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Despite some predictions, many of the answers you have already received are as good as any Rov will give you.
I would just like to add a point that has not yet been mentioned.
Before Matan Toirah, no one kept mitzvos asseh in the format that we do today, but chazal still state that the Ovois, for example, kept the entire Toirah. Many resolve this apparent contradiction through a simple concept mentioned in the Zohar, that their mundane actions were accompanied by lofty meditations that encompassed those mitzvos asseh.
Matan Toirah changed that for the men. One reason is that their reception of Moishe Rabbeinu’s appearance in Mitzrayim was rather lukewarm, whereas the women were all positive. Yetzias Mitzrayim was on account of the attitude of the women. The women did not allow themselves to get involved with the eigel. In general therefore, women are in less need than men for specific rectifications sympolised by these mitzvos. Therefore women today have a similar avoidah to the Ovois (and Imahois). A woman can achieve the same if not more by thinking about spiritual ideas whilst doing mundane tasks than men can do through the rituals that you so desire to perform. Women may also perform many of them if they wish as well – the best of both worlds!
A very clever woman who had returned to Orthodox Judaism one remarked to me: No wonder male baalei teshuvah find life so hard. Look at an average weekday minyan. Women on the other hand can take as long as they wish over their prayers, and put their whole heart into it.
Of course the same can be said of every Jewish man, only she didn’t know it, because everyone pretends that he’s OK.
Believe me, you’ve got nothing to be envious of.
Not too long ago, no one, anywhere, required a hechsher on eggs. However, recently, questions have been asked about the lineages of hens used to commercially produce eggs. Whether many of these suspicions are well-founded or not, I have my doubts. But there are also doubts about whether forbidden species have been interbred into otherwise kosher poultry – again, a somewhat contentious subject if it’s at all possible. But some support this claim through genetics. That’s why Orthodox hasgochos require hechsher for both live poultry and eggs. Those who don’t identify with those hashgochos, or the Rabbonim standing behind them will probably spurn these new chumros, like their forebears spurned chumros like a hechsher on milk and bread etc.
WRT water. some companies transport water in tankers, which are regularly used to transport other liquids, sometimes not kosher. Water bottled at source with dedicated machinery, does not really require a hechsher – save to state that it is bottled at source.Neturay Karta is the proper way.
Having a good inside knowledge of that crowd, I would tend to agree with your sentiment – but only in the respect that they are more at each other’s throat than at the ‘enemy’. Good luck to them, and much further such success.
Who was the ‘other’ character that sold אהבת חינם? Let me think a sec. Ah, wasn’t it the one that the Brisker Rov said that after 120, he’d be shown the results of his life’s work, and ‘Git a Kuk’ (Look!).
Bottom line, AAQ is spot on. Always, always, look at the complete person, and all his words and actions. Sound-bytes – often taken out of context – are not a Jewish manner of expression.@Hakatan those maskilim (and their danger) are gone
Far from it. Your philosophy, for example, is a clear-cut example of 20th C Haskalah.
@ZSK Chassidim worldwide using Hebrew heavily influenced by Hungarian/Southeastern/Transcarpathian Yiddish, I believe that is due to cultural factors, specifically the Holocaust, which drove the various branches of Chassidim together and everyone more or less adopted the Satmar/Vitzhnitz pronunciation because they were dominant.??!! (i) Perhaps because the populations of traditional Chasidic homelands were destroyed and the dialects lost, whereas 50% of Hungarian Jewry survived? (ii) Szatmar and Vizhnitz pronunciations are worlds apart. (iii) Off the top of my head, the Ashkenazi vowel shift u>ü>i started long before Chasidism, and – again, as I recall from several decades ago – is first recorded in Western Poland. (iv) What you refer to as Hungarian is only Western Hungarian, a population that predominantly derives from Galicia, but also includes some from Ukraine. (v) Polish/Ukrainian pronunciation is only similar is only similar in their treatment of kometz. The Ukrainian treatment of tsere is more like (but not identical to) Northern/Litvish – so 2 isoglosses.
It appears Avik isn’t asking an academic question about Yiddish. He is attacking Yiddish – in the footsteps of Mendlsohn, Graetz et al. They hated Yiddish because it represented to them several hundred years of Ashkenazi Judaism. The Holocaust theory mentioned by an earlier (otherwise very erudite) commentator is a modern, but no less hateful. adaptation of the same theme.
Wherever Jews lived, two phenomena arose. 1) they gradually adopted the local language 2) their Hebrew adapted to the phonetics of the local language. Thus Spanish Jews used to pronounce ‘ע’ as ‘ng’, so also in parts of Germany, and in the Suwalk province of Poland-Lithuania. Echoes of it are preserved today in Litvish dialects, eg ‘danga’=’dayga’ (worry).
Several dozen Jewish languages developed from the admixture of local non-Jewish languages with Hebrew/Aramaic. Some of these language have retained a strong similarity to the ‘host’ language, whilst others have become separate valid languages in their own right. No known language is ‘pure’; all contain admixtures. These are not ‘jargons’ as the haters would have it, but are today recognised as valid, separate, languages. The 18-19th century haters were ignorant of linguistics, and fueled by hatred, wrote whatever they wanted with impunity.
People tend to hold up the Yemeni dialect of Hebrew as the correct dialect. Depending on which part of Yemen, several instances of linguistic change have occurred, the most famous one being the ‘ey’ sound parallel to Litvish.
While we’re on the subject of ‘butchering’ Hebrew, let’s pause to reflect a moment on the almost-universal pronunciation of Hebrew by English speakers. If that isn’t a case of wholesale slaughter, I don’t know what is. From Rosh Yeshivos to laymen, their pronunciation is generally appalling – and they are actually trying to pray and study in that language, not pronouncing loan words adopted into (eg) Yiddish.
Please Avik, make my day and upload a video of yourself reading or davenening. I’d enjoy it, even in the nine days. For those who don’t want such mirth, it’ll serve as a sombre reminder of the churban.The mesorah of the litvaks is a true mesorah, not something that was invented just a couple hundred years ago.
What a joke! Today’s Litvish persona is a creation of the Yeshivah world of the 1800’s. Those yeshivas were, themselves, a synthetic creation that has never recovered from its origins. In their day, they functioned as a clearing house, creating a unified faceless group, dismissing all the ‘outdated’ local customs and identities, and creating in their stead a neutral, bland and synthetic academia that could not, and did not relate to the everyday world.
The single positive result that has emerged from the yeshivas happened when they came into contact with Hasidic Orthodoxy after the War, which introduced their students to Shulchan Oruch, and strict adherence to Halachah. In this respect, the chasm between the average pre-War yeshiva student and his namesake since the 1970s cannot be overstated. It represents a monumental shift of perspective. Modern Orthodoxy did not of course partake of this shift, as its entire raison d’etre is diametrically opposite to just that perspective.I find it difficult to believe that this post is contrived. It rings too true. If it is contrived, the author has missed his calling; he could compete with JK Rowling. Three/four decades ago I studied under a therapist who specialised in releasing these ‘things’. He’s no longer alive, but he knew his onions. He has many practising students, though, and wrote a very comprehensive book on the subject. These ‘things’ are not dibbuks, by the way. They can definitely be released with the correct treatment, often in a single session, and do not require complicated kabbalistic rituals.
to wtsp
I’ve been reading your question and responses (and sniggering at many of the responses – which you ably dismissed).
Your question as to why schools don’t/won’t give instruction in the area you are asking about has been correctly responded to, but I would add another more compelling reason: they are simply not qualified to do so. These questions require halachic decisions, and schools are not geared for that. Yes, they can give students a general idea of Laws of Shabbes, tefillah etc, but should never arrogate the position of Posek, most definitely not in such a sensitive area, where the Talmud rules that only one-to one instruction is permitted.
Parents are fine, if you have a sufficiently close and trusting relationship, but few teens would turn to their parents once the problems have escalated to the stage you imply. Not only today, but it was the same when I was your age 60-odd years ago. And probably well before that as well.
Thus questions such as yours must be addressed to such a posek. I don’t mean a Maran-Posek-haDor sort of Posek, but a competent and respected Rov. However, since such a Rov would not sit down and discuss these matters with a woman (and if he offers to, run a mile), the (centuries-old) procedure is that women approach his wife, and she conveys the question to him, and returns with the answer – and in your case will probably sit down and discuss at length with you your questions.
If, for any reason, you don’t feel comfortable with the rabbinical choice you’ve made – eg you might feel they are too judgemental, unsupporting, or whatever – there is no reason why you can’t try elsewhere. Simply not liking the answer is not sufficient reason. But you do have a right to guidance and support, and they have an obligation to deliver that to the best of their ability.
Your present indecision will pass – gam zeh yaavor. I wish you success in your quest, and may you only grow and mature through this test, and – when the time comes – found a beautiful Jewish home of your own.In Yiddish, the plural of ‘shtuss’ is ‘shtussim’. The Brisker Rov spoke Yiddish, not your mutated English.
To Mentsh1 (and a few others writing about buying apartments): The situation in EY is such that this is de rigeur, as you probably well know. Actually, it was not started by frum Yiddn – or by Yiddn at all.
A bit of history: up until 1948, most of the frum community – which still comprised the Old Yishuv + dropouts therefrom – lived in apartments under a system called ‘key-money’ whereby you paid a lump sum up front, followed by a very low rent for the rest of your life. Upon the death of both partners, subject to few conditions, the property reverted back to the original owner. In the new frum centres of Bene Beraq and parts of Tel Aviv, the situation may have been different; I don’t know. At all events, come the day in 1948 when one of the first decrees of the new regime was to declare that anyone living under the ‘key-money’ system had an automatic right-to-buy for a modest payment. Many of course took advantage of this. The logic of this new law was simple: to get as many as possible to buy and own their homes. Benevolence? No way! They knew a war was coming, maybe more than one, and people who don’t own their homes tend to flee wars. The new state was in danger of depopulating. Since then, this policy has been followed assiduously.
Let me divulge a little secret (told by a member of the family concerned): A certain extremely wealthy frum Yid managed to make a deal with those who believe they own the Land of Israel, to build a city for frum Yidn. Everything was going perfectly to plan, until he innocently let slip that he intended renting the properties, rather than selling them. The deal collapsed on the spot. He was told the reason in no uncertain terms. We do not rent. I know well there are rental properties available, but they are a small minority. The official line is, from the top down: you must buy. Even most Israelis don’t know that it’s state policy. They take it as a fact of life. And for them it is. But since they are trapped in a situation over which they have no control, don’t they deserve our help rather than our condemnation?The Radoshitser Rebbe, known in his day as ‘der kleiner Baal Shem Tov’ urged everyone to say tachnun. He explained that neglecting it resulted in the extreme poverty people suffered. He would tell people to calculate how many times they had omitted it, and then say it that many times.
Apart from that, in many areas chasidim did not have a habit of not saying itR E: It’s not that one can be converted to the other. They are one and the same. As KM noted, though, string theory does not add to this understanding. Energy is energy. More pertinent is the fact that the most basic particles are constantly popping in and out of existence. On this level, there is no such thing as static existence.
Ritva (AZ 28b) And with respect to stones that are known to have a natural segullah [to heal] it would appear that their use is permitted even by monks and minim [the subject under discussion is that a ‘min’ may not be permitted to heal people with incantations, lest they credit his healing to the AZ he promotes. Likewise all other healing modalities that people dont understand. Regular herbs and drugs are permitted. The Ritva rules here that ‘stones’ are in the latter category, being a staple like herbs.] This is the only direct reference to the use of herbs that I have seen in any Rishon.
WRT placebo, again only one reference (Rambam Laws of AZ 11:11) If someone is bitten by a scorion or snake, it is permitted to recite an incantation [lachash] over the wound in order to calm the patient and fortify him, even though incantaions do not help, since the patient is critically ill, it is permitted in order to prevent him becoming insane. [Rambam is of the opinion – a solitary authority in this respect – that incantations are forbidden by Toirah Law. However, in an instance of life and death, they may be used. Many of his commentators mention the efficacy of placebo in this instance. The Shulchan Oruch quotes Rambam verbatim, even though he accepts the majority opinion that incantations are permitted, and places this instance in the context of being used in Shabbos – a rather unsatisfactory resolution (because he has given much simpler examples elsewhere).]
At all events Ys’ explanation of the Gemara is in the best tadition of the haskalah, and his claims of sources in multiple Rishonim require hard evidence, rather than vague generalities. The hundreds of responsa right up to the first world war testify that all sorts of energy medicine were halachically accepted, and were used exactly like regular medicine (ie herbs, ointments, tinctures).
In fact, just for the record, innoculations (as vaccines were called during the eighteenth-nineteenth century) is repeatedly described as a segullah (!) which, since it is of doubtful efficacy, and only preventative, may not be injected in Shabbos.Rabeinu Bachya, parashas tetzaveh, citing book of gemstones by aristotle. However scholars attribute the work to ‘pseudo-aristotle’. The use of stones is mentioned in a few hebrew medieval medicinal texts, some of which were recently published. Their use was part and parcel of standard medical practice of the time. Claims of pagan origin or imitating non jews have a basis in ignorance of the facts and rationalist (ie haskalah) ideology.
Moisture is a huge worry. It can destroy the letters. It is vital that, after the heat concern has been addressed, air can still circulate around the tefillin. A similar problem exists for Mezuzos – some people wrap them in cling film. Never do that, particularly when the room is centrally heated. Use only paper, if you must wrap them at all.
Polish antisemitism was a result of the Germans! in 12-something the Polish King (Kuszmirz?) invited Germans to settle in Poland and granted then a bill of rights. Jews and non-Jews flocked there, and settled in the cities. The king’s plan was to create a class of traders and build up the country. The Germans formed into guilds, as they had in Germany, and worked hard to exclude their Jewish rivals. The Priests that came with them also had what to say against the Jews from the pulpits. Eventually the Jews were expelled from many cities (in Krakow, that meant moving to a new suburb) and many took up employment with the aristocracy. This separation worked, and at least kept the two side physically apart. BTW, the Germans didn’t all assimilate. Many retained their language and customs and were called volksdeutsche. Nazi German radio broadcasts into Poland attracted a massive following amongst this group and this incited serious antisemitism. All that said, there must have been underlying antisemitism – perhaps again fostered by the volkdeutsche and their priests – for it to have taken hold so quickly and so strongly, but excessive overt signs do not appear to have been historically present during the two or three centuries of separation. During the Chmielnicki massacres, the besieged Poles sold out the Jews a few times in return for their lives to the cossacks, but that is only to be expected.
I converted to Orthodox Judaism two years ago and it went well up until I went on Birthright. I felt silently judged for being a convert even though everyone was outwardly friendly and it had a lasting impact.
I’ve been thinking about you post over yontev, and finally decided to add my few cent’s worth.
I can see two contradictions in your story: Orthodox/Birthright; outwardly friendly/silently judging.
I can imagine plently of readers screaming blue murder over this but I see a disrepancy between someone who claims to have been orthodox and then accepting a Birthright trip. That group is not made for Orthodox people; it is an Israeli front to indoctinate youth with zionism – nothing to do with Judaism. I’m pretty sure the group you were with were not only not orthodox, they were all/mostly/irreligious. No wonder they were judging you.
I am also a ger. When I once attended a university symposium attended by many non-religious students, they couldn’t get over the fact and insisted on quizzing me on subjects totally unrelated to the symposium. Since I am reasonably learned (both in the subject of the symposium and in Torah) they couldn’t very well judge me, but I also felt that several of them resented me, and I’ve come across that iwhen meeting other non-religious people. Some are genuinly interested; some are genuinly surprised (why shouldn’t they be?!) and some are resentful. Occasionally virulently so.
But none of that is sufficient reason to abandon Judaism. I really think you should look a bit deeper inside your own reasons and go beyond the reason you are presently selling. I doesn’t add up; it doesn’t compute.
Best of luck for the future.
Comment on reply #1712357 – yeshivarockstar
Amil, all the names for the life force, be it Chi, qigong, reiki, or prana, are all Avoda Zara, as they’re designed to worship the world itself over the creator. (Read Rav Belsky’s Alternative Medicine books, for example.)
AMil: From wikipedia
In Hindu philosophy including yoga, Indian medicine and Indian martial arts, prana (प्राण, prāṇa; the Sanskrit word for “life force” or “vital principle”)[1] permeates reality on all levels including inanimate objects.[2] I Five types of prana, collectively known as the five vāyus, are referred to in Hindu texts. Ayurveda, tantra and Tibetan medicine all describe praṇā vāyu as the basic vāyu from which the other vāyus arise.It’s a deity.
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This line of argument is signature of the group that published Rav Belskys thoughts on alternative medicine. How does the final assertion follow from the quote from Wikipedia?It doesn’t happen immediately – as on the spot. It can happen 24 hrs later. I personally know a family in Jerusalem who have a 20 yr old (approx) child in permanent vegatitive state. That child was a beautiful lively boy – until he was vaxxed. Not too long after they got home he started having seizures, and he slowly deteriorated till by the time was about 10, he was hospitalized full-time.
Seeing something like that is a very quick and simple way to have the greatest fear of those vaxxes.
And for the idiot who asked: why doesn’t it happen to everybody? The researchers (even pro-vaxx) recognize that there can be a genetic predispostion – just no one has bothered to invest in trying to discover what that could be.
To all those discussing studies of vax vs non-vax: Sure studies have been done – by a doctor who served the Amish community for many decades. Haven’t got my sourse material to hand (it’s packed away cause I’m moving house, but it shouldn’t be too hard to find.
To Avi K:
So I guess Rambam and all of the other Rishonim who embraced Philosophy were MOThis really just demonstrates how little of the Rambam’s philosophy you have studied.
Very easy to sell kano’us. Makes one feel all good inside. The connection to avoida zoro is tenuous – check in wikipedia: it involves remebering the dead, and perhaps the end of the harvest in celtic times. Moreover, if there was a real connection with idolatry, it would not be permitted to participate on the grounds of eivah. so some rather weak logic at the base. Add to that the multiple testimonies of Rav Pam and Rav Kaminetzki’s participation, it would appear that a reconsideration is in order.