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Shalomstreet, I do not think that “goyim” is a pejorative as it means “nations”. In fact, someone told me that he was told that “non-Jew” is offensive because he described the person according to what she is not. For that matter, at one time “Jew” was considered a pejorative (the polite words were “Hebrew” and “Israelite”. Interestingly, when Khrushchev was in Poland after the Soviet occupation he was shocked to hear Jews referring to themselves by a word which is a pejorative in Russian but a polite word in Polish. However, “shaigetz” and “shiksa” are objectively offensive as they come from “shaketz”.
Milhouse, the questions are how and to what extent. I contend that it is the merit of the mitzva, that the protection is not necessarily in this world and that it can be overridden by demerits.
Milhouse,
1. I wrote that there is an opinion that red strings are darchei Emori not mezuzah.
2. If you are shogeg then maybe you get an “E’ for effort. On the other hand, you are lacking the full merit of the mitzva (that is also a protection). In any case, we do not know how these things work. It may be that someone was protected in this world but loses what he would have received for the merit in the next.
3. My interpretation of Rebbe’s intentions is at least as good as yours.
4. You are simply not correct that Am Yisrael has accepted the Zohar and Arizal’s pesakim. Rav Ovadia, for example, generally opposed paskening according to them where they contradicted the Mechaber. Ashkenazi poskim very rarely even mention them. The <a href=”http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14520&pgnum=23
“>Tzitz Eliezer has a long teshuva on this topic. Rav Yaakov Emden and the Chatam Sofer believed that Rashbi did not write most of the Zohar. See “Rabbi Berel Wein – How Authentic is the Zohar?” online.Laskern, there is a big debate about the place of Kabbal in Halacha. The Gra says that there is no machloket between the Gemara and the Halacha except one – whether or not a person may walk past someone who is davening on the side (the Gemara is meikal but the Zohar is machmir). However, this sometimes requires interpretation. For example, the Zohar says very harsh things about people who shave. Rav Chaim of Volozhin says that that only refers to someone who uses a razor.
Joseph, I apologize. I was addressing Haimy.
AZ, why did he spell it with an “A” (@Midwest, you also misspelled his first name)? BTW, his full name was Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola.
AZ, also The Last Jews of Berlin by Leonard Gross .
Joseph, once again you are over on hotzaat shem ra and sinat chinam. You must obtain forgiveness from every MO in the next two weeks.
HaLeiVi, it should not be ignored but also should not necessarily be taken literally. Obviously Rebbe meant that Antoninus should keep the sheva mitzvot and thus be protected., Keep the seven, go to Heaven.
Laskern, why does He need them to ask Him to do something He has already decided to do?
Amil (is that a deliberate misspelling?) Zola, in most cases SCOTUS, followingLochner vs NY, which established a right of contract under the Fourteenth Amendment, struck down labor laws. That did not end until 1937 with West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish. Some scholars think that Janus vs AFSCME set the stage for a comeback.
Milhouse,
1. Rabbi Eliezer ben Tzaddok says it is. Do you consider him to have been a Protestant? You obviously have no idea what darchei Emori is nor do you have an idea what Protestantism is.
2. The Torah says that about many mitzvot. It is the merit of the mitzva. However, it can be overridden by an aveira. You are making the same mistake Elisha ben Abuya made (Bavli Haggiga 66a, Yerushalmi Haggiga 2:1).
3. Please cite the Gemara that says that non-Jews are protected by it.
4. Who says that it is the pesak of the “overwhelming majority of klal yisroel and of gedolei hamekubalim”? BTW, the Chatam Sofer says (Responsa OC end of 51) that someone who mixes Halacha and Kabbala makes kilayim.
5. So what if he contradicts the Zohar (please cite the place)? Many poskim do not pasken according to it. For example, the Zohar says ( Parshat Chayai Sarah page 132 and Bamidbar page 20) to put on the hand tefillin while seated but Ashkenazim stand.CTL,
1. At that time it was a voluntary contractual arrangement. Under the “Lochner” doctrine it would have been unconstitutional to impose it by law.
2. Unless he had his own firm Shabbat was also an issue for professionals as offices were open at least a half day on Sat (as are banks and post offices today). Even if officially there was a five-day work week many employees expected such employees to come in. Even though he was on the Harvard Law Review Nat Lewin could not find a job with a firm. Finally Justice John Harlan agreed that he could work on Sun instead. Even today, there is a loophole in the non-discrimination law for employers who can prove that accommodations would harm their businesses.
3. Even with a five-day work week there are issues on Fri during the winter. Not to mention Yom Tov. In fact, I once read about a woman who was fired for taking off from her bank job on the first two days of Sukkot. The non-observant Jewish officers told her boss that it is only a minor holiday.Haimy, obviously not as some Germans saved Jews. One of them was Goering’s brother! In fact, I knew a German-American guy who went ballistic every time he heard about antisemitism. He explained to me that relatives of his were murdered because they hid Jews on their farm.
Takes, it depends. If he admits that he is wrong but claims weakness he is not. If he denies that there is an obligation to keep Shabbat he is. Rambam discusses this in his intro to Perek Chelek.
Laskern, there is a machloket regarding whether of not a red band is a red band is darchei Emori (Tosefta Shabbat 8:4). Certainly thinking that the band itself brings salvation (as I once read claimed) is a’z.
Avreichashlomo, wrong again. It is permitted to expose someone who acts against the public (SA CM 388:12) .The Rema, for example, says that it is permitted to expose a forger (ibid). I refer you to Informing on Others for Violating American Law: A Jewish Law View online.
If the person is dangerous (and this includes crooked politicians) there is also an obligation to warn people about him because of “lo taamod al dam reicha”.
Avreichcamshlomo, better that non-Jews should expose it? That would just increase the chillul Hashem. Please quote the exact place where the CC says shev v’al tasseh. In any case, making a comment about an opinion is definitely not LR. Even where the comment is directed at the person, according to your interpretation the Raavad was over on LR of the Rambam many times. Not to mention various other comments that chachamim such as the Maharshal made.
Here are the words of the CCL:
הלכות לשון הרע ד ז
וְכָל אֵלּוּ הַדִּינִין שֶׁכָּתַבְנוּ הוּא דַּוְקָא בְּאִישׁ, אֲשֶׁר מִנְהָגוֹ וְדַרְכּוֹ לְהִתְחָרֵט עַל חֲטָאָיו, אֲבָל אִם בָּחַנְתָּ אֶת דַּרְכּוֹ, כִּי אֵין פַּחַד אֱלֹהִים לְנֶגֶד עֵינָיו וְתָמִיד יִתְיַצֵּב עַל דֶּרֶךְ לֹא טוֹב, כְּמוֹ הפּוֹרֵק מֵעָלָיו עֹל מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם אוֹ שֶׁאֵינוֹ נִזְהָר מֵעְבֵרָה אַחת, אֲשֶׁר כָּל שַׁעַר עַמּוֹ יוֹדְעִים שֶׁהִיא עֲבֵרָה, דְּהיְנוּ בֵּין שֶׁאוֹתָה הָעֲבֵרָה, שֶׁהוּא רוֹצֶּה לְגַלּוֹת, עָשָׂה הַחוֹטֵא כַּמָּה פְּעָמִים בְּמֵזִיד אוֹ שֶׁעָבר בְּמֵזִיד כַּמָּה פְּעָמִים עֲבֵרָה אַחַת הַמְפֻרְסֶמֶת לַכֹּל שֶׁהִיא עֲבֵרָה, אִם כֵּן מוּכָח מִנֵּה שֶׁלֹּא מֵחֲמַת שֶׁגָּבַר יִצְּרוֹ עָלָיו עָבַר עַל דִּבְרֵי ה’ כִּי אִם בִּשְׁרִירוּת לִבּוֹ הוּא הוֹלֵךְ, וְאֵין פַּחַד אֱלֹהִים לְנְגֶד עֵינָיו, לָכֵן מֻתָּר לְהַכְלִימוֹ וּלְסַפֵּר בִּגְנוּתוֹ בֵּין בְּפָנָיו וּבֵין שֶׁלֹּא בְּפָנָיו. וְאִם הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה מַעֲשֶׂה אוֹ יְדַבֵּר דָּבָר, וְיֵשׁ לְשָׁפְטוֹ לְצַּד הַזְּכוּת וּלְצַד הַחוֹב, צָּרִיךְ לְשָׁפְטוֹ לְצַּד הַחוֹב, אַחֲרֵי שֶׁנִּתְחַזֵּק לְרָשָׁע גָּמוּר בִּשְׁאָר עִנְיָנָיו, וְכֵן אָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ “לֹא תוֹנוּ אִישׁ אֶת עֲמִיתוֹ”, עַם שֶׁאִתְּךָ בְּתוֹרָה וּבְמִצְוֹת, אַל תּוֹנֵהוּ בִּדְבָרִים, וַאֲשֶׁר לֹא שָׁת לִבּוֹ לִדְבַד ה’, מֻתָּר לְהַכְלִימּוֹ בְּמַעֲלָלָיו וּלְהוֹדִיעַ תּוֹעֲבוֹתָיו וְלִשְׁפֹּךְ בּוּז עָלָיו, וְעוֹד אָמְרוּ: מְפַרְסְמִין אֶת הַחֲנֵפִים מִפְּנִי חִלּוּל ה’, וְכָל שֶׁכֵּן אִם הוֹכִיחַ אוֹתוֹ בָּזֶה וְלֹא חָזַר, דְּמֻתָּר לְפַרְסְמוֹ וּלְגַלּוֹת עַל חֲ טָאָיו בְּשַׁעַר בַּת רַבִּים וְלִשְׁפֹּךְ בּוּז עָלָיו, עַד שֶׁיַּחֲזֹר לְמוּטָב, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתַב הָרַמְבַּ”ם בְּסוֹף פֶּרֶקּ ו’ מֵהִלְכוֹת דֵּעוֹת {הלכה ח’}, אַךְ יֵשׁ לִזָּהֵר שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁכֹּחַ פְּרָטִים אֲחָדִים הַמִּצְטָרְכִים לָזֶה, וּכְתַבְתִּים בִּבְאֵר מַיִם חיִּים.Rav Chaim Soloveichik said that Amalek is anyone who wants to destroy us for no reason. It would seem that conversely if he would change his mind he would no longer be Amalek (in fact, after WW2 the Americans and British undertook a massive re-education program in Germany). There is, in fact, a discussion as to whether or not he can convert.
I agree that Corbyn is an antisemite but I don’t know if he actually wants to destroy us. Getting back to the Germans, they have a very serious dilemma. Their birth rate is only 1.5 per woman whereas their life expectancy is a bit over 81. Someone is going to have do the work and pay for the old-age programs. That means that they will have to attract immigrants. On the other hand, they have big problems with absorbing immigrants. This is also a source a violent antisemitism, which is a great embarrassment to them.
YW Moderator-100, no I am not. It is insulting and superfluous. If you are really concerned about some Russian hacker leaving comments the arithmetic problem alone will suffice. Being that I do not know who programs the site, let alone how to contact them I cannot address my complaints directly to them. Therefore, I am addressing them to the only ones I can hope will pass on the complaint. This is something that someone who works with the public, as I have, should understand.
Avreichamshlomo,
1. Not yotzei what?
2. By making a general statement about the comments you are over on hotzaat shem ra.
3. You are correct. The CC has not come back to life so it is necessary to interpret him. If you have noticed the mods edit or delete comments. I presume that where this issue arises they consult a rav. If your interpretation would be followed every malefaction of public figures would be hushed up as in totalitarian states.1. Negative comments about something that has been posted are not LR. If someone would reveal something persona about a poster that would be.
2. Asking someone to prove his humanity in order to log in is onaat devarim (@mods).
3. Negative articles about individuals or groups may or may not be LR. In many cases the tzibbor should be warned about them. If someone is a rasha it is a mitzva to condemn his actions.So why do you all use the Internet?
I would imagine that it would also work for an MBA. I know someone who has one although her BA is totally unrelated,
CTL, I presume that the members of the various state committees are attorneys and also senior members of the bar associations.
Milhouse,
1. That is darchei Emori (a superstition rooted in a”z).
2. Compare the Mishna Berura on Parashat HaMan (1:13).
3. The baby is protected by his parents’ merit.
4. You prove my point. If the mezuzah is not a mitzva it is its message.
6 Please cite the place in the Gemara. I cited Rambam to the contrary. Of course, if someone thinks it protects it might have a placebo effect.
7. What about people who have kosher mezuzot who suffered? What about those Jews who were dragged out of their homes by the Nazis ym”s?Laskern, actually it was the Gra who did not sing Shalom Aleichem.
Milhouse, moreover, you are repeating the mistake Elisha ben Abuya made when he saw the boy fall off the tree.
Joseph, that is true of exams given by professional organizations in general. For example, most candidates fail even the initial actuarial exams. With law though it starts in law school. Some schools even have (or had – the enormous tuition is very tempting) a policy of flunking out one in three first year students. Supposedly a Harvard prof told students on the first day “Look at the person on your left and the person on your right. Next year one of you won’t be here”.
Knaidlach, please format your comment properly so that it is readable. This writing sample would not even get you into Lower Slobbovia law school.
It should also be mentioned that it is not absolutely necessary to go to law school in order to become a lawyer. VA, VT, WA, and CA allow people to take the bar exam after an apprenticeship program without ever having set foot in a law school. At one time NY did not require law school either and someone who flunked out of BLS twice went the apprenticeship route and passed the bar exam on the first try. He is now a Justice in the NYS Appellate Division, First Department.
Laskern,
1. All the Rema says is that people plead at the graves. He does not say that they plead to the dead. The Mishna Berura (BTW, it’s s”k 28) says to speak directly to Hashem in the merit of the dead.
2. The Gra wrote to his wife and children when he was making his abortive trip to EY to his wife and children: “Be very careful not to go to the cemetery at all, for there the evil spirits attach themselves unto you, especially women. All the troubles and the sins stem from this.” This was affirmed by the Leshem and the Brisker minhag is not to go ever except at the funeral of one of the six closerelatives. See also Aruch HaShulchan YD 559:7 in the name of the Arizal (Shaar Ruach HaKodesh the block letter edition, p. 49) and Responsa Chatam Sofer YD 338, who also oppose cemetery visits in general and even calls them darchei Emori (superstitions rooted in a”z).
Knaidlach,
1. Is it is a chiddush to you that people who keep all kinds of chumrot in some areas fall in others? Rav Kook, in fact, said that if a person keeps a chumra that is not appropriate for him he will cause a spiritual imbalance which will in turn cause him to fall elsewhere.
2. I wrote that it is a safek. That means that there are different opinions. Did you look up my source? I posted a link to Hebrewbooks.
3 The statement about Calev is aggadata and we do not leanrn halacha from aggadata. In fact, Rambam says in his intro to Perek Chelek that all aggadatot are metaphoric.
4. The Kitzor does not say that one asks the dead just that they do it – on their own accord (@Laskern, ditto Rachel).One cannot get into an Ivy league school with only a “good” LSAT score. It has to be close to the top, as does one’s GPA. However, from what I have read BTLs do very well on the LSAT as it tests analytical skills (BTW, you can see the ranking of majors by average LSAT scores online and you will see that Pe-Law is not very high). Moreover, many schools look for a diversity of majors.
Having written that, I do not understand why anyone who is not rich or good enough to get a full scholarship would go to law school today. Tuition is out of control (about five times the inflation rate over the last forty years – to give an idea, the gross starting salary at a NYC DA office forty years was twice the total three year tuition whereas now it is only a bit over one year’s tuition) and, as CTL observed, much work that was done by lawyers can be done by lay people (or paralegals). If someone likes the law but is not rich or a genius I would advise taking a paralegal course at a reputable school. It is much cheaper and faster.
Knaidlach, ashreicha. However, there is a group in Tzefat that does that. As for asking the dead (I assume that you agree that he is dead) to intercede is a safek d’Oraita as I posted above.
David, the reason is that he is on a roll and this might continue.
As to the non-answers of Laskern, the Ramban also gives as a reason what has happened in previous gilgulim. For example, if Reuven died owing money to Shimon and Shimon did not forgive him they will come back as Reuven as a rich man supporting Shimon the poor man. See Taanit 25a for a hint at this.
David, he is referring to the Peleg hooligans.
Milhouse, that is if he internalizes what is written. The Mishna Berura says something similar about saying Parashat haMan. Someone who thinks that a mezuzah is a magic wand is over on several extremely serious aveirot.
1. Bolton said that there will be no quid pro quo.
2. Trump and Abbas hate each other. Abbas has already said that he will reject any plan.
3. Abbas is going n 83, is in very poor health and has no obvious successor so he is more or less irrelevant from an objective perspective.
4. An op-ed piece recently appeared in the Jordan Times saying that Jordan never really relinquished all claims to Judea and Samaria although the exact border is negotiable.My feeling is that Trump is going to suggest some kind of shared sovereignty between Israel and Jordan. This would benefit the Palestinians (as opposed to the PA) in that they will be much freer and more prosperous than under the PA kleptocracy. It might even be that Trump and Abdullah think that they can co-opt a potential Abbas successor with a governorship.
ZD, in EY it is a local call.
Takes, you were referring to the shmira a mezuzah gives.
Takes, the din is the same. If what is written in it inspires you to do mitzvot and not do aveirot it works. If not, not. Here is what Rambam has to say about those who think that it is an amulet (Hilchot Mezuzza 5:4):
מנהג פשוט שכותבים על המזוזה מבחוץ כנגד הריוח שבין פרשה לפרשה שדי ואין בזה הפסד לפי שהוא מבחוץ אבל אלו שכותבין מבפנים שמות המלאכים או שמות קדושים או פסוק או חותמות הרי הן בכלל מי שאין להם חלק לעולם הבא שאלו הטפשים לא די להם שבטלו המצוה אלא שעשו מצוה גדולה שהיא יחוד השם של הקדוש ברוך הוא ואהבתו ועבודתו כאילו הוא קמיע של הניית עצמן כמו שעלה על לבם הסכל שזהו דבר המהנה בהבלי העולם.
Regarding amulets he says (Guide 1:61):
ולא יעלה במחשבתך שגעון כותבי ה’קמיאות’ ומה שתשמעהו מהם או תמצאהו בספריהם המשונים משמות חברום לא יורו על ענין בשום פנים ויקראו אותם ‘שמות’ ויחשבו שהם צריכים ‘קדושה וטהרה’ ושהם יעשה נפלאות – כל אלה דברים לא יאות לאדם שלם לשמעם כל שכן שיאמינם:
ZG, kameiot work as placebos. The Noda b’Yehuda once tied up some rag , gave it to a woman who requested a kameia for her illness and told her that she should open in in one week and if it was blank it meant that she was cured.
Rav Aryeh Levine tried to avoid being photographed while being interviewed. When the interviewer told him that the photographer was a new immigrant and it was his parnassa Rav Aryeh said “Take all the pictures you want”.
As for having pictures on the wall, a man once went into a restaurant and asked to see the kashrut certificate. The owner pointed to a picture of a distinguished rabbi on the wall and said “He was my grandfather. Do you have any more questions?” The potential customer said “If he were in the chair and you were on the wall I would have no questions. However, you are in the chair and he is on the wall so I have questions”.
CTL, as a matter of fact, some people have a custom to fast on erev RH until Chatzot. As for the youngest grandchildren how old are they? They might not even remember. My father’s mother died when I was one year old and I have no recollection of her or even a recollection of a childhood recollection.
Laskern, if they draw inspiration from their rebbes that is one thing. However, the O.P. implied that the picture itself is believed to protect. The next step is to daven to it (as do a certain Chabad faction).
Avoda zara. However, it works very well for those who sell it.
In any case, RH is not such a day for celebration as it is yom hadin.
Icemelter, if you are referring to me I did not say that his mind was not working well. I said that he was not feeling well. BTW, the Gemara says that towards the end Rabbi Elazar ben Arach’s mind was not working well for a time (Shabbat 147b).
Yeshivishrockstar, TY for informing me. I wonder how many Breslovers will heed his pesak. I was told by a Breslover in so many words that someone who goes to Uman will receive salvation from <b>Rabbi Nachman</b>. When I told him that this is a”z he called me an apikoros. Of course, as I posted above anyone can call himself a Breslover.
BTW, according to Rav Tuchichinsky (see my post above for the link) there are opinions that even asking him to intercede with Hashem is assur.
Yytz, the problem is when they make the dead rebbe into an a”z. For example, by davening to him
G. who says that a mumar has no status as a Jew? For example, you still cannot charge him interest.
Laskern, who says there is no yibum? First of all, Sephardim do not worry about Abba shaul’s statement. Secondly, if an Ashkenazi would want to do it and the widow agrees no one can do anything. No ceremony or document (b’diavad) is necessary.
It,
1.I find that hard to believe as BG hated the communists and even the pinko Mapam. In fact, he wanted to outlaw the former (Begin stopped him, even though he hated them even more, because he was a liberal democrat) and refused to allow the latter in any coalition (“lo Herut v’lo Mapam).
2. That contradicts what the CI is known to have paskened. Apparently this gentle, old Jew’s memory was not what it was.