Riskin Is Completely Nuts! ...Or Is He?

Rafi (via Twitter) asks the question "...Has Rabbi Riskin lost his mind?"

DovBear asks, "Who exactly is Rabbi Riskin attempting to flatter with this twaddle?"

The Jewish Fist asks, "With Chief Rabbis such as these, who needs enemies?"

But, what on earth are they talking about?!

They are talking about the recently released video of Rabbi Shlomo Riskin of Efrat.

Yeshiva World News calls the video "shocking," which I personally believe is an understatement.

Jewish Israel has tried to knock some sense into him, but to no avail. (sigh)

Watch the video below, courtesy of Jewish Israel, so that you do not have to click on the Messianic Christian YouTube channel which uploaded it. Other videos on this channel include a Riskin Thank You video. (major eye rolling)

My Esser Agaroth (commentary) follows.

Find more videos like this on Jewish Israel


Rabbi Riskin obviously never read my post on so-called "Judeo-Christian Values." (...no such thing)

What do we call a Jew who identifies just way too much with Esau (...or Yishma'el, or both, or who forsakes the land)?

To paraphrase Rabbi Moshe Tzuri'el from his kontras "Rabbi A. Y. On The Erev Rav"

Just as Erev Shabbat is not yet Shabbat, Erev Rav is one who is not yet a rav....

So, is he nuts? Or is this some kind of calculated strategy to obtain money, attention, publicity, power (in his head, that is), or all of all the above?

You be the judge.

'Nuff said.

Whenever DovBear, Yeshiva World News, and I agree on something, even just partially, it is probably a good idea to pay attention.


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Update:
I am not entirely sure why Riskin made this video in the first place. (Well, actually, yes I am.)

You can read the report of Riskin's "retraction" on the Am Ha'Aretz news site, and watch his "video response" on YouTube.

Rabbi Dr. Shalom Gold (Har-Nof), a leading rabbi in the modern orthodox community in Israel had this to say...

“While recent clarification from Rabbi Riskin is welcome on this matter, I remain concerned. Rabbi Riskin’s consistently radical statements and ambiguous positions on interfaith dialogue and endeavors can be misinterpreted by both Jews and Christians and manipulated and twisted to fit the agendas of those who are trying to undermine the foundations of the Jewish faith and wreak confusion among our people.

Furthermore, it would be advisable for Rabbi Riskin to steer clear of mixing politics, history and Christian theological issues together with what is clearly a halachic matter. I imagine Rabbi Riskin’s revered teacher Rav Yoseph B. Soloveitchik, z”l would have been greatly distressed over the crossing of theological lines between faith communities which is currently taking place under the pretense of an Israel-evangelical alliance.”

Who knows what the real story is? I sure don't. You be the judge.

I do know one thing, though. Riskin's gotten a lot of attention in recent days....

Nonetheless, the next time he pulls a stunt like this, we all have to be there anyway, to call him on it, attention starved or not.

Cross-posted on Esser Agaroth.