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” non-halachic crimes? speeding by going 70mph instead of 55mph on highway to catch a minyan for example?”
I don’t see why that is a non-halachic crime. Risking your life and the lives of others to catch a minyan is at best a mitzvah ha-ba b’aveirah!
There wasn’t even a mechitzah in the Mishkan, or the First Temple, nor the Second Temple until late in its history and even then only for the festival of Sukkot (and it wasn’t a mechitzah, it was a balcony).
If you aren’t Jewish, you get to choose Ashkenazic or Sefardic — there are a few Western European Sefardic communities including one in New York and one in Philadelphia. But you need to be part of a Sefardic community if you want to convert Sefardic. And be warned that it is MUCH easier to be Ashkenazic here in America as all the major kashrut organizations accept Ashkenazic leniencies that aren’t accepted in normative Sefardic halachic rulings.
If you are already an Ashkenazic Jew, it is a machloket as to whether one can ever become Sefardic. I personally have a psak halachah from a Sefardic rabbi that I can — if and when I move to a Sefardic community. But I have also heard at least one prominent Rosh Yeshiva say that it is not possible, ever.
Mutar halachically, but illegal in most of the US. Legal in NY, though.
“I don’t particularly enjoy it”
Do not under any circumstances consider doing something you don’t enjoy. You will have an unhappy life and regret it.
“Non-euclidian geometry is shtus. Euclid was right.”
Non-Euclidian geometry is every bit as logical as Euclidian geometry, and it was discovered a century ago (by Einstein!) that it can describe the physical world better than Euclidian geometry. That certainly is not shtus.
Halachah: Reciting Hallel on Yom Tov.
Minhag: Reciting Hallel on Rosh Chodesh.
Chumrah: Reciting Hallel in synagogue on the first two nights of Pesach in case you won’t say it at the seder. (Rema opposes this.)
Stus: Refusing to help your wife clean up because you have to recite Hallel at the seder while being totally oblivious to the fact that she, too, is chayev in Hallel at the seder.
“Therefore we are paying alot more, just to support the enviroment with this clean energy nonsense.”
Natural gas and wind now cost less than coal for electricity generation and are far cleaner. Windmills aren’t nonsense.
“Why is Obama punishing the coal industry and having EPA fine businesses who don’t comply to their standards? In doing so, the American citizens have to suffer by paying more at the pumps and paying more for our coned bill.”
You might want to do some research in the future before embarrassing yourself. The Clean Air Act is quite unfavorable to coal as it is the dirtiest fuel commonly used. Ditto workplace safety laws. Are you suggesting that Obama order the executive branch agencies not to enforce the law?
But your “paying more at the pumps” and “paying more for out coned bill” are really out there for lack of connection to reality. No gasoline or diesel fuel in the US is produced from coal, although there are a few synthetic fuel projects under development. And very little electricity is produced by burning coal around here today: The generating plants serving NYC all converted to natural gas or dual (gas/oil) years ago, Indian Point provides some nuclear-generated electricity, and you can also choose a supplier that uses windmills.
“Pres. Obama has released tens of thousands of illegals with criminal history. “
Actually he has deported hundreds of thousands of illegals and prosecuted tens of thousands of illegals with criminal history.
“Was Condoleza Rice worse than Hilary Clinton? Did she know the facts about Benghazi and then lie to the world about it?”
Rice knew the facts about Iraqi WMDs and participated in the Bush administration’s lying about it. Four Americans died in Benghazi, over four thousand in Iraq. So yes, she was worse, although at that time she was still National Security Advisor.
“the history of the KKK”
The KKK infected both parties. In the South it was mostly the old segregationist Democrats, but in the rest of the country it infected both parties. The KKK actually took over the government of the State of Indiana and its governor was a nominal Republican.
“Are you still ever smoking?”
Good catch. I actually have never smoked either a nicotine or cannabis cigarette, cigar, or pipe. They actually disgust me.
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein forbade production of milk-fed veal calves because of tzar baalei chaim concerns.
“Pretend that certain parts of the Torah don’t exist; only the parts that you like?”
Where in this thread have I suggested that? In fact, some others have seemed to ignore tzar baalei chaim; why aren’t you pestering them?
“There were huge protests against Condoleza Rice(black woman)for speaking at the Rutgers graduation.”
Not sure why she was invited. She was the worst National Security Advisor in history and one of the worse Secretaries of State. Before then she had ghostwritten the infamous “Chicken Kiev” speech for the first Bush. I don’t know what she could say that would be of interest to anyone. She had a decent record as a university administrator, but since when to second rank administrators at universities become commencement speakers? The Republicans like to showcase her because she is a black woman, something quite scarce among Republican party leaders. Rutgers eventually got former Gov. Tom Kean to speak. He was a successful governor and would have been worth hearing.
As the resident token liberal here I presume this was directed towards me.
“Do they max out their credit cards and go into debt or do they save their money?”
I used to abuse credit cards, but haven’t used them in over a quarter century. I do have a home mortgage and an auto loan, though.
However, the premise of the question is flawed; public finance is nothing like private finance.
“Would they allow their children to do something illegal and then fight to legalize that action?”
You assume that a parent has 100% control over everything a child does!
I would presume that the question refers to drug use and underage alcohol use. I opposed raising the drinking age to 18 and still think that it should be returned to where it was in the 1970s. And I don’t think that marijuana should be illegal even though I personally have ever smoked a joint.
” Would they buy a more expensive item which they can’t afford but is good for the environment or buy a more affordable item that’s not good for the environment?”
I just switched to an all-wind electricity supplier. A natural gas supplier would have been slightly cheaper.
“About the only example I can think of is Rome where the Jewish Ghetto is right near the Vatican and the Colleseum. Even in NY the frum communities are in Brooklyn not really Manhattan”
There are frum communities and kosher restaurants in Paris all over the city — no eruv, though. And there are strong frum communities in many if not most Manhattan neighborhoods (not to mention many in Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island!).
Other examples: There is an Orthodox synagogue with a small community within walking distance of the most popular tourist attractions in Philadelphia — in fact IT should be a tourist attraction as it is the oldest continuously operating synagogue in North America. There is an Orthodox synagogue with a small community within walking distance of Baltimore’s inner harbor. There is an Orthodox synagogue in the Georgetown section of Washington, DC with a strong community and its eruv includes all the major tourist attractions. I’m sure that there must be other examples.
“Yes, it is very wrong to live by a moral code which opposes the morals of the Torah.”
I agree. People who don’t think that proper care and compassion for animals are important are opposing the morals of the Torah.
‘Who is this “Chasidic Rebbe”, Abraham Joshua Heshel?’
No. He is widely respected. But it is up for him to publish his opinion if he wishes to.
” I think charlie meant a detail within Gilgulim, not whether or not they exist at all.”
Correct. The machloket was associated with the famous talking fish incident over a decades ago; this rabbi held contrary to Arizal that humans can’t return as anything other than a human.
“nobody claimed was apikorsus”
A commenter claimed that the OP was an apikoros.
“It’s an issue of having a value system which is not derived from, and not in accordance with, the Torah.”
Ignoring the suffering of animals is not in accordance with the Torah. There are numerous halachot regarding proper treatment of animals, and Tzar Baalei Chayim is considered by Chazal to be a mitzvah from the Torah itself.
“if I could buy a tzniusdik skirt for under $40.”
Come to the immigrant neighborhoods in the Bronx. Lots of long skirts for much less than that.
“But doesn’t the fact thaat the Arizal wrote the Sefer show enough proof?”
No.
“Please consult a Rov before you stand your ground”
I once heard a Chasidic Rebbe “pasken” against the position of the Arizal on the topic of gilgulim.
“nobody said we have to eat animals.”
Only on Yom Tov in Yerushalayim when we have a Temple.
“Why is it apikorsus to feel bad for animals?”
It isn’t, and in fact Rambam cites several mitzvot from the Torah has being motivated by compassion for animals. See Guide to the Perplexed III:48.
“Interesting to note precisely because you are the individual who has so often stood up for Muslims, on this and other web sites.”
I’ll stand up for Muslims who aren’t anti-Semites any time!
“I think Klal Yisrael would be well served with others like her.”
And you are correct. The Yoetzet Halachah program is overseen by Rabbi Yehuda Herzl Henkin and run by his wife Rabbanat Chana Henkin. He is the grandson of the late American gedol Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu Henkin z’tz’l and ought to be considered a gedol in his own right.
“a large Rov in Yeshivat Maharat want to destroy Klal Yisrael”
You clearly have never met any of the Yeshiva Maharat students.
“why you assumed by sefardi leadership I meant sefardi politicians”
The Sefardi rabbis control the Shas party and decide whom the MKs will be.
“I really doubt any country will take people who want to come for welfare”
In the US, if the visa grantor thinks you will likely end up on welfare, you won’t get a visa. You could come illegally, of course, or come as a legal visitor and overstay the expiration of the visa.
A better, legal, way is to enroll in a degree-granting institution. Anyone without a criminal record from anywhere in the world can do that and come here on a student visa. Many yeshivot have started granting degrees; they would just need to have a visa office to process the paperwork. But the student’s ability to earn income would be severely limited.
“Israeli society will have to accept that charedi soldiers will not accept the p’sakim of non chareidi rabbis in places such as the IDF.”
Then the charedi soldiers will have to suffer courts martial when they disobey an order. The halachah is that when you become part of a new community you abide by the rabbis of that community. How many charedi rabbis are there in the IDF?
The idea that non-charedi rabbis are not competent to pasken shilahs is one of the most vicious slanders around. The charedim who push that nonsense should stop wondering why the datim are doing nothing to help stop the budget cuts or to prevent conscription.
There is an explicit mishnah that says that 18 is the age for chuppah. Not sure why we ignore it.
“Sweden isn’t anti-semitic?”
Apparently not. It was the least anti-Semitic country in Europe and less anti-Semitic than any country in the Western Hemisphere.
“skewed the results in favor of a receiving an antisemitic answer.”
Did you actually look at the survey questions?
Worthy of note is that every Arab country surveyed scored more poorly than every non-Arab country.
“i was just wondering if there was any halachic aspect to that”
Many great rabbis have been vegetarians, so apparently in our times any halachic issues — if indeed there are any — are resolvable. One of the most famous ones alive today is Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom.
“The Sefardi leadership”
9 out of 11 current Shas MKs served in the IDF.
“In Canada if they accepted the request of an extreme group like Lev Tahor”
IIRC the Lev Tahor people only got temporary visas, not immigrant visas.
“The least antisemitic country in the islamic world isn’t turkey but Iran (56%)”
Actually there are many that are lower:
Ivory Coast (Muslim plurality of about 39%) is at 22%
Bosnia-Herzegovina (Muslim plurality about 44%) is at 32% which is lower than any of its Christian neighbors.
Kazakhstan (70% Muslim) is also 32%
Azerbaijan (93% Muslim) is at 37%
Senegal (96% Muslim) is at 53%
Bangladesh (90% Muslim and the third largest Muslim country in the world) is at 32%
Indonesia (87% Muslim and by far the largest Muslim country in the world) is at 48%
Pakistan was not surveyed.
” firefighters and EMT workers in Israel had to be organized and ready to go at a moment’s notice, which meant preparing a few hours before Shabbos ended.”
Next time that Lag B’Omer falls out motzi Shabat, I hope that we will eliminate the chilul Shabat by pushing off the bonfires to Sunday afternoon, as was suggested by numerous rabbis who were sadly ignored. They could still be lit the afternoon of Lag B’Omer and continue to burn all night. Rabbi Shimon would be very pleased! After all, the sugya describing his time in the cave and after starts on Amud Bet of Shabat Daf 33, and continues to Amud Aleph of Daf 34! I think there might be a lesson there. 😉
“You’d think people would commemorate his yahrzeit with learning and revolving their lives around the Torah”
I did just that! I learned sugyot from two different tractates of Bavli, two different tractates of Yerushalmi, and also a perek of Navi.
There are two big issues that I see, that nobody seems to want to address:
1) As charedim become a larger and larger part of Israeli society, they need to step up to the plate and take responsibility for protecting that society. That doesn’t have to involve a draft, but it does mean that SOME charedim will need to serve in the IDF, and at least SOME charedim will need to leave the yeshiva and get careers, which will require modern education. The charedi world will also have to more accept that non-charedi Orthodox rabbis can be relied upon in places like the IDF. For instance, the Orthodox rabbis in the IDF know the kashrut laws, and they have extensively researched the situations that justify chilul Shabat in the military and they can be relied upon to pasken even for charedim.
2) As charedim become a larger and larger part of Israeli society, the rest of Israeli society needs to accept that charedim are here to stay and that continuing to maintain much of that society as charedi-unfriendly is counterproductive. For example, there is no reason why charedi soldiers should be punished for quietly excusing themselves from performances of female vocalists. (I write that as someone whose own non-charedi rav is quite meikel on kol ishah.) And there is no reason why the IDF should not follow its own rabbis, who are committed Orthodox Zionists and are as upset about the unnecessary chilul Shabat as anyone commenting here.
I could list many other examples, but I think my point is clear.
I would add that the level of vitriol between charedi and non-charedi politicians is completely unacceptable — on both sides. It is time to turn down the volume. We are all one people. And the Torah of a dati rabbi and the Torah of a charedi rabbi is the same Torah even when they pasken differently in a particular circumstance.
“I find classical music to be far more appropriate than certain modern Jewish songs”
Rav Soloveitchik z’tz’l and Rav Hutner z’tz’l would attend the opera together when they were students in Berlin.
I am unaware of any “Jewish music” that exists today that does not use the style of some “non-Jewish music” with the possible exception of the serial atonal music developed initially by Arnold Schoenberg. And Schoenberg himself insisted that it was a natural outgrowth of the music of Johannes Brahms, a non-Jew who did not practice any religion.
Clothing is not the most important thing for Jews; our insides matter more than our outsides! As long as we dress modestly we are in accordance with halachah (there are indeed some specifics of what “modestly” means and any orthodox rabbi can explain). Most contemporary “Jewish” clothing styles started out as gentile clothing styles so it isn’t like they are Torah from Sinai.
I do suggest NCSY if you are in a public school. Helping Jews in public schools is their main focus and they have guided many young Jews to the right place. You may end up more charedi or more modern, but they can help you regardless of the direction you feel is right for you. And as you figure out where you want to end up you will naturally dress accordingly. NCSY has a nice internet site ncsy dot org.
Good luck!
“what is this app called?”
I don’t know whether it is the same one, but mine is Siddur Ashkenaz by OKtm Websites. It also adjusts the siddur depending on the day and appears not to have a Shabat option. (I’ve never tried it on Shabat so I can’t tell for sure!) I use it a lot, most recently at minchah today. The company has a lot of other Jewish apps for Android; I don’t know what they have for Apple.
Popa, please cite the Jewish source for Aristotle’s alleged conversion so we can discuss.
“I don’t like you grouping them separate from books you take seriously.”
I take them seriously. Just not necessarily literally.
Rambam famously treated parts of the Torah in a non-literal matter. Are you going to accuse him of treating, say, the talking snake or the talking donkey less than seriously??? Kal v’chomer midrash aggadata.
‘Yes, but he certainly doesn’t throw it all into one big heap of fantasy he calls “holy books.”‘
Why don’t you like the term “holy books”?
Found another source questioning the literal accuracy of Seder Olam Rabbah: Rashi to Daniel 11:2.
‘You put holy books in a “fable” category as if they are just these nice things that are pretty and nice to read with pretty and nice ideas, instead of viewing the Torah as the truth and as relevant to reality.’
Have you read the essay by Rabbi Avraham ben HaRambam that I cited? He certainly doesn’t think that these are “fable”! But he doesn’t limit Chazal to literal meaning they way you seem to. His father clearly had the same approach, and Ramban also took a similar approach. That Rabbi Avraham’s essay is in the front of every copy of Ein Yaakov printed for hundreds of years shows that we have accepted it as the proper approach to midrash/aggadata.
“Shimon Hatzadik met with Alexander”
There is no non-Jewish source for such a meeting. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. We were a pretty insignificant people in the eyes of the Greeks and Persians.
Alexander is treated pretty favorably by Chazal given that he was an idol worshiper. Surprisingly they do not comment on his personal life, which, er, uh, wasn’t exactly how a good Ben Noach should have lived.
Time for everyone to re-read the introduction by Rabbi Avraham son of Rambam to the Ein Yaakov compilation of aggadata. Just because the Seder Olam Rabbah didn’t account for all the years doesn’t mean we shouldn’t treat it with the respect due a holy book! I happen to love the work. But I treat it as a holy book, not a history.