Avi K

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  • in reply to: Yiddish Language Control Board #1974976
    Avi K
    Participant

    A language is a dialect with an army and navy (aphorism of unclear origin). BTW, Rav Aryeh Levin once rejected a boy for the Etz Chaim yeshiva, of which he was the mashgiach. He later re-tested him thinking that because the boy came from a Hungarian background he didn’t understand Rav Aryeh’s Lithuanian speech.

    in reply to: why should i take the the vacccine if i had the virus already ? #1974234
    Avi K
    Participant

    Sam, who says that a person must have that intent in order to be cured? It certainly is not necessary that the doctor thinks that as we even listen to idolatrous doctors (SA OC, 618:1). The Taz says (YD 336:1) that no one is on that level. The Netziv says (Heemek Devar Bamidbar 6:11 and 17:3) says that a person who acts in a manner inappropriate to his level is called a sinner. In fact, several Amoraim went to bloodletters. See also Rambam in his commentary on Pesachim Ch. 4 d”h shisha devarim asa Hizkiyahu.

    As for the O.P.’s question, the shot is needed as a booster. It increases the chances of not getting it again. It is also not certain how long the recovered person’s immunity lasts.

    in reply to: Chesed: Forcing the rich to pay for the poor #1971156
    Avi K
    Participant

    Akuperma, the highest level of tzedaka is to give someone a productive job. This is best accomplished by the free enterprise system as is seen in all times and places. It also works against discrimination without compulsion as Ludwig von Mises (“Omnipotent Government”) and Milton Friedman (“Capitalism and Freedom”) have shown.

    in reply to: According to the Torah, was Chauvin Allowed to Kill Floyd? #1968005
    Avi K
    Participant

    Health, if someone did not think that his life was in danger and he killed someone would it matter that his life really was in danger? In any case, from the record that definitely does not seem to be the case. Floyd was handcuffed at the time.

    in reply to: According to the Torah, was Chauvin Allowed to Kill Floyd? #1967894
    Avi K
    Participant

    Johnklets, only a duly constituted court may impose the death penalty. See my post #1967386.

    Health, by not claiming in at his trial he effectively admitted that it was not.

    in reply to: My gezeila error #1967439
    Avi K
    Participant

    Mod, why did you reverse my last two posts?

    an unfortunately irreversible error-29

    Not true. I fixed it -25

    in reply to: According to the Torah, was Chauvin Allowed to Kill Floyd? #1967438
    Avi K
    Participant

    Little, a goy does have a neshama. It is just different than a Jew’s neshama. For that matter, a Jew who lives in Eretz Yisrael has a different neshama than one who lives in galut.

    in reply to: According to the Torah, was Chauvin Allowed to Kill Floyd? #1967386
    Avi K
    Participant

    1. It is ridiculous to call someone a rodef after thirteen years.
    2. Chauvin did not claim that his life was in danger.
    3. There are those who want to claim that anyone may kill a ben Noach who violated one of the sheva mitzvot, as Floyd did many times. However, this goes against many Rishonim (see דרך המלך: מענה הלכתי ורעיוני לספר תורת המלך and איסור הריגת גוי ורציחת מחבל כפות, both online) who make it clear that only a duly constituted court may do this).

    in reply to: My gezeila error #1967359
    Avi K
    Participant

    In the O.P.’s case, however, there might be nafka minas. Is her friend’s budget such that getting these items for free would cause her to buy something else that she would not have bought? Is business such that the items would have been sold anyway?

    In any case, if it is an issue of gezel it does not matter who owns the store. Even if it is something else that only applies to Jews (absent chillul Hashem) I see no reason why it should matter if the owner is frum. It is not, for example, allowed to charge a non-frum Jew interest on a loan.

    in reply to: My gezeila error #1967358
    Avi K
    Participant

    Here is a new wrinkle. As my father used to say, you learn something new every day.

    Question: Reuven has an electronics store that offers affordable prices. There’s another store in town that charges a little more for some of the same products. Is Reuven allowed to go into that store and inform customers that they can purchase the products they are interested in from his store for a cheaper price?

    HaRav Chaim Weg

    Answer: The halacha is that one is allowed to compete with another local business, even if he is adversely affecting his bottom line. The Gemara says that the reason for this is because “zeh osek b’soch shelo v’zeh osek b’soch shelo.” He will operate in his store and he will operate in his store.

    It seems that one is only permitted to compete with an existing business if he operates within his own store, but not if he operates in the competing store.

    There is also another relevant sugya in halacha. The Gemara discusses a case where someone has already set up nets to catch fish and rules that another individual is not allowed to encroach on his territory and put down nets in the same area. Rashi explains that since the first fisherman has already set his sights on those particular fish and is planning on catching them, they are already considered to be set aside for him, and no one else is allowed to “take them away” from him.
    The Chasam Sofer says that when a customer is already in a store, the same reasoning would apply. This customer is already in the sights of that store owner and is “in his net”, so to speak; therefore, it would be forbidden for a competitor to take away that business.

    in reply to: Lefties are discriminated against! #1967153
    Avi K
    Participant

    The word “sinister” comes from the Latin word for “left” (spelled the same). On the other hand, Ehud’s left-handedness saved Am Yisrael.

    in reply to: Is English the new Yiddish? #1966348
    Avi K
    Participant

    CS, can you please rewrite your post in English?

    in reply to: My gezeila error #1966347
    Avi K
    Participant

    DY,
    1. The mitzva to buy from a Jew only applies if the non-Jew does not sell for much less (I think one-sixth) and/or the quality is much lower. In any case, the customer was already there. In any case, I fail to see the connection. If it is gezel it is prohibited no matter who is the owner. If not then it is permitted no matter who is the owner. If the owner is poor (very doubtful) there might be an issue of עני המהפך בחררהץ. This indeed only applies to a Jew (please bring sources if you want to say only a frum Jew – and then we can argue over who is considered frum). However, as I previously posted, there is also an issue of chillul Hashem if the store owner is not Jewish or not frum.
    2. That was my conclusion.

    in reply to: My gezeila error #1965994
    Avi K
    Participant

    Ujm, my sources are in Choshen Mishpat.

    in reply to: My gezeila error #1965990
    Avi K
    Participant

    Ujm,
    1. What is the difference? Stealing from anyone is prohibited by the Torah (SA 359:1 and see Be’er haGola 348:5). Please cite your sources. Actually,if the owner is non-frum/non-Jewish it might be worse as it might be a chillul Hashem.
    2. Yes. It is a question. It would depend on whether people commonly change their minds and put items back on the shelf before paying. In most places that is the case so there was no kinyan because there was no completed intent to acquire. Probably the store owner does not care as someone else will buy it. However, where this is not common putting an item in one’s cart might be a kinyan.

    Rational,
    1. That was a method of the people of Sodom. Each one would steal less than a peruta’s worth.
    2. True.
    3. Finding someone a productive job is the highest form of tzedaka so there is a mitzva to help someone’s business.

    in reply to: Is English the new Yiddish? #1965868
    Avi K
    Participant

    Chazal say (Kiddushin 82a) that someone who does not teach his son a trade teaches him to steal.

    in reply to: My gezeila error #1965657
    Avi K
    Participant

    The question is, and therefore it would not matter who owned the store (and it really bugs me when people emphasize “frum-owned” as if non0frum and non-Jewish people are hefker), did she make a kinyan by putting them in her cart. If she did then it might be theft (although presumably, someone else would then buy them so in the end there was no loss). If not, it is analogous to giving someone a lift and thus saving the person the cost of public transportation.

    in reply to: Is English the new Yiddish? #1965363
    Avi K
    Participant

    Nechoma, my grandmother (and grandfather) were from Smyrna, Turkey (now Izmir).

    Ujm, millions? Ha! In Israel, many Chareidim, especially Lithuanians, can’t even put together a complete sentence in Yiddish. I once saw an older Russian immigrant try to speak to a Lithuanian Chareidi in Yiddish. The latter was completely tongue-tied.

    in reply to: Is English the new Yiddish? #1965059
    Avi K
    Participant

    Ujm, nonsense. Sephardic Jews never spoke Yiddish. Even among Yiddish speakers, there were different dialects. Sometimes one was unintelligible to another. Rav Arye Levin re-tested a boy from a Hungarian background he rejected for the yeshiva because he thought that maybe the kid did not understand his Lithuanian accent. The international language ofJews, at least so far as writing was concerned, was always Hebrew. Jews typically were also conversant in several European languages because of their business connections. Rabbi Menashe ben Yisrael, for example, was fluent in ten languages. My grandmother spoke English, Spanish/Ladino (she could converse with Puerto Ricans and called her language Spanish), French, Greek, and Turkish and also knew at least some Italian.

    in reply to: An Observation on the Way Some Jews Pronounce Words #1963715
    Avi K
    Participant

    There is no doubt that local languages influenced how Jews pronounce Hebrew. We know that the Ephraimites had a different pronunciation. It stands to reason that each of the other tribes also had somewhat different pronunciations just as people from different places pronounce English differently.
    From masechet Haggiga we know that Jews from Haifa and Beit Shean did not differentiate between alef and ayin. Being that Beruria knew that Rabbi Yosi haGalili was from the Galilee as soon as he opened his mouth (Eruvin 53b) it seems that they spoke differently than Judeans.
    It is also clear that the Ashkenazim changed their pronunciation at some point. For example, one of the Baalei Tosafot is רבי אליעזר ממץ. In French it is pronounced “Messe”. Another is the שר מקוצי (Coucy). We see from the word אצטדיון (stadium) that this was the original pronunciation of the tzaddi (the alef was due to the fact that they could not pronounce a sheva nach at the beginning of the word – many Arabs also say things like “ibseder” for “beseder”).

    in reply to: Is “sir” a British thing #1962904
    Avi K
    Participant

    On the other hand, if a person is a Spanish speaker he might mean “there is” or “there are”.

    in reply to: Is “sir” a British thing #1962901
    Avi K
    Participant

    Wolf, I know people who said “Sir” and “Madame” to their kids sarcastically.

    Robert, in NYC they say “Hey Mac”. The response is “hay is for horses”.

    in reply to: Is “sir” a British thing #1962200
    Avi K
    Participant

    I know someone whose wife sent a check to some tzedaka organization. She received a computerized acknowledgment addressed to הרב. She said that she was insulted that they didn’t write הרב הגאון. On the other hand, some say that a gaon is someone who never heard of Rashi or Tosafot. There is also ה”ה (ha’adon hanichbad) Some say that there is also ה”ה”ה”ה
    (הבל הבלים הכל הבל).

    in reply to: Is “sir” a British thing #1961775
    Avi K
    Participant

    Eliezer, not only Americans. I have noticed that British interviewers also address interviewees by their first names even if they have titles such as Doctor, Professor, or Rabbi (Rabbi Sacks zatzal was addressed by an interviewer as “Jonathan”).

    in reply to: Is “sir” a British thing #1961773
    Avi K
    Participant

    Yt, in order to call Trump you have to get his phone number.

    in reply to: Vaxxine-pass #1961737
    Avi K
    Participant

    Rightwriter, untested? Are you serious? It has been approved by all regulatory agencies after requisite testing. The technology itself has been around for thirty years. Rav Elimelech Firer, who is an expert on Halacha and Medicine, discussed the issue in a special interview. You can google “הרב פירר מפריך את השמועות: “הדבר הנכון הוא ליטול את החיסון”.

    in reply to: Tznius of the legs – Oz V’hadar Levusha #1961735
    Avi K
    Participant

    Ujm, a dayelet is a stewardess in Hebrew.

    in reply to: Is “sir” a British thing #1961734
    Avi K
    Participant

    On Fifties TV shows children address their fathers as “sir”. I was stunned as I did not nor did anyone I know. In the South it is common. Similarly, formal letters are often addressed “Dear Sir”.

    in reply to: Tznius of the legs – Oz V’hadar Levusha #1961477
    Avi K
    Participant

    That book is super machmir. This is very common as those who write the books are generally scared of being condemned and even banned. Rav Yehuda Henkin has another view called “UNDERSTANDING TZNIUT: Modern Controversies in the Jewish Community”. There is also “Halichos Bas Yisrael: A Woman’s Guide to Jewish Observance” by Rabbi Yitzchak Yaacov Fuchs. Find a derech that is comfortable for you.

    in reply to: Vaxxine-pass #1961479
    Avi K
    Participant

    It is an absolute halachic obligation to be vaccinated unless someone has a specific medical condition that precludes vaccination. You can read “Halachic Aspects of Vaccination” by
    Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman M.D. online.

    Society can certainly protect itself by restricting certain venues to those who have been vaccinated or recovered. In the U.S. compulsory vaccination was upheld by the Supreme Court in Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905).

    in reply to: New Segula – for non-Jews #1958241
    Avi K
    Participant

    RE, that is not what Rabbenu Tam says (Bechorot 2b d”h she’ma). He says that it is a”z b’shituf (associating another being with Hashem) and that that is allowed for non-Jews. This is also what the Rema says. This is also the opinion of the Schach (YD 151:1 d”h nahagu lehakel). The Gemara (Chullin 13b) says what you say about pagans in chutz laAretz.

    in reply to: Paleo-Hebrew #1957913
    Avi K
    Participant

    This is a discussion in the Gemara and Rishonim. You can read it in the Wikishiva. Google כתב עברי (עתיק).

    in reply to: New Segula – for non-Jews #1957698
    Avi K
    Participant

    CTL, I was being facetious. Perhaps you can buy a sense of humor on Amazon. you can definitely buy a guide to developing one.

    in reply to: Anti-Semitism? #1957565
    Avi K
    Participant

    Anti-Semitism and philo-Semitism can be two sides of the same coin. For example, saying that Jews are good lawyers can be positive if one respects legal acumen. Similarly, if someone admires the ability to make money saying that about us is positive. I personally would very much like to know which bank is mine.

    in reply to: Israelmany #1952971
    Avi K
    Participant

    Rightwqriter, No one is releasing names. They are being turned over to local authorities for private attempts to convince them. However, the lists may not be made public or used in any other way.

    Hewalth, that is true of every vaccine before it comes out (although all must go through approval protocols). The present vaccines have been approved by all of the leading regulatory agencies. COVID-19 is a clear and present danger. אין ספק מוציא מודאי

    in reply to: Yiddeshe Cancel Culture #1952970
    Avi K
    Participant

    Charlie, what about racists in one way but not another? Woodrow Wilson, the darling of progressives, introduced Jim Crow into the previously integrated Federal civil service and even had the chutzpa to tell black leaders that it was good for them. On the other hand, as President of Princeton, he hired the university’s first Jewish professors. As POTUS, he appointed the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice (Louis Brandeis) over virulent and blatantly anti-Semitic opposition.

    in reply to: DOES YWN MAKE MONEY FROM PROMOTING THE VACCINES?? #1951651
    Avi K
    Participant

    Tristate Jew, do you make money by opposing them?

    in reply to: Ted Cruz – Hyporcite par excellence #1950699
    Avi K
    Participant

    Tell the truth. Would you have done otherwise? When my area was threatened with major snowstorms I went to friends in an area where it never snows.

    in reply to: Problems with the Covid vaccinations #1947530
    Avi K
    Participant

    Syag, the vaccine gives you six months.

    in reply to: Problems with the Covid vaccinations #1947146
    Avi K
    Participant

    Better to just faint than to get COVID-19. Besides, who told him to drink two shots of whiskey. I got both Pfizer shots. After the first my should ached a bit for a couple of days. After the second, nothing. In fact, only a minuscule percentage had any side effects.

    in reply to: Problems with the Covid vaccinations #1947147
    Avi K
    Participant

    I reread the OP. Actually, it says “a few” shots. How many is a few?

    in reply to: Gedolim who went to public school #1946816
    Avi K
    Participant

    Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg went to public school at first and later went to a yeshiva full-time. Back then that was what there was.

    in reply to: United States – No Unity after an Insurrection #1943900
    Avi K
    Participant

    G, are you agreeing or disagreeing with me?

    in reply to: United States – No Unity after an Insurrection #1943588
    Avi K
    Participant

    CTL, I must partially correct you. It is true that SCOTUS ruled that public access channels are not public forums (Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck) and presumably this would also apply to social media. However, if a non-state body acts “under color of law” it is also subject to the Constitution. Thus, in Terry v. Adams, 345 U.S. 461 (1953), the Court ruled that not only may a political party not bar blacks (see Smith v. Allwright, 321 U.S. 649, and United States v. Classic 313 U.S. 299 (1941)) but not even an organized party faction may do so. It is not inconceivable that social media will become such an integral part of the process that they too will be subjected to constitutional constraints.

    in reply to: Is it ok to buy lottery tickets? #1939046
    Avi K
    Participant

    You can google “may one play the lottery [i.e. purchase a lottery ticket]?” for the opinion of the Shulchan Aruch HaRav. also heard that Rav Ovadia and Rav Avraham Shapira allowed buying Israeli lottery tickets as they go for tzedaka purposes. Also, the odds are so enormous that any normal person will think that the money is gone. From the standpoint of taking the money if one wins, the sponsor knows that it will have to pay up someone eventually. There have actually been dinei Torah regarding someone who bought a ticket for someone else or received a ticket when buying something for someone else.

    in reply to: Bracha for Covid-19 vaccination #1939027
    Avi K
    Participant

    יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ וֵאֱלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁיִּהְיֶה לִי עֵסֶק זֶה לִרְפוּאָה, כִּי רוֹפֵא חִנָּם אַתָּה

    in reply to: R.I.P. the US of A #1936768
    Avi K
    Participant

    The mob at the Capitol was a pro-Trump crowd. Trump himself acknowledged that fact. However, it is also true that radical leftists such as Antifa and BLM rioted throughout the summer. What is worse is the polarization and mutual hatred among ordinary people. I have been unfriended and blocked by several because of my conservative and Orthodox views. It is now almost inconceivable for a liberal and conservative to even contemplate marriage in the same way as interreligious marriage (including among non-Jews) once was. It does not bode well when people stop talking and listening.

    in reply to: Blue lives don’t matter #1936769
    Avi K
    Participant

    Jackk, what we are having here is a parler (French for “to speak”). Actually, that is what is done on parlors. In fact, that is the root of the word.

    in reply to: Blue lives don’t matter #1936770
    Avi K
    Participant

    Charlie, don’t you know that “blue lives matter” is a white supremacist code? You could be banned from social media for that.

    in reply to: Manipulation of Da’as Torah #1934427
    Avi K
    Participant

    Once someone who was writing a halacha book on tefillin for baalei battim asked Rav Eliahsiv if something (I don’t remember what) is a chatzitza. When RE responded that it is not he argued the point. finally RE said “If you want to be machmir be machmir”. The person wrote that RE said that it is good to be machmir.

    Someone once asked Rav Mordechai Eliahu about organizing a vacation trip to chutz laAretz. RME said that it is not allowed. He advertised that the trip was with the advice of RME.

Viewing 50 posts - 251 through 300 (of 3,486 total)