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Firstly, I don’t know the basis of the minhag. But I did see in a sefer regarding the Oberlander city of Serdahel (not Chasidic)that the gabbaim (not the Rav) would toss apples into the shul from the attic window that opened into the shul. As I said, I don’t know the reason for it.
Secondly, there are many instances where minhag contravenes apparent halacha. For example, in Oberland cities on Simchas Torah, the Kohanim during Nesiyas Kapayim at Shachris sang 3 different songs (although now-a-days most shuls don’t sing at all). This was the minhag in Pressburg as well during the times of the Chasam Sofer. Yet see Mishnah Berura on the subject (don’t have the sefer with me now).
Lastly, regarding throwing food, nobody seems to mention that food is also thrown in almost every shul when there is a chassan’s bavarfen/aufruf. In fact, my Rav once spoke about it and indicated that although there is the accepted minhag for women to throw the candies at the chassan, there is no similar minhag for men or boys to do it. Therefore he indicated that it would seem to be assur for men and boys to throw candies/food at the chassan, although many men/boys do it anyway.
Talking about hishtadlus and emunah, I am still trying to confirm this but someone just told me that a Lubavitcher with a large family who works as a mashgiach at a Lakewood restaurant won the Mega’s 165 million. Can’t say for sure that its true, though. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
Mods, I hope this is permitted. Reb Yitzchok Aron Fischer is in Monsey.
Some people use their pointer finger because of “etzba Elokim hu”.
By the way, other minhag differences (I think) may be that Yekkes are not makpid to have the chuppa under the stars and will also march the chosson/kallah to the chuppa mother/father and mother/father. In oberland, if an oberlander yid would do that, the Rav would refuse to be mesader kiddushin. It had to be mother/mother and father/father. I don’t think an oberlander would make a chuppa in a shul either. If my memory serves me right, that was one of the tekanos that had been instituted by the Ch’sam Sofer to combat the maskilim. I haven’t seen the takanos in a long time so I don’t really remember them. I THINK they may include no choirs during davening (compare to yekkes) and that the bima must be in the middle of the shul (not in the front). These tekanos were pretty much universally accepted in oberland.
I’m sorry but I don’t know where in Yerushalayim that shul was located. Batei Ungaren, I believe, is in Meah Shearim to the left of Rechov Meah Shearim where the offices of the Kollel Shomrei Hachomos, the Hungarian Reb Meir Bal Hanes that was established by the K’sav Sofer and Talmidei Ch’sam Sofer. we also dip our finger by domayich chayee, but we use the pinky. I don’t know of any oberlan minhag to have a vimpel. I believe it is exclusive to the yekkes, although I don’t believe they use it as a gartel. And of course, we wear the hoibel, which by the way can be purchased from the wife of the famed mohel Reb Yitzchok Aron Fischer. By the way, although my father did not, there are many oberlander that wear the kittel and hoibel also on Hoshana Rabbah.
The oberlander do not wash before Kiddush. As far as a bracha on tefilin on chol hamoed, I believe that most do make a bracha, but I’ve found some that don’t. Also on the first day of chol hamoed Pesach they keep the tefilin on til after leining (not til Hallel) because the parsha of tefilin is read on that day.
By the way, my nephew found an oberlander shul in Yerushalayim where although they duchan every weekday, they don’t duchan on Shabbos!
The old Viener shul in Boro Park (as opposed to the new Avreichim Viener shul) and the Viener in Monsey, still daven ashkenaz and keep the minhagim. Also the Debretzin shul on 16th Ave in Boro Park follows the oberlander minhagim, although their membership has severely diminished over the last few years. I am from out of town and our shul there, because most of the influential members were oberlander, pretty much follow all oberlander minhagim.
I assume the previous poster made reference to Yeshiva Ch’san Sofer in Boro Park, lead by the Matersdorfer Rav and established in the US by his father zt”l. They are grandchildren of the Ch’san Sofer and Ch’sam Sofer. The Ch’san Sofer, his son and his grandson (the previous Rav zt”l) were the rabbonim in Matersdorf until WW2. Their family also established Kiryas Matersdorf in Israel. Matersdorf was definitely in oberland and was considered one of the Sheva Kehillos. However, because of the early years when the previous Rav first arrived in the USA and he was hired as rav by several kehilos on the lower east side that davened sfard, the yeshiva davens sfard, although many of the minhagim are oberland. By the way Pressburg, Nitra, Matersdorf, Debretzin, Papa, Tzeilim, Beregsaz, Serdahel, Galante are some of the oberlander cities that I can think of now.
By the way, I believe the Yekke kohanim also sing different designated songs for each Yom Tov, just like in oberland. In other works, the song that the kohanim sang on pesach was different then what they sang on Succos, etc.
As an oberlander, its hard for me to go through thousands of minhagim throughout the year that are different. Also, I don’t consider my self an expert on Yekkeshe minhagim. A few that come to mind, although I am not completely sure how the Yekkes do it, as as follows: I believe that the Oberlander men went to mikve more often than the Yekkes throughout the year, although that too depended on each family’s individual minhag. The oberlander said Hallel on Pesach night which I don’t think the Yekkes did. In oberland the kohanim did not duchan on a Yom Tov day that fell on Shabbos, except on Yom Kippur, at which time they also sang. Also, oberlander sang by duchaning on Simchas Torah at shachris (don’t know what the yekkes did). Chassidim don’t. In fact, in many oberlander kehillos on Simchas Torah the kohanim sang 3 different songs each time they sang, which may be against halacha (but we know that minhag can override halacha). The oberlander definitely exhibited more emotion during davening, and singing.
Whenever anybody asks me what an oberlander is, I usually answered that they are similar to yekkes, but more to the right. Even in Europe, many oberlander yidden would go to Chassidic rebbes for brachos (forget about the yekkes) and in most oberlander kehillos the Rav that was hired for the town was usually Chassidic. That explains the present affinity to Chassidim and why many oberlander became Chassidic instead of litvaks. I am an oberlander that davens ashkenaz, but find myself more comfortable in a sfard/Chassidic shul because it is closer to what I am. Most present ashkenaz minyanim are litvish/American who don’t say yotzros, etc. In fact, I usually lag behind on Yom Tov night during davening because I also say the Maarovos, which chassidim don’t say, but either do litvaks/americans.
By the way, it is considered minhag Chasam Sofer. Although the Chasam Sofer had many private minhagim that were different, I think minhag Chasam Sofer is really talking about minhag Pressburg during the time that the Chasam Sofer, Ksav Sofer, etc. were the rabbanim there.
I wish I could think of more differences, but there are just too many.
My son wanted to start to daven vasikin, but the closest minyan was a sefardi minyan where they duchaned every day. My son asked our Rav what he (a Kohen)should do. Our Rav said that it is a legitimate minhag for the sefardim to duchan in chutz le’aretz, but not for Ashkenazim. Our Rav mentioned that there were times in Europe when some Ashkenazi rebbonim wanted to change the minhag in their town to do as you suggest and duchan every day, and in each instant the decision was supposedly followed by a calamity. Our Rav suggested that my son could daven there but that since he was an ashkenazi he should walk out and not duchan, especially because this was going to be an every day occurrence and not just a one time situation. The inference I guess is that if he just went to daven there once or twice then he may have allowed him to duchan during the week.
gavra- If you only want to pick on the last 2 lines of a lengthy 3 paragraph post, I guess that’s you prerogative. I was just mentioning the proper attire required at a particular horse race (although the speed at which some shuls daven can be considered a horse race. But that’s a topic for a different thread).
I don’t know where you get the idea that a hat is a begged isha. Until JFK decided to appear at his inauguration without a hat, that was what everyone wore.
My guess is (only a guess) that if a hat is a begged isha, its only for those who decided to stop wearing a sheitel or otherwise cover their hair (another slippery slope and yet another topic for a completely different thread).
Unfortunately this trend of going to daven without a hat started about 15 years ago. It is a slippery slope where now it is “normal” to daven without a jacket as well. Recently people started coming to shul in shorts and/or sandals without socks (as if going to the beach!!). This is not yet as common, but it will be. It already started. Let me remind you that 15 years ago when people started coming to shul without a hat, they argued that it would never extend to go without a jacket! As I said its a slippery slope.
I won’t put the blame on any higher ups in the spiritual hierarchy (although I can). I believe it started when young gentlemen who considered themselves talmidei chachamim, would ask “show me where it says that you have to wear a hat”. They were not concerned about a mesorah or with doing the “right” thing, even though it may not be written anywhere. I am sure that none of their Rebbeim or Rosh Yeshivas davened without a hat or jacket, and nor did they while they were still in yeshiva. Its the kovod that should be shown in a shul and when davening.
Many will say that the hat and jacket, in todays world, is not necessarily considered as “kovod” anymore. Besides the answer of the slippery slope mentioned above, and besides the fact that we can’t determine what is kovod by measuring it against the decadence of the non-Jewish world, the fact is that this argument is just not true. The Courts, many theaters, and numerous other venues all demand a dress code and will not permit entrance without the proper attire. My gosh(!), even the Belmont Stakes which is a stupid horse race, in a smelly venue, and where everyone guzzles beer, has a dress code where the proper attire for men REQUIRES A JACKET AND A TIE. Don’t we owe the kedusha of a shul at least that??
I usually do it on a fruit tree in my brother’s backyard, but as of yesterday the tree was not ready for a bracha yet. There were no blooms yet. Anybody know of any trees in Flatbush that are already blooming and are ready for the bracha?
Mod 29: I like your idea, but what do you mean that the cookie sheet is insulated? Don’t think I ever heard of that before.
I wish that your yearning for learning should never subside and, with all my heart, I pray that Hashem gives you the strength and insight to make the right decision for your neshama.
I was very moved when I first read this post yesterday. But I am upset by the responses, for the same reason that I didn’t post any response myself yesterday. We are discussing the possible conversion of a halachically non-jew, not the kiruv of a non-religious jew (a la Aish). This is very serious and should be addressed by specially trained rabbis, not us. If Y4L has reservations due to her close relationship to her blood family, or based on her ability to find a shidduch, these are legitimate concerns which any normal warm hearted person would understand, but may be sufficient to convince her NOT to convert. After all, my understanding is that we are not looking for converts, but should try to dissuade them. My heart goes out to Y4L, but I think if she has these very legitimate concerns and reservations, then she should not convert but keep the 7 Noahide laws. I think the support and encouragement she is getting by the other posters may be halachically wrong. Just a non-rabbi’s opinion.
Just to let you know that Mevakshe Hashem is no longer at that location. Rabbi Levin has rented the premises to Rav Ashkenazi whose shul on E. 27th Street burned down. Rav Ashkenazi asks for $160 per seat, without any membership. However, NOBODY gets thrown out and you can donate what you can afford. You will not be the only one. The shul is located on Avenue K between Nostrand Avenue and E. 31st Street.
Many similar ads have been running every week in the Flatbush Jewish Journal for the last year and a half or so. Talking during davening is my pet peeve as well. When I wanted to start a campaign about not talking by davening for the zechus of a refuah for a child in our shul, I was told to be positive (how davening helps for a refuah) but not be negative (that talking causes bad things). What that person didn’t understand, and what was emphasized in many of the weekly ads by citing seforim, is that the talking is not necessarily CAUSING the tzoros. But talking in shul during davening PREVENTS the tefilos in that shul from reaching shomayim. There are always people davening for various yeshuos, but the talking creates a barrier keeping the tefilos from ascending. Its not negative, just a fact. Stop talking and it will allow our tefilos to have the most potential effect, which is quite great. Hashem is always waiting for our tefilos. It is said that Hashem sometimes gives us tzoros because he knows that it will cause people to daven and he so much wants to hear our tefilos. So lets stop talking and allow our prayers to reach Him.
streekgeek – I am not sure how far your hakpada for chalav yisroel goes. I don’t believe the peanut butter filled pretzels list anything dairy in the ingredients. I THINK (but am not sure) they are designated OU-D only because of dairy equipment. You still may not want to eat them because of your hakpada, but I just thought I would mention it.
I am definitely not a litvak – but I put on tefilin on chol hamoed with a brocho. To add an additional twist, most people, including my family, take off the tefilin on chol hamoed before Hallel. However, my father’s minhag, still from Europe, was to make an exception on the first day of chol hamoed Pesach at which time we take them off after leining before musaf. The reason for this is because the parsha of tefilin is part of the reading of the Torah on that day.
Regarding the first post, the mekubal who first mentioned this discussed just the fact of the uniqueness and segula of “9”. In fact, my understanding is that there are people who every year consider the 9th day of Kislev to be an eis ratzon. It does not have to also be the 9th year of yoivel, although that would make it additionally auspicious.
Which brings me to the next issue: If next year is shmitta, how could this year be the 9th year of yoivel? Hmmm. Moreover, the Kupath Ha’ir literature states that Rav Kanievsky supposedly indicated that 5756 was the 40th year of the yoivel and that therefore 5765 was yoivel and thus this year is the 9th year of yoivel. But, if you make the calculation, if 5756 was the 40th year of yoivel, then 5765 would only be the 49th year of yoivel and yoivel would not be until 5766! That means that the 9th year of yoivel isn’t til next year! Hmmm, again.
By the way, I forgot to mention this before, the reference to the Sambatyon is in the Friday night zemer that begins “Yom Shabbos Kodesh hu”. It is towards the end.
My recollection, too, is that the story dealt with the author of the Akdomus.
Wolf: Just because they can’t find it today does not mean it doesn’t exist. They are constantly finding the existence of people that they did not previously know existed. Obviously the 10 shevotim exist somewhere too.
Lastly, I seem to recall that there was a gadol (I believe it may have been the Rambam or the Ramban), about whom it was said that he had a jar of the Sambatyon water in his home that bubbled and churned all week but became calm on Shabbos. Imagine the affect that would have on anyone who may question the existence of a creator that rested on the 7th day!
Although not as comprehensive as some of the lists that have been printed more recently, there is such a list in the sefer Chaya Odom. Your tefilos should be mekubal for a gmar chasima tova.
Most of you have no knowledge of what you write and are just repeating things that you heard. This is very dangerous. Some misleading statements were made, especially since different laws govern in different states. For instance, in NYS you cannot waive or remove the personal injury protection part of the coverage. It is mandatory – and your own health insurance will not cover you for injuries sustained in a car accident.
I never advised my carrier whenever my kids got a license. When they found out (usually after an accident) they then raised my premium. They could have also cancelled or non-renewed the policy if they wanted. But, at least in NYS, the company could only do that prospectively, meaning that they have to give advance notice before the cancellation or non-renewal can go into effect. They cannot cancel or non-renew the policy after the accident for it to go into effect before the accident. In NYS, they would still have to cover the car and the driver for the accident. They have to cover ANY driver of the car involved in an accident as long as the driver had the permission and consent of the owner to drive the vehicle at the time.
As to keeping the arovos fresh, I do what ‘gotbeer’ does. I actually slide the whole holder, with arovos and hadasim still in them, off of the lulov. I put it onto a paper towel, sprinkle just a little water on the leaves to make them and the paper towel SLIGHTLY MOIST, wrap the whole thing in the paper towel, then wrap in a foil, and put into the fridge. This morning my arovos tips were just beginning to turn black (which is the same condition of some of the arovos that they were selling on erev succos!). As to the ‘Litvishe’s’ problem, slide the tip of the ring back out of the ‘box’ of the ring so that it is straight and no longer a ring, and thread it through one of the braids on each side of the holder. Then slide the tip back through the ‘box’ to close the ring. The ring will stay on the holder even when sliding it off of the lulov to put it into the fridge (as described above). Good luck and Gut Moed.
People are always referring to toenail fungus cures. I’ve found this thread helpful (especially chocandpatience – Thanks). Does the same thing apply to finger nail fungus?
Does this work at every ez pass toll or just when travelling between NJ and NY? Also, what about between NJ and PA or between NY and CT?
Maybe my comment here belongs in a different thread, but it is tangentially related here because of what the mayor of Chicago wishes to do.
The gay rights groups, in order to push their agenda, have always claimed that they don’t want to force others to share their beliefs. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. All they claimed to want is to protect their rights and not to be discriminated against. We always said that this was not true and that it is a slippery slope. Well, we just started sliding down that slope a little further.
Mayor Emanuel, and others, now want to prohibit Chick-fil-A from even opening up and conducting business in their cities, just because the owner may have an OPINION which is not illegal to have, but doesn’t comport with their political correctness. No one claims that Chick-fil-A ever discriminated against customers, employess or potential employees because of their sexual orientation. They want to close down the business just because the owner has an opinion that they don’t share.
I guess if you disagree with the Left, then you just don’t deserve to make a living – or maybe even to live! But if we were to take similar actions against someone on the Left for his political correctness, they would immediately label us as homophobic racists!
I don’t know this personally, but I asked someone who does and he suggested the Capital Hotel in Lakewood.
I am not sure who was at fault in this matter. I just want to give my opinion on one issue. Posters are talking about a racial killing, which this MAY have been. However, has anyone wondered why this particular incident has been made into such a national catastrophe by the people who regularly hype these type of things (ala Sharpton, etc.)? The only reason this has become a cause celebre is because the purported murderer’s name is GEORGE ZIMMERMAN! By the time they learned that he was actually hispanic, it was too late to back down. But do you think this whole brouhaha would have been created if he would have had a typical hispanic name? No way! They assuredly assumed that this person was white – and probably jewish.
I am not a Mohel, but I have watched various Mohelim do metzitza with a tube and do not believe any one of them was actually successful. The purpose of metzitza is to pull blood in the baby towards the sight of the bris. Could you imagine the extent of the seal that would have to be created between the tube and this tiny ‘eiver’ on a squirming baby in order to allow for any kind of suction? It seems almost impossible!
To zahavasdad – I can’t say for sure, but I doubt that anyone – even the non-frum yiddishists – wrote yiddish in anything other than the aleph bais. i believe that is also true for all the poems and plays that you mention. Have you ever seen the original writings of those things? All of the bundist and yiddishist newspapers and writings that I ever saw were written with the aleph bais. I was in court many years ago when one of those non-frum yiddishists challenged whether I can read yiddish. He pulled out a yddish newspaper and I of course read it for him (by the way I never heard any yiddish until I was about 8 years old). If you did see any of those writings in the Latin alphabet I would venture to bet that they were transliterations of the originals.
To those who feel that Yiddish is a relic to be put away on a shelf, you are wrong. A special language unique to Jews is important, as it is one of the factors that helped us survive throughout the generations – whether it was Aramiac, Ladino or Yiddish. However, to those who feel that we have to move on with the world’s predominant language of English, maybe we should embrace a language similar to what has been jokingly referred to as the Yeshivishe Shprach. An English language with much Hebrew and Yiddish mixed in and with no exacting grammar. And of course, it would have to be written using the aleph beis. Throughout history, no matter which language the Jews spoke amongst themselves, it was always written with the aleph beis! Although others have complained about Yiddish sounding like German, no one with any knowledge of Yiddish could imagine writing it using the regular alphabet.
I think you may all be missing the point. My Rav explained to me that throughout history, the jews had a ‘yiddish language’. in other words, a language that was unique to the ‘Yidden’. As jews went into Golus, they would adopt the new host country’s language, but they would bastardize it by adding and changing words[sorry commentator, you can change that word if you can think of anaother one], and write it only in aleph beis – as opposed to A, B, C. The aramaic of the Gemara is like that, the French of Rashi, the Spanish of Ladino and the German of yiddish, are all examples of this. Even the names of the citys were changed, such as ‘Vermeiza’ for the city of Worms, or Satmar for Satu Mare. No ‘Arami” wouli understand the Gemara, no Spaniard would understand Ladino and no German could understand yiddish. Also, who could ever consider writing yiddish with A, B, C? Yiddish creates neither machloikes nor machlokes. Only those who don’t know yiddish criticize it and/or call it a ghetto language. It is a language that identifies us as jews and unites, at least a portion, of Klal Yisroel. People refer to Ladino with reverence, and the same should apply to yiddish.