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September 28, 2024 10:09 pm at 10:09 pm in reply to: Question for those who don’t think Charedim should join the IDF #2319369Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipant
some > We have gedolim who have been clears as day that it is better to leave eretz yisroel than join the kofrim in their sins.
Many of us are not in Israel and are not serving. But if you live in Israel, you are benefiting from the protection of the army. A simple logic is that one owes something for protection. We can argue halochos that some students might be exempt – if you accept that you are part of the community. You apparently don’t. So, then you should move either out or to other parts of “eretz isroel”. Just make sure that you will not be drafted into PA, Syrian or Jordanian armies.
September 27, 2024 10:01 am at 10:01 am in reply to: Trump ready to drop Ukraine – Is Israel next? #2319109Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantYou don’t need to judge T’s future policies by campaign. He already has a record. And so does, sort of, K.
T’s pattern is – as Gadol says above – transactional. It has both a positive and a negative sides. Positive – he is looking to resolve the issue, get a better bargain, including getting feedback from his advisers. Negative – his calculus might change. But I don’t think this is so different from others, he is just less polished, or cares less, about niceties.
K’s pattern is – to say anything. She accused Biden of not letting her (daughter of two academics) to get on a bus to school. Then, she becomes his VP and has no visible impact on his policies. Then, she does not notice that President has mental problems. She seems to have been on both sides of any issue, except abortion, thru her life. Based o just this one issue, one can presume that she is liberal at core.
So, is there a risk with T? Sure, more in Ukraine than in Israel. Some suggest that he was listening to advisers more earlier but may be more self-assured now. But there is an upside also. With K, there is only downside.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantpekak, we are supposed to go to Beis Din when dealing with each other. Put aside for now hard cases involving medical, but a simple damage case. If my bull gores your bull or if my car bumps up your car – wouldn’t B’D be the place to resolve it? Possibly, B’D will tell you to go to the insurance company, or even give a general psak to do that. Again, I understand there are different views, I am asking how people do it in practice. Anyone in town here? A lot of people surely sound like they are!
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantSome Jew I don’t know says that lost children are not something to focus on, klal yisroel needs to move on and have a peaceful shabbos or two.
September 25, 2024 11:28 am at 11:28 am in reply to: Ozempic: The New Grift in Heimish Health #2318342Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantOzempic, I think, reduces appetite, so surely restaurants will not be promoting them!
Also, if someone is learning Torah 24/7 surviving on “bread and water” based on a pill – is he a Tzaddik or a cheater?
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantyankel > RAMBAM versus Ptolemy, Einstein and Newton , has zero bearing on “interpreting gmara and rishonim
I understand what you are saying in terms of technique. As R Steinsaltz used to say – if you want to know what pipe was Abaye smoking (Rav was a smoker himself up to some point, I believe) – ask the archeologist, if you want to know what he is saying – ask Rabbis …
Still, in this case, I am addressing the substance of Rambam where he writes about science. He himself studied astronomy, etc both from ancients and from contemporaries (I think both in Spain and when he was on the run in Fes where there was the famous Fes madrasa that some call “first modern university” before English and French). So, you would need to know the subject to appreciate what Rambam is saying. Of course, you can pretend that Rambam of halakha is a different persona than Rambam of science.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantyankel> But I do not consider “interpreting gmara and rishonim” as “esoteric”.
I mean on what topic you are interpreting them. People (and computers also) train well when they repeatedly do similar tasks and can check their performance with some ground truth. How do you know whether you are right on the topic of Moschiach? Yes, you may have minimal skills to learn rishonim on simple topics, but here we are dealing with a complicated question on which nor we, not rishonim, have any final answers (except history of previous miracles, of course). That is why I am suggesting first trying to crack a complicated sugya where we have some hard data – and sometimes have more data than rishonim and see if you can figure it out. And, if you think that astronomy is not shayach for you – Rambam took some time (years?) to work on this, you could too.
Also, I bli neder will try to read the arguments of posters in this thread if they post any objective measures of their learning (SAT, LSAT, GRE, IQ, chess rating). Without this, I am not even trying, because I don’t know where the poster is holding.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantpekak > we accept that they will take care of things for us.
So, this is what is done “in town”. I presume even those here who are tzadikim gemurim and practice defensive and kosher driving, still heard about other people getting in trouble. So, do people rely on insurance or go to B’D? say, one person’s daas Torah is for insurance path, and another – for B’D – do we get a B’D to resolve this?
Also, in reality, many people often pay off the other side to avoid going thru insurance or sometimes do not have it – are these cases going thru B’D or people simple settle on their own?
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantcatch 7:57 am> such as when my wife prepares and serves dinner, implying that the food is kosher), a similar question can be raised.
Hope you find a tirutz before the dinner time.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantsome > was that we are talking about a rasha who is no longer part of klal yisroel.
I missed that, and when I am re-reading this thread, I still do not see that. This started with Tzahal that has different types of Jews. If your statement of the doctors is limited to rashayim, presuming we agree on the definition, this is different. But your statement reads as unqualified applying to any doctor, except “frum” by your standard.
September 24, 2024 12:57 pm at 12:57 pm in reply to: Why do regular ol’ chicken eggs need a hechsher? #2318047Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantwhy don’t we say, as many other cases when we are inconvenienced – Hashem saves peshayim? If this works for smoking, it should work for eggs also. We ate eggs for centuries without any halachik problems.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantyankel > Like a non frum doctor who happens to excel in his field, patients should be referred to him.
R Soloveichik writes that in Lita towns where non/anti-observant people were not tolerated, they would still have a non-observant doctor and pharmacist – because there were no others, and people needed them. He says that in his experience (1950s) it was better to talk to a non-Jewish doctor when there was some religious sensitivity (kashrus, fasts, family issues) than to a non-religious Jewish doctor. From that, he suggested (l’hathila) that YU medical school will be useful: non-religious Jews who would come there might not become religious, but at least they’ll come out with appreciation of the views that religious Jews hold.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantEveryone here has an opinion on quite esoteric matters, interpreting Gemoras and rishonim … could you first try yourself on some easier issues that can be verified “in this world” to see if you are qualified? Take, for example, Rambam’s calculations of rosh hodesh, compare it with Ptolemy’s and other ancients, find where there were some possible computational errors and how Rambam deals with them. After that, reconcile it with Newtonian and Einsteinian physics. After you complete this relatively simple exercise, let us know your theories about Moschiach.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantLay off the mods, they are doing a hard job. And you don’t want to this be your last approved post either!
Also, some mod decisions may be delayed while the mods are consulting Alter Rebbe to clarify unclear passages in Tanya.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipant>> Moshe gave hakaras hatov to inanimate objects, yet you are incapable of thanking a Jews who put themselves into danger to protect you!?
> I am capable, but the Torah forbids it.Maybe you can give your sources and then we can discuss them? You seem to be presuming that a random doctor is a rasha. Why would yo say that? He is not a potential magician of “medicine” of 2000 years ago – he spent years in medical school and residence and working long hours to keep you healthy.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantI am thinking you re going to Beis Din that might suggest filing the claim. But in town people should tell us how they do it.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipant> If speaking to a goyishe doctor, you can say “doctor, you saved my life!”. But, you can’t tell your kids that evening “that doctor saved my life!”
yes, has veshalom kids develop too much derech eretz – they’ll have hard time blending in school.
September 22, 2024 4:15 pm at 4:15 pm in reply to: Why do regular ol’ chicken eggs need a hechsher? #2317462Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantI think hashgaha on beitzim is definitely in order right now, I heard three are counterfeit ones coming from lebanon.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantAs akuperma says, this is not fighting terrorists, but a regular army that happened not to follow geneva conventions. As in any war, there is no one operation that wins the war. So, complaining that it was not decisive is silly. As to timing and, seemingly, limited follow-up, there are reports that the capability was at risk to be discovered, so it had to be used now. Again, give decision makers some benefit of the doubt, they have impoerfect info, but better than us.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantChabad House at American University in Beirut is offering free mezuzah battery checks to Hezb Allah members.
Page 770-770-770 to make a reservation today.Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantinteresting to see how far bias can take people. NYT has a mushy article about neis of exploding beepers – they lead with innocent victims, barely explain what blew up. As a result, casual readers who do not keep in mind that Hezbolla is bombing Israel for a year and that only Hezbollah members were issued the beepers start remarking that this is an act of terrorism; how would they know that only terrorists have beepers; etc, etc. Other readers are patiently explaining the facts to them. I wonder whether the original posters change their mind, I did not see any retractions so far. Most interesting are posters who take it to the extreme – acknowledge Israeli success but use it to double down: so if they are so powerful, it means that they allowed oct 7 on purpose to have a reason to kill people … this is how far one can get with a mindset of keeping your position despite the facts.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantCurrent weapon sharing system in democratic countries has a flaw: on one hand, cooperation is working out great, different countries/companies specialize in certain things and then exchange. The power of that was already recognized by Adam Smith and David Ricardo, BUT then any participant can veto the use of their stuff in a specific conflict for various political reasons. If Hungary provides coffee cups for F-35 pilots – they won’t be able to fly against Russia now? This got to be written in the contracts that the users can use on their own.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantWhat I am saying that many (surviving) Ukrainians at the time were more interested in being in Poland than in USSR that just murdered millions of them (and Jews and Russians and others). And Poles (including Jews in Poland) were very self-confident that their newly reconstructed country will be able to defend themselves. Nazis and Commies partitioned Eastern Europe according to the secret agreement that they had and then had an infamous joint victory parade in Lviv. If your textbook was published in last 20 years, it should have that information. In fact, Soviets cheated Nazis a little, taking over more territory than they agreed to.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantIt will be easier to recognize Hezb commanders in the street, as they’ll be wearing sunglasses and gloves.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantFan, as we see, it is always possible for a smart person to find a good excuse to not be grateful. I wonder (/s) whether you’ll reconsider your view when you find out that someone fed you bad data: 100+ soldiers were not injured, most soldiers flew out based on advance warning, 50 people had a headache.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantSomehow, this kochi discussion comes up every time Israeli army does something. When your kid gets a good grade in school, do you also remind the kid that he is not getting any cookies so that he does not develop a kochi attitude?
One pattern is that this issue is raised by people who themselves are not at risk of being accused of achieving something themselves. For example, Pres. Obama had a similar frum attitude when he told Gov Romney that Romney “did not build his businesses”.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantI am not reading this thread inside as I don’t think there is a way to convince either side, but this was not clear to me:
> Resh Lakish argues with Rava, and Rav Yochanan certainly does
Maybe, this imples that Resh Lakish is as alive as Yaakov Avinu?
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantI absolutely have. I actually wrote here before about Biden claiming (justifiably) that he is different from Obama’s people – the latter seeing Israel through progressive lenses as “occupier”, while Biden has experiences of Yom Kippur War and understands Israeli vulnerability and a need to act.
But note, please – when Biden does act, whether fully or partially or after a long delay, he is following the centrist position – as most in politics support Israeli self-defense, defense against Russia, border control, etc. T’s action above, and some others, were unusual, and maybe even risky, acts against the opinion of establishment. This only compares with Reagan’s “tear down this wall” speech – wherer these words were crossed out twice by speech editors, but he used them anyway.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipant> after all, he is a very old man,
Bunch of dems are parroting this. Hutzpah, of course. This is after trying to run an older candidate and repeating that age does not matter – and not even bothering to explain their leaders conspired to hide JB’s mental conditions for a year or more. Now, I understand why the TV heads are saying that – they hope to affect 2% of voters who can’t make a decision – a very flaky group. Why someone will post this in a place populated by (mostly) straight-thinking Yidden, I think you are wasting your keystrokes.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantso what is happening in practice? did you not ever have a fender bender in Monsey?
If you have a beis din, you don’t even need to touch a machlokes, let beis din to deal with that.Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantmdd, surely most people there were interested to be under communists rather than in democratic Poland, especially during the induced hunger …
Poles successfully defended against USSR invasion in 1920 and, unfortunately, took it as a sign that their army is strong enough to defend against aggressors, not taking into account technological developments.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantqwerty > It’s also Halacha that one doesn’t learn Kabbalah until he’s forty years old and has mastered Nigleh.
Yes, I was eager to hit forty and then … I discovered that there is so much left in Nigleh, I’ll let those who don’t understand Nigleh spend their time on Kabbalah … If you saw my posts defending Chabad actions, they relate to their practical work. What kabbalistic paths it took them to care about so many lost neshomos is between them and their rebbes.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantJB reluctantly adopted some of the DJT policies – vaccines, Chinese sanctions, opposition to Nordstream, closing the border … if Ms. Harris-Emhoff signs a pledge to continue and adopt other common sense policies, then DJT does not need to run. Maybe Ms. President should also appoint DGT Chief of Staff so that he can help select people with business and military experience. She can continue running around the country generating spontaneous joy.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipant> Whoopee doo.
Yechiell, thanks for actually answering this claim. Usually, most anti-Ts here just avoid mentioning T’s actions. I presume you will have a similar, ungrateful, response to other T’s achievements – Abrahamic accords, recognition of Golan, killing Iranian top general – so I am not even asking.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantmdd, the fact that Poles surrendered because they were surrounded, does not mean they were not occupied and that they were not prosecuted. Soviets sent many Poles and Jews into gulag either based on their social status or based on their refusal to accept soviet citizenship.
September 16, 2024 6:03 pm at 6:03 pm in reply to: Why Jews are Quitting the Democratic Party #2315562Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantwhat makes you think that Biden is a better strategist than Bibi? Biden has a history of having bad views as senator and VP plus several losses as a President. None of Biden’s advisers are known for strategic victories either. Bibi has years of dealing all kind of issues and is, over the years, seen as a responsible leader by majority of Israelis. I am not trying to convince you to respect Bibi, but I hope that you can acknowledge that Biden not giving Bibi what the latter wants to use is more likely to be bad for Israel, rather than good.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantArso > not all of Chazal said not to teach Torah to women, but that is the halocho as paskened both by the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch.
Right, I was just discussing gemorah. There are enough postings on YWN about this issue in general. The reason I am mentioning gemorah specifically – it reviews foundational issues and presents multiple views that are applicable. As, for example, Maharal discusses – Bavli gives us a method to apply Toah to different times and situations (we discussed this also here). Later poskim, however authoritative, may not always present all views that are not applicable to other times and cultures. As this is obviously an issue that depends on the society, then you need to start with analyzing gemora, not just look up Sh’A. I am not trying to argue for one conclusion or another. Maybe you think B’Y is exposing girls to too many chazal or maybe you think women should be paskening for other women, in any case you need to start your analysis from the Gemorah.
anyway, I am just trying to divert this insane topic to some saner ideas.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantphilosopher > Safaria is not my endorsement of them. I have read somewhere that they mistranslated a word with a woke translation.
You need to look at where translation comes from. Some of the meforshim, I think, might be amateur translations by volunteers. Gemora text itself is Steinsaltz translation.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipant> , is a known halachic shaila.
exactly, in this case, I did not want to, but Rav said I probably should due to total lack of awareness from the offender (before and after causing the accident). So, please describe how this happens under the Batei dinim.
September 16, 2024 9:22 am at 9:22 am in reply to: Why Jews are Quitting the Democratic Party #2315215Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantfan > Bombs are expensive and theres only a limited amount
right, but you somehow presume that Tzahal is not aware of that and does not know how to allocate them between the missions.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantcurrent administration can’t even prevent repeated attacks on a candidate ..
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantCTL > Wrong again! The USSR invaded Poland in September 1939 joining on the side of the Nazis
Indeed, the commie history counts USSR’s entry into WW2 as 1941, ignoring their occupation of Poland and attempted occupation of Finland in 1939, and of Baltic countries in 1940, I may be missing some, like Bessarabia. Visiting Uman even before 1939 probably was not well advised, unless you were a pro-commie world-famous writer or journo, ready to tell the world how great USSR is.
On a more somber note, tefilos in Uman somehow were not helpful throughout 20th century – from WW1 to anarchists to Whites to Reds to Holodomor to WW2 … They started helping in 1990s but the region is back downhills…
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantChazal, plural, didn’t say not to teach gemora to ladies, I believe one in gemora did: r Eliezer… and then Beruria learned from 100 teachers, so at least 100 were OK with it.
I once suggested to a rav to have a shiur on eyn Yaakov for women. He refused, “I can’t teach gemora to women “. When I mentioned that I share content of his gemora classes with female members of my household, he had no problem with that. So, reluctance seems to be due to public image and maybe not for everyone.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantMy understanding is that sefaria has curated material that they organized and also ability for users to upload their own material. The latter is of course, buyers beware. If you read a sugya on their site, it is clear what is what.
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipant1, T is unpredictable, so the best we can go is his previous record. It was pretty positive to Israel. Both in his direct dealings with Israel (Yerushalaim, Golan, Abrahamic accords) and indirect – Suleimani, ISIS. Could he do something different? sure. But with the other side, we have no idea.
Interesting opinion poll from a liberal group of non-Jewish students in the universities with significant Jewish presence – these are our future leaders, and probably similar to those already graduated: 1/3 showed negative attitudes towards Jews. Of these 1/3:
50% have negative attitudes towards Jews as people and are 50% progs, 30% moderate, 20% conservative. Given that most students are to the left, this seems like even distribution
50% have negative attitudes towards Israel, of which 90% are progressive …So, no doubt, political pressure against Israel is currently from the left
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantEquating Karaims to MO clearly comes from someone who met neither, but listened to some speaker.
Karaims were also different from individuals violating something: they were centuries-old communities that followed their tradition. Maybe modern Reform is a better comparison, as they follow generations of their leaders. I had once a reform person helping me out with a ride during the summer trying to make sure I’ll be at the destination by 5pm as he thought that shabbat starts 5pm sharp every week they way they celebrate at his temple – and he was intent that I don’t violate it. Glad we cleared it on the way, or he’d get a speeding ticket.
Also, are Karaims mehalel shabbos miduaraita? I picture them sitting in the dark, eating cold pizza without their wives. Weird, yes, but what malochos do they perform in the process?
Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantPony, I get your point – you are saying Hatzolah itself did not protest. Assuming this is true, still a community with many Talmidei Chachomim should have a way to jointly manage community-wide issues.
While we are in this topic, can someone share their, or heard of, experiences of addressing daily issues via Batei Din? Here, in OOT community, when I was involved in a minor accident created by a member of the kahal, a Rav advised me to (surely) report this via insurance to make sure he learned the lesson. I presume in a more Jewishly-dense community, fender benders and property encroachments are resolved via Batei Din. What are your actual experiences?
September 15, 2024 7:57 am at 7:57 am in reply to: Why Jews are Quitting the Democratic Party #2314581Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantfan dang> Biden “withheld” arms to Israel’s Gaza effort…. so that they could be used against Hezbollah in more important ways. The bombs he withheld wouldn’t have done anything effective in Gaza.
You are tying yourself into a pretzel, hope there is someone else in your flat to untie you. You seem to be saying that Tzahal does not know how to allocate the bombs correctly, so it needs US State Dept to come and force the right policies … The same ones that advise Ukrainians not to waste missiles on Russia proper, and the same ones that advised Afghani government to commit suicide by continueing holding on without US support for several months to avoid
a PR disaster. Nice, maybe Staties should just appoint an Israeli prime minister that they think is good for Israelis.Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantsmerel, this is another good hiluk, thanks – in which topics to listen. While, as I mentioned before, my daas Torah paskens that there is no daas Torah, I still think that we should not limit which topics are of interest to Torah. Tzedek Tzedek tirdof alone would include anything that affects social issues. As another example, a group of Rabbonim offer job search advise at the end of Kiddushin (not just the often repeated last one that one should only learn Torah).
September 15, 2024 7:56 am at 7:56 am in reply to: Re: Geneiva is Geneva Switzerland according to AI #2314578Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipant> I doubt they are so sophisticated.
Most decisions are based on machine learning that uses both manually crafted and automatically generated features, so it is not usually possible to find out what the decision is made on. But count of supporting and contradictory statements seems like a reasonable feature to use.
As to how far someone would go in optimizing the system – one high-end web designer went public complaining about his work for google some years ago. He designed a good-looking blue line on the google main page. Google engineers tested his against another hue and found out that the other hue gets 5% improvement in something, so they changed the hue to the more plain-looking one despite the protests of this artist.
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