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CS: From UJM’s perspective, the yiddeshe velt outside his virtual sheteitel is binary in terms of those whose beliefs are either (i) mamash apikorsus or (ii) some variation of modernishe hashkafah (which is nearly as bad but not chayav misah).
Wouldn’t the Bills be a distraction? Plus Buffalo already has an Ungarishe shul and yeshiva.
I find it amusing that one of the most conservative political pundits, Ann Coulter, actually came out yesterday and strongly endorsed Biden’s decision to implement an immediate military withdrawal from Afghanistan while dissing Trump who she said”abandoned” his unequivocal campaign and subsequent promises to withdraw troops. After citing multiple statements and Tweets by Trump she wrote in a NY Times piece: “Thank you, President Biden, for keeping a promise Trump made, but then abandoned when he got to office….Trump REPEATEDLY demanded that we bring our soldiers home, but only President Biden had the XXXXs to do it.” Its bizarre to hear Fox and others twisting themselves into pretzels trying to explain why in his 4 years in office, Trump couldn’t withdraw.
“Please stop referencing your Rebbishe ancestors in an attempt to kasher your modernized hashkafos…”
UJM: Your online musar is always so respectful, non-judgemental and elegantly stated. If I ever need someone to organize and present a shmooze on applicable halacha for “kashering my Rebbishe ancestors”, I’ll be sure to get in touch. In the interim, many of us will continue to rely upon our modernishe hashkafos, as informed by our own family histories and advice from our LORs, with full realization of your psak
It depends what you consider “distractions” for an OOT locatoin. Having good highway access (since its unlikely to be in an area with public transportation), nearby shopping in walking distance so the bochurim could purchases”necessities”, etc. are important positives. Being across the street from a Beis Yakov or public swim club or tennis courts might be considered by some a ‘distraction”.
Its a bit bizarre to see the frequent references here (and some right wing media) based on a “news-release” yesterday by Trump that somehow the Taliban has ended up with $80+ billion in U.S. weaponry as a result of the rushed withdrawal. Apparently the Trumpkopf was using a recent report from the Inspector General for Iran Reconstruction programs that estimated that the TOTAL
funds spent since the 2001 invasion to train, equip, house, feed etc the Afghan military and police was about $82.9 billion although no one really knows the value of the equipment that was seized by the Taliban. Most of those funds were expended prior to 2015. Numbers from a separate 2017 GAO report suggest that weapons and hardware probably accounted for $25 billion over the 20 year period. While thats a still a big number, Trump’s 340 percent exaggeration is about the norm for his “alternative facts” mentality. For the Taliban though, thats still a lot of hardware.An interesting perspective on the issue and the deeply personal choices involved came 35 years ago when Nat Lewin, one of the most outstanding appellate lawyers in the U.S. (and himself a frum yid whose zeida was the Chief rabbi of Rzeszow) argued a case before the Supreme Court on whether the military could prohibit any religious-based head coverings. (For those not familiar, Lewin had an eclectic client roster including, Richard Nixon, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Z’tl, Jodie Foster, John Lennon and Shlomo Rubashkin)
The particular case focused on a frum psychologist working in a military hospital who wanted to wear a yarmulke at work. Lewin argued that that the First Amendment guaranteed Dr. Goldman the free exercise of religion and thus should have been granted an exemption from the Air Force’s dress code. He stressed that the yarmulke was ”a neat, small, personal article of clothing that does not interfere with any military mission.” Lewin’s personal practice at the time was to not always wear a yarmulke in Court but in response to a question, he pulled his kipah out from his pocket and held it up to make his point that it would not interfere with his clients work in the hospital
But the government and several Justices, including then Justice Renquist, expressed concern that an exemption for yarmulkes might defeat the goal of the uniformity which Renquist noted terminology was to help foster discipline and morale and to
make everybody look alike.” Other Justices invoked the multiple religious groups in the U.S. and their respective head wear requirements, some of which were potentially problematic with the military mission.
In response, Lewin said a Sikh turban might be different constitutionally from a yarmulke, ”because it’s larger.” Finally, Justice Stevens pushed back at Lewin and asked whether his client’s religious beliefs might be satisfied by ”wearing a toupee.” Lewin said it would. But when Justice White asked why Dr. Goldman could not just solve the problem and wear a toupee instead of a yarmulke, Lewin remained silent for a moment and then responded with one of the great lines of modern Court History.
”Well, because he’s not bald” at which point the transcript shows extended laughter….
There have been many frum yidden who made personal decisions that wearing a kipah would complicate their workplace relationships, prejudice their clients’ interests, etc while others felt exactly the opposite and insisted on their right to do so without restrictions from their employer, government or private sector. It might have been easier in an earlier generation when just about everyone wore a hat or cap of some sort and a yid doing so was not readily identifiable as a frum yid. Today, it stands out more but the younger generation seems so much more confident in their own expression of their yiddeshkeit.One of the most frequently invoked and familiar themes of our mesorah is that kol yisroel yesh lachem chelek b’Olam Habah. However, as we also know, not all “shares” are equal. Its easy to say that a especially heilege tzadik will have a greater “share” than a poishete yid or that one could easily “lose his/her share” by engaging in evil and failing to do real tshuvah.
Against that framework, one can bring down many statements from chazal that performing a particular mitzvah/chumrah will “guarantee” a person’s chelek and vice versa, a particularly egregious aveirah will result in the permanent loss of that chelek.This type of hyperbole is certainly is not a consensus view nor do the majority of gadolim subscribe to a goiyeshe-styled notion that yidden can “earn our way into Heaven” by performing a prescribed set of mitzvot or overlaying chumrah upon chumrah. We perform the mitzvot because it is our “privilege” and “obligation” and out of a sense of ahavas hashem and not to accrue sufficient “mitzvah credits” like frequent flyer miles to secure our chelek of olam haboh.
Before you enter olam habah, there is a screening committee of malachim that reviews your CR posts as part of a more comprehensive forensic audit by beis din shel maalah of your frumkeit. The final report is forwarded to the Ebeshter who obviously has full discretion to accept, reject or modify the advice of his maalachim. Otherwise, I’d like to believe that those who excel in ahavas torah and are engaged in both serving hashem AND helping those in the tzibur who are less fortunate will be assured of a greater chelek of olam haboh.
With all respect, arrogance and hypocrisy have become fundamental attributes for politicians on both the left and right. I’ll not venture to speculate which party ranks higher on the arrogance/hypocrisy meter on any given day.
Philosopher: Very few Americans who wanted to leave were “stranded”. Most were dual passport holders who have lived in Afghanistan for decades and/or who have extended families that were not eligible for U.S. visas. As to bringing in unvetted refugees, thats simply not true and the vetting continues after they arrive in the U.S. First Trump was criticizing Biden for leaving our Afghani “friends” and “allies” behind and then Steven Miller flipped 180 degrees and started screaming gevalt about bringing over terrorists.
Philosopher: Well said. Clearly it was time to get out of this black hole dug by prior Presidents of both parties, but Biden’s inept handling of the withdrawal will likely drag down the Dems in the 2022 mid-term elections. This was a totally self-inflicted fiasco that speaks to his decades-long objections to these types of wars and fixation on making withdrawal a hallmark of his first year in office. I’m not sure Trump would have done it any better (or at all) but the buck stops with Biden.
Philosopher: Well said. Clearly it was time to get out of this black hole but Biden’s inept handling of the withdrawal will likely drag down the Dems in the 2022 mid-term elections. Totally self-inflicted
fiasco that speaks to his decades-long objections to these types of wars and fixation on making withdrawal a hallmark of his first year in office.“What has any DemonCrat done to help the US?!?
Did they make friends with North Korea, like Trump?”Health: One more really stupid post like this and you will lose your ranking as among the top CR Trollsters.
Most of those here in the CR who condemn MO hashkafah are still able to do so with a degree of intellect and civility. However, as I have followed these posts over nearly a decade, those who do so with a degree of contempt and with an absence of civility are no longer a “fringe” or “random” minority. Likewise, there are too many episodes of both natural disasters and personal tragedy where we immediately read stories about certain rabbonim (echoed by certain posters) linking them to failures in adherence to tzinius, toeavah marriage or other breakdowns in observance of halacha, frequently focused on “conservative/reform” but increasingly sweeping in MO as well.
Yes, it is an emotional issue and hard to be dispassionate when we have some ostensibly adult and cogent posters discussing the “evils” of girls being taught talmud or several other regressions of MO hashkafah that individually or collectively are held up as the rationale for a wide range of problems and tragedies that have befallen klal yisroel. Its become the norm after many tragedies for certain regular suspects to immediately call for teshuvah and blame women’s failure to adhere to hilchos tzinus as a major cause. Obviously my use of the familiar “kinder and kirchen” hyperoble and Taliban analogies are deliberate efforts to make a point and that is the frum tzibur has much to do on its own w/o expending so much energy on the evils of MO and “feminisim”.
“Rabbi willig acknowledges that there is widespread sinfulness in MO on a communal level, why can’t the rest of you??”
Perhaps its because many of us reject the mindless notion that if we stopped educating bnos yisroel and locked them at home to cook and make babies, the geulah would be immediate and most of you (except for those davening in YIs or sending their kids to Ramaz) would heading to EY for z’man moishiach. The apikorsus you project on to the MO tzibur sounds like youwould prefer to impose what we are hearing for the past week or so from the women of Afghanistan who are terrified that their lives are about to revert to the horrors of the Taliban era circa 1980-2001.
Health: If you really believe Trump knew what he was doing on ANY national security issue, I’d really lose much respect for your frequently brilliant trolls. He appointed some competent people who quickly turned on him after they realized the absolute intellectual void he was.
For several years (pre-Covid) we returned to New York for shabbos before RH and went to Selichos at the Park East shul with Chazan Yitzchak Meir Helfgot. You can call it a “concert” but nothing like it to create the mood for the yamim noraim . I would agree that some of the “new age” acoustic concerts have zero nexus with the purpose and themes of Selichos.
Biden’s optics have gone from bad to a churban but the substantive metrics governing most economic and strategic issues of concern have really not materially changed. Markets, income and employment have continued their steady recovery, short term inflationary trends are moderating and as terrible as it sounds, the tragic loss of life yesterday in Kabul is probably less than what we have sustained had he not pulled the troops out quickly (albeit with really inept execution). The Orange Blob can keep issuing press releases on faux “Presidential Stationary” that no one reads and do mock-up press conferences from a make-believe oval office at some Golf Club in New Jersey that no one watches but the nation and the world are better off with he and his chevrah left yelling gevalt at one another on OAN and NewsMax.
“The [YU] Counseling Center will also ensure that its staff includes a clinician with specific LGBTQ+ experience….”
The REITS rabbonim agree that LGBTQ is clearly asur m’dorisah
its the “+” that is the subject of considerable debate
ArivahDeRah: I grew up in a YI whose Rav’s shver was Irving Bunim, ZTL. He had sterling chassideshe yichus including the Noam Elimelech, the Rebbes of Ropschitz, and the B’nai Yisosschor. He was a musmach of Chaim Berlin and served as a gabbai to the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner, ZTL.
That Rav who served his shul for half a century personified the MO ethos in terms of himself being a talmid chacham but also working tirelessly in the political sphere to establish a legal structure in NYS for enforcement of Kashrus law statewide. While doing all this, his endearing personality, brought many families (including my own) closer to Yiddeshkeit. Like many shuls in that era, that YI (once among the largest) suffered a declining membership but through a merger is today experiencing a renaissance with a thriving membership of young torah-observant New Yorkers.As rational so elegantly noted, If you can’t handle the heat stay out of the CR.
We have a hard core group of posters here in the CR whose hatred for yidden whose hashkafah differs from their own is deeply entrenched and are unwilling to focus on the much wider areas of agreement. Their vile disparagement of someone who davens at a YI shul or whose children attend a MO yeshiva somehow makes them feel superior and they virtually cloak themselves here online with the purity of their vision of “true torah judaism”.
Let the haters hate.
Their hatred is like a boomerang which in the long-term will take them down rather than their intended targets.The only gemstone proven to have “healing” properties is a diamond, preferably set in platinum or 18K gold and worn on the finger, wrist, or ears of the recipient. While not a “cure-all”, it has been shown in clinical studies to mitigate or eliminate some of the most serious side effects of acting like a jerk to your wife.
Syag: Nowhere in my post did I reference anything about”frum people going to shul” nor is that the only issue. I referenced a “lockdown” such as imposed previously which applied across the board to concerts, soccer games, and large gatherings of any type, NOT just focused on shuls. I personally plan to daven in person this year (whether outdoors or indoors) given that I have been vaccinated and will be wearing a mask along with all the others (except the baal tefilah). However, we live in an area where fortunately, the level of infection and community spread has been VERY low. Our shul also has the ability to set up for large seating outside with some modest spacing if the weather permits. Given the recent numbers in EY, they may have to consider more extreme measure before things get out of control. Politicians at this point seem to be reluctant to act quickly and decisively in advance of the yom tovim.
As to funding, of course the funds should be released asap. However, my understanding is that the amount of funding that is being debated with the hospital administrators will come nowhere close to expanding the ICU capacity nor are there sufficient trained nursing staff to manage the worse case scenarios. Hopefully, the current 4th wave of the Delta variant will decline quickly, as it seems to have done in the UK, before the yom tovim but if not, it could be a really massive challenge to avoid a much bigger problem than Bennett et al. seem prepared for.
At this point in time, the only options we have are to adopt those protocols and strategies which are proven to have some positive effect on mitigation of transmission and hospitalizations (aka vaccination, masking, social distancing, limiting large gatherings, etc) but sadly there is no silver bullet that will effectively eliminate the virus. As of this AM, EY reported 9,831 new diagnosed cases, nearly equal to the worst daily figure ever recorded —10,000—at the peak of the third wave. More than 300 Israelis have been niftar from Covid in chodesh Elul. On Sunday, the directors of seven public hospitals announced that they could no longer admit any coronavirus patients with nearly 700 COVID patients requiring critical care overflowing their ICUs.
The government seems torn between following the guidance of the public health officials versus the politicians worried that Israelis will rebel against any lockdown over the yamim noraim. This impasse seems like a formula to guarantee full employment for the chevrah kadishahs.Do the Trumpkopf acolytes really believe this stuff about 2020 or is it just a bunch of grifters looking to fundraise off their seemingly endless stream of voting machine conspiracy theory meshugaas. Last night the pillow guy Mike Lindell (aka Nostradumbaxx), coming off his cyber-symposium fiasco moved the goal posts for the fourth or fifth time and predicted that the Supreme Court would remove Biden from office this fall and “reinstate” the Trumpkopf by the “end of 2021”. (He also offered a special discount on his doggie-beds for those contributing to his forensic chavurah). In turn, Trump gave him a shoutout from the bimah calling him a brilliant patriot who was “ready to die for his country”. Its the only show in town that will provide temporary comic diversion from the tragedy evolving from Biden’s misguided Afghanistan withdrawal.
Be very careful since HKB”H does not want you making a bracha lvatalla. Chazal bring down that those who are follically challenged have an easier time learning since there is less vegetation limiting the flow of divrei torah into their heads.
Assuming it is a chiyuv, then gadolei yisroel should repeal Cherem D’Rabbeinu Gershom, and all the ehrliche CR posters could be marbim b’mitzvah.
Just switch over to one of several wonderful cholov yisroel yogurts made in EY. Much healthier than B&J’s 600 calorie/serving offerings.
rational: I’d be the last person to suggest ALL segulot are new age meshugaas but some of those we read about (and advertised with guarantees of success contingent upon a modest donation) see to stretch the bounds of both emunah and rationality.
In virtually all cases, the so-called “expediting services” will be unable to move your applications faster in the Covid era. Instead of the pre-Covid wait time of 6 to 8 weeks to get a passport, I read a story recently that the time is now closer to 3-4 months with nearly a 2 million application backlog. I believe that those with a life-or-death emergency can still contact the passport office and then will need to provide proof of the emergency (aka death certificate or letter from a hospital) along with copies of their airline reservations to initiate an emergency application. Even then, it will take several business days to process and issue, assuming your documentation is legit. I would be very suspect of any “service” claiming they can move you to the front of the line and get you a new or renewed passport faster than you could on your own.
P.S. If you contact your Congressman or Senator’s office they might have some ability to help in a true emergency. Attending your nephew’s chassanah in EY or joining the NaNaNachmanites in Uman for Rosh Hashanah are not considered emergencies.Its funny watching Trump sitting in that little room in his NJ Golf Club behind a desk and backdrop designed to make it look like he is still in the WH and issuing mindless press releases with the Presidential Seal that even Fox ignores. Its hard for him to accept that not even his long-term supporters really care what he has to say although they will still show up for a MAGA Rally as a form of entertainment by the orange blob. Biden’s screwup of the implementation of Trump’s surrender to the Taliban won’t really have much in the way of long-term effects.
Don’t take any advice from someone who tries to rush you into a relationship. Trust your own judgement and rely upon your own instincts. And most importantly, ignore those who promote the big lie (aka the “shidduch crisis”) designed to provide full employment for shadchanim and sell phony segulahs.
Make aliyah so you can lockdown in Eretz Hakodesh.
Chirp, chirp chirp…..
Same fix for most brands of printers…if cleaning heads doesn’t resolve the problem, try removing the black ink cartridge and after re-inserting it, check to see if the printer recognizes it or not. For some brands, if a printer does not recognize the cartridge, then hold the “stop” button for a few seconds and try again. Holding the stop button help to disable the Cartridge and after you start up again, it will sometimes recognize the ink cartridge. Also check to confirm your printer driver software is current.
Six months too late….sadly, the Republicans will squander an opportunity for putting forward one of a number of talented young Republican leaders in the state legislature and instead allow a shvantz like Crazy Rudy Jr. or some other Trump-loving political hack to grab the nomination. The Dems should not take the election for granted since the electorate is really fed up with corruption and abusers in Albany on BOTH sides of the aisle
Jet Blue is generally a great alternative. Its not a true “deep discount” airline anymore and fares are higher than Spirit although a bit lower than major carriers. They have the best wi-fi of any of the airlines .
Again, its all in your flexibility, degree of risk tolerance and what are the secondary consequences of an extended delay. In my current life, I’m fortunate to be able to walk over to another airline counter and buy a ticket to my destination and/or rent a car and drive (assuming these days there is availability of another flight or rental car). I’ll call my Amex Card rep for a refund on the cancelled flight. Many years ago, with kids and fewer resources, and with only a few “discount airlines” that wasn’t an option but neither was being stranded at an airport somewhere over shabbos so we had to weigh the higher fares with the “savings” of a cheap flight. Its all fact dependent and no single answer. However, among the “discount” airlines, Spirit and Ryan air seem to have the most frequent issues (perhaps because they are among the largest and we just hear about it more).
Data can be misleading. Spirit has more frequent catastrophic events with less redundancy than other non-discount airlines. If you are comfortable sitting on an airport floor erev shabbos waiting for the local chabad shaliach to show up with some frozen deli sandwiches, than go for the discount.
I give up….this debate is insanity. Clearly the vaccines work really well, albeit we don’t know exactly how well. C’v some of you will be arguing at the levayahs of your friends and family who are niftar from Covid as to whether they should have been vaccinated or their tragic loss should be quietly accepted as the outcome of hashgacha pratis. I hope all of you ultimately get vaccinated and stay healthy but I won’t be surprised if some continue their mindless anti-vax rants till the very end.
With Spirit, you cannot book a flight on Mitvach and have reasonable confidence you will be home before licht benchen on Freytik. Call U-Haul, rent a mule and pack a few bales of hay and hope for the best.
Rightwriter: Per my post, I agree with your distinction between legal entities who directly participated in the atrocities, and those that were simply facilitators or stood by with their implicit anti-semitic beliefs. The issue I was trying to raise was for the first group of companies, who were directly involved, when (if ever) does the dilution in their upstream ownership, changes in domicile and control reach a point where the “zachor” element becomes moot as a practical matter. Otherwise, I have a very long memory and trying to convey that memory to the next several generations.
As time goes on, it gets more problematic to link certain German-owned companies that had a direct and active role in Shoah-era atrocities with their modern ownership. In many cases, multiple change in control transactions have diluted the original ownership to a point where its really not the same company. In other cases the assets have been purchased and the original legal entity no longer exists. I would not drive a BMW or Mercedes but should I stop turning on the lights or opening the faucets if I live in a city whose electricity/water is supplied by utilities where German companies are the ultimate upstream owner? Should I not purchase an American-made electric vehicle i more than 50 percent of the value is sourced from German battery and motor companies. What about a German company listed as an ADR and the majority of its shareholders are American and other non-German investment funds. Its really an individual choice of where you draw the line and how “pure” you want to be
The “weather” and “operational” problems are not unique to Spirit Airlines. What is unique is their breathtaking incompetence in responding to and fixing those problems, at least in part due to cutting O&M expenses to the bone, maintaining zero redundancy and backup systems, hiring the cheapest talent they can find (well below industry averages) and offering virtually no customer interface when their systems collapse.
“Why take the risk”
Aside from the public health benefits, which you discount, proof of vaccination may soon be a prerequisite to a number of daily activities which may or may not be a concern for you. If you live a fully sheltered life, don’t fly, don’t work for a large Fortune 500 company, don’t eat out, don’t go to a gym, etc. than it probably won’t be an issue. Otherwise, retain a good civil liberties lawyer and enjoy the litigation.Shimon: I’m glad you are vaccinated and agree entirely with your thought process as to why others should also do so. Sorry you had a negative response to the shots but global data indicate such responses are still relatively rare and almost all who have after-effects recover quickly. As more private businesses mandate vaccination, it may soon become a necessity for all who want to travel and participate in the economy. Slowly, the holdouts will be dragged into vaccination, especially after the CDC grants full approval in the next month or so for Pfizer and later for Moderna.
Syag: No one (especially the Chief Rav of the CR) is “cursing” anyone. The OP clearly states he believes he is “safe” w/o the vaccine and by implication, willing to accept the risks and consequences. As noted above, those consequences for anti-vaxers can come very quickly and with tragic finality. If that is an individual’s choice, so be it and let the cards fall where they may. Getting vaccinated, even for those who experienced prior Covid infections, doesn’t guarantee safety but certainly provide some additional level of protection
BDE
August 5, 2021 (Houston, TX) 11:51 AM CDT
Texas Republican leader dies of COVID-19 five days after anti-vaccination post
A Texas Republican leader who was hospitalized with COVID-19 died Wednesday evening, just days after he shared a post on social media questioning the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine. The Republican Party said that Scott Apley, a member of the State Republican Executive Committee. had died.
While the party did not specify the cause of death, his family said he was admitted to a hospital Sunday with “pneumonia-like symptoms and tested positive for COVID.” “God remains in control although this is yet another tough one to swallow,” the organization added.
Apley, had shared a post on Facebook just two days before he was hospitalized that questioned the credibility and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine. Apley had also previously vocalized his opposition to vaccinations and mask mandates, and in May shared a flyer for a mask burning event.