Avi K

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  • in reply to: Where can Israeli Jews escape to in case of emergency? #1417152
    Avi K
    Participant

    Spread,
    1. A nuclear attack on Israel would also result in the destruction of the entire middle East from the fallout. Nit ti mention the fact that Israel may well have a few nukes of its own.
    2. There already is a holocaust going on in America. It is called assimilation and even frum communities are effected, if not by actual intermarriage by acculturation.
    3. The story about Rav Herzog is aknown fact.

    Joseph, what about the pogroms and the Holocaust? As for statistics today, what is it per 100,000 Jews? Not to mention general crimes which are not specifically directed against a person because he is Jewish. Israel has a much lower intentional murder rate than the US and also lower than Canada and several European countries- and a good part of the murder rate is “family honor” killings within the Arab sector.

    in reply to: Religious zionists #1417153
    Avi K
    Participant

    There are different subgroups of religious Zionism. The Mercaz HaRav wing sees it as the beginning of the Geula. Whether or not it is considered a stepping stone depends on how one defines a state. France is now on its fifth republic and has had kings and emperors. Does that mean that it is a different state? At present Israel does not have a constitution but a series of “basic laws” that form a quasi-constitutional framework. It could be that a republican Torah constitution will be enacted at some later stage and that at an even more later stage a monarchy will be established. Interestingly, the Zohar states that each 1,000 years of Creation parallel the first six days. That means that 5708 was the last time for burning chametz on erev Shabbat. There is no greater chametz than the Galut. I highly recommend the book Torat Eretz Yisrael (in English) by Rav David Samson and Tzvi Fishman for further elucidation.

    in reply to: Where can Israeli Jews escape to in case of emergency? #1417109
    Avi K
    Participant

    During WW2 it seemed like Rommel would conquer EY c”v. In fact, the British were making plans to evacuate and the Jewish National Committee was making plans for a Massada-style last stand on Mt. Carmel. At the time Rav Herzog was in DC to ask FDR to bomb the tracks leading to the concentration camps. FDR said that he was willing to save one Jew – Rav Herzog – and offered him an iummigrant’s visa. Rav Herzog paskened that the Third Commonwealth would not be destroyed. The rest is history.

    BTW, the Gemara (Yoma 10a) says that there will be a war between Rome and Persia. There is a machloket as to who will win. This could include a brief confrontation between Iran and Israel (Sanhedrin 98b) after which Mashiach will come.

    in reply to: Where can Israeli Jews escape to in case of emergency? #1417039
    Avi K
    Participant

    ובהר ציון תהיה פליטה
    עובדיה א יז

    Avi K
    Participant

    Joseph, why not? I wish you a refuah sheleimah.

    in reply to: Halachic principle of משפחה שנטמעה נטמעה #1416689
    Avi K
    Participant

    Partially. If he was considered Jewish and then says that he “converted himself” he may not marry a Jew as he made himself prohibited
    (שווי נפשיה חתיכה דאיסורא) but his children may ( SA YD 268:11). However, if the bet din knows that he went to the mikva for tevillat Ezra or she went to purify herself from nidda they are considered Jewish b’diavad (ibid seif 3). If he claims that abet din converted him he is believed because of a מיגו (ibid Shach seif katan 20).

    Regarding a case where a doubt arises see האם משפחת גויים שנטמעה נטמעה? on the website of Yeshivat Shaalvim. However, in general we have a rule that כל המשפחות בחזקת כשרות, ומותר לישא מהם לכתחילה (SA EH 2:2) so if there is no basis for doubt there is no need to check and perhaps it would even be heretical to do so (Pitchei Teshuva YD 116:10).

    Avi K
    Participant

    Doer, sometimes it means that the statement does not deserve an answer (see Baba Batra 62a Tosofot d”h umodeh).

    in reply to: Hashkafic views on taking money from the medinah #1415236
    Avi K
    Participant

    Winnie,
    1. If they think that their Torah is a protection why did those in Ofakim run for the hills when missiles flew. For that matter, even before the first Gulf War started the airport was filled with chutznikim hightailing it back (one was called up to the reserves and sent to Saudi Arabia – I heard this from his chevruta).
    2. Why don’t they says the tefilla for the Medina or at least the misheberach forthe soldiers. Do they not want Hashem to give us a wise government? Do they not want the soldiers to come back in one piece?
    3. I agree that those who are really learning should have some kind of deferment. What about learning in an IDF bet midrash in a hesder-type arrangement and saying that it is for the merit of the troops? Why not become chaplains and give shurim? For that matter, why not use their analytical skills in military intelligence (and also acquire hi-tech skills)? However, not all are really learning. There is, in fact, a major problem with “shabanikim” , kids from Hareidi background who cannot learn all day but have no alternative within the community. Would it not be much better for them to go into the army, get out their aggressions in a socially acceptable manner and the get jobs after they have cooled off?

    Avi K
    Participant

    Actually Yated has been condemning them. The fact of the matter is that these protests are part of a rebellion against Rav Steinman as leader of the Lithuanian Haredim. Other talmidei chachamim are probably scared to come out publicly against them. The Atra Kadisha thugs even stoned Rav Eliashiv when he reached an agreement on moving graves. However, if the boycott of the Badatz gains steam they will push to crush these thugs. Already they Badatz issued a statement disassociating itself from the Peleg.

    in reply to: Jews Who Are Known By Their Non-Jewish Name #1414932
    Avi K
    Participant

    Ubiquitin, if c’v they get divorced they get will have to include Morris (and maybe Moe, and Morrie) as well as Debbie. BTW, on his English side of his letterheads Rav Moshe was called “Moses Feinstein”.

    in reply to: Hashkafic views on taking money from the medinah #1414930
    Avi K
    Participant

    Winnie,
    1. You are half correct. Tying social benefits to going into job training is also a form of force but it can work. The same goes for not supporting schools that don’t teach subjects that form the base for acquiring job skills.
    2. Teachers and kashrut supervisors make very low salaries. As for discrimination, it is in part due to the chillulei Hashem of some of the Chareidim (in particular the Pelegniks). Refusal to go into the army is also a very sore point. However, as the Chareidi sector grows employers will decide that they cannot afford prejudices (Ludwig von Mises, in his book on National Socialism, Omnipotent Government pointed out that it took Nazi terror to get Germans, including antisemites, to boycott Jewish businesses. Moreover, in a capitalist economy groups which suffer discrimination can start their own businesses, as Milton Friedman pointed out regarding the Jews in America in Capitalism and Freedom.
    3. What about the obligation to protect Am Yisrael?
    4. I don’t know. However, it is time that laws should be enforced one way or another. For example, slackers could lose all social benefits. If they do not believe in the Medina the Medina should not believe in them.

    Gaon, who says that the PR did not believe in Zionism?
    4.

    in reply to: Jews Who Are Known By Their Non-Jewish Name #1413638
    Avi K
    Participant

    Some English names have been “converted”. Alexander and Julius are long-time favorites (perhaps because they followed pro-Jewish policies). In my parents’ generation Sidney, Seymour, Morris and Selma were common. Many also had English equivalents or English names found in the Tanach (e.g. Abraham, Sarah, Esther, Celia, Hannah, Miriam). What is interesting is that John was not given although it is the English form of Yochanan. BTW, the Puritans also gave their children Anglicized Tanachic names. Increase and Cotton Mather were יוסף and קטן respectively. There was also Ethan (איתן) Allen. On the fiction side there is Ichabod (אי כבוד) Crane.

    in reply to: Machlokes over Eruv versus Machlokes over sports #1413637
    Avi K
    Participant

    OOPs. Its name.

    in reply to: Machlokes over Eruv versus Machlokes over sports #1413636
    Avi K
    Participant

    The eruv, as it’s name indicates, is supposed to bring Jews together.

    in reply to: ACHDUS! Chabad And Judaism Are One! Let’s Bring Moshiach Together #1413526
    Avi K
    Participant

    Achdus, to which Chabad are you referring. Chabad is a chassidut without a rebbe. This is like being a ship without a captain. Anyone can claim to be a Chabadnik and speak for the entire group. This is also the problem with Breslov.

    Noshoichis, Mizrahi also disagrees with the Gemara. He says that non-observant soldiers who die for Israel go to Gehinnom (Baba Batra 10a and see הרוגי מלכות on Toraland).

    in reply to: Hashkafic views on taking money from the medinah #1413525
    Avi K
    Participant

    Someone who does not believe in the Medina should not take money from it nor should the Medina give it to him. This includes social benefits.
    As for setting curriculum, with the Chareidi sector growing the Medina cannot afford a mass of people who refuse to work. Every state has a basic curriculum to prepare students for the job market. This, in fact, is the highest form of tzedaka. A man who chooses not to work and is not producing Torah on a high level (the Chief Rabbanate can give exams) should be drafted and ten sent into job training.

    in reply to: Mesichists Explained by ChabadShlucha #1410085
    Avi K
    Participant

    Litvisherchosid, that’s nothing. There’s a group in Tzefat that davens to his picture. Some years ago I was told that they had “Rebbe wine”. I said that all they need now are rebbe cookies and they can say “This is the blood and this is the body”.

    in reply to: Mesichists Explained by ChabadShlucha #1409093
    Avi K
    Participant

    The Rebbe never did anything that Rambam say that Mashiach will do. He did not fight wars. He did not bring Jews back to EY (in fact, Chabad is anti-aliya) , he did not build the Bet HaMikdash, he did not bring universal peace. Moreover, Rambam says in Iggeret Teiman that Mashiach will arise in EY and the Rebbe was never here in his life. Not to mention the fact that Mashiach will be a political leader and the Rebbe (unlike Bar Kochba) was not.

    in reply to: Mesichists Explained by ChabadShlucha #1408806
    Avi K
    Participant

    if someone chooses to believe that the Rebbe or any Rebbe is Moshiach, that doesn’t make him a Kofer or anything

    Does this mean that Jacob Damkani, who heads a movement that claims that Yushki was the Jewish messiah and never intended to start a new religion, is OK? What about a Jew who joins the Unitarian church? If not, what is the difference?

    in reply to: Living in Israel while being unknowledgeable of Hebrew #1407862
    Avi K
    Participant

    Shopping, I wrote that they can survive if their income is from Chutz laAretz.

    Winnie, many people who are fluent in both languages sometimes mix. For example, English speakers will say “makkolet” and “Misrad HaPenim” rather than “grocery store” and “Ministry of the Interior”.

    ZD, you are correct about French so far as reading (I can, in fact, more or less read a newspaper in French) as what one does not know one can figure out from the context. However, there are also “false friends”. For example, in French blesser means “to wound”. In any case, I still think that Hebrew is easier to learn in a better way because of its regularity and logical structure.

    in reply to: Living in Israel while being unknowledgeable of Hebrew #1406093
    Avi K
    Participant

    Shopping, adults will only “survive” if they have incomes from Chutz laAretz on which they can live. I, however, am very disturbed that any frum Jew thinks that he does not need to learn our national language,

    in reply to: Living in Israel while being unknowledgeable of Hebrew #1406045
    Avi K
    Participant

    IMHO, people who don’t achieve a modicum of fluency (probably someone who came as an adult will never lose his accent) simply have a fear just as some people have fears regarding Math or other subjects. I had great difficulty with French in school but Hebrew cam easily even though the US State Dept considers the former much easier to learn than the latter. The two keys were motivation and immersion (and BTW, the fact that olim speak in English, French or Russian among themselves does not necessarily indicate lack of fluency in Hebrew – it just feels more natural). I also find Hebrew to be a remarkably logical, regular language unlike French, which has many exceptions.

    People who come as retirees can get along without it but others will never feel part of Israel. It will, of course, also severely limit job opportunities as with anywhere else.

    As for Yiddish, unless one is a native speaker it will be very difficult to learn. It is more or less a form of German and his experiences studying the latter drove Mark Twain to write an essay called “The Awful German Language”, which can be read on-line.

    in reply to: Moreh Nevuchim #1403918
    Avi K
    Participant

    HKV, who says that it was never accepted? The reason why it was not studied is that nothing other than Gemara was studied except in mussar and Chassidic yeshivot where their own sheetot were studied. Why only Gemara is another question. Rav Kook believed that tanach and sifrei emuna should also be studied. Rav Mordechai Eliahu recommended studying mussar for ten minutes every day.

    Avi K
    Participant

    ZD,
    I know someone who has a daughter who tutors disadvantaged kids in English. One kid asked why he should learn English. By he time he grows up everybody will be speaking Chinese. However, English does have many holes.
    BTW, in Hungary goyish languages were banned in shul in response to the Neolog (Reform) who were “more Hungarian than the Hungarians”. However, Pressburgers did know German as they earned external diplomas in return for draft exemptions as theological students. The story goes that when Koppel Weiss became Chief Rabbi he endeared himself (and the Orthodox in general) to Franz Josef by speaking to him in German, thus relieving him of the obligation to break his teeth on Hungarian as per his compromise with the Hungarian rebels, whereas the Neolog leader addressed him in literary Hungarian.

    Avi K
    Participant

    Hml, Jews would have to have known how to read and write Hebrew for davening and learning. They would also have needed to the local languages in order to do business (unless they were simple workers, which few Jews were). Probably, as everywhere else, they spoke a Judaized version of either English, Norman French or a combination of both. Similarly, the Jews in northern France spoke a language called Zarphatic or Judeo-French. There is, in fact, a book called Hebrew and Hebrew-Latin documents from medieval England : a diplomatic and palaeographical study by Judith Olszowy-Schlanger that has facsimiles of Jewish documents from medieval England. It costs about $1,500 but you can see some pictures on Google. You can also google “Jewish life in medieval England”.

    Avi K
    Participant

    Read Ivanhoe, as William the Conqueror believed that a leaderless people would not revolt he wiped out the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy (according to some versions this is why Robin Hood had to flee to the forest) but left the common people alone. This is why a live animal is a cow (koo in Anglo-Saxon) but its meat is beef (boeuf in French). Anglo-Norman French also became the language of the law courts and was known as Law French. While it was eventually abandoned many terms survive (e.g. attorney and bailiff). As the Jews had to interact with the common people they would have had to be conversant in Early Middle English.

    in reply to: Saudi Arabia gives robot citizenship #1396499
    Avi K
    Participant

    Citizens who vote a certain just because a rav or rebbe said so are, in effect, robots. On the other hand, In R.U.R. the robots took over (Čapek also wrote War with the Newts sometimes translated as War with the Salamanders about animals taking over). However, if a golem cannot be counted in a minyan (Resonsa Chacham Tzvi 93) then I would say that a robot also cannot.

    As for trying him for a crime, why should he be any different than someone’s animal who damages? BTW, there are now moves in several countries to give animals legal standing, subject them to anti-slavery laws, etc.

    in reply to: Is A Jew Permitted To Celebrate Halloween? #1394852
    Avi K
    Participant

    I really do not think that the bus driver, etc. care if you call it a Chanuka gift. they just want the gift. Decades ago NYC banks got tired of everybody and his brother wanting a club named after his holiday so they merged everything into “holiday clubs”. Why not just leave a pace on the note and under it write “fill in the blank”?

    in reply to: Is A Jew Permitted To Celebrate Halloween? #1393707
    Avi K
    Participant

    Halloween is definitely of pagan origin and then was adapted by Xtianity (although the Puritans opposed it as well as Xmas). Dressing up as witches, etc. is certainly pagan. In fact,some historians believe that the witch trials in both North America and Europe were a religious war against the remnants of European paganism. BTW, CTL, just out of curiosity did your pumpkin used to be the carriage? You say that your house is 200 years old. Does it have a ghost?

    in reply to: Math Jokes #1391849
    Avi K
    Participant

    A HS dropout, an accountant and an actuary applied for a job. Each was asked how much is 1+1.
    The dropout said “Duh. I think 3”.
    The accountant took out his calculator, tapped “1+1=” and announced “2”.
    The actuary closed the door and whispered “How much do you want it to be?”

    in reply to: Jew becoming a lawyer or judge -halachic problems ✡️⚖️ #1391578
    Avi K
    Participant

    CTL,
    1. No one is forcing them to read are back and forth.
    2. However, it can lead to a reduction in the sentence. In particular, it can be , in states that have the death penalty, the difference between that and a prison sentence.

    Joseph, one can claim the opposite too. A jury will sympathize with a sob story about someone’s terrible childhood. That, for example, led to the Capeman’s sentence being commuted to life imprisonment, which even hard-nosed Manhattan DA Frank Hogan supported.

    in reply to: Jew becoming a lawyer or judge -halachic problems ✡️⚖️ #1391363
    Avi K
    Participant

    When Can an Attorney Withdraw in the Middle of a Case?
    By Neil Goodman

    When an attorney withdraws in the middle of a client’s case, that withdrawal is usually categorized as either “mandatory” or “voluntary.” In this article, we’ll explain the difference between these two processes, along with some examples of each. Keep in mind that with either type of withdrawal, the attorney usually needs to ask for and obtain the court’s permission before ending representation of one of the parties in a civil lawsuit in the middle of the case.
    An Attorney’s Mandatory Withdrawal

    If the circumstances require that the attorney withdraw from representation, the withdrawal is considered mandatory. Situations that could give rise to an attorney’s mandatory withdrawal from a case include:

    the attorney is not competent to continue the representation
    the attorney becomes a crucial witness on a contested issue in the case
    the attorney discovers that the client is using his services to advance a criminal enterprise
    the client is insisting on pursuit of a frivolous position in the case
    the attorney has a conflict of interest or cannot otherwise continue representation without violating the rules of professional conduct, and
    the client terminates the attorney’s services. (Learn more: How to Fire Your Attorney.)

    An Attorney’s Voluntary Withdrawal

    Where the circumstances permit, but do not require, the attorney to cease representation, the withdrawal is considered voluntary.The circumstances under which an attorney may withdraw mid-case include:

    the client is refusing to pay the attorney for his or her services in violation of their fee agreement
    the client is refusing to follow the attorney’s advice
    the client is engaged in fraudulent conduct, and
    there has been a breakdown in the attorney-client relationship that prevents the attorney from effectively representing the client in the case.

    Even where withdrawal is mandatory, an attorney must first seek and obtain the court’s permission before ending representation in the middle of a case. And, in most situations where the withdrawal request is granted, the court will give the client a reasonable amount of time to find new counsel. [end]

    IMHO, if the attorney does not believe in the case he is presenting he will not be effective unless he is a really good actor. So the lawyer just goes through the motions. Of course, it may well be that the indigent client wants to go back inside where he will get free room and board. However, if the client is mentally defective I would think that the lawyer’s job would be easier as that is a strong defense.

    in reply to: Jew becoming a lawyer or judge -halachic problems ✡️⚖️ #1391173
    Avi K
    Participant

    CTL,
    1. the client refuses to speak with or aid the attorney in the client’s defense. What if the attorney determines that the best chance is a plea deal and the client stubbornly refuses?
    2. Even well-educated jurors are human. It is not possible to erase things from their memories as with a computer.
    3. I would think that they would also be more knowledgeable about jury nullification, especially retired History teachers, who know about the William Pitt and John Peter Zenger cases. Is that why they are only used for civil trials?

    in reply to: Bringing Up a Son to be a Godol HaDor #1391055
    Avi K
    Participant

    Joseph,
    1. The Rema says that that is only if he is like his father in yira and is knowledgeable.
    2. The Avnei Nezer (312) says that that is only if most of the community wants the son.
    3. In any case as in all such cases minhag trumps the default halacha (see, for example, Amud HaYemini of Rav Shaul Yisraeli, 12,5 – http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=43775&st=%d7%94%d7%a0%d7%9b%d7%a8%d7%99&pgnum=93 – regarding Knesset elections). Many kehillot had by-laws regarding who could be their rav. In Frankfurt there was even a rule that no one who disagreed with their rav regarding the Get of Cleves could be appointed.
    4. For a wider discussion see “פרשת פנחס – ירושה ברבנות” on-line.

    in reply to: Jew becoming a lawyer or judge -halachic problems ✡️⚖️ #1390847
    Avi K
    Participant

    CTL,
    1. So why would permission be granted? I read that a personality conflict is grounds for withdrawal. Why is that stronger than knowledge of guilt? Would (or should) that not be the greatest personality conflict? On the other hand, if something about the client rubs the attorney the wrong way should he not, as a professional, ignore it.
    2. Do you really believe that juries ignore all that they are told to ignore?
    3. While we are on the subject what do you think of jury nullification? Is that a possible out for the lawyer who knows his client is guilty. That is to say, may he put the law on trial?

    in reply to: Jew becoming a lawyer or judge -halachic problems ✡️⚖️ #1390358
    Avi K
    Participant

    JJ,
    1. A knowledgeable party to a din Toah can also tailor his claims. For example, someone who knows the laws of “migo” can get out of paying what he really owes.
    2. A code of ethic is a system of morality. It may be different than Torah ethics but it is a system. That is why I wrote “immoral” and not “amoral”.
    3. Positing an alternative theory is only immoral if it is facetious or the lawyer somehow knows that his client is guilty.

    in reply to: Jew becoming a lawyer or judge -halachic problems ✡️⚖️ #1390064
    Avi K
    Participant

    JJ, how is a lawyer’s job different (besides dealing with technical procedural issues)?

    CTL, IMHO if the client tells the lawyer that he is guilty it is immoral to provide alternative theories (unless, of course, the attorney thinks that the client is not telling the truth for some reason). Rather if the client refuses a plea agreement he should withdraw from the case. A really interesting scenario would be if the lawyer is a witness to the crime and his name pops up on the public defender list. Would he cross-examine himself? BTW, there is an article on this subject called WHEN THE LAWYER KNOWS THE CLIENT IS GUILTY: CLIENT CONFESSIONS IN LEGAL ETHICS, POPULAR CULTURE, AND LITERATURE, which was delivered in a shorter form as a lecture at the UCLA law school.

    in reply to: NY changing history curriculum #1390052
    Avi K
    Participant

    Anyone with a decent memory can rattle off names, dates and places. Analyzing why they happened trains a person to think. However, it odes open the door to political grading.

    in reply to: Are all these protests in Jerusalem really a kiddush hashem? #1389447
    Avi K
    Participant

    MTAB,

    1. Did you learn your hatred in the Ukraine or did you go there to be with like-minded people?
    2. FYI, the Tanach, hebrew language, etc. belong to all of Am Yisrael.
    3. The fact of the matter is that these riots are about a power struggle within the Lithuanian Hareidi community. After Rav Schach was niftar there was a dispute over his successor and Rav Shteinman won. Rav Auerbach would not accept so he started the Peleg. What is interesting is that Peleg’s grandson was Serug. The שי”ן and סמ”ך are interchangeable so perhaps this means that eventually that they will do teshuva.

    in reply to: Jew becoming a lawyer or judge -halachic problems ✡️⚖️ #1389450
    Avi K
    Participant

    CTL, thank you for the correction. However, what if the client admits to his attorney that he committed the crime? May the attorney plead “not guilty” without a qualifier (e.g. “temporary insanity”)? Is thre an ethical requirement to withdraw from the case without explanation (I have read of this being done).

    JJ, then what does a toen do? Bring the dayanim coffee?

    in reply to: Jew becoming a lawyer or judge -halachic problems ✡️⚖️ #1388873
    Avi K
    Participant

    Dor, why do you think that the world is black and white? Guilty and innocent can have many shades of gray. To my (non-professional so CTL can correct me if I am wrong) knowledge it is a breach of legal ethics to plead “not guilty” for a client one knows is completely guilty or to prosecute someone one knows is completely not guilty. However, often there are mitigating and/or aggravating circumstances.

    JJ, what is a “real” bet din? Toanim rabbani’im have been around for almost 2,000 years. If you are interested in how this developed there is an article in Techumin on this. Ido not remember which volume so you will simply have to do so work yourself. Here in Israel they even have their own professional organization.

    CTL,
    1. Yasher koach on your attainments regarding gittin.
    2. L’chatchils wills must be written in a certain manner to have halachic validity. There is an organization called “Bais HaVaad Institute of Talmudic Law” which has an e-booklet on the subject. They also give CLE courses (albeit in Brooklyn). suing a jew in secular court.
    3. You are correct that non-observant Jews do not care about the prohibition but they do care about time and money. If the local bet din is professional and arrives at a decision in a much shorter time and at much less cost a non-observant Jew might be willing. Here in Israel the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit network has earned such a good reputation that even non-observant judges refer cases for arbitration (they are very anxious to do this as their caseloads are impossibly heavy).

    in reply to: Are all these protests in Jerusalem really a kiddush hashem? #1388874
    Avi K
    Participant

    MTAB, i see that you are a baal hotza’at shem ra. In other words, you have an ownership interest in HST.

    Avrohom, in the wedding cases the police and everyone else knew beforehand so they could prepare alternate routes. However, I do agree that the blockage should be kept to a minimum. Other demonstrations that block whole areas should also be dispersed forthwith.

    in reply to: Are all these protests in Jerusalem really a kiddush hashem? #1388827
    Avi K
    Participant

    Why should someone expect a one hour delay because of hooligans? Not to mention the cases of people who suddenly became seriously ill. These thugs say that they will literally fight to the death rather than serve. Apparently they mean other people’s deaths as they could just cut off their fingers and be exempt. The police should disperse these demonstrations as quickly as possible and by any means necessary.

    in reply to: Are all these protests in Jerusalem really a kiddush hashem? #1388160
    Avi K
    Participant

    שולחן ערוך חושן משפט ס, קסג סע’ א

    כופין בני העיר זה את זה (אפי’ מיעוט כופין את המרובין) (רבי ירוחם נל”א ח”ו) לעשות חומה דלתים ובריח לעיר ולבנות להם בית הכנסת ולקנות ספר תורה נביאים וכתובים כדי שיקרא בהם כל מי שירצה מן הצבור:

    הגה: וה”ה לכל צרכי העיר וע’ בא”ח סי’ נ”ה דין שכירות חזן לבני העיר גם סי’ נ”ג שם וכופין בני העיר זה את זה להכניס אורחים ולחלק להם צדקה וליתן בתוך כיס של צדקה (מרדכי פ”ק דב”ב ותשובת מיימוני ספר קנין סי’ נ”ט) וע”ל סי’ ד’ וסי’ ז’ בני העיר שיש להם דין עם יחיד אם יכולים לדונו ואם נקראים מוחזקין דין שכירות למניין ע’ בא”ח סוף סי’ נ”ה ועל הוצאות שהוציאו לבער מסור כל הדרים בעיר חייבים ליתן לזה (הרא”ש בתשובה כלל ו’ סי’ כ”א כ”ז וכפול לקמן סי’ שפ”ח) כל צרכי ציבור שאינן יכולין להשוות עצמן יש להושיב כל בע”ב הנותנים מס ויקבלו עליהם שכל אחד יאמר דעתו לשם שמים וילכו אחר הרוב ואם המיעוט ימאנו הרוב יכולין לכוף אותן אפילו בדיני עכו”ם ולהוציא ממון על זה והם צריכין לתת חלקם והמסרב מלומר דעתו ע”פ החרם בטילה דעתו ואזלי’ בתר רוב הנשארים האומרים דעתן (תשו’ מוהר”ם ספר קנין סי’ כ”ז והגמי”י פי”א דתפלה) וע’ בי”ד סי’ רנ”ו אימת חייב ליתן לכיס של צדקה:

    Each voter (and someone who does not pay taxes has no right to vote) gives HIS opinion (not his rav’s opinion) L’SHEM SHEMAYIM ׂׂ(and not for some personal interest). Neither Rav Kook nor Rav Soloveichik would give advice on these matters. They would only set forth the alternatives and their ramifications. Rav Tzvi Yehuda would not even reveal for which party he voted and gave a beracha to any party that asked for it as he felt that each one had something to offer.

    in reply to: Are all these protests in Jerusalem really a kiddush hashem? #1387784
    Avi K
    Participant

    MTAB,
    1. You are right. Chareiidi is a new religion. For one thing, full-time life-long learning was never for more than a small elite. This is the resolution of he famous disagreement between Rashbi and Rav Yismael. This is already changing because a mass of non-workers cannot be supported.
    2. David HaMelech also used weapons. What do you make of Shmuel Bet 1:18? Tell me,do you do hishtadlut for other things, like parnassa?
    3. One can even be motzi shem ra on a land as were the spies.
    4. We do not hold by the Brisker Rav but like Rav Kook, his son and continuation Rav Tziv Yehuda and a long list of gedolim who supported the establishment of the State.

    Joseph, according to what I heard Rav Chaim was referring to someone who suddenly realized that he forgot his hat. This made him so flustered that he would not have been able to daven properly.

    in reply to: Are all these protests in Jerusalem really a kiddush hashem? #1387785
    Avi K
    Participant
    in reply to: Are all these protests in Jerusalem really a kiddush hashem? #1387763
    Avi K
    Participant

    Yoffi, the protests in PT are not on Shabbat but Motza’ei Shabat and they are subject to the11PM noise curfew as well as other generally applicable laws (such as not blocking traffic, which they don’t).

    Joseph, reply #1387649 is hilarious but don’t give up your day job.

    in reply to: Are all these protests in Jerusalem really a kiddush hashem? #1387537
    Avi K
    Participant

    Yitz, civil disobedience is OK if the law is manifestly unjust but one who engages in it must be prepared to pay the price. Otherwise there will be anarchy (see “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”). However, taking action, such as blocking streets is not civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is passive, such as refusing to register for the draft. Thoreau did not block the entrance to the tax office. He simply did not pay the tax he was assessed.

    MTAB, you are motzi shem ra on the State and its functionaries. How is religious freedom being abridges? Do you believe that it is absolute? For example, if some “rav” would demand a human sacrifice would you allow it?

    in reply to: Are all these protests in Jerusalem really a kiddush hashem? #1386996
    Avi K
    Participant

    BK, I would not consider them gedolim.
    Joseph, blocking roads, burning garbage, etc. are themselves forms of violence. Attacking soldiers who are minding there own business (another one of their activities) certainly is. These hooligans should be cleared out by any means necessary. They should then be transferred to a tent city in the Negev and forgotten being that they do not want to have anything to do with the State.

    in reply to: Six Days of Creation – Refreshing #1384891
    Avi K
    Participant

    LU,
    I am quite sure that ypu misunderstood that rav. Hashem “allows” peopole to sin in the sense that He gave us free choice. However, how we use this is totally up to us (see Berachot 33b and Rambam Hilchot Teshuva 5:1). We even control if we get sick do to not guarding ourselves from weather conditions (Ketubot 20a).
    As for your ice cream story, I heard that the Chatam Sofer said that a person who is shogeg on a d’rabbanan does not need to do teshuva as the aveira is not listening to Chazal (see also Meshech Chochma on Devarim 17:11 and Baal haNetivot quoted in
    “What is the nature of דינים דרבנן ?” – online).

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