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“the Mufti of Yerushayim all of a sudden hatred for Jews was directly because of the Zionist activities in EY.”
I can’t believe that in an Orthodox Jewish site someone is making apologies for one of the worst anti-Semites of the 20th century, a man who was a Nazi collaborator and war criminal.
“Well I’m sure if Turkey was running EY -there would be No draft.”
Actually, the Ottoman Empire had a stringent conscription program for Muslims and Christians from the 14th century to 1908. Some Christians could avoid it by paying an extra tax, but the Ottomans forcibly abducted Christian children and converted them to Islam as slave-soldiers. (And you thought the Czar’s canonist programs was awful.) Jews avoided Ottoman conscription completely until the Young Turks revolution in 1909, after which all Ottoman subjects became subject to the draft and many Jews did serve in the Ottoman Army during WW1. The best known example was Moshe Sharett, who later became the second Prime Minister of Israel.
The Turkish Republic has mandatory military service today.
“Why is the law in Israel that the winning party must form a coalition?”
It isn’t. Tzipi Livni won the last election, with one more MK, but Netanyahu got to form the government.
My wife NEVER wears high heels. That is one of the reasons I married her!
I’m about as “modern” as any modern orthodox Jew anywhere, and I am a university Professor, but I personally think that many students would be better off waiting until they are more mature before attending university. Many 17-19 year old students are frankly wasting their parents’ money.
Worth noting prior to the establishment of religious universities such as YU, Touro, and Bar-Ilan, many gedolim attended university after years of yeshiva study, not before.
‘ a different country would not take “no” for an answer if they were drafting people.’
I’m old enough to remember the Vietnam war era in the US. The US government just threw the draft dodgers in jail or forced them into exile. That is what most countries do — except, as pointed out, when they just shoot the draft dodgers.
And being a member of a clergy doesn’t automatically get you out of serving in an army. Italy drafted a young priest into its army during WW1 whose name was then Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli. He is now better known as Pope John XXIII.
“we’d obviously be better off under the arabs.”
I want anyone who thinks that to let me know what they are smoking. It must be really good stuff!
The vitriol directed towards Medinat Yisrael here is as bad as what I read from the Arab and Iranian rashaim. How about some Hakarat Hatov for the generous subsidies for yeshivot and for the IDF’s protection from the rashaim?
“Until recently Men wore Heels, not women”
250 years ago men wore wigs. And the fedora hat started out as a women’s hat. Had the initial use defined the halachah, every fedora-wearing Jew would be over on beged ishah.
“Is a Kilt in Scotland considered Begged Isha?”
No, and in fact in Scotland a kilt is traditionally ONLY a man’s garment. A woman might have worn a plaid skirt, which is a different garment, but never a kilt.
“To confirm what you wrote about R’ Henkin”
Thanks!!!
“how the Shulchan Aruch does not mean that one has to wear a kippah”
Just had this discussion yesterday at minchah, when someone incorrectly claimed that the S”A required a yarmulke. Any haircovering will do, as seen in numerous communities, particularly in Europe, where no Jew wears a yarmulke outside of shul or home. (When I first went to Europe I was given a stern warning by a rabbi not to unfavorably judge Jews who wear other forms of headcovering outside of shul.)
“A pantsuit is certainly dignified.”
I’ve seen women praying while wearing trousers in numerous modern orthodox synagogues. Perhaps more importantly, I recall Rabbi Yehuda Herzl Henkin quoting his grandfather as saying that loose trousers were fine for women. Anyone able to confirm (or disprove)?
“women don’t ride normally on animals”
Not any more. But a century or two ago, women in America DID ride on animals a lot and women in America have been wearing trousers as long as men (only about two centuries). I saw a photograph in the California Railroad Museum in Sacramento from a century ago that was a group photo of dozens of railroad workers for the Southern Pacific Railroad; every single one was wearing trousers or overalls. Women also have been wearing trousers in the Muslim world for a long time. Because of this, the argument that trousers are “beged ish” is problematic.
“the whole pisuk raglayim thing is not that pashut, and not universally agreed upon.”
The Religious Zionist Kibbutz movement explicitly permits women to wear trousers, except on Shabat.
“The Gemara in Pesachim seems to say that riding normally (not sidesaddle) is Muttar if there’s some extenuating circumstances (e.g. fear or falling off)”
I’m not a posek, but sidesaddle should be asur. It is dangerous.
“why is it inappropriate for children to read this thread? If they have alcoholics in their family, a thread such as this could be helpful (especially the recommendation of Al-Anon).”
There are Al-Anon meetings designed specifically for teenagers. They are called Alateen. Facilitators receive special training and have to pass a background check. Good luck!
I have personally seen a photograph of the Chofetz Chaim.
Sam2,
Sorry, I interpreted your last response as a question. Hopefully someone benefited from the torah.
If your alcoholic cousin is a problem for you, get yourself to a meeting of Al-Anon Family Groups. It can help a lot. I know many Jews who have found them a blessing.
Another source for help is JACS.
Good luck. You are not alone.
Edited.
“why can’t a woman read the megillah herself?”
It is pretty universally accepted that a woman can read the megillah for herself (see Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 689:1 — Magen Avraham objects but Mishnah Berurah supports the Shulchan Aruch) or for another woman. The machloket is whether a woman can read the megillah for a man.
“Where the Gemara and Shulchan Aruch says that women can read Megillah for men.”
Mishnah Megillah 3a, Gemara Arachin 19b. Rashi and Rambam hold that way. Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 689:7 brings a yesh omrim that a woman can’t read for a man (I think it is the BeHaG), implying that the accepted halachah is that she can. Mishnah Berurah sides with the yeah omrim. Rema says that she recites a different bracha than a man. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef paskens that a woman can read for a man. There are two rabbis in my own neighborhood who pasken on opposite sides of this one. CYLOR. (This is not Purim Torah but the real thing.)
There used to be numerous Jewish cemeteries in Manhattan. However, the only remaining ones are the three owned and maintained by Congregation Shearith Israel, which have been full for a century and a half. All the other cemeteries have been sold, with the remains disinterred, and records are incomplete as to what happened to the remains. 🙁 Here is one sad example:
It has 54 of 125 seats, having won a plurality of votes in last fall’s election.
“Democaratic principals look askance at the idea of a Monopoly yet the Torah advocated the din of Hasogas Gvul which means that if a store is open cometition is not allowed to open in the area (of course this is the extremly basic law and a deeper understanding of Choshen Mishpat is needed to understand where and how it is applied.”
You are correct; laissez-faire would say the more competition the better. I am aware of several cases in the new york area where a beit din has ruled against a new business that had opened too close to a similar business.
“While legally if a borowwer defaults on a loan the lender can only collect “
In secular law, the borrower can declare bankruptcy to get out of the loan completely. There is no parallel in Judaism.
Judaism also does not provide for securitization of loans or limited liability corporations.
‘The Torah views “fairness’ as being the province of HKBH’
True, that is why halachah provides for leket, peah, shich’chah, maaser oni, shmittah, and penalizes ona’ah and geneivat da’at.
While this isn’t socialist, it is VERY far from laissez-faire.
“The enemies of a free-market system historically have zero belief in G-d, Objective Truth, Morality, and the foundational principles of a system of ethical monotheism. “
Anyone who has learned a few chapters of Nezikim understands that the Torah puts limits on free markets, and that sometimes those limits are quite draconian. The Author of the Torah understood that totally free markets are quite UN-ethical.
“I refer to politicians such as these as Orthodox-affiliated because affiliation with an Orthodox synagogue does not necessarily mean a person is a shomer mitzvot yid.”
I belong to one of the two synagogues that Jack Lew belongs to. He is well known as a fully observant Jew and I see him in shul often on Shabbat.
“He is the first Shomer Shabbos cabinet secretary”
Not true; Michael Mukasey was Attorney General under Bush.
I know a frum couple that takes non-kosher cruises. They subsist on canned tuna and the fresh fruit available to everyone. At the end of the cruise they are the only passengers who didn’t gain weight!
“How do I stop my wife spending?”
You probably can’t. But this can indeed be a big problem in a marriage. If she can’t control her spending and thinks she might want help, she should try Debtors Anonymous. There are many meetings in New York; a directory is at http://www.danyc.org. There are many frum Jews who have found relief there. For more information and to find meetings outside of New York try http://www.debtorsanonymous.org.
“If they would have sang the National Anthem, then some people would have expected the Israeli NA.”
Both were sung at the (much, much smaller) siyum held at Shearith Israel in Manhattan his past Monday; there is both a US flag and an Israeli flag in the main beit knesset where the event was held.
“The YCT shiurim are affecting your common sense.”
Actually, I rarely attend YCT shiurim; they are held during the day and I have a day job, and I have no connection to YCT. I do attend Rabbi Dov Linzer’s daf yomi shiur but that is not a YCT shiur. They can be accessed by anyone with a good internet connection.
“that can be a lead to not tznius things”
If your goal is to go to places where you can see and do non-tzniut things, you don’t need to drive, at least if you are in NYC.
If it is a pikuah nefesh issue, don’t call the cab, call hatzalah or 9-1-1!!!
Pray like everything is up to God. Act like everything is up to you. Do not test our creator!
I can’t understand why people would care what some model or actress has to say about a particular issue of substance unless that person actually has some experience in the matter. We have the spectacle today of Jenny McCarthy being treated as an expert on autism and her views even accepted by more than a few frum folks; her “expertise” was in taking her clothes off in front of a camera! In a previous generation, George Murphy was Director of Entertainment at Eisenhower’s inaugurations and managed to turn that into a US Senate term, and Ronald Reagan went from being Celebrity Spokesman for General Electric to President of the US.
“I would think that there is Maris Ayin issues”
That is why you wear a baseball cap into the store rather than a yarmulke.
“The OU recinded its hechsher from Starbucks coffee a few months ago.”
Some Jew at Starbucks probably let management know that plain unflavored coffee doesn’t need a hechsher and that they were wasting their money paying the OU.
No. It doesn’t have that kind of power.
I guess my toothbrush is Zionist and I am Ultra Orthodox?
My toothbrush is blue and white. I’m Ultra Orthodox! Can’t talk more; I have to run to Rabbi Dov Linzer’s daf yomi shiur.
Ashkenaz.
“isnt there something about an eved canaani who is owned in partnership and one partner gives him freedom and he has a bris, etc. ?”
An Eved Canaani is in fact a sort of half-Jew, as he is chiyev in some commandments. He can’t marry a Jew unless he is freed. IIRC, in the case of an EC who is owned by more than one Jew, and for whom one of the Jewish owners has freed the EC from that part-owner’s bondage, we force the other Jewish owners to complete the liberation from bondage.
After freedom, EC becomes a full fledged convert, with no need for a beit din, and no need for formal acceptance of the mitzvot. I have seen some suggest that this is a way around the current “conversion controversy”.
The author neglects to mention the most important rishon on aggadata: Rabbi Avraham Ben HaRambam. His essay on how to interpret and understand midrash/aggadata is the introduction to every copy of the Ein Yaakov aggadata compilation. He points out that there are many ways to interpret aggadata that are consistent with respect for our rabbinic tradition, giving examples. He also points out that a subset of aggadata are for paskening, and warns both against excessive literalism in interpretation against disrespect for our sages.
high winds and flooding still to come in much of the area
This is actually a serious issue. I personally know people who’ve completed a yeshiva education who are functionally illiterate in English. This is a shanda!
“Mine don’t usually profess to have ruach hakodesh.”
Nor mine. They just know an awful lot more Torah than me.
“Today, many scientists, pilots, flight crews, meteorologists, computer programmers, historians have used their time and great minds, given to them by their creator, to solve the hurricane prediction problem.”
Absolutely! And we should remember that the National Weather Service is a government agency; all that weather science, all those prediction models, all that information that allows us to prepare is because of the government. We need to remember that when we start bashing the government; the National Weather Service has been hit by pretty bad budget cuts that will hamper its ability to do as good a job at forecasting in the future.
A hurricane that struck Galveston, TX, in 1900 wiped out the entire city with a loss of live of at least six thousand people, probably more. The 1938 hurricane mentioned earlier killed around 700 people. In neither case did anyone know that a hurricane was coming. I had relatives who moved to the Rhode Island shore in the 1960s and you could still see damage from the 1938 hurricane 30 years later.
“i suspect in the florida keys this hurricane received all kinds of names”
Meterologists began giving names to hurricanes only in 1953, after the style of a 1941 novel, *Storm*, by George Rippey Stewart.
FWIW the only hurricanes in historical times to directly hit NYC were in 1821 and 1893. The 1938 hurricane that hit Long Island and New England that killed 700 people also caused a lot of damage in NYC.
While I of course agree that there are no coincidences, it should be noted that the earthquake felt in New York was actually centered in Virginia, where miraculously a nuclear power plant very close to the center of the earthquake appears to have suffered no damage. And the hurricane is currently leaving destruction in North Carolina and Virgnia and will do so in Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey before its center gets to New York. These are not local diasters.
As far as what specific message we are to take from it, of course it is to look at ourselves to see where we need to do tshuvah. Attributing specific sins to specific disasters, however, requires a navi or at least someone with ruach hakodesh. And doing so invites ridicule from people who don’t share our values; for example, the founder of dailykos.com tweeted that the earthquake struck Virginia because that state refuses to consider legalizing same sex marriage.
Best now to pray that the hurricane’s damage is minimal.
“As most Rabbonim recommend that you follow the advice of physicians”
Uh, how about ALL rabbonim? That is in fact the normative halachah.
“I don’t believe for one second that your eyes need Prada or Armani or Ray Ban.”
My regular trifocal frames are Prada. (Does that make me the Devil?) My trifocal sunglasses frames are Ray Ban.
“Because you won’t find them wearing them in the winter, even when the glare is worse from the sun because of snow & ice, than the summer.”
I wear sunglasses year round whenever there is sun in the sky, or snow on the ground. And when there is sun AND snow that is when you need them most of all! Basically, when I’m outside, I’m much more likely to be wearing sunglasses. I value my eyesight. So should every other Jew.
Mod-80, maybe we need something like snopes.com for Jews, so that people will be less likely to spread hoaxes like this.
Wearing trousers started in the goyish community.
Wearing wigs started in the goyish community.
Wearing streimels started in the goyish community.
Wearing fedoras started in the goyish community.
Wearing neckties started in the goyish community.
Anyone who wants to asur sunglasses because they are a goyish fashion needs to asur all of these. And unlike all these other fashions, there is a very good health reason to wear sunglasses: to protect eyes from light damage.
“It also says something about sunglasses! Thats untnius too? “
No. They were created to protect eyes from light damage. And the bigger the lens, the better, at least from the standard of protection. There might actually be a chiyuv to wear them.
I constantly wear sunglasses when outdoors in the sun — prescription trifocals.
Only three hurricanes have struck the United States with category 5 strength in the past century: The unnamed hurricane that destroyed much of the Florida Keys in 1935, Camille in 1969, and Andrew in 1988.