Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
The problem is that some of these mindless “leaders” of peleg believe they are channeling the Ebeshter so they don’t need anyone’s permission. Sadly, as they are learning, “protest” at our own risk and if you do so, be prepared to suffer the consequences if your personal protest disrupts others’ rights.
You can have a parade of protesters exercising their civil liberties with official sanction for specific times and locations. However, when some misguided Rav tells his talmidim to run out on the street to block traffic, burn dumpsters and disobey the security forces its politely called a protest….when the protestors get out of hand, they get their heads bashed against the concrete and then its called a riot….
Also, there are fewer big “bowl games” among the top college football teams still played on New Years Day. Just the Rose Bowl and one or two others. The College football championship is not scheduled until January 13th in New Orleans (hopefully warmer than NYC). Very few (if any) of the chashuvah rabbonim and askanim invited to speak are likely to be big football fans anyway and there were no big games scheduled at MetLife Stadium for the same reason……who would risk the lousy weather, snowstorm etc. Thus, aside from the capacity of the stadium, Agudah probably got a great price for rental of the facility. I’m sure the gabboim of the older rabbonim will make sure they are dressed warmly in fleece parkas if it is cold and there will probably be some indirect propane heaters directed to the stage. Also, they are very good at shoveling the snow off the open seating areas so unless the snow is coming down heavily just before the siyum begins, you will probably be able to get to your seats without snowshoes.
The number one topic of conversation at every dinner party I’ve been to lately is which bracha to make over each course served at dinner. Some of these conversations have gotten very animated and the resulting food fights were ugly. In some cases, we take a break and call a well known rav or posek to pasken over the speaker phone. Another reason not to have mixed dinners with sephardeshe and litvish guests…..most recent macholkes was the correct baracha for a sugar loaf with fish bits a little bit of bread crumbs mixed in (aka Ungareshe gefilte fish).
Perhaps some creative yungerleit could provide a real time English translation that would be flashed on to a large and easily visible screen behind the speaker. Hopefully, as time goes on, more of the rabbonim at these events that are designed to appeal to ALL segments of the tzibur will feel comfortable speaking in English.
We don’t provide the ingredients of ever dish we serve our guests at dinner. If they have a concern regarding their individual minhagim/hashkafah/dietary preferences, they will ask and of course we will provide whatever information they request.
For those whose lives are defined by having close interaction with their machatanim, having a choice of multiple yeshivos and shuls and ready access to a dozen varieties of kugel with chasideshe hashgacha, neither Baltimore or any other OOT destination will ever be satisfying. However, as many have noted, there are several areas outside of Baltimore City with thriving frum communities with a modest number of options for schools and davening. Some of these will bring you into common with yidden from somewhat different backgrounds but that is one of the great positives of leaving the silos of the NYC/Monsey/Lakewood areas. My biggest complaint about the Baltimore area, and not really a deterrent to relocation) is that the few restaurants with hashgacha don’t come close to the options in the Alte Heim (of NYC).
Fake News: For the “glass is always half empty CRers” it may come as a shock but the headline could also be that “50 percent of Sephardim do put on Tefillin”!!!! Also, they do so without a chabadnik standing there explaining that the shel yad is difficult to fit on one’s head and vice versa.
It may be relevant for secular purposes but in davening, I’m confident that the Ebeshter will figure out your words regardless of your pronunciation. Have you even davened in a litvish shul where the pronunciations sound like something from Mars….just recall in your mind the first time you heard Avinu Mal’kenu as Oooviniii Malkiinii etc….
What you pay for is not always what you get. Every year or so, there is another Rav or chashuvah askan who comes up with “new” chassanah guidelines regarding how much should be spent but it doesn’t seem to make any difference. There are still pressures to invite the way too many people, waste money on expensive watches, serve too much food (much of which is wasted) and hire a mini-symphony orchestra. Just think of how much easier life would be for the choson/kalah if all that money were instead put into an investment account for themselves and the family they are about to start.
First of all, a true Gadol is considered as such in part because of their humility and self-awareness of areas where they feel they have achieved true expertise, and likewise, those where others may have the requisite expertise in complex matter to paskin with confidence. While there is no “online directory” of which rabbonim are expert in every subject matter that might require consultation, invariably, your local rav/posek can provide guidance as to where you can find that expertise and also some logistical information on how to make contact (since most do not just have a cellphone number you can call or text and many don’t do email).
Aside from the inherent prejudice among many reviewers that will discount a restaurant’s quality if it advertises itself as “kosher” before even walking through the door, the economics of operating a really high quality restaurant with top of the line hashgacha can be challenging. Sadly, many yidden are simply not willing to pay the cost of the top of the line ingredients and culinary professionals needed to earn a Michelin star. If the restaurant can attract sufficient non-Jewish customers, than may be but often, they have to rely on a core yiddeshe clientele for their economic survival, at least for the first few years until the reputation grows outside the frum tzibur.
Somehow, “milk chocolate” denotes a taste expectation that the parve “milk chocolates” never seem to replicate. Given the multiple milk alternatives and general awareness within the tzibur that “milk” doesn’t always mean a dairy product, is there still an inyan of maris ayin?
If one was to start their own minhag and wear a Borseliono without a brim, would that be viewed as a NEW kipah? At some point, doesn’t a kipah made with feaux fur look like a shtreimlach that shrunk from the rain or is being worn by an ehrliche yid/animal rights machmir obsessed with tikun olam? It all depends on your perspective and that of the individual who may be trying to either identify with/distinguish himself from the local tzibur.
Its entirely a matter of how careful the user is with “spillover” form any use from grinding meat (an inherently messy task) and the degree that she/he cleans and inspects the workspace to assure that no meat particles were somehow left near the motor/base/handle. We’ve always had two separate grinders/processors on opposite counters since we have the luxury of a large kitchen with lots of counter space. For a small apartment then using one grinder with great care might be an option.
Anyone who consistently trolls vitriolic statements about a political party with a very wide range of views and with whom 2/3 of American Jews identify obviously is a traitor to his fellow yidden and a soneh yisroel.
Its almost unimaginable, but what if someone could show that Joseph was switched at birth and his real parents were an MO couple from San Francisco who graduated from UC Berkley, were active in Democratic Party politics and now own the only Canabis dispensary w Chasidishe hashgacha???
Isn’t it more of an inyan of minhag hamokom? If a sephardeshe bochur from Morocco studying at a kollel in EY meets a frum girl from a Litvish family in Gateshead studying at Seminary for a year, and they get married and move back to the UK to live near her family, it he obligated to trade in his kipah segurah for a black velvet yarmulke??
And where are the boundaries….if wearing a small black velvet kipah on Shabbos (to distinguish it from your weekday cloth or knitted kipah) why not wear an elegant black velvet suit on Shabbos (rather than just cloth) since it covers so much more landscape and will certain attract more attention to your frumkeit as defined by your efforts at kavod Shabbos and hidur mitzvah. Some would argue it is certainly more shabbosdik than even a silk or satin Bekeshe. Yes, you might be mistaken for an Elvis impersonator in the black velvet suit, but only by goyim.
You are considered an adam chasuv if your wear a black velvet kipah segurah peeking out from under a beaver skin borselino
As far as I know there is ZERO correlation between what our resident misogynists refers to as “tzinius” and the appropriateness of a woman engaging in intellectual debate with men on issues of public policy or current interest. My sense is that the substantially lower participation by women has more to do with the realities of time management (especially for younger women with children) and to a lesser extent, a degree of cultural subordination which discourages them from directly challenging male perspectives.
A parade can be considered a moving celebration with people dancing, singing etc…how is it different from a modern day simcha where a sefer torah is moved from the old shul to the new shul or the armies of bnai yisroel returning to the city after a victory in the time of the neveim?
Even within the Sephardeshe tzibur, it doesn’t hurt if your tate was considered the gadol hador (aka R Yosef Sr. vs. R’ Yosef Jrs. )
“….Halevi we all had the zchus that the GodolHaDor[ah] decided everything for us…”
One of the rare occasions that I totally agree with Joseph…..
Multiple chassidus sharing a mesorah doesn’t always translate into their taking the same position on political and public policy issues as we have seen over and over again in EY
Certainly as “OK” for an older reader as any other highly-regarded secular fictional work but would NOT recommend for younger (pre-teen) readers. If your practice is to not to allow your kids access to ANY secular books, media etc, (other than required for school-work) than its not an issue. As always, your LRP is a useful checkpoint but the decision is ultimately that of parent.
Results of preliminary lab tests show that BOTH will work equally well for wrapping fish….tests were performed on pre-issuance “test” copies of the new Hadegel publication so final results will depend on whether they work with the same paper supplier. On a serious note, its not clear that the Rav has formally promoted the new publication and until that is clarified, and the editorial position is confirmed, no reason anyone will switch over.
?As usual, RGP displays either am ha’aratzus OR intentional distortion of the halacha, while insulting those who correctly disagree with him”…..
DY: Why is OR rather than AND…..in most cases he displays BOTH along with some variation of anti-Chabad blather and calling his critics apoikorsim….
In reality, there are so many great Shabbos afternoon meals that can be served cold, there is no reason to bother with a blech, worry about fire hazards, and having to become consult a food chemist regarding whether there is any congealed fat on the chicken or a small piece of uncooked meat in the cholent. Cold salads with room temperature grilled meats or smoked fish make a great lunch.
On a serious note, there has been considerable progress among the frum mosdos I have dealt with in the past several years and they are no longer as dismissive of the concerns of the #meto movement within the obvious constraints of Halacha. There is also some great work being done in girls’ schools and seminaries to provide frum young women with an understanding of how to address issues of abuse, subordination and intolerance both as single women and within the context of marriage and the workplace. While some of our regular trollers get off on trying to play their childish word games with women’s rights, the progress that has been made within broad swaths of the frum tzibur is irreversible.
So perhaps you will change your screen name to RebbitzenMoishiach??
If someone came along with a new shitah brought down from Hilchos Melachim from the Mishneh Torah that moishiach may actually be a woman, you’d immediately claim it was the result of a warped feministic perspective rather than taking a serious look at the analysis
Rebitzen….your mindless arrogance to asset that you know “intuitively” all these universal truths regarding what is allowed or prohibited under your warped notion of Halacha could be equated to kefirah. As to someone pushing back on your jabbering here, most have decided not to waste their time, but an occasional intellectual potch may help you focus. YOU do not dictate how other yidden celebrate shabbosim, yom tovim or otherwise interpret Halacha. We have our own LRP who advises us but please do continue to provide your version of SNL for us.
I’m beginning to suspect the “Rebitzen” is suffering from gender identity issues and in reality, is little Joey, posting from the basement nextdoor under a pseudonym from a neighbor’s computer. Using advanced computerized naarative analytics and forensic tools you will quickly identify common metrics of arrogance, distortions of Halacha, Trumpian twitter-style put downs, and of course, messianic aspirations.
The Rebbizen paskans tha ” just like it is not suitable to wear weekday clothes on shabbos and yom tov, so too once must not serve weekday foods. Pizza is definitely associated with weekday foods, therefore, it isn’t yom tov’dik”…..
So, by that logic (or lack thereof) it should no be assur to eat cholent on Shabbos and yom tov since there is more cholent consumed by bnai torah at Thursday night cholent fests than on Shabbos and cholent has now become a “weekday food”. Some may recall the brogias several years ago when the Batatz tried to shut down the cholent specials that had grown incredibly popular among bochurim in Meah Shearim after the Thursday night seder. Their concern, however, was not that cholent should only be served on Shabbos but rather that the bochurim would hang around stuffing themselves on chulent until the early hours of eruv Shabbos,, a practice that the roshei yeshivos in the area said “causes disturbances in both ruchniyus and gashmiyus.” Resttaurants that failed to comply were at risk of losing their Badatz hashgacha. The restauants’ argument that the bochurim were simply yearning to enjoy a “taste of Shabbos” early were rejected by the Badatz.
edited
There are several instances in the past several years where Christian evangelical/Yidden for Yushka types have shown up in frum neighborhoods wearing Yeshivish/Chassidish lvush and engaging in low key missionary activity. The most gullible are recent BTs but others have fallen for this scam as well. There is a separate news story on YWN today providing more details on the Chicago case. Its totally legal from a civil law perspective but obviously poses real risks
Rebbitzen: So you are offended by a Chabadnik having “people” [aka OTD Yidden] put on tefillin in the middle of street near dog poop and ervah. Gevalt!! This alone is sufficient to keep Moishiach from coming. However, you note that there are other aspects of the work of the Rebbe’s shiluchim that you admire. Perhaps the solution is for you to ride along in the Mitzvahmobile with a scoop and trash bags so you can clean up the immediate area where a chabadnik might coerce a yid into saying v’tzivanu l’haniach tefillin and in an emergency, use the extra trashbags to cover up any women walking nearby whose neckline is a bit too low.
Coffee….Perhaps we should ask you “how long” will it take for you to demonstrate an iota of sechel and realize that both political parties have their nutcases who will use anti-Semitic tropes and rants but it is just in the case of the Republicans where the nutcases who express the real hate and racism have taken control. The Dems are still trying to figure out how to marginalize about a half-dozen lefties who were elected in the past two elections cycles who don’t seem to have any ability to understand the meaning of their words and conflate EY with the terrorists who attack constantly. However, it is mindless to characterize Schumer and Pelosi as anti-Semitic or anti-Israel. Sadly, you seem to lack the ability to make fundamental distinctions between the words of a few and a party representing a broad cross section of America.
As noted, since the Rebbe was niftar, there really is no singular “Chabad Shitah” on issues that pertain to “Zionism” or the appropriate level of recognition/cooperation with the State. Chabad in EY does not check with 770 on day-to-day questions that arise on their relationship with various government agencies or how they react to various policy issues. While others may disagree, the determination of a Chabad shita is considerably more local and decentralized than those of other Chassidus where there currently is a Rav who directs their policies and practices in real time.
The Chabad relationship with the Medinah and Zionism is complex and subject to considerable variation in interpretation from even those within 770. It seems though that the historical firm anti-Zionist position softened somewhat during and after the Shoah when It became apparent that EY was perhaps the only safe haven for yidden who survived. The need for a “state” nominally controlled by yiidden (versus simply living under British control) was driven by the virulently anti-Semitic actions of the British occupation forces who did nothing to protect the growing post-war population of refugees from more frequent Arab attacks . then that we Jews had nowhere to go and we needed a safe haven somewhere. Once the state was established, there was no longer a point to fighting its existence but equally, the rebbe Z”TL accepted .the reality of that millions of Yidden were there and their long-term security and well-being required practical accommodation and support of the State. At the same time, they were not willing to change their fundamental beliefs regarding the notion of the Geulah and remained firmly “anti-Zionist”. Most of their mosdos did not display the Israeli flag, did not sing Hatikvah etc. Even today, you will get very different and often convoluted explanations of exactly how their is no contradiction in simultaneously being “pro-Israel” and “anti-Zionist”.
There is a minhag in some shuls to have TWO talesim……one to wear and the other to periodically lay down on open seats near you to save them for mishpacha that will be arriving later. Some families seem to have a “designated early davener” whose mission is to arrive before baruch she’amar and stretch out the tallis for those who typically don’t show up until shmoneh esreh.
It may be just my own limited experience, but I sense the younger generation, especially in EY is less fixated on parental approval of these “mixed” marriages whether it involve, BTs, different chassidus, litvish/chassidish, or other traditional parameters that tended to “silo” shiduchin within the same family backgrounds. Some of this is the result of more education and travel among this younger generation which has exposed them to a wider range of backgrounds. There is also less hostility and more open and welcoming attitudes within many segments of the tzibur in relation to “outsiders”.
Ignoring Joey’s trolling misogyny, several posts note the real trend among many frum young girls to pursue both a college degree and advanced degree that pushes back marriage a few years. Some do it exclusively for the ability to earn a better parnassah to support their husband and family while others truly want to pursue their own careers in a increasingly wider range of professions. While reliable data are hard to come by, several recent studies have shown the number of frum young women entering law school and medical school have more than doubled in the past decade. Needless to say. this itself is great for the frum tzibur but hopefully will also increase the acceptance of “younger” men realizing how fortunate they would be in connecting with a woman 3 or 4 years “older”. This 3-4 year age gap is really irrelevant in the long term if they otherwise share other values on yiddeshkeit, family timing and size, location and whether the wife will continue working outside the home once the kids are older and a second income is no longer the key factor.
For many yidden, the whole concept of various mosdos “selling segulahs” in the name of Tzadikim promising everything from miracle cures to marriages to resolution of IRS disputes reeks of goiyeshe new age apikorsus. But its a free country and there is no law against scamming some simple minded or desparate yid. I suspect you could find a photo of some “rebbeshe” looking guy from the Alte Heim, create a chassidus under some silly made-up name, and be fairly successful selling segulos online.
Midwesterner: Not sure if you are married or ever had kid, but if by some chance you were and someone asked your wife if she “slept in” every AM, she would probably assume the person posing the question was either clueless or otherwise dysfunctional. Feeding a newborn baby at all hours of the night and early AM, getting many kids up and dressed in the AM, preparing their breakfast and in some cases packing a lunch, and getting themselves dressed and dropping off the kids at school or the bus stop and to work means they are up and about early AM. Most women would love to run off to minyan at 6 AM and leave all the above to their husbands.
Reb Yidd: Many sports fans do BOTH, play and watch. I enjoy both tennis and golf (which generally are more amenable to seniors). Watching the pros, especially golfers, execute their skills on the course on a Sunday tournament, actually enhance challenge of replicating the same shots on the course the following week. Tennis I find a bit less exciting to watch as a spectator. Baseball to me is like watching paint dry.
In posting here in the CR, it is normally the LAST posting that has the opportunity to summarize and provide his/her spin to the consensus position on the issue teed up by the FIRST person; however there can only be one FIRST posting and an infinite number of LAST postings (unless the final posting is so definitive and blows away all other possible views that the MODs decide to close the thread).
Impeachment is a purely political process. Even if Mueller concluded no “collusion” (whatever that means legally), the information in the Mueller Report may provide a sufficient basis, along with other information on the Trumpkopf’s behavior beyond the scope of the Mueller investigation, to constitute
“high crimes and misdemeanors”, which means whatever a majority of the House wants it to mean and they can vote to impeach. As many have noted, virtually impossible to “convict” by 2/3 vote in the Senate so Dems have to decide if the theatrics and visuals of an impeachment process going into 2020 election cycle will help or hurt their candidates. I think it will be a big diversion and hurt but nothing in today’s politics seems to follow historic trends and logic.Joseph’s use of the term “vilda chayos” in professional sports is so typical of his mindless trolling with all sorts of racist tropes. I don’t recall his use of that same term for the behavior of those chareidi fringe elements who attacked security forces during the Peleg demonstrations and literally dozens of incidents of violence against women reported here on YWN over the years. Within moderation, there is no reason that following pro sports is per se a problem any more so than hanging out at Thursday night chulent fest with your chevrah.