Ripped Apart

One of the chief Rabbi's of Israel has been investigated for bribery and other allegations I can't recall. The Attorney General finished his investigation, announced he wasn't going to indict the Rabbi, but the Rabbi should step down anyway. This weekend in the paper he was ripped to pieces. How can such a person represent our country spiritually, what kind of a Rabbi is he, etc, etc. But he was never given a chance to defend himself. The attorney general found a way to destroy the man without allowing him to defend himself. Even in our not so democratic country there is still supposed to be some form of "innocent until proven guilty", isnt there?

There was a great quote that came out of this story, although it was used sarcastically in the article to further degrade the Rabbi. Apparently he was given a place to stay before Pesach a few years ago but instead stayed in a hotel at the taxpayers expense. When asked why, he said he didn't have enough time to clean the house. Then the reported quoted R' Aviner, one of the leading Dati Leumi Rabbis as saying,
"It shouldn't take more than a day to clean the whole house, including the kitchen. Anything more than that is a stringency. Each room shouldnt take more than an hour, and the kitchen two to three hours. Not only is there increased tension between husband and wife, but we show our children a very negative example by shouting at them... The husband and children are trembling in fear in some corner and eating while the mother glares at them like a drill sergeant. Is this preparation for Pesach!? No, it is a reign of terror, with the mother as Pharaoh presiding."
While I feel the Rabbi has been horribly mistreated, at least something good came from it all. I learned yet another piece of brilliance from R' Aviner.