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February 7, 2019 11:06 am at 11:06 am in reply to: Did you ever notice that sometimes the thread has nothing to do with the title? #1675877Avram in MDParticipant
Participant,
“why does the prez begin w/ “Madam speaker, mr. VP…..”
The VP is closer in line than speaker.
?”I think the President addressed Speaker (of the House) Pelosi first because he was in the House chamber, and then the Vice President (head of the Senate).
Avram in MDParticipant1,
“Do you feel you accomplish your life’s mission, at your job or business.”
I am blessed to have a job that I like to do, but no, it is not my life’s mission. It is part of my responsibilities to accomplish my life’s mission.
What if you spent that time finishing shas?”
My wife and kids would get pretty hungry, and the bank, power, and water companies wouldn’t be pleased either.
February 6, 2019 3:47 pm at 3:47 pm in reply to: Why do we have Rosh Chodesh? Where does it come from? #1675292Avram in MDParticipantShopping613,
“Why is it a holiday “given to the women”?”
My understanding is that Rosh Chodesh was given because the women in the midbar did not panic like the men who thought Moshe Rabbeinu had died, a time when things seemed really dark like the moon becomes dark immediately prior to Rosh Chodesh, and they refused to give over their gold. They continued to have faith that the light of Hashem’s promises would come. Due to this, Jewish women merit Rosh Chodesh, which stands at the doorway of the transition from the dark new moon to the bright full moon.
February 6, 2019 12:27 pm at 12:27 pm in reply to: POP QUIZ!!!!! How many of these questions can you get right without using google #1675094Avram in MDParticipant1. What does the J in Donald J Trump stand for? Jay
2. How many hours of sleep does the ADA recommend for a 12-year-old? Flouride toothpaste, twice a day or after meals
3. After how many years must your car registration be renewed? In my state, 2
4. What state do you live in? Denial
5. What is the record high temperature for your state on today’s date? Which station?
6. Who wrote the magna carta? You did
7. What types of mushrooms are poisonous? The poisonous ones
8. Who is the current governor of West Virginia? Joseph
9. How many apples grow on the average red delicious tree per year? 1
10. Who invented the emoticon? Al GoreAvram in MDParticipantPost on the CR to say it’s assur to post on the CR troll.
Avram in MDParticipantGadolhadorah,
I tried it, but every time I encountered a shochet they were davening mussaf and refused the tefillin. Imagine that!
February 5, 2019 12:38 pm at 12:38 pm in reply to: Is it healthy for yehiva bochurim to learn from a artscroll? #1674477Avram in MDParticipantDaasYochid,
“I would word that differently, although this is probably what you meant:
The yeshiva cares about obtaining skills (reading, analysis, etc.) as much as or more than learning that specific sugya.”
That is exactly what I meant, but I don’t see what was problematic with my wording.
February 5, 2019 12:38 pm at 12:38 pm in reply to: Is it healthy for yehiva bochurim to learn from a artscroll? #1674476Avram in MDParticipantDaasYochid,
“Would you say that the shiurim you paticipate in give you a path to independent learning, or would a chavrusa be required for that?”
I think the shiurim provide a path, but it is a painfully slow one. Learning with a chavrusa and a shiur is the best option.
Avram in MDParticipantShopping613,
I’m glad this thread has helped you to direct your outrage. It hasn’t helped me yet.
February 5, 2019 11:55 am at 11:55 am in reply to: Is it healthy for yehiva bochurim to learn from a artscroll? #1674450Avram in MDParticipantzahavasdad,
“Do we sacrafice the 30% who cannot learn without it or do we hurt the 70% who can”
My understanding is that the yeshiva cares about the process as much as or more than the result. Therefore, if 30% can’t learn without it, the yeshiva should be helping them to learn how to learn without it.
February 5, 2019 11:55 am at 11:55 am in reply to: Is it healthy for yehiva bochurim to learn from a artscroll? #1674445Avram in MDParticipantI do not have a yeshiva background, unfortunately, and have experience both using Artscroll independently and learning with a regular Vilna shas at shiurim. Both the Artscroll and the shiurim provide translations, so I don’t see that as the big difference maker.
Pros of Artscroll
1. You can make forward progress independent of a shiur.
2. The elucidation and extensive comments help incredibly with understanding what’s going on.Cons of Artscroll
1. The layout does not encourage proper review – I find that I remember much less from the sugyos I learn with Artscroll alone, and it does not become “mine”, if that makes sense.
2. The translation does not capture the pithy language of the gemara, and I find the latter to be much more engaging.
3. You don’t pick up on the words and phrases that are key to unlocking what’s going on, and can then be applied elsewhere. In other words, Artscroll does not teach you how to learn, so there is no path to becoming less reliant on it.February 5, 2019 11:48 am at 11:48 am in reply to: Is it healthy for yehiva bochurim to learn from a artscroll? #1674438Avram in MDParticipantTakes2-2tango,
“MY POINT EXACTLY.
BALEIBATTIM WAS THE NORM FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS ,YET THEY SOMEHOW JNEW HOW TO LEARN.”Some did, but many did not.
“BESIDES, THEE BALLEIBATIM WHO YOU ARE ACCUSING OF NEEDING ARTSCROLL TO LEARN A PIECE OF GEMARA,FOR THE MOST PART ALL LEARNED IN LARGE YEHIVOS,GOT MARRIED AND BECAME BALLEI BATIM.”
Like high school math, unfortunately there are some people who did what they needed to do to “graduate”, and don’t use it too much after that.
Avram in MDParticipantDaasYochid,
“Remind me on Thursday to post “no, it’s after Rosh Chodesh”.”
What are you, a weatherman? Watch Thursday come and it still be Rosh Chodesh now.
January 29, 2019 12:16 pm at 12:16 pm in reply to: Greater danger to yeshivas being ignored #1670559Avram in MDParticipantThe little I know,
Why do you assume that you are automatically the expert in the room, when you have no idea who the other posters are? Your appeal to the vague idea of “studies” holds absolutely no water. And while your faith in scientific rigor makes for a good read, have you conducted a thorough literature review to make sure there aren’t other studies with different results? Is it possible you are overstating the scope of the research? And how can we know that you are interpreting the studies you allude to correctly if you fail to cite them?
January 29, 2019 12:14 pm at 12:14 pm in reply to: Greater danger to yeshivas being ignored #1670562Avram in MDParticipantThe little I know,
“I am declaring that yeshivos, rarely if ever, have responsibility for the crimes committed. If you can prove they do, with policies that are the structure of the yeshiva, you have a case.”
You are forgetting about the possibility of an institution that fails to follow its stated policies.
Avram in MDParticipant1,
“What’s the name of the niggun that is sung on Shabbos Auf Ruf, when bringing the chosson to shul?”
Gehennom on the Wabash.
edited
Avram in MDParticipantcoffee addict,
“Additionally most shuls daven past סזק״ש according to the מג״א
People who are מקפיד daven hashkama”Or they make sure to say krias shema before the zman, like at the table on Friday night after dark.
Avram in MDParticipantGadolhadorah,
“How does that solve the Magid’s problem??”
Easy. He’s upset that his wife is “turning up” too early in the davening, so I proposed a solution where she does not have to alter her arrival time, but now arrives at the proper time he thinks a woman should arrive.
“He is obviously dealing with a complex “relationship” issues”
I solved the problem he presented to the CR. Let’s not go out looking for more problems.
Avram in MDParticipantSwitch to a hashkoma davening so that when she turns up, they’re already halfway through the leining.
Avram in MDParticipantDaasYochid,
“And the potential for a man to be matched decreases with age more slowly than for a woman.
Again, that doesn’t change the numbers, it just makes it even worse because it increases the age gap, and makes it even harder for women in a certain age group.”
I’d say it the other way around. The age gap due to straight population growth makes the cultural marriageability gap even worse.
Avram in MDParticipantDaasYochid,
“Blockquotes look horrible no matter how you use them.
Right, Avram in MD?”
They looked fine back in the days when we had subtitles…
Avram in MDParticipantDaasYochid,
“Why wouldn’t it be? What would be a bigger factor?”
I don’t know, I think there are multiple potential factors, and I’d be glad to list some I think may be at play, with the caveat that it’s speculative. I think a subset of available men (full-time learners) are more prized culturally, so a larger population of women are trying to be matched with a smaller population of men from the outset. And the potential for a man to be matched decreases with age more slowly than for a woman.
The population growth rates being thrown around here, however, are inflated by an order of magnitude, and it is highly unlikely that a 2-3 year marriage age gap within this growth regime alone is the primary reason men get significantly more shidduch opportunities than women.
Avram in MDParticipantNeville ChaimBerlin,
“You have a room of 50 boys and 60 girls. How do they all get married without 10 single girls leftover?”
“There are more girls in a later generation than there are boys in an earlier one; that’s just fact when you have a growing population. This is what those of you in denial do: to compensate for your embarrassing lack of understanding of basic statistics”
You set up 50 boys and 60 girls as an illustration of the shidduch crisis, and then lectured Syag that she doesn’t understand basic statistics? Lolol. The typical age gap in marriage is not 40 years. Sure an age gap in marriage in an increasing population is one potential factor at play, but I seriously doubt that it is anywhere near the primary driver for the larger number of single women. And to focus exclusively on it causes you to ignore other factors that may be more impactful.
Avram in MDParticipantNeville ChaimBerlin,
“CTL had claimed that if someone had read his posts from years of being a CR user, they would see how great and accepting he is of other socio-economic classes.”
I reread his post, and can see how his claims to be “middle class” seem out of touch with what middle class actually means in light of his frequent and casual references to his wealth. And that welcoming increased taxes ignores the fact that such policies can harm others, though, to be fair, I’m guessing he doesn’t favor raising taxes on people with smaller incomes. MDG hit back on those points, but I don’t really see how they insult other people. Can you clarify?
Avram in MDParticipantCTLAWYER,
“The OP posed a physical impossibility To vote for a dead non-US citizen who was also a non-member of the Democrat Party in a primary.”
1. While we’re picking nits, it’s the Democratic Party, not Democrat. The latter is typically used as an epithet.
2. I also believe the OP was a troll post, but surely you understand that it was a hypothetical, and thus being literally possible was not really relevant? If you want, interpret the question as, “if a person like Stalin was running in a primary…”Avram in MDParticipantNeville ChaimBerlin,
“Notice how I never said the word debate or anything synonymous with it in the quote to which this was replying. I’m not sure how you read that as having anything to do with debates or winning.”
Quite obvious from the entirety of your post. Later in the post you wrote, “arguments in a magical, intellectual way” as an expansion of your point. And debate is certainly a synonym of argument. As far as winning being your perceived goal of conversation, that is evident in your references to discussions being pointless because nobody’s ever convinced. The vast majority of human conversation does not consist of one person trying to convince another of something.
“No more meaningless than applying it to anyone who personally offends you with a different opinion. Real men can take it and don’t beg for censorship whenever they can’t take back what they dish out.”
Not once have I been personally offended by anyone’s opinion in this thread. Nor have I begged for censorship. And I bet that had you rewritten your post minus the personal insults instead of complaining about censorship, you could have had your comebacks to CTLAWYER posted already.
Avram in MDParticipantNeville ChaimBerlin,
“By interesting, you mean conversations where both sides end up feeling deep-seated anger, but cover it up in the name of civility as is the custom in the phony world of intellectualism.”
Not every conversation is a debate. And the goal isn’t always to “win.”
“The way you’re looking at this would mean everyone taking a vow of silence for all eternity.”
You don’t seem to be finding me very silent 🙂
“This idea that you can word arguments in this magical, intellectual way that won’t offend anyone and will be healthy for for the world is a total myth that only exists in the upper tier of American society.”
There is way more to human interaction than the extremes of argument and silence. Not every conversation is persuasion-based, and even when attempting to persuade someone, argumentation is not necessarily needed or desirable.
“Most of us (deplorable rednecks who still know how to apply common sense) have gravitated towards the results-based approach like that of Trump (or Ocasio-Cortez on the inverse)”
My Southern bonafides may well exceed yours.
“and away from the pointless approach of Jeb Bush types that seems to be rooted in getting 90-year-olds to think, “hmm, he talks nice… What a nice young man he is…”
Jeb Bush got two terms as Florida governor, and his brother two terms as President. Not shabby for a pointless approach.
“You had to risk offending me just now by responding to my last comment, right? I could have gotten really upset at you for disagreeing and accusing me of a aveira, right? Does that mean you did an issur? No. There is not document or scripture that guarantees a human right to “not be offended.” That would cripple mankind.”
That’s a cop-out that would render the entire concept of onas devarim meaningless. We are not responsible for each and every feeling that someone may theoretically have in response to any statement, but it is forbidden by the Torah to say something intentionally designed or reasonably certain to hurt the feelings of another Jew.
Avram in MDParticipantNeville ChaimBerlin,
“It’s much more fun and even productive to just hurt the feeling of everyone you don’t like.”
Sorry, onas devarim is forbidden by the Torah. We can’t pick and choose which mitzvos to follow because we think it’s fun or productive. I don’t care one whit what people may think is obsolete in whatever era. We are Jews, and as the people of Hashem we have a higher standard to uphold. Our Torah does not change with the times. And CTLAWYER doing it first does not make it ok.
As for your point about political discourse, if you admittedly have never tried a more civil tone, then you cannot assert whether respectful dialog is effective or not. I have relatives on both extremes of the political spectrum, and have had very interesting conversations with them all.
Avram in MDParticipantNeville ChaimBerlin,
“CTL immediately responded to this thread by attacking the OP’s intelligence and then calling groups of the country rednecks. He was not censored.”
Maskim that CTLAWYER’s insult in his response to the OP and his later denigration of rural America were not acceptable things to say. Perhaps those posts should have been edited or deleted by the moderators. While they were not censored, they were censured by other posters 🙂
Avram in MDParticipantNeville ChaimBerlin,
“Because you love CT’s crazy leftist ideas and don’t want to let anyone see the opposition?”
So far, 2scents, anonymous jew, klugeryid, MDG, 1, Avi K, Takes3tomakemangos, lakewhut, and Non Political have all either supported the OP or posted rebuttals to things CTLAWYER has written, so I don’t see this supposed conspiracy to silence “the opposition” (and it’s strange that you view yourself as “the opposition”). Maybe tone down the personal attacks and your posts will go through unedited. On another thread, you declared me to be your enemy because I dared, heaven forbid, to espouse a view that was different from yours. Politics really seem to trigger you. Calm down. Republicans are not your team. Yidden are, like it or not. Even if some of them have political views that don’t align completely with yours.
January 9, 2019 12:45 pm at 12:45 pm in reply to: Darchei Binah Sem Girls Coming For Shabbos #1659433Avram in MDParticipanttakahmamash,
“We have some sem girls from Darchei Binah coming for Shabbat in a few weeks.”
I recommend having a three-day supply of water (figure 1 gallon per person per day), and a three-day supply of non-perishable food. Make sure your prescriptions are filled, fill your vehicle’s gas tank, and keep important documents in a safe, watertight location. Have a portable radio and plenty of batteries and flashlights handy. If needed, I can help you board up your windows.
“Will they be outgoing or nebby?”
You will be unable to hear anything over the screaming and shouting.
“Are they friendly like out-of-towners or cliquey?”
They’re equally unfriendly to everyone.
“Will they be serious learners?”
They have swords and have been known to attack anyone who disturbs their learning.
“Will they actually be learning the material or memorizing?”
They learn it so well that they memorize it.
“What about chesed – do they have a chesed day?”
They do chessed every day of the year, so they have a mean day. I think the mean day is coming up on a Shabbat in a few weeks…
“What about wearing Gap sweatshirts and flats?”
I’ve heard they eat them.
“Will they look at me if I speak to them?”
They can shoot lasers from their eyes, so probably better if they don’t.
“Will they go to shule?”
They only go to shuls without an “e”.
“Help with the dishes?”
They stack them up high in order to break them all at once.
“What about serving?”
It’s assur to play tennis with them, but they’d probably clobber you.
“do they expect only Badatz hechshirim?”
You must grow everything on-site under the constant supervision of the seminary. Hope you’ve gotten that started by now.
Avram in MDParticipant1,
“If Stalin promised yeshiva funding, would you still endorse him and vote for him in a primary?”
הֱווּ זְהִירִין בָּרָשׁוּת, שֶׁאֵין מְקָרְבִין לוֹ לָאָדָם אֶלָּא לְצֹרֶךְ עַצְמָן. נִרְאִין כְּאוֹהֲבִין בִּשְׁעַת הֲנָאָתָן, וְאֵין עוֹמְדִין לוֹ לָאָדָם בִּשְׁעַת דָּחְקוֹ
Both parties have elements in their platforms that would be helpful to the Jewish community. Both have elements that are contrary or antithetical to Torah values. As a religious Jew, I think it’s foolish to get married to one party and sling mud at the other, like it’s “your” baseball team vs a rival. One day the Republicans control the government. The next day it’s the Democrats. Both will court Jewish votes when it serves them, and will stop when it no longer serves them. Why not judge each candidate as s/he comes and vote for who you think will do the best job in that office, and avoid casting American Jewry onto transactional and ephermeral support while antagonizing half of the other people in the country?
January 8, 2019 4:06 pm at 4:06 pm in reply to: Google Home, asking “OK Google” can have bad results? #1658996Avram in MDParticipantI said, “OK Google, can asking ok Google have bad results?” and it returned this thread.
Avram in MDParticipantAlso, compensation to Federal workers is about 15 percent of discretionary spending, which itself is only about 30 percent of the Federal budget. So your “25% payroll deduction” causes quite a bit of harm for very little fat trimming.
Avram in MDParticipantJoseph,
“A quarter of the government has been closed for almost a month and life goes on.”
You do realize that more than half of the workforce in the closed government agencies are continuing to work every day with no pay, right? Most businesses can go on for a short while half staffed and still do the essential functions to keep afloat, for example during the non-Jewish holiday season, but that won’t work long term. And eventually the staff will get upset about the missing paychecks. FTA and DHS employees continue to work so the airports stay open. FDA and USDA inspectors are still make sure the food and drug supplies are safe, and NWS employees continue to issue weather warnings.
Avram in MDParticipantMeno,
“I’m Hoping this lasts until April 15 so I won’t have to pay taxes this year.”
If you’re a normal employed person, your taxes have already been deducted from your paychecks all year long. So yes, if you owe a bit more you might not have to pay it until the government reopens, but if you’re due a refund, you won’t get that either.
Avram in MDParticipantWhat’s the difference between luck and mazel?
December 31, 2018 12:19 pm at 12:19 pm in reply to: HELP – How Do I Stop Getting The Piece Of Trash Lehovin Newspaper? #1654460Avram in MDParticipantTakes2-2tango,
“Does any one know how to get this politically trashy news paper from being delivered to my home?”
I don’t know the best way to stop delivery to your home, but giving them lots of free publicity probably wasn’t it.
Avram in MDParticipantGadolhadorah,
No need to be mean. Bestcpa is seeking information about equipment he has never used. He never said that he intends to do something dangerous.
Avram in MDParticipantMmm, that was a good burger. Why is everyone looking at me like that?
Avram in MDParticipantakuperma,
You’re going to argue the definition of private with a lawyer? 😂
December 21, 2018 1:41 pm at 1:41 pm in reply to: The world is in a state of Geula- and don’t misunderstand us! #1649124Avram in MDParticipantChossid,
“All I’m asking is that if you have a question about lubavitche, you can ask it, just don’t come to conclusions based on rumors.
I rest my case”Everything I have posted in this thread has been directly about things written in this thread by Chabad (or claimed Chabad) posters.
December 20, 2018 10:43 am at 10:43 am in reply to: The world is in a state of Geula- and don’t misunderstand us! #1648512Avram in MDParticipantSechel HaYashar,
“But of course, if they aren’t Lubavitch, their Minhag doesn’t bother anyone…”
The people from Dzhikov aren’t here on the CR trying to convert the nebach non-Dzhikovians. If they were, you bet they’d be asked about it.
Avram in MDParticipantZionGate,
C’mon, we have bigger fish to fry here!
Avram in MDParticipantI may be beating a dead horse, but the irony of the “Holocaust on your plate” folks taking exception with common idioms makes me sick as a dog. This is the straw that broke the camels back, and I am going to take the bull by the horns and kill the fatted calf. Thankfully there’s more than one way to skin a cat.
December 19, 2018 12:58 pm at 12:58 pm in reply to: Disappointing event for my son and family #1647811Avram in MDParticipantEli Y,
“The point is that for whatever reason, he is not fluent in Hebrew and will not be because it is a lower priority.”
Writing as a BT myself, if at all possible, make this a higher priority. Better skills to learn chumash, mishnayos, gemara, rashi, tosafos, shulchan aruch, etc. inside is something I always wish I had been able to get at a young age. Do it with him if possible!
December 19, 2018 12:53 pm at 12:53 pm in reply to: Disappointing event for my son and family #1647806Avram in MDParticipantEli Y,
“So we began making flashcards the showed the Mitzvot and the Hebrew Pasuk but neither of us understood the the actual Hebrew–rather, we were looking for key words or characters that would be unique to the pasuk so he could recognize it as the one the Mitzva was derived from. IMO, this was ridiculous since we were learning nothing”
I disagree that you were learning nothing by doing what you were doing. Especially if you were combining finding key words/letters with reading the pesukim, however slowly. Any and all exposure to the pesukim will help. The ultimate goal here is not to get to the fun Crown Heights trip, but to build those learning skills. At first, yes, it’ll be picking out only key words, and very slow reading. But as you keep seeing and reading the same words over and over again, they’ll become more familiar, and your ability to read them and pick them out in other pesukim will improve. Unfortunately yes, there is now a steeper learning curve for your son to pass these tests and go on the trip. But rather than closing the book on the higher goal of acquiring the skills by demanding everything in English, is it possible to seek out some additional help? Maybe an older boy in the school needs some chessed hours? Or an older person in your community wants an opportunity to do a wonderful mitzva by tutoring?
December 18, 2018 3:32 pm at 3:32 pm in reply to: The Killing of Nahal Haredi Soldiers and the Anti Draft Protests #1646835Avram in MDParticipantAvi K,
“They”
Yuck.
“claim that they are learning for the soldiers but refuse to say the “misheberach’.”
The more common practice is to say tehillim. Also there is “acheinu kol beis Yisroel” said after leining on Mondays and Thursdays. Why are you demanding the addition of a specific tefilla into Shabbos davening?
“They also refuse to say the prayer for the government even though it is a mitzva from a Navi.”
There is no mitzva “from” (?) a Navi to say a specific and new prayer at a specific time that also contains an assertion that not everyone fully agrees with.
December 18, 2018 3:32 pm at 3:32 pm in reply to: The Killing of Nahal Haredi Soldiers and the Anti Draft Protests #1646957Avram in MDParticipantMrSarahLevine613,
While it may be convenient to your argument to frame the charedi position towards army service as “we prefer to learn and not lift the burden with you”, it is simply not a correct representation. The army historically and currently has been perceived by all sides as serving two purposes: the primary being protection of the nation, and the secondary being a vehicle for acculturation and assimilation. It is this secondary purpose that chareidim oppose. While Avi K may be a full-throated supporter of both aims, chareidim value their mesora and culture, and do not wish their lifestyle to be destroyed.
So to reframe the debate – if the Israeli government really wants chareidim to serve and want to serve, why are they unwilling to make accommodations? Or, for the cases when accommodations are not possible, why not accept and respect, as the U.S. military does, that there are some who are conscientious objectors, and provide an alternate means of service?
December 18, 2018 2:48 pm at 2:48 pm in reply to: What’s the best way to drink the morning coffee? #1646803Avram in MDParticipantThis morning? Before alos hashachar.
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