catch yourself

I wonder if this would be considered מסייע, since they have plenty of opportunity to pursue their chosen course even without CTL’s help.

“It is HARD ENOUGH for Frum people to get a job when others may very likely NOT WANT people that need to leave early Every Friday and Erev Yom Tov”

This is certainly discriminatory (on the basis of religion), and if it can be proven that an applicant was rejected for that reason, that employer will have a big problem on his (or her) hands.

I would appreciate if one of the Lawyers in Residence here in the CR would inform us laypeople whether the ads to which the OP refers are illegal. Is there anything wrong with wanting to hire, say, only females to preserve the religious acceptability of a workplace environment?

Various theories have been advanced as to why Hashem would choose to conduct the world in such a manner.

For one, otherwise there would be virtually no such thing as moral freedom (what we call Koach Habechira) – we would be coerced to follow Ratzon Hashem by the clarity of our perception that He is the One Who runs the world (along the lines of what Rav Moshe Feinstein said about the Koach Habechira of Malachim – ע’ דרש משה פרשת בראשית).

Additionally, a world which operates on a logical system of action-reaction (cause and effect) helps us to understand and internalize the concept of Midah K’neged Midah, so that we can use our experiences as guides in our Avodas Hashem.

What’s more, as the Pasuk says, מלך במשפט יעמיד ארץ, the king establishes his government on the basis of justice (in somewhat more modern parlance, Law and Order). The fact that the world operates in a perfectly consistent way that is regulated by Laws which can not be violated is an expression of Hashem’s Majesty.

There is plenty more out there, but these are the three which resonate most strongly for me.

√2, I apologize if you were offended. I assumed that you chose that screen name precisely because it is an irrational number. I was just saying that I disagree with the question. Whatever the value of √2 is (and it is obviously in the neighborhood of 1.414), it is an irrational number (like pi, there is no pattern to its decimal sequence).

The joke portrays a rabbinic leader as having infantile selfishness and vindictiveness. It also implies ever so strongly that non-Jewish life has no value. I was taught that such “jokes” are anathema to the Torah, even when said clearly in jest.

With all due respect to Avrah, I and others also answered the question, albeit not in so verbose a manner. If you prefer, here is a somewhat more elaborated expression of my response:

Suppose there were a Pasuk which said, “Hashem said to Moshe, saying: Even as I create all that exists, ex nihilo, at every moment, I generally conduct the world in such a way as to give the impression that there is a continuous existence. I choose to have the world function in a systematic, predictable way, except for such times as when I will conduct extraordinary miracles. You are therefore to conduct yourselves as though the existence of Creation were continuous, despite your realization that it is not.'”

Would you then still have a question?

But there is such a Pasuk – it is the one where the Torah instructs us to follow Chazaka.

@ DovidBT

In my opinion, it includes the overwhelming majority of people who voted in the last Presidential election.

1. The Vilna Gaon famously states that Chazal always had multiple reasons for a Minhag, some of which they may have had some reason for concealing from us, and that therefore we may not unilaterally determine that a Minhag is no longer applicable. Obviously, this would only apply to Minhagim that are certified by Chazal. [As I have had to point out to skeptics many times, this is not at all far-fetched; both as a parent and as an educator I do this all the time.]

2. In the specific case of Yom Tov Sheini, Rav Hirsch explains at length that this Minhag preserves for us the true character of our Yamim Tovim, which would be lost if we were to observe only one day of Yom Tov. Check his commentary to Parashas HaChodesh [Shemos 12].

3. We should not be so arrogant as to assume that we fully understand the basis for a Minhag without extensive research, much less should we assume the authority to revoke a Minhag as obsolete. There are many stories of Rabonim who declared certain Minhagim to be Minhag Shtus, only to learn the hard way why they were wrong, corroborating this idea. [One excellent example, which I think has already been mentioned in the CR, involves the Rema and the Minhag in Cracow to say Mazal Tov after leil tevila.]

So many possibilities…

באבוד רשעים רינה

CTL, I’m not a lawyer or an expert in constitutional law. Please explain for the layman:

Emoluments is defined by Marriam-Webster as, “the returns arising from office or employment usually in the form of compensation or perquisites.”

Perquisites is defined (also by Marriam-Webster) as, “a privilege, gain, or profit incidental to regular salary or wages; especially : one expected or promised.”

Is there any reason to think that the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution would preclude a President (or anybody holding any office of profit or trust under the United States) from profiting from a business relationship that does not have the character of employment?

Whether this should be permitted or ethical is irrelevant. The question here is whether the clause mentioned applies.

My comment to Rabbi Hoffman’s excellent article about vaccinations was not allowed, I think unfairly.

This is the wrong complaint department.

I have no interest in entering the debate on guns, the second amendment, et al.

I was just wondering:

Why is it legal for a store unilaterally to impose age restrictions on purchases of certain items? Isn’t this discrimination on the basis of age?

Also, I couldn’t find a single thread or comment on YWN or in the CR or elsewhere that people expressed taking offense at any of the Lose4Autism ads over the years.

I’m not saying that nobody was offended (which I can’t possibly know; in any case, I would be surprised if NOBODY was offended), just that I couldn’t find a single comment about it.

(note from 79; if you search “lose4autism” in coffeeroom you’ll find this https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/attn-lab#post-1136883 “

Obviously not. That’s a perfect straw man argument. The point I was making is that it is not practical, nor even required, to concern yourself with every possible way that a statement can be misconstrued so as to be insulting to someone or other. The way people feel always matters; this does not give free rein to the Serial Offended Class to silence all forms of expression. I, for one, would feel constrained if I had to submit everything I say to the PC Police.

I think it was quite clear that the Eat4Oorah video was meant as a promotional tactic and nothing else, and [despite being rather ready to lose weight myself] I don’t consider it offensive in any way. Certainly, it was much less so than the LoseForAutism video of which it was a spoof, and I don’t remember the protests over that one. This leads me to the conclusion that the facade of being offended here is just a pretense to put down a successful organization.

Of course, I agree that it is important not to say or do anything, or even use language, which could reasonably be expected to offend. One good example of this (which has already been litigated extensively here in the CR) is your use of the word “retarded”.

The two are totally unrelated.

Of course, it is an unspeakable tragedy that so many of our brothers and sisters do not learn about their true mission in life.

This does not, in any way, mitigate the horror of the shooting.

Well, for one thing, seeing as we are all either definitely or presumed טמא it would be impossible to fulfill this מצוה in the current situation.

One thousand years from now, people will look back at the era of professional sports with the same puzzlement that we have for idolatry and paganism.

Nevertheless, as someone who was born and grew up in the NY area, I understand how professional sports has a certain attraction to it, and I understand how people get caught up in it.

All in all, there are things which are much worse going on in our community. I’d much rather people be sports fans than, say, racist or dishonest, especially if they are מתעטף בטלית שכולה תכלת and claim that what they are doing is רצון השם…

In the words of חז”ל,
“לא ראינו אונה ראיה”
However, absence of evidence is a useful tool when deliberately obfuscating an issue. It is especially so when coupled with oversimplification and absurd exaggeration.

The Ramban discusses this issue in this week’s Parasha. He says that the Torah only reports those Nisim which were predicted prior to the fact by a Navi.

ZionGate,

My apologies. I somehow missed your sarcasm.

Joseph, I feel for you. It must be difficult to be so righteously indignant about something that you can not define, or even properly identify.

WTP,
In response to your survey, the answer is, much less often than my wife.

Also, I never thought I would agree to wholeheartedly with Joseph, but I think he is right. One of the side affects of having a Y chromosome is apparently to prevent a carrier from suffering the side affects of having an X chromosome.
The other side of the population, on the other hand, have a double dose…

They would have to go north.

With all due respect, there are hundreds of threads in the CR dedicated to nonsense.

Most of these far outdo the present thread in senselessness, though they can’t compete in prosaic beauty.

DY – Thank you. I respect your opinion as quite educated and levelheaded, so I consider your attention a compliment.

Nevertheless, I disagree with your corrections.

In Sefer Chazon Ish (although I can’t provide a Mareh Makom, as it’s been so long since I saw it), the same logic relied upon by Rav Moshe is presented. It is possible that the Ch’I didn’t want to rely on this Lma’aseh, which explains why he only allowed milk with the P’Ch, but he does use the Sevara.

Similarly, in constructing the Paris Eiruv, the Chazon Ish also did not rely on his own leniency. This interesting historical footnote notwithstanding, his Sevara is an important part of most municipal Eiruvin today.

Butter doesn’t need supervision because we know by process of elimination that it must be kosher milk; Chalav Stam is an extension of the same principle.

I don’t remember Rav Moshe saying to Kasher Keilim – Can you provide a reference?

Rav Moshe’s Psak (based on the straight reading of most of his Teshuvos on the issue, as well as the testimony and practice of his children and many of his leading Talmidim) was that “Chalav HaCompanies” is Muttar mei’ikar hadin.
There are only two types of milk: Chalav Yisrael which is Muttar, and Chalav Akum which is Assur. There is no debate about this. The point Rav Moshe made (which, for the record, is echoed by the Chazon Ish) was that based on the Umdena created by government regulations, Chalav HaCompanies qualifies as the Chalav Yisrael mentioned in Shulchan Aruch, just as butter does not need supervision.
Nevertheless, he recommended that Baal Nefesh Yachmir. Most Poskim seem to agree that according to this Shita, it would not assur keilim. The Poskim who disagreed with Rav Moshe and held that Chalav HaCompanies is Chalav Akum hold that it is regular non-Kosher food, it assurs keilim, etc.

It seems that the OP could only have held like Rav Moshe, since otherwise there is not really any room to maneuver. In any case, the entire concept of “Shaas Hadchak,” and related issues (hefsed meruba, et at) is about the financial cost of maintaining higher than the minimum Halachic standard, even where such higher standards are universally accepted, and even (sometimes, specifically) when the food will be given to guests.

As a general point, the basic ground rule of Halacha, as established in Teshuvos HaRama, is that any Kula accepted in extenuating circumstances (Shaas hadchak, hefsed meruba, tzorech Shabbos/Yom Tov, etc.) must in fact be the Halachic standard, even if, under normal circumstances, we do not rely on it. In other words, no lenient opinion which is decidedly against the Halacha can be relied upon in any case. So those Poskim who allow Chalav Stam (even if only in Shaas Hadchak) by definition hold that it is Muttar mei’ikar hadin.

Also, the issue at hand was not one of insulting the host (they apparently have no problem eating together despite the different standards that they maintain), but one of cost. The guest wishes to avoid causing his host to spend more than he has to, and wants to know if in such a situation he may eat CS, which is certainly a Shaila for one’s personal Rav.

Troll

Baltimore is a wonderful community, but it unfortunately is not immune to the addiction epidemic which has been sweeping our larger community worldwide.

TLIK, you paint with far too broad a brush.

Also, your reference to “today’s generation” is surprising, since, as a rule, today’s Mechanchim are very warm and encouraging (If anything, the culture of prizes and rewards has gone too far, but that’s another discussion). In general, today’s Mechanchim are trained to minimize punitive measures, and, when they are necessary, to implement them in a way which does not jeopardize their relationship with their students.