Always_Ask_Questions

Israel now reports that 90% of hospitalized are those who did not yet vaccinate. This is a picture in transition while some are partially vaccinated.

I think when US reaches same levels, the issue will resolve: priovate and Obamacare insurance will start asking for vaccination status, workplaces and schools will to. It is really issue of social convention. Right now, schools ask for flu vaccine even when kids do not go to school, and it is considered normal.

Speaking about vaccines and shidduchim:

do people put there covid, mask and vaccine status on shiduch resume already?
if not, do people ask?

it cuts both ways – some may not want a candidate with potentially damaged lungs, others might be happy that the candidate survived OK..

DY >> Tongue in cheek much

no, very straighforward – I am arguing _these_ are issues that require more attention.

meta-question – whom would you ask? A posek is a democratically “elected” figure – it is a person who is being often asked by other deciders. Now, if most of questions being asked are not in this area, then we might not have a well-developed poskim in the areas we are not asking questions. “our fault”, as we discussed before. Maybe time to start is now.

rightwriter,
may I ask you – did you have a chance to learn halakha and if you comfortable to disclose – where? and did you have a chance to run your questions by your Rav or Rosh Yeshiva?

DY – yes, the Israeli study is the first indicating reduced transmission. this is an early study with some caveats if you read reporting to the end. Even with this condition, there are two others that I mentioned. The next question is how to stop them. Anti-maskers are visible, so you can usually walk around them and exclude from the company. Maybe in the future non-vaxers would need to wear, indeed, special signs that people know to avoid them.

I could not find Esther in the Parsha, but found two Vashtis… why two?

It took Covid for kids to realize that they can give shaloh-monosto each other and their parents!

RebE, thanks! interesting, how a discussion about waste of time turned out not to be one!
L’Chaim

The writer has a point. Maybe he could petition to open vaccine-free restaurants for non-vaccinated only. The food will be even cheaper as the chef does not need to care how the food smells, so he could use left-over from the other restaurtants.

I am not sure Supreme court will allow back of the bus reserved for the vaccine-free

And feel comfortable to share this dvar Torah – it is not mine, I heard it from Lakewood R Nosson Wachtfogel Z’L. I did not put his name first, expecting someone reacting to a “Rebbe” designation for Esther. I was surprised by his choice of words – maybe I looked modernishe? – but I see a big applied value in his message for the CR room on who can pasken.

PS Crystallization – and this is of course straight out of Hoshen Mishpat: judges are not supposed to listen to one litigant without the other.

I did not go to all these interesting references, but I want to confirm the math part:
26.4%, down to 20.1% would be a 23.9%.

One question is what is uncertainty of the estimates.

You would also need to accept that there might not be a simple answer here: there are multiple variations to be tested: doses, early/late interventions, combinations, and it will take time to go through all of them at high confidence.

The question is how to act under uncertainty. The answer is to balance risk and reward.

I saw some articles that advocates several cocktails with multiple specific components, including hCQ, zinc, etc as long as they are relatively safe. Trying to uses and evaluate a cocktail together, instead of separate elements.

@RebE: I don’t see where she was rhe rebbi.

just as I looked up pesukim where Esther is mentioned before Mordechai, Bach amended “Rava and Abaye” to Rabba in Pesachim daf yomi, because teacher is listed first … confirmed min hashamayim? We use a similar order analysis to show that Mordechai fell out of favor due to his political activities.
here they are:

4:14 Mordechai teaches Esther
4:15 Then Esther sent back this answer to Mordecai [that includes instructions for all Jews and her mesilas nefesh decision. How does she have hutzpah not to ask her Rebbe?! because she the Rebbe now, she is not even asking Mordechai for recognition]
לֵךְ֩ כְּנ֨וֹס אֶת־כָּל־הַיְּהוּדִ֜ים הַֽנִּמְצְאִ֣ים בְּשׁוּשָׁ֗ן וְצ֣וּמוּ עָ֠לַי וְאַל־תֹּאכְל֨וּ וְאַל־תִּשְׁתּ֜וּ שְׁלֹ֤שֶׁת יָמִים֙ לַ֣יְלָה וָי֔וֹם גַּם־אֲנִ֥י וְנַעֲרֹתַ֖י אָצ֣וּם כֵּ֑ן וּבְכֵ֞ן אָב֤וֹא אֶל־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹֽא־כַדָּ֔ת וְכַאֲשֶׁ֥ר אָבַ֖דְתִּי אָבָֽדְתִּי׃
“Go, assemble all the Jews who live in Shushan, and fast in my behalf; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens will observe the same fast. Then I shall go to the king, though it is contrary to the law; and if I am to perish, I shall perish!”

and he listen to instructions
וַֽיַּעֲבֹ֖ר מָרְדֳּכָ֑י וַיַּ֕עַשׂ כְּכֹ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־צִוְּתָ֥ה עָלָ֖יו אֶסְתֵּֽר׃ (ס)
So Mordecai went about [the city] and did just as Esther had commanded him

Later, Mordechai becomes even more hashuv, but he is listed second almost always:
8:7 וַיֹּ֨אמֶר הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרֹשׁ֙ לְאֶסְתֵּ֣ר הַמַּלְכָּ֔ה וּֽלְמָרְדֳּכַ֖י הַיְּהוּדִ֑י
9:29 וַ֠תִּכְתֹּב אֶסְתֵּ֨ר הַמַּלְכָּ֧ה בַת־אֲבִיחַ֛יִל וּמָרְדֳּכַ֥י הַיְּהוּדִ֖י
reversed though in 9:31, which can be explained as Mordechai’s letter going out first
לְקַיֵּ֡ם אֵת־יְמֵי֩ הַפֻּרִ֨ים הָאֵ֜לֶּה בִּזְמַנֵּיהֶ֗ם כַּאֲשֶׁר֩ קִיַּ֨ם עֲלֵיהֶ֜ם מָרְדֳּכַ֤י הַיְּהוּדִי֙ וְאֶסְתֵּ֣ר הַמַּלְכָּ֔ה

@DJT (and other politicians & doctors) Feb 2020: The coronavirus is very much under control in the USA.

This is about when my wife put masks on all of us when flying despite people looking at us.

Now I know whom to listen to.

@nischt: you can just eliminate a part of davening because of tircha

minyan already skipped pesukei d’zimra. There are numerous recent teshuvot for COVID about it. One teshuva offers a klal: you can skip some parts, but it should not be so short that it just feels like it just touches the main points: shma -> shmone esre -> aleinu.

you may be right whether this is “tircha”, I see that you and RebE started a scholarly debate. You can call it tzaar baalei chaim. People were freezing. Some people may go over their limit of cold without realizing it. Especially, American city youngsters.

rebE – there was no issue of getting up. Nobody was sitting for a long time (first sign that they were cold). Maybe I had a choice of saying all kadishim faster than you can say Mississippi, but it seems I feel the same way you do: when there is a strong reason to skip, just do it firmly.

L’Maase, I once observed a Rav, who is proud of slow davening, going super-fast and skipping one kaddish (in Sephardi nusach). Then, doing some tehilim slowly. I asked – he said the 10th told him he was about to leave for work.

Amalek, like SAR-COV-2, attacks those who are weak, old, and walk in a disorganized crowd.

The strong, young, and healthy need to step in the fight to protect, starting with their own yetzer hara.

If the young do not help, they will be overwhelmed also (some immediately, some after becoming old)

>> is that our personal experience doesn’t reflect the horrendous plagues in the past.

Agree. There are 2 parts here:

1) pandemic is happening in the hospitals and nursing homes. you do not always see it. I heard a Rav on Zoom for several weeks (WITH a negative test but with a cough I never heard before), this made enough of an impression. That is why you need to use your math skills to evaluate reports of number of people dying and sick to understand something that is not in front of your eyes. There are lots of people who work with infectious diseases or radiation who are capable of keeping precautions without seeing a threat. Or you can talk to hatzolah people for their impressions.

2) numbers are indeed lower than under Bubonic plague. It is to a credit of humanity that we are taking measures to save lives of many of older and sicker people, and not behaving like Amalek.

Maybe this a double test Hashem sent us – first for our intellectual abilities and second for rahmanus. Maybe a final test before Maschiach comes?

common > especially in regards to halacha such as not saying a kaddish

common, let’s be positive (thanks again, Mrs. Syag) ! we are absolutely on the same page.

I did not have azus to disregard halakha of tircha in such extreme situation, when seeing my fellow Jews showing such mesiras nefesh, trying to keep their hands and feet warm, while still holding a siddur. Not one left early. Not one tried to move out of shade into the sun at the expense of neighbor’s place. Some of them, relative after- or in-college youngsters, who probably never experienced such challenge before. If you would have seen such nachas with your own eyes, you would have rachmonus on them too, as rachamanut is said to be a sign of Jewish nations as taught by “Moshe Rabbanu and Yshua ben Nun”.

Still, waiting if you have asked your Rav (when explained both the kaddish and the freezing part) and whether he thinks differently. I would be interested to hear his arguments.

>> your friend is a friend but the Rebbi is a guy?

the one from the story was definitely a guy, not a gal, and not a Talmid Chacham (based admittedly on a strict criteria). I can’t fully vouch for the story but it illustrates a lot what I see.

To be clear, I am in no way denigrating those wonderful teachers who work l’shem shamaim.

What I often see is that many people, both mena and women, are educated in a way that teaching is their only viable profession. Then, some of them are not really into that but they have no other job, and now they are teaching the kids. And this is happening for a couple of generations already, so this attitude becomes the norm. Again, I have greatest kavod for real teachers and always look for them.

Mordechai and Esther – who is the Rebbe and who is the student?

First, Mordechai is the Rebbe. Telling Esther what to do. Then, Esther commits to go to Ahashverosh. This is mesiras nefesh. That makes Esther into the Rebbe. She starts telling Mordechai what he and Jewish people should do after that.

A lesson for students on how to become Rebbes.

PS disregard the previous shaila, of course the whole family can hang together

Talk radio has a propaganda aspect influencing masses, that I am not fond of, and an educational aspect that is good. You hear not just pronouncements, but arguments and discussions.

I listen more to NPR than to AM radio to get familiar with their reasoning. Does not mean that I agree with them, but I am sure that when I take a position I know what the counter-arguments are. Some here have a curious view that they refuse to listen to the other side – and then pronounce their judgment based on quotes they picked up somewhere. You can not be sure that you are not being biased. You see that a number of reasonable people found something in Talk Radio, so you should investigate and make a reasonable judgment.

PS It appears some liberal-minded Israelis have more integrity than Americans. A story that one Israeli academic told me: “I chose” not to be observant … Then, my older son, growing up, started mocking Datiim. I told him – if you want to talk like that, you need to at least know what you are talking about. So, he went a took a class. Became shomer Shabbat. Does not eat in my house anymore. Then, my 2nd son – same story repeated… (One of them is involved in right-wing Israeli politics). <end of story>. I give this guy a lot of credit – especially that he said the same thing to the 2nd son after what happened with the first.

meir G. Bravo, let’s make sure no child is left behind! Expose everybody. If it is ok for your kids and students, how dare they

It would be good if those who feel that there is a problem here, went and asked their Rav. Maybe we can learn something here? I do understand your emotions – Yiddishkeit contains lots of ritual acts; we are habitually under assault; so we need to protect ourselves.

Still, logically, there should be more shailos about lhavero than l’makom. Most mitzvos l’makom are not changing quickly over time and do not change over a person (except strict shiurim that our zeides did not use). Mitzvos l’havero depend on the person you interact with. So, you may be asking whether you are allowed, for example, to post on YWN disagreeing with someone – many times. It may well maybe that you can reply to AAQ in a way you would not to Wolf or GH …

As an exampl, I just listened to a class on Purim: long discussion whether one is yotze when a present is not accepted and a cursory note: of course, things are different this year, people will not congregate and drink in my house. I asked a couple of doctors and they say, giving matanot is not generally a problem. By me, a novel issue would require a little more investigation: would people actually meet and some talk? would they cough while packing? would they start giving it to each other in a crowd after megilla reading? But, no, it is more scholarly to go through all achoronim on an issue that will not affect most of us.

FOCUS on what is important.

My other argument is that we always choose what is important to ask. I recently quoted a responsa from last April: right now, no questions about dinei mamonot, only nefashot. The counter-argument seems to be – hey, yes, we know we should ask more about Hoshen Mishpat, please do, but first , there is another O’Ch shaila we need to finish. I saw a simple rule in a sefer: parent/spouse should be 80 positive. So, make 4 positive comments, then you can allow yourself one negative.

Try the same with shailos for at least 50-50: do not ask about l’makom before you asked about l’havero. Any takers?