It’s about a Haredi stand-up comedian of Ethiopian origin…

With God’s help, 25 Sivan 5780

It is not some great novelty in Judaism that there is reward and punishment, and speaking about it can be beneficial for people who have a basic faith in the Torah, but are drawn after the norms prevalent in the “street.”

However, in a public where faith in the Torah is unclear, there is a problem with talk about reward and punishment that creates antagonism, and therefore Rabbi Baruch Gazayye drew the obvious conclusion: that he should continue giving classes and sermons to a believing audience, and not sit in the Knesset.

They say that they offered Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman of Ponevezh, who was an exceptionally gifted speaker, to be elected to the Knesset. He refused, saying: “After all, every time I hear there words of heresy and abuse against the Torah, I will be forced to tear my clothes. I don’t have the money to buy a new garment every day :)”

At any rate, in place of Rabbi Baruch Gazayye, Rabbi Yaakov Avraham will enter the Knesset. At long last we will merit representation of the “Avraham” family in the Knesset 🙂

Best regards,
Shatz

About the wonderful speaking talent of the Rabbi of Ponevezh, a religious Jew who was an officer in the IDF during the War of Independence told the following story. One day, his battalion commander asked him to take him to hear a sermon by the Rabbi of Ponevezh.

The religious officer asked him, “What brought this on all of a sudden?” The battalion commander answered him: “I need to judge a soldier who was late getting back to base. The soldier justified himself by saying that he had been at a sermon by the Rabbi of Ponevezh. The battalion commander said: ‘I cannot judge him until I see for myself whether the Rabbi of Ponevezh’s sermon is really so captivating that it is impossible to stop in the middle.’”

So the officer and the battalion commander went to hear a sermon by the Rabbi of Ponevezh. The battalion commander instructed the officer to signal him after half an hour that they had to leave. After half an hour, the officer signaled to the battalion commander that it was time to go, but the battalion commander, who was spellbound by the rabbi’s words, refused to leave and stayed another two hours until the rabbi finished speaking. At the end of the sermon, the battalion commander said: “I completely understand the soldier. You simply cannot leave a sermon by the Rabbi of Ponevezh in the middle…”

As the interpreters of allusions already wrote (in the introduction to In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov): you need to believe that the story could have been true.

Even if it couldn’t have been, it could have been…

The story about the battalion commander who went with a religious officer to hear the Rabbi of Ponevezh and came out spellbound was published years ago in the “Shabbat B’Shabbato” bulletin by the officer involved in the story, and his name was given there explicitly. Anyone who wants to verify it is welcome to search through the old volumes of the bulletin and look for the man involved or his family.

Good luck with the inquiry,
Shatz

Exactly. I don’t understand people who won’t believe stories without two witnesses who have undergone examination and cross-examination. It’s just a story.