DaMoshe

I can’t speak for others, but I don’t make fun of people for having different beliefs than I do. I sometimes argue when I think someone is doing something wrong (not just a chumrah, actually doing something wrong, such as people davening way after the zman on a regular basis).

What bothers me is when people try to say they’re better because they do things differently – and this thread is a good example! The OP said “someone frummer than you”. Just because you may keep a chumrah that I don’t doesn’t make you more frum than me. You may be more machmir, but that doesn’t mean more frum. We’re different, that’s all. Only Hashem knows who is doing things “better”, because only Hashem knows what’s going on in everyone’s heart.

When my kids see things which are different than the way we do things, we explain to them, “Different people do things differently, and that’s ok. We do things this way, and they do it hat way. They’re both right!”

You said that if a couple focuses on their relationship with Hashem, their relationship should automatically flow from that. I don’t necessarily agree with that, because the way you work on your relationship with Hashem is very different than working on your relationship with your spouse.

Ok, fair enough (although it’s information about myself which I’ve posted here plenty of times before.)

HaKatan: The thread was created to discuss the pronunciation of certain letters, not Zionism. Hijacking a thread to discuss your views (which everyone here already knows) is not the way to go. I’m going to respond once more here, but then stop, as I don’t want the thread to go completely off the original topic.

I understand that there are Rabbonim who were/are against Zionism. However, there are some things to consider. First of all, many of the Rabbonim you quote lived before the establishment of the State of Israel. It’s very possible that their views could have changed once the state was established.

Second, there are also plenty of big Rabbonim who support Israel, and are very strong Zionists. There is clearly a machlokes between Rabbonim here. You should follow your Rabbonim, and I should follow mine. This should be done with respect, not constantly bashing those who have views which differ from yours.

Like I said, I won’t respond anymore in this thread. If you want to discuss it further, please start a new thread instead of hijacking other topics.

HaKatan: I said nothing about defending Zionism in my post. All I did was ask why you are attacking it. I did not try to refute your post, or say anything else about Zionism. You’re the one who brought it into a thread about Hebrew pronunciation, not me. Obsessed much?

So why are you sorry?

I think I saw some from French’s in Shop Rite.

WIY: nobody is claiming otherwise. But the fact remains that many stories are not true, and for some reason, a lot of them seem to involve a wagon driver, cold weather, and a poretz.

HaKatan, why do you feel the need to stick in an attack on Zionism wherever you can?

As for the rest of your post, my brother-in-law told me something he heard from R’ Elazar Meir Teitz (from Elizabeth), who is a big Zionist:

In the JEC schools, they teach Ivrit, but they also differentiate between taf and saf. My brother-in-law was once speaking with R’ Teitz, and he asked him why. R’ Teitz replied, “I know there are many reasons not to use a saf. There are proofs for it. But my father learned about saf, and his father used saf, as did his father. That is the mesorah in our community, so that is what we do!”

Congrats HaKatan, you agree with a Zionist!

I wasn’t taking him seriously. My post was as much a joke as the OP.

I was upset that the bakery near me only had jelly and custard donuts, but no Ribat Chalav donuts.

The items which are “sensitive” to women are not changes, but certain things which aren’t in most siddurim. For example, many Rabbonim hold that a woman should bench gomel when circumstances warrant it (others hold the husband does it for her). Is the text of the bracha and the response the same as for a man? No, it’s not. The new RCA siddur will have the text for a woman. When 3 woman eat a meal together without men, they are allowed to make a zimun. The siddur has the text with lashon nekava for it. It has extra tefillos which some say by hadlakas neiros.

Is there a problem with that?

I’d suggest Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway. They do require a white shirt, but the Hanhala is extremely patient, and they work with every student to bring out their full potential. R’ Bender is second to none!

scroller: I believe we pasken like the Gemara which says a father must teach his son a trade, not like R’ Nehorai.

My wife tried all types of herbal things for it. It didn’t help. We ultimately needed IVF to have our twins.

Infertility can be caused by many things. If you’ve been trying for a while and haven’t been able to get pregnant, go see a fertility specialist. If you want names, I can give them to you, but I’d need to know the general geographic location you’re in.

A very important thing is not to go to a regular OB/GYN for this! Many of them end up doing more harm than good when it comes to infertility.

kneedeep: I wasn’t writing it about mannster, I was writing it about another post – whether all men are pigs or not.

It seems there is always a problem with tznius. Tznius is a changing concept, because a large part of it is based on the norms of society. As the norms change, what is considered to be tzanuah changes also.

BookWorm120: Thank you! Unfortunately, it’s not just a few people. I remember years ago listening to a tape from Rabbi Orlofsky about platonic relationships. He says they can’t work because all men are pigs. People tell the story of the Chofetz Chaim and how he said he was affected by seeing women when he was in his 80s. There were threads here about it. Maybe if you shut yourself away and never have anything to do with the opposite gender, then you won’t know how to handle it when you must have some contact. Thankfully I was not closeted away, and I learned how to deal with women respectfully, and control myself.

oomis: I have a younger brother who’s still single…

I know the 3rd one is from the Marvelous Middos Machine, the Ga’avah Song. I don’t know the first two.

DaasYochid, do you want to give up on my previous one? Or do you want some more time to look?

DaasYochid, I listened to it again, on better speakers, and I will concede this point – I now believe you are correct. To enrich and enliven.

DaasYochid, I listened to it again, in slow motion (where did I get that from?). I stick by what I said before – it sounds like “to enrichen and liven”.

DaasYochid, I just listened to it to see what the words really are. It’s tough to make out, but it sounds like “To enrichen and liven”, not enliven.

bump!

DaasYochid, do you know the last one I posted?

This is the story of the famous Ani Ma’amin tune, which MBD sang on Once Upon a Niggun (I think it was that album).

Although he was centered in Otvoczk, Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar of Modzitz had Chassidim throughout the major towns and cities of Poland. One of these was Reb Azriel David Fastag, who became noted for his exceptional voice throughout Warsaw. Many came to the shul where Reb Azriel David and his brothers, who were also blessed with lovely voices, would daven on the Yamim Noraim [High Holy Days]. Reb Azriel David was the ba’al tefilla [led the prayers], while his brothers accompanied him as a choir. His crisp, clear and moving voice had a profound effect on all who heard him.

He lived simply, supporting himself from a small dry goods [clothing] store, but his happiness and fulfillment came of another source – the world of Negina. His moving tunes made their way to Otvoczk, where his Rebbe, R. Shaul Yedidya Elazar appreciated them immensely. The day a new niggun of R. Azriel David’s came to the Rebbe was like a “Yom Tov” for him. [One of his most memorable compositions is “M’heira Yishama,” a wedding tune.]

Dark clouds began to cover the skies of Europe – the clouds of Nazism. In spite of the terrible decrees, the yellow patch and the ghettoes, most Jews could not fathom what was about to befall them. Only a few “read the map” correctly and managed to escape the clutches of the Nazi occupation to safe havens. One of them was the Modzitzer Rebbe, Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar, whose Chassidim made a tremendous effort to save him. As the Nazis entered Poland, the Chassidim smuggled him out of Poland to Vilna [Lithuania], and from there he made his way across Russia to Shanghai, China, eventually arriving in America in 1941.

Meanwhile in Poland, tens of thousands of Jews were being ‘shipped off’ daily to their death in cattle cars that were part of the railway system. Aroused from their warm beds in Warsaw, husbands were separated from their wives, children from their parents. The elderly were often shot on the spot in front of their loved ones. Then the Jews were gathered and sent off in these trains to a place where their existence would no longer trouble those dregs of humanity known as the Nazis – to Auschwitz, Treblinka, Majdanek, etc. What did it look like in one of those cattle cars of the “death train”?

What could one expect to find other than people in their death throes – gasping, sighing and crying? One could hear the stifled cries of children, crushed together and trampled upon by the spiked boots of the evil, cruel Nazis.

However, in one such car, it seemed like a “tone” of life managed to emerge from these crushed people. What – people on their way to the slaughter, singing??? Is this not some cruel Nazi joke? Let us look a bit closer…

An elderly Jew, wrapped up in his ragged clothing, his face white as snow, makes his way over to his neighbor on the death train, begging him to remind him of the niggun the Modzitzer Rebbe sang on Yom Kippur for the Avoda, to “Ma’areh Kohen.”

“Now – now – all you want to know about is niggunim?” answered the other, with a hard look at the Chassid, thinking that maybe all the suffering had caused him to lose his mind.

But this Modzitzer Chassid, Reb Azriel David Fastag, was no longer paying attention to his friend, or to anyone else on the train. In his mind, he was at the Amud HaTefilla [prayer stand] next to the Modzitzer Rebbe, and it is he who was the baal tefilla before all the Chassidim.

Suddenly, before his eyes, the words of the twelfth [of thirteen] Principle of Jewish Faith appeared: “Ani Ma’amin b’Emuna Sheleima, b’vias HaMoshiach; v’af al pi she’yismamaya, im kol zeh, achakeh lo b’chol yom she’yavo – I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Moshiach; and even though he may tarry, nevertheless, I wait each day for his coming.” Closing his eyes, he meditated on these words and thought, “Just now, when everything seems lost, is a Jew’s faith put to the test.”

It was not long before he began to hum a quiet tune to these words. Amidst the heavy atmosphere of death and despair on the train, Reb Azriel David’s dveykus [attachment to Hashem] took him above it all.

“How can one of us be singing at such a time?” wondered his fellow Jews on the train. And with such a sweet voice! It must be, that from Heaven they are accompanying us, in mourning, to our death… But listen, what is it that they are singing? You’re about to be slaughtered, shot, poisoned or burnt and what are they singing? — I believe!!!”

The Modzitzer Chassid was completely above it all, a pillar of song, bringing out of his bloodied lungs the song of his life — the song of the eternity of the Jewish People. He was unaware of the silence in the cattle car, and of the hundreds of ears listening attentively in amazement. He also didn’t hear the voices as they gradually joined his song, at first quietly, but soon – growing louder and louder! Meanwhile, he made sure to write out the notes of the newly composed song…

The moving tune, with its holy words, had penetrated the hearts of the Jews on the train, and had joined to the pure emuna [faith] in their hearts, which burst out from them in the form of this great song. The song spread from car to car. Every mouth that could draw a breath from those congested cattle cars, filled with live “corpses” and pungent with the odor of people crowded together, joined in a piece of “Ani Ma’amin – I believe.” It became a wonderful, amazing symphony unto itself.

An elderly Jew, close to his death, asked for an explanation. His neighbor screamed to him, “We’re singing the Jewish People lives – chai – lives! You too, sing with us – the Jewish People lives, Ani Ma’amin!” Closing his eyes, the elderly Jew clenched his fists and sang with his remaining strength – “the Jewish People is alive, I believe that Moshiach Tzidkeinu [the Righteous] will come quickly,” and expired.

As the train neared the death camp, the railway workers wondered: from where is this amazing song coming? Could the Jews be singing their own burial service tune?

As if waking from a dream, Reb Azriel David opened his eyes to the sight of the singing train. His eyes were red from crying; his cheeks, wet with tears. Deeply moved, he yelled to whomever would listen, “My dear brothers! This niggun is the song of the Jewish soul. It is a song of pure faith, for which thousands of years of exile and troubles cannot overcome!”

Then, in a choked voice, he continued, “I will give my portion in Olam Haba [the World to Come] to whomever can take these notes of my song ‘Ani Ma’amin’ to the Modzitzer Rebbe!”

A hushed silence descended upon the train. Reb Azriel David lifted himself up by the ends of his thumbs, searching through the crowd that surrounded him. Two young men appeared, promising to bring the notes to the Modzitzer Rebbe, at any cost. One of them climbed upon the other, and in the small crack of the train’s roof that only he knew of, made a hole from which to escape. Poking his head out under the open sky, he said, “I see the blue Heavens above us, the stars are twinkling and the moon, with a fatherly face, is looking at me.”

“And what do you hear?” asked his companion.

Turning white, the young man answered, “I hear the Ministering Angels singing the Ani Ma’amin tune, and it’s ascending to the seven firmaments of Heaven…”

Bidding farewell to their brothers and sisters on the train, the two proceeded to jump off, one after the other. One was killed instantly from the fall, while the other survived, taking the notes of the song with him. He eventually found his way to Eretz Yisrael [perhaps to the Rebbe’s son, the Imrei Aish, who was in Tel-Aviv], and the notes were sent by mail to Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar in New York.

Upon receiving the notes and having the “Ani Ma’amin” niggun sung, the Rebbe said, “When they sang ‘Ani Ma’amin’ on the death train, the pillars of the world were shaking. Hashem said, ‘Can it be that My Torah is a fraud? No! But whenever the Jews will sing ‘Ani Ma’amin’, I will remember the six million victims and have mercy on the rest of My People.'”

It is told that on the first Yom Kippur that the Rebbe sang the “Ani Ma’amin,” there were thousands of Jews in the shul. The entire Kahal [congregation] burst into tears, which fell like water into the pool of tears and blood of the Jewish Nation. The tune soon spread throughout Klal Yisrael [world Jewry].

“With this niggun,” said Rebbe Shaul Yedidya Elazar, “the Jewish People went to the gas chambers. And with this niggun, the Jews will march to greet Moshiach.”

I buy candy to give out to children in my neighborhood. If R’ Pam zt”l could do it, so can I. My non-Jewish neighbors are very nice to me. They’ve helped me out on Shabbos, like when my Shabbos clock didn’t work correctly during the summer and my AC was off, with 8 gusts coming over for lunch. My neighbor turned it on for me. Once when I was sick, coming off a surgery, and a neighbor saw me getting into my car to go pick up my medication from the pharmacy, he told me, “You just had surgery! You can’t go! I’ll pick it up for you!” And so he did.

If R’ Pam saw nothing wrong with giving out candy, I can do something for the children of my neighbors, to make them happy. My kids know that we don’t celebrate it, but we’re still nice, decent neighbors, who can give out candy to those who do celebrate it.

One of the most amazing people for hachnasas orchim in Brooklyn is my former menahel from high school, Rabbi Trenk. He lives a few blocks from there – I believe he’s on East 9th.

I’d rather not post his contact info here, but you should be able to find out about him. His hachnasas orchim is unparalleled!