Always_Ask_Questions

we should have some humility. I know several Jews who were convicted of some crimes who would have not been convicted were the jury coming from “their peers”.

How is it different from shabbos elevators and all corresponding halachos?

I guess for those who claim that learning is a substitute for fighting, it is a hard question … maybe either students can learn on their own, or go do food deliveries to the army during the break.

re: shtreimels – other than Xians forcing Jews to wear distinct clothes, what were previous (or non-Xian) cases where Jews would wear distinct clothes? Maybe more tzanua, but other than that? any specific cases? Sephardim? Amoraim?

RebE, by your logic, he will support you also if you vote for him.

I think this is a case of vadai v sfek sfeika. We know what is Biden’s foreign policy, and we also have a lot of concerns about what Trump could do, with similar concerns not materializing in his first term.

Dr Pepper > not keep too much cash on hand

Dr Pepper & Pres Trump should review the daf… BM 42 suggests keeping 1/3 in real estate, 1/3 in stock, and 1/3 in cash. With DJT stock, DJT improved from his bias in RE, but it is hard to have cash as there is always someone who wants to take it away … It is also suggested not to flaunt it and even not to count it yourself to have a brocha … Stock market unexpected jumops can be seen as this sort of brocha, when it is a hidden miracle.

We need some definition of pesayim. It seems t be used as “I am such a baki in gemora that I do not have time to learn about health”. Do I misunderstand?

I would define it as a non-intellectual and disorganized person for whom it is a tzaar to read, and to follow, health recommendations. Anyone who has a sharp mind and a learning seder should be able to do the healthy stuff too. If he does not, he is not a talmid of Rambam or Shmuel …

We talked before of R Kamenetsky who tried to rely on shomer pesayim on smoking (in 1950s?), but immediately changed his mind when toild that it might affect his memory and, thus, learning. FWIW, current Alzheimer research says that there are no effective late interventions so far, but healthy behaviors (exercise, food) in 40s and earlier, as well as challenging your mind, have effect.

PS this is written in the healthy spirit of “do as I say, not as I do”

RebE > chapters in the Torah

As someone quipped: if they would know in Bnei Brak who came up with chapters, they would not use them.

Avira > Zionists caused the Arab threat

Others objected that this is relevant, but I am questioning this logic. I asked several times before, and I don’t think I got an answer. We now know the pattern of Arab behavior over decades – Saddam, war between Iraq/Iran, Syrian dictators murdering their own citizens, ISIS, Yemen, etc. This is how they treat other groups. Are you saying that heilike Yerushalmis and Aleppis would survive all of that by paying bakshish to Assads and keeping dhimmi status with ISIS? Did Zionim cause all of these tzoros on the whole Middle East?

Jackk. To make sure you are not wasting ours (and your own) time, please put your money where your mouth is. Tell us how many options against DJT you bought and then continue reporting. I’ll be happy to know that either DJT or you are earning some cash.

I am thinking that eclipse is there to arose our curiosity (as cheruvim symbolize) and interest in creation.

First, the existence of eclipse is not remarkable. Any planet having satellites would have those satellites crossing paths with the sun, unless those moons were close to 90 degree orbit. But having just one moon (the only planet in solar system) and moon and sun visibly similar size is really remarkable making solar eclipse so spectacular. Looking at a little moon crossing the sun from Jupiter is not really a big deal.

So, when people observe sun and moon separate, you only see a 2-D picture, you don’t think about the distance much. But when you figure out that moon crosses in front of the sun, then you start thinking about 3-D. In fact, several Greeks (Aristarchus and Hipparchus, for example) used solar and lunar eclipses in their attempted computations of distances to moon and sun. They got formulas right, but not always exact distances. It is sadly-remarkable that their work seem to be rejected by later “mainstream” Greek academics, instead of correcting their measurement errors. Solar eclipse was also used 100 years ago to confirm Einstein’s relativity theory.

Avira> are you familiar with שומר פתאים ה”?

you seem to used this several times. I am not sure that a community that styles itself as all-Torah-learning can use this excuse. You seem to be saying that one can be a Talmid Chochom but ignorant in other matters and that’ ok. I don’t think this is what Shmuel thought.

Dr Pepper, President now advises Ukraine to stop destroying Russian oil infrastructure that might increase gas prices and further decline Biden’s reelection chances

akuperma > While he made many mistakes, at least he put much thoughtfulness and intelligence into them.

Right, Obama and his crew were willing to spend month figuring out how to make Obamacare work or debugging the crushing website. Generally, trying to change society at the core. Biden people simply apply old assumptions to new problems; nimble at the corners trying to see who to give money to like Ahashverosh. At this point, nobody is expecting more from the administration. Obamacare crash was in the news; Biden’s “simplified” FAFSA site apparently not working for 6 months – no news. Mainstream media writes that Administration is trying yet another way to forgive student loans despite previous one declared illegal by the Supreme Court, openly mentioning that despite a long procedure required by law, they are hopeful to finish this before the election. Some pollsters trying to predict election mention that Biden events, such as State of the Union – are not affecting the polls in either way because nobody is listening to him. Sad.

> at the time of Rebbi Shimon. Bar Yohai no rainbow was seen.

how do we understand that? At the time of R Shimon, he had to hide in the caves from prosecution … So, if we live under Nazis and Commies but no rainbows and earthquakes – this is the reward?

RebE, exactly. R Yohanan went mad without having someone to argue with after Resh Lakish petirah. This room is definitely precenting that for many of us!

huju,
every shtar can be evaluated on the market even if it is not liquid. DJT can get a loan using DJT shares as a collateral, for example. Or sell them now with the transaction date when he can do it. It is a davar that is already b’olam, I think, so it will be kosher.

coffee > eclipse will happen on Monday, Rosh Chodesh is on Tuesday

molad is not an astronomical observation, but simply adding a fixed average lunar month time that may be hours off a “real” rosh chodesh.

On that note, is it necessary to announce a rosh chodesh (or to go to listen to it), as everyone is going to see it and reminded multiple times before that by the media?

> This was a direct attempt at shmad.

In some cases, it might have been. In specific cases, I read and talked with people about, all communities, non-religious and religious, were also interested in money paid for hosting the orphans. Not everything is about ruchniyos, especially in difficult times.

Biden says that “it is a land of possibilities”, Trump makes opportunity a possibility.

I am thankful to this site that enables, and enforces, anonymous and civil discussions on controversial . There is a good reason, not just desire to troll, that many discussions are so harsh. It is rarely possible to have discussions between different shitos in person. First, people tend nowadays to live among those with the same opinions and hat fashion. Second, many would be reluctant to ask hard questions of people they know personally. Who wants to have a shidduch ruined just because you are curious about Zionism …

So, the fact that many/most posters do not seem to change their minds is not just a sign of our stubbornness, but also that many come here with well developed opinions that are not easily destroyed by a contact with opposite opinions. Still, I think people at least modulate their opinions in view of what others are saying.

This is also a great place to practice “what to answer an apikoiros” in case you would encounter one IRL, HvS.

I also hope that people who hold by the opinion that most hoi polloi should not go to college or get exposed to different opinions, but think that they are the ones who cna handle it, ask their posek first.

When we discuss a thesis: how many haredim qualify as full-time Talmidei Chachamim to be exempt, can we agree on the following answer:
between 5% and 95% of them?

Not 0, as there are T’Ch we will all agree on, and not 100, as there are people who are not learning, not capable of learning, working on a side, do not have right middos, etc.

Anyone disagrees?

I think WSJ OpEd noted Biden’s use of “possibilities” instead of more traditional “opportunities”. Opportunities means you can achieve something. Possibilities means something can happen to you – you can get a loan forgiven or a get a tax deduction…

yankel > Huge Masses of Sephardi Jews lost their heritage ,courtesy of our State…
> Without political Zionism, the Arabs and the British could/ would have been more accommodating to Jewish immigration

We now have a benefit of hindsight. Let’s use it (but not think that we are smarter than people who were making decision at the time, of course).

We now see how Arab countries developed over decades. Some of that was tied into Israel, but most went independent of that – oil monopolies; kings and mild dictators at best; otherwise – socialists; tribal warfare; Islamic fundamentalists; terrorists. Without Israel, Sephardi Jews would live in those countries, and Jews in Palestine would be under a similar regime. Maybe some would have escaped to Americas, Europe and Africa. Think of Aleppo Jews being prosecuted by ISIS like Yazidis were – or by Assad senior or juinior… Under Khomeini … Qaddafi …

Non-religious Ashkenazi Jews who went to kibbutzim might by now have grandchildren in yeshivos and tzahal. Their cousins who went to Americas are pretty likely to have grandchildren at pro-Hamas demonstrations…

All Ashkenazi Jews who did not make it to Palestine before WW2, and those who would be stuck in DP camps and in Soviet Gulag. Many Ukrainians and Russian in Western DP camps after Nazi camps were deported back to USSR where they went straight to Soviet camps (for being traitors and not fighting till death). If not Israel, many eastern europian Jews would have gone from the DP camps in the same direction. Many Polish Jews who did not take Soviet citizenship when in Soviet captivity returned to Poland and then were able to go to Israel, or left USSR with Polish Anders Army (like Menachem Begin). We are talking large number of people here. (True, some of the saved Polish children from religious families were forced to go to anti-religious kibbutzim – not so much because kibbutzim wanted to re-educate them, but every community taking children was paid a stipend, so all communities competed for having more of them).

I think these numbers add up to a positive, if we look at them without prejudice.

CTL, I think the right word is political appointees. Not everyone is from Obama’s team. Sullivan is Hillary’s man. What does unite most of them, that they are all second fiddles, who rose up through political world behind their masters. None of them are independent thinkers or leaders. Most presidents had such people on their team. I think this is a main reason for group-think mistakes that they make – they all think alike and are predictable in their organizational and political responses. This is especially bad against the enemies who use this predictability to their advantage.