Israel – After a hareidi newspaper attacked a religious-Zionist decision to have non-Jews build on the Sabbath in a time of need, Ofra’s rabbi responds.
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The Rabbi of Ofra, Rabbi Avi Gisser, recently permitted non-Jews to work on the construction of houses on the Sabbath – and he now explains that the decision is based on well-known Halakhic [Jewish legal] considerations.
Rabbi Gisser handed down the ruling in light of the danger that a court order might ban continued construction and occupancy of nine houses in the Jewish town of Ofra, in southern Samaria (Shomron), north of Jerusalem. Two left-wing Peace Now-associated organizations and five local Arabs had sued against the building, with the Arabs claiming the land was theirs. Given the likelihood that the Supreme Court would accept the suit and order the construction halted – which it ultimately did – Rabbi Gisser stated that it was permissible and desirable for non-Jews to finish the work, even on the Sabbath.
The houses are now occupied by Jews, causing a legal anomaly – as the Supreme Court ordered the occupancy to be “halted.”
The hareidi-religious newspaper Yated Ne’eman published a scathing editorial attacking not only the rabbi’s ruling, but the entire settlement movement to boot. “We must remember that the settlements were born in sin,” the paper wrote, “and they were established only to transmit a nationalistic message of provocation and taunting of the nations and, like the first Zionists, ‘taking our destiny into our hands.'”
“It has now become clear,” the paper continued, “that one sin leads to another… and some of them [the religious-Zionists] have now decided that the settlements must be built even on the holy Sabbath… This grave phenomenon reminds us once again that the ‘nationalist religion’ continues to break down barriers amidst a distorted scale of values according to which, nationalist and Zionist values take precedence over the entire Torah.”
Rabbi Gisser responded that his ruling is “clear and obvious to anyone who knows Jewish Law,” and explained as follows:
“Every person who knows Torah and Jewish Law knows the conditions under which asking a non-Jew [to perform on the Sabbath an act forbidden to a Jew] is permitted. These conditions are perfectly applicable to the situation on that one-and-only Sabbath in Ofra. When the question is whether Jews will be able to move into the houses or not, every Halakhist knows that this is a question of a ‘communal commandment,’ a great need, a large monetary loss, and most of all – a matter of acquiring houses in the Land of Israel, strengthening Israel’s hand, and weakening the non-Jewish presence here. It is written in the Talmud five times, and many times in Jewish Law, that asking a non-Jew [as above] for the purpose of acquiring a house in the Land of Israel on the Sabbath is permitted.”
Rabbi Gisser sharply criticized those who try to attack and harm the “Torah world of religious-Zionism, in issues such as the de-legitimization of conversions performed by Rabbi [Chaim] Druckman’s rabbinical court and other principled issues on the seamline between religion and state.” He reminded the Yated Ne’eman newspaper that it did not protest – “because of the coalition agreements” – when corpses in Gush Katif were dug up from their graves and when the government enabled Arabs to burn synagogues there.
“Yated Ne’eman will lie and distort in order to falsely show that the Torah is only theirs,” Rabbi Gisser accused, “and by doing so, it is sinning vis-a-vis all of Israel and distancing people from Torah
Ouch Yaated!!
Remember Gush Katif!!! Because that was all Halachicly valid….
Yated can go with the jewish press – at the bottom of the bird cage.
“We must remember that the settlements were born in sin,” the paper wrote, “and they were established only to transmit a nationalistic message of provocation and taunting of the nations and, like the first Zionists, ‘taking our destiny into our hands.’”
It sounds like the Yated has gone over to the Satmer/Neturei Karta view. These Jewish communities in Eretz Yisroel which Yated calls “Settelments” are what protects the people of Bnei Brak and the rest of Eretz Yisroel from becoming cannon fodder like the people of Sderot. The same way Gush Katif became one big rocket launch pad once the jews were evicted so to will the West Bank become one big launch pad once the Jews in the “settlements” are evicted. I hate to say it but the Yated sounds like the Judenrat Jews who urged their brethren to cooperate with the Nazis so as not to anger them. It is long past due for the Yated and all like minded to realize that they should stop shouting empty worn out anti zionist slogans. It is no longer about Zionism. It is about preserving Jewish Life. The Arabs on the West Bank and Gaza want you dead. they do not care if you live in a “settelment” or in pre 1967 Israel. Stop violating the issur of Mesirah by joining the bandwagon of the far left that calls it a crime for a Jew to live in Eretz Yisroel.Yes Mesirah. You are helping to deligitimize the human right of Jews to live in Ofra and anywhere else. You are contributing to the world wide drumbeat calling on Israel to evict the Jews. It is difficult to see how Moshiach can come when one Jew does not care about another.
Here is a suggestion Yated. Call on all your readers to write letters of Chizuk to those Jews who are living in the settlements and tell them to hold strong and that we are with you.
Well, their language may be stupid, but halachically, what’s the heter? Normally, it’s ossur to have a goy build a house for you on Shabbos.
when religious zionists have goyim build on shabbos thats terrible and the yated must go to war. but when the litvakin have covered for admitted child molesters for 40 years, big deal
I really want to know what the Chasidish community thinks of the concept as of lately by the religious Zionists and others to get out of the US because of the dangers of Obama. There is so much chatter on holachically sound forums that we should get to Israel because if we don’t head to the signs, we could be in danger just like the warning signs during the 1930’s in Germany.
I want to settle in the land and even more so because of the fear of what might lie ahead of Obama wins.
Any insight into the other side of the pro-aliyah crowd?
as opposed to the hundreds of thousands who left during the horrific reign of bush?
What a chutzpah for calling a jewish house a “settlement”.
Wether you agree or not with the issue you do not call a jewish home a “settlement”.
The Yated and Hamodia refer to terrorists as “freedom fighters” many times.
Now you can understand why many gedolim told many yidden not to even have a “jewish” newspaper in the home. The yated and Hamodia is sleeze and sometimes worse than the NY Slimes.
There is clearly an obvious halachik basis for Rabbi Gisser’s Decision. See Orach Chaim 306:11 “ומשום ישוב א”י לא גזרו”. See Mishnah Berurah as well. perhaps that is the issue that some in the yeshiva world have with Rabbi Gisser i.e. that he knows and learns halacha. As we know halacha is the new Slifkin. That’s why they’re beating up on Rabbi Heineman too. Soon the Shulchan aruch will be banned.
anon 1:03
Why are exhibiting such anger.
Why are you blending Slifkin, Rav Heineman and Rabbi Gisser in one jumble.
What is truly the reason for your outburst.
Hey anon 1:03,
Don’t play psychologist. Don’t your impose your own emotions on someone else. Let’s keep this discussion on an intellectual level. If you think a post is wrong disagree by providing relevant information. Not by imagining the posters emotions. I expect that your response to me will be to say that I’m angry too. Ha ha.
The one who are “blending Slifkin, Rav Heineman and Rabbi Gisser in one jumble” are the witch hunters!
Achudus my brothers. Only the Meraglim and Korach wanted power. look what happened to them. Hashem punished them, not man. Who are you to judge those who have clear understanding of Halachah?
Rav Gissin has a clear understanding of Halacha.
It’s in the Gemara, brought down in the Mishneh Torah and the Shulchan Aruch.
Does anyone know of any mekor that poskens against the S”A/M”B on this issue? What is Yated and the charedi objections to this based on?
Enough of “U.N.” achdus. The U.N. makes peace only when the victim is beginning to fight back and defend themselves. There are people who similarly watch the right wing attack machine in action and cry “achdus!” only when someone dare defend the victim who happens to be correct.
Even the modern Agudists of Yated realize more and more that the Zionist religion is falsifying our holy Torah for the purpose of the National-Zionist agenda and reminding themselves of the words of our Gedolim. But it’s still necessary to realize the words of R. Yehoshua Leib Diskin zt”l in all aspects of the faithful Torah-community: “The rabbis of the generation should gather together and issue a writ of excommunication against the Zionists and eject them from the Jewish People, and make decrees against their bread and wine, and to forbid marrying with them, just like our sages did with the Samaritans.”
So I guess Kiryat Sefer and Beitar Illit are also born in Sin!! I just love it when some people have to get up and say they are holier then others. The Yated and their supporters have no problem in taking money from the zionists and in fact cry when the money is cut. Please sit down in the corner and keep your mouth shut.
To Anonymous 4:22……Blah , blah , blah.
Start banning bread wine and women from those in your community who make a chilul Hashem , and you know what I mean. The Zionists unwittingly heeded hashem’s command to move to Eretz Yisroel . There was an inspiration from Above 100 years ago and regrettably the frum community by and large didn’t heed it.Enough of your meraglim plaplerei..!!