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Yes. There are multiple “Birthright” trips scheduled at different times of year that are geared to the needs of different segments of the tizbur. While mostly known for arranging trips for college age students (men and women), you can find trips that have mixed gender, separate gender, strictly kosher and shomer Shabbos etc. Of course, you need to due your own research and most important, speak to some of those who have taken that specific trip and if possible with the specific guides who you are considering on your trip. For those who have never been, a trip to EY can change your life, both from a spiritual and political awareness perspective. Good luck and I hope you can find the right trip to fit your needs.
For both destinations, we have an even bigger shaylah of what to do if Moishiach comes and we are both chutz la’aretz and also chutz la’earth. Do all yidden located anywhere in the solar system wake up the following morning in EY?
Agreed. There are many serious shaiylos regarding the moon including the long-standing question of whether it is made of green cheese and if so, is it chalov Yisroel. Also, could yidden even go to the moon if it meant they wouldn’t be technically able to do Kiddush lavanah. Mars, however, has no such problems so obviously it make sense to go there.
He made statements about the “rotation” of the Sun and the moon relative to the earth and the size of the moon relative to the sun and earth which were not accurate by today’ standards.
I guess I’m missing something rather fundamental. What is wrong if some of your friends see you out on a date?? Isn’t that better than their thinking you are sitting at home with no prospects? Are you worried that the same bochur might also be dating other girls in your town?
So last night was Wednesday night so it is more likely than not that he didn’t take you out for cholent to show you off to his chevrusah. Be careful what you wish for since the next guy may take you to a 7-11 for a slurpee.
Kluger: Sincere apologies for not inserting a winking smiley at the end of my post. Very poor internet trolling protocol.
On a serious note, obviously greater concerns during the summer but isn’t the question one of what other items you will have to forego if the expense of Uber et. al poses an economic burden. If you can afford it without any real stress, than make you life easier. Not just issues of pritzus but probably a more comfortable trip as well. Indulge.
Lowertution….that was not mean seriously but perhaps we should label sarcastic comments as such. Trying to eat hard (uncooked dry) pasta could also be challenging to your dental work as much as your GI tract.
It is said that ALL of the lamid vov tzadikim from all of the generations will be among the select few who will constitute techiyas hamaysim PRIOR to the coming of Moishiach.
“…most jewish music produced today is not very good. it’s too loud, too beat-driven, and it’s all from a cookie-cutter mold designed to produce songs for weddings…..
So Yussel, if we were to redirect Jewish music composers away from their primary focus on chasunahs, you would only worsen the shidduch crisis since without such background noise, even fewer would be willing to incur a lifetime of debt and putting up with their machatonim
Actually, if you eat whole grain pasta without cooking, the effective glycemic index level is even lower AND the soluble fiber is in a more beneficial form for your lower digestive tract.
More and more of the Republican members of Congress are finally lining up to call out the Trumpkopf’s comments as racist and offensive (except for those too frightened that they will be the focus of the next Tweet).
This whole debate over using the internet will become moot within several years since the world is evolving to the point where it will be impossible to function w/o at least minimal internet access. Also, more and more of our lives will interact through an “internet of things” so that our appliances, financial transactions, basic transportation and simple access to and from public facilities will all require some electronic interactions. Of course, you can move to a desert island or create your own “virtual” desert island in the desert where you forego all the basic activities of modern society and live in a virtual cave (or create an incredibly expensive and inefficient set of substitutes for those activities and functions).
I wouldn’t be so narrow in my deportation orders……anyone who praises white supremacists, engages in racist or white supremacist tropes or lends support to their racist agenda should be at the top of the list. Perhaps we could have some type of reality show where a national audience (by popular not electoral college vote) could tell public officials “you’re fired” and vote them out of the country.
“I actually once heard from a litveshe guy that the gr”a held that shlomo hamelech is moshiach…”
And the gabbai sheini at our shul says his nephew heard in the name of a chashuve rav that Moishe Rabeiniu is moishiach. On a serious note, I find it both humorous and a bit bizarre that anyone, including rabbonim from across the spectrum, purport to “know” who is moishiach or even speculate on his identity.
“Yidden can be notoriously selective in applying moral outrage”
That’s a middah tova that real frum yidden have. You, on the other hand, consistently seem to be more concerned with the well being of goyim than that of your own people.Yes. I do have concerns for the well-being of goyim but no more so than our own. A large number of yidden who disparately tried to immigrate to the U.S. both prior to and after WWII were able to get in through a wide range of ploys which involved forging documents, lying to the immigration teams and small numbers making their way across the border from Canada. Tens of thousands of individuals seeking to escape the predictable terror in Europe were unable to get in and were lost in the Shoah. While the U.S. cannot provide a haven to those fleeing violence and oppression from the entire world, yidden should be on the forefront of working towards some realistic framework for providing asylum to those arrriving at our borders fleeing violence at home. And BTW, the torah DOES speak to us directly on multiple occcasions about showing respect and compassion for ALL of hashem’s creations.
Any idea as to how many Chareidi “shaluchim” from EY overstay their visas and should be locked up by ICE and dragged to the airport and deported?? Some have been found to engage in questionable fundraising practices which might violate local laws. Other Israelis simply arrive on tourist visas and never leave (as is the case CTL references). I’m not sure these individuals are a greater threat than Hispanics who come looking for work or to join families already here legally. Yidden can be notoriously selective in applying moral outrage (as long as other yidden are not involved).
CT Lawyer: Why are you surprised? Herr Trumpkopf this morning tweeted that 4 members of Congress, all of whom are U.S. citizens and 3 of whom were born in the U.S. “should go back to their countries” because he disagrees with their politics (as do I and most YWN readers). I think a better case could be made to deport Slovenian fashion models whose citizenship status is questionable
Teal: I disagree. My experience is that the frum camps generally take the kids on fewer and less risky trips than the general summer camp population because they actually are aware that the kids have less experience with such activities than their secular/goyishe peers and the show common sense in what they expose the kids to. Also, many of the riskier activities (zip lining, wave runners etc,) are fairly expensive and outside of the budgets of most frum camps that operate on a much lower cost basis and don’t charge the parents several thousand dollars for a 4 week session.
“Every year there are too many unusual tragedies that take place during summer vacation”
There is a high correlation between ice cream consumption and violent crime. Both peak in the summer months. Does that imply causality. Likewise, there is a substantial increase in accidental deaths related to drownings, hiking, climbing boating etc. during the months of Tamuz and Av. In both cases, obviously the time of year is linked to these events and without dismissing hashgacha paraatis, there is absolutely nothing “unusual” about a spike in such tragic accidental deaths on a particular summer day.
Nisht…..when it comes to anything Trumpkopf-related an advanced degree in what you reference as
” am hoaratzus” (great spelling) is really a survival skill. As to your assertion that “everyone knowing the gemorah” regarding the daily clipping and coiffing of malchei Yisroel, the Trumpkopf’s fixation with his hair seems more akin to the what chazal bring down in Sanhedrin (22b) regarding the Kohen Gadol’s hair stylist charged with assuring that “‘rosho shel zeh b’tzad ikaro shel zeh”Lowerourtuition….King Donald……according to ‘unnamed sources” (you know who they are), the Trumpkopf gets his orange locks coifed every AM before his first appearance before the cameras….combination of orange spray paint, gorilla glue and hedge trimmers.
There are fair labor standards laws in most states that govern payment for overtime etc. for different types of employees so the answer will be very fact-dependent. For most hourly, minimum-wage, non-managerial employees (as distinct from administrative staff, teachers who are generally on annual salaries) you cannot ask employees to work additional time “off the clock” to avoid having to pay them for their work. It gets more complicated if you modify their weekly average hours (e.g. go from a 40 hour average for a 10 month year to a lower average for a 12 month year). However, if the change in required hours reduces the effective hourly rate below minimum wage, that would be illegal in most jurisdictions. These workers are not on contract so a reduction in hour wages per se is not illegal and they can leave for another job if they don’t want to work at a lower hourly wage or don’t want to work in the summer months.
Should a frum business reseller on Amazon include in his/her profile that he/she is shomer torah u’mitzvos and therefore any review less than 5 stars is assur m’doriash??
There are actually lots of online merchants “owned” by yidden but it depends on how you define “ownership”. Is it 100 percent, 51 percent or just whether a yid derives a material portion of his income from a particular company. In the extreme, if a yid has most of his retirement funds tied up in a small company he worked for most of his life and a bad review of that company might harm the stock price, are you prohibited from posting a bad review?? Its not a black/white issue and requires a bit of inquiry if you really want to be machmir on Reb Yosef’s psak.
Read the related interview and story yesterday here on YWN by Rav Hoffman about the new Blade helicopter service…..the owner noted that he would consider shuttle flights from NYC to Monticello plus Rav Hoffman provided all the details regarding the proper brachas to make en route. No worry about traffic on the Thruway or Rt 17 althoiugh the RT fare may cost more than the summer camp for little Moishele.
Yabia……..He runs a chain of men’s hair salons in Willy and BP….
“I’m wondering if there is a standard practice that rabbonim suggest when it comes to reviewing products online….”
In the broader context, I suspect most rabbonim (and lawyers) would suggest avoiding online reviews entirely. As noted earlier, some merchants/service providers are incorporating provisions in their “small print” sales agreements which you routinely “agree to” prior to moving quickly to “checkout” that prohibits you from posting any negative or derogatory comments without first providing the merchant opportunity to correct the problem and even then, requiring you to go through arbitration. The practice is illegal in some states but still happens frequently for comments on Yelp, etc. where the ID of the reviewer is somehow obtained by the merchant
Again…the context is crucial. If the OP is referencing an innocent mistake in a transaction with a known frum yid that may be easily corrected by the merchant (refund or otherwise) than obviously a critical comment/deducting a “star” is inappropriate under any scenario. End of story. However, this scenario accounts for a small percentage of online commerce and there are practical limits to what a buyer knows about the seller and in many cases there are scams that warrant a negative response.
The teachers of the school don’t have the option of NOT paying their rent or utility bills. If parents don’t pay their tuition, teachers and lower salaried workers in the school don’t get paid. If parents are having difficulty paying their tuition bills, they should not project their problems on to the school’s employees and the parent of other children who have worked hard to pay their tuition (sometimes holding a second job or foregoing items the non-paying parents may enjoy). If you cannot pay the bill, either find some mosdos or wealthy baal tzadakah who will pay your kids’ tuition, or send them to a public school and tutor them at home in limudei kodesh but you have no right to impose your economic problems on innocent third-parties. At the same time, as others have noted, the schools should be firm but seek every possible means to avoid embarrassing the innocent children who get caught up in these disputes.
Unless the merchant happens to self-identify as a “shomer torah u’Mitzvos” in his/her advertisements, 99.9 percent of online transactions do not distinguish the religious beliefs of the merchant or whether the company is owned by or theproduct was manufactured by frum yidden. The exceptions would obviously be food items with hashgacha, a set of tefillin from a known sofer etc. Otherwise, what is the metric for “ownership” or “produced by”?. Do we use SEC 13G filings for control (5-10 percent of voting shares of a company), 51 percent majority control?? What about a partnership where the LP is frum but the GP is not? Its not a question of “liking” or not liking the Halacha? What about a product made by a company owned by goyim but there are frum employess working somewhere in the production process or providing components? There is a matter of practicality. If this is important to you, then in doubt, simply don’t post anything negative unless the product is so defective or the service is so negligent that it may pose a risk of injury to others and some type of warning is warranted.
Reb Yidd makes an excellent point. In most online product sales, the merchant is simply an intermediary and unlike a service provider, really doesn’t have any role in the quality of the product he/she is marketing. In some cases a fragile product may not have been adequately packaged for shipment or as increasingly happens, a refurbished product may be sold as “new”. In those cases, clearly the merchant bears some responsibility and may be publicly criticized if he fails to remedy the problem after he has been made aware and given an opportunity to do so. If the merchant is KNOWN to be a frum yid and is willing, a local beis din might be willing to arbitrate the dispute (if the dollar amounts make it worthwhile) but for the vast majority of online transactions where there is a commercial dispute, reliance on a beis din to adjudicate is impractical. At the same time, posting a negative review may give you some satisfaction but won’t fix your original problem. Indeed in some cases, agressive merchants have actually sued those who post negative reviews.
Reb Yosef, the Admore o Chelm, has paskined that it i assur to post an honest and truthful review about a yid selling defective products or misrepresenting those products in online ads but OK if that merchant’s name is O’Brien or Bezos. So before posting your review, check the merchant’s online profile and confirm the name of his mohel.
Visiting Day already???? YWN just posted beautiful photo essays of the kids arriving at camp earlier this week….Are the parents that insecure they need to see their precious yinglach after one week??
“Where does it say in Shulchan Aruch that there’s such a thing in Halacha as non-tangible intellectual property?”
I guess Reb Joey is now the poster child for the proposition that there is no such thing as “intellectual property”….after all, when he needed brain surgery, he refused to pay the “intellectual property premium” quoted by the brain surgeon he initially contacted to perform the procedure and instead got a much better price from the shamas in his beis bedrash who performed the surgery for him at 1/10th the price.
Everything is relative…….you may even get 3 opinions from two mashgichim on whether a particular chicken is “kosher”, an issue which arguably has objective metrics. As Know Little” observes, there are no explicit halachic rules governing all matters of technology. Instead, we apply objective rules applicable to other aspects of our behavior to when and how new technologies may be used and under what circumstances. Those who choose to live a life immersed exclusively in limud torah will have no use or need for most technologies other than perhaps an LED light over their shtender. Those who choose to live a more balanced life may choose to rely on new technologies to earn a parnassah and make their daily lives easier and more efficient. For some, a “smart phone” is a tool that enhances the logistics and efficiency of their torah studies. Again, its up to the individual in consultation with his/her LRP to decide. For some, its a risk for their yetzer horah but that is not something we project on everyone.
1. Grab a yellow flag.
2. Take an Uber to Eastern Parkway and Kingston Ave.
3. Run up and down Eastern Parkway between Brooklyn and Kingston Avenues
4. Go home for the evening
5. Repeat Steps 1-4 until there are reports of someone riding a white donkey down the median strip of Francis Lewis Blvd. near the Ohel heading towards the Grand Central Parkway
6. Run home and pack for a flght to EYAgain, there are few statistics but there appears to be a high correlation between substance abuse and young men/women going OTD within the frum tzibur. Perhaps those disaffected from yiddeshkeit seek to find solace in drugs or whatever. The “good news” to the extent one can use the term is that there appear to be more resources focused on outreach and rehab for these segments of the OTD cohort than ever before as the scope of the problem is recognized as a public health issue as much as and “OTD” issue..
As all seem to agree, the answer to the OP is premised on what metrics you select to measure both “off” and “on’ the derech. It would be interesting to know on an anecdotal basis if anyone here has worked with what might generally be considered “OTD” and what their experience has been in terms of “success stories” among those they initially encounter. Similar anecdotal evidence would be what percentage of bochurim who enroll in yeshivos specializing in “ball tshuvah” talmidim ultimately stay on, graduate and move on to advanced torah studies. The latter group clearly begins with bochurim who have already made a decision to “return” if they went OTD or otherwise grew up in secular families and made a decision to “go frum”.
It is generally very easy to find a real (aka unretouched) photo of someone online, whether through public records (in some states driver’s license photos are accessible), social media pages (Facebook etc.), photos of school events and honors, etc. Obviously, these opportunities are more limited in the frum tzibur but certainly not impossible. In the real world, looks to matter, and avoiding the issue up front is likely to result in the issue becoming a concern later on, albeit some other issue is used as a pretext for the “disappointment” one side or the other in a shidduch has regarding the looks of their counter-party.
Amazon Prime allows you to download to a Kindle (or other reader) a modest selection of “appropriate” books for Jewish kids at a lower cost than purchasing hard copies. The current choices are limited but hopefully will expand as more authors/jewish publihers are willing to put their works online. Adocs has it right….pricing ia entirely a function of supply and demand but hopefully electronic downloads will substantially lower the costs of distribution.
If I wanted to hold a ‘parade” in front or your house and block your driveway, it would be difficult to get the required “permit” from police. If I showed up with a few chevrah with signs saying that “Reb Yankel is a shvuntz”, I wouldn’t need a permit since it would be viewed as exercise of First Amendment rights and free speech.