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DaasYochid: I don’t think he’s trying to turn them into tzaddikim. I think he needs to turn himself into one. His comment that children would starve was wrong. Their fate was not sealed. Hashem will take care of them.
DaasYochid: Yes, I do. But I am aware that Hashem got me my job. I am not wealthy – not by a long shot. When I got my tuition bill, I didn’t tell the school that my kids would starve. I said to my wife, “Hashem has always given us what we need, and He’ll give us the money to pay this as well!” 3 weeks later, I got promoted at work, and got a salary increase. Not enough to pay the full tuition, but enough for a decent chunk of it. Hashem gives us what we need. The kids won’t starve because of the government. If they’re meant to starve, all the money won’t help them.
So he feels the money comes from the government, and that Hashem isn’t capable of feeding these children without using the government? What an apikores!
I’ll do the Found in His/Her Locker page!
You only say the bracha on a king who has absolute power – such as the power to sentence someone to death on a whim. Since Obama does not have that power, you don’t say that bracha.
The proper bracha should be, “May God bless and keep Obama… far away from us!”
I think I’m going to try and get a shawarma tonight. It’s similar to how the korban Pesach was eaten, so it’s real Jewish food.
Mine is the Yarden Frozen Heights wine, made from frozen Gewurztraminer grapes.
Mo’adim l’simcha l’geulah shleimah!
R’ Belsky’s teshuva was posted in the CR already:
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/sefira-music/page/2#post-86593
Q: A cappella albums – singing without instrumental accompaniment – are becoming more and more common, especially during The Three Weeks and Sefirah when we are noheig not to listen to music. Is it halachically permissible to listen to a cappella music during these times of the year?
A Cappella
There are basically three types of a cappella.
One is where the musical sounds originate from human voices but the natural properties are digitally modified with computer software to attain quality of sounds that are not humanly possible, thus making it sound more like regular music. Such a cappella is halachically not viewed as being any different from regular music.
There are other forms of a cappella which sound very similar to regular music, although no digital modification is done to the voices. These types of a cappella should also not be listened to during Sefirah and The Three Weeks, as will be explained shortly.
The third type of a cappella is where regular songs are sung by an individual or choir. There is nothing halachically objectionable about listening to such a cappella during Sefirah and The Three Weeks.
To properly understand this topic, it would be helpful to briefly relate some technical information provided by experts in the music industry as to how a cappella music is created.
Digitally Modified A Cappella
Every sound is made up of many different sound waves, each at there own frequency. The individual frequencies and the velocity of each sound wave give each sound its unique tonal properties.
A second modification made is to the pitch of the notes. A bass guitar can play notes almost twice as low (two octaves lower) as a human voice can go. Therefore, in order to simulate the bass notes, some album producers lower the pitch of the notes beyond the capabilities of the human voice. This process of transposing the notes down an octave or more would also change the status of these notes from vocals to computer-generated sounds, and would be prohibited during Sefirah and The Three Weeks.
A third modification made is to the timing of the notes. The rhythmic structure of all music can be charted on a grid. The most common breakdown would be charted in eights. That means that each rhythmic hit would take place at exactly one interval of eights. It is not humanly possible for a musician to play 100% on the grid. This slight imperfection is what gives live music its human feel, as opposed to machine music which sounds much more rigid. It is even harder for a person to create a rhythm with his mouth, and keep it perfectly on grid. Many albums take the rhythmic parts and digitally place them exactly where they belong on the grid. This process is called quantization. Though this does not change the sound of the voice, when used in combination with any of the above processes it would give the sounds more of a status of music.
Unmodified A Cappella
If so, where does the entire issue of not listening to live or recorded music during Sefirah and The Three Weeks come from?
It appears that although there was no specific minhag not to listen to music, there was a minhag to abstain from things that bring about an excessive amount of enjoyment. Furthermore, technically, due to the churban Beis Hamikdosh, music should be forbidden all year round. However, there are certain kulos which we rely upon. It is during Sefirah and The Three Weeks that we have accepted upon ourselves not to rely on these kulos and practice aveilus in this regard. Music has this power more than most things that people do for enjoyment. Music can take someone out of this world, so to speak, and make him forget, at least temporarily, all his worries and problems. Thus, whether the music is live or recorded, it produces this effect, which is contrary to the minhag. A cappella that sounds very similar to music is also included in this minhag and should not be listened to.
Some rabbonim feel that once it sounds like music and is being played from an electronic device, that, too, renders it a musical device which is forbidden.
Choirs
A cappella music that was not modified at all, and sounds like a group of people singing, would be permissible.
It is interesting to note that the word a cappella literally means, a – in the style of, capella – a chapel. In a chapel, they have only a choir singing with no musical instruments (other than a pipe organ which blends together very well with the voices). The harmony of the choir is meant to produce the musical affect. This is where the concept of a cappella stems from.
dafyomi2711: Because if my Rav has paskened that I should make a mezonos, that’s what I’m going to do!
2scents: Because according to the Mishna Berurah, the peace of mind of the mother is a matter of pikuach nefesh, just as getting her to the hospital is.
As for the psak you heard, that’s fine – if that was your posek, follow that psak. There is likely a machlokes in this matter, and everyone should follow their posek.
Gamanit, I don’t disagree with you. Different poskim have different views on the bracha for pizza, and everyone should follow his or her posek. The OP seemed to imply that someone who could make either bracha, and a hamotzi is preferable. This is not the case.
WIY: You’re thinking of Hashem as we believe it, in Judaism. For someone whoisn’t sure what to believe, why do they have to believe god is perfect? Maybe he’s just some super-powerful being who can get bored?
As for an obligation of hakaras hatov, yes, in an ideal world everyone would give hakaras hatov when it is due. Sadly, that is not the case. Besides, this guy doesn’t believe the powerful being gave him everything. The being created the world, and left it to run itself.
It’s not a matter of the time it takes, it’s a matter of what the proper bracha is. Would you wash and make hamotzi on a piece of sponge cake?
WIY: Not necessarily. I know someone who believes in a higher power (you can call it god or anything else you want), but he believes that this being one day created a universe because it was bored. After creating the universe, it left it alone and went to do something else. Why is that illogical?
2scents: I assume it’s permitted because they asked a Rav, and were told it’s allowed. I have a cousin who is a doula, and I once saw her answer her phone on Shabbos, and then run out to drive to the hospital.
I did hear that a member of the Eidah Chareidis in Israel allows a doula to travel to the hospital on Shabbos.
I did a quick search, and found the following reason (and please note that I am not a posek, this is just a reason I found!): the Gemara says it’s allowed to light a lamp for a woman in labor on Shabbos, even if it’s not medically necessary. The Mishna Berurah says the reason is that a woman in labor needs peace of mind, and if she doesn’t have it, it’s considered pikuach nefesh.
When a woman has hired a doulah, and the doulah isn’t able to attend the delivery, it falls into the category of the peace of mind of the woman. Therefore, as with the lamp, chillul Shabbos is not only allowed, but is required, as in any case of pikuach nefesh.
Of course, you do thigns with a shinuy – like arranging before Shabbos to have a car service on standby. I did read that a doulah told her Rav that because she waited for the cab to come, she missed the delivery, and her patient was extremely upset about it. Her Rav then gave her permission to drive herself.
I know that I was in a shiur when I was in Yeshiva, given by R’ Yaakov Reisman (from Far Rockaway), and he said that if it’s difficult to arrange for a cab when your wife is in her 9th month, there is no problem with driving yourself.
I was the one who told Feif Un this story. I recently spoke to a relative of mine who learned in Torah V’Daas at the time, and asked him about this story. He said he never witnessed such a thing, or heard about it.
I asked my Rav about it, telling him what my uncle said. He double-checked his source, and confirmed it – Rabbi Reisman shlita said the story over in one of his shiurim. He said he has a transcript of the shiur, and will give me a copy. When he does, I’ll let you know exactly when he said it over.
Tattoos on Holocaust survivors should be a badge of pride. I remember when I was young, the cook in my yeshiva had a number tattooed on his arm. When I was old enough to understand what it meant, I had a tremendous amount of respect for him. To go through that hell, and come out as a frum Jew, is amazing. I’m sure when these people get to their din v’cheshbon after 120, the tattoo (together with the yellow stars many had to wear) acts as a shield against the prosecutors in the beis din.
The Satmar Rebbe z”l, said that if you see someone with a tattoo from the camps, you should ask for a bracha from the person.To my knowledge, he didn’t say the person had to be frum, just that they have a tattoo.
Veltz: So you have no respect for the Novominsker Rebbe?
Sam2: I’m a fan of Munchkin! I played a great game of Star Munchkin this past Shabbos with a few friends.
popa: Yes, we know that you went to college “for parnassah”, and now chat with women here on the CR. Just get off the site already!
Many gedolim went to college even if they didn’t get graduate degrees. R’ Dovid Bender zt”l had a degree in accounting, and passed his CPA exams.
The Novominsker Rebbe shlita, who now heads Agudas Yisroel, graduated from Brooklyn College.
R’ Hutner zt”l went to university in Berlin not to get a degree, but just to study philosophy, to gain the knowledge, without any thought for parnassah.
Ramchal attended university in Italy.
I wouldn’t recommend moving to Monsey if you have these issues. The Chassidish community there is spreading extremely quickly. It is also over-crowded. It wasn’t built with the infrastructure of a city, but it now has the population density of one.
Gamanit: They don’t have to go to the army. They can also do sherut le’umi. They can serve in Magen David Adom.
Even if what you say is true, it doesn’t excuse the lying. The government gives money for those who learn the full day. Learning at night does not qualify for the funds, and they are stealing when they come in during the day only when there is an inspection.
DaasYochid: On my Birthright trip, I had 2 tour guides. One of them was a frum man. He told me that he moved to a certain area, and one of the first things he did was find a local yeshiva to learn in each morning (he worked as a tour guide in the afternoons and learned half a day in the morning). He saw that every day, there were about 30 guys in the yeshiva learning, with many more empty seats.
One morning, he comes in to learn, and was astounded. That day, there were about 200 guys in the beis medrash! He asked the Rosh Yeshiva, “Why is it so crowded today?”
The Rosh Yeshiva responded, “We got a tip that the government is coming today to verify that the guys are actually learning in yeshiva. We got the word out, and the guys came in so they won’t lose their government money!”
The tour guide told the Rosh Yeshiva, “You complain that people here hate chareidim. You say they’re out to get you. When you blatantly lie and steal from the government like this, can you really blame them?” He then walked out of the yeshiva and never returned.
The Elizabeth/Hillside area is a very good option. Which side you want to move to depends on how old you are – more young couples are moving into the Hillside area.
The community is a very nice MO community, and it has the JEC school system. The schools are co-ed entirely for pre-school. I believe at first grade they are separate for limudei kodesh, and at 4th grade are entirely separate.
As far as food goes, they have a kosher grocery, and the local Shop Rite has a kosher section. They also have a pizza store, Chinese take-out, and a sit-down restaurant.
Homes are very affordable. You can now buy a home for under $200k. They also offer incentives for moving into the community – all local residents get an automatic scholarship for their kids in pre-school which lowers the cost significantly. If you buy a home, you get an automatic $5,000 off your first year of tuition as well.
Granted, tuition is high compared to Brooklyn, but you’ll find that everywhere in NJ except Lakewood.
My grandfather went through the horrors of Auschwitz and stayed frum, despite the fact that many of his relatives who survived swore off Judaism after what they went through. He established a family in America who are all frum, and his children and grandchildren include sofrim, Rabbonim, and those who are like he was – good, frum Jews who are honest in their daily business dealings, and strive to make a kiddush Hashem wherever they go and whatever they do.
To call him a neb is a huge insult, and you should beg mechilah!
On the last day of Pesach, an unmarried guy got maftir. He was wearing a tallis, but only because he was also the baal koreh.
An unmarried guy got hagbah (and put on a tallis for it). A married guy got gelilah.
I once bought hagbah & gelilah in shul on Yom Tov and gave gelilah to my grandfather. I would have given him hagbah, but he was in his mid 80s and wasn’t able to do hagbah anymore. I tried to get him an aliyah, but I was a bachur, and couldn’t afford it.
I don’t think the married guy in my shul yesterday or my grandfather were nebs. I think popa is the biggest neb, for making a joke out of something which is a real kibbud. He comes here pretending to be a Rabbi and creates bad trolling threads. I feel bad for his wife and kids.
I used to get pizza on Motzei Pesach. After packing away all the Pesach dishes and unpacking all the regular ones, I was tired and hungry. I didn’t want to cook anything, so I got food that is inexpensive and easy to find – pizza!
This year I made Pesach for the first time since I moved into my own house (meaning the house I own, as opposed to renting), and I discovered that the pizza store in my area does not open on motzei Pesach, by order of the main Rav in the area (who also supervises the hechsher on it), so I could not get pizza when I had finished getting my home turned back around.
abra cadabra (Joseph), the only lie I saw was this: “It is halachicly prohibited to refrain from having children due to financial considerations.”
I personally know people who were told by their Rav they can use birth control because of their finances. My brother told me that R’ Henoch Shachar, who is a major posek in Lakewood, told him that it’s a big problem in Lakewood that people assume it’s never allowed.
Obviously there are conditions. Having a boy and a girl already makes it easier. But to say it’s never allowed is absolutely false.
Maybe the middah k’neged middah is because unfortunately, there were many scams going on with yeshivos in Israel. People claimed they were sitting and learning to collect a government check, and really weren’t. There have been many scams like these that were busted. Can you blame secular Israelis for being upset?
Dougie’s in Teaneck is still open. I think the one in Deal is also open.
yaakov doe: Do not learn to be a mohel if you want to rely on that for your parnassah. Halachically, a mohel is not allowed to charge to perform a bris. Some use a loophole that they check the baby after the bris to be sure it is healing properly.
I used R’ Rami Cohen as the mohel for my son. He refused to take a penny. When I asked him if he had a tzedakah he prefers, he said “Yes, and I give to them. If you want to donate money that you’d planned on giving me, you can choose your own tzedaka!”
wasserman: I don’t think it’s accurate that places will only hire YU graduates. However, many places do want their Rabbi to be an RCA member. I don’t know how it works to become an RCA member. I do know they recognize YU semicha, but not YCT semicha.
As for places not respecting YU semicha, most of the right-wing chareidi world does not respect anything related to YU.
ZD: You’re wrong about YU semicha. Yes, they have classes on different topics. Their website lists some areas:
Pulpit
Education
Community outreach and Campus leadership
Hospital chaplaincy
Jewish communal services
but that doesn’t mean they treat it as a professional degree like a lawyer or doctor. They simply recognize that a Rav may be expected to provide advice and/or counseling to members of his shul. They offer training so the person actually does a good job of it. They offer a public speaking course so a Rav knows how to deliver a drasha in the shul. Does that mean it’s like being a lawyer or doctor? Absolutely not! They just want someone to be able to do the best job possible.
I don’t blame her. She was put into a tough situation by the home. Their rule is not to do CPR. She likely would have been fired had she done it. I can’t expect her to give up her job for this.
I think the home needs to change its policy.
rebdoniel, going to YCT will not make it easy to find a job. The RCA does not accept YCT semicha as legitimate, and many places know that.
It’s not just the RCA. Most people (myself included) don’t count YCT semicha as legitimate.
While it may be true that chassidim have a lower rate of singles, I wouldn’t say their method of dating is more successful. I have friends who are chassidish. I’ve heard from them many times how many chassidish couples are unhappy in their marriages, but won’t consider divorce because of the stigma attached to it in the community.
Some women also have a twisted view of what marriage should be. When my wife gave birth to our twins, she was next door to a chassidish woman who had also just had a baby. They used to talk a lot. The woman commented one day that she was so happy to be fulfilling the only purpose of her marriage properly. My wife asked her, “What do you mean, the only purpose? You think having babies is what your marriage is about?”
The woman replied, “Of course, what else would there be to marriage?”
“Well, how about a relationship between you and your husband?”
“No, that’s not the purpose of marriage. It’s only about having children!”
“So, when you get into your 40s and can no longer have children, you want your husband to divorce you and marry an 18 year old who can have more kids?”
“Of course not!”
“So there is more to it than having kids, right?”
“Umm…. I need to think about things some more.”
My wife told me she felt bad, and almost like she was “corrupting” the woman. I told her she was undoing the corruption that the woman had drilled into her since her childhood.
Your mouth
Pickle Licious in Teaneck makes the best pickles. They’re fresh with no added preservatives. Lots of flavors, and all under the RCBC hashgocha.
Mishloach Manos is supposed to be something that can be used for a seudah. According to some, you might not be yotze by giving a bag of chips and a soda. You should give something that you can be koveah seudah on. If you want to give chips and a soda, make sure you give at least one person a challah roll with it!
My wife and I gave some people (our Rav, and kids’ Morahs) a “fancy” mishloach manos, which contained a roll, hamentashen, fruit, and a bottle of wine.
For everyone else, we did a breakfast theme – single-serve cereal bowl, boxed milk, bottle of water, and a hamentash. We also put in a spoon to eat the cereal with.
R’ Yaakov Bender once said over that when R’ Moshe Feinstein zt”l used to go to a bungalow colony in the summer, kids would line up and take pictures of him. Someone tried to stop them, and R’ Moshe wouldn’t let him. He said, “Better they should have my picture on their wall than a baseball player!”
My Purim seudah ended up being beautiful. We had about 15 guests over. We had good food, and lots of wine. I drank about 7-8 cups of wine during the meal. I always followed a cup of wine with a cup of water or seltzer to avoid dehydration. We sang Purim zemiros (I think we did a great rendition of the famous Modzitzer Shoshanas Yaakov), and said over Purim Torah. Nobody got really drunk – I got a slight buzz from all that wine, but that was it.
After everyone left, I helped my wife clean up, then got a ride with someone to Maariv (even though I felt fine by then, I didn’t want to take a chance that the alcohol was still in my system).
I think that Hashem was happy with the way I fulfilled the mitzvos, and won’t hold it against me that I didn’t get completely wasted.