Forum Replies Created
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havesomeseichel:
I must admit I’m not sure exactly what you’re so “deeply offended” at. Did somebody suggest men do not need to have self-control? I must have missed it. Actually, the post right before the one you seem to have an issue with seems to put the blame more on men than women (and I can’t help but point out that you’ll notice no men were “deeply offended” at that).
“If men would act appropriate, all frum environments would be safer.”
Why are you only mentioning men? If all the women would act appropriately, all frum environments would also be spiritually safer! I’m deeply offended. Why not talk about women who need SELF CONTROL?
In case it isn’t obvious enough, those last two sentences are meant to be read with a healthy dose of sarcasm. The point I’m trying to get across here is that everybody agrees both men and women must behave themselves – we just happen to be focusing on the opposite sides of the same coin.
“mdd- why should women wear something that is beyond halacha- just to solve your problems? see a psychologist if a married woman’s sheitel is causing you trouble.”
Whoa. All mdd said was that it would be nice if “women were machmir to cover their hair with something other than a shaitel.” As in, its a nice thing to do. Not quite the fighting words you’re making them out to be.
That said, as I mentioned before R’ Elyashiv holds that today’s human-hair sheitels are “erva” and assur… so this is hot necessarily “beyond halacha”.
“Why is it always “women need to do….” instead of how “men should not look, should control their thoughts/eyes/urges”?”
OK… men should not look, should control their thoughts/eyes/urges. Period.
“making the women lock themselves in closets, wear a bag over their head, or dress in potato sacks should not have to be done.”
I fully agree with you. All the many CR members demanding that woman lock themselves in closets, wear a bag over their head, and/or dress in potato sacks are dead wrong.
“Men should not be enticed by little things.”
And it shouldn’t get so cold in the winter. But the reality is what the reality is, whether we like it or not.
“the men should protect themselves too”
Of course. Where do you see anybody arguing?
“And in a fit of cruelty, they cut unemployment benefits.”
Do you honestly believe that the Republicans want the unemployment benefits reduced to their previous levels (nobody’s talking about “cutting” them) for no other reason than to get sadistic pleasure from watching other people suffer?! Sheesh, that’s about as intelligent as those who go around spewing nonsense about how Obama wants the economy to crash so he can form a new, world-wide government with him at its head… (and yes, people have actually told this to me with straight faces)
Why can’t we disagree with somebody (or some party) without jumping to the assumption that they are evil, cruel, and out to wreck as much sadistic destruction as they can?!
Fact of human nature: If people can live comfortably without working, they have no incentive to work. Therefore, expanding unemployment benefits gives people less of a reason to go find work. Nobody is suggesting we watch the unemployed starve, but we can’t support them indefinitely either. If the unemployment benefits were not at a record high then you would see more people lining up to be cashiers, work in Wal-Mart, etc. And don’t tell me there are no such jobs – I was recently in a clothing mall and I’d say about half of them had signs saying “now hiring”. probably not incredibly high-paying jobs, but jobs nonetheless. Why doesn’t the 9.8% of the population that is unemployed grab these jobs?
It may be more “humane” to give everybody money whether they work or not, but that simply does not work. That was Communism’s big idea, and look how well that worked out.
WIY:
“Wow, so according to you the reason single girls are getting older and not finding shidduchim is because they are dull?”
I never said that. All I was that being smart helps your chances of getting married, and I stand by that.
eclipse:
Are there exceptions to the rule? Of course. But in general, the smartest girls will get married off faster than their less intellectually gifted peers.
Helpful: I’m not sure if you’re agreeing with me or arguing with me.
aries2756: True, men tend to make the first move (although one could argue that the women often entice them into making the move).
mdd: Very true. I believe that not too long ago, Rav Eliashav called today’s sheitels “erva” because they are so life-like.
I don’t think anybody would really argue that only married woman should speak (to other women). I would assume the reason that married women tend to be the ones speaking is because speakers tend to be 1) older (and therefore wiser), and 2) not to dull to begin with; both factors that also increase the chance of being married.
I don’t see why working in general should be any more problematic for women than it is for men. Both genders can be influenced by a inappropriate environment, and both genders must adhere to hilchos negiah, yichud, etc.
Don’t get me wrong – I do believe that in an ideal world, women should be devoting themselves to running their homes, while their husbands support them. But life is not always so ideal.
Dave Hirsch: I’m pretty sure Obama “gets it”, there’s just not much he can do about it.
charliehall:
“Conservatives think that if they can continue to keep the economy down, it will help defeat President Obama in 2012… And they want to obstruct all other government business in order to get their way.”
Yes, the Republicans will get in Obama’s way at every possible opportunity, just like the previous Democratic Congress did to Bush. Politics is politics, and its never pretty.
“they value tax cuts to millionaires more than relief to those who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. They are totaly hypocrites when they call for extensions of unemployment to be paid for when they are willing to spend far more on tax cuts without paying for them!”
First of all, there is a reason Republicans don’t want unemployment benefits to go up – they believe it gives people a reason not to go to work. If unemployment benefits were kept at their previous levels, they reason, more people would swallow their pride and take whatever work they could find.
Second, there is a difference between handing out money the government currently has and collecting less money from the public.
Also, the Republicans can argue that tax cuts will stimulate the economy, so more money will be collected in taxes later down the road.
rebbitzen:
“um..could we get back to what i should do?”
Either throw your nails in the garbage, flush them down the sink, or you can just move them after they hit the ground.
twisted:
“There was an article in a known Mag that featured (favorably) a woman in EY that chases away ayin hara by pouring molten lead from container to container over the persons head. I wrote in that aside from the karov la’avoda zara aspect, she was endangering peoples lives, given the toxicity of lead, lead fumes, and the danger of a spill accident. It was not publish, she had the hascoma of some local Rabbanim. Stick to the daled amos of halacha folks. Please.”
This woman does not only have the haskama of “hascoma of some local Rabbanim”, she has the haskama of the Gedoli Hador. (Although technically, I suppose they are her local Rabbanim.) I spoke to somebody who went to her, and he told me that he actually saw little eyes appear in the lead. Segulos and Kabbalah are real. Overused and often faked, but still real.
Seeing as “a lot of people who look frum, yeshivish and even chasidish go to various Starbucks stores” (and not only in brooklyn) and only buy coffee, I don’t see it being maras eyin.
Mayan_Dvash:
“Whatever the phrase may be, it can be replaced with “BLAH BLAH BLAH” without losing any meaning at all.”
Only if you don’t understand yiddish and/or aramaic.
Best shprach I’ve ever heard: Not a sfek sfaika of a hava amina!
“This thread is dedicated for anyone wishing to explain to our MO brethren (who often misuse this Chazal)”
Uncalled for.
aries:
aries2756
“Who do you think you are to be so divisive amongst us in this CR.”
Because that isn’t divisive at all.
Wolf:
“Just like those who completely ignore p’shat in this week’s parsha and say that Yaakov never really kissed Rachel.”
Umm… Yaakov Avinu also married two sisters, an issur di’Oraysa. At that time the Torah had not yet been given, and the Avos did not follow the halacha the same way we do today. (Exactly what their halachic status was before matan Torah is the subject of much discussion.)
“mw, do you live in Monsey that you are so in tune to the situation?”
Yes, actually.
“Al tadin et chavercha ad shetagiah b’mkomah!”
Wouldn’t that also apply to the mechanchim kicking out children to protect the others?
Moq – Excellent post, as usual.
aries:
“You can’t bash Rabbonim here, but you can judge everyone else and put everyone else down. It is a huge double standard.”
Aha. So you see absolutely no difference in the attitudes that one should have to a Rav or anybody else. Well you’ll have to forgive those of us who might want to actually respect our Rabbonim… hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive our extremism.
And btw, I can’t help but point out that your comments tend to “judge everyone else and put everyone else down” at least as much as the next CR member.
PY: The camps were bought by a non-religious jew, but the owner’s right hand man, and the new manager of these camps, is a chassidisha yid.
“Whats the deal with Yeshiva/BY closures lately?”
Um… the recession?
aries2756:
“when they are performing their JOB they have an obligation to the community”
When the Mechanchim are performing their job they have an obligation to their current students, first and foremost. And they cannot and should not accept a student that will negatively affect the others.
Moq – Well said.
OK, perhaps I need to clear up exactly what I meant. Obviously, one cannot be expected to follow all of the Rabbonim – after all, they often hold different things. However, one must have his or her own personal Rav who they ask shailos (both in halacha and in hashkafa) to. Basically, all I was trying to say was that one cannot simply do whatever they please and call it Judaism, they’ve got to have somebody to rely on.
aries2756: If that is your experience with Rabbonim, then no wonder you’re so bitter towards “the system”. Perhaps you should find yourself some new ones… B”H, my Rabbonim do nothing of the sort.
“Firstly are you saying that ALL the girls out of school are in this situation?”
No, but I think quite a few of them are (or at least in a case very similar).
“Secondly, why hasn’t anyone intervened till this girl has gotten to this point in the scenario?”
Cuz the system doesn’t work, remember? Nobody cares.
“Thirdly, I would definitely talk to the young lady in question, and no I can’t tell you what I would say to her because it would all depend on her situation, why she lost her interest in Judaism, when it started and why it started. I have worked with many young people in various situations caused by various reasons. And for reasons only they know, they clicked with me and trusted me.”
That sounds like a rather vague plan, at best. Not something that I think most mechanchim would buy, and not something I’d be happy to hear from my own child’s principal. A threat to the other students must be dealt with.
mdd – Of course. Sometimes the way a child turns out is very much the schools fault. But in the vast majority of cases, I don’t think it is.
aries2756: Aha. So you plan to combat unrealistic expectations with even more unrealistic expectations.
The only thing I can think of to that is a great quote I once read from Lemony Snicket (the author, not the CR member) “If you fight fire with fire, the whole world will burn down!”
Perhaps instead, you should send your children to a more reasonable school… and in turn, have more reasonable expectations of “the system”.
Just got this cute email:
Ever wonder what would happen if we treated Torah as we treat our cell phone?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we flipped through it several time a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it as if we couldn’t live without it?
What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?
This is something to make you go….hmm…just where is my Torah today?
Oh, and one more thing.
Unlike our cell phone, we don’t have to worry about Torah being disconnected because its calls never fail.
Makes you stop and think ‘where are my priorities’?
And no dropped calls!
For arguments sake, let’s say the girl comes from a good, decent home, and has no emunah questions. However, she has absolutely no interest in Judaism, watches movies, listens to goyish music, smokes, drinks, and talks to boys. She is fairly popular in her class, and since she has come several girls have begun to join her in some of these activities, something they never would have dreamed of doing a few months ago. Your daughter happens to be friends with this girl, and is also taking up some of these habits. Now, you get rock-solid proof that this girl spent last motzai shabbos drunk at her boyfriends house. Your move?
“mw13, what shape is our chinuch system in now? I ask you? Schools are closing left and right!”
Yes, it’s called a recession.
“Thousands of kids are OTD, they wanted to make an example of kids to teach other kids not to follow suit?”
This has nothing do with making an example out of anybody, and everything to do with curtailing negative influences.
Again, you seem to be expecting, if not demanding, an incredible amount from the school system. Remember, the teachers/principals are often overworked, underpaid, and only human. You may be expecting too much from them. Much of what you have said here is far, far easier said than done.
HaKatan:
As usual, excellent post.
twisted:
I did not say that your comment was “illogical or intolerant”. I was simply pointing out that saying “Note that as yet you did not receive an apology fron the “ben torah” nor was “helpful” very polite. The discourse will not always be rational and you will see the circling of the wagons.” isn’t exactly the most “polite” thing to say, either.
That said, I will quote you a comment that I would most certainly classify as “illogical and intolerant”, “not always… rational”, “[not] very polite”, etc, etc.
“are you smoking something stale, myfreind? Upended? lost chance? clearly indicated? drivel? You seem to read a lot into plain Q&A. Were you the class bully as a child?”
Recognize it?
aries2756:
First of all, I’m not quite sure why your post was directed to me, seeing as I can’t figure out how it would respond to anything I said.
Second, you seem to be expecting, if not demanding, an incredible amount from the school system. Remember, the teachers/principals are often overworked, underpaid, and only human. You may be expecting too much from them.
ICOT:
“No rebbe or menahel should consider this type of step without thinking hard about if they’d consider this a fair way of dealing with their own child.”
True. But on the flip side, no Rebbi or Menahel should consider accepting a student without first thinking long and hard whether they’d want him/her to be an influence their own child.
“If parents have to be asked to remove their child from a school it should be done in the most bekovadik, private way possible, and the school should also continue to be involved in helping the parents place the child elsewhere.”
Couldn’t agree more.
I believe that most guys do mature significantly between the ages of 20 and 23. But hey, if a guy is indeed ready at 21, go for it!
myfriend:
“And, as you said, the are not anymore taught about finances, etc. whether they are 23 or or 20. These things come naturally for a guy.”
We hope.
WellInformedYid:
Well said. A school has an obligation to throw out a kid who is a negative influence on everybody else. Many of the kids who go off the derech do so because of bad friends – if we could stop those bad friends from being in our children’s schools, we would be one step ahead of the game.
abcd2:
“ddear well informed yid. I am sorry but you are wrong. “In most cases if a kid gets kicked out I think it is because the house let it get to the point where the kid is a mess.”
How many kids with issues come from the finest of homes and backgrounds? How many kids have parents that are willing to try any suggestion? How mabny kids rebel without cause?
The answer: Tons!”
True, the parents are not necessarily at fault for having an off the derech kid (after all, Avrahom and Yitzchok both had sons who didn’t quite follow their derech…). However, a school has an obligation to throw out a kid who is having a negative influence on the other students, no matter why that is the case.
miyan gal:
“They would love it if each child were perfect and fit into the imaginary mold they have.”
As WIY explained, each school is usually created to serve certain types of people. If you are not the type that the school is looking for, you can’t blame them for not wanting to accept you. It doesn’t mean that they have anything against you or your type, just that you’re not what they’re looking for.
oomis1105:
“If you do not believe that this abusive behavior, there is nothing to talk about.”
Then this conversation is pretty much over. Guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree.
lesschumras:
“If a bochur arrived for an interview at a kollel/yeshiva, he would be told that if he chose to one day to dress in jeans and a tee shirt, it would be considered unaceptable and he would be sent home and be subject to dismisal. Why not do the same with smoking?”
Many, if not most, yeshivos do just that.
“No, just because you obey the Rabbonim that doesn’t make you more religious.”
What?! Did you just say that you don’t have to follow the Rabbonim to be religious?!
We are talking about Yiddishkeit here, right?
arc: Don’t worry, I didn’t get that impression of Monsey at all from your comments. aries2756 tends to get rather worked up when it gets to chinuch issues (not that that’s necessarily a bad thing), so don’t be too worried about it.
aries2756:
“If the community in Monsey can sit idly by while children are labeled and not work with them and help them then….EDITED”
Not every case is so black and white. If you were in charge of a school, and a parent came crying to you to let her daughter in, even though she would definitely be a bad influence on the other girls, what would you do? Sacrifice one, or make everybody suffer? I don’t think there’s any easy answers here.
aries2756:
You’re going to have to define exactly what constitutes kicking somebody out for no reason. After all, if somebody is not living up to the standard of a yeshiva, and is therefore negatively affecting the yeshiva’s other students, can you blame them for kicking him out? If anything, they should kick him out to protect the other boys.
“the chutzpah to say that one child is worth more than another!”
Whoa. I don’t think kicking somebody out is necessarily saying that “to say that one child is worth more than another”. It could simply be that the boy simply doesn’t fit into this yeshiva, or is having a negative effect on other bochrim.
There are plenty of perfect legitimate reasons to kick somebody out, and often it must be done to protect the rest of the school. After all, what shape would our chinuch system be in if they could never say no? Would you be happy if your child’s school refused to kick out people who were negatively affecting your child simply because they do not believe in kicking people out?
Imanonov: Well said. I think that that pretty much ends the discussion.
coke:
Whoa, chill out. Nobody said not so chilled out girls are “doomed”. Don’t worry there are plenty of guys looking for more serious girls, too.
NOTG:
“i need to find out who rebdoniel is”
I’m not entirely sire that that’s possible… although I think that the Mods have worked out email exchanges before. Mods? Want to tell NOTG if that might be possible in this case?
oomis1105:
“For anyone who likes to point out that their parent who smokes is a tzaddik in all other ways, and I totally believe you, substitute alchohol for the smoking addiction. No matter how wonderful that parent may have been all your life, would you defend alcoholism the same way?”
I don’t think the two are comparable. An alcoholic will often abuse his/her loved ones (if only with negligence), while smokers do not.
That said, there is a very good reason for not wanting others to smoke. It’s fairly simple:
U’shmartem mioed es nafshosaichem
+
Kol yisroel areivim zeh la’zeh
=
Caring if fellow jews smoke.
Sqeak:
“You certainly are free to opine and disagree with others, I was referring to how you choose to do so. The trick that you learned as a med prof. is just as appropriate in a non-professional setting. Treating people respectfully shouldn’t depend on being paid to do so.”
Well said, couldn’t agree more. might I add that people will often be more open to your way of thinking if you treat them with respect.
theprof1: I’m sorry, did you just compare the Satmar Rebbe to Doeg HaAdomai? The one who doesn’t have a share in olam haba?
rabbiofberlin:
“great advert for freedom of thought and press !”
Umm… Seeing as this is a privately owned website, I can’t imagine there are any legal issues in censoring comments. Unless your referring to freedom of speech/press as an ideal, not a legal issue, in which case my response is that in Judaism, there is no such ideal… Judaism is not based upon individual freedom (as western society is) but on individual and community responsibilities.
twisted:
I can’t help but notice that your comment wasn’t exactly the epitome of logic and tolerance, either.
Simcha 44:
“In this day and age, especially with all the Touro programs and even online programs, it is inexcusable for a man or woman not to pursue a degree of some sort.”
I’m sorry? Who appointed you to tell an entire generation what they must do with their lives? Everybody has the right to do as they see fit, and not everybody must live their lives just like you live yours. A little bit of tolerance would be nice.
“Most of the guys who fit this “mold” cannot pass a 5th grade spelling or grammar test, nor can they speak above a mumble or without forcefully inserting random Yiddish and Aramaic words out of context.”
Ooh, where to start…
Did you give “most of the guys who fit this mold” a 5th grade spelling test? No? Then what gives you the right to make such a massive and derogatory generalization? I’ll have you know that there are plenty of learning boys who speak an flawless and intelligent english. Seriously, drop your ugly stereotypes and open your mind just a little bit.
And them the yeshivish get blasted for supposedly looking down on those more modern than them…
Really? Malchu Yisroel was approved by Hashem? I always thought it was created as a punishment to Malchus Yehuda for not following Dovid HaMelech’s ways…
mdd:
“As far as the Satmar Rebbe’s seforim go, he held that Zionism is a pirtsa and he is allowed to say not-emese pshatim to fight it… The Satmar Rebbe held it was mutar and even a mitsva.”
Do you have a source to back up this incredibly bold claim?
Lomed Mkol Adam:
First of all, nice name.
“there may very well be a Torah and moral obligation to recite the Mi Sheberach on the grounds of the Chiyuv/Mitzvah of hakaras hatov”
Aha. So there’s a chiyuv to make a mi shebeirach to everybody who we owe our hakaras hatov to? And not just those that we owe hakaras hatov to, but the people who any Jew anywhere in the world owes hakaras hatov to? Wow, I’m not davening in your shul… because by the time your done all those mi shebeirach(s? im?) it’ll be tuesday!
Why must haaras hatov translate into a mi shebeirach? And why do you assume that those of us who don’t make a mi shebeirach have no hakaras hatov?
Helpful:
“Goyim aren’t attempting suicide bombs against yidden in Toronto or Milwaukee. Only in Israel. Why? Since the zionists incited them.”
Not the issue. The original Zionists, whether they are or are not responsible for the current situation, are no longer serving in the IDF. Those who currently serving in the IDF are definitely not the cause of the Arab’s hatred of us, and are still protecting our fellow jews from harm. In my book, that deserves our hakaras hatov. I don’t think this hakaras hatov must be expressed with a mi shebeirach, but I certainly think we should be thankful to the IDF.
jakyweb – I believe the “Rebbi cards” were primarily made as an alternative to collecting sports cards. Again, I don’t think boys get an incredible amount of chizuk from just looking at pictures of Gedolim, on cards or not. That said, I can’t imagine anybody would have any issues with “Rebbitzen cards” for girls… I would imagine the only reason nobody has tried that already is because they don’t think they’ll make too much money off it, as girls aren’t so into collecting cards in the first place.
As for the pictures in magazines, some have legitimate issues with circulating a woman’s picture to the masses, as HaKatan explained.
I’m not sure how citing a mi shebeirach for the tzahal is supporting Zionism, and therefore whether one holds of Zionism or not should have little to do with this conversation. I also think that it is obvious that we owe our thanks to the tzahal – the only question is whether a mi shebeirach is the appropriate way of expressing this. Where else do we find a mi shebeirach to express hakoras hatov to somebody? The only times that we normally do this is for somebody who has done something for the shul – bought an aliah, etc. Why can’t we have the tzahal in mind, along with all of Klal Yisroel, when we say Sim Shalom, Rieah Nu, Shomer Yisroel, Acheinu, etc, etc.
Ben Torah:
“If you don’t like the society, feel free to leave it. I’m sure the Reform will welcome you, take pictures of you, and post your pictures all over their publications and websites.”
Whoa. Uncalled for. Seriously, just because somebody disagrees with your hashkafa doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re totally not frum.
HaKatan:
“there is a tremendous difference between hanging a picture of your mother in your home and publishing her picture in a mass-circulation newspaper. Please don’t make a mockery of the discussion; any guest who comes to a home will obviously see the woman of the house over the course of the meal; but that doesn’t mean her shabbos table should be broadcast on national TV”
Well said.
jakyweb:
“I believe that it would give girls tremendous chizuk to see pictures of Rebbitzens and Neshei chesed from the past… How do you think little girls feel when their brothers see pictures of frum men everywhere and not one picure of a frum lady?”
Honestly, I’m not sure why seeing pictures of positive role models is so important. I can only speak for myself, but I find that I get far, far more chizuk from reading stories about Gedolim then from looking at their pictures.
“So girl’s role is to work hard and somehow not be seen in public?”
Yes, I think that would sum it up rather nicely. What’s the phrase? Kol kavudah bas Melech pneimia? (Or something like that.)
“Is there such a thing as a class in a regular non chassidish BY without kids that watch movies? Does it even exist in Lakewood?”
I would pretty seriously doubt that there is. And I’m not sure the Chassidim are doing so much better.
“It really bugs me that people don’t care and prefer not to know. Out of sight out of mind. We only wake up when it hits our own family Rachmana Litzlon.”
Unfortunately, far too true. We have to look around us and see what the current issues are, if only to protect those around us from them.
Yanky55:
“If you ask the gedolim if you should spend your time learning or writing on YWN about all the problems in the frum world, what do you think they would say?”
There is such a thing as a kosher outlet… and if you don’t believe in them, what are you doing here?
PBA: Sounds like a good idea in theory, but what if your kid who has a teacher who can’t handle the increased class size, yet decides to stay on anyways?
World Saver: You are making a massive generalization, saying it is an unarguable fact, and not bringing a shred of evidence to back it up. Besides for the fact that I have personally spoken to people who were addicted to inappropriate images and had serious emunah issues, despite having excellent relationships with their parents.
aries2756, let me take that idea to it’s logical conclusion:
aries2756, are you married? Do you have kids? Do you honestly think that parents could abuse their own kids, and put them through this kind of hell? Are YOU nuts? Which koolaid have you been drinking?
And yet, we’ve probably all heard stories of parents abusing their kids…
So, would you believe a story about a parent abusing a child? Stories that I’ve heard all too often, sometimes in first-person? Then you should have no problem believing that a parent would convince a child to pretend to have been abused, which is far less serious. Yes, we’re talking about the scum of the earth here… but unfortunately, they still exist.
Oomis1105:
“we all need to learn to act with respect towards all people who are decent, good people”
I do not believe that according to the Torah, there is such a thing as a “good, decent” person who defines himself as gay. I think they are just as morally corrupt as molesters, thieves, etc. All are doing what Hashem has clearly said is absolutely wrong – what difference is there between them? would you tell me that there is such a thing as a “good, decent” thief or molester?
HaKatan: True. But I still hear both sides of this issue.
oomisll05:
“Hinei Ba’ohel, does not necessarily mean she never walked outside her tent to be seen by anyone. But if it does, that was a generation when women in general were probably not seen much if at all, because they were viewed by so many, as chattel. It certainly was not because of the Torah, which a) had not yet been given and b) does not direct us to keep women ensconced solely at home.”
First of all, the concept was most certainly a Torah-true ideal, as can be seen from the fact that the Melachim praised Sarah (albeit indirectly) for this very act, as Rashi on the passuk points out.
“It certainly was not because of the Torah, which… does not direct us to keep women ensconced solely at home.”
Nobody is suggesting that Sarah was “ensconced solely at home”, only that she did not appear in public when there was no need for her to do so. Also, note that nobody was “keeping her indoors”, she was doing it voluntarily.
“I would rather be a good, religious Conservative Jew than an irreligious more orthodox one.”
Confused – if one is more orthodox, doesn’t that by definition make them more religious?
Seeing as these terms are getting me confused, I’ll put it like this: The more one obeys the Halacha and the Rabbonim, the more religious they are (regardless of what label they use). Wouldn’t you agree?
Of course being in Hatzalah isn’t quite like being the IDF, but my point still stands: Why only the IDF? Surely there are others worthy of our recognition and teffilos as well? And yet there is only a mishabeirach for the IDF (and the cholim).
“what more “proof” do you need, that when a kid comes telling his parents (best possible scenario in worst possible situation, although mostly kids keep it in for a long while) – having NEVER seen a therapist in his life – and talking about things that he/she would never be able to “imagine/make up” UNLESS someone was MOLESTING him, or perhaps, grooming him for future abuse?”
The problem is, who said this really happened? Maybe the parents had an axe to grind, claimed the kid came crying to them, and then told the child to play along?