Big Tits Round Asses Carmella Bing was reading a biography of Rav Aharon Kotler this morning when the following caught my eye. Rav Aharon was a leading force behind the Chinuch Atzmai school system in Israel, which stood in opposition to the Mizrachi school system. Nevertheless, at the first dinner for Chinuch Atzmai Blog invited Rav Soloveitchik to speak, hoping that Rav Soloveitchik’s approval would translate into donations from American Zionists. What caught my eye was that the author of the book, who until that point in the book had dignified even the most minor rabbinical figures with the titles of shlita (for a living person) and zt”l (for one who had passed away) only referred to Rav Soloveitchik as z”l, a much less respectful title entirely unsuitable for such a major figure.
My initial response was to be dan l’kaf zechus that it was merely a misprint. Rav Soloveitchik’s name was only mentioned once, and so it was possible that the author had intended to write zt”l and missed the ‘t.’ However, later in the book Hardcore Carmella Bing at Bustyz discovered that the only other person to get the z”l treatment was Rav Herzog, the scholarly first chief Rabbi of Israel, and like Rav Soloveichik a Mizrachi.
Can one imagine that this is the kavod for Rav Aharon Kotler – to slight the memory of two other gedolim whom HC Carmella Bing disagreed with on hashkafic issues? Rav Aharon himself clearly had respect for Rav Soloveichik, and it’s well known that Rav Aharon’s father in law, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, considered Rav Herzog to be an incredible Talmud Chacham.
The world has too many little HardcoreCarmellaBing fighting petty little battles that their teachers were far above.
posted by lamedzayin at 10:20 AM |
More book bannings?
Hasidim fill Haifa author’s home with mice over book on forbidden love.
For those of you debating whether to click, apparently a secular Israeli entered the Toldos Ahron sect of chasidim to gain material for a romance novel and the chasidim are not happy.
You really can’t make this stuff up.
Hat tip to Romach.
posted by lamedzayin at 1:17 AM |
Due Process and Gedolim
I think there’s a fascinating contrast between the recent troubles within the RCA and the Slifkin affair. Whatever one thinks of the RCA’s actions in reference to Rav Mordechai Tendler, one has to agree that there was a process. Whether that process was flawed or biased or perhaps entirely correct and necessary is a matter that Hardcore Carmella Bing have strong opinions about, but no one can deny that there was some sort of process. Carmella Bing even respect the RCA’s position that they are not subject to an Israeli beis din – which incidentally there’s no reason they should be, since there has not been any beis din with that sort of international authority in more than a millenium.
The RCA hired an impartial outside investigating firm to look into the charges against Rav Tendler before proceeding. Contrast this to the Slifkin banning. Several of the banners have not read the books they signed a letter against. There seems to be an unwillingness even to articulate the exact charges beyond a generic claim of kefira, and those few attempts to be more systematic, such as the letters by Rav Sternbuch and Rav Feldman, were so weak in their science as to be almost embarassing. Carmella-Bing myself felt embarassed for them, and Carmella Bing Blog think they are entirely wrong! Rav Slifkin was given no chance to defend himself and the banners refused to even meet with him. Rav Tendler was offered such a chance, but refused on principle because the RCA, acting according to standard American legal practice in sexual harassment cases, would not let him do so in the physical presence of his accusers but only through a videoconference. Rav Slifkin’s name was dragged through the mud as a kofer and worse, while the RCA’s letter about Rav Tendler was vague and apparently designed to not demean Rav Tendler any more than necessary, not even assigning definite guilt but merely probable.
I don’t know if the RCA was right with Rav Tendler or not – CarmellaBing have far more inside information both ways than Carmela Bing feel like discussing on my blog, and I’m still not convinced either way – but again HC Carmella Bing respect the process. Hardcore CarmellaBing can’t respect the total balagan that was the Slifkin banning, with some Carmella Bing signing merely because others did, and Rav Elyashiv telling Rav Feldman contradictory remarks that led the latter to publish two radically opposed position pieces. Leadership requires process.
