Rocky

If they really need $ they may want to consider doing away with this unnecessary expense. My guess is that most of the people at the kiddush will go home and have a seudah. Not many people really need that extra food to help them make it home and probably even fewer people are relying on that kiddush for their shabbos seudah.

If you are seriously looking for input, you will need to give more information than “shtark young couples” or ” Tristate area”. In town or out of town? Cheap housing or is money no object? Chasidishe, MO, yeshivishe etc. Try to give more detail if you are looking for real answers. If you are just trolling then you will get some funny and some stupid answers.

I just wanted to let everyone know that the Mesubin hand matzos that I had were delicious. $13 a pound and hechsher of of Badatz Eidah Hachareidis.

Of course, I did the oven trick. Works every time.

I know that Shatzer was around fr a long time but I questioned why they never got a normal reliable hechsher. Is it just because they felt they did not need it bec. people would buy from them anyway?

He was pushing back against the Chasidisization of Litvish Jewry. Since the time of the Brisker Rav more and more non chasidic Jews have adopted Chasidic practices and beliefs ( ex:reliance on segulahs). Classic Judaism says that if you want a bracha ask G-d and focus on becoming a better Jew. If asking for a bracha is a easy way out and an attempt to avoid the real work that is neccessary I understand why he pushed back.

On the other hand, think about the approach of R’ Chaim Kanievsky zt”l. He felt that even if people come to him with stupid requests (photo ops, dumb questions etc.) if it males people happy just do it. He saw it as an opportunity to do a chesed that no one else could do. There were plenty of things that R. Chaim would do that any sane person would agree are “shtuyot” but he did it because it made people happy.

I did go shopping and yes you can get cheaper matzos. I bought for $13 a pound in brooklyn and I saw that Bingo had for $12.50 a pound. For those who need thin matzos they had those too for $20 a pound. Costco has skvere matzos for about $16.60 a pound. I checked out Monsey and they also had some reaosnably priced matzas with excellent hechsherim. They also had more expensive options, as Dr. E pointed out that the $30-40 per pound are for the “matza snobs” who insist on specific brands.

For those who have not tried the oven trick, it must be done right. Don’t put in a whole pound in one shot. only put in 1-2 matzos on each 9x 13 pan to be sure that the entire surface has exposure to the heat. set oven to 300 and take out after 5-6 minutes. Although it can take some time to freshen up a bunch, I gurantee they will taste better than the $40/pound matzos.

I have not yet seen prices in regular supermarkets, but I did see them in Costco for $16-17 a pound. I am willing to bet that the other Israeli brand will be comparable prices. I agree with Dr. E. Rethink your matza habits and don’t go with brand x bec. that is what we used (and have overpaid) for generations.

Whatever you buy, stick it in the oven for 5 minutes on 300 and it will taste better than the $50/ pound stuff that was baked on chanuka. I am surprised how few people try this simple trick and just kvetch every year about the taste of their matza.

Avira : i don’t see your problem with his statement on “Daas Torah”

1. Many Bona fide gedolim have an issue with the freezer system and consider it against hashkafas HaTorah. He is arguing about the freezer system and its negative effect on the dating system.

2. The concept of daas Torah is highly abused today. Just because someone has an issue with the way some people misuse it does not mean that such person is “blasting Rabbanim”

You can say that perhaps he could have used a more dignified language. However it looks to me like he speaks from the heart.

For all those who are knocking R’ Chananya bec. he is willing to speak up against societal norms, try arguing with his points, not ad hominem attacks on a person.

In yeshiva we would refer to an unnamed girl as “Shprinza”. You could say “my Shprinza told ,me…” and people may understand what you mean. I don’t think there is a boy equivalent that has the same pizazz as Shrprinza (Shemerel?)

Before we all weigh in on what Rav Yehuda Jacobs zt”l meant, perhaps we should ask people who were close to him. He may have meant a range of things that most people would agree to.

For example: Don’t make promises (of support) for a shiddach if you can’t realistically afford it.

or: When making a plan for how you will make an income in life, it should include realistic likely life expenses such as children’s weddings. Don’t avoid working for a living with a plan of “we will figure it out”.

Common saychel: They make very simple weddings but how many of them buy an apartment for their children? How common is it in America for people to go collecting from the public to buy a house for their children? Just because “everyone does it” does not make it a necessity. It seems to me it would be the same as a Jew from Beverly Hills to raise money to buy a new Lexus because that is the norm in his area.

@CTL: I agree and disagree with you. I agree that making a lavish wedding is a waste. It would also be nice if our children would share our values with which we try to raise them. However that is not always the case.

Consider a family in which the main breadwinner decided to go into chinuch instead of a more lucrative career. The intentions were noble and idealistic. Sometimes children grow up with the same idealistic values and appreciate the life choice that their parents made but sometimes they grow up resenting it wishing they could be like their wealthy peers. It is not enough to say to them “but that is not how we raised you!”.
This does not mean that we need to spoil our children so that they don’t feel underprivileged. However it is a tricky balance.

I am all for reducing costs for simchas but this will be a real tough one to overcome. Girls dream about this from when they are young. There are more practical ways to cut costs that would add up to a much bigger savings than a diamond. For example

1. shave down the vort to a simple lcahim in the chason or kallahs house. No catered event

2. Limit number of guests for aufruf and shabbos sheva brachos. No need need for whole extended family, friends etc. Both of these have gotten out of hand

3. Cut out the ridiculous idea of kallah telling everybody what color they need to wear. No one beyond immediate family needs a gown

4. push the idea of simchas choson vekallah for everyone outside of family.

Just some ideas. Open to hear more

Apparently, Gadol Hadorah is the Levi Yitzchok Mebirdichtev of our generation. He knows that the true intention of wealthy Jews is to provide parnosa for their Jewish servants. Everything is done leshem shomayim! Mi ke’amcha Yisrael!

The answer to your questions is yes.
Now how do you propose to change it?
Give practical solutions, not a kvetch. We have heard many of those before.
Then after you give a practical solution, be part of the movement to actively make a difference.

The high-end food and musicians is just a sign of the times. A lot of frum Jews have more money than they know what to do with. Nebach. As long as they don’t fool themselves into thinking that spending $ on this type of thing falls into the category of a mitzvah.

Also, try to keep in mind the perception of a chiloni. This study may give a little bit of a nicer spin on chareidim for them, but not much. If you are chiloni and don’t have an appreciation for the spiritual benefit of limud haTorah I can understand why they are resentful of the chareidi community. They may read this and say “Ok, I guess a significant minority do contribute to society, but 60% do not.”

I think we need more discussions on bringing the two sectors together.

Ok I agree that my analogy of gadol hametzuveh is not perfect. However, I still thunk it can be used somewhat to demonstrate the hakaras hatov we all need to feel towards those that are serving their fellow Jews, so much so that they put their lives on the line for them.
Those who serve in the army are still doing a mitzvah of Hashem by helping protect other Jews . This is true whether they volunteered for the army or are doing it to avoid going to jail. The reason why chareidim don’t is a mixture of many different reason;the army became a toxic environment for ruchnius, dangers of shmad in early days of Zionism, the greatest of learning Torah and the role it plays in spiritual protection etc.

The point of the OP was to say how great chreidim are for all the volunteer chesed they do for the community and we should be makir tov. We should have no less hakaras hatov to those who serve in the army even though it is compulsory. Don’t let stupid politics mess up our middos.

This is a actually a praise to the chilonim and Dati leumi. We say gadol hametzuve v’ose meimee sheinono metzuve- greater is one who does when he is commanded then one who volunteers. Those who serve the other members of society by serving in the army because they are commanded to by the government (and have kavana to help their fellow Jew) should be considered greater

Its a fundraiser

UJM: You know the answer to your own question. There is no need to create sensitivity training or any statement about students struggling with adultery because its not a public issue. This whole statement and the entire lawsuit are about a sensitive public issue.
Think about it this way. What would BMG say if they were sued for the same issue? Would they say, “We hate gay people”? “If a gay person walks onto our campus, we have no problem if they get beat up”? I think they would say something very similar to what Rabbi Dr. Berman is saying, although they would change the tone.

Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, the President of YU, just sent out a very informative email of FAQ’s on this case. I think it is worthwhile for all contributors to this post to read it.

My Dear Friends,

Many of you know that Yeshiva University is defending its right in the Supreme Court to make its own religious decisions. Due to the significance of the matter, I share with you below a number of the answers we have posted to the questions we have received these past few days. For further updates, please visit yu.edu/case-faqs.

Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman

President, Yeshiva University

FAQs

Why is this case in the US court system?

Yeshiva University was brought to court based on the claim that it is not religious enough to be allowed to make its own decision on religious matters. The court case is solely about YU’s freedom to act according to its values without government interference.

What are the consequences if Yeshiva University loses these court rulings?

Yeshiva University will no longer be able to govern itself according to its principles of faith as it will be subject to any claims of discrimination. If, for example, a student wished to form a Jews for Jesus club, Yeshiva would be required to allow it. Sabbath observance on campus, the hiring of Orthodox rabbis and educators and maintaining our separate gender campuses would all be open to potential lawsuits.

How did this situation arise?

Yeshiva University has a long-standing policy to officially approve student clubs that are consistent with its Torah values. For this reason, it has not granted official club status to many other club applications in the past, including a gun club and a Jewish fraternity, as the names and activities associated with these clubs were deemed not fully consistent with the values of YU. A similar conclusion was reached on the application of the YU Pride Alliance.

Does Yeshiva University welcome LGBTQ students in its undergraduate schools?

Absolutely.

We welcome, love and care for all our students, including our LGBTQ students. We place a specific emphasis of importance on supporting our LGBTQ students. There are a number of ways we express this support, including hosting an LGBTQ support group, requiring LGBTQ sensitivity training to all of our rabbis and faculty and presenting public events so that all of our students better understand the experience of being LGBTQ and Orthodox. And, of course, we uphold our strong anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policies. We understand that a number of our LGBTQ students think YU should be doing more for them including establishing a student club. We had been engaged in a constructive dialogue with our students to work on building an even more inclusive campus experience.

However, when we were sued with the claim that we do not have the right to make our own decisions, the matter changed entirely from an LGBTQ discussion to defending the future of our institution.

Do the same expectations that apply to the undergraduate schools, apply to YU’s professional and academic graduate schools?

No.

The way Yeshiva University applies its Torah values to the graduate schools is very different than its undergraduate schools.

We are very clear about the type of environment that exists on our undergraduate campus, and every undergaduate student who makes the personal choice to come here is choosing this environment instead of other college experiences. The undergraduate experience at Yeshiva is intentionally designed to be an intensely religious one during the formative years of our students’ lives. Its fundamental purpose is to faithfully transmit our multimillennial tradition to enable our students to integrate their faith and practice in lives of enormous professional success, impact and personal meaning. The daily schedule of our undergraduate students requires hours of Torah study. The campus experience fosters a deeply religious experience including two single sex campuses, multiple prayer services throughout the day, Shabbat regulations, kashrut observance and extra Torah study opportunities in the evenings.

As students move from their formative years to our professional graduate schools, there is a shift in focus towards professional training and academic research. These schools, comprised of Jews and non-Jews, excel in their scholarship and education of excellent professionals in their respective fields. These schools also embody our core values to “Seek Truth, Discover Your Potential, Live Your Values, Act with Compassion and Bring Redemption,” in their respective learning communities. They also follow a Jewish calendar and maintain kosher standards to facilitate an accessible experience to our Orthodox Jewish students. But the focus is wholly different and so are the assumptions of student life.

Is Yeshiva University accepting of LGBTQ staff and personnel as well?

Absolutely.

As a religious institution of higher education, can Yeshiva University accept government funds?

Yes, it can. In fact, almost all religious universities and colleges receive state and federal funding. The Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly—as recently as this June—that, when the government makes funding generally available, it cannot discriminate in the distribution of those funds based on religion. For example, it can’t offer Pell grants to students generally but then deny them to students who want to go to a religious school. That would be religious discrimination. We do not lose our religious status just because we participate in public life on equal footing with everyone else.

Why is the university defending this right and appealing all the way to the Supreme Court?

Once we were brought to court, this no longer was about an LGBTQ club, but our ability to make decisions for ourselves about our religious environment.

The plaintiffs have argued that YU is not a religious institution and, thus not empowered to decide matters pertaining to religion. In its ruling, the lower court pieced together an argument that creates a threatening precedent. The implications of this decision are deleterious to the very fabric of our educational system and we need to defend ourselves to protect our future.

What is at stake with this case?

Historically, the Jewish people have had deeply negative experiences with government interference in religious matters. When a court can decide that Yeshiva University is not religious enough to administer its own religious environment, then it’s not just our institution’s future that is being threatened. In truth, this is not just a Jewish issue. Leaders of other faiths and leading legal scholars are similarly deeply concerned with this ruling. They understand that the consequences of this legal decision have severe implications for faith in America.

Hopefully we will be able to restore a just sense of religious liberty and return to a constructive dialogue with our students to work together to build an even more inclusive, loving campus environment that is a blessing to all of our students and a model of discourse and harmony to our society.

maybe she can sue the pants off them (or threaten to make a big deal about it) and she will not need to work!

“The greatest” is a tough term to define.

Level of yiras shomayim (a mentsch) is something only G-d can determine. We can all tell stories about various people but some gedolim are so good at hiding their tzidkus we don’t even know stories about them.

Level of shiur is also a toughie as
A. there are very few people who go to every shiur to really compare
B. does anyone know how to rate a level of a shiur? If one person quotes 10 rishonim and achronim an hour and another quotes 15, does that make it a higher level shiur?

I think a better gauge should be the influence they have on the American Orthodox community.

I would certainly add R. Aharon Lopiansky shlita and R. Hershel Schachter shlita to the top of the list.