Sunday, February 5, 2012

Young Israel - Aish rabbi tells people they SHOULD drive to shul on Shabbos!!

One of the fundamental principles of Young Israel is Shemirat Shabbat. And the Young Israel Constitution makes that an oath, a promise to Klal Yisroel that it will be followed.
At about 19 minutes into this radio show [click here to open MP3] 

This so-called rabbi uses distorted, anti-Halachic reasoning (that even Conservative Judaism admits it made an error in using over 50 years ago) in telling his congregants they should drive to his Young Israel - Aish synagogue ON SHABBAT instead of staying home. When someone had already expressed an understanding they should not drive on Shabbat and asked "isn't it better to stay at home than to drive to shul", this excommunicated apikorus holding the title of a Young Israel rabbi said they should drive to shul on Shabbat undermining their start of Shemiras Shabbos.
(He uses similarly convoluted logic to claim the Torah does not prohibit prostitution [Click here for link to that earlier broadcast])

In 2008 Leonard Sokoloff, then President of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens, flew to Las Vegas to prevent the FORGERY committed by Young Israel from being revealed in court. He had the power and opportunity then to insist that a sign be placed in front of the Young Israel saying not to park there on Shabbos but he refused because he was afraid of Young Israel's lawyer. This lawyer, Steven Baker, who is married to a NON-Jewish woman was appointed to the Board of the YOUNG ISRAEL and was even honored at a shul dinner as a reward for, among other things, arguing in SECULAR court that the Young Israel Aish of Las Vegas must keep its parking spaces open on Shabbat
The Young Israel Constitution explicitly states in Sec. 3.3 that a Young Israel branch must:
d. have as its President, Vice Presidents, Secretaries, Treasurer and Delegates to the Delegates Assembly- regular, alternate and at-large- only Sabbath observers;
Michael J. Novick, the former Treasurer, now President of the Young Israel Aish of Las Vegas (business name of poorly titled Torah Learning Center, Inc.) publicly violates Sabbath every time he drives to the YOUNG ISRAEL on Shabbat and carries his keys into the shul!
He is unfortunately the victim of the charlatan rabbi who has conned him. But as an officer of a Young Israel branch, he is required to know that he is not permitted to violate Shabbat by driving to shul on Shabbat and there is absolutely no dispensation the ersatz "rabbi' can grant him to do so. 
(These violations also took place under the administration of the President of National Council of Young Israel at that time, Steven Z. Mostofsky, with his full knowledge!)
In contrast to the rabbi in Las Vegas, this is what Rabbi Amos Bunim, zt'l had to say on the specific topic Lorne (Yitz) Wyne twisted like a pretzel on the radio about driving to shul on Shabbos: "The next compromise: Conservative constituents were given dispensation to drive to the synagogue on Shabbos. It was felt that this would increase attendance in the synagogue, since they were driving to the mall and to Saturday-afternoon soccer games anyway. The cardinal error in this approach was that instead of trying to educate and develop their constituency to explore and appreciate the beauties and ideals of Judaism, the leaders of the Conservative movement brought Judaism down toward the rampant assimilation of a society trying to distance itself from the heritage of Sinai." (from Rabbi Amos Bunim's article “Toras Emes and Modernity” starting on page 61) 

Aish HaTorah, who gave Wyne the title of "Rabbi", also says the exact opposite when posed with the same question about driving on Shabbos, http://www.aish.com/atr/Driving_to_Synagogue_on_Shabbat.html

Even the Conservative Movement has admitted giving permission to drive to shul on Shabbat was a mistake --> Conservative Halakhah - Riding to the Synagogue on ShabbatConservative Head Calls Sabbath-Driving Rule a ‘Mistake’ 
Yet despite Conservative Judaism's grudging confirmation that the logic they used has proven erroneous, the leader of a YOUNG ISRAEL ordained by Aish HaTorah dares use it to encourage driving on Shabbat to his synagogue ?!  
 
DON'T BE FOOLED BY EARLIER PARTS OF THE BROADCAST WHERE WYNE SOUNDS REASONABLE. HIS WORDS ON THIS TOPIC UNDERMINE THE GOALS AND PRINCIPLES OF THE FOUNDERS AND MOST OF YOUNG ISRAEL YET INSTEAD OF EXPELLING HIM, NATIONAL COUNCIL HAS KEPT HIM IN POWER AND USED FRAUD AND FORGERY TO CONCEAL HIS EXCOMMUNICATION EVEN AFTER THE BAIS DIN VERIFIED IT!!!

The Bais Din verified the authenticity of the seruv that declares him a moser!
Last year when he said the Torah does NOT prohibit prostitution, why did the Las Vegas Kollel (affiliated with Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim - Rabbinical Seminary of America) honor him and had him speak at their Annual Dinner (in violation of halachot of Yoreh Deah 334) after broadcasting such heretical sheker publicly on the radio, all the while emphasizing he is rabbi of YOUNG ISRAEL - Aish ?!?
(On an earlier Feb 14, 2010 broadcast this same rabbi said on his show "if you want the girl of your dreams .. knock her up"!   Is this the way a YOUNG ISRAEL rabbi ordained by AISH HaTORAH speaks??  That show was recorded on a cassette tape sent to National Council of Young Israel by one of its Vice Presidents, Farley Weiss.  A year later on Feb 27, 2011 this rabbi had another very interesting show. Click here to jump to the posting about it and to listen to the recording.)