Frum newspapers with expanded Pesach issue

The frum nespapers all came out with expanded Yom tov editions. Hopefully its enough to keep readers entertained as well as providing some spiritual meaning and simchas yom tov for the mishpacha. The Yated has feature articles on Rubashkin interviews with the Magid Rav pesach krohn and Rav Uri Zohar and divrei Zikaron on rav Eizik Ausband. Hamodia features articles on the upcoming Internet Asifa and on Yerushalayim from Rav Nebenzahl and on the Titanic. Ami landed an Interview with Rebbetzin Richel kotler on rav shneur zatzal and a halacha feature on kos shel eliyohu with a yom tov supplement. Mishpacha has a article on Rav Lazer Silver and an interesting piece on the Titanic. Zman came out with an expanded Yom tov edition too.


Have a Chag Kosher vesameach.

End of an era, the European roshei yeshiva from pre churban Europe.

The recent petirah of the telzer rosh hayeshiva Harav Hagaon Rav Eizik Ausband zatzal, has marked the end of an era. Not only was he the last RY from pre war telz, but he was the last remaining of the European Litvisheh Roshei yeshiva in the united states from pre churban Europe. These Roshei yeshiva came over after the war and transmitted the mesorah they received from their rebbeim and built torah in america. They were bochurim and youngerleit at the time, yet they defied the odds and with great mesiras nefesh in a country desolate of torah they proved the havtacha that torah will not be forgotton Lo yomushu mipi zaracha.


 The entire litvisher Yeshiva world today in the united states is all in the zechus of the europeisher roshei yeshiva. They brought over the mesorah of torah preserved from their rebbeim from Mir , Slabodka, Telz,kelm, Kletzk, etc.. from Rav Aaron Kotler to the telzer roshei yeshiva who transplanted torah in america. Going back to Rav chaim volozin and the vilna gaon. While we no longer have the europeisheh roshei yeshiva, their eidelkeit and varmkeit, they did leave over children and talmidim who are continuing in their ways transmitting torah to the next generation.

Internet asifa, does it have to be grand ?

Why these grandiose events? cant we get the same point across by doing it on a smaller scale. Is it not called a success if we wont fill a stadium. With the amount of money spent on this event we can do more by investing in filters that will work as a solution to the problem. We can have a huge event in Brooklyn or Lakewood with 5000 people is that not enough? We can have satellite events take place in other cities at the same time. The organizers, after unilaterally deciding to make it in Citified stadium home of the NY mets, are now faced with a problem How do we fill it up? It will also be a chilul hashem if they cant fill it up. For this, they reached out to all Rabbonim and admorim who have control over thousands of talmidim and Chasidim, who in turn issued letters calling on everyone to attened. There will be buses from new square Monroe and williamsburg. The Lakewood roshei yeshiva issued a letter too, calling on everyone to go. In a letter from the Gedolim in EY it states that even youngeleit should attened due to the importance of the event even though it will cause Bittul torah ( the event will be a few days before Shavuos during the zman right before kabolas hatorah) since בטולו זה קיומו.


 On a Sunday in May, many wont mind a trip to the ballpark, but, are they going at there own will ? if they fill up the stadium will that make it an effective campaign?

It would be better if they put more energy and money into the message as opposed to having a grand event. The same anonymous organizers who spear headed the first Internet  asifa have failed in the follow up  resulting in more people having Internet access with out proper guidelines and education on the dangers of technology. Should we trust them again. Apparently they changed course realizing that the Internet is here to stay But a bit too late.

 Perhaps its time for a transparent vaad of mechanchim that are not hiding behind rabbonim but out in the for front speaking their mind. Yes, the Rabonim are behind it and everyone agrees there is a problem. How to tackle it and fight it is another issue. By forcing a grand event on people it might make some noise, however it might not be as effective if we hold smaller seminars or have rabbonim  who understand the need and use for Internet, talk to people and help in getting the proper filters and safeguards.

"Gezehn oif Skype"

   Gezehn oif skype,  translated from Yiddish as "saw it on Skype". Its a phrase that has now entered the vocabulary of the Yeshivia world. Its been mentioned and quoted by many including  Roshei Yeshiva. While the battle on dangers of  technology is on and as the internet is a double edged sword whose dangers can cancel its blessings, there are some luxuries and conveniences that we seem to take advantage of.
   At many Simchas now or lehavdil a levaya, relatives or friends that can not be physicaly present are watching it online through skype. Many wedding halls have installed  video cameras that can be hooked up online. There are several chesed organizations that feature a live webcast of a chasunah or simacha for a relative  to watch who is too old or not well and can not attened. Many roshei yeshiva have befitted from this technology and can now participate in a way that was not done before. In the Lakewood yeshiva, the Bochurim talk via Skype with a mashgiach who has moved to Eretz Yisroel. There is even a service for Shidduchim by shidduchVision for live interactive video confrencing  in cases where the boy or girl are out of town and not within driving distance for the initial date.

   These are not what we can call a necessity, but more of a luxury as it can be done over the phone or you can watch a recoreded video of an event. Yet this technology is available now and we got used to it to the point that we can't do with out, just like the telephone and automobile. This only complicates the issue of how we want to ban and limit internet use for buisness only, because we are already at the stage where luxury is a necessity and even rabbonim are taking advantage of it.

Rabbonim change strategy, refocus the battle against Internet and technology.

    In September 2005 the first major Asifa regarding the dangers of the Internet took place in Lakewood. The Rabbonim and speakers all pointed out the fact how dangerous it is for the well being of families not only children but adults as well. Takkanos were implemented where people were not allowed to have internet access at home and kids will not be accepted, or expelled from school if parents didn't comply with the ban. A local paper quoted "The community's policy -- formed with the principals of the area's 43 yeshivas, or Jewish private schools, and unveiled in late September -- decrees that any student with home access faces suspension or expulsion on the grounds that even one Internet-corrupted student could sway others".

    However, no one at the time was tech savvy enough to understand the importance of the internet in our daily lives it was seen as a luxury and maybe for some, essential for business. They fought it with the same tactics and strategy that was used to fight television. They did not do proper follow up to the ban and failed to realize the good of the internet too. The results were predictable: more people got internet access. The availability of Smart phones and newer tablets  give people access to the web where ever they go. Its not restricted or confined to a house or office. A lack of education in explaining the good and the bad of the web contributed to many not being careful when going online.

Realizing that its a lost battle, the rabbonim now are refocusing the approach on how to fight the dangers of the web. A giant Asifa is planned for this coming may 20th. The theme is not to ban the internet, but, rather: The Internet  "We cant live with it we cant live without it" using technology responsibly al pi torah. They realize it is here to stay and the fight now is to  focus on proper safeguards, filters, and education on the dangers of technology especially with smart phones ipads and other devices. Over the years there have been many different ways and approaches by various rabbanim, roshei yeshiva and admorim on how to deal with the Internet, but a noticeable change is that all agree it is here to stay and we must learn how to deal with it properly. 

Massive Asifa on dangers of the Internet and technology to take place at Citi field stadium on may 20th 2012

 A massive gathering preempting the Siyum hashas, by Ichud Hakehillos, bringing together Yidden from all over the US is planned for Sunday Iyar 28 – May 20th 2012 at Citi Field in Queens, NY.

This comes as a result of the Asifas Harabonim which was held this past Elul at a conference center in Newark, N.J. where over 600 Rabbonim from all sectors of Klal Yisroel gathered to discuss ways to combat the ever growing challenges of the internet.

The gathering named " Klal yisroel"  is being called by The Skulener Rebbe Shlita ,Rabbi Matisyahu Salamon, Mashgiach of Lakewood yeshiva, The Skver Rebbe as well as all leading Admorim and Roshei Yeshivos of the united states.

At the gathering, practical ideas and methods will be presented which will enable individuals and kehillas to implement practical and realistic safeguards to help overcome the ever growing technological threats that faces our communities. These ideas will be further tailored to accommodate the specific needs of the varying communities and kehilas.

The common thread is to ensure that the internet is only used via a filter of some sort. At the Asifa they plan on introducing a Tech Hotline for all communities to assist all with their tech questions and offer solutions and guidance.

 Notices will be printed in this week’s papers and that the cooperation between all of the various groups involved including all major media venues is unprecedented. B’’H there is a tremendous feeling of excitement in the air by the unparalleled Achdus.

Have we no Busha ? A new face to facebook

One of the three defining characteristics of Klal Yisrael is, we are bayshanim, we are easily embarrassed. The Internet  in general and social media in particular have caused many to unmask the busha from themselves. They do so by publicising anything and everything about their private  and personal life. Its all out in the open for the world to see. We are living a life, where every random thought gets tweeted and each action is photographed and shared with friends who vote to like it. 


A new recent phenomenon is taking place  which until now has never been an accepted behavior by the frum torah yeshiva world and especially by the Chasidish crowds. I'm talking about frum couples posting pictures of themselves. Not just a regular picture, but pictures showing affection. Pictures of chiba, weather they are touching each other, holding hands, hugging, or other poses that are not to be for the public to see and considered Chiba b'rabim. Yet, young frum couples innocently upload these pictures  on facebook for all to see with out any busha. It can be the private pictures of the Chasunah or of a recent vacation. This is not happening by the modern orthodox crowd, it is by the yeshivish baal habatish and heimish crowd. Take a look at your friends facebook page and many are posting  images which is purely Chiba berabim. Never have people in previous generations publicized such pictures of themselves outside of their home. 

A frum photogropher has launched a contest on Facebook asking couples to upload a picture of themselves, and the one with the most likes gets a free couple photo shoot. Have we no shame ?? We are voting on a picture of Chiba berabim in a contest? Is this the norm. What happened to our busha? Our sensetivities have been dulled, our busha unmasked. At this time of purim let us daven that the the mask of busha  be put back on our face.

Artscroll Shas Goes digital with state of the art App, ready in time for new Daf Yomi cycle.

 Click Here to watch a preview of the new ArtScroll Talmud App.

We hear so much about the dangers of technology, we tend to forget the  good side too. Artscroll a leader in spreading torah and making it accessible to the masses, has announced the development of a groundbreaking digital version of the Schottenstein Talmud to run on mobile devices such as the iPad and the iPhone. It is Schedualed for realese in time for the Sium Hashas and the 13th cycle of Daf Yomi. In a quote to VIN rabbi Zlotowitz said:

   “We have a mandate from R’ Gifter that we must harness technology and use it make Torah accessible to as many people as possible. We have been hoping to do this since the e-book concept first began, but the proper hardware and software didn't exist for the ambitious type of project we were envisioning.  Just a year or two ago doing something of this magnitude meant having a dedicated hardware platform which was totally impractical.  With so many people using iPhones, iPads and iTouches, many people already own the hardware they need to use this app.”

A weekend without the frum weeklies

                                             



After much thought and contemplating we finally did it. We did not buy any of the frum weeklies , newspapers or magazines etc. It was a shabbos with no Yated Ne"eman or Hamodia.  No Mishpacha, Bina or Ami magazine. Not even the new issue of Zman  or the occasional other Jewish newspaper. It's not about the money - the  $25 saved. Rather it was just spending shabbos like it used to be when there was only one paper.

     Instead of reading forced or filler articles, having the kids hit the couch after the gefilte fish to read up on their favorite features, we had a nice shabbos meal with more participation than usual. It was actually not easy, giving up our addiction to the frum papers, but after the Friday night meal I had time to be Maavir sedrah, with some more insight on the parsha. My daughter dusted off an artscroll book we had on the shelf and read a nice biography of a Jewish family. We sat around the couch and spoke to one another, instead of all of us sitting there, each one engrossed in their favorite paper or waiting for next on a particular magazine.

    Our dependence on newspapers and other magazines has started taking over our life and became a staple and a must, that we just can not do without. Unfortunately, it has become that forgetting to buy the paper is equivalent to forgetting to buy Challah.

    While this was a one time experience, yes I'm not looking to deprive myself of oneg shabbos, I'm actually  going to buy the papers on Sunday. However  its refreshing to know that we can appreciate a shabbos together with more quality time. We also didn't miss out much; by not knowing what was written in a paper that was almost a weeks old news anyway.

Satmar rebbe Rav Aaron Teitelbaum gives passionate detailed speech about dangers of technology and Internet, mentions facebook and twitter.

A free translation of a recent speech given by the satmar rebbe Rav Aaron Teitelbaum on the dangers of technology and internet pertaining to the frum torah and chasidishe community.
click Here for Audio.

The yetzer Hora could not fathom the success of klal yisroel and the rebuilding of torah and chesed in America and he brought tummah in the form of technology into jewish homes that caused them to sin. Just like in the time of Haman so too today we have Keilim that have entered our homes and cause us to sin. They are in the form of videos, DVDs, the Internet, a new makkah called facebook, twiters, and other  various names. Others know of these  better than i do. Unfortunately  it claimed many korbanos  and destroyed many jewish homes. Frum ehrliche kids from the best of homes, threw off the yoke of torah and mitzvos publicly, with no shame. There are those who did not go as far, yet, they walk around outwardly dressed in a chasidishe levush but on the inside they are rotting and do kol davar assur discreetly in the privacy of their home. It has entrapped youngeleit ,baal habatim, bochrim, girls and married  men and women of all ages. It all starts with the kvetch of a knepel ,the push of a button, in one second they went into the dirty ports and they arrived at Sheol tachtis. Plunging into the lowest of the low . Its a Makka of which one touch of a button you are joined with others. Its called chatrooms such as facebook were you socialize and connect with others. Men hooking up with light headed women with prutzim and prutzos. Yiddishe kinder are sending pictures of themselves to each other. It makes your hair stand up to what is going on in our machneh of shomrei torah umitzvos. Even the kosher ones is addicting like a magnet, it ruins shalom bayis to the worst degree sometimes its the man of the house sometimes its the mother of the home. The man looses his wife and she looses her husband you cant talk to the husband his mind is totally occupied with his computer day and night. The yetzer hora of arayos is burning like a fire up to the sky. It consumes daily precious neshamos of yiddesher kinder .The maakos of DVDs videos etc...even though initially it starts off kosher with a heter it eventually leads to what chazal say hayom omar lo aseh kach muchur aseh kach etc. untill we come to the worst. This is a fact, it happens and we cant fool ourselves with so called passwords and other safeguards and think that it is protected from others gaining access to it. this is a mistake. Kids and youngsters are smarter and more tech savvy than their parents and can get around the so called protections.

The rebbe ended with a plea to the Women to have mercy on their mishpachos and get rid of these keilim from their homes. If one needs it for parnasah it should be moved out of the house to a different location. In the zechus of us protecting and safeguarding out families from this shmutz may Hk'bh protect and watch over klal yisrael.

Does rav Chaim kanievsky want the web to be his spokesperson.

  A friend asked his chavrusa Shloime if he's fasting today. He asks why? He replies that Rav Chaim Kanievsky requested, that those who could, should fast as a zechus and refuah Shleima for his father in law Rav Elyashiv. Shloime inquires where he got this information from. He says all the frum jewish websites are reporting it.
 First, its ironic how rav Chaim shlita, who spoke harshly about the use of unfiltered internet etc. would say to fast and the web would be the source for spreading his request.

Secondly, we don't know who the request was issued for. Nor who it was it told too. I'm not questioning weather he said it, and those who fasted accordingly have a big zechus. However all it takes is for one website to pick up the story and all the other sites report it too. It gets blown out of proportion with no hadracha or any validity. There has to be Kabolas tannis and other dinim,  yet people see it and assume its true purely based on frum websites and other blogs.

In Yeshivas Chaim Berlin supposedly the Bochurim & youngerleit were told not to fast. In lakewood yeshiva there were no signs signed by the Roshei yeshiva asking all Bochurim and  youngerleit to fast. They actually added an extra hour seder on Thursday night. We cant trust the websites and blogs to deliver the word of Reb Chaim. He could of asked only his Mishpacha, but do we know that he told someone to publicize it for the masses? If the Roshei yeshiva and rabbonim in America tell us to listen to Reb Chaim, then of course we should fast, but how can the word of a gadol only have validity due to sensational journalism.

Tickets for twelfth siyum hashas of Daf Yomi 2012 go on sale

For Siyum Hashas updates, Hookups, Transportation, speakers click HERE


The general ticket sales for the public  has begun. Reservation applications were mailed out.
Seats range from $1000 - $18 .The more expensive tickets are on the field level followed by three levels, concourse 1,2 & 3. The women's seats range from $500 - $18 (an additional $8 handling per order )

you can order online HERE its not through Agudah but an independent site run by partners in Torah.

Seating plan for Siyum has been reconfigured

4 ways to order :
E-MAIL : SIYUMHASHAS@AGUDATHISRAEL.ORG  (credit card only $50 minimum order)
FAX 1-646-254-1610         (credit card only $50 minimum order)
PHONE 1877-SIYUM-12   (credit card only $50 minimum order)
  MAIL- Agudas Israel of America 42 Broadway-14th floor New York, NY 10004


The siyum will take place I'yh Wdnesday August 1, 2012. Metlife Stadium at 7 p.m.
keep in mind the event will be in an open air stadium watch a  preview video here of MetLife stadium.


The priority seating process for the Lomdei daf yomi took place last week, giving the members of daf yomi Shiurim a chance, to reserve seats and sit together with their chaburah and family.

Why the Agudah should have a website.

     Lets face it. The Internet is here to stay. Its not just the future, but the present as well. It is the largest source of information and all it takes is a simple google search or a visit to Wikipedia.Yet, in this web of information, nothing is verified or reputable. Anything can be posted anonymously by anyone. The problem is, when  people are searching for information pertaining to the frum Torah community. They will most probably rely on the results of the search engine. The search will usually yield results based on high page ranking sites; most likely sites that bash our community or other sources, that are not in line with Torah hashkafa. They will use the content as representing of our community. 

     An organization like the Agudah with true Torah leaders at its helm can have a website (not just for their own programs and Siyum hashas info) but one that will have true Torah hashkafos reflecting current events. A site that is reputable with real people backing it up. With no anonymity involved, it will come directly from the source without being second guessed or  interpreted by frum  bloggers (including this one ) or other blogs. A search engine cannot create a perception of true torah hashkafa. It must come directly from our gedolim and not be filtered and second guessed. People can go straight to the source without having to get it repackaged by our detractors. We must be well represented online. Its not just a digital image of us but rather  its how we will be perceived by the world at large.

      The Gedolim have thus far not initiated such a site and its up to them to weigh the issue. However, the option of letting self appointed spokesmen or rabbis for the frum orthodox community, along with anonymous frum blogs and websites,  dominate the world wide web causing a greater chillul hashem maybe worse than not having A-gooda website at all.  

Final score- 27 11

Wait, was the score 27 11 or 21 17?  The country watched the big game come to an end, with the final score of 21 17 and a Giant win. The trophy was hoisted and the Giants walked off with a victory.

A thought comes to mind. Another Giant celebration will take place at Metlife stadium, home to the Giants. No, not the football giants, but rather the giants who will finish shas with a final score of   2711, the number of Blatt in the entire talmud bavli .  Klal Yisroel will celebrate with the lomdei daf Yomi  as they finish shas once again. We can still join in the last few mesechtos and be part of the Siyum.

Super Sunday, creates Turnovers for yeshivos and weddings.

  As the country  gears up for super Sunday, many in the frum  community have been following or getting swept up with  superbowl fever. While some are knowledgeable seasoned  fans, others just jump on the bandwagon for the superbowl, not knowing much about the rules of the game. The NFL  has been marketing the big game more than ever, and for 2 full weeks it dominates the airwaves, advertising and other media. This culture has  impacted many in the frum community, by hosting parties and watching the big game, be it for the commercials, the half time show, or the actual game itself.

 The NY Giants playing in this years game has strongly impacted many in the tri state area. Many mosdos and yeshivos have fundraising dinners scheduled for this Sunday February 5th. There are  many weddings and other simchas too. Now, should a mossad or family not schedule a simcha or dinner on super Sunday? Who could plan ahead on the NY giants making it to the Superbowl. Is it fair to let down a baal simcha or to not support a yeshiva for 3 hours of enjoyment that has no eternal gain. A baal simcha was quoted as saying that he will have to put up screens for the game at his daughters wedding, or the guests wont show! Some point out that following sports is a healthy outlet, but does it take precedent over something eternal?

  Win or lose, those learning Daf Yomi and those rejoicing with them, will for sure have home field advantage at Met life stadium for the upcoming Siyum hashas I'yh.

" Catch 22 "

 Two prominent American  roshei yeshiva, Harav Malkiel Kotler Shlit'a and Harav Elya Ber Wachtfogel Shlit'a were recently in Eretz Yisrael. While there, they  discussed several issues with gedolei yisroel. One particular issue was the so called Shidduch crisis and whether to enforce an age limit of 22 on yeshiva bochurim coming back from  learning in EY to Lakewood or other yeshivos. Currently most boys in the litvish circles on average get engaged at the age of  23 as they first go to EY at the age of 19-20. The effect it has on the Shidduch crisis  is the age gap. Since girls are entering shidduchim and getting engaged at the age of 18, add the population growth, and you have many more 18 year old's than 23 year old's.

However, even if the amount of boys and girls are equal in the same age bracket, the 23 year old boys are not all getting engaged to 23 year old girls. They are dating girls from the age of 18 and up resulting in many more single girls on the market. Recently many attempts, incentives and ideas came up on closing the gap. One idea was to have the girls start at 19. Noted speaker, Rabbi Paysach Krohn, has been advocating for boys to go out and date girls their own age or even a few years older than them, which would result in  bridging the gap.

 Having boys return from EY at an earlier age is another option to bridge the gap. It will force bochurim to start shidduchim at a younger age. It has not been implemented yet. Many questions remain as to the specifics. For example: what will happen if a bochur comes back at the age of 23, or will all this ever actually be implemented? Another issue is in regards to Pell grants. Students learning in Israel have recently been able to obtain the grant resulting in using it up much sooner, which would force yeshivos in America who are also using Pell grants to raise the tuition if students enroll with used up Pell grants. This idea  will obviously have an effect on the Israeli and American yeshivos, since the boys will not stay as long in EY or not go at all.

Yated Editorial, sad how some in the frum media reported on beit Shemesh.

  In its weekly editorial the Yated Ne'eman
courageously pointed out the sad fact how other frum media outlets reported on the events in beit Shemesh. We are all being tarred with the same filthy brush, even though the spin misters know its not true, that we've been led to believe by the media and apologists within our own camp.  we cant just condemn and disown the actions of the unruly, unscrupulous few, without casting doubt on the entire frum community. The editor quotes;

"We cannot give impostors and usurpers the power to induce us into believing fictitious bad things about ourselves. We cannot permit them to divide us or turn our backs on our birthright. By letting them set the agenda, we are party to the discrediting campaign. It was disturbing to see voices in our very own Torah media being taken in by the hype, rushing to believe the worst of our own, accepting at face value the conclusions of those driven by political and anti-Torah agendas."

 As mentioned here in a previous post many blogger's, and even the frum print media rushed to condemn the actions of a few, yet failed to point out that its only a few, and are more apologetic than showing the real beauty of charedim. We need more oversight even for the frum charedi publications.

The bad, the bad, and the ugly.

   So you have one website  taking shots at another frum website. One calling the other one as being anti Torah never missing an opportunity to besmirch frum yidden and spew hatred. The irony is that a website with anonymous names and no person or rabbinic authority  giving its approval is a total joke.  In reality,  there is nothing good amongst the frum news sites. Each one has its agenda and will post narishkeiten that the frum print media wont. There is no accountability at all, this may just  be a ratings war, over current and potential advertisers each one trying to woo more hits to their site.

   The website with the holier than though attitude has posted articles about a  frum yid who was involved in a scandal. They had since removed it, but,why was it posted in the first place ? It was pure Lashon hora and rechilus. So what makes one website better than the other? this site also has  a entertainment section with kosher videos. One, of a  Chasidish husband lying to his wife that he's in shul davening, while he is in  a hotel room watching TV. Is there a hashgacha on this too ? Is this the (self declared) online voice of Torah Jewry??

   There is no such thing as good website when it comes to frum news reporting , its only a matter of who is worse. Especialy online where there is no censorship and each anonymous owner (including this blog)  posts articles on their own discretion.
 What is needed is a Website with real people, real names backed up by  Rabbanim who are looked up to by the klal. rabbanim who became rabbanim in their respected positions not those that rise to fame on a website.

Ami magazine celebrates first year anniversary

In this weeks issue Ami magazine celebrates its first anniversary as publishers of a weekly, for the frum  orthodox world. In the editorial they write;

" We certainly recognize that errors are inevitable, and to pray that no mishap come through us is to pray for a miracle- a prayer that Halacha usually deems inappropriate. What we can ask for, though, and do, is that others not seize on our errors as a means to ridicule us in order to silence our message."

 A good thing to ask for , however through the first year, Ami has not shied away from controversies or discussing controversial topics that were not brought up by the current charedi print media. In this weeks issue alone, the cover story was about the city of Beit Shemesh in turmoil. The pictures posted along the article, about charedim clashing with police or a Charedi screaming portraying them as lunatics, is embarrassing. By trying to cover and appease the Ami of klal yisrael, from modern orthodox to Satmar from Litvish to Lubavitch, such a prayer is always needed.

Who asked you ? Who appointed you ?

      Many frum websites and blogs posted articles or op-eds by rabbonim condemning the violence in Beit Shemesh. Some of the rabbis  may be known while others are just anonymous. They may be right and well intentioned. However, a response should come from a higher authority- not by self appointed spokespersons  and opportunists who call themselves rabbis that are popular only online but do not have any real position of leadership.

Our Leaders are not created by websites or made popular by the many hits or like's they get on facebook. Our Gedolim are people who are looked up to by the klal; people who are true Talmidei chachomim and yirei hashem. We need to hear a condemnation from gedolim such as the Agudah response which has Gedolim sitting at its helm.