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rational?! Seforim written in English or any other non-jewish language are a recipe for mediocre talmudic scholarship
It is ironic that “rational” does not appreciate works by the most rational Rambam’s Pirush Hamishnayot, Guide, as well as Saadia Gaon, Hovot Halevavot, Kuzari, Rav Shimshon Hirsh.
Oh, and two more books in non-Jewish languages – Bavli and Yerushalmi
common, if you want to be technical, this is maris ayn about halacha of endangering someone’s lives. People will be thinking that you are not careful about human lives. When I walk on Shabbos, first person out of a shul without mask, I guess might get benefit of doubt that he has an ADA psak, but not the fifth!
More generally, the question is, as I quoted the class above: “If people see someone who learned Torah and they think his behavior did not become more refined or, worse, became worse. Then, they project these behaviors on Torah”.
So, IN CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES, when people make assumptions about groups based on individual behaviors (see some idiots punching Chinese grandmothers) and already information about Jews non-complying, then surely looking Jewish and looking non-compliant is hillul Hashem.
I would be interested to hear why it is not a problem, according to your Rav, you or anyone else.So, this person should take additional precautions both against virus and hillul Hashem –
travel less, isolate or test before travel, wear an ADA sign, wear a shield, apologize and explain to neighbors in the planerational: Why is the profit (minimal) of the store inherently preferable to the expense (maximal) of your friend?
It may be more important to help the store than an individual poor buyer:
1) you want to help someone in business NOT to become poor in the first place
2) the store is in the business of helping multiple poor people, they will be worse without the store, especially after federal assistance will end
3) you would like to encourage local residents to go into business, like the store owner, rather than collect free federal food. Current system seems to provide more incentives for the latter than the former (although, I presume the store also got their PPP loan)common – I was talking about a person here who suggested that he has a (hidden?) medical reason not to wear a mask, and that is where I suggested it is bettter, lhathila, not travel because how it all looks.
I was not there with that kid. He might well have been within his rights. There was also a father who lowered his mask in order to talk to the crew. Maybe he became very agitated, I don’t know.
Please clarify the psak you got – do you mean generally to use ADA, or specifically with Covid when people might think that a Jew is disregarding the rules? I have no problem with the former.
anecdote that has nothing to do with the discussion:
Rav Kamenetsky in Israel visting R Ouerbach yeshiva commented that Moschiach will come from that yeshiva – as they had top shiurim in Hebrew (and thus enabled Sephardim to attend). So it is not the language per se, it is the context.Ms Syag, yashar kochech!
you were able to both help your friend and make a sale to the store! Consider an alternative – she buys from the store and you offer her money (as she seems to be getting free food somewhere else). This will be embarrassing her, of course. So, you fulfilled mitzva of tzedokah b’hiddur – and got an immediate reward in the form of chocolate.
More (free) food for thought – generally, food store did not suffer much, sale of groceries increased all over the country – at the expense of the restaurants. So, if your store suffered due to people getting federal free food, there are a couple of points to make:
1) I referred recently to Rav Huna who provided tzedoka in a similar situation by buying and sending away leftovers to lower market prices without making people dependent on charity ..
You described exactly the problem R Huna was trying to avoid – if you feed poor people directly, then you will destroy the livelihood of people who are still working productively and you may only increase number of poor people2) having so many people relying on charity, and even a non-Jewish one seems to be a problem y itself. Rabbi Akiva suggests “make your shabbat like chol” but do not depend on tzedokah, and I think MB paskens the same way. Are we more permissive towards government charity?
“this link is yet unclear.”
I am taking it back. 6 J&J cases cited in today’s ACIP meeting are all but one females between 18 and 50. Vaccines were given 50-50 for men and women. So, the link is suggestive. Still, I guess, it is possible that men just did not go the doctor as we usually do (not), although we are talking about serious symptoms.
Ma nafka mina? Does it affect whether we eat omelet before chicken?
A better question – what came first – a sun or a day?
inyan d’yoma:
on one hand, masks pervent smoking
on the other hand, smoking increases SD around you. Maybe we should temporarily allow smoking inside, especially in shuls and schools.
Watcvhed the video. Unbelievable how cops are laxed in their cuffing procedure – of the guy wo has a record of running away and possibly kept an illegal gun for a year already. The only explanation is that for them it is a routine situation.
effects of vaccines so far: UK has 470 and Israel have 410 cases per million in last 2 weeks.
NO country on European continent have it that low, closest Portugal has 650, most have in thoiusands, highest – Hungary 8,000, France, Poland 7,000+, Sweden 6,000this seems like a serious indication that vaccines work. Notice that brave UK decision to disregard (incorrectly defined) “science” and have everyone do one shot first seems to be paying off.
for those who are thinking where there is a balance between vaccine and COVID, here are numbers from European statisticians:
for 20-30 y.o – risk of serious complication from AZ is 1 in 100,000. Risk of being in ICU in next 4 months: from 1 in 100,000 to 7 in 100,000, depending on your level of exposure. So, in this case risk seems to be balanced for 20-30 y.o.To adjust to US situation:
– Blood cloth risks of J&J seems to be several times lower than AZ. mRNA vaccines were not observed to have similar levels of risks (with a lot of real world testing).
– Risks from virus exposure are about same as in EuropeSo, it seems that benefits of any vaccine are significantly higher for those over 30-40.
Those in 20s without much exposure (online college students, mothers at home, Torah scholars in small groups) might want to wait for 1-2 months while others, who need it more, are getting vaccines. I am not a medical doctor, this is not a professional advice.>> all 6 of these people (out of 7 million does given !) were young women where they taking OCP’s which are knwon to predispose to blood clots?
this link is yet unclear. Initial reaction to AZ blood clots was similar, but now they are thinking that there were many young women nurses in initial vaccination.
you could put someone’s long comment into a readability score app and you will see grade level of his writing.
ujm >> do you utilize “ma’am” with your female immediate family as you do “sir” with your male immediate family
good question, maybe this: Torah imeha v’musar aviha and kibed et …? Musar may be more associated with discipline and hierarchy, so “sir” would be appropriate. Our attitude towards mothers is different, so maam may be less appropriate.
CTLAWYER, this is Kiddush Hashem even if she is not happy with you.
Common, here I take back my analogy (as it was mine, I can take it back :). You seem generally look at psak as the Army discipline issue – go ask a Rav, “yes sir”. Hashem gave us a mitzva of learning Torah so that we refine our intellect and midos, and learn to restrain ourselves (Beitza 25). So, use an opportunity to learn the issue when asking.
2nd “the cow wants to nurse more than the calf to eat (Pesachim 112). So, surely your Rav wants to teach even as you don’t want to learn.
3rd, halakha WANTS individuals to be able to make decisions, instead of relying on lawyers. That is why we often have simple halakhic rules, such as you can take a chicken if he is 50 amot away from a house (Bava Basra 23). Incidently, this rule is so important that Rav Yirmiyahu, who tried “AAQ” this rule (“what if only one leg is within 50 amot”) was kicked out of the beit midrash until they needed him again many years later. Menachem Elon, Israeli supreme justice, writes that this is core difference between Roman/English/American law, where it is up to the victim to sue – caveat emptor, and Jewish law, where it is a responsibility of an individual to always make sure he is doing thing correctly and not injuring others.
Jewish judges have to take care to receive and analyze facts properly. Same applies whenever we make a judgment about people. In this case, additional information is interesting: the person was wanted for previously fleeing from the arrest and potentially having an illegal weapon. Presuming the cop processed this information, she would be on edge already.
Another issue – if a cop did not behave properly, is it relevant that the other person was behaving illegally/dangerously? shouldn’t the cop behave correctly anyway? I think it matters when we try to understand the big picture. If in most cases of misconduct, the other person is doing something dangerous/illegal – it means that the cops are really not misbehaving on their own, only in difficult circumstances. Then, parents should stop telling children that it is dangerous to be “driving while black”, only that if you are black, it is too dangerous to be doing anything illegal.
the grip is relevant, the color is not relevant when an officer is appropriately looking at the person trying to drive away from being arrested.
maybe the gun needs a speech-recognition module that does not shoot when the officer is shouting “taser”
B siyata d’shemaya, just had a class on Hillul Hashem. Definition giuven by the Rav –
H H = If people see someone who learned Torah and they think his behavior did not become more refined or, worse, became worse. Then, they project these behaviors on Torah. So, all you need to ask – how would someone who sees my actions think about them?example from Chulin – R Pinchas b’ Yair forces the river to let him cross because he is on the way to a great(est) mitzva – pidyon shevuyim (while river claims it is also doing ratzon Hashem and does it right!). He then tells the river to let the next Jew to pass because he is carrying wheat for matzah (a less urgent mitzva). Then, he also tells river to pass for an Arab businessman who joined them on the trip. Gemora’s conclusion – miracle akin to splitting the sea is performed so that a non-Jew will not say that Jews abandoned him on the trip. So, be considerate to other people on a plane, that’s all I am saying.
GH >> someone was punished or suffered bad outcomes for either saying tehillim at the “wrong time” or reciting the “wrong perek” at the right time?
Moshe is credited for saying exceptional responses to Hashem and melachim that achieved great results. It follows, were he to use different responses, he would not have been successful in these cases.
It may be ineffective to daven for a wrong thing if you misdiagnosed the problem. for example, you made an aveira but you think that you did a mitzva and then someone else is harsh to you. So, you then ask Hashem to punish the Rasha (him) and reward the Tzaddik (you).This may involve some tehilim .. Then,if your davening is effective then Hashem will punish the Rasha (you) and reward the tzaddik (him).
Common, seems we just have different business and learning styles.
I regularly ask questions of my lawyer and CPA. Sometime, they explain the logic to me and it helps in my future business decisions, sometimes they review my suggestions and those that work out saved my company some bucks, other did not. Neither of them told me that questions are inappropriate or quit doing business with me. I would ask a Rav before wearing a t-shirt you suggested. I would appreciate if you confirm that there is a Rav that will say this is an appropriate notice.Shekalim, 21
A student asks a question, teacher ignores it. Students goes to find an answer elsewhere, gemora concerns that the teacher has inappropriate question. Turns out, the teacher is worrying about his uncertain parnasa – whether the baker will have bread for him today … a problem for some teachers …Shekalim 21
a saliva in the middle of the road – we presume from a tame person, as he would not be careful and walk in the middle. on a side – from a tahor who was careful. Except during holidays – most people going to Beis Hamikdash are tahorim and go in the middle. Whoever is in a majority goes in the middle.Implications:
– you can evaluate person’s status by where and how he walks (not judge, evaluate for halakhic decisions)
– where majority is in masks, maskless people should walk on a side of sidewalk (or on the road?). in places where majority is maskless, masked people walk on a side. No machlokets, respect the local majority.common, I’ll be interested to learn about ranges of halakha here. I don’t know exact answer. You said several times “what if the answer does not fit” without providing any halakhic references, this does not help me at all.
I am also not sure “exercising rights under US law” concludes halakhic discussion. I understand you are involved into ADA, but how does it affect possible moris ayn? Maybe you can have a sign “no mask based on ADA”. Maybe also wearing a face shield could show people that you are not a total rasha – with an ADA sticker to boot.
You can not say bracha in a Mazda as it is AZ. That is Avoda Zara. You also can’t say bracha over other AZ – Astra Zenica – as astra means “star” and Zenica means nothing, so you don’t want to say brocha over Avoda Zara or over nothing (as in “thanks you for nothing”). It also has questionable performance, so no bracha b’sofek. On a plus side, seems like Wallenbergs still have a share in the company.
other questionable places for bracha, ask your posek –
Subaru (stars, Pleiades), Yugo (sakana), Ford (anti-semite), VW (ditto) esp Rabbit and Beetle – not kosher. Tesla – drives by itself, no bracha requiredRebE, Choosid is well defined in the Gemorah as you are hinting. Why call on people asking if they mean something else?! Judge l’tzad zhut!
Common, I am not advocating against ADA. We are talking about a person flying without a mask based on alleged disability. Given that there are multiple Jews who are bad with masks, how is it not maris ayn? I agree that maris ayn mat be influenced by common assumptions. For example, pareve milk required keeping the bottle nearby but not anymore. I also don’t need to ask shailos for a permission not to fly, someone who is flying needs to ask question whether it is moris ayn or not. I’ll be interested hearing the answer and an explanation
Syag> Which is against the halacha of judging favorably
the question here is inverse – maris ayn is precisely that we should behave in a way that does not cause suspicions, we are not allowed to say – “let them judge me favorably”. If you agree with this halakha, then I presume you’ll change your position.
For example, we just learned in Daf Yomi Shekalim that a person in charge of money in Beis Hamikdash would go into the money room without pockets, short-cut hair, etc to avoid suspicions. They did not require him putting water into his mouth though – as he was supposed to say a brocha.
RebE >> So do not dismiss dikduk outright because of the maskilim who only cared about it.
A good point. Just because maskilim did something, doe ot men it is wrong..
We were confronted with a new phenomenon of Enlightenment ad we still did not figure out what to do. It takes time.. As R Steinsaltz answered about reasons for Shoah and about halochos of electricity – “we will know better in a couple of hundred years”…. So, we had different responses, some proved unsuccessful despite based intentions, like Moses Mendelssohn. Approaches rejecting all innovations looked more successful in a short term, although those approaches might have led many Jews to try assimilation, Reform, etc [that is usual opinion is that Reform was at fault, but maybe O- attitudes allowed Reform]. We also have long term consequences, such as communities lacking professional education and can’t figure out which side the mask is put on.
@AAQ, when it come to rules we follow the rules
from daf yomi discussions: you find ownerless money without simanim, you are allowed to take it.
You don’t have to. You can still make an effort too find the owner. If he is non-Jewish, this could be kiddush Hashem.re: dog. It depends how people will see it. Someone with a dog is probably presumed to be disabled. Currently, someone without a mask is seen as non-complying, people will not think that he might have medically-certified masko-fobia
AAQ
Chafetz Chaim used to travel and sell the books himself (after checking that they are printed correctly).
Maybe that’s the secret?ujm,
on one hand, I looked up the literature again, and see indeed that the data is unclear. Some say it is tensof thousandson the other hand, I don’t think it is counter-intuitive that those communities were started by small groups of traders. do we have records of large community migrations? Northern Europe experienced rapid growth due to advanced in agriculture (beans->proteins->kitniyos) and outgrew early centers and Ashkenazim benefited from that rapid growth.
What is your alternative data?
health >> Very well that the US Vaccines don’t have these types of problems that vaccines in other countries do
I don’t think there was much difference in European and US regulations. You are right that US did not approve AZ yet, but that does not mean that US-approved vaccines might not have had similar, relatively minor, issues. Using these vaccines for high-risk population was surely justified to begin with, and by the current time when low-risk population gets to it, there is a lot of data on safety. AZ case is reassuring that such minor issues are addressed.
>> oh so that’s how it works
rw, you are taking like a posiled child… it is worldwide emergency, various people and organizations are trying to help as much as we can, and you are sitting here commenting that there is not enough certainty. Again, AZ is helping much more people than it hurt. They stopped it wen they noticed a minor problem. Pfizer and Moderna are out for 5 months already, saved a lot of lives, and they have similar monitoring in multiple countries.
Again, your alternatives are either to be isolated (which is fine), or, if you in contact with other people, accept uncertainty of the virus itself. Just what is safer – a full virus that killed millions already (and was possibly designed o kill you) or a vaccine that is designed to help you so far passed various safety tests. Take your pick.
ubiquitin – there are indeed different infinities and some are bigger than others. It may be a cabbalistic concept introduced by George Cantor and labeled as Alef, mabye the only Hebrew math symbols in the sea of Greek letters [just found out that there is also a Bet[.
Infinity of real numbers (aleph_1) is higher than those of natural numbers (aleph_0). Maybe Georg Cantor introduced these numbers as a tribute to his semi-denied Jewish ancestors. He definitely felt that his theories of infinity relate to G-d.
rw>> Problem with vaccine, no can’t be!
exactly, at least with western vaccines, problems are being tracked and identified. So, hopefully you will trust now that the other vaccines are as safe as it is reported.
It is obvious that benefits outweigh the risks for older population, so by the time 30-y.o. are vaccinated, you can already see even the minor problems. So, overall thousands of lives saved so far.
ujm, I was quoting from memory genetic testing results I read about that looked pretty reasonable – Ashkenazim came from a small community of Jewish men. Sephardim are pretty diverse. This would be, I think, in contradiction with Khazar theory.
does it contradict your mesorah? which part of my statement?
1) diversity of Sepahrdim? depends whon we call S. I fthose who were in Spain, then they might have all come from the same place. But we nowdays call every non-A a S, including Persians, Yemenites
2) small group of first men Ashkenazim? what are other views? Note that there might have been more at the beginning, just not all had surviving eineklesujm: exactly, Sephardim are not wearing turbans as their Gedolim did for centuries, how dare they? They simply dress like people around them to fit. I have no problem with that.
>> So long as you are in compliance with the airlines policies
I thought we had better standards than airline policies
>> Maris ayin is only appicable in conficts in halacha
a person who looks Jewish without a mask looks like a person violating government policies and endagering human lives, which is against halakha. Leading to people think bad about Jews. Especially, when such cases are already publicized.
if you respect Jewish tradition, you should wear the same hats as Tannaim and Amoraim did.
the only people who have a good reason to wear black hats are Sephardim. They do it in order to behave like people around them.
>> Ashkenazim came from Eretz Yisroel while Sefardim came from Bovel,
Ashkenazim come from a 100 guys who decided to go North. “Sephardim” are everyone else ..
>> Why force people with antibodies to get the vaccine.
nice, this is a great bridge for people without masks to jump into vax resistance. Did you consult any halakhic authority with these questions?
meirG> its a time to be focused on ruchnius each on their level
One of many good ideas, but you all guys are talking as if there is no pandemic outside that makes every trip a potential suicide or murder. Surely, this should affect your ruchnius even if you don’t infect anyone (or just do not know about it)? A person who raises his hand at another person is a rasha.