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@yankel, there never was a concensus to keep Yidden away from contemporary science. There were, and are, Yidden and talmidei chachamim who learnt and debated with their contemporary non Jewish chachamim. Of course, not everyone should, or could, do that.
Avira, Jews were not taking EY by force. They came as farmers or city dwellers (with a big machlokes between the two groups, first more ideological, second – more practical, first one won and less people came before WW2). Yidden in Eastern Europe were collecting money in their shuls for “workers in EY”, not “fighters”. Fighting was in self-defense as you suggest.
Avira > And during the Holocaust, fighting would have only ensured that no one survived
Pre-WW2 Europe, including Poland, deluded itself despite nearby presence of USSR and Nazis. In interwar Poland, Yidden were fighting each other and Poles were fighting each other as in any healthy democracy, except it was not healthy and under external threats. OK, Poles are traditionally brave but not very learned, but maybe Yidden instead of figuring out which schools to go to,, could figure out that Nazis and Soviets are building tanks and airplanes instead of doubling down on horses.
> punishment for some of these piety crimes are mortally wrong.
Indeed, we learn from the Megilla that an insurrection is punished mortally. Even when they are undocumented Persians speaking in foreign language!
Chaim, your list of “wrongfully convicted” is scarily long. We live in a country that is way nicer to us than many others we lived in. Their laws are not perfect, but pretty reasonable. Maybe it should be a minhag Yisroel to show our appreciation by staying way to the right of the line between legal and not, so that “unfair” prosecutions do not happen. With so many business opportunities and even availability of “free money”, it is not impossible to choose a path in life that does not create unnecessary risks. If our forefathers were able to stay Jewish under Russian czars and Persian kings without selling out, surely we can make a little effort.
CTL, refuah shleima. I am happy to hear that you are reasonable here. There is another problem here – criminal/civil charges are inevitably comingled with political ones. Political ones are subject to constant lies from the media. So, inevitably, law is losing respect of people who see the political mud fight. Chaim shows us a good example how people can nullify the legal system this way.
Unreported in the US but heard locally, Lord Balfour’s painting was destroyed in Cambridge (real one, not MA, USA). I was suspecting NK punished him for violating drei shevuos, but I am not sure they are allowed to approach paintings, especially in a college named after AZ.
Lost, Obama presided over post-crisis economy. Growth rate was lowest comparing with similar recovery periods. Possibly, he did not bother growing it to make sure no new downturn comes before 2016 elections?
Obama had forces in ME, but we were not winning. Obama’s policies were restricting military. Each strike had to be approved from the White House legal council. Read it up. Read, for example, about Gen McCrystal who had a distinguished career … Maybe let’s look at contemporary reports:
CNN December 7, 2016
SIS’ march across Iraq and Syria – a campaign that’s forced President Barack Obama to return small numbers of US troops to the region, even after touting an end to the decade-long ground offensives there – came as a surprise to US intelligence, the President told CNN in a new special report.
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As Obama’s presidency concludes, it’s clearer than ever he’ll depart the White House with Syrians facing nearly unyielding misery.
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Avoiding a large scale ground conflict in Syria “is the smartest decision from a menu of bad options that were available to us,”
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Some of Obama’s generals wanted to keep 10,000 US troops in Iraq to maintain stability in the country as it emerged from a decade of war. But …
The efforts have squeezed ISIS on the battlefield, reducing its territory and taking out key figures in its leadership. A campaign to retake Mosul, the group’s base in Iraq, is making progress.more purim shailohs
Did Achashverosh call himself Xerxes 1?
Was it ayn hara to call a war “world war one”?
Why are kevuros of Shmuel Alef and Shmuel Beis in different places?
Why is Sinwar 50 amot down, while Aman was 50 amot up? Olam afuch
Whose son got a PhD? Chofetz Chaim, Rav Salanter, Rav Henkin, Rav Kotler,or Rav Soloveichik?
Those who want their own protection should negotiate with any surrounding country or polity to allow them to settle there. Maybe Egypt will be interested in settling Sinai with Jews. This is a place of history of Jews learning under Hashem’s protection. Hizbollah is also very religious and they might be interested in having a buffer between them and Zionists.
King’s English name was Xerxes or Artaxerxes. Greeks might call him Xerox – because he was always copying other people’s ideas and spending OPM (other people’s money – see taxes). That is why we praise Esther for quoting bshem amro rather than xeroxing without attribution.
> they just usurped the NK name
who stole the original ones? or they had no followers except the usurpers?
You don’t want the president to be double-checking his decisions – what if I’ll be sued for that? He is delegated certain authorities and he is checked by other branches of government, this should be enough. If Congress wants, they can restore office of independent prosecutor.
And you would create wrong incentives. Look at Putin – he would probably gladly retire if someone could guarantee him life & liberty after that. So, he has to stay in power.
yechiell, there are a number of opinion writers who are critical of T, while admitting that they have no problems with the actual policies of his administration. You started with Kurds – T resolved the situation in probably best possible way. Recall that he also dealt decisively with ISIS there. The thing is – solving an issue does not pay politically, nobody remembers ISIS at this point. Imagine Biden standing up to Putin early in 2022 and making it really clear to him that the world will defend Ukraine? Maybe joint exercises in Feb 2022 on Ukrainian/Russian border? A couple of Tomahawks near Russian troops in Syria? Everybody will be saying now that it was not such a big deal.
Avira > we know from people who were there at the time how the chofetz chaim felt
I think you wrote about this before, I do not recall exactly what it is. What is the chance that the people “who were there at the time” are ideologically aligned with you? We all often tend to believe unconfirmed sources that align with our own position.
My information comes from a 2-volume collection of Ch Ch letters published & translated by a pro-yeshiva velt organization, so I am not afraid that they show some pro-modern bias or omissions. To the opposite, they do not hesitate to add yeshivish geshmak – when Ch Ch writes about anti-religious books, they add in italics: all media, internet. When Ch Ch mentions anti-religious schools, they translate “secular schools”. So, I am pretty sure if there were any additional material, it would be there. I may have missed something, of course, but most other themes – build chadorim, mikvaos, shabbos are repeated in multiple letters and are impossible to miss.
Apparently, there was a Jezebel restaurant in Soho 10 years ago, but OU asked it to change the name. So, Jezebel might have been kosher for Eliahu but not anymore. Standards are rising.
Also, I found someone pondering whether Rambam holds by shevuot and remarking that he found only 2 places where Rambam paskens using Agadah …
Finally, if you are taking Agadot seriously, pay attention to BM 20 where R Amaram asked a silly question of Rabba, and Rabba called him a name, and a building beam cracked up .. and both seemingly said that it cracked because of insult to him. Seems like some questions and some answers are capable of destroying the whole yeshiva. Be careful. I am thinking about renaming myself into AAAQ – always ask appropriate questions. Maybe after Purim, bli neder.
From a leftist source:
Donald Trump on Sunday said Israel should quickly end the war in Gaza and “get back to the world of peace”—but it’s not what it sounds like.The once and possibly future president was not urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the bombing or withdraw Israeli troops. Quite the contrary: Trump was prodding him to intensify and accelerate the military campaign, “to finish it up and do it quickly.”
He lambasted President Biden not for going easy on Israel, as leftist critics charge, but for applying pressure on Israel at all. “Biden is so bad for Israel,” Trump said. “They should’ve never been attacked. If Biden were good to Israel, they wouldn’t have been attacked.”
Another thought based on reading Chofetz Chaim letters that do not seem to contain condemnation of Palestinian Zionists and mention of shevuos. Any Rabbi who was writing publicly in the time of early Zionists and does not mention shevous should be presumed to not hold by them. It might be murkier later on, when state politics might make someone more or less vocal on the issue, but European Rabbonim, like Ch Ch had all opportunities to express their opinions. We know, for example, where R Elhonon Wasserman was holding. Did he quote his teacher, Ch Ch?
Avira, it is true that Chofetz Chaim was talking to those who will listen to him and who were to at least some degree observant. But, there was no strict separation. For example, he writes that it is wrong to fathers to be observant themselves, while their wives and children break shabbos, read anti-religious papers and books, attend anti-religious schools. That is what was “frum society” in Poland in the 20s. It was under attack. He lists, by name, many organizations that he supports, and many, by name, that he is against. The fault in the organizations he objects to are wholesale rejection of Yiddishkeit, focusing on Jewish stories that omit religious content.
We also all know that Ch Ch endorsed Bais Yaakov. Despite that, I could not find any letters that advocate any organized education for women. He addresses the women directly several times – in letters and speeches in front of women conventions. He suggests women to organize to support chadarim, suggest for women who know how to read to teach those who do not know – specifically halochos niddah. In one letter, he summarizes all these laws in a couple of pages to help in that. I do not see him suggesting ways to teach those illiterate women how to read.
There are several letters that Chofetz Chaim published after an earthquake in EY in 1927. He mentions several other devastating events that happened shortly before, including flooding of Mississippi and then he enumerates aveiros that lead to that and that Klal Isroel should try to correct… a perfect setup to mention sins of Zionists and violations of Oaths. And he is not being shy in these letters – he calls on people to send kids to kosher schools, naming the opposite ones – yiddishistes, culturual schools, (Zionist affiliated?) Tarbut, Polish gymnasia, blaming them for anti-religious propaganda, including telling “Jewish” stories that excluded Torah contents; and Polish schools for leading to shabbos violations. What he does NOT mention in his criticism, as far as I can see – any sins by Zionists in EY, any mention of calls for Aliya in Poland, and, for that matter, any studies of math & science.
Is wfh affecting Jewish population trends? It seems that people working in NYC and other downtowns now commute twice a week, so it is more comfortable to live near the cities. That leads to decline of far away and inside cities communities.
Arso > It’s great that that woman does so much chesed, but unfortunately it’s really terrible that she is not tzniusdik.
I am not sure are you addressing 3 yo or 18 yo kids, but why do you need to connect these 2 issues together and also address judging every person you meet? If you see someone doing chesed, discuss that act, you don’t need to either approve or discount everything that person did. Hope the kid sees enough positive examples at other times.
Avira > Because they tolerate
It looks like your view of the community is more of a sect that upholds high standards. What do you do with the rest of the community? Put everyone in cherem. With all enthusiasm for movements and uniformity, we forget that there are real people out there who are traditional/Masorti who are part of the Jewish community. You see this more in Sephardic circles that did not experience haskala and subdivisions by shades of observance.
If someone is even openly violating shabbat – you do not call him to read Torah, but you do let him into the shul (otherwise, the question of kibud will not arise). With chabad, it is claimed here simply that they are transferring from a monolithic movement to a general community. Whether this is so or whether this is a good or bad, I do not know. But it is a normal thing to have, and hopefully there will be leadership to deal with issues. If “rebbe” title is verbotten, use “gaon” or “rebbe’s talmid”.
Common, good q. The difference is between things clearly supported by evidence and those where we need to partially rely on the authority and possibly, implicitly, on their view oftheworld. R Moshe makes this diyuk discussing psychiatric v psychological treatment.
Pasteurization is clearly in the first group. Freud in the second.
I rely on r Twersky that 12 steps work and give him credit for acknowledging i.I’ve seen minyan not timed to yichud. As to ample time, you don’t hap the concept of mitzvos she ein lahem shiur. It is like saying you have ample time to learn, go throw out the garbage and go to work
I’ve seen minyan not timed to yichud. As to ample time, you don’t hap the concept of mitzvos she ein lahem shiur. It is like saying you have ample time to learn, go throw out the garbage and go to work
A claim that Jews in Israel were put in danger is a serious argument, if true. Only political Zs can disregard it. But do not just compare Israeli situation with relative safety of golden greens abd boro Park. Compare with all Yidden who stayed in Europe and were killed and shmaded by soviets and then nazis, and those who assimilated in USA. Next time you see a Russian speaking guys who comes to shul but doesn’t know what to say, think that he is like that because his great grandfather listened to drashos against golden Medina and 3 shvuos and stayed behind, while your predecessors disregarded divrei chachamim.
Can we be precise what exactly falls under shvuos? Mass immigration against the will of those in charge? Or is it subjugating others
As we in the Adar – again! – what is the brocha for edibles?
Yes, a wise woman understands the value of a minyan, but as she is wise, she might find other things to do at the same time. And osek b’mitzva surely patur min not hamtzva!
for example, a learnt woman would know that a temporary minyan at the chatuna does not require mechitza, but she also knows that the primary reason for coming to the wedding is to be mesameach chatan and kallah and, given that at current weddings men are machmir to not allow themselves near the kallah, women need to fully attend to that mitzvah – and also to the mitzva of reviewing potential shidduchim for their sons, as, again, sons are not allowed to do it themselves.
HaKataan says that declaration of state was against goyim as UN wanted to have another mandate. Could you clarify about this “another mandate”? I thought UN sanctioned two states – Jewish and Arab.
With all talking past each other, there are some statements here that look like real debate!
Avira > The balfour declaration (and even the UN partition plan) are irrelevant because when the zionists took over, the british were no longer baalei batim on the land.
This is very brisker for me. Could you unpack this in detail step by step? From my simple reading, there were several steps:
(1) initial zionist yishuv, somewhat supported by a small number of rabonim, but no others,
(2) Balfour declaration – that made further arrivals not violating shvuos as they came with permission
(3) state declaration by those who already arrived – not by shvuos – it is just a declaration, not arrivals and with UN permission
(4) later arrival from DP camps, arab countries, USSR – all according to international lawswhere is your analysis different?
It sounds like you are trying to be more of a partner, working for future profits rather than salary – either out of desperation or out of interest in being a businessman rather than a salaried worker. Probably a combination of both. I was once in a similar desperate/promising situation and I proposed to the business owner that I’ll continue working for the minimal wage (in a low-wage state) he was paying me, but I’d get 10% of each software sale he will/might have. We almost struck a deal, but then talk to his Zeresh, aka accountant, at home and called me back amending the terms – “up to 10 sales”. That is, she was pre-envious in case I’ll share in their future success .. I left and I don’t think he ever had 10 sales …
From the business POV, you should do more diligence when you enter into a partnership – first, evaluate the prospects yourself, rather than just relying on the partner and also defining better the terms with your partner. Halachik books recommend going through all possible situations in advance – what if one will leave, if you have no sales, too many sales, etc and put them into the agreement. Maybe ask to learn these sugyot in our yeshiva to make your learning more fun.
Also, you may want to upgrade your technical skills to be of more value in business.
Kuvult, your story is not clear
1) it seems that one should follow a (legitimate as Avira noted) minhag of the father even the father changed it. Otherwise, all chassidim should go back to minhag Ashkenaz …2) when you are in shul, both of you should be doing the same thing – namely what is minhag of the shul you are in! If you wear T and the shul does not, ,you simply put it on at home. Not sure how it works other way around – I guess you wear it in shul and do not wear it at home 🙂
Parents who tell their children to learn raise children who will also be telling THEIR children to learn.
This argument whether original us position on religion and state rights or the current one is better is not a legal argument. US constitution consists of a combination of original rules AND means to change it
These rules were followed most of the time
So both are valid – as well as current Alabama legislation. If you don’t like it, move to Mississippi