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There are muni bonds with high ratings with minimal default risk….also cettain high grade corporate bonds and preferred shares depending on your risk tolerance….these may get you up to a 3-4 percent return: anything more than that probably has more risk than you should be taking.
To Meno: I just have to ask….what made you think about starting a thread on this somewhat arcane question that is relevant maybe 10 times a year (given the typically a few days rosh chodesh may be on Shabbos)
For many, the most frequent “adjustment’ is that the shel rosh doesn’t “fit correctly” for those whose physical dimensions have grown substantially from their bar mitzvah. I agree entirely with the insanity of paying seveal hundred dollars for a Calabrian esrog, an equally large sum for an “Egyptian Talis” (which in all likelihood may come from one of several countries where shatnes continues to be a problem) but still “KARGING” for a few dollar discount on an already “low-end” set of tfillin.
Obviously depends on several factors. First and most obvious, a big difference if you daven with tallis/tfillin daily (x/Shabbos/yom tov), replacement will be more frequent than someone who is less frum. For YWN readers, who most likely are the “daily” users, a second factor is simply your own personal habits in putting on talis/tfillin. The reality is some of us are simply “harder” users and put stress on the materials than others in the ways we put on/take off. Third, climate and storage make a big difference (dar/dry cool versus sunlight and UV/ high humidity/high temperature). Finally, the quality of the materials and workmanship in the original tallis/tfillin is a big factor. Even though “kosher”, there is a big difference in the range of products that are sold.
To Joe…
Good question…if you select one of the “slower” delivery options, DHL and FedExp can be quite competitive with many of these smaller shippers and considerably more reliable. Much depends on the value of the seforim being shipped and how quickly they are needed. If you are shipping a small library of “commodity” seforim (i.e. readily available seforim at any Judaica store on online) than perhaps some of these local shippers are fine. If these seforim have any rarity value, have special significance (limited editions, written notes from an author, etc). than I would spend a few dollars more for the peace of mind of a major shipper with real time tracking (which many smaller shippers lack).In virtually every shul today, a Rav is hired under a contract for a prescribed period and can be renewed by mutual agreement. A Rav who has shown a lack of ability to communicate with the tzibur, has engaged in appropriate behavior etc. will NOT be rehired no matter how many citations he can bring down from chazal. Same for a chazan whose son is tone deaf.
There are religions whose core beliefs include the notion that certain individuals are “born” into a divine leadership role (not necessarily tied to intellect)…Buddhist monks spend years searching for a child among millions of children who is somehow determined to be a reincarnation of the prior spiritual leader….fortunately, we don’t have that masorah although some chassidus follow the father-to-son line of succession model rather than a meritocracy model. Not sure how to characterize the model where 100+ galachim get locked into a room at the Vatican and send smoke signals once they cut a deal that seems more political than spiritual….our gadolim and multiple gadolei hador are a unique model
You guys can spout your views of halacha with a gazillion cites to maseches gitten as to the prescribed outcomes. In the real world, where at least some of us live, a couple will consult with the rav and other professionals and pursue the path that works for them. Hopefully, they will find a way of staying together, but as the majority of posters have noted, sometimes a point is reached where the marriage must end. Generally, a beis din will find a way in those cases for a get to be issued so that both can move on in their lives and the children are not living in a combat zone. Where that is not possible, there are sadly a growing number of cases where couples simply move apart and live single lives w/o a get and in some cases, simply rely upon civil divorce understanding the consequences from a halachic perspective.
To GoTrumpkopf
We marry hoping to thrive with one another and to have the yichus of a bais neaman b’yisroel. Not everyone has that mazel and unless you are deliberately trolling, you will recognize that there are circumstances where a couple, in consultation with their rav and counselors conclude it must be ended. If you want to sit there and make these mindless generalizations, don’t expect an intelligent response…
P.S. All caps are disrespectful to the CR participants
JJ2020
Easier said than done…..how many times have you heard a candidate for elective office whose spiel went something like “who could ever have dreamed that some poishete yid from such a poor family with so little yichus would end up as the 3rd vice president of this legendary shtieblach…”There was a great Willie Nelson song (or was it Lipa) whose title was something along the lines of “Mothers, don’t let your son grow up to be a gadol”…
From personal experience, I can vouch for the fact that my parents had zero expectations as to where I (or my siblings) would end up beyond “being a mentech”, having a love of torah and yiddeshkeit and never losing your sense of humor. I’m not sure that formula needs much tinkering and the rest will work out as it willWhen I grew up, the boys generally wore various kinds of caps (like the ones all the goyim wore in the movies from the 1930s and 40s) outside of yeshiva. Today, its either yamulkes or baseball hats. Back then I recall there was considerably greater concern about “standing out” whereas b’h today’s yeshiva and day school kids (not black hatters) wear their yarmulkes with no concern
If he doesn’t want to invest the time in being the baal koreh, you might consider having him appointed the gabbai shlishi who stands on the bimah and does the me sh’berachs during the kriah….its known to be difficult to do a me sh’berach (including getting the Hebrew names straight from those with aliyos) while in the horizontal position and/or vertical but snoring
Read the brief kol koreh issued earlier today about these Peleg demonstrations and posted in the YWN nes section and then carefully read the list of gadoley yisroel who signed it.
Lets not make this a debate over the legitimacy of the Israeli government (aka “the medina”)….there are probably several dozen threads on that issue. Assuming both sides have to liver together and accept the others’ existence in the context of a democratic state with authority determined through elections while preserving individual rights to express disagreement on policy issues such as the draft, than there has to be some lines drawn or there is anarchy….for those who assert the words of a daas yachid on one side trump the rights of the other side and they must simply “submit”, the answer will be a strong, forceful and unequivocal “NO, we will not” and the State will beat the anarchists (figuratively and hopefully not literally) into submission.
There are several beis dins around the U.S (I’m not familiar with those in EY) that “consult” with frum lawyers on the civil/criminal law consequences of their din torahs as ONE factor among many that they take into consideration. Thousands of frum mosdos in the United States have retained secular lawyers to handle their most routine matters (leases, employment contacts, tax status, insurance, etc) but ALSO adversarial matters that require resort to civil court litigation since a beis din is not a practical option. In the non-frum world, the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) options, arbitration, mediation etc. are widespread and numerically outnumber the cases that actually end up in court. However, even such heilege rabbonim as the Satmar brothers have led the way in demonstrating that there is a time and need for frum lawyers and civilian courts when, “a beis din simply will not do”.
Joe’s trolling on the halacha governing gitten indirectly provide an inyan of mussar that warrants repetition: No person, man or woman, ever wants to feel “powerless’ in any relationship. We can intellectually understand the spiritual concepts that the Ebeshter created men and women with different strengths and roles which in turn have been translated by chazal into different “rights” and “obligations”. However, as real people, we also have our own perceived need for personal empowerment and respect. When one partner in a marriage asserts “dominance” over the other through flaunting of their “rights” under halacha, that is toxic for a relationship, even if accurate from the perspective of someone who can readily quote daf/amud from maseches gitten.
Without debating the merits of going into a church, it is my experience that goyim generally tend to be considerably more respectful (in terms of not engaging in any chatter) during their services….there have even been postings here about conservative/reform not speaking so much but again, that will drag us into a debate if that’s the same (or worse) than going into a church.
To MTAB:
“But now the Israeli government, having conquered the Arabs, is coming after the Charedim with their draft into their secular brainwashing machine”
If that is your true belief, than we will likely have to wait for z’man moishiach to see if your relentless paranoia and sinas chinam propelled you into olam haboh….the views of a large percentage of frum yidden go counter to yours and when we look for you at the YWN booth in olam haboh, you will be nowhere to be seen. Such a dark and evil view of the medinah is worse than anything R Aurbach could possibly conjure up.Even a frum shul normally has a box of yarmulkes by the door for “guests” (typically of a baal simcha) who may either be Reform or non-frum) who either don’t have or who have forgotten a “kipa”. I rarely see it in smaller shtieblach since the guests of the baal simchas are heimish and will have a hat or kipa. I rarely see a regular at the shul criticize or shame someone who walks in w/o a yarmulke.
To G’chuchum
Probably not since its considered a breach of protocol to talk during the l’chaims during the KK…staying awake is not normally a problem at our shul since the gabbai sheini typically comes in to the KK sessions in the small beis medrash to drag the mispallalim back to the shul for muafDo you mean “snoring loudly: or “schnuring loudly” during the mi’ shebarachs….the latter is especially inappropriate since there are many rabbonim holding that fundraising is one of the subsets of the 39 malachos that are assur on shabbosi
Moving the Kiddush back to after musaf (rather than the “club”during the kiriah or the rav’s dvar where it belongs poses a separate risk because the drinkers also happen to be the more prolific and loudest talkers…the only “good” thing about a “vasikim Kiddush club” is that it draws these loudmouths out of the shul earlier in the deveningso the rest of us can hear the baal koreh and rav w/o the gabbai having to clop on the bimah every 2-3 minutes..
Joe asks….”Are you in a rush to get back to work after shul on Shabbos?”
No…actually its the problem of getting a tee time if the early minyan drags on much past 9:30 Am since after 10, the course is opened to the public.
Seriously though, its quite possible to do a respectable davening on an ordinary Shabbos AM (not Shabbos rosh chodesh, parshas Nasso or the rebbe’s son’s aufruf) with kavanah in 90 minutes or 2 hours max…most yidden are fortunate enough to have several minyanim to choose from so they can find one that davens with a rhythm that matches their needs….as to the challenges posed by a “slow” baal koreh, its usually resolved by getting other daveners to volunteer to do the kariah (aka tell the gabbi its your bar mitzvah parasha etc.).To Little I KNow
You paint a considerably more dire picture of dealing with a BD on matters of gittin….based on my personal experience with friends and family, the issues you cite are real but every get is not a yiddeshe version of the “War of the Roses”…a good beis din is frequently able to defuse some of the vitriol and force both side to accept a settlement that is to the liking of neither. The perception that most beis dins are biased in favor of the husband was true for many years but B’h is no longer the norm, but the execption.Tom Dick Harry
Its not daas torah …its the daas of ONE misguided yachid who we cannot name openly for some reason, assuming he is truly the one promoting these protests. If not, he should come out and make clear the difference between legitimate policy differences and anarchy.It the large percentage of cases, both parties work to find ways to make a bad marriage “better” and try to avoid divorce. When after counseling, there are still serious issues, especially in cases of emotional or physical abuse (most often from the husband but also can go in the other direction) a get will be necessary. Fortunately, there are options available today to limit the extent to which either side in a divorce can withhold consent to extort economic gains or to limit access to the children. We are very fortunate that most beis dins have become very aggressive in assuring that the rights of both sides in the divorce are protecting and using a variety of means to discourage extortion by withholding a get.
To Little I Know…
Very well said….as long as the 95+% of the chareidi tzibur and gadolei yisroel choose to remain silent about this ongoing chilul hashem of the Peleg hoodlums, this will sadly continue and worsen. Aside from some indirect and vague comments such as those published here in the letter from Rav Kanievsky, shlita, the silence is deafening.
Given that the majority of frum yidden living in the U.S. are going to require the services of a lawyer for basic contractual matters, (mortgages, living will directives, tax problems, etc , it is preferable to have a frum attorney who can take into consideration some of the unique issues a goy would not have to worry about. As to judges and prosecutors, its is unfortunate that too many yidden end up in the criminal justice system so having frum judges and prosecutors will also be a positive factor since they can educate other members of the criminal justice system as to our special needs (e.g. trial schedules that take into account shabbosim and yom tovim).
If these locations are truly not under the same ownership, its probably for the same reason that there are 11 “Vinnies” original pizza places listed in Manhattan…unless you are big enough to litigate, the cost of claiming trademark protection for a popular name is prohibitive. Probably easier to get relief through a din torah than civil court order since the rav hamachshir would have to follow the decision of a beis din.
Much of the debate seems to be ignoring the longer term effects of these demonstrations on the growing social divide between the Chareidi tzibur and the rest of the tzibur in EY. Perhaps they really don’t care about the price they and their families will pay for this ongoing chilul hashem.
Hey Joe….your peleg chevrah (at least 123 of them at last count) are rotting in at least 4 separate jails in EY this shabbos….maybe make a m’sheberach for them tomorrow am. There is also a partial listing of names in the news section of YWN so you can also begin soliciting donations for a legal defense fund. Have you heard about crowdsourcing? The good news is that a large percentage of Israelis who have been tolerant of these disruptions until now seemed to have reached a breaking point and there is growing sentiment in favor of brute force to squash them and the “gadolim” you claim have inspired their actions. Hopefully your shabbos will not be as mieserable as it will be for thsoe 123 hellege yungerleit
“divorce is USUALLY worse than a problematic marriage”
For a change, Joe has a valid point with the noted caveat. For many years, women in really bad and borderline abusive relationships “held on” for the sake of the kids or in prior generations, simply because of the lack of an economically viable alternative. B”h today, women have both the economic option of leaving an abusive relationship and support from their rabbonim and local mosdos if that is their choice. Clearly, tyring to work through a “problematic” relationship is preferable but if that is a code word for abuse, than leaving is without a doubt the right path.
“Your local Orthodox Rabbi is probably not the GadolHador, so there probably are questions that he wouldn’t be qualified to answer, but a GadolHador would be”
Well stated Lilmod…..I’ll try to answer your questions on any subject….
The prescriptive “should” applies equally to adhering the advice of my rav when opining on matters of halacha and adhering to the advice of a respected physician on matters of medical care etc….the point is obvious. I don’t ask my doctor to paskan on arba minim nor do I ask my rav to paskin on my EKG. I “may” accept the Rav’s advice if he has good eitzah on meditation/relaxation techniques to lower my blood pressure or the name of one of the daveners who might get me in to see a cardiac specialist at Hopkins w/o a 3 month wait.
To Avram
That was my point…in many cases, especially for younger men and women, a Rav/Rebbitzen may be the best person to START with since he/she has probably had to deal with just about any problem you may be confronted with and will have a network of contacts in subject matter fields (medicine, law, finance, employment etc.) which will provide you with a good start…certainly a much better referral service than the yellow pages or the internet. However, over time and with maturity, we learn to do our own due diligence and can bypass the Rav and seek guidance directly from subject matter experts. Obviously, some issues with have some aspect of halacha which might usefully involve a parallel consultation with your LRP.
TO JJ2020…well said…a big part of the process of maturing in our emunah and hashkafah, we need to develop the ability to know when to rely on the advice of a rav and when that advice needs to be supplemented with advice from subject matter experts or to rely entirely on those experts. In some cases, your local rav may be able to refer you to such an outside expert from prior experience. While there may be some inmature yungerleit who consult with their rebbe about whether they need to make an “asher yatzar”, as they mature, there is hopefully a transition in knowing what questions truly warrant input from a rav and when outside expertise is needed and appropriate.
Perhaps yidden need to setp back, take responsibility for their own lives and seek advice from whoever is best qualified to offer such help. In many cases involving halacaha, a rav may be well-positioned to provide needed guidance but on most matters of personal well being, family relationships, financial health, jobs and education, the decision will go well beyond Halacha and the advice or real experts in the subject matter should be relied upon.
65 posts later, no one has provided any direct evidence that R’ Aurbach condones, or supports having these thugs go out and disrupt the lives of yidden or engage in violence. Today, there was a report whose accuracy cannot be verified that the police were going to demand he show up for questioning but decided not to for lack of direct evidence linking him to the violence…..the definition of “gadlus” doesn’t extend to someone openly and explicitly encouraging his talmidim to engage in this kind of mindless behavior. There is big difference between opposition to the draft and promoting this kind of chillul hashem.
“We daven multple times daily for the return of many mitzvos that we dont fullfil lfor one reason or other”
I wonder how many of those ehrliche yidden davening for the opportunity to be mekayem ” more mitzvos that they don’t fulfill for one reason or other” are already being mekayem 100% of the ones they can.
Yes Joe….its a bunch of us mindless YWN posters v. a Rav who expressed an opinion where Yidden should choose to live decades ago based on the sociological, locational options and economic realities at that time. If you think it is apikorsus for a young couple not wanting to raise their family in a high density, congested, noisy and high pollution level neighborhood packed with “Josephs”, than I guess we have a whole generation of apikorosim spreading their “suburban hashkafah” throughout the country.
Joseph….your mindless effort to justify this disgusting behavior and disruption in the lives of hundreds of thousands of yidden who struggle every day to get back and forth to work and davening, shuttle the kids to and from school etc. demonstrates a scary detachment from reality. Do you believe Rabbi Aurbach really instructed them to create such chaos in the lives of the klal?? Its fine to demonstrate but the minute you obstruct the rights of others, you open yourself to being run over, literally and figuratively. Assuming Rabbi Aurbach has “control” over these demonstrations, he should reconsider his instructions before we wake up one morning and read about the deaths or serious injuries among these thugs. While other rabbonim have expressed strong opposition to the mandatory draft registration, NONE has promoted this kind of disruption.
Yes, Joe. The same Rav Moshe Tendler shlita who apparently doesn’t seem to be among your favorite rabbonim but otherwise is one of the most highly respected talmedei chachamim of our generation along with being an expert in many areas of applied biological sciences and bioethics…but I guess you don’t hold by those who have respect for him either. As to his disagreement with his father-in-law, those stories are both legendary and frequently overstated.
Joseph….I guess you don’t recognize satire unless its labeled clearly as such….lighten up…my point was we stereotype folks on an equal opportunity basis…if there was some empirical studies undertaken, we’d probably find that frum yidden may actually be more timely in removing their succahs (hopefully not from their fire escapes) than my erliche goyish neighbor who has to climb up on the roof to remove the X’mas lights…I’ll not bother responding to your incessant hocking about my anti-frum, anti-Semitic anti everything yiddeshkeit postings.
To Yekke22
“Please do not compare a Kiyyum Mitzvah (probably d’oiraisah) [as in 2AM havdalah] to a lazy goy who cannot be bothered taking down his decorations…..Perhaps consider a reference to a goy without the pejorative adjective….it will make you a happier person. The point being that we have as many “lazy” yidden who don’t take down their succah until tu
bshvat which I can assure you is NOT kiyyum mitzvah–either d’oiraisah or d’rabbonon….On late Shabbos, the large percentage of yidden make havdalah reasonably close to the z’man simply because they have lives and obligations for family, work etc. If you have the luxury of not having such obligations, then its a real luxury to be able to relish Shabbos kodesh for a few addtitional hours.We regularly ship cartons of documents to and from EY using both FedExp and DHL and have found the service to be both reliable, timely and cost-effective. DHL is currently slightly lower cost than FedExp also generally faster. However both are a lot more reliable than a bunch of the smaller, independent shippers who claim to offer “discounted” service. The latter are especially risky with respect to getting items cleared through customs at both ends. If these are important and valuable seforim, than I’d say go with a larger shipper. If these are lower cost/ “commodity” type seforim, it may simply be easier to purchase new or used copies back in the U.S.
In reading through some of the prolific online literature on the issue (BTW this subject is a great argument as to the value of the internet for limudei kodesh), I learned that Rav Tendler,shlita, the son-in-law of Rav Moshe, Z’TL has actually researched the issue and was ultimately supportive of Radziner Techelet as the “real deal”. Of all those who opine on the subject, I would suggest he is among the few really having the technical expertise to make such a claim (although as is his practice, does not asset that it is a chiyuv that must be adopted by all yidden) .
There are “frum” people and there are “frum” people…..not all frum tziburs are created equally and the degrees of tolerance (and intolerance) vary widely. Its not just an MO vs. Chareidi issue….Rav Miller was right but for the wrong reasons. The point being that many frum yidden really do want to escape from a ghetto where they are unhappy with their interactions with the local frum community and “escape” to another frum community where they find more tolerance, diversity and a higher quality of life. This mindless notion that being packed together with other yidden at higher densities and fewer amenities will bring a yid closer to hashem and create a more pure hashkafah simply doesn’t work for a growing number of yidden, especially younger couples looking to grow a family.
Just as some chassidim don’t make Havdalah until 2AM to hold on to the feel and kedushah of Shabbos as long as possible some eat their meals in the succah until the second week of chevshan to get more mileage out of all the work they invested motzi yom kippur getting it built…sort of like your goyishe neighbor who leaves the X’mas lights up until mid-February
Shlugging kaporos with live chickens is not a mitzvas aseh mi’doraisah any more than throwing apples at the Rebbe’s tisch or beating the guy in front of you with arovos if he stops suddenly during hakafos……the point being that we we neither disparage or vilify other yidden for their idiosyncratic minhagim or the particular way they choose to practice a mitzvas aseh (per the instructions from their LRP)…tolerance and respect go a long way towards achdus at a time the “A'” word is taking a terrible beating in so many other areas of our lives.