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First, we take this issue more seriously than most Americans. Most people shop and cook turkey, but do not engage in pilpul about mesorah of turkey and whether Yankees or Virginians started it.
2, it is misleading to connect the day directly to Pilgrims. Colonials/early Americans were practicing fasts and thanksgivings often on local and national level, more in the North than in the South and became national as part of Civil War.
Yom kavua that some objected here was started by FDR, before that it was up to the President to declare it annually. I am not sure why Nth Thursday is a yom kavua in calendar – seems like a variable day to me. July 4 is kavua.
FDR was prone to fight economy with magic, like Brandon, so he tried to move it to 3rd Thursday of November to extend holiday shopping season. This indicates that if there is any avoda zara in this day, then it is one of materialism.
Avira > All of our ideological enemies have stressed tanach,
Not sure of this argument, they also stress Humash! Should we stop reading it in shul? True, we de-emphasize 10comm for a similar reason. Yes to 1/3 approach that leads to spending most time on Gemorah (where Gemorah means not just Dafim, but ability to reason, etc, while halakha l’maase belongin to 2nd 3rd of Mishna). Still, this means that by 120 you need to finish not just Shas but Tanach also.
You are also right that Tzionim were using Tanach to build up a view of Yiddishkeit different from the accepted Galut mesorah. Are you saying it is a reason to de-emphasize Tanach? How was Nach treated in early yeshivos? I think Netziv in Volozhin had Tanach on the agenda, I don’t know to what degree.
> something as fundamental to our existence as yeshivos and mesoras hatorah
without taking sides in the argument: mesorah of current yeshivos is less than 200 years. Nach has a longer yichus. If Hashem did not think we need it, maybe he would not have bothered with it. On the other hand, many claim that you learn Nach from quotes in the Gemorah.
Syag > Online classes is a very poor substitute for being taught by humans.
I am not suggestion a substitute. I am suggesting an enrichment. There is a lot that can be done online that is hard to do offline, especially in our schools where focus/spending is on other subjects. And, of course, you can do online badly, same way as you can do in person …
Correct answers due to random clicks are easy to see. If a multiple choice has 4 choices, 25% will be totally random. So, anything above that is an achievement 🙂
With my kids, where we do more online, we do not leave everything to computers. We have discussions all the time, kids with me and often with each other. Younger kids needle the older ones when they happen to learn a similar material. At more mature college level, the kids are saying that they have more control when listening to online lectures – they can skip or repeat as needed, and they don’t need to dress up and walk just to sit and wait until everyone comes in and have a small talk …
Are you getting pen/paper homework? I suggest using online systems for homework in secular subjects. There are a lot of tools that can help you. This may require a conversation with the teacher to reduce other hw load.
With online, you can see performance, you can see how kids stand against general standards v. possible low standards at your school, he can move forward if he is doing good instead of being bored. You need to experiment to see what works for your kid – some are ok with repeated exercises, some like prize notes, some – going ahead with new material. Some sites charge ~ $10/month, or less if you come as a group or a class, and are worth it. Some notable ones – Khan avademy, Beast academy (more interactive), IXL (evaluation tests, more academic)
First, ads pay for this site and hard work by Mods reading all our posts.
Second, the ads that stay are the ones that work. So, the ads reflect the tastes of the community here.
Same as ads you see in your browser in general reflect your own browsing history. You read lashon hara, and that is what they sent you.To compare governing styles – B still can’t fill position of FDA chief after dismissing T’s nominee without waiting for new one. After months of deliberations, B finally settled on an innovative idea – use same chief as O did! He was now late submitting documents to Senate by a week (for the guy who already had these documents in a lockbox) so this is going in 2022. And this is for the agency that is making critical covid decisions. I think half of those who voted for B will not do it again out of embarrassment.
Kluger,
this is complex and unclear stuff, so let’s try to be accurate:1) as I mentioned above, “vaccinated covid PATIENTS have exactly the same viral load” does not mean that vaccinated PEOPLE are the same risk to others: because vaccinated PEOPLE have less chance of becoming PATIENTS. All of this when you compare same demographics and same behaviors.
2) you may be misunderstanding something or you are using secondary sources that misunderstood or misinformed you, or maybe someone used inaccurate language. Could you give me a reference that I can check out this data. “CDC says” – maybe author and date or newspaper article title.
bored_teen> I’m gonna sit this one out!
You seem to be the wisest teen in this generation. I think a lot of confusion now is due to availability of information and misinformation that we all are not equipped to process. During WW2, it was US radio v. Nazi radio. Now, we are being bombarded by numbers from all sides and each one makes their numbers to look better. I just read an excerpt from Scott Atlas where he brings very reasonable arguments showing that CDC director at some point said nonsense. All his numbers add up, and he even quotes a “Harvard epidemiology professor” who agrees with him. I looked up the professor and he is a complete political nutcase, writing about politicians and nothing about science. So, I understand that those who try to extract knowledge from listening to CNN with one ear and to Fox with another are totally confused. Just switch them off. Listening to two sides works only when you can master a subject. Here they all are fooling us.
GH > facilitate support groups for those suffering from TDS
I am afraid you aint earning much. Most are still in denial. You may be the only one that went in and return whole, maybe thanks to CR.
> Do the “computers” organize and attend asifahs where you and other computer rebbeim
well, currently a lot of people scream that AI may be has veshalom unethical and inequitable. If NY had a problem searching guilty cars more often than non-guilty, then what do you say when computers send police to the locations of likely crimes? in truth, the Chinese “social credit” system is terrifying. If people know more about it, we would stop subsidizing China by buying their trinkets.
in truth, computers do some damage also, but only if you attach them to airplanes.
ujm, sorry for the confusion, did not send a telegram for a long time.
Avira > We definitely don’t have an idea of jail as a punishment in halacha.
right, this would be a reason to try to save someone from a punishment that is too cruel from halachik POV. for simplicity, someone steals in Saudi Arabia or in Soviet Russia – we would not turn him to police that cuts hands off or sends them to Gulag.
> has no bearing on sheltered yidden in eretz yisroel who might not have heard of the past events
Do they know that Mcdonalds are not kosher or do they unwittingly eat hazer there? Even when sheltered, you can learn not to steal and break rules directly from Gemorah. Also, same way community is protecting this kids from assimilation, they should be protecting them from other aveiros. Imagine, a tax-cheater walks in Mea Shearim and kids are running behind him shouting “geneiva, geneiva” the same way they protest shabbos violations.
> Our fiduciary obligation is to give 10 dollars to each of 1000 meshulachim, not to gave 10,000 to one.
you are fiduciary for the money of the poor. this basic approach diversifies so that you don’t give to one ganav and also keeps shalom between many. Still, would you do it with your own money – spending $10 on different pursuits or do you invest your money/time in a smaller number of carefully selected projects? So, if you happen to know worthy causes, makes sense to focus mroe on them.
One word of caution: if you give $10 to everyone knocking on hyour door, do NOT give $100 to some of them. A friend gave one guy more than usual, and within a month multiple people showed up, asking for the higher amount. Apparently, not due to inflation, but via shared marketing lists between the meshulachim.
To the doubters – there is a (leaked?) poll apparently conducted by Trump-associated group that shows T beating B in 5 critical states he lost last time around, and having massive 10+ point advantages on most issues.
T can become president in 2021/early 2022 – run for Congress, become speaker, impeach B and KH.
Prefer T to imitators, despite reservations because:
1) Many politicians talk nicely about issues, there is 10% chance they’ll do something, and even then in some limited way. Jerusalem as capital is a good example. The law is on the books for decades, every President says he’ll do it, and then does not, until Trump.
2) He has an un-orthodox business approach to matters. Sometimes risky, but he got results in areas where there was a stand-off for decades.
3) There is evidence that the risk above is mitigated by him actually listening to people and changing his mind when confronted even by people who are not his natural allies (delayed Afghanistan withdrawal, for example)> I’m a professional babysitter, since that’s the heter
I presume you charge competitively to other babysitters. I heard one Rav in my Father’s O’H shul explaining along the same lines that he finished law school to be able to charge them more for rabonus.
I teach computers
To do things people do not want to or do not know how to do.
Also, it is less bothersome than teaching people. computers tend to follow instructions better. Sometimes it is annoying. Do what I mean, not what I say!
I’m saying that statistics like politics are local. You are affected by statistics of your neighborhood, your community, your friends. This statistics is not published, but you can collect it from the anecdotes and personal experience. So, personal experience useful addition to the statistics you read.
TABaum, make a list of things you want your kids to know, be able to do AND want to do it when you are not there. Check off items that you think school is helping with (verify, do not assume). Then, work on the rest at home.
> our own experiences carry very little weight o
not always true. We read “average” numbers – for the world, country, state. You should also pay attention to your community and immediate environment. Your risk is much higher if people in your shul are coughing. Same goes for how many people are vaccinated, previously infected, etc.
you do need to tie your observations with the bigger picture, of course.
Kluger, there are 2 parts here
1) vaccinated people are less likely to get infected and sick. It was 15x less likely for the original virus and right after vaccination (Phase 3 trials Nov 2020). It is less for Delta and 6 months out, probably 5x less likely.2) even at this less likely rate, those who are infected are shedding less virus (this is what a just published paper above says) and thus are less likely to transmit.
High cases among vaccinated is due to people “rewarding” themselves – I am vaccinated, reducing my risk by 5x, now I can go to Turkey, increasing my risk by 10x.
> sends a telegram in Aramaic.
might be shorter than English when paying per letter. But Chinese is even better.
the practical situation is tragic, I donot have an opinion on what to do, but looking at the origins:
those who said “kids make mistakes” will be ight presuming parents/teachers/community did their part instilling the right values. Were they taught halakhos of honesty and business to the same degree as shabbos and kashrus? wih pictures, tests, illustrations, rishonim, shouting, pointing possible aveiros, kicking out of school those who do not comply, ec?As said above, if people think smuggling something “innocent” “for the family” is OK, then they are prime candidates to be ewxploited for a more serious crime. This is done by mifia, KGB, etc – compromise a person with a honeypot or unpaid taxes and then you can force him to do other things.
Yserbius, what if you had $1 mln of uninsured merchandise in the store that you mortgaged your house for? you would still do nothing? just trying to see how far your attitude goes?
TSBaum> School is school. Home is home. If the teachers want work done, …
You hired a teacher to help you fulfill the mitzva of chinuch. If you feel like you outsourced it completely, why don’t you also outsource pru u’rvu to the school. You’ll have even more time ” to relax and do other stuff.”
GH, yes, but Hamas is mainly digging in the wrong direction – parallel to the beach instead of from sea to sea. Maybe need to mess up with their compasses.
Scheduling emails is not yet widespread. I schedule emails for the beginning of work day so that peope do not get beeps when they sleep or feel pressured to answer if they don’t, and some people presume I am working hard at 8 am … Before pareve milk was not widespread, you were supposed to keep the package on the table.
There is also an issue of asking someone to do an action, starting from reading your email, responding, or doing some activity you asked for.
The easiest case is sending to a shomer shabbos Jew in another time zone and let him deal with whatever you need.
Also, when we compare viral load of a sick person with and without vaccine, this is AFTER they are sick. Vaccinated people are at least 5x less likely to get sick across all age categories.
kluger > viral loads are basically the same in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients.
just the title of the paper is sufficient here:
Lower Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Viral Shedding Following Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination Among Healthcare Workers in Los Angeles, California
Paul C Adamson November 2021,. The median cycle threshold (Ct) value was 20.1 (IQR, 16.9–25.1) for tests done prior to the first vaccine dose, .. 24.9 (IQR, 16.4–32.4) for tests done on or within 6 days after the second dose, and 30.4 (IQR, 20.8–34.1) for tests done 7 or more days following the second dose.
re: Sanhedrin 72a. CM 425:1 if we are clear that he does not intend to kill, we are not allowed to kill – as clearly seen in Gemora’s discussion about father/son
interestingly, Gemora is also discussing a difference between owner and a vigilante
Pesachim 2b is ganav and a similar discussion that if it is clear to you that he is not planning to kill, you also do not.
Syag > whomever catches it from you will get their own response regardless of how yours presented.
I agree that immune response is not directly proportional to the stimulus. Still, I’ve read a lot of articles about differences due to amount of exposure.
Btw, anecdotally, I now know more people who had it twice than vaccine breakthrough cases.
Klugeryid, also why does it bother you that immunity is for 6 months? his is what the virus is and what scientists were able to create and test in one year. Next, let’s complain why a day has only 24 hours…. You need to learn to live with a reality provided by Hashem. If you have ideas how to improve it, please do.
Maybe Israelis can connect Hamas tunnels under Gaza with the seas and Gaza will become an island?
RW, Israel up to Jordan is part of African tectonic plate, Jordan is part of Arabian. The easiest way to see how different plates match (and the source of original idea) is to cut Africa and South America from your map and then match them to each other. Play with the kids.
Abba: Israeli oil is not same as what Saudis have. In general, oil was mostly a curse for most countries except he most developed ones: Arabs, Iranians, Venezuela, Russia, etc.
for those looking to pour water from one place to another, first check with Egyptians and Kazakhs what kind of disasters his can create. We are not fully ready to emulate Hashem here.
klugeryid > any other vaccine that requires a booster less than a year
n0 > Immunity can be as low as fifty percent with the annual shot.indeed, I think flu vaccine last for 6 months. The reason for annual shot is because flu is not circulating during summer. Possibly covid will adapt to a similar cycle. Note Southern sates had higher rates during summer, northern during winter – whenever people are more inside with closed windows.
GH > you’ve also found good excuses over the past 7 weeks to avoid dismantling
you are too neurotic, you need an excuse to DO something. You don’t need an excuse not to do something. To yourself, I mean, not to your spouse of course. I have simply scheduled dismantling the sukkah after taking air conditioning off. After 6 months, you are on a winning side, as every day is now CLOSER to sukkos.
> nothwithstanding cognitive decline, you can still remember whether it is by the front door,
Hey, I did not claim decline, I never remembered anything, but it is hard to forget something you bump into daily. Maybe your yard is too large.
ujm, what is your source hat you can kill someone who is not a threat to life, but only to property. Or maybe I misunderstood your words.
There are many Jews who occupy a position of politician’s in-laws. Clinton, Trump, Biden ..
GH > high welfare dependency in certain communities are well known and politicians have refused to limit those payments
I don’t know who is using what sources, how would you know. There are bunch of yeshiva bochrim selling iphones on amazon. They might be losing on storage fees or be millionaires based on a hidden brochos.
as for using welfare sources, if you would have payments clearly going to Jewish recipients and community understands what it is for, then, I guess, you can say that the community is willing to support Torah studies and this is kosher. I doubt that this is the case, though. In most places, Jewish recipients are subsumed among larger numbers of non-Jews, and even when this is not so, a lot of government payments are coming from non-local sources, including federal.
Syag, if I remember correctly, claimed that government worker said to her that she is ok with supporting wonderful Jewish community. I think this is the same as when a store worker gives you free stuff – he is not the owner.
Gershon Distenfeld – see WSJ article 2 days ago, a bond guy who also plays professional poker once in a while, donating all $300k of his earnings. supports a bunch of things, inlcuding a kew yeshiva in Teanack.
> LIVING LANAGUAGES EVOLVE OVER TIME
it was also spoken over multiple countries leading to geographic differences.