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rebdoniel: Star-K in holding it to be permissable (i.e. analagous to potatos) said that it doesn’t rise, but then I checked online for recipes for bread making and it explained how one gets quinoa to rise (similar to bread flower).
I suspect it will take a generation or two for this all to get settled down. There seems a reluctance to allow for anything that can be used to offer kosher-le-pesach challah, pizza and pita.
I wonder how long it took for everyone to decide that potatoes were kosher le-pesach when they were introduced 500 years ago.
Absolutely NO ONE holds that quinoa is hametz.
The issue is whether it should be treated as kitniyos (i.e. similar to corn and rice) since it might be mistaken from a prohibited grain, since one can use it to bake bread. The alternative is to treat like potatoes or turnips, which can be made into a flour, but are permissable according to everyone. There are plenty of opinions on the matter, and there is clearly no consensus among rabbanim. While quinoa has been around for a long time, it has only become common in the United States recently, so there hasn’t been time to decide if it is a new type of corn, or a new type of potato. Anyone who says the Daas Torah has decided the matter should say “My Rav holds…. “.
yossi z.– There weren’t any “knights” in Purim since heavy mounted cavalry were impossible into the stirups were be invented at the time in India, but didn’t become in Europe and Middle East until centuries later. At the time of Purim, a horseback rider could be a messenger or a scout, but fighitng on horseback was not practical.
But I’m willing to bet that any of their kids dessed up to look like Haman were wearing a kipah serugah, or perhaps a mask that looks like Lapid.
Medieval European knights were soldiers, motivating by the same things that usually motivate soldiers – a desire for an honorable career, service to either their country or their overlord (depending on whether it was in the feudal era), etc. There were no more religious or bloodthirsty than any other soldiers in other times and places. Of course, we should note that traditionally (meaning, before 1948) almost all hagaddahs depicted the evil son as a soldiers. Certainly if you wouldn’t object to a purim costume depicting any other soldiers, why object to a medieval knight. Certainly some of us feel that soldiers are inherently problematic, but that isn’t a universal feeling among frum Jews.
The typical insignia of a knight would almost never be a cross. It would be the coat of arms of his overlord or country (sometimes the same things, often not). While there were exceptions, a picture of a mevieval soldier (either an infantryman or a mounted knight) with a large cross as insignia would suggest a crusaders. Crusaders were a bit less mercentary than most, and much more anti-Jewish than most. The cross is what should be be highly objectionable.
The cross is a big problem, especially when you realize that when real soldiers wore them it likely meant they were part of a Crusade, which were uniformly anti-Jewish (remember, back then we were allied with the Muslims). The normal insignia would be other than a cross – usually the colors of one’s overlord in the feudal system.
Generically, whether a medieval solider was good or bad depended on whether he was on your side or not (as is true today). Jews of course could not legally “bear arms” at the time, though this was probably ignored in practice as long as we were subtle about it.
If one wanted to be a “reinactor” (rather than for Purim) and be a friendly medieval European knight, it would be easy to adopt the uniform of someone who was protecting Jews (as was the case – we were the leading source of tax revenue so the people in charge had an interest in protecting us – if they hadn’t we wouldn’t have remained in that region). Alternatively, one could dress up as someone who was usually friendly (a Muslim soldier) or whom we never met on a regular basis (a Japanese Samurai – they were very colorful looking, and unlike their European equivalents tended to be literate).
Worrying about olam hazeh is an indicator of little faith and misplaced priorities. It’s only a fancy corridor, after all.
Do you really believe the Chofetz Chaim thought he was a celebrity worthy of being photographed? For most of his life, photography was fairly expensive, and it was a sign of your importance that you posed for a photographer (remember he lived in the period where war pictures were frequently of corpses since no one else would sit long for the slow film of the day – exposures were often more than a minute).
The modern Hareidim are in the front lines in the war for Jewish survival. They ones in Eretz Yisrael give up most of their parnassah to dedicate their lives to Torah and Mitsvos, while the bulk of Israeli run off chasing whatever their latest passion is (and many more things we can’t discuss here).
If they wanted us to work, why did they invent the internet????
They are touching each other. Traditionally they are each holding on to something (a gartel is common in communities where gartels are common) and looking embarassed. It’s quite acceptable halachically and socially, and is a well established and ancient custom.
If they wanted kollel students to join the “over the table” workforce, they would abolish conscription so they could take jobs in the mainstream economy without serving in the army. They would also enact laws against religious discrimination similar to the United States – Israel is one giant “hostile workplace environment” from an American legal perspective.
If they needed more hareidi soldiers, they would take seriously the enforcement of the laws requiring uniform observance of halacha in the army – which has been the law in Israel since the 1950s. As it is, the law if observed only if there are hareidim with lots of protectksia making vocal complaints.
The army has more volunteers for combat units than they have vacancies. People are turned away from combat units. This suggest that the army has no shortage of manpower. Given the proven importance of unit coehsion, the army doesn’t to wake up and discover that 20% of the soldiers are from an entirely different culture and share nothing in common with the rest of the unit.
However Israel is facing an existential threat. At current growth rates, the majority of the country will be Orthodox in the forseeable future. The whole zionist enterprise is based on the deal of converting Jews from backwards diaspora-oriented religious fanatics into good modern secularists (the “Am Hofshi” – free from the yoke of Torah – in their anthem).
In the past, a high percentage of soldiers became substantially less religious through army service, i.e., managed to adjust and become “normal”. While they don’t hope for the same sucess they had in getting most of the Sefardim to abandon backwards religious practices (they went from over 90% frum to less than 50%), with any luck enough hareidim can be normalized to keep Israel zionist rather than risk it turning Jewish. From their perspective, that’s a feature, not a bug.
“Mammele” who said “Williamsburg fanatics out to convert the world.” — NO, they wish to be left alone. They don’t insist that that men wear long pants or that women conceal the “cleavage” – they only don’t want to look at it. The only hasidic group that is out to “convert” anybody is Chabad and maybe Breslov (the ones with the dead rebbes).
It is the world that is offended by the Hasidim’s continued existence. According to all secular social science theory, they should have long since seen the light and entered modern society – and the secular world is highly annoyed by the fact they saw the law and decided that secular society was disgusting. The issue is not about a merchant asking customer to conform to social norms of what constitute proper dress (which in fact, is quite lawful and anything but radical, quite common in all sub-cultures even if the standards vary,and but for secular bigotry is non-controversial since the immodest customer can take their business elsewhere).
Which probably explains, in both Israel and America, why secular Jews are pursing a “Jihad” against the hareidi communities. The issue is secular bigotry and intolerance, not hasidim being properly dressed.
zahavasdad: insulting a customer is a most serious offense for any retail merchant
That is totally irrelevant to stores insisting that customers dress appropriately – which is designed to creatge a cartain atmosphere. Good (goysha) restaurants, for example, expect men to wear jackets and ties, and will ask someone wearing jeans to leave – they don’t want customers to think they are a hamburger joint rather than a fancy restaurant. No hiddush there.
NYC ignoring Federal and State law is part of an apparent policy of discrimiantion, which frum Democrats should complain about (but not too loudly, as they know who butters their bread)
But could not a Vulcan be pretending to have a sense of humor, addressing the matter with very serious logic, since in CR no one would know he is a Vulcan. And if he can fake his humor, why not his gender. He could even be a Klingon in disguise.
And all the more so if the person behind the screen name is actually an unusually clever poodle.
And of course, I’ld discuss gender but of course we don’t discuss such things in mixed-up company.
Sounds to me like an excellent opportunity for the “plaintiff-bar” to sue for deliberate deprivation of civil rights under color of law (which might explain why the case last year attracted a major firm anxious to protect civil rights).
The civil rights acts covers, at most, race (ethnicity), religion (requiring reasonable accomodation at no more the de minimis expense), gender and handicap. The common law might require admitting customers who are behaiving in an orderly manner, but wouldn’t allow much in terms of damages.
The initial posting didn’t refer to anything, but it would be very hard to challenge a store over a dress code unless you could argue that it violated one’s religion or that it interfered with one’s handicap. IF the issue was employment rather than shopping, it might be a little bit different, for example, there have been lawsuits (not winning ones) objecting the dress codes. Stores routinely have dress codes.
I checked google and found complaints, none of which referred to lawsuits, and one has someone at Yeshiva University’s law school (which is part of the non-frum part of YU) complaining about the inability to sue over a dress code, and an article in a less than reputable New York newspaper showing some non-Jewish women dressed in a manner that almost anyone would consider more than appropriate for a “lady of the night” than a customer in conservative family-oriented store.
Edited.
It would be the same as any other goysha “coffee” shop. While you know the coffee itself has a hecksher, you have no information on the other ingedients, and you have to ask whether the utensils used may have been used with non-kosher foods.
Some people drink coffee anywhere, and some people don’t, depending on their own level of kashrus.
Someone is trying to sue a store over having a stated “dress code” for customers? Are they arguing that being immodestly dressed is a requirement of a certain religious group?
Unless the store is funded by the government, the case will lose. If they sue in Federal court, the plaintiff will have to prove at least some theoretical basis for thinking the suit might be valid or the lawyer will get fined.
The “penalty” for a store turning away customers is loss of the customers’ patronage.
Perhaps some group is trying to “shake down” a store owner?
How do you know the gender, or even the species, of whom you are talking to in Coffee Room. The seventeen year BY girl may actually be 35 year off the derekh ex-yeshiva bochur, or perhaps a very clever poodle, or maybe a Vulcan with a sense of humor.
If the goal is to preserve Israel as a zionist state, it is critical for the zionists to solve the pending demographic cliff. At current birthrates, and given that “baalei tseuvah” are more common than “off the derekh”, by the end of the 21st century, Israel will have a hareidi majority. Well before that, the hareidim in Israel will become a critical player since they have the option of allying with non-hareidi religious, as well as with the Arabs (an option for no other party in Israel).
The zionists have correctly determined they need to put a stop to the hareidi growth problem. Based on past experience, if you take a hareidi teenager and force him to spend three years eating food that is borderline kosher (which is the situation unless you are in a special religious unit), keeping Shabbos according to some very creative interpretations of halacha, etc., a certain percentage will go off the derekh. If you look at other countries, such as the American Jewish community after the Revolution, the Civil War, and the world wars – there is certainly a reason for the zionists to hope that mass conscription into regular army units will enable a preservation of the zionist majority.
Lapid thinks many ex-hareidim will, like his family, become hiloni. Bennett believes they will end up as “religious zionists”. The army thinks this is a recipe for disaster and will try to isolate hareidi soldiers in special units – noting that unlike the siutations in America above, if the leading Bnei Torah are drafted they will influence the other soldiers, hareidi and dati, leading to widespread disobedience of orders in the army and undermining the army. An added complication is some hareidi who hold that Medinat Yisrael exists contrary to Torah (meaning the Israelis are the “Rodef”, and therefore have no right to kill the Arabs) will refuse to serve in the army, and force the Israelis to arrest them (triggering possible international sanctions) or in effect allow anyone to refuse military service for reasons of “religion and conscience” (giving Israel a volunteer army, similar to most other countries in the 21st century).
It will be “Interesting” – as in the famous curse, “may you live in interesting times.”
Does anyone DNA test kosher meat to make sure its from the animal it says it is. While DNA won’t catch improper schecting, it will catch switching critters.
Israel is very liberal in recognizing “de facto” marriages (and unlike western legal systems, Jewish law gives children of unmarried parents full rights in terms of inheritance, support, etc.). It is wishful thinking that this promotes national unity. If the government mandated “religious” ceremonies are valid (that’s a point of debate), it increases the liklihood of mamzerim. It is important psychologically to the Religious Zionists who want a facade of Israel being a “Jewish” state, but is less to the hareidi who see through that “facade.”
He was drafted into Hitler Youth – it wasn’t something you joined in 1945 (it had been voluntary in the 1930s). He (along with Queen Elizabeth) are the last world leaders to be veterans of World War II. From now on every country will be led by people who are too young to remember the holocaust. That may be significant.
I assume he only became hard of hearing later in life. Is he visually impaired as well? I doubt he would mind if someone told him he was too loud, or was unaware it was Shmoneh Esray.
Remember, that unless you die first, most people end up with limited hearing and/or vision.
The Israeli system is designed to be both independent of the political leadership, and to provide ideological consistency. It works very well. Since the judges play a large role in picking new judges, and the bar (Israeli lawyers) play a significant part, the judiciary reflects the upper class, and preserves the ideological perspectives of those who set up the judiciary in the 1950s. The Israeli Supreme Court does an excellent job of preserving the power of the secular, Ashkenazi, upper class “elites”, at the expense of those whom Israel regards as undesirable such as the Sefardim and the religious. From their perspective, the anti-religious, and anti-democratic nature of the Israeli judiciary is a “feature” and not a “bug.” A system such as the United States where judges are appointed by political leaders (or elected) wouldn’t work in Israel since you would be getting too many frum and Sefardi judges. In many ways the Israeli system resembles Britain, except that in Britain any judicial decision can be reversed by an act of parliament.
Obviously if Israel has a revolution and a Jewish state is established, the first thing to get rid of would be the secular judiciary.
GEICO (which is one of the major insurance companies) doesn’t penalize you if the kid is away from home (e.g. in Israel). Indeed, one trick we learned was to have the kids get their licenses just before going to Israel. During the first year they would be listed on the insurance but only as a student away at school. When they came home, they would have a year of accident-free driving on their driving.
Of course, unless you live in a rural area, one might ask why a child nears a drivers license in the first place. It’s something of a luxury.
The Mishnah Brurah is the source for Litvaks (Misnagdim). If you hold by it, you probably should not go to a hasidic shul since they have different holdings, some of which result in davening later than misnagdim.
You have one “beshert” and that’s the one you got married to.
Obviously the mommies. While the men are busy getting the world screwed up, someone has to keep the kids on track of we become extinct.
Health: When offered a choice between leaving Spain or taking up Avodah Zarah, left. They gave up all their property and undertook long sea voyages to places where Jews were allowed to live (in ships that would be quite uncomfortable by modern standards).
Those who remained became the “marranos.” They made a decision to publicly accept Christianity so they could keep their property. Many of them were persecuted anyways, but remember, especially if talking about the early 16th century, they were ones who decided to stay when they had a choice.
If Columbus were really a Jew, he would have been working for anyone except Spain. At that time, skilled sea captains were in demand in many countries. He chose to stay in Spain. If he was a “marrano”, he would have married a Jew. The underground Jews were very fussy about that (which is why they get annoyed when their yichus is question after 500 years of underground marriages).
And given his willingness to engage in kidnapping people to sell as slavery and ethnic cleansing, we really wouldn’t want to claim him.
He might have had Jewish ancestry but it is clear he was a religious Catholic. In his line of work (seaman) he could easily have moved to another country, yet he chose to stay in Spain – meaning it is very unlike he was a Marano. He went to great efforts to marry “above his station” rather than marrying someone else of Jewish descent (i.e. he made sure his children would be goyim, if in fact he was Jewish). There is really no way to know his ancestry in detail. Given he was something of a greedy imperialist (which is a polite way to say a thief working for government), and had no problem working for a very anti-semitic government even though he had a choice in the matter, I don’t think we’ld really want to claim him.
Think of all the things that could happen in the near future: global warming, ice age, civil war in Israel, Israeli wars with goyim, everything that Republican trolls say about Obama come true, the stock market crashes, hypeinflation, Meshiach comes and announces that he wants to talk to all the tsadikim and your phone doesn’t ring, etc.
And remember the goyish expression: That to say “may you live in interesting times” is actually a curse
So enjoy being bored.
If it was your daughter who had made some very bad choices, what would you want done?
Bail is supposed to be to guarantee you’ll come back for your trial – it isn’t a form of punishment – that’s in the constitution.
People who are drunk or high are not necessarily criminally liable for acts done “under the influence” – she should be taken off to sober up (come down from whatever she was on), then tried. Bringing someone not in their right mind was unfair.
Where were her parents?
To make an analogy to dogs (and in this analogy the Americans are unusually friendly and intelligent canines), the Arabs are and have for most of our history been fairly moderate as beasts go. As long you don’t threaten them, or boss them around, or get in their way – they will probably like you. Around World War I we started pulling their tails and they got very annoyed. We went along with the Brits in double crossing the Arabs after the war ; at first we worked with them for an autonomous Jewish homeland within the large state the Arabs were offered for helping the Allies in the war, but by the mid-20s the zionists were firmly in charge of the Yishua and were supporting the Brits – frankly we are lucky that most Arabs didn’t flock to the Germans in WWII since it might have changed the outcome but the Arabs generally realized Hitler would eventually turn on them as well – the “Mufti” tried but couldn’t find any support.
Based on past experiences, in a post-zionist Eretz Yisrael (i.e. after the haredim become a minority and are willing to compromise on sovereignity in return for peace), the Arabs won’t object to Jews learning Torah (as long as we cover our own bills, and the most frum of the hareidim already do). They won’t draft us (under Islam, Jews didn’t have the right to bear arms). As long as we give them political control and don’t try to impose alien values on them, they will tolerate us. That has been their past pattern and there is no reason to think the past won’t repeat.
We could be active economically, certainly to a much greater extent than under the zionists, as long as we don’t get too bossy. We have only limited political rights meaning we’ld have as much control of the country as we do under the zionists. The legal system would be no more rigged against than it is today, but they would respect communal autonomy.
The hilonim would be the big losers. The infamous sort of tourism that Tel Aviv prides itself on would be banned. You wouldn’t have a Jewish girl at the Miss World contest, nor an Israeli diplomat sat the UN. Pork breeders would be in trouble. While the Muslims share a belief in a welfare state, they also have a belief in not running an economy based on printing money, so no more welfare state to sponge off of.
We should tolerate the zionists treating us as “second class citizens” as long as they don’t do something too oppressive, such as drafting yeshiva students or women. But if they did, they will be approaching a tipping point where it be time to consider going from being second class Israelis to second class Palestinians.
It is debateable if Shakespeare was an anti-semite. His defense of Jews (Shylock’s famous “If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh?….” speech) is regarded by some as a deliberate attack on anti-Semitism. It should be noted that at the the typical mode of accomodating religious minorities in England usually involved somewhat gruesome methods of capital punishment. It is unlikely Shakespeare ever met a Jew, and few in his audience had (Jews were banned from England in the period, though a few were there pretending to be from Spain something we know since when arrested for being Catholics they go off by convincing the court they were really Jews and really weren’t loyal to the king of Spain), though there were large Jewish communities in Europe. It’s hard to make a clear conclusion as to his biases – indeed some people question whether he even existed at all.
Mark Twain is well known for having denounced discrimination against Blacks (and Jews), and was a prominent contributor to African American causes.
The alternative is to have FRIDAY as the second day off. This facilitates getting ready for Shabbos. As it is most frum Israelis take a half day off on Friday, or take the whole day off. Having Sunday has an official day off puts pressure on people to work on Friday.
There is also the issue of wanting to accomodate the Christians as opposed to the Muslims (remember that the largest religious minority in ISrael are Muslims and their day off is Friday,and also the adjacent countries are Islamic, so that closing on Sunday instead of Friday sends a message that Israel isn’t interested in peaceful coexistence with its neighbors).
Of course there is the option of a four day week.
WELFARE BENEFITS. Are given to everyone. They are very common in Europe, increasingly common in the USA (Obama is pushing them, the Republicans oppose him). The idea that to a certain extent everyone, regardless of who or what they are, should receive a certain package of benefits. A problem is that (according to conservative economists) they remove the incentive work. Frum Jews generally place a great value on having time for learning, time for family activities (which include learning), and work schedules that avoid hassles – so the effect of welfare benefits is to discourage work. The same has been observed among goyin in general (note the debate between Romney and Obama on these matters). Giving welfare benefits to one group (Arabs who support Hamas, Jewish gangsters, Jews who chose to spend all day being high and playing computer games, etc.), and denying to another group (Jews who spend all day learning Torah and caring for their children), would be considered discriminatory.
KOLLEL BENEFITS are money paid specifically for learning in kollel. This is really a (poorly paid) job, not welfare. If the zionists want to limit them to people who serve in the army it is less controversial – similar to a donor who supports Satmar who doesn’t want his money going to zionists.
But what if Meshiach comes and I’m dead yet? Will I get a refund? Will the cemetary transfer the grave site to Eretz Yisrael (they move bodies, they don’t move whole empty graves).
I have been in the homes of gedolim, and have not heard them refer to no-Jewish women as “shiksas” and have heard them tell their children not to use such language.
Because uncultured Baal ha-Battim use rude language does not make it right.
Everyone is confusing standard benefits that Israel pays all resident citizens, since Israel is a “welfare state” on a European model – with specific benefits given to those who are learning in government approved kollels. The former are quite liberal, and go someone whether or not they are employed (regardless of if they are making military goods for export, or empoyed as a teacher in a yeshiva, or whatever) and whether or not they are Jewish (as opposed to Palestinian) or whether they support the state (thus even Arabs who advocate destruction of the zionist state and are working towards that goal will still get the benefits if they are Israeli citizens).
If you have Type Two diabetes, you probably can (or could have) reduced almost all the problems by radically reducing your weight and exercise. None of the books from either reputable or not so repspectable sources say otherwise. Even someone who sits and learns, can easily control his diet by eating less and such simple exercise as walking routinely. There are no halachic issues to the contrary, and our gedolim tend to be thin and frequently walk rather than ride (especially the long-lived ones).
If you have Type One diabetes you are either taking insulin shots or you are dead (before artificial insulin was invented, type one diabetes was inevitably fatal).
Among good frum Jews in Europe and America the words “Shiksa” and “Shaygetz” were rude ways of referring to goyim or to Jews who act like goyim. Among the secular Yiddish speakers who lived in America in the latge 19th and 20th century (before the holocaust refugees arrived, which for the first time in America including many frum Jews), the words had a much stronger sexual overtone. The terms are well known to many Americans from the frei Jewish usage, and that usage is one that is not proper for frum Jews to use. A correct translation of the word, as used in secular Yiddish, and therefore American English, would not be allowed on YWN.
An interesting analogy is when Alphonse D’Amato wanted to both insult Charles Schumer (then running for D’Amato’s Senate seat) and used a phrase that based on the usage he had heard (from secular Jews) was mildly rude – and in fact in was (in the Yiddish of the frum Jews whose support he was seeking) extremely vulgar and obsence. Unfortunatley, there is some evidence that choice of word is why Schumer is today a leading Senator.
“Frei” is the Yiddish word meaning “secular” and is a quite proper way to refer to non-Orthodox Jews, and was used by themselves back when there were secular Jews speaking Yiddish as a first language. It is not a perjorative. The literal Hebrew translation, “Hofshi” is used in polite company, and is even in the zionist/Israeli anthem.
“Shiksa”, which is actually a Yiddish version of the Hebrew word for a “worm” (an “Av Tumah”) has strong sexual connotations, as does the masculine equivalent (“Shaggetz”) , and probably should not be used in polite company. Its widespread use is because the Yiddish spoken by most pre-war (meaning, before the holocaust refugees arrived and hareidi Jews became common in the USA), was not “polite”. YWN probably should block posting with the word. The correct way for a Ben or Bas Torah to refer to a non-Jews in Yiddish or Hebrew is as a “Goyah” or a “Nachrit” or an “Annenah Yehudit”. If you need to refer to a female worm, one should use the correct Hebrew term pronounced as it is in Lashon Kodesh.
If this is a bricks and mortar class, circulate a condelence card. Make sure it is a secular one (this is likely to be a problem if the college is under some other religion’s auspices). This is what is common in offices. This would especially be true if its a large class as opposed to a small seminar. Another factor is whether you are just one name on a roster, or whether you actually work with this professor (e.g. your advisor, specialist in an area you are majoring in, is this someone you’ll be asking for a reference form, etc.).
Also ask why he let you know. Was he explaining why the papers weren’t graded on time and doesn’t expect a reply? Just saying “I’m sorry to hear… ” is probably adequate in person.
You might check some goyish ettiquette books.
There is no problem not saying good Shabbos to a passerby if you know her (for a man). The issue arises if it is a total stranger. If you said “Gut Shabbos” to everyone you pass in a place like Boro Park you would end up greeting so many people you wouldn’t get to walk anywhere. In smaller cities most people assume they know, or should know everyone, and everyone tends to greet all Jewish passerbys since it would be insulting not to pretend you know them.
Let’s have more fun with the definition problem – you grew up in Williamsburg but never davened with kavanah, cheated a bit on waiting six hours, talked about politics during davening — then you ran away from home, went to college, wear a kippuh srugah and daven in a Young Israel – but you actually daven during davening, never discuss politics on Shabbos, and learn all day. Or vice versa? Which is OTD and which is a BT?
How about a Shomer Shabbos thief? What about a “conservadox” or “conservative” who totally gives up on kashruth and Shabbos (OTD or doesn’t count to start with). How about a totally assimilated Jew who adopts ingredient kashruth and stops working on Shabbos, but perhaps will turn on a light – but won’t go to his job.
A good frum sociologist might dream up an index to measure frumkeit for comparison purposes. It is interesting to note that frum institutions at all levels are growing, and non-frum ones are shrinking – but that may be due to birth rates more than anything else.
It would have been less confusing if it was “Banos Yaakov”, but no one thought of it at the time. Most other Jewish girls’ school are “Bnos ….. ” and/or have a female name.
IF someone named Devorah paid for the school, no problem with “Toras Devorah.” Think of the people who have names such as Gittleman or Estherman – men have had no trouble with names that show who provides the money.
There are two issues that are be co-mingled and are really separate.
One is the specific money given to kollel students for being in kollel. In the future this might be replaced with grants tied to having served in the army. Non-zionist hareidim don’t accept this money as a matter of principle. While these grants are only for the yeshivos, other subsidy programs assist secular institutions (e.g. universities) who have academic programs covering Jewish studies – and these subsidies tend to be more liberal.
The second is Israel’s liberal social benefits programs which benefit all (hiloni Jews, Russian goyim, Palestinians, etc.) but are especially important for hareidim since one of the benefits is a liberal child allowance, and we have lots of kids. Most western countries with welfare states give such allowances (in the USA its a $1000 per child tax credit). One can argue that Israeli can’t afford the liberal welfare state, but try arguing that in a country where Obama’s economic and social policies would cause him to be regarded as a right-wing fanatic (and note that most hareidi Jews are clearly on the far left of the spectrum on economic matters, which in some way reflects our tradition of meeting human needs first and then worry where the money is coming from).