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  • Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    My previous post was supposed to say: Holding signs of Eric Cantor looking like a Nazi.

    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    My Response:

    Number 1: I see anger in Barack Obama, I see anger in those at Washington rallies holding posters of Eric Cantor (the only [orthodox] Jewish Republican in Congress) and I see anger in your post. I see frustration in the Tea Party.

    Number 2: I can bring you much more places in the Torah and the Talmud where they encourage charity. Read – charity, not taxation and spreading of the wealth. The last time I checked, the Republican candidates have given more charity than their Democratic counterparts. The Torah says we shall give charity as a Nedavah, out of concern for the needy – not by force. Chazal clearly state an equal 10% tax and as I’ve stated in a previous post, according to most Rishonim, we are even exempt from paying taxes here in the states according to Dina DMalchusa Dina because of its form.

    in reply to: Hot Plate on Shabbos #703383
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Most Poskim hold that is it Aish. Reb Moshe in general holds that any method of cooking (even a microwave) is Assur.

    in reply to: Does anyone know when the Shiloshim is for Shlomo ben Kayla z"l is #701167
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Shloshim is thirty days of mourning. We don’t mourn as long as we don’t know that he died. Only after burial, which is Stimas Hagolel, do the rules of mourning apply. Therefore, anyone that gets buried on a later date (for many reasons) the Shloshim will end later as well. The only case where the Shloshim ends earlier is when it meets a Regel (holiday). There is another scenario where a Shloshim might not apply at all, when a relative (for example an elderly person) is notified at a later date (of the burial).

    in reply to: Frozen Broccoli and Halacha (insects) #699979
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    My pleasure @ Mod. I Daven every day Lilmod Ulelameid… If I get an opportunity to share some of my knowledge I use it.

    in reply to: Frozen Broccoli and Halacha (insects) #699977
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Let me clarify something that some of you got wrong. Freezing or Blending infested produce won’t change the status of its Issur. If something is Muchzak B’Tolaim (such as Broccoli) nothing can be done besides removing all worms. The rule of Batul doesn’t apply once it is Assur (Ein Mevatlim Issur Lechatchila). The only time blending (or freezing according to some, if the insects disintegrate) helps is if it is Muchzak Naki (accepted as clean). Bodek (and Eden as an extra precaution) relies on this leniency to freeze their products after a thorough cleaning using special methods and machinery. They clean the produce which then (according to them) becomes Muchzak Naki and then freeze it. The extra step is necessary to remove all whole insects that might’ve stayed (as a whole insect is a Berye which doesn’t become Botul) even after cleaning. They then rely on Bittul. Rav Vaye maintains that the cleaning method doesn’t change the status from Muchzak B’Tolaim to Muchzak Naki (as it doesn’t remove all insects) therefore it is prohibited.

    in reply to: Republicans Vs. Democrats #822504
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    WellInformed, he wrote Israel not Jews. Evangelicals believe that Je_us will come only after we are in our land, hence their pro-Israel stance.

    in reply to: Frozen Broccoli and Halacha (insects) #699955
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Rav Vaye Shlit”a, perhaps the most competent Rav in this field, states that Broccoli florets cannot be totally bug-free if it wasn’t grown in a greenhouse under constant supervision. Stems (even fresh) can easily be washed (properly) and used. According to my knowledge, Eden is the only brand that has the greenhouse method. They have many different cuts so you might want to try all of them to see what you like best. I personally refrained from eating broccoli (and cauliflower) for years until Eden came along. We should know that consuming insects is no less than eating pork.

    in reply to: Republicans Vs. Democrats #822501
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Israel aside, the orthodox community has so much more in common with the conservatives. There is almost nothing we agree on with the liberals. Besides morality issues, the Torah view doesn’t support socialism (remember, Tzedaka isn’t tax – it’s charity) and liberalism. There are many Gemarahs that state that tax must be fair and equal (and may be excluded from the Din of Dina Dmalchusa if it isn’t). Liberalism as a whole is against the Torah’s view of life and government. Of course there may be some Democrats that have more conservative views than their Republican counterparts, however that usually isn’t the case. Regarding Israel, evangelical christians are usually more supportive and foreign policy hawks will stand up for justice and won’t just look at who the oppressor is etc. While there may be an exception to the rule, conservatives will generally back Israel while liberals tend to sympathize with the ‘oppressed’ Palestinians. Of course some liberals might say that the liberals show tough love, but you might as well sell the Brooklyn bridge. Please remember that George H. W. Bush and Bob Dole were both liberal republicans.

    in reply to: Is Respect Dead? #699877
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    smile66, The story happened with Reb Akiva Eiger and the Chavos Da’as. They were walking past a bench in a park where two youngsters were sitting. Appalled by the fact that they didn’t stand up, the Chavos Da’as said to Reb Akiva Eiger, this is what the Mishne says: Chutzpa Yasge. Reb Akiva Eiger replied, I think you got it wrong. Chutzpa Yasge will be when scholars will be sitting and the youngsters will express outrage on the fact that they stayed seated…

    in reply to: Andrew Cuomo – or – Carl Paladino? Why? #699564
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Karl Rove asserted the claims I made above in his weekly op-ed today in the WSJ. Democrats and ‘Poisoned’ Politics – Incumbents launch personal attacks to divert attention from the economy’s poor performance (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703735804575535701710358606.html).

    Here’s yet another reason why Paladino will get my vote:

    ”’Like a bat out of tax hell”’

    (Opinion by Patrick McIlheran for the Journal Sentinel)

    They speak a different language in New Jersey, really.

    New Jersey’s governor, Chris Christie, stopped by Waukesha the other day to stump for Wisconsin’s Republican candidate for governor, Scott Walker, and he was explaining the value of being direct when negotiating with political opponents. One cannot, he said, merely tell foes what they want to hear.

    Frank discussion? Straight talk? Yeah, something like that. Said Christie, “If you don’t want to be on the team, you bet I’m going to take a bat out and hit you.”

    Christie talks that way, which is why in 10 months of being governor, he’s become a YouTube star via clips of him confronting hecklers. What has made him a star among conservatives is that he has tamed powerful public-sector unions whose pay and benefits were driving New Jersey’s cost of government far beyond taxpayers’ toleration. He talked big, followed through and won.

    This is cheery news for many places, including Wisconsin, where public-sector pay is above that of the private sector and benefits are far above. For one graspable instance, state law here requires public employees to contribute something toward their retirement; in reality, taxpayers are compelled to cover this for them. This is so absurd that in a Refocus Wisconsin poll in June, 73% of union households said this should change. It’s good to hear someone who might know how.

    We and Jersey reached this pass not because public employees are greedy. They aren’t. They just took the offered deal. Were your boss to say you could get premium-free health, free pension, high pay and ironclad security, of course you’d take it. I would.

    Nor is it because unions are greedy, exactly. Their purpose is to maximize what members get, and they’re doing it. Where they can be faulted is that they’ve become huge players in politics, electing the officials with whom they bargain.

    The main fault lies with those elected officials. They have, over decades, tended to give in, buying themselves peace with taxpayer money. Both Republicans and Democrats have been among the spineless.

    This is why Christie’s been a sensation. Certainly it must be surprising, even in New Jersey, to hear a governor evoking that scene in “The Untouchables.” One hastens to add that there’s no sign Christie ever actually struck anyone with a bat or anything, though fact-checkers may yet dig up some Little League mishap. Presumably, voters know it’s metaphor. His approval ratings are, depending on the poll, either even or, at 57%, rising.

    The really shocking thing is to see an official, especially a Republican, who is forceful in driving a hard bargain with taxpayers’ money rather than caving the moment someone says he’s mean. Christie could do this in part because New Jersey governors are powerful and he has the personality. But those aren’t prerequisites, Christie insists. His success is duplicatable.

    “This is all working through the legislature,” he said, “a Democratic legislature, I might add.” That body approved Christie’s package of 401(k)-style plans, employee contributions, an end to double-dips and other good sense even as unions howled in mass protests. The bat Christie took out was his power of persuasion.

    You persuade, he says, by telling cold truth. His state was going broke. He said so, repeatedly and to all. You can’t have voters look you in the eye, he said, and wonder whether you’re just placating them. They must hear that when government labor is costly, less essential service can be afforded by taxpayers’ finite wallets.

    This must be duplicated, Christie said, because having enough fiscally conservative governors could pressure Washington into reform. He’s touring to support like-minded candidates such as Walker, he says, because if fiscal conservatism ever had moment, it’s now. “It’s put up or shut up time for the Republican Party,” he said.

    It is so for the whole idea that we can govern ourselves at reasonable cost. Unless fiscal conservatives who are willing to push hard on labor costs and spending make it into office, the public sector will ever more resemble a racket existing chiefly for the enrichment of public servants. Self-government cannot withstand that.

    ”’I’d like to see the same bat in Albany – Paladino promised it would.”’

    in reply to: Andrew Cuomo – or – Carl Paladino? Why? #699563
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Thanks @ ICOT. ‘I’ can only try… The rest is up2 Y.W. Editor.

    in reply to: Andrew Cuomo – or – Carl Paladino? Why? #699559
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    This is one of the many reasons I’ll be voting Paladino:

    in reply to: NYC Primaries 9/14/2010 #695850
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    The New York Times and most of NYS LGBT groups endorsed Eric Schneiderman in the Democratic primary for AG.

    The New York Post endorsed David Malpass in the Republican primary for Senate as did Rudy Guiliani.

    in reply to: Help with Biting Nails #706887
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    d a, still have the problem?

    Get a nail scissor right now. Cut your nails extremely short. Repeat every couple of days until habit weans.

    in reply to: Mikvah – showering afterwards #695074
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    As stated above a person has no obligation to go to the Mikva (nowadays) so the Inyan doesn’t apply. Actually according to Kabbalah (Reb Chaim Vital), one should shower after the Mikva.

    in reply to: Burn a Koran Day #695979
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    I believe that burning the Koran is forbidden (Al Pi Torah) due to many reasons.

    in reply to: Shomrim Member Shot – What Are Your Thoughts? #694597
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Just like Hatzolah and Misaskim, which do everything under the auspices of their Rabbanim, Shomrim too should get a Rav to set guidelines Al Pi Torah!

    EDITED

    in reply to: Shomrim Member Shot – What Are Your Thoughts? #694584
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    1.

    They may have the right to be armed (as well as you and me – 2nd amendment) but they shouldn’t carry weapons. Besides that in New York it isn’t that easy to obtain arms, I believe that as an armed patrol force it may be illegal. But, it isn’t a matter of legality, it is a matter of safety. You must go through extensive training to be a cop. Just like you have a weapon, the criminal does and he’ll shoot.

    2,

    Yes. It should be left to the Police dept. Lives should not be placed in danger because of some money. In Halacha, you are not allowed to call police on Shabbos when all it involves is money (only at a Chashash Pikuach Nefesh). They have no business being at every other investigation or car accidents. There’s nothing they can do and should stick to basic patrolling and leaving the rest up to the cops.

    3,

    It is 100% Assur!

    Even in a place of Pikuach Nefesh (a time where everything is permitted except 3 Aveiros) it is Assur. You are not in control of your Guf and you cannot decide to play games.

    4,

    You cannot deny that it was an heroic move (if I jump down the Empire State Building it is heroic as well). However, it was dead wrong!

    in reply to: Custom or very good sheitles for under $1000 #739977
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    I don’t think this forum should be used for advertisement.

    in reply to: Custom or very good sheitles for under $1000 #739974
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    The Yenta, my wife recently got a custom wig (made from European hair) for something like $900 (a short bob). The stylist said that elsewhere it would cost min. $1200. If the moderators permit I can give you the info (via private).

    in reply to: Tznius in front of Non Jews #694620
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Reb Moshe says that a Yirei Shomayim shouldn’t let his wife go to an all-woman beach where the lifeguard is a man.

    in reply to: Tzniyus During Exercise #693891
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Don’t remember the exact M”M off-hand, but the Minchas Yitzchak rules (regarding pants) that exercise is not an excuse to forgo on Tznius.

    in reply to: What will be? #693347
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    There’s no question that Mosdos are struggling and so are parents. However, fundraising is no solution. People feel they pay enough tuition (which is indeed skyrocketing) and don’t want to contribute more. Cashing out on the same generous philanthropist, isn’t a long-term solution either. There is one answer. Government. We pay taxes like everyone else, school tax, we deserve better. If we would all decide tomorrow that we are enrolling into public school, far more money would be needed from their part. We have the schools, buildings and infrastructure ready, we just need that shot-in-the-arm. Let them give us half ($9,000!) of the amount they spend on each public school student and we’ll be fine with it. We need to get together B’Achdus and set guidelines for our candidates. We have a powerful block vote and it should be used. Frum Jews should make it clear, they would only support candidates who support private schools. No bribes and no earmarks will get them votes, money in our pockets will. It is high-time that something should be done and we should get our fair share.

    in reply to: Sheitels in Halacha #692536
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Just a short note: All of you denouncing wigs (in any way) and claiming no Poskim would tell you it’s Muttar. Before we get to the Poskim of today (with some even stating wigs as the most Mehudar), the Shiltei Giborim is someone you should think about before arguing. He was in the same generation as the Beis Yosef and one of the leading Poskim of his times. He is the ‘Rosh Hamatirim’ and he writes that hair (which isn’t connected to skin) is not an Erva. Again, if you want to follow the Be’er Sheva (known as the ‘Rosh Haosrim’) fine, but don’t claim to know better than the Shiltei Giborim (the Rema, Magen Giborim, Magen Avraham, Ba’al HaTanya to name a few).

    in reply to: Sheitels in Halacha #692534
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Missme, The truth is, I planned a daily series. However, as some mentioned above, this forum has gotten out-of-hand somewhat and I think I’ll just compile everything together in one post (you can give it some time).

    ShlomoZalmon:

    1. I know it’s a Mishne, however I see no difference in the way it should be mentioned here. And if you frequent Shut Seforim, you may know that they usually refer to Mishnayos as Gemara.

    2. That is actually a Machlokes Rishonim. Most agree to the definition I posted. However, many (of whom claim hair should always be collected in a pony etc.) define it as you said. I was going to get there (when discussing the Tznius of wigs).

    in reply to: YWN Radio #1095658
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Same here 🙁

    in reply to: Sheitels in Halacha #692509
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    To all of those that posted (whether against ‘natural’ Sheitels etc.) please cite sources or declare that it is your own Torah. NOTE: The title of this thread is ‘Sheitels In Halacha’. I plea that we leave it to Halacha only that is cited in the Poskim. I won’t add my opinion either just write the facts and leave everyone (to ask his Rabbi) and judge on his own.

    in reply to: Sheitels in Halacha #692498
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Missme, how many Sanzor Chassidim do you know that shun wigs? How many descendants of the Chasam Sofer don’t wear wigs? And how many thousands of Satmar Chassidim wear the likes. As we will discuss in upcoming posts, the Osrim forbid anything in the likes of wigs, covered or not, synthethic and human. According to them only kerchiefs are permitted (excluding Shpitzels etc.). And Missme, hang on as we discuss the Osrim you mentioned.

    in reply to: Sheitels in Halacha #692496
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    1)Public street- Hair must be properly covered.

    2)Private alley- Hair must be covered but any covering is enough.

    in reply to: Breach in Tznius: Recent affliction attacking Klal Yisroel #1025953
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    And exactly which newspaper will publish such lists? Hamodia or Yated? 🙂

    I don’t know why you guys are searching for punishments. The Gemara already rules a punishment for offenders and that is ‘Yotzah Blo Kesuba’. This Din applies nowadays as well (without a Beis Din) and can be enforced through our Gedolim (if they want to). I think that with todays divorce rate you can even use it only as a threat. The guidelines are as stated in Gemara (such as elbows uncovered even sometimes, hair in public areas etc.) The grey area however will be, as The Wolf pointed out, stockings (below the knee) and Tefach of hair, which according to some are included in Das Yehudis while some argue. You could say however that it should go according to Minhag Hamakom.

    in reply to: Breach in Tznius: Recent affliction attacking Klal Yisroel #1025884
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Health, as I said, I will IY”H discuss the Sugya of Sheitels (The Matirim and Osrim) in great length. We will see that those who permitted, permitted even skin tops etc. and those who forbade, prohibited even tapered synthetic wigs with an extra covering for that matter. The issue of long and bouncy wigs has nothing to do with the Halachos of Sheitels rather with Tznius (same issue with hair of a Penuah). There is a debate in the Poskim about that too.

    These Halachos are very twisty, detailed and lengthy discussions. I was thinking about posting just a summary but decided against it. I need significant amount of time and it’ll come (under a new post).

    in reply to: Kohanim at Liberty Science Center? #690873
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    d_a, I’m neither a Kohen nor a Rabbi to argue, however My humble opinion is (what I saw in Halacha) that not all cases will make it an Ohel for itself. It has to have a Chalal to render it a Ohel for itself. These Halachos are complicated as such your Rabbi should be consulted. I don’t know if there are any corpses in LSC, I also don’t know how they are cased.

    in reply to: Breach in Tznius: Recent affliction attacking Klal Yisroel #1025838
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Helpful, I think I said it here before but I’ll say it again. The Gemara says that one who teaches his daughter Torah is as if he teaches them Tiflos. The reason for that is, Torah isn’t based on emotions but on Halacha. The reason it carries the name Shulchan Aruch is because it is fully prepared. The Chachamim made the Gedarim as they saw fit and we can’t add on based on feelings and emotions.

    I will IY”H discuss the Halachos of Sheitels one days.

    in reply to: Things to do Bein Hazmanim #691195
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Gavra, I agree with you. Is there really a ‘Bein’ Hazmanim. There is a Chiyuv of ‘Vhigisa Bo Yomam Vlayla’… Well, we’ll give it to those Yeshiva guys. I once thought about it, those Avreichim work more hours daily than your average working-guy. Some start Kollel at 7 in the morning and finish at 11 in the evening (with breaks for meals of course). We all have our vacation days or sick leave, our pillars of the world deserve it too.

    There’s a similar thread, you might wanna check it out: http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/inexpensive-family-vacations

    in reply to: Kohanim at Liberty Science Center? #690868
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Although I am not a Rabbi, I’d like to present you with the fact (in Halacha) about ‘Tumas Nochri B’Ohel’.

    Although the Rambam and Tur originally state that corpses of non-Jews (via Ohel) as well as their graves do not transmit Tumah, they still write that a Kohen should refrain, and so does the Rema rule (YD:372). Some Achronim permit when it is in place of a Mitzvah. You may argue that taking your children (Chinuch?) to ‘Liberty Science Center’ is a Mitzvah…

    in reply to: Help the Saneygor! #690951
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    I met a secular Israeli recently in Manhattan. Realizing that he’s a Jew in a foreign country, I reached out to him (remember Project Inspire!) and struck up a conversation. He told me that he was here with a friend that’s battling cancer. He came to Sloan-Kettering with him to assist him. That fellow, which he became close to in the army, lost his wife to cancer a couple of years ago. I expressed myself on the Achdus of the Jewish nation saying, look a friend coming overseas to assist a fellow friend, like brothers. He told me how flabbergasted he was seeing all those organizations coming to the hospital and servicing the patients and their families. He was heaping praise upon Chai-Lifeline like I never heard before. We both declared with astonishment, Mi Keamcha Yisroel!

    in reply to: Tisha B'Av Forum #965726
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    The Burden of a Long Memory

    Being an observant Jew means being a keeper of Jewish history: the Holocaust, the destruction of the Temples, and Sinai.

    BY: Rabbi Avi Shafran

    The teen-aged cousins, one born and bred on the kibbutz, the other an Orthodox American newcomer to the Holy Land on a short visit before the start of the academic term at his yeshiva, academy of Jewish learning, had first met only days earlier.

    They had been speaking about family, personal experiences, and sundry things their very different lives nevertheless had in common. And then, the observant boy mentioned, entirely en passant, the imminence of the Jewish fast day known as Tisha B’Av, which commemorates the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem.

    “We don’t observe that holiday on the kibbutz,” his cousin pointed out. “The Temple’s destruction just isn’t relevant to our lives here.”

    The American boy hesitated for a long moment before asking, “Do you observe any Jewish day of mourning?”

    “Sure,” came the reply. “Yom HaShoah [Holocaust Memorial Day].”

    Another pause, this one longer. The yeshiva student knew that the national day of Jewish mourning, Tish’a B’Av, on one level encompassed every tragedy in Jewish history, that not only was the first Jewish Holy Temple destroyed on that day (2420 years ago), and the second one (1930 years ago) on the very same day, but that the rebel Jewish forces at Betar were annihilated by the Romans on it as well.

    He knew, too, that the expulsion of Jews from England in 1290, and from France in 1306 and from Spain in 1492 all happened on Tish’a B’Av as well.

    He also knew that what was quite arguably the true genesis of what would culminate in Germany’s “Final Solution,” the First World War, which began on Tish’a B’Av. But somehow it didn’t seem the right time for a history lesson.

    So, instead, he asked his cousin, “Is your commemoration of the Holocaust really important to you?”

    “Absolutely,” came the reply. “The Holocaust underlies our very identity as Israelis and as Jews.”The American weighed the wisdom of actually saying what he wanted so to say. He decided the blood-bond was strong enough to handle it.

    “Will you expect your children to pay its memory the same respect that you do?”

    “Of course.”

    “To feel the same sorrow, to have the same determination that you do?”

    “Of course,” the Israeli replied. “My generation will see to it that our children recognize the importance of the Holocaust, how it defines their identity, how important it must continue to be to all Jews.”

    “And will you expect them, in turn, to transmit the same conviction to their own children–and theirs to theirs?”

    “Absolutely. Forever. To us it is that important.”

    The American swallowed hard, then spoke.

    “Like the first attempts to destroy our people and its faith were to our own ancestors.”

    Nothing else was said for the moment. The two young men walked back to the kibbutz in silence.

    It could well be argued that a large part of what characterizes “Orthodox” Jews is a heightened sense of history. Not only of its vicissitudes and tragedies for our people, but, most importantly, of its seminal Jewish moment, the unequalled event that bequeathed us our mandate to cherish, study and observe the Torah–the revelation of God to His people.

    Whether a Jew, God forbid, willfully rejects the divine origin of the Torah or simply lacks the background to have given the issue much thought, what he denies, or is oblivious to, is an historical fact–the mass-witnessed and painstakingly transmitted event at Sinai that lies at ground-zero of the Jewish people and the Jewish faith.

    All who aspire to the appellation “observant” are, in essence, the keepers of Jewish history, recent and ancient, and are entrusted with the mission of sharing the memory of the Jewish past–both its nadirs and its apogee–with all their fellow Jews.

    Should the Messiah tarry further, God forbid, a day may well come when all testimony of the events of a half-century ago will be indirect, arriving only through books and films, or third-hand accounts.

    The facts, though, of what happened during those years, the horrible details of Jewish Europe’s destruction, will endure, because there will always be Jews determined to hold fast to the entirety of our history, to maintain the memory of what happened a half-century ago.

    And 1940 years ago, and 2597 years ago.

    And 3321 years ago, in the Sinai desert.

    in reply to: Tisha B'Av Forum #965723
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    by Naomi Cohn

    I had a family. Four beautiful children, two boys, two girls. An open home filled with guests all the time. A wonderful relationship with my parents and siblings. A hard working husband. Enough money to pay the bills. Health. My life felt so perfect. So complete.

    Then my world suddenly caved in.

    My once full, happy, satisfying life was empty and sad. The constant yearning inside of me for the familiarity of being complete threatened to turn the most basic daily motions into tears of desperate sadness. Like picking out vegetables at the store or switching a load of laundry. I was overwhelmed with despair. I was forever incomplete. My purpose of life snatched away from me as I sat in my house for eight hours a day waiting for my other three children to come home from camp and school so I could reclaim my role of Mommy that was gone all day long.

    Feeling the Loss

    I no longer struggle to mourn for something that I never loved or held dear.

    * * *

    (Aish.com)

    in reply to: Tisha B'Av Forum #965718
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    The following is the Wikipedia profile of Tisha B’Av:

    Tisha B’Av (Hebrew: ???? ???? or ?? ???, “the Ninth of Av,”) is an annual fast day in Judaism, named for the ninth day (Tisha) of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar. The fast commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple and Second Temple in Jerusalem, which occurred about 656 years apart, but on the same Hebrew calendar date. Accordingly, the day has been called the “saddest day in Jewish history”.

    Tisha B’Av falls in July or August in the Gregorian calendar. When the ninth of Av falls on Saturday, the observance is deferred to Sunday the tenth. While the day recalls general tragedies which have befallen the Jewish people over the ages, the day focuses on commemoration of five events: the destruction of the two ancient Temples in Jerusalem, the sin of the twelve scouts sent by Moses who spoke disparagingly about the Promised Land, the razing of Jerusalem following the siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE, and the failure of Bar Kokhba’s revolt against the Roman Empire.

    The fast lasts about 25 hours, beginning at sunset on the eve of Tisha B’Av and ending at nightfall the next day. In addition to the prohibitions against eating or drinking, observant Jews also observe prohibitions against washing or bathing, applying creams or oils, wearing leather shoes, or having marital relations. In addition, mourning customs similar to those applicable to the shiva period immediately following the death of a close relative are traditionally followed for at least part of the day, including sitting on low stools, refraining from work, and not greeting others.

    The Book of Lamentations is traditionally read, followed by the kinnot, a series of liturgical lamentations. In Sephardic communities, it is also customary to read the Book of Job.

    The fast commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples.

    In connection with the fall of Jerusalem, three other fast-days were established at the same time as the Ninth Day of Av: these were the Tenth of Tevet, when the siege began; the Seventeenth of Tammuz, when the first breach was made in the wall; and the Third of Tishrei, known as the Fast of Gedaliah, the day when Gedaliah was assassinated.

    The three weeks leading up to Tisha B’Av are known as The Three Weeks, while the days leading up to Tisha B’Av are known as The Nine Days.

    Five calamities

    According to the Mishnah (Taanit 4:6), five specific events occurred on the ninth of Av that warrant fasting:

    The twelve spies sent by Moses to observe the land of Canaan returned from their mission. Only two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, brought a positive report, while the others spoke disparagingly about the land. The majority report caused the Children of Israel to cry, panic and despair of ever entering the “Promised Land”. For this, they were punished by God that their generation would not enter the land. Because of the Israelites’ lack of faith, God decreed that for all generations this date would become one of crying and misfortune for their descendants, the Jewish people.

    The First Temple built by King Solomon and the Kingdom of Judah was destroyed by the Babylonians led by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE and the Judeans were sent into the Babylonian exile.

    The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, scattering the people of Judea and commencing the Jewish exile from the Holy Land. According to the Talmud in tractate Ta’anit, the destruction of the Second Temple began on the Ninth of Av and the Temple continued to burn throughout the Tenth of Av.

    The Romans crushed Bar Kokhba’s revolt and destoyed the city of Betar, killing over 100,000 Jews, in 132 CE.

    Following the Roman siege of Jerusalem, Roman commander Turnus Rufus plowed the site of the Temple and the surrounding area, in 133 CE.

    Other calamities

    Over time, Tisha B’Av has come to be a Jewish day of mourning, not only for these pre-Talmudic events, but also for later tragedies. Regardless of the exact dates of these events, for many Jews, Tisha B’Av is the designated day of mourning for them, and these themes are reflected in liturgy composed for this day (see below).

    Other calamities associated with Tisha B’Av:

    The First Crusade was declared by Pope Urban II in 1095, killing 10,000 Jews in its first month and destroying Jewish communities in France and the Rhineland.

    Jews were expelled from England in 1290.

    Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492.

    On Tisha B’Av 1914 (August 1, 1914), World War I broke out, causing unprecedented devastation across Europe and set the stage for World War II and the Holocaust.

    On the eve of Tisha B’Av 1942, the mass deportation began of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, en route to Treblinka.

    The Jewish community center in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 86 and wounding 300 others, in 1994.

    Laws and customs

    Main prohibitions

    Tisha B’Av bears similar stringencies to those of Yom Kippur. In addition to the length of the fast which lasts about 25 hours, beggining at sunset on the eve of Tisha B’Av and ends at nightfall the following day, Tisha B’Av also shares the following five prohibitions:

    No eating or drinking

    No washing or bathing

    No application of creams or oils

    No wearing of leather shoes

    No marital relations

    These restrictions are waived in the case of health issues. For example, those who are seriously ill may eat and drink, in contrast to Yom Kippur, when eating and drinking is allowed only in cases of life-threatening need. (On other fast days almost any medical condition may justify breaking the fast; in practice, since many cases differ, consultation with a rabbi is often necessary.) Ritual washing up to the knuckles is permitted. Washing to cleanse dirt or mud from one’s body is also permitted.

    [edit]Additional customs

    Torah study is forbidden on Tisha B’av (as it is considered an enjoyable activity), except for the study of distressing texts such as the Book of Lamentations, the Book of Job, portions of Jeremiah and chapters of the Talmud that discuss the laws of mourning.

    According to the Rema it is customary to sit on low stools or on the floor, as is done during shiva from the meal immediately before the fast (seudah hamafseket) until noon. The Beit Yosef rules that the custom extends until one prays Mincha (the afternoon prayer). The custom of the Aruch HaShulchan was not to sit in one’s usual seat, but did not require sitting close to the floor.

    If possible, work is avoided during this period. Electric lighting may be turned off or dimmed, and kinot recited by candle-light. Some sleep on the floor or modify their normal sleeping routine, by sleeping without a pillow, for instance. People refrain from greeting each other or sending gifts on this day. Old prayerbooks and Torahs are often buried on this day.

    End of fast

    Although the fast ends at nightfall, it is customary to refrain from eating meat and drinking wine until midday of the following day. According to tradition, the Temple burned all night and most of the day of the tenth of Av.

    When Tisha B’Av begins on Saturday night, the Havdalah ritual at the end of Shabbat is truncated (using a candle but no spices), without a blessing over wine. After Tisha B’Av ends on Sunday evening, another Havdalah ceremony is performed with wine (without candle or spices).

    The laws of Tisha B’Av are recorded in the Shulchan Aruch (Literally “The Set Table”, a code of Jewish Law”) Orach Chayim 552-557.

    Services

    The scroll of Eicha (Lamentations) is read in synagogue during the evening services. In addition, most of the morning is spent chanting or reading Kinnot, most bewailing the loss of the Temples and the subsequent persecutions, but many others referring to post-exile disasters. These later kinnot were composed by various poets (often prominent rabbis) who had either suffered in the events mentioned or relate received reports. Important kinnot were composed by Elazar ha-Kalir and Rabbi Judah ha-Levi. After the Holocaust, kinnot were composed by the German-born Rabbi Shimon Schwab (in 1959, at the request of Rabbi Joseph Breuer) and by Rabbi Solomon Halberstam, leader of the Bobov Hasidim (in 1984). Since Israel’s unilateral disengagement from Gaza, some right wing segments of the Religious Zionist community have begun to recite kinnot to commemorate the expulsion of Jewish settlers from Gush Katif and northern West Bank on the day after Tisha B’Av, in 2005.

    In many Sephardic congregations the Book of Job is read on the morning of Tisha B’Av.

    At the Mincha service, Nachem is recited during the Amidah.

    History of the observance

    In the long period which is reflected in Talmudic literature the observance of the Ninth Day of Av assumed a character of constantly growing sadness and asceticism. By the end of the second century or at the beginning of the third, the celebration of the day had lost much of its gloom. Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi was in favor of abolishing it altogether or, according to another version, of lessening its severity when the fast has been postponed from Saturday to Sunday (Talmud, Tractate Megillah 5b).

    The growing strictness in the observance of mourning customs in connection with the Ninth Day of Av became pronounced in post-Talmudic times, and particularly in the darkest period of Jewish history, from the fifteenth century to the eighteenth.

    Maimonides (twelfth century), in his Mishneh Torah, says that the restrictions as to the eating of meat and the drinking of wine refer only to the last meal before fasting on the Eighth Day of Av, if taken after noon, but before noon anything may be eaten (Hilchoth Ta’anith 5:8). Rabbi Moses of Coucy (thirteenth century) wrote that it is the universal custom to refrain from meat and wine during the whole day preceding the Ninth of Av (Sefer Mitzvoth ha-Gadol, Venice ed., Laws of Tishah B’Av, 249b). Rabbi Joseph Caro (sixteenth century) says some are accustomed to abstain from meat and wine from the beginning of the week in which the Ninth Day of Av falls; and still others abstain throughout the three weeks from the Seventeenth of Tammuz (Shulkhan Arukh, Orach Chayim 551).

    A gradual extension of prohibitions can be traced in the abstention from marrying at this season and in other signs of mourning. So Rabbi Moses of Coucy says that some do not use the tefillin (“phylacteries”) on the Ninth Day of Av, a custom which later was universally observed (it is now postponed until the afternoon). In this manner all customs originally designated as marks of unusual piety finally became the rule for all.

    Contemporary opinions

    (EDITED)

    In Israel, most restaurants and places of entertainment are closed on the eve of Tisha B’Av and the following day. Establishments that break the law are subject to fines. Outside of Israel, the day is not observed by most secular Jews, as opposed to Yom Kippur, in which many secular Jews fast and go to synagogue.

    Other traditions

    Classical Jewish sources maintain that the Jewish Messiah will be born on Tisha B’Av, though many explain this idea metaphorically, as the hope for the Jewish Messiah was born on Tisha B’Av with the destruction of the Temple.

    in reply to: How to get the most out of Tisha Bav? #690295
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    mommyof5, you brought up a great idea. How about hosting a “Tisha B’Av Forum” here in the coffee room to discuss such stories. Here it is: http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/tisha-bav-forum

    in reply to: Zecher LaChurban #966102
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    I believe it’ll have to wait (maybe tomorrow afternoon). However, I’d like to hear from others more about these Halachos, whether you once read something about it (in Seforim etc.) or heard a Shiur or Psak.

    in reply to: Recipes #690282
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Mod, according to Rav Vaye, Bodek too is no good. He claims that broccoli cannot be checked in any way and the frozen procedure doesn’t help. Recently a few companies started to make a special greenhouse production which is universally accepted.

    Note: A greenhouse production also has to have special supervision.

    in reply to: Zecher LaChurban #966101
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Coming tomorrow (if the time allows)- Music, Concerts, Comedy, and Entertainment…

    in reply to: Zecher LaChurban #966100
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    in reply to: Brachos on Pizza #984733
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    He probably meant more than one slice. But one slice (if kneaded with a percent (amount is disputed) of juice, and doesn’t have much vegetables is generally okay (according to many Poskim). Look in Taz (20), Igros Moshe 3;32, and Shevet Halevi 7;25). This Halacha must be learned thoroughly to decide upon.

    in reply to: Brachos on Pizza #984732
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    It is a difficult Halacha in Orach Chaim 168.

    in reply to: Zecher LaChurban #966099
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Wedding Customs:

    More on weddings soon.

    in reply to: Suicide vs. Murder #691983
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    Wolf, precisely because of your questions, I named it interesting. However, it isn’t exactly so. Pain and bereavement are two different things. When parents lose a child, they comfort themselves with the education they gave him/her. The deprive themselves with the care they gave him, and they hear all the Chizuk and good deeds about their child. On the other hand, a person who committed suicide usually doesn’t have this. In addition to their pain, they are usually ashamed and cannot face visitors. They cannot comfort themselves with the notion that they cared enough about the individual and just want to turn the page. Eliminating the Shiva practice makes it easier for them to disguise their suffering and pain.

    Note: Even with the pain of losing a loved one (especially a child), there is still the “Gezeira Al Halev SheTishtakech Min HaBeis” – the pain lessens over time, whereas the consciousness of having a suicide individual in the family stays forever.

    in reply to: Help the Saneygor! #690944
    Dave Hirsch
    Participant

    I would say that there was never this much Torah study ever!

    Whether it is through Yeshivos/Kollelim or Daf Yomi Shiurim, learning Torah was never like it is nowadays. You have Artscroll Shas and Torah Tapes. Various types of Shiurim hotlines and web based teleconferences. Torah software and DVD’s, and even YWN coffee room! It is very hard to find a true Am Ha’aretz today. Almost everyone has a Torah education and enough knowledge to debate on a Sugya.

    You can also add the Chesed out there. Never in history has there been so much Chesed. Just start counting the organizations and you won’t finish. And this is only public Chesed, what about the Tzedaka given in privacy?!

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