Friday, March 26, 2010

Critique of Chaim B'Emunasam - Now in Hebrew

Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous sponsor, my critique of Chaim B'Emunasam has been translated into Hebrew and will soon be printed and distributed. Meanwhile, you can download it (as well as the original English version) here. Please help circulate it amongst the Hebrew-speaking public - if you can get it to the Gedolim who wrote haskamos, all the better. (Note: I am printing it after Pesach, so if you find any mistakes in the Hebrew translation, please let me know!)

7 comments:

  1. Skimmed the review, in terms of language sounded pretty good, this is not new, but it seems the book is merely parroting the party line it`s not very novel in anything it says, as someone who is involved with the charedi community I would tell you that almost anyone that wrote a book espousing those views could get those haskamos, It is nice to know that someone cares about the truth something hard to come by these days.
    chaim, Jerusalem

    ReplyDelete
  2. I thought it was an excellent rejoinder. But I don't understand why was it shown to R. Sholom Kaminetzky before publication? I think R. Slifkin, you have to come to terms with the fact that you are no longer part of the Chareidi world, and you should no longer seek the approbations of its leaders for your work. They have amply demonstrated their mendacity and willingness to stab you in the back (i.e. how many of the "Gedolim" who supported your books came to your defense when the ban occured?). Moreover, those who admire you for your scholarship and intellectual integrity are "turned off" by any continued obsequiousness on your part toward the Chareidi leadership.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Why do you think that it was shown to R. Sholom Kaminetzky before publication? It wasn't!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I was told as much by someone who learns with R. Kaminetsky. I completely trust this man's integrity. If you e-mail me privately, I'll gladly tell you all I know.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, I know what you're talking about. I emailed the document to most of the people in my address book a few months ago, when I completed it. It wasn't a matter of getting their approval before putting it in circulation - this WAS putting it in circulation.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It seems to have been misunderstood. Thanks for clarifying.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I must disagree with D. Schwartz. Rabbi Slifkin, you can choose to identify with whatever Jewish “world” you desire. There exists no rigid definition of Chareidiism that disqualifies you. You should seek approbations from Chareidi leaders if they will serve your cause. The fact that some Chareidi leaders have stabbed you in the back and others have abandoned you means that you should be cautious, circumspect, and cynical(!), not that you should discount all Chareidi leaders. Respecting Chareidi leaders who will help you is not obsequiousness; it’s rational(!) and practical. People who admire you for your scholarship and intellectual integrity should not be “turned off” when you exercise those fine traits with Chareidi leaders who will help you.

    ReplyDelete

Comments for this blog are moderated. Please see this post about the comments policy for details. ANONYMOUS COMMENTS WILL NOT BE POSTED - please use either your real name or a pseudonym.

Have you not been receiving my latest posts?

This is for those who receive my posts via email and have not seen posts in the last few days. The reason is because I moved over to a new s...