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“Congratulations to the Republicans in a job well done.”
In other words, congratulations to the Republicans for making the United States less like a democracy and more like a corruptocracy.
Maryland’s gerrymander wasn’t quite as bad as North Carolina. Maryland is a Democratic state that should elect mostly Democrats to Congress. North Carolina is a swing state that should have a Congressional delegation that is almost evenly split.
Everyone should be Charedi in their commitment to their own learning and observance of mitzvot, Religious Zionist in their commitment to the State of Israel, and Open Orthodox in their commitment in expanding Torah learning for women.
“Gerrymandering was started by Democrats”
Only technically correct as that was over 200 years ago. But even Elbridge Gerry would be shocked at what the Republicans did in North Carolina.
“many people who started at HIR will no longer daven there”
I daven there for two main reasons:
1) It is the closest shul to my house that has both weekday and Shabat minyans.
2) The Shabat services have more singing and are not as rushed as at the the other shuls, with less talking. (One very frum visitor came on a Shabat and said half-jokingly that there was so little talking that he wasn’t sure that it was an orthodox shul.)
“The future of Israel is clearly religious zionist. “
The only way to prevent this is for charedim to participate more in society, but getting better secular education and serving in the IDF.
“he is much more frum than he lets on.”
This is true.
” I once heard Rabbi Weiss comment that many people who started at HIR will no longer daven there.”
I once heard Rabbi Weiss describe staying up all night with a young man about to get married the next day to a non-Jew. The man called off the wedding and came back to observance. He is now living in Meah Shearim. Thank you, Rabbi Weiss.
“Reading the writings of Rav Soloveitchik”
WADR there isn’t much to read. The Rav published very little during his lifetime.
“nothing revolutionary”
Insisting that communities should teach gemara to women, preferably in co-ed environments, was revolutionary.
“And there’s a ton of halachos involved, if you know them all you wont WANT to own a pet”
No, it gives one more opportunities to fulfill mitzvot. Every time we see that our cats are fed before we ourselves eat is yet another mitzvah fulfilled.
“And there’s a ton of halachos involved, if you know them all you wont WANT to own a pet”
No, it gives one more opportunities to fulfill mitzvot. Every time we see that our cats are fed before we ourselves eat is yet another mitzvah fulfilled.
“no money if there is no monitor with veto power.”
The person who pays the piper gets to pick the tunes.
We should remember this as we lobby for more government funding for yeshivot.
“In both NY & NJ no one can impose a local property/school tax increase without the voters approving it in a referendum. That’s the law in both States.”
That is not true. Bloomberg got the City Council to raise property taxes in NYC at least twice and there was no referendum.
Interestingly, though, despite the lack of provisions for a referendum, NYC property tax rates are FAR lower than those in the suburbs.
“Should I not vaccinate my dog?”
If you want your dog to die a miserable death from a preventable disease, do not vaccinate it.
I have never seen anything that would exempt a mamzer from pru urvu.
“Once upon a time, the Frum Jews voted for Democrats, but that time is long gone. “
The Republican Jewish Coalition 2012 nationwide exit poll showed Obama beating Romney by 4% among Orthodox Jews.
Teaneck and Riverdale both voted 70% for Obama.
“I’m also curious as to your position regarding the monitor”
I don’t have a position on the monitor specifically. In other states, when states have assumed various levels of control over local school systems, the state control has rarely if ever solved the problems that needed to be solved, and there is in general even less accountability.
I know that it is politically incorrect to say this, but East Ramapo’s school system will not have its problems fixed without a large influx of money, and none of the politicians are willing to deal with that issue.
All that said, my real position is that I do not think that there should even BE an East Ramapo School District — or any other local school district in NY State below the county level. There are large economies of scale in administration of larger school districts, and several states — Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky — have always made the county the basic unit of educational organization. Why does Westchester County need 48 school districts and Nassau County 56 when the entire state of Maryland gets alone with only 24? Merge all the Rockland school districts together and many of these problems will disappear immediately.
“Taxes are high in all of New York, not just East Ramapo”
Property taxe rates in New York City are some of the lowest in the US.
“a global warming trend that has been going on consistently since prehistoric times”
Actually that is not true. The earth got COLDER between about 1400 and 1600. And the consequences of doing nothing could be catastrophic. A single hurricane in NYC caused $50 billion in damage. Now, imagine that storm with the sea level just a few feet higher — South Brooklyn, South Staten Island, and the Rockaway Peninsula are gone. (Interestingly, those areas mostly vote Republican!) South Florida is doomed and so is the entire Mississippi River south of Baton Rouge, which combines to be America’s largest port. Bangladesh will have a hundred million Muslims pouring into India and Myanmar. The Pacific Island nations that consistently vote for Israel at the UN will cease to exist. I could go on and on. It is NOT doing something that could destroy the world economy, with the US first.
” If he’s a nativist, he’s self-hating since he’s definitely a descendant of Ellis Island, rather than “old stock” “
You may be right. He may be just an old fashioned racist rather than a nativist.
“Do you have a reason to believe he didn’t have his kids vaccinated? “
No. His kids were grown before he started spouting the anti-vaccination nonsense. As a result, children will die.
“he’s an anti-Semite”
Trump is NOT an anti-Semite. But neither was Mussolini. That didn’t work out well.
“Why should the Federal government have a special program for 9-11 responders since they are covered under their employer’s health care and workers’ compensation programs”
Because it is a communal obligation on society to help those who served us. It is similar to our veterans. Besides, the government (the Bush Administration) lied to them and told them the site was safe.
“why channel yhour anger in a way that elects Hillary”
Because she would be a better President than most of the Republicans running.
“Anti-Zionists, on the other hand …”
The subset of anti-Zionists who demonstrate against Israel outside of Israel and/or criticize its existence on the internet are first class rashaim.
That is the least of his problems. He is also an anti-vaxxer Obama birther climate change denier nativist bigot with a history of horrible business ethics who spouts anti-Semitic stereotypes and refuses to call out the racists and anti-Semites among is supporters. Stormfront loves him (and hates Hillary Clinton).
Trump also failed to support the renewal of the bill providing health care for the 9/11 responders. (Among the Republicans, only Graham, Huckabee, Pataki, and Rubio did the right thing.)
“You guys don’t understand how gemara on a device fully loaded with garbage is a bizayon?”
My “device” is loaded with shiurim from modern orthodox rabbis. That is why the charedi world is basically doomed — the modern orthodox world has embraced modern technology to spread Torah while the charedi world is still largely in the 19th century on these matters.
Modern movable type printing was developed in Christian Europe in the mid-15th century. (There had been some earlier examples of such in Asia.) It was immediately applied to religious and secular documents in the Christian world and Jewish worlds. But in the Muslim world, religious authorities prevented them from being used until the 18th century even though Arabic texts were being printed in Christian Europe and smuggled into the Ottoman Empire and even thought the Ottoman Empire permitted Christians and Jews to use printing presses.
What became of Islam is well known to us all and the reactionary bias against printing is a major contributing factor. Let us not repeat the same error regarding the internet that Islam made with printing.
“current NYC school board president, who happens to be white”
The author of this is both a racist and ignoramus. Race has nothing to do with any of this, and NYC does not even have a school board.
“in practice you can’t assume science teachers never have an agenda.”
I am a scientist and science teacher and I absolutely have an agenda: To have my students understand how to understand science. It is empirical and logical, and anyone who sees it as a threat to religious faith either doesn’t understand science, doesn’t understand their religion, or both.
“Tzitz Eliezer quotes the Ran who says that Islam is a”z because muslims bow down to their leaders, even though they don’t consider them gods.”
Prof. Marc Shapiro proved that that Ran is not by the Ran. There simply is NO real reliable Jewish source that says that Islam is idolatry.
“it’s muttar to study evolution?”
Yes. All science is mutar. So says Rambam.
“The Torah prescribes a subservient role.”
The origin of that belief is from the Tanna Shaul HaTarsi, the famous (infamous) talmid of Rabban Gamliel HaZakein who became a min. It is probably asur to follow his heresies.
“Think about taking the heart out of someone before he is halachically dead to transplant into someone else”
What OO rabbi has permitted that?
“If Gedolim have said no, it’s no.”
Only if your own rav is one of the Gedolim. Otherwise CYLOR,
My own smartphone app has the great feature that it knows what parts to add and subtract from the liturgy on special days. It thus prevents errors in the tefillah.
“The Anglo-American philosophers of the 17-19th centuries were lovers of Tanach who saw it as the blueprint for the ideal state.”
That isn’t really true. Thomas Jefferson certainly did not believe that. Nor did Benjamin Franklin. Nor did Ralph Waldo Emerson. Nor did Adam Smith. Nor did David Hume. You could make a small case for John Locke, but he was more interested in Christian scriptures.
And if you believe that monarchy is mandated by the Torah (clearly the majority opinion), it is really hard to make a case for the Tanakh’s monarchy having been ideal. Every single monarch of the Northern Kingdom did evil in they eyes of HaShem, as did most of the monarchs of the Southern Kingdom. That contributed to the loss of our Temple and freedom.
And, here in the last day of Chanukah, we recall that that was true of every one of the Hasmoneans who declared themselves to be a monarch — with the singular exception of the one woman who reigned, Shelomitzion, who is praised effusively by the same sages who would also state that women can’t reign. (Baruch HaShem we hadn’t accepted that opinion, as she probably saved Rabbinic Judaism!!!)
Over 200 years later Rebbe and Antoninus would have an interesting discussion as to the virtues of an inherited monarchy. Rebbe insisted that it was a good thing. Up to that point, the position of Roman Emperor was not generally passed on from father to son (Vespasian to Titus was an exception) but Antoninus made sure that his son would succeed him. That son turned out to be a disaster, and the Roman Empire was never again the same, with a long list of Emperors who were every bit as bad as the Kings of Israel! Maybe Rebbe was the person who triggered the decline and fall of the Roman Emperor! Was he deliberately deceiving his friend the Emperor?
The best source on this is Abarbanel, who has a lot to say about monarchy. Of all our sages of the past two millenia he probably knew more about monarchies than any other. He lived through their horrors.
“they want equal rights and obligations in the realm of Judaism whether or not it is what the Torah actually wants “
Not true.
“Race A is better than Race B”
The very concept of “race” is absent from Judaism.
” you’re secluded in the front with another pilot for hours on end”
Not really; pilots often leave the cockpit on long flights.
And the OP did not distinguish between private flying and commercial flying. Private pilots fly their own aircraft, solo.
“It was AGAINAST all the gedolim to move to the United States before WW II. “
Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu Henkin z’tz’l came to the US in 1922. Rav Soloveitchik z’tz’l moved to the US at the end of 1932; His father was already here. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein z’tz’l came to the US in 1936. Rabbi Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky z’tz’l came in 1937. We were blessed that just as two of the meraglim saw the truth, so did a some of the gedolim.
I know many.
“muslims shouldn’t have the right to immigrate there.”
Israel has never banned non-Jews from immigrating. It does, however, prevent people considered security risks from getting guns. Ironically, Trump has been more sensible on this than most other Republicans as he has not opposed prohibiting suspected terrorists from being able to get guns here in the US.
” trump is just a very successful businessman”
Who abused eminent domain and bankruptcy laws to run roughshod over others. Whose most visible business enterprises are beauty pageants and casinos, of which no frum Jew should approve. And who would have been more successful had he simply taken the hundreds of millions he inherited from his father and invested them in Berkshire Hathaway or a stock index fun.
Mussolini had a lot of support from Italy’s Jews, many of whom were very assimilated into Italian ways of thinking. Italy had even had a Jewish Prime Minister before World War I and nobody would have believed that Mussolini, who like Trump is not personally anti-Semitic, would ever turn on them. Some other Italian Jews tried to point out their errors but they were shouted down (in some cases, literally).
History is now repeating itself. Many totally assimilated American Jews, some of whom even keep Shabat and Kashrut and pray three times a day, are supporting Trump. This will not end well.
“Of course after the war such a halacha could not be kept anymore”
Hitler yemach shemo changed the halacha for us. 🙁
In NYC the Uber cars and drivers have to have the same registration, insurance, and licensing as any other competing service.
Why would lavender need a hechsher? My wife grows it in her backyard garden!
“the Zionists have ignored the spirit of the candles, turning Chanukah into a celebration of the victories of the Maccabees,”
The Zionists wrote “Al HaNisim”? Didn’t know that!
“Jack Lew prays at a non Orthodox synagogue”
Ah, the heresy hunters can’t take the week iff.
FWIW Joe Lieberman is a member of the same synagogue. And so am I.
“how did you forget that Joe Lieberman was AG of CT and that Michael Mukassey was Bush II’s second AG? “
I didn’t forget; I just didn’t mention them.
And I presume that you didn’t forget that Obama’s current Secretary of the Treasury and former Budget Director and White House Chief of Staff is Jack Lew, also an Orthodox Jew.