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Yittzy:
Its very easy to hire a technical editor to sit by your computer with you all day and proof all your postings so that your will not c’v, waste the time of the ehrliche Coffee Room readers who are truly offended by typos, grammatical errors and wrong syntax. Also, she can help your wife in the kitchen between posts and offer you chizuk when you are offended by something Joseph says.There are many virtual rabbonim available ‘on-line” and will be glad to answer any questions regarding halacha for a modest charge (payable by credit card). And if it is really something important, I’m sure you can call or text your regular rav in Switzerland or Monticello and he will answer you from his vacation villa or bungalow.
Joseph. Thank you for the link. Some of the comments from 7 years ago seem to resonate with some of the the same points as those here…the futility of trying to “rank” gadolim by any objective metric while simultaneously acknowledging there was something unique and likely never to be replicated with those who were able to keep alive and spread the spark of torah -based yiddeshkeit after the shoah.
“It’s not demeaning to our current Gedolim to say THEY”RE NOT AS BIG as the ones from years ago”
I see this comment or equivalent words over and over again on postings in various threads. There are also numerous postings seemingly engaging in Trumpian hyperbole about Gadol A being “bigger than” Gadol B. However, no one ever seems to amplify or clarify such comparisons by clearly stating what metric of “gadlus” they are using and what objective standards form the basis for their conclusion. Obviously this is all subjective and I suspect everyone is working off their own metrics but as has been noted here more than once, there is nothing per se that endows either the tzibur of the alte heim and their rabbonim, askanim or minhagim with inherently greater kedushah than those of today. Its all relative and in that regard, subjective. Its borderline mevazeh talmeidei chachamim to paint with such a broad brush and characterize all of today’s gadolim as inferior to those of pre-War Europe.
The heading for this thread clearly references those gadolim from the alte heim who B’H were able to make it to the U.S. or EY and were the bedrock foundation of the great yeshivos and mosdos we are fortunate enough to have today through their mesiras nefesh. However, there is no need for “comparison” (aka greater than, lesser than etc) of their gadlus. The rabbonim they inspired with their efforts and constitute the leadership of the tzibur today may result in the same comparisons being made the next generation of CR posters (aka yearning for the gadolim of the 2020s and 2030s).
There may be a “moral” obligation for yeshivos to pay their faculty a “living wage” (where that term varies between metropolitan areas} they are ultimately operating in a market environment where supply/demand dictates compensation. If a rebbe cannot earn a parnassah by teaching, he may want to pursue another career or marry a wealthy woman who can support the family. Likewise, we shouldn’t expect our yeshivos to function as a gemach and allow parents to pay substantially less than the actual cost of educating their children. Schools are a business, not a charity and its up to the parents to find supplemental financial assistance if they cannot afford to pay. Otherwise, you are in a downward, unsustainable spiral of schools lacking the funds to hire the best reebaim and morot because they are not recover their costs from all the students, the quality of instruction suffers and the better students leave for schools with better teachers, further worsening the schools’ financial condition.
Border arrests were higher during last year of Obama than first year of Trump.. Numbers are now slightly higher but that includes in part lots of those who are being turned away when s legally seeking asylum but being told to “come back” because there are insufficient resources to “process your request”. Yes, there are some Dems who support increased immigration just as some Repubs want more immigrants to work in their Florida resorts (aka the Trumpkopf)
A yeshiva should charge ALL parents the same tuition which is determined by the allocating the full physical and variable costs of ownership and operating the physical plant, paying all the rebbes, morat , administrative and support staff a living wage. It should be up to the parents to work with various charities to the extent they need financial support. Why is tuition different from rent, food etc. We don’t expect landlords and market owners to price their apartments and cholent based on the income of the leasee or customer. Let schools focus on education and don’t expect them to run a gemach. There are other mosdos who should take on that responsibility.
Dr. E……wouldn’t there still be the issues of “carrying” a 3200 lb vehicle outside of an eruv, if the vehicle independently decided to take a shortcut that went down the wrong street…also, how far are you allowed to travel in such a car on shabbos
I will go back to my original question….there still is too much focus on the dust cover of the book rather than its contents. If wearing clean and well-fitting dark pants, white shirt and kipah allow a bochur to be more comfortable and focus on his lamdus, why is having him “dress up” as if he were living in the alte heim going to enhance the quality and ruchniyus of his shteiging.. Does that mean it would be assur for him to use one of the newer variable height shtenders that go up/down at the press of a button and are made of recycled materials (since those were not found in a beis medrash in the alte heim either)..
How do frum yidden ride on “self driving” (i.e.. computer pre-programmed) Shabbos elevators on shabbos? Why is there any difference if they travel vertically, rather than horizontally, assuming you set aside concerns over t’chum shabbos (which itself may be a fatal flaw of the whole question).
Why do you confuse dress style with kavod hatorah? A yeshiva bochur can be dressed in clean and well-fitting pants and shirt with a kipa and project a considerably more respectful image than some of the guys dressed in rumpled dark suits and smoking etc.
While I’m not sure the Coffee Room was around during the time of the transition from rishonim to the next several millienia of chazal, I’m certain similar nostalgic sentiments were circulated by Slominer’s (aks Joseph’s) ancestors
The doormen at some buildings on the upper west side make good $$ moving cars around on alternate side parking days for people who leave for work early or cannot come home mid-day. Most gaaboim don’t have the time to shuttle cars outside the shul edited
Perhaps because such a large percentage of the frum tzibur have committed THEIR lives to giving musar to the rest of us as to how we should live OUR lives to be zoche for the geulah and z’man moichiach. As others have noted, its NOT as simple as the heilege armchair rabbonim in the CR lecturing women about their lack of tizinius or dozens of sponsored video clips of chashuvah rabbonim and askanim adomishing the tzibur about “talking in shul” or the 114th asiah screaming gevalt about the dangers of the internet and smartphones. Ultimately, it is each of us looking inside our souls as we approach the yamim noraim and finding sustainable ways of improving our own midos across the board and reaching out with ahavas yisroel to help just one other yid in a non-judgemental way to come closer to the Ebeshter. Not all that complicated and more likely than some of the more high visibility and higher amplified strategies noted above.
Edited! How do you ask for ahavas yisroel and degrade others in the same post?
The reasons why a duly designated “law enforcement” officer, not just “police” may seize a vehicle or any other item of personal property are to lengthy to list here in a single posting. The laws vary between federal and state jurisdictions, and even within a single state, some local jurisdictions may have statutes authorizing seizure for reasons ranging from unpaid debt, the property being used in connection with a crime or have some evidentiary “materiality” in connection with a crime. The Federal rules authorizing seizure on among the most aggressive and are the subject of multiple lawsuits and have changed only modestly (as police in some state and local jurisdictions claimed that such property grabs provide a large percentage of their revenues).
I would submit that if the Hatzalah members came upon the yinglach engaged in radio transmissions that were disrupting emergency communications, they should have confiscated the radios on the spot. No court would have found them to have violated any laws. At a minimum, they should have confiscated the radios and given them to the parents with a warning about the ramifications and possible criminal liability. I’ve assumed everyone would know about the risks and FCC rules but maybe not.
More generally, I’m worried about how the growth in certain technologies, whether these cheap radios or drone aircraft, in the hands of kids or irresponsible adults, poses increased threats to public safety and how the laws have lagged behind the growth of such technologies.Ice Melter
What does that have to do with the fact that hundreds of thousand of frum yidden visit Disney World every year and want to find a place to eat with good food and hashgacha. My golf-club also didn’t allow yidden on the course until the late 1960s. Does that mean I should spit on the first tee every time I play?
There are many MO in the Park Heights/Greenspring area including one of my kids and their family. Driving up to them from the Baltimore beltway, it seems there are multiple frum modos including a beautiful Beis Yakov campus etc. While the grandkids attend an MO dayschool, the family davens at a local Chabad shul that is very close to their home where they are welcomed. As others have said, Baltimore seems to be a very tolerant, non-judgmental community
The Kosher Grill on International Drive in Orlando serves really good food, offers lots of healthy low-fat options and salads, and has a good hashgacha with chassideshe shechita. It also has a nice ambience and a good choice for a “nice” dinner with the kids after schlepping around all day in the park.
Are you trolling or simply confused? As a resident anti-Trumpkopf, I can assure you the YWN editorial Staff certainly are not promoting a leftist, Trump hating agenda. I personally would like to see more frequent articles addressing some of the Trumpkopf’s mindless and egotistical actions that seemingly treat the world as some kind of reality show. However, there certainly is no anti-Trump bias reflected in the editorial coverage.
In addition to several excellent Jewish Genealogy services that do excellent online research at surprisingly affordable costs, its also useful to obtain a report from one of the three major DNA testing services that will provide a reasonably accurate profile of the geographic and racial typing of your family line. I’m aware of several litivish friends who discovered some really “un-litvish” DNA types in their family histories.
Some of the Costco stores carry kosher meats from another supplier called Tomer. While I think Solomon’s is glatt, the Tomer products carry a triangle K hashgacha which I don’t think is considered glatt by most frum yidden. I’ve also seen Tomer products at some Wegman’s stores in jewish neighborhoods, so thats usually a sign of good quality. I’ve also heard that some of the schlachthouses are encountering a labor shortage because of difficulties in getting temporary work visas for the Hispanic workers.
I’m sure that you can bring down many interesting inyanim from chazal as to how to organize one’s financial planning but there is no single directive that applies to all circumstances. As to our not “having control over what we earn” that is also clearly a silly concept since in today’s world, there is a direct correlation between education and earnings (although there are exceptions). Borrowing money with no means of repayment is also a foolish idea since there is no greater fool who will lend money to a destitute person with no assets or income. Ultimately one can apply some notion of hashgacha paratis and fall back on the notion that no amount of financial planning makes sense since everything in life is “predetermined” but that means you make no effort to live a rational and healthy lifestyle consistentwith daas torah since in the end, “it doesn’t matter”.
The reality is that a large percentage of divorces in the frum tzibur have nothing to do with “abuse” but simply reflect a greater acceptance of the reality that two people may not be emotionally suited for one another. While there is still a stigma on divorce, its not anything near what it was 10 or 20 years ago. There are frum websites and singles functions that are focused an older crowd. Friends may be aware of others in your situation and be willing to put you in touch. Your local rav/rebitzen and members of the family may also be willing to serve as an intermediary. But as others have noted, you have to be your own “shadchan” and take steps to get out in public and make people aware you are seeking to meet someone. They will not magically show up at your door.
Why do we assume all “moving violations” are a scam and wrongfully issued. While lawyers pride themselves in getting you off with minimal fines and points, consider how often we read here of tragedies resulting from failure to stop for a school bus,, driving in bike lanes, failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk etc. Contrary to popular belief, the traffic laws have a purpose other than raising revenues for the City Treasury.
We are supposed to take care of ourselves and our families. If you are fortunate enough to have inherited considerable wealth or have worked hard and earn a good parnassah than saving for the future is not such a priority. For most of us, however, a rational balance of spending with some put aside and invested for the longer term is a reality unless we want to become a burden to our children or live or beg for tzedakah when we are older.
Plastic shopping bags are one of the worst forms of trash in our waterways and landfills. Its costs billions of dollars a year globally to clean up as well as the deaths to sea animals, birds, etc. A small tax has been shown to reduce this litter (although will not eliminate it). Even a modest reduction in this form of pollution is worth it. If you don’t want to pay the tax, bring your own bags.The supreme court has affirmed on multiple occasions the taxing authority of state and local governments to achieve their own policy objectives.
Baalhabooze:
How did you get your kids to eat gefilte fish and not regular fish?? My kids turnedup their noses at most fish, but gefilte fish merited a speical “yuuuchhh”. Somehow, they developed an (expensive) taste for sushi but still won’t eat most grilled or fried fish. I agree with several of the posts above that forcing kids to even “try” foods they push away is the best way to turn them off on those healthy foods. Ultimately, they will try stuff on their own (typically when with their peers) and come home and announce they like XYZ which you’ve been trying to get them to eat for years.. Minimizing the junk food options around the house is also a good idea.
Why not assur everything that could remotely be used, directly or indirectly, in committing avieros. Those who mindlessly speak about assuring automobiles, electric-powered devices, and other forms of modern technology obviously have concluded the Ebeshter made a mistake when giving us the sechel to transform technology and improve the quality of our lives. Would the Steipler, Z’L, have preferred a woman with 5 yinglach to get to cheder drive them in a horse drawn cart down 13th avenue (rather than her minivan)? We have seen too many videos of chashuve rabbonim and even gadolei h’dor flying on private jets, being treated in hospitals that rely on the internet for medical knowledge and information sharing etc. to accept these recyled arguments against using modern technology.
You can seek the intercession of a tzadik without physically being in proximity to their kever. such physical proximity may provide someone who is davening with an extra degree of kavanah but the Ebeshter will hear your tefillah wherever you are located. He doesn’t need to check a GPS to be certain you are standing next to the correct matzavah.
Perhaps having the “smell” of new teffillin with you is a positive and removing it will have negative vibes….
In about 2 weeks, you can light up a joint legally in Canada (with a few locational exceptions). Check out the share prices on the 3 largest publicly traded Canadian cannabis companies traded…they are up an average of 80 percent this year.
The phrase “working boy” is itself offensive. Throughout our history, men have taken responsibility to live a balanced life that allows them to support their families while engaging in limudei kodesh. It was only the rare exception who was such an outstanding learner that he was encouraged to shteig 24×7 and his wife and their respective families would support them. Today, we have normalized the notion that virtually all bochurim should learn full time with their wives having to earn some money for their parnassah as well as raise increasingly large families. The opportunity to find a “working boy” shidduch who will care for you and your children should be the ideal, not something you “settle for” . To the extent a young woman expects to support her husband while he learns full time, she should take a few years to acquire education and job skills so she can earn a professional salary while working part-time and not have to spend most of her day at minimum wage jobs while she also has children at home who need her attention.
CTL and CTR could very well could very well be related but someone here in the CR should volunteer to collect digital DNA from both so a firm identification could be confirmed
The underlying sentiment of the article is that this community is pursuing their religious beliefs bu sending the “bill” to ALL the taxpayers. The implicit argument (which was probably not meant to be “anti-semitic”) is that you enjoy the freedom to pursue your religious beliefs but don’t have more kids than you can afford to support and in any event, get a job and pay your own way. We’ve heard that same set of arguments here on YWN and other jewish media outlets.
Zahavasad makes some excellent points. At a time when seemingly every Rebbelah wants to be a “Rosh yeshiva” and there are a proliferation of mosdos with almot identical names, it is quite likely that few even have heard of the kollel you are referencing or may be conusing it with half a dozen others wih similiar names. You don’t even provide the location or formal name. Further, a helpful, albeit truthful assesment could invovle lashon harah (aka the Rav is not an effective teacher, the students are not real masmidim, the facilities are a fire trap, etc.). overall, i you plan to spend much time learning somewhere, it would be foolish not to visit the yeshiva, spend at least a day (or a few days if you are flying over to EY) observing the learning, experience the ruach and talk with the talmidim . Would you even consider going to a secular college without visiting the campus? Well, the same applies to a yeshiva.. Relying on the “experts” here in the CR is malpractice What may have been a great experiene for someone here in the CR may be based on personal experiences 5, 10 or even 20 years ago, something they heard from a friend or relative and what may be positve for one may be not be so good for another. And yes, there can be bad yeshiva if the test of “good” or “bad” is what kind of learning experience it will provide for a particular bochur
There is no reason that public policy issuescannot be debated in a frum media outlet (print or online) without crossing some imaginary halachic line. There are certain terms and ways of saying things that might be better left for the secular media and perhaps direct personal attacks on chashuve rabbonim and askain may need to be toned down (as the Mods here remind us frequently) but otherwise, political pand pulbic policy issues, accusations of of wrongdoing etc. that affect the frum tizbur need MORE coverage rather than less.
Find a respected rav (or rebbitzen if that makes a woman more comfortable) with some professional training in counseling, domestic relations and family matters. As others have noted, we are fortunate today to have many rabbonim and rebbitzens with professional training and who are qualified to provide advice informed by daas torah. Trying to get an appointment with some chashuve rebbe and convey the facts of your situation in 5-15 minutes and obtain meaningful advice is a joke.
It is foolish to dismiss the guidance of all professional marriage counselors or psychologists just as it would be foolish to unequivocally accept the guidance of any older talmid chacham as to whether to stay in a dysfunctional marriage. Ideally, the advice of both could be helpful but ultimately each of the parties needs to make their own decision based on what is best for them (and their children, if relevant). CTL offers some very cogent thoughts on the issue and how in some cases, the courts will accept the counseling efforts of a Rav, even one lacking in counseling “credentials”.
In the alte heim, they never worried about kosher for shabbos elevators, shabbos friendly refrigerators/freezers and dozens of innovations they have evolved to serve a need, albeit not necessary accepted by all segments fo the tzibur. I was obviously being a bit sarcastic about hard copy seforim being displaced entirely by electronic devices but there is probably some frum geek in Palo Alto or Silicon Wadi (the high tech center outside Tel Aviv) who is researching a virtual reality tech solution where you could wear special kosher of shabbos eyeglasses that would read your thoughts and know exactly where in the davening you were and project the visual on your lens. Don’t try to forecast the boundary between technology and halacha….those who try typically lose or move to meah shearrim and live in a cave.
When our kids were growing up, we would make a point of inviting one of their friends to spend Shabbos with us at least once a month. Somehow, that was enough to keep them engaged at the table for a bit longer than just eating with the “same ole family”.
To TakahMamash
In the section of Mishnah Berurah where we learn that someone who knows that he will not be having wine or any other beverage or challah over which to make Kiddush on shabbos, may eat dinner without saying kiddush, chazal also bring down the more general rule that if one is in doubt about whether certain foods are sufficiently “shabbosdik”, one should consult his local rav or as a last resort, rely upon the psak of DaasYochid. Mishnah Berurah 289:10.The bottom line is the world is changing rapidly to an exclusively electronic/online mode of communications and commercial interaction. Paper documents and cash will be stuff you see in a museum. You will need a smart phone for basic life functions from purchasing a container of milk, reviewing resumes from a shadchan, making an airline reservation, paying the bus-fare or communicating with first responders. Hard copy printed seforim will be phased out and electronic versions on tablets will take their place. Its time to begin educating our children ho to use a smart phone responsibly rather than making believe they will be able to function without one indefinitely.
The issue for many is one of the optics of seeing these massive celebrations with their perceived astronomical costs in juxtaposition with pleas for tzedakah by mosdos associated with the same chassidus. The same shekels that pay for the simchas are fungible with funds desperately needed to pay for so many other needs. Some will say the simchas are paid for by wealthy chassidim of the rebbe and absent the Simcha, they wouldn’t give the same funding to the rebbe’s mosdos.
There is no inyan of NOT giving to any tzedakah that links such giving to some segulah….its both the proliferation of such solicitations over the internet and in posters on utility poles, leaflets left in shuls and batei medrahsim etc. AND the questionable use of the names/images of gadolim that are the problems. Calling such skepticism and invocations of need for diligence apikorsus is a mindless claim. Caveat emptor, even with respect to segulos. When you read about some mekubal flying over from EY and marketing segulos and taking appointments in advance for a 5 minute audience (guaranteed by your Visa card) put your hand on your wallet and block the sender on your email.
Then go for the one with the best valuation and growth opportunities and least likelihood of being “Trumped” either in terms of breakup or limits on its business model. …P.S. its also now being called FAAANN, with the extra “N” for Nevidia which is the largest and fastest growing provider of chipsets for mobile devices, AI and VR
Why is it that in most shuls, there is ONE regular whose voice rises above all others (including the baal tefillah) and somehow manages to have the worst pronunciation and cadence for the ivrit and also manages to mangle the melody of the local nusach. Its the heimeshe version of that great commercial picturing an artic landscape with tens of thousand of identical penguins with ONE having a bubble over its head singing out of tune, “I wanna be ME!!!!”