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Dear Coffee,
One chooses to believe whatever. It does not prevent them from reading fiction and understanding it as fiction. If you understand fiction as non-fiction and non-fiction as fiction, than your belief systems are not working properly. Media should be read as media. Ideally, one with a strong foundation of truth is able to read all lines of media and get the same picture. It is not hard to pick out the narrative from any attempts at controlling said narrative. If someone only reads one type of media, it points to their inability to pick the details from the ideas. And that person is likely being played by the very standard s/he claims to oppose.
Science is the same thing. If one can only agree with the few scientists on a given topic, That most likely points to a deficiency in knowing how to read the sciences. For example, the difference between the subjects and the systems. Science always shakes up our beliefs of scientific concepts. It never touches our sense of purpose etc.
Your statement that the media gets paid to report or not report a certain way, is completely absurd. The marketing aspect of media is around since before you were born. And independent journalism was never threatened by it until the modern day. You could thank your super media conglomerates for changing that. You live in a bizarre world, if nation altering realities are being held from the public on the basis of a few Benjamins. And facts today are easily verifiable without the mainstream media.
Publishing is for the masses. A publisher has to sell a lot of copies to make the profit worthwhile. Even seforim that eventually sell, are pushed away in favor of best sellers.
edited
Dear Square,
The idea is to get your mind used to understanding the context off of the actual words and letters. Usually we think of understanding in terms of sentences and paragraphs. Once your mind is looking out for the words to deliver meaning, it becomes easier to retain them. Reviewing many times before thinking everything through, is a mechanical way of reaching the same mindset.
In your opinion, what is the better option?
Dear RBZS,
I apologize for not replying sooner. Your posts do not show right away. [I don’t know if it is the site. Or my use of it. Either way it is weird.] I say your last post before yom tov. But I only say the other two today.
The Chassam Sofer is taking about a tzaddik that the people rely on. It specifically refers to a known leader that people are welcomed to partake of the tzadik’s assistance. See there for a discussion about Nadav and Avihu’s lack of involvement with the common people. There is no mention of the term korbonos. And it has no bearing on the passing of young people who were anonymous to us.
Your newer source is interesting, thanks for sharing it. Note how it compares the passing of the tzadik to yom kippur, not korbonos. I would like to read the whole piece, as it leaves me very puzzled. What lis lifting the Jews up to that level?
Still waiting on my question:
If Trump is so convinced he won, why won’t he pay for any recounts or audits?Dear Always,
Still no shaychus. He the Trump Administration would have been up front and honest about the virus, they could have gotten to work and controlled it to a great extent. Instead, they avoided taking responsibility, reassured nobody, got no real information, and give billions to corporate interests. Brad Parscale tried to explain it to the President that the election will depend on the pandemic, not the stock market. Trump could not believe him. And so he is unemployed again.
Yeah. Possible. Agreed. I thought this topic is about blaming gas supply on the President.
Dear Reb Eliezer,
That is not correct. The Ramban is saying something else. That a real tzaddik does not get ‘sick’. So if s/he is not sick, why is the doctor there? Meaning, That if a doctor is recommended, than the patient is not a complete tzaddik.
Dear Sam,
It does not matter one bit what the doctor thinks. Let the patient who is sick think about their predicament. And let the doctor focus on healing.
Dear Lost,
I would learn Torah with Chomsky if he was interested. Are you insinuating that Torah is less than Jewish patriotism?
Dear Always,
Assimilation was almost nil in the Arab lands, middle ages Ashkenaz, Czarist Russia, and other places for the same reason. There was nothing to gain. Not marriage, income, status, or meaning of life.
The Zionists were split in three groups. One was dedicated to the land – namely agriculture. They would have to meet like minded Arabs. Not likely. Two: were just looking for a better life. He they were not very opposed to assimilation they would have went to America. Three: were deeply attached to Jewish ideas. That would have needed to come upon an official platform as to why intermarriage is beneficial to Jews. As was widely done in industrialized Europe.
When I think about it, touched by modernity is relative. The people who were not, would have thought themselves as modern as they needed to be.
Dear Coffee,
How different is this shortage than a hurricane related one? But we might get a real shortage this summer.
Dear Always,
No Shaychus. You are taking about vaccines a year later.
Dear Always,
You have to set a bar somewhere, before you can accuse people of stealing. There is a lot of use of public funds that I (assume I would not use. But how do I know what I would do if I was in their circumstances? Or better question, what would I do if I had their they of public funds? Digression: in your opinion what is the Torah’s view of government money?) when I set myself on a different track on purpose? How do you feel about millionaires lining up for the public to cover their business expenses? Or the uber rich thinking that every time they lose money, someone else should pay for it?
On the source, I was quoting the end of Kiddushin. That the wealth is not in the profession. I know people that poured their youth into getting a degree that they never used. There is plenty of jobs for one who has no need for a career. I have no interest in the hishtadlus versus bitachon debate, but it does not take years or even days of planning, to be able to support one’s self. And to make it an argument against full time learning, is just forced thinking.
In the Talmud, taking what is not yours is naturally called gezeila. I could explain it more if your interested. But without looking it up, I think your source uses a different word.
Now, for the punchline. Are you ready? Whew there is some reason that the State operates a certain way, is it theft to go along and not pay? Can I use public beaches and parks without paying? Are the good people in Lakewood allowed to use route 9 instead of the parkway? Would they have to mail in the toll money that they saved? If the people in Lakewood – young working families included – would stop taking Jerseycare and prefer to be uninsured, they get a call from the State to convince them to take the insurance. And if they would take your advice en masse, the State would come to Lakewood and set up insurance workshops in CHEMED and Dr. Shanik’s office for at least a month. That is how vital it is to the State, That people be insured.
So what?
My point is that he had an unusually high awareness of God for a member of Congress. And that was back when almost all of Congress openly claimed to be religious.
If you get it in Ohio, you get a chance at a million dollars.
And you can tell your friends how tough you are.?
Dear Smerel,
So tell us, what subjective things was she discussing? Because she cut a clear case on Tuesday night.
Weeks under Carter. Across the country. Maybe eight moths? Read about it. I was not around.
There was a localized gas shortage under Trump more than once. A day or two or three. I drove around a lot when he was President. I would guess there is a gas shortage almost every year. Usually around a major hurricane.
I’m not sure what crime truth2power committed by asking. He wanted to agree with Israel. Why can’t he be given the benefit of the doubt, That he only say part of the story? As he himself offered. Maybe having opinions by virtue of questioning and thinking and accepting is considered very wrong on these pages.
I think Ari265 has two brilliant points.
Dear Dov Rosenbaum,
I followed you around on this thread. From God to the clergy and judges. And now you pile this whole list of commodities. It calls to mind the prophecies of Hoseah…………
Dear Mods,
I avoided reading tip topic until now. Wednesday 2 PM This is ridiculous. Jews are in the crossfire in Eretz Yisrael. All Jews should be United In Prayer. My grandparents told me many times that the six day war and the months leading up to it, Jews were conscious of each other all over the globe. And what do we have here? Jews putting each other in the crossfire over what a couple of goyim think or said? And almost all of it is totally stupid. If these two presidents would have the other party affiliation and kept the same statements, these posters would turn on their heroes in an instant. Are Jewish values so trivial that flying rockets mean less than political partisanship? The politicians themselves do not place this much value on party allegiance.
I have no idea what these Jews say to themselves. Being anonymous on Jewish site, does not stop the effect on our community’s precious value system. That system is our only weapon for survival. Contrary to what goes on here, there is no real values in politics. The real values are all in Torah. If for some reason you do not want to delete this entire thread, at least let my out of line rant join the others.
Well put and I couldn’t agree more. Thanks for posting it, and with that….
Dear Coffee,
For weeks. There was a gas shortage under Trump too.
Dear Common,
Crude prices are up, due to oil demand spiking in anticipation of a very busy travel season. Fracking only makes money when the government pays for it. Or if gas goes way up again. And it eventually bankrupts those areas. The oil giants destroyed themselves years ago so that they should not have to pay their workers. Biden pledged do destroy oil before it becomes the disaster that the coal industry is.
Another keystone pipeline reference that makes no sense. America needs really high gas prices for it not to be a massive waste of money.
The pandemic was a golden opportunity for Trump to walk of with the elections. He got broad executive powers. He had national stage with the world’s greatest experts. In short, he was set up to get a lot of credit for very little work. And then he absolutely blew it. I doubt he even understands what happened. But he set Biden up for an easy win without having to campaign much.
Dear Always,
Jews do not assimilate or convert because of close contact with the outside world. Look at the Jewish communities in the Arab lands. Almost no assimilation until World War One. The reason why Jews leave the fold is because they feel like there is nothing there for them. Spiritual and physical. Shutting out the world offers less creativity, which leads to less options, which speeds up the process. When we really look, the rate of attrition is the same throughout all orthodox groups. The salve for assimilation is Jewish Education.
Dear Always,
Okay, okay. Maybe you are really hungry, so I will start with a source. Chazal tell us, that wealth and poverty do not come from the craft. If you need a page number to work up your appetite for your streimel, I’ll get it for you.
Our discussion needs some parameters. I’m looking at it from the communal side. As in how a large kollel community operates. Public funds, is another conversation. The point on public school is, That that is where our tax dollars are largely suppose to be going. I’m not getting involved in this debate, but to point out that in some places the money kollel families take for food and utilities is a washout with the one they say in private tuition. Again, I am not saying it should be this was. It is a discussion of kollel finances.
There really is no better option for States like NY and NJ to give health insurance to all those that do not have any insurance. It is basically subsidizing their healthcare system. In States where insurance is cheaper, the kolellim pay better. And some even offer insurance through the kollel. Now, why should insurance not be used, if that is what is preferable to the State? You know that that private health insurance is out of the question for many working families. And the funds for insurance could be greater than their current budget.
On poorer working families, let me explain. Most newly married kollel families start off with some savings. Whether she worked for a year or two, their wedding money, etc. Those that run out of money, will most likely need the husband to go to work and collect charity until he makes a living wage. Families that start off working, i. e. both spouses, probably had very little or serious debt (credit card or student) from before marriage. Where as a learning couple could skip vacations and so on, a young working couple may have no other chance to spend time together. Young non learning couples that have real one are not working yet. They may live in Israel for a year or two. Or they could be in school. I never tried looking for real numbers, but from the many young couples I know of in Lakewood, it is a hard and fast rule.
Dear Always,
This is precisely the debate. Were the dedicated Jewish mothers of yore, at all learned in Torah? Was it necessary for them to be?
Now I think if you admit to the premise today, than it should carry over to any generation. The counter argument is about how women have an internal Torah direction that guides them. Except if she were to have excessive outside influences. As that would negate her internal sense. Therefore, she has to stay home and avoid blah blah blah. This line of thinking gives a women a stronger internal Torah mind than men have. So then it is a real shame that they are not required to learn. Think how far they could go! But I digress.
As it plays out in our day, That even women in fairly insular settings gravitate toward their secular influences, even when they are minute and not in direct conflict with Torah. So there is no internal gold on the woman. Give her the time and liberty, she’ll come up with something to think about. So what kept Jewish women in the fold. What made them so fierce about their Jewishnes?
The answer is simple. They drank up whatever Torah they could. All the ‘well known Rashi’ comes from being picked up in conversation. Besides, the amount of halachah that a Jewish man had to know before the industrial revolution, was quite a lot. A kitchen with just a few pots. With steam and smoke all around. No streetlights. No instant communication. And all the halachah of interpersonal relationships. The main difference today, is that everything is more scholastic.
Dear Always,
I think I meant life’s……?
Dear Always,
I do not know what biases you are discussing. And, I am looping sight of where our discussion is going. The original topic moved to Biden’s religious sincerity. Or something like that. For anyone who cares to look, his deep convictions are obvious. He almost seems better suited for the clergy, than the oval office.
Politicians do a lot for the camera. But it is easy to pick up what they are like as people. They have to have a genuine side to connect to their constituents. But this is not even typical. Biden has been candid about how tragedy reshaped his life. And what he says has been confirmed by all the different people he interacted with.
We could discuss anything. But I’m not sure why all this random stuff is being combined. Every President – every person – has a real life story. There is no reason to paint the person to fit the politics. Carter is considered a failed President. Although he was a decent person.the same can be said about President Bush.
Dear Dov Rosenbaum,
And you are the Democrats spokesman. Biden has a very long career as a politician. He is almost a pure moderate. One extra tick toward the center, to be exact. And I have no idea who you quoted from. But it was full of politics without much Torah.
Maybe I missed it, but he does not mention liberals once. The longer discussion is about judges. It is not clear to me if it is discussing an actual event. But two things. He seems to be trivializing a premeditated murder. Which is compared against a random murder. And there is not a word about lawyers. Or that it probably would have been a jury that let criminals walk. So maybe he is discussing a theoretical event.
But the first piece you mention is the kicker. The moral majority was a concerted effort to bring out morals as a conservative concept and bring both ideas to the Republican party. Which until them was about the average working family that did not think much about politics. Eventually, the moral majority succeeded in reshaping the GOP, and wiping out most of their older agenda. Neither ideology came to pass. American conservatism was replaced by the neo-cons. And morality evaporated throughout the country. And now we have all these Qanon evangelicals. Just over a year ago, this could have been debated. But then the heir to the moral majority was publicly exposed as only caring about money, lust, and power. Exactly the same as any liberal power broker.
Dear Huju,
That is true. But it has nothing to do with the current debate on abortion. I wonder what percent of legislators, are clueless about the actual bills they are endorsing or opposing. They hear abortion and they instantly react.
Dear Made Aliyah,
The CDC has no authority to force and enforce anything. Nor are they trying. Pre-covid, they were the best information on public health. Who is trying to frighten you about freedom and democracy? That seems to be the real danger. And they convinced you to completely parrot their line, without you realizing that your free thinking has been played.
Dear Huju,
The anti abortion crowd is not adverse to abortion for medical reasons. I found your wording rather odd.
It is both. Mostly state. This bill has real chance of being negated by the courts.
Your last example is just words.
Dear Common,
So what do you make of that, people just do not care or think? It would follow that it is not a communal failing.
Dear Dov Rosenbaum,
The problem here is relying off documents without a real person. In our day it is too easy to fabricate boy picture or document.
How different is inconvenience from not managing?
And Serbia is considered Clinton’s worst foreign policy failure. Even worse than Oslo and Iraq.
Dear Ujm,
No, you can not take it. This has nothing to do with me. Even if I was a proponent of blowing up abortion clinics, I would make the same point about Biden.
Biden is not pro abortion. It is a constitutional question. There are many things that a constitutional society allows despite the dubious morality of the activity.
I’m not sure if you understand the abortion debate. But that is not the topic.
America used to be the world’s policeman without committing troops. Good policing does not require killing everyone.
Slobodan Milosevic may have been personally not responsible, but those trials uncovered real sadism that had no bearing on the outcome of the wars.
Dear Always,
Your comments seem to be post truth.
The man with all the odd missspeaks, is now polished?
Biden has been more in front of the cameras than Trump? Which one sad a publicity contest? Which one was a tv host for a dozen years?
Trump had to compete for cameras when he was President? Of course, with the super bowl. All tv ratings plummeted once Trump was out of the picture.
Biden’s personal tragedies, are easy to see through to his core. This is blatant reality. Maybe you just did not pay attention.
Biden did not run on the religious card.
Look at the children. If you say so. Maybe look at the parenting. Or the Russian Nanny.
Hunter Biden had brain trauma as a toddler.
No idea how Trump’s children appear good to you. Please do not be a sucker for branding.
And then you tangle off what you should know, but has to be slowly teased out with due process.like your entire worldview is to share theoreticals around what could not be disproven.
Trump’s businesses have been exposed as corrupt long before he ran for office. The scale he operated on, is just about unprecedented. Just look at his most recent CPAC.
In business, the CEO gets charged with the company’s infractions. In government, the one who actually violated the law gets prosecuted. That is why these is always a fall guy. Until there are recordings. Like Watergate.
The distinction between Biden and the majority of public figures when it comes to deep convictions – especially when it comes to the meaning of life – is very very discoverable. I have no idea what is the incentive to fog up a clear window?
I am not at all insinuating that this makes him a good President. For all I know, we would be better off with a non-believer.
Dear Always,
There is nothing uncomfortable about it. It has always been this way. And for the last thousand years, there has been almost no public example of a true chaver.
The good Jewish mothers who do all those things, do it out of devotion and reverence for Hashem, His Torah, and their fellow Jews. It is not one bit natural or innate in the sense that it is not something that they strove for. It reflects on her self determination and personal growth.
Such a woman absolutely loves Torah. And whatever these is Torah knowledge to be gained, she is all ears. Assuming time, money, and energy allow for it. A passion does not allow for one to just focus on certain tasks as the end all be all.
If a woman would really have no exposure to the ideals of Torah, would she then sacrifice for the right things? How would she even know what to value? And how would she judge what is better for her sons? And most of all, how would she negate all the secular influences in her life?
Dear Dov Rosenbaum,
You actually wrote that a mother prays a few lines before the father davens.
Dear Always,
For a literate woman to remain a passionate Jew, she must have anat least an equal amount of authentic Torah in her life, to go with her wife’s educational and social influences.
Dear Participant,
Yes! In that McConnell did an amazing job in getting Trump to focus on the issues that they saw eye to eye. The pundits thought that Trump would beat McConnell down like he did to the other big republicans. It did not happen. His navigation of the craziness in Washington this part year, is unbelievable. Any shrewd up and coming Republican, is looking to follow the Senator’s path, as the President’s method does not show how to win. Trump is more about fighting against all odds, than figuring out how to beat the odds.
All the numbers are wild because of the pandemic. Everywhere I go, I see signs “help wanted” with big bonus offers. It will take a long time to be able to look back and see what was good policy and whom to blame.
But if partisan stupidity is our thing, than we really can not be proven wrong right now.
Dear Ujm,
To go along with your supposition, merely lending support to a mile evil is nothing in the face of those that daily command that atrocities take place on innocent people. I am much more squeamish on that Biden will probably do nothing to stop the reigns of terror going on around the globe. Much like the previous two presidents have done nothing. Remember how aghast Americans were at Clinton for doing nothing about Serbia.