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  • in reply to: Mixed Seating #876780
    mw13
    Participant

    gavra_at_work – “”seeing as once a boy and girl have each others name and phone number, they are free to continue their relationship anywhere and anyway they chose.”

    Same idea with dates from shaddchanim.”

    Again, the difference being that only singles seriously intrested in getting married are going to a shadchan in the fist place, while anybody can be a wedding for any reason at all.

    aposhitermaidel – I have seen my Rosh Hayeshivah attend mixed simchos as well. I do not think there is any halachic issue, only that it is asking for trouble (especially if you actually encourage boys and girls to meet, as some on this thread suggested).

    in reply to: Is It Tzniyus For Boys To Wear Shorts #885271
    mw13
    Participant

    About the official issue at hand: I was always under the impression that the only tzniyus for men (besides nakedness) was that they should not reveal more than what is normal in that place (minhag hamakom). In that case, in more yeshivish places it would be a problem to wear shorts, while in more modern places it would be OK.

    Sacrilege – “My problem with people making things into “strong chumros” so much so that the lay man (or kids) cant defrentiate them between a chumra and halacha is thats where I believe the Kids-At-Risk comes into play. I’m not trying to get off of this very important topic of shorts or anything.”

    I honestly don’t think that many people go off the derech due to the abundance of chumrahs that other people have. I believe the primary cause of the rejection of yiddishkeit CH”V is when a youngster feels forced into going through the motions of Judaism without connecting to the meaning behind it. In other words, I don’t think it matters how many chumros you keep, I think the issue is if you force observance down your child’s (or student’s) throat or if you show them the beauty of yiddishkeit.

    Sean Ben Noach – Since the commonly accepted practice is for frum women to wear wigs, I do not think it is considered chukas hagoyim since people do not look at it as a goyish thing. Even those who do not allow wigs do so on tzniyus concerns, not chukas hagoyim. Also, in general we say it is more of problem to actively do something (wear shorts) than it is to not do something (look like your not covering your hair). (Not that I’m saying there is a problem of chukas hagoyim wearing shorts, only that there is even less of a chashash of an issur by shaitels.)

    in reply to: Bas Mitzvah Ceremonies – Rav Moshe's psak #692757
    mw13
    Participant

    Josh31 – “According to some there is only one life cycle event that a woman is allowed to be the center of attention:

    The Levayah (funeral)” “Reb Moshe was trying to end both Bar and Bat Mitzvas, he was not trying to “write” the Kallah out of the wedding like some right wingers in this coffee room are. “

    Funny, I don’t recall seeing any comments saying these things. Would you mind pointing them out?

    Going back a little bit:

    SJSinNYC – “Its not about becoming boys – I think boys would not want to be girls and girls would not want to be boys if they really understood what it meant to each of them.

    It about making a statement to girls that their coming of age isn’t significant when you throw a big bash for the boys that is not connected to the mitzvah. Their coming of age is just as significant as boys, but they have different obligations.

    If you are going to throw a large party for a boy, especially when its not relating to the mitzvah you ARE sending the message to her that she is less significant. “

    As you pointed out in the first paragraph of your comment, boys and girls are very different. Therefore, we cannot and should not try to make them believe that they are the same. Boys usually have to get up earlier in the morning then girls do, come home later, and have less vacation time. Does this “send them the message” that they are being treated unfairly, and that the girls have an easier life? Perhaps. But if we teach our children (as we should) that boys and girls are different, and that each one has their unique benefits, we would be much more successful than if we try to undo every “message” that each difference sends.

    in reply to: Mixed Seating #876772
    mw13
    Participant

    I keep seeing the argument that more good than bad will come out of having mixed seating in chasunahs because it it an “controlled environment”. I don’t think that this makes a difference, seeing as once a boy and girl have each others name and phone number, they are free to continue their relationship anywhere and anyway they chose.

    I also have seen mixed chasunahs compared to kosher “singles events”. However, I think the key factor that makes these events kosher is that all the singles there are seriously interested in getting married, while the singles at a chasunah can be there for any reason (and the mixed seating would just be another reason for not so serious singles to come).

    in reply to: Wife has an issue… #685448
    mw13
    Participant

    I would either write or call anonymously and threaten to contact the store owner if the problem is not fixed, fast. Then I would contact my LOR as to whether or not I can carry out this threat.

    in reply to: Your Feedback: New YWN Website #992809
    mw13
    Participant

    “I just wanted to ask if anyone else is having this issue- that the entire

    site does not load on Mozilla Firefox. I can get onto the site but all I can see is a few words on the left hand side and that is it. No articles or any other info and it def does not look anything like the updated site. Is there a reason for this?

    Thanks a million for a great site!!”

    I am using Morzilla Firefox, with no technological problems.

    However, I do have a few issues with the new design:

    1) Why are there no comment counts under the stories in the main page? I can’t imagine that would be too hard to put in, seeing as its there when you click the “All News” link.

    2) The font is too small. Seriously, it makes it alot harder to read.

    3) There are very few stories ion the front page. You might want to put 7-10 stories in each section, not just 5.

    in reply to: Greatest JEW of the Decade Award #712238
    mw13
    Participant

    A600KiloBear: I like your candidates, especially R’ Yakkov Horowitz. But I would like to add a few more:

    R’ Noach Weinberg ZT”L, for his work on stopping the “silent holocaust” of assimilation by bringing kiruv into the focus of mainstream judaism. Although he has passed on, his work continues through his organization Aish HaTorah, and through grassroots organizations like Project Inspire (the people who brought you kiruv.com and the brand new seeyouonshabbos.com).

    Rabbi Doctor Abraham J. Twerski, for his work on bringing all sorts of sensitive and vital problems (and solutions) to the forefront of mainstream judiasim.

    Rabbi B. Shafier, for providing applicable mussar shmuzim to the jews of today, available for free (audio/video, stream/download) at theshmuz.com.

    in reply to: Ban Against Texting #662136
    mw13
    Participant

    jphone – Not sure what you mean.

    in reply to: Modern Orthodox Judaism #663599
    mw13
    Participant

    SJSinNYC – Of course “if you follow the Torah (as paskened by your rav), you are an observant Jew”. Not a question. My posts are simply in response to PY’s posts that seem to be saying that MO is “better” than the chardei world because some of the more radical chardeim are in violation of the halacha. My response was to point out that the more radical MO people tend to also violate halachos, if not the same ones. I did not mean to imply that either one is “better” than the other in any way. I was just presenting the flip side of the coin, to bring out exactly your point.

    in reply to: Ban Against Texting #662133
    mw13
    Participant

    joseph – You’re missing my point. Those of us who disagree with Rav Shcorr are not arguing against daas torh – we simply have different rabbonim

    in reply to: Modern Orthodox Judaism #663596
    mw13
    Participant

    PY – It’s very easy to bash. But you are avoiding my question: do you claim that the modern world is any better than the chardei one?

    First of all, where the chardei world has bein adam l’chavaro problems, the modern world mirrors in bein adam l’makom. If “the pinnacle of generations of Chareidi thought” are the mobs in meah sharim, why isn’t “the pinnacle of generations of modern thought” the millions of people who observe torah u’mitzvos either only when convenient, or not all?! Or maybe the crowning accomplishment of modern judaisim should be the theory that the Torah that Hashem gave us “isn’t for today”?!

    Second, the very statements you make seem to be lacking in the much-vaunted ahvas yisroel. “The only difference between the radicals and the mainstream chareidim is the use of physical violence.” “The Chareidi world needs to realize that they have ignited these “crazies” with their constant bad-mouthing of Medinas Yisroel and all its symbols.” Your posts seem to indicate that where the chardei is “rife with anti-zionist views and propaganda”, the modern world has “anti-chardei views and propaganda”. Why should their alleged negative views and badmouthing of the zionists be any worse than yours of them?

    in reply to: Modern Orthodox Judaism #663578
    mw13
    Participant

    PY – You are identifying the entire charaedi world by its most extreme radicals. All societies have dregs, from the begging of time. Look at the arev rav – did that mean that the entire society dor hamidbur was fundamentally wrong?! Yes, the charaedi world has its crazies. Do you claim that the modern world doesn’t?!

    in reply to: Ban Against Texting #662116
    mw13
    Participant

    Joseph – There are many, many rabbonim who would argue on this.

    feivel – Good point, but that doesn’t take away from the actual issue.

    bein_hasdorim & havesomeseichel – Couldn’t agree more. Texting in a Bais Medrash is an incredible lack of kavod Bais Medrash and should be banned. However, banning texting altogether is a) not necessary (texting is not inherently any more evil then voice-only) and b) impossible. If a teenager wants to be able to text, they can buy their own phone any day. Better to allow moderate, monitored texting.

    Jothar – This isn’t Israel, and what works in Israel will not necessarily work here. Sheltering is the accepted method of chinuch in Israel, but in America thats just not possible.

    in reply to: Lycra long sleeve shirts #645862
    mw13
    Participant

    oomis, maybe the clothes are tighter this time around.

    in reply to: Good Forwards (Emails) #1059264
    mw13
    Participant

    mepal: keep ’em coming!

    in reply to: Chilul Hashem #643093
    mw13
    Participant

    Real Joseph: that would explain your sudden change of attitude.

    Mods, can some one please block the fake Joseph?

    in reply to: Spiritual Low – How to get out of it? #642102
    mw13
    Participant

    Go to http://www.theshmuz.com. There you can download/stream 188 inspiring, 45 minute long shiurim on various topics. Tust me, they’re amazing.

    in reply to: Obama Win is Good! #642559
    mw13
    Participant

    sammyjoe, that’s ridiculous. Getting a bonus is not stealing.

    in reply to: Obama Win is Good! #642554
    mw13
    Participant

    “its about time we show those bigshots a lesson that the people are not ignorant about all the money they stole all these years with their outrageous bounses”

    sammyjoe, please explain how getting a bonus is stealing.

    in reply to: Science and Astronomy in the Torah #672455
    mw13
    Participant

    proud tatty, if Joseph really was a mod, why would he have posted your comments?

    in reply to: Let’s Work Together On 1 Middah #665675
    mw13
    Participant

    “moish: “i know i’m not really part of this thread”

    well, you are now! 🙂

    seriously speaking, the first step of growth is knowing where you are. Sit down, and be honest with yourself: how well am I doing? Do I learn/daven/talk/etc like I should? What am I doing wrong, what am I doing right? What do I need to work on? If you’re not honest with yourself, and you don’t know where you’re holding, how can you possibly change yourself? “

    “…you’re talking to the wrong guy…”

    Ok, reading my post now, I realize that I made it sound like the whole post was just to moish. I only meant the first part for moish, and the second part (starting with seriously) was to everybody. I’ll try being clearer on this from now on.

    in reply to: Good Forwards (Emails) #1059157
    mw13
    Participant

    Here SHE is, The USS New York, made from the World Trade Center !

    USS New York

    It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center.

    It is the fifth in a new class of warship – designed for missions that

    include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of

    360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by

    helicopters and assault craft.

    Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in

    Amite, LA to cast the ship’s bow section.

    When it was poured into the molds on Sept 9, 2003, “those big rough

    steelworkers treated it with total reverence,” recalled Navy Capt.

    Kevin Wensing, who was there.

    “It was a spiritual moment for everybody there.”

    Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade

    center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the “hair

    on my neck stood up. It had a big meaning to it for all of us,” he

    said.

    “They knocked us down. They can’t keep us down. We’re going to be back.”

    The ship’s motto? “Never Forget”

    Please keep this going so everyone can see what we are made of in this country.

    in reply to: Let’s Work Together On 1 Middah #665663
    mw13
    Participant

    moish: “i know i’m not really part of this thread”

    well, you are now! 🙂

    seriously speaking, the first step of growth is knowing where you are. Sit down, and be honest with yourself: how well am I doing? Do I learn/daven/talk/etc like I should? What am I doing wrong, what am I doing right? What do I need to work on? If you’re not honest with yourself, and you don’t know where you’re holding, how can you possibly change yourself?

    in reply to: Let’s Work Together On 1 Middah #665645
    mw13
    Participant

    ames, then no one will vote.

    and what was that first post about?

    in reply to: Let’s Work Together On 1 Middah #665644
    mw13
    Participant

    ames, i think we need to start picking middos that people can talk about. which is why i think that next week should be dedicated to picking more middos to put on the list that we pick from each week. remember, we stated with 8 things, now we’re down to just 3. how about we try to add at least 7 more things to the list?

    in reply to: Let’s Work Together On 1 Middah #665642
    mw13
    Participant

    Alright, looks like it’s 4/5, showing appreciation for small kindnesses

    / thanking Hashem. Should we make that thanking Hashem for small kindnesses?

    And seeing as there will only be 3 things on the list as of next week, anyone have any ideas to add to it?

    in reply to: It’s Witless W’s Fault! #642893
    mw13
    Participant

    sammyjoe: I happen to think Bush was a great president, but even if you disagree, how does all this insulting him help anything?

    in reply to: Let’s Work Together On 1 Middah #665640
    mw13
    Participant

    an open book,is that 1 or 4?

    ames, I agree with an open book, 4 and 5 should be combined. and some time soon, we’re going to have to add to the list.

    That said I vote for… #5!

    in reply to: Let’s Work Together On 1 Middah #665634
    mw13
    Participant

    so what are we doing next week?

    in reply to: Coca-Cola Classic and Yiddishkeit #640777
    mw13
    Participant

    For some reason my web browser shuts down every time I click on Feif Un’s link. Could somebody please copy and paste the article?

    in reply to: Mazel Tov Moish!!! #640954
    mw13
    Participant

    “If you intend moish, if you wake up not intending to go back to sleep as soon as you come out of the bathroom, you say modeh ani.”

    Sorry about that. What I meant to post is “moish, if you wake up not intending to go back to sleep as soon as you come out of the bathroom, you say modeh ani.”

    in reply to: Mazel Tov Moish!!! #640953
    mw13
    Participant

    moish, just try to change what you can, without changing your lifestyle. Modeh ani, not ripping letters / carrying your phone on shabbos, etc. And how about trying to make brochos? These things shouldn’t change your style or get in between you and your friends, and they’re fairly easy to do. Just try to start doing one little mitzvah every week or so, and you’ll be surprised how natural those things will become.

    And if friends can drag you down, friends can also lift you up. Try to befriend someone(s) who will help you, not hurt you. I’m not saying you should only hang out with guys wearing white shirts and black pants, just try to spend some time with people who do keep the mitzvos. They don’t have to be your only friends, but at least some of your friends should be shomer torah u’mitzvos.

    in reply to: Mazel Tov Moish!!! #640951
    mw13
    Participant

    If you intend moish, if you wake up not intending to go back to sleep as soon as you come out of the bathroom, you say modeh ani.

    in reply to: Let’s Work Together On 1 Middah #665627
    mw13
    Participant

    fine by me

    in reply to: Mazel Tov Moish!!! #640941
    mw13
    Participant

    I think your only supposed to say it when you wake up for the day, not after every nap. But no guarantees.

    in reply to: Let’s Work Together On 1 Middah #665621
    mw13
    Participant

    Speaking of Rachel Imanui, I heard a great pishat on when Rachel asks Leah for some of the Dooduhim (fertility flowers) that Reuven brought her, she said something along the lines of (couldn’t find it in the chumash) “You already took my husband, will you now take my dooduhim?!” The obvious question is, Yakkov really only wanted to marry Rachel, but Rachel gave Leah the simanim so Leah shouldn’t be embarrassed. So why did Leah accuse Rachel of stealing her husband, when it’s really the other way around? I heard a great pishat, forgot ffrom who, that Rachel somehow gave Leah the simanim, without telling her that Yakkov really wanted to marry Rachel, not Leah! So Yakkov married Leah before Rachel, so to Leah it seemed that Rachel had stolen her husband! Now, when Leah accused Rachel of stealing her husband, can you imagine how Rachel felt?! She had given her husband, literally from under the chupah, to her sister so she wouldn’t be embarrassed, and now she’s being accused of stealing him from Leah! Yet she held her tongue. Is it now any wonder that it is Rachel’s Tifilos that will bring mashiach?

    in reply to: Mazel Tov Moish!!! #640937
    mw13
    Participant

    “sure i could leave my phone home on shabbos. but that’s not a big deal so i don’t see why it would make any difference.”

    It makes a big difference, because you’re showing you care. You may not be able to stop doing everything, but doing what you can will help you eventually get where you want to be.

    And moish, stop being so hard on yourself. So you didn’t have the best weekend ever. Bimakom shebalai teshuva omdim, ain tzaddikim gumurim omdim – if you fall, you can get up stronger than you were before. Just focus on the things you’re doing right, no matter how small you think they might be. Hashem judges every act and person according to their situation, and you never know how much one “little” mitzvah can help you.

    in reply to: Let’s Work Together On 1 Middah #665606
    mw13
    Participant

    i vote #4!

    in reply to: #1052279
    mw13
    Participant

    “We agree that Yinglish/Yeshivish has a chashivus and should be utilized rather than pure English.”

    No, we don’t. Why should they?

    in reply to: Daven With A Hat BeYichidus or Without it with a Minyan #1082178
    mw13
    Participant

    moish, i’m pretty sure it’s better to know it, because as you said, you get schar for just feeling guilty.

    in reply to: An Eitza Against The Yetzer Harah. #639834
    mw13
    Participant

    oomis, of course the world that Hashem created is wonderful, and of course you should enjoy it. But remember, one second of Gan Eden is more pleasure than all the pleasures of this world, and CH”V one second is of Gehonim is more painful than all the pains of this world. So of course you should appreciate this world (which will help you appreciate it’s creator), but keep in mind that this world is just the path leading to the world to come.

    in reply to: #1052247
    mw13
    Participant

    joseph, as moish asked, if you despise all zionists, do you CH”V despise Rav Kook?! You can disagree with people without despising them. Zionists are not inherently evil.

    in reply to: Let’s Work Together On 1 Middah #665596
    mw13
    Participant

    anyone have any ideas for the middah of this week?

    in reply to: Jeans #665000
    mw13
    Participant

    “If He wanted us to do the chumras, THEY would have been the halacha m’Sinai.”

    Oomis, according to that logic, why didn’t Hashem just give us the shulchan aruch? Are we not supposed to listen to the torah shel bal peh?! He gave the rabbonim the right to interpret the torah however they see fit. If a they say something, it is the halacha.

    “The problem comes in when the ikur is made tofel and vice versa. But there is nothing wrong with someone being machmir l’shem shomayim.

    I agree 100%. Another problem is when people dont understand what the halacha vs the chumra is and preach it as halacha, followed by saying that those who dont follow are not following halacha. And, if you are accepting a chumra on yourself, you may want to check with a Rabbi to make sure the chumra you want to keep doesnt somehow conflict with a differnet mitzvah. “

    kiruvwife and SJSinNYC, I’m with you there. If someone wants to except a chumra on themselves, good for them, but they must make sure it’s muttar, and they must not look down on those who aren’t machmar like them.

    in reply to: Let’s Work Together On 1 Middah #665594
    mw13
    Participant

    no problem

    in reply to: Smoking vs. Bochurim on the Internet #638953
    mw13
    Participant

    torahtziva, the first cigarette might might not kill you, but you never know which one might. And remember, every last person who died from lung cancer once smoked his first cigarette, probaly with the exact same attitude as you.

    “plenty of guys talk. people only hear what they want to.”

    Tell you what: you say whatever you want right here, and if the mods approve it, we’ll listen.

    in reply to: Daven With A Hat BeYichidus or Without it with a Minyan #1082134
    mw13
    Participant

    moish, what have you been doing for the whole week?

    in reply to: Let’s Work Together On 1 Middah #665591
    mw13
    Participant

    This is a copy of an article by Rabbi Yaakov Salomon posted on aish.com:

    It’s a blazing night in August. You grab a PowerAde and sneak in a serene midnight repose on the porch swing. The faintest tinge of a breeze wafts at your sweltering brow. It is a few minutes before midnight.

    Suddenly, a bluster of blinding light douses the darkened sky. The breeze is abruptly transformed into a ferocious gust that lifts you inches off your seat. Fear abounds, but strangely, it is accompanied by a remarkable tranquility that confuses and calms you at the same time.

    In a flash you find yourself in a scene from a sci-fi movie as a spacecraft, the size of two football fields, lands before you. A short ladder descends and a creature of sorts makes his way out of the vessel and walks towards you. You are too dazed to move.

    “I am Kriz from the planet Magxac,” he says. “I come in peace, just to explore your land. Can you show me around?”

    He invites you into his Trans-orbitor and instructs you to push a button and choose any location on Earth in any time period.

    “It is a combination of your GPS/Time machine/Super-sonic jet. It can take you anywhere in just seconds. Try it,” he cajoles.

    After taking a few minutes to allow the shock to wear off, you decide to show off some of Earth’s wonders. You set the dial for 1476 BCE and you are whisked off to the shores of the Red Sea. Three million Jews are waiting in angst as Egyptian chariots rumble in the distance.

    “Watch this,” you whisper to the alien.

    The mighty waters part and the dry path is quickly filled by ecstatic Jews.

    Kriz is not impressed.

    “Big deal,” he says. “Happens every day on Magxac.”

    Undaunted, you set the dial ahead a few months and together witness manna descending from the heavens in the desert. Same ho-hum reaction.

    Frustrated and disappointed, you head back to the present and emerge from the craft with your newfound friend. It is 7 A.M.

    “Whoa! What is that?!?!” cries Kriz, pointing to the sky.

    “What is what?” you reply innocently.

    “THAT! That giant orange orb that is blinding me!”

    “You mean the sun? Haven’t you ever seen the sun?”

    “On Magxac, it is always dark. This sun of yours looks awfully close. How far away is it?”

    “Actually, it is 93 million miles away.”

    “Incredible! I can’t even look at it!”

    * * *

    Do we ever stop to realize that the existence of the sun or its perfect placement is truly miraculous? Had the sun been 92 million miles away we would probably burn to death; 94 million miles away and we would freeze.

    Frequency is blinding. We don’t appreciate things as miraculous because we are inured by the limitations of our vision.

    The only reason we don’t immediately think of the sun as a miracle is because it is always there — rising and setting and shining exactly the way we expect it to. But frequency is blinding. The sun, like so many things in life, is genuinely miraculous. We don’t appreciate things as miraculous because we are inured by the forces of habit and the limitations of our vision.

    In Ethics of Our Fathers, our Sages teach that ten miracles occurred in the Temple. No sacrificial meat ever became putrid, no fly was ever seen (for hundreds of years) in the butchering stations, the rains never extinguished the pyre on the Altar plus seven others. The laws of Nature were transcended in the Temple.

    But there is something strange about this list of ten. Each miracle mentioned relates something that did NOT happen. Our customary dictionary definition of what is a miracle is quite different:

    1. An amazing or wonderful occurrence

    2. A marvelous event manifesting a supernatural act of God

    But what about things that don’t happen? Can they also be considered miraculous?

    Example: Of all the hundreds, if not thousands, of blessings that Jews recite, there is only one that mentions “God’s Heavenly Throne.” That, believe it or not, is the blessing that we say several times a day after exiting from the bathroom:

    Blessed are You, HaShem, Our God, King of the universe, Who created the human with wisdom and created within him many openings and many cavities, exposed and known before Your Throne of Glory, that if one of them were to be ruptured or one of them were to be blocked it would be impossible to survive and to stand before You for even one hour. Blessed are You, HaShem, The physician of all flesh who acts wondrously.

    Essentially we are marveling at the wonder of how the many openings and cavities in our bodies are NOT blocked or ruptured — allowing us to function and exist. What does NOT happen is miraculous, and we must see it as such.

    Similarly, when we sit in a doctor’s waiting room and fill out forms describing our medical history, we should count every ‘check’ in the ‘no’ box as a miracle of something that did not happen — and there are hundreds of them.

    Americans are loathe to speak about it (bad karma?), but who would have predicted in 2001, after 9/11, that no major terror attack would take place on US soil in seven years? Is that not miraculous?

    And what about our precious little children? Any mother will tell you that it is inexplicable that toddlers don’t choke on things every single day — marbles, popcorn, pennies, watch batteries — while crawling around the house. Stairwells are too often left unblocked, yet these tiny treasures seem to live with a special protection from Above.

    Safe sky travel is considered a given. While we all deplore the ever-growing incidence of departure and arrival delays, we forget how astounding the safety statistics are. Get this. The total number of flights scheduled to operate worldwide this month is 2.55 million. 307,000,000 seats will be offered to travelers around the globe! Only a tiny percentage of those passengers will experience a mishap of any kind. Incredible.

    MIRACLES IN ISRAEL

    No one doubts that the establishment of the State of Israel, after Hitler’s decimation of European Jewry, was an open miracle. Scattered around the world, hated everywhere they lived, persecuted in the north and the south, the east and the west, Jews survived and even thrived. But sometimes we forget that every day that Israel doesn’t implode — surrounded by its sworn enemies, many times its’ size — is a miracle we should never take for granted.

    And most astonishingly is the following framework for something we have all become intuitively aware.Do we realize the magnitude of the miracle we recently experienced in Gaza?

    The world is now far too well acquainted with the fright and terror experienced by the Jews who live within striking distance of our enemies in Gaza. The panic and hysteria that occurs when a siren goes off and a missile is imminent has been depicted in a frightening film on this website and has been viewed over a million times.

    As painful as each and every casualty is, thank God, the losses have been comparatively minimal. But do we realize the magnitude of the miracle before our eyes?

    Harold Gans is a mathematical consultant and international lecturer throughout North America, Israel, Australia and South Africa. He was a Senior Cryptologic Mathematician with the National Security Agency, United States Department of Defense until his retirement after 28 years of service. He recently reported the following:

    On Jan. 5, 2009, Ehud Barak, Defense Minister of Israel, announced that 125 Grad-Katyusha missiles had fallen on populated areas of Beersheva, Ashkelon and Ashdod. This is 40% of the missiles fired; the remaining 60% fell in open areas. Of the 40% that hit populated areas of these cities, 2% hit buildings. I obtained satellite photos of Beersheva, Ashkelon and Ashdod. My analysis indicated that the average percentage of the ground covered by buildings in these three cities is 39.7%. This takes into account the different sizes of these cities.

    Now, the expected rate of rockets hitting buildings should be the same as the percentage of the ground covered by buildings: 39.7%. Yet it is only 2%. The odds of this happening by chance are 100,000,000,000,000,000: 1.

    Note that this has nothing to do with the bad aim of these missiles; we are only counting the 40% that actually did fall in populated areas of these cities.

    God has given us a universe that is saturated with wonder and amazement. When we tune in to the marvels that surround us we can feel His presence and experience unparalleled joy. But there’s a whole class of miracles that is easy to miss — the “non-events” of life. In some ways, they can be even more providential than the obvious ones.

    Just ask Kriz.

    in reply to: Smoking vs. Bochurim on the Internet #638940
    mw13
    Participant

    torahtziva, which part of “ushmartem mioed es nafshosaychem” don’t you understand?

    flatbush27, of course not everyone gets addicted. But some do, and some of them die.

    in reply to: Everyday things… #636293
    mw13
    Participant

    moish, all joseph was trying to say was that physical stuff isn’t the main point.

    that said, I can’t imagine how people ever survived without coffee. what’d they do, sleep at night?!

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