While those of us in the religious camp have the Jewish way or remembering the dead - it should still be expected for EVERYONE to stand at attention and show our respect to the dead, and to our fellow non-religous citizens. Haredim skip out on the army leaving the burdon to everyone else, and than cannot show any respect to those who died to protect us all? Disgusting.

dear Rabbi let peopel do what is comfortable for them. You know the action is also to bring comfort to the living one, not only to remember the dead.G-d created flowers, why confuse it with pagan practise.Flowers are neutral symbolism. Toto recite Psalms and Kaddish during that time, well this has become part of out daily lover afair.Candles is no alien to us. mans soul is also akin to purity of the flowers just like the candle. The best thing to do is to show love an compassion and love to our loved once while they are alive.Everyday is a remebrance day and every seconds is a rememebrance seconds for our fallen soldiers. Anyway Nitsan Yanko, i,like this article.Rabbi Hanania Tsfar lets recite : -)

I have heard this argument years ago from a religious girl and I am sure she didn´t make it up. It has been around for some time. I advise him to stop using Non-Jewish facilities like the WC and take a shovel, as explained in the Tora. I won´t elaborate further. For shame, these people give us religious a bad name.

Every word he said is correct and reflects the proper Jewish attitude to these matters. I support what he says and encourage like-minded people who want to lead a proper Torah/Halachic lifestyle to follow in his approach.

maybe for those that have never served it has no value. but for those of us that have served standing at attention serves to honor the fallen. They are our brothers and it is out of total KAVOD that we stand , for if they had not served we would not be there to stand! I'm not against praying. But I am against taking a long standing military tradition and tossing it out because one man cries out "it's Goyish" .... I've stood guard at the flame and stood at attention for up to 4 hours during that time of honor and if possible I'd do it again,,,,, and yes I pray for their souls but I do it while standing at attention! "They fell so you can live" Jeesh! at least they don't have "SALES" on memorial day like they do in the states! That's right folks honor your war dead with a new mattress!

Jews

Whole communities, including mine, say T'hillim already, so stop with the unnecessary 'holier than thou' attitude. No one asked your opinion, and no one really wants it. Send your guys to the army, then we might listen to you.

I never thought this would happen, Me a secular Jew agreeing with a Rabbi, but I have always wondered why wreaths are laid in Israel. Thankfully, I have not been to many funerals either here or in England where I was born, but I remember being told in England that Jews do not lay wreaths because it is a non jewish tradition. As for "'Standing at attention ", I'm not sure whether its meaningless or not, but whilst it is still a tradition here, I will do it.

I agree with the Rabi. It has always struck me as a bit of a silly practice. What happens.... we stop what we are doing, stand, pull over to the side of the road, whatever, while the siren balres, wait a minute or two - try and focus on what we are doing, jump back into our cars and continue exactly like a few minutes previously. What does this do? Does it change us or the status of the fallen? I dont think so. Better a spiritual approach like the Rabi mentioned - the only thing we can practically do is achieve an elevation of the neshama.

And why doesnt this rabbi give up his valuless eastern european form of dress, whcih was inspired by cossacks and other non jewish pereecutors? especially since he looks sephardi!

What is exactly Jewish and non-Jewish? Does the fact that esteemed rabbis and religious people wear outlandish clothes make them Jewish? Obviously somebody fell in love with the phrase:C'est le chapeau qui fait l'homme? I, a gentile ( or "goy", who is a proud Israeli), have to say that to Jewish compatriots - why do you allow the Jewish discourse to be stolen from you by a bunch of people who fight for the right to live in Middle Ages, and often demand that other Jews do the same because they want it this way? The makers of Jewish "laws" exist on Jewish seculars' taxes, and they tell you how to behave? There's no nothing wrong with respect to religion, tradition of your nation. But when it is reduced to absurdity by a minority of population which doesn't create any significant wealth, it's outrageous. For me a great Jew is represented by Einstein, Rotschild,Bill Gates, Spilebierg , all these outstanding people who donated generously to mankind - the list can go on forever... I can't include into this list comical figures like Ovadia Yosef... with all due respect... " pay to pray" people....

for a couple of minutes has more purpose than your black hat ! Unlike your black hat IT UNIFIES ! When I first experienced it(2 mins. Silence) in 1993 it was a trigger for my resolve to make Aliah ! There's always room for enhancement, tehillim is certainly viable. How dare you suggest; "Standing at attention while the siren is sounded “is valueless,” the second temple was destroyed by lack of unity ! This is the greatest monument of achdus that presently exists in Israel ! The pagan, goishe, wreath routine is certainly not commensurate with Jewish values or tradition, and while, that "aspect" is challengeable your contention i.e.; the "valuelessness" of standing at attention in nation wide unity is; unlike the practice itself, is anything but unifying ! It is as spurious as those that contend that Chabad is not authentic Judaism due to the fact that some within the fold are messianist! Before you throw out the baby with the bath water, look in the mirror and ask yourself : in the end of days, will that black felt manifestation atop your head be viable in holding sway when your asked how did you conduct your business ? Is, has, or will it ever be of “value” in serving G-d, will your denigrating view of a harmless tradition have value to that end ? My beard is longer than yours rabbi; I’m a ba al tshuva, you can’t stand in my place, So how ‘bout not displacing those that might choose to return due to positive role modeling with rigid dress codes and perceived conformity to tradition (not Torah delineated)– the antisisis to Abrahamic example ! Think feel, or express your “sense” of things as you will but, not under the guise of Rabbinical authority (as regards; valuelesness, pointlessness)! Rabbi, yogurt has culture, cultists have agenda’s, human beings have values ! Jewish values as modeled by Avraham Avino are antithetical to convention; ask your self, were Avraham alive today would he rail against a harmless tradition of “unifying” “value” (to the children of Jacob that gave the world Shobbos), that is unprecedented by goyim or the world at large ? As the expression goes: “The pot calling the kettle black” Perhaps in this case; the rabbi calling the goyim black would seem more apropos: given the un democratic essence of Torah, the numbers that support your “life style”, is irrelevant, so I’ll ask you this: WERE ABRAHAM ALIVE TODAY, WOULD HE WEAR A BLACK HAT ?

The Rabbi's idea of "elevating souls" is itself non-Jewish. There is no support for it in the Talmud, notwithstanding its common, flawed interpretation. Qadish is for the living. Check the sources, Rishonim...you can only find this in obscure, statements by certain obscure Acharonim. The Torah says clearly, in many ways, that Tshuvah is the only path for this, and this is only while someone is alive. There is Din v'Cheshbon...deal with it.

Please read #5 & # 3, I think you have allowed your Jewish heart to be over-influenced by a Humra!

Right on, Eddie from London. Once you start picking at modern norms of behaviour you open yourself to ridicule of things you take for granted. What could be LESS genuinely Jewish than the goyish dress adopted by some Ashenazi religious from ancient Poland (land of violent Jew-haters) and even our respectable Sefardi bretheren have been pushed into this uniform instead of the dignified robes they could choose instead

As a German I found the sirens at Holocaust Remembrance Day always VERY IMPRESSIVE – with all those people on the street just standing still and standing attention at the place where they just went. VERY IMPRESSIVE and UNIQUE. O.k., I only see it every year at the news coverage in TV – but I think it's a signal the entire world understands. It's powerful and strong. On the other side to lit some candles and speak some prayers is just the ordinary thing – while the Holocaust was an EXTRAORDINARY crime. Furthermore the prayers are only understood by Jews – while the sirens speak the language of all peoples across the world...

Not with a minute or two of silence. We say Kaddish, Tehelim, learn Mishna, good deeds, charity. This is the Jewish way to elevate the neshama

Whilst I agree wreath laying has no jewish reflection whatsoever. and I for 1 prefer Jews to desist from it. I totally disagree with the comments made on the siren and standing as worthless. There is no other country on earth that memorialises its beloved fallen as Israel does. Saying kaddish and lighting candles is all well and good, however it wont be long before only 10% of the jewish population remembers the holocaust. The act of the siren and standing no matter where you are unites us Jews not to forget the shoah and those that fell in defending us. You want to rid yourself of goyish minhagim, you can start by getting rid of your black garb and bekeshe if you have one that is copied over from the cursed cossacs as was the shtreimel. Jews DONT wear black they wear WHITE! especially on shabbat. You want to follow jewish custom in clothing contact begedivri.com Im sure they can help you get out of your goyish black threads. And when the siren goes yes you stand to attention whether you accept it or not because it unifies us and our country. So stick that up your "italian" Borsolino hat! Time many of our Jews come out of the dark ages who live in a "virtual" jewish world, and unwilling to make Jew manifest by living as a real Jew, yes one that picks up the sword, yes one that rides a chariot of war and yes one that gets his hands dirty in the mud. As we were once, till 2000 yrs of goluss mentality cant shake the jew out of it. As the saying goes "You can take the Jew out of goluss but you cant remove the goluss out of the jew."

it's a totally goyish custom. regarding the polish clothing - yes, some non-jewish customs, when they become imbedded in the daily life and DO NOT contradict or obscure genuinly jewish customs. the siren actually DOES contradict, rather oblitirates the halachic requirement to say kaddish, tehillim, etc.. NEVER EVER did jews lay flower wreths on graves - just pebbles... all who think different - check your halachic sources or ask your rabbi...

classic form of dissent from the extreme out of touch, with so much time on their hands these "scholars" can find nothing more productive to do

As far as the sirens are concerned, because it's a public observance which is covered by the media, it also serves to garner the attention of non-Jews around the world, which is something that simply praying in private doesn't do. But that fact is there's no reason why there shouldn't be room for both.

I suppose they don't count or being such a myopic inbred he doesn't even realise non-Jews servce in the IDF unlike Ha'aredi.

the rabbi is right

It would be a lot more Jewish and a lot more moving.

Rabbi did you lose family in the Shoah? Do you know that there are anti-Semites out there who deny the Shoah or compare us to Nazis? Keep your comments to yourself they only embarass you and your followers.

Start giving practical clues as how we Jews can take out our goluss from ourselves and keep being better,ever better Jews. I am serious! Keep giving clues as we can live our enriched lives, after so many centuries of goluss,in a brand new ,and full of treasures,way. Express your observations and solutions-they are fundamental, the same as all observations and solutions comming from all Jews.

I suppose with you being a Chris Crocker wannabe, it really does not make any sense.