Matzav.com has launched a vicious attack on its competitor in the form of an article by someone alleged to be Rabbi Gavriel Rivlin. They provide no description of where he learned or got smichah, where he functions as a rabbi, or even where he lives. If he lives in Chelm I could understand why I cannot find him in any of the usual directories. Otherwise I can’t understand why there is neither a single Google hit for his name (other than the Matzav article and comments on it), nor any other online indications that he exists.
Perhaps he exists but has completely avoided any connection to the Internet. If so, how did he instantly become a maven about these things? If not, the article is a pathetic fraud; Matzav which denounces anonymous posters will have used one.
Either way, this “Gavriel” was used to attack a competitor of Matzav while invoking Torah. Matzav, surely you recognize the Torah principle of nogeiah b’davar, one should not pretend to be a disinterested actor when you have a personal interest. If VIN loses advertising revenue, you stand to gain some of it. Now you have told loshon horah and been motzi shem rah on VIN. According to the Chofetz Chaim, this is permitted if there is a toeless, a legitimate purpose of protecting others from harm. However, the Chofetz Chaim is clear that when the motive is personal interest in harming another it is not permitted.
So Matzav, please explain how your attack on VIN is not a violation of the dinim of shmiras halashon?
ACTION ADVISORY– If you have read the Matzav article and it offends you, submit a comment on their story and paste a copy of your comment into Frum Follies so their censorship won’t make your words disappear.
EDUCATE YOURSELF ABOUT BANS: Listen to Rav Nosson Kaminetsky, son of a true gadol, Yaakov Kaminetsky, talk about The Making of a Ban. Read my post, The Sources of Charedi Corruption.
Hat Tip: DK for the title, some of the ideas, and some of the research.
Posted on the ban entry:
139. Comment from M. Gross
Time December 28, 2010 at 4:15 AM
I am a bit worried about the fate of truth in the hareidi world.
The hareidi newspaper in our town constantly suppresses information about important topics discussed in the hareidi world of this town. On some topics, it gives extremely biased information. On some topics, it is not ready to correct outright wrong information.
I saw a similar tendency in other hareidi newspapers and also on hareidi newssites.
So on the one had, I have a problem of getting correct information on certain topics (e.g. the herem of one person or boycot of one shop in our town), that would make full transparence and allow me to decided how to act.
On the other hand, this shortage of transparent informations worries me for the hareidi world. Judaism claims to be a religion of truth. So I cannot understand how this is compatible with hiding the truth.
Thank you for your comment! It has been added to the moderation queue and will be published here if approved by the webmaster.
and did so called RABBI hoffman from VIN get semcuha ? is he also considreerd by u a rabbi?….
A commenter on Dovbear says that Matzav is owned by Lipshitz from the Yated, and that Rabbi Gavriel Rivlin is just another pseudonym for whoever writes the articles in the yated under different names.
I don’t know if this is true, but it makes sense to me.
Matzav posted an article by yair hoffman too hyocrites.
they also posted an article on cliff lee going to the Phillies.So much for a Torah oriented website.hypocrits.
Comment I submitted to Matzav on Monday evening:
Comment from A nudnik
Time December 27, 2010 at 9:27 PM
To number 9:
Perhaps you are confusing Emes Ve-Emunah, the blog maintained by Rabbi Maryles, with Failed Messiah.
I read Emes Ve-Emunah regularly. I have never seen him attack the Novominsker or other rabbis. Please post the link(s) to prove the veracity of statement or withdraw the comment.
It is a lie to write “Maryles has also previously called for Rubashkin and other Frum Jews to rot in jail.” Here are some excerpts from what Rabbi Maryles has written on this topic:
http://haemtza.blogspot.com/2010/12/sholom-rubashkin-captive-or-convicted.html
“Most people who read this blog know how condemning I have been of Mr. Rubashkin for his misdeeds. Most people are also aware that I felt the sentence he received for his crime was way out of proportion to his crime.”
http://haemtza.blogspot.com/2010/04/rubashkin-truth-and-mercy.html
“…the proposed life sentence does not fit the crime. Life in prison should be reserved for murderers or the like.”
Thank you for your comment! It has been added to the moderation queue and will be published here if approved by the webmaster.
he got smicha from JB at the catholic church
I assume your were aiming for chutzpah in using JB to refer the gadol hatorah and gaon, the Rav, Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik. The Rav was a godol. He was Vice President of Agudah in the days when there were real gedolim on its moetzes. Rav Aaron Kotler and Rav Moshe Feinstein considered him a godol even when they disagreed with him. When Rav Schneur Kotler was sitting shiva for his son, Rav Soloveitchik entered the room and Rav Schneur stood up for him even though he was in aveilus because he recognized that the Rav was a gadol.
You may have been aiming for chutzpah, but your aim was wrong. Rabbi Maryles got his smichah from Rav Aaron Soloveitchik, zatzal. Besides being a great talmud chacham like his brother, the Rav, he was an absolute ish emes. He hired talmidei chachamim to teach at Hebrew Theological College including a Chaim Berlin musmach with a college degree, Rabbi Yaakov Perlow. Rabbi Perlow, also known by some as the Novominsker Rebbe, went on to become the Rosh of Agudas Yisroel. He kneels down with the Catholic Church through the political arms of Agudah to take in money and to cover up molesting. Now a Catholic is a bnei noach and many poskim hold that they are NOT ovdei kochavim. Catholics believe in the true hashem of tanach but have added on a human shutaf. L’halachah this is forbidden for a Jew but doesnt make a bnai noach an oveid kochavim. However sacrificing children to the molach of child molesting is an aveirah d’oraisa for a Jew and is a violation of the sheva mitzvos bnei noach.
Rabbi Maryles is a yid and a defender of halachah. Unlike some orthodox rabbis he does not say frumkeit can coexist with geneiveh and tolerating toevah inflicted on our children by shkotzim who think they are frum because they are medakdek about begoddim and hechsherim.
47. Comment from Capitalism
Time December 27, 2010 at 2:50 PM
That’s all this is. Why not just say it outright?
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matzav posted about a lakewood guy arrested after pressure they removed the story yet they never apoligized.
Please share the details.
the eli weinstein story was posted including his picture on matzav.that was pure lashon hora on a “torah” website.the tropper story was also covered by matzav.They post articles against a lakewood askan who went against the big boys in town calling him misyavnim. All this without a haskama o any rav.They are worse than VIN since they go nder the guise of torah.Yet when there is an interest among the powers that be they stoop to lashon hora and rechilos.
R’ Yerachmiel-
Please see and post the correspondence with the matzav editor below. As evidenced by the final response, the poor shlub can’t even recognize thinly veiled sarcasm. I was merely attempting to point out that those same people who take the kol koreh literally for the ban on VIN are totally missing the opening lines where the same gedolim state that even filtered internet should be used only for business purposes, and not for (R)HM-bashing. He clearly got that, which is why I assume the comment was rejected, but was unable to keep up with the rest of the conversation. I’m glad that you are providing a venue to showcase the conflict of interest and duplicitous behavior of matzav and the so-called “Gavriel Rivlin”.
From: “Matzav .com”
Sender: matzav613@gmail.com
Date: Tues, 28 Dec 2010 03:59:16
Subject: Re: Why Wasn’t My Comment Published
It all depends on the type of filter you have. Its a long discussion
in understanding filters.
If you have a general filter which filters based on categories which
many filters are then they rather it only be used for business because
there still are mechsholim as the filter is not that secure.
But if you have a whitelist filter, which only allows frum websites
and certain essential business websites that u specifically request ,
then there is nothing wrong. And it is not only matzav which is
permitted but artscrol.com, eichlers, misaskim, oorah, and many more.
If everything else is blocked, and u only have access to frum sites
its not called having internet and its a lechachilah product.
Its a long discussion, which we have published in seperate articles
and is not the place for a comment on an unrelated article.
On 12/28/10 00:58:12, _______________ wrote:
> I understand fully. When they wrote in the ban that even filtered internet
> was muttar “אך ורק למסחר בלבד” that obviously was not literal and never
> meant to exclude Matzav. However, everything else in that kol koreh was 100%
> literal without question.
> It’s a good thing that the majority of your readers are so intelligent and
> can easily make that obvious distinction. I guess the only question is why
> you were unwilling to allow my post through with a Moderator’s comment to
> explain that to the intellectually challenged readers like myself.
> —–Original Message—–
> From: “Matzav .com”
> Sender: matzav613@gmail.com
> Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2010 20:59:16
> Subject: Re: Why Wasn’t My Comment Published
>
> You comment was that internet for non business use is a problem – that is
> correct
>
> However, if a site is a frum site and has the same material that a
> newspaper
> you bring into your house has than there is no problem visiting the site.
> That is provided you have a block on the rest of the internet. The rabbonim
> deemed matzav appropriate if you have such a filter. Vin is not appropriate
> even if you have such a filter. That was the point of our discussion and
> your comment was not relevent to post.
>
>
>
> On Mon, Dec 27, 2010 at 4:34 PM,________ wrote:
>
>> What does this have to do with my comment? Kol hakavod to you for your
>> Matzav Net service, but my comment had nothing to do with filters!
A person should have a strong internet filter. The main side of our business is not matzav.combut Matzav Net. We provide a solution for people to be able to access frum sites without having internet in their homes. If you go to shop in Eichlers store in brooklyn than there is nothing wrong with having access to eichlers.com if the rest of the internet is blocked.
We highly recomend people subscribe to that mehadrin whitelist product which is backed by all Roshei Yeshivos.
Please see here.
http://matzav.com/the-matzav-revolution-introducing-the-matzav-jewish-network
or go to http://matzavnetwork.com to order.
On Mon, Dec 27, 2010 at 4:23 PM, ________ wrote:
Dear Editor, amus”h
I submitted the comment below at 1:08 PM and it was “submitted to the moderation queue” but has not yet appeared, despite the most recent comment being posted at 3:49PM. I am just as concerned about ahavas yisroel and kavod hatorah ug’doleha as you are, but this thread has devolved into ad hominem attacks on (Rabbi) Harry Maryles which is certainly not within the parameters of appropriate internet use according to these same gedolim who signed the ban in the ban itself as I pointed out in my respectfully written comment. It is somewhat hypocritical and duplicitous on your part to allow unchecked “HM-bashing” while not allowing me to point out to the rabim that this thread is just as inconsistent with the divrei chachomim as are the posts/broadcasts by that blogger.
B’virkas hatorah,
Ben
P.S. I submitted this comment under a pseudonym and hope you understand that I had reasons for such.
36. Comment from Ben Goshen
Time December 27, 2010 at 1:08 PM
I just reread the ban:
וכבר יצאו חוצץ הרבנים הגאונים שליט”א באיסור חמור שמי שלא צריך לכלי זו בהחלט למסחר אסור להשתמש בכלי זה, ואף מי שצריך למסחר לא יהי’ לו אך ורק באופן מסונן מכל דבר ומראה איסור, וישתמש בו אך ורק למסחר בלבד.
Those supporting the ban, including Harav Rivlin, seem to have only accepted the ban on VIN while missing the sagacious words of our gedolim who signed the same kol korei that states the internet should be used only for business purposes. I fail to see how this posting or extensive discussions of the ban and VIN fall under the category of אך ורק למסחר בלבד.
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Thank you for a fantastic illustration of the point of this post. Matzav illustrates what happens when moderation degenerates in censorship. A long time ago those fighting to end slavery argued that the institution of slavery also traps slaveholders into foolish choices.
Another problem with censorship is that it makes the censors lazy. They stop learning to engage in chakirah. Instead they think they can swat away inconvenient truths and make them disappear. These naronim would probably publish a new gemorah where there are no machlokes.
Jews believe in power of chakirah. The censors are turning into amaratzim because they can win arguments with themselves by being lazy.
I say standing up for kavod hatorah has to include eilu v’eilu and shivim panim.
It’s interesting to watch as new things are added to the corruption blender.
Now they’re taking “not relevant to the post” and using that as a way to defend the party line.
It’s “not relevant”, not because it’s not an intelligent comment on the post, but because they’ve already far-enfehred the comment elsewhere.
Hmm.. How about 50 comments spouting the party line, albeit less intelligently than a 10th grade public schooler? Apparently, that passes.
It seems more & more like Matzav was somewhat behind this bann.
I truley believe a bann on Matzav would have been more appropriate.
It is mindbogeling & sickening to see how they have the Chutzpah to vile an out of town Modern Orthodox Rabbi, who seems to be a straight shooter, and questions conduct of other askanim in that they may not be so straight. After seeing emes vemuna blog I saw many of my questions I have had for sometime on his blog.
After seeing the email reply that Matzav is allowed on filters & VIN not it is so repulsive, who is the Rav Hamachshir/hamachshil of those filters? Non-exsistant Gavriel Rivlin?
The content of Matzav is lies half-truths, & manipulation Loshon Hora Motzei Shem Ra & Ish Es Reiahu Chaim beloih. I personally to not take the Yated in my house, it has no hechsher & is full of garbage & worse IMHO. The email claimed like you take a newspaper into the house, who permitted that?
The comments which question their behavior that they don’t publish etc.
VIN is no saint, but almost all of it is quotes & links, you have access to anyway. The comments if you bother to read them mean nothing after all it is only a blog full of anonymous venting.
Matzav prints their own news, sometimes they make it up I guess others I alledge they steal it, & transalate it into a Broklyn Yiddish offshoot of English.
I believe the boycot has disclosed the evil of Matzav & possibly Yated the boycot will fix them, where as VIN trafic will increase, & the Kol Koreh will remain an embarasment that time will heal.
BTW I don’t believe VIN is a tzadik, just a Baal Parnoso in the line of Journalism with his own agenda, but Matzav seems to be quite evil. IMHO.
Matzav=Pinny Lifshitz=Gavriel Rivlin.
No question.
It’s unfortunate that ALL the frum news sites (and Yated) are cesspools of loshon hora, with zero balance or accountablity.
Matzav has been using pseudonyms for years. They had a guy named “Shubert” and another named “Biberfeld” that wrote nonsensical editorials for them.
I wrote this comment on FM over a year ago in response to a Matzav post written by “Shubert”. The heading of Shubert’s editorial was “Stop with the Chillul Hashem Headlines”:
VIN is probably the closest of the charedi news outlets to being honest, although they pick and choose which criminals to protect by only posting their initials. Hamodia, Yated, Matzav and YWN are set up to show that the chareidi world is all wonderful and perfect and that the rest of the world (including RZ,MO) is downright evil. Even when Pinny of the Yated wrote his “courageous” piece about child molestation, he was very careful not to mention all the years of coverups by the rabbinical leaders, or that the victims should go to the police. Instead he stated that it’s all a decree from heaven when a child is molested. Whoever uses these outlets as his source for news in the community is doing himself a disservice. Somehow they think that Soviet/KGB style news censorship is supposed to be good for us. Every time a chareidi is arrested in a high profile case (SMR, Spinka, “starving mom”), their headlines scream about anti-semitism, nazism and blood libels. Then come the riots and midtown demonstrations to add more fuel to the chillul hashem fire. And of course these rioters are all doing it l’shem shamayim. The chareidi world would be perceived in a much better light if its leadership and news outlets deal with these crises in an open, honest and forthright manner, rather than with coverups, denials, apologetics and sugarcoating.
Posted by: steve | October 01, 2009 at 03:37 PM
Comment I submitted to Matzav in reaction to attack by “Rabbi Rivlin” on Rabbi Harry Maryles (http://matzav.com/how-can-a-rabbi-get-away-with-being-mevazeh-a-gadol-batorah):
11. Comment from A nudnik; Time January 5, 2011 at 2:59 PM
Rabbi Maryles lets us know who HE is. Matzav generally gives some biographical information about those who write for it. But not for “Rabbi Rivlin”. Why?
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Here is one they did approve:
4. Comment from The Beast; Time January 5, 2011 at 1:28 PM
Who is Gavriel Rivlin? What he has to say is interesting and worth pursuing but I need to know who this man is. He himself says that he has been accused of an ulterior motive and interestingly prior to Rabbi Maryles (or the (in)famous Kol Koreh), I and anyone I asked never heard of this man nor can I find any info on him anywhere. Does anyone here know? Matzav.com, can you shed some light?
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