I can only try

Joseph-

I will bli neder ask the shailos and post the answers here.

Sorry for taking so looooooooooooooong, and thanks for your patience.

Feivel –

3) A mikva with precisely 40 se’ah of water. It is metaher the first person to use it, but can’t be used thereafter without water being added.

I ask for mechila from anyone I have upset, angered or insulted.

There is no need for anyone to ask me for mechila, since while I may disagree (in some cases strongly) with other posters, in no way do I take it personally.

Joseph-

There is no security issue (that I know of) with your laptop broadcasting your SSID. It is just that it somewhat defeats the disabling of its broadcast, and is kind of like wearing your nametag in public.

Both the SSID broadcast and MAC filtering are a matter of personal preference. I stated mine, and my reasons. Those who prefer otherwise are not wrong.

TOHIGHSCHOOLGUY-

P.S.

charlie brown-

The information and opinions expressed beyond this point are not needed in regards to your questions. I happen to enjoy talking tech, and am waiting for selichos to start. If you feel your eyes glazing over, please skip the remainder of this post, and no offense will be taken 😉

Firewall (software):

Firewall (hardware):

WEP vs. WPA:

WEP was an early wireless encryption protocol. It is an acronym for Wired Equivalency Protocol. Over the past few years, it has been proven crackable, and should not be used.

SSID broadcasting and why I think you should leave it on:

Getmac results from my laptop:

00-40-45-15-0C-42 Media disconnected ? my disconnected RJ45

As you can see, each MAC address consists of five groupings of two hex characters.

(Hexidecimal means based on a numbering system of sixteen. We use the ten-based decimal system. A twelve-based system would be duodecimal.)

AdAware vs. Spybot Search and Destroy:

charlie brown-

You can also share a printer that is physically connected to only one computer, or even buy a network printer that connects wired or wirelessly to the router, thereby forgoing the necessity of turning on the computer the printer is connected to before printing from another computer.

If you want to get ambitious you can buy network storage as well, which is basically a hard-drive in a case, which connects to the router.

As far as network security, definitely use a WPA protocol.

charlie brown-

Mariner has done an excellent job of explaining the hardware-based protection a router gives to devices hooked up to it.

An additional benefit you will get is the ability to have multiple computers on-line at once without bothering to potchke with a shared connection.

An unsolicited opinion or two:

2) I believe cable for internet only costs about $50 a month in NYC. There are several DSL deals that are significantly cheaper ($20 + a month). The speed is slower, but for most people who access the web, use email and occasionally download stuff (like me) DSL is fine.

http://www.cnet.com is an excellent site for reviews, both professional and layman, and has software available for download as well.

Hatzlocha!

Sarah-

I agree, and you put it quite well.

torahis1-

bein_hasdorim-

The Taliban are in many ways the idealogical stepchildren of the nazis, yemach shemom. Don’t you see the irony of coming to this thread and posting words like those?

Hear, hear!

mariner,

Freedom of religion is the freedom to practice your religion, or lack thereof, without government interference.

Freedom from religion, if enforced, is communism.

illini07-

I predict that you will appreciate the wisdom of the founding fathers even more as you grow older.

Freedom of speech, religion, and press, as well as the secret ballot are the prime ingredients of our democracy.

If you read the bill of rights today, you will be amazed at the foresight of those who designed it over 200 years ago.

Joseph-

Spaseba.

(Now you’ve seen my full vocabulary in two languages).

Give Me a Break-

2) Obama worshipping with an anti-American, anti-Semitic pastor for twenty years.

4) His lack of experience.

5) His lack of a track record.

6) His position re: Iraq, which I disagree with.

7) His position re: Pakistan, which I disagree with.

9) His position re: oil exploration, both offshore and in the ANWR. Our dependency on unfriendly countries (OPEC, Russia) is killing our economy.

11) Despite McCain-Feingold, which I hate (first amendment abridgement).

This editorial cartoon was an eloquent thank you without words-

source: http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/05.09.09.FDNYWTC-X.gif

A few tips:

1) An accurate meat thermometer is a must. This will allow you to check that thick slices of meat or chicken are safely cooked all the way through. Make sure it is the instant-read kind so you can just poke it in and check it.

2) You can generally tell by the firmness of meat and chicken how thoroughly it is cooked. The firmer it is, the more well done it is. You can use your (clean) finger, as long as you have washed your hands since touching raw meat.

3) Only slabs of meat can be done rare. Ground meat or any type of poultry should be thoroughly done and not have any pinkness to it.

5) Low heat cooks more evenly and helps prevent an overdone outside / raw inside problem. One issue with low heat for a longer time is that it can dry out the meat. A spritz of oil (such as olive) and/or wrapping the meat can help keep it juicy.

7) Always leave the skin on the chicken if possible, to keep it juicy.

8) If a small area of the grill is covered with aluminum foil, you can put food that is beginning to singe or cook unevenly upon it to slow down and even out the cooking, and reduce burning.

10) Fatty ground beef makes great burgers. Just make sure to keep an eye out for flare-ups.

12) Marinades are usually applied anywhere from a half-hour before grilling to overnight the night before. Rubs and seasonings are applied right before grilling. Sauces are applied about 10 minutes before the meat is done.

yoshi –

No problem, I started it. :p

According to the “authority”, it is an acceptable variant of “until”, either as a preposition or as a conjunction.

source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/till

I lost points on an English composition for this literary infraction a

long

long

long

time ago, so it stuck in my mind.

“but she is post sem, so she is post brainwashed”

I disagree, 100%.

The “brainwashing” occurs when exposure to secular society sand-blasts away the aidelkeit we leave yeshiva and bais yakov with, and leaves us jaded and insensitized towards inappropriate speech, actions and thoughts.

A sibling of mine once commented after a few months at a secular firm that one of the worst things about it was “when I drop and break something I won’t say a curse, but now I think it”.

P.S. “Heck” is a euphemism for “He**”, and halevai I should be so sensitized as to object to it, but PSG is correct.

source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heck

Joseph has left a long, long paper trail on various YWN threads.

He is quite adamant in his views (as are yourselves and am I), but I have never seen him express anything but ahavas yisroel on a personal level.

He has apologized for his slip-of-expression.

I am sure he feels quite bad about it (as he explained, he too lost family members in the shoah, as did almost all European families) and would never deliberately call you such a thing.

Thank you.

ICOT

P.S.

P.P.S.

Joseph –

I haven’t forgotten that I still owe you an answer re: dina dimalchusa. I told you that I’m a terrible procrastinator!

d1234 –

“I was particularly sensitive to smells at the time and it really hurt me badly.”

– The “schawarmer” was probably oblivious to your discomfort. It may have been thoughtless, but I’m reasonably sure it was beshogeg. If it was me, I would definitely want to be told that I was causing someone discomfort and/or nausea (so I could put the food away or dispose of it), rather than find out later and feel rotten about it.

color purple –

“The Kashrus industry is purely political and in a very sad state of affairs. I Can Only Try got it right on both points.”

– Thank you for your kind words, but that was not the point I was trying to communicate.

There are many, many differences in which hechsherim people rely upon. Some will rely on hechsher “A” for milchig (dairy) and pareve, but not for fleishig (meat). Some people will only eat fleishig if it had a chasidishe schechita.

The reasons for not using a hechsher are usually a combination of the following two:

a) the hechsher is not trustworthy (a relative who worked in hashgocho told me of one so-called “Rav Hamachshir” who he wouldn’t trust to say the earth was round).

b) the Rav Hamachshir (supervising/certifying Rabbi) and/or kashrus organization is absolutely trustworthy, but relies on kulos (leniencies) that you may prefer to be machmir (more stringent) on.

There are many people who will not use the hechsher of a person who they feel is a yirei shomayim (G-d-fearing person) because of reason b).

I am concerned that mentioning specific Rabonim or organizations as problematic may be counter-productive and lead to back-and-forth accusations and recriminations. At most, maybe say that “I feel organization B is unreliable based on …”

It is imperative not to rely on a hashgocho you don’t know without checking it out.

“Regardless of its intrinsic merits, Rabbi Silverberg has the absolute right to question Rav Belsky.”

– No one has disagreed with this. He does not have to agree, and is certainly allowed to speak to and question Rav Belsky, shlita in private (respectfully), or defend his points of view in public (respectfully).

Also, the concept of “infallibility” is (lfi aniyas dati) not ours. There are, lehavdil, other religions that believe in the perfection of particular men or avoida zoroh, but we believe only H-shem is infallible. The closest one can come are those who are mentioned in Shabbos 55a and 55b as having led lives without a single avaira.

Gut Voch.

rabbiofberlin –

a) “emunas chachomim” TODAY is used by Rabbonim and Roshei yeshiva to stifle debate and to keep the sheep..oops…the talmidim in line.

b) the reason is simple, too many things have happened recently that have disproved the opinion of many gedolim and so, they have to fall back on the old saying:: “It is so because I said so”

c) If I go to someone to be shoiel etza, then I have put myself VOLUNTARILY under this person’s authority.

d) As far as “zilzul chachomim”, there are many,many talmidei chachomim in Chabad too. Don’t they deserve the same respect?

e) I trust you were NOT around in the fifties and eaerly sixties when the Piskei halacha of R,Moshe came out. Check with your elders about some of the early reactions to some of his controversial Piskei halacha

f) Rav Shach zz’l (to name him by name) virulently attack Chabad for years,including speculating that you cannot be meshadech yourself with them.

g) As far as Rav kook zz’l and Rav Joshe Ber, you must be living on a different planet if you have never heard negative comments about Rav Kook and his shittah and Reb Joshe ber and his shittah.

– Welcome to my world. I already mentioned the comment from one of my rabeim re: disrespect to Rav Soloveichik, and I will now mention that Rav Kook was quoted often in shiur by another of my rabeim.

i) Lastly, there are many different Piskei halacha, NOT because the Poskim have different OPINIONS but they have different INTERPRETATIONS.

– and why are their interpretations different?

j) I must add that I have not actually read the article but I base myself on what is being reported.

– I always try to get the original source to avoid mistakes. Just a recommendation, not necessarily related to this issue.

To address your points:

1) More revisionist talk…No one has ever said that once you have a PSAK DIN on a matter of halacha, you can blithely ignore it.

In that case we are in agreement on this point.

2) You ARE making them “infallible” when you say that you cannot discuss ‘shortcomings” of Rabbonim.

Not at all. I am saying that aside from general loshon hora problems, there are the added issurim of being mezalzel talmedei chachomim. This is even when the gadol in question has actually done something wrong as acknowledged by other rabonim. If you decide on your own he has done something wrong, that is a huge chutzpa.

3) R’Moshe zz’l was castigated by many a Rov and baal habayis even on his Piskei halacha!

4) Must I check my own intelligence and “shikul hadaas” at the door when I speak to a godol?

5) This attitude of ’emunas chachomim” is of very recent vintage and is totally in contradiction to past centuries.

6) BTW, your example of Rav Yehoshua is totally besides the point. Rabbon Gamliel was acting as NOSSIH when he ordered Rav Yehoshua to come to him on “his’ Yom Kippur.

If we are in agreement on point #1 there is no need to discuss this further.

7) Did you say the same when they besmirched the Lubavitcher rebbe zz’l and all his chassidim when a godol (whom I shall not name here) said you cannot be “meshadech’ with them?

8) Do you say the same when some chareidim continue to insult and vilify the memory of Rav Kook zz’l?

9) Do you say the same when some bnai yeshiva keep on referring to Rav Soloveichik as J.B.?

10) Do you say the same when some in the oilam hayeshivos continually deride chassidim of all kind?

One additional point:

His comments, however, had nothing to do with psak and everything to do with opinion.

The reason gedolim who learn the same torah shebiksav and torah shebal peh have different conclusions as to the halacha is because they are basing their psak on their differing opinions of the correct interpretation.

lkaufman –

Your letter is heartbreaking.

Most people probably don’t know how to deal with or talk to an “at-risk” teen, so they just avoid them.

We (I) should keep in mind that these are neshomos that need warmth and guidance, not troublemakers to be shunned and avoided.

B”H your daughter has caring parents who are involved and doing what they can to help her.

Feif Un –

The perspective of someone who has gone thru what this girl is now experiencing can be extremely helpful.

Most ffb’s (like me) can try to understand, but it will be from an “outsider’s” point of view.

Tizku limitzvos for “making lemonade from lemons” by using your personal tribulations to help others.