Message from R’ Schonfeld: R’ Yoel Schonfeld

In Parshas VaYishlach (B’reishis 32:12), as Yaakov is about to encounter Eisav, he cries out to Hashem, “Save me, please, from the hands of my brother, from the hands of Eisav.” Rashi, in his commentary, explains that Yaakov was pleading to be delivered from the hands of his brother but behaves like the wicked Eisav.

Years ago, a book was printed in Jerusalem by Dvar Yerushalayim titled The Disputation by an anonymous author. The book is an account of a rabbi’s dispute with a highly placed priest in London. As the name implies, the book details an ongoing dispute between the rabbi and the priest on the fundamentals of their faith. The author asks that no one attempt to reveal his identity or that of the priest, as it could be very hurtful to the priest, being that the rabbi apparently bested him.

This past Shabbos, I was in Flatbush by my son Simcha. We davened in a local shul, well established in the community and headed by a rav who is a fine talmid chacham. Following davening, a gentleman whom I never met before came over to me and said, “Well, Rabbi Schonfeld, did you experience anything in shul that you can write about in your column?”

Imagine if I wrote an article stating how I love the KKK and think the Grand Wizard is great – or that slavery was a great boon to the United States; too bad it was abolished.

It has been said many times that Hamas cannot be destroyed, as it is not limited to being a band of terrorists; it’s a concept.

By the time you read this article, a lecture on the topic of “The Failure of American Jewish Leadership,” by Dr. Charles Jacobs, will have been delivered at the Young Israel of Hillcrest.