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  • in reply to: Quotes #1220957
    mw13
    Participant

    I am thankful for all those difficult people in my life – they have shown me exactly who I do not want to be.

    – Unknown

    in reply to: Quotes #1220956
    mw13
    Participant

    – Thomas Jefferson

    in reply to: OU needed OO #1217587
    mw13
    Participant

    According to Torah, a unanimous vote against or for something does not count. If it’s unanimous, then the trial lacked intellectual honesty because at least one judge would have looked at it from another angle.

    I’m pretty sure that only applies to applying the death penalty to a particular person (which we don’t do today anyways).

    (If every Jew in the world agrees that murder is forbidden, would that make it muttar?)

    in reply to: What will Trumpica look like? #1213355
    mw13
    Participant
    in reply to: Shutting Refugees out of America #1213274
    mw13
    Participant

    seedys:

    +1

    @KolHaolam: JERUSALEM: Trump’s executive order banning people from 7 countries could also apply to tens of thousands of Israelis born in those countries.

    in reply to: Shutting Refugees out of America #1213244
    mw13
    Participant

    FuturePOTUS:

    You place too much emphasis on emotional logic, rather than intellectual facts.

    by Alex Nowrasteh:

    Foreigners from those seven nations have killed zero Americans in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil between 1975 and the end of 2015. Six Iranians, six Sudanese, two Somalis, two Iraqis, and one Yemini have been convicted of attempting or carrying out terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. Zero Libyans or Syrians have been convicted of planning a terrorist attack on U.S. soil during that time period…

    Many other foreigners have been convicted of terrorism-related offenses that did not include planning a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. One list released by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) details 580 terror-related convictions since 9/11…

    Second, only 40 of the 580 convictions (6.9 percent) were for foreigners planning a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Seeking to join a foreign terrorist group overseas, material support for a foreign terrorist, and seeking to commit an act of terror on foreign soil account for 180 of the 580 convictions (31 percent)…

    Third, 92 of the 580 convictions (16 percent) were for U.S. born citizens. No change in immigration law, visa limitations, or more rigorous security checks would have stopped them…

    The measures taken here will have virtually no effect on improving U.S. national security.

    in reply to: ????? ???? ?' ????? ???? ???? ?????? #1211651
    mw13
    Participant

    Great MM, lowerourtuition11210

    in reply to: Driving on Shabbos #1212522
    mw13
    Participant

    LU:

    It’s hard for me to imagine that something the Gemora explicitly says to be incorrect (based on a Passuk, no less) can be used as even a tznif li’hakel in any situation.

    in reply to: YU guys #1211663
    mw13
    Participant

    Does anybody know if YU guys will generally go out with the daughter of a troll?

    in reply to: ????? ???? ?' ????? ???? ???? ?????? #1211648
    mw13
    Participant

    ??? was the equivalent of a carpet bombing – everything was smashed and burned.

    in reply to: Driving on Shabbos #1212514
    mw13
    Participant

    iacisrmma:

    Does a ger/giyores still have a mitzvah of kibbud av vaeim?

    Kibbud Av vi’Eim does not permit chillul Shabbos.

    :????? ? ?”?

    ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ???? ???, ?”? “??? ??? ????? ????? ??? ????? ????? ??? ??” (????? ??, ?) – ????? ?????? ??????

    in reply to: Tznius and kiruv #1211417
    mw13
    Participant

    LB:

    I didn’t feel comfortable dressing untzniusly. I know that for myself, I must dress tzniusly.

    It’s impressive that this is something that at this point you intrinsically feel you should be doing for yourself, not for anybody else.

    That’s ideal. Right now, I am not-ideal.

    IMHO, the important thing is to A) recognize the ideals (check:), and then B) work towards implementing them into one’s day to day life, slowly but surely.

    Eating milchigs while thinking about fleishigs

    Keep climbing!

    mw13
    Participant

    The point may be moot…

    Trump Pauses on Jerusalem Embassy Plans

    By Alexis Simendinger

    RCP Staff

    January 23, 2017

    President Trump is taking a new look at his campaign vow to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, his spokesman said Monday…

    Until Monday, Trump supporters believed the president might take action on the embassy move as early as this week. While the administration remains officially committed to the idea, the timing did not appear imminent.

    in reply to: Driving on Shabbos #1212416
    mw13
    Participant

    zdad:

    Is it also Ok to speak Lashon Harah about people who molest? Abuse, Cheat in business or taxes or other averiahs

    That argument cuts both ways – are you (or the others here) makpid to never criticize or talk about all those whom you just mentioned?

    And BTW, isn’t saying that somebody said LH also LH?

    (That was addressed to everyone here, not just zdad.)

    in reply to: ???? ??? ??? ?? ?????? #1210823
    mw13
    Participant

    ???? ??? ??? ?? ??????

    And he also has a daughter who converted to Judaism 😉

    Nu, let’s hope that in his days a Navi will again come to us and tell us that Hashem says the time has come to leave this land and go up to EY.

    in reply to: Jews in the Trump administration #1210588
    mw13
    Participant

    The fact that Trump has many influential Jews in his administration does not prove that he’s not an anti-Semite.

    However, the fact that he’s not an anti-Semite does prove that he’s not an anti-Semite. (Has anybody caught him saying anything anti-Semitic?)

    That being said:

    Trump is clearly not an anti-Semite. Not only that, but he has clearly denounced all of the various anti-Semites that (quite enthusiastically) support him.

    However, the launching of Trump’s Nationalist-Populist movement has both energized and popularized the “White Nationalism” movement of the “Alt-Right”, which is essentially just a repackaging of the ideology of the KKK and the Nazis. This “White Nationalism” has gone from being a fringe, marginalized movement to being a visible force with an increasing amount of adherents and influence. This is, to put it mildly, not something that we should be excited about…

    http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/chief-anti-semite-of-the-us#post-634866

    in reply to: Driving on Shabbos #1212357
    mw13
    Participant

    if someone publicly violates Halacha, knowingly or unknowingly, shouldn’t there be some public outcry to set things straight so that everyone knows it’s not allowed?

    I don’t think anybody here considers Ivanka Trump the arbitrator of what is or is not Halachicly permissible. So even if she did rely on an eyebrow-raising heter, I’m not convinced that it’s necessary to publicly denounce her actions.

    in reply to: Open Orthodoxy #1210537
    mw13
    Participant

    Avi K, if you don’t believe in Daas Torah at all, why do you care what R’ Lichtenstein has to say?

    in reply to: Vaccination #1212641
    mw13
    Participant
    in reply to: Izhbitza chassidus and open Orthodox #1210006
    mw13
    Participant

    A quick clarification:

    My previous posts were not meant to be bashing the mods in general. The mods are what makes this site different than any other site on the internet where the unfiltered nastiness of the internet is all too easily accessible. And I recognize that the mods are only human, and can’t make all the people happy all the time.

    in reply to: Open Orthodoxy #1210531
    mw13
    Participant

    zdad:

    I do not belive that either Rav Schecter or Rav Lichtenstein ZTL belived in Daas Torah either, and they are certainly gedolim (Or was in Rav Lictensteins case)

    Just out of curiosity, do you believe that there is any reason to listen to the opinions of R’ Schachter or R’ Lictenstein over the opinion of say, any random poster here?

    And if so, why?

    LB:

    I thought even MO Gedolim go off of Daas Torah.

    So much to learn.

    http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/do-mo-believe-in-non-strawman-daas-torah

    in reply to: Open Orthodoxy #1210530
    mw13
    Participant

    Another relevant op-ed on OO:

    Open O’ers and the Siddur

    Goes to show what OO is really up to, and what their vision of so-called Judaism looks like – prioritizing passing fads from the society around us (celebrating MLK Jr Day, anti-Trumpism, etc) over actually observing Halacha (having a mixed-gender Christian group perform in a shul, fasting on Friday, changing the teffilos) and even the cardinal principles of Judaism (the coming of Moshiach, the rebuilding of the Bais HaMikdosh, and even the authenticity and authorship of the Torah itself).

    This is not authentic Judaism.

    in reply to: Izhbitza chassidus and open Orthodox #1209981
    mw13
    Participant

    Mod-XX:

    I’m confused. You bring a post from 7 months ago and a post from last week to show something happening often?

    It’s certainly anecdotal evidence, but I don’t have the time patience or interest in doing a statistical study on what (or who) the mods do or do not criticize. Suffice to say that I do feel there is an appearance of bias here.

    And in both of those examples, it was a comment about the tone of the poster, not the content, politics or religious viewpoint of the post. Which has been my point all along.

    And yet, there are often comments from the left-wing posters that have a tone that is at least as disparaging, and no criticism is leveled.

    If you need any evidence of that, just re-read this thread.

    If somebody criticizes one particular group of people for any nastiness, but does not criticize a second group of people when they do the same thing, I think it’s fair to consider that an appearance of bias despite the fact that no “content, politics or religious viewpoint” has been criticized.

    What you are saying would only make sense if I was reading and modding all posts and always on a device that allowed posting. It is a fair point but due to the reality of the situation you cannot judge by that.

    Which I think has been NCB’s point all along.

    Perhaps. You may be comforted to know I will not be available for in post comments for a period of time so enjoy the quiet. But please understand that the flip side of that is sometimes (not always) just plain deletion.

    in reply to: A posek can tell you who to marry #1210261
    mw13
    Participant

    I have nothing but the greatest respect for R’ Hershel Schachter, but I’m not aware of anywhere in SH”A or any other Halachic writings that would indicate that a Rav has the ability to issue a binding psak Halacha that two particular people *must* get married. This may have been taken out of context, or this may be R’ Hershel Schachter’s personal opinion that goes against the conventionally excepted wisdom of most Poskim.

    Either way, I second LU:

    I think it would be very problematic for anyone to walk away from this thread with the conclusion that a Rabbi can order them to marry someone whom they don’t want to marry.

    in reply to: Izhbitza chassidus and open Orthodox #1209978
    mw13
    Participant

    I’m with NC on this one – I do think that the mods here have recently been quicker to criticize the posts of the right-wing posters than those of the left-wing ones.

    Lakewood Resident Screaming About New Shopping Mall

    Shaking hands with the opposite gender, in Israel

    Although in all fairness, this could be due to the fact that there are more right-wing posters here than left-wing posters.

    Or it could just be because they don’t like us.

    Whatever…

    I’m confused. You bring a post from 7 months ago and a post from last week to show something happening often? And in both of those examples, it was a comment about the tone of the poster, not the content, politics or religious viewpoint of the post. Which has been my point all along.

    in reply to: Making fun of college degrees that won't get you a job #1209474
    mw13
    Participant

    to learn subjects that I’m interested in

    There are several other much cheaper ways to accomplish that, starting with your local public library.

    in reply to: Quotes #1220954
    mw13
    Participant

    LU:

    When you serve Hashem, you are helping the Jews and the entire world.

    +1

    I think there’s a quote from R’ Ahron Kotler to the effect of:

    “Learning Torah (and doing Mitzvos) is doing Chessed with the whole world”

    (totally paraphrasing here).

    in reply to: Open Orthodoxy #1210511
    mw13
    Participant

    LB:

    doing Hashem’s Will instead of making Hashem fit what we want.

    +1

    In order to truly develop a relationship with Hashem, we need to honestly figure out what it is that He truly wants us to do, based on what He has told us and based on the teachings of those who have gotten truly close to Him.

    Projecting our own personal pre-conceived notions/beliefs/feelings (which are often based more on the society around us than on any objective criteria) is not only intellectually dishonest, but also perverts the nature of our relationship – we would then be trying to mold God into our image, instead of trying to mold ourselves into God’s image.

    As you correctly observed, staying true to Hashem and His Torah is what has sustained us through the ages and through all of our travails. All of the various movements that have attempted to edit Judaism to fit their own ideas instead of Hashem’s everlasting and unchanging will have fallen and faded into history. Because it is our connection with Hashem, on Hashem’s terms, that keeps us going.

    in reply to: Izhbitza chassidus and open Orthodox #1209950
    mw13
    Participant

    These conversations about “tolerance” always amuse me. Odds are that if we were talking about MO/DL instead of Chassidim, most people would be saying the exact opposite of what they are saying now.

    Avi K:

    the reason why the majority in Lakewood are no longer learning full-time is that budget cuts forced the yeshivots to give exams and cutoff those who were not up to pa

    Never happened. Don’t know where you’re getting your info on Lakewood from, but I would suggest that you double-check it. (Anyway, it’s not like anybody is living off just a kollel stipend of a couple of hundred bucks.)

    DaMoshe:

    yytz: Rewriting halachah doesn’t always need to be allowing things which were forbidden. It can go the opposite way as well.

    True, but that only applies to passing off a new chumra as halacha. And while that does happen, these things usually understood to be a chumra/minhag/hanhagah tova, wich is not only not problematic but actually admirable. There is no issur against an individual or a community doing anything that is not absolutely mandated by Halacha.

    K-cup:

    I’m assuming that’s the wrong way to understand Rav zadok.

    +1

    Hoping g someone here knows what Rav zadok was actually saying, his writing is difficult and as I’ve tried to go through his seforim on my own.

    Doesn’t look that way 🙁 This place is not exactly known for its depth of understanding of difficult pieces of Chassidic thought.

    in reply to: Tikkun olam #1208281
    mw13
    Participant

    Tikkun Olam, literally “fixing the world”, is a term that originates (as far as I’m aware) in the Gemara’s re-telling of the story about how Hillel created the concept of a pruzbul as a “tikkun olam”, so that people would not violate the prohibitions related to Shivyis. Somehow, I doubt that the “tikkun olam” that Weiss is referring to has anything to do with making sure people don’t sin.

    (And as a side point, I don’t think it’s accurate to refer to Weiss as an MO Rabbi. Although he does try to claim this title, his beliefs are far out of the pale of Orthodoxy, Modern or not.)

    in reply to: Open Orthodoxy #1210308
    mw13
    Participant

    OO has essentially the same outlook as Reform – they don’t really care what the Torah, Chazal and Halacha have to say; they just want to do espouse whatever views are currently “in”, particularly about hot-button issues like same-sex marriage, feminism, humanism, being “green”, and what have you. Now, they often attempt (with little success) to shoehorn these beliefs into words that a respected Rabbi, somewhere, has once said. But by and large, they do not care what the majority opinion of the Poskim and Rabbonim are, nor do they necessarily care what the true intention of the Torah or Chazal are.

    In short, regardless of what label one attaches to them, it seems to be pretty obvious that this movement has absolutely nothing to do with authentic Judaism.

    in reply to: Donald Trump will never be my president #1209020
    mw13
    Participant

    RebYidd23 is making fun of all those who are stomping their feet and pouting they ridiculously declare that Trump is somewhow not their President.

    #Denial

    in reply to: CONTROVERSY IN RAMAPO – LoHud Article Has Community Buzzing #1208251
    mw13
    Participant

    Mammele:

    when it happens in Monsey it’s a travesty, while elsewhere it’s considered an economic boon.

    Of course growth has to be dealt with safely, but to claim we were once a small village and are to remain so forever is unrealistic and shortsighted.

    +1

    papper:

    In many parts of Monsey, real estate values have been stagnant to down for several years.

    Where? I live in Monsey, and as far as I know the home values everywhere are rising. If anything, the homes in down-zoned, construction-prone parts of Monsey are rising the fastest.

    in reply to: The world media are bigoted toward Palestinians #1207818
    mw13
    Participant

    Unsympathetically.

    in reply to: CONTROVERSY IN RAMAPO – LoHud Article Has Community Buzzing #1208235
    mw13
    Participant

    Changing demographics lead to changing neighborhoods. Ramapo is not “breaking” just because it is changing.

    I can’t help but notice that despite all of the fearmongering, the one change that I didn’t see the article mention is how much the home values have risen in Ramapo. Guess it didn’t fit the narrative.

    That being said, zoning laws and fire ordinances must be followed. There was recently a case where a development in Monsey was shut down by Frum Jews, with the support of Rabbonim, suing due to flagrant violations. Developers must learn (or be taught) to play by the rules or face the consequences.

    in reply to: Obama's Legacy #1208049
    mw13
    Participant

    MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, THE FEDERALIST: Obama is absolutely delusional about what his own legacy is. His legacy can be summed up in three words, which is President Donald Trump. Americans did not vote for Donald Trump because they thought Obama’s presidency was a success. They voted for him because they thought it has been a tremendous failure. This farewell tour that he’s going on, saying he hasn’t had any scandals in 8 years when everything from their actual body trails from Benghazi and ATF, lying about the Iran deal, the IRS targeting political enemies. I mean this is just delusional.

    in reply to: Lakewood Resident Screaming About New Shopping Mall #1208547
    mw13
    Participant

    A quick clarification: Ahron Kotler is most certainly *not* the Rosh Yeshiva of BMG, or a member the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. He runs the business side of BMG (quite successfully), and the only yeshiva policies that he decides are the financial ones (hence the title of CEO). He’s a great guy, but he’s he’s a businessman, not a Rabbi – and I think he’d be at least as shocked as anybody else to hear somebody suggest otherwise. (Although perhaps not as shocked as some of the right-wingers of Lakewood, who don’t particularly like him.)

    – From somebody who actually learnt in BMG, just relating the facts on the ground.

    in reply to: Is "Haredism" a Movement? #1207133
    mw13
    Participant

    Avi K:

    I will repeat my post above regarding Rav Kook’s objection to labels

    Wouldn’t that objection also apply to the label “Dati(-Leumi)”?

    sends women to support their families and thus is a re-interpretation of Judaism

    Oh, are the MO/DL makpid on not having women work out of the home, in line with what you appear to believe is the original “interpretation of Judaism”?

    fny:

    The Brisker Rav, Chazon Ish, Reb Aharon Kotler, and Satmar Rav, were all charismatic and influential people who had some significant chiddushim in their mehalchim.

    DY:

    In what way did they differ from their rebbeim?

    +1

    in reply to: Psak of Rav Kook on Chazal vs Scientists #1208767
    mw13
    Participant

    Regarding your sources, until I look them up myself in the original Loshon Hakodesh, I also do not feel that I can rely on them. And even if I were to look them up, I would need to know what the Gedolim of today say. There may be opinions in the Rishonim that we do not hold by, or that aren’t relevant for us, etc.

    +1

    in reply to: Obama's Legacy #1208043
    mw13
    Participant

    Oh, and how could I forget about the disastrous Iran deal, which served only to strengthen the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism which has repeatedly expressed its desire to wipe Israel and the USA off the map?

    in reply to: Video of Throwing Towels #1205964
    mw13
    Participant

    IDK, this seems pretty ridiculous to me…

    Every single thing that was done in past generations does not necessarily need to be copied, much less turned into some sort of religious ritual.

    To quote a similar idea from a somewhat different context:

    running the risk of leaving the mistaken impression (particularly on impressionable young minds) that this is somehow a legitimate practice consistent with Halachic-observant Judaism just because some people have done it at some point in the past.

    The mistakes of the past must be taught very carefully so as not either legitimize those mistakes, or belittle those who have made them. This is a delicate balance

    Photoshopping tznius

    As to whether there was any point in publicizing this video (besides bringing in ad revenue for YWN, of course;), perhaps it should serve as the starting point of a conversation about what practices from the past should or should not be reenacted.

    in reply to: Psak of Rav Kook on Chazal vs Scientists #1208746
    mw13
    Participant
    in reply to: Is "Haredism" a Movement? #1207081
    mw13
    Participant

    Whether one considers “Hareidism” to be a movement or not is very much dependent on how one defines “Hareidism”.

    But I’m curious if any of those who believe “Hareidism” is indeed a “modern phenomenon” can name any of the founders of this new movement, and how their beliefs differed from those of their teachers.

    I agree with myself from 5 months ago.

    in reply to: question about a rabbi #1207430
    mw13
    Participant

    an extreme right wing Rav named Rabbi Feivelson

    Methinks that answering a question posed like that may very well constitute loshon hara, or at least avak loshon hara.

    in reply to: Here is a not so hypothetical question #1204212
    mw13
    Participant

    Yes, they will stop fantasizing about preventing his inauguration and immediately begin fantasizing about impeaching him.

    in reply to: Destruction of Illegal Construction in Israel #1200677
    mw13
    Participant

    takahmamash and Avi K:

    If the settlers do hold by the Medinah so strongly, why do they support protesting/rioting against the destruction of illegal construction?

    in reply to: abuse #1200747
    mw13
    Participant

    IT WAS A MADE-UP STORY! CALM DOWN EVERYONE!

    http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/abuse#post-638037

    +1

    I understand that this is a hot-button issue, but there’s really not much point in getting all worked up about the nitty-gritty of a story that never happened.

    in reply to: What will Trumpica look like? #1213352
    mw13
    Participant

    I opposed Trump in the primaries. Out of 17 Republican candidates he was my 17th choice to win.

    Wow, that’s even more anti-Trump than me – I ranked him 15th, over Rand Paul and Ben Carson.

    Listen, I do think he’s got a lot of solid conservatives in his cabinet – which I will admit came as a pleasant surprise. But he’s also got people who are simply unqualified for things like Senior Adviser, Sec of State, HUD, and oh of course Commander-in-Cheif. He also seems to be taking positions that are against the Conservative ideals in regards to the national debt, social security, same-gender marriage, and America’s position in the world (if you thought Obama’s “lead from behind” retreat from the world was bad, how can you like Trump’s “America First” isolationism?)

    So we’ll just have to wait and see….

    in reply to: What will Trumpica look like? #1213347
    mw13
    Participant

    I have to say, the picks that Trump has been making recently for Cabinet posts all seem almost… normal. With the notable exception of Steve Bannon, these are the type of picks we would expect from any normal, conservative Republican.

    Perhaps Trump will run a normal (semi-)Republican administration after all…

    From S.E. Cupp of the New York Daily News:

    Andrew Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants and likely the next labor secretary, has been openly critical of government intervention in corporate decision-making, from mandating a higher minimum wage to forcing more overtime pay and sick-leave policies.

    in reply to: What will Trumpica look like? #1213346
    mw13
    Participant

    Looks like we may have our first concrete answer to one of the questions in the OP:

    Will he cozy up to Putin?</em<?em>

    http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/who-should-be-secretary-of-state#post-637759

Viewing 50 posts - 201 through 250 (of 1,658 total)