bombmaniac

true…but try explaining that to a kid

you all talk of the torah as a book of obligations. obligation denotes burden. the object of constant positive reinforcement is to make it seem more of a privilege to follow the torah

you say that you views are non denominational. for jews this is all well and good…we can all (ideally) learn all day. goyim however dont have that option what would they do? after high school go to 4 EXTRA years of college because their high school education was bare bones??? your idea is completely impractical, and childish. also, aside from goyim, jews too have to get jobs. high paying jobs. first of all because we have big families, and second of all, because kollelim thrive on donors. if we all are sitting in kolel because when we get into college we fall behind, who will support the kollelim? ela mai…you say if people want that kind of education in college…college is tedious enouigh without having to learn high school material.

as for science, yes. let’s open that can of worms. there is nothing wrong with the learning of science. absolutely nothing. there is something wrong with SCIENTISTS not science. learning in intricate detail, about how everything works together so perfectly, and so mathematically exact, makes a person appreciate mah rabu maasecha hashem. the only problem with science would be they way it is presented. if it is presented from the point of view that god is a completely arbitrary entity and not to be understood, and therefore if you do understand why things happen…that disproves god, then yes! science is wrong! if however you simply learn how perfect our world, and how things work and why they work, and how hashem set our world in motion and keeps it in motion, it can be an incredible boost to your emunah.

…when you turn blonde :D:D:D

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suppose a kid is not such a ba’al kishron? suppose he will need to go to college to get a job? why rob him of his future?

^yeah that. Icanonlytry: science brings true understanding of ma rabu maasecha hashem, why cut it? history is very important. we have to know why things happen, how government was formed, how cobnflicts were created the resolved…al this is very imoportant! it is important to know about our world.

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^yeah that. that being said, a big part of the stigma is lack of awareness and education on the matter. most people’s minds, when they hear that someone went to a psychiatrist or psychologist, automatically jump to “NUTSO!!!” that is because they dont know what the functions of such trained professionals are, and they dont know the myriad of reasons that a person may see said professionals. granted you do have your extreme cases out there, bipolar…schizophrenia…whatever, but there are normay everyday reasons a person may see a psychologist or psychiatrist. stress. insomnia. recurring nightmares. there are a whole host of reasons that these professionals exist. if people knew and understood that, the stigma would be lessened.

i was listening to WABC today and Mark Simone made a good point. we already have several forms of government healthcare in place. nameley…medicare…medicade…veterans health…among others. the infrastructure is in place, why not extend the program and its funding?

:D:D:D lol heres the chakirah…is it a din in the caffiene…or a din in the coffee…

when your hashkafos go out the window:)

lol it tastes good for the first five latkes…but after the fifteenth? forget it! just gimme the latke!!!

you want advanced chem bio math and programming to be taught in high schools?? sheesh…well, even in public where the whole budget goes to secular studies, those are optional…or on an honors track…heres how it worked where i went. we learned what we needed for the regents. then, we had the option to take a course in microsoft office. later, we had the option of taking calculus. i dont know if you mean that the advanced stuff should be mandatory or not…but think about it this way. first of all…a public school has a bigger budget. second of all, they have nothing to spend that budget on [strong]BUT[/strong] more programs. third of all, as important as secular studies (and it is important…), you still need to leave time for limudei kodesh. it is after all a yeshiva…the emphasis must be on limudei kodesh. if its the education offered at Stuyvesant you’re after…then go there.

lol…if you are only having 3 cups a day…clearly you arent learning enough :D:D:D

ronrsr: LOL we backed up the mormons because they dress like us…lol

hehehe tell your wife her place is in the kitchen and see how long it takes before she hits you in the face with a golf club…lol anyway, while housekeeping skills are important, so is a strong knowledge of tanach. think about…a mother is the main teacher of a child until they get into about third grade…

oomis: :D:D:D ROTFLOL!!! its just the sheer stupidity and narrow-mindedness that would lead to the idea that colored shirts would be assur…to come to such a conclusion takes real talent 😀

lol waddaya gonna do…

i dont just mean those that need the internet to learn…i mean for people who are on the internet anyway at that time of the day i.e. work. although that may be considered as if he cant learn any other way…but you get my point. this provides for a nice alternative to filth

heres something i heard from rabbi dovid orlofsky. too many people are worried about sending their kids to “the best” school out there…because its a matter of their personal pride. the parent wants to be able to boast about the school his son goes to…or parade him in front of the envious neighbors…but they give very little thought to the actual needs of the child! if sending your kid to a lower level yeshiva that is not seen by the world as ” the best” then so be it! remember, the school your kid goes to has nothing to do with whats best for you. its whats best for him!

ok. leitzonus aside, jewish music…(and by that, for all you idiots out there…i mean shwekeyish and your standard mainstream frum composers…) with english words is perfectly fine. plain music…be it from a jewish or non jewish composer…essentially has nothing wrong with it. as an extention of that, there is nothing wrong with taking a non jewish song and amking it jewish by changing the theme and lyrics. many old time niggunim are written originally written by non jews.

when it comes to non jewish music with words, the story changes. MANY (not all) non jewish songs these days are atrocious, with such sexually explicit lyrics, that would they be turned into a movie, they would be rated XXX. therefore in GENERAL (please note…in GENERAL) they are all assur. that being said, just because a non jew writes a song, and its lyrics…does NOT make it assur! take Guns N’ Roses – Cats In The Cradle for example. the lesson in that song is applicable to everyone, jews and non jews alike. there are no sexual references in that song at all. it is a song that tells fathers to spend more time with their sons. is there anything wrong with that?

now that that is established…back to the subject at hand. a jew should NOT be playing non jewish music with lyrics in his place of business. there is no reason for it, but if he IS, before judging, listen to the lyrics before making your objections. it may be a completely acceptable song.

when it comes to non jews. a jew walking into the place of business of a non jew, has no right to complain about the music, unless it is generally offensive (i.e…it has explicit sexuality in the song) it is their business, and if you dont like it, walk out. there is a story (i think it was about rav moshe…) he got into a cab, and the driver was playing non jewish music on his radio. the talmid that was with him was about to ask the driver to turn it off, when his rebbi stopped him. the basic idea was…this is what he does…he drives around in this car all day…who are we to deprive him of this simple pleasure.

like someone said above (forgive me for not quoting you directly) if you feel so strongly about it, then get an ipod, and listen to that.

on the subject of christmas carols. many of them don’t even reference christmas at all! i see no reason why anyone would find them offensive at all! for example…”jungle bells” just talks about a sleigh ride…whats wrong with that? or “let it snow” is a song about how cold it is outside! whats wrong with that? i am not advocating playing that in your house…but honestly, what is there to get so worked up about?

as for songs that directly reference christmas…if you are sooooooooooo offended by that…than get an ipod.

merry chanukah ;D;D;D

Guns ‘N Roses? Don’t know about that. “Cat’s In the Cradle” was a #1 hit for Harry Chapin. – Moderator 77

boxing is essentially the same as the wrestling, and athletic competitions as the greeks staged back in the day…AND JUST AS ASSUR TODAY!

granted. everyone who has used the internet has seen inappropriate material. but i have to disagree with your analogy.

in today’s world, internet is necessary, and if you disagree, you’re not normal, or a liar :D:D:D (just kidding) but it is a very necessary and essential tool in today’s world. therefore, everybody has it. now i ask you…if a person is to use the internet, wouldn’t you rather have them on a site such as this? or at torahanytime? or aish.com? or the shmuz.com? wouldnt that be ideal? granted there is bad on the internet and plenty of it…but to say that torah cannot be discussed on it because it has the potential to be bad is absurd! thats like saying that the Hamodia shouldn’t exist, because it is a newspaper and so is the new york post! its ridiculous! everything, and everybody in this world has the potential to be good or bad. why should we not work to make the internet a good place to be? why not make Torah sites just as inviting to people if not more so than the inappropriate sites?