shuali

“Aish Hatorah and Ohr Sameach, Uri Zohar…all worthless and haven’t done anything.”
Huh?
Only their Rebbe is a true tzaddik.
Only their Rebbe can be the Nosi haDor.
All true Torah thoughts can be found in the Tanya, Igros, or other kisavim of one of the Rebbes of Lubavitch.
All worth gedolei Yisroel were at one time talmidim of “der Rebbe.”
Only their mikvaos are kosher.
Can this nonsense end already?

“Certainly everything we do as Yidden is it most certainly should be sourced in emuna which is an emotion”
Emunah is NOT an emotion. That would validate every belief system out there. Emunah is rooted in absolute knowledge. Much as the uman (aleph – mem – nun) KNOWS his profession, so too the one with emunah (its root being, once again, aleph – mem – nun) is one with complete KNOWLEDGE, NOT FAITH-based and certainly not emotion-based belief, of HaShem’s existence.

“They hold chalav yisrael as a chumra, not as an ikkar hallacha.”

Nobody, not Rav Moshe ztzvk”l, nor any other posek who permits, under certain specific circumstances, the use of “cholov company (the term Rav Moshe ztzvk”l uses), holds cholov stam is ikar halachah and cholov Yisroel is a chumra. Nobody. The din of cholov Yisroel is brought in the Gemora and is clearly codified in the Shulchan Aruch. And just like any other davar ha’assur it should assur keilim. That is indeed how many poskim hold. Others are lenient in this regard and view cholov companies as mutar. But by definition one who uses only cholov Yisroel products is following ikar halachah even if cholov company (cholov stam) is also permitted.

“While the Sh”A says not to walk 4 Amot with one’s head uncovered, the beit yosef says that is a midat chassidut”
The midat chassidut is to not go bareheaded even while still.

“That’s what bothers me. These LOR’s are supposed to be wise. Why can’t they collaborate and come up with a common standard? Wouldn’t that promote unity among Jews? Is there a reason why there are so many groups of observant Jews who follow different practices?”

Yours is a very good question, and deserves appreciation; Why machlokes in halachah seems to be built into our system of mesorah.

1) HaShem not only gave us His Torah and mitzvos to reveal His ratzon in this world and to bring us to the next world perfected and ready/worthy of enjoying His Shechinah, but He also gave us Power of Attorney, so to speak, in this revelation process. This is referred to as Torah of the m’kabeil. Torah reveals His kovod. The more Torah, the more kovod. Machlokes between Gedolei Torah – Tana’im, Amora’im, Geonim, Rishonim, Achronim, Poskei Ha’dor – increase Torah, and therefore His Kovod.
2) The Torah is for all Jews. Not all Jews’ needs, level of service, availability of needed items, social environment, etc. are the same. The Torah still needs to be for them. It is for this reason that machlokes between poskim of different communities and/or countries differ from each other. Some countries did not change into Shabbos clothing for Shabbos Chazon (during the 9 days), while others did/do. It has been explained that those who did not, lived in countries with vibrant economies; it was Shabbosdik all week. They did not change in order to feel the 9 days. Those who did change for Shabbos Chazon, livedbin poor countries. They changed in order to feel Shabbos (it was 9 days all year for them). Is this a a machlokes?
Rav Gustman ztzvk”l was fond of saying he first evaluates the sho’el (the one asking the Rabbi a question), then he evaluates the question. Does this mean there is discord, disagreement, many Torahs? Absolutely not. It means the Torah has a perfect road for everyone to get to their Olam Ha’ba.
3) Related: A great loss of money is sometimes a valid reason for a lenient p’sak. A wealthy person may not “deserve” such a ruling. Is the Rav who gave the lenient p’sak to his poor congregant out of sync with the Rav who ruled strictly for his wealthy mispallel? Should the two Rabbis have gotten together to reach a compromise so neither member should have received the proper ruling?

This is why it is so important that everyone have a close relationship with a Rav who knows him/her, their background, goals, family, health and financial situation, etc. This way everyone has a good chance of keeping the entire Torah properly and earning their deserved place in Olam Ha’ba.

I would add that there is much more to be said on this important topic, and that perhaps even what I wrote above is not the perfect answer for everyone.

Wearing Over/Under: It would seem from halachah (perhaps it’s al pi kabbolah) that beged needs to be the second from top. When jacket or vest is worn tzitzis beged would be OVER one’s shirt. When jacket or. vest is not worn, tzitzis beged would be under shirt. There is a famous picture, however, of Rav Moshe ztzvk”l without a jacket and with his tzitzis over his shirt. On Shabbos, where there is no eiruv, there could be a problem wearing under one’s shirt where it becomes necessary to fold the beged to make it fit smoothly. Ask your LOR for guidance.
More on Size: According to the Chazon Ish the amah is measured from the shoulders IF the width of each shoulder is wider than the hole. According to the Mishnah Berurah, however, the length of the beged is from bottom of opening (from each side). Width is across according to everybody.
Many commercially bought begadim often do not measure up according to the size noted on the tag. . . Certainly not according to method described by the Mishnah Berurah and even according to the Chazon Ish since often the shoulders are not wide enough.

When asked how he knows every bochur (hundreds) so well, Rav Zvi replied, “when you daven for each bochur three times a day, you get to know them.”
When a bochur had to be hospitalized with a serious infection, I believe, Rav Zvi spent nights with him in the hospital (perhaps until a parent was able to come from the states.
Any bochur whose oifruf is in the Yeshiva, the Yeshiva hosts the entire kiddush for hundreds of guests. The Rebbetzin, who is a granddaughter of the Brisker Rav, and her children, spend hours preparing, maasering food, for the kiddush.
Rav Zvi teaches to have utmost respect for ones parents, not only through example, but by insisting, for example, that a bochur who is becoming engaged to a girl from Eretz Yisroel, that he may not, under any circumstances, announce the engagement until the patents arrive and meet the kallah and the family even if they knew each other before.

@AviK: You wrote, “The autobiography’s of Rav Ovadiah and Rav Elyashiv. . .”
1) autobiographies * (what you wrote means something belonging to the autobiography)
2) autobiographies differ from biographies in as much that the former are written by the one about whom the book was written, while the latter are written be someone else.
3) having said that, did Rav Ovadia and/or Rav Elyashiv write one about themselves

@mms601: Exactly. Very perceptive. This was NOT a political rally. The two “litvisheh” Roshei Yesivah who supported the rally are strongly aligned with, and supportive of, the ideals of Agudah, and certainly continue to respect the opinion of Rav Aharon Leib shlita, much like the Brisker Rav worked closely with Rav Shlomo Lorenz (MK), yet fought tirelessly against the drafting of women (men systematically were granted deferments as per the “status quo”). Now, however, as the current law stands, men will no longer be so easily patur.
Deferments will be a thing of the past, and the Torah world as we know it in Eretz Yisroel will be changed forever, if it will even exist. Those G-d fearing individuals who have chosen to serve are finding themselves being stripped of their rights to observe the Torah and their traditions (beards, separate barracks, no kol isha, etc.) Soon – by 2020 as the law stands now – few, if anyone, will choose to serve, as they will be taken to serve even against their will and even if the numbers don’t really require it. That is what the rally was about. To make everyone aware of the danger. How to address the problem? That remains for each person in Eretz Yisroel to find out what their leader(s) say. We must simply be aware that our brothers (regardless of what kind of yarmulka we or they wear, and regardless what nusach they daven, what Yeshiva they attended, or what color their tzitzis are) are in mortal and spiritual danger.