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Rechnitz wrote an apology letter
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amother
Babyblue


 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 12:49 pm
by R’ SY Rechnitz] Dear Readers, As there is a lot of confusion regarding my speech, I would like to clarify some of my points and my intentions. I apologize for any typos etc….but I am writing at a very inconvenient time from a very inconvenient place (Maimonides Hospital). I nevertheless feel it’s important to write now, to avoid anymore potential Lashon Harah.

1. I apologize and ask Mechila for not for seeing the possibility of people using my comments out of context. The point of my speech was to deliver one message, and one message only, and that is to make sure that there is a place in school for all our children in Lakewood. It was not meant in any way to “bash” Lakewood or its leaders. Anyone using my comments to support their own ulterior agendas are twisting my words. I am not Anti-Lakewood or Anti-Kollel, and if that happens to be your position, I would reccomend you take a tour of the city and its Mikomos Hakdoshim and I assure you, that you will be impressed. Anyone who is somewhat familiar with the substantial financial resources that I’ve invested and will continue to invest in Lakewood, would quickly come to the conclusion that I adore Lakewood, realize how important it is for Torah, Kavod Hatorah, Harbatzos Hatorah and for Kiyum Ha’olam, and how much I need to be a part of it. I consider its inhabitants as my Family, and am proud and thankful that I can be a part of this extraordinary Makom Torah. Besides supporting the Mosdos, I think I’ve proven that I try to do everything in my power to help any Yungerman or their children in a time of need, and IY’H hope to continue to do so, in addition to the rest of Klal Yisroel.

2. I never Chas V’shalom meant to be Mevazeh any of the Roshei Yeshiva or Rabbonim. To the contrary, I spoke of the Roshei Yeshiva’s attempts and involvement in helping children get into Mosdos, only to be turned down. I have heard directly from many Roshei Yeshiva, both from Lakewood and other cities, that they consistently have problems getting children into Lakewood schools. If any of the Roshei Yeshiva or Rabbonim were offended, I hereby ask them publicly for Mechila. If any Rov or Rosh Hayeshiva would like me to come to them personally, I’m prepared to do so. I have, and always had tremendous Kavod for the Lakewood Roshei Yeshiva. Im sure if asked, they will all tell you that I fulfill any and all requests they ask of me without asking any questions. As an Askan, I have never acted without the directive of the Gedolim. In all my Tzedakos, I believe that I’m known to never ever give with strings attached. I don’t discriminate against any person or Mosad even if they’ve done me wrong.

3. If I had to do it again, I would’ve spent the first hour telling people about the greatness of Lakewood. Lakewood has grown by leaps and bounds in population and Ruchniyus. Under the tutelage of the Rosh Hayeshiva, Hagaon Hatzadik, Reb Malkiel Kotler Shlit’a, Lakewood has been more successful than anyone’s wildest imaginations. It’s Talmidei Chachamim have sprouted all over the world, spreading Torah and Yiddishkeit. The city off route 9 that we call Lakewood is merely the “corporate office” for the world over. I mentioned that Lakewood is everything right, that there is nothing more beautiful than Lakewood, but they are deficient in just one area. Due to the fact that I wanted to get a point across in the time allotted to me, I clearly did not spend enough time describing my genuine Ahava for Lakewood.

4. Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough when I specifically said that I don’t place the blame on the Roshei Mosdos, as they’re doing what we’d all do, to protect their Mosdos and not compromise the Chinuch they provide for following years. I also did not want to place blame on them, as every single one of them have bent over backwards to try and help alleviate the problem. I’ve been in communication with most of them, and they’re always trying to place “just one more child”.

5. Let me be clear. I put most of the blame on the Elitists. An Elitist is someone who calls a Mosad, and holds them hostage forcing their will and desires, while clearly harming other children. They are generally of the belief that they are superior or frummer than everyone else. They put themselves on a pedestal and insist on their way or the highway. Instead of viewing other kids as the Aibeshters children, they view every child as a potential threat to their child’s reputation. This happens every year at nearly every Mosad. I can understand a parent wanting a school where all the children come from homes without Internet, televisions or other negative influences, but if you don’t want your child in a class that has children who’s fathers work to provide Parnasah for their family, then you are an elitist! The working father can be ehrlich, Kovea Ittim, have all the right Hashkofos, but that’s not good enough for you, because you consider yourself on a much higher Madreigah.

6. The one point where I should’ve been clearer is that the vast majority of Lakewood are not elitists. They are humble B’nei Torah who’s Zechusim we rely on to exist. But as in every religion and every culture, the extremists and the most vocal carry the show. While the elitists are the Mi’uta D’miuta, they’ll cause 90% of the problem. In my opinion, it’s incumbent on all of us, as the silent majority to speak up and not tolerate these attitudes that are the impetus and perpetuation of the problem.

7. I should have taken out the time to thank all the Askanim who work day and night, trying to get children placed. They Aibeshter should bench them with Shefa and Bracha. Unfortunately, they don’t have the power alone to fix the system.

8. As I have clearly gotten too emotionally involved, I don’t think I’m the person to deal with the schooling issue. I have therefore decided to remove myself from this Parsha. In terms of financial support, I will continue to support this beautiful Makom Torah, and hopefully with Hashem’s help, and your Tefillos, I’ll be able to increase my support.
As the Seforim Hakdoshim write: We’ll never know who is supporting who.

Ha’Aron Nosei Es Noisov. (Yalkut Shimoni)

B’Chavod Rav,

Shlomo Yehuda

http://www.thelakewoodscoop.co......html
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agreer




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 12:53 pm
Beautiful. He is really a wonderful man.
This letter shows his humility, which is rare amongst those who are so wealthy.

I am actually jealous of all the lashon hara spoken about him - he is getting so many mitzvos in exchange! His heart is in the right place, which is why one should ALWAYS be dan l'kaf zechus.
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amother
Babyblue


 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 1:13 pm
He spoke Sunday night and Monday he had a meeting with the Rosh hayehsivos and donated $1.5 million to kanarek after that meeting.

The only sad thing is that he is the only person that can bring about change to the Lakewood school system, if he is backing down then there is no one else left to stop this dilemma.
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 1:26 pm
I don't get it. why is he blaming the "elitists?" they cannot force the high school administrations to deny any kid an education. if the admins are listening to lashon hara and using this as a way to choose kids for their schools, the admins are at fault. the letter basically indicates that the elitists are from kollel families, earners may be considered inferior. if that's the case, the schools don't even have the excuse that a large donation was made to keep the school population uniform. where would these elitists get enough money to make such a donation? this doesn't add up. I don't like seeing all the blame go on the parent body, even if it's supposedly a small percentage. once this small percentage is officially considered the group to blame, schools can get away with just about anything while using parents as a scapegoat. seems like a load of hogwash to me. here's what would work: I bet if rechnitz told all the high schools in lakewood that his donation for the year would only come in after EVERY SINGLE CHILD WAS PLACED IN A HIGH SCHOOL, the problem would disappear.
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amother
Babyblue


 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 1:42 pm
It's sad because rechnitz is the only one who has power to make any kind of change. I think his speech was amazing but said at the wrong time and place. He should have called an asifa and had all school owners in attendance not only one school owner.

But if rechnitz who has so much money and is giving so much money is backing down after speaking with the leaders of Lakewood and rechnitz is so powerful, sadly I don't think anyone else can do this job.

And it's not fair to blame parents there are some that do speak bad but if parents were put into their place by school owners And made fun of right away this pattern would stop.

The only reason why parents talking bad is happening because those parents get recognition and the school likes them more because they are showing how frum they are. So if that was the real problem that could change so fast.

If parents would know that whatever they say goes back to the person they spoke about this would stop.

It's sad that he is backing down and avoiding the real problem which is the school owners wanting their schools to be elite.
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imasinger




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 1:44 pm
Maybe some of the responsibility goes to the parents who only want their kids to go to established schools, and are unwilling to send to the new schools?
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 1:48 pm
imasinger wrote:
Maybe some of the responsibility goes to the parents who only want their kids to go to established schools, and are unwilling to send to the new schools?


if the vaad is responsible for high school placement, they don't have a choice unless they send their kids to schools in other towns. the issue is not "my kid won't go to the school she's accepted to," it's "my kid wasn't accepted ANYWHERE."
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imasinger




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 1:55 pm
Thanks for clarifying.

I have read both opinions numerous times, ("the parents are not accepting their placements", and "the kids really aren't placed anywhere,"/"the school they were placed in was closed", etc.)

Has anyone ever done an objective look at the situation? IMO, sitting in my OOT house here, there should be anonymous interviews with EVERY family who doesn't have a placement, so that the planners can have a clear picture of each situation.
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 1:59 pm
imasinger wrote:
Thanks for clarifying.

I have read both opinions numerous times, ("the parents are not accepting their placements", and "the kids really aren't placed anywhere,"/"the school they were placed in was closed", etc.)

Has anyone ever done an objective look at the situation? IMO, sitting in my OOT house here, there should be anonymous interviews with EVERY family who doesn't have a placement, so that the planners can have a clear picture of each situation.


here's my opinion: schools should get first dibs on the kids they want, that's standard. the "leftover kids" should be forwarded to the vaad, whose job it should be to distribute the kids to all the schools in proportion to the size of the school. after this is figured out, ALL the acceptance letters can be sent out. no child receives more than one acceptance letter. it's ridiculous that there is an organization to place kids but parents still have to jump through hoops. this is obviously a power game.
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amother
Bronze


 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 2:00 pm
My level of respect only increases whith him writing this letter. R'R is truly a giant of a man
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dancingqueen




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 2:05 pm
I'm not involved in this situation at all but this letter screams of apologetics.
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 2:06 pm
dancingqueen wrote:
I'm not involved in this situation at all but this letter screams of apologetics.


agreed.
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Mevater




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 2:17 pm
dancingqueen wrote:
I'm not involved in this situation at all but this letter screams of apologetics.


a·pol·o·get·ics
əˌpäləˈjetiks/Submit
noun
reasoned arguments or writings in justification of something, typically a theory or religious doctrine.
"free market apologetics"

Please clarify. Is your post praise of Rechnitz and his opinions, or criticism?

And most importantly, why is he in Maimonides Hospital?


Last edited by Mevater on Thu, Jan 28 2016, 2:18 pm; edited 1 time in total
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amother
Babyblue


 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 2:17 pm
The vaad is there to make sure every child gets into a school. The thing is not every member of the vaad is on the vaad because he is a true tzadik some members are doing it for kavod. So it's not like the vaad is pure tzadikim and care about every child some want their name out there like wow, mr. So and So is so amazing .....

First thing is a vaad should be set up comprised of individuals who truly care about each and every child. Right now the vaad doesn't tell parents where their child is going until the week before school, why because this way parents are so desperate that they will listen to the vaad. It's a power game. If the vaad would tell parents in April where their child is going then parents would fight and say I'm not going there.

As it is now every year there are three to five children left home because parents refuse to listen to the vaad, if the vaad would let parents know in April many more parents wouldn't listen.

So the question is, is it fair to force parents to send where they don't want to send or do Parents have the right to decide if a school is a good fit for a child?

That's one issue.

Another issue is that sometimes a school would take In a parent but they play around with them because they know the vaad will force them to take more kids so they use these parents as bait that I'll take these two families but don't bother me for more kids so these poor parents hat would have gotten in normally get dragged around until vaad placement.

Another issue is parents speaking bad about other parents. The schools have to make a strong rule against this and enforce it. Right now parents are respected if they speak bad about another person.

I can't see how you can blame this problem on a few elitist. It's the schools that want to be elite so they attract parents who want to be elitist too.

These are just a few of the problems we face I can go on and on and I am speaking from the know because my husband is involved with school placement.

The problem is bad but most of it stems from kavod.
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Fox




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 2:22 pm
I'm sorry that Mr. Rechnitz felt the need to apologize. I listened to the speech in its entirety, and I saw nothing for which an apology is needed.

I myself don't live in Lakewood, and I know Lakewooders who claim the problem isn't really what it seems and others who claim it's an epidemic.

What I do know is that the Lakewood community has developed a reputation partly as a result of this and similar issues -- one that significantly detracts from its incredible accomplishments in Torah.

Moreover, there was tochacha in Mr. Rechnitz's speech for every single one of us. Are any of us truly innocent of wanting to be "better" in one way or another. Are any of truly innocent of not looking down on other Jews for trivial reasons? When we talk about "standards" in various areas of life, are we actually using that as a code word to put down people who aren't quite as . . . whatever . . . as we are?

Was this the best forum for his message? I don't know. Gevirim aren't typically given the opportunity to speak to a large audience unless it's at these kind of events, and certainly such events are regularly used by Roshei Yeshiva and other Torah leaders to exhort people toward proper behavior. So I find that argument a little dubious, to be honest.

Ultimately, we can choose to accept this tochacha and take it upon ourselves, whether or not we live in Lakewood, to remind ourselves not to practice the kind of elitism Mr. Rechnitz described and with which we're all familiar.

Or, we can make endless excuses by nitpicking details of the speech, the selection of the forum, or the character and motives of the messenger.

Which option will impress Hashem more?
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 2:23 pm
amother wrote:
The vaad is there to make sure every child gets into a school. The thing is not every member of the vaad is on the vaad because he is a true tzadik some members are doing it for kavod. So it's not like the vaad is pure tzadikim and care about every child some want their name out there like wow, mr. So and So is so amazing .....

First thing is a vaad should be set up comprised of individuals who truly care about each and every child. Right now the vaad doesn't tell parents where their child is going until the week before school, why because this way parents are so desperate that they will listen to the vaad. It's a power game. If the vaad would tell parents in April where their child is going then parents would fight and say I'm not going there.

As it is now every year there are three to five children left home because parents refuse to listen to the vaad, if the vaad would let parents know in April many more parents wouldn't listen.

So the question is, is it fair to force parents to send where they don't want to send or do Parents have the right to decide if a school is a good fit for a child?

That's one issue.

Another issue is that sometimes a school would take In a parent but they play around with them because they know the vaad will force them to take more kids so they use these parents as bait that I'll take these two families but don't bother me for more kids so these poor parents hat would have gotten in normally get dragged around until vaad placement.

Another issue is parents speaking bad about other parents. The schools have to make a strong rule against this and enforce it. Right now parents are respected if they speak bad about another person.

I can't see how you can blame this problem on a few elitist. It's the schools that want to be elite so they attract parents who want to be elitist too.

These are just a few of the problems we face I can go on and on and I am speaking from the know because my husband is involved with school placement.

The problem is bad but most of it stems from kavod.


none of this surprises me. if the vaad were properly functional, it would send out acceptance letters in April and let the parents know that their only other option is to send the kid to another town. this would give the parents enough time to make a decision. parents should have that right. this whole method of dividing up kids into schools is so dysfunctional, it can't even be called a system. and no, placement does not have to be done by people who care about the kids. it can be done by computer system, for all I care. it just has to be done by someone or something who/that is dedicated to doing his/its job. that's all. and the school boards need to get rid of the corrupt administrators. corrupt by money or ego.
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Fox




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 2:24 pm
Deleted double post.

Last edited by Fox on Thu, Jan 28 2016, 2:25 pm; edited 1 time in total
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amother
Plum


 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 2:24 pm
amother wrote:


Right now parents are respected if they speak bad about another person.

The problem is bad but most of it stems from kavod.


Puke Puke Puke Puke Puke Puke Puke Puke Puke Puke

So does that tell us that "FRUM" people speak badly about others, and that "FRUM" people listen to, and are mekabel what they hear.


Puke Puke Puke Puke Puke Puke Puke Puke Puke Puke AGAIN!
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amother
Crimson


 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 2:24 pm
Im realy sorry but im writing this reply as I just recieved another reject letter for the exact words he used there is no room! I have an amazing son kih no difficulty learning at all, has aced it througj his cheder years, we r an erlicha family but no we dont have millions, nor a big name in the street singletons reason my tzadik is being rejected by every school we have applied to in brooklyn of our type? So to all of u that think this man needs to apologize sorry ill send u this letter and maybe u can feel thebpain amd anguish im going through and then tell me if he was wrong, maybe all these rosh eshivos need to apologize for constantly lying and hurting parents but that noone thinks about, instead of yelling and showing so much hate to a person that is trying to make it better for us try to be part of the change that will iyh bring so many more of our children to reach thier full potential in yiddishkiet
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amother
Crimson


 

Post Thu, Jan 28 2016, 2:24 pm
Sorry posted twice by mistake
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