Sam2

Trump did a very good thing. But we’ve certainly had previous presidents who were bigger Ohavei Yisrael.

DovidBT: That is a horrible example. In many cases, the victims of mass shootings may have been able to at least try to fight back if they were armed. But here, there was nothing to do. The attacker was firing from the 32nd floor, and the acoustics made it impossible for anyone but well-trained people to tell where it was coming from. Do you really want the crowd blindly firing assault weapons back at the hotel?

DY: (I’ve been pretty good) I don’t think R’ Shlomo Zalman’s statement is in any theologically problematic. That’s very practical. It’s the reason behind Bishul Akum. If you eat their food, you interact more and in more friendly ways, which leads to more intermarriage. If he said that eating Bishul Akum led to a metaphysically lower state that allowed for more intermarriage to exist, I’d be very troubled. But, as far as I know, he didn’t, so I’m okay. 🙂

I happen to think that the North Korea ban is the most indefensible thing an American president has done since Watergate. People aren’t allowed to leave North Korea. They’re starving and unable to do anything. People try and fail to run away to China all the time. If a North Korean manages to actually make his way over here, sending him back would be akin to a death sentence. How can we stop North Koreans from coming here, even if the odds of them making it are slim to none anyway?

I find it theologically problematic to believe that an Issur’ D’Rbannan can cause such terrible things. If it did, Hashem would have made it Assur Min HaTorah.

Wolf: There’s a guy who everyone assumes is a nutball that claims to be his illegitimate son, iirc.

The far left is not a friend of the Jews. At all. But it takes a tremendous degree of short-sightedness to let hatred of liberals make you throw your lot in with actual Nazis.

It’s not an either/or choice. It’s possible to think that both are truly terrible.

Yekke2: It’s B’feirush in the Achronim that the Bracha Acharona ends the Bracha Rishona. There is a Machlokes Achronim about if you accidentally made a Bracha Acharona and still have a few bites left to eat. The Magen Avraham says that you may finish eating, and everyone else attacks him for it. (Interestingly, though, many Achronim quote him as saying that you may lick the crumbs off your lips without a new Bracha Rishonah, which Lich’ora is him L’Shitaso that they rejected.) Everyone agrees though that an intentional Bracha Acharona ends the Rishona.

It is Greirah. Greirah happens whenever you have one Bracha Chal on two or more items. As long as you start eating the first, the Bracha continues onto whatever else you will eat. But you have to start eating the other ones also. If you didn’t start eating the rice, the Bracha never “split” into following the rice also.

LU: Al HaMichya only Patters rice Bedieved and because of a combination of Kulos based on Safek Brachos. Mei’Ikar HaDin, it really doesn’t, and therefore there is no reason to tack on Chumros (i.e. that the Al HaMichya ends your Bracha Rishona on the rice) onto this Safek Brachos Shittah.

PAA: That’s cute Drush, but not Halachically relevant at all (nice to see you again, but I expected more substance and less fluff from your return).

Joseph: It’s B’feirush in Gemara and Shulchan Aruch that if it adds Kavod for the Meis (e.g. so relatives/important people can attend the funeral) then you can (and should) push off the burial.

There is a separate Minhag in Yerushalayim to never leave a Meis overnight. This Minhag is kept with almost zero exceptions (they’ve made them for Gedolim so that the city and police can prepare for the hundreds of thousands can attend, and they sometimes make it in cases of murder so that the police can do what’s necessary to discover the murder; that’s about it).

To answer 2 (and by extension 3), In Hachi Nami. It’s a combination of Chumros that creates a Stirah. We do that sometimes. Better safe than sorry. Similarly, to answer 3, we created a situation that breaks a Halachic rule via Chumra. The CC didn’t seem to extend the Chumra even further, so as not to wipe out the Gemara’s Heter entirely.

Someone might be able to convince me that when Chumash was given, “Hu” and “Hi” didn’t necessarily correlate to “he” and “she”, respectively. Or, at least, that it was possible for there to be exceptions that made them more or less interchangeable. But words in Chumash are absolutely gendered. Whether we solidified and/or altered the rules later is a separate discussion. But the concept exists from Sinai.

TorahAvigdor: The reason they just “woke up” to this is because someone snuck guns up and shot two police officers less than two weeks ago.

In an army, functioning normally (or close to it) on Shabbos should be considered Pikuach Nefesh. Can you imagine what it would be if enemies knew that no one would drive out for patrols or whatnot that aren’t immediately life-threatening on Shabbos? There would be something set up to minimize Chillul Shabbos, and Shinui devices should be used, but the idea that “the army can only do things that are really Pikuach Nefesh” is inherently Sakanas Nefashos.

Why does he assume that there are no other planets with breathable air and such?

By the way, if you actually read the Hebrew “Takkanos” in the YWN article I cited it’s beyond disturbing. Among the highlights (and I’m not editorializing here):

6) If you see a talented young person, you must do everything possible to convince them to break off from their families and join the group. After all, if the Communists and Zionists used that tactic for evil and it worked, Kal V’chomer we have to do this for Kedushah purposes.

10) You have to gather money and give it to Rabbeinu for him to give out to “Tzadikim Nistarim” and you must say that the money is for Pidyon Shevuyim, because the money that has not yet been given to Rabbeinu is like a prisoner in that it hasn’t yet fulfilled its purpose of being used for Tzedaka by Rabbeinu.

11) (This one is translated in its entirety for the sheer disgustingness of it. Hebrew is provided in places where even I can’t believe that my translation isn’t an exaggeration.) Everyone should understand and realize that a woman is a very disgusting thing (דבר מתועב מאד; it actually calls all women “a disgusting thing), and one has to distance her and abuse her (לענותה) as possible, Mamash like someone in Nidui, and not to help her in the house at all, and not to give her any money other than to live a bare life (חיי דוחק). She should wear worn-out clothing, she should sit alone in her house. If she is giving birth then he (I think this means the husband but I’m not positive) should travel to collect money for Rabbeinu’s needs. She should cook for the needs of the students of Lev Tahor and also must host a certain number of students for set times. Even if they are wild and crazy, this is how you should continue to abuse her (לענותה) and whoever increases in this is more praiseworthy (וכל המרבה הרי זה משובח). And also to hit her if she questions Rabbeinu. And Rabbeinu also practiced this way, to hit the Rabbanit, sometimes himself and sometimes by the Chassidim and his friends… and through all of this the sin of Chava is Metukan.

14) Don’t ever lie, but if it is for the Kavod of the Kehilah and Kal V’Chomer for Rabbeinu, then it’s a Mitzvah to lie.

15) Rabbeinu sees through an Apaklaria Ham’ira like Moshe Rabbeinu and RaSHB”I did, therefore only he can suggest Shidduchim and even mentioning a Shidduch idea is disrespectful and deserving of lashes.

16) The reason members of the Kehillah seem crazy is because the Satan is jealous of them. Also, Rabbeinu is the only one who understands צדיק ורע לו (like Moshe Rabbeinu and RaSHB”I understood it), and therefore the crazy members of the Kehillah are part of צדיק ורע לו.

19) Every new member must take a Shvua D’Oraisa with Nekitas Tefillin (holding Tefillin while swearing) not to reveal anything that happens here. And if anyone comes to see what happens in the Kehillah, we have to deny all that we do.

20) Listen to Rabbeinu if he tells you to break a Shidduch or divorce your wife, because he has seen that the person involved needs a Zivug Sheni, and by breaking the Shidduch or divorcing you are saving the life of the one who would otherwise die in order to bring about the Zivug Sheni.

21) It was revealed to Rabbeinu from on high that only our members will merit to greet Mashiach.

24) Rabbeinu has a special obligation to be Marbeh in beating his wife (both in כמות and איכות) in order to fix the sin of Chava.

25) Rabbeinu lies a lot, but it’s a Mitzvah because [something Kaballah having to do with the letters of Kesher and Sheker being the same).

27) Rabbeinu eats a lot and has fancy meals because he tastes death in every bite, and by his eating fancy meals he is tearing up the bad Gzar Dinim from Klal Yisrael.

How can anyone even think of defending this?

mw13: “Personally, I’m secure enough in my own Judaism that I’m not perturbed if somebody is doing something “frummer” than I am.”

Would you think it’s a good thing to be “secure enough in your own Judaism” to not be perturbed if somebody is doing something “less frum” than you? What’s the difference?

yekke2: ironically enough, in Greek mythology, the sirens weren’t half-women/half-fish, though that is how they were depicted in later literature.

Joseph: Sorry, by cases I thought you meant actual cases, not Halachos. Yes, there are Dinim brought down about what happens in specific potential situations, but there is no case brought down where it happens. Also, you are misunderstanding the Mishna in Nedarim.

I agree that divorces aren’t granted just because someone asks for it. I just think that you made up your claim that there are many cases in Gemara and Shulchan Aruch where what you claim happens.

Joseph: “There are numerous cases brought in the Gemorah and Shulchan Aruch where when a spouse requests a divorce the Halacha is that the Beis Din denies the request and informs the petitioner to go back to living with their spouse despite their desire to divorce.”

This is a false statement. Find me even one case. You won’t be able to, because it doesn’t exist.

Health: If you would quote a Rav or Rosh Yeshivah and someone could verify that statement, I’m pretty sure that person would retract his claim that you don’t have any serious Torah scholars on your side.

Fighting fires has progressed since the 19th century Great Plains.

dovrosenbaum: Ben Shapiro did not say good things about Bannon. He said that he just didn’t witness any anti-semitism from him.

And there are no alt-right Jews. By definition. The “alt-right” is a nice way of saying neo-Nazis. Any Jew who claims to be alt-right doesn’t understand what it is to be alt-right.

Health: You didn’t read nearly enough of David Duke’s website if you think that that’s even close to the biggest problem with him. And by close to, I mean it’s not even a drop in an ocean-sized bucket.

Brother Nathaniel could give David Duke a run for his money, honestly. Those are probably the top 2 anti-Semites in America.

Rumors are Sarah Palin as secretary of the interior. I literally have no idea how to react to that.

Very little has made me sadder in the past few months than seeing Orthodox Jews and neo-Nazis rooting for the same candidate.