[Avodah] Letter of RSRH

[Richard Wolpoe]

On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 1:32 AM, <T613K at aol.com> wrote:

>   From: "Richard Wolpoe" <rabbirichwolpoe at gmail.com>
> As for austritt, I don't see what the Holocaust has to do with it or why
> it would change anyone's mind on that subject.  Reform and Conservative
> remain outside of halacha and nothing the Germans did changes that.  I've
> heard people say, very emotionally, "How can you not consider me Jewish?
> Hitler would have killed me!"  -- because of a Jewish grandparent, say.
> Nevertheless, if the person is not Jewish, he's not Jewish, and if something
> is not halachic, it's not halachic.  Hitler is not our posek.
>
> The famous psak forbidding joint membership in a body that includes
> Orthodox and non-Orthodox clergy was issued after the Holocaust IIRC.
>
> *
> *
> *--Toby Katz
> =============*
>


This si not a matter of WHY but of historical facts.  During the Nazi era
allJewish communities co-operated [it could be construed as hor'as hsa'ah
but read on before jumping to any conclusions]

If you beleive that God works through history this WHAT trumps your Why.
Maybe HKBH was NOT pleased with Austritt and gave a draconian reason why.

Think of Austrit in the time of Mordechia and Esther. We know that there
were non-frum poeple then, too but Haman did more than all of the nev'i'im
put together

Do you think Rabbiner Hirsch would have protested that Esther was asking
non-frum Jews to join in a fast with frum Jews?  {as weknow any ta'anis
tzibbur w/o ersha'im is not a tzibbur!]

It is also interesting how ideology trumps reality [emess?] we really think
that since ideology was X so the facts on the ground MUST have matched. Kind
of like Assuming that Yaa'kov Avinu MUST have worn a Yarmulka or Shtreiml
[take your pick]

Those Ortho Groups in the USA that voted for co-operation with non-Ortho's
did so during the post Holocaust universe.  And since RYBS demadned that we
co-operate ONLY klapei Hutz the  facts on the ground were quite conducive to
such a decision.



Although Rav Aharon Kotler Z"L was oposed to co-operation he never shut out
the Rav. In fact his grandson assured me that he consulted the Rav on any
major communal decision.  I guess this is not politcally correct to
publicize that RAK might have actually considered the  Rav's input as worthy
but you CAN se pictures of them sharing the dais  at  Hinuch Atzma'i
dinners.

As an aside:

Reminds me of Rav Dovid Lifshutz Z"L at  MO functions he was a Rosh Yeshiva
at YU at Agudah Fucntions he was the Suvalker Rav. Or tAr RMF's levaya 3
major YU figures were all introduce w/o references to YU itself [quite a
feat I might add [FWIW the 3 were 2 R. Tendlers and R. Nissan Aleprt Z"L]



-- 
Kol Tuv / Best Regards,
RabbiRichWolpoe at Gmail.com
see: http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/
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