Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
99% does not exist. Alcohol cannot be distilled to a concentration greater than 96%.
When one wants to drink alcohol in large quantities, rationalizations abound. There’s nothing Jewish about getting drunk.
No.
1. It doesn’t work, you are deluding yourself.
2. This practice is absolutely forbidden. Stop it.
Do what you can not to work.
Many say a brachah.Rama.
Mishna Brura says it is preferable not to.
Since it is only a minhag, it makes no difference how much bread you throw and when you throw it. It’s up to you.
In my opinion, abandoning Torah study and replacing it with tefillah, expecting to then know the Torah that was not studied is an unacceptable hashkafah.
Gumball, you didn’t do your homework. The assignment was to investigate the difference between cause-effect and proximity of events. Consequently, you fell again into the trap. It’s not too late, so do your homework and then you can go out and play.
By using this particular style of “strong language”, the Taz is clearly invoking kabbalistic concerns and not halachah. This should be obvious.
Dear Bekitzur,
Go for it. It will be a wonderful experience and will help you grow in every way. You will meet kids from all over the world and will appreciate that knowledge of our sifrei kodesh is the best uniter of all. Ali V’hatzlichi!
Professor Marc Shapiro’s book on the Seridei Aish is excellent.
The concept of an aveirah lishma is mentioned by the Shlah Hakadosh and was adopted by the early chassidic leaders as legitimate under certain circumstances. It is very closely related, possibly identical, to the concept of yeridas hatzaddik. For those chassidic leaders who espoused this possibility, all of the mentioned cases (Esther, Yehudah, Yael, etc..)are invoked. A corrollary to this issue, and one which is widely discussed in halachah, is the question of whether a minor transgression may be committed in order to avoid a more severe transgression.
This is an important topic.
There are those who view buying items before the birth as an ayin hara. For those who are unconcerned with ayin hara, there are emotional implications if c”v the baby is not healthy and certainly if it does not survive. There can also be social implications as someone else has noted,with families who are having difficulty having children. I think that the Rav’s advice mentioned above, to buy if necessary but not to flaunt it, is very sound advice.
Gumball: For homework tonight, your assignment(what to do) is to investigate(find out) the difference between these two concepts (things);
1. Cause and effect
2. Proximity of two events
Hint: they are not identical(the same).
From many of the posts here, it seems that one can easily find a source (rebbe, teacher, etc…) that one should go to EY or conversely, that one should NOT go to EY.
I guess I am naive, but I always thought that a Jew can learn from reading the Torah itself. So I suggest that all of the naysayers to EY sit and read the words of the Chumash. If you are capable, read it in the original. It’s pretty straight forward.
The most knowledgable people on the topic of identification of plants from Tanach are probably Professor Yehudah Felix and Professor Mordechai Kislev. Professor Kislev is accessible, unfortunately Prof. Felix passed away a few years ago and is accessible only through his many writings.
“I read it somewhere. It must be true.”
Sorry, wrong.
Rabbi Poliakoff in his book “Minhagei Lita” mentions this minhag and relates that in Lita (or at least in Telz where he learned for many years) this practice was unheard of.
In truth, it is a befeirush Mechaber AND Rama, Orach Chaim 25:2.
I know many who practice it. Why don’t we all?
I know the answer but I am not allowed to tell.
I do not believe that fruits or vegetables have a neshama or a part of anyone’s neshama. Please provide a source in the mishnah, gemara or tosefta.
All halachos pertaining to when a man may divorce his wife, or when a woman may demand a divorce from her husband depend on time , place and social mores. In all cases, a competent Rav must be consulted, and the answer may well be different today than it was 100, 300 or 1000 years ago.
I may be old, but I still try to understand. A girl in seminary receives a photocopied page of a daf gemara, yet she can claim that she is not learning gemara. When my friend made the same claim after being caught with a comic book in class, it did not go over quite so well.
Hashkafically, I find it unacceptable to believe that only the top 20% of Jews will be redeemed. This is not an application for a seminary. There cannot possibly be a quota.
Yes, I have a hashkachah pratis story.
As you know, I am an old man. Today I forgot where I put my wallet. That was definitely hashkachah pratis. At least shihchah pratis.
I wonder whether our children are getting a Torah education in our yeshivas. It seems not.
In Europe, people were very makpid to have water and a basin next to the bed.
The Taz definitely frowns upon interlocking fingers, it’s unclear whether he meant only during tefillah or at any time B’es Shalom. His language, however, proves my point, which is that refraining from interlocking fingers is kabbalistic/mystical and not halachah. The mere fact that the Taz mentions it does not make it halachah. His language (?????…???? ??? ?? ????, ?????)is clearly nonhalachic, but instead kabbalistic. The terminology used is reserved for mystical consequences that supposedly were tried and true. For those who are concerned about mystical implications to seemingly innocuous practices, I would say to stay far away from interlocking fingers. But this is not halachah.
As far as the Aruch Hashulchan quoting, he could have easily quoted the Taz, chose to quote Rav Shneur Zalman, and I don’t think it matters much. But the admonition is not halachah, but kabbalah.
They use electric shavers. Braun, Philips, etc…
Small correction if I may: ??? ???? ???? ?????
My advice:
Do not try to save the world, or this person’s soul, you have not proven that you are equipped to change someone who didn’t ask you for help. The fact that you know him does not qualify you to change the situation, though you can easily make it worse.
Stay away from him as much as you can. Associating with him will not do your neshamah any good.
Let the mother raise the child and hope for the best.
Disclaimer: This is my opinion, one may disagree with me.
1. You may not take money out of the box, that money is not yours once it goes in.
2. You may change your mind as to where the money will go once it is in the box. But it may not go to you, it is not yours anymore.
3. From now on, you may make a t’nai when putting money in the box. Say that this money is put away for any purpose that I so choose. It is then not tzedakah money yet. When you feel like giving the money, then give it to the tzedakah of your choice. If you need to “borrow” from it, you may. You may then choose to replace that borrowed money (it is yours and not really borrowed) or even add to it, that is up to you.
4. You make make a general t’nai that from now on, you may borrow or otherwise use the money in the box until it is given to tzedakah, and that t’nai will remain in effect until you annul it.
I would recommend renewing the t’nai every Rosh Hashanah.
I think everyone knows what intuition means. For a psak, it translates into giving an answer without looking anything up or running all the relevant sources through one’s head before answering. I know of great poskim who acknowledged that they pasken this way. I won’t give their names.
Historical factors. I’ll give two examples. After the Chmielnitzki y”s massacres (1648-9), the rabbonim got together and devised ways to be mattir as many agunos as possible. If one reads of these massacres (Nasan Hanover in Yven Metzulah, Yaffa Eliach in There Once was a World, etc…) one will understand the importance of history in psak. Same for sociological factors in this case. One can only imagine the pain and agony of the agunah who pleads her case in front of the Rav, who is suffering himself no less. Do these factors affect psak halachah? Absolutely.
Second case. The Chasam Sofer is famous for increasing the level of issur for certain issues due to his battle with the Reform movement. One has to read the history books to fully understand this movement, and I mean from both sides of the coin. The sociological factors in the Chasam Sofer’s decisions are obvious. Issues like bris milah, halanas hames, all needed to be considered according to the social attitudes of the times.
I would say that almost all psak has sociological factors built in without them having to be spelled out. In our days, can anyone deny that Internet use and its’ permissibility or non-permissibility is at least partially decided by sociological factors? Or college and secular studies? Or b’nei chutz la’aretz making a public yom tov minyan in Israel when everyone else is putting on tefillin and going to work? That’s what I mean.
I don’t have a cavalier attitude towards halachah, I just think that too many people confuse halachah with minhag or kabbalah, or even superstition. I do not think that just because a “sefer halachah” , i.e. the Kitzur of Rav Ganzfried, mentions a practice, that this practice becomes halachah. There are multiple issues where the accepted halachah changes through the generations, the discussion on yoshon is a good example. Quotes from the Sefer Chassidim do not become halachah, especially if one’s name is Avrohom, Yotzchak, Yaakov’ Shmuel, or ironically, Yehudah, v’hameivin yavin. In any case, I am not afraid of backlash.
Legufo shel inyan, the fact that the Aruch Hashulchan brings the Ba’al Hatanya as a source begs the question. It shows that there isn’t any early halachic opinion of sufficient stature to forbid interlocking fingers. I know that the Aruch Hashulchan had an affinity for chassidus and especially Reb Shneur Zalman, but if that’s the best he could do, (Rishonim? Tur? Mechaber? Rama? Magen Avraham? Anybody home today?) then it’s not very convincing. After all, fingers have been around for a long time.
I regret that my use of the word “comfortable” was misinterpreted, and I hope it was not intentional. If my posts are reread, it is clear that I meant that I like to hold my fingers that way, just like some people like to put their hands in their pockets. It has nothing to do with my halachic comfort level. If someone out there wants to jump on me for my hashkofos, I can only hope that the moderators will allow me to express them. Then I’ll be more than happy to be jumped on, provided I get to defend myself.
My opinion? Thanks for the compliment.
I have a very different approach towards this issue and many others. I often try to view psak halachah from a historical or sociological point of view (by the way, I am neither a historian nor a sociologist by profession). To me it is obvious that most piskei halachah are decided by the posek by intuition, experience and necessity. The real posek cuts through immediately to the core of the issue and decides intuitively. The rest of the tshuva is culling sources to support his decision and refute the opposing views.In most cases, the posek could have easily reversed his psak and still find halachic justification. This is most apparent with the question of agunos, where the need for a heter is most pressing. There are many other examples of course.
I greatly appreciate the shakla v’tarya here regarding the validity of sfek sfeika, and the discussion contributes much to l’hagdil torah. It is relevant to psak when an individual is faced with a decision as to whether a given product may be eaten at a given meal. However, when setting public halachic policy, that is, creating a “chodosh-free” food company, or setting up guidelines for large institutions (schools, yeshivas, kosher supermarket chains, even the OU), the issue of sfek sfeka becomes irrelevant. The psak will be given depending on public need or facts on the public ground. This is what the Bach did. If current day poskim think it’s too diffcult to keep yoshon, they will point to the Bach, and that’s fine. The Bach saw a situation where almost all ate chodosh and he set out purposefully to justify it. He was so successful that his heter was accepted for many generations. Now that we can verify (can we?) where our produce comes from and when, I think that a yoshon vadai enterprise should be supported. This is nothing new. Much lighter issues like cholov stam, non-glatt meat and imperfect hadassim have morphed into full blown taboos only because of the easy availablility of the shufra deshufra of these products. How many of us tolerate non-glatt meat? Hardly any. Is non-glatt meat kosher? Absolutely. Why should chodosh be any different if it is procurable? Yes, if someone is stuck in yenimsveldt and has to eat, pull out all those sfek sfeikas and make a decision. But if yoshon is easily available in Monsey or Lakewood, I think one should make the utmost effort to get it. Sometimes old heterim die hard.
On the same note, I think my thoughts here are applicable to other areas such as tcheiles (yes), horseradish maror (no),and a few other issues.
If that’s the Arizal’s definition, then I withdraw my request for proof.
I do not agree. Please provide proof that everyone’s business will be on full display for everyone in the World to Come.
Hopefully, the reason that this question didn’t get many hits last time is because people realized that it is a rather unproductive question. Other examples include, Is it better to be a man or a woman? Is it better to die quickly or slowly? Which derech in learning is the best? And so on….
One more thing. In Eretz Yisrael, the Tzitz Eliezer is known by everyone and is quoted all the time. It is unfair and a bit arrogant to ask “And how come barely anybody heard of Rav Woldenburg they only heard of tzitz eliezer.” That would be like asking why no one has heard of Rav Karelitz, they only heard of the Chazon Ish”. I venture that many accepted and even great poskim in the U.S. are relatively unknown here in Eretz Hakodesh. That does not detract from their stature.
I know that story about Reb Shlomo Zalman, and have heard similar ones,first hand, involving him or other great poskim. I rest my previously stated case, which was that great poskim have been known to defer to other (great) poskim.
I would like to correct a possible misconception here. From the story, it sounds almost as if Reb Shlomo Zalman is mentioning someone else who happens to be a posek. That would not be an accurate representation. Those two great people, Reb Shlomo Zalman and Rav Waldenberg, were good friends and knew each other from their early years.They lived only a few minutes walk from each other and conferred often. Needless to say they had tremendous admiration and respect for each other. They may not have agreed on everything, but that is only natural.
My feeling is that he was viewed as “nisht unzerer”. The story is hardly new or surprising. I don’t expect anything to change, but it’s worth a try.
Assuming this is not a troll OP, the Rov made a mistake. He should have spared the poor girl from having to go out again with someone whose priorities are upside down, literally.
Dear yeshiva boy, you marry the head and not the foot. Get help.
One who is familiar with the substance, style and tone of the Aruch Hashulchan can easily distinguish between when he is writing halachah psukah, that is strict issur v’heter, from issues where he is advising or recommending to be “on the safe side”, without actually forbidding. In the paragraph discussing interlocking fingers, the Aruch Hashulchan is quite ambivalent, mentioning sources from both sides, siding with the “be on the safe side”, but ultimately leaving it up to the individual’s personal preference. Besides, the entire paragraph specifically concerns hand position during davening, and does not relate to a person’s conduct in everyday life. In any case, towards the end of a siman the Aruch Hashulchan often states his personal preferences but has no intention of stating an unequivocal psak that must be accepted by all. This is a good example. So I maintain my opinion as I previously stated.
I’ll say it again for those who still do not understand my words. It is physically comfortable for my fingers when they are interlocked. So I interlock them on occasion. Sometimes I put my hands behind my back, it is a physically comfortable way to hold my hands. I do these actions without too much thought, as I suppose most people do. I’ve seen numerous learned people and rabbonim do it too, but I don’t think that matters one way or another. I think that it is unfortunate that interlocking fingers found its way to a daily halachah shiur. It is most definitely not related to halachah.
Sorry if I didn’t express myself properly. What I meant to say was that I see nothing wrong with interlocking my fingers and I do it quite often. I am prepared to take responsibility for my actions.
As I said, I see nothing wrong with interlocking my fingers. It’s a comfortable way to place them at times. I believe that the posuk ???? ???? allows me to disregard claims that I am playing with cosmic influences unrelated to shmiras hamitzvos.
OP, you must be a young person. My generation watched it,me included.It was real,it was Neil Armstrong and not the Russians. Do not worry.
Generally speaking, the disease must be relatively advanced in order for it to present with neurological symptoms. Bipolar disorder is not one of them, but impulsiveness and schizophrenic symptoms are (very very rare). It is very successfully treated with chelating agents to remove the excess copper. The diagnosis is fairly easily made with a good look at the cornea. It is a rare disease and often goes undiagnosed for years.Once treated, most complications are due to patient noncompliance (not taking the medication).
I interlock my fingers often, it’s very comfortable. I am not worried that I am bringing din upon myself or anyone else. ???? ???? ?? ?’ ??????
Popa is correct here. I cannot imagine anyone can be so stupid as to dress yeshivish, walk into a McDonalds and order a cheeseburger. Therefore, I cannot imagine anyone suspecting such person of committing any issur whatsoever in McDonalds. He is obviously there for acceptable reasons. A coffee or soft drink or use of a restroom are only two examples of many. Let this issue rest, there is no problem with mar’is ayin.
Rabbi Poliakoff from Baltimore put out a sefer on minhagei Lita where he discusses this issue.
MDG, it is a befeirush mechaber,OH: 301; 40. The Rama does not argue. The ashkenazic poskim grapple with it, but the mechaber is black on white and staring right at us.
Hello99, it is sad that you are actually impressed by someone admitting they were wrong. Intellectual honesty is the basis of any discussion. As an aside, not all of my posts make it through the filter, so you do not hear everything I have to say.
I think there is a way to check the manufacturing date on a given product, which goes a long way in determining whether it has a chashash chodosh. I checked a few cereal boxes and could not decipher it. Maybe you know how to do it.