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Joseph are you asking for Israel or the states? I started a thread a while back asking for a replacement for the K9 filter (they don’t work on the latest version of android and I have the feeling they won’t be updating it anytime soon). Somebody in the CR recommended Mobicip which was a very comparable alternative. They have a filtered browser and you can block certain apps (including the appstore itself so that you can’t download new apps without the password).
The filtered browser isn’t perfect (you can still access things like google image search although I think it’s forced safesearch) but it’s definitely better than no filter at all. The app is free although to do anything more than the stuff I just listed I think you need a paid version.
If you’re asking for Israel I got a mushgach phone which I found out about recently. Basically it takes two sim cards – one kosher and one not so you have two phone numbers you can use. The phone is a smartphone and you have internet access on the non-kosher SIM but there is no internet browser, youtube, etc. There is just basic parve apps like email and weather. At the place I got mine from the guy can add on certain other apps like waze and whatsapp. As long as you don’t need to check any websites it’s great option as you don’t need to worry about any chinks in the armor of the filter since there’s no browser. It’s great for an adult, however if you’re looking for a child it’s probably more than they need.
I really really love visiting and davening by kivrei tzadikim. Last night I was zoche to go to the kever of Calev ben Yafuneh and while there I thanked Hashem for helping me to get there and told Him that Calev is one of my all time heros (as he risked life and limb even against multiple giants to daven at ma’arat hamachpela).
A rav I’m close to told me that back in Europe the bare minimum for being called a gaon was to know all of shas rashi/tosfos baal peh.
The term seems to pretty loosely be thrown around today which tends to cheapen it. I’ve seen a chaver knesset who has been referred to as “harav ######## shlita” Now this individual may very well have some sort of smicha and I’m sure he learns when he has the chance but the fact of the matter is what capacity does he function at day to day, or as he ever functioned at to really fill the description of a rav? I’m personally unaware of it (thought could be I’m just ignorant of his full situation) but for me it seems unfair compared to those who are in actual rabbanus
I think you can clarify the difference between your run of the mill anti-zionist mainstream charedi and a proper anti-zionist like a satmar chassid with the following hypothetical:
If tomorrow Bibi and all the other members of knesset were to do teshuva, put on black kippahs, start consulting with gedolim and only passing laws that were in line with halacha would you still have an issue with the state existing?
From what I understand the minority of poskim such as Reb Yoilish held that creating a state under any circumstances is an issur gamur, whereas rov poskim held the way it was done l’maisah wasn’t allowed (i.e. a secular state founded by a bunch of apikorsim which encouraged droves of yiddin off the derech) but that if a group of rabbanim had founded a halacha state there wouldn’t have been an issur involved.
I asked a very well known Anglo kiruv rav (he probably wouldn’t mind me mentioning his name but I won’t just in case) about prepping – not necessarily for end of the world but just in case of a major disaster. My shaila wasn’t so much on stocking food, etc but more on having a family plan in case of major disasters/emergencies, etc. His exact words were, “There is nowhere to escape from Hashem. You need no plans”
I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of prepping but I’ve never really delved into it because of a personal theory I have called the “sprained ankle” theory. It goes like this – somebody can have all the right gear, a good weapon, a hiding place, etc. But when everything collapses and they go into survival mode all of a sudden one day they trip on a stone and sprain their ankle badly now no longer being able to run from danger or the like quickly enough so all the amazing preparation and training was for naught because of an unpredictable chance occurrence.
It doesn’t need to be a sprained ankle – it could be anything (getting food poisoning, competitors for food or shelter getting the jump on you, etc). The sprained ankle itself just represents how despite our best planning we are totally unable to plan for even the most simplest of things Hashem can throw our way.
That theory has basically kept me from spending a lot of time and energy getting involved in prepping. Though I still think it would be amazing to know how to start a fire without matches or know what kind of plants you can eat in the wild, etc.
do you have any resources that you recommend for frum people interested in becoming preppers?
good point all on Rashi’s daughters – totally forgot about that.
As far as coming from undistinguished lineage, although Moshe rabbeinu was raised in pharo’s house, he also was the son of Amram who seemed to be one of if not the preeminent gadol hador at the time. So even if mashiach’s background will mirror that of Moshe Rabbeinu’s, coming from distinguished lineage isn’t necessarily a stirah.
Are we talking about Mashiach ben Yosef or Mashiach ben David? I heard from a rav once that Mashiach ben Yosef doesn’t need necessarily need to be a direct father to son descendant from Yosef haTzadik (i.e. he could be of matralinial descent) but I don’t know a source on the inside for this.
As far as Mashiach ben David we know he needs to be a direct patralinial descendant of David HaMelech so let’s look at who has a mesorah for that. Rav Daniel Glattstein said a few days ago in a TorahAnytime shiur that Rashi was a direct descendant (and apparently he’s a direct descendant of Rashi so I guess he’s a candidate!) – so anyone who can trace father to son back to Rashi.
The Baal Shem Tov, Rebbe Nachman m’Breslov, and the Maggid m’Mizritch also were direct descendants so somebody who could trace lineage back to them would be in the running as well. Rav Yosef Shlomo Dayan came from a large Syrian family in which they apparently had documents recording their family back to David Hamelech as well. As he never married he didn’t have any children though I believe he had a lot of relatives.
These are the ones that come off the top of my head – is anyone else familiar with a lineage like these?
I’ve found the whole ivrit thing very difficult l’ma’aseh. On the one hand it’s really disgusting to hear the things people say on the street in modern hebrew and how our holy tongue has been perverted, especially when you hear vulgar people speaking. I read in a biography of Reb Yoilish that he once said, “I wish I knew hilchos Shabbos as well as I know that it’s assur to speak ivrit!”
On the other hand, as a baal teshuva with absolutely no Jewish schooling growing up (not even reform) the difference in my learning ability before I went to ulpan and after was basically in different galaxies. So on an idealistic level I’d like to poo-pah ivrit but on a pragmatic level without my knowledge of ivrit my kodesh learning would be limited to very little beyond English translations.
Also we send our kids to chinuch atzmai schools so anyway they are learning in ivrit (albeit peppered with a lot more lashon hakodesh and yiddish than ivrit on the street). We toyed with the idea sending to yiddish speaking only chedarim but it’s just too big a leap for us.
With regards to the OP – regardless of your stance on lashon hakodesh vs ivrit, (and with all other things being equal as far as your ability to do so) the easiest solution would be to make aliyah so that your children grow up learning Torah in it’s natural language to begin with!
“clearly, they did not speak Loshon Hakodesh, even before the Churban.”
Wow Joseph – I was about to bring a passuk from Navi to say not like you but when I saw it I realized you may be onto something.
http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14263&st=&pgnum=381
“????? ????????? ???????? ????????? ?????????? ????? ?????? ??? ???????”
It looks like rov am during bayit rishon didn’t understand Aramaic (which I’m assuming was the lingua franca) but they did speak something called Yehudit or Jewish (the literal translation of Yiddish as well!) I have no idea what exactly this Yehudit language was but the fact they didn’t say call it lashon hakadosh perhaps fits very well into what your saying.
Def talk to a rav but it may not be a chiyuv as, although the origin of the minhag for the tree comes from avodah zarah, in most western countries today the tree itself actually worshiped.
My father (may he do tshuva) has many avodah zarah statues and the like he has bought on trips to the far east. I asked a shaila once on whether I should destroy them or not and was told that since they were sold as souvenirs it shows they didn’t have chashivus to the goyim selling them as mamish an avodah zarah. However the rav I asked was not an official posek so take it for what it’s worth.
I’m still confused as to how you qualify for getting a subtitle – is it just luck of the draw?
simcha613 – Eida Haredis seems to be the most widely held of and from what I’ve seen the most common one you will see on packaged food from a store, however I can’t recall seeing their teudah on any restaurants (does anyone here know if they even give hashgacha for eateries?)
From what I’m aware some ashkenazim don’t eat sefardi hechsherim and vice versa because of different chumros and/or kulos between them in schitah, removing the gid hanseh, etc.
When I was in Yeshiva about 8 years ago there were some rabbanim who weren’t a big fan of Beit Yosef claiming they didn’t feel comfortable with how it was run. I countered that it had Rav Ovadia’s name behind it and the customary answer I always got was, “yeah but Rav Ovadia isn’t the one checking every chicken” I thought that was a pretty weak answer as Rav Rubin also isn’t checking every chicken if you know what I mean. When I was getting married I told a rav I was inviting who teaches people for smicha in issur v’heter that the wedding hall was under Beit Yosef in case he had a problem with it and he smiled and said, “I like my Beit Yosef with salt and pepper please!”
See Sefer Ben Ish Chai ??? ? ???? ????? ???? ?
He says according to the gemara should shouldn’t daven one after the other however now that the minhag has developed to do so those who do have what to be somech on. He clarifies you can only do it in a tzibur but not k’yachid.
There are a fair amount of sefardi shuls in Israel that do this (apparently based on this Ben Ish Chai) and it’s incredibly convenient. As Mik5 mentioned though you have to be extremely careful not to forget shema b’zmana
The location of Kever Rachel was still known at the beginning of galus bavel as Rashi brings down on Breshis 48:7 that Rahel Imeinu was davka buried there so Am Yisrael could go pass her tziun on the way to Bavel. If the mesora of the tzium was preserved for hundreds of years until then, it’s not such a stretch to assume the location was known 70 years later when the galus was over and even more so after people started coming back.
I’ve heard several theories that the site known today isn’t valid but it’s from academically minded sources – I’ve yet to hear a Torah based svara. For example I’ve heard that the real location is in Adam or another that it’s in the north, however the pasukim are pretty clear that it’s a parsa from Beit Lechem in Efrat. There are those who want to say there have been multiple ancient locations named Beit Lechem but again there is only one area known as Efrat so it doesn’t make sense to assume it’s a Beit Lechem other than the one there.
Yeshiva News has reported on Rav Kanievsky visiting the site so presumably he holds it’s the right one, and there was a story about 8 years ago involving Rav Mordechai Eliyahu davening there and having a gilui of Rachel Imeinu so it would seem he held it was the right location as well. Between Bayis Sheni and the rule of the Turkish Sultan I’m not sure if there are recorded sources of the mesorah but it would be something interesting to look up.
I usually reference kevertzadik when looking for kivrei tzadikim – one of their guys does a lot of research into the sites.
Kever Shmuel Hanavi is a nice overall spot – you can daven, there’s a national park around the kever and it’s one of the best views you can get of Jerusalem. There’s sometimes arab dudes hanging around selling donkey rides and if you want shopping the Ramot mall is 5 minutes down the road.
Since you have little ones with not so sure if it’s shayach but if you want some good kivrei tzadikim you can check out the site Kever Tzadik – if the mods allow the address it’s link removed.
I have a rav who teaches people for smicha in issur v’heter I take my kashrus questions to – he told me in theory it’s supposed to be somewhere between stam rabbanut and mehadrin, but that he feels anyone who eats mehadrin shouldn’t trust it.
I’ve recently starting listening to a great podcast on soundcloud called “Ask Pat” and it’s full of good ideas about running business and/or website. He’s got a lot of great advice that applies to a range of fields and even though he’s not Jewish he focuses a lot on how to make money while still developing your family life so it’s not all just about chasing another dollar.
In general I’d recommend something you find interesting or enjoy doing already and consuming as many books/blogs/podcasts/etc. as you can about it to really get a feel for the field.
A BIG thing I’d recommend is look up people involved in that line of work. Find a business or person doing something you’re interested in and find their email address off their website or their number in the phonebook.
If they are located near you then visit the office in person. Basically say you’re interested in pursuing a career in that field and you’d like to know what their day-to-day work entails as well as what kind of education or experience they needed to get into it as well as other advice they have to offer. Also ask how much you can expect to earn doing such work.
Don’t be shy – people generally like talking about themselves and will be flattered that somebody values their opinion or experience. Maybe they will be busy when you get a hold of them but will be willing to speak in the evening, etc. so don’t be afraid to chase them. The worst they can say is no or ignore you.
Best advice for last…. DAVEN like crazy for clarity!!! And stay positive – often failures are just Hashem’s way of testing your resolve.
I used to look down on people I knew who were chasing after parnassa instead of spending more time learning. However I recently started trying trying to do my own small business and there is tremendous pressure to do hishtadlus. I’m roughly keeping my basic learning sedarim I had before but the extra learning I would do in my free time is down a bit – much more down however is my yearning to learn even when I don’t have the actual opportunity to do so. Before when I wasn’t learning I was wishing I could be, now when I have some free time I feel an overbearing need to focus it on studying different aspects of my potential parnassa. Even when I actually am learning I’m often thinking about business.
Hashem has really humbled me as previously I was a snob not understanding how somebody could have this yetzer hara. I truly believe on an intelectual level that Hashem dictates how much money I’ll make no matter how much or little hishtadlus I put in and that learning more Torah should only help my parnassa, however emotionally it’s quite hard not to feel the opposite.
zahavasdad – “I know lots of people who wrote resumes and filled out job applications and they got jobs”
And I know a lot of people who wrote resumes and filled out applications and still can’t find a job! Just like segulot – hishtadlus also isn’t a 100% guarantee of success. The way I see it if you do both then at least you covered all your bases and did the best you could… additionally davening is always the best option of them all.
Avi K – “In fact, religious immigrants were sent to religious settlements as per the agreement between the Mizrahi and Mapai.”
That is an extremely false sweeping statement. Perhaps in some cases this is what happened but across the board it was simply not the case. Chassidim constantly had to try and convince the zionist authorities to release religious europeans who had been forced into secular camps and they would not allow them to transfer to religious ones (in some cases they had to sneak them out). I read an speech by Rav Mahpoud just a year or two ago about how his mother and he were placed in secular camp and how the officials there would insult and mock him on a daily basis for being frum and knock his kippah off his head. What – was he just making these stories up?
Why were Jews going off in Morocco? Because zionists organizations where sending shluchim there to drive people off the derech! Before you claim it’s not true please see here: http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/229972/eida-gavaad-chilul-shabbos-to-prevent-induction-into-the-idf.html
“I have known more than one personally.” And I spoke to a rav this past Rosh Hashana who told me he spoke to somebody who came to E”Y after the war and when the boat was approaching the shore they instructed everyone on board to start tossing their tefillin into the water.
“Today, Israel is fast becoming more religious.” Thank G-d!!! That’s mainly because of A) the dis-proportionally higher birthright among religious Jews than secular ones and B) that more and more mainstream Israelis are becoming disillusioned with the zionist dream and are realizing that the state can not protect them physically (putting world opinion ahead of fighting terrorist to save Jewish lives) or even financially (think tent protests etc) nor is it even interested in doing so and that the only one that we can truly rely on is Hashem.
On the topic of shmad I’d like to say that I don’t think hayom making aliyah is a problem of shmad as some may be asserting here – but on the other hand what the tzionim did to the sefardim during the early days of this country is absolutely disgusting. If it wasn’t for their strong emunah p’shuta as well as the work of certain gedolim like Reb Yoilish and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, and probably more than anyone else Rav Ovadia ztz”l there wouldn’t be any frum or even traditional sefardim left. My wife’s family came from Morocco and my mother in law was initially the only one of 11 kids to go off and intermarry. B”H she came back and remarried a yid, but today of those other siblings she is the only one frum and almost the only one married to a Jew. When asked how her family could just drop Torah when they were all frum in Morocco she said everyone always told them the medinah is the mashiach you’ve been waiting for all these centuries so now you don’t need religion anymore. Check out Rav Kahane’s HY”D speech where he details how they would put sefardim in transit camps and not grant the fathers work permits unless they showed an ishur from Misrad haChinuch that they had enrolled their children in chiloni schools – i.e. give your kids a non-Torah education or watch them starve.
The early tzionim did full-fledged shmad b’kavanah – all just so that the sefardim would give more votes to their degenerate socialist parties instead of following the gedolim as they were naturally inclined to do. You can argue that things were tough in Muslim countries and indeed they were – but that does in no way shape or form make the spiritual holocaust of Sefardi Jewry by their fellow Jews forgivable!
rwndk1 + 1
Avi K – “The caravan is temporary until a new shul can be built on government-owned land nearby”
Why is it being allowed to be destroyed in the first place?
“All kinds of spins are floated in the Israeli press.”
Naftali Bennet bought into the spin enough to speak out against it. He is a member of the cabinet – not just some stam guy reading the paper.
“Netanyahu woud have to be insane to unilaterally withdraw as the security situation will be completely untenable”
Many said the same about Sharon before Gush Katif… and were proven quite right. Their common sense didn’t stop arik. When tziyonim want to hurt Jews they don’t let things like security of Jewish lives or justice get in their way.
“These are those who join the ranks of our enemies, slander and attempt to delegitimize our state.”
Our state? Speak for yourself – I carry a blue TZ for lack of an alternative, not out of any patriotism for any state – I’m a citizen of Klal Yisrael thank you very much. And in light of evicting Jews from their homes thousands at a time, advertising itself as the toieva capital of the middle east, etc – the medina does a fine job of de-legitimizing itself without anyone else’s help.
Health – “You’re only a Buki in Zionism!”
I thought you said anyone who goes to the army, votes or takes money from the government is a zionist – how do you know I do any of those 3? I personally don’t allow even toy israeli flags into my home. Interesting side note – while he said not to vote in national elections, apparently Reb Yoilish said to vote in municipal elections so I guess that makes Satmar zionist??
“So you’re admitting I’m right! I said you can’t keep V’nishmartem Meod in Israel.”
You totally missed point – v’nishmartem is negated in light of kivush h’aretz therefore in that circumstance there is no mitzvah of v’nishmartem.
Avi K – I was being facetious in response to your use of the Rambam to assert it’s a mitzvah to be in the IDF. And no comment on Gafni’s paycheck – I wouldn’t vote for him if he donated his paycheck to me.
rabbiofberlin – I actually have been following the news however I’m unaware of this compromise of which you speak. Unless by compromise you are referring to the government offering to put up some moldy caravan “until a replacement shul can be built” which will never happen because there is apparently no physical space to actually build a new shul in that area (as per an affiliate of the shul in a radio interview). And as far as no further withdrawals being seriously considered didn’t this website report just a few days ago that Bibi is mulling a unilateral withdrawal from Yo”Sh?
Avi K – DY, it is also a mitzva to go into the IDF. This is a milchemet mitzva (Rambam Hilchot Melachim 5:1)!
I assume this quote from that halacha is what you are referring to:
??? ?? ??? ????? ???? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ?? ??? ?????
Seeing as how the Rambam paskins it’s a milchemet mitzvah to aid Israel in any enemy that attacks it, and seeing as how the IDF kicked several thousand Jews out of their homes about a decade ago, puts Jews in administrative detention for following Torah over the medina, and just last week the defense minister stood up emphatically in concurrence with a supreme court decision to destroy a shul outside Yerushalayim calling those who oppose it “encouraging Jewish terrorists” it seems like we very well have a chiyuv to wage milchemet mitzvah against the IDF!!!
Health – I’m not a big buki on the sugiya but I remember hearing a deah that goes something along the lines of this – that the chiyuv of kivush ha’aretz still applies to today and since kivush involves making war which is inherently dangerous and often life threatening therefore with this mitzvah there is no inyan of v’nishmartem meod. I don’t remember the exact sources of the top of my head but let me know if you would like and I can try to find them to see it on the inside.
Bookworm120 – you have touched on an issue that I feel many people lack a lot of intellectual honesty with – is Eretz Yisrael really safer or not. Statistically speaking I’m not sure if it’s safer or not in a general way (they say the chances of getting killed in terrorism here are still lower than from a traffic accident but that could just say something really bad about Israeli drivers). However I personally have come to the conclusion that the odds of getting chalila getting injured or killed solely for being Jewish is higher here than any other place in the world (with France probably coming in second place these days) and on a pashtus level it seems that is because of zionism. Possibly even most anti-semetic attacks in chu”l are a result of zionism. I’m not basing that statement on any rabid anti-zionist neturei karta ideology – I’m just basing it on what the people who carry out these attacks tend to themselves say is their reason.
We have to be honest with ourselves – one shouldn’t choose to live in E”Y because they think it’s safer. The choice should be based on if that person feels it’s ratzon Hashem and it will allow them to live a life more connected to Him. For myself and my wife we feel it’s something worth being somewhat moser nefesh for. I do leave the house for work every day knowing there is a possibility I might not make it back that night G-d forbid, however that possibility isn’t grave enough to prevent me from doing it every day. And if it’s Hashem’s will that chalila some guy pulls out a knife/gun/bomb/whatever, at least I can die with the comfort that I lived in a place I loved – not because it’s necessarily the nicest place to live but because it’s the place Hashem gave me as a yid.
Health – “So this is enough of a reason to be – ?? ????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ?”? – I don’t think so! So there must be another reason(s). How about this one -“that zionism could be classified in our times as avodah zara”?!?”
One of the three exceptions the Rambam lists for allowing people to leave E”Y is to learn Torah. I’m not a posek but it seems like you could make a kal v’chomer that if it’s muttar to leave to learn then it should be muttar to leave in order to teach.
I think you are mixing up loving and living in E”Y with zionism l’havdil. Just because someone chooses to live in Israel instead of moving to Chu”l does by no means classify them as a zionist. The Eida haCharedis operates out of Yerushalayim and is probably the biggest private kashrus hashgacha in the country… are you suggesting they are zionist?
I’m more than willing to entertain the notion that zionism could be classified in our times as avodah zara, however what about the Rambam hilchot melachim u’milchot perek 5
????? ???? ??? ???? ????? ????? ???? ????? ???”? ??? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ?”? ????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ????? ?’ ???? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?????????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ????? ???? ????
And as far as the gedolim listed that lived in Chu”l, I would venture to guess that most if not all of them chose to live there because of their communities that needed their guidance. The Baal Shem Tov is not a ra’yah and adaraba – he davka tried to get to E”Y but was prevented from Shemayim. I have an English biography on Rebbe Yoel m’Satmar that says he lived for some time in Yerushalayim and personally wanted to stay the rest of his life but decided to go back out of a sense of responsibility to all his chassidim in America.
mw13 – I think you’re not paying attention to the exact lashon of the Rambam. In halacha gimmel he is only talking about a “melech” whereas in halacha dalet he starts with a melech and then brings as an aside all positions of authority.
However I will concede a caveat that you didn’t point out which is according to the Rambam, even if we were put aside the discussion of arabs in Yehuda and Shomron for a moment, even Arabs living inside the green line and holding blue teudat zehuts should currently also have their citizenship revoked. I’m sure a ton of liberals would flip out at such an idea but I personally have no problem with it. If we honestly believe in the Torah we claim to follow, why aren’t we willing to have faith in all the pasukim that G-d designated this land solely for us and actually follow through with it?
In the dor hamidbar the meraglim were afraid to claim this land because of the physical giants. In our generation we’re afraid to because of the “giant” world powers. We have no room to scoff every year when we read shelach lecha because we are no better than they are – thousands of years later and Am Yisrael still can’t internalize that Hashem runs the world – not flesh and blood.
Apparently my second post either didn’t get submitted right or the mods didn’t like it for some reason but b’kitzur since you wanted t see a Torah source on it please see Mishneh Torah hilchot melachim umilchamot the first perek – fourth halacha. I think you will see that the halacha does not work well with a citizenship granting full equal democratic rights.
And I concede the middle east isn’t a shining light of peace and prosperity but given the current moral atmosphere of America that’s not much of anything we should be emulating these days either.
Joseph – no I wouldn’t be ok with sanctions like russia got leveled on Israel. Obviously they would hurt somewhat, all I’m saying is they wouldn’t necessarily be as scary as people imagine. Additionally I’ll point out the majority of the sanctions from what I understand were actually leveled against individuals close to putin, not necessarily institutions.
mw13 – I realize the trail of tears and other grave injustices America brought on the native Americans was a long time ago – I was contrasting it to examples brought by charliehall some of which were equally as long ago.
I think your mention of crimea actually strengthens my point rather than refute it. Putin took over crimea and davka didn’t suffer any consequences! The world made very vocal protests, but on a practical level sat by and didn’t actually lift a finger to stop him. The US and Europe did institute several economic sanctions but as you can see from how beligerant Russia continues to be the obviously can’t be defined as “crippling.”
And no – silicon valley is not always “where the crucial stuff comes from.” Have you noticed how every few months there are headlines about silicon valley firms like Google and Facebook buying up Israeli tech companies like Waze for deals in the tens of millions of dollars? If all the crucial stuff comes out of Silicon valley why don’t they develop it all themselves instead of purchasing Israeli firms who beat them to it? And when it comes to technology there is no “cat out of the bag” New and innovative groundbreaking software is constantly being developed.
Charliehall – are you seriously trying to bring a raia from America? Ever heard of the “Trail of Tears” my friend? What happened to America’s benevolent bestowal of democratic rights when Native American land was “annexed” ?
And who said anything about needing to be a democracy? This is a discussion on “yeshiva world” not ynet so I’m assuming you are a halacha-adhering Jew. Could your remind me where in the Mishnah Torah it says we are required to establish a democracy in the land of Israel and provide full and equal rights to (often enemy) non-Jews? Because I seemed to have missed that halacha. Adaraba, the Rambam indicates the exact opposite. But I guess because we live in a modern world perhaps we shouldn’t constrict ourselves to running a country according to outdated medieval religious precepts right?
Jews aren’t allowed in Saudi Arabia and non-muslims are restricted to using their own roads. Is anyone refusing to do business with them? No – because they hold a huge amount of the world’s oil. If you haven’t noticed we hold just as much of a reserve of the world’s new technologies. The modern business world simply can’t compete without using technologies that come out of this country even if they wanted to. Why don’t take it easy posting from your comfortable democratic galus in the states and we will take care of things the Torah way and (less importantly) the middle-eastern way over here in our actual land.
Oh please, there’s a perfectly good reason (among others) why men don’t care care of small children – statistically speaking the overwhelming majority child molesters are men. Obviously that’s not to say all men are molesters or even that the majority of men interested in caring for small children are, however better safe than sorry. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with a strange man changing my small children’s diapers and even though I may be over on dan adam l’chaf zchut, I’d raise an eyebrow at any guy who would want to do that for a living.
In the business world, there are many negotiating and sales situations where a man commands more respect and authority than a woman just by virtue of his gender. I’m not saying that’s right, but I’m also not saying it’s necessarily always wrong – liberal non-profits seem to be fine with social experiments but when you want to make money often you can’t buck long held rules of human nature and society. Obviously there are exceptions but that’s the general way of things.
Joseph that’s a really oversimplified and somewhat inaccurate synopsis. Put it in context – the country was so young that many people more readily identified with their personal state/former colony than with the federal government. If their state was to go one way it would be traitorous to align oneself with a more unfamiliar government in D.C. Many of them felt they weren’t the rebels but that the north was reneging on the social contact that the country was based on. The true reason for the civil war wasn’t “exactly” over slavery but more accurately how much sovereignty should the states be expected to sacrifice for the sake of the central government. Keep in mind just a little bit earlier a revolution had been fought to found a country in the spirit of rebelling against the ultimate central power – a monarchy. The south was fighting for the very ideal the country was made for in the first place – less rights and power for the central government and more for the local populace and the people. In an age when Obama is snooping through your phone calls and emails this is a very relevant issue even today. The horrific tragedy of the war is that the southerners used this great ideal to justify one of the cruelest phenomenons of enslavement (which is the ultimate hypocrisy fighting for one’s personal rights just to use them to deny others theirs in even the most fundamental ways).
I’ve heard that Shaar Hayirah in Reshit Chochma is supposed to be very powerful, however a lot of rabbonim won’t let their talmidim learn it as apparently it’s so scary it gets people depressed to the point some of them go off the derech chas v’shalom. I’ve learned with a big talmid chacham who whenever I’ve asked him to teach it to me he casually changes the subject, so not sure if it’s so shayach.
Davar acher – I personally really like charifkeit, however even so often I find that something really deep and inspirational can motivate or change me much more than many instances of being scared. Try learning some chassidus and see if you can catch what I mean.
I hate to come off as a snob but I find it incredibly amusing sitting here in Yerushalayim ir haKodesh reading such an intense debate between frum yiddin over whose city in chu”l is better.