by Rabbi Raphael Bearmant on כ"ח בשבט ה'תש"ע (February 12, 2010)
It is well known the importance of Mishnios study. The great Rabbi Yossef Karo ZL recevied a Maggid in the merit of his knowledge of the entire six sedarim of the Mishnah.
However even the most important Mitzvah should never allow us to stoop to the low level of using non-authentic Jewish means to acquire it.
It is a real pity to see authentic Jews purchasing the Mishnios with the commentary of Pinchas KeHati.
This Pinchas Kehati was NOT an authentic Jew. He was a strong supporter of the the Zionist movement.
His Mishnios were printed for many years (without the commentary of the Holy Rav Bartinura) by the notorious Heichal Shlomo institute, (about which The Brisker Rav ZATZAL commented that it was one of the only two things which bothered his great kavannah in reading the Shema.)
The Holy Steipler Goan explicitly said NOT to use the Kehati Mishnios edition.
(All these issues are besides the fact that his commentary is in many places in error)
For those Mishnios lovers there is a wonderful commentary (which makes Kehati look like nothing) called Siyata DeShamyah which was authored by a great Talmid Chacham and an authentic Jew. (Or if you need English get the Artscroll Yad Avraham commentary)
by Rabbi Raphael Bearmant on כ"ד בטבת ה'תש"ע (January 10, 2010)
One of the thousands of readers of this blog (yes, whether you are cheering or crying, this is what is being reported by the statistical programs) asked a legitimate question:
Is it not true that many Authentic Rabbis over the course of history were accused of being heretics, and this accusation was based on a misunderstanding of that person’s ideas and that person eventually came to be accepted and honored by authentic Jews everywhere? Like the Rambam, and the Ramchal, both of blessed memory?
Why shouldn’t Kook fall into this category as well?
Very legitimate question!
The answer is: For the same reason Shabtai Tzvi doesn’t fall into this category!
The reason why we do not follow the criticism that was placed on the Rambam (even though some of it is accepted, but this is not the appropriate place and time to go into this) is because as time went on the acceptance of the Rambam became more and more universal. Today there is not one authentic Rabbi who thinks that the Rambam or the Ramchal is Treif.
However while Shabtai Tzvi enjoyed some support from Rabbis during his life time, as time went on it became clearer and clearer what he was all about until eventually it reached a point when there was not one Authentic Torah authority who did not believe that Shabtai Tzvi was a mashiach sheker.
Now don’t think Shabtai Tzvi acted like a bum from YU! He acted like a great Tzadik!
Kook acted also like a great tzadik. He used to davven with great kavanah and talked *like* he understood kaballah. But as time went on even those authentic Rabbis who mistakenly believed he was worth something came to realize what he was really all about.
Read through all the information presented here before you jump at me with ignorant comments.
Today we know what Kook was about: He was all about Anti-Authentic Jewish Ideology.
He was a חוטא and a מחטיא. He caused much more damage to Klall Yisroel than Shabtai Tzvei did and is being dealt with accordingly in gehinom. I personally cannot say exactly where he is there, but I am sure it’s not too far from Yushka and Muchamed.
And yes there will come a time when even those few blind idiots who still think that Kook had any Jewish substance to him, will realize he was just another mashiach sheker.
I hope we all live to see those clear days!
