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I saw another interview about the KosherSwitch the other day. Some woman who is using it just speaks about how much easier it makes things. How she once had a guest at her house who drank too much, and needed to stay over at their house. The basement was pitch black so she couldn’t prepare a bed, but thanks to the KosherSwitch, she was able to! Her kids turned off the bathroom light, but luckily, they had KosherSwitch! Then she makes a small comment about how her Rav says it’s ok to use.
I think they minimized the most important aspect of it: her Rav said it’s ok! I don’t look down on this woman at all. She is following a psak from her Rav, which is what she should be doing! But they put this out there to tell us, “Look, KosherSwitch will enhance your Shabbos!” But what about most of us, whose Rabbonim forbid using it? It doesn’t matter how much easier it makes things if we’re not allowed to use it!
The Rav the woman uses may or may not be knowledgeable. I have no clue who he is. But if he did make a mistake, and his congregants are using the switch because of it, he will be held responsible.
newbee: Do I look forward to some of the foods I have on Shabbos? Absolutely! Not because I stuff my face (which I try not to do!) but because the foods are good! Isn’t that the point, to eat special foods on Shabbos?
Honestly, there are plenty of foods I don’t eat during the week. There are some I don’t have on Shabbos, but only on a Yom Tov. Do I do it purely l’kovod Yom Tov? Probably not at this point. I actually am careful to say “l’kovod Yom Tov!” while preparing the food. Even if it’s not the case, I hope that one day I will get to that level.
oyyoyyoy: So what exactly is wrong with it? I don’t understand what your issue is.
akuperma: When everyone wore respectable clothes, I also doubt that tzius was taught/enforced the way it is today. There weren’t teachers with rulers measuring how far below the knee a girl’s skirt was reaching. They probably didn’t have rules about how a girl should tie back her hair. No rules on what color clothes girls should wear. The chumros just keep piling up, and it turns people off to the whole concept.
OP, there are two aspects to this: first, what you hold for yourself. Second, if others are accepting of you.
For the first part, as oot said, find yourself a Rav and stick with him! But don’t choose the Rav based on his answer to this question. Don’t even tell him about it until you’ve decided to follow him.
For the second part, do you care about it? If you do, then it depends how important it is to you. You may have to go through a geirus l’chumrah to satisfy everyone.
Hatzlachah!
Joseph: I’d say the shittah is worse, because then people think it’s ok to do.
I’ve never seen the ads you are talking about. Then again, I don’t read the Jewish Press.
Joseph: Yes, I have. My Rosh Yeshiva, R’ Bender, once told me he even asked a chassidish Rav about zman krias Shema. The Rav responded, “In Europe, do you think they were so makpid? Did they sit with watches to see when it was zman krias Shema? No!”
What about davening Mincha long after shekiah?
I’ve heard very good things about Pardes, although I haven’t been there myself. I also heard The Loft is very good.
Wow, I agree with Joseph. Chap-a-Nosh has the closest burger to what KD had. However, that doesn’t make it the best. It’s a cheap fast-food burger.
There are plenty of places to find a good burger. Just realize that you will likely pay far more than you would for the fast-food burger. A beef burger at Chap-a-Nosh is $3.99. A Super Burger (like a KD Burger Delight) is $6.99.
At Gotham Burger (since it was mentioned before), a regular burger is $9.50. Their specialty burgers are more.
You get what you pay for.
mdd: Because of the main elements of tznius is to not wear things which can draw attention to yourself. Doing things differently than the societal norms can draw attention.
You had left out which chelek it was in.
Can you please post where in the S”A it brings down the pasuk of kol kevudah and explains a meaning for it?
Joseph: I’m going to try and find out the answer to your question on a minhag to not be makpid on something in the Shulchan Aruch. I’ll start by asking a Chassidishe Rebbe about ignoring zman krias shema.
Joseph: Thanks for letting me know. I’ll file that story next to the one about R’ Moshe throwing up after drinking chalav stam.
Joseph, why are you bumping your old threads? This was one you started with a question, then posted some answers with a different screen name of yours. Classy.
Joseph, they also had a reverse split, so the $1 value from 6 years ago would be like $10 today. So yes, if you invested at $1, you would have about 5.4x the amount now. Not enough to retire on!
AIG also had a reverse split – 1:20. I believe that if you invested when they were near their lowest point, you would have about doubled your money there.
The parents need to grow up. They should seek some guidance to get over their racism.
Can we take the prenup conversation back to its thread? This was supposed to be a spin-off, not the actual discussion!
PBA: It really depends on the situation, and your definition of hashkafah vs. halachah.
For example, you might say meshichism (the Lubavitch type) is a hashkafah. My Rav would view his stance on the issue as a binding psak. He views the hashkafah as violating halachah.
Halachah and hashkafah are not mutually exclusive. There is overlap.
PBA: I’m not entirely clear on your question. Do I ask my Rav questions on hashkafah, which aren’t halachically related? Absolutely. But he himself will tell me it’s not a psak halachah, it’s just advice. He’s told me many times that while he can tell me what is optimal, every person needs to know where they stand, and act accordingly. If it’s something I’m not looking to improve on, I usually won’t even ask him, so I won’t get an opinion either way. If it’s something said in a shiur/drasha, I’ll usually speak with him afterward about how it impact my personal case. I almost always follow his advice.
Joseph: I read the discussion. But my Rav told me that people should use the pre-nup, and I defer to him in halachic matters.
As was pointed out, R’ Elyashiv’s teshuva does not say the pre-nup invalidates the get, he just points out that there are those who do say that, so therefore l’chatchilah, you shouldn’t use it. That seems to say that b’dieved, even R’ Elyashiv zt”l held it was ok.
My Rav is a student of HaGaon R’ Hershel Schachter, who is definitely big enough to say the pre-nup is fine.
You say they are incorrect about the mezonos issue. That may be your opinion. But don’t you hold that Daas Torah means you should be mevatel your own Daas to that of the Rav?
Did it occur to you that they are more knowledgeable than you are in Halachah, and you should defer to them?
And? What did they tell you?
Joseph: Again, instead of trying to argue the halachos here, contact a Rav who is knowledgeable and supports the pre-nup, and ask your questions! As I mentioned, R’ Teitz in Elizabeth is a big proponent, so why not ask him about it? I’m sure he’s reachable.
Matan1: I read an article which stated that R’ Teitz from Elizabeth won’t be mesader kiddushin without a pre-nup. Not only that, it said that he actually makes an announcement about it at the wedding, before the badekin. He has them sign it at the wedding. He says it’s to show people he is in favor of it, and to encourage others to do it.
Disclaimer: I’ve never seen it in person. I also asked a friend of mine who lives in Elizabeth about it, and he laughed at me – he said R’ Teitz doesn’t like to be mesader kiddushin. His “thing” is to read the kesubah. (I’m sure that he has been the mesader kiddushin when asked, though!)
Joseph, why don’t you contact R’ Osher Weiss, and ask him how he can endorse it? That would give you a far greater insight than posting here. You can also contact R’ Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, a member of the Beis Din of Yerushalayim (as well as a son-in-law of R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l).
Health, I never said you’re Satmar, but the opinions you espouse come from Satmar.
Second, the truth doesn’t bother me at all. As I said before, the shoe fits equally well on both feet. Why does it bother you?
Health: The shoe fits just as well on both feet. You stop with your Satmar lies!
kj chussid: It’s good practice. I know something else that will be burning eventually…
pba: if you think the army is bad for your kids’ ruchniyus, would you have them do Sherut Leumi or some other type of service that is in lieu of military service? I believe serving on Magen David Adom qualifies, would you encourage them to do something like that?
Joseph, yes, I believe it was the Chofetz Chaim. He also used to study all the halachos regarding doing the avodah in the Beis HaMikdash. He said that as a Kohen, he’d be expected to serve in the Beis HaMikdash, so he needed to know how!
I was also told by R’ Yaakov Bender shlita that R’ Nosson Wachtfogel zt”l kept a packed bag for when Mashiach would come. One time, a bochur was practicing blowing shofar in the dormitory. For years, R’ Nosson used to stay in the dormitory during the week, and he was there when the bochur started blowing. The bochur recounted how a few seconds after he blew the shofar, R’ Nosson came running down the stairs, carrying his special bag, asking, “Is it the shofar of Mashiach??? Is he here???”
newbee: While I hear your point, I don’t think it’s a good comparison. You buy a lotto ticket knowing the odds are so slight, but you say, “Hey, it’s only a dollar to play!” With Mashiach, we should have more belief than that!
We should start a Purim Torah thread.
Your premise is flawed. The davening says it’s a mashul. It’s not saying a man is like cheres, it’s saying it’s a similar concept.
Joseph, you say “most poskim”. Yet Avi K just quoted R’ Ovadia Yosef who seemed to say otherwise.
Thank you PAA.
I only saw R’ Aharon in person once, and even then, I didn’t hear a shiur from him. I saw him walking out of a shul in Teaneck, NJ. Someone told me who he was, and I was shocked. So unassuming, without a large escort, wearing a black hat with the brim down. How many Roshei Yeshiva are like that now? His anivus was outstanding. When R’ Amital zt”l asked him to become Rosh Yeshiva of Gush Etzion (as R’ Amital felt that he himself wasn’t worthy of the position), he initially refused. He only agreed on the condition that R’ Amital be co-Rosh Yeshiva with him. R’ Amital agreed to stay as Rosh Yeshiva along with R’ Lichtenstein zt”l.
R’ Yosef Eliyahu Henkin zt”l wrote the following letter:
I was shocked to read in Chomoteinu of Cheshvan 5719 the slanderous notion that we are required to give our lives (limsor nefesh) to frustrate and resist the efforts of the State of Israel in its struggle against those who would rise up against them. This was stated as a p’sak din based on what we learn that Israel is restricted from rebelling against the nations (Ketubot 111a)…
Now all the rabbis who were opposed to Zionism and the establishment of a state took up that position until the time that it was officially founded. Once the state was declared, anyone who plays into the hands of the nations of the world even where there is no imminent danger, is clearly a moseir and rodeif. All the more when there is danger to destruction of life in so doing… Surely, those who recently emigrated must be very weary of the state’s efforts to strip them of their Torah way of life, but to proclaim that anyone who aids the state is a rodeif, well such talk is the severest form of redifa.
Clearly, R’ Henkin felt that after the state of Israel was established, things changed. Not only that, but he even said those who oppose it are considered rodfim!
Again, if you actually do some research, you may actually find the source!
Joseph: Wait, you mean you don’t accept a quote from an anonymous person on the internet? Wow, yet you expect others to accept the stuff you write?
All the things I posted have sources. If you do some research you may even find it yourself!
Here are some things that Rabbonim said/wrote about R’ Kook zt”l:
R’ Isser Zalman Meltzer once said to R’ Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, “We are Gedolim – until we reach the doorknob of R’ Kook!” He also once said that he wished he could daven Neilah with the same kavanah that R’ Kook davened Mincha every day.
R’ Berel Soloveitchik once spoke against Zionism, and was asked, “What about R’ Kook?” He replied, “He is a Gadol!”
R’ Shabsai Rappaport said that he was once by his grandfather, R’ Moshe Feinstein zt”l, when R’ Moshe was writing a teshuva which argued on the Tzitz Eliezer. R’ Rappaport showed R’ Moshe something that R’ Kook had written on the subject, and R’ Moshe said he was not surprised, because R’ Kook “was a gaon of gaonmim!”
R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l said that when he used the term Maran, or Der Rav, it referred to R’ Kook zt”l. He asked R’ Kook to be the sandek at the bris of his son, R’ Shmuel. As R’ Hutner did, R’ Auerbach had a picture of R’ Kook hanging in his sukkah. Someone once published a book about R’ Yitzchak Elchonan Spektor which had some derogatory remarks about R’ Kook. R’ Auerbach assured buying the book until the comments were removed, and met personally with the author to encourage him to change it.
in 1923, at a conference of Rabbonim in Vienna, one Rav made derogatory remarks about R’ Kook. The Chofetz Chaim stood up and said, “You insulted the Mora D’Asra of Eretz Yisrael!” and left the conference. He refused to return. Before he left to return home, many people came to bid him farewell, including the group with the Rav who had made the comments. The Chofetz Chaim refused to speak with him, saying, “I will not say ‘Shalom’ to those who caused dispute with the Rav of Yerushalayim! He is holy and pure, and anyone who insults his kavod will not go unpunished!”
Joseph, it might do you some good to heed the words of the Chofetz Chaim zt”l!
R’ Chaim Kanievsky said recently that the police should be contacted immediately, without getting permission from a Rav first. He said doing so will save other people.
DY: But yet again, the ones who say that regarding Zionism, are the ones provoking the most sinah. Like I said, look at Ramapo, Bloomingburg, and other areas.
DY, most of the world approved of Israel when it was founded. It’s only in the past few years that it’s been condemned over and over by such a large amount of nations.
DY: True. But the point still holds true with Israel. When it was founded, most of the world supported it. It did not cause any new hatred. The Arabs already hated us beforehand. The hatred coming now is pure anti-semitism, not anti-Zionism. Not like what’s happening in Ramapo and Bloominburg. In those places, the Satmar people are claiming it’s anti-semitism, when it’s really anti-Satmar and preservation of the lifestyles of the original residents.
You missed the point. We don’t have to GIVE them a reason. They’ll find a reason no matter what. There’s plenty of anti-Satmar sentiment out there also – look at Ramapo and Bloomingburg. Why are Satmar giving them a reason???
R’ Hershel Shachter shlita quotes HaGaon R’ Soloveitchik zt”l on the Haggadah as follows:
Why do we speak about Arami oved avi? We are supposed to be speaking about Pharaoh and Egypt! What does Lavan have to do with it? R’ Soloveitchik said, it’s to tell us about hatred of Jews. The Egyptians made their excuses as to why they wanted to enslave us, but they were just excuses. We know Esav sonei Yaakov. The reasons are just excuses to justify the hatred, but they are not the cause of the hatred. The cause is the fact that Judaism exists, so they hate us.
According to this, to say that Israel causes global anti-semitism is 100% wrong. It may be the excuse quoted by many, but that’s all it is – an excuse. Global anti-semitism is caused by the fact that we are Jews, and they are not.
That’s so cute. You finally figured it out.
kj chusid: You’re correct. Do you sympathize with them? Is it because you think they deserve it, or are you just blinded by your hatred of other Jews who happen to have a different shittah than you?
R’ Pinchas Teitz zt”l, from Elizabeth, used a banana for karpas. I believe his son, R’ Elazar Teitz, does the same.
Joseph, I don’t know if that’s true or not. Either way, the event at YU was meant to mean those who have the urges, not those who act on them (although it didn’t exclude them.)
There is a mitzvah to live in Eretz Yisrael, whether you like the idea of a Jewish government or not. If you do what’s right, have emunah that Hashem will protect you. Hinei lo yanum v’lo yishan, shomer Yisrael.