Rechnitz's Lakewood Speech

[CS1]

Please inform her that she has no place in our town and she should not be Jewish. 

Sorry but I tend to disagree with RR's premise that our children are test tubes who will thrive best in an environment where they never meet anyone less frum than them (and if they do are told that those modernish are uchy like goyim).

also, some of the best doctors are Jewish. There are special talents that yidden have that can save lives.

[ya]

I would understand if they rejected me for that reason.

and if you are in Kollel why do you have one? and if your working you need one so get tag hechsher.

[hocker]

How're you feeling today?

Awesome. I have a heter.

כיון שעבר אדם עבירה ושנה בה נעשית לו כהיתר

[meme]

Can someone post Rav U R speech?

[meme]

.

Where did you see this?

[MarkS]

http://www.thelakewoodscoop.com/news/2016/02/exclusive-letter-from-veteran-lakewood-menahel-reb-yisroel-chaim-gelbwachs.html

EXCLUSIVE: Letter from Veteran Lakewood Menahel, Reb Yisroel Chaim Gelbwachs
 
 To the Lakewood community, Firstly, I would like to start off saying that if you think that R’ Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitz asked me to write this letter, he didn’t. It was a feeling of Achrayus, being involved in R’ Shlomo Yehuda’s initial experience being nosei be’ol of a Lakewood child in need of a yeshiva. I felt I owe him the Hakaras Hotov to set the record straight.

Everyone knows my policy and a yesod upon which Yeshiva Tiferes Torah was built on, there should not be more than 25 talmidim in each class. One of he only times we took more than 25, was when a yeshiva closed down. Once many years ago when Rabbi Kolko’s Yeshiva closed and more recently when Nesivos Or closed. At the time, in order to help the klal we added to each class making it 27. After accepting these boys, one more family came along and wanted to send their child after being turned down by other mosdos. Being that we already reached 27 it really wasn’t feasible and I had to turn them away. I then received a call from R’ Rechnitz but I tried to explain that there are already 27 in the class. He pleaded with me and explained that the Family had nowhere else to turn. But I was overfull. I then asked him what shaychos he had to this family that he made such an effort and took up so much time. His answer was “I don’t know them, they just called me and asked me to help”. Hearing that I responded “if you don’t even know this person and you took out time and effort to intercede on their behalf, how can I possibly turn him away”. In the end the parents of this child decided to put him in a contained class elsewhere. We can see from this very first intervention that R’ Shlomo Yehuda’s efforts and intentions are lishem shamayim.

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Sitting at the dinner, the way I heard the drasha, R’ Shlomo Yehuda showed how his pain for the talmidim who don’t get into a yeshiva equaled the pain he was feeling for his father in law, R’ Belsky zt”l.

As an individual with over 40 years of experience dealing with parents within the system of Lakewood mosdos, I feel I can voice my opinion. Having started in the Lakewood Cheder in 1974 when there was just 45 boys from 1st-8th grade, and seeing the tremendous growth bla”h to thousands of talmidim and talmidos, I would like to stress a most important point. I didn’t hear the venom in R’ Shlomo Yehuda’s speech towards the entire community of Lakewood, let alone the benai torah in particular c”v. He spoke about the yechidim, “elitists” and the pressures that the Roshei Yeshivos and Roshei mosdos have from these yechidim. Having a mosed with mostly baalei batish parents I see the same “elitism” by those that are not necessarily sitting and learning. There are those individuals that no matter their particular level of frumikeit, believe that those of the step below them can be a threat to their child, be it b’ruchnius or scholastic abilities. Somehow they forget to look at the step above them and realize that to someone else, they are the very same threat they themselves fear. Dealing with all kinds of parents this issue of “elitism” is an issue across the board regardless of their hashkafos or fruimkeit.

On a side note, I can honestly say that sadly in the current system parents without the right connections or financial means regardless of their hashkafos are more likely to become the “underdogs”, and end up without anywhere to go. R’ Shlomo Yehuda steps in providing these families with an equal chance to get their children into a suitable mosad and not to have them sit at home or be dumped into one mosad along with the other “underdogs”.

I recently heard that R’ Nosson Tzvi Finkel zt”l was proud to post his pictures of his earlier days (in a baseball cap) to show that you never know from which background the next gadol hador is going to come from. Mr. Harry Schiff from Monsey, a simple fruit store owner, was zocheh to have 2 sons and 2 sons in laws that were gedolei hador. R’ Yankel Schiff, son in law of the Brisker Rav, R’ Shea Schiff, Rosh yeshiva bais shraga, R’ Shmuel Feivelson, Rosh yeshiva bais medrash litorah and R’ Meir Hershkovitz, Rosh yeshiva Stamford. The current system is not perfect and changes need to be made. Not too long ago R’ Reuven Feinstein pointed out, that today we have forgotten that our job is to be mechanech children and not parents.

Lets’ be dan lichaf zechus and not think that R’ Shlomo Yehuda’s drasha was meant to belittle anyone in particular. When someone means leshem shamayim and brings up issues that need to be addressed the sotan finds a way to ruin any eitzah to help alleviate a problem that exists not only in Lakewood but in klal yisroel.

let’s move on, and may we have the siyata dishmaya to be mechanaech all of Hashems children b’derech yisroel saba.

Yisroel Chaim Gelbwachs

Menahel Yeshiva Tiferes Torah

EDITOR’S NOTE: Per request, the comments section on this article is closed.

 

[EJB]

also, some of the best doctors are Jewish. There are special talents that yidden have that can save lives.

Aside for tefillah, which talents are you referring to?

[churnbabychurn]

So R Gelbwachs is saying that we are all elitist and rechnitz is 100% right?
Just trying to understand

[meme]

So R Gelbwachs is saying that we are all elitist and rechnitz is 100% right?
Just trying to understand

"He spoke about the yechidim, the elitists.."

Btw, where did u see that Rechnitz cap?

[Dawie]

So R Gelbwachs is saying that we are all elitist and rechnitz is 100% right?
Just trying to understand

yes, from his point of view, in his school
you need to understand where he's coming from

[churnbabychurn]

"He spoke about the yechidim, the elitists.."

Btw, where did u see that Rechnitz cap?

Watsapp

[meme]

Watsapp

Lol, probably from tuvia's

[Baruch]

Quote from Rabbi Gelbwachs: " I didn’t hear the venom in R’ Shlomo Yehuda’s speech towards the entire community of Lakewood, let alone the benai torah in particular c”v. He spoke about the yechidim, “elitists” and the pressures that the Roshei Yeshivos and Roshei mosdos have from these yechidim. "

The only problem is that he clearly said that the whole Lakewood is rampant with elitism, and that "nobody ever cuts anyone any slack" etc.

[churnbabychurn]

And 50,000 people etc.

[damaxer91]

Curious if the people offended by this speech are half as offended by the kids who are roaming the streets with no school to attend because their parents got divorced etc

[grodnoking]

He spoke about the yechidim, “elitists” and the pressures that the Roshei Yeshivos and Roshei mosdos have from these yechidim. Having a mosed with mostly baalei batish parents I see the same “elitism” by those that are not necessarily sitting and learning. There are those individuals that no matter their particular level of frumikeit, believe that those of the step below them can be a threat to their child, be it b’ruchnius or scholastic abilities. Somehow they forget to look at the step above them and realize that to someone else, they are the very same threat they themselves fear. Dealing with all kinds of parents this issue of “elitism” is an issue across the board regardless of their hashkafos or fruimkeit.

So R Gelbwachs is saying that we are all elitist and rechnitz is 100% right?
Just trying to understand

Sounds like he's saying everyone is an elitist in their own regards; they think everyone below them are bad.
And the problem is the "elitists yechidim" that push for people below them not to be accepted in the same school as their children.

[YitzyS]

Brings to mind the story of a 106 year old couple who filed for divorce, saying that they waited so long because they didn't want to mess up their children so they waited for all their children to die. (No, there's no connection. But come on, it's funny anyways, no?)

[Denverite]

Curious if the people offended by this speech are half as offended by the kids who are roaming the streets with no school to attend because their parents got divorced etc

+1

[lebulose]

interesting how the Lubavitcher Rebbe sent young families, including impressionable young children and rabbis to assimilated places in the 1970's and 1980's to locations such as Hawaii, Las Vegas, Sweden, Thailand, etc.. to build new open schools where their own Chassidic children would be blended into classes with non-Shabbat observing/Kosher keeping students. The key was to always be above the crowd and to be the 'teacher'/'influencer' instead of being taught/influenced.

It takes strength and constant learning, and yet it's possible to be raised in places like that and remain a "Yosef" in our generation and stronger than if we had remained in a 100% orthodox environment.

The same Lubavitch Rebbe begged for TVs tossed out of all yidishe homes.

He also wanted out all toys and books containing Tamei animals, in the name of sforim and mikubalim concerned for even the fetus inside a pregnant mother's eye's exposure to non-tahor animal forms.

The special case of his authorized representatives cannot be representative of his approach to secular exposure because those individual parents were carefully handpicked and the Rebbe himself looked after the chinuch of these families.

My father for example born and raised on shlichus in Norh Africa during the 50's endurred third-world schooling conditions, but the rebbe personally followed his learning progress and regularly made modifications to his studies via written correspondence all the way through his yeshiva years in Paris and beyond, eventually placing him in a position among his own editorial staff.

That was the kind of personal interest the Rebbe took looking after the chinuch of families he placed out there. Therefore, such a unique chinuch situation cannot be used to infer, generalize, and then claim his "derech" was to un-shelter. That's simply not true.

[Hidden]

The same Lubavitch Rebbe begged for TVs tossed out of all yidishe homes.

He also wanted out all toys and books containing Tamei animals, in the name of sforim and mikubalim concerned for even the fetus inside a pregnant mother's eye's exposure to non-tahor animal forms.

The special case of his authorized representatives cannot be representative of his approach to secular exposure because those individual parents were carefully handpicked and the Rebbe himself looked after the chinuch of these families. My father for example was born and raised on shlichus in Norh Africa durring the 50's endurred third-world schooling conditions, but the rebbe personally followed his learning progress and regularly made modifications to his studies via written correspondence all the way through his yeshiva years in Paris and beyond, eventually placing him in a position among his own editorial staff. That was the kind of personal interest the Rebbe took looking after the chinuch of families he placed out there. Therefore, such a unique chinuch situation cannot be used to infer, generalize, and then claim his "derech" was to un-shelter. That's simply not true.

Thanks for the beautiful write-up
An eye opener