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Do you and others derive some pleasure in constantly invoking the notion of a “shidduch crisis” which is not only untrue but only increases the stress on unmarried young men and women who either haven’t yet found their beschert or have chosen to delay kiddushin to pursue graduate study or professional advancement. Just lighten up and stop this constant drumbeat of a “crisis”.
Find a new shul/shtiebel where both the daveners and the davening energizes you not just for Rosh Hashanah but for shabbos and year-round. Perhaps a shul where there is more spontaneious singing, less schnmoozing, where the rav interjects a d’var torah throughout the davening rather one long “sermon” , where the daveners greet you with a simile and an honest sense of care for your well being. All of these and other factors will provide you with more long-term ruchniyus and ahavas hashem than a one-time “pilgrimage” to the epic-center of anti-semitimism in Eastern Europe.
Apushatayid….yup, you slept right through the yomim noraim after which it was announced that the Breslov were going to bring back the remains of Rav Nachman from Uman to Secuacus, missed the big esrog crisis six months ago, and then most importantly, the recent announcement that Chabad would be sending a caravan of 770 mobile mikvahs mounted on the back of flatbed trucks down to Lakewood solve the “Taharah Crisis”.
Breaking news!!! The parade has been rescheduled and relocated from Washington D.C. to Tijuana. All those thousands of state national guard troops that the Trumpkopf sent to patrol the border but have instead been sitting around doing administative tasks for the Border Patrol will particpate in a Parade nex year on the Cinquo de Mayo holiday. They will be marching to the music of mariachi bands rather than the traditional military bands but most importantly, MEXICO will pay for the Trumpkof’s paradei
After reading 100 posts on this subject I come to the conclusion that there is a general sentiment that davening with a minyan is always preferable where circumstances allow but the same caveat applies to many other mitzvos and/or opportunities for hidur mitzvah where more is better than less but less is not itself forbidden. A yid who decides with his family to take a vacation where minyanim are unlikely because they wish to experience the benefits of travel may also make decisions in other areas of their lives which go beyond the norm for a particular mitzvah. I’m not suggesting you offset one with more of another since not all mitzvos are equivalent but in the real world, we do the best we can in terms of balancing competing priorities in our lives.
The photos I saw of the Parklands school sadly make it look like a quasi military fortress but that may be the reality of today’s world if it keeps our schools safe. I know the yeshivos and day schools in our area have tapped this federal program for funds but the demand way exceeded available funds. Ultimately , each yeshiva must do its own threat assessment relative to its physical facilities and do whatever they can afford, federal funds or not.
apushatayid…….you would be amazed how often we have found minyanim forming up spontaneously at Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park (no pun intended) and other national monuments and other major tourist locations where groups of yidden are visiting and “solicit” other yidden to join them in a minyan for mincha. I think the issue here is whether is willing to forego travel to all but the US, EY and a few major cities or on occasion, daven b’yachid to be able to see the Ebeshter’s world. One might ask why would the Ebeshter have created these locations if his yidden were foreclosed from seeing the wonders of his creations?
?However, tzadikim were able to have proper kavanah, whereas us simple folks do not, so losing out on minyan effects our tefilah. That is something one should take into consideration [when planning travel]”
I respectfully suggest that for many of us, its easier to daven with kavanah by ourselves w/o a minyan as compared to the talking, gossipiing, walking in and out, etc. one encounters these days at many minyanim
Given that the vast percentage of frum yidden do not toivel in mkivah every morning before davening, I’m not sure that adding the additional criteria of having a mikvah at the vacation location is relevant.
No equivalent FAA rule in the U.S. for mechanical delays beyond obligation of airline to provide some minimal compensation for meals etc. for delays beyond a specified time. Each airline may have its own rules beyond the Federal minimum standards but those are buried in its tariff sheets which read like legal goblygook. You are supposed to be able ask a ticket agent at the counter to see a copy of the tariffs but lots of luck trying to find any information with a line of other irate passengers waiting to vent their own tsoros to the gate agent after a delay or cancellation i
There is a common recited but totally false narrative that net neutrality means neutral with respect to access to content and/or social media have some obligation to carry all perspectives like the public airwaves were once required by the FCC under the Fairness doctrine prior to elections. Net neutrality only means not throttling down (aka slowing) the SPEED of access via broadband to certain websites to assure that some users and sites don’t “hog” available bandwidth. The FCC eliminated that Obama era rule although Congress is considering restoring it. There are no longer any federal/FCC rules governing how much time (if any) public airwaves must devote to a particular editorial position although hate speech etc. could be a basis to revoke a channel’s license. Cable channels have ZERO oversight of their editorial content as anyone who has tuned in to Fox News or MSNBC during the evening hours will attest. As you may have notice, Fox no longer even bothers to use its “fair and balance” slogan anymore, although some of their daytime newscasters (e.g. Shep Smith) make a pretense of covering both sides of an issue fairly.
Two-2-Tango……the rebbe explicitly addressed the issue of his shalichim locating in areas where there were a lot more challenges for a frum yid than just not having a minyan for davening. How about not having access to kosher food, no yeshiva for the kids, no mikvah, etc. While one obviously doesn’t earn the same z’chus for going trekking in the Himalayas as he would for bringing unaffiliated yidden back to yiddeshkeit, presumably if it was per se assur, the Rebbe would never have sent hundreds of his chassidim to locations where a minyan would be a rarity for most of the year.
YWN is totally free to post news stories the editorial staff believe are of interest to their readership and exclude stories that may be offensive or inconsistent with the role of a frum site. It does not claim to be a “neutral” forum nor are they under any obligation to provide a venue for contrarian perspective. The Mods in the CR operate in accordance with certain editorial guidelines and may (and often do) exclude postings inconsistent with those guidelines. While social media sites may claim to be “politically neutral”, they are totally free to set their own guidelines and enforce them as they see fit. Likewise, if someone wanted to sue YWN or any other website for “skewing its coverage” they can do so but as others have posted, they would face a very high legal hurdle. If the “alt right” wants its own social media site, they can certainly establish one to compete with FB, Twitter, etc.
Is having a minyan to daven with the reason why we read about chashuvah rabbonim going off to exotic locations on vacations and schlepping along a number of their chassidim with them? Its expensive enough just to fly the rav and his family on chartered flights or business class as is sometimes the case but the costs become substantially greater to the Rav’s mosdos to absorb if he must also fly another 7-8 chassidim (since I assume he will take at least one or two gaaboim with him irrespective of the minyan question).
Social media are NOT public utilities and don’t operate with FCC authorization on public airwaves. Fox News has repeatedly banned political ads denigrating the Trumpkopf because their listeners would be offended (although they cite to some weird “advertising standards”. We deregulated the media long ago and thats why Twitter may decide NOT to take down some of the Trumpkopf’s more racist and misogynistic comments while others will refuse to carry the messages. Drudge normally carries some really werid stuff along with some great breaking news items. Alex Jones can start his own social media platform and I’m sure there will be plenty of white supremacists, tin-foil hat types and other fringe elements who will gladly listen. For many of us, we can get our fill of conspiracy theories from the usual trollers here in the CR.
Because airlines are generally deregulated on most elements of their “terms of carriage” (technical jargon for what they can charge, when they must provide compensation etc.) . There are very specific areas where the law or FAA rules dictate compensation such as denied boarding for overbooking, keeping passengers on the tarmac too long, etc. but “mechanical delays” are not included since there is no way to define the term and not wanting to create disincentives for airline employees to flag and fix problems. Indeed, flying with an even minor mechanical issue that has some safety component can result in fines in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Instead, the current philosophy is to let the market regulate on-time performance and delays and the airlines must publish performance data so you can choose a flight based on the livelihood of non-weather delays.
DuvidlBT
And the Trumpkof’s only interest is in how he can benefit his own business interests and those of his rich chevrah. The first study of how the benefits of the corporate tax cut were allocated showed that roughly 46 percent were immediately paid out by companies as special dividends, increased regular dividends or used to buy back stock to increase share prices. Less than 4 percent was allocated as one-time bonuses for employees and wage increases. The rest is still carried as retained earnings. Thus, for every dollar that went to workers, more than 10 dollars went to shareholders. While that is certainly legal and consistent with capitalism, don’t pretend that Trump really cares about the poishete American worker.
The ones that assemble other robots are currently in short supply according to NYT article several weeks ago. The simple ones that do a single task on an assembly line (e..g. drill hole, tighten bolts, arc weld joints, etc) are readily available. Jury is still out on growth market for surgical robots. Lots of hospitals, out-patient centers etc. spent a gazillion dollars installing robotic operating rooms and tried to use that investment to push up pricing on surgical procedures. Insurance companies pushed back and refused to pay until there is sufficient evidence showing incremental cost is warranted in terms of greater success rates, fewer “accidents” during surgery, better long-term survival rates etc. Thus, today, there is considerable “over-capacity” in surgical robotic production capability as new orders have flattened .
The parade is a farce other than stroking the Trumpkopf’s sick ego. There was going to be a Veteran’s day parade in D.C. several days earlier so this will be a slightly expanded version of what happens every year so the Trumkopf can stand by salute and bask in the glow of those who did not crawl away from serving their country because of a bone spur. When asked, each of his 4 grown kids expressed surprise that anyone would have asked them if they considered military service.
Akuperma: The parade is in D.C., not NYC…..the Military never wanted the parade and Trump is doing it over their objections. He originally wanted a huge parade with like the one held every year in Paris (for Bastille Day), and in China and Moscow with Tanks, missile carriers, etc. and tens of thousands of troops. Instead, what he is getting is approximately 6500 uniformed soldiers and veterans (most from units in the D.C. area) with no Tanks or heavy armored vehicles (since the D.C. streets won’t support them and the city is doing its best to obstruct the parade.) The parade will end will a flyover of some jets stationed at Air Base Andrews and Patuxent Naval Air Station and some vintage aircraft. The military is hoping to get by with the least amount of show that will allow the Trumpkopf (the nation’s draft-dodger in chief) to satisfy his ego.
Sadly, there is a shortage of robots. Several recent studies have shown a backlog in deliveries of the robots needed for certain industries since most are manufactured overseas and are now subject to trade import limits. Also, the movement towards a $15/hr minimum wage in pushing fast food establishments to accelerate their use of robots which also are in short supply.
Slominer
I’m sure ANY color is ok…I’m only saying that at the chassanahs I’ve been to, where the bride wore a gown in anything other than white, it was a lighter pastel color. I’ve never seen purple or red for the kallah.
As to “minhag”, I’m using the term somewhat colloquially…its become a custom in both Jewish and non-Jewish weddings for a variety of reasons (no just the “sign of purity” etc.) not clear whether yidden or goyim started it first but I suspect its simply been woven into Western culture without regard to any considerations of halacha. Most kallahs fret about whether the gown is sufficiently tzinuyah, not whether the shade or white or slightly “off-white” satisfies some unrwitten minhag.
To Slominer….
Slow news day and maybe the mishpacha is up in Monticello and you have time on your hands. A kalah can wear ANY color to her chassanah, although the minhag is obviously white (but some could argue that has become derech hagoyim so she could wear any other color, albeit tzanuah, and be OK). I’ve been at several frum weddings where chashuvah rabbonim were mesader kiddushin but where the kalah wore other light pastel colors.
Yittzy:
Its very easy to hire a technical editor to sit by your computer with you all day and proof all your postings so that your will not c’v, waste the time of the ehrliche Coffee Room readers who are truly offended by typos, grammatical errors and wrong syntax. Also, she can help your wife in the kitchen between posts and offer you chizuk when you are offended by something Joseph says.There are many virtual rabbonim available ‘on-line” and will be glad to answer any questions regarding halacha for a modest charge (payable by credit card). And if it is really something important, I’m sure you can call or text your regular rav in Switzerland or Monticello and he will answer you from his vacation villa or bungalow.
Joseph. Thank you for the link. Some of the comments from 7 years ago seem to resonate with some of the the same points as those here…the futility of trying to “rank” gadolim by any objective metric while simultaneously acknowledging there was something unique and likely never to be replicated with those who were able to keep alive and spread the spark of torah -based yiddeshkeit after the shoah.
“It’s not demeaning to our current Gedolim to say THEY”RE NOT AS BIG as the ones from years ago”
I see this comment or equivalent words over and over again on postings in various threads. There are also numerous postings seemingly engaging in Trumpian hyperbole about Gadol A being “bigger than” Gadol B. However, no one ever seems to amplify or clarify such comparisons by clearly stating what metric of “gadlus” they are using and what objective standards form the basis for their conclusion. Obviously this is all subjective and I suspect everyone is working off their own metrics but as has been noted here more than once, there is nothing per se that endows either the tzibur of the alte heim and their rabbonim, askanim or minhagim with inherently greater kedushah than those of today. Its all relative and in that regard, subjective. Its borderline mevazeh talmeidei chachamim to paint with such a broad brush and characterize all of today’s gadolim as inferior to those of pre-War Europe.
The heading for this thread clearly references those gadolim from the alte heim who B’H were able to make it to the U.S. or EY and were the bedrock foundation of the great yeshivos and mosdos we are fortunate enough to have today through their mesiras nefesh. However, there is no need for “comparison” (aka greater than, lesser than etc) of their gadlus. The rabbonim they inspired with their efforts and constitute the leadership of the tzibur today may result in the same comparisons being made the next generation of CR posters (aka yearning for the gadolim of the 2020s and 2030s).
There may be a “moral” obligation for yeshivos to pay their faculty a “living wage” (where that term varies between metropolitan areas} they are ultimately operating in a market environment where supply/demand dictates compensation. If a rebbe cannot earn a parnassah by teaching, he may want to pursue another career or marry a wealthy woman who can support the family. Likewise, we shouldn’t expect our yeshivos to function as a gemach and allow parents to pay substantially less than the actual cost of educating their children. Schools are a business, not a charity and its up to the parents to find supplemental financial assistance if they cannot afford to pay. Otherwise, you are in a downward, unsustainable spiral of schools lacking the funds to hire the best reebaim and morot because they are not recover their costs from all the students, the quality of instruction suffers and the better students leave for schools with better teachers, further worsening the schools’ financial condition.
Border arrests were higher during last year of Obama than first year of Trump.. Numbers are now slightly higher but that includes in part lots of those who are being turned away when s legally seeking asylum but being told to “come back” because there are insufficient resources to “process your request”. Yes, there are some Dems who support increased immigration just as some Repubs want more immigrants to work in their Florida resorts (aka the Trumpkopf)
A yeshiva should charge ALL parents the same tuition which is determined by the allocating the full physical and variable costs of ownership and operating the physical plant, paying all the rebbes, morat , administrative and support staff a living wage. It should be up to the parents to work with various charities to the extent they need financial support. Why is tuition different from rent, food etc. We don’t expect landlords and market owners to price their apartments and cholent based on the income of the leasee or customer. Let schools focus on education and don’t expect them to run a gemach. There are other mosdos who should take on that responsibility.
Dr. E……wouldn’t there still be the issues of “carrying” a 3200 lb vehicle outside of an eruv, if the vehicle independently decided to take a shortcut that went down the wrong street…also, how far are you allowed to travel in such a car on shabbos
I will go back to my original question….there still is too much focus on the dust cover of the book rather than its contents. If wearing clean and well-fitting dark pants, white shirt and kipah allow a bochur to be more comfortable and focus on his lamdus, why is having him “dress up” as if he were living in the alte heim going to enhance the quality and ruchniyus of his shteiging.. Does that mean it would be assur for him to use one of the newer variable height shtenders that go up/down at the press of a button and are made of recycled materials (since those were not found in a beis medrash in the alte heim either)..
How do frum yidden ride on “self driving” (i.e.. computer pre-programmed) Shabbos elevators on shabbos? Why is there any difference if they travel vertically, rather than horizontally, assuming you set aside concerns over t’chum shabbos (which itself may be a fatal flaw of the whole question).
Why do you confuse dress style with kavod hatorah? A yeshiva bochur can be dressed in clean and well-fitting pants and shirt with a kipa and project a considerably more respectful image than some of the guys dressed in rumpled dark suits and smoking etc.
While I’m not sure the Coffee Room was around during the time of the transition from rishonim to the next several millienia of chazal, I’m certain similar nostalgic sentiments were circulated by Slominer’s (aks Joseph’s) ancestors
The doormen at some buildings on the upper west side make good $$ moving cars around on alternate side parking days for people who leave for work early or cannot come home mid-day. Most gaaboim don’t have the time to shuttle cars outside the shul edited
Perhaps because such a large percentage of the frum tzibur have committed THEIR lives to giving musar to the rest of us as to how we should live OUR lives to be zoche for the geulah and z’man moichiach. As others have noted, its NOT as simple as the heilege armchair rabbonim in the CR lecturing women about their lack of tizinius or dozens of sponsored video clips of chashuvah rabbonim and askanim adomishing the tzibur about “talking in shul” or the 114th asiah screaming gevalt about the dangers of the internet and smartphones. Ultimately, it is each of us looking inside our souls as we approach the yamim noraim and finding sustainable ways of improving our own midos across the board and reaching out with ahavas yisroel to help just one other yid in a non-judgemental way to come closer to the Ebeshter. Not all that complicated and more likely than some of the more high visibility and higher amplified strategies noted above.
Edited! How do you ask for ahavas yisroel and degrade others in the same post?
The reasons why a duly designated “law enforcement” officer, not just “police” may seize a vehicle or any other item of personal property are to lengthy to list here in a single posting. The laws vary between federal and state jurisdictions, and even within a single state, some local jurisdictions may have statutes authorizing seizure for reasons ranging from unpaid debt, the property being used in connection with a crime or have some evidentiary “materiality” in connection with a crime. The Federal rules authorizing seizure on among the most aggressive and are the subject of multiple lawsuits and have changed only modestly (as police in some state and local jurisdictions claimed that such property grabs provide a large percentage of their revenues).
I would submit that if the Hatzalah members came upon the yinglach engaged in radio transmissions that were disrupting emergency communications, they should have confiscated the radios on the spot. No court would have found them to have violated any laws. At a minimum, they should have confiscated the radios and given them to the parents with a warning about the ramifications and possible criminal liability. I’ve assumed everyone would know about the risks and FCC rules but maybe not.
More generally, I’m worried about how the growth in certain technologies, whether these cheap radios or drone aircraft, in the hands of kids or irresponsible adults, poses increased threats to public safety and how the laws have lagged behind the growth of such technologies.Ice Melter
What does that have to do with the fact that hundreds of thousand of frum yidden visit Disney World every year and want to find a place to eat with good food and hashgacha. My golf-club also didn’t allow yidden on the course until the late 1960s. Does that mean I should spit on the first tee every time I play?
There are many MO in the Park Heights/Greenspring area including one of my kids and their family. Driving up to them from the Baltimore beltway, it seems there are multiple frum modos including a beautiful Beis Yakov campus etc. While the grandkids attend an MO dayschool, the family davens at a local Chabad shul that is very close to their home where they are welcomed. As others have said, Baltimore seems to be a very tolerant, non-judgmental community
The Kosher Grill on International Drive in Orlando serves really good food, offers lots of healthy low-fat options and salads, and has a good hashgacha with chassideshe shechita. It also has a nice ambience and a good choice for a “nice” dinner with the kids after schlepping around all day in the park.
Are you trolling or simply confused? As a resident anti-Trumpkopf, I can assure you the YWN editorial Staff certainly are not promoting a leftist, Trump hating agenda. I personally would like to see more frequent articles addressing some of the Trumpkopf’s mindless and egotistical actions that seemingly treat the world as some kind of reality show. However, there certainly is no anti-Trump bias reflected in the editorial coverage.
In addition to several excellent Jewish Genealogy services that do excellent online research at surprisingly affordable costs, its also useful to obtain a report from one of the three major DNA testing services that will provide a reasonably accurate profile of the geographic and racial typing of your family line. I’m aware of several litivish friends who discovered some really “un-litvish” DNA types in their family histories.
Some of the Costco stores carry kosher meats from another supplier called Tomer. While I think Solomon’s is glatt, the Tomer products carry a triangle K hashgacha which I don’t think is considered glatt by most frum yidden. I’ve also seen Tomer products at some Wegman’s stores in jewish neighborhoods, so thats usually a sign of good quality. I’ve also heard that some of the schlachthouses are encountering a labor shortage because of difficulties in getting temporary work visas for the Hispanic workers.
I’m sure that you can bring down many interesting inyanim from chazal as to how to organize one’s financial planning but there is no single directive that applies to all circumstances. As to our not “having control over what we earn” that is also clearly a silly concept since in today’s world, there is a direct correlation between education and earnings (although there are exceptions). Borrowing money with no means of repayment is also a foolish idea since there is no greater fool who will lend money to a destitute person with no assets or income. Ultimately one can apply some notion of hashgacha paratis and fall back on the notion that no amount of financial planning makes sense since everything in life is “predetermined” but that means you make no effort to live a rational and healthy lifestyle consistentwith daas torah since in the end, “it doesn’t matter”.
The reality is that a large percentage of divorces in the frum tzibur have nothing to do with “abuse” but simply reflect a greater acceptance of the reality that two people may not be emotionally suited for one another. While there is still a stigma on divorce, its not anything near what it was 10 or 20 years ago. There are frum websites and singles functions that are focused an older crowd. Friends may be aware of others in your situation and be willing to put you in touch. Your local rav/rebitzen and members of the family may also be willing to serve as an intermediary. But as others have noted, you have to be your own “shadchan” and take steps to get out in public and make people aware you are seeking to meet someone. They will not magically show up at your door.
Why do we assume all “moving violations” are a scam and wrongfully issued. While lawyers pride themselves in getting you off with minimal fines and points, consider how often we read here of tragedies resulting from failure to stop for a school bus,, driving in bike lanes, failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk etc. Contrary to popular belief, the traffic laws have a purpose other than raising revenues for the City Treasury.
We are supposed to take care of ourselves and our families. If you are fortunate enough to have inherited considerable wealth or have worked hard and earn a good parnassah than saving for the future is not such a priority. For most of us, however, a rational balance of spending with some put aside and invested for the longer term is a reality unless we want to become a burden to our children or live or beg for tzedakah when we are older.