Sympathetic to all

"A Jew is not satisfied with his redemption unless everybody will be redeemed with him; the Jew feels the beat of the heart of the universe. The Jew prays even for the cosmos. Once a month, he prays that God restore the diminution of the moon. The Jewish experience is all-inclusive, all-embracing, sympathetic to all." (Rabbi  Joseph B. Soloveitchik)

Meanwhile, in Gaza tonight

"Yellow Line" on a topographic map of Gaza. It shows that the Israeli military is pushing Palestinians into the lowest-lying parts of Gaza, ensuring that as many people as possible are flooded by cold water and sewage.

AI, is israel blocking Israel is blocking the entry into Gaza of mobile shelters, prefabricated homes and even camper vans?

Yes — the reporting is consistent and specific on this point. Israel has blocked prefabricated homes, mobile homes/caravans, and most shelter materials from entering Gaza, and has allowed only limited numbers of tents.

Gaza City council member Mustafa Qazzaat, speaking to AFP, said Israel has not allowed prefabricated homes into Gaza since the truce was announced and has permitted only limited tent entry, while Gaza urgently needs around 200,000 prefabricated homes.1 2 3 Israeli authorities have classified shelter items — tent poles, construction materials, and mobile homes — as "dual use," effectively barring them almost completely, and roughly 8,600 IOM emergency shelter kits have been sitting outside Gaza and turned away at crossings.4 5 Prefabricated homes were also excluded on the grounds that they count as reconstruction, which Israel has made conditional on political and military requirements.6 Other reporting confirms that despite the October ceasefire, severe restrictions on caravans and shelter goods continue.7

The practical result: the first winter storm of the season flooded at least 70,000 tents in about 12 hours on November 7, 2026, and hundreds of families fled camps in Gaza City and the central and northern Strip.1 5 The UN humanitarian office says 294,250 families need shelter assistance, supplies cover only partial help for 18 percent of them, and more than 1.6 million people are living in tents or makeshift shelters.2

1

Heavy rain inundates shelters for people displaced by war in Gaza - The Hindu

www.thehindu.com

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2

Gaza's First Winter Storm Floods Thousands of Displaced Families' Tents

www.hngn.com

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3

Rain floods tens of thousands of tents in Gaza as storms hit Mediterranean coast | The Times of Israel

www.timesofisrael.com

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4

Rains flood Gaza displacement camps as Israeli authorities block entry of shelter materials into territory | Middle East Eye

www.middleeasteye.net

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5

Gaza Pleaded for Shelters for Nearly Two Years; Now 70,000 Tents Are Flooded | Countercurrents

countercurrents.org

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6

Israel weaponises cold weather against Palestinians in Gaza for fourth year, continues to ban shelter supplies | Countercurrents

countercurrents.org

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7

Despite ceasefire, Israel's siege allowing only a trickle of aid into Gaza

www.972mag.com

"~10 rainwater suction trucks have been held at the crossings for a year as the occupation blocks their entry, & by August municipalities said they had received no fuel for their heavy machinery since March." 

And some in Israel celebrate:

The actual quote, in Hebrew: "אני מעריך שלא יישאר אוהל אחד עומד במקום שלו" — "I estimate that not a single tent will remain standing in its place." Then, per the article, "with sarcasm": "אין לי בעיה עם זה שגם לא יישארו שם אנשים" — "I have no problem with it that no people will remain there either."

Channel 14, Israel

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim

Gaza’s tents are flooding. On Israel’s Channel 14, hosts Noam Fathi and Shai Goldstein laughed. “Water is a resource.” “Open a water park.” “Keep all the ruins.” Then AI images of slides, inner tubes and an Israeli cruise ship on Gaza’s rubble. They named it “Gazaluna.” Last winter, at least 16 people died in Gaza’s storm, three of them children who froze to death. Israel still restricts the tents and temporary homes that could keep people dry. This is prime-time Israeli TV. What kind of society finds the death of children in agony entertaining?

Is this the kind of people that the State of Israel is producing. We recall other words from the Rav:

"… if the State of Israel will become a secular kingdom without Torah, without sanctity, without the Sabbath, without Jewish education, without family purity, a State in which Jewish uniqueness will be erased, then the price we are paying for her in blood and tears is too heavy." (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, The Rav Speaks, pp. 138-9.)

What if it produces people who are utterly heartless and brazen about it?

Remember the words of Holocaust survivor Primo Levi

Misrepresenting the Rav

 

"Returning to Aliyah today: All those who make Aliyah for the sake of uplifting themselves spiritually, for the sake of fulfilling a Mitzvah, for the sake of being part of Jewish history, and for the sake of living in the land of Kedushah, have no problem with facing the challenges of Aliyah, and certainly have no intention of leaving Eretz Yisrael."

The above passage is from the book the Halakhic Positions of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Vol. VII. The editor Aharon Ziegler does not give a source for this statement. And that's a problem because the statement contradicts verifiable statements from Rabbi Soloveitchik on the subject.

"It is ridiculous to tell a young man, who does a good job, or has prepared or trained himself to do a good job [here in the U.S., that he must instead go to ארצ ישראל]. "Good job" means to spread Torah, or to lead an exemplary life which serves as an example to others through personal contact - there are many ways to convert and educate Jews. I am not giving up on American Jews. If I feel that in my town, or in my village, I will accomplish a lot, and when I come to Eretz Yisrael so I or my influence will be reduced to zero, my place is here, not there. Some who went to Eretz Yisrael achieved the same objectives they would have in the Diaspora. But only some! I know of many who fail. They don't admit it. It's nice on their part not to admit it." (Holzer, The Rav Thinking Aloud, pp. 242-3).

“If I feel, for reasons of language or for so many reasons, that in Eretz Yisrael my influence will be diminished, restricted, so my job is to stay here.” (Holzer, The Rav Thinking Aloud, p. 241.)

Professor Marc Shapiro said, "The thing about the Rav is, that he's a Zionist, but I hope I don't offend anyone when I say this, he's the most non-Zionist Zionist you can find. That is, who ever heard of a Zionist who never went to the State of Israel.  Whoever heard of a Zionist that everyone who told him I want to go on aliyah, he said don't, stay here." Letters from The Rav (Part 1) || Dr. Marc Shapiro - YouTube 29:00 

It is reasonable to propose that Rabbi Ziegler, who lived in Brooklyn, presented his own thought and made it seem as if he was citing Rabbi Soloveitchik. Americans have no idea how difficult Aliyah can be and how many times you have to leave because your children are being destroyed. This line "have no problem with facing the challenges of Aliyah" is ridiculous. It's a guilt trip, saying, if it doesn't work out it's because you weren't spiritual enough, not because it's a very expensive and troubled place with a super challenging culture, or just because not everybody can handle being an immigrant regardless of their intentions.  

We see many cases of people not listening to their rabbis or even to their gadolim. Here we have a case of a book misrepresenting the rabbi it claims to represent.

R' Yoshe Ber: A Talmid's Perspective - Part 1 [R' Moshe Meiselman] (Ep. 341)

 

Rabbi Moshe Meiselman, nephew of Rabbi Soloveitchik, tells the story of how Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik entered a room where the first Chinuch Atzmai dinner was taking place and Rabbi Aaron Kotler announced, “Everyone should stand up, the gadol ha-dor just walked in.” Rabbi Meisleman says that a record of the incident is available in the archives of the Agudas Yisrael organization.

At the time, yeshivas in Poland were emptying out and the universities were being filled by thousands of Jews. In the words of Rav Moshe Meiselman's grandson Rabbi Moshe Meiselman, Rav Moshe said, “The dor is falling apart. I have to teach the Torah to them where they are to mechazeik them.” 

Video of Isadore Twersky

 One of the Rav's sons in law. Chair of Jewish studies at Harvard.

Rabbi Joseph B Soloveitchik - Behaalotcha – Nosim Anachnu