Rocky

The same reason why water has a hechsher. It does not need it but if someone feels it will sell more they pay for it.. What gets really meshuga is when these types of products have multiple hechsherim. Is there really anyone out there that says I don’t trust that guy for a a hechsher on my seltzer but him….

It all comes down to marketing

If someone has a valid point it is wrong to use ad hominin remarks to personally insult them. Your point about great people using a language says nothing about using bad grammar. Perhaps the great people you refer to actually spoke the language but used proper grammar when using Hebrew terms?

AAQ- Do you really think that the printers lower the cost of the siddur because someone sponsored it? I would be shocked if that were true.

Consider the seforim put out by the Chofetz cChaim Heritage Foundation. They have sponsors on every page and multiple sponsors on top of that. The books cost as much as any other Artscroll sefer.

Consider the annual Tisha Bav video. They get a gazillion sponsors for everything you can imagine and still charge $20 admission fee.

Yes, I have always wondered about people who dedicate money to have the name of a loved one on a siddur. Pocket size? Another name, middle size with English instructions? Another name. The printing company is going to print it and make a profit; no matter what, all the donors are doing is giving the printer more money.

This is not like those who donate money to artscroll in order for them to research and produce seforim that otherwise would not be printed. For example, if Artscroll would charge the true cost of what it takes to produce one volume of a translated Yerushalmi, they would never sell a single copy. The donors in those cases are actually being marbitz Torah in a real way. But a siddur that the company already has? Nisht

Perhaps while we are at it someone can explain the why a rally to honor the BMG lomdei Torah needs to be a half music concert. Is it because otherwise no one would show? If so that is the answer to the op

Clearly Rav AL Shteinman zt”l agreed that some young men would be better off in the army and that is why he backed the creation of Nachal Chareidi. Perhaps Rav Segal disagrees with Rav Shteinman? Apparently there is no consensus among the gedolim that anyone who claims to be a chareidi should be exempt.

I wonder if anyone has asked the “anti-draft Gedolim” the question “If Chareidim would constitute the overwhelming majority of the population, should there still be a draft? At what point do we say the Chareidim have overtaken the country and it is time to contribute to its defense in a physical way?”

UJM-I think you are confusing the issues. Your point about effort is true but only in regards to heavenly reward. Of course that is what will last for all eternity but that is a level that only G-D can judge and only G-D can reward. We have no way of becoming celestial accountants. Once we dip into that perhaps we should also give army exemptions to any Jew who will receive tremendous heavenly reward. What about someone who was raised secular and with superhuman strength becomes a shomer shabbos? Should his spiritual accomplishment translate into an army exemption?

We live in a world of reality where people need to work for a living and establish a functioning society. Like it or not, hishtadlus is still needed in all areas of life and society. As a society we need to come to an agreement on how we will function. I don’t think there is or ever was a single gadol that advocated for disbanding the army and said that no Jews should ever work for a living (including RaSHBI). There needs to be civil discourse and it is very possible that concessions will need to be made.

UJM_your logic highlights one major flaw in the message put out by the Chareidi world. Just because you have a certain belief and appreciation of the Torah, having an elitist and disconnected mentality will not draw the other person closer to your way of thinking. Your argument goes something like

“Why don’t the chilonom appreciate our Torah.? Don’t they know that Torah holds up the world?!
No, they don’t. They value learning gemara as much as a college student studying ancient Latin texts. Imagine one of these discussions.

Reuven: My brother, who was a father of five, was just killed in the war, and his children will grow up orphans. My neighbors have similar tragedies. Shimon, why do you think you are better than us, and why can’t you also fight?”

Shimon: “Me fight? Soldiers are losers. Don’t you know that I study Latin! Try it sometime and you will see how difficult it is. ”

Reuven: “Maybe you can cut down on your extended vacation time and contribute in some way to the wat effort or at least show some appreciation to those who are laying down their lives for you?”

Shimon: Me show appreciation? You should appreciate how much Latin I study!. Latin students are so rare we need more of us!” Don’t you dare consider cutting off our funding1 The study of Latin is holding up the world!

Yeshivos and Kollelim can’t have it both ways. You can’t say that you are the REAL protection for the country and then abandon your post for an entire month. Does that mean than if anyone is CV killed during bein Hazmanim that the Bnei Yeshivos will take the blame?

Those who are arguing that everyone needs a break is OK up until the point of comparing it to the rest of the world. How many other professions (other than teaching) give 10 weeks of vacation a year? Do the chayalim get that much vacation?

commonsaychel: I believe there were still telephones between 1900-1925.

Kuvult-just out of curiosity, did you listen?

Mr. Klein, I hate to break it to you, but the Boston Jewish community is going downhill because of…. HOUSING PRICES! There are more affordable communities. The only hope we have is for people to get out of their head that they need to live in a community with tens of thousands of people just like them.
I am a bit curious what made you revive a four year old posting

Avirah, your sytem does not work in the rischa deoraysa of yeshiva. Kol Hakovod to coffee addict for bringing back intelligent discussions to the YWN CR! And thank you, mods, for letting these discussions through.

When someone asks a good question, you can’t just say “Mesorah”! You need to back up your point from a source in shas and poskim. His whole question is how did that mesorah develop? We have always had women in Klal Yisrael who were not watching children.

To say it is not an ikar for women is also not an answer. No one said it is an ikar. The question is if there is not such a high level of difficulty why is not more commonly done? For a man to daven vasikin is also not an ikar but we don’t say “man should not daven vasikin bec. his ikar is learning Torah”

The higher end brooks brothers usually do have shatnez. However, the question is completely irrelevant as any suit with wool or linen needs to be checked.

I received another doozy form the NY

“Analysis: Israel has made it deliberately hard to tell what is happening in its ground assault.”

Duhh. I can’t imagine why the IDF would not share their attack strategy with the NY Times. Even if the NYT would promise to keep a secret (between good friends) it is generally not wise to let the enemy know exactly what their plan is. What a bunch of idiots.

Thoughtful response: your explanation does not hold water for commodities that are shipped from elsewhere. All meat and most groceries and sold in Lakewood are not produced in Lakewood. The only difference would be the shipping costs to Lakewood which even if it is higher is minimal. It is the overall supply and demand on an INDUSTRY that will have that effect on prices.

I think prices are much more effected by attitudes and mindsets. If more people in Lakewood just buy items without concern for prices and don’t change spending habits, store owners will raise prices to what they can get away with. If Lakewood has become the Ir HaTorah Vehagashmius prices rise accordingly.

Check this out in a few weeks from now when people start buying arba minim. Compare the cheapest set (or average set) in Lakewood vs. Brooklyn. All of these goods are being shipped from elsewhere. I think that you will notice the prices are much higher in Lakewood than Brooklyn, Monsey, 5T, Passaic etc. You may say it is because people in Lakewood are more machshiv mitzvos or because the resident don’t think about it and just pay higher prices no matter what. The sellers will then adjust prices accordingly for the same exact sechora.

Ahhh! Nishtday, you and are the only one who understood my words. You are truly worthy of becoming my talmid. Gadol Hadorah and Ah yid will need to spend more time in hisbodedus until you are ready. Either that or I should choose my words more carefully next time.

Legend has it that the first time someone sang Lecha Dodi in Ner Israel in Baltimore, the mashgiach R. Dovid Kronglass Z”TL (an Alter Mirer) walked out in protest. For those interested I may even hint to you who that baal tefila was.

I had so much pleasure a few years when I called Geico to cancel my insurance because I found a better rate somewhere else. I told the operator “I have some great news! I just save over 15% by switching out of Geico!”

It could be that I was the only one in the conversation that was amused.

The short answer is because then can. Most are run as a for-profit business and they do that very well. The same for girl’s seminaries, matza and esrogim. If people did not pay it they would charge less.

An additional factor here is that each camp feels pressure to out do each other in lavishness of the trips. Remember when a trip outside of camp was a hike or at most a bus trip to Woodburn for pizza (bought at the camper expense)? Now if a traveling camp does not fly to exotic places like Alaska it is a nebach. This does not answer everything but it all comes back to the level of materialism that WE create puts pressure on the weakest.

When it comes to camps and seminaries it is worse. You try explaining to your kid why Mom and Dad think it is insane to pay for a month of camp close to what they pay for a years worth of tuition. Let me know how it goes.

AAQ-It sounds like you are suggesting what we call today homeschooling. I challenge you to ask any of the girls rejected from all schools that they applied to and say “how would like to be homeschooled by Mrs. Greenberg down the block? She has a computer with real buttons that work and a cassette player with lots of good tapes”. See how that will fly.

If the parents with money don’t have their children rejected by schools and the only ones rejected are parents with average to below average incomes it is on the community as a whole to come up with a solution. That means a collective effort to develop a strategic plan to accommodate the constant growth (BH) that our community is known for. It is very nice that Roshei Yeshiva can get up in August and say that no school can open until every girl has a spot, but that is not a solution.

The community has enough money to support our growth. The proof is in the increased materialism which should be obvious to all. If we can appeal to people with the means to apply their money for good we can solve this problem way before the month before school starts.

The title has no real practical significance. At least not since the days of Yehoshua (?). Similar to the idea of Gadol Hador it is a honorary term. If some whosays who is Rabbi X? You can respond by saying He is soooooo great he is the Posek/gadol/tzadik Hador.

Let’s take Rabbi Akiva for example. I think most would say he achieved a very high title. Does that mean that we always pasken like Rabbi Akiva? No. Psak has a certain system and does not care about titles.

When it comes to the title Posek Hador IMHO it is more about who has contributed the most to psak halacha. Thirty years ago R. Moshe had few rivals in the Ashkenazi psak ( R. Sholomo Zalman?) and R. Ovadia had no rivals in Sfardi psak. This does not mean that we pasken like them. It just means that their word carries a lot of weight and we consider them heavily when considering how to pasken Lemaaseh.

Leave it to Square Root to dig up something irrelevant from the past in order stir up controversy. Perhaps you would like to tell us what R’ Chanaya Weissman had to say about this when it first cam out 27 years ago?