New Article: “Sephardic” Rabbi Haim Jachter Kills Us Off “From the Inside”: Are We Even Ourselves Anymore?
David Shasha
“Sephardic” Rabbi Haim Jachter Kills Us Off “From the Inside”: Are We Even Ourselves Anymore?
As SHU readers surely know by now, the oldest Jewish Congregation in America is now being run by Tikvah Fund extremist Rabbi Meir Soloveichik:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1inwIdB46odydf4p-7ahzdzqmiBcJz4KT9wNMiY-TJWw/edit
He is a proud ally of Trumpworld:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sUvnfXMeduh00CKAuDD30NiRwbD-5Q147YrMHbGs7Q0/edit
And a truly devout Anti-Maimonidean, working methodically in the footsteps of his debased atavist primitive hero Michael Wyschogrod:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vkNZusv09KazmHUp3BNcBGIe9TEZEMcKsZXfbBFMm4Q/edit
The Soloveichik appointment took place after many years of Sephardi erosion from Washington Heights macher Rabbi Marc Angel, whose ministry laid the groundwork for the dark Shtetl cloud that now covers the hallowed Shearith Israel:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V-uAEYS_aBAnDNMDPwvzIUFn9hbTy6n5jVknqrDTUN8/edit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DPCfokksdzUO2iAO1GD-u8B2iNzhnJYmMjlYrC3EtIo/edit
Angel remains a committed enemy of the classical Sephardic heritage:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V-uAEYS_aBAnDNMDPwvzIUFn9hbTy6n5jVknqrDTUN8/edit
I have discussed the Tikvah SI and Tikvah ASF problem in the larger context of how Sephardim are now killing themselves off by shamefully kowtowing to the White Jewish Supremacy:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18l3iqfJQ48RgJgh1c2L0xXIKAEBIFQBOH143wD1FPqc/edit
We are truly “Idiot Sephardim”:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fUx-B5XHPIrr7b_7xS4ZpmiEmvo_qBy0pKqOAtmJ5WI/edit?usp=sharing
In order to better understand this process of debasement and acquiescence to YU White Jewish Supremacy, we need look no further than to Rabbi Herbert Dobrinsky:
https://www.yu.edu/legacysociety
His YU “Legacy Society” website shows us just how “Sephardic” he is:
Rabbi Dr. Herbert C. Dobrinsky ’50YUHS, ’54YC, ’57R, ’80F, Yeshiva University’s Vice President for University Affairs, has spent a lifetime in service to the University and the Jewish people. Born in Montreal, he came to New York City in 1948 to attend the Yeshiva University High School for Boys/Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy followed by nine years of undergraduate and graduate study in both the University and the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS).
After serving as the rabbi of Beth Israel Synagogue in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for five years, he was invited by Yeshiva University to a leadership position in the Community Service Division and was later named Vice President for University Affairs. He is credited with launching a planned giving program at YU and advocating for legacy gifts that strengthen the University. As a result of his tireless commitment, Dr. Dobrinsky has established 38 professorial chairs and five boards of overseers.
During his years of service to the University, Dr. Dobrinsky co-founded Sephardic Studies and the Sephardic Community Activities programs, aimed at preserving the rich Sephardic heritage of North America. He also helped to establish the Holocaust Studies program. He has been recognized by YU for his tireless commitment with many awards, including the Harav Yosef B. Soloveitchik zt”l Aluf Torah Award and the Presidential Medallion.
Dr. Dobrinsky is the co-founder of the American Society of Sephardic Studies and the author of A Treasury of Sephardic Laws and Customs, used by universities and schools the world over.
During his years of service to the University, Dr. Dobrinsky has raised many millions of dollars in support of scholarships for students, faculty chairs and innovative programs.
As we can see from the following article, Dobrinsky is a major gatekeeper in the Washington Heights “Sephardic” program:
http://www.5tjt.com/yu-appoints-rabbi-basalely-to-sephardic-program/
It is a way of keeping us on a tight Ashkenazi leash.
The rabbi that Dobrinsky appointed is a true Andalusian Jewish Humanist!
Basalely received his ordination from RIETS in 2010 after graduating from Yeshiva College in 2005. He studied at the Mir Yeshiva and at Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh in Israel and is also pursuing a master’s degree in Jewish education from YU’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration.
That is what Sephardim look like today.
Dobrinsky is perhaps best known for his “expert” book on Sephardic customs, because who else but a YU Ashkenazi could write such a book!
https://www.amazon.com/Treasury-Sephardic-Laws-Customs/dp/B000F6R58E
And there is, of course, his connection to the Norman Lamm YUHS child abuse SHANDA:
It is yet another proud Washington Heights moment:
The plaintiffs and their lawyer, Kevin Mulhearn, are seeking what’s called expedited discovery – they are trying to get testimony from five elderly witnesses who might have information to offer in the case. The victims say they endured years of abuse at the hands of teachers and administrators like George Finkelstein, who touched children inappropriately in his office and in his home under the pretense of wrestling with them, and Macy Gordon, who was known for “vicious and sadistic” acts of abuse, according to court documents, like sodomizing one boy with a toothbrush and toothpaste.
…
The five witnesses “possess unique and personal knowledge” of the case, said one court filing. They include defendant Robert Hirt, 81, who allegedly helped Finkelstein get a job at the Hillel School in Florida and authorized a scholarship named after Gordon in 2002 nearly two decades after he was fired for sexual misconduct; Herbert C. Dobrinsky, 87, who was also alleged to be involved with the Gordon scholarship and who honored Finkelstein with awards while the school knew about his abuse; Rabbi Yosef Blau, 81, whom one plaintiff says he told about Finkelstein’s abuse and who failed to report it; Naomi Gershgowitz-Lipnick, 81, whose desk sat outside Finkelstein’s office; and Joshua Cheifetz, 85, who oversaw the school’s dormitories while Finkelstein and Gordon both had keys and “unfettered access” to childrens’ rooms, court documents said.
This is what Sephardim have thrown in their lot with.
And now we have one more Ashkenazi racist Washington Heights macher on the same degenerate colonialist path, Rabbi Haim Jachter.
Jachter has just published a much-discussed book with Maggid:
https://oupress.org/product/bridging-traditions/
And here is a preview of the book’s contents; please pay special attention to the Table of Contents:
The following Jachter article, included in the book, on the differences between Ashkenazim and Sephardim when it comes to standing or sitting for the Kaddish provides an inkling of what the book is about:
https://images.shulcloud.com/202/uploads/Divrei_Torah/Sephardic-and-Ashkenazic-Differences-1.pdf
Careful readers will notice that the larger issue of what the Washington Heights machers call Hashkafah, conceptual-intellectual thought, is not at all dealt with – just the issue of minhag, custom.
I have addressed the problem in my article “Modern Jewish Philosophy as White Jewish Supremacy”:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mjPboUYJIFK3e5HeU0xUzvMcdlpcLxoQdRwqFI3guuw/edit
Jachter ignores all that, as he focuses exclusively on Halakhah.
Tellingly, Jachter demotes the Sephardim as not being sufficiently Talmudic:
In light of these three impressive sources - the Bavli,
Yerushalmi and Midrash - it
is difficult to comprehend the Sephardic practice to sit for Kaddish. Before discussing
the basis for the Sephardic custom from the practice of the Ari z”l, we must
note the profound impact the Ari z”l has on Sephardic practice (and on Hassidic
practice as well). Those not well-versed
in Sephardic practices assume that the Rambam and Rav Yosef Karo (reverently
referred to by Sepharadim as Maran, our master) are the two central and exclusive
pillars of Sephardic Halacha. While Rambam and Maran certainly are most important,
the contribution of the Ari z”l is enormous as well. A few examples of where nearly
all Sepharadim follow the Ari z”l instead of Maran is the arrangement of the
Seder plate, the blowing of Shofar during the silent Amidah of Mussaf on Rosh
Hashanah and the order of waving the Lulav during Sukkot.
Though I have not seen the complete book yet, it is certain that it is more of the same racist PILPUL.
Here is the OU Press website book description:
As the rabbi of a Sephardic synagogue for over twenty years who is himself of Ashkenazic descent and trained in Ashkenazic yeshivot, Rabbi Haim Jachter has a unique vantage point from which to observe the differences in customs and halachot between Ashkenazim and Sephardim. In Bridging Traditions, Rabbi Jachter applies his wide-ranging expertise to explicating an encyclopedic array of divergences between Ashkenazic and Sephardic halachic practice, while also capturing the diversity within different Sephardic communities.
Throughout, Rabbi Jachter explains the opinions of both earlier and contemporary poskim and demonstrates how halacha unfolds in often unexpected ways. Moreover, in developing the rationales for both sides of each issue, this book sheds much light on the dialectical back-and-forth of the halachic system as a whole.
Bridging Traditions is essential reading for Jews of all origins who are interested in understanding their own practices and appreciating those of their brethren, and in seeing the kaleidoscope of halachic observance as a multi-faceted expression of an inner divine unity.
Jachter works for some pretty hardcore Self-Hating Sephardim in Teaneck, New Jersey:
https://www.sephardicteaneck.org/our-rabbi.html
His Sephardi “pedigree” is truly impeccable!
It is a privilege and joy to serve as Rabbi of Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck. Ours is a warm and welcoming congregation that promotes the practice and love of Sephardic tradition. We are a community of an extraordinary range of Sephardic backgrounds with Yemenites and Ashkenazim as well. We have successfully created a harmonious community that unites in Rav Ovadia Yosef’s “Minhag Yerushalayim” (“customs of Jerusalem”) and love of all Jews. Guests consistently compliment our beautiful Tefillot, Divrei Torah, successful youth groups and delicious Kiddushim. Our Kehilla showcases a broad range of guest speakers including Sephardic Chief Rabbi Hacham Shlomo Amar, Rav Hayyim Angel, Rav Yinon Kalazan, Rav Eli Mansour, Rav Yigal Tsaidi, Adina Bar-Shalom (daughter of Hacham Ovadia Yosef), and Charlie Harary in addition to special Hag events and this year we even conducted an Israeli movie night from Israel’s Ma’aleh School of Television, Film & the Arts, as well as a couples night out where we enjoyed an evening of bowling.
Ours is a relaxed community that is careful in observance and at the same time creates a space where every Jew feels comfortable. We strive as a community to grow spiritually especially in regards to Tefilla (prayer) and the study of Torah. We take special pride in the many Siyumim regularly made by our members.
Our Kehilla is located in the center of greater Teaneck, one of the most dynamic Orthodox communities outside Eretz Yisrael. Teaneck provides an unparalleled range of Jewish services such as a choice of six Orthodox elementary schools (including the Sephardic Ben Porat Yosef school) and eight Orthodox high schools either nearby or within easy commuting distance. Yeshiva University with its myriad of learning opportunities is only a ten minute drive. There are now two mikvaot in Teaneck and over 20 kosher restaurants.
We are a community that joins for joyous occasions and provides support, G-d forbid, during challenging times. We are grateful to Hashem for facilitating the completion of our beautiful Bet Kenesset which we cherish after many years of praying in a temporary location. In our new facility, we are able to comfortably seat our guests and welcome new families and individuals as well as demonstrate proper respect and honor for the Sephardic tradition. We look forward to seeing years of growth where we maintain our Shaarei Orah devotion to Sephardic practice and culture of welcome and support.
His Wikipedia page provides absolutely no connection to the Sephardim:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Jachter
But it does provide a close, loving connection to Sephardi-hater Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, as we can clearly see in the following program marking his 25th Yahrzeit:
It is another stunning “Sephardic” moment for Jachter!
The presenters will be rabbinic leaders who either learned directly from the Rav firsthand while they were students at Yeshiva University, or younger rabbis who have been taught Torah from the students of the Rav. As an example, Rabbi Haim Jachter, of Congregation Shaarei Orah of Teaneck, will speak on the topic of “The Stunning Humility of Rav Soloveitchik—The Experience of Serving as a Shamash of the Rav zt”l.” During the lecture, Rabbi Jachter will draw upon his personal interactions with his rebbe. Rabbi Jachter shared with The Jewish Link, “An overlooked aspect of Rav Soloveitchik is his extraordinary modesty. Although he was YU’s ‘franchise player,’ his apartment at YU was very simple. He answered his own calls, waited on line at the YU cafeteria, and happily traveled in any dilapidated car that his students (including myself) would drive him to and from the airport. He sat in coach on plane rides and chatted in a friendly manner with the flight attendants who knew him well. Rav Soloveitchik’s modesty is a mark of his authenticity. He was purely interested in contributing to Torah and Am Yisrael and was not in the least self-serving. Moreover, it is a hallmark of the authenticity of Torah in general, delivered by Moshe Rabbeinu, who is characterized in both the Sephardic and Ashkenazic liturgy as the anav, the humble one.”
A cursory look at his posted articles shows us that he has no concern for the Sephardic heritage:
https://www.koltorah.org/rav-jachters-halachah-files
His fawning article on the “Revolutionary Approach” of the Schneersohn-Christ caught my eye:
I got a truly messianic tingle when I read the first paragraph:
Great Torah thinkers are able to develop new and fresh insights into classic Torah stories that blaze new paths of legitimate Torah thought. The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s revolutionary understanding of the Miriam Bat Bilgah story (Sukkah 56b; the closing story of Masechet Sukkah) is a fantastic example of overturning the conventional understanding of a classic story. The result is a magnificent basis for the special Chassidic approach to reaching out and loving every Jew no matter how far he or she has strayed from a Torah life. It also sheds light into a message communicated by the Chanukah miracle.
Here is an article, oddly not listed in the Kol Torah Jachter page, on the subject of Sephardic assimilation to Ashkenazi Orthodox norms:
https://www.koltorah.org/halachah/once-a-sephardic-jew-always-a-sephardic-jew-by-rabbi-chaim-jachter
The complete article follows this note.
Once again, the idea is to devalue the Sephardic heritage by marking us as narrow-minded hypocrites:
Based on this, Rav Eliashiv rules regarding the case addressed to him that from the vantage point of Minhag, the son may continue to practice Torah in accordance with Ashkenazic tradition despite his Sephardic ancestry. Rav Hershel Schachter similarly rules that if someone was raised in a non-Chassidic community, he need not practice Chassidic Minhagim even if his paternal grandfather was Chassidic (see Beit Yitzchak 39:520). Indeed, most Modern Orthodox Ashkenazic Jews pronounce Hebrew differently than their European paternal forebears.
The kicker comes in the conclusion:
Rav Amar concluded his ruling by telling me that a non-Jew may convert to Judaism, but a Sephardic Jew may not change to Ashkenazic practice. Presumably, Rav Amar would not permit an Ashkenazic Jew to change to Sephardic practice. However, it seems that an Ashkenazic Jew who wishes to make this change is permitted to do so according to the view of Rav Eliashiv. In any event, any change in ancestral practice should not be taken lightly. Adopting a course of action which deviates from centuries of family practice and has profound impact on future generations must be contemplated with the utmost of care and sober consideration.
Indeed, these two examples provide a window into Jachter’s understanding of the Ashkenazi/Sephardi binary in a world where White Jewish Supremacy rules.
He was tellingly the subject of an article in the Ultra-Orthodox Mishpacha magazine, which opens that window even more widely:
https://mishpacha.com/seeing-is-believing-2/
The complete article follows this note.
Here is how he is described there:
Rabbi Chaim Jachter is an eclectic blend of Sephardi, chassidic, and Modern Orthodox Judaism. He was born into a traditional, though non-observant, Jewish family in Flatlands, Brooklyn. Although his family took a short break from full mitzvah observance in the 1940s, following the trend of American Jewry at the time, they stem from many gedolei Yisrael throughout the ages, including Rav Moshe Isserless (the Rama), Rav Shabsai Hakohein (the Shach), and Rav Gershon Kitover (brother-in-law of the Baal Shem Tov). He’s named after his grandfather, who himself was named after the Divrei Chaim of Sanz, and the sandek at his bris was his mother’s first cousin, the legendary Rav Yosef Singer a”h of the Lower East Side. In 1967, the Six Day War and a family illness jolted the Jachter family back into full Torah observance.
“The whole atmosphere changed among secular Jews after 1967,” he recalled. “The flow out of Judaism started reversing and baruch Hashem we found ourselves back into the fold.”
A musmach of Yeshiva University, Rabbi Jachter was a talmid of roshei yeshivah Rav Hershel Schachter and Rav Mordechai Willig, but he also developed relationships with rabbanim from across the frum spectrum, such as Rav Ovadia Yosef and the Debrecener Rav, and lbch”l Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg.
I was particularly struck by the following passage from the article:
As a dayan, get administrator, congregational rabbi, high school rebbi, teacher, and lecturer in over 200 venues over several decades, Rabbi Jachter’s varied experiences placed him in contact with Jews from across the ideological spectrum. But David’s questions eventually brought Rabbi Jachter to the conclusion that something major was missing from the educational curriculum. He noticed that too many people were what he calls “socially Orthodox” — frum by default because that’s just what the community does.
“Most lack a sophisticated understanding of why Yiddishkeit makes sense,” he says. “We keep mitzvos because we are part of the team. But for many, observance is a mile wide, but an inch deep. And from my experience, this is an issue across the board in all frum communities — from chareidi to Modern Orthodox, chassidish to Sephardi. We tend to think that people will get emunah by osmosis, but we need to truly give them clarity. Emunah has to be taught, not merely caught. Strengthening emunah is a huge way to tip the scales. It’s a game changer.”
Reading the passage with its dense White Jewish Supremacy Orthodox Intersectionality, I could not help but think of the imperilled legacy of my teacher Rabbi Jose Faur, and how he does not exist in this Intersectionality:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T5hwSK5C4N8Vd50UYMptCy1jmk5LSyJbIUEh-Lq6_s8/edit
Jachter’s current popularity among members of Rabbi Joseph Dweck’s Habura makes perfect sense, given that group’s disdain for the classical Sephardic heritage, and its firm embrace of the Washington Heights weltanschauung and the Anti-Maimonideans:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hUyDltsH4cb5OJ1lcKgWjZkZfpwWl14B9qUcAV8injY/edit
I have been informed that Sina Kahen, a prominent member of the Habura, has enthusiastically taken on the task of writing a review of the Jachter book:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pFWVQTzB3GLzpYLhl8YCF2Q5d9c8yrlYu-yHxWyf38E/edit
I very much look forward to reading the review, and to further learn if the Tikvah ASF has made a good choice in helping to promote Kahen’s pathetic Sephardic Self-Hatred:
https://americansephardi.org/event/new-works-wednesdays-with-sina-kahen-2/
Again, it is all in the Tikvah MISHPOCHEH, where Leo Strauss and the Anti-Maimonideans rule!
https://tikvahfund.org/library/podcast-leora-batnitzky-legacy-leo-strauss/
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/strauss-leo/
Dweck’s YU vision can most clearly be seen in his convoluted praise for Haym Soloveitchik’s racist article “Rupture and Reconstruction”:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BOrUXGLCx9GUx4jpQER9pqSyVgMMe3Sw/view?ths=true
Here are my original comments on “Rupture” and its explicit attack on Sephardic Modernity, relegated to a footnote:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NBCYyz07l0iTs34hfKZuCZ9croAiB8Mb-JK4Gx9BOFE/edit
And here are my comments on Dweck’s article:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/123skOImJSmEdze7OzWZtd2KeyBn77zvcOPkDmqJUNR8/edit
Yoel Pimentel has provided further detail on the Dweck-Habura problem and its relation to the death of the Sephardim today:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LUsZA48zpKtgkOB2YWRtjC4R0Y2Nt6tw4KHlbe2rRpE/edit
It is clear that the “Idiot Sephardim” have been bested by their Ashkenazi overlords, and that Rabbi Haim Jachter is just one more in a long line of White Jewish Supremacists who have been hired to help erase our culture and relegate us to second-class status in the Jewish world.
David Shasha
Once a Sephardic Jew, Always a Sephardic Jew?
By: Rabbi Chaim Jachter
In today’s socially integrated Am Yisrael, one of the most complex yet common dilemmas is that of conflicting Minhagim (customs). Of course, children must generally attempt to follow their parents’ Minhagim,[2] but exactly what this entails can be difficult to determine, given different family circumstances. One such question was brought before Rav Yosef Shalom Eliashiv (Kovetz Teshuvot 1:12), whose Teshuvah (responsum) on the parameters of following family traditions we shall discuss in this chapter.
The Case in Question
A man whose non-observant Sephardic parents raised him in an Ashkenazic environment approached Rav Eliashiv with the following dilemma. Despite his Sephardic background, his parents had sent him to Ashkenazic religious schools and synagogues, leading him to follow the Ashkenazic tradition in all matters. When the son was approximately 35 years old, his father returned to his roots and became a fully observant Jew in accordance with Sephardic tradition. The father demanded that the son return to his Sephardic roots as well, but the son found this very difficult after following Ashkenazic practice for so long. Now, as the son was planning a wedding for his eldest child, the father insisted that the wedding be conducted according to Sephardic practice, and he even threatened to boycott the wedding if it was not.
The son presented Rav Eliashiv with two questions. First, was he permitted to continue observing the Torah in accordance with Ashkenazic tradition? Second, would Halachah require him to obey his father’s demands under the Mitzvot of Kibbud and Mora Av (honoring and revering one’s father)?
Minhagim
Rav Eliashiv begins by emphasizing the importance of abiding by one’s family Minhagim. The Gemara (Pesachim 50b) insists that one abide by his family customs even when it is difficult to do so. For example, Rav Eliashiv writes that an Ashkenazic Jew may not change his method of pronunciation to Sephardic or modern Israeli pronunciation; rather, he must recite his prayers using the pronunciation of his ancestors.[3]
Rav Eliashiv adds, though, that the prohibition against changing Minhagim is not without exception, as demonstrated by a ruling of the Chatam Sofer (Teshuvot Chatam Sofer, Choshen Mishpat 188). The Chatam Sofer was approached by members of a town where two Kehillot (communities), one Sephardic and one Ashkenazic, had formerly functioned. However, a pogrom had caused most of the Jews to leave, and since the remaining populace could not sustain two separate Minyanim, the two groups now had to combine into one functioning synagogue. The Chatam Sofer ruled that the remaining members of the community should choose which of the two synagogues would continue to function, whose Minhagim they then would follow. Rav Ovadia Yosef (Teshuvot Yabi’a Omer 6, Orach Chayim 10) cites numerous authorities who concur with the Chatam Sofer’s ruling.
The Chatam Sofer reasons that one may change from practicing all Ashkenazic traditions to practicing all Sephardic traditions and vice versa. Just as a non-Jew who converts to Judaism fully integrates into the Jewish community, so too may an Ashkenazic Jew fully integrate into a Sephardic community and vice versa. Rav Yosef Eliyahu Henkin (Eidut LeYisrael p. 162) similarly rules that if an Ashkenazic Jew decides to join a Sephardic community permanently, he may change his Nusach HaTefillah (liturgy) to the Sephardic one. He notes that historically, the entire Chassidic community changed from Nusach Ashkenaz to Nusach Sefard with the noble intention of praying in accordance with the mystical teachings of the Arizal.[4] Of course, one should consult with a Rav before deviating from any family practice, as great caution must be exercised before deviating from practices observed by one’s ancestors for generations.
This also explains the rulings of twentieth-century authorities like Teshuvot Igrot Moshe (Orach Chayim 1:158) and Teshuvot Yabi’a Omer (5, Orach Chayim 37) that Ashkenazic women who marry Sephardic men, or vice versa, should follow the husband’s traditional family practices.[5] Although doing so entails deviating from the wife’s family tradition, these Poskim apparently believe, as the Chatam Sofer asserts, that a Jew may fully integrate into the practices of a different Jewish community.
Based on this, Rav Eliashiv rules regarding the case addressed to him that from the vantage point of Minhag, the son may continue to practice Torah in accordance with Ashkenazic tradition despite his Sephardic ancestry. Rav Hershel Schachter similarly rules that if someone was raised in a non-Chassidic community, he need not practice Chassidic Minhagim even if his paternal grandfather was Chassidic (see Beit Yitzchak 39:520). Indeed, most Modern Orthodox Ashkenazic Jews pronounce Hebrew differently than their European paternal forebears.[6]
We must emphasize that, exceptional situations notwithstanding, it is imperative to follow the practices of one’s family and community (see, for example, Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim 468:4 and Mishnah Berurah ibid. 14). In fact, Rav Ovadia Yosef would likely disagree with Rav Eliashiv’s ruling for this very reason, especially if the son lived in Eretz Yisrael. Rav Ovadia (Teshuvot Yabi’a Omer 6, Orach Chayim 10:4 and Teshuvot Yechaveh Da’at 5:33; see also Teshuvot Yabi’a Omer 5, Orach Chayim 37) laments the choice of Ashkenazic Jews in Israel to maintain their Ashkenazic practices instead of acknowledging that the Rambam and Rav Yosef Karo are the Halachic authorities of Eretz Yisrael. Though he reluctantly yields to the Israeli Ashkenazim’s adherence to their traditional customs, he instructed anyone of Sephardic origin who lives in Israel to follow Sephardic practice.[7]
Rav Ovadia Yosef and Rav Shlomo Amar
Although I am unaware of Hacham Ovadia addressing this particular issue in his voluminous writings or in his son’s writings, I am aware of two situations in which Rav Ovadia in practice ruled that once a Sepharadi, always a Sepharadi. Rav Shlomo Amar told me the following story when he visited Teaneck’s Congregation Shaarei Orah on Shabbat Nachamu of 5777:
A young man whose father was a Persian Jew and mother was a Yemenite Jew was raised in his mother’s predominantly Yemenite neighborhood. His maternal grandfather had a large influence upon him and trained him to pray and read Torah in the distinctive Yemenite style. Upon reaching the age of maturity, he posed a question to Rav Amar as to whether he was permitted to follow the practice of his mother’s family or whether he must adopt the more general Sephardic practice of his father and his family. Rav Amar referred the young man to Hacham Ovadia who instructed the young man to abandon Yemenite practice and change to his father’s family practices. Rav Amar relates that the young man followed Rav Ovadia’s ruling despite the considerable difficulty involved in making this transition.
The current president of Congregation Shaarei Orah in Teaneck, Mr. Joshua Murad, relates a similar story. Mr. Murad was raised in the overwhelmingly Ashkenazic Jewish section of the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. Both the synagogue and Yeshivot he attended were Ashkenazic, and despite his father’s Sephardic origin, Mr. Murad practiced Ashkenazic Halachah from A to Z. During his year of study in Israel when he was eighteen years of age, Mr. Murad had the opportunity to meet Rav Ovadia Yosef. Mr. Murad asked Rav Ovadia if he was obligated to return to his ancestral Sephardic practices. Mr. Murad reports that Hacham Ovadia insisted that he must “Machazir Atarah LeYoshenah,” “Restore the crown to its original luster,” and fully observe Halachah in accordance with Sephardic tradition. I am delighted to report that Mr. Murad is very proud to be an enthusiastic follower of Rav Ovadia’s ruling, to the extent that he currently serves as the devoted lay leader of the Teaneck Sephardic congregation.
Rav Amar fully subscribes to Rav Yosef’s approach. Interestingly, he told me that even if a Sephardic Jew never attends Sephardic services[8] and even neglects the venerated Sephardic Halachah to recite Selichot beginning from the second day of Elul, he is still entitled to eat Kitniyot on Pesach. I had thought that if a Sephardic Jew does not observe the stringent Sephardic practices, he loses his right to follow the lenient Sephardic practices. Rav Amar clarified that although he acts improperly in regards to the stringent practices, he remains a Sephardic Jew and is entitled to observe Sephardic leniencies. Similarly, Rav Ben Zion Abba Shaul rules (Or LeTzion, volume one) that a Ba’al Teshuvah of Sephardic origin should follow Sephardic standards, even if his father did not observe Torah law.
Conclusion
Rav Amar concluded his ruling by telling me that a non-Jew may convert to Judaism, but a Sephardic Jew may not change to Ashkenazic practice. Presumably, Rav Amar would not permit an Ashkenazic Jew to change to Sephardic practice. However, it seems that an Ashkenazic Jew who wishes to make this change is permitted to do so according to the view of Rav Eliashiv. In any event, any change in ancestral practice should not be taken lightly. Adopting a course of action which deviates from centuries of family practice and has profound impact on future generations must be contemplated with the utmost of care and sober consideration.
Notes
[2] Refer to Gray Matter 3:128-135 for a discussion of why children should maintain their parents’ Minhagim.
[3] Not all authorities agree with Rav Eliashiv on this specific point. Rav Yehuda Amital reports that his wife’s grandfather, Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer, permitted changing to modern Israeli pronunciation. Common practice among Ashkenazic students of Yeshivot Hesder is to follow Rav Isser Zalman’s ruling. Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook (Teshuvot Orach Mishpat 17), though, disagrees with Rav Isser Zalman. For further discussion of this issue, see Teshuvot Mishpetei Uzziel (Orach Chayim 1), Teshuvot Seridei Eish (2:5), Teshuvot Igrot Moshe (Orach Chayim 3:5), and Rav Kook’s letter of approbation for Teshuvot Mishpetei Uzziel.
[4] See Teshuvot Yabia Omer (6, Orach Chayim 10) for a summary of the rich response literature regarding the legitimacy of the Chassidim’s change of Nusach. Some “Mitnagdic” Poskim, such as Teshuvot Sho’eil UMeishiv (3:1:247) and Teshuvot Maharam Schick (Orach Chayim 43), wrote that the change was illegitimate and violates the obligation not to “abandon the teachings of [one’s] mother” (see Pesachim 50b). Other Poskim (especially Chassidic Poskim), such as Teshuvot Divrei Chayim (2, Orach Chayim 8), defend the change, and as Rav Henkin notes, this opinion has emerged as the accepted view. Rav Henkin cautions, though, that it is forbidden to make such a change arbitrarily.
[5] This issue is discussed at greater length in Gray Matter op. cit..
[6] For example, Ashkenazic Modern Orthodox Jews do not pronounce Hebrew in the Chassidic style despite their Chassidic ancestry. This is an example of community practice prevailing over family custom. For a discussion of how to resolve conflicts between community and family customs, see Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg’s Darchei HaPsak (p. 24 note 44).
[7] For a defense of the Ashkenazic Jews in Israel retaining their Minhagim, see Chazon Ish (Shevi’it 23:5), Rav Yechiel Michel Tukachinsky’s Ir HaKodesh VeHaMikdash (3:24), Pe’at HaShulchan (3:11), and Rav Elyakim (Getsel) Ellinson’s Ish VeIshto (pp. 24-25 note 31).
[8] Rav Amar clarified that his ruling applies even if Sephardic services are readily available to him and he never participates in these services.
Rav Chaim Jachter: Seeing is Believing
By: Gavriel Horan
David was bright, studious, and highly scrupulous in mitzvah observance, one of the best kids in his 11th grade Gemara class in the Torah Academy of Bergen County. And so, when he asked to speak to his rebbi — Rav Chaim Jachter — in private after class, the veteran high school rebbi was completely unsuspecting of what was about to occur. David handed Rabbi Jachter a stack of papers and with the utmost seriousness, told his rebbi that the packet contained 25 questions about the Torah that had been bothering him.
“I don’t know how I can commit if I don’t have answers to these questions,” he said. Rabbi Jachter was caught off guard. Although he knew that it was not uncommon and natural for high school students to have doubts, he couldn’t believe one of his star pupils was staying up at night with doubts in emunah. But what surprised him even more was that when he read the questions, he realized that he himself didn’t have compelling answers on his fingertips to many of them.
As a dayan, get administrator, congregational rabbi, high school rebbi, teacher, and lecturer in over 200 venues over several decades, Rabbi Jachter’s varied experiences placed him in contact with Jews from across the ideological spectrum. But David’s questions eventually brought Rabbi Jachter to the conclusion that something major was missing from the educational curriculum. He noticed that too many people were what he calls “socially Orthodox” — frum by default because that’s just what the community does.
“Most lack a sophisticated understanding of why Yiddishkeit makes sense,” he says. “We keep mitzvos because we are part of the team. But for many, observance is a mile wide, but an inch deep. And from my experience, this is an issue across the board in all frum communities — from chareidi to Modern Orthodox, chassidish to Sephardi. We tend to think that people will get emunah by osmosis, but we need to truly give them clarity. Emunah has to be taught, not merely caught. Strengthening emunah is a huge way to tip the scales. It’s a game changer.”
After much research, consideration, and discussion with gedolei Torah, he came to the conclusion that emunah should be addressed directly with students instead of assuming they will pick it up by osmosis. His years of research to find adequate answers to questions such as David’s culminated in a recently published book, Reason to Believe: Rational Explanations of Orthodox Jewish Faith (Koren Publishers). The book presents countless pieces of evidence for the existence of G-d and the Divine origin of the Torah, sourced from the Gemara, Rishonim, and Acharonim, in addition to archaeology, physics, history, and ethics. Rabbi Jachter is committed to showing his students, congregants, and readers that G-d’s existence and Yiddishkeit are not only logically and historically true, but also lead to the most meaningful and rational lifestyle possible.
Rabbi Chaim Jachter is an eclectic blend of Sephardi, chassidic, and Modern Orthodox Judaism. He was born into a traditional, though non-observant, Jewish family in Flatlands, Brooklyn. Although his family took a short break from full mitzvah observance in the 1940s, following the trend of American Jewry at the time, they stem from many gedolei Yisrael throughout the ages, including Rav Moshe Isserless (the Rama), Rav Shabsai Hakohein (the Shach), and Rav Gershon Kitover (brother-in-law of the Baal Shem Tov). He’s named after his grandfather, who himself was named after the Divrei Chaim of Sanz, and the sandek at his bris was his mother’s first cousin, the legendary Rav Yosef Singer a”h of the Lower East Side. In 1967, the Six Day War and a family illness jolted the Jachter family back into full Torah observance.
“The whole atmosphere changed among secular Jews after 1967,” he recalled. “The flow out of Judaism started reversing and baruch Hashem we found ourselves back into the fold.”
A musmach of Yeshiva University, Rabbi Jachter was a talmid of roshei yeshivah Rav Hershel Schachter and Rav Mordechai Willig, but he also developed relationships with rabbanim from across the frum spectrum, such as Rav Ovadia Yosef and the Debrecener Rav, and lbch”l Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg.
His expertise in gittin was actually spurred on by a distressing personal incident: When looking into a certain shidduch for himself, it was revealed that the young lady’s mother had been married previously and had never gotten a get, technically making the daughter a mamzeres. Such a brush with the reality of American Jewish life was a painful shock, igniting a mission to thoroughly learn the laws of gittin. Rabbi Jachter traveled the world, observing hundreds of gittin from countless different batei din. He currently sits on the beis din of Elizabeth, New Jersey, as a dayan and get administrator, and chairs the Agunah Prevention and Resolution Committee. Over the course of his career he has overseen thousands of divorces.
After completing semichah, Rabbi Jachter decided to get tested by Rav Ovadiah Yosef ztz”l and received a letter of approbation from Israel’s former chief rabbi (a signature that he says is “worth more to me than a billion dollars”). At the time, he never would have guessed that he would someday be the rav of a Sephardi shul, but the visit surely proved providential: Today Rabbi Jachter is the rav of Shaarei Orah in Teaneck, New Jersey, a Sephardi congregation with members spanning 13 different Sephardic traditions.
In 1995, shortly after getting married, Rabbi Jachter started working as a high school rebbi in Torah Academy of Bergen County (TABC), and he’s been there ever since. But after his star student David handed him his packet of questions on emunah, Rabbi Jachter started searching for every source he could find on rational evidence for Torah’s Divine origins. His first stop was Rabbi Leib Kelemen’s books and shiurim on the topic.
While studying philosophy in UCLA and Harvard, Rabbi Kelemen noticed that Judaism’s claims were radically different than those of every other religion in human history. He subsequently wrote two books on the topic of rational belief in G-d and the Torah, respectively entitled Permission to Believe and Permission to Receive (Targum Press). Rabbi Jachter eventually showed his class a video of one of Rabbi Kelemen’s lectures. Another one of the best kids in his class who was fully shomer Torah u’mitzvos was speechless. “I didn’t know there was rational belief behind what we do,” he said. “I thought it was all just cultural.”
Rabbi Jachter’s own Reason to Believe (not to be confused with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Gottlieb’s recent book under the same title) takes ideas from other similar works such as Rabbi Keleman’s books and condenses each concept into a few paragraphs in a reader-friendly format. The book sets out to present a wide variety of compelling pieces of evidence for the existence of G-d and the Divine origin of the Torah, including proofs of Hashem and the Divine origin of the Torah, refutations of humanistic objections to the Torah, resolutions of scientific and archaeological contradictions, and the fulfillment of prophecies. He also speaks extensively about Hashem’s Hand in modern Jewish history such as the against-all-odds existence of Klal Yisrael despite millennia of persecutions, the Six Day War, and the raid on Entebbe.
“Being frum is really a much more rational choice than being secular,” Rabbi Jachter explains. “A thinking person looks at the world and says, how can it be that there are so many incredible coincidences around us all the time — how can it be by sheer chance?” He tells the story of a frum woman who works as a nurse in a clinic in Oakland, California, where many, if not most, of her co-workers are involved in highly unorthodox lifestyles. Nonetheless the culture in the office is to be highly tolerant of everyone’s preferences and choices. Still, when the frum woman politely declined an offer of a non-kosher cookie from a co-worker one day, the co-worker commented that she forgets occasionally and still thinks the Orthodox woman “is normal.”
“Everyone is expected to be accepting and tolerant of all sorts of bizarre behaviors and yet kashrus observance is viewed as abnormal,” the Orthodox woman reflects. Rabbi Jachter’s wife Malca had a similar experience in a religion class she was taking in a secular university. She told the professor, who had been a vigorous advocate for appreciating and respecting each of the world’s religions, that she needed to leave class early on Friday due to observance of her religion’s Sabbath. The professor publicly embarrassed her and called her “antiquated.”
“These anecdotes reflect some of the challenges facing rabbanim and mechanchim today,” he explains. “While much of the surrounding culture views Yiddishkeit and Orthodox Judaism as unreasonable and abnormal, the reality is that the opposite is true. When one delves into topics of emunah, one realizes that the Torah viewpoint is the one that is ‘normal’ and ‘reasonable,’ far more normal and reasonable than secular viewpoint and culture.”
As far back as the Rishonim, Torah scholars have differed as to whether a Jew should focus on emunah peshutah or a more evidence-based approach, and until today there are varying opinions as to how today’s educational system should approach the question of emunah. Rabbi Jachter’s book is not necessarily taking sides in that age-old debate, but rather provides a tool for mechanchim and others who feel that more explanations are in order as a way of strengthening belief.
The book was written with the blessings and encouragement of Rav Schachter, Rav Willig and Rav Yaakov Neuberger.
About 150 years ago, Mark Twain observed that all the great empires and cultures of the past have come and gone, yet only the Jewish people remain as vigorous as they were in ancient times. Similarly, there have been many deviationist sects in Judaism since ancient times — the Sadducees, Essenes, Samaritans, and Karaites. Many of these groups were powerful, large, and highly influential for very significant periods of time. Where are they today? Most of these groups have either ceased to exist or are in their death throes.
The same pattern holds true today for non-Orthodox versions of Judaism, Rabbi Jachter notes. It is well-known and documented that non-Orthodox versions of Judaism are in rapid decline. In a 2011 op-ed entitled “Judaism Is More Than ‘Tikun Olam,’ ” Joel Alperson writes: “From studies about very high interfaith marriage rates to growing assimilation percentages, we should know by now that the non-Orthodox way of life is failing by just about every metric we have at our disposal.” In the 1950s, sociologists in both the US and Israel predicted that Orthodox Judaism would soon disappear, but today there are more than two million Orthodox Jews worldwide and they are the only Jewish religious group that is increasing in numbers.
Rabbi Jachter focuses extensively on the historical perspective, and says that anyone who takes an honest look at the historic timeline will come to some basic conclusions. He quotes from Rav Yechiel Michel Epstein ztz”l, author of the Aruch HaShulchan, who wrote in 1903 that “there is no greater sign and proof than our survival of nearly 2000 years in exile.” The usual course of history, he explains, is for a nation that is conquered to eventually assimilate into its new host culture and disappear. Being exiled from one’s homeland should certainly produce the same results. Nonetheless the Torah writes that not only will we be exiled across the four corners of the globe but we will eventually return to our homeland. The Jewish people is the only nation in human history to be exiled from their land for thousands of years and return — exactly as predicted in the Torah.
The Torah also writes that the land of Israel will remain desolate while the Jews are in exile. In the 1260s, the Ramban wrote a description of the current state of Eretz Yisrael in a letter to his son. “What shall I tell you concerning the condition of the Land… she is greatly forsaken and her desolation is great…” In 1867, Mark Twain made a similar observation: “It is a hopeless, dreary, heart-broken land.” From the time the Jews began to return to the Land in the last century, Eretz Yisrael has undergone a miraculous rebirth. Today, Israel contains less arable land than the state of New Jersey with vastly fewer water resources, yet produces more than four times more agriculture.
One of Rabbi Jachter’s favorite themes is timing. Events on their own might be dismissed as mere coincidence or the result of shrewd diplomacy, lobbying, or military prowess; however, when all the pieces are put together, Rabbi Jachter explains that these “coincidences” simply require too many perfectly-coordinated factors to be purely the result of human effort. One example he brings is the establishment of the State of Israel, which involved a confluence of so many illogical factors: that US President Harry Truman’s decision to support the establishment of the State of Israel in the United Nations was the decisive factor in procuring the two-thirds majority necessary to pass the resolution, despite the fact that Truman was himself a virulent anti-Semite and that two of his closest confidants, Secretary of State General George Marshall and Defense Secretary James Forrestal, urged against it in the strongest terms possible; that Josef Stalin, who murdered and oppressed Jews at every opportunity, temporarily decided to support the formation of the State of Israel for a very short window of time as a means to thwart British imperialism; and that the Arab nations were happy to take the Partition Plan to the UN for a vote since all indications pointed toward Israel lacking the two-thirds majority.
Hashem tells Avraham that his descendants will bring blessing to all the nations of the world. This can be understood on many different levels, but simply put, had a bystander back then been asked what chance there was of a small nomadic group someday changing the world, he would have laughed. Nonetheless, the Jews brought the world the basic moral principles upon which Western Civilization is built. Additionally, the Jewish nation is less than .2% of the world population, but holds more than 22% of Nobel Prizes — 112 times more than expected. Furthermore, the State of Israel is a world center of scientific creativity and exports disproportionately high numbers of technological inventions in water conservation, agricultural, medicine, and computers throughout the world.
“A smart person looks at the world and thinks to himself, how can it be that there are so many incredible coincidences around us all the time — how can it be by chance? We don’t speak of ‘proofs’ but of compelling arguments,” Rabbi Jachter says. “I’m presenting the evidence as to why I am 100 percent convinced and committed to Hashem and His Torah.”
Jachter’s book has already sold thousands of copies, and he says he hopes that “it will be a part of the broader framework of the Jewish arsenal to combat the yetzer hara. It’s true that a lot of people go off the derech because of the taavah for instant gratification, emotional issues, or negative experiences, but if they get a strong foundation in emunah they have more tools with which to fight the challenges of life. We need to combat the negative trend on all levels.”
An elderly European Jew once told him a sequel to the old Yiddish aphorism that no one ever died from a kasha, a hard question. The man added that although no one ever died from a question, people have been killed from bad answers. Rabbi Jachter explained that a superficial answer can leave a student with greater doubts than he started out with. “People in educational or leadership positions need to know how to answer students’ questions regarding archaeology, supposed conflicts between Torah and science, and questions as to the fairness of various halachos such as the commandment to wipe out Amalek.
“Apirkorsus is readily available on the internet and leaders need to know how to respond,” Rabbi Jachter says. “The secular approach is shallow and it really is easy to expose as long as one has the proper background to do so.”
At the end of the day, though, Rabbi Jachter acknowledges that some people will always have a desire to stray from the derech because they think they will gain from another lifestyle.
“They won’t,” he says empathically. “The Torah is Hashem’s blueprint for how to live the best life possible. Being frum is not about being obedient and pious. It’s about being smart. Someone who follows the recommendation for maintaining his car isn’t being obedient. He’s being smart. He wants his car to have a long life. Our manufacturer — the Ribbono shel Olam — gave us an owner’s manual for how to navigate this world.”
At the very end of his book he quotes Rav Moshe Feinstein ztz”l, who said that the reason so many American Jews left Yiddishkeit was because they heard their parents come home from work and sigh, “Es iz shver tzu zein a Yid — it’s hard to be a Jew.”
“We have to show our children that it’s geshmak to be a Yid! There’s no better, more rational lifestyle out there — and nothing with as much empirical evidence. We have to feel fortunate and happy to learn Torah and keep mitzvos. The sweetness of it is the oil in the machine that keeps the fire burning.” —
A Say on Everything
For decades, Rabbi Jachter devoted much of his summer vacation to writing a year’s worth of articles on halachah and related topics for Torah Academy of Bergen County’s weekly newsletter, Kol Torah, distributed to dozens of shuls throughout the New York metro area and to thousands of e-mail subscribers. The goal of each article was to trace the halachic process from the Chumash all the way through to the modern poskim to reveal G-d’s Hand in every aspect of Torah transmission.
“These articles greatly enhance the love and knowledge of Torah among our students and their families as well as the many other readers who receive them each week,” TABC Rosh Yeshivah Rabbi Yosef Adler said. “They show the true depth and rock-solid basis of halachah in a down-to-earth and easily accessible manner, which is what people really need nowadays.” Rabbi Jachter recently published four compilations of these works, with haskamos from Rav Dovid Cohen, Rav Noach Oelbaum, Rav Ephraim Greenblatt, and many others: Gray Matter Volume 1 was printed in 2000, Gray Matter II was printed in 2005, Gray Matter III in 2008 and Gray Matter IV in 2011.
“People need to understand that rabbanim don’t just make up halachah out of thin air,” he explained. “There’s a logic to everything, and it never ceases to amaze me how the Torah has a say on every technological, political, or cultural phenomenon that will ever occur.” He draws a comparison to the American Constitution. The Constitution is only 250 years old and yet it requires amendments. “The Torah, on the other hand, l’havdil, is thousands of years old and doesn’t need any amendments. How could it still be relevant in a world that has changed so radically over the past several thousand years?”
He points out a few examples of the Gemara’s uncanny ability to discuss topics long before their time. For example, the Gemara talks about transferring a fetus from one cow to another. “Why did the Gemara talk about that?” he asked. “It wasn’t physically possible until now.” The Gemara also talks about trapping a deer in a house and killing someone by opening a dam. “How often does a deer enter one’s house?” he asked. “How rare is it to kill someone that way? Yet we use those psakim every Shabbos when opening a refrigerator or walking past a light sensor. It’s so clear to a thinking person that the Yad Hashem had to be involved. There’s no parallel in the secular world.”
Honest Excavating
Some archeologists have attempted to use absence of evidence as evidence of absence in order to deny the validity of Tanach. The December 2010 issue of National Geographic magazine featured an article entitled “Kings of Controversy” which noted that until the 1993 discovery of an ancient stele inscribed with “House of David,” there was no “evidence” that Dovid Hamelech actually existed. Similarly, the Temple Mount Sifting Project has revealed evidence of a time period whose “historical credibility” archaeologists had questioned for years. With these findings, however, “the existence of the House of David came to be accepted as historical fact by the vast majority of scholars.”
Rabbi Jachter quotes Ben Gurion University archaeologist Dr. Zipora Talshir, who describes the intellectually dishonest reaction of militant secularists upon the discovery of evidence of King David’s existence:
“The appearance of the House of David as a consolidated political concept represented a real problem for deniers of Ancient Israel. They went to great lengths to try to rid themselves of this most inconvenient evidence. Davis proposed impossible alternative readings, which no self-respecting scholar would dare to mention; Lemke, despairing of any other solution, decided that the inscription was a forgery. No other scholar in the academic world has cast the slightest doubt on the reliability of the inscription, the circumstances of its discovery, or its epigraphic identity. There is nothing problematic about this inscription, other than the fact that it deals a mortal blow to priori claims against the history of the House of David.”
Another attempt to deny the authenticity of the Torah was made by archaeologists regarding the domestication of camels in the ancient Near East. Militantly secular archaeologists had argued that the absence of evidence that there were domesticated camels in the Near East prior to the 12th century BCE “proved” the inaccuracy of Sefer Bereishis, which describes the use of camels during the time of the Patriarchs (approximately 17th century BCE). Later archaeological findings, however, demonstrate that camels were domesticated as early as the end of the third millennium BCE. Rabbi Jachter notes the irony that ongoing attempts to disprove the Torah’s authenticity have actually confirmed it.
From Mishpacha magazine, Issue 706, April 18, 2018