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Meno: Yes. Some stores allow “returns within 30 days” but require the item be in its original UNUSED condition. Sure, they will accept a torn plastic wrapping etc. but if it is clear the item has been used and there is no defect, most will not accept returns or charge a 15-25 percent “restocking fee”. Not only Amazon, but Target, Kohls and Nordstrom’s have announced they are tracking “repeat returners” and denying offenders return privileges where they have abused the privilege
This has become just another one of those seemingly endless debates on the same point where a subset of posters apply a halachic analysis to how yidden should behave in their daily lives, with a specific reference to their interaction with goyim. From the other side of the debate are those who are viewing the issue from the lens of a more common sense, non-legal perspective which might subjectively be called “ethical”. Bottom line: Just because something might arguably be “OK” al pi halacha, that doesn’t mean its something that SHOULD be done.
Yes, most Amazon sellers will allow returns for ANY reason (or no reason) but exploiting that policy to use something without payment is not how some of us believe a Jew should behave. YWN frequently highlights stories about yidden going to great lengths to return lost items to their owners (yidden and goyim) and what a big kiddush hashem it was. In some cases, it was a yid risking his/her life to save a goy and what a kiddush hashem it was. I see it no less of a kiddush hashem for yidden to act ethically in their financial interactions with goyim (and thereby forego opportunities to gain monetary benefits such as the Amazon scenario). If you don’t want to call it a kiddush hashem to show that yidden are ethical and don’t engage in the stereotypical behavior that forms the basis for long-standing anti-semiotic tropes, than just call it “the right thing to do”.
Apologies to Haimy: Reb yosef reminds us its “ok” to cheat an “aino yehudi” seller on Amazon by engaging in unethical behavior which is clearly assur. We should demand that Amazon immediately require all sellers to post whether or not they have milah and are strictly shomrei shabbos so yidden purchasing from them know whether its ok to purchase their stuff and then send it back for a full refund after diminishing its value.
Mi Kamocha yisroelHaimy: Not clear what you are saying. If you agree its unethical to purchase an item on Amazon with the prior intent to use it briefly and then return it for some reason, than why would you (as an Amazon seller) suggest it might be “OK” or somehow less problematic if the Seller incurring the loss from your action is a goy versus a yid?? I would think a yid would be especially careful as to no create the visuals of a chilul hashem when dealing with a goiyeshe dealer.
Lacisrmma: Its irrelevant to my point so not worth debating further.
Lowertuition:: I’ll make the same point I noted with respect to the ehrliche CR posters who found it necessary to bash the young Israeli reporter whose kipa blew off in the wind while he was doing an interview on the WH lawn yesterday and he held his hand over his head rather than his sleeve. GET A A LIFE and stop acting as the halacha police. . Does it really make a difference whether I referenced the “deceased” as a “niftar”??? It had nothing to do with the point either myself or others were making as to why his death was an appropriate item of interest to many YWN readers.
Yiiddishkeit is not a religion of “intermediation”…….we don’t have a Galach-in-Chief through whom everything must flow upwards and whose edicts are given the same respect as Toras Mosheh. Rabbonim guide us, provide advice on the most simple to complex issues in our lives but ultimately it is our own relationship with the Ebeshter as we communicate directly that counts.
Haimy: ganavah is ganavah….from someone in Willy or Wuhan. Their domicile doesn’t change the ethics of taking something of value from someone else with the intention of returning it to them after having diminished its value and not compensating them for the damage you imposed.
DY: YES. One should definitely solicit advice from parents, rabbonim and other trusted friends and family who know you and even better if they know the girl/boy you are considering. However, in most cases, the latter will not be the case (aka they don’t know the other person other than how you describe that person). Ultimately, its a decision only you can make for yourself. Its not showing disrespect to seek the advice of others, weigh that advice carefully along with all the information you have and make a decision that may or may not comport with the advice received from one particular source.
Chassidim don’t hold that blowing shofar will accelerate z’man Moishiach. The only thing that is known to work is to run up an down Eastern Parkway with yellow flags. As noted in the OP, this shofar thing is entirely a Sephardeshe minhag
I said lamud vuv “tzadikim” not lamud vov “gadolim”. Here in the CR, we are all technically “gadolim” at something.
Depends on how you define a “tzaddik” and what you mean by “open” ruach hakodesh. If you search the YWN archives I suspect you will find literally hundreds of postings which purport to define the term and nominate those who qualify.
Also unclear what you mean “in Israel or something” Whats with the “something”?? There are rabbonim and askanim wherever you find yidden who might be recognized as “tzadikim”. Would you reject the advice of such a rav if he happened to be located in Gateshead, Lakewood or Willy versus Beis Shemesh or Yerushalayim??
Finally, rumor has it that one of the lamud vov tzadikim is lurking here in the CR.Kobe never played for any of the NYC or Philadelphia NBA teams so its not surprising that the BMG bochurim did not have his jersey hanging on their dorm room walls (unless they were from LA) . And you are right with regard to social media. Today’s edition of Hamodia etc. had lots of coverage of impeachment, ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, Chinese New Year etc. but not a word about Bryan’t’s tragic death. Its entirely a matter of what the readership wants to see and the editorial discretion of the publisher. A large percentage of YWN readers clearly finds this of interest and feels sadness at his being niftar
Not sure exactly what your question is.
If you are that worried about halacha, you probably should not even be on the internet purchasing anything but that’s another issue. I don’t think anyone buys something with 100 percent certainty of sending it back unless its one of those “one-time” uses where you buy a sheitel to wear to shul for an Aufruf and then send back for some excuse. Given that the value of the item has been reduced from the moment you opened the box and tried it on, its probably not mamash ganavah from Jeff Bezos but certainly not something ethical that an ehrliche yid should be doing.DY: I guess you are having a “listening” problem today. As the Trumpkopf would say. “Read the Transcript” of my posting at 1:58 PM where it says ” LISTEN to the advice of all those you respect..”
Who said others’ opinions are “not important” and you shouldn’t solicit their advice. However, a decision on marriage is yours, and yours alone, taking into consideration your own feelings along with the advice of others. Not worth repeating again.Or to put it simply, just because you “can” (legally) doesn’t mean you should. The OP frames the question as “is it right” which I interpret to mean is it consistent with daas torah as well as morally.
DY: Yes. Read the prior sentence of my post, where I said … “LISTEN to the advice of all those you respect,,,,,” However, if you are in your early 20s and considering marriage and the associated responsibilities and obligations, the final decision should be your OWN and you should resist pressures from others who claim they know better. If you don’t feel ready or have misgivings over a particular individual others are pushing on you, step back and follow your own intuition. Its the most important decision of your life and one YOU should make for yourself.
Libi: Hashem yarachem on any young man/woman who takes your advice seriously. Get married when YOU feel ready to take on the responsibilities and obligations of being a husband and father as set forth in your ketubah. While listen to the advice of all those you respect, DON”T allow yourself to be bullied by anything you’ve heard or been told by parents, rebbeim, friends, family or most importantly, the marital and family relations experts posting here in the CR.
OK only if there is some “alternative” for her outside of the mainstream yeshiva/beis yaakov programs. This might be a special school for girls/boys with behavioral problems and special needs that the regular school has tried to accommodate but unsuccessfully. Perhaps it requires home schooling under the supervision of educational professionals or even an out of town private school specializing in behavioral issues. Too often, the issue is simply that a student (girl or boy) is lowering the school’s ratings on standard exams, other parents are complaining and the school has not been willing to invest the additional resources required to handle special needs kids.
From a legal perspective, of course, any private school can make such decisions “at will” but I’m speaking based on what I understand to be the views of knowledgeable rabbonim and askanim who have opined on this question.Lots of inyanim on this question and I’m not aware of any single answer. I’ve heard its a rosh chodesh minhag at some Sephardeshe shuls but certainly not all.
If we read literally the last phrase of this pasuk, Uvayom simchaschem ovamo’adaychem ovaroshei chodshaychem”, we might think it was done during z’man beis hamikdash but NOT after curban bayis sheini. Perhaps some sehphardeshe shuls have instituted monthly blowing l’ zecher limikdash.
Also the pasuk תקעו בחדש שופר בכסה ליום חגנו could be read to mean Rosh Hashana and not every rosh chodesh.
There are probably lots more explanations I’ve never heard.Reb Yosef is correct except I believe that Dubai is much safer for yidden. I am unaware of any overtly anti-semitic attacks in recent years on the small Jewish populations (mainly ex-pats and professionals working for Wextern companies) who are resident or visiting either Dubai or Kuwait. There was one incident several years ago in Quatar but I don’t think there was any repetition and that incident involved a Jew but not easily identifiable as such.
Jews have been travelling to Dubai for quite a while without any problems. As you probably know, there is a shul in Dubai that holds Shabbos services but keeps a very low profile You won’t see a website or a sign outside. There are a number of American, Canadian, UK and South African banks and law firms and some energy firms that have Jewish staff resident in Dubai with no problems. They also have occasional visits from European jewelry and diamond dealers who are dressed in Yeshivish lvush. Yes, you are still likely to get some stares, but more out of curiosity rather than any overt anti-Semitism.
I’m sure Reb Yosef really meant smashing the phones, not their owners. And even then, only after you have called the mashgiach ruchani and both given a good musar shmooz to the owner and he realizes the error of his ways and asks you to join him in a “phone smashing” as part of his doing tshuvah.
How would they satisfy NJ State educational standards if a young man or woman fails to receive any secular education beyond the eighth grade (unless they teach math and science in Hebrew) ? The BMG crowd seems to have really good relations with the NJ political establishment so I’m certain they have reached some accommodation which works for both sides and avoids the seemingly endless conflict we have seen between the frum tzibur and NYS Department of Education..
A “conscientious objector” in the U.S. is someone who has a principled religious/faith or morally based objection to armed combat and typically (although not always) required to serve in some non-combat MOS or provide alternative public service. It was not designed to accommodate wealthy or privileged guys who didn’t want to inconvenience themselves, incur the risk of combat or have to interrupt their life of wealth and privilege for the rigors of military service.
Most seminary girls who want a true ben-torah would not advertise on JDate or communicate their resumes with a shadchan via email. If that is what your are looking for, you will not miss out by not having a smart phone. You will obviously miss out on a lot of other daily functionality (e.g. checking the weather before leaving the house, having your government stipend directly deposited in your online bank account, searching for the lowest price airline ticket to travel bein hazmanim or checking on the credentials of a new hashgacha. However, for finding a wife, not big deal to to it the old fashioned way.
Reb Eliezer: For some reason, I don’t typically associate humor with Satmar. Thanks for breaking a long-held stereotype. .
I think the era of long-wars with the need of hundreds of thousands of draftee infantrymen as was the case in Vietnam is unlikely to return. By the time the draft system could be reinstated and implemented, the War would be over.
Is it apikorsus to say that people feel better after they troll?
Quite to the contrary. Ask our resident trolls. They just feel morally superior although not always “better”.
Funnybone: You can find multiple posts in the CR archives that unequivocally assert that Chassidish marriages have ” lower divorce rates”. Unfortunately, most of those are either by Reb Yosef or cite to other posts by Reb Yosef. It never makes clear “lower than what? Lower then Litvish marriages? Lower than all other Yiddeshe marriages? Lower than ALL marriages (including goyim)? Lower than other yidden who married at the same age? Just some minor areas needing clarification. There are relatively few objective demographic studies on the subject that have any degree of statistical rigor. In general, they show that while still very low, the divorce rate in the Chareidi tzibur (both Chassidish and Litvish) is slowly catching up to that of the secular Jewish community. While the divorce rate in the general population in EY has remained steady (approximately13-15 divorces per 1,000 couples between 2005 and 2015) it spiked in the Chareidi community (from approximately 1.5 per 1000 couples to 4.5-5.0). Rates are higher in Chareidi communities that are interspersed within secular communities versus those that are more insular and geographically remote. Again, the results vary widely and there is little agreement that these studies can be extrapolated or have greater credibility than the anecdotal observations posted here in the CR.
“Where is the GAON”
Assuming you are referring to Reb Gore, the genius that invented the internet and taught the Trumpkopf everytiing he knows about global warming,, he is on a sailboat heading back to the California from the World Economic Forum in Davos. Given how much “heat’ (exuse the pun) he took in prior years for traveliing to Davos via CO2 emitting chartered jets, this time he took the Train to the French port of Le Havre and is taking a sailboat from there back home.
DovidBT:
The ERA passed the House in 1970 and 1971 but stalled in the Senate as a result of attempts to add an amendment recusing women from the draft. Most but not all of the early Womens’ Rights advocates supported the notion of including women in draft regisration. However, given at the time most MOS categories were closed to women, they would have given women the option of alternative public service.
Reb Yosef should know better. Chazal bring down that inyanim such as hiding a tooth under the pillow for the tooth fairy is akin to avodah zorah and apikorsus since there is no “tooth malach” designated to exchange used teeth for a Sachar in olem hazeh.
Likewise, we are not allowed to “kiss” a cut, scar or laceration since doing so might put your lips in contact with blood in contradiction of the issur on such in parshas Ra’eh where it is written:
רַ֣ק חֲזַ֗ק לְבִלְתִּי֙ אֲכֹ֣ל הַדָּ֔ם כִּ֥י הַדָּ֖ם ה֣וּא הַנָּ֑פֶשׁ וְלֹא־תֹאכַ֥ל הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁ עִם־הַבָּשָֽׂר׃Perhaps if the police were to set up a series of roving radar traps with a Minivan with the police officer dressed in yeshivish lvush, (including a wide brimmed black hat), the speeders would “get religion” and slow down.
Reb Yid: He is using the term “loaded gun’ as a metaphor for an IPad that can only link to the CR and even then will be filtered so that one will only be able to view the 4703 posts from Reb Yosef (as of 10 PM on 25 Tevet) .
Reb Eliezer: As usual, very thoughtful and insightful comment. I guess I look at the internet somewhat differently. Yes, the internet certainly constitutes a “storm” in terms of its disruptive effect to life as we knew it before it was invented by Al Gore. However, as we also know, a disruptive event can have both positive and negative long-term effects. I think the jury is still out and from a personal perspective, the internet (with proper useage and protective screens ) has been a major net benefit to myself and our family. Others will view it differently.
The erhliche yidden of Lakewood are always in a rush to perform mitzvos so that sometimes results in their moving at a rate of speed that conflicts with dina d’malchush.
I’m assuming that any parent asking the question, likely is not from the segment of the frum tzibur that realistically can deny their kids ANY access to technology or the internet. Indeed, with a screen name, “ILOVETOSURF, I further assume that the poster is not a professional on the Pacific Coast surfing circuit and more likely is a social media addict of sorts. With regard to your daughter, דאָס עפּעלע פֿאַלט ניט װײַט פֿון בײמעלע
Sam: Nice shmooz but one needs to take a certain degree of responsibility for one’s own physical well being, including nutrition and exercise. The inyan of “ushamartem es nafshosechem” is not some abstract prescription but a real-world admonition to do your best to stay healthy.
At least for shachris, you also might try davening Vasikim, .I’m told that such minyanim are much quieter because the daveners are still half-asleep and are lucky to be able to respond with an Uuumeeein, much less engage in coherent conversation at 5 AM
The “Y” is the best option for gender segregated hours. As others have noted, one or two past efforts to run a “kosher gym” failed financially based on very low turnout from the frum tzibur. Its a great idea in theory but very difficult to make the numbers work. I don’t imagine a frum shul or beis medrash will be willing to take some empty space and convert it to a “fitness room” for their daveners or talmidim and install a few treadmills, exercise bikes and some free weights.
Correction to my prior post….Trump the Corruption Fighter tried to get former Sec of State Tillerson to get rid of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act which prohibits American COMPANIES from bribing foreign officials (See documentation in new book entitled “Trump the Stable Genius” which went on sale in the past hour on Amazon and other booksites)
Also, with respect to the Bidens, if a President’s/Vice President’s family making money from the WH connections was an impeachable offense, Trump would be back selling condos in Moscow by now. While there were episodes throughout American history of this kind of “corriuption” including with Carter (remember Billy Beer), the Bushes (Neil and the Banks) etc. The Trumpkopf kids and in-laws are making more $$ from their Daddy’s position than any of their predecessors.Kluger……Biden’s effort to get rid of the corrupt prosecutor in question were consistent with the efforts of ALL the other European countries ‘who were also trying to persuade Ukraine to get rid of the guy before they would contribute additional funds. As others have noted, there is no comparison with the current situation with the Trumpkpf. But even if there was some analogy, what does that have to do with Trump’s claim he was doing so to “fight corruption”. Never in our history have we had a president who has expressed “love” and “great respect” for the world’s most corrupt and evil foreign leaders in Russia, China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, etc. Tonight we learned he ordered the Sec of State to “get rid of the law” (the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act”) that prohibits American countries from bribing foreign government entities. So much for the “Corruption Fighter in Chief”.
“Aren’t all people who choose to sit and learn, automatically lunatic according to the Zionists”
NO. Only those who claim they have no obligation to perform ANY type of alternative public service. They are no better than the privileged secular brats who can afford to retain a psychologist to support a fake clam of mental illness to avoid the draft.
Reb Yid: You are clearly not a gourmet. An out-of=season tomato with a lot of white, mealy pulp will destroy the taste of anything. A thin slice of Vidalia onions adds a nice touch of sweetness to the burger. Alternatively, some caramelized onion will cut the sharpness even further.
Obviously, every ethnic group may have its own culinary hashkafah in their burgers. If you want to be truly adventuresome, try an Ungarishe Big Mac with 2 cups of sugar and a teaspoon of paprika .What is the deal with Zev Brenner and talkline motzi Shabbos. Their website has been “under construction for at least 5 or 6 years, I’m not sure if they are still broadcasting live in the NYC/NJ metro area and their webcast sound quality is really poor. Also, it seems that in the past year or two, there are more commercials than “talk”. Maybe the latter is the economic reality for any niche radio broadcast.
For any burger, whether real or veggie fleish, less is more. Don’t compress the meat, light salt and pepper and serve on a firm, toasted whole grain bun with perhaps fresh tomato (ONLY if in season), greens (carefully dried) and thinly-sliced onion (if you don’t have a social engagement afterwards). Mustard or catsup is discretionary. Skip the barbecue sauces, veggie cheese and all the other stuff.
I can’t include a link to the Chabad website but if you check, you will find a daf yomi link to an online daf yom offered by Rav Avraham Meyer Zajac. There are definitely local chabad shalichim that have started daf yom classes but its not that widespread.