Always_Ask_Questions

does he mean where we are hated now or where we were ever hated? Spain has museums about the Jews they killed or expelled. Seemingly went around the world buying Jewish artifacts, and even desecrated gravestones of the Jews they prosecuted … New world mostly? Iceland, Finland, India, China, Japan, Central Africa?

Neville, I don’t think we talked before here. I can add that I was zoche to participate in earlier internet forums – before yeshiva bochrim got phones, and the Jewish discussions included people from yeshivish world to apikoiresem mamash, but the tone of (better) discussions was higher. People were not afraird to quote sources and discuss their views, without so much bashing others for the temerity to be associated with that or this group. I may be mis-remembering, but sometimes I see here people talking past each other, simply repeating their sources, be it CNN or Yated. I don’t think there is value in doing that, everyone interested can read the originals. I always hope that there will be an actual discussion, and it does happen sometimes. Maybe, you can help us raise the elvel?

> I’m questioning r. Mirvis. He’s not someone who I’m obligated to listen to or be mevatel daas to. And he’d be the first person to tell you that.

This phrase should be reversed “he is not obligated to listen to you”. He is a Rabbi in an official position. Were you to travel to UK, you would be bound by his positions in public. And just because he is “not your Rabbi”, does not mean that you can disrespect him. Hope you’ll review these halochos urgently with your posek in case your students will ask about the coronation this week. Let us know what he says!

The above would be true for any issue, but specifically here – do we expect R Mirvis to post a written teshuva that explains why we need to placate the King? Do you think King will relate to us better after he reads this teshuva? If MI-5 & 6 do not tell him, he can easily google himself for King and Chief Rabbi. I think this would be clear, as you say, for a Roman emperor. Things may not be as dramatic now, but world politics is still there, just in a different form.

From the Chief Rabbi’s tweet:
How times have changed…

On 3 September 1189, Richard I was crowned King in Westminster Abbey. Jews were barred from attending, but in a spirit of heartfelt goodwill, some Jewish leaders arrived bearing gifts for the new king. They were informed that Jews were not welcome, whereupon Richard’s courtiers stripped and flogged them, and then flung them out of court.

A rumour spread that the King had given an order for all Jews to be attacked. While some Jews escaped, arsonists set fire to many Jewish homes, some Jews were forcibly converted, while others were given sanctuary in the Tower of London. Some thirty innocent Jews were senselessly murdered on the day of the Coronation, including Rabbi Jacob of Orléans, the most senior Rabbi in England at that time.

> I think people who judge him have are one dimensional
> We still have yet to see a heter cited in the poskim to allow being jn a church

How is the chief Rabbi not a decider here? This is his job, he is presumably qualified and, if he has a shaila, he may ask it. Presumably, Q&A will be private and not available for exposure on dailynews.

> Funny how the same people who don’t like it when Torah jews blindly follow gedolei yisroel,

I have not heard of gedolei yisroel asking people to blindly follow them. I am currently re-reading Chofetz Chaim’s letters, and he tries to patiently convince people of the things he is asking them to do. Maybe, you meant that others accuse you of blindly follow.

As to this case, I might think twice of the British Chief Rabbi tells _me_ to attend the coronation, but here it is his decision and his position. You may want to go and learn with someone halochos malchus, but people posting negative opinions about a duly appointed representative of Jewish kehilla sound like poshut apikoiresim, or l’tzad zechut, amei haaertz.

Avira,
sorry, but this seems to be related to the topic. You mentioned it as something you students equate with becoming more observant. Some seem to be upset with nominally observant Yidden because they are not enlightened enough; others – with people who think dress is the enlightment people need, ortho-prax or not.

Benefits of OOT for those looking for a kollel: there is usually just one eruv to argue about. I saw rabonim who pasken that eruv is ok, but I never saw them carrying. Is it a thing in NY area?

By now, and even then, ideological zionists you described are a part of Jews in EY. By now, they are similar to Jewish communities in any other country…

Also, we often blame divergent Jewish groups for everything wrong, but where did early secular, reform, etc came from? They are not some erev rav, they mostly came from same communities… granted behira and external pressures but what our communities were doing in part are responsible. Not just my opinion. Chofetz Chaim refused to greet rav from a town where Trotsky grew up. Berel Wein traces zionist attitude towards datiim to the history of Russian government forcing Kahal to provide soldiers into the army, leading to alienation between the poor and the community.

Ze, thanks, I see. Bravery is a good argument. Not being corrupt also. But this guy didn’t really risk his life standing up to dictators or something and he is independently wealthy from his grandpa Illegal businesses. Your comparison with reporters may be correct but this is really low bar. Read research papers instead of watching CNN and then compare knowledge and credibility

YS > People who openly look frum (or “Orthodox”) but privately lie, cheat, steal, speak lashon horah, get into fights she’lo l’sheim Shomayim, and in general make the lives of others more difficult should fall under the same category as “Orthoprax”.

No, they don’t. Orthoprax are those who do mitzvos, the people you list – do not and are not “orthoprax”.

Avram > And perhaps you’re putting too much of the parents’ job onto the rebbe

This is an interesting point. So, the “rebbe”‘s job is to teach the kid “Torah” and the parents’ job to teach the rest of the Torah?! See Beitza 25 – Hashem gave us Torah to train us in Derech Eretz so that we use it when dealing with others. I know this Gemora is somewhat extreme, there are milder version of the same.

Mishna lists animals that are always muad. Dog is not one of them. But having a dangerous dog might have halachic problems indeed.

RebE, somehow your wisdom and clear thinking abandon you when it comes to politics. Maybe a home-based TDS test? T insisted that NATO actually do defense; Europe not using Russian gas and Chinese telecom. Eventually, they came to that, sort of… You don’t like how he phrased it? I see why, but that does not change the essence.

Another difference between Fauci and me is that he seemingly based some of his responses on “how people will react to that”, while I was (trying to) address issues directly. Such as – nobody needs mask (so that there will be no panic); 3 weeks is a great time between 2 vaccines (more is safer but someone decided that it will be great to have “fully vaccinated” people faster rather than vaccinating more people. UK did opposite).

I am not blaming him and similar people for taking mass reaction into account. Maybe, we all would do that in his position. But he seemingly has no expertise in this area and just used his allergology expertise to deal with public policy; and did not bother to involve real experts.

Thanks for defending me. I indeed do not have a position about Fauci. I mostly read research papers about covid, even some pseudo-research by sceptics. Pseudo-research because they generally lacked hard data, but operated with some secondary sources or pointed out possible deficiency in other papers. I think mention of “Fauci” is a good sign that someone went down the rabbit hole. An only serious matter that I saw that might involve Fauci is mysterious delay in reporting Pfizer Phase 2 trial results post elections. Someone made a decision that it would be good to have slightly more data than originally planned, and I never saw a determination of who that person was.

Common, sorry I didn’t read that far after the first paragraph
All of this doesn’t explain to me why Ze trusts his and putins word against numerous researchers who published on the topic. I suspect the answer is that she simply reads social media rather than research, and in her mind it is fauci v rjk Jr and her choice is reasonable.

Ok, say hello from all of us to that other Avira.

I agree in general on D’E, except that it should not require an extra effort to integrate chesed into curriculum, as chesed is an integral part of Torah. Rather than “preach”, just read meforshim about it.

What I think you mean – it is very exciting for everyone to talk about things that makes Jews look exclusive – we are not eating what they are eating, while l’havero sounds too boring? Why not focus on how better we are (should be) in those mitzvos than general culture and go learn details on that?
Returning lost objects; details on respecting parents; honesty in your job, etc.

I once was at a lecture by a very “frum”-dressed community member who was also distinguished in his profession. “Kids” started asking him what is most challenging/advice mostly talking towards keeping shabbos, kashrus, other challenges at work. He started with – most important thing you need to do is work honestly for your employer for the whole 8 hours a day you are hired ….

Avira, my problem is your equating of decent behavior with getting a hat.

I understand that the kids in MO schools have these problems, I have no direct experience with MO schools, but I heard and seen some … Again, I am sure some of your influence is positive. I also appreciate that you seem to know something about parents you are dealing with. Teachers I had issues with, did not bother to learn anything about the family.

That said, why does your influence leads to their desire to get a hat, out of all things people can do to improve their middos? Can you think about influencing them in such a way that the parent calls you to say – thank you very much, my son today said a wonderful dvar Torah, asked me to tell him about my grandfather and how he kept Yiddishkeit in Hungary, and cleaned dishes after the seudah?

I Should not be using chatGPT while driving

Great, at least one CR thread ends with solution!
OP, you may want to check if you should wait till May 12 to fly or maybe you can arrive 1130p on May 11 and pass customs at 0000 May 12.

Jackk> he is functioning with complete competence 24 hours a day as President.

24 hour is a poetic license – except morning, late afternoons, and weekends. For exampe, during some Congress flare-up, Sen Manchin got offended by something coming out of WH on Friday and then discussed the problems “with the WH” (sic!) who continued sending bad messages, until Mr Biden showed up himself on Monday and they had a discussion that calmed things down. So, the President was not available even for a phone call over whole weekend.

Avira, sometimes it is hard to see yourself from outside. While I am sure you have a lot of positive influence on your students, I am also in agreement with Dofi that you are committing genius daas from the parents. I had to take my kids out of schools because of well meaning influencers like you.

I don’t know how exactly to differentiate between where one should influence kids and where to respect other opinions, but you seem to consistently fall on the wrong side of this line.

Not all psychologists have chochma, and not all LORs are bakiim… That is why I am recommending books by r Twersky who was both. I don’t know if he had raised students working in his ways … when he recommends asking a rabbi, he sometimes qualifies “who is qualified in such matters ” and when recommends a psychologist he suggests sometimes to add the local rabbi to the team, so that the doctor doesn’t conclude that wrapping up boxes every day is a sign of ocd

amirican, and if you think outside ~= inside is not such a big deal, we also have 12,000 hevrusos who Hashem did not judge deserving to become Teachers of Torah for inappropriate middos.

I don’t think age is a problem for Biden. He was in the same state of mind for many decades – when he “quoted” Kinnock without attribution, when he proposed insane solutions for Iraq and in most other times.