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When Rav Kook went to London to be the Rav of the Machzikei haDaat synagogue he realized that he had to learn English. He did not want to mevatel Troah so he used English translations of the Tanakh and Talmud. When he made his first speech he used words like “thou” and one non-Jew present said “He speaks like a prophet”.
Yiddish is the language of the harshest exile in our history and a dialect of the language of Amalek. It is also the language pushed by the Bundists, who held Tisha b’Av parties and stood in front of shuls on Yom Kippur eating ham sandwiches. When the Bolsheviks came to power they banned our national language Hebrew, which unites all of Klal Yisrael, and pushed Yiddish. It is long past time that it was relegated to anthropologists.
Tעוד מעט ישוב לאמר שקר נחלו אבותינו, והישראלי בכלל ישכח מחצבתו ויחשב לאזרח רענן, יעזוב לימודי דתו, ללמוד לשונות לא לו, יליף ממקלקלתא ולא יליף מתקנתא, יחשוב, כי ברלין (נ.ב. ברוקלין, מונסי, לייקווד) היא ירושלים, וכמקולקלים שבהם עשיתם, כמתוקנים לא עשיתם ואל תשמח ישראל אל גיל בעמים. אז יבוא רוח סועה וסער, יעקור אותו מגזעו, יניחהו לגוי מרחוק, אשר לא למד לשונו, ידע כי הוא גר, לשונו שפת קדשינו, ולשונות זרים המה כלבוש יחלוף, ומחצבתו הוא גזע ישראל,
-משך חכמה פרשת בחוקותי
The Mishna Berura says that there should be official shushers. The Kaf haChaim (OC 124:37) agrees and adds that the talkers should receive many punishments and be embarrassed in public.
Eli, in the Chareidi sector if a person’s name is Azulai, Vaknin or something else obviously not Ashkenazi he is almost certainly Sephardi or Yemenite. Discrimination against Sephardim in Chareidi schools in well-known and the reason why Rav Ovadia started El haMaayan.
CTL, FYI there are some shuls that have a rule that a person who does not come by Barchu loses his right to the seat for that tefilla. BTW, there were communities in Germany that fined people who came after Baruch sheAmar.
Rebbetzin, someone who puts on tefillin or shakes a lulavu not in the proper time does no mitzva and says a beracha l’vatala. Similarly, if you visit a choleh at an inappropriate time you are doing an aveira (besides the chillul Hashem). You probably would not tell anyone about unemployed people you know so that you could give them gifts every Purim. Chazal call such a person a חסיד שוטה.
WATCH: Jewish Metaphysics of Baseball by Rosh Hayeshiva of Ohr Somayach, Rav Nota Schiller Shlit”a,
Yankee Stadium has glatt kosher stands and Mincha or Maariv (depending on whether it is a day or night game) during the Seventh Inning Stretch. Weekday soccer in israel has Maariv during the break. Apparently some people think it’s permitted. I don’t know if it is considered a sport but many gedolim played chess as bachurim. One future gadol, upon beating his opponent (also a future gadol) commented that he needed to know that he can’t always win.
Yitzyk, for that matter, in Mea Shearim they sold Xmas decorations as sukka decorations. The residents thought hat Santa was a rav as he had a big white beard.
Rambam says that one should stand at attention. This was the custom of Rav Moshe and Rav Soloveichik. The former said that he learned to do this when a NKVD interrogator put a loaded gun on the table and told him that if he moved a muscle it would be his last.
ZG, I heard that there is a lower level – siata d’Shemaya. BTW, the Gra says that already with Yeshayahu there were no actual nevi’im but chozim, which is a lower level. He calls the former a clear window of a foggy window and the latter a foggy window of a foggy window.
Mentsch, in Israel “Oriental” (מזרחי) refers to Jews from the Eidot haMizrach. What are pejoratives differ according to time and place. At one time “Jew” (as well as “Yid”) was a pejorative whereas the polite words were “Hebrew” and “Israelite”. When Khrushchev became Commissar for Soviet-occupied Poland he was shocked to hear local Jewish Communists refer to themselves as Żydzi as this is extremely offensive in Russian.
CTL,
1. I never claimed to be a liberal.
2. If Americans and Europeans can have something to say about how we live in Israel I, who am an American citizen, can certainly have something to say about how you live in the US. While we are on the subject, the low pay of state legislators means that they must have outside income unless they are independently wealthy. That can lead to conflicts of interest in big government jurisdictions.
3. I thought that you are a lawyer.
4. Under the “Citizens United” jurisprudence the CT campaign finance laws might very well be violations of the First Amendment.As for your integrated neighborhood, so you agree with George Jefferson that there is no white power or black power, only green power.
CTL, you remind of Mad Magazine’s definition of a liberal – over fifty years ago. He wants integrated schools in Mississippi and integrated neighborhoods in Mississippi. Have you joined the Federalist Society yet?
Dor, it depends on the bet din. The Israeli Chief Rabbinate has an appeals tribunal as does the private Eretz Hemdah-Gazit system for monetary disputes.
2scents, how have I been emotional and/or disrespectful? I was merely answering his contentions. I will take this opportunity to correct my post. It was actually a two bedroom apartment.
“Mashiach” means “the Anointed One”. Koresh was crowned. I don’t think that an oath of office is the same.
CTL,
1. You wrote that you would be willing to pay higher taxes. That means that you are willing for others to pay. do not be disingenuous.
2. How about eliminating things that are better done by private industry.? Getting rid of the dictatorial administrative state (of dubious constitutionality)? On the Federal level, how about getting rid of everything the Tenth Amendment gives to the states and the people?
3. How does this trust fund even stay afloat if rents are not raised in accordance with costs? You stated that it is in its fifth generation. Just two generations ago my parents z”l paid $75 per month for a three bedroom apartment in NYC. If you can turn a profit for a landlord with that level of rents you are over on sorcery.So far as the proper tax system is concerned, the default halachic position (as in all money matters custom overrides) is that the rich should pay more for things that benefit property and they should pay equally for those that benefit life. For example, if a police force is only concerned with thieves the rich should pay a higher fee. If it is concerned about murderers the rich and the poor should pay equally.
CTL, it is admirable that you are generous with your own money but you have no right to be generous with other people’s money. We learn this from Avraham Avinu who would not take even a shoelace after the war of five kings against four but insisted that his soldiers be paid. I reiterate that the free enterprise system is the best tzedaka provider because it provides a better standard of living for all as a result of productive work. Those who are considered poor today live much better than medieval nobility.
1, free-market economics and crony capitalism are two very different things. In the former case there is free entry into the market. In the latter case businesses (not necessary big ones – LA actually has a test requirement for flower arrangers) get government protection from competition/
Neville, trickle down worked for both JFK and Reagan. It has transformed gray socialist states into prosperous countries. It is also transforming Israel.
CTL. so what if they inherited it? It is their money. Moreover, their investments create jobs., which is the highest form of tzedaka.
The whole problem is zoning laws that prevent building towers where the cost of land can be divided among many apartments. In NYC you can add rent control, which discourages private building, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission that takes whole neighborhoods off the development table. More cronyism. An alternate solution would be widening telework so that people could live in areas where housing is cheap.
The mitzva is on Am Yisrael not on any individual. An any case, according to Rav Chaim Brisker Amalek is any antisemite so baby Hitler was not yet Amalek. Certainly not before he was even born (the context was abortion). I also don’t know if that would have changed anything. Maybe someone who lived in obscurity would have become Fuehrer.
RY, actually there were attempts on his Hitler’s life between 1921 (the Beer Hall Putsch) and 1944 (the July Plot). Their failures led him to believe that he was invincible.
I had a chevruta whose wife is from France. when he went to visit her family he was warned not to wear a kippa in public. He ignored the warning and was physically attacked – once he was almost shoved in front of a subway train. That was 25 years ago. Now it is much worse.
LB, please do not feed the troll.
Joseph, the Zohar says that sometimes a person has to marry someone who is not his/her zivug in order to become ready for the real marriage. This was the case with Uriah and Batsheva. If he had not been killed he would have divorced her.
Dor, when a person frequently offends his interlocutor.
1, as a matter of fact there is a caterer in Haifa called כל טוב. There is also a duet called האחים כלטוב.
According to Shidduchim and Zivugim yes. On the other hand, Rav Eliezer Melamed said that a person might have a number of potential zivugim rishonim. According to Kabbala they will eventually marry in gilgulim.
Chulenterrov,
It is normal for people to change the way they speak after immersing in another environment. I even knew someone who developed a Texas accent after moving to there from NY. For examples, English-speakers who live in Israel say “I’m going to the makkolet” rather than “I’m going to the grocery store”. Would you rather he learn nibbul peh?
I also do not understand why “do you mochel me” would be out of context. Are you the unforgiving type?
Takes, actually the Torah says not to go back. There are an umber of terutzim regarding Rambam. That it is only with the intention of going permanently, that it only applies to all of Am Yisrael.
Winnie, so how can you hear Yiddish, which is a dialect of German? As for Spain, there is no source for that story. Why just Spain and not England and France, which also expelled their Jews. How about not living in St. Louis, which is named after the king who burned the Talmud? In any case, many chramot become dead letters. For example, there was once a prohibition against a single man between the ages of 20 and 60 living in Jerusalem. Rav Ovadia noticed that nobody was paying attention so he finally convened a bet din to repeal it.
How many Germans today were even around during the Holocaust? Blaming them is like blaming us for killing Yushki. As for the reparations, paradoxically it was this money that built Israeli industries and enabled Israel to double its population in ten years.. Up until then there was a severe austerity program with food rationing.
When the Jews are forced to move on prices will fall. Invest in Eretz Yisrael.
Rav Chaim Brisker davened quickly. When someone pointed out that Chazal say that one should daven like he counts money RCB said that he also counted money quickly. Some people need to daven at a certain pace or they lose track. This was called the yetzer hara jumping on the wagon. On the other hand, the Imrei Emmet said that already in his day the yetzer hara was driving it. In any case, different people have different needs. This is also why some shuls have several minyanim.
I knew someone who tried looking at the ground. He saw filthy graffiti. If you have no choice you are anoos. Try thinking about the aveira (both yours and theirs). Think about how degrading it is for a person to go about like an animal.
Neville,
1. Everyone agrees that there is an obligation to pay taxes.
2. “Lord” simply means “master”. Even capitalizing it only means that it is a title.Yserbius, not to mention the Unitarians. In any case, I do not think that Xtians who are not theologians really think about it. They believe in one God but consider Yushki to be their savior. That is how they always refer to him. There was an irreverent saying that “Jesus saves but Espo (hockey player Phil Esposito) shoots in the rebound”.
No. It just means that you have to wait patiently until it is approved.
Rav Soloveichik not only allowed it he inaugurated the bet midrash in Stern College. he said that today when women study law not teaching them Gemara is teaching them tiflut.
Who says it is in danger? He is simply being a NY “in your face” personality. The real question is whether the Democratic Party can be saved from drifting off into the leftist never-never land. If not, what will happen if they get back in power and the fiscal chickens come home to roost? Once they asked what they can do for their country. Now they ask what their country can do for them but they cannot repeal the laws of economics.
CTL,
1. What would happen if someone wrote in Mickey Mouse anyway? In any case, not all participants here live in CT.
2. Don’t you think that there should be school choice? What about all the Jews who are too rich for scholarships but too poor to pay full tuition? Moreover, the competition will force public schools to improve,Akuperma, Jews came to America for economic opportunities and freedom from pogroms. Probably most Moslems also came for freedom from dictatorial regimes and a better economic life.
The Chazon ish dealt with this. He said to do nothing as you are being passive. My own chiddush is that If we take each life as being infinite value than any number times infinity is the same.
CA,the enemy of my enemy is my friend. White supremacists and Moslems are enemies. Whom should we support? My personal opinion is Moslems there are forms of Islam (there are at least as many sheetot as in Orthodox Judaism) that are very close to Judaism. In fact “Sharia” has the same meaning as “Halacha”.
RY, now they are saying “death” to their own politics.
However, I will remain a Republican as that is the party closest to my views.
I thought that JFK solved the question of not voting for people because of their religions. What about the opposite? Suppose someone is an Orthodox Jew but liberal on political issues.
KY, it was under constant surveillance, young people were discouraged from going and some of the “daveners” were informers.
CTL, רפואה שלימה.
CTL,
1. Why shouldn’t parents have realistic choices? Not everybody is a rich hot shot lawyer.
2. Actually it is possible to vote for Stalin. One can cast a write-in vote. There was once even an election where a candidate who had died after it was too late to remove his name from the ballot won. In any case, don’t be disingenuous.CTL, if you are not willing to put your religious beliefs into secular law at least be consistent. Don’t cry about chesed (and BTW, by definition chesed is something that is not enforceable as it involves going above and beyond), which might not even apply to Noahides. The proof of your hypocrisy is your statement “The fact that abortion and same sex marriage is legal doesn’t mean anyone in the CR will partake; which is why I don’t see these things as a threat” (which is not correct – see Bereisheet Rabba, 26:5 that the Flood came because of this).
Regarding Obamacare, it is another massive Federal boondoggle that will collapse of its own weight. It is not for nothing that the US has a federal system.
Same-sex “marriage” is not enabling. The state gives its stamp of approval by issuing a marriage license. Of course, one could take the libertarian position that the state should get out of the marriage business and treat everyone as an individual. If any two people want to call themselves married that is their business. In any case, where is the tikkun olam here? The same goes for abortion.
I do agree with you though that people should vote for local candidates on the basis of local issues. Who cares what someone’s position is on the Iraq war if he will have no say regarding it? This is also true of a parliamentary system.
Ubiquitin, of course, I meant that the Commies endorsed the other candidate.