Sinas Chinam I - Ghosts of the Past

Not surprisingly, I barely post. For one, writing takes a lot of input and energy and I don’t have an endless supply of either one. Secondly, there is not much interest in my subject matter.

Everybody is concerned about the fluctuating war and the impending, albeit elusive, geulah, the shrinking dollar and their own shrinking bank accounts, and the health of the Belzer Rebbe, Shlita. I have nothing to contribute to these things. 

All the ghosts of “Yutzmich past” have retired to their crypts. Yet occasionally, some of them spring back to haunt us even now in the midst of all our anxiety. As such, a few long-retired issues that I have written about profusely, which I hoped were buried forever, have recently come back to life. These issues are:

• The Covid Vaccines
  
  
• The Kol Koreh about reporting suspected abusers
  
  
• The Malka Leifer episode

I believe I found a common denominator all three of these ancient topics. This is that they all involve some level of sinas chinam which doesn't want to go away. The recent resurgence of these topics is proving this point. Clearly, this sinas chinam needs to stop. It is one thing that is delaying the "impending geula". As such, I feel a need to discuss all three of them.

in this post, I will cover the subject of Vaccines.

To briefly recoup, I have felt that any type of medication needs to be proven and time-tested to be safe, effective and necessary (meaning there are no better alternatives). This applies especially to vaccines because vaccines, as opposed to remedial medicines, are given to people who currently are not even sick.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

My personal research brought me to the conclusion that the MRNA vaccines that were promoted during the Covid hoax did not pass any of these three requirements. When I say “research”, I mean hearing out the opinions of a wide range of medical experts (i.e., doctors), both pro and con, and analyzing the available data that was made public at the time. All this coupled with common sense. It did not come from hearsay or bubbe ma’ases.

My position hasn’t budged.

It is important to note that there was also a strong representation of Rabbanim and poskim in our camp. I wrote about all of this at length in my original post on the subject from January of 2021.

One very outspoken posek who was not in my camp is HRHG Asher Zelig Weiss, Shlita.

I have a bit of a connection with HRHG Weiss being that I attend his weekly shiur in Har Nof. In general, I admire him greatly and I am blown away by his yiras Shamayim, the breadth and depth of his knowledge, his constant writing and publishing, and his involvement in tzarchei tzibur. This includes his availability to the public. I can’t imagine that he gets much sleep.  

I consider him a Rebbe of mine on conventional Halacha and, of course, an inspiration of middos tovos.

That said, there are two topics on which I did my own research and heard out dissenting opinions and cannot agree with him. One is the topic of Techeiles which I wrote a full series about, and the other is the aforementioned vaccine controversy.

Rav Weiss has always been a strong proponent of the Covid vaccines. He was there straight out of the starting gate. You can see his drasha HERE.

He took care to stress that this is his personal opinion and he acknowledged “it's not very comfortable because I know that not everybody will like what I say. However, I always express myself in a respectful manner. I have no reason in the world that…I don't like to argue and to dispute and to be mezalzel in others.” Yet, he did not appear to come across very receptive of other viewpoints. 

As I wrote in my original 2021 post, Rav Weiss strongly maintained that his consultation with “doctors” and professionals in the field convinced him that the benefits are high and the risks are low. As such, the benefits outweigh the risks. I challenged that assertion up front. You can see the details there. 

Of course, Harav Weiss was not oblivious to the situation of controversy. He talks about the Halachic procedures of conflicting opinions and of following the majority or the most prestigious doctors. As part of the shiur, Rav Weiss goes on a tirade quoting numerous sources from Shas that we are enjoined to rely on doctors and professional medical opinions to come to Halachic conclusions. 

However, there are several major flaws in his presentation:

1. From all these sources which refer to rofim (doctors), who is to say that we were not referring to Jewish doctors who understand the halachic ramifications of their medical opinions?

2. All of the quoted sources in Shas and poskim are referring to a doctor’s advice concerning a specific individual who is suffering from some ailment. The doctor(s) examined the patient and understand his or her unique circumstances and prescribe treatment accordingly. The sources do not refer to global medical opinions involving the collective public.

3. The term used to denote the medical professional is a rofeh, not a doctor.

What is the difference between a rofeh and a doctor?

A doctor is a person who has a doctorate in medicine. This means that he studied and mastered the science of medicine and knows it quite well. It does not mean that he ever treated anybody.

A rofeh is a healer, not a student of medicine. He is one who actually practices medicine and treats people and knows what treatments work and what doesn’t and how to vary them for each individual case.  

In short, a “doctor” knows the science of medicine. A rofeh, or healer, actually practices it.

In today’s world, where most doctors specialize, it says that they can only be considered a Halachic rofeh, healer, in their field of expertise. As such, one who went through basic medical school and received an M.D. and then went on to specialize in ophthalmology may be called a doctor, but he is only a rofeh for ophthalmology. Same for a dermatologist, urologist and all the others. 

Certainly, they all learned the basics of cardiology in medical school, but if one does not practice in this field and treat people with heart ailments, he may still be called a doctor, but he cannot be called a healer. He does not get the Halachic status of a “rofeh” outside his field.

What’s more, in the days of old, a rofeh/doctor was primarily a pharmacologist. His expertise was to determine which herbs and potions work for what type of problem and to know exactly how to prepare it and administer it. Once again, the Talmudic “doctor” was one who knows how to diagnose and treat the problem at hand and for a specific patient.

Aside from the fact that immunology and contagious diseases is a specialized field with a limited amount of practitioners who are qualified to give any opinion, all of this can only apply to a known ailment and known remedies. None of this can possibly be applicable to the “new” Covid-19 and the untested new-fangled vaccinations that the pharmaceutical companies were pushing.

Lastly, any medical professional’s advice can only be valid if the professional is totally objective and impartial in his opinion and not subject to any shochad (financial gain) or duress or coercion. This disqualifies anyone funded by a pharmaceutical company and anybody threated to lose their platform or license.

In light of all the above, there were not many professionals on the “pro-vax” side, if any at all, that met the above qualifications. On the flip-side, those who were actively treating patients with zinc, hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, and the like, and who had no personal stake in these medicines, and can vouch for their success, do indeed qualify. To be sure, none of these true healers were bribed or coerced to speak up in favor of hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin. I can assure you of that. 

Despite his claim to have been thoroughly versed by the most qualified professionals, he seemed to be oblivious to all the flaws and to much of the opposing viewpoints. What’s more, he looks to be a bit hostile. 

Let’s look at what he said from about the 54:00 mark. Then I will comment. I will print his remarks in blue and emphasize key phrases. My comments will be in dark red.

54:18 - So, all these absurd theories that the vaccine might cause infertility and it might have long-term effects, one cannot say with certainty there will be no long-term effects because how would we know? But that is true with every new medicine that every new medicine or medical procedure might have long-term effects. 

54:40 - But we always try to strike the right balance between what is needed now and what might theoretically happen in the future. As I explained before, it's very unreasonable that the Covid vaccine will have long-term effects… 

55:35 – [but] this is a safe vaccine in as far as we could know and that is the opinion of rov minyan and binyan of chachmei haumos. I wrote a letter many months ago before Covid regarding the other vaccines to one of the gedolim and I argued even if the anti-vaxxers would have some merit but if this is the opinion of the establishment of rov minyan and rov binyan, we could rely on שומר פתאים השם. What is a person supposed to do if not follow the mumchim (experts)?

56:27 - There were always doctors that had different opinions but if that is the opinion of the establishment, שומר פתאים השם.

Let’s analyze:

So, all these absurd theories that the vaccine might cause infertility

Comment: Are they absurd when stated by people like Dr. Robert Malone who is credited at developing the mRNA vaccine? What’s more, the people who are allegedly dying are typically aged 50 plus. The ones who need to be concerned about infertility are aged below 50. If the below 50 population isn’t dying, what justifies the risk?

one cannot say with certainty there will be no long-term effects because how would we know?

Comment: But, didn’t he tell us seven minutes ago (47:25) that the long-term risk from this vaccine is totally without any reasonable חשש? 

 

that every new medicine or medical procedure might have long-term effects.

Comment: Most new medicines go through rigorous testing that takes years. New medical procedures are almost never carried out without a situation where known procedures did not work and with full uninhibited informed consent. New medicines or medical procedures are never mandated – until now.

might theoretically happen in the future

Comment: At that time, the “future” wasn’t here yet, but when it does indeed happen in the “future”, it is in no way theoretical.

rov minyan and binyan of chachmei haumos.

Comment: Aside from the fact that we cannot listen to any chachmei haumos who are biased, I wonder how many chachmei haumos from the opposing camp he even heard out. How did he arrive at his consensus of “rov”?

Also, if rov minyan and binyan of medical professionals can only say that this vaccine is safe “as far as we could know” how is this saying that it is safe?

I wrote a letter many months ago before Covid regarding the other vaccines to one of the gedolim and I argued even if the anti-vaxxers would have some merit

Comment: This blew me away. Firstly, it seems like he has been at odds with “anti-vaxxers” for quite some time. From this conversation, it seems that he was having a dispute with another “gadol” which he does not identify. Who was this gadol? He does not tell us what was the position of the other gadol, but it clearly looks like he was trying to convince him of his viewpoint. What does the other gadol counter with? Did he succeed to convince the other gadol?

We’ll never know.

Also, this is before Covid. Before thousands of people were dying of anything. There was no crushing need. Why does shomer pesayim Hashem apply and overrule שב ואל תעשה עדיף?

What is a person supposed to do if not follow the mumchim?

Comment: First we need to hear out the “mumchim”. All of them.

but if that is the opinion of the establishment

Comment: By “the establishment” he is referring to the likes of Anthony Fauci, Albert Bourla, and bill Gates, none of whom took the vaccine themselves.

Within a year of this exchange, I was able to update with much more disparaging news. You can see it all in this post and this one.

At the same time, Harav Weiss was admitting telling us we need to take the booster shots since the “effective”, life-saving vaccines don’t work past six months! Still, not a word about taking conventional medications or even to take vitamin C and D.

In any case, all this was 4 to 5 years ago. Since then, the pandemic petered out and much has been uncovered to give some merit to the “anti-vaxxers”. One would assume that we all acquired some wisdom over the years and that there would be no need for Harav Weiss to proliferate the sinas chinam that he bitterly complained about in his initial shiur (57:08).

Nevertheless, last month we find that Morenu Harav Asher Weiss, Shlita, participated in the Chemed Medical Conference. This clip is dated April 21, 2026. you can see it HERE.

29:23 - Q. Without getting into specifics, a lot of politics have crept into the way medicine is practiced. Vaccinations are to be administered. Does this affect the neemanus harofim?

29:35 - A. I think in previous years we spoke already about trusting science and trusting doctors. To my dismay, since COVID broke out, we have needed to deal with all different kinds of strange opinions and philosophies who cast doubt in medicine, conventional medicine, antivaxxers...

31:15 - So, we had to deal with these antivaxxers and antivaccinations and I came to the conclusion you can't even have a dialogue with these people. They are so bent on what they believe. But neemanus in rofim is clear in Halacha, [618] in Shu”A (Orach Chaim) dealing with Yom kipper who needs to eat. Clear Halachos. treatment. You consult doctors and you rely on what doctors say...

32:46 - ...and I think it is so important as yes we need to trust medicine mainstream science and if you won't trust doctors then you are in a very unsafe and very hazardous place. 

I cannot really blame him for discussing this subject now. He didn’t bring it up. It was the MC at the conference. But, since it was brought up, and he did respond to it, I need to voice my objections. 

It pains me that after all this time, HRHG Rav Asher Weiss, Shlita is still so trusting of the corrupt medical establishment and so antagonistic to sincere people who are raising an alarm. It doesn’t seem to be as respectful a manner as he claimed in his earlier shiur or that he tries not to be mezalzel in others.

we had to deal with these antivaxxers and anti-vaccinations

Comment: He gives the impression that “anti-vaxxers”, as he calls them, are just a bunch of misinformed Neanderthal luddites or a brainwashed cult who have no other agenda but to make trouble.

I came to the conclusion you can't even have a dialogue with these people. They are so bent on what they believe.

Comment: With all due respect, במחילת כבוד, I am aware of a number of people who tried to “deal with” Harav Asher Weiss, Shlita. They came to the conclusion that you cannot have a dialogue with him. He is so bent on what he believes.

[618] in Shu”A (Orach Chaim) dealing with Yom kipper who needs to eat

Comment: He seems to have forgotten Yoreh Deah 155:1 which says that any non-Jewish doctor who has a financial interest cannot be trusted, as well as Choshen Mishpat 37:1 that disqualifies testimony from even any Jew who has anything to gain (or avoid losing).

if you won't trust doctors then you are in a very unsafe and very hazardous place.

Comment: The “anti-vaxxers” are the ones who heard out Dr. Zev Zelenko, Z”L (Chareidi), Dr. Robert Malone, Dr. Ryan Cole, Dr. Peter McCullough, Dr. Harvey Risch (Shomer Shabbos), Dr. Simone Gold (proudly Jewish), Dr. Pierre Kory, Dr. Retzef Levi (Israeli), and others. We saw the VAERS reports and the blood clots exposed by Alabama embalmer Richard Hirschman (no relation and seemingly not Jewish) and funeral director John O’Looney. There is no indication that Harav Weiss crossed paths with any of these personalities.

We believe that if one blindly trusts “doctors” who have no yiras shamayim, and who are biased, sold out and compromised, you are in a very unsafe and hazardous place. 

We live in an imperfect world and what goes around, comes around.

Identity Crisis

Many of us who read A Tzaddik in Our Time, the fascinating biography of the great Tzadik, Harav Aryeh Levin, ZTL, are inspired by the story of the Goral HaGra – the Vilna Gaon’s “draw”. 

As of November 29, 1947, the settlements of Gush Etzion were isolated and blockaded by Arab marauders. In January 1948, a group of 35 Palmach fighters set out on a mission to penetrate the blockade and to deliver supplies and medicine to the besieged Jewish settlers. Greta Thunberg was not one of them. Before they could sneak through, the group was spotted and attacked by the vicious Arabs. Every single one of them perished in the battle. Twelve of them were mutilated beyond recognition.

These were the days before forensic identification techniques, such as dental records (if these martyrs had any) and DNA profiles. There was no scientific way to determine the identity of any of the twelve bodies. The Chief Rabbi, Rav Zvi Pesach Frank, ZT”L, was consulted and, for lack of any natural, earthly solution, he determined no alternative but to rely on Divine assistance. Hence, he called upon Rav Aryeh Levin and some other Rabbanim to undertake a Goral HaGra. 

The Goral HaGra is a Kabbalistic method of following a preordained method to access a random pasuk in Tanach, and to draw conclusions from what this special pasuk says to us. I am sure it predates the Vilna Gaon but, for some reason, he gets all the credit.

Indeed, Rav Aryeh Levin carried out the procedure and, in a miraculous fashion, each one of the pasukim contained a reference to a specific member of the fallen. You can get more details of the story HERE.

Fast forward a mere 76 years and we are now, both sadly and happily, seeing bodies of fallen Jews being transported to us out of Gaza courtesy of those who murdered them. All of these bodies need to be positively identified. As such, they are immediately transferred to the Abu Kabir forensic institute to be positively identified using natural scientific methods. We know that the standard methods are to compare dental records and/or DNA profiles. As it stands, B”H, within a matter of hours, we are getting absolute results. No Goral HaGra needed.

Is this a good thing or a bad not so good thing?

What is preferable – DNA profiling or Goral HaGra? Moreover, what is more reliable? Why aren’t we doing the Goral HaGra instead, even on our current victims?

The obvious answer is לא בשמים היא. We are not permitted to rely on a Bas Kol or any Heavenly sign as long as there is any empirical alternative. This sort of tells us that if we have resources such as DNA profiling at our disposal, it’s a “mitzva” to make use of them. Also, it indicates that we are authorized to rely on the results.

אין לדיין אלא מה שעיניו רואות.

In some of my previous posts from July and August 2019 (see all the posts HERE), I advocated the use of DNA profiling for any dilemma that it can help resolve. I believe that even if the DNA test results will force us to classify a person as a mamzer, we are obligated to use it. 

Here is an excerpt of what I wrote on August 25, 2019:

In better times, when there are no real witnesses, HKBH takes over. He gave us the sotah waters to check out an accused adulteress. The mahn would tell us who the slave belonged to and reveal other secrets. The Amud HaEish was like an x-ray machine. The ark of the covenant told us which of Shaul’s descendants must die and the ark of Noach told us which animals did not crossbreed. The Torah “understood” that there won’t be human witnesses to sins done in private and it gave us some divine assistance.

With all the falsehood and deceit that characterizes our generation, HKBH is beginning to level the playing field. We haven’t gotten back the sotah waters, the mahn or urim v’tumim. But HKBH gave us photography and surveillance, audio and video recording, fingerprints and DNA mapping. It must be here for a reason. לא בשמים היא !

We cannot ignore modern technology. I think we need to embrace it and work with it and not against it.

I may not have fully substantiated my position, but my primary motivation is that honesty is the best policy. In other words, if the facts are true, then the facts are true. What is, is. The seal of HKBH is emess – truth, and he doesn’t want us to hide it and sweep it under the rug. 

Yes, the truth hurts but falsehood hurts worse. 

Clearly, one of the Torah’s intentions for the decree of mamzerus is to deter people (especially married women) from fooling around and destroying their marriages and relationships. It’s for the greater good even though there is a steep price to the seemingly fault-free offspring.

Seemingly?

In a more recent post from August of 2024, I discussed the concepts of gilgulim (reincarnation) and tikun ha’neshama and I brought down two anecdotal sources, including an embedded video, presented by two NDE survivors, that claim that a person’s soul chooses the family that he or she will be born into and the ordeals he or she will have to undergo. 

Bluntly, this means that if someone was born a mamzer, they “knew” about it “up front” and accepted the challenge. It was pre-ordained. If so, why circumvent it by covering the truth? It may be that such a thing can actually hamper a person’s tikun. Perhaps, sparing the person from the inherent (literally) shame and ostracization is doing him or her a grave injustice!

In those previous posts, I deliberated on whether to consider DNA profiling as absolute eidus or merely an umdenah d’mukchach (or a siman muvhak). In recent years, however, I have become a more ardent believer in DNA profiling. I am ready to upgrade it to eidus gamur.

I have allowed myself to watch a number of forensic science documentaries. Assuming these documentaries are factual, then DNA is uncannily accurate. The clips show how today’s DNA profiling has helped solve numerous cold-case homicides. With this, the detectives were finally able to identify the true culprits and, in many cases, to exonerate others who were wrongly convicted. 

Other clips have shown how people who know very little about their family background and even who have no idea who their biological fathers are to discover the truth. Sometimes the findings were pleasant, a relief, and closure and brought about reunions with hitherto unknown relatives. Of course, in other cases, the results uncovered hidden secrets and brought shame and disaster. Still, when confronted with the “evidence”, the deceit was usually confirmed. Ultimately, the truth was pieced together and couldn’t be denied.

As a consequence, I personally have a lot of faith in the results of DNA testing, especially when carried out by very reputable labs. I believe it belongs right there alongside ABO or HLA blood typing and fingerprint mapping. This is especially true when the results can be confirmed by two independent labs. There is hardly any margin for error.

It goes without saying that one of the most popular uses of DNA testing is to confirm or rule out paternity in cases of doubt. This was the theme of my blog posts in July and August 2019. This is so common that it is almost a standard in most Western countries. They say that in the United States, about 30% of children, roughly 1 in 3, are not the biological offspring of the man who is claimed by the mother to be the father.

Usually, the mother knows this for certain or at least suspects it. Yet, they go to great lengths to hide this knowledge from both the significant other (i.e., husband, but not always) and the child. Usually, it is because the woman wants the artificial father to stay in her life and to provide for her and the illegitimate children. This is known as paternity fraud, and it is widespread.

When the man in question is suspicious and demands a DNA test, the unfaithful mother usually fights it tooth and nail. Of course, this behavior only amplifies the suspicions and, ultimately, it doesn’t help her. If the quarrel is in court, the courts will typically order the test. Even if it is not a court battle, the father has much recourse to have the tests done on his own. 

If she can sneak behind his back, he can sneak behind hers. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. 

In our frum circles, we are much better behaved so paternity fraud is, B”H, not a common or communal issue, though I suppose it happens occasionally. But in the non-Orthodox circles, it is still plenty common (R”L) and Batei Din – who deal more frequently in non-Orthodox cases, BTW – have to confront it all the time.

In my post back in July 9  2019, I wrote the following:

Reb Tzuriel explains that the law in Israel is as follows. The court officially puts the interests of the child in question above everything else. In general, the court will rule for whatever course of action is best for the child. In a situation that can cause mamzerus, the court will not allow a DNA (or any paternity test) without getting a confirmation from the Nasi of the Rabbinate. As a rule, the Rabbinate forbids these tests.

I went on to explain how much trouble this causes regardless of whether it helps the subject out of a status of mamzer. I questioned whether the upside is really an upside and if, in any case, they are worth the drawbacks of the downside.

Let’s now get up to date.

In the secular world, DNA profiling has become so accepted and such a factor in resolving paternity issues that there is rumbling about drafting laws to require mandatory DNA paternity testing in all hospitals as a matter of course.

Currently, there is no such law on the books in any US state or even in progress. As one can imagine, there is a lot of pushback from the unfaithful liberals who, as always, want to have their cake and somebody else pay for it. It’s American as apple pie.

The State of Tennessee, however, recently passed two preliminary types of laws. One from 2023 is to declare paternity fraud a crime. This one is long overdue. As far as I could research, it is not considered a crime anywhere else. This is incredible.

The other one from 2022 removes a five year statute of limitations to challenge a paternity case. I think any statute of limitations for something like this is absurd unless it can be proven that the father in question was fully aware of a question of paternity at an earlier time and did not act.

I suppose that if all your exes live in Texas, it pays to hang your hat in Tennessee. 

There are those who suggest that it doesn’t need to be compulsory. If the alleged father doesn’t want to submit his DNA and prove paternity, it may be unconstitutional to force him to, just like all the vaccine mandates were supposed to be. But a more watered down version may be a mandatory law to record and store just the baby’s DNA. All babies get blood tested for various reasons anyway so it can’t be called invasive. Hence, if a father, at any time later on, wants to confirm his paternity, the DNA is there in a national database.

What does this have to do with us?

Well, anything that turns into a law of a land affects all the inhabitants of that land. This includes us. Personally, I am in favor of such a law and there is no reason it should affect the faithful among us.

The question is, if such a thing will become a standard in the hi-tech industrial Western world, will it have to be adopted here in Israel? After all, we cannot be less advanced and progressive than everyone else, can we?

Interestingly, on this issue there are reasons why the lefty liberals might be against it and there are reasons why the Orthodox Jews (Chareidim?) and the Rabbanut may be against it. So, perhaps, both sides will join forces as they have been doing until now to sweep it all under the rug.

Yet, we are living in a pre-Moshiach era where all of the world’s dark secrets are being exposed, just like what happened during the ten plagues and Makkos Bechoros. At the end of the “day”, all falsehood will be demolished, and the truth will shine through. 

Or else, we can always try to do a Goral HaGra.

 

Arrur Makkah Re'eihu B'Seter - Part 2c: Good Intentions

Author's Note - Please see the original post on this topic HERE and the two previous parts to this post HERE and HERE.

We know the old saying – The path to Gehinnom is paved with good intentions. 

This is how the Yetzer Hara operates. He convinces us to undertake virtuous projects for the good of Mankind or society or the downtrodden or whatever, and then he bundles it with sinister and damaging consequences which are naively condoned for “the greater good”. 

I’ve written a lot about this especially regarding mesira and the venomous Kol Koreh of 181 “Rabbis”.

The Yetzer Hara has a very easy time when the “Good Samaritans” are low on scruples such as with the Tea Dating Advice app. The official narrative about the Tea Dating Advice app, which inspired these posts, was that it is meant to help vulnerable women vet out potential predators from the dating pool. But the critics note that this is no reason to hide the posted information from the eyes of the male population. Regardless, the site has been called out for being the cesspool of gossip and slander that it always was.

Likewise, Jewish Community Watch, with their despicable Wall of Shame, has a similar history. This is what they write on their About Us page:

Jewish Community Watch (JCW) never set out to be a major organization. In 2006, Meyer Seewald’s best friend died tragically at age 17. The young man’s father set up a youth group in his late son’s honor where young teens gathered for camaraderie and support. In 2011, Seewald, himself a survivor of child sexual abuse (CSA), began receiving reports that the father was molesting boys who attended this program. Further enquiries revealed that this person had a long history of abuse dating back decades earlier to Israel. As is so often the case, community leaders and rabbis in New York who were aware of his dangerous history preferred to handle it “internally,” never considering how many more lives would be put in jeopardy.

After a website was set up to expose the molester and warn others of the danger he posed, hundreds of reports of abuse began flooding in from Jewish communities around the world. JCW’s scope of services quickly expanded to include victim support services, mass awareness events, staff screening for schools and camps, a website with hundreds of pages of resources, and much more. The staff grew from a handful of volunteers working out of a 10 x 10 bedroom to over a dozen professional employees. A virtual “safe place” has been created for victims to come forward, tell their stories, and receive the help and support they need.

All of this sounds great, but there was one fundamental flaw. JCW decided that the best way to help victims is to hunt down and prosecute perpetrators regardless of whether it really helps victims or causes more harm than good. Also, regardless of whether these perpetrators were as guilty as presumed to be, whether they were past victims themselves, and even not guilty at all. 

JCW became a vigilante posse and kangaroo court. Hurting the people they didn’t like was more important than helping the ones that they did. You know the saying – When all you have is a hammer, everything you see starts to look like a nail.

As an update, I noted in my previous post that JCW mercifully went offline about a year ago. Well, amazingly, in the beginning of September, their web site came back to life. It doesn’t look like the organization came back, just their 2022 web site with all it’s gory. 

Once again, Rabbi Yosef Blau is accountable for all useless motzi shem rah that it displays. As such, on Sept. 11, 2025, I sent an email to rabbi Yosef Blau informing him – if he didn’t already know – that the web site is back online and shouldn’t be. One remark I made was: “At this point of time, now that JCW is no longer active and all the information is outdated, there cannot possibly be any toelles for it to be on display. There is no good that it can accomplish, only harm.”

I did not receive any direct response from Rabbi Blau. A few days later, I checked the site, and lo and behind, it was gone again. But, as I post this, I checked again and it's back. Go figure! 

Let’s get back to other Yetzer Hara trap, imamother.com. 

Apparently, it was launched in 2004 by a woman who calls herself Yael Cozocaru. Here is what she writes:

I, Yael, together with my husband, created Imamother in 2004 because I felt that there was a need for a website geared to frum Jewish women and mothers.

This website was born after I went searching in the vast expanses of the internet for some advice about raising our kids. I looked at the Jewish forums of numerous parenting websites, but there just wasn't anything relevant to me, as a frum woman. Again I left my computer feeling like there was just a blank area where there should have been a place where I could share my thoughts and worries. I was looking for a place where I could meet more women just like me. I wanted a spot where my friends and I could go to share stories about our day.

So far, so good. Let’s continue:

I wanted a website just like all the others but with a very important difference. I wanted it to be relevant to me as a married woman and as a frum mother. I wanted a place where there would be information about topics that are important to me, and where I could get advice from other frum women about whatever issue was bothering me at the moment.

Notice the phrase “like all the others”? What does it have that “all the others” have?

That’s right. All of them are gossip mills.

I wanted to check how consistent their MRB issues are. Have they improved at all since 2008? So, I tried an experiment. I scrolled through the Reading Room forum to see if there is a more recent case of women discussing the activities of people who cannot participate in the discussions. I came across a totally useless discussion dating to March of 2025. 

Apparently, two Jewish humorists, both male, one named Mendy and one named Jake, were kibbitzing with each other about writing styles. All this was printed in Ami Magazine. It looks like some kind of Purim satire, though it may have come across somewhat flat. 

Well, an imamother.com poster felt it was necessary to open a thread about this nonsensical exchange and criticize it for no good reason. She did not represent it as a Purim satire although other posters did make a point of it. Bottom line, the thread, which serves no earthly (or heavenly) purpose whatsoever, didn’t say a word of praise to Mendy or Jake, not to mention Ami or Mishpacha magazine, nor was it intended to. And, it is self evident that so much of the nasty criticisms are based on assumptions and misconceptions.

Now, this appears in their Reading Room forum where anybody can see it to this day. But doesn’t one have to already be in the site to access it?

So, I googled up Mendy P. No appearance of this Imamother post in numerous index pages. Then I googled Jake T. Same thing. Then I googled Mendy P. and Jake T. in a single lookup. 

Bingo! It was right there as the second index item. When I googled Mendy P. and Ami Magazine together, I got the listing for the post toward the bottom of page 1.

This tells me that any imamother.com post, or at least those in the open forums, may be found in Google searches, just like I found mine in 2008. And it means that one doesn’t need to be on the site, a member of the site, or even looking for it specifically to come across it. Anybody who looks for a given combination of keywords can stumble across these chatroom threads, learn things that he doesn’t need to know, and get impressions about people and establishments which may not be constructive or even true or accurate.

What happens in Vegas, doesn’t always stay in Vegas.

Were any of the parties involved ever notified of this distasteful discussion on imamother.com? And, if they were, or came across it themselves, were they in any position to get on the site and straighten out the misconceptions?

Makkah Re’eihu B’Seter at the advanced level.

So, I spent the past two posts calling out two Orthodox Jewish chat rooms, one of which can be considered Chareidi and, as is my policy, I did indeed notify both venues to check out my posts. Is there any progress report?

Neither Yeshiva World News nor Imamother.com contacted me directly to “clear the air”. Neither one had the decency to say, “Dear Mr. Hirshman, although we think you are over the top and should get a life or find better things to write about, we apologize for the distress that you claim we caused you so long ago. If there is anything we can do to sooth your ego, do not hesitate to let us know…”

There were no changes that I could notice, hence, to me it looks like they are not very interested in cleaning up their act. 

It does indeed look like Mrs. Cozocaru looked up my wife’s account and disabled it. Although I probably would have done the same thing if I were her, still and all, my wife is a legitimate full-fledged card-carrying Orthodox Jewish mother, so I can't say it was proper.

Well, perhaps she got me off her back, but she didn’t fix anything. All I see is a lack of accountability, which is a standard female trait that goes all the way back to the first Chava. Incidentally, I’m sure there are probably plenty of other male “trolls” and lurkers with much more nefarious motives. 

So now, what steps should imamother.com take to eliminate MRB?

There is no easy answer. Here are some options:

Full Termination

The Mishna in Bava Kamma (4:9) discusses the degree of responsibility an owner has for his rowdy ox after it has been certified as a “repeat offender”. There is a dispute regarding when the owner took reasonable precautions to contain the ox but it damaged anyhow. Rabi Yehuda maintains that any reasonable precautions exempts the owner from full liability (he still has half liability). Rabi Eliezer is more stringent. He says that once an ox is certified as a rowdy ox, no amount of precautions are sufficient. 

אין לו שמירה אלא סכין – there is no way to safeguard this ox except to terminate it at the slaughterhouse.

Even though for oxen we rule like Rabi Yehuda, when it comes to chat groups, there truly is no safeguard except termination. This would be the best remedy, but I suppose it is too much to expect.

Here are some other measures that they can and should implement.

More Vigilant Moderation

This sounds simple enough but is easier said than done. This is self evident since, until now, the moderation is sloppy and porous. Clearly, the moderators do not recognize MRB when they see it and there is no reason to assume that they will get any better at it. So, this isn't really going to work.

Fix their “Contact Us” feature

 

There is absolutely no excuse for anybody with a valid complaint, member or not, to be unable to contact the site and voice themselves. Yet, on this site, the Contact Us feature is anything but user friendly.

The Contact Us feature of most web sites consists either of an embedded form for correspondence and/or a list of options for direct contact be it phone numbers, email addresses, WhatsApp and/or X or Facebook or Instagram nodes. On this site, there is no embedded form. When I click the Contact Us option, it does nothing but call up the user’s Outlook system. This is useful as long as the user actually uses Outlook and has it configured on their computer. For users who have Outlook but don’t use it, the system gets stalled.

I tried the feature on a smartphone which does not have any Microsoft programs and it did open an email to admin@imamother.com. Still, on a Microsoft computer it can easily get blocked and this needs to be fixed. An embedded form would help.

Take the Whole Site Underground

This means making the entire site accessible only to members, even the lighter, domestic forums. This will do absolutely nothing to prevent any LH or MRB and may even make it worse. The only thing it will accomplish is prevent interested parties who are not members from finding it. This is good if the outside person is uninvolved and won’t learn things [s]he doesn’t have to know. Yet, at the same time it will conceal the material from those who may be affected by it – as in my case – and this will turn “innocent” chit chat into MRB. 

I do not recommend this measure.

Open the Site Membership to All

At the other end of the spectrum, they could make the basic forums (site membership) accessible to anybody and only restrict the sensitive forums to women. Although this may lesson the cases of MRB on the basic forums, it won’t do anything for the exclusive female ones. Also. It obviously opens up a new can of worms of other problems, not the least of which is increased communication between men and women along with just plain bitul zman and moshav leitzim. On the other hand, we already have these issues on any other type of social media, Jewish or not, including the Yeshiva World News Coffee Room. There is no gender segregation there, either.

Create a “Male Guest” Feature

Another option is that, even without membership, the site can enable non-members to post as a “guest”, probably subject to prior approval or something, so that they could respond to anything that is posted that affects them.

Again, this would probably only be effective to counter something posted on the open forums but not on the closed ones. Also, if a random person is going to find something objectionable on the site by an arbitrary Google search, will the same person find any potential talkback?

Conclusion

As much as any of the above features may help the problem, I don’t foresee any of it being implemented. This is for two reasons:

(1) Such actions can only come on the heels of accountability. From all my input I see absolutely no signs of accountability whatsoever. Mrs. Corozaco was quick to disable my wife’s account, but, as I wrote above, she did not respond at all to my previous posts (which were sent to her directly). It does not look like she is interested in fixing the problem. The same goes for Yeshiva World News.

(2) Nobody takes me seriously in any case, even when I back my claims with Halachic sources, which is something I always endeavor to do.

It comes out that these sites are dangerous places. They are hefker like the Wild West. Although they can do a lot of positive things, it all comes bundled with a lot of negativity and damage. That’s how the Yetzer Hara works. As such, I have to side with Rabi Eliezer on this one. אין לו שמירה אלא סכין. The best thing is to just close the entire site.

The above applies to the site owners and builders. It goes without saying that all Jewish Internet users should avoid these sites like the plague. After all the pasuk says (Mishlei 22:5):

צנים פחים בדרך עקש, שומר נפשו ירחק מהם.

And the Midrash Yechezkel says:

אל תקרי צנים אלא צ'טים - צ'טים פחים בדרך עקש, שומר נפשו ירחק מהם

Which means:

Chatrooms are traps in a crooked path. All who wish to guard their souls should avoid them.

The paths may be paved with the best of intentions, but they are just as crooked. Guard your soul!

May every reader [who made it this far] have a G’mar Chasima Tova!

Arrur Makkah Re'eihu B'Seter - Part 2b: The Mother of All Jewish Chat Groups

 

In our previous post, we noted how prevalent are the dangers of Makkah Re’eihu B’Seter (MRB) in the Jewish chat forums.

We discussed two levels of MRB: (1) Basic – when the “victim” has access to the discussion and is able to participate (2) Advanced – when the “victim” does not have access and cannot participate. The previous post presented one offender at the Basic level. 

The second, and more sinister culprit, fits the bill as Advanced Makkah Re’eihu just like the appalling Tea app. I will refer to this web site as The Mother of all Jewish Chat Forums. Like the Tea app. Only women can be members, and like the Tea app, it isn’t very secure. Unlike Yeshiva World News, this site is nothing but a chat forum.

The site looks to be multi-layered. There are a number of forums on innocuous domestic topics such as Recipes, Shopping, Household Management, YomTov and Shabbos, Hobbies, Social Scene, etc. which are accessible for viewing by anyone on the Internet. One only needs to have membership in order to post on it. Some more sensitive topics like Marriage and Relationship topics, Emotional Health and women’s health and halacha issues are only accessible to members, even just for reading (this makes sense). And it looks like there are some highly sensitive Private topics that even a member needs to apply separately and qualify for. 

On the one hand, the more exclusive the topic, the more it is susceptible to MRB. Yet ironically, on the other hand, the free access forums may be the bigger problem since the material posted there can be found and viewed by anybody – male or female, member or non-member. Thus, anything derogatory about Abe can be found in search engines and be seen by anyone, i.e., a larger population.

To drive the point home, I will repeat the warning that I quoted in the previous post from the Yeshiva World News Coffee Room rulebook:

This is the Internet and everyone sees what you write. Ve’Hameivin Yavin.

So, let’s say, Abe himself happens to stumble across it, and he wants to set the record straight, he is not allowed to do it on this site – at least, not on his own. This was my predicament back in March 2008. 

 

Incidentally, it looks like the site is moderated for offensive or damaging content by some senior members, but there is no indication that there is any Rabbinic (or even Rebetzinic) supervision.

My book was initially released in October 2007, and I did not decide to start a blog until July 2008. As is normal for a new author of a new book, over the first year I was googling it up on a regular basis to see if it was getting any attention and publicity, good or bad. Hence, one day in March of 2008, my google search displayed a hit from a site called www.imamother.com. The link led to a free-access chat forum called Reading Room and the topic was about recommended non-fiction books. A poster who I will identify as IOW wrote as follows:

I just finished One Above and Seven below. It is an attempt to explain Charedi outlook to frum, non charedim. Found it pompous, condescending and somewhat off base.

I love compliments. 

Seriously, everyone is entitled to their opinion. Nobody needs to like my book. The question is, should they announce it on an Internet chat board?

Let me point out that this chat thread was a long-running thread. It opened on Jan 7, 2008 and it ran until Aug. of 2011. The Original Poster (OP) opened the thread as such:

Please post those non-fiction books that you think were terrific. If you have the author's name and can write a one-line description of it, that would be great 😊

Thus, the thread began innocently enough, and it was meant for women to post names of books that they like and would recommend. It was not meant to post names of books the reader did not like. Most of the posts were nothing more than the titles of one or more books and sometimes the names of the authors. The majority of the books listed were secular non-Jewish ones. 

As I was reviewing the thread, something caught my eye. One poster early on (that first day) recommended a book titled Freakonomics. 

For context, Freakonomics was published in 2005 and was number 2 on the NYT Best Seller list in 2006. By 2009 it had sold over 4,000,000 copies and turned into a multi-media franchise, with a sequel book, a feature film, a regular radio segment on National Public Radio, and a weekly blog. A friend lent me the book and I read it through and found it very informative and thought-provoking. All good.

Three days and numerous book titles later, a new poster on this thread, who I will identify as CM, got on and wrote only this: 

I did not like Freakonomics.

This poster wasn’t recommending any books, nor was she giving any objective reasons why not to read it. It just didn’t suit her. She did not bother to explain why.

Excuse me? Who asked you? This thread is meant to be a list of books that posters recommend because they liked them. It is not meant to be a thread of critical reviews on books. 

I wondered, what could be her whole purpose even to post this comment? It’s a foregone conclusion that some people won’t like any given book. This could apply to any book that is recommended. Why does she have to tell the world that she didn’t like this one? Especially without explaining why. Who on earth is she helping? What we need to know is that the one who brought it up did like it. And it happens to be quite a popular book. What is she trying to accomplish?

Now, this book is a totally secular book but there is a good chance that author 1 – Steven David Levitt is Jewish. Author 2 – Stephen Joseph Dubner is definitely Jewish although his Jewish parents left Judaism. I strongly suspect that he is related to Ethel Rosenberg. 

When the author is clearly Jewish, regardless of whether he is observant or not, there is certainly a prohibition of LH if true, SR if not, and MRB in all cases. Even in the case of an upstanding non-Jew, it’s not clear that there is no issue of Lashon Hara (I know, the pasuk says לא תלך רכיל בעמך.) Even if there isn’t, it's not a good habit.

Likely that CM wasn’t aware that at least one author is Jewish, but it didn’t end there. Sometime in April of 2008, the original poster (OP) of the thread, recommended a book by an openly Jewish male who I will identify as DK. He was not just a Jewish male, but also a convert who is entitled to special consideration. The OP liked the book. Comes back CM and she writes:

I stopped reading him, I found him very Not Jewish 

Careful, now, we are talking about a convert.

B”H, the OP called her out and said:

Stopped reading him or this particular book? He's Jewish. Doesn't seem right to say that about him.

CM responded:

but his books were so NOt Jewish, dh [dear husband] requested I not bring them home anymore.

Hold on, the majority of books recommended on this thread are not Jewish. And didn’t she read Freakonomics? Did her “dh” approve of that?

Let’s be dan l’kaf zechus and say there is validity and toelles to what she is saying. Maybe readers should be forewarned that she thinks the book is not so “Jewish”. (Don’t forget, we are talking about a convert who wasn’t brought up Jewish, for Heaven’s sake!) And it’s certainly important to obey one’s husband. Besides, her information is firsthand and to the point, so it may meet the basic conditions. But still, what about condition number 3?  Was this male convert ever informed about this comment. Was he given the opportunity to get onto an exclusive women’s forum and defend his work?

Makka R’eihu B’seter – L’Mehadrin.

Now, let’s return to my case.

There is one slight difference between the infractions of poster CM and that of poster IOW who criticized my book. CM’s subjective comments were in reference to books that other posters had previously mentioned as recommended books. Once they were mentioned, she wanted to give her personal critical opinion. Balance.

In the case of poster IOW, nobody mentioned my book (only 5 months off the press) earlier in the thread. She is not responding to anybody’s recommendation. She brought up my book all by herself in order to dis-recommend it. This, on a thread intended for recommending books.

I am proud to say that my book was the only book mentioned in the entire thread to earn this distinction.

Before I continue, it is time for a quick summary of what One Above and Seven Below is all about.

In Vayikra 26, HKBH sets up two camps. One is the One Above or Im Bechukosai Telechu camp which is the camp of those who follow His commandments (and study Torah). This camp gets His blessings.

The second camp is the Seven Below or V’Im Bechukosai Timasu camp. This is the place for everybody who does not live up to the Im Bechukosai Telechu directive. This camp is cursed.

I must stress that HKBH set up these camps. I did not. I am only disclosing what it says here. At the end of the book, I comment that I am not placing anybody into either camp. Each individual needs to understand the definitions and determine on their own where they stand. The idea is to get everybody into the One Above camp for their own benefit. Nobody is barred from getting into the One Above camp. It just takes a little bit of work (toil).

The inevitable result of this is that, as long as some Jews do not comply, there will be two classes of Jews – the One Above or upper class, and the Seven Below or lower class.

For people who categorize themselves into the One Above camp (upper class), this is a real “feel-good” book. And it’s right on target. For those who categorize themselves into the Seven Below lower class, the book will obviously make them feel inadequate. It’s a “feel-horrible” book. But the idea is not to make anyone feel horrible. It is to motivate them to get themselves into the upper class. The doors are open. Tickets are available to all. They are not beyond anybody’s budget but they are not cheap. One needs to pay the price.

It's like a physical fitness book. First it tells you what is called physically fit (in shape) and what is not. Then it tells you how to get physically fit. It clearly let’s you know that you are out of shape, but it is not meant to make you feel bad, rather to motivate you to get into better shape. My book is the same thing in Spiritual fitness.

So, now, let’s look again at IOW’s post:

I just finished One Above and Seven below. It is an attempt to explain Charedi outlook to frum, non charedim. Found it pompous, condescending and somewhat off base.

As of now, Sept. 2025, my book has been out for almost 18 years, and I can confidently say that nobody who identifies with the One Above camp thinks that my book is pompous, condescending, or off base. If anybody thinks that way it is a clear announcement that they see themselves in the Seven Below, lower class, camp.

Mighty sad.

So here comes a poster who tortured herself through my [whole?] book and, in a thread about recommendations, needs to say that she felt the book is pompous and condescending. She feels that the book is telling her that she is “out of shape”. She doesn’t seem to realize that this is what it is supposed to do.

I read this in the women’s forum and felt “emasculated”. Nobody previously recommended the book so there was no opposing “One Above” viewpoint. There was no indication that anyone else on the thread had read my book at all, so there was no chance to get a counter opinion from inside the group. 

I felt the reader was misrepresenting what the book is really about and was presenting a distorted picture. The purpose of the book is to help people understand Judaism, and if one discourages reading it, this will deny that benefit from anyone who would otherwise gain from it. She was hurting not just me but also any potential “satisfied customers”. And, as a male, I was locked out from be able to come to the rescue.

Makka R’eihu B’Seter.

May I comment that I discovered the post by a simple innocent Google search. Outside of my discovery, not one human being – male or female – ever, ever contacted me to notify me that this post was written. Thus, technically, the MRB is in effect to this very day!

Anyhow, I was lamenting my poor predicament when it dawned on me that I just happened to be married to somebody who has all the qualifications to be a full-fledged member. What a coincidence. Here, we call it “proteksia”.

I decided to take advantage of my proteksia and had my ezer kenegdi sign up as a member. Then we formulated a response. Let’s just say it was a joint effort. Here is the response:

I also read One Above and Seven Below and I thought it is an eye-opening book. I know what you mean about being pompous and condescending, I mean the author wrote on the first page that some of it is patronizing and in his forward he calls his role as a Rabbi and preacher "pretentious" so I suppose we should expect that but why do you think that it is a little off base? I thought it was right on the money.

Her response:

It is right on the money if you are the same type of Charedi he is - Anglo yeshivish. Not true about the other 95%.

Okay, so now it is on base but only for 5% of the chareidim (Anglo-yeshivish?) but not the “other 95%”.  

The funny thing is that I defined a Chareidi as one who buys into G-d’s One Above camp. And 95% of “chareidim” don’t do it? So, it’s been 18 years, and I have yet to meet the devout chareidi, of any “stripe", who does not buy in to Im Bechukosai Telechu as defined by Rashi.

Subsequent remarks by this poster revealed that she missed the whole point of the book (she probably just skimmed through it), but the same revelation meant it was useless to get into a debate on a women’s chat thread.

This is not really the first time that I called out the transgressions of this particular web site. I referenced it in my 2023 post Irreversible Damage. Here is what I wrote:

I am aware of an online chat forum strictly for frum women. I became aware of it many years ago when one member critiqued my book. (That part of the forum was accessible to anyone). I promptly directed my wife to become a legitimate member. Ever since, if I needed to, I could find out what the “ladies” have to say on a topic that I might be dealing with. You can bet that I “peeked” into the threads about Malka Leifer.

Regarding Malka Leifer, there was a protracted thread about the involvement of Rabbi Litzman, after that there was a more recent one celebrating the extradition and now one celebrating the conviction. As expected, the prevalent attitude is approving, celebratory and even vindictive although there are always some lone level-headed posters who may challenge some points and say this is not something to celebrate. Those few usually get gang tackled. The titles of the two last threads are indicative of the mood: “Finally! Extradited” “Finally! Guilty.”

In all of these threads, the most prominent victim of the LH, SR and, for sure, a lot of MRB, is Mrs. Leifer herself. Technically, she could join the forum and respond for herself, so it would only constitute the more Basic MRB – as if it’s no big deal. But we note also that Rabbi Litzman was singled out in one thread and honored to be named in the title. This is Advance MRB L’Mehadrin.

I reviewed that thread and, small consolation, very little of it actually discussed Rabbi Litzman, although any amount is too much. But the posters of that thread also mentioned another Rav in Ashdod and it was not to compliment him. Moreover, one poster even referenced a few of my blog posts on the topic and those didn’t get much praise, either. 

These are the transgressions that I am familiar with but there are constantly topics on the site that deal with “recommending” books and other products, restaurants, schools, camps, yeshivos, Rabbanim, lawyers, toanim, therapists and other professionals. I am sure it is primarily well intended and most of the reporting is positive, but as the saying goes: where there’s a will, there’s a won’t. This is another way of saying that whenever someone has something nice to say there is usually someone else who has an axe to grind.

It goes without saying that this kind of abuse is occurring on all types of social media especially those with exclusive groups like on WhatsApp or Facebook, but these monetized Web-based sites draw in a lot more unsuspecting customers who inadvertently join the wolf pack. When we are talking about Orthodox Jewish (“frum”) sites, not only does the Satan generate all this Makkah Re’eihu, but it causes a chillul Hashem to boot.

So, what can be done about them?

As usual, I am way past my allotted post length, so it doesn’t pay to discuss it right here. I hope to cover it in a future post. In the meantime, the best thing is to simply stay away from these poisonous chat forums.

ארור מכה רעהו בסתר - ואמר כל העם אמן!