ubiquitin, you’re right that there’s a scientific factor to all this, and that’s not necessarily related to any Torah view, however, I do think there seems to be a hashkafic side to whether or not scientists can be believed, as is evident from the subsequent posts.

Chiefshmerel, The mesilas yesharim understand that medrash to mean not to destory the world through aveiros. (I suppose you can say ain mikra yotzei midai pshuto, though.)

Little Froggie, thanks for your replies. I’m a little confused. Your first post indicated that although climate change may be real, the correct way to correct it is through hischazkus betorah vimitzvos. Your second post seemed to scoff at the very idea, and, as ubiquitin already said, would you say the same thing about smoking?

joseph, how?

So basically it seems that yerushalmi, for one reason or the other, is less accepted in halacha than bavli is. IS that a fair summary?

Sam2, that’s very interesting (that there may be a third gemara). Does anyone have any proof one way or the other?

So back the question up a little bit. Why has talmud bavli been learned for years, and not yerushalmi?

On a related note, sometimes people will point out a sick person who has it so hard, etc. and say “we have to be thankful to Hashem that our hands, feet, lungs…etc. function properly and we don’t have these problems.”

Am I wrong in assuming that’s incorrect? People with problems have them because that’s their nisayon, (or maybe a punishment, in some cases.) That’s not the way it’s supposed to be in all cases. I feel it’s like saying you have to thank someone because they didn’t punch you in the nose. Of course, if Hashem would inflict someone with a problem, it would be bidin, as opposed to a jerk who punches you, but if he doesn’t, it’s because we in our situation are not supposed to have that issue, so why must we thank him for that?

So what’s your answer? That really there’s nothing wrong with college (aside from bitul torah) but people are still wary of it because colleges teach kfira and arayos?

daas yochid, so the point of telling such stories is basically only to prove that missing the meeting was for his good, but it doesn’t directly answer his broken foot?

Thanks, DaMoshe for highlighting the fact that modern orthodox learn a lot. I mentioned before I know someone who goes to a modern orthodox yeshiva. The bais medrash there (and in most modern orthodox yeshivos) is set up with a shelf in front of each seat, which is literally full of seforim. He personally has his own reference shas and rambam, plus a lot of rishonim and acharonim on what he’s learning, plus classical mussar seforim–nefesh chayim, sifrei maharal, and others. I thought at first that they don’t learn bi’iyun but he tells me over the shiur sometimes and it’s a regular lomdishe shiur. And he and many over there are big masmidim.

And zahavasdad, my username wasn’t a question, and your answer is inaccurate, anyway. The square root of 2 is irrational and doesn’t serve any apparent function besides provide material for mathematicians.

R. Moshe was modern orthodox?