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There is no problem buying a coffee in McDonalds. I heard that straight from a very prominent Rav.
Here’s a funny story: I was once driving from Canada to Brooklyn overnight. At one point, I stopped at a rest area, and wanted a coffee to help me stay awake. It was about 2 am, and the McDonald’s at the rest stop was the only thing open. I went to the counter and asked for a plain black coffee. The guy behind the register looked at me, looked at my kippah, and said, “I thought Jews aren’t supposed to eat at McDonald’s? We’re not kosher!”
I explained that plain coffee was fine, and he was glad to learn something new.
So basically, you think everyone should always follow the more machmir shitah? Are you going to start following Beis Shammai’s opinions?
You ask your Rav. That’s all. In the story you wrote, the Rav told the guy there’s a heter, but it’s not preferable. So, he didn’t follow it. If your Rav says the bourbon is 100% ok, there’s no reason not to listen to his psak. I’ve asked shailos where my Rav differed from some prominent Rabbonim. He said something was 100% ok, while some other Rabbonim hold it’s assur. I listened to my Rav. Had he told me “it’s a machlokes, there is who to rely on for a heter”, I probably would have been machmir. It really depends on how the psak is given over.
AinOhdMilvado: Of course there were kashrus issues!
They didn’t have filtered water
They didn’t have a fancy light to check lettuce with
Yes, it’s true. Wikipedia says in R’ Schneur’s article “Whereas his father had actively restricted enrollment to a select group of students, his son Shneur opened the yeshiva doors to a broader range of students and post-graduate fellows. From a group of approximately 200 students, the yeshiva grew to almost a thousand students by 1981.”
I heard it from a relative of mine who is in BMG.
R’ Gifter blasted YU for the gay club. That was it. I’ve heard the Diversity in Orthodoxy speech (that’s the speech I reference in the moser nefesh thread), and he doesn’t blast MO in it. I can’t comment on what others have said, because I don’t know enough about it. I do know that R’ Soloveitchik, who was one of the gedolei hador, held highly of MO.
so right, WIY, you’re completely wrong about Modern Orthodoxy. MO believes that we can integrate into modern society and still be good, frum Jews. It doesn’t believe in taking on unnecessary chumros to shelter ourselves from society. It definitely doesn’t allow for flagrant violations of halachah such as married women not covering hair. Are there women who don’t cover their hair? Yes, there are. Will a MO Rav say it’s allowed? No. But that isn’t a claim against MO Judaism. Look at the raid in Israel yesterday – would you say charedi Judaism allows lying and stealing from the government because a large group was doing it? No, you’d say they’re a minority who didn’t do what they’re supposed to. Same thing with MO people who don’t do what they’re supposed to.
Regarding the dishwashers and non-kosher food being sold: I believe it’s a machlokes between the cRc and the OU as to whether it’s permissible to eat/drink in such a place or not. I was at a shiur a few years ago on it. I believe the cRc holds it’s not allowed, and the OU holds it’s fine. I guess it would depend on where you live, as the kashrus agencies are sort of territorial: if in the NY area, go by the OU, if in the Midwest, go by the cRc.
Hello. This is not actually Dr. Middos. You’re listening to my latest, greatest invention….
There are many things that must be taken into account. As was mentioned, dorm or not? What area are you looking into? The NYC area? What is your hashkafic background, and what is your son like?
You need to know what you want before asking for help.
Kibbud av v’em and shiluach hakan will give you long life.
There was a deal when Bill was finishing up as president. Hillary was running for Senator at the time. There were 4 people from New Square who were convicted of stealing $40 million from the government in various different types of fraud. The deal was that if New Square supported her, these 4 people would get pardoned by Bill before he left office.
I enjoy cooking, and do it a lot. I make cholent every Shabbos. I’ll often make chicken and/or gefilte fish also. During the week, I’ll make dinner pretty often. I’ve made chicken dishes, steaks, fancy pasta dishes (not just mac and cheese), fish and lots of other stuff. I do, however, leave the baking to my wife.
clever, people can recommend Rabbis to talk to and other advice all they want, but the first thing is that YOU need to want it. If you’re not interested, it won’t work.
Some posters made a fair point earlier – Judaism is about your relationship with Hashem, not with the people around you. I also went through a time where I wasn’t frum because of difficulties I went through. Many of the things you mentioned that you “learned” here were causes of it. Ultimately, I learned that the yeshivish world is not the only option – and, in my opinion, is far from the proper path of Judaism. I found a derech that works for me, and I am happy with.
You need to find a path that fits you. Instead if focusing on what you’re not doing, focus on what you are doing. When you get home from shul, you’re putting on your TV? Focus on the fact that you are at least going to shul. Does it feel right to go? If it does, and you concentrate on that, it will lead to your taking on more things. Keep focusing on the positives, and when you are ready for it, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you grow.
It’s actually a big machlokes poskim as to whether copying music is allowed.
as for dinah d’malchusah, I was told it’s not an issue as long as you’re not downloading on a massive scale or selling what you’ve downloaded. The reasoning was that if you call a record company and tell them you downloaded their album, they’ll tell you not to do it again, and that’s all – they won’t try to come after you. If they won’t come after you, it’s not a problem of dinah d’malchusah.
I once posted a story about R’ Shmuel Berenbaum zt”l:=, which I heard from my Rosh Yeshiva.
A boy in the Mir got into gambling, and built up debt to some shady people. To try and pay it off, he got other bochurim involved in it. My Rosh Yeshiva, who was a bochur at the time, went with a few other guys to R’ Shmuel to try and get the guy kicked out. R’ Shmuel screamed at them, and refused to kick him out. R’ Shmuel took the guy under his wing, and helped him out. The guy is now a well-known talmud chacham.
Helpful, so you’re saying that R’ Dovid Feinstein is not a baal nefesh?
Actually, the birth rate of the arabs in Israel is higher than the frum community. In time, the arabs will be the majority.
myfriend, dina d’malchusa won’t patur something the Torah says is assur, but it can make something assur.
No, he uses the term Ba’al Nefesh, not Yorei Shamayim. His son, R’ Dovid, drinks any milk with a hechsher on it.
boredstiff: It’s in the Igros Moshe. Look it up.
Helpful: R Moshe Feinstein said that all cow’s milk in the US is considered Cholov Yisrael, so there’s no extra benefit to drinking the one that says it on the bottle.
For basic rolls that aren’t too expensive, I like spicy tuna. There have been some specialty rolls that I’ve really enjoyed, like the Woodridge Maki from Sushi Metsuyan.
“MO are usually looking for any kulah they can find”
How can you say such a thing? MO have their own Rabbonim who they ask. Going by your Rav is not looking for kulos.
Here we go again, with people assuming that MO won’t be careful about kashrus. Why do you assume that?
BP Totty: Is it the deli on 33rd between Lexington and 3rd? If so, they actually do have a kosher certification. I don’t know if it’s reliable, but it’s from a R’ Yisrael Meir Steinberg. The certificate (it’s on their website) says he’s a musmach of Torah V’Das and Beis Medrash Elyon.
If you have more than one name, is the minhag to say a pasuk for each one? I’ve always said just the pasuk for my first name.
so right, the Midrash says that Pinchas’s motives were entirely pure, 100% dedicated towards sanctifying the name of Hashem. It says that if he had even the smallest amount of a different motive, he would have been chayav misah for what he did. When you’re positive that your motives are 100% (not 99.9999%) pure, then get back to me.
shlomozalman, breathing is permitted, but only because of pikuach nefesh. However, it is required to breath through your nose, as breathing through your mouth might cause you to swallow a flying insect.
Kosher Innovations is reportedly working on the “Kosher Screen”, which is a screen the goes over your mouth and filters out any bugs that you might ch”v otherwise inhale.
Sacrilege: I’ve found all Glenlivets to be good. You can get the 12 year for pretty cheap, and the 21 for a lot. Glenrothes is different than most because they have different vintages with different tastes.
McIvor is a cheap scotch, $15 per bottle, and it’s fantastic.
Glenlivet
Glenrothes
Macallan
McIvor
The yeshivish bus would have cigarettes stuffed in the toilet/sink after half an hour.
I definitely wouldn’t want to be on the chassidish bus – I imagine they’d bring cholent and kugel along. A bus full of chassidim eating cholent with only one bathroom? Sorry, not for me!
The modern bus would show a movie during the drive, which I don’t mind.
I think that the 2012 election will depend on who’s running against Obama. A decent candidate should beat him. Palin wouldn’t have a chance. I wish Christie would run in 2012 – he’s popular, and people around the country relate to him. If the Republicans win in 2012, it means Christie wouldn’t be running for president until 2020 at the earliest. I want him in the White House before then!
I’m not a bourbon fan, I like my scotch!
Moscato d’Asti is like soda with a little alcohol in it – good at times, but not my favorite. I’ve been enjoying some Rieslings lately.
Ask your father to find someone who can teach you. Point out that it’s a mitzvah for a father to teach his son to swim, and he should therefore pay for the lessons.
theprof1: sheitals are actually a kulah. Many don’t use them. Chalav Yisrael in the US is merely a chumrah.
My wife and I often have guests over. We’ve had people that others didn’t want to host (and we often found out why!)
One time, we hosted someone who was extremely annoying. I sat through the meal, and kept myself under control. But then she said something very insulting towards my wife, and I’d had enough. My wife notice, and immediately pulled me into the kitchen and told me to let it go. I stayed out of the room for a minute to calm down, then went back in. We told the person who asked us to host her not to send her to us again.
I feel a bit bad about it – the girl is a geyores, and there’s a special mitzvah regarding them. For insults towards me, I can take it, but I don’t let anyone insult my wife.
Do you think I’m throwing away a big mitzvah of hachnasas orchim?
cynical, Conservative conversions are done via Conservative halacha. For example, Conservative Judaism allows driving to shul on Shabbos. If a person has in mind that driving on Shabbos is ok, the conversion isn’t valid. For Conservative purposes, it might be ok, but not by our values.
A ben Torah, in my opinion, is someone who tries to follow the Torah in everything he does. It doesn’t mean someone who learned, went to yeshiva, or anything like that. It means a good, honest person who always tries to do what Hashem wants us to do.