Rabbis Call to Lower Public Discourse Level on Elon Issue, Eli Stutz, Arutz Sheva, February 19, 2010

Rabbis Call to Lower Public Discourse Level on Elon Issue

By Eli Stutz
Arutz Sheva
February 19, 2010

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/136084

Rabbis Meet

(IsraelNN.com) Fifty prominent religious Zionist rabbis gathered yesterday evening in Yad Binyamin to discuss how to deal educationally with the publication by the Takanah Forum of the issue of Rabbi Motti Elon. Among the participating rabbis were: Rabbi Haim Druckman, Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, Rabbi Motti Greenberg, Rabbi Yigal Kamenetsky, Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira, and more.

Arutz Sheva reported that the meeting dealt mainly with educational implications. "The rabbis called to lower the level of public discourse and to minimize media appearances."

The rabbis at the conference noted that "the religious-Zionist community is healthy, and it is the duty of every person and community to 'add holiness', in the words of HaRav Kook."

Rabbi Druckman said at the conference, "I say to my students: the words of the Sages are sacred and true. They are not slogans. And this is an example. Our Sages said: 'If you saw a learned man commit an offense at night, do not pursue him about it during the day, perhaps he has repented.' It is not our task to delve during the day. And even when there are offenses, there is such a thing as repentance. He who falls, did not fall for life."

In conclusion it was decided that a position paper for rabbis and educators be distributed to be used in conversations with students and the general public.