Sam2

I wish I was smart enough to learn what Aries had learned.

Itche: You mean the Muttar B’hatzilo B’nafsho ones?

MZ: You missed the point.

Interesting. Both of those are probably Assur (if we define them as music). See the Beis Yosef in O.C. 560. Then you need to figure out if they qualify as music. If they’re just recordings of actual nature sounds it’s probably fine. If they’re computer-generated then they might be music, in which case it’s probably Assur (and probably Assur even for a non-Avel because then the Rama’s Heter goes away, though Shittas Rashi still exists).

Baal: I’m not sure if that’s true. We weren’t saying Tachanun on Lag Ba’omer long before they had Hilulas.

What’s the purpose of them?

Shmoel: You need to ask him. He definitely doesn’t eat any dairy products himself.

TCG: Why drink milk? They’re all Treifos anyway.

Apushta: That was all implied. I apologize if you read it otherwise. I meant the whole process, not the milking.

Thanks Yitay. That was a legitimate typo. The m and n are right next to each other on the keyboard. I didn’t even notice it when I re-read through it. Thanks again. Mods, if you can please change my original post, it’s be much appreciated.

Ders: Good question. Probably because I do know more Halachah than them (and most people). That definitely doesn’t make me qualified though. I also do know the most important thing that a person answering Shailos needs to know, namely when to say I don’t know. I also have R’ Schachter’s phone number. That helps a lot.

(I could explain how several seemingly coincidental situations led to a lot of people having no one else to ask. Of course, everything’s Hashgacha. I just hope that I properly realized what HKBH wanted in this situation. Now that some of these people do have other people to ask, they still are more comfortable asking me, regardless of how uncomfortable I am in being asked. But I don’t think I should put those details out on the internet.)

Shmoel: It’s quite long. But basically he says that Minhagei S’fira are unique and that you can change your Minhag from year to year to attend weddings.

R’ Schachter says that other Poskim point out that the Minhag is just against getting married. But you can attend a wedding no matter which half it’s in, so long as the person getting married isn’t violating his own Minhag. This seems to be the Minhag for most people.

Kapusta means stuffed cabbage? You see, you learn something new every day…

Shmoel: Makor? I’ve heard a lot of explanations, none of which are satisfactory.

Health: It’s interesting. Tefillin is the only Mitzvah that the Shulchan Aruch specifically says women can’t do. A woman who actually follows the SH”A wouldn’t wear Tefillin. I wasn’t brave enough to ask this woman, though based on her Hakpada for the Poskim I’d guess that she didn’t wear Tefillin.

Shmoel: Based on several interesting situations I’ve received a lot of Shailos from a lot of people for quite a while now. I happen to meet a lot of people. Some of them are kooky. Some aren’t really Orthodox. And some honestly just want to do Mitzvos.

PBA: To quote a very smart woman who I once asked this to, “Why should the way people perceive me stop me from doing a Kiyum Safek Mid’oraisa?” Those words made an impression on me. Why should a woman care what anti-Jewish feminists do or what others will perceive of her? Why should that association stop her from doing a Mitzvah out of Ahavas or Yiras Shamayim? (Another woman once said that to me. I noticed she was wearing Tzitzis out. I was curious about that and asked her, and she quoted the Mishnah B’rurah’s rant that Tzitzis should be worn out. I told her that it looks weird though and that people will think she’s Conservative. Her response was, “Is my Yiras Adam more important than my Yiras Shamayim?” I managed to convince her to keep her Tzitzis tucked in, but how could I honestly tell such a person, who only wants to do Mitzvos, that she can’t?)

So I will agree with you in theory. Most people who call themselves feminist probably are not actually Shomrei Halachah and they are probably actually trying to be Oker Halachah. But many who we would label as feminists are good Jews who just want to do as many Mitzvos as possible.

And by they way, most women who make Mezumans probably say Nevarech and not Mir Veln Bentschn. 😛

It’s very shver to listen to music tonight and not during the rest of S’fira. You can’t say Miktzas Hayom K’kulo at night. I mentioned this in another thread, I have no idea how people do it. Especially dancing, which is for sure Assur during S’fira. It’s honestly a Pele.

Gefen: I thought this was Yadua. The reason probably is that they are smaller companies and can’t afford to make as absolutely high-quality a product as most major dairy farms.

PBA: Ah, I see our misunderstanding here. Yes, most associated with the feminist movement in Orthodox Judaism are not actual Shomrei Halacha and want to fit Judaism into their worldview. In my experience, however, many individuals, who might be labeled as “feminists” would not agree with the movement and actually just want to do Torah Umitzvos.

PBA: I think you’re making assumptions about me based on other things you know. Why would I endorse following lower Rabbonim over Poskim? That would just be silly. Everyone has their own Rav who can decide in a Machlokes between contemporary Rabbonim. But no Rav can go against the leading Poskim.

I don’t know what people Poskim have condemned. I do that many women who learn don’t do it to violate Hashem’s or Chazal’s will and that they have major Poskim who back up what they do as well. I also know that there are people who not only ignore these Poskim, but they try to discredit them because they personally disagree with certain Shittos. That’s just wrong and that is Megaleh Ponim as well.

And no, the average person or even Talmid Chacham doesn’t have such a power. The Gemara in Yevamos says that the Chachamim have the Koach to change Halachah Hora’as Sha’ah L’migdar Milsa. Pashtus is that this still sort of applies nowadays and that the Gedolei Haposkim have that power. No one else does. Who is any random person (or Talmid Chacham) to think that he can alter the P’sak of the Shulchan Aruch based on his ideology? I might be too sure of myself, but even I wouldn’t go that far. And furthermore, where does that ideology come from? Certainly not the SH”A, as his ideology doesn’t conform to that P’sak. So no, once again, I say that “Hashkafa” is an excuse that people use to Mattir the Assur, Asser the Muttar, and proclaim themselves as better than others. Because that’s really all it does.

(Just a side point: There is a reason that the Aruch Hashulchan had to repeat over and over in his Sefer that “Ein Anu Gozrin G’zeiros L’atzmeinu”. Why do people nowadays think that they have the Koach to do that for every minor issue that they feel is a problem?)

PBA: I didn’t deny Da’as Torah. There are Chachamim and Gedolim who have the ability and right to create Issurim L’migdar Milsa when necessary. That moderator is not one of those people.

PBA: Maybe we just have different friends? I dunno. My experience with organizations such as JOFA has been terrible and I completely agree that they have nothing to do with Orthodoxy. My experience with individuals has been mixed. I do think it’s a Chaval though to stop those L’sheim Shamayim individuals from doing things L’sheim Shamayim though. I’m a theoretical idealist, meaning that when I talk in theory I aim for the ideal. Practical situations sometimes require adjustments based on things like is the person trying to be Oker a Minhag or do they just want to follow Halachah. But that doesn’t change what the Din should be in theory.

And I have no issue with the position that Hashem made for anyone in Judaism. Chas V’shalom. HKBH gave everyone a purpose and opportunities to fulfill that purpose. I just get very upset when people try to distort what that purpose is for certain people.

(Just curious, are you saying that I don’t practice what the rest of Orthodox Judaism does or that you don’t? Or that we both don’t?)

I’m shocked this got through. The mod must not have got the reference. This isn’t so obscure either, depending on where you come from.

Moderator- What did I miss?

See the Be’ur Halachah quoting R’ Akiva Eiger in Siman 339 (maybe it’s 337).

Did anyone else here see the R’ Steinman video? Powerful words.

ICOT: Uncle John’s is amazing and untouched in its level of both breadth and detail. They actually have quite an accurate description of Basar B’chalav and Ta’aroves in one of the early ones. And yes, I remembered that story from Uncle John’s as well, which is why I mentioned that. I do have to warn other posters though, there is sometimes some inappropriate material in them.