Always_Ask_Questions

common, a good question. Possibly R Kotler’s talents will be wasted on being a mayor, and possibly he will not be succcessful at that! R Soloveichik talks that Jewish community evolves around teachers, not politicians. So, you just to need to expect less of politicians, and try to elect those who are helpful both for out klal and humanity in general.

look at the jokes Amoraim did when started a class. Also, try joking about yourself not others.

People generally continue growing in their mental abilities until they reach the peak and then start going down. Age of the peak varies greatly. Many achieve at 20, but others are growing into their 90s.

So, for a politician any age past 50 may be a time of decline and by 80, they are a danger to the world, while a talmid chacham is still on the way to the peak and may refuse a position (yet). Just has this in the end of Ketubot – a Tanna refusing to become Rosh Yeshiva in favor of an (even) older colleague and taking it after the death of the older one.

This has nothing to do with squirrels. Magid shiur speaks at the speed most appropriate for his own thinking and an average student in the class. Some may need faster, some slower. It may depend on the topic.

It is also not about speed of listening, but how you react based on speed. I asked a Rav who know how I learn (but not the one who leads the shiur, for obvious reasons :), and he surmised that if one wants to simply absorb information without getting distracted into other issues, it may be better to listen at faster speed.

any shiur can be made into a 30 minute shiur by running the recording at faster speed.

some say that we would not be able to understand Gemora without Rashi. So, everyone, except “gaonim” that RebE mentions, rely on Rashi

I am not so sure that Queens have advantage over Kings. There were way more Kings in history and so there are more memorable Kings famous for their misadventures. In Jewish history, there was were good Queens during Chashmonaim times, but then there was Jezebel…

> give it to me.

everyone gets his own mazal. If you get his money, you also get his (possible) mafiozi brothers… who probably have other relatives who can come back to talk to you. That might have been a good reason to refuse the money.

Most opinions here are emotional outcries. Voting is our interaction with non-Jewish world and is often a complicated matter. It is not just short-term gain or preference but long-term effect on our community and relationship I suggest with non-Jews. Given that this one is close and complicated,
I suggest you contact a talmid chacham who is a bokeh in these issues.

RW > CDC had on their own website info about vaccine trial lengths in which they stated takes around 15 years before being released and approved. During COVID- the page was still available but upon clicking the link it said “site under maintenance”. Soon after the page was completely removed and led to error not found.

this is a great example of an attempt to rewrite history. See below. I think you would need to look up halochos on lashon hara to see how you need to compensate CDC for your post.

I googled for CDC vaccine trial lengths and my first click went to CDC page that had a link to a page on historyofvaccines org (that is an outside page) that has first paragraph: Vaccine development is a long, complex process, often lasting 10-15 years, and involves a combination of public and private involvement.

Before that, there is a note added in May 2022:
Many anti-vaccine people and organizations are not presenting the information in this article in full context. The article below mostly covers vaccines before the current COVID-19 pandemic. Please see the section on the COVID-19 pandemic and Operation Warp Speed for information on the COVID-19 vaccines.

I read in an old book: if the Czar would know the value of Torah, he would put a soldier with a rifle near every learning Jew.

This was the end of the page and, while turning the page, I finished the paragraph in my mind “and the soldier will defend the Jew from anyone who is attacking him”.

The next page actually said: and every time the Jew will get distracted, the soldier will prick him with the bayonet…. I overestimated external and underestimated internal threats …

indeed, anything online will be manipulated.
Keep your offline copies of Tanach and Britannica!

Even Jewish books would quote you Rashi and Rambam .. just the part that a particular author wants you to pay attention to … So, keep your Bromberg Gemora edition also.

There are multiple ways to do ביטול תורה, and learning science and profession are not the worst. Maybe comes before posting on CR.

> He was really saying that it’s declassified by מחשבה and מעשה together.

Indeed, by raising the documents, he is performing meshihah and lawfully acquires them. “classified” simply means proprietary to US government. So, as T has a right to make them “unclassified”, in effect, hefker, and then acquire them, they are his. So, I suggest T takes USG to a beis din for arbitration and win using this argument.

There is also a problem with the government position: if they maintain that these documents are classified, then allowing them to be not a secure location for so long is a breach on their part. They should have investigated and sealed the documents on day one instead of sending polite emails. This is at least second case like that, see Hillary’s server, and these people should be fired, at least. Of course, if they are lying and the documents do not represent any danger, they should be fired also. So, in both cases, they are posul for edut.

Do we still live in the same world? R Moshe paskens for mostly Yiddish speaking public, say East side where people mingled together. R Ovadia – for sefardim who didn’t have the rifts Ashkenazim had during haskalah. On our times, a person who lives near an observant community, whether haredi or mo, only sees them driving by or walking to shul. Even if he comes by a shul, he might be ignored. Maybe we should drive and walk to shul the way that makes people to follow us to shul before it is too late

Avrom > halachos that say if your fellow is sinning, you should just watch and see how it goes for him.

fair correction that I generalized your statement too far. On this point, we have a notion that those who should give tochacha should, but those who do not know how to do it properly should abstain. Of course, parents do not have the luxury… I am not saying though to totally abstain, just to consider what are real consequences of the information you provide. Of course, in many cases, it is the right thing to report, I am just suggesting full consideration. Say, parents are abusive – will you still report thing to them?

maybe poskim advised him to take the money, but to say publicly that he did not to make his life easier?

Maybe the question reveals philosophy of the minim, where they do not comprehend Hashem that is beyond world experience. If He can get tameh, then He can get a kid also.

Avram > So if you feel the parents aren’t perfect, it justifies disempowering them?

has v’sholom. I am trying to analyze expected outcome. If the parents are “one trick ponies” and are continuing using same approach, then you should expect that and evaluate whether your information will do any good for anyone. If parents will use this information to ponder what to do, maybe try something different, maybe go ask someone to help – then, of course, help them in that.

So, before learning halochos on how to do something You want without offending Hashem too much, better think what He wants and see how your behaviors fits into that.

huju, I accept your addition, unless your ancestors were Sephardim in the colonies or were possible illegitimate father of Hamilton.

FYI, R Arye Lebowitz YU says that his smarter brother was supposed to be a doctor and he only a lawyer and then he switched to Rabbanut. By free association – Saul Lieberman offered Elie Wiesel a smicha so that he could get a job if journalism does not work out, to which EW answered “I am not suited to be a Rabbi”. SL replied “me too”.

I would ask a _competent_ Rav whether to inform the parents.

On one hand, parents have a reasonable approach and pursue the best for their kid.

On the other hand, they are failing and it is not clear that doubling-down will help. For example, if kids break through filters on a computer and parents discover it: if they close the break or confront the kid, he will find another way and parents will never know about it. It may be a better idea to monitor the break and see whether this is benign or not. So, in this case, maybe a Rav and friends can help the kid using some other approach instead of encouraging parents to follow the path that is failing. For example, maybe the kid has questions that need to be answered, or he needs more warmth and understanding.

Bein adam l’havero is hard to summarize in a sefer that survives a lot of time as society changes and people are different. I would look for a narrow specialist in each area. Chofetz Chaim for lashon hara, R Twersky for self-esteem and addiction issues, R Pliskin for marriage, etc.

bal tosif is usually adding numerically to a defined mitzva, like adding lemon to arba minim. Woman blowing shofar is not bal tosif.

Nobody here brought any insights from tintin so far, so it is hard to judge. Even R Twersky’s book did not convince me to see other peanuts. I even his book just for the articles, as they say in another context.

Maybe the fact that kids are doing pictures instead of books is the most concerning here. Jews are a nation of readers, not painters, Chagall not withstanding. My kids loved to read a series of books that is now understood to be treif… are there are other books/series that might excite viral following among kids? Please put your suggestions. Another books my kids love is “another side of the story”. It brings simple (kosher) life stories where some mis-understanding caused or could have caused a major blow up. After the kids got the idea, it is fun to read the story first and then try to guess what was mis-understood. One example – an Israeli teacher receiving a check from someone’s parents post-dated by half a year! Turns out 1/10 means different things on 2 sides of the ocean.

I recently chanced on (aka hashgoha) on a first volume of “memoirs of Lubavitcher Rebbe” by the next-to-last-one (Fredericke Rebbe?), published in 1940s. I thought it will start with family history, but it is way wider – whole first volume brings stories of 17th century Jews in Belarus (Lubavitch, Vitebsk, Minsk, etc), learning in small groups, travelling, interacting with other hidden mystics and with Polish nobles… This is not a sociological survey of course, but a description of some special people. I presume this is building up rationale for Chasidic movement in these :’litvishe” lands. Many of these stories reflect on same subjects we a re discussing here. some stories refer to this is a future relative of Besht, or Alter Rebbe’s family is related to him, etc. Here are several stories, selected for relevance to our discussions, there are many more standard ones. Mistakes due to my faulty memory, not malice. I am using “mystic” here, I didnt likw the English sefer translated the word, I am trying to guess original Hebrew. Maybe it should be a tzadik or a nistar.

– one mystic staying with a (special) cobbler. Two non-Jewish peasants brought something to repair, he by mistake charged higher price to the wrong peasant. He then walked for a couple of hours to return 6 cents to the peasant. The mystic questioned “bitul zman”. Cobbler said that generation of flood was stealing less than peruta. Was he going to be 6 times worse than them?!

– several people were hiding their learning from kavod, insisting on working as cobblers or orchard watchers, only revealing their learning by chance or when needed to argue with a priest that was trying to agitate Polish peasants and convert the Jews. In some cases, they’ll disappear from the town afterwards to go to another place where they will not be known

– one of them hires a Polish coach to go visit a teacher he heard of. The coachman does not want to take money, saying that he heard from a local Rabbi that people should help each other regardless of their religion. The mystic insists that he never took anything for free that he did not pay for fairly and insists on paying.

– a couple disappoint their in-laws by refusing to become Rabbis despite their learning and work as cobblers. When an in-law threatens a divorce, the wife says that she is on her husband’s side.

– in one story, such mystic talks with baalei batim to encourage them to learn more, at the same time talking to Talmidei Chachamim, encouraging them to work some and dress like simple people so that they can relate to them.

– a nistar is, I think, hiding somewhere for 45 years, then comes to town. Several people talk about hm in public baths, not seeing him, and mention that he was in hiding for 40 years. He corrects them, saying – for 45. After they all leave the bath, some young mystic has hutzpah to admonish the old one in public that this was gaava. A local butcher hears the discussion and decides that Hashem had a reason that he witnessed this argument about gaava and goes to the local Rabbi and says tht he is not deserving to be a butcher any more. Father of the young mystic visits the old mystic to apologize, but the old one forgives it, saying that his words could be indeed interpreted as gaava, even as he just wanted to correct the facts.

– one family of Nachum who had a small business in a small town, who got married to a widow Devorah with a kid from a big city of Minsk. While in Minsk, Devorah was taught Tanach by her father and, after becoming a widow, she was teaching local women. After moving to her husband, Devorah was appalled how women of Vitebsk (?) did not know any Torah and was teaching them, while also taking charge of her husband’s business. Nachum was happy that the wife took charge and went into full time learning on his own. Devorah started quoting him Gemoras (sic!) that we discuss here explaining that it is not good for him to only learn, but he refused to take part in the business. Unbeknownst to her husband (!), Devorah was just starting learning Shas second time. (this is not clear how one can learn Shas in Aramaic without any help or internet, maybe her father taught her more than Tanach). She then figured out how to involve Nachum – she said that she has her books done showing all income, but he needs to compute the maaser. so, he gets involved, and they sponsor several kids going to a yeshiva somewhere, who then return and Torah starts flourishing in the town. The story ends with a tragedy for Nachum that you can find out if you read the sefer (no condemnation of Devorah’s gemora learning or interfering with husband’s studies implied, as far as I can tell).