Always_Ask_Questions

RebE > I take on the aveira of learning before Shavuos.

Rogachover was braver than that, he was learning on 9Av, saying that he is ok being in gehinom for people who learn on 9Av. I think, Chazon Ish replied that there is only one Gehinom though …

Well, you can probably pre-program Tesla similarly to a shabbos elevator so it will stop and go whether you are there or not.

Note that Tesla is not supposed to be left unattended. Maybe a way out is that the driver only gets involved when there is risk to life and that becomes mutar. Then the question would be – how often one needs to get involved. Can we assume that most trips will not require intervention? depends on your route, I guess. If you are going through a neighborhood where buchrim will be jumping in front of the car shouting “shabbos” at you, you (or them) may be out of luck.

It seems that some bochurim are not aware of recent Jewish history and use “Reform” simply as a swear word. There is a difference between a non-halachik movement, like Reform, and possible halachic disagreements, even vehement ones. Say, R Feinstein was against women learning Gemora, his son on law respectfully disagreed. I am not sure where R Feinstein’s daughter stands on this, but at least one of granddaughters learned Gemora … would it be an insult to R Feinstein to say that he married his daughter to a Reform Rabbi?!

Again, your position might have strong support, and you may be able to explain gemora Kidushin to Beruriah (is it the one that teaching daughters Torah is teaching her silliness or the one that if someone does not teach his son a job makes him into a gangster?) – but don’t call people inappropriate names.

ubiq > but shouldn’t be or hasn’t been enacted becasue people won’t listen?

this is actually a Gemora’s approach to gezeros: only those that will be listened to in the next year become permanent. Of course, in American system, voters can to elect those who will overturn unpopular laws.

jackk, what do you think about testimony in the case and what it explains about the events that happened? I did not read carefully yet, but it appears from possibly biased reporting that the Alpha bank case was handled in a strange way – outsourced to a rookie investigator in Chicago, who was not told who is the source of allegations, but told that bosses insist on the case being opened; the paperwork at the beginning and even later claimed that the case came from Justice dept. Again, I am not vouching for this interpretation, just curious if someone looked at the testimony already.

YS > I am far more worried about random shootings by maniacs today than I am about some far off imagined potential revolution.

I understand your emotion. I just think it is wrong and myopic. Maye after you’ll re-read what you said above when in less emotional state, maybe you’ll also think that this is a mistake. Why not look for solutions that do not increase long-term risk.

ubi > require background checks for all gun sales (aka the “gun show loophole”)”

I am also not an expert, but I smell a rat in your presentation. So, these states DO have background checks except the gun shows? Did the latest murderer buy his gun at the gun show? Are gun shows a significant source of guns used in crime?

Avira > much use out of the scant resources they had

you can see from Gemora how people used every part of an animal and broken items. for example, what is considered muktze – broken chairs, nails, combs – as long as they have some use in them. It is not just about binning things, but taking care of clothes, using Amzon boxes to store something. Once, when I started a new job and was writing my notes on the opposite side of a printout, my new boss came in, smiled, and said that he does the same. So, we bonded on that simple decent act (we did not pay for paper, of course).

yes, she left for the store two hours ago and did not come back yet.

Yserbius > The good: Less people dying from guns, less mass shootings, less murders. The harm: Some innocent people will loose their firearms.

This all makes sense – in short term. What if some day, USA population would need guns to protect from either external or internal dictators? For external enemy, first thing Ukrainian government started doing when they realized that the attack is coming – started giving guns to population (obviously, untrained). For internal threats – right now half of the country think that Trump is Putin’s buddy and another half that Dems are fixing elections. So, it would seem that 100% should agree that Democracy needs protection. If you rescind 2nd amendment now, you won’t be able to put it back when needed.

Note that USA has an impressive record of democracy in last 200+ years comparing to most other countries. So, why mess with a country of success. Obviously, some changes are required with changes in technology and politics. I would apply a Jewish approach here – that only a court that is wiser than the original can change fundamentals.

This depends on how people in your environment behave. It does not matter if the whole USA is trashy, but if you live in a clean neighborhood, you would need to uphold the standard. Similarly, if you, R’L live in a country where people don’t cross on red light on an empty street, you would need to do the same.

ubi, indeed, I noticed that also. To clarify what is Kiddush Hashem here: inappropriately vengeful Gibonim asked to give them 7 bnei Saul, hanged them and left them hang for seems like 6 months. Saul’s (and theirs, as princes?) guilt was that Gibonim lost their jobs after their clients – Kohanim of Nov – are killed. Publicity of public hanging is an equivalent to modern papers or social media … So, when people saw that princes can be punished for sins against lowly gerim, then 150,000 converted to become Jewish seeing such just and non-corrupt society.

Aseh > Before we start worrying about reconciling science with Torah (not reconciling Torah with science, chas v’sholom), let’s first make sure we understand what the Torah actually says.

it is a good point, but also note that it all goes together. Not many people are completely isolated from the environment – even those who have no cell phones and radios in the car, go to shul with someone who knows someone who is watching MSNBC or Ben Shapiro. So, if they do not have skills to understand modern life, whether science or sociology, they will fall prey to someone’s opinions about those topics, and you can just pray that those will not be most destructive ones.

Avira > chabad are the only Jews who think there’s value in getting random frei people to put tefilin on once, and that this brings the geulah.

your mind always focusing on finding where someone is wrong. Naturally, your sharp mind finds it in any group you believe are wrong. Rinse, repeat. I know a lot of ehrliche yidden, ranging from moschihists to normal Chabad to non-Chabad to anti-Chabad who were educated by Chabad shluhim. Some were indeed first stopped on campus by “excluse me, are you Jewish”, others came to shul themselves.

I am sure these shluchim will get their reward in olam habo, even if they obnoxious or ignorant in some other ways. I hope, but less sure, that you’ll get reward for your sharp opinions. There are a lot of opinions saying that value of Torah learning is devalued by personal shortcomings.

> reconcile the teachings of Torah with the teachings of science.
> Just because science says something now that does not mean that tomorrow a newer science will disprove and overturn it.
> Separate the two, not reconcile

these opinions cover a lot 🙂 I think each of them have validity.

You can live nice ehrliche life without being bothered by science. Just don’t post noreshkeit and hate presuming you know better than those who pay attention.

Science indeed changes, and Talmidei Chachamim both made conclusions based on science of their time and acknowledged limitations, especially when masorah is different, such as argument whether the world was created from nothing (science acknowledged that 100 years ago with Big Bang theory).

Studying and reconciling seems like a fascinating approach for anyone who is interested in how Hashem created and runs the world. Possibly, He wants us to engage in that exploration. I forgot who says that pre-flood long lives were required because of lack of writing – so every person had to live enough to collect enough astronomical data and make conclusions about how the world is made.

n0 > I do not recall ever seeing a parking meter in Lakewood.

True, me too. But I thought things changed with the growth. Glad to hear it did not.

If you have a gun, it sounds like a mitzva to keep in a safe place and know how to use responsibly (fence on the roof, indirect damage ). So, you should presume that a Rav who is packing, is packing it kosher. If the Rav is not, then he needs to be fired for the aveirah of not being careful based on a random inspection asking to demonstrate his skills.

YS > Out of all kiruv organizations … or that shidduchim marred by their past?

As we discussed, they don’t call themselves “kiruv” and others are trying to copy their approach – imitation is best flattery. But re:shiduchim, I don’t think shluchim family marry their baalei teshuva. Maybe because they know them well 🙂

YS > French national anthem a niggun which they still sing today.

this is a fascinating moment in history – most of Polish/Litvish/Chasidishe Yidden and Rebbeim were enthusiastic about Napoleon, while Baal Hatanya saw assimilation from (1) Napoleon coming to Eastern Europe (this is like Jews emigrating to America, except the “goldene medinah” coming dictly to Jews”) and (2) did not see Russians going away – realpolitik, Kissinger’s style … We have to admit that he was not very wrong in both aspects.

The machlokes was partially geographic, with Chabad being in current Belorus, while others being in Lita/Poland/Galicia. As we see now, his territory is still under Russia, while others are not.

> #AUTHENTIC YIDDESHKEIT

It is not our fault that the whole world copied Litvishe levush!

Authentic!? I saw Rambam’s photo – he does not look like you at all. Moshe did not recognize what R Akiva was teaching, but at least he recognized him. Moshe probably would pass you on the street and go around, just in case you are a Zoroastrian magi or something.

n0 > It’s a statistical model. And it’s been ironclad for almost two centuries.

It is a misconception. A model is built on old data. The more parameters (degrees of freedom) you have, the easier it is to fit to the data. As one Baki told me – you can always draw a straight line through any 3 points! (as long as your pen is thick enough). So, it is no wonder that someone constructs a model that works on all historical data. The real test would be to publish the model and see how it works in the future.

Same thing goes with stock market that most of us can not predict “shaa ahas” in advance, kal v’homer, 100 years. As financial advisor asked an economics professor – if you are so smart (explaining economics), why are you not so rich? [The retort was: if you are so rich, why are you not so smart].

Practically speaking – we saw how one month of covid dramatically reduced economic activity in the whole world (and price of oil went below zero) and then a month of war sent oil to the roof and fired up coal … so, when global warming will start really hurting the world, we can always reduce activity, seed clouds, paint the whole globe in reflective color, bomb Chinese coal factories … Solve today’s problems today and don’t try to feed Russian monsters in order to save your beaches tomorrow.

Avira > No group of jews ever believed that putting boxes on clueless frei people with the status of goyim or captured babies brings the geulah

I was first bothered by your erudite criticism of specific Torah approaches, but now I realize you shoot anything that does not correspond to what people in your kevutza approve. This one is probably the most repugnant – you are not just taking on some intellectual with a different shitah, but denigrating both klal Isroel in general and those people who care about them. Skilah shnei tziporim b’ makah ahas, as they say.

> DNA test says that the child was fathered by the next door neighbor

Yevamos discuss a case of someon who, apparently, can not have children due to a trauma, but then does – does this disprove that he can’t? response – no, suspect the mother …

People list cases when guns did not help, but there were cases when it did. for example, there was an attack on a place of worship in Texas, where worshippers responded with precise fire preventing a mass murder. So, even as most Jews do not carry, maybe we should ….

In shul, you need some safety measures, of course. No guns during kriya, for example, so that bad reading and corrections do not trigger anyone.

another type of inflation. If everyone goes back to wearing triangular hats and turbans, then Rebbes/Chacham could just wear black hat/multi-colored turbans. Otherwise, soon yeshiva ketinah will introduce velvet so that kids do not feel lower, and the Rebbes will have to go for gold …