smerel

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  • in reply to: Why are the lakewood rabbanim so against an eruv in thier Town?? #1417790
    smerel
    Participant

    To answer in very general terms.It is almost impossible to make an eruv over a large area of non privately owned property according to all shitos and without many kulas. Usually the larger the area the more difficult.

    There are so many differences in halachas of making an eruv between the cities you mention it is beyond the scope of this answer to discuss them all.

    in reply to: Hashkafic views on taking money from the medinah #1412874
    smerel
    Participant

    akuperma:

    My point is that if you aren’t so frum about the D’Oyraases involved in taking money from the American Government in a less than 100% glatt yosher manner then it’s not your place to worry about haskafah issues involved in taking money from the Israeli government.

    in reply to: Hashkafic views on taking money from the medinah #1412457
    smerel
    Participant

    (1)If you aren’t makpid on 100% Glatt Yosher when it comes to taking money from the American government then the you should have no issue with taking from the isreali government.

    (2) Once you take money to a certain degree you are implicitly giving them legitimacy in FINANCIAL areas.

    in reply to: People Without a Rov #1404783
    smerel
    Participant

    I would love to have a rov but out of all the shuls in my neighborhood only two have a practicing rov.

    One has a shul so crowded that I could never daven there the other is of a totally different haskafa than me.

    in reply to: Lakewood vs. Flatbush #1396575
    smerel
    Participant

    Two weeks ago I davened in Torah Vodaas Friday night and Motzey Shabbos. There were about 35 people there. I remember 25 years ago when there were about two hundred people there.That is more than a 80% decrease.

    On the other hand the other side of Ocean Parkway in Kensington seems to have much more frum people than it did 25 years ago.

    in reply to: The Next Lakewood #1395888
    smerel
    Participant

    Jackson is up and coming but it won’t be like Lakewood

    Which new community was ever just like the old one?

    smerel
    Participant

    The R’MA says a sukkah cannot be built on public property (R’Shus H’Rabim) The later Achronim discuss to what degree the RMA meant it. All agree that the R’MA was not speaking about a case where you got a permit. The Biur Halacha even seems to say that if your backyard is government owned land but nobody ever goes there or uses it and the government doesn’t place any restrictions on things like your kids playing there then you can make a sukkah there even without a permit.

    If this is relevant ask your LOR

    in reply to: Are their chickens in Humash? #1381623
    smerel
    Participant

    So it seems that “mesorah” in the case of birds does NOT mean from Sinai, but means only “a well established custom among the frum Jews”, which leaves open the question of how such a “mesorah” comes into being.

    There is no Mesora from Sinai on all Kosher birds. There is only a Mesora on which are the NON kosher birds listed in the Torah. Being that today we no longer know which birds are non Kosher we, therefore, need a mesora on which birds are kosher. Once we know they were always eaten we also know that they aren’t from the non kosher birds the Torah lists

    in reply to: Why do many chasidish yeshivas start on rosh chodesh cheshvan #1365885
    smerel
    Participant

    The Litvish Yesivos also start on Rosh Chodesh Chesvan. And most Chasdishe Yeshivos go through the entire Av

    smerel
    Participant

    It is a lot easier to collect funds for mosdos located in Eretz Yisroel than it is to force those who head mosdos in Lakewood to accept children into their schools. I question if they would even have the right to do so.

    And no I’m not negating in any way the school shortage problem in Lakewood.

    in reply to: Can a Non-Religious Jew be a Tzadik? #1350064
    smerel
    Participant

    I don’t know about a Tinok Shensibah but I have the following observation about the current OTD crowd:. Although many of them are very self righteous and judgmental I never met anyone who went OTD that would be considered a principled idealistic person by SECULAR standards.

    in reply to: Describe your experience as a partner in torah mentor or similar kiruv. #1346827
    smerel
    Participant

    Why do you ask?

    I did it for Partners in Torah and for Oorah. In my experience it depends a lot on the partner you are set up with and their interest in learning. If every week they have a new excuse why they can’t learn it won’t work out. If they are committed it will.

    It is little different from teaching anyone else on a one on one basis.

    in reply to: Are they faking their beliefs/identity?! #1346454
    smerel
    Participant

    I don’t know if people are faking their identity but I do suspect that many coffee room posters would have not turned out well had they actually grown up in an environment that holds of the haskafa they are pushing.

    in reply to: The RCA Are Outta Control, And Do NOT Speak For Me #1341342
    smerel
    Participant

    Without going into the specifics of this case we are in Golus. You don’t publicly pick a fight with the president of the United States over something that doesn’t directly pertain to the Jewish community. Even then you have to be very careful.

    He has enough people criticizing him over this. No need for the RCA to chime in.

    in reply to: The slowly disappearing community school of old. #1335582
    smerel
    Participant

    It was more like twenty five years ago when Lakewood schools didn’t make a major issue about tuition. Back then you were dealing with a crowd who considered paying tuition a priority. No one who said they can’t pay was spending money on luxuries. Also thirty years ago the Rebbeim in Lakewood Cheder went on strike for not being paid. Today neither the Rebbeim or parents would tolerate such a situation. So of course there will be more pressure to pay tuition.

    Much as I wish community schools were still around I do have to acknowledge that they were not very successful. They end up becoming schools for all those who have issues or aren’t interested in learning. It is important of course to have such a school but truthfully they didn’t disappear because of their successes.

    in reply to: chasidish / litvish yeshivas #1334724
    smerel
    Participant

    The little that I know:

    From what I remember thirty years ago the bochrim who considered themselves yesivish for the most part had peyos behind their ears like today. The VERY Yeshivish crowd had “Brisker Peyos” The percentage of kollel yungerleit who had beards was smaller but not so much smaller than today.The Chidusay Harim on Shas was commonly learned in Litvish yeshivos. (There is even a GRNA”T answering a kasha in it.)Long malbushim and bend up hats are no more common today than they were then. In fact frocks and homburgs are LESS common than thirty years ago in yeshivish circles.

    in reply to: Kensington, Brooklyn, NYC versus Kensington, London #1333305
    smerel
    Participant

    There are lot more Talmiday Chachomim and Yeshivos in Kensington Brooklyn.

    in reply to: Fromer Friends from Yeshiva avoid me (troll thread) #1329686
    smerel
    Participant

    Well as the old saying goes “Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate” But seriously it is unlikely that they are consciously avoiding you because they don’t associate themselves with people of your kind. Rather it is probably because they have moved in different way and have much less common ground with you. (out of sight out of mind)It is also very likely that they aren’t inviting you to simchos because they are scared that doing so would be rubbing in your face how they have families and you don’t (yet).

    Put yourself in their shoes. Had the vision you had for yourself of torah ugedula bemakom echad,came true how often would you still be thinking about those who you knew forty years ago that didn’t make it?

    When you were the one who was considered a baal kishran, and envisioned a life of torah ugedula bemakom echad,how much attention did you pay to the bochrim who found learning difficult, were not socially adept and had no friends?

    in reply to: How can I learn Yiddish? #1325018
    smerel
    Participant

    Do you understand any Yiddish at all? You can listen to Shiurim in Yiddish and when you come across words you don’t understand look up their definition. If the speaker is American born his Yiddish will be easy to understand.

    smerel
    Participant

    <i>What do you mean they have no place else to go? Surely Hashem will provide for their livelihood somehow.</I>

    What a remarkable amount of Bitochen on yenem’s chesbon

    smerel
    Participant

    <i>A melamed who does not perform well can be fired without notice because the damage he does is irreparable. </i>

    What is considered not performing well?

    The point is that it would wreck major havoc on the Chinuch system if Rebbeim can be fired so easily when they get older. That is a major Pseida D’Lo Hodder.

    (The secular laws in the US also make it illegal to fire older workers)

    in reply to: Every Menahels Difficult Dillema, the underperforming career rebbi. #1315817
    smerel
    Participant

    If the person was only a rebbe for five years presumably he is young enough to move on to another job. If he is older than that and burnt out that is a different story.

    I know of one Yeshiva that tried to fire many of their rebbeim. The younger ones moved on. The older ones brought them to a Din Torah. The school lost the Din Torah. Among the things the Dayan told them was a very important point: If it would be so easy to fire a long term rebbe because someone younger can do a better job after a while no one will go into chinuch anymore.

    smerel
    Participant

    I’m not a therapist but I realized the truth of what that the therapist quoted by the OP before therapy was acceptable in the frum world. Back in the 1980s out of town yeshivos were really in style. The out of town crowd insisted they would never learn in town and that no good bocher would.etc. Fast forward thirty years. All those big talkers about how wonderful out town is wouldn’t dream of sending their own sons to a mesivta out of town.

    in reply to: "The Rav" #1303902
    smerel
    Participant

    <i>Is anyone referred to as the The Rebbe by anyone other than his Chasidim?</i>

    Highly unlikely for a technical reason. The way Rav Ahron Kotler and Rav Moshe got that title was because at public events where many Roshei Yeshiva were present the other Roshei Yeshiva would refer to them as “The Rosh Yeshiva” By Chasidim they don’t have Agudah convention type events. Nor do they make hespedim with many Rebbes from different groups present. Therefore they don’t really have the opportunity to informally crown anyone with that title. (perhaps because the litvish crowd doesn’t really have neutral gatherings with many different Roshei Yeshiva present anymore either that is why the title is no longer used) But what Rav Ahron Kotler was to the other Roshey Yeshiva the Satmar Rebbe was to the other Rebbes

    in reply to: "The Rav" #1303853
    smerel
    Participant

    The Rav and The Rov are both spelled and pronounced differently I don’t see the confusion. The first time I heard someone mention The Rav I didn’t know who he meant but the pronunciation made it obvious to me that he did NOT mean The Brisker Rov.

    When Rav Ahron Kotler was alive “the Rosh Yeshiva” usually meant him unless you were in the actual Yeshiva or talking to another Talmid of someone else. Afterward he was nifar if that distinction was used it was a reference to Rav Moshe Feinstein. I can’t think of any Rosh Yeshiva alive today who is referred to as “The Rosh Yeshiva” by non Talmidim.

    smerel
    Participant

    I know of such a case that happened many years ago. The girl was adopted by a regular family and was in a regular Bais Yaakov but she opted out of being Jewish when she became twelve. Because of the technical difficulties in raising her as a non-Jew along with their other children, her adoptive parents sent her to a boarding school for high school.

    in reply to: גהנום #1280148
    smerel
    Participant

    I heard a similar version of that joke (also a reference to Rav A Miller’s moshol) A guy who always relied on the most lenient shitos dies. They tell he is going to Gan Eden and send him to a room with a rickety shtender a well used Gemorah and a glass of hot tea and tell he will be left alone there forever. He asks “this is Gan Eden!?” “Yes” They tell him “According to some opinions…”

    in reply to: Burka Photo 🖼️👁️ #1280145
    smerel
    Participant

    The Kalloh has people around her the whole time. It would be very difficult for her to run off and change cloths with someone else. Very few Kallohs wear veils that she can’t be seen through at all.Even so some people are in fact makpid to lift the veil under the Chupa to make sure the Choson knows who is being mikadesh

    in reply to: Burka Photo 🖼️👁️ #1277820
    smerel
    Participant

    They covered one eye but they wore makeup on the other! That doesn’t like a Burkah shito. But as above the Gemorah is discussing what was done.Not Hilchus Tznius.

    in reply to: Burka Photo 🖼️👁️ #1277793
    smerel
    Participant

    I didn’t make any derogatory comments but it was not the Minhag in the time of the Gemorah for women to wear burkas There is a Misnah in Shabbos which discuss if wearing a burkah is ho’otza on shabbos, The rishonim on the mishna say that women who lived in Arab countries wore them but don’t imply any halacha requirement to. There is a Sdei Chemed (if I recall correctly) which discuses the following shaalo “If you live in a country where all women have their faces covered may you make a brocha in front of a women with her face uncovered or is this an issue of ervah” He says you most definitely can because the non-Jewish customs don’t guide us in the halachos of Tznuis. That is why I oppose women wearing burkas. We have a mesorah and halacha discussing what is tznuis.We don’t have to copy the Bnos Yismoel

    in reply to: Credit Card “Shtick/Fraud” – is it stealing? 💳👮 #1275676
    smerel
    Participant

    No storeowner would sell you an item on a credit card knowing that you intend to retun it. To buy from him with that intention without his knowledge is pure genavus daas. It is also genavas momon because you are causing him to lose 3% or more by “buying” and then returning. He is willing to absorb that loss for legitimate customers but not for genovim who are only looking for points.

    As far as the credit company is concerned if you think their position is unclear call them and ask them. Let us know what they tell you.

    Just becuase you go to Rabonim and leave out facts (ah ganev bleibt ah ganev…)doesnt mean everyone does.

    in reply to: Credit Card “Shtick/Fraud” – is it stealing? 💳👮 #1274088
    smerel
    Participant

    There was a Kol Koreh about it a few years ago saying that it is geniaveh.

    in reply to: Elections For Lakewood Township Committee #1272870
    smerel
    Participant

    I would discuss it but not with people who use for their screen name a word the Soney Torah V’Lomedeah have been using since the 1950s

    in reply to: Are blogs really over? 💻 #1266427
    smerel
    Participant

    Blogs died because the people who wrote on them never took “Siyug L’Chochman Shtika” into account.

    And since the blog world never cared about what Chazal had to say I’ll say it in the common vernacular “When you talk too much you end up talking like a fool”

    in reply to: Comparing Sephardic and Ashkenazic Chumras and Kulot #1266397
    smerel
    Participant

    <i>I had a Sephardic guest last year who said that they don’t “say” slichos, they sing silichot.</i>

    The Askenazi version of that is “men geit nit zogen selichos men gait zay betten” (loosely “we don’t say shelicos we beg to get them”)

    in reply to: Comparing Sephardic and Ashkenazic Chumras and Kulot #1266062
    smerel
    Participant

    Saying shlicos all of Elul

    in reply to: “Yom HaShoah”-A Zionist Fraud #1264213
    smerel
    Participant

    (1)There was no collective Nazi vote but there was mass Nazi participation. It was not something only a few individuals were involved in or had a say about

    (2)No. I never suggested that. I do not believe that had the ransom money been given to the Nazis they would have kept their word.(I’m unaware of anytime they kept their word with individuals either)

    (3)I’ve seen those claims being made but with very little evidence. At most they quoted some Zionist as saying that they will be able to build their state because of the holocaust. Never in the context of “let’s make sure the Yiddin are killed so we can achieve that goal”

    (4)Telling President Roosevelt not to meet with the Rabbis March, making efforts to sabotage the rescue work of Peter Bergson (a Zionist), trying to prevent food packages being smuggled to the European ghettos etc. is no better than what the Zionist are accused of. But since it was done by non or anti-Zionist who wanted to show what loyal American they were it is never mentioned by the anti zionist crowd

    I will not respond further on this thread to anyone

    in reply to: “Yom HaShoah”-A Zionist Fraud #1264135
    smerel
    Participant

    KJ Chusid

    I also grew up believing most of the propaganda you do. I’m no Zionist today but as I go older I realized the propaganda is incorrect for the following reasons amongst many others (1) Even if your claims were true there was no collective Zionist vote on how to deal with these issues. It was a kept private decision of a few individuals. (2)Even in retrospect I can see the logic of not agreeing to Nazi ransom demands. To put it this can you give me a SINGLE time the Nazis DID keep their word when they said “Give us this and we’ll leave you alone” on a larger scale than a few individuals? (3)Even had the Zionist wanted to give in there is no way they could have come up with he money to do so (4) being that the Zionist were hardly alone in not helping fellow Jews ,There were non Zionist Jews that had a lot more money, influence and other ability to do so, your thinking seems to be based on issues with Zionists and Zionism rather than actual facts.

    I know I won’t convince you so I’ll stop here and won’t post further on this thread

    in reply to: jroot radio #1262174
    smerel
    Participant

    FERD: (what an appropriate screen name)

    Your vehemence against J Root makes e suspect you have some other issue with J Root other than your personal tremendous dikduk in Dina D’Malchusa.

    Most foreign language radio stations you hear in NYC are pirate stations.While hat doesn’t make it right lets not pretend that Jews are the only one to have pirate stations. Usually the FCC
    only takes action against pirate stations if legitimate stations complain they they are interfering with our radio waves

    in reply to: Don’t build more galuyot. #1259205
    smerel
    Participant

    I’m not moving to Norfolk VA but I think I can make a lot more of a difference to the community there than to the community in Eretz Yisroel. Plus I would have a lot easier time being mechanech my children in Norfolk VA than in Eretz Yisroel.I did in act live in EY for three years but not when my children were school age.

    If I can find a good retirement kollel to join I would like to retire to Eretz Yisreol as well but for now I don’t see considering moving there as being the right thing.

    in reply to: Demographics of Orthodox Jewry #1259170
    smerel
    Participant

    While there are less Chasidm than non Casidishe frum people, 1. Chareidi/Chasidic and 2.Chareidi/Litvish are not tied. There are far more Chasidim.

    Lakewood and Flatbush are the only two large places where Chareidi/Litvish outnumber Chareidi/Chasidic. And even there plenty of Chasidim live. Then you have to add Boro Park, Williamsburg, Monsey, New Square, Kiryos Yoel etc. where the Chasidim are by far the majority.

    Based on a (Torah Umesorah?) graph I once sawIn the 1980’s there were more bochrim learning in Litvish Yeshivos. In the 1990’s it flipped to more bochurim learning in Chasidshe yeshivos.And even in the 1980’s Chasidim learned in Litivishe yeshivos whereas litviseh bochurim don’t learn in Chasdishe yeshivoa

    in reply to: Question about sacrifices when Mashiach comes #1258375
    smerel
    Participant

    I have never seen the Brisker Rav’s position on the subject, but I can imagine him saying that Tefillin isn’t a daily chiyuv – which is, I think, the position of most Rishonim.

    You are pretty much correct in your guess in general. (see below)I have no seform because I’m at work (self employed this isn’t on my bosses chesbon) but the Mishna Brura very clearly says there is a chiyuv to put on tefilin every day. I think the Mogen Avrom gives tefilin as an example of a mitzvah that has to be done daily.

    Which rishonim explicitly say it isn’t a daiy chiyuv and where?

    The quote I refer to is from a likut sefer that I haven’t seen in over twenty year quoting a Brisker Hagadah.(brown cover I don’t remember the name

    Rav Moshe Sternbuch writes that he heard the BR held there is a chiyuv to wear tefilin every day but it isn’t a NEW chiyuv every day. It is a constant chiyuv that you are yotze by wearing them once a day.

    in reply to: Question about sacrifices when Mashiach comes #1258274
    smerel
    Participant

    <i>There is a two volume sefer (very small and thin) called מעתיקי שמועה, where they are מלקט various Chiddushim of the Brisker Rav from his Talmidim – from Shailos UTeshuvos, from Sefarim al haShas and other sources. I saw it there.</i>

    These type of seforim are extremely unreliable. I’ve seen in one of those type of Seforim that BR held there is no chiyuv to put on tefilin on a daily basis anymore. The Am Hartzus of that shtickel “Torah” was so mind boggling that I showed it Rav Reuvain Fein ztz’l for clarification. He answered that there is nothing to clarify.Some Talmid misunderstood the Brisker Rav and wrote it down. He added that he has seen “Pi Hasmuah” Brisker “Torah” that contradicts an explicit Misnah on that very topic.

    What would the Brisker Rov do with the shito of “Mitzvas Betales L’Osid Lovo” Is that also heresy?

    in reply to: What if I don't want to buy back the chometz from the goy? #1256124
    smerel
    Participant

    I don’t share Jospehs concern. Based on my (mis?)understanding The blios and stuff like it are sold with a kinyan agav because no one would ever buy a bunch of crumbs. In fact some botey din require something with real value to be sold because of that concern. But the crumbs are in fact sold so if you want the goy to pay for your chometz make sure to give them to him.

    in reply to: What if I don't want to buy back the chometz from the goy? #1255422
    smerel
    Participant

    If you don’t buy back the chometz how are you going to make sure to give all the chometz you bought back to him? This includes chometz attached to utensils and even chometz absorbed in them. Have fun getting this all together to give to him.

    in reply to: Is Yiddish Holy? #1254554
    smerel
    Participant

    It doesn’t have kedusah per se but the idioms, colloquialisms and euphemisms are so based on Torah, chazal and Torah haskafa that Yiddish has enormous value in that sense.

    To give a random example. (I can think of many, many others)Someone who was picking up Rav Moshe Feinstein to drive him somewhere told him “In Europe (Yiddish) we said the ba’al agalah is here. In America(English) we say the car is here” Rav Moshe commented that this is a very sad difference. In Europe (Yiddish)the focus was on the person (the ba’al agalah) who is waiting outside.In America(English)the focus is on the car and your ability to get a ride.

    Ba’al Agolah is Hebrew so this idiom definitely wasn’t picked up from non-Jewsih society.

    in reply to: If you're not with Chabad #1248784
    smerel
    Participant

    I’m surprised at the question. Why would you even think those who aren’t with Chabad have difficulties with the items you mention?

    Why don’t you simply ask how did people deal these issues before the internet came around?

    in reply to: The Wicked Son, and the Kiruv System #1248179
    smerel
    Participant

    <i>This is against the advice of all the big chinuch experts these days</i>

    I’ve never heard any Godal B’Torah say that someone who went OTD and is currently mocking Yidiskeit deserves unconditional love.

    <i>Because it’s not effective? Or do you think that even though it is effective, it is wrong to show חניפה to Oivrei Aveirah? </I>

    Actually both. I think it’s not effective and it is wrong to show חניפה to Oivrei Aveirah.

    I’ve heard people say that had they grown up today with all the acceptance, validation, understanding etc shown to the OTD crowd and rebellious children they would not have remained frum.

    I’ve also heard someone who did grew up today (recently) comment that she would have went off had not a certain person told her inter alia “No one will blame you and everyone will sympathize with you if you go off. But it is you will receive the reward if you don’t and the punishment if you do”

    in reply to: The Wicked Son, and the Kiruv System #1248116
    smerel
    Participant

    yekke2

    I know this unpopular to say but if a son who was FFB then left the folds and is now mocking Yiddishkeit it depends on the circumstances how he should be treated but thing is certain: he should NOT be given unconditional love. I think the whole concept of unconditional love is a morally bankrupt one.

    in reply to: Video of woman being attacked at peleg protest #1247943
    smerel
    Participant

    streekgeek

    I do not support these protests but you can not tell people who are under the threat of imprisonment for learning in Yeshiva that they should just “live and let live”, when they are protesting that threat.

    You need the other side to have that attitude too to tell it to people.

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