Dear Matzav Inbox,
There are things we tolerate in our community simply because “that’s how it’s always been,” and then there are things that should make every Yid stop in their tracks and say: This is a shandeh. What I am about to describe falls squarely into the latter category.
I am speaking about the way some bosses in the frum world treat their employees.
It is shocking that in a community built on middos, on derech eretz, on ve’ahavta l’reiacha kamocha, we still have individuals in positions of authority who behave as if basic human dignity is optional. People who talk down to their workers, who yell, who belittle, who humiliate, who forget that the person standing in front of them is not “staff,” not “help,” but a Yid created b’tzelem Elokim.
I have watched employees—hardworking, ehrliche, dependable people—walk out of offices with their shoulders slumped, eyes glazed, faces drained of color. Why? Because their frum boss shredded their dignity over a small mistake, a misunderstood instruction, or worse, just because they were the designated punching bag that day. I’ve heard, and seen, stories of bosses screaming across the room, mocking their workers, calling them names, treating them in ways they themselves would never tolerate for a second.
And somehow, it continues. Somehow, we have allowed it to become normal.
Where did we go wrong? When did we decide that business is a heter to abandon basic decency? When did we forget that becoming successful or yarshening a company from your dad or grandfather does not give a person permission to become arrogant? When did we stop holding individuals accountable for acting like miniature tyrants instead of leaders?
We preach mussar. We attend shiurim about bein adam lechaveiro. We speak about creating a kiddush Hashem in the workplace. Yet, in the very same frum offices, behind closed doors, the behavior is the opposite of everything we claim to stand for.
And the damage? It is enormous. It destroys morale. It erodes self-esteem. It pushes people away from our community’s ideals. It scars them. It teaches an entire generation that frumkeit and menschlichkeit are somehow separable. It is a disgrace.
We must stop pretending this is rare or exaggerated. It is not. Too many people whisper these stories in the hallways, afraid to speak loudly because they need their jobs. Too many workers fear retaliation, fear losing their parnassah, fear being labeled “difficult” for daring to ask for basic respect.
Every boss has a choice: to lift people up or to crush them. To inspire or to intimidate. To behave like a leader or like a bully. And every employee has the right—not a luxury, a right—to be treated with dignity.
To those bosses who act with chesed, who model what it means to be a true baal middos, who speak gently, correct respectfully, and remember that their employees are human beings, yasher koach. You are the ones creating a kiddush Hashem every single day.
But to the others—the ones whose voices thunder down hallways, whose tempers flare without limit, whose arrogance fills the building—they need to hear this loud and clear: Your behavior is a chilul Hashem.
It is not leadership. It is not strength. It is not professionalism. It is cruelty wrapped in frum language.
If you can’t treat your employees with respect, you should not be managing them. Step aside. Get serious help. Learn mussar. Work on your temper. Do whatever you need to do, but stop excusing your behavior as “stress” or “pressure” or “that’s just how I run my business.”
We, as a community, must demand better. We must create workplaces where employees feel valued, where communication is civil, where frumkeit and menschlichkeit coexist, as they were always meant to. Let us have the courage to say that cruelty is not a business model, that yelling is not management, and that being frum is not a costume but a way of life that must permeate even the walls of an office.
If we cannot treat the people who work for us with dignity, what are we even building?
It’s time to fix this. It’s time to speak up. It’s time to stop allowing frum bullies to hide behind their titles.
Because at the end of the day, the greatest success is not measured in profits, properties, or payrolls. It is measured in how we treat other Yidden.
An Employee
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Momentum toward passing a new Israeli draft law — intended to formalize the status of yeshiva students and set updated enlistment targets — hit another major obstacle, as the legal adviser to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee came out firmly against including civil–security service as part of the draft quotas.
The development follows a report yesterday indicating that the committee’s legal adviser, Miri Frenkel-Shor, had already demanded at least two more months of deliberations on the draft law. Such a delay would push the legislative process dangerously close to the deadline for passing the state budget, creating additional political pressure.
As time goes on, the challenges surrounding the legislation appear only to intensify.
Chareidi parties have insisted that the new draft law recognize civil–security service — work in the police, the Shin Bet, the Mossad, and the Prison Service — as part of the enlistment goals. Their argument is that, given the new targets proposed, these roles must count toward meeting the law’s requirements.
But Frenkel-Shor issued a formal legal opinion rejecting that proposal outright.
In her written assessment to committee members, she stated: “The civil–security service track, which is open only to graduates of chareidi educational institutions, constitutes a violation of equality since the nature of national-civil service is fundamentally different from military service, even if it is considered civil–security service.”
She added further concerns, writing that this service track is significantly shorter, voluntary rather than compulsory, and does not include reserve duty — all of which, she argued, create a substantial disparity between it and actual army service.
According to her, even though civil–security placements may involve some form of security contribution, they “do not currently meet the test of present security needs, which require increasing the number of IDF combat soldiers and personnel.”
The reaction in the chareidi factions has been one of deep concern. There is growing fear that as discussions progress, the legal adviser will object to additional core elements of the bill, making passage nearly impossible.
A senior chareidi figure involved in negotiating the draft law warned: “At this pace, if she indeed opposes the central clauses, we will not be able to amend them, because the rabbanim will not allow it. On the other hand, it would be a mistake to pass a law that contradicts the legal adviser’s position. And if we pass it anyway, it is almost certain to be struck down by the High Court, which would only create a bigger mess. If this continues, there will be no law.”
{Matzav.com}
A stormy scene erupted in the Knesset on Monday after MK Naama Lazimi of the Democrats party was forcibly removed from the podium for the second time in two weeks, following harsh remarks in which she again referred to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu as a “mafioso” and “head of a crime organization.”
The incident occurred during a plenary session following Netanyahu’s address, in which he criticized the opposition. Immediately afterward, Lazimi took to the podium and declared: “Today we saw yet another deranged performance from the head of the crime organization known as Binyamin Netanyahu. So what is this mafioso, who is extorting an entire country, telling us?”
Her remarks triggered an immediate uproar. Likud MK Tali Gottlieb, seated in the plenum, burst out at Lazimi: “You will not call a prime minister a mafioso — get down!” Gottlieb then appealed to the deputy Knesset speaker, MK Nissim Vaturi, who was overseeing the session, to order Lazimi’s removal.
“You will not call a prime minister a mafioso, get down,” Gottlieb repeated. Lazimi continued speaking and claimed that Netanyahu had transferred suitcases of money to Hamas. At that point, Knesset ushers approached the podium and removed her by force.
This is the second time in two weeks that Lazimi has been ousted from the podium. Two weeks earlier, she was also removed after calling the Likud “a crime organization.” At that time she said: “I want to say something to those who call themselves members of the Likud party, but in reality have long been members of a crime organization.” She continued attacking the coalition: “When the entire Prime Minister’s Office works with a hostile state, Qatar, to make money during wartime and you all stay silent — are these not the codes of organized crime?”
Deputy Speaker Eliahu Revivo, who chaired that earlier session, demanded she retract her statements; after she refused, he ordered her removal. Today, Lazimi repeated similar accusations — and was again removed from the podium.
Earlier in the session, Netanyahu delivered remarks as part of a “40 signatures” debate and sharply criticized the premise of the discussion, which focused on Israel’s supposed declining international standing. “Collapse of Israel’s international status? What a disconnect from reality. What a recycling of hollow slogans that are the opposite of what is actually happening. The State of Israel today is stronger than ever,” he said.
Netanyahu also addressed Israel’s relations with the United States and Russia. “We are friends of the U.S., but we are two independent countries. The friendship is based on shared values and shared interests, which have only sharpened,” he said. “Israel has no better ally than the United States, and the United States has no better ally than Israel.”
On ties with Russia, the prime minister said: “We have ongoing contact with another global power, Russia. I speak regularly with President Putin in order to strengthen the relationship.”
He then discussed the first state visit of the German chancellor to Israel yesterday, explaining its significance. Members of Yesh Atid interrupted with jeers: “He came here because you can’t land in Germany.” Netanyahu shot back: “Why do you keep repeating that lie?”
Turning to the draft law, Netanyahu said: “This is the beginning of a historic process. It is expected to triple or quadruple what the previous government — which called itself the healing government — achieved.”
As opposition shouting grew louder, Netanyahu concluded with a declaration aimed at the core of the public debate: “The world of Torah protected us for thousands of years and will continue to protect us — together with the draft.”
{Matzav.com}
