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Learn Torah.
Kollel_wife: Just curious, but what male/female socializing do you think there is at YU? No one at Stern or YU is ever forced to see someone of the opposite gender.
Health: The reality of a microwave is that if it’s wrapped well enough, it will burst. Otherwise steam is escaping and you haven’t gained anything.
Hello: Rav Schachter always says that Tasa’a Gavar doesn’t mean the one that is literally on the bottom, but the rather the 1 that isn’t moving.
StanleyC: I don’t think you understand what “Schmoozing Derech Chibah” means.
Hello: The walls of a microwave aren’t hot though, so what concern could there be?
Always: I was merely pointing out that jealousy does not necessarily mean a denial of the fact that Hashem can do anything he wants.
And what if you think that Hashem can give you something but chooses not to? How does that help with jealousy?
Derech Hamelech: Or maybe it’s because the Shulchan Aruch says that it’s the Derech of the Apikorsim to be Makpid on such things?
DH: Ideally we should all wear all white? Check out the Siman in OC that we’ve all been discussing.
I personally don’t think I’d have a problem with it. I can definitely see why certain people would. It depends on who you’re dating.
No. Well, not for women. For men it would be if it wasn’t dry yet.
It depends who you are and who you’re dating.
LuvMe: The Rishonim point out that (almost) all Nevuos are conditional. Meaning that if you don’t do Teshuvah or if you continue on the path you’re on, then these things will happen. He is not saying that they will sin, but if they will sin, then…
Rav Schachter quoted a Chazon Ish which would seem like a microwave is not Halachically considered Derech Bishul. I believe he quoted a Shittah of R’ Moshe that would disagree though.
Sam4: Care to elaborate on what he said?
Aside from the Halachic requirements, these such a concept of a proper state of mind. People lump that under the word “Tznius”, which causes mixed reactions. But no one can deny that having a proper state of mind is a requirement in Judaism. So as long as the Halachic requirements are met (an all-girls class), then the issue with Zumba (or any other activity) depends on the state of mind of every person. If your state of mind is “this isn’t proper but I’ll do it anyway because I enjoy it”, then it’s bad. If you’re honestly just enjoying the class and the exercise and only think that there may be an issue when other people mention it, then there’s no reason not to take the class. It’s not something which is inherently Assur. It’s something that every person has to realize for themselves if it’s Tznius or not. And that answer should be different for different people.
I just think that this issue brings up a visceral reaction in people. Everyone knows that even Gedolim can make mistakes. Usually, we assume that they don’t. A topic like this, which brings up such a strong emotional reaction, is something that people can go over the top to and accuse even great people of terrible things so long as they feel that those people aren’t doing everything possible.
It’s very similar to the Gilad Shalit issue. It’s tough to have a legitimate opinion because both sides have very strong arguments. Terrible things happen either way if the wrong decision is made. It is our job to voice our opinions so that we can ensure that our leaders, whether political or Gedolei Torah, have all the facts and see every possible angle before they make a decision. It’s also our job to trust that HKBH put the right people in these decision-making positions and that what they decide will be what is best for Klal Yisroel in the long run.
Yichus: That is the idea that I would have said if I was entitled to an opinion and it makes the most sense to me. It’s how I’ve ansered this issue since I was 10. Unfortunately, none of the Acharonim or Rishonim say that though. (Though that’s not far from saying that Hashem just prevents Himself from knowing what our decisions will be.)
Stam: Some contemporaries of Rav Saadiah Gaon (and I believe the Ralbag also references this opinion) held that every action is predetermined and the only thing that is up to human beings is our attitudes. A Tzaddik is someone who does Mitzvos willingly and with joy and only sins reluctantly, and a Rasha is the opposite. It takes the statement of the Gemara that “Hakol Bidei Shamayim Chutz Miyiras Shamayim” (“Everything is in Hashem’s hands except for Yiras Shamayim”) a little too literally, in my opinion (though it does fit the Lashon exceptionally well).
PrincessEagle: That is Rav Saadiah Gaon’s shittah.
Most of those who are against pictures are not because it’s Avodah Zarah. It’s based on a statement attributed to the Ya’avetz that when you pain a portrait of someone (and same with a picture) it brings certain Kochos Hatumah against that person.
The Rishonim and later philosophic Acharonim discuss this. There are many answers given, ranging from that we don’t have Bechirah at all to that Hashem doesn’t know (or chooses not to know) the future because He gave us Bechirah, so part of that was limiting His knowledge of the future.
Yitay: I disagree. The Shulchan Aruch is Davka saying that. He’s not basing his P’sak on a historical group. He is saying that, even though white clothes are nicer, it is the Derech of Apikorsim to be Makpid that a Ba’al Tefillah be specifically wearing white clothes. To require a mode of dress that is not ostentatious is the Halacha. To be Makpid that once you are wearing low-key clothing on a certain type of clothing, per the Shulchan Aruch, is something that the Apikorsim are Makpid on and not Halacha.
Original thinker: Chas Veshalom to apply Rav Moshe’s P’sak by Chalav to Bishul. Chalav AKU”M is a Chashash of Tarfus. Bishul AKU”M is an Issur D’rabannan.
And mods, please edit the offensive word found in the previous post, even if it was meant tongue-in-cheek.
The toaster is the same as the oven. The microwave is interesting. There are opinions on every end of the spectrum by the microwave.
Yitay: I am familiar with that Rama. See the Nos’ei Keilim who discuss at length whether we hold like that. And assuming we do (there’s no reason not to, we very rarely Pasken against the Rama) nowhere does it say that you have to do that by wearing white. In fact, the Chassidish garments probably fall under that Rama.
Why is that Halacha in OC not relevant? I think it’s very relevant. The point of that Halacha is Davka to go against the Svara that many people use. Even though white clothes are more Mechubad, it is not something that our Mesorah is Makpid on. Please, tell me what else the SH”A means there.
Ask a Posek, but as long as your father is not learning or Davening then there is no issue.
It’s a Machlokes Haposkim whether such a person’s food is Bishul Akkum. Most people seem to assume that it’s Assur but someone (I think the Pishchei Tshuvah) on the page of the Shulchan Aruch is the only source I have actually seen on this issue and he says it’s Muttar. Because the Issur is only a Gezeirah so that you don’t marry the Goy’s daughter, and a Mumar’s daughter is Muttar to marry, so it’s okay.
BTGuy: Anecdotal evidence isn’t proof. If you feel more Yiras Shamayim when wearing white shirts, then of course you should wear white shirts. But that doesn’t mean that everyone feels the same way. I feel like much more of a Ben Torah when I wear a colored shirt, personally.
Metrodriver: And I say again, listen to him give a Shiur, a Schmooze, or even a D’var Torah and try and honestly say that he doesn’t have Yiras Shamayim. You can’t. You’re basing your opinion of him as a Jew on something he did as an academic. That would be like reading the Rambam’s treatise on logic and saying he doesn’t have Yiras Shamayim because he didn’t refer to the Gemara and Chumash as being above all else in it. It’s ridiculous. You can’t judge a person based off of something for which you weren’t its intended audience.
PBA: It’s 60 days after the Tekufa, which in theory moves back one day every 4 years. The leap year in the Gregorian Calendar takes care of that for us so that it’s the same day almost every year. But yes, it is December 5th in the year before a leap year.
Who says a working man is Patur from learning?
Ms. Critique: I don’t want to know what you mean by “modern”, I think. But show me where in the Shulchan Aruch it says that brothers and sisters above Bar Mitzvah can’t eat at the same table. And why would you think that not doing that would be “searching for loopholes”?
It might look weird but I don’t know what problem that would be.
Toi: Just because it’s a lack of respect from our standards doesn’t make it a lack of respect to everyone else’s. What if his audience would see not referring to the Rishonim by their academic names as a lack of respect for the author because you’re going against convention? I don’t see following convention as ever being inherently insulting.
It’s like a Sephardi I know once got offended when I referred to the Yeshivah as Poras Yosef (with both words Mil’eil). But if I would call it Porat Yosef (Mil’ra) in conversation with my Ashkenazi friends it might sound funny. It changing how you talk to a Sephardi insulting the Yeshivah by not referring to it the same way as I would refer to it in normal conversation? Adjusting how you speak for your audience is just what you do to get your point across. It is never inherently insulting or derogatory. Do you honestly think for a second that if he was giving a Shiur or talking in private that Rabbi Lamm would refer to the Rashba as anything but “The Rashba”? If you think otherwise then you don’t know enough about Rabbi Lamm to accurately accuse him of anything.
PBA: I think the Passuk does. Unless you really want to read “Vayomer Hashem Lah” as “Shem said to her based on his knowledge of Torah”.
Metrodriver: That is not a fair complaint. You write to your audience. Rabbi Lamm has an academic audience. Using non-standard referencing (to an academic audience) would be entirely out of place. Just like you wouldn’t speak in Hebrew to someone who only understands English, so too he is talking in his audience’s language.
Wolf: I believe Rav Schachter has mentioned that 4 and 5 shouldn’t be a problem. Those Gezeiros apply only for other people. If a Mechalel Shabbos B’farhesia himself makes food that he knows it Kosher (and touches wine that he knows he wasn’t Menasech) then he himself (and his immediate family, I think Rav Schachter said) are perfectly allowed to rely on themselves.
DaasYochid: You’re really going to compare the current incarnation of “Daas Torah” to asking a Navi?
Twisted: And the Mechabrim of those places didn’t have proper Ikkarei Hadas? I agree that it’s not your own opinion and that there are many who skip certain things because there are issues. I’m not disagreeing with that. I am pointing out that you overstepped your bounds when you implied that anyone who takes Ikkarei Hadas seriously cannot say such things.
Twisted: Your statement that it is impossible to take the Ikkarie Hadat seriously and still say those paragraphs is problematic and offensive. It is possible to do both. You just have to understand exactly what you are saying and what it means.
HaLeiVi: The Mishnah in Sanhedrin says that Menashe didn’t get Olam Habah. If his only job was to do Teshuvah and he did, then why didn’t he get Olam Haba?
Brotherofurs: I don’t know what to tell you. That’s against the first Siman in Shulchan Aruch (not his answer, but your interpretation of it). You have to say enough to be Yotzei, which you’re not if you only say Birchos Hashachar. But assuming that you say enough to be Yotzei, then a little with a lot of Kavanah is better than a lot with less Kavanah.
Yitay: That Gemara, as well as I believe a Mefurash Gemara about Yeish Mazal L’yisrael (end of Shabbos maybe?). Also, some of the Geonim and early Rishonim (philosophers) learn that Gemara in an interesting slant. They hold like some of the Muslim philosophers who hold that every action is predetermined. A Tzaddik is just someone who does good things with joy and bad things unwillingly. A Rasha is someone who is the opposite. It actually works much better with the words of Hakol… Chutzh Miyiras Shamayim. Still, it would seem that Klal Yisrael holds like the standard interpretation of that phrase.
It’s an apparent Machlokes between two Gemaros if I recall correctly, but we hold that Hakol Bidei Shamayim Chutz Miyiras Shamayim means that we have the real Bechirah Chofshis to do good or do bad.
Sam4: Everyone always assumes (by all Cherems of Rabbeinu Gershom) that the Cherem created the Issur. I am pointing out that that is not necessarily the case.
Ask a Rav if it’s muttar. If it is, impress upon him the importance of learning and Gemara at home. In my experience, I have found that some of those who love and appreciate learning the most (and are best at it because they are more dedicated) are those who had a very strong background in learning at home (strong not meaning good, but meaning important) rather than the Yeshivah/high schoolwhere they went to.
PBA: From what I know, there are a decent number of YU students who only wear white shirts.
Since everyone is misquoting it here, I will make an important point. Reading someone else’s mail is an Issur D’Oraisa (either Nezek, Geneivas Da’as, maybe others). Rabbeinu Gershom did not create the Issur. He just made it stronger by adding a Cherem.
Where do Chazal say that Eliezer never died?