Shiras Hayam, hands down.

If it was done before they became officially shomer mitzvos, I don’t think so, but its a very good question.

Obama is certainly not the best president this country has ever had, but dissing him on economics is a joke. While Romnsy and many republicans wanted to let Detroit fail, Obama and democrats bailed the auto industry out, and crated thousands of jobs. The stock market has risen thousands of points in the past 4 years.

4 years ago, Banks collapsed, markets crashed, companies struggled to make payroll, and credit was impossible to get. The Real estate bubble dramatically and completely burst.

We are not living in paradise yet, but we’re a lot better off now than in 2008. The Dow Jones closed on November 4th 2008 at about 9,600. 4 years later, its hovering around 14,500.

Shouldn’t Obama’s socialist, wacko economic policies have destroyed the economy and forced the stock market to tumble and fail?! (Insert sarcasm here)

Be in an environment that is conducive to learning- without music, background noise, or other distractions. A beis midrash or kollel is a great place to learn seriously, and maybe you should get a chavrusa or rebbe to keep you on track.

When I am hearing kol Torah, and watching people involved in the milchamta d’torah, that usually excited me enough to forget everything else. Torah cannot be adulterated or mixed up with concerns or other thoughts, it must be central and you have to want it.

The gedolim are certainly great in Torah knowledge. However, that does not mean they know from politics, or public policy. Have they made any big kiddush Hashem lately? All I hear about is them lambasting secular Israelis, yelling at the modern orthodox, and protesting the Internet. Where is the kiddush Shem shomayim in that?

According to all studies done on the subject, college graduates make way more money than people who have high school degrees. I would stay and finish the degree- while the environment might not be conducive to Torah and spirituality, in the long term, you’ll feel more secure financially, and be able to live w/out worrying as much about money so yu can focus on Torah, mitzvos, and ruchniyus. It’s short term loss for a long term gain.

PBA: too philosophical? I’ll simplify. Rand believed the purpose of existence is to be happy. Therefore, you can do whatever you want, so long as you end up happy notwithstanding the needs or emotions of other people. Oh yeah, and she hated all religion and God. Want any more reasons to disagree with her, from a frum perspective?

Midas S’som is an excellent analogy to the ‘utopia’ Rand constructed in her ridiculous works. She may have been a fine writer, and definitely convinced many people that she was right. However, it’s clear that anyone who calls themselves frum or God fearing should view her philosophy with disgust.

She believed knowledge was based on sensory perception(eliminating morality), despised all forms of religion, and believed the highest purpose of man is his own selfish happiness.

Here’s the money quote: “An individual should exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself.” That’s a disgusting ideology, which will only lead to a culture of selfishness, hedonism, and the abandonment of good deeds.

Haifagirl: really? Ayn Rand is (in)famous for her flamboyant atheism and belief in the legalization of srufs. Her philosophy was that moral laws don’t exist and that man’s aim in life is simply happiness, at any cost. It goes without saying she is not a Jewish role model, and her beliefs are antithetical to Torah and basic human decency.

It’s so chutzpadik for us in America to sit here and tell Israelis what to do and how to solve their problems. It’s the same thing Obama does, and he gets hammered by the frum community for sticking his nose in their business.

Have any of these gedolim or askanim fought to protect yerushalayim, the kosel, and every inch of kedushah that is eretz yisrael? Have they had best friends and siblings die fighting? Have they taken the best years of their lives and dedicated them to protecting other Jews from amalek? No. They don’t know from the tzaros of the Israel, they should stay out of it

are there any frum female writers that are well-known in the book world, or write for more wider audiences?

The mashal is slightly inaccurate, it misses the part where the queen is exiled and tormented by others, and that she is only really safe in her own palace- even if the king is not there yet. She has to bring him back. We can bring Hashem into the picture, were just not trying hard enough.

Yes, claiming that all the events surrounding Yom Ha’atzmaut are part of the ischalta d’geulah is troubling. My point though was that your view that the state of Israel is a ‘letdown’, per say, is slightly ungrateful for the reasons I mentioned.

I don’t understand how Popa can disparage modern Israel and zionism so freely and easily. JEwish sovereignty, safety from anti-semitic attacks, and ability to live in peace from violently anti-semitic governments is a big deal. Yeshivas have more students than they ever did, and more people are learning torah today than at any point in history. Many kiruv organizations use trips to Israel to help prospective baalei teshuvah reconnect to their roots.

We have Yerushalayim in our control for the first time in 2,000 years (most of it). We have control over the kotel. We can walk the streets of Israel safely knowing we won’t suddenly be excommunicated or attacked by goyim. That’s a big deal, and saying it’s disappointing just shows you’re either very ungrateful or ignorant of Jewish history.

The medina is the “package” of the gift of eretz yisrael. No british govt. can limit immigration, arrest Jews for no reason, or pander to the Arabs. Be grateful.

well torah lishmah, I honestly am not sure about how good the limmudei chol are at chofetz chaim, but the bachurim are great, the derech halimmud is solid, the rebbeim are top-notch, and they really teach you how to learn and how to teach so you can go out in klal yisroel and make an impact.

Judging from your name, if Torah is your only concern, I would definitely go there. However, if college is also a consideration and a family value, maybe consider MTA as sam2 said. Or how about a hebrew academy in montreal, cleveland, new york, etc. Ner Yisroel lets bachurim go to college at night (apparently the R”Y said its okay a while back and thats the way it is).

Writersoul is right- access to the kosel pre-’48 was severely limited and absolutely nothing like today. The Arabs frequently rioted, Jews were not allowed to put chairs or a mechitzah in the kosel area, and on Yom Kippur 1930 many Jews were arrested by the british for putting up a mechitzah! Today, we have complete control over the kosel and many other kevarim and important places like Ir David. Be grateful for these gifts, or you may lose them.

avhaben: what’s the nafka minah? The point remains the same- north korea is not a place we should be sending our tax dollars to.

RebDoniel: Thank you for that clarification. There is an unresolved machlokes in the gemara about whether be’iyun or bekius learning is better. That said, I think there is definitely a lot of merit to your derech halimmud, Shkoyach!