelessly for so long that you continue to support and protect CH.
And Finally, to all the Rabonim out there who I cried my heart out to and your response was you will never win over CH, so leave it and forget about it, I hope you can sleep well at night, I hope you can hold your heads up high and think about what you did to us as a family.
1 of the Many Victims to this sorry story