'The 'Committee for the Honor of Our Rabbis' under attack: After last Thursday, Rabbi Eichenstein, head of the 'Yad Aharon' yeshiva and close associate of Rabbi Steinman, wrote a letter of support for the 'Birkat Shlomo' yeshiva, a yeshiva that was marked by the committee as an invalid yeshiva, at the end of the week Rabbi Pelai, superintendent of the Hebron yeshiva, also came out against what he calls the committee's radicalization.
It should be noted that the criticism also comes from yeshiva heads who are considered the biggest supporters of Rabbi Shteinman and Rabbi Kanievsky.
Listen to the recording of the words of Rabbi Pelai:
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It turns out that as long as the "committee" marked yeshivas that did not obey the elders of Israel, and that had an atmosphere of interference in the dispute, it received overwhelming support. However, when it began to focus on issues that seemed marginal, such as demanding that yeshivas' heads sign that they had canceled their subscription to "Hapeles," the wave of criticism began.
However, the committee members are not moved by the criticism against them and say: "We will not give in, we will not be deterred, we will pass on information and each parent will decide what they do with their child." The committee members also insist and claim that any action taken is "not a whim of the committee chairman, Rabbi Eliyahu Froelich," but a clear directive from the Grail Steinman, with whom they consult, according to them, "at every step.".
""He didn't retire, we just consulted with him""
'The 'Committee for the Honor of Our Rabbis' was opened about five months ago, with the aim of providing a response to parents who want to know which Lithuanian yeshivahs are walking in the light of the Grail Shteinman and the Grach Kanievsky, without being drawn into the controversy that divides the Lithuanian public. Indeed, it is no secret that there are quite a few yeshivahs where the boys are busy, in addition to studying the holy Gemara, also harassing rabbis and activists by phone or participating in demonstrations contrary to the opinions of the great men of Israel.
So far, yeshivot have been mapped in Bnei Brak, Jerusalem and Modi'in Illit.
However, from the perspective of Rabbi Pelai, supervisor of the Hebron Yeshiva, this is the only legitimate demand, and if there are additional demands, he will not raise them.
• They say in his name that he resigned from the committee.
""Minister of State Pali was never part of the committee, although he was consulted more than once.".
As stated, the committee is determined to continue presenting additional demands from the yeshiva in order to receive "kosher" - including the cessation of subscriptions to the newspaper Hapeles, the Bnei Torah magazine, as well as a commitment that yeshiva students will report to the recruitment offices for the "first order", as directed by the Council of Torah Scholars.
""This is an atonement for sins""
In an interview with the News Center, the committee's chairman, Rabbi Eliyahu Froelich, spoke about everything:
""Our lists are informative. We have never disqualified anyone or said not to send. The list is information, which came in countless emails and phone calls - a picture was received and we are presenting it: so that the public will know how to protect their children, so that what happened doesn't happen, where children returned from yeshiva with things they didn't hear at home.
We are not against anyone, we are not telling anyone not to listen to their elders. We are just saying that others are also forbidden from telling young men not to listen to their elders, and against what they grew up with at home. We have no problem with these and other letters from rabbis, this is the way of the Torah, everyone is allowed to say what they think.
""They published the names of rabbis who are not connected to the committee at all, published their phone numbers and caused them an irreparable injustice. We accepted it with peace of mind, we accepted it upon ourselves when we set out to accept everything without getting excited about it, it is atonement for sins.".
""Regarding the resignation of the committee, including four other members, whom no one knows except me. I and only I were exposed, so to say that rabbis resigned from the committee is ridiculous, including a supervisor in Jerusalem, an important and respected Jew, who only participated in the meeting, but was never a member of the committee, no one invited him to be a member, we invited him to participate in a discussion about yeshivas in Jerusalem, he is not part of the committee, and he did not resign anyway.".
He said, "A lot of people are spreading rumors that they are members of the committee, and that's not true.".
""If there is a demand from the parents - no problem""
On Thursday, yeshivot heads and rabbis arrived at the home of Harosh Auerbach. Among those who came were yeshivot heads from Kol Torah yeshivots, Mishkan Shlomo, Tiferet Talmud, Ateret Shlomo Aryeh, Lakewood, Noam Talmud, Nachalat Meir, Ateret Yisrael, Beit Yehuda, and Knesset Yona. The yeshivot heads asked what he thought about registering for the small yeshivots.
First, the Grand Rabbi ordered that it was forbidden under any circumstances to hold exams for yeshiva before Shavuot. Second, after the Grand Rabbi first heard that there was a commotion regarding registration for yeshiva and received notices sent to parents by the "Committee for the Honor of Our Rabbis," he responded and said in Yiddish:
""In all the small yeshivas who come here for consultation, they have never spoken against the Torah gurus, and they will do so in the future, and if there is a demand from the parents to sign it - there is no problem with that.".
