Home Home / Letter from Dr. Weiss to Israel Kelman …

Correspondence

July 18, 1962

Letter from Dr. Weiss to Israel Kelman about Sending a Rabbi to India and Problematic Mebasser Content (1962)

The Rabbinate India
View The Text

This content is currently available in its original PDF format. As we expand the library, we plan to add a text version as well.

RELATED CONTENT

Correspondence

Letter from Dr. Tartakower to Dr. Weiss about Training a Rabbi for Bene Israel (1962)

Dear Dr. Weiss: You may remember the conference which a few months ago took place in your office, at which time I discussed with you the problem of the Bene Israel community in India and Israel, and an "agreement" was reached between us, according to which you would be ready to grant your assistance in training an Orthodox rabbi for the Bene Israel in India. I informed Chief Rabbi Nissim about the content of our conference immediately upon my return to Israel. He was glad to hear it but at the same time was afraid that training a rabbi here in Israel would require at least two or three years, whereas the urgent need in India already exists at the present.He therefore wondered whether your assistance in covering the budget of the rabbinate in Bombay could not be promised immediately, provided that a proper candidate will be found here in Israel, whereas at the same time another young candidate would be trained, whose training and living expenses anyway are being taken care of on the spot. May I have the benefit of your reaction to this suggestion?I did not write you before, since there was again trouble in this country with the marriage affairs of the Bene Israel and an angry controversy between Chief Rabbi Nissim and the representatives of the Bene Israel, but my impression is that the atmosphere calmed considerably down in the last few weeks, and the moment may have come to consider again the important problem of the religious education of the Bene Israel in India.I am taking advantage of this opportunity in order to submit to you another request on behalf of Dr. Se. Sabath, author of the book *"In the Camps of the North: The Fate of a Jewish Prisoner Behind the Iron Curtain"* (Hebrew, published in Israel in 1959, 574 pp.), which had a very favorable review in *Jewish Life*, December 1961. Encouraged by this review, where among others the publication of the book in English is being urged, the author, who happens to be a friend of mine, asked me to find out, with y…
The Rabbinate India

Correspondence

Letter from Dr. Weiss to Abraham Jhirad about Sending a Rabbi to India and Problematic Mebasser Content (1962)

Dear Mr. Jhirad, I trust that you received my letter of June 25th. In the meantime, we received here the latest issue of Mebasser. While we are happy that the magazine appeared again, we have been greatly disturbed by some of its contents. We find, for instance, the remarks concerning the late Professor Aaron most distasteful. They amount to the besmirching of the memory of a person no longer among us to defend himself. Even if such remarks were to refer to a living person, they should have no place in a publication dedicated to Torah and its ideals.Also, some of the statements dealing with Israel reveal an unhealthy and vindictive attitude which should have no place in the columns of a magazine which is designed to represent Judaism at its finest.There are two kinds of debates. One kind is directed at, and concerned with, the issue at hand. A point of view is stated and arguments are marshaled in its support. The other kind is directed *ad personam*, attacking the opponent and his motives rather than speaking on the issue. This must be avoided at all costs. It is un-Jewish. It is also very harmful to the cause of the UOJCA, which is to bring people closer to Torah-true Judaism.Of course, you may say it is easy for an outsider to counsel patience in so sensitive an area as is the problem of the recent debate on the marriage rulings of the Chief Rabbinate in Israel. But even to the most excited ones it must become obvious that tremendous progress has been made in the last year—more than in the five preceding decades—and that this progress can only be harmed by explosive and violent statements.It is the leadership of the UOJCA, therefore, which must rise to the wisdom and the statesmanship of keeping their people in check and not to permit vindictiveness and negative attitudes to appear in print or in any other public statement.We learned from Mr. Kelman that Dr. Warhaftig, the Israeli Minister of Religion, in conjunction with the Chief Rabbinate, intends to send a q…
The Rabbinate India

Correspondence

Letter from Israel Kelman about Sending Rabbi to India to Resolve Divorce and Conversion Issues (1962)

Excerpt: As I wrote to you when I was last in Israel, I discussed the position here with Dr. Warhaftig, the Minister of Religions, who agreed to send a rabbi immediately to deal with divorces, conversions, etc. At the beginning of this month, we received cables to the effect that Rabbi Chugi Abudi, the Av Beth Din of Jerusalem, was being sent here for six weeks. After a series of cables, the proposed *schlichut* was cancelled for the following reasons:The tense situation here as a result of marriage difficulties for the Bene-Israels in Israel.He is an Iraqi – not a very wise choice.I had not collected all the documentation regarding all the cases pending.After considering the whole project, I have suggested to Dr. Warhaftig that it may be advisable to arrange for a rabbi from London or America to come here to deal with the abovementioned problems. For an Israeli to come, it would be interpreted by a rather voluble opposition as an Israeli directive and probably take on a political tinge. I am of the opinion that the above selection would be an English rabbi since India is part of the Commonwealth, whereas I have my serious doubts if a rabbi from America belonging – as he must do – to one of the trends would be acceptable by all sections of the community here.However, if a rabbi from the Orthodox Union would come to India to serve the community for a period of one or two years, I have little doubt that within a short period of time, we could influence the Conservative and Reform groups to accept his rulings on these problems which are causing so much difficulty.THE ABOVE WAS SIGNED BY ISRAEL KALMAN
The Rabbinate India