HAMODIA C45Community 15 ELUL 5771 SEPTEMBER 14, 2011
BY NOCHUM MANDEL
On Wednesday afternoon,22 Elul, hundreds of RosheiYeshivos and kehillahRabbanim from the greaterNew York area will gather atthe main conference hall of theRamada Newark InternationalAirport.
The purpose of the asifah isto raise awareness in a publicforum regarding the true pro-portions of the havoc anddestruction that modern tech-nology is wreaking on our kehil-los. The driving forces behindthe asifah are the SkulenerRebbe, shlita, and HaravMattisyahu Salomon, shlita. In
their joint Kol Korei toRabbanim urging their atten-dance at the gathering, theRebbe and the Mashgiachbemoan the tragic pitfalls thatthe various technologicaldevices and media havewrought on families and indi-viduals of all age groups.
In addition to the breakdownin the barriers of kedushah andmodesty, the unrestricted andspontaneous lure of electronicmedia has unwittingly swept upso many of our finest bachurimand avreichim into whilingaway precious hours on futilenonsense, which often involveslashon hara, leitzanus and thezilzul in Torah values
More importantly, the objec-tive of the gathering is to devel-op an effective and realisticapproach to harnessing tech-nology in a manner that satis-fies the demands of today’sbusiness environment, whileprotecting and securing theintegrity of Kedushas Yisrael.
The Rebbe and theMashgiach stress in their letterthe crucial importance ofachdus in facing today’s nisy-onos and have reached out tothe manhigim of literally theentire spectrum of chareidiJewry to join them in calling forthis historic asifah. Every oneof them has wholeheartedlyjoined the call.
Indeed, the invitationsmailed to the Rabbanim featurean unprecedented united callby over 35 of Klal Yisrael’s ven-erated Admorim and RosheiYeshivos. The Gedolim speak oftheir firsthand encounters withthe terrible consequencesbrought about by the destruc-tive forces of technology. Theyunderscore the importance ofthe attendance of all Rabbanimand Roshei Yeshivos, pointingout that the key to successfullyimplementing any type ofwidely accepted guidelines isfirst and foremost to sensitizethe public to the dangers inher-ent in the unrestricted andwholehearted embrace of mod-
ern digital technology.The organizers note that due
to difficulties with mail service,numerous Rabbanim andRoshei Yeshivos have reportedthat they have not yet receivedtheir invitation. An effort isbeing made to reach out byphone or in person to all RosheiYeshivos and communalRabbanim. As stated above, allkehillah Rabbanim and RosheiYeshivos in the greater NewYork area are invited and urgedto attend.
For further questions andinformation, please call theoffice of Ichud HakehillosL’Tohar Hamachaneh at 646-578-6859.
Skulener Rebbe and Harav Salomon Call Asifah on Challenges of Technology
Anyone who has learned hil-chos Shabbos — even superficial-ly — knows that there are fewareas of daily living with a morecomplex set of laws. The ChofetzChaim himself wrote in the pref-ace to Mishnah Berurah chelekgimmel: “It is impossible toavoid chillul Shabbos if one doesnot learn hilchos Shabbos thor-oughly.” There are, literally,thousands of common ques-tions that arise on Shabbos thatcan lead one to unwittingly bemechalel Shabbos, chasv’shalom.
Food preparation on Shabbosis one of the main sources ofcommon questions. Althoughpeople are naturally attuned tobe on the lookout for issues thatmay arise with hot food, thereare many less obvious questionsto be aware of with regard to thepreparation of simple cold dish-es such as salads and fish. Forexample, may one salt vegeta-bles on Shabbos? How smallmay one cut vegetables onShabbos? May one add mayon-naise to tuna fish or salad onShabbos or mix mayonnaisetogether with horseradish?
While all Torah Jews natural-ly wish to know the laws ofShabbos in order to observeShabbos in the most perfect waypossible, many individuals whomaster these halachos find thatproficiency in this area alsoleads to a greater appreciationfor and sensitivity to the mean-ing of Shabbos.
The Daf HaYomi B’HalachaProgram was founded at the urg-ing of Gedolim in Eretz Yisrael,including the late Rav MichelYehudah Lefkowitz, zt”l, inresponse to a very real need. TheGedolim recognized that despitethe proliferation of yeshivos andlomdei Torah in the past severaldecades, there has been amarked decline in proficiency inhalachah. With the emphasis onin-depth learning of Gemara,many people do not have a prac-tical way to help them gain a
mastery of halachah. The concept of Dirshu’s pro-
gram is very simple. For five dayseach week, participants learn anamud of Mishnah Berurah; twodays are devoted to chazarah.They can either attend one of themany shiurim that are given onthis topic, dial in to KolHaloshon or do it on their own.Voluntary tests are givenmonthly, with monetarystipends distributed to awardthose who do well.
Currently, there are well overone hundred shiurim in the DafHaYomi B’Halacha Programworldwide, with thousands ofparticipants. The following newshiurim have just started:
In Edison, New Jersey, HaravReuven Drucker, Rav of Agudas
Yisroel of Edison–HighlandPark, is giving a shiur in AgudasYisroel of Edison–HighlandPark. It will be held from Sundayto Thursday, 9:30 p.m.-10:00p.m., preceded by Maariv at 9:15p.m.
In Savannah, Georgia, RabbiYoni Maccabee will be giving ashiur starting Rosh ChodeshElul in the chapel ofCongregation Bnai Brith Jacob,located at 5444 Abercorn Street.It will be held from Sunday toThursday, 8:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
The shiurim are open toeveryone. Participants who wishto commit to taking the monthlytests can earn a stipend. To find ashiur near you, please contactDirshu at 888-5-DIRSHU (888-534-7748).
Dirshu’s Daf HaYomi B’Halachah:Learning and Understanding Halachah
On September 21, theCongress of the United Statesplans to announce the introduc-tion of legislation to award aCongressional Gold Medal tolegendary Holocaust humanitar-ian Raoul Wallenberg in honorof the centennial of his birth.
The announcement is set tobe made at a luncheon in thehistoric LBJ Room, right off thefloor of the U.S. SenateChamber. Among otherMembers of Congress, it willfeature the personal participa-tion of Senate Armed ServicesCommittee Chairman CarlLevin and Co-Chairman of theHelsinki Commission onSecurity and Cooperation inEurope, Senator Ben Cardin.
Raoul Wallenberg is widelycelebrated for his successfulefforts to rescue thousands ofJews in Nazi-occupied Hungaryfrom the Holocaust, during thelater stages of World War II.While serving as Sweden’s spe-cial envoy in Budapest betweenJuly and December 1944,Wallenberg issued protectivepassports and sheltered Jews inbuildings designated as Swedishterritory, saving tens of thou-sands of lives while putting hisown life in grave danger.
On January 17, 1945, duringthe Siege of Budapest by theRed Army, Wallenberg wasdetained by Soviet authoritieson suspicion of espionage andsubsequently disappeared. It isbelieved he was executed ormade to disappear in the gulags.
As the world gears up forWallenberg’s centennial in2012, the world will rememberand honor the fact that todaythere are hundreds of thousandsof American Jews who are thedirect descendants of those hesaved, proud American citizenswho appreciate the freedomAmerica stands for.
The Raoul WallenbergCentennial Celebration
(RWCCC), a project of theFriedlander Group, is launchinga national campaign to high-light the incredible heroismexhibited by this individual. Itsgoals include the ceremonialnaming of public streets inmajor U.S. municipalities andthe creation of educationalmaterials for public dissemina-tion.
The Wallenberg Commissionis comprised of a powerfulBoard of Governors that willoversee its activities throughoutthe centennial year, including:Rabbi Elie Abadie, the Hon.Emil Fish, the Hon. Yitzchok(Jules) Fleischer, LeonGoldenberg, Ben Hofman,Rabbi Asher Lopatin, LyonRoth, and David Storobin.
Mr. Goldenberg, the son ofHolocaust survivors, stated that“... it is our responsibility to rec-ognize individuals who riskedtheir lives, went the extra stepand saved so many people. Hadthere been more Wallenbergs,perhaps my brother, four sisters,and many more family memberswould be alive today. Alongwith their deaths, their hopesand dreams for the future died.”
A Congressional Bill will beintroduced by RepresentativesGregory Meeks and NanHayworth of New York in thecoming days and will be fol-lowed by a Senate version laterin the month.
“It’s all about buildingmomentum,” said EzraFriedlander, CEO of theFriedlander Group andspokesman for the Commission.“As Jews, we have the most tobe grateful for in regard to theheroism of Raoul Wallenbergand his life-saving actions.
“... it’s important that theJewish people come together toremind the world that we willnever forget what RaoulWallenberg did for us inBudapest back in 1944.”
Capitol Hill WallenbergLuncheon to AnnounceCongressional Gold Medal Bill
