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I heard that there are two ways of reading “ad delo yada.” Either it means that the chiyuv is to reach the point of ad delo yada. OR the chiyuv only exists until that point, but if you go beyond it, then it is too much. In other words, you are yotzei the chiyuv as long as you drink anywhere between more than usual and ad del yada. If you go beyond ad delo yada, then you have lost out.
To play devil’s advocate- about the oneg Shabbos issue, yes all learning is enjoyable for the Neshoma, but people like learning different areas. For someone who usually learns Chumash because that’s what they enjoy, but is “forced” to study for a Gemara test which he enjoys less… I could see that as lessening oneg Shabbos.
And hachanah- if you would be doing something else, but are only learning this because of the test, why wouldn’t that be hachanah? So, I have heard that if you are taking a nap on Shabbos because you want to stay up late, you are allowed to on Shabbos since it is inherently enjoyable, as long as you don’t say you are taking a nap for after Shabbos purposes. I guess that argument would apply to studying Torah on Shabbos.
Sheishes yamim ta’avod! Shabbos and only Shabbos is our day off!
I don’t think this is a din in tzaar baalei chaim. I don’t think you have any requirement to spend any money to save it (you just can’t cause it more harm). I also don’t think it’s bal tashchis because you’re are getting what you believe is your money’s worth.
In short, I think you should spend however much you want to spend, and if you decide it’s too expensive then you shouldn’t feel guilty.
ZK- I disagree completely! The Rambam (and I think the Gemara too) says that a person should not say I don’t want to do something that’s assur (like eat pork) but rather we should say I want to do aveiros! I have a ta’ava for pork! But what can I do? Hashem told me not to and I follow His will.
We’re not supposed to ignore that which is frustrating, we’re supposed to embrace it and say even though it’s frustrating, Ill still do it because that is the ratzon Hashem.
If a coalitions is formed, which means they have the majority, they can pass any laws they want? Does the opposition have any power at all?
YUTorah has many daily iyun shiurim on their website. R’ Schachter, R’ Sobolofsky,R’ Simon, R’ Willig, and R’ Rosensweig are some of the Roshei Yeshiva that try and put every single one of their iyun shiurim on the website daily. This year they’re doing Bava Metziah and the past few years they did Yevamos, Pesachim, Bava Basra, Gittin, and Berachos.
I’ve asked that question before and I never received an answer that satisfied me. The only thing I can think of that differentiates those 5 seforim is that they are the only seforim in Kesuvim that are read publicly on a holiday.
Derech- the same cutoff that exists for working. When a person can’t learn full time, even if he can learn part time, still it is expected of him to sacrifice learning and get a job. We don’t expect that a part time learner should be supported by the community, even if working full time means sacrificing more learning. So too, if he can’t learn full time, then he has to follow the rules of the society even if it means sacrificing more learning. It’s irrelevant what is more important. An hour of learning is more important than a full time job, but I don’t think it’s acceptable for a person not to work, be a burden on the community so he can learn that extra hour.
avhaben- I disagree with some of your points.
1. If that’s the attitude, then government funding shouldn’t be taken either. That’s like taking goods from a store but because you oppose its existence then you refuse to pay for it. If you are benefiting from the State, then you also have to pay for it whatever they charge, be it taxes and/or service. If you oppose its existence to the point that you won’t follow its rules, then you can’t take the benefits either.
2a. A desire is not enough. You also have to be willing to put in the time an effort. Many guys genuinely want to sit in Kollel, but they waste time when they shouldn’t be… either by missing sedorim or not learning as hard as they can when they are in seder. The people who should be in kollel are not necessarily the strongest learners, but those who want to be there and are willing to put in as much effort in their learning as they can for all the required amount of time.
2b. There is a concept of “yagata umatzata ta’amin, yagata velo matzata al ta’amin.” Basically translated as if a person says they put in effort (in Torah) and were successful then you should believe them, but if they say they put in effort but didn’t succeed then don’t believe them (that they put in effort). There is a havtachah that a person who puts in effort in learning will be successful (though I admit, I do not know how to define success). While it is true that even a poor learner has the right to sit in Kollel, if he doesn’t succeed in his learning, it implies that he is not trying so hard.
3. I don’t know the metzius, but assuming the medinah will expand Nachal Charedi (which I don’t know if they plan on doing that), then it should be fine. And even if it doesn’t, the army lichorah is no more pritzusdik than your average job in Israel or America. Yeshiva should prepare Benei Torah to be able to work in the real world and to overcome these challenges. If the army will turn frum draftees into chilonim, then our parents and yeshivos have failed us. Are you saying that no frum person should be allowed to work because the secular world is inherently a pritzusdik environment?
4. Even in the times of Moshe and Yeshoshua they had armies. The soldiers were the talmidei chachamim. Hashem told Gidon specifically to take the best people for the army. Learning Torah is the true protection, but not to the exclusion of derech hateva. In fact, it’s probably even better protection if the Talmidei Chachamim bring their zechusim to the battle field.
5. I don’t know if that’s true. If the government wants them to serve then that implies they need them. Maybe I’m wrong. I guess I’m still naive and believe that the secular government is not “anti-frum” they’re just not frum and I don’t believe that the government of Israel is trying to get rid of the Chareidim and Kollel.
R.T. that question exists even without the targum. A Cohen can’t remarry his divorced wife even if she didn’t marry someone in between.
I agree with the Goq. It’s like if someone stole $100 from you and then asks for forgiveness but refuses to give the money back.
zahavasdad- well according to R’ Schachter, sheidim has nothing to do with ayin hara.
R’ Schachter from YU understands the concept of ayin hara in a much more rational way. He explains based on the pesukim that talk about if someone takes advantage of a widow or an orphan and they pray to G-d, then G-d will avenge them. I think Rashi asked why is it necessary for them to pray for G-d to act with justice? Rashi explains that G-d will punish the sinner anyways, but he is quicker to respond when there is tefilah.
Based on this, R’ Schachter explains that an ayin hara is simply a tefilah that someone shouldn’t have something. For example, if a person sees someone who has a nice house and complains (even in his heart) that he doesn’t think this person deserves that house, then if he truly doesn’t deserve the house, Hashem will take it away. It could be that Hashem was going to give this person time to “earn” the house, but He is quick to respond to tefilah. However, if the person truly deserves the house, then no amount of tefilah or ayin hara can take that away from him.
Based on this, the way to get rid of an ayin hara is to do teshuvah, daven, and learn Torah.
For those who so ready to slash Rebbe’s salaries for more security, why don’t you suggest raising tuition instead? It’s okay for a Rebbe to sacrifice money for security but not the parents?
There’s also a Mincha at around shkiah at the Einstein Shul (1925 Eastchester Road, 10461)
I saw one a few weeks ago that really bothered me. A person wrote that she was reading a sports book that she thought her nephew would appreciate so she gave him a copy. She hadn’t finished the book yet, and as she continued reading she came to a story of an athlete who was in a same gender relationship. Knowing that her nephew comes from a religious family and that his parents would not approve, she felt guilty that she gave him the book. She asked if she should tell his parents about the book.
The response was that censorship is usually unacceptable. She should not feel guilty and she should not tell the parents because the child should be free to explore new ideas without interference from his parents. In fact, the ethicist writes, it’s probably a good idea to lechatchilah expose him to areas that his parents would otherwise censor and again, there is no reason to feel guilty that she accidentally exposed him to new ideas.
According to some turkey is assur year round. I think we paskin that we do not rely on simanim for the kashrus of birds, but rather we rely on Mesorah. Since turkey is not native to Europe, there was never a Mesorah for the kashrus of turkey. I guess this is similar to why many people don’t wear techeiles.
PBA- one benefit of mixed seating is if man is invited to a chasuna of a friend and his wife won’t know anyone there, or vice versa. In such a situation either the wife wouldn’t go, or she would be stuck with people she doesn’t know. If the husband would want to go with his wife to such a wedding, mixed seating would make it a lot easier for her.
I’m not sure if this has properly been addressed, but what is the halachic difference between dancing and walking? IMHO, it seems that the outer circle on the women’s side is very similar to the outer circle on the men’s side, in other words, walking around in a circle. That’s dancing? Why? Because there’s music? There’s a beat? No one is jumping up and down on the outside circle. No one is running. No one is doing wedding shtik and shaking wildly. Everyone is just walking around in a circle to music. And anything within the outer circle can’t really be seen.
What is the halachic definition of dancing that is assur for men to watch women doing?
What’s pshat with the rakia separating the upper waters and the lower waters? Poshut pshat and the way Rashi seems to understand it is that the lower waters are the oceans and rivers and the upper waters is this (presumably floating) storehouse of water in the sky which is where rain comes from. From a scientific perspective this is not true. There is no storehouse of water in the sky. Rain is recycled from the oceans via the clouds. I’m okay with Rashi being incorrect about science, but how else can we understand this passage in the Torah?
poppa bar abba- I don’t know the topic so well, but wouldn’t dina demalchusa dina apply even if every single detail of a law doesn’t make sense? Wouldn’t that make every white collar illegal act assur even if we can’t fit it in to the halachic lo tignov/lo tigzol?
I’m assuming MORIS was being sarcastic, because out of all the words he could have used to argue with Sam, I feel that narrow minded is not the correct one. I don’t think Sam was being narrow minded.
Correct me if I’m wrong but I think this is an accurate summary of the arguements:
Argument 1 for Zionism- Having a Jewish run government in Eretz Yisroel is the beginning of the final geulah.
Argument 2 for Zionism- Since the founding of the medinah, there is been more Jews and Torah in Eretz Yisroel since around the destruction of the 2nd Beis Mikdash and we owe the medinah our hakaras hatov and support.
Argument 1 against Zionism- It is assur to have a Jewish run government in Eretz Yisroel until Mashiach comes. We are in golus and it is not our place to decide when it ends.
Argument 2 against Zionsim- Most of the government is not religious and some of the government is even anti religious. The government of Israel has an agenda to create a secular state in Israel and is prejudiced against Charedim and Frum Jews. We should not support such a government.
Ravhamachshir- I have heard that mehalech, but I’ve heard the other perspective as well. I think I remember hearing R’ Paysach Krohn say that the fact that Yitzchak Avinu had an OTD son in Eisav shows that even the best parents can have OTD children. It’s not always in the parent’s control and sometimes the best eitzah is tefilah.
There is one basic difference between the Yeshivish/Charedi world and Modern Orthodoxy. The difference between the two has nothing to do with being meikil or machmir in halachah or interperting halachah to conform with secular society. It happens to be that many people who claim to be Modern Orthodox are more meikil in an effort to be more like modern society, but that’s not real Modern Orthodoxy. That’s an unfortunate result of what true Modern Orthodoxy was meant to be.
Basically everyone agrees that there are positive and negative things about secular society. The Charedi/Yeshivish world believes that the negative aspects of secular society are too great and therefore we should shut ourselves out to secular society unless it is absolutely necessary. Modern Orthodoxy believes that there is tremendous positive that exists in secular society and we should try our best to take advantage of those positives while keeping away from the negatives. Basically, an ideal Modern Orthox Jew is as shomer Halacha as a Charedi, values Torah as much as a Charedi, but feels a greater involvement in the secular world is a positive thing.
In terms of leaders- I guess the main leaders are the Roshei Yeshiva of YU like R’ Schachter and R’ Willig. Though, to be honest, while the Charedi world in general aren’t machshiv the Rabbanim of the Modern Orthodox world, the ideal Modern Orthodox Jews have tremendous respect and are influenced greatly by the Charedi Gedolim like R’ Elyashiv zatzal and R’ Kanievsky shlita. For example, in YU and many other Modern Orthodox yeshivos and shuls, there were hespedim this year for R’ Scheinberg zatzal, R’ Elyashiv zatzal and R’ Nosson Tzvi zatzal. I am not sure if the main Rabbanim of YU would get that same respect in a Charedi or Yeshivish yeshiva or shul.
Helath I already responded to your “teiretz” over there.
See the topic called –
“Words from an ex IDF solider for Yom HaZikaron”!
Health- I don’t think that’s what the S”A meant. The Rama is clear that a woman is obligated to learn the practical things. The S”A however opens up that they get sechar for learning, but they don’t get as much sechar as a man because they aren’t obligated to do it! Obviously he is not talking about the practical areas, because they are obligated to learn those things and would get the same sechar as a man! The S”A meant she gets sechar for those areas of Torah where she isn’t obligated to learn like the non practical areas of Torah Sheba’al Peh, but it’s not allowed to be taught to her. How do we reconcile these two statements? I stand by what I said before. It can’t be imposed on women in general but a woman who is lishmah can learn and will receive sechar.
Health and Choppy- why would they receive reward for doing something that is clearly assur? Can you give me another example of something that is clearly assur but the violater actually receives reward instead of punishment? If the Shulchan Aruch doesn’t want women to learn, why would the Shulchan Aruch tell us that they receive sechar for doing it (this is the first line in that halachah that Health conveniently forgot to quote)?
I heard a shiur a long time ago, so I don’t remember who said what- but I think it’s a machlokes- is it something that the Goyim do that’s based on something idolatrous? Or is it anything that the Goyim do that wouldn’t have been done in a shielded Jewish community? Nafka minos could be a male wearing a wedding ring or a momenet of silence after a tragedy. I think we (at least Ashkenazim) paskin like the former.
What about the effects of such a move? Maybe the Vishnitzer Rav is not guilty of sinas chinam because he is fighting against a position that he disagrees with, not the person. He “hates” Zionism, not R’ Lau. But this move will definitely cause MO’s and Dati Le’umi’s to hate that chassisuds… and possibly all chassidus. This move might accidentaly send the message to the Chassidim to hate Zionists. If this move isn’t sinas chinam, it will definitely cause sinas chinam.
Lichorah he is only talking about Minchah and Ma’ariv during the week. No one wears a hat during Shacharis with their Talis and Tefilin. And on Shabbos, I think the Ramban says that davening with a minyan is D’Oraysa on Shabbos, so I find it hard to believe that R’ Chaim would say to be mevatel a D’Oraysa (according to some Rishonim) to wear a hat (especially since most married men don’t wear a hat during Shacharis with their tallis).