DaMoshe

According to the NY State Education Department website:

State-funded programs and services include: Health Services, Homebound Instruction, Textbook Loan Program, Computer Software Loan Program, School Library Materials Loan Program, Transportation (students must reside within 15 miles of the nonpublic school), Special Education Services, Dual Enrollment Programs, and Mandated Services Reimbursement.

So these are the things that are paid for. However, not everything is given to the school. For example, Special Education may be offered in the Public school system. The reasoning is that in the public school, they already have the necessary people on staff, and it won’t cost them much if another kid comes in. Private schools tend to have less need, and it would cost far more than it does in public school. Busing is another good example. They provide transportation, but it doesn’t have to be door-to-door service. They can require centralized bus-stops to cut down on the costs. This may mean some kids have to walk a bit to a bus-stop, and a parent may need to walk with them and supervise the bus-stop until the kids are picked up.

Sharing Torah is always admirable!

That said, I have an issue with your post. You said, “It pains me when i hear/see people asking “kashas” on reb chaim when in reality, if they would truly understand the shtickel, they would see why their kasha is literally a joke.”

Isn’t asking questions part of learning? When you hear people asking questions, it should make you happy to see/hear people trying to understand! It means they want to understand, and are working hard at it. It should never pain us to see someone working hard in learning, even if they don’t yet understand something.

I wish you hatzlachah in your worthy endeavor of sharing the Torah of R’ Chaim!

I didn’t read every post here. I skimmed through some of them, and would like to share my thoughts.

In a hospital, as in every place, there are both good and bad workers. I’ve had good stories and bad stories, within the same hospital, sometimes even on the same day!

Once, I had to call Hatzalah for my wife. She was taken to the hospital, and it turned out she had an issue which, besides being potentially fatal, can sometimes cause excruciating pain. During the night, the pain got really bad. We paged the nurse as soon as it started. It took a while, and the nurse didn’t come – the medical tech (I believe that’s the title) came. She was absolutely nasty to my wife. My wife was crying from the pain, and the tech told her to stop being a baby, and just tell her what was wrong. I told the tech my wife couldn’t really speak, and I’d tell her what it was. She turned to me, and said, “Shut up, I want to hear it from her. Not from you.” I promptly told her to leave the room before I physically threw her out, and I want a different person on my wife’s case. I told the nurse what happened. She told me the techs didn’t work for the hospital, they worked for an agency the hospital contracted with. They switched around different areas so much that they never got punished for bad service, because they never got multiple complaints – they weren’t in one place long enough for it! The hospital ignored complaints because they knew they’d be gone soon.

The nurse said she’d personally take care of my wife, and wouldn’t send a tech anymore. The nurse was absolutely wonderful! She was attentive, caring, and took excellent care of my wife for the few days she had to be in the hospital.

A poster mentioned Mt. Sinai. I also must comment that my twins were born there. Even though we lived in NJ, we went there, because they have the best NICU in the area, and the pregnancy was difficult. Sure enough, our twins were preemies, and needed the NICU. The staff in the L&D ward where my wife was on bed rest for a while was amazing. After our kids were born, the NICU staff was even better. B”H our kids are doing amazing, and we still have a tremendous amount of hakaras hatov to Mt. Sinai hospital for all they did for us.

Little Froggie: in a residential area, yes, I would. I’ve had times where neighbors were having a party outdoors, running very late, and causing a lot of noise. I called the police. The town has a noise ordinance, and they should be following it.

Besides, why do you compare this to people celebrating the World Series? Shouldn’t we, as Jews, hold ourselves to a higher standard?

newbee: Do I look forward to some of the foods I have on Shabbos? Absolutely! Not because I stuff my face (which I try not to do!) but because the foods are good! Isn’t that the point, to eat special foods on Shabbos?

Honestly, there are plenty of foods I don’t eat during the week. There are some I don’t have on Shabbos, but only on a Yom Tov. Do I do it purely l’kovod Yom Tov? Probably not at this point. I actually am careful to say “l’kovod Yom Tov!” while preparing the food. Even if it’s not the case, I hope that one day I will get to that level.

akuperma: When everyone wore respectable clothes, I also doubt that tzius was taught/enforced the way it is today. There weren’t teachers with rulers measuring how far below the knee a girl’s skirt was reaching. They probably didn’t have rules about how a girl should tie back her hair. No rules on what color clothes girls should wear. The chumros just keep piling up, and it turns people off to the whole concept.

Joseph: I’d say the shittah is worse, because then people think it’s ok to do.

I’ve never seen the ads you are talking about. Then again, I don’t read the Jewish Press.

I’ve heard very good things about Pardes, although I haven’t been there myself. I also heard The Loft is very good.

mdd: Because of the main elements of tznius is to not wear things which can draw attention to yourself. Doing things differently than the societal norms can draw attention.

Can you please post where in the S”A it brings down the pasuk of kol kevudah and explains a meaning for it?

Joseph: Thanks for letting me know. I’ll file that story next to the one about R’ Moshe throwing up after drinking chalav stam.

Joseph, they also had a reverse split, so the $1 value from 6 years ago would be like $10 today. So yes, if you invested at $1, you would have about 5.4x the amount now. Not enough to retire on!

AIG also had a reverse split – 1:20. I believe that if you invested when they were near their lowest point, you would have about doubled your money there.

Can we take the prenup conversation back to its thread? This was supposed to be a spin-off, not the actual discussion!

PBA: I’m not entirely clear on your question. Do I ask my Rav questions on hashkafah, which aren’t halachically related? Absolutely. But he himself will tell me it’s not a psak halachah, it’s just advice. He’s told me many times that while he can tell me what is optimal, every person needs to know where they stand, and act accordingly. If it’s something I’m not looking to improve on, I usually won’t even ask him, so I won’t get an opinion either way. If it’s something said in a shiur/drasha, I’ll usually speak with him afterward about how it impact my personal case. I almost always follow his advice.

Did it occur to you that they are more knowledgeable than you are in Halachah, and you should defer to them?

Joseph: Again, instead of trying to argue the halachos here, contact a Rav who is knowledgeable and supports the pre-nup, and ask your questions! As I mentioned, R’ Teitz in Elizabeth is a big proponent, so why not ask him about it? I’m sure he’s reachable.

Joseph, why don’t you contact R’ Osher Weiss, and ask him how he can endorse it? That would give you a far greater insight than posting here. You can also contact R’ Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, a member of the Beis Din of Yerushalayim (as well as a son-in-law of R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l).

Health: The shoe fits just as well on both feet. You stop with your Satmar lies!

pba: if you think the army is bad for your kids’ ruchniyus, would you have them do Sherut Leumi or some other type of service that is in lieu of military service? I believe serving on Magen David Adom qualifies, would you encourage them to do something like that?

We should start a Purim Torah thread.

Your premise is flawed. The davening says it’s a mashul. It’s not saying a man is like cheres, it’s saying it’s a similar concept.

Thank you PAA.

I only saw R’ Aharon in person once, and even then, I didn’t hear a shiur from him. I saw him walking out of a shul in Teaneck, NJ. Someone told me who he was, and I was shocked. So unassuming, without a large escort, wearing a black hat with the brim down. How many Roshei Yeshiva are like that now? His anivus was outstanding. When R’ Amital zt”l asked him to become Rosh Yeshiva of Gush Etzion (as R’ Amital felt that he himself wasn’t worthy of the position), he initially refused. He only agreed on the condition that R’ Amital be co-Rosh Yeshiva with him. R’ Amital agreed to stay as Rosh Yeshiva along with R’ Lichtenstein zt”l.

Again, if you actually do some research, you may actually find the source!

Here are some things that Rabbonim said/wrote about R’ Kook zt”l:

R’ Isser Zalman Meltzer once said to R’ Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, “We are Gedolim – until we reach the doorknob of R’ Kook!” He also once said that he wished he could daven Neilah with the same kavanah that R’ Kook davened Mincha every day.

R’ Berel Soloveitchik once spoke against Zionism, and was asked, “What about R’ Kook?” He replied, “He is a Gadol!”

R’ Shabsai Rappaport said that he was once by his grandfather, R’ Moshe Feinstein zt”l, when R’ Moshe was writing a teshuva which argued on the Tzitz Eliezer. R’ Rappaport showed R’ Moshe something that R’ Kook had written on the subject, and R’ Moshe said he was not surprised, because R’ Kook “was a gaon of gaonmim!”

R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l said that when he used the term Maran, or Der Rav, it referred to R’ Kook zt”l. He asked R’ Kook to be the sandek at the bris of his son, R’ Shmuel. As R’ Hutner did, R’ Auerbach had a picture of R’ Kook hanging in his sukkah. Someone once published a book about R’ Yitzchak Elchonan Spektor which had some derogatory remarks about R’ Kook. R’ Auerbach assured buying the book until the comments were removed, and met personally with the author to encourage him to change it.

in 1923, at a conference of Rabbonim in Vienna, one Rav made derogatory remarks about R’ Kook. The Chofetz Chaim stood up and said, “You insulted the Mora D’Asra of Eretz Yisrael!” and left the conference. He refused to return. Before he left to return home, many people came to bid him farewell, including the group with the Rav who had made the comments. The Chofetz Chaim refused to speak with him, saying, “I will not say ‘Shalom’ to those who caused dispute with the Rav of Yerushalayim! He is holy and pure, and anyone who insults his kavod will not go unpunished!”

Joseph, it might do you some good to heed the words of the Chofetz Chaim zt”l!