Rabbi Emanuel Rackman a'h

Rabbi Rackman passed away today. Here's part of the message I received from my former shul in NY: "[We regret] to inform you of the passing of Rabbi Dr. Emanuel Rackman, a leader of Modern Orthodoxy, president of Bar-Ilan University in Israel, rabbi of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue, and a man who held many other important posts during his long and storied life. Funeral services 12:00 noon on Tuesday, December 2nd, at Fifth Avenue Synagogue, 5 East 62nd Street (just off Fifth Avenue). The family will be receiving condolences there beginning at 11:00 a.m. The interment will be in Israel, where the first two days of shiva will be observed. The mourners will return to New York on Friday, December 5th, and observe shiva through Tuesday morning..."

I'd link to the Wiki page about him but, sadly enough, there hasn't been one made (and I'd make it, but with two 3 hour seminars to prepare for, there's no time. Maybe manana). His bio from this article from the YU newspaper shows how impressive a leader he was: (http://tinyurl.com/5fdo77):

Rabbi Emanuel Rackman, RIETS '34, earned his law degree and PhD in political science from Columbia University and was the spiritual leader of Congregation Shaaray Tefila of Far Rockaway and of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue. In 1947 he began teaching political philosophy and jurisprudence at Yeshiva College and in 1970 was named a university professor of political science. Rabbi Rackman received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from Yeshiva in 1961, and was provost of Yeshiva University from 1970-1976. Rabbi Rackman has served as the president of the New York Board of Rabbis, president of the Rabbinical Council of America. A former colonel in the United States Air Force Reserve, during World War II he was chairman of the commission on Jewish chaplaincy in the United States Armed Forces. After leaving Yeshiva, Rabbi Rackman became president (1977-1985) and Chancellor (since 1985) of Bar Ilan University

I met Rabbi Rackman many times when I was working at KJ (see below) and he was one of the best pulpit rabbis around, a great pastoral leader. He taught me many lessons of how to take care of congregants that I could only aspire to (e.g. after shul on Shabbat he would go to the houses of the home-bound in order to make kiddush for each and every one). He is probably best known to many of you for his work in recent years in the struggle to free agunas.

His passing is a great loss.

Anti-Zionism = Anti-Semitism Debate, Exhibit 3 billion

There is a larger conversation going on whether you can be Anti-Zionist without being Anti-Semitic. However, it must be understood that for many Anti-Zionists, the two are synonymous. To attack Israel, they attack Jews (cf. the Seattle shooting, Mel Gibson).

The most recent example is from a group of Turkish hackers who broke into the Yeshiva University website:

Hackers protesting the Israel-Lebanon war broke into Yeshiva University's Web site yesterday and changed the content to read "Lebanon-israel ... STOP!" with images of injured civilians.

And, in case you don't feel safe enough:

The hacker claimed to have downloaded sensitive information from the university, but said that he would not use it.

SOY Sale and My Lists

Living outside of The City for the first time in 8 years, getting to the SOY Sale is very difficult. I haven't missed the sale for all those years; it's like a religious experience!

In any case, going to a booksale unprepared causes me much anxiety. Actually, that sentence made me sound like Yoda, which I guess proves the point. I have stacks and lists of books to buy and smaller stacks of files of the books I own. The danger of buying a book I already own is very high - there's just not enough time for me to keep track of my holdings. I don't know if it's pretentious or pathetic, but I think I need a private curator. My kid is too small for the job (and he eats every single book he gets in his fisty mitts).

My ethic this year is when in doubt, I will not buy a book - which will make my family happy (except for my kid, naturally).

Rabbi Kenny Brander to Join Yeshiva Leadership

Ye gads! Joel strikes again!

From the YU Commentator: Rabbi Kenny Brander to Join Yeshiva Leadership

AwarenessCenter.org

For my first few years in RIETS, I maintained a white hot rage about the corruption and mediocrity of the institution that I found in this parent institution that reflected, in a milder way, the neglect and aimlessness of American Modern Orthodoxy. One aspect of my rage was the way rabbis were allowed to act wretchedly while protected by their meaningless veil of Torah knowledge. Some simp with a Baba Batra under his arm could get away with cruelty, indifference, and idiocy all because they were considered 'a good ol' boy' of the beit Midrash.

My second year in RIETS had a difficult beginning. The combined malice of three particular rabbis -- one craven, one doltish, one evil -- made my learning situation almost untenable. I did not have a chavruta, nor my standard makom in the Beit Midrash, and I managed to find a seat in the Rosh Yeshiva section of the Beis. I sat next to Rav Ahron Soloveitchik zt'l (it was my great honor that he frequently borrowed the volumes from my mini-Shas) and I sat across from Rav Yosef Blau yavil l'chaim tovim.

So, for 2 hours minimum every day, Rav Blau and I had a shmooze chavruta. One topic that came out was the horrifying state of untracked rabbinic sex offenders. It was in his conversations that I learned about Mordechai Gafni, a.k.a. Marc Winiarz. I had just met Winiarz at the General Assembly in 1997 and my Freak-dar went off the charts. (Some people claim they have a "gay-dar", which allows them to identify homosexuals; whatever; some claim a "jew-dar"; I have the ability to recognize freaks, liars, and evil).

I also learned about Rabbi Ze'ev Kopolevitch. Rosh Yeshiva of Netiv Meir. And I was given hints about the case of Baruch Lanner.

A side point about Lanner; I've been after this sickbag for years, ever since I first met him in 1989. This is why I've been so outspoken about him (see my article "Prisons of Thought" in the Fall 2000 JOFA Journal

At that point, as a result of the conversations, and my YU fueled rage, I wanted to create Intershul. Intershul is to be an Interpol of jewish communities and organizations, a way for all of us to keep track of abusive husbands, criminal rabbis, and other community undesirables.

As I am still a pupa in the community structure, I have not been able to do much with the organization. However, a website I've stumbled over is doing some of the work already. Bravo.

The organization, AwarenessCenter.org, is fighting the good fight. They have resources for professionals and victims. They also have a rogues gallery of bad rabbis.

Some special cases in there. There have been accusations against Rav Shlomo Aviner which I find difficult to believe, but it needs to be investigated with full due process. The Shlomo Carlebach case is in there too. My favorite, though, is the current Chief Rabbi of Israel was elected despite the known accusations against him. Tisha B'av, here we come.

YU Purim Torah, Archived

Yeshiva University Observant (from 2002)

Commentator, 2000

Commentator, 1999

Commentator, 1998

Socolnomics

The single most important action has been accomplished by Yeshiva University President Joel... the beginning of the de-Socolization of YU. Bravo.

This bodes well for the future of the Institution.