Nu, interesting pshat, but remember the kohanim in the beis hamikdash also had blood placed on their ears…

Many Litvaks learn chassidus, too. Some openly, some secretly. I know a “closet Breslover” in a kollel, for example. Others can be found in Uman.

The Litvishe rabbonim I know love to give over chassidishe torah in Shabbos morning drashos.

This isn’t anything new. Reb Shraga Feivel (a big rav before WWII, founder of Torah uMesorah) was yeshivish. Yet he studied the Tanya, Likutei Moharan, etc. And Rav Hirsch to boot. He learned everything and taught it to his students too.

Pick up an unfamiliar sefer now and then and see if it speaks to you. You may realize you had a void that needs filling after all.

@Yanky1998 Your response is complete nonsense. Are you aware there are literally frum Democratic elected officials? That both Satmar rebbes officially endorsed Hillary for president? That polls of charedim show at least 20% vote Democrat? The idea that one must vote Republican to be a “real” ba’al teshuvah is completely ridiculous and absolutely false. People vote for all kinds of reasons. Political diversity is a fact of frum life and people need to be tolerant enough to accept that, even if it doesn’t make sense to you.

There’s also BK Gourmet.

You should check out the Jewish Autism Network. I think it’s run by a Chabad rabbi in Brooklyn. Seems very good. They have a great website.

There have been no published studies on OTD rates. A rabbi mentioned two unpublished studies on his blog but we know nothing about them, such as their methodology or anything else. We don’t know if the studies are accurate or well-designed. As far as we know it could be a study of 20 people in one city or something.

See the FrumJews4Joe Twitter account for a recording and translation of some of the Satmar Rebbe’s remarks.

If I recall he said something about the frum following for Trump being like a cult, and Trump having more “chassidim” than any Rebbe.

I’m not a Democrat. But I’ll answer anyway.

Free collage for all? No. If people want to make a collage, or any other art project, they should buy the supplies themselves.

More taxes and regulations? To some extent.

Open borders? No.

everyone white automatically inherently racist? No, but racism exists and still harms people, including us.

All policemen bigoted? No, but some reform is needed.

Pro abortion? No.

Anti 2a? The UK and Israel have much better gun laws, and for that reason have much lower murder rates.

Iran nuclear deal? Against it.

Ect…………….

So you’re claiming every single fact-checking website is part of the liberal conspiracy?

Do some research. Most fact-checkers are non-partisan and debunk the right and left alike.

Spend a few minutes looking at any fact-checker website. You’ll find dozens of proven lies by Trump in seconds.

It is completely ludicrous to deny that Trump is a pathological liar, far beyond any other contemporary American politician.

Think about frum Jews’ politics before Trump. Were we into far-right conspiracy theories, and the politicians who embraced them?

No, we mainly supported mainstream Republicans like Bush I and II who had more-or-less normal middos, acted in a “presidential” manner and lacked any obvious personality disorders.

What are the most popular “other frum programs”?

Remember that the “Trump peace plan” involved putting pressure on Israel to approve a Palestinian state, which the Likud has been against for decades.

Remember that the “peace deals” with Arab countries with which Israel was never at war (UAE, etc.) were only obtained at the price of canceling Netanyahu’s plan of annexing the West Bank, which would have been historic and game-changing.

Remember that Sharon’s disengagement from Gaza, which was opposite to his political instincts and would not have happened without American pressure from a Republican president, GW Bush.

Remember that Israel remained a strong country and dealt with its enemies appropriately more or less, even during the Obama years. Perhaps there was more pressure, but the US was always an ally, not an enemy.

Trump was more sympathetic to Israel but there has still been inappropriate pressure. Things will change a bit with Biden but Israel still has the power to make the right decisions; they just need the guts.

Regardless, our Neviim have often warned against putting our trust in geopolitical alliances, including particular countries or their leaders. Let’s trust in Hashem and daven that Israel makes the right decisions regardless of pressure.

R’ Moshe Lichtenstein (son of YU Rosh Yeshivah R’ Aharon Lichtenstein) and R’ Menachem Genack (OU kosher division CEO) are known to publicly support Biden.

As suggested by one of the above posters’ names, our goal as Yidden should be to spread Torah values in society, rather than to promote a certain candidate or policy.

Due to the fact that there are disputes about what the facts are in nearly every area, it is up to each individual to do their hishtadlus in figuring out what version of the facts are most correct. It is also somewhat a matter of debate how Torah laws and values should be translated into actual policy, and which policies are most important. This is also a very individual decision.

Personally, I agree with Trump on a few issues (Israel, social issues, courts), and with Biden on others (criminal justice reform, taxes, health care, environment, public health). I also think Trump is an unstable person with severe personality disorders who is incapable of empathy or dispassionately analyzing facts.

While the issues Trump is good on are important to me, I think the issues Biden is good on are more likely to change in the near future, and affect a larger number of people.

For example, the US is the most punitive country in the world, with the world’s highest percentage of incarcerated people. Some countries in Europe have 1/20th our incarceration rate! It is not necessary to be so brutal. In fact, Torah criminal law has almost no provisions for prison at at all! As Rav Hirsch writes, prison is inherently dehumanizing, and this is why the Torah prescribes other means (like having a thief be a servant for an honest family for a few years, to learn proper behavior.) Other ways of dealing with and preventing crime are far more consistent with the Torah. Trump has done some things to reduce incarceration but the Democrats are for more committed to this issue. Remember that many Jews, including some frum Jews, are victims of our incredible harsh criminal justice system (Rubashkin is just the tip of the iceberg.)

I would prefer not to vote at all, but due to this factor, and Trump’s dangerous personality, I lean toward Biden.

As for social issues, aside from appointing conservative judges to courts, there is relatively little the government can do, when a huge proportion of the country and most of the media have views that are diametrically opposed to the Torah. It would be nice to one day have a president with Torah-compatible values who actually inspires people to adopt these views, rather than someone like Trump who doesn’t seem to care about these values and certainly violates them in his personal life, and alienates everyone but his most hard-core supporters. But regardless of who is president, activism, media, kiruv, and other non-governmental methods of changing pubic opinion are ultimately necessary to guide society on these matters, and are just as important (perhaps more so) than who is president.

It’s mamash the worst kind of assimilation.

Copying the goyim who, in a series of a similar incidents nationwide, have made pro-Trump motorcades through leftist neighborhoods or protest areas in an attempt to cause a violent reaction.

This is a Jewish thing to do?! Intentionally provoking violence in an attempt to make the other side look bad for a moment, even though that probably won’t change anyone’s mind?

Rachmana litzan.

I was only spanked once or twice and I don’t think it affected me.

But that was then. This is now.

Many rabbis have said human nature has changed and spanking no longer works in improving behavior. Instead, it just makes them worse.

This is supported by modern psychology; a number of studies show spanking makes children more aggressive, violent and angry over the long term.

It may seem absurd for the Israeli government (I think it was a court decision) to ban spanking.

But Rav Shalom Arush explains that since spanking is no longer effective, Hashem arranged for it to be illegal to take this method of discipline away from us.

I certainly agree that that the Torah’s economic system is nuanced and flexible and different from the modern welfare/regulatory state.

Perhaps once Orthodox Jews are the vast majority in Israel we will see what a Torah-based social welfare and economic system could look like.

But where is your source for saying that halachically, teacher’s unions are forbidden? And what gemara are you referring to?

Rav Moshe actually held a pro-choice position, even though ruled against abortion in nearly all cases. Since abortion is required if the mother’s life is at stake, he wanted the ultimate decision for whether to allow an abortion to be with the rabbi (who can decide whether the woman’s life is in danger in the terms of halacha) rather than giving that power to the doctor alone or the government.

Remember that the Satmar Rebbes told their chassidim to vote for Hillary last time. Many complex calculations are involved in deciding who is best to elect, so ultimately it must be up to each person.

The Torah is vast and contains a multitude of laws and hashkafic views. How could one candidate or party incorporate all of that? Note that all the religious parties in Israel are left-wing on economic and social-welfare issues but right-wing on security and moral values. There is no equivalent in the US.

And voting is not just a matter of halacha but also a matter of common sense–that is, is the person a stable and reasonable person who is literate, well-read, kind, understanding and deliberates before acting?

It’s interesting you seem to define Daf Yomi as studying the daf without rashi. I don’t think this is really true. For example, Rabbi Schwartzberg’s daily shiur always includes Rashi. He doesn’t say the Rashi in Hebrew, but he does incorporate every Rashi in his English translation/comments on the Gemara. He also includes many tosafos.

Also keep in mind that if you come back to Yiddishkeit, you don’t have to say a word about this (almost re-converting to another religion) to anyone. It’s between you and Hashem. But even if you are open about I think the above poster is right that you will still be accepted and not judged.

Rabbi Elefant’s speaks pretty slowly–that might be a good option for you.
Rabbi Stefansky’s shiur is not slow but he explains things very clearly.

Joseph: Actually, the halacha is that one should urinate around other men rather than hold it in and harm one’s health. So it is not forbidden. But still, apparently Rav Moshe thought it was an issue and we should avoid it if possible by using the stall. The same logic should apply to mikvah. Some people are naturally more reticent to expose themselves to others; why not accommodate them so they can also use a mikvah? Bashfulness is after all a fundamental Jewish trait.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting a more modest alternative.

In fact, I’ve heard some rebbeim say it’s not proper to use a urinal (where other people can see you); instead, one should use the stall.

Of course, tznius applies to men too.

HappilyRetired: You said that some poskim allow attending a bar mitzvah in a Conservative house of worship. Who, specifically? I have never heard of this–as far as I was aware, attending any religious event in the sanctuary of a Conservative place would be asur according to all Orthodox opinions.

I don’t think it matters if it’s one of those few Conservative places left that still has a mechitza. The C movement doesn’t believe that the Torah (particularly Oral Torah) is from Sinai.

No, mostly people wear kippas because that’s the same kind of kippa everyone in the group they identify with wears. A partial exception is MO–some wear srugi, some leather, some velvet, etc.