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Hope for Unity in Community as Compromise Arises

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CROWN HEIGHTS [CHI] — There seems to be some hope for unity in Crown Heights. CrownHeighs.info published an article earlier this week about a plan to unify the community for Birchas Hachama and how the plan fell through. Apparently, there was some hope for a compromise, and the event will go on as scheduled, at 8:00 am next Wednesday, April 8th.

As part of the compromise, the Gabbay of 770, Rabbi Zalman Lipskier, said that there will not be any “Yechi” signs posted at the event; and the Rov of Crown Heights, Rabbi Avraham Osdoba, may attend.

The event, said to be a pretty short one, will feature Rebbe videos and music. On a promising note, police were already seen today, Wednesday, setting for the event by positioning barriers and making other preparations.

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29 Comments

  • Sam

    The world according to Sam:

    I have a theory about all of the new modern orthodox shuls (you know who I mean) that are sprouting up from the muck around Crown Heights. You see, boys and girls, before the advent of places like Beis Shmuel and Ohel Nosson, it was simply just not okay to shave your beard. If you wanted to wear a watch on shabbos, you tried to hide it up your sleeve. If your wife wore short skirts and “falls” instead of a sheitel, they at least wore the halachic thing on shabbos when they had to walk around the shechunah.

    But now, the above mentioned Young Israel imitations have legitimized these behaviors and have even made them respectable. Just look – Beis Shmuel is building a new Mikvah for Crown Heights – how wonderful. Or look – they put together a beautiful shabbos achdus for the kehal. Suddenly -these people have become our repected communal activists who have the innovative solutions to all of the problems that cchassidisheh chniyuks could never manage to solve.

    Hey, I give credit where it is due. But now, we risk all our kids will grow up in a neighborhood in which there are two legitimate alternatives. There is 770, and then, if you don’t like that mop growing on your chin and you are not the brightest lightbulb in your class, there is Beis Shmuel. Shaving your beard of and flaunting your disregard for long standing Chabad custom is not only acceptable, its respected.

    Lehavdil, its like David bergers argument – yes, live and let live – but the problems start when we allow certain behaviors to be legitimized as main stream Chabad. Listen, we are not the Taliban here. If you are not interested in Chassidus and Judaism, that’s cool. But a Chabad community should allow such behavior to become accepted and respectable. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to organize such shuls for such people and those who end up serving as their rabbis may end up regretting it in the long run. They had good intentions, but so did a lot of great ideas that had tragic and unexpected reprecussions,

    And now – everyone – DISCUSS!!!

  • Dear Sam

    to Sam
    Great post. Just what exactly does it have to do with this article?!

  • Discussion #1

    גוט געזאגט!!!!!!!!!!!!

    However, Sam, I have one objection to your eloquent letter…

    Many people think that inyonim such as Tznius and not shaving one’s beard are Chabad Minhogim. You continue to make it sound as if this is the truth, whereas, in reality, THIS IS HALACHA!

    Clear instructions regarding one’s beard, Tznius etc, are outlined in Torah, and Shulchon Oruch.

    (Many years ago, woman from Kfar Chabad told me that she always thought inyonim of Tznius were only Minhagim! How sad!)

  • RIGHT ON

    sam, i agree with you. when the orthodox rabbis started with the conservative synagogues they claimed it was to be a positive influence on the congregations. in the end they were influenced by the lower standards. I see that with the Rabbi at one of our esteemed shuls. in my opinion he is already yoired medechi el dechi away from chassidus of the Rebbe

  • intresting

    Interesting to note that when there is politics every one is commenting when it comes to sholom empty

  • Bored on Empire

    IU’m very sorry, its obvious that you do not know whats going on in Beid Shmuel, not do you know whats going on in Ohel Nosson. One thing I can tell you, for a chossid, who is soo staunch of supporting 770, I’d wonder how the Rebbe would say to your post – without your name.

    Beis Shmuel Farbreng, Davens and tackles issues that many other shuls woould not even dream of being able to tackle.

    and by the way, if it was your child, would you wash your hands from him /her as you just did with your post about these new shuls?

    Maybe just Maybe, these new shuls are popping up because of what is happening( or better yet wahst is NOT happening) in 770

  • if good is good is better not better?

    dear sam
    its very easy to critisize these peapol from bais shmuel etc.
    and not nesseserely every thing they do is ok, nevertheless we cannot be judgemental to these kind of peapol, if they decide to build a mikvah its a very nice idea but doas not make them chasidim, i dont think its difrent then some guy in a chabad house donating a mikvah, the main thing is to be happy for what they do, and not what they dont do, like the saing goes “you can be happy but not satisfied” everybody has something to work on and we need to help and lift peapol up from where they left off. and with this we will bring mossiach down here and he will lead us to birchas hachama!!!

  • mordy

    sam how many weeks did it take you to prpare that. that you post it with this artical you could not wait another bit till some one came out with an articale on bais shmuel and a diffrent point wich i dont no why im wasting my time with you i dont daven in bais shmuel or cut my beard but if there is a shul in crown heights were pepole do touchthere beards or dont were a kaputa etc etc dont you think its nice that they are going to shul and that there is a place for them in crown heights there are pepole that just stay home in bed becase they feel they dont have a place …..thank you bais shmuel for making a place for those pepole weather they pished in nevel or not

  • david

    samm you make some good points. write it in a short opd-ed piece. but it had nothing to do with this article!

  • Proud to be CHANI!

    Sam? Vu in Lubavitch hut men gehert az ainer vult zich ungerufen SAM?????????

    I hear your frustrations, but sometimes we have to look inward at our own hypocrisies, before we look outward to try to fix yenem.

  • CH DAD

    this has nothing to do with the article but regardless this Sam musta just gotten up and realized he’s got no life. So, its easy to go blast the side that obviously is doing lots of good. However you want to see it, it is what it is, nothing in life is perfect these days – we are in a world sharing odd times.
    Instead of knocking it and ranting just go about doing what you need to do in an honorable way, and leave the rest to Hashem.
    Obviously, no one is in charge in CH as long as the Rebbe is hidden and ain’t nothin gonna change as long as you have the prevailing nauteusiating machlokis between people.

  • Alex Heppenheimer

    I’m not a member of Beis Shmuel myself (too far to walk), but I attend a lot of their shiurim and farbrengens.

    It is false and slanderous, plain and simple, to say that “before the advent of places like Beis Shmuel and Ohel Nosson, it was simply just not okay to shave your beard,” etc. That has been going on for a long time in Crown Heights, at least since Gimmel Tammuz and probably before; you just haven’t noticed it, perhaps because there hasn’t been any particular group for you to single out.

    So now, Boruch Hashem, there are shuls where many fine, upstanding chassidishe yungerleit (most of them with untrimmed beards too!) get together and work to reverse this decline, to have a positive impact on the “shavers” specifically, and on the general rot in Crown Heights that is leading to people casting off various aspects of Yiddishkeit. And you have the chutzpah to put out a pashkvil (for that’s exactly how to describe your comment, unsigned with an identifiable name) attacking _them_ for lowering the community’s standards?! Go learn some Chassidus yourself – specifically, Maamar Heichaltzu 5659 – and then come back and look at things with a different eye.

  • Sam

    I, Sam, respond to the doubters:

    First of all, this “rant/tirade/outburst” is relevant to this post, because this post is a follow up to a previous post on how the community birchas hachama achdus event nearly fell apart because the modern orthodox shuls refused to compromise on the saying of Yechi. Here, I present some reasoned criticism of these shuls and the way they are changing the basic assumptions and views that have prevailed in Chabad for 200 years.

    Also, I happened to log on when there were no comments posted yet, so I took the opportunity to throw together a quick post that would be prominently displayed first so everyone would see it and discuss.

    Listen, I use the name “Sam” because it’s a little nebby to post on these cites, you know what I mean? I wouldn’t want to embarass myself. But still, I am addicted.

    Listen, if we tried to fix ourselves before yenem, nothing would ever get done. Yeah, let him without cast the first anonymous internet barb, but really, that is no fun.

    and now – DISCUSS!!!

  • Sam

    Sam speaks, prepare to be spoken to:

    Alex Heppenheimer says:

    —-

    It is false and slanderous, plain and simple, to say that “before the advent of places like Beis Shmuel and Ohel Nosson, it was simply just not okay to shave your beard,” etc. That has been going on for a long time in Crown Heights, at least since Gimmel Tammuz and probably before; you just haven’t noticed it, perhaps because there hasn’t been any particular group for you to single out.

    —-

    You fail to see that this is my point exactly!! Of course people shaved their beards before – of that there is no doubt. But we haven’t noticed it because before it was not legitimized by all the new modern orthodox shuls!! Do you see it now?! The new shuls have taken what was once a furtive thing practiced only with guilt and shame and made it into the mainstream.

    Of course they do great things – and not everyone shaves – and they do have rabbis and dedicated gabaim who organize fabrengens and shuirim. I have been to some of them – they are great. But the problem of legitimization does not change.

    This is not about controlling anybody. We are not the Taliban. I am just putting some thoughts out there about the downsides of the new modern orthodoxy in Crown Heights.

  • Elki

    Sam, are you that jealous of Beis Shmuel and Ohel Nosson that you have to dredge up nasty comments? Give credit where it’s due. And by the way, what’s stopping any shul in CH, with beards, kapotes, Dvar Malchus, “veisse zucken” and all chumros to add a positive infusion into the neighborhood? Because its easier and soothes the ego to do nothing and make leitzanus out of those who do good stuff for CH.

  • elki please read

    ha ha
    poor elki

    thats whats wrong we have mixed up chumros with real kiet

    beard,kapotes, dvra malchus, and viser zokin??
    hah ha

    which on edo u think is achumrah or a mitzvah??

  • Elki

    Your “ha ha poor Elki” is not relevant either way. You may laugh at me, because clearly you can’t catch irony. Don’t pity me because again, if you read my post as literally meaning “veisse…” You have a problem in reading comprehension or denial.

  • these shuls rockkkk

    i don’t understand why you have a problem with the shuls…
    firstly, without the shuls, these men and women wouldnt go to shul at all. they arent going to 770, so they decided to put together a shul that they feel comfortable. cmon, at least they are going to shul, and they have a rabbi etc. almost like a chabad house..brining them back to their roots!!!

  • Sam I am, I eat green eggs & p-tcha man

    Sam – when taken at face value – there is much TRUTH to your words.

    Tremendous Good is done by these places,
    but the Modern Orthodoxy is uch em vey…

    Let unite. Moshiach Now.