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Don’t buy one. Laptops can access wireless networks, which most likely don’t have a filter installed, and can lead to you seeing inappropriate web pages. It’s only a matter of time until the Gedolim ban laptops. Don’t waste money on it now, as it won’t last.
in l.a.: Why is it worth it? R’ Moshe held it’s muttar to drink cholov stam, so what’s the big deal?
No, Joseph, they’re against the non-religious people running the state. Did you see the story today? R’ Shteinman shlita said even people sitting shiva need to go vote. R’ Ovadia Yosef shlita said it’s a mitzvah to go vote. If they were against the state, why encourage people to participate in the elections? The NK boycotts the elections.
Sadly, you fail to differentiate between the state itself and the people running it. If Israel were run by Torah-observant Jews, even the Rabbonim you mentioned (with the exception of the Satmar Rav zt”l) wouldn’t have a problem with it.
Joseph, all the quotes you posted don’t go against the state of Israel. They go against the people who founded it, and many who are currently running it. The only one you mentioned who actually shares your view is the Satmar Rav zt”l – he held it was assur to establish a state of Israel. R’ Shach zt”l and many gedolim nowadays participate in the Israeli government by advising people who to vote for. They aren’t against the state of Israel, they just want it run properly. The Gedolim now would have no problem with Israel were it run by the Shas party, or by another religious group.
Jospeh, you are simply a Neturei Karta nutjob. Admit it. I’ll have you in mind by davening today when I say V’Lamalshinim.
Nobody: denim is not connected with a goyishe form of dress. I don’t know where you get that idea from, but it’s wrong. Many people where denim, both Jewish and non-Jewish. I’ve been over to my Rebbe’s house and saw his wife wearing a denim skirt.
Wearing ripped, frayed jeans made especially that way is a different issue – not because it’s goyish, but because it doesn’t look presentable. You can look presentable in a normal pair of jeans.
I usually wear jeans on weekends because I do some work around the house. Jeans are comfortable, durable, and wash out easily. Do they get faded? Of course, all clothing does. The difference is that with other pants, as they fade, the material wears out also, so they don’t reach a point where they’re really faded. Jeans last longer, and can reach a stage where they’re extremely faded out.
Joseph: Yes, I know. What did you think I meant?
I don’t think qwertyuiop should be chairman. He’s too obsessed with money – he ends every post with a dollar sign! Maybe he should be treasurer?
Joseph: if you’re Rebbe told you that Yiddish is holy, then so be it – for you, it is holy. As I’ve said, my father-in-law, a respected gadol in his own right, told me straight out that it isn’t holy at all. He speaks Hebrew and English in his daily conversation (depending on who he’s speaking to), and doesn’t worry that Hebrew shouldn’t be used for idle conversation.
I guess we just have a machlokes as to the holiness of Yiddish. You follow your Rav, I’ll follow mine. As to your view on Hebrew, I wonder, do you have a mekor for your opinion that it shouldn’t be used for everyday speech?
oomis, Entenmann’s stuff is made with powdered milk, which doesn’t have any issues with cholov stam. I was told by R’ Scheinerman, the head of Kehilla Kashrus, that Entenmann’s are not an issue. His exact words were, “I’d eat it myself if it wasn’t so fattening.” He explained to me that powdered milk doesn’t need to be cholov Yisrael.
goody613: My Rosh Yeshiva said it’s better to listen to non-Jewish music than to listen to the “imitations”. He said they take treif music and try to disguise it. At least with non-Jewish music you know what you’re listening to.
He yelled it straight out in a shmuz: “BETTER TO LISTEN TO ROCK!!!”
Now everyone who learned in that yeshiva knows where I learned, it’s well known there.
My father-in-law, a respected Rosh yeshiva, told me straight out that Yiddish has no kedushah to it, and it’s a big mistake to think it does.
I don’t have anything against people knowing Yiddish. However, I disagree with Joseph, who posted earlier that he respects those who speak Yiddish as a first language at home. I don’t like the fact that Mexicans only speak Spanish, and don’t speak English. Why should Chassidim be different? I’ve met Chassidim who don’t speak English, or only speak very little English. English should be your first language if you live in the US. You want to preserve your Yiddish? Go ahead, but not at the expense of English.
Most of the stuff put out now isn’t Jewish music. It’s music that happens to have Jewish lyrics to them.
Real Jewish music has the power to touch your soul. Listen to old Chassidic tunes (Modzitz is fantastic), listen to early D’veykus, Regesh, and other old-time Jewish singers/composers. The stuff just gives you a feeling when you listen to it, a feeling which can’t be described.
Most of the stuff that comes out now is popular when it comes out, and a few years later it’s gone. Nobody sings it anymore, people don’t really remember it. Real Jewish music lasts a long time. People still sing the classics, whether it’s Shalom Aleichem from Regesh 3, V’LeYerushalayim from D’veykus, or all the beautiful Shabbos niggunim from Modzitz. That is real Jewish music.
I think that OTD is a bigger issue now because people make it one. 20 years ago, how many schools or programs were there to deal with OTD teens? Not many. Now, everybody has a solution which they want to share with the world. Everyone seems to know what’s causing it, and knows how to fix it. It gets publicized much mroe because of this.
Abuse definitely is a terrible thing. Is it the only reason people go off? Of course not. However, there are different types of abuse. There is physical abuse, and there are mental or emotional forms of abuse. When I wasn’t frum, one of the main reasons I started down the path going off was two Rabbeim I had who treated me horribly. One constantly embarrassed me publicly. I asked him repeatedly to stop. I told him my classmates made fun of me after class because of it, but he didn’t want to listen. Just so you know, this a respected Rebbe in a major yeshiva. He’s been in chinuch for over 40 years.
The other Rebbe lied to me straight up, also embarrassed me, and couldn’t admit that he did something wrong.
These people made me decide that I wasn’t interested in being a “learning guy”. I said that if this was what learning full time made you, I didn’t want a part of it. I was then told by other people that if I went to college, I was throwing my life away, and would never amount to anything. I was told I wouldn’t be a frum Jew if I went to college.
I ended up spending about a year where I wasn’t frum. Didn’t keep Shabbos, didn’t keep kosher, etc.
Now, would you say this was caused by abuse? Definitely not physical abuse. You might consider it emotional abuse.
TOHIGHSCHOOLGUY: Don’t you know? A real college means you actually want to get a real job. We all learned in the Coffee Room that working is only a b’dieved, and isn’t nearly as good as living off of your in-laws. That’s the problem.
Ok, I used up my sarcasm for the day.
Here are some advantages of going to a college besides for Touro:
You’d get a real education. Touro is a joke.
It’s a lot cheaper. Tuition in Brooklyn College runs about $2,500 per semester, if I recall correctly. Touro runs about $6,000.
Touro doesn’t have much of a job placement office. After you graduate, you’re really on your own. Other colleges have a much better program to set you up with interviews and contacts.
I don’t think there was Birchas Hachama in the year of yetziyas mitzrayim. Yetziyas Mitzrayim occured in the year 2448. If you add 28 years to it, and figure out all the years it was recited, you’ll see that it shouldn’t be recited this year – it would have been recited in 5752, and would be recited again in 5780.
The only REAL credible thing I know of is that R’ Elya Svei (he should have a refuah sheleimah!) said years ago that Moshiach will come in the year 2009. When I heard this, I didn’t believe it at first. I didn’t believe he said any such thing. Then, my brother told me he was there when he said it – in the yeshiva I used to attend! He said R’ Elya said very clearly, “Moshiach will come in two zero zero nine”. I also confirmed it with my Rosh Yeshiva who was there at the time. The yeshiva has it recorded as well.
The Big One: I deserve a petch for peddling it? Ask R’ Felder in Lakewood if birth control can be allowed. Ask R’ Shachar, who gives chosson classes to hundreds if not thousands of boys. See what they say.
My brother learned all the halachos from R’ Shachar when he was a chosson, and he told me that he was told birth control can be allowed, you just have to ask your Rav!
Instead of attacking me when you don’t know anything, why not ask a Rav and find out?
As for birth control bordering on murder, that’s just plain nonsense. Again, ask your Rav, and see what he says. Writing the way you do makes you look ignorant.
BYM & Brooklyn19: just call him Jesus, leave off the second name.
One of my Rabbeim always referred to him like that.
Joseph, I’m not. I have 3 brothers who went to Lakewood, and they told me it’s part of your chosson classes nowadays – the Rabbonim tell you it is an option, and you shouldn’t assume it’s assur – ask!
Also, I happen to be related to one of the main Rabbonim in Lakewood who teach the halachos to chassanim. I verified it.
Actually, Moashiach ben Yosef will come only if we aren’t deserving of having Mashiach ben Dovid coming first. If we’re not deserving, then Mashiach ben Yosef has to come and fight the huge battle, before being killed. Then, Mashiach ben Dovid can come.
If we’re deserving, Mashiach ben Dovid can come straight away.
Joseph, to be mekayem the mitzvah to the fullest extent, you need one boy and one girl. That’s it.
I’m glad you think you know more than the Rabbonim in Lakewood, who are telling people there to ask about birth control, because it is an option – something that many people (you included) never thought was possible.
Saying things like this just highlights your ignorance.
Tonight, at Keter Torah in Teaneck, NJ there will be tehillim said at 7 pm.
BYM: Here’s how a Rebbe of mine explained it to me: Emunah would be crossing a bridge because you really believe it’s safe. Bitachon would be that if the bridge broke, you know it’s still the best thing that could have happened to you.
Joseph, the posuk says the harder the Jews worked in Egypt, the more kids they had. It’s brought down that Shevet Levi didn’t have that may kids because they didn’t work, they were learning. According to you, wouldn’t it be better to have less kids? After all, don’t you think learning is better than working?
I guess Hashem knew that you have to work in order to be able to support all those kids!
Joseph, do you even know the meaning of bitachon?
Bitachon means that however many children you have, you recognize that it is the best thing that could have happened for you. That’s it. You’re mixing up the definitions of emunah and bitachon.
Joseph, I’m glad you think every Jewish family should have many children. How do you define “many”? The mitzvah in the Torah is to have a boy and a girl.
My Rav told me that R’ Reuvain Feinstein shlita told him that he wishes people in Lakewood knew that you can easily get a heter for birth control if needed. He said people there have a kid every year, when they can’t afford it, both financially and emotionally. I know from my brother that in Lakewood now, every chosson is told during his classes that birth control can be an option, and they need to ask.
I was also told that one of the big poskim in Lakewood (I won’t say which one, as some people might be upset by this) said that in the time of the Gemara, a woman’s body took longer to recuperate from giving birth, and wasn’t able to become pregnant for 3 years (not that she wasn’t allowed to for her health, her body didn’t ovulate again for that long). He said that nowadays, he thinks it should be mandatory for a couple to wait a few years between children, because they can’t deal with so many children, again both financially and emotionally.
Joseph, have you ever read the book Lt. Birnbaum? He asked R’ Hutner zt”l to get him out of teh army, and R’ Hutner said no, he SHOULD go into the army.
It’s not as clear cut as you think.
chaimss: You obviously don’t know Joseph. He always rushes to judgment.
I figured if anyone would rush to judgment, it would be Joseph.
pricegrabber also now lists reviews for the seller, not only the product. So, when you search for something, you can see how others rated the seller.
I’ve used pricegrabber many times, and never had a problem. They directed me to stores such as Amazon, Newegg, and other big-name stores. I’ve saved hundreds of dollars through them.
Example: Last year I bought a camcorder. B&H sold the model I wanted for about $225. I got it through pricegrabber for $140, from a very good online store.
Joseph, what does that have to do with Christmas lights?
B&H doesn’t have the greatest prices. If you do some research online, you can find places to buy that are considerably cheaper.
Do some research as to what model you want, then go to pricegrabber.com They will show the prices from a bunch of stores, and yo can find the cheapest price.
I have yet to see B&H come out even close to the cheapest there.
bored@work, sorry, you’re completely wrong. It says the Yissachar and Zevulun are EQUAL partners. Yissachar is NOT better than Zevulun.
Your attitude is exactly the kind of thing which turned me off to Judaism when I was younger. As a result of that, I spent about a year where I wasn’t religious.
notpashut: Sometimes, you’re not “relying on the maikel”. For example, R’ Moshe zt”l paskened that you don’t need ch9olov yisrael in the US. Would you consider R’ Moshe a maikel? Yet, many people take the chumrah on themselves. There are many other chumros like this. I’ve asked Rabbonim about certain things, wanting to know the mekor for things I was told were halachos. I was told they are chumros which are widely accepted. Maybe they’re accepted in Brooklyn and Lakewood, but where I live now, I don’t think anyone accepted them. In Europe, I don’t know if they were widely accepted.
When a “yeshivish” crowd accepts a chumrah as a whole, it doesn’t become halachah.
How about this?
<s>strikethrough</s>
Actually, I believe the MB says a man does NOT have to remove his ring. I have to verify it (161:3:19,I believe)
The Mishna Brurah discusses whether a man needs to remove a ring to wash netilas yadayim. He makes no mention of it being assur, he simply discusses whether it’s necessary or not.
asdfghjkl: I think it would be more like this:
Joseph: I have an anger management issue. However, I only get angry when someone isn’t following <s>my chumros</s> following the Torah, so if you think I need some help, you’re an apikores.
(Let’s see if the strikethrough worked)
Chuck: I wear a black hat on Shabbos still. My grandfather, in his first marriage (to my grandmother, who passed away when my father was very young) did wear a ring. My father has it now, although he doesn’t wear it.
In fact, one Shabbos when I was visiting my parents, an old man in their shul (he’s almost 100 years old) asked me if I was European. He said that when he was young in Europe, most married men wore rings. He wanted to know if I was from Europe, and that was why I was wearing one.
My brother learned in Chaim Berlin for high school. In 11th grade, he wanted to drop out of English classes, and learn the entire day. R’ Chaim Segal zt”l told him NO WAY! He said it is very important to get a high school diploma, and he had to finish up his secular education in the yeshiva. He told him, after you finish up those classes, you’ll be able to sit and learn the entire day. Until then, work hard at your secular education.
Chuck: no, it’s not too small. It’s too big. For thousands of years, the only ones who were sitting and learning the entire day were the leaders, and those who would become the leaders. It was the best and brightest that were supported while they sat and learned all day.
In many speeches you could hear about the “glory days” in Europe, and all the yeshivas which existed before the war. Rabbonim talk about the tremendous loss we had when the yeshivas were destroyed. How many people were in those yeshivas? They weren’t even close to the size of yeshivas now! There were maybe a few dozen students, that was it. The Mir yeshiva in Yerushalayim now has over 4,000 people learning there! Yes, it’s great, but it’s not feasible. It was never done in thousands of years, so why should it happen now? Judaism is supposed to be based on what we learn from our parents and grandparents, build on the traditions of previous generations. Why is this changing?
For thousands of years, only the best and brightest sat and learned in kollel all day. That is how it should be now. Let’s follow the traditions of our grandparents.
squeak: The reason it’s used as a swear word is because one of the Aseres Hadibros is not to say Hashem’s name in vain. The Christians say using the name of Jesus is swearing because they believe he is god, and to say it for no reason is swearing. By saying it’s a swear word, you’re actually giving credence to this claim! A Jew should say it’s NOT a swear word, as Jesus was obviously not god!
Regarding saying the name: I’ve heard R’ Scheinerman from Brooklyn say his name many times, in a shmuz, in a Beis Medrash. I guess there’s no issur on saying Jesus if R’ Scheinerman can do it.
latkes
Joseph, I definitely don’t think that! I think that you and others think that YU types aren’t mehudar (actually, you think much worse of YU types).
Anon for this had it best – you don’t know the circumstances others are in. You may disagree with many things I do, but you don’t know how tough it is for me to keep as much as I do. Hashem does, and will judge me accordingly. You have no right to judge me.
Chuck, was it unrelated or a critique? It can’t be both – if it was unrelated, it wouldn’t make a very good critique, would it?
There’s nothing wrong with criticizing the original post, that’s the idea of a forum – you discuss your opinions of things.
Besides, the original post was obviously criticizing those who don’t follow the lifestyle of the so-called “yeshivish” world, such as YU type people.
Sometimes the best present costs very little money.
Take a nice picture that you have. Buy a frame that’s bigger than the picture.
Make a backing out of construction paper, and write some nice things around the edges. It can be something that will remind the person of when the picture was taken, or just a nice endearment.
You can also give coupons that you make yourself – “Good for one night of no cleaning up” or “Good for a private walk at the time of your choosing.”
You don’t need to drink to appreciate the taste of a good latke. Hamentashen are good when you’re drunk.
I’ve had hamentashen be re-gifted (re-mishloach manosed?) to me. If people are giving them away, they can’t be that good. On the other hand, any Chanukah party I go to never has enough latkes – as soon as they come out of the kitchen , they’re all grabbed and eaten!