Hi Original Thinker.

Certainly, many aspects of this huge topic are very scary to me. Sometimes I think about what I heard about Yitzchok Avinu, I believe (if I am wrong, please correct me), who went from this world to being niftar into the next with the ease of one who has a coat on and then just takes it off, and that is how subtle the change was.

Rabbi Akiva Tatz talks in depth about this topic, and while I heed his advice and made a note of what the transition may be like after 120, iy”H, it is still something I dont like to think about for too long.

Hi Aries2756.

Very well said! I could not agree with you more!

I can only add one thing: Upon conviction (and it has to be with certainty), tickets be sold to have 15 seconds with a bamboo cane to be used on the perpetrator as they sit bound and gagged.

In my opinion, secluding these creatures in a cell with three meals and a cot is not quite justice. It’s a preventative measure, yes, but not justice.

What does Gut Voch mean? Thank you in advance.

Hi Sam2.

You are becoming more and more interesting to read. I am enjoying your perspective on things. Everyone is interesting, but it takes time to learn who is who, etc.

I just want to throw into the ring that mik5 is talking about nowadays. It seems Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky said, “Each individual has a chiyuv to be mekarev people.”

I have also heard it said in the name of more than one gadol, that frum Jews are responsible, but that we dont know how to accomplish this.

So, whether there were twelve tribes back in the day with different aspects to them, such as one learned and the other supported them, or the world of today with frei or frum, etc… no matter how you slice and dice this, on a macro level, we are all connected and in the same boat, even though individual chesbons are duly noted.

Hi Sam2.

Well since that time Lakewood acquired kedusha and must be noted as such. You have to be kidding me. I dont know where to start! The crowded lake for taschlich? The open celebrations on Simchas Torah? The learning and davening opportunities that go on as we speak? The minyanim with yidden of every kippa type? From the border of route 9 Lakewood and Toms River, up to Howell just after Shop Rite and out to Jackson and Brick. The wonderful and beautiful things that go on are countless. Lakewood, other than Yerushalayim, is the place to be. If one has an eye for what is beautiful, you will find more than enough in Lakewood.

Hashem created ten containers of beauty. Nine fell in Yerushalyim, and more than half of the other one fell in Lakewood. ~ BTGuy

No comment on the, l’havdil, germany analogy?

And while we are on the subject…why the stretch to besmirch Lakewood and the opinion of those who love Lakewood? Basically, if someone says what it means to them in endearing terms, you are almost saying to them, “That is not true.” The point?

lol BaalHabooze

Sorry I overreacted. It’s only because I LOVE LAKEWOOD!!!!

Your sense of humor went over my head on my first glance of your post.

Peace!

Hi Happy2BeAlive.

You will find the one for you. And may it be soon, BE”H.

I would imagine, at this time, AYC does not need our sting OR our honey.

Why can’t those with the pitchforks and torches man up already with an apology so we can all move on???

Hi soliek.

Being relatively new, and not brand new, I can tell you it is just dumb to see this name of

Joseph batted around.

What is the upside to giving out the real name of someone as though their name

is an running gag among some of the posters?

If you knew the situation first hand. What is the point talking about him.

My thought is this: If someone did bad stuff here and many rallied against him, that can

create a person to be worse than they are in real life. I have seen it happen, and everyone

is culpable. In fact, the way people still talk about him, to this day, would instigate the problem.

We only davened for the New Year not even three months ago. Let’s try to elevate and keep things clean again.

If people are tired, they can’t really help if they snore.

Hi SchtickyGuy.

I respectfully think it is too soon to have fun with this, if ever at all. I vote to let this topic go immediately. It is up to AYC to have fun with it, if ever at all.

I suggest he knows things are not fine but is ok with things at this level, even though they are not ok. Just know that Hashem is in this with you and will do a lot, but all you can do, the way I see it, is go light and easy with him and dont lose track of him. Keep in eye on him and converse with him, encouraging him a little at a time to get back on track. He is lucky you are watching out for him. Hatzlacha!

The answer to many of the questions raised is obvious, of course. One has to learn Hebrew, even if they are starting with the Alef Beis. In fact, I think someone starting from scratch deserves tremendous hakaros hatov.

I remember struggling to daven from a machzor on the critical holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. My davening was like molasses on a cold, winter day. I could not keep up and in my mind did not even accomplish anything by trying to scan the English and read the Hebrew and look up out of the siddur to what page the person next to me was holding….I was a davening mess.

Baruch Hashem! I finally feel competent to do a legitimate davening from the siddur. It came from gradual struggle. And you can bet that I am not the only one who has done this.

Hatzlacha!!

Hi wanderingchana.

Great question!

You ask an excellent question and seem to be getting answers circumventing a very basic question.

No matter what name anyone uses here, it most likely has zero to do with their real email address. And then the alleged perpetrator or boogey man would have to allegedly figure out what comes after the @ sign.

So how WOULD someone know someone’s email. And at that point, why is it our concern and not local authorities, IF there were a real problem, c”vs.

When something aint right, its wrong.

I have known enough blog sites and chat rooms to know there are countless fraudulent spoofs going on just like this one. It’s like summer camp stories.

Villagers chasing after Frankenstein with pitchforks and torches is a better crafted story.

I guess the villainous name Jason was taken, so they use Joseph.

Don’t believe the hype!!! : )

Black Hattitude!!!

It depends on the environment.

For example, when I go into the BMG, I want to see white shirts. Blue shirts would

make me think something is wrong.

There is something to the manner of dress that translates to supporting the perception

of a higher madrayga, in my opinion.

Hi chalilavchas. You are on an excellent pursuit that will take a lot of footwork in research.

Some of the following resources will help, but a lot of info you will have to research from credible sources. Sometimes, even the right wing xtian websites have archaeological and historical and scientific information that refutes the nonsense going around.

For starters, I recommend:

Genesis and the Big Bang, by Gerald Schroder, an orthodox scientist and professor associated with Princeton University. (for science)

The Universe Testifies, by R’ Avidgor Miller (for science)

Any article online by Dr. Lee Spetner (for science)

Ipuwer Papyrus by an egyptian (for history – an adversary who corroborated recording what happened in mitzrayim)

Merneptah Stele, by King Merneptah (for history – adversary who corroborates we were in Canaan after leaving mitzrayim

If you have any questions, just ask. I enjoyed spending a good deal of time in this area in response to evolutionists and atheists that I have spoken with at length. And they were all very very wrong!

There are tons of jobs, from what I understand, in North Dakota due to the booming oil business there. The jobs allegedly vary from office, management, drivers, laborers, technicians, etc.

Hatzlacha in your job seeking!!

MATISYAHU!!!!!!!

(He already is the king of Jewish music – those who know his music would know that) ; )

Hi mik5. I strongly urge you to invest in a copy of Pathway to Prayer by Rabbi Meir Birnbaum. All such concerns are covered thoroughly. Hatzlacha!!

Hi apushatayid. It is part of what they do..lol. Frankly, I oppose the holiday for historical reasons as when the Europeans were inept at surviving the winters here, it was the Native Americans who befriended them and taught them to survive, only to be paid back with the wiping out of their people. Nice hakaras hatov. Like Halloween, the meanings of those holidays dilute and morph so much, they lose their meaning. BUT…it is a big day for their families to cook and socialize together and visit others, and it’s not up to me to validate their holiday and what it represents to them.

Mazel Tov!

Hi littleapple. I was not suggesting going against a Jewish status quo, c”vs. My point was more in the line that our status quo, as Jews, is a courageous thing that is non-comformist to the status quo of the rest of the world.

Remember, while they didnt originate the idea of organic farming and natural products, it was the hippie communes that infused it into American life in the 20th century. It was not Kraft Foods, Archer Daniels, Proctor and Gamble, General Mills. Those corporations created poisons to add to food products.

Civil Rights was not initiated by a president’s pen and enforced by the law. They had to be compelled to do those things for American citizens at the hands of civil rights workers.

The Viet Nam War did not end because Nixon/Agnew/Mitchell/McNamara thought the military industrial complex had made enough money off the bodies of young Americans, and they should call it quits. The end of the war initiated by the Yippies and other groups.

As far as the non-Jewish world goes, those above mentioned efforts were positive and better than what would have been otherwise.

Yes, there is a lot the criticize. Sociologically speaking, no group is immune to being critiqued.

Hi pushatayid. Your point is one that has merits. But why do you have to associate it with neturei karta? They are traitors and I truly believe they are government plants and not genuine Jews.

I know you didnt mean this, but it reminds me of a non-Jewish friend I had, while sympathetic to Jewish history, still said to me that I have to admit yemach shmoe had amazing leadership skills and rommel was a great strategist. Cognitively, his statements were like a Salvador Dali painting. I got off at that exit. lol

I thought the miraculous fact that Eretz Yisrael is again in Jewish hands, is part of prophecy being fulfilled.

Hi lolkatz. For the record, my suggestion was in the context that if some here had a strong concern about internet safety, which they do, then the site administrators can have law enforcement check things out from time to time.

My meaning was to take this relentless issue from the forefront of our interaction in the coffee room and move it to the background, where it should be. Whether law enforcement checks this site out or not, either way is fine with me.