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Lilmod, Rav Schach was speaking after the fact. We cannot know beforehand how much hishtadlut Hashem wants us to do as a condition for getting something. As there is a difference of opinion among the poskim (google “Shaking hands with the opposite gender? – Mi Yodeya”) she might want to ask her LOR – and he might want to ask her a few questions first.
BTW,shaking with the left hand is considered offensive as handshaking originated as a way to show that one was not concealing a knife (a 2,500 year old depiction of two soldiers shaking hands can be found on part of a stele on display in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin).Perhaps “sinister” comes from the Latin word for left-handed because left-handed people naturally wanted to shake with their left hands.
Lightbrite, as the person was learning Gemara I think that the intention was to discuss Gemara. That is a very serious argument.
What about people who wear jackets without ties? In Israel this is common in some sectors and is becoming common in wider circles around the world. BTW, according to some studies ties can cause health problems because of compression of the venous return. In the UK they were banned from hospitals because they spread bacteria.
ZD, someone I knew once was sitting and learning by himself when an elderly man walked up to him and excited asked if he wanted an argument.
Rav Mordechai Eliahu says that one may daven without a jacket if one would walk in the street without it(see Aruch Hashulchan, OC 91:6-7).
CTL,
I now confess my sin. In my misspent youth I watched TV. Among my favorite shows were”Perry Mason”(#2 on the ABA list of best lawyer shows), “Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law” (#12) and “Judd for the Defense” (#22). I also saw the original version of “Twelve Angry Men” (excellent psychological study and very Chareidi – not one woman in the whole movie) as well as take-offs on “The Odd Couple” and “All in the Family”.
In any case, TY for the correction. However, my understanding is that a judge can/will only overturn a verdict if he thinks that it is way out of line. On the other hand, there is jury nullification.
As for your semantic disagreement, lehavdil elef alfei hevdalim, Rav Aviner says that a rav who answers a question according to what has already been written in books is not paskening but relating the halacha. “Paskening” means giving a ruling on a new question.
So now for $544,072.11 (the value of 64,000 1958 dollars in today’s money) question. Do you agree with Joseph or me?
Joseph,
1. An American trial judge is more like a referee than a judge. The jury decides the verdict. the judge only relates the legal issues after receiving opinions by the two lawyers. An appeals judge can use Talmudic reasoning and psychological insights. They can also cite Jewish law to support their opinions. CJ Warren cited Rambam’s explanation of why a confession is inadmissible in a criminal case in the “Miranda” decision and Justice Scalia cited Chazal’s statement that a judge who accepts a bribe loses divine inspiration in “Caperton v. A. T. Massey Coal Co” (see “Justice Scalia As Talmudic Scholar” by Natahhn Lewin on-line).
2. Did you read Rav Moshe’s teshuva? I did, however, hear about a case where two Chassidim took their case to a secular court and the frum judge rebuked them for not going to a bet din. I do not know about the US but in Israel judges can clear their calendars by sending the parties to arbitration or mediation. The bet din of Eretz Hemdah-Gazit has such a sterling reputation that even non-observant judges refer cases to them.
Joseph,
1. Google “Can a Jew serve as a secular judge?” I would add that where the Jews are non-observant there is no issur of ????? ???? ????? (see Iggerot Moshe YD 1:72).
2. If you are talking about a ????, there is no issue regarding gentiles. Regarding Israel, Rav Shaul Yisraeli says (Amud HaYemini 12:5 – available on-line) that it only refers to a position held for life and passed on to the incumbent’s son . Someone who can be turned out of office by the public or does not hold the position for life or whose son does not inherit it does not hold a ????. Rather (s)he is an employee of the public – and anyone can be an employee.
3. Rav Yaakov Ariel says that it is a mitzva for someone who can rule in such a way that the ruling will be upheld on appeal and is in line with the Halacha to be a judge. He also encouraged a certain knowledgeable woman to study Law and pursue a career in public service.
Ubiquitin, you implied it. You also implied that the time to make the horaat sha’ah is now. That puts you more than sixty years behind the times. Really, you are probably over seventy years behind the times because the time strated right after the Holocaust. However, more than sixty includes more than seventy.
Ubiquitin, the CI obviously made that statement over sixty years ago. Therefore, by stating it as a need for now you are sixty years behind the times.
Akuperma, being that you frequent Boro Park I suggest that you pay a visit to Rabbi Prof. Israel Kirzner. He can certainly give you talk on Keynes and Hayek. In any case, not everyone can open a store in Williamsburg or Boro Park. Even those who do need to be able to communicate in English. Math trains one to think analytically. In fact, Rambam says at the beginning of the Guide that Math and Physics prepare one to learn Troah. Both Rabbenu Bachya and the Gra say that if one lacks knowledge of secular fields he will be lacking 100 times in Torah. Rav Kook explained that a person who lacks secular knowledge will not be able to explain Torah to people.
Ubiquitin, the Chazon Ish died at the beginning 5714. That is definitely two generations.
Joseph, the Netziv closed the yeshiva because the government, at the instigation of the Maskilim’ wanted to eevntually eliminate Torah learning altogether. On the other hand, talmidim in Pressburg took the external exams for the equivalent of a HS academic diploma (in NYS the Regents, in Israel the bagrut) and received draft deferments as theological students. This eventually turned out to be good for the Orthodox in Hungary as their rav, Rav Koppel Weiss, spoke to Franz Yosef in his native German whereas the head of the Neolog spoke in literary Hungarian, which is an extremely difficult language that gave the emperor fits. BTW, many American yeshivot as well as yeshivot for English speakers in Israel offer bachelors’ degrees in Talmudic Literature in conjunction with colleges. This enables the talmidim to go on for JDs or MBAs after earning high enough frades on the LSAT/GRE.
Ubiquitin, you are over sixty years behind the times. The Chazon Ish said that universal life-long learning was a necessity for two generations to rebuild the Torah world after the Holocaust. Today the Chareidi sector has grown and there is no one to support them. The generation that worked is gone, American donors are still reeling from the financial crisis and working Israeli are sick of supporting them (besides, every time a new budget is adopted it is less than the previous in order to keep the private sector, which is Israel’s future, growing). Add to that shelom bayit problems due to women who work and in many cases earn decent salaries in the general work market. Add to that boys who are going OTD because they simply are not cut out to learn all day.
In fact, more and more Chareidim are enlisting in the IDF, getting degrees and regular jobs because the pressure is too great – and turning to the police to protect them from the extremist hooligans. IMHO, the rabbanim are priavtely acquiescing while publicly opposing to protect themselves (even Rav Elaishiv was stoned when he reached an agreement with the government on moving graves).
Joseph, there is also Chareidi Leumi (Chardal). As for reactions to the Haskala, Rav Chaim Soloveichik claimed that the Brisker method was the reaction as it gave a Torah alternative for Jews who were seeking intellectual satisfaction.
I agree with Lilmod. You will also be doing a mitzva which according to Ramban is the pre-requisite for true Torah observance. Modi’in might be a good place as it has modern Orthodox and Chardal communities as well as many English speakers, is not expensive and is almost directly between Yerushalayim and Tel Aviv, which means that you can commute to work in either city. In addition, the weather there is very mild all year .
Tiawd, the leitzanei hador say that a Gaon is someone who never heard of Rashi or Tosafot.
There are those who say “hu rav im kulam”.
Hot according to Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach is 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit). If food or a utensil that is less than this temperature falls into a sink that is less both are permitted. As for washing, I do not think that the average person can stick his hands into water that is this temperature. This is why it is called “yad soledet”. As for trivets, if the pot is extremely hot they are needed to protect the surface of the table or counter-top.
Lightbrite, silence sometimes means that the comment does not deserve an answer. If the teacher expected a laugh and was met by stone faces it was probably the greatest punishment she could have received. In an case, teachers can also be recorded and the comments uploaded to YouTube. Evens if teachers have tenure their classes can be boycotted.
As for retribution for opposing the teacher’s beliefs, I got in trouble with my 11th grade English teacher for writing an essay about why we should not have to study literature. I would imagine that one would get in trouble with a frum teacher for opposing his particular hashkafa. Of course, in the hard sciences this is not an issue. In any case, in college there are generally lists of teachers of the various courses and there are ratings available on the Internet.
Rescue37, those who will not consider her because she went to a general college should not be considered by her. Anyway, if her father (or she) can support them in kollel they will overlook it.
Lilmod, who says that an Ashkenazi may not rely on a Sephardi posek and vice-versa if the question does not involve a machloket between the Rema and the Mechaber? Who is a legitimate posek? As for leniences, to paraphrase Rabbi Shay Schechter in the name of his father, if you can find one in a popular halacha book grab it and run. They tend to be as machmir as possible to avoid being attacked. Not to mention the fact that avereichim tend to be machmir anyway. I heard that one avereich asked Rav Eliashiv a question for his book. When Rav Eliashiv was lenient the avereich argued with him so RE told him “If you want to be machmir don’t do it”. The avereich wrote that RE said that it is worthy to be machmir.Oe should also check the footnotes and look up the sources. For example, after the first edition of Shemirat Shabbat K.Hilchata was attacked Rav Neuwirth put out a new edition with the chumrot in the main part and the kulot in the footnotes.
In the case of a machloket where there is more or less an equal number on each side, if you cannot clarify it with your rav there is a simple principle. If it is a Torah mitzva be stringent, if it is a rabbinic mitzva you can be lenient. However, sometimes one can rely on a leniency regarding a Torah mitzva in special circumstances (great loss or need, b’diavad, etc.) There are no crutches. You have to learn thoroughly just to be able to get out of the level of the son who did not know how to ask a question.
“V’zot haBeracha” (p. 108) brings three opinions regarding rice cakes:
1. Adama – Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rav Scheinberg, Rav Sternbuch, Rav Mordechai Eliahu
2. Mezonot – “one of the gedolei hador”
3. Shehakol – Rav Fisher (because its formed changed).
It would seem that someone who wants to be yotzi all of the above should first eat foods that are definitely mezonot, adama and shehakol.
Joseph,
1. The head of Agudat Yisrael in EY, Rav Y.Y. Levin, signed the declaration of independence, obviously with the approval of the Aguda’s poskim. Aooroximately 150 rabbanim signed a kol koreh calling it the beginning ofthe Geula. If you want to remain in denial and be left behind in the plague of darkness that is your problem.
2. There is bird that is called a ra’ah because it sits in Shmutz LaAretz and sees a neveila in EY (Chulin 63b). Both the Kotzker and Rav Sorotzkin say that this is why it is tamei.
Joseph, you still do not understand the difference between a state and a regime?
Excellence, from the books of the chachamim Shimshon sinned with his eyes (Sotah 9b) and Yiftach was an am ha’aretz and gass ruach (Baba Batra 4a).
Womb with a View
by Rabbi Steven Pruzansky
[Yerushalayim]
The broader point is not merely that succumbing to the threats of violence and terror only rewards and encourages the bully but that Israel finds itself (again!?) at a crossroads. The friendly Trump administration enters with no illusions that peace is possible under present circumstances, and well aware that Israel is both a friend and cherished ally. The real question then becomes: what does Israel want?
People generally become so attached to the status quo that any attempt to change it, at all, evokes gasps of horror. (Change the one-China policy? Oy vey! Really?) Netanyahu has become adept at managing the status quo but strategic thinking is also in order. Life also cannot be put on hold pending a resolution of the Iran problem, and to assert that the embassy move should be postponed (forever) because Iran must be dealt with is a non sequitur. Nations can defend themselves, build homes, manage an economy and maintain a capital at the same time. And an American embassy in Yerushalayim would send a powerful message to the world, Arab and European, that the State of Israel exists, will continue to exist, and its just demands deserve recognition.
[Yerushalayim]
Mammele,
1. Karove lamalchut was used so that the ruling elite would respect the Jew. For example, court Jews were allowed to dress and cut their hair like gentiles despite the prohibition of “bechukoteihem” (the chachamim were allowed to set the parameters). See ????? ???? ??????? ?????? by Rav Yehuda Zoldan on the Bet-el yeshiva website (this is a wider version and discusses going into a church). As for those politicians who opted out of the Inaugurtion, it was for the explicit purpose of snubbing Trump as they are in denial about his election. This would have made the Kushners’ absence an even greater subject for the pundits.
Lightbrite, see “Hillary Clinton is a threat to religious liberty” by Marc A. Thiessen in the Washington Post. You can google “Hillary Clinton – Religious beliefs have to be changed” to see the video.
Litvos, so far as I know there are no more Jews in Iraq. There may be a handful in Syria. They belong in Israel.
Mammale, on the assumption that you are female would you have been machmir on not going to the hospital in an ambulance if you went into labor on Shabbat?
Tell me, when you wake up in the morning do you say “Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is the frummest of them all?” Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair said about the donkey who would not eat non-tithed food even though it was exempt “????? ?????”.
As for the church issue, while I have reservations I can also see the other side. As I previously posted, there are heterim for someone who is karove lamalchut as these are rabbinic prohibitions.
Lightbrite, what would have been the thoughts of those who voted for Clinton when she carried out the “Civil Rights” Commission’s recommendation to set religious doctrine and tell religious groups whom they can appoint as clergy?
Rav Tzvi Yehuda found it difficult to celebrate the UN decision because they divided our land. Ramban says in his Sefer HaMitzvot that it is absolutely prohibited to allow any other people sovereignty over any part of Eretz Yisrael.
Yehudayona, right up to the election it seemed certain that Hillary would win. This would have been a black day for Israeland all traditionally religious Americans.
Mammele, they did hold fast to their beliefs. They asked a shaila and acted accordingly. IMHO their rav acted on solid halachic grounds as I previously posted.Bitachon does not, as the Chazon Ish says, mean standing in the middle of a highway and believing that you will not be hit by a car. It means that if you do your hishtadlut after something happens you havefaith that it was for the best.
Lilmod, why not let someone else do it? In any case, Jared Kushner did not become the President’s son-in-law. He became a businessman’s son-in-law. Hashem then made the latter POTUS in an open miracle. Ivanka certainly did not volunteer to be Trump’s daughter.
A time for ?, he said this well before the Sixties. What did he say that he was chozer from? As Rav Aharon was a staunch opponent of the Oslo agreements. I very strongly doubt your contention.
Lightbrite, America is galut. If you cannot live in Israel you should be sad.
Iacisrmma, a ger/giuret has the mitzva of kibbud av v’em for two reasons:
1. It would be a chillul Hashem not to owner them.
2. There is a mitzva to show gratitude for bringing one into the world.
As for putting themselves into a situation where they would have to do a relatively light violation, as I previously posted, why not ask why someone should be a doctor, nurse, paramedic, police officer, etc.?
AY, the State did no such thing. Some people who worked for it did those things. In fact, Rav Soloveichik pointed out that the establishment of the State saved Jews from mass conversion. Missionaries were using the Holocaust as proof that Hashem had divorced us c”v.They even accosted him during his travels between Boston and NY. The great kiddush Hashem that was the establishment of the State shut them up and gave renewed pride to faltering Jews. It is impossible to deny the miracles that Hashem has given to us in all of the wars, the ingathering of exiles, the tremendous economic progress of the past decades. One is ungrateful to a person is considered worse than a dog. How much more so one who ungrateful to Hashem.
Lilmod, there are also frum people who are not orthodox. Rather they are orthoprax but do not believe. Why do they keep mitzvot? To avoid problems with their friends and families, because the community is a safe space, etc. For that matter, what about someone who is glatt kosher but not glatt yosher? What about people who are careful about what goes into their mouths but not what comes out (the Chafetz Chaim complained about this).
Utah, how many times do I have to explain the difference between a government and a state?
Symbolism is also very important. We are sick of being told what to do in our capital as if it is not ours.
Jews should support the State of Israel (and live in it) as it is the beginning o our redemption and the world’d redemption. As for violence, over eighty years agothe Arabs threatened violence if we did not give them the Kotel. Rav Kook and Rav Sonnenfeld stood firm against the British ym”sand weak-kneed Jews and there was no violence over it. Moshe Sharett warned that there would be violence we would be thrown out of the UN if we declared Yerushalayim to be our capital. BG said”OOM shmoom” (OOM is the Hebrew acronym for the UN) declared it our capital and nothing happened.
Tell me, Joseph. Are you sorry in retrospect that Trump won? Look at the violence to which it led. In fact, why don’t you assimilate so as not to be subjected to violence?
CTL, I think you mean libertarian as liberals in the US (in Israel “liberal” means “classical liberal”) are collectivists who pick and choose which rights to “give”. However, if you look at what libertarians are saying about government intervention you might rethink that.
He should make aliya. With his fighting spirit we can use him in the IDF.
I wonder how much coverage the Republicans could have added to the revised plan with the $221 million Obama gave to terrorists three hours (!) before leaving office (hopefully the new plan will include caps on malpractice awards so that medical personnel will not have to pay enormous insurance premiums and order unnecessary tests to cover themselves – two major causes of expensive health care in the US). Unfortunately the election came down to who is the bigger rasha. Someone whose negligence caused the deaths of American diplomats, treated the PM of Israel like a vassal and demanded that he not build in our capital, compromised national security through use of an unsecured server, made a career out of lying and other unethical behavior and stated explicitly that the Federal government should dictate religious doctrine (the so-called Civil Rights Commission also wants to dictate who can be clergy) vs a vulgar egomaniac. Not very much on the sidelines violent opponents of the new administration (who also sent anti-Semitic tweets to Rabbi Hier and have vowed to destroy Israel) led by someone who expressed her desire to blow up the White House.
May Hashem grant Mrs. CTL a refuah sheleima and may He bring American Jewry home in a good way.
I think that as reported the heter makes perfect sense, especially after seeing videos ofthe rampaging anti-Trump hooligans. Assuming that the driver is not Jewish it is at most an issur d’rabbanan of amira l’akum. This is allowed even in situations that are not life-threatening. If a non-Jew told the non-Jewish driver to drive them it is even easier. If there was a security deal in the car and there were more non-Jews than Jews it is even easier as we might be able to say that the melacha was done for their benefit.
As for copy-cats, your complaint should be against those who advertised the heter. However, it could also be that the discussions in frum social media will make people more aware of the fact that the Halacha is not black and white but shades of gray. Knowing that one has a shaila is also very important. According to the version in the Midrash Rabba, when Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair’s talmidim pointed out that animal fodder is exempt from terumot and maaserot he said “hachamor machmir”.
Lightbrite, according to Rambam (Hilchot Melachim 8,11) a righteous Noahide is someone who keeps the sheva mitvot because Hashem said so. A wise Noahide keeps them because he thinks that it is proper.
How about this, MW? If Reuven says LH about Shimon he gets all of Shimon’s aveirot. Causing someone to say LH is “lifnei iver”. So if Shimon causes Reuven to say LH about him Reuven gets that too.
Yehudayona, who says that hey were not required as part of the First Family?
DY, do you only do things if you need the money?
Joseph, there are often differences between what poskim say in public, where the pesak is general, and in private where it is individual.
Lilmod, in the army one only salutes an officer wen he is in uniform as the respect is for the uniform. L’havdil elef alfei hevdalim, when Ben-Gurion was PM Rav Tzvi Yehuda was restrained in his criticism. Once after BG resigned RTY blasted him. When his talmidim asked about he said “When he was PM I had to show respect for his office. Now he is just another apikoros”.
DY, by voicing one’s opinion against a pesak someone received one risks being exposed a someone who does not know the diference between an alef and a swastika.
Lilmod, it is prohibited as LH to go straight to a public outcry. First you have to speak to the individual privately. In this case the Committee to Find Blemishes in Others (to use Rav Aviner’s term) is second-guessing the Secret Service, who know their business (and anyone with even a modicum of intelligence who saw the videos of what went on in the streets knows that they were right) and the rav who paskened.
Joseph, as it is a rabbinic prohibition there is flexibility. There are many heterim for someone who is karove lamalchut. A certain jailer who concealed his Jewishness so that he could save Jews was deemed by Eliahu to be worthy of Olam HaBa, according to the commentators without having to first go through Gehinnom (Taanit 22a). Presumably he had to go to the local bet a”z to keep up his disguise.
Some say that he was King Richard III. Some say that he was a siege engine used during the English Civil War.
Regarding Ivanka’s conversion, if when she went into the mikva she intended to keep everything she is Jewish. That is halacha pesuka. As Rabbi Lookstein followed the RCA’s GPS there should not be a question.
Regarding going to the church, I heard that the prohibition is marit ayin. As the Kushners were conspicuously not holding prayer sheets and this was even noted by a reporter that might not be a problem. Moreover, Chazal relaxed the rules in this area for people who are karove lamalchut. Of course, the armchair poskim can say that one does not have to be karove lamalchut. They can even denigrate talmidei chachamim. However, they should remember a few things:
One who denigrates Torah scholars is defined as a heretic, who has no portion in the World to Come (Sanhedrin 99b).
Jerusalem was only destroyed because of denigration of Torah scholars (Rambam, Hilchos Talmud Torah, Chapter 6).
Anyone who denigrates a talmid chacham has no cure for his malady (Shabbos 119b) – and there are many different interpretations of exactly what that “malady” is.
Assuming that the car was driven by a non-Jew it would only be a shevut. The room for a heter is then greater. If the Secret Service personnel are the majority then the question whether the car is being driven for them or the Kushners (even if the Kushners would walk the security detail would have to accompany them ). If for the security people then it is oovin d’chol or ziluta d’Shabbat (Rav Moshe says this about riding a bus where the Jew does not have to pay) which might even be easier to be waived.
Lilmod, maybe because “?? ???? ????” that is the proper answer in general.