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Meanwhile, getting back onto topic. I too, like iacisrmma, arrive early to Shul. I try to be helpful when I see strangers looking for a seat, to direct them to available seats. It is a very difficult task because our shul is usually quite full. The Gabbai has to know exactly who is not going to be coming on a particular Shabbos or Yom Tov.
One of the difficulties I have is that there are people who consistently come very late, but sometimes not at all. Their empty seats are an enticing draw for otherwise ‘homeless’ (seat-less) guests, who inevitably end up sitting there. I am always torn with the indecision whether to tell them that the seats are reserved and potentially look like a mean idiot when no one else comes to claim the seats, or to say nothing and then painfully watch when the rude seat-owners show up late and ask the guests to leave their seats. By that time, there are usually absolutely no other seats available.
I have on occasion given up my own and my son’s seats and stood in the aisle in order to rescue guests from the embarrassment of this banishment.
It bothers me greatly, but I basically said it all right at the start, when I mentioned that I always come early to Shul. Obviously I might be unhappy with people that do not care enough to ever come on time, but especially if they are mean to guests as well.
Quoting GAON – “I would never rely on any of those, unless written by a reliable Posek or by Rav Chaim himself.”
Getting way off topic for a moment (- but appropriately), this reminded me of the famous story about the Ohr HaChaim Hakodosh, during the time when he went ‘off the grid’ and traveled incognito for the purpose of self-imposed Galus. He was listening to a Rabbi’s drasha on Shabbos, and the Rabbi quoted what he allegedly heard from the Malochim discussing divrei Torah that the Holy R’ Chaim had said that week. R’ Chaim interrupted the Rabbi’s drasha to say “that is not what Chaim said!”. The first time, the Rabbi let the affront to the Holy Ohr Hachaim Hakodosh go by unpunished. But when this interruption from a seemingly rude stranger repeated itself, he had to defend the honor of “R’ Chaim” and had the stranger beaten (for calling him ‘Chaim’). This ended up being the message to R’ Chaim that his atonement was completed and he was able to return home.
My point is, that even R’ Chaim himself is not always believed when he denies (or maybe confirms) that he said something!!
I just got a new laptop to replace a very old 15.3″ and I opted for a 17″. I never carry it around, it is my home computer so I figured that I might as well enjoy a bigger screen size.
Things to know, (now that I learned them):
– the actual size difference between a 15″ and a 17″ is not that much. It is a diagonal measurement, so while the area and hypotenuse might be much bigger, the width and height are not.
– Far more important than size of the screen is resolution, color depth, or other quality factors. My 15″ was an expensive Dell, while my new 17″ is a cheap HP. There is simple no comparison – the smaller screen was so much sharper and clearer.
– I like the 17″ size because they typically come with a larger keyboard – specifically the separate number keypad. Nevertheless, on my cheap HP they still managed to skimp on the keys and mushed some of them together and skipped the dedicated F-keys. I have to press Function+number to get an F key. OTOH – My 15″ Dell had all of the desired keys in the usual locations.
– A 17″ might be too large for many laptop bags, briefcases, or other carrying devices. It might also be too heavy too lug around.All in all, if the quality and everything else are exactly the same and you don’t need to transport it, I highly recommend getting the largest screen you can. More and more computer use involves pictures and videos, as opposed to the old days of just typing documents and reading emails. Plus, Your eyes are not getting younger, and you might some day appreciate the larger fonts and screen real estate.
Wow, I am just catching up on all of the beautiful essays that people wrote here – especially the one from Lilmod-Ulelamaid. Thank you for that, very well said!
Even if we stick to the most common definition of a Tzaddik as having more Zechusim than Aveiros, I think that we can all agree that the bottom-line actual value assigned to each aveira or mitzvah is so complicated that no human can ever understand it or know all the factors. For example, Mitzvos done in suffering or poverty are worth more than those that come easy. Aveiros might be attributed to an insufficient religious upbringing. It gets even harder when you consider that the value can change after the fact by doing teshuva, having Charata (even for Mitzvos), and deeds done even after death by others that were affected by the deceased before he died (decendants, or others that he was mekarev, or lives that he saved.) There are stories in the Gemara about people who acquired Olam Habah in one moment or act of teshuva. No one can even pretend to be able to figure it out.
I often think about this Sukkos time, when I go shopping for an Esrog or in shul during Hallel. I wonder about the comparison between a poor man who pays $50 for a simple Esrog with great difficulty and sacrifice, versus a wealthy man that pays $500 for the most beautiful Esrog in the shul, but for whom even that sum of money is insignificant. Whose Esrog is really nicer to Hashem?
Rabbi Shlomo Perl Zt”l gave a shiur (he gave many of course). He began by describing the parents of some friends he went to school with when he was very young. The father was a ‘bible scholar’ professor who knew how to learn very well but did not believe in any of it or keep any of it. They did not keep shabbos or kosher etc, even though he knew all of the halachos. Rabbi Perl then asked – Sounds like a rasha – no?
Then he seemingly went off on a new topic, and described his own life in detail. He originally went to public school and his family knew nothing at all. In 5th grade, a neighbor convinced his mother that Public School was too dangerous, and for that reason alone she switched him and his older brother into a yeshiva. He then described his life’s journey. His brother became a Rosh Yeshiva, and he went on to become a world-renown expert in Hilchos Shabbos who gave over 1000 shiurim on various halacha topics. When he was niftar he was the Rosh Kollel of the night Kollel in the Bostoner Bais Medrash in Flatbush (where I daven.) He then asked -imagine the Olam Haba that that neighbor deserves, for causing all of this Torah learning and generations of frum yidden that came from that act.
Then he surprised everyone by tying it back to his first question – the two stories are about the same people. The neighbor was in fact the same non-frum parent of his schoolmate. Rabbi Perl left it at a question. Not even he knew the answer to what the heavenly status of those people is.
My picture of the eclipse is not saying “Look – here is something that you can’t see anywhere else”. It is saying “This is what I myself saw, enjoyed, and was part of.”
I am sure that many people will have different opinions and answers to this question. It is a good question.
True, some people get so obsessed with taking pictures that they forget to be part of the scene themselves. OTOH, some people like doing that, and prefer to view everything through the lens of their camera – perhaps they are shy and use it to shield themselves from human interactions.
For me personally however, I spend 99% of the time enjoying an event, even if I miss many ‘great shots’. I just like taking a picture or two (seriously – just one or two) so that when I look over my collection of pictures, they bring back the memories of when I was there. My photo album is thus more like a photo calendar/journal, reminding me of past events rather than future appointments.
For that purpose, they don’t have to be such great pictures. It is certainly a bonus if the pictures are nice enough for others to enjoy, even if they weren’t there to remember it. But it only works if I took the picture myself, not if I just use a stock photo.
Thank you yet again, Joseph. And of course R’ Miller ZT”L!
That was beautiful.
Thanks Joseph – keep them coming!
Momentarily going back to the topic of eating meat…
I appreciate all of the detailed references quoted here. I never understood how a Frum Yid could be a vegetarian, when the Torah specifically permits it, and even commands it when the meat is Kodshim from Korbannos. Furthermore, Chazzal urge that it be eaten on Shabbos and Yom Tov, as in “Ain Simcha Elah B’Bossor”, or “Bossor V’Dagim Vchol Mattamim,” etc… Now as I understand it, it is an optional degree of abstinance. (Note – that explanation may be plausible, but is still not in line with some of the quotes I have seen that strongly imply or say outright that eating meat is ‘cruel’ and ‘wrong’.)
There is also the nagging question on my mind of what these people will say when Moshiach comes and we once again have a Korban Pesach…
Wow – more please!! I listened to many of his tapes and read some of his books, but not so recently. I always found the Q&A at the end of the tapes to be the best part, but they were often cut short by the tape ending.
I attended his shiur a few times in person, just to be able to see his face and hear him live at least once while I still could. He was quite old by then, and I was young. I am glad I took that opportunity.
I even asked a few questions myself. I still remember at least one of them, paraphrased here from vague memory. If you find it on tape slightly different than I remember, please don’t hold it against me.
Q: What am I personally supposed to be doing to bring Moshiach? If he does not come, does that mean we failed?
A: Rashi wrote a Peirush on Chumash and Gemara that is used by all of Klal Yisroel. Is there any doubt that Rashi has a very special place in Gan Eden, and that he was a great Tzaddik? Yet Moshiach did not come in his lifetime. Does that Ch”V mean that Rashi failed in his life’s work?
We are not responsible to make sure that Moshiach comes. We just have to work on doing the Mitzvos we are commanded to do, in the best way that we can.One ‘minor’ detail that might have been changed, is whether this ever actually occurred, or if this is just an ‘Op Ed’ attempt at trolling.
It works on comment boards, and it works for newspapers too.
I don’t doubt for a second that it COULD have happened. I have heard many horror stories of parents pressuring or attempting – in those instances where the Hanhola resisted and did the right thing – to get schools to do things that were not right.
I have done this a few times. When I first started I got advice from my sister, who at the time worked in Pomegranate and was able to obtain very professional advice. If they are making BIG BUCKS off drying salami, you can be sure that they are doing it right! Dried salami sells for triple the price of regular salami!
Anyway, here are a few suggested answers to your questions:
1 – the smell is only in the first few days, when the most moisture evaporates. After that, it slows down. To maintain the smell – and keep you in regular supply of dried salami (like if you want one every Shabbos,) you would have to hang up a new one every week. You can divide the two you buy (if you are buying two at a time,) and keep one in the refrigerator for a week before hanging it up. You just have to remember which ones are from when, to know which one is ready.
2 – You might want to not hang them over anything important, like carpeting. Sometimes they drip a little – again, mostly only at first. Or just leave a rag on the floor directly underneath. It is at most only a few drips.
3 – There is no absolute time. It depends on how dry and hot the air is. They typically take around 4 weeks. They are edible at any time. If you like them less hard and dry, eat them after two weeks (sometimes my kids just couldn’t wait any longer than 2 weeks!) I think mine were ideal after 3-4 weeks, and too hard (for me) at 6 weeks. But that might be perfect if you are cutting them thin and small for recipes, like tiny chunks on a salad.
4 – Be warned, that sometimes they just don’t make it. There is always a risk that it could become rotten, moldy, or buggy. No big deal, don’t give up. Just throw it out and try again. If it happens more than rarely, the environment they are hanging in is not ideal – too moist or hot or whatever. Move them elsewhere. When you first hang them up, wipe them off well to remove the external fat and moisture that will spoil faster.I hang mine in my basement, while my aunt hangs hers in her kitchen. She lives alone, whereas my kitchen is often cooking for a large family and is probably too hot for it.
B’teavon!
OTOH, an establishment might use the simple truth to mislead consumers. They would claim that there is nothing essentially wrong with their kashrus, it was ‘merely’ a minor dispute. Customers might then mistakenly be lured into eating at an establishment with no hashgacha at all, even if only temporarily.
Then even worse, the hashgachas would lose their only weapon for ‘punishing’ kashrus violations (even serious ones) – the threat of removing certification.
They have to keep all certification removals a purposefully scary event where no one really knows whether to trust the establishment
Maybe. Just theorizing, not justifying.
Mashgichim often have to ‘work’ on Shabbos and Yom Tov. This of course does not refer to doing any actual ‘Work’ that is a melacha, but merely to supervise.
Specifically, there are areas of kashrus that require the presence of a Jewish mashgiach by every shift, such as milking cows on a dairy farm, and the delivery/pressing of grapes in a winery (up until the point where it is pasteurized and becomes mevushal.)
Even in other areas where the mashgiach must be ‘Yotzi Venechnas’, he must have the possibility to enter for a surprise inspection at any time. Therefore they sometimes stay in a nearby hotel and pop in for a visit on Shabbos too.
Yes, you are surprised that it arrived at all!
You are sometimes better off buying from US sellers.
When buying button batteries, you can get some from US-based sellers for just a few cents more, and get it within a few days instead of a few weeks.
Some items like memory cards have a very high rate of non-working or less usable space than claimed when bought from china.
Chips or other accessories for which compatibility is tricky and critical.
Anything that you want sooner than 5 weeks!
Ah – now I understand.
You mean the sellers that have multiple items within one sale, with a drop-down box to select which specific item you want. They sometimes include a dummy item that is cheaper.
Yes, that is definitely search manipulation. No, it is not forbidden, but maybe if enough people complain about it, eBay will change the way that works someday. There is no way to exclude those results. In general, I ignore any results that show the price as a range “$1 – $50”. That means that there are multiple items in that listing.
It is helpful to sometimes select “US Only” as one of the search options. That eliminates virtually all of the trash listings. However, it will also sometimes eliminate the cheapest legitimate options.
I just reread the original question, and while I already commented on what I think was meant , the way it is worded sounds like the question is:
“Are you allowed to charge less than everyone else, in order to come in first in a sort by lowest price?”
The answer to that would be YES, of course! As Chazal say – Tavo Alav Beracha!ZD – The fact that eBay returns results that do not at all seem to fit what you are searching for, has nothing to do with the price manipulation that RebYidd23 asked about. It is something they call Best Match, and it stinks. Amazon also does this, and I hate it there too.
However, unlike Amazon, on eBay there is a simple solution – you can change the results list to “Cheapest” or something else. Then it reverts to exact match only. Best Match is just the default listing order.
On Amazon, if you search by price, you will get tons of garbage listings that do not match at all. Any search other than the ‘Relevence’ sort order is totally useless.
I understand what you are asking, and I admit, I have done this myself once or twice. I do not recall ever seeing anything explicitly forbidding it in eBay rules. I had an item that just wasn’t selling at the price I listed it at, for many weeks. Instead of cancelling it and listing it cheaper, I created another identical listing with a lower selling price. Interesting to note – the first item included free shipping, but the second cheaper price did not. The second item sold very soon thereafter, even though the total cost with shipping was higher!!
Technically it is not affecting or manipulating the search results. The search remains unaffected. What it is affecting is the buyer’s perception that one item is cheaper than all of the rest, so it must be a bargain. OTOH, if you would just list the cheaper price, they would not be paying anything more or less anyway. Many of the chinese sellers have multiple listings for the same items, varying the price by just one cent (look at button batteries for example). Their intention here is not price manipulation, but merely to get more ‘shelf space’ in the search results. It is like a cereal company having 40 flavors instead of two, just to hog more retail shelf space.
It is notable that most of eBay’s policies are primarily intended to protect their profits, not the sellers or buyers. So this practice would be very low on their priority to prevent, as long as they are getting their selling fees. In fact, the people doing it are often high-volume sellers, which are eBay’s best customers.
Check out http://www.tenyad.org/shop/
It might answer your question. It is a fundraising page on their website to allow people to ‘buy things’ for a hypothetical Kallah’s package. But the list of items available to ‘buy’ seems to represent an actual list of their actual package.
I don’t know anything about Yogurt and it’s manufacturing process, nor do I know what a home yogurt maker would consist of. I assume that the main ingredient of yogurt – milk or some derivative (milk-fat, cream, etc…) is possibly essential to the process, and trying to substitute something else might be one reason for your non-success in the past.
What I do know is that my wife sometimes works for Norman’s Dairy marketing their Greek Yogurts. They are some of the nicest people I know. I have spoken to their food scientists in the past when my wife had questions about the ingredients or manufacturing process. I suggest you reach out to them either through their website contact form, or their facebook page. Helping you with some tips is not really going to hurt their business, so they might be willing to help.
No guarantees but it can’t hurt.
If all you need is a cheerleader, then by all means – “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Of course the double ‘Try, Try’ seems to indicate that another failure might be expected in between…
I visited the Anderson Pretzel factory a few years ago, just when the Peanut-butter Filled Pretzels started coming out. I was excited to see this new product and bought some right at the factory in their gift shop. The peanut butter was hard even then and had shrunk to only partially fill the inside.
I like the taste anyway, but it could be that what you are imagining it should be like doesn’t exist.
So what’s the bottom line on this? Do we get an update? Did DaasYochid keep his promise and move to Canada?
From the term ‘moving to Canada’ it sounded like he didn’t already live there. Plus if he did, what big difference would it make to him who is president of the USA?
Why do you assume that I assume?
Was it a Natural Phenomenon? I never said that. It was 100% miraculous and made by G-d, nothing ‘natural’ about that. Though it was probably more of a physical ‘phenomenon’ rather than a purely spiritual one, as per Rashi. Though I never said that either. I just labeled a theoretical non-existent technology using a concept that we are already familiar with.
Rashi describes Kefitzas Haderech as Hashem reducing the distance between the two points (‘folding up the land beneath his feet’) thus allowing the subject to reach his destination quicker. Nothing was done to the traveler, it was the path he took that was shortened. Thus, completely in line with what I described. If technology would allow us to replicate things today that were done thousands of years ago by miracles, would that be denying that they were miracles and claiming that they were ‘natural’? That is what Pharaoh claimed…
and yes, I am a sci-fi fan, though much more when I was younger. This whole thread is about Teleportation, a technology that does not exist, and is therefore purely Science Fiction.
I can currently imagine two possible (though currently only science fiction) methods for Teleportation, loosely defined as near-instantaneous relocation of matter from one place to another.
Method 1 – shortening the distance between the two places through some method such as a ‘wormhole’ or ‘sub-space doorway’ etc, and then stepping through this doorway. While no such technology exists, I think this is totally within the realm of Torah and belief in Hashem. For simplicity, and to hint at why I think it is compatible with Judaism, we can call this “Kevitzus Haderech”. Sound familiar??
Method 2 – Converting all matter on site A into purely digital or other ‘transmittable’ signals, waves, or particles, then transmitting them to site B and reconstructing them into their original form. I believe that this method is impossible according to Judaism and it’s tenets. Since a human consists of more than just physical particles, but also contains a Neshama (and maybe a Ruach too depending on how you define these terms,) once it is deconstructed, it is dead. It cannot be ‘reconstructed’ by a machine. Also, if that were possible, we would be able to save the electronic ‘digital image’ of the deconstructed person and then replicate it by reconstructing it more than once. We would be able to create people using something like a 3D printer, and call it ‘alive’! Of course, it would still be missing the Ruach and Neshama, so it can’t be alive. That was Frankenstein’s dilemma. You can call this one ‘Yesh MeAyin’!
See lightbrite? someone did think about this!
The ‘stupid’ comment was not solely because he believes that they are a pirate radio station, but because of the overall tone and content of his comment.
As for the ‘hard sell’, I did not make any of this up. My son volunteers for Jroot occasionally doing some technical computer stuff, and has been to their studios many times. The radio broadcast is certainly not physically being done from their studio. No one there ever mentions the radio broadcast, or even admits to knowing who is doing it. Whether or not any of them know who, how, or from where it is being broadcast, they have purposely distanced themselves from that aspect, specifically in order to be totally legal.
You don’t have to ‘buy it’, but you also can’t go accusing Rabbonim of sponsoring piracy or other illegal activity. Certainly not without proof, and possibly not even WITH proof. If you are really so altruistic about legality, you probably can get some documentation from jroot proving that they ARE legal.
Let those who are being hurt by the broadcast take the broadcaster to bais din / court / proper authorities, while we mind our own business.
BTW – I wonder what R’ Chaim Kanievsky would say about the tefillos of a Baal Loshon Horaah, Motzi Shem Rah, or pretty much any poster on any internet message board. Would Ferd be so quick to quote THAT halacha?
Also, I don’t mean any personal animosity towards Ferd or anyone else. I am just providing another opinion from the opposite side for people to consider. My comments are solely in response to the comments here and their precise wording, not to the people writing them.
“Any rebroadcast, retransmission, or account of this comment, without the express written consent of Major League Baseball, is permitted.”
There is no correlation. The baseball games are syndicated and make money by selling the rights to broadcast it. When they say prohibited, they don’t mean by the FCC, but by copyright laws.
Jroot does not need to prohibit people from re-broadcasting because their goals are to provide free Jewish content to the public. They are not being hurt financially when you get their broadcast through other means besides their website or phone app.
Why is YWN allowing anonymous posting? It is a very bad idea that they stopped long ago. Apparently the new website is allowing it again by mistake?
Anyway, an anonymous poster above provided the source for FERD’s statement that “These rabbonim must be aware of the psak that rav Chaim Kanievskey made; If one parks in a handicapped parking space and runs into a shul and davens Shacharis he MUST DAVEN AGAIN! ”
The actual quote said “Such a person, who steals a parking space in order to daven must recite a תפילה נדבה in place of his first tefilla”.
IMHO, that is not quite the same as saying he MUST DAVEN AGAIN.
Ignore Ferd’s stupidity. JROOT is not a pirate radio station, nor was it on or off the air. Jroot is a website – Jrootradio.com. It is available on the Web, from their phone app, and through other Jewish Streaming apps such as Jstream. The broadcast does not ever mention any radio station.
Sometime in the past they were also broadcasting on a radio station, and did advertise it as such (hence the origin of their website address), but that was stopped by the FCC. (Not that I CHAS VESHOLOM mean in any way to agree with or confirm anything FERD said.)
Some anonymous person unrelated to Jrootradio.com has been receiving the free stream over the internet, just like everyone else, and then using their own personal equipment to re-broadcast it over the radio waves as a favor to the local community in flatbush (Brooklyn, NY.) No, this has nothing to do with the Rabbonim. There is no reason at all for any Rabbonim to exclude their content from being shared with Klal Yisroel.
Whether this is legal or not has no bearing on Jroot. The same person (or anyone else) could choose to broadcast any other content in a similar fashion.
As to why this is beneficial – there are still some frum people in this world who do not have smart phones and internet-connected computers in their homes, or at least in their kitchens when they are cooking for shabbos. But they do have radios. Once upon a time radios were very cheap and easy to obtain, and if they have a stereo system CD player, or Tape player, it probably has a radio too. Even simple MP3 players (Sansa clip for example) have radios. So with the broadcast they can listen to shiurim or Jewish music in their homes.
I am just trying to explain the facts, defend the Jrootradio people and distance them from any suspicion of wrongdoing. It is not my intention to take sides on the legality of the broadcast.
I meet vilde chayos every day. I ride the train with them…
Did we forget that in today’s day and age we have photos and videos?
The answer was already provided, like Jeopardy. We were supposed to ask the questions. So the answer would be “There was no brake…”
Leben is thinner than yogurt, especially Greek yogurt. I tasted it only once, and it tasted to me like spoiled milk (which is probably not far from the truth.) Nevertheless, my kids love it. They poke a straw right through the foil top and slurp it away in seconds. I don’t think you can drink yogurt with a straw.
I assume it is based on yogurt but just more diluted (possibly with milk).
I don’t think it’s more diluted, just less yogurtized
What did the fireman say after breaking his leg on the fire-pole?
Google yielded a few varied results in books:
From a book titled Sefer Yetzireh by Rav Aryeh Kaplan: The seven Sciences – Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Music, Geometry, and Astronomy. Footnote for source not available for free.
From Encyclopedia of Jewish Medical Ethics: A Compilation of Jewish Medical Law … By Avraham Steinberg: The medieval scientists listed seven branches of knowledge – Logic, Mathematics, Measurements, Natural Science, Astronomy, Music, and Theology. The footnote claims this is from Rabbenu Bachya on Avos, end of Perek 3, and Maharal Nesivos Olam, Netiv Hatorah, Perek 14.
Every sale automatically includes a ‘warranty’ according to halacha. The fine print on a warranty would only be to exclude the company from being responsible ‘as per our agreement’.
You said that the succah collapsed, but even without any exclusions the company’s responsibility for replacement could depend on the reason for the collapse.
Did the poles fail to support the weight of the walls and/or the schach? Were they assembled correctly? Or was there an abnormal wind that they might not be accountable for?
Nothing has changed, it is all still applicable.
Consider it a mussar lesson for Loshon Horah – the damage will still continue by being discussed years later.
It is true. People who have heart failure tend to stop exercising. They might also stop breathing and other common activities….
I actually was on a tour of the Postive factory a few years agi with Rabbi Wickler of Kashrus Magazine. We were also treated to classes on bug checking and infestations.
After that, it is a no-brainer. I ONLY use Postiv (or a few other rare Greenhouse products.) I don’t use those other brands at all, based on what I learned.
Without saying any LH about what is wrong with other products, I can tell you that Postive has some major advantages:
– They are grown in a sealed greenhouse completely isolated from the ground soil, so bugs cannot get in. Even in the greenhouse, they spot check the produce while it is still growing.
– They check every batch once it arrives at the factory BEFORE washing it
– They wash it in a process that is VASTLY superior to most other companies for certain reasons that they might not want divulged
– They check EVERY SINGLE ounce of product before bagging it. Yes, that is correct – they don’t just spot check! They have a method wherby they check everything.
There are some bugs (mites) that are so small that once they infest lettuce, they are difficult to spot even using a lightbox. Non-greenhouse lettuce just cannot be guaranteed clean, even with all of the ‘washing’ and spot checks that other companies do.
It depends on the giver and the recipient. A very wealthy person can give a set of seforim, while a person of lesser means can give an individual but still meaningful sefer. Seforim are less appropriate coming from a person who never looks at them, or going to a boy who will never look at them. Coming from a chosuvah talmid chochom, it is seen as a personal recommendation and endorsement for the bar mitzvah boy to read that particular sefer.
If you feel that the bochur will use the sefer, (even if not for a few years) a sefer is a good idea. If he is a lamdun, a less common but still heard of sefer is okay. If he is less knowledgable, more modern, or non-scholarly, an English sefer or even a book might be more useful. Some ideas might include:
– Rabbi Ribiat’s 39 Melochos 4-volume set (useful but not cheap)
– Rabbi Bodner’s Brochos Guide
– Any new Biography
– Amazing Facts (book 4? just came out)
– Artscroll Rashi (small, medium, large)
– Artscroll Shas (just kidding)
– Many new seforim and books come out every month. Anything that ‘just came out’ is safe to assume that he does not have it yet.
I am sure that any decent seforim store can assess you and your description of the recipient, and make a few recommendations.
Of course the bottom line is, anything you give ought to be appreciated, and it doesn’t matter that much what you give.
No, frum people still have the same attitude. That is, some have them, and some don’t. Some are vehemently against them. And some just like to argue about it.
The only new thing is that now we discuss it on message boards instead of in the mikvah…
Bored_on_the_Job – Yes, absolutely there are parents that make outrageous demands, and the administration gives in. Occasionally it could also be a decision on the side of the administration, that they falsly blame on ‘other parents’ just to cover themselves.
I have a neighbor that is/was an administrator in a Yeshiva. He told me about one family with a few boys that entered the Yeshiva after moving here from Eretz Yisroel that had to enroll using their mother’s maiden name, because their real last name was a very Sephardi-sounding name, and the administration could not risk an outrage from the other parents!!
Ridiculous. Nowhere did it say who the speech was being given too. I am assuming that it was to no one important. Nice speech, but not going to have any affect. Those that can change it don’t want to, and those that agree with Rechnitz are not in any position to change it. If he weren’t so rich, maybe they would put him in cheirim, if anything at all.
One thing that supports my opinion – I was amused, annoyed, and amazed when at one moment in middle of the speech suddenly everyone clapped. I didn’t understand what they were clapping about, as he had not gotten to any important points yet. I backed up to listen again, and it turns out that it was when he said “I give money to support Lakewood Mosdos.” So it wasn’t his message that they were agreeing with, it was his money.
Maybe instead of paying someone to dig out your car just to go to the grocery store, thereby losing your parking spot, you should have paid someone to go to the grocery store for you.
Maybe then you would own the grocery store for three days? Or at least the path from your house to the store? Just because you paid someone for it…
“V’Ain Atah Ben Chorin L’Hebatail Meemenah” – meaning we are all not free because we have to learn.
OTOH – “Ain Ben Chorin Elah Mi SheAsuk BaTorah” – only if you learn are you free.
I don’t know much about it, but I have heard that there are many kollel people in Lakewood and Flatbush that make extra money by selling stuff on Amazon. You can’t do it properly without learning how, so don’t just jump in and try it out before someone teaches you. But I think it works something like this:
Every item for sale on Amazon has a seller rating, which indicates how popular it is and how quickly/guaranteed it is to get sold if you tried to sell one.
These entrepreneurs look for very hot selling items. Then they look to see if they can buy it elsewhere any cheaper, such as on sale in Best Buy or Staples, or with a coupon, etc… Sometimes they even pay the same price, but use Credit Cards or ebates or other reward programs that earn them money or mileage for each purchase.
They sometimes might have the item delivered straight to Amazon’s warehouse from the place they bought it from.
I think one of my neighbors is doing this, because he frequently gets UPS deliveries AND pickups of a lot of large boxes.
Items might be toys, computers, or almost anything.
Hatzlocha!
BTW – App Development is a good legitimate business, but it probably requires certain skills. It might not be for just anyone.
Was this well-respected posek paskening l’halacha that it belonged to him? Isn’t he a Nogeia Badavar?
He might have made a Chazaka, but as every not-so-well known posek knows, Kol Chazaka Sheain Imo Teineh, Aino Chazaka. He would first have to had purchased the parking spot from the city or township, and then made his improvement.
He could however claim ownership to all of the hefker snow that he moved, with a kinyan hagbaha. Of course, he might not want to admit that, because he might be a mazik if he piled it up in front of someone else’s parking spot or driveway.
Thanks Joseph – exactly.
Plus, the driver surely knew that he was audaciously parking illegaly, and that I was suspiciously examining at the method he used. He was likely just afraid of getting busted so he acted self-rightously angry.
I also have the right to be angry at these guys that prevent the street from being cleaned, or occupy parking spots for more than the legal time limit of one hour or whatever.