[Avodah] taker but not giver

[Meir Shinnar]

Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2023 17:25:05 -0500
From: Micha Berger <micha at aishdas.org>

> On Sun, Jan 15, 2023 at 05:15:03PM -0700, Meir Shinnar via Avodah wrote:
>> Ignoring for a moment moral issues, but on practical consequences;
>> ...        They called in Rav Moshe Tendler for advice, who told them
>> Rav Moshe's position. In Russia, if word got out a Jew did not treat
>> non Jews on shabbat, the entire Jewish community of that town would be
>> wiped out. Therefore, heter of darche shalom clearly applies

> Except that R Aharon Lichtenstein's argument that "darkhei shalom" isn't
> about "practical considerations" is pretty compelling.

> Rambam (Hilkhos Melahim 10:12):
...
> Darkhei Shalom is nothing less fundamental than the fulfilment of
> emulating the Borei and following the ways of the Torah.

> ...
>> (Note that ben Azzai holds that the most important verse in the torah --
>> more than ve'ahavata lere'achca camocha -- love your neighbor as yourself
>> -- is ze Sefer toldot Adam -- this is the book of generations of man --
>> that we are all human.

> And Ben Azzai is given last word.
...

I fully agree with Micha, R Lichtenstein and Rav Wolbe about ikkar
hadin. However, no one who follows R Lichtenstein would have supported
the position of those who thought that the ambulance service should
not serve non Jews on shabbat -- or the positions of the "rabbanim"Joel
rich cited. Therefore, rav Tender was reminding them that even if one
had a more restrictive notion of darche shalom -- their position was
not tenable.

I would add that Joel Rich's rabbanim go further than the RCBC and raises
other issues -- the "rav" said he would do it for a "frum Jew" -- not
just a Jew. There is a famous peak of the hazon ish that in our time,
we save all Jews -- even non religious Jews. I have seen literature that
some haredi rabbanim now disagree with the hazon ish. It seems that Joel
rich's "rabbanim" are part of that crowd -- and therefore deserve even
more opprobrium.

Meir Shinnar