metrodriver

Zen3344; Thank you for acknowledging. (going around the block.) I can assure you that 99% of the bus drivers are considerate of someone else waiting behind their bus. But (for that 1%), sometimes a bus driver is in a dilemma. When a mother opens the door and gives you a sob story (They’re too many to enumerate. I’ve heard most of them.) which might, or might not be true, you feel guilty and don’t want (or dare) to move on.

You can’t be or look more Jewish and liberal than Rep. Henry Waxman. And when he speaks in the House, in an official capacity, his Jewishness sticks out like a sore thumb. Because 99% of the time he comes down on the wrong side of an issue. And that causes a massive Chillul Hashem.

bm (beis medrash?; To your main topic. In a city like New York (or Ramapo), there is always the possibility to exchange shift work with someone else who’d rather have Sunday, or any other day off. In Israel, though, solving this problem could be more difficult. As a matter of fact, one of the Negative side effects of those (stupid, malicious) demonstrations against the Karta parking garage in Jerusalem was that some religious Police Officers had to come to work on Shabbos, probably with a Heter of the Police Dp’t. Rabbis, because the situation was deemed an emergency. On one of the pictures, (of the demonstration) a Charedi cop (with Payos) could be seen trying to control the demonstrators. About the other potential situations that you enumerated. They are being solved without major interruption and according to Halacha.

Yichusdik; I tend to go with Yjneb’s solution. Don’t look. Hence you will not see what’s not appropriate. In our area (in Brooklyn), there are, from time to time, Kol Koreh’a denouncing the un-Tzniyus way that (According to the Poster authors) some people dress. What’s interesting. I never noticed. (B”H). And will continue (BE”H) to not notice. There is a story told about one of the Chassidic Rebbes, who once said that when he was very young he thought that he would “Fix” the entire world (To enhance their Yiddishkeit.). In Middle age, he thought of “Fixing” the people in his town. In his old age he realized that he must work very hard to keep his own devotion at an appropriate level.

Zahavasdad; No. the determining factor ( whether it is Cholov Yisroel or Cholov Akku”m (OK Cholov Stam.)) is not whether a human or machine did the actual milking. Rather, under whose auspices it was performed. Whether a Jewish observer was present or not. BTW. The Heter of Reb Moshe Z”L is based on “Yotze V’nichnass” ???? ?????. Namely. That the (Jewish) observer can (Has a right to) be present at any time. Even if he is not physically there at the time.

Abba bar Aristotle; If your moniker is your true Pedigree, then adding a Zero will only make you one Quarter of the True Chronological age.

HaLeivi & tahini (OP); Yes. But there is a conceptual difference between “Raa” and “Raya”, which is in a different league, altogether.

Where the former signifies “Bad” or “Evil”, the latter means “Friend” (Female), “Companion”.;

600 Kilo Bear; You are a baal Madrega in Tzedaka. But there is another way to look at this subject, or all Mitzvohs in the Torah. When Moshe Rabbeinu said to the Yidden “These are the Mitzvot, You (Plural) Shall not Add or Subtract of These”. ??? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ????. Anyway. The entire dissertation is too long for a CR post. The thrust of this P’shat (P’shetl) is, that if a person should add (Observe more Mitzvot, or in an enhanced manner.) they might one day subtract (Observe fewer Mitzvot. Therefore, the Torah admonishes us to leave the (Number of) Mitzvot intact. In other words. A person should treat the Tzedaka/Maaser fund –generally– as a business deal. Otherwise, if we always round upwards, we may sometimes permit ourselves to round in the opposite direction, too.

Wonderful story.

em0616; My question is; How did he (your friend) gain access to the R’ Meir Baal Haness pushka in Shul???

Also. A lesson learned; (Even) If you see someone “Breaking” into a pushka judge him “Benignly” (Give him the benefit of the doubt. Be Melamed Z’chus.) He may have run out of money, and will (Probably) return it.

Zen3344; I would lean back (On the horn) just to say hello. Trouble is, you’re not the only one. BTW. I try to avoid having to wait extra time for a child to get ready. If it happens occasionally, I rather go around the block, out of consideration for other people who share the road.

adorable; Your fears (about the physical safety of your children on the bus.) are substantially unfounded. As per your quote: “Not some Strangers off the Street”. Because every person who works on a bus whether a monitor or driver goes through a background check, with fingerprints sent to both, the State and Federal law-enforcement authorities before they’re hired.

BaalHabooze; Your (Screen) name says it all! Both. It attracts attention and puts a smile on the mouse. (Not the real one, the “Virtual” one.). While scrolling down to inquire about the latest pearls of wisdom by the posters of “The Coffee Room”, your name popped out. It’s a show-stopper.

RSRH; The discussion is tailor made for me. I’ve gone through the exact situation that the OP (Lemoysnicket) describes. When I (rarely) borrow from the Pushka, I always make an effort to return the funds. Otherwise, (If funds are not returned or taken for personal use) we are fooling ourselves. Some people use these funds for paying tuition or purchasing lottery tickets.They even quote famous Dayanim who permitted such use. But this is not called Tzedakah.

RSRH; One other point. On a general fund Pushka (Not designated to a specific Tzedakah) if you need the funds on an urgent basis and have no other funds at this time, even if funds are available to you on a later date, you are not “M’chuyav” (Al Pi Halacha) to return the funds. Because you are considered an “Ani” (Poor) at this time. This is a Halacha in Hilchos Tzedakah.

Another point, on the OP’s question; “Ribbis” (Charging interest) is permitted for a Tzedakah fund. BTW. A manager/trustee of an orphans’ fund is allowed to collect interest, too.

Abe Cohen; I assume (actually, you can’t assume anything for the famous reason.) that you consider yourself a “Holy Man”. Interestingly. That “Sheilah” never occurred to me. Or 99.9% of the population. Why do you feel a need or desire to patronize such an establishment where “Assurdig” images are displayed.

The Frumguy; 1) Borough Park can be spelled both ways. With, or without the UGH. Just because “Spell Check” doesn’t like it, doesn’t mean that it’s wrong. Anyway. The Heimishe way is the right way.; 2) the reason all the people you said “Gutt Shabbos” to, answered back, is, because those that look at you like a space alien when you say Gutt Shabbos were up in the country. Report back next week. I’m just kidding. Boro park is a very friendly place. At least I am. (Not a place.)

Always runs with scissors fast; Unless your entire post is in a facetious manner, (Which I think it is) I’m giving you a lot of credit for being such a “Tomim” or “Temimah”. Frankly. I’m a very big skeptic of all those “Magicians” who purport to “Read” Mezuzahs and Kesubohs and inferring from those readings the present and future status of the individual. They are ALL charlatans, whose fakery is caught sooner or later. A true “Baal Mofes”, whose brachos come true, will be very subtle and will not parade his powers in public.

OOMIS1105; Alexander is not the only non-Jewish name adopted by Jews. Feivish, for example. It’s derived from the non-Jewish Fabius. There are plenty of others, that don’t come to mind right now. But it works in both directions. Beside the obvious names like David, Abraham and Sarah, there are plenty of other names that the non-Jewish world has adapted from Jewish-originating names. The name “Sophy/Sofia”, for example, is in my opinion derived from the Hebrew “Tzofia”. “Elizabeth”, from Elisheva.

IMHO “Yenta” is a very nice name and “Character-Neutral”. But, unfortunately, some people named Yenta misbehaved in a good-natured way so that the name became synonymous with a nosy-body. Actually, today, it is a description of a certain type of behavior. We once had a landlady who lived on the Second floor of a Two story house. But on the way to her own apartment she invariably stopped by ours. It so happened that the kitchen was the first room one encountered on the way in. So, we got a visit to the kitchen and into the pots on the stove every day.

Truthfully, a person should behave the rest of the year (Other than Ellul) in the right way Bein Odom L’mokom and Bein odom L’chaveiro. Even though this month is especially meant for introspection, there are some people who take it in the wrong way. They will misbehave in every way and do things below every standard during the rest of the year, especially in the Summer, on account of doing Teshuva in Ellul. I once passed in front of a Shul on the First day of Selichos at 5AM, when I heard the echo of someone’s voice crying out loud the Poems of Selichos. I felt like walking over to him and asking; “What have you done all summer?! Where have you been all the time, that you have such a guilty conscience?!

On the one hand it looks like the concept of Appeal does not exist in Halacha. Where a Din Torah is concerned, one has a choice to reject a particular Beis Din ??? ??? in favor of another, more experienced or more reputable one. But after the fact, there’s no way to appeal unless you can find that the first B”D made a fundamental error in hearing the testimony or in a Halachic ruling. But there is a statement in Talmud which infers that under certain conditions a Second Bais Din (Rabbinical Court)can vacate an order of the First Court. ??? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ????? ??? ?? ?? ??? ???? ???? ????? ??????. which implies that if these conditions (Being more prominent and having a greater number of Rabbis on the board) are met, they could vacate the verdict of the lower court.

Sam 2; What about wearing a hat while driving in 90o weather in the Summer? I’ve seen many Choshuve Yidden who drive (the Air conditioned, leased Minivan) up to, and in the mountains without a jacket (Only a tie.) but the hat is ubiquitous, B”H. I go with the Israeli originating crowd, who wear the hat only to Mincha/Maariv in Shul.

ronsr; The last paragraph in your previous post is a no-brainer. Obviously. The amount you are being billed is not only closely related, but directly related to usage in KWH. (Kilowatt hours.). The way I figure the cost of electrical usage is, that I divide the net amount of $$ on the bill by KWH. (Never mind all the myriad fixed and variable charges and cost add-ons and all the other gibberish on your bill.) The net cost comes out to 27c/KWH.

SGold; In response to your first post; I don’t think ms seeker or anyone else compared any Orthodox group to Reform, or graded anyone’s devotion to Yiddishkieit. You are (deliberately or unwittingly) reading interpretations that are just nonexistent. Possibly, due to your own slant or bias. He/she used the debate between Orthodox and Reform representatives for comparison (as opposed to judgment or grading.) only.