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in my humble opinion such a tactic just makes the rosh yeshivos look out of touch to their talmidim. One should not deny the reality that such things are enjoyable even if they are a waste of time. These tactics may have worked with the previous dor (although I doubt it) they most definitely do not work with the present one. One does not need to engage in sophistry to make a point. My rosh yeshiva never did.
@old man
chukas hagoyim is not a “feeble argument” it is a topic of discussion in the shulchan aruch, among many rishonim, and is a topic of discussion in gemarah avoda zarah and a couple of other gemaras I can’t recall off hand. I believe there is a rashi that mentions darchei emori in chumash in relevance to going to the amphitheaters – although rashi himself would not hold that sports nowadays is an issue and the issue there was that they served a”z. It is mentioned in many modern day shu”t as well. If I wasn’t working right now I would compile a list of mareh mkomos for you on the subject. It is not a simple issue at all.
As an aside the point is not just intermingling – it is also following non-jewish trends for example wearing red. I believe chassidim don’t wear ties for the same reason. Ditto with the whole celebrating thanksgiving issue.
@old man
The problem isn’t that it is “hevel”. The issue at hand is the issur of following in the ways of the goyim (chukas akum) and darchei emori. As I said before there are prominent halachic authorities which include things that the goyim do for no purpose at all (and not just things which are done lsheim avodah zarah). The question is whether these are considered to be chumras or included in the actual issur of chukas akum. Additionally if one were to do such things for different purposes than the goyim it may not fall under the category of chukas akum. Either way this is a valid halachic and hashkafic question about which one should inquire with their local posek/rav.
chukas akum as defined by the maharik and the rema includes things that are not done for any positive purpose. See Rav Moshe ZT”L’s famous teshuvos in regards to Thanksgiving. Going to a mall for the purpose of buying something or riding the train to work would not be included. There seems to be a machlokes whether if Jews have their own purpose to those activities (ie going on a family outing) which differs from the purpose of the goyim makes it mutar. I am not that knowledgeable in this area and I am sure there are others here who could better answer this question with specific mareh mkomos.
old man +1
Saying that one shouldnt go to a sports game because of shemiras einayim or other religious reasons is fine by me as long as it isn’t being imposed. However there are many rebbeim who engage in a great degree in sophistry in this area. Telling kids or even adults that playing or watching sports isn’t enjoyable is counterproductive as even a 7 year old can see that isn’t true. I remember a rebbi lambasting sports as a kid (i believe I was in 1st grade at the time). he said that he could invent a game in which he threw papers in a garbage can. Even at the time I realized that was faulty logic and most other kids would be able to intuitively realize that too.
As far as chukas hagoyim goes we have to be very careful not to overstate what is wrong with doing something and what is halacha and what is chumra. Stating that chumra is halacha will cause people to be derelict in halacha for many reasons. It is a dangerous direction to go in. To be a rebbi rav or r”y you have to have seichel. There is also a question of gezeira sheain hatzibur yachol laamod bah. You have to allow some outlets and places for families to go to. There is a vast difference between what people can/should do on a personal level depending on where they are at and what rabbonim should be lecturing or enforcing at a communal level.
i dont wear tefillin during chol hamoed. yerushalmi family and minhagei hagrah (at least some of them hard to keep track of what they keep from the gra and why).
syag
I am aware that there are rabbonim who do that. My rosh yeshiva has asked me questions about technology a bunch of times and I know that I am not the only person he has asked. That being said I dont think thats what happened here. I am curious to know who actually wrote the letter and if anyone has actually confirmed (besides for a sign in the BMG coffee room) that this is actually what they hold. As was stated before Rabbi Kramer ran the script past his rabbonim. I guess we will agree to disagree on whether allowing exposure to a somewhat inaccurate accounting of the purim story is spiritually damaging. Your approach has its risks too albeit in a slightly different fashion. As long as you are following your rav I have no problem with you following your mehalech. You should just be aware that it is not the only legitimate one.
that isnt the only medrash. There are shittos that hold memuchan was daniel or another character entirely. go through the targumim and medrashim again.
@Menachem Melamed
If you honestly think Rav Dovid Schustal, Rav Yerucham Olshin, and Rav Yisroel Neuman sat down together to watch Megilas Lester …
@play no games pls
i own the series so it should be pretty easy for me to find it. will ask my wife who read it cover to cover.
@Syag
The AAP says under 24 months. That being said like most neurological issues its not so cut and dried. Would post a book with an opposing view but I am not sure that is allowed here. As far as I know the only issues for over 2 years old are the sleeping issues (because of the artificial light) and the fact that a lot of these kids aren’t getting proper exercise. The AAP’s recommendation is to keep it to 2 hours a day (for children over 2).
@play no games pls
I would love to see that study that says that it does not advance vocabulary and counting skills. I am suspecting a correlation causation issue with that study.
Basically moderation is the key. If you don’t want your kids to watch videos because of your religious views that I can understand. But the view that watching a disney movie even once a week will adversely affect a child neurologically over two is not a widely held view. Seems like a lot of presupposition to me.
the level of rhetoric and the they’re wrong so therefore we must be right attitudes are getting on my nerves (not referring to specific posters here). why aren’t people discussing how we have to have a cheshbon hanefesh to figure out why this is happening as opposed to expending all of their energy fighting about it especially when it is so obvious that they are just making things worse?
Have a rebbi who can help you decide. everyone is different it really depends on whether you are in a position in life where you have worked on yourself enough to be a good spouse. Financial concerns are not always a good reason to push things off this is where consulting with a rebbi/mentor will help you figure these things out.
Actually there are plenty of chachamim who do hold that one should get blitzed on purim … In fact I have seen some extremely choshuv people get quite drunk on Purim.
When I spoke to R’ Leiman on the subject a couple of years ago he said they got drunk on Purim in the yeshivos in Europe.
I am actually an extremely quiet drunk. My wife says she sometimes likes me better that way.
For a guy to be in yeshiva on purim and not get drunk is pretty abnormal. The only guys in my yeshiva who didnt get drunk were those who were unable to due to medical reasons or because they really couldn’t tolerate alcohol.
The Biur Halacha/Mishna Berura is a shita. There were also a few rabbonim who didn’t stay up shavous night. That doesn’t mean that everyone else is wrong. I am not claiming that those that hold to not get drunk on purim do not have plenty of rishonim and achronim on which to be someich on. I have gone through the sugya of rabba and rav zeira before. I still feel that making such a cheshbon (drinking vs. lost learning) on your own is extremely dangerous.
the problem with that logic again is what I said before. Allowing our own daas to determine our kiyum hamitzvos (even minhagim) is not a good idea. According to this logic one should not stay up all shavuos night learning because it will detract from ones kavanah in davening and learning the next day. The best thing to do is have a rav who you can go to and ask such shailos.
This is a widely accepted minhag that to my understanding has been practiced for generations and that is not something to tread on lightly.
when i was in yeshiva the rosh yeshiva made sure there were designated drivers at night and during the day. There were a couple of guys who were unable to drink due to medical issues or just drank by the seudah.
I think that this is an ask your Rav/Rosh Yeshiva issue. If your Rav holds you should follow the Rama’s eitza go right ahead. Many Rabbonim (my Rosh Yeshiva included) do not hold that way. I feel that allowing our own ideas and biases of what is or looks right or wrong to govern our kiyum hamitzvos sets an extremely bad precedent and is a slippery slope. I think that if bochurim are in the right seviva it doesnt have to be a bad thing.
getting drunk on purim can be an extremely spiritually uplifting experience. if you dont feel that way then you obviously arent doing it right. Also I fail to understand the maaras ayin sevara. I guess according to that logic we shouldnt do bris mila either or wear a yarmulke.
Thanks oomis.
My point was that people should be able to realize on the own that coming past 10:00 PM to a house with young kids and repeatedly ringing a doorbell is unlikely to get them accolades. It was especially egregious because of the sign which was kind of obvious regardless of what language they speak or read. Some of the collectors are oblivious and some unfortunately just don’t care.
Slight rant here had one ring my doorbell at 10pm tonight. There was a mazal tov its a girl sign on the door. I am pretty sure they could have figured out that wasn’t a great idea. Some people unfortunately have no seichel.
The wife just had a baby girl so I get a mazal tov.
All I know is that it is difficult (and dangerous) for my pregnant wife to stumble around in the snow and ice and that some people should be more considerate.
not saying that you can’t do it just its much more difficult to get into a good school with it and a high pct drop out or fail out (this is based on a conversation I had with the head of admissions at Fordham Law a while back).
Actually yes we should be makir tov to everyone who saves jewish lives. I am sorry that seems like such a difficult concept to you. Al achas kama vkama if that person is actually Jewish.
You are creating a straw man here. If a french soldier was actively saving a Jew in a shver matzav of course I would have hakaras hatov for him. For example, lets say we have a French soldier who saved Jews in the holocaust would you go ranting about how its all the French’s fault for getting themselves there in the first place and that we don’t owe him hakaras hatov ?
unfortunately the same is true with many yeshiva guys who go to law school off of BTLs (the not passing part)
Who said anything about worshiping them (I know I didn’t). They provide a valuable service for Jews in a shver matzav whether they got themselves there in the first place or not is irrelevant. That in my mind should warrant hakaras hatov.
DassYochid has pretty much said everything else I feel about the subject so I don’t feel the need to elaborate.
so arvus means nothing to you? according to your logic you shouldn’t have any hakaras hatov to hatazala in america if you live in Eretz Yisroel because they don’t help you personally out. Seems kind of interesting to me.
Rav Belsky specifically addressed the “If you weren’t going to buy it otherwise” taina and said it doesnt work. Based on what I understand from what he said the reason is since you obviously wanted the song otherwise you wouldn’t have downloaded it, that means that there is an amount that you would pay for the song ergo its still hasagas gvul. A bit of extrapolation on my part but he clearly disagrees with the concept of the taina.
Rav Simcha Bunim Cohen has also specifically addressed this point and concurs with Rav Belsky. He didn’t have time to explain his reasoning though.
I don’t know that is an interesting question. It depends on what qualifies as hasagas gvul according to Rav Belsky. It might be if the original artists producers arent maskim to it and it takes away from their sales.
According to Rav Belsky the “copying” itself was never the issue. Hasagas Gvul is the issue. Therefore this makes no difference.
yes. she posts here too occasionally.
I am not wrong. For example masig gvul does not apply which has a huge nafka mina in regards to intellectual property which is the question at hand. additionally prius chovos is different (unrelated to the question at hand). depending on whether it is deoraisa or derabanan there will be additional nafka minas. I guess I wasnt clear – I was referring to the subject of stealing which is referred to in laymans terms as “gezel”. I am not so sure that geneivas daas in that situation would be an issue either or that this specific situation would qualify as geneivas daas.
there is something called a mechanical license which is relatively inexpensive. I am sure people use that. one site I saw charges $15 per song plus a 0.0175 royalty fee per copy. In the non-jewish world creating “covers” of songs is a big industry.
on another topic gezel hagoy has different halachos then gezel yisroel. probably not something to discuss on a publicly searchable forum.
I am not sure where this whole you need to be inspired from the music thing came from its a nice idea but not rooted in halacha as far as I know. if anyone here has a mareh makom for that would love to see it.
I miss shang chai and cafe napoli
snow plow sighting
I will be sticking with my Note 10 and powersefer (which is awesome).
As far as machshava goes I would recommend sifsei chaim by Rav Chaim Friedlander as it was written by someone more contemporary and will enable you to have a much greater understanding of the ramchals seforim. Even if you have a more advanced knowledge of hashkafa it is still extremely advisable.
Supposedly Rav Moshe Heineman holds its an issue.
@Avram in MD
I agree that it may have been warranted in that situation. However the fact is that yeshivos tend to be very trigger happy with problem kids and do not tend to follow up afterwards (as I stated before). The yeshivos do share a large part of the blame – running a yeshiva requires a sense of achrayus which unfortunately many menahalim do not have. Whether the yeshivos were right in this case or not was not (I dont think) damoshe’s point. I fear that many rabbonim/menahalim will be in for a very rude awakening after 120 for the poor decisions they have made. Olam Hafuch Raeisi comes to mind.
Those are unfortunately are a very small minority. I have seen plenty of cases where the rebbeim/menahalim held grudges years later and refused to go over to those bochurim by simchas even to see how they were doing. I guess it is tough for the rabbonim/manhegai hador to speak about it without stepping on peoples (and yeshivas) toes but in my humble opinion it is an issue which needs to be addressed.
I hate to tell you people but the hanhalas motives in a lot of cases are not so pure. I heard a shiur on the radio once which crystallized this point. After the bochur is thrown out of a yeshiva and it is no longer a cheshbon of him against the yeshiva does the hanhala keep up with him, help him find him a new yeshiva, inquire about his chavrusas etc.? usually not. tzei ulemad from avraham and yishmael. vhamiavin yavin.
that sounds similar to the end of the third perek of shabbos although there are (at least) two shittos over there about lighting candles in the house.
I am still working as I work for myself. No employees today though.
back then all the seforim were in the shul in order to learn it would have been a sakana. so learning at home was not an option. Heard a shiur from R Shneur Leiman on the subject a couple of years ago but I dont remeber the mareh makom.
wasn’t disagreeing with you about the kol isha point in the m”b. Was just pointing out that it would appear that the bach argues. will have to look it up either way.
@Sam2 Thanks for the mareh hamakom.
@LAB I was pointing out an important nekuda according to the Bach a song made for commercial production would not be included – it needs to be meyuchad lavoda zarah and popular music nowadays may not fall into that category even if the intentlyrics maybe christianity related (assuming you hold christianity is a”z). Someone here can correct me if I am mistaken.
Also the m”b about kol isha is based on a bach who makes no such qualifications (from my recollection). recorded kohl isha maybe a different animal entirely.
@WIY
Classical music according to many authorities (ironically) would be more likely to be mutar than jewish songs with a faster tempo and I have heard that it is not considered a davar shel simcha. I have even heard of a heter to listen to it during the 3 weeks (could be based on rav shlomo zalman again maybe one of the posters here knows a mareh makom).