HT: Yaak
With summer coming, the northern Israeli city of Tiberias could be a dangerous place, says a well-known rabbinical figure in the city.
Rabbi Dov Kook, according to video obtained by the Kikar Shabbat web site, recently made a speech in which he told followers to “run away” from the city, lest they be caught up in a coming tragedy – which is set to happen because of the immodest dress that pervades the city, he said.
“I am telling all religious people in Tiberias to boycott this city,” he told listeners at a recent speaking engagement. “It is not allowed to live here, I would like to say to the religious people here.”
At issue is a beach area that was formerly reserved for men and women on different days, but recently was made a “mixed” beach. The beach is opposite Tiberias's ancient Jewish cemetery, which has the remains of many rabbis, community leaders, and kabbalists, and has been in use for hundreds of years.
Tiberias, on the banks of Lake Kinneret, is one of Israel's most popular summer vacation destinations, and has dozens of hotels surrounding on the water. The hotel district roughly follows the contours of the ancient settlement of Tiberias, which dates back over 2,000 years.
Rabbi Kook suggested staying far away from the city, or at least the tourist areas near the beaches. “Whoever goes there is a sinner,” he said. “He will not have peace in his household. The souls in the cemetery are being forced to witness this immodesty. They are aware of what is happening and are terribly hurt. A terrible tragedy is coming to Tiberias, there is no sin which is worse than this immodesty,” he added.
Source: Israel National News
5 comments:
Did he place a limit on the time after which we can claim he was wrong?
Simply put, he's a Navi Sheker, and he'll be proved as such when no tragedy takes place.
Of course, I expect someone will get into a car accident, or some such every day occurrence, and he'll point to it as proof. But Hashem knows.
The beaches are a problem in general.
At the Kinneret, male lifeguards will stroll freely between the women , both on the beach and in the water -- and not to rescue anyone, but to go out and chat with their friends waiting on jet skis near the roped boundary. Yeah, those lifeguards come around on their jet skis and sit right near where girls are hanging onto the boundary buoys.
A Jerusalem Post article from years ago interviewed Israeli lifeguards who outright stated that they are for sure checking out the women. It's not like going to a male gynecologist like everyone likes to say.
Personally, when I go to the women's beach at the Kinneret, I wear something that covers me as much as when I go out on the street. And yes, I still enjoy myself.
Just as an amusing side note: When the boys start to swim too close to the women's side, these same secular lifeguards will yell at them: "To the boys approaching the women's side: Chaval! You spend all year studying Torah and guarding your eyes, and you're willing to ruin all that in one moment? Get back to the men's side!"
Only in Israel, eh?
Amusing as it is, it makes sense. Presumably he's yelling at Yeshivah students/graduates, who supposedly care about such things. The lifeguard, I would guess, is Chiloni, and doesn't.
Acc. to Kikar, he just said this morning that if he leaves this world, it will be because of this.
A blogger is speculating that this is the cause for recent wolf attacks there...
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