Ari Knobler

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  • in reply to: Children are not here to “bring Nachas to their parents” #2265841
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    What a ridiculous claim. Of course, Hashem wants us to shep נחת from our children. Try reading Tehillim, chapter 128 just one more time. It was one of the Psalms Jewish fathers would sing with their sons as they carried or accompanied them up to the בית המקדש on the Shalosh Regalim.

    in reply to: Pompadour hairstyle: why do our young men have this? #2233096
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    Meh. They were saying the same thing about the ducktail back in my day.

    in reply to: Lakewoodflation #2221019
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    שֵֽׁשֶׁת יָמִים תַּעֲבֹד

    in reply to: Rabbi Pruzansky and the Israeli Army #2220260
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    Square_Root: Hear! Hear!

    in reply to: False Claim about Jewish History #2218559
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    In terms of frequency of antisemitic acts, Christian Europe under the popes and kings was far worse than the Muslim world. It is not even comparable. In terms of ferocity, each society could give the other a run for their money.

    Yemen is an interesting case: The Himyarite viceroy Harith Ibn-Amru converted to Judaism around 380 C.E. I think it was Tub’a Abu Kariba As’ad, the next king, who made Judaism the state religion. Dhu Nuwas was the last Jewish king of the Himyarites. He died in 527 and the Aksumites took over. Yemen is a wild and backwards country, and it grates on many people there that the country was once a Jewish kingdom.

    Of course, countless acts of Jew-hatred were committed by the Muslims. I heard from an elderly Moroccan-born rabbi that before the French colonized Morocco in 1912, the Muslims there would kidnap Jewish girls from time to time who would never be heard from again.

    Rabbi Dr. Herbert C. Dobrinsky, a scholar of Sephardic history, wrote that in Iran, there was a barbaric annual observance that included government officials kidnapping a random Jew, binding him in a catapult, and launching him into a field where he would meet his death upon impact.

    One can trade accounts of horror until the end of time. The English knights of the Crusades disemboweled pregnant Jewish women. Muslims were not far behind in terms depravity and cruelty. After Israel won the Six Day War, at least one male from every remaining Jewish family in Egypt was arrested and sent to the Abu Zabaal Prison in Cairo. The rabbi was crucified on the prison gate under which the Jewish men and boys had to pass. Once in the prison, the men and boys were given female names and raped. What else the Egyptian monsters did to our brothers is not appropriate for this forum. The Times of Israel has an archived article about it.

    in reply to: To add to the list of YU’s sins #2217978
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    “Landers is a good place with solid academics.”

    Thanks for this. I needed a good laugh.

    in reply to: Should i become a psychologist? #2216946
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    It is not a rabbit hole. You are getting an education. Nothing worthwhile is easy, from earning a degree and licensure to losing weight or becoming successful in business.

    Yes, you can make a nice living as a therapist, and you don’t necessarily need a doctorate to be one. LCSWs who practice to the maximum earn over 100k per annum. Of course, you can parlay your earnings by investing wisely and make much more money than that. Classically, psychologists (PhDs or PsyDs) earn more than LCSWs, while psychiatrists (MDs or DOs) make a king’s ransom.

    However, to become a psychiatrist, you’d have to be willing (and able) to get into medical school and schvitz for four years, plus another four years of residency and possibly another two years for a fellowship. Along the way, you will need to pass a host of board exams. So, in order to become a psychiatrist, we’re talking about ten solid years of blood, sweat and tears, give or take. (The path to becoming a psychologist is fairly coextensive.) But if earning a half-million to a million dollars a year as a therapist is your object, that’s what you have to do. No offense, but your tentativeness and impatience indicate that medical school or a PhD may not be in your future.

    That being said, while nothing worthwhile is easy, there are far easier ways to become wealthy. There is a Harvard graduate I heard about who drove a truck for a few years while investing his earnings in growth stocks and became a millionaire.

    in reply to: The Modern Orthodox “Mesorah” #2215474
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    The scare quotes tell us what you think.

    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    Being asked about one’s religiosity is not antisemitic in and of itself. Issues of kashrut, chaplaincy services and the permissibility of an autopsy all depend on the patient’s religious orientation.

    in reply to: Forgotten Halachah MB 167 #2209212
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    Big deal. You have found a practice that is seldom followed and now you’re feeling your oats.

    Question: When you are an invited guest while a זימון are present and you have been asked to lead the בּענטשן, do you do so over wine and then pass the בּעכער after the בּענטשן to the lady of the house? Rashi mentions this ancient custom in his commentary on ספר בראשית.

    Do you make sure to remove the wine on the table if it is not used in the בּענטשן? Because that is a law – not a custom, a law.

    This reminds me of a hothead pulpit rabbi who had found an obscure דין in the מגן אברהם that week and shouted on Friday night, “We are all מחלל שבת!” Terrific way to start people’s Shabbos, and also to fatuously proclaim his own ignorance and absence of human decency.

    There are literally thousands of defunct practices, which some consider laws and others consider customs.

    in reply to: have you ever been to tosh? #2207236
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    The question is, “Have YOU ever been to Nyírtass, née Tass, Hungary?”

    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    Rationalizing Jewish persecutions and massacres ex post facto is tantamount to saying they got what they deserved. It is the fetid, smegma-ridden underbelly of theodicy and should always be rejected.

    For your own edification, try reading “Anti-Maimonidean Demons” by the late Sephardic Hakham José Faur a”h.

    in reply to: Question of an ignorant, closed-minded Lubavitcher #2203887
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    One of the predictable results of these discussions is the charge of machlokes, sinas chinam, bigotry, hatefulness or wickedness leveled at anyone who disagrees with what has become normative Chabad orthodoxy. This is a cheap tactic meant to quell any and all discussion regarding the virtues or faults of Chabad. Thank you very much, but nobody has the right to force us to go against the values with which we were raised. Nobody.

    Another queer feature concomitant with these threads is the absurd remark made by some along the lines of “So, Chabad holds that their Rebbe is the Moshiach. Big deal. Get over it!” Or how about this one: “The Rebbe knew as much Torah as the Brisker Rov.”

    Really? Surely you jest.

    But no, they are quite serious. Historical revisionism and logical fallacies are par for the course. Marvel at the zero-sum game they play.

    I have longstanding relationships with people in Crown Heights and Morristown and know the average Lubavitcher chassidim to be beautiful Jews. It is for this reason I opt out of most of these threads.

    There are others, however, who have invaded established kehillos and executed a hostile takeover of the shul board. One of my late friends, a longtime pulpit rabbi, experienced this. The ordeal drove him to an early grave.

    Still and all, most of the time I שוויַיג שטיל. Only when I read something over-the-top regarding MMS or some Chabad activity will I feel it necessary to contribute a salient thought.

    in reply to: Side Hustle idea for kollel yungerman #2202938
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    Steve–

    Work is not a hustle. To call it that is an insult to all of us who work for a living and do so proudly. I needn’t remind you of the various occupations held by the חז”ל, and by ראשונים such as Rashi, Rambam and others. Obviously, you are not a vintner or court physician. Nor are you a tanner, sandler, woodcutter or hotelier. But the Torah tells us שֵֽׁשֶׁת יָמִים תַּעֲבֹד. It is a מצוות עשה to work, and to do so six days out of the week. I know R’ Meir says הוי ממעט בעסק, ועסוק בתורה. Ideally, through a passive income, you can follow both directives (so may it be said of us all).

    Very few occupations provide a regular passive income, but there are a few:

    You could do day trading. You need not pass the Series 7 exam or have any broker’s license. Just have an account with E*Trade or another online trading platform. Start small. Invest in blue chip stocks that pay a dividend. As you grow in your knowledge of the markets, you can begin buying and selling with greater frequency. But bear some things in mind:

    NO PENNY STOCKS.

    NO FUTURES OR OPTIONS.

    NEVER BUY ANYTHING ON MARGIN (My late father ע”ה bought on margin and lost his proverbial shirt).

    DIVERSIFY AND USE COMMON SENSE. Invest in real companies with a history and reputation. IBM, AT&T, Pfizer, Exxon Mobil, Texas Instruments, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Merck, IBM, Con Edison, Dominion, etc.

    Of course, there’s always a catch. YOU NEED MONEY TO MAKE MONEY. So, invest what you can without causing yourself any hardship. LEARN SOME PATIENCE (a virtue I take it you need to work on a bit).

    Also: Mutual funds are safe. You won’t lose money in the end, but you won’t become King Midas either.

    Bonds are extremely safe. Yes, the interest rate (the return you as the investor realize) is quite low at 4.3%, but it is guaranteed.

    There’s that. We should all have stock and bond portfolios.

    Also, lest I forget: STAY AWAY FROM REAL ESTATE. (If you own real estate, however, KEEP IT. Even if you have to eat out of a can, DON’T SELL. Real estate is just what it says: A real, tangible holding. And real estate will always be highly valued.)

    Another idea:

    Open a pizza shop. (I’m being quite serious.) You won’t need to invest in over-the-top ambience. The menu is short and straightforward. The ingredients are relatively cheap. You can pool your resources with a group of other Kollel yungeleit and establish a thriving concern. You will have to pay at least a few people to do the menial work. You yourself can serve as the mashgiach (or alternate with your partners). With such a business, you would (conceivably) be able to sit with a ספר all day. I’d stay away from a פֿליישיק restaurant. In fact, I wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole. Far too expensive and too many potential kashrus-related issues. Remember: Keep it simple. And also: ALWAYS GO OVER THE BOOKS YOURSELF.

    Another idea:

    Become a writer. You can write original books on Torah subjects, copyright them, print them and sell them out of your house (or from a distributor). If you make a hit with, say, a Parsha book or some such work, you can make very good money. Are you a gifted writer? Are you a bona fide תלמיד חכם? Do you have your finger on the pulse of the community and know what they would love to read but is not yet available? Then get started! אִם לֹא עַכְשָׁיו, אֵימָתָי

    I have found that if you daven to Hashem and tell Him that you wish to become wealthy (remember, such an ambition is nothing to be ashamed of!), and that your aim is not only to provide a better life for your wife and children but also to become a בעל צדקה and help the אָרעמע ליַיט, if you are meritorious and have no outstanding debts with Him or with man, He will answer your תפילה. So first, get your house in order. Settle all outstanding obligations. Then daven that prayer with as much כוונה you can muster. After that, embark on one or more of these ideas.

    Once the Almighty answers your prayer and things start to happen (slowly at first, but they will happen), show Him that you are not out for גאווה. G-d puts a very special חן on בעלי צדקה who live humbly, don’t flaunt their wealth, and give discreetly.

    I wish you much success, my friend.

    in reply to: The Liozna Rebbe #2196356
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    A friend lent me Deutsch’s book years ago, and I read some eye-opening things about both the late subject of the book.

    There are many things I am tempted to say here, but I imagine my ג-ט זעליגן father ע”ה cautioning me against doing so. As I get older, I become less צעהיצט. “People are people,” I say to myself. “The world’s a rich tapestry. Who am I to condemn anyone?”

    This forum has been an outlet for me. At times, though, it riles me up, which is bad for my soul. Remember the old expression: אַ בּייזע צונג איז ערגער פֿון אַ שלעכטער האַנט

    in reply to: Chabad Inspires all Jews to Yearn for Mashiach #2194163
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    The Brisker Rov zt”l had you-know-who pegged to a tee.

    In hashkafic matters, always side with the superior ga’on.

    in reply to: German Products #2193428
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    Adidas is a German company. Adolf Dassler, founder of Adidas, joined the Nazi Party in 1933 along with his brother. The two also became members of the National Socialist Motor Corps. Adolf also took the rank of Sportwart in the Hitler Youth from 1935 until the end of the war.

    During WWII, Adidas supplied the Wehrmacht with shoes. In 1943, they halted shoe production and began to manufacture anti-tank weapons. From 1942 to 1945, there were slave laborers working at the two Adidas factories. The company claims there were only nine slave laborers, but who would believe them.

    You can be sure that many of the shoes the Jews at Sachsenhausen were forced by the Nazis to test out were Adidas. At that camp, the Germans made the prisoners wear new shoe prototypes many times smaller than their feet and walk for miles on end until their toes broke. It is one of the lesser-known atrocities of the War. German shoe companies wanted to test the strength and durability of their new models, and the interned Jews were perfect for the job. But just to be sadistic, the Germans made sure to always use shoes many times smaller than the prisoners’ feet, which of course meant that the test runs of the shoes were worthless. When a prisoner fell over writhing in pain, they were either tortured, starved, shot, or hanged. “D-IX,” the notorious performance-enhancing cocktail of coke, meth, and oxycodone was tested on the prisoners of Sachsenhausen before it was approved and given to German military units to keep them high when in action.

    Adidas is a Nazi company through and through. No Jew should buy their products.

    The Nazi history of Adidas, the sportswear giant that took weeks to drop Kanye West over antisemitism

    links removed

     

    in reply to: Did we really go to the moon #2189489
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    If you believe that space travel has regressed, then you’ve got a lot of problems. For your own mental health, stay off the conspiracy sites.

    in reply to: Is every Rav now a Gaon as well? #2181103
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    Rav Moshe Feinstein זצ”ל would address his rabbinical querents as “הרב הגאון”. This was his custom for whatever reason. One פוסק who did not engage in such generous language was R’ Seligman Baer (Isaac Dov ha-Levi) Bamberger, i.e., the Würzburger Rav זצ”ל. If you look at his halachic responsa, he addresses his querents plainly as רבי or רב.

    Has it gotten out of hand? Perhaps. In Sefer Mishlei, we read זֵכֶר צַדִּיק לִבְרָכָה, but now we have taken it on ourselves to expand the expression to זצוק”ל or even זצוקללה”ה. Good enough for Shelomo ha-Melech, not good enough for us.

    Not only the Chasidim but the Litvaks as well sometimes took this took an extreme. There was a commentary on מס’ קידושין my מגיד שיעור learned with us back in post-high school bes medrash. The author had been a pupil of R’ Chaim Brisker זצ”ל. In the introduction, he wrote a more-than-ten-line blandishment without even mentioning his sainted teacher’s actual name.

    in reply to: Why did the Brisker Rav zt”l call giving brachos “shtusim”? #2176748
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    spot on: That is the Ashkenazic pronunciation of the Hebrew word שטויות. In Yiddish both written and oral, the word is שטותים. The same thing goes for words like טליתים and שבתים, which are the Yiddish plural forms, even as the Ashkenazic pronunciation of the non-dialectical Hebrew words is “Talisos” and “Shabbosos”.

    in reply to: Different Tracks of Modern Orthodoxy #2162974
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    The amount of ignorance, prejudice, preoccupation with externalities and sheer שנאת חינם on display here is astounding.

    in reply to: Derech HaLimud of the Vilna Gaon #2150947
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    Of course. The Mahara”l of Prague and many other Torah giants throughout the generations also held of the same teaching model. The source is Avot 5:21 where Yehuda ben Tema says:
    “At five years of age the study of Mikra;
    “At ten the study of Mishna;
    “At thirteen subject to the mitzvot;
    “At fifteen the study of Talmud…”

    in reply to: Is every Yid a big tzaddik? #2134219
    Ari Knobler
    Participant

    Saying every Yid is a tzaddik is an inane as saying every gentile is a rasha.

Viewing 23 posts - 1 through 23 (of 23 total)