Eclectic Jewish Thoughts

Pluralism and its limits in early Judaism

2011-08-01T13:12:00.007-04:00

This past weekend was the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts annual Unity Shabbaton. One of the scholars-in-residence talked about his idea that many of the discussions in Mishna Eduyyot are trying to deal with the aftermath of zealotry on the Jewish community of the second century. Eduyyot consists entirely of rulings on a wide variety of topics where the source of those rulings is 'thus and so directly learned the tradition from Great Rabbi X'. Some historians think it was the first part of the Mishna written down.

The Mishna whose interpretation I found problematic (In Eduyyot 4:8) discusses how Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai had a number of differences of opinion which impacted personal status and ritual purity. These differences were consequential. It mean that there were people who Beit Hillel thought could marry a Cohen, or even marry a regular Jew, who Beit Shammai thought were ineligible and vice versa. The dispute also extended to whether certain utensils were ritually pure or not. Widespread disagreement on this could have theoretically meant that members of Beit Hillel could not have eaten in the houses of followers of Beit Shammai and vice versa.

However, the Mishna concludes "And although these pronounce unfit and these pronounce fit, Beth Shammai did not refrain from marrying women from [the daughters of] Beth Hillel, nor did Beth Hillel refrain from marrying women from [the daughters of] Beth Shammai." (and similarly reagarding utensils).

When I learned this, what I was taught it meant was that if a member of Beit Hillel wanted to marry a daughter of Beit Shammai, he might be told "Although Beit Shammai holds that this woman is fit to marry, by the rules of Beit Hillel she is not." and vice versa. The teacher told me this was the view of the medieval rabbi Ovadiah Mibartenura.

The teacher's view, which I have previously seen ascribed to Judith Hauptman (Masoret Magazine v7n3), is that this meant that Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai each accepted the other's definition. Thus if my daughter is acceptable for marriage according to Beit Hillel, a man from Beit Shammai would be willing to marry her.

I have a very hard time accepting this interpretation. There are two ways to look at it, and for each I will provide a source for refuting it. One interpretation is that Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai each said "Well, we'll accept the other's ruling." This obviously doesn't work. Now the man from Beit Shammai would say "I will marry you since you are acceptable according to Beit Hillel, but the daughter of Beit Hillel would say 'but I must refuse because I am forbidden to you according to the rules of Beit Shammai." This provides no gain in what is actually permitted and has the further problem that each person think their own decision is the wrong one. This scenario makes me think of the saying in Pirke Avot "One who says - What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine - this is an ignorant man."

The other interpretation is that if either Beit Hillel or Beit Shammai ruled that a woman was fit for marriage then both groups accepted the ruling. But in the Talmud (Chullin 43b - 44a) the Gemara quotes a Beraisa that states, "One who follows the lenient rulings of Beis Shamai and the lenient rulings of Beis Hillel is a Rasha. One who follows the stringent rulings of Beis Shamai and the stringent rulings of Beis Hillel -- of him the verse says, 'The fool walks in darkness' (Koheles 2:14). Rather, one must follow either Beis Shamai consistently, both his lenient and stringent rulings, or Beis Hillel consistently, both his lenient and stringent rulings."

This conflict has consequences in the present as well. The overwhelming majority of Orthodox Jews will not accept the validity of the overwhelming majority of conversion conducted under Conservative Jewish auspices. I know people who reason as follows "I follow the halacha as understood by the Conservative movement. By these rules my conversion is valid and I am a Jew. Therefore, when I enter an Orthodox synagogue I can simply tell them I am Jewish, and be counted towards the minyan, lead services if asked, etc." To me, the Mishna in Eduyyot should cause these people to say "Even though I am a Jew according to my rabbis, I am not according to yours and therefore you should not count me towards the minyan."

UPDATE: Rabbi Hauptman's article can be found on the Internet Archive

UPDATE 2: Reading other people's commentary on the article, Meredith Warshaw brings out the point that while a member of Beit Hillel would not marry a woman of Beit Shammai who was prohibited according to BH's understanding, he would marry a woman of Beit Shammai who had no obvious defect. This isn't inevitable - one could imagine someone saying 'Perhaps 4 generations ago this woman's ancestor was a mamzer according to me, but not according to Beit Shammai. How can I take the risk?'

Selling Bliot

2011-04-27T13:25:00.002-04:00

Bliot were described by the person who taught me the laws of kashrut as 'massless particle of taste that nevertheless have volume'. When (for example) you heat milk in a pot, even after you pour the milk out and wash the pot some bliot of milk remain,

I get into an argument each year with my rabbi when I cross off the line about selling the bliot in my pots. The argument point and counterpoint goes:

P) I couldn't deliver the bliot to him even if he wanted them.
C) If he wanted the bliot, he could just boil some water in the pot and he'd get some. If he kashered the pot and somehow kept all the water involved he'd get all of them.

P) Nobody wants the bliot anyway - it isn't anything useful.
C) A manufacturer can package something you want and something you don't want together and your choices are to buy both or neither - you don't get to split the products up.

P) Schmutz is not chametz, and bliot are even less than schmutz.
C) Jews love to be machmir on pesach - it is the custom to be stringent where possible.

The way it sadly is today

2011-02-16T11:10:00.003-05:00

I think this is a good introduction to the conversion crisis as it applies to O Jews. The damage this is causing and will continue to cause is terrible - and absolutely unnecessary. Notice how often conversions are now being nullified because of the beit din rather than because of the convert. Sincerity is no defense.

After cardiac death, what? Part 2

2011-02-09T16:36:00.003-05:00

Part 1 (summary of some non-brain stem death positions) to follow.

So let's assume for the moment we get agreement on the idea that Orthodox Jews may not donate organs prior to cardiac death but are permitted to receive organs that were harvested after brain stem death. Where do we go from there?

I would suggest there would be two negative consequences to concern ourselves with.

Firstly, Orthodox Jews would be in a position where with regards to transplants they would largely be takers and not givers. We are supposed to be a light unto the nations and a generous people. Without violating halacha, we need to consider how we can live up to those goals.

Secondly, there will be a backlash from many people who will not understand the halachic principles that drove us to this point. We need to be able to provide concrete, relevant examples of Jewish generosity to others in order to counter these perceptions.

I'd suggest that the Orthodox Jewish leaders might want to encourage the following:

Orthodox Jews should be routinely donate blood several times per year.
Orthodox Jews should strive to be registered as potential donors for transplants that can be done by a live donor, for example kidney transplants.
Orthodox Jews should routinely register to donate organs which can be harvested after cardiac death e.g, corneas.
Orthodox Jewish philanthropists and medical researchers who are looking for areas in which to do their work should consider supporting research into alternatives to transplants as the technology to support them becomes practical - artificial organs, cloned organs, etc.

On Moral Untenability

2011-01-25T08:13:00.004-05:00

Once a man came to Hillel and asked him "Teach me the whole Torah while standing on one foot."

Hillel replied "That which is hateful to yourself, arrange to be done to others by an agent for a group of people that includes you. All the rest is commentary, now go and study."

New class in HIghland Park

2010-03-10T21:49:00.002-05:00

One of the things I love about living in Highland Park is the wide range of educational opportunities available. This came across my desk today. I'm editting out the contact info, but if anyone is interested contact me for details.

A chabura is in formation to learn the laws of baking matza. The plan is to learn the halachos in depth over the course of the next year and to begin planning, purchasing the oven and necessary equipment, and preparing to bake matzos mitzva next year (in yerushalayim; and if mashiach hasn't come, then in HP). If you would like to participate in the chabura, please reply to [name elided]. As we already have several shiurim on Shabbos, a weeknight or Sunday time may be required. I anticipate that the chabura or individuals will also need take a few field trips for those who have not yet participated first hand in matza baking.

Purim Parties

2010-03-01T08:18:00.002-05:00

I went to 3 purim parties yesterday. You can take it as given there were wonderful divrei torah, excellent food, and enthusiastic singing. I wanted to focus on a couple of 'Only in HP' vignettes ..

Going to the house of a white haired rabbi and feeling the floor literally flex with the vigor of the dancing, with the rabbi keeping up with the teenage yeshivah bochrim every step of the way.
Finishing up at a seudah, when one of the guests mentioned that they were from Jackson Heights, someone asked "Isn't that where Patty Duke lived?". This resulted in half a dozen people singing the Patty Duke theme in 4 part harmony until it was confirmed Patty and Cathy lived in Brooklyn Heights, not Jackson Heights.
Someone giving a dvar torah citing as a source a time when Spock erased Kirk's memory of his love affair with Edith Keeler in City on the Edge of Forever to be followed instantly by a correction from someone else that first cited Reuven Malter's correction of Rav Saunder's gematria in The Chosen, followed by the fact that Spock erased Kirk's memory of Kirk's affair with Rayna in Requiem for Methuselah
Leaving the MO party to get to the chassidic seudah to discover one of the local chassids playing the 'Beverly Hillbillies' theme on the banjo as the Rav commented it was a lively tune.
Someone reciting a dvar torah written by someone else by giving the introduction "Here I am as a man of 50 years, yet I did not understand a simple gemara about Purim until Rabbi Norman Lamm explained it ..."

Authority and Responsibility

2010-01-14T14:32:00.004-05:00

Rav Meir Twersky posts:

One final example, also drawn from contemporary ideological discussion and debate. Many “hot-button” issues are currently being debated in the public square. Some of these are women’s issues – role of women, aliyas, and so on. There are many other issues as well – for instance, the boundaries of legitimate tolerance and openness. Many people are very opinionated in such matters, passionately advocating a particular point of view. Some go beyond advocacy and introduce change and innovation. And, of course, ostensibly everything is said and done l’sheim shomayim. But is the advocacy truly l’sheim shomayim? Or, perhaps is it self-serving, remaking halachah in our image in concert with our predilections?

Consistency test: do we maintain the same professional standards for the resolution of halachic issues that we insist upon in other contexts? For instance, in complex medical affairs we seek – as we should – the best, most expert medical care and guidance. If need be, we travel the world to seek out an expert. For a laymen or even an undistinguished doctor to make decisions or even advocate in complex medical issues would be reckless. We would not allow it. How many of us – laymen and rabbonim alike – are entitled to even express an opinion, much less advocate, in complex halachic matters? If, lack of qualifications notwithstanding, we persist in advocating on halachic matters, are we truly doing so l’sheim shomayim? The consistency test, honestly administered and uncensored, can be very revealing.

Comment: I know I used to try to think this way as I became observant. Part of that process has been to reduce the weight I give my own opinions, learning, and feeling and to raise the weight I give to the halachic experts, which always means the Rav I have chosen to guide me as opposed to the abstract opinions of the gedolim. I am dithering regarding the question of whether I truly forfeit my responsibility for my decisions just because I choose to give the authority for making them to someone else, or if I remain responsible. I'd be interested in comments on this question.

As far as the consistency issue goes, just as I do not accept any doctor's opinion, however august he might be, as the final voice in decisions involving my health I don't accept that the 'gedolim' can make my moral choices for me. I give them great deference - in fact I let their opinion override my own more often than not, but the final opinion and final responsibility regarding my moral and medical choices is mine. Furthermore in this internet age the patient has a chance to become a lot more educated than in the past, and so can be more of a partner with his doctor in making medical decisions rather than the target of those decisions.

How does Rabbi Twersky deal with uncertainty among his experts? If two doctors have different opinions which does he choose? If he has the choice of having a hand amputated and using a prosthetic, or keeping the non-functional hand attached does he have his expert doctor make that choice for him?

Top that chumrah!

2010-01-05T22:52:00.003-05:00

In class tonight we played an impromptu round of Top that Chumrah. For the last several weeks I've been bringing in objects to the Hilchot Shabbat class to illustrate questions and/or solutions we had come up with for several different questions about cooking food on Shabbat.

Tonight I brought in a black knitted scarf to return to one of the class members. Naturally everyone wanted to know what sort of bishul (cooking) b'shabbat question I had that I could illustrate with a knitted scarf.

I explained that in his comments on siman 318 of Orach Chayim the Magen Avraham says that as a penalty for intentionally illegally cooking on Shabbat (Bishul Shabbat b'issur b'mazid) the pot in which the food was cooked is considered treif until it is kashered by libun gamur (high intensity heat, most commonly a blowtorch or the self clean cycle of an oven.)

I pointed out that if this scarf were wet and was draped over a radiator on Shabbat, it would technically be a violation of the laws of cooking on Shabbat. I asked if this meant that if that happened, would it mean I could no longer drape the wet scarf over the radiator even on a weekday, since it would involve cooking something treif.

One classmate piped up and said that the scarf wasn't the pot, the scarf was the food(*). The radiator was the pot, and therefore the radiator would have to be kashered. Another person said even the radiator wasn't really the pot, the real pot was the main unit of the boiler, and thus the hot water tank would have to be kashered. I mentioned that in my house we don't have a separate hot water heater - we have a coil that runs through our oil furnace. It was immediately suggested that I would have to use a blowtorch to kasher the oil furnace. One person said he'd really like to see that, but after due consideration agreed that he would be better off having a camera in the basement and watching remotely.

(*) Under that interpretation the scarf cannot be used by any Jew ever again, although one may sell it or give it to a non-Jew.

Sweet 16 Cholent Recipe

2009-12-29T16:11:00.002-05:00

The following recipe was modified from the original, which was posted at Mixed Multitudes. We tried it last Shabbat and it was delicious!

Modified sweet 16 cholent recipe (with quantities and certainty added for Yekkies) :
Sauce:

1 bottle Tomato Sauce (I used Barilla Marinara)
1 small can Tomato Paste
5 heaping tsp garlic
1 package Goodman's Kosher Onion Soup Mix
1/4 cup maple syrup
brown sugar to taste
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Cholent:
1 lb bone in stew meat
1 large vidalia onion
1 can Goya Kidney beans with liquid
1 can Goya White Beans with liquid
1 bag barley (8 oz?)
1 white potatoes, sliced in rounds, unpeeled
2 yellow potato, sliced in rounds, unpeeled
1 sweet potato, sliced in rounds unpeeled

The sauce is what makes this cholent unique. Mix ingredient above together and simmer for a while on medium low heat. The red sauce and onion soup is the secret to this cholent.

In a 12" circular baking pot
Dice onions - enough to cover the bottom of the pot.

Then layer in a mixture of beans and barley.

Next, put a layer of stew meat.

We places a layer of the sauce in at this point.

The next layer was a mix of 2/3rds sweet and 1/3rd regular Yukon Gold/Idaho potatoes (just enough to cover the meat). We did not peel the potatoes. They were cut about 1 centimeter thick.

Another layer of sauce.

If there is space, put in another layer of beans, then meat, then potatoes…

I put the sweet potato rounds on the circumference of the pot.

Then another layer of the sauce. Add water if needed.

Cook in 350 degree oven for 3 -4 hours, then just before Shabbat add water if needed and keep warm until Shabbos lunch.

Fun halachic fact of the day

2009-12-14T12:13:00.003-05:00

According to the Magen Avraham(*), there is a way to be mechallel shabbat (in violation of the laws of Shabbat) on a Wednesday (or any other weekday), but you can prevent the problem in advance with libun (heating something red-hot).

(*) As interpreted by me according to my personal metasystem for such things.

A brief comment on the history of machloket

2009-12-03T09:20:00.004-05:00

Rabbi Pruzansky of Teaneck posted an essay on his blog which included the following:

A “machloket,” I assume, was not always perceived the way it is today. Abaye and Rava (yeah, yeah, no one is Abaye and Rava here) did not engender the support of partisan factions in their several thousand areas of conflict. (Typical conversation on the Babylonian blogs in the 4th century CE: “Supporters of Rava: ‘Have you heard? Our master Rava says that when a married woman is accused of infidelity by only one witness, and does not deny it, the one witness is still not believed. But Abaya says that the solitary witness is believed! [Kiddushin 66a] He must be anti-woman, that troglodyte!’” Typical ? Somehow, I don’t think so.)

The hostile reaction here was so visceral that I could only conclude that, contrary to traditional halachic methodology, people are emotionally vested in a certain outcome. Like the rabid sports fan who supports his favorite team and wants them to win at all costs – even if they cheat, even if the umpire or referee blows a call [“a win is a win”] – one group of polemicists wants its side to win. They have little interest in halachic process, but rather a passionate desire for a particular result.

I submitted a comment, which apparently he chose not to publish, so I'm putting it out here:

The schools of Hillel and Shammai represent both extremes in partisanship. One the one hand, although they disagreed about kashrut and mazerut they ate in each others' homes and married one another(*).

On the other hand, the Yerushalmi lists the 18 halachot passed by Beit Shammai after they used force (including murder!) against Beit Hillel to create a majority. (Tosef., Shab. i. 16 et seq.; Shab. 13a, 17a; Yer. Shab. i. 3c).

So I would say that passion in the pursuit of Torah is not a new thing. Indeed it goes back even to the days of the second Beit Hamkidash, as related in the story of why a lottery was instituted for determining who would change the ashes on the altar.

(*) Personally I assume this to mean that the 2 schools practiced full disclosure with one another - "Although I believe this woman is fit to marry, by your understanding of halacha she is a mamzeret" and so forth. I wonder if this approach can at least provide a breathing space with respect to the current conversion controversy.

RCA draws a line in the sand - but why here

2009-11-23T15:14:00.005-05:00

Well, the RCA has decided it stands for something - it requires members not to be meschists. I wasn't aware of a flood of chabadnik rabbis overwhelming the RCA. The new RCA loyalty oath includes the following:

"In light of disturbing developments which have recently arisen in the Jewish community... declares that there is not and never has been a place in Judaism for the belief that Mashiach ben David will begin his Messianic mission only to experience death, burial and resurrection before completing it."

I'd rather see the RCA require the following:

In light of disturbing developments which have recently arisen in the Jewish community... declares that there is not a place in Judaism for the belief that belief in a world older than 6000 years is kefira

In light of disturbing developments which have recently arisen in the Jewish community... declares that there is not and never has been a place in Judaism for the belief that only glatt meat is kosher for Ashkenazim

In light of disturbing developments which have recently arisen in the Jewish community... declares that there is not and never has been a place in Judaism for the belief that long standing conversions can be retroactively nullified

What vertebrae would you add to the RCA's backbone? Reply in the comments

Rambam and me

2009-11-23T15:04:00.000-05:00

One of my few original contributions to the laws of the Jewish internet
were The Rambam syllogisms:

Rambam 1:
Rambam was a genius but he lived a long time ago.
I live today, and I believe X.
Therefore if Rambam were alive today he would believe X.

Rambam 2:
Rambam was a genius, and so his works are correspondingly difficult to
understand
I believe X.
Therefore if we study Rambam's works, we can see that he believed X.

Personally, I believe that if Rambam were alive today, he'd probably say
"get me out of this tomb!". And then he'd be upset at all the bare faced
women on the women's side of the mechitza at the tomb site.

Of course, when people say if Rambam were alive today they generally mean
'if Rambam was born 50 years ago' rather than 'if when Rambam allegedly
died 800 years ago he was actually brought through time and no is saying
what he thinks about the state of today's Judaism'. I'm not very
interested in either Rambam - what the former thinks is unknowable and what
the latter thinks is irrelevant as he does not qualify as 'the judge that
is in our generation'.

Shameless link forwarding

2009-11-18T15:01:00.001-05:00

Why did the Chicken Cross the Road? (Jewish version).

Nightmare 3

2009-11-11T14:27:00.002-05:00

In a post on Curious Jew's blog, we were discussing the validity of platonic relationships.
Someone asked:
As far as having female friends — is the advantage of their friendship really greater than the danger of inappropriate (in this context) feelings appearing between us?
and I replied

As a 50+ year old man who BT'd in his 40s, I will unequivocally answer that based on the experiences of my life the advantages of platonic friendship with women overwhelmingly outweigh the dangers of inappropriate feelings for me.

A third party responded:

Based on what concept in Judaism do you give this answer?

I was dumbfounded. I talk about the fact that you can and should see everything through the lens of halacha, but the idea that one should simply completely disregard one's life experience unless you can show that halacha supports what you have actually lived seems insane to me.

After a few minutes I answered (in two posts)
Chaim Bachem. Or Darchei Noam, if you prefer.

I'm sure the commenter will find this answer completely inappropriate because he thinks it misuses the concepts I brought up.

Study too hard and your mind starts to wander

2009-10-26T23:48:00.003-04:00

(Sung to Maria from West Side Story

The laws of a pot placed before Shabbat
Shehiya
Fully cooked is ok, partially is not
Sheihya

Shehiya - Shehiya Sheiyah Shehiya

Sheiya!
I've learned all the laws of Shehiya
And suddenly I've found
how a cholent can be browned
indeed
Shehiya
If its raw then its OK staying
Fully cooked and its ok remaining

Shehiya
I'll never stop learning shehiya

The Kofer Card

2009-10-23T15:54:00.000-04:00

Via The Curious Jew

Tales from HP 4

2009-10-18T18:20:00.004-04:00

I was at a bar mitzvah yesterday at the local Sephardi shul. The BM did quite credibly, reading the entire parsha and doing the haftorah as well.

At the kiddush luncheon that followed, I was sitting with the shul rabbi. I mentioned that I was studying the laws of chazara (returning a pot to the blech on Shabbat) and had some questions. We had a nice conversation, with him mentioning at a few points where the halacha differed between Ashkenzaim and Sephardim. We left with a few unanswered questions, which I researched over Shabbat and was going to write him an email about.

This afternoon the Rabbi called me at home wanting to amplify and correct some of what we said, and also to fill in some of the unanswered questions. Remember, I'm not a congregant, not a regular at his shul, and don't take any classes of he offers. He had to remember my name, contact my teacher for contact information, all to just answer some casual questions someone asked at a kiddush.

English source for halachic rulings about electricity

2009-10-14T10:24:00.001-04:00

As always, ask your rabbi for actual piskei halacha, but this looks like an excellent study resource: Megavolt.co.il.

Two approaches to the Yamim Noraim

2009-09-30T14:42:00.003-04:00

First night Rosh HaShanah this year I was a guest over a friend's house. We were talking and I mentioned that I thought I was less prepared for the High Holidays this year than I had been for quite a while. He asked why, and I explained that between work, Malka Esther's health, and the large number of shiurim I was attending and the work associated with preparing for those shiurim I hadn't actually found much time for cheshbon hanefesh (self examination).

He commented that all my Torah study counted as a great zechut (merit) and thus I really didn't have much to worry about this year. I realized we were celebrating the same holidays two very different ways.

In my eyes, this was a time to engage in self examination, to review my spiritual goals from last year (cut down the personal sarcasm, check, make it to shul every Sunday morning for shacharit, oops, etc.) to decide what I need to work on for next year, to review where I've blundered badly in my personal relationships and figure out who to apologize to for what, and so forth. Since I hadn't done most any of that, I was poorly prepared. Torah study didn't really enter into it, other than my having set a goal of maintaining some serious torah study.

To my friend this was the time when Avinu Malkenu reviewed my actions over the past year, being pleased with my mitzvot and dismayed by my sins. All my torah study didn't just count towards one goal, rather it was a major plus in evaluating my entire status. While I needed to get forgiveness from those I had wronged in order for Hashem to forgive me, the merit of Torah study still counted a long way towards my receiving approval from Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

How do my readers see the holiday? Primarily a time for self examination(*) or primarily a time for divine judgment, or something else altogether?

(*) I wanted to make a joke about zman chesbon nefashenu but my friends who take grammar seriously would not have been amused, Plus that is deflecting via sarcasm again, and I'm still trying to stop that.

Shulchan Aruch and Technical Writing

2009-09-27T10:51:00.003-04:00

When I first started studying Talmud, I thought it made a lousy technical manual. I fairly quickly understood that wasn't its purpose. The codes - the Mishneh Torah, the Shulchan Aruch, the Mishna Berura - that is where I would find decent tech writing, I decided. The memories I had of studying the Mishneh Torah just post bar-mtizvah reinforced this impression.

Years past, and I finally began to study the Shulchan Aruch. My first thought was - wow! the craft of tech writing has really advanced since this book was written. But eventually I came to the conclusion that one of the major problems was the way revisions to the SA were handled.

This is how it would go, IMO, if we did software manuals the Shulchan Aruch way.

The Microsoft Word 1.0 manual would be made by consulting the manuals for WordPerfect, Wordstar, and Notepad. Majority would rule, except where it wouldn't. Shortly after the first edition came out, some tech writer for one of the computer magazines would produce a fisked edition which would quickly become the standard. Other people would take this now standard text and hyperlink their commentaries to it. When new releases of the software came out the old text would be left unaltered, but new hyperlinks would be added. It would like like this:

Shulchan Aruch To exit the program, press Alt F4 Rema: And there are those who say that it is better to press Alt F and then Alt X and this is the custom and should not be changed

[Tons of other commentaries here]

[6 hyperlinks from the Shach which point to earlier comments in the Shulchan Aruch]
Shach It is best to save before exiting, but if one did not do so when the program asks if the text should be saved one should reply yes. In a case of great need, for example if one has completely screwed up shortly before the deadline one may exit without saving.

[On the other side of the page in a different font]
Taz The M"A has an alternate method of closing, which is preferred.

[To be really accurate this reference should be on another page entirely, but I'll spare you]
Magen Avraham: Hitting Ctrl Q requires fewer keystrokes to exit and hence is preferred.

Bicycle riding on Yom Tov

2009-09-24T14:37:00.003-04:00

Just because I keep needing to refer to this link, and it took me a while to remember the search terms to find it, I'm publishing it here. The Syrian decision allowing bicycle riding on Yom Tov and (within an eruv) on Shabbat can be found at Judaic.org. The key search term I need to remember is Yom Tob not Yom Tov.

Cryptic Comment

2009-09-03T17:18:00.001-04:00

Apparently Yated regards "de mortuis nil nisi bonumm" as chukat hagoyim.

Poor logic or outright deception?

2009-08-10T13:32:00.004-04:00

In this week's Kosher Today there is an awful article named New Challenge to Kosher Law as Fraud Increases. In it the author repeatedly equates trademark violation and consumer fraud with non-Orthodox interpretations of the kashrut laws. One example:

New York…Avi G, a New Yorker vacationing in Ft. Lauderdale, found an ice cream cup at a local convenience store with an unclear kosher symbol. “It was either an OU or OV, but either way it didn’t look right,” he told KosherToday. Avi ultimately found out that the ice cream was using an unauthorized symbol. Pfizer recently filed suit against Marco Hi-Tech for allegedly selling it a kosher ingredient with a fraudulent letter from the Orthodox Union. The two are but a small sample of growing fraud and other misrepresentation of kosher that are creating angst amongst many kosher consumers.

Successful challenges against laws protecting kosher consumers have in the words of kosher experts left the growing base of kosher consumers extremely vulnerable. Kashrus agencies say that they have been forced to spend significant amounts of money to protect their symbols from fraud. These concerns are not shared by a Georgian Conservative rabbi and the ACLU who filed suit against the State for defining kosher as meeting “orthodox Hebrew religious rules and requirements.” Rabbi Shalom Lewis claims he cannot fulfill his rabbinical duties “because his theological interpretation of the state’s kosher laws differs from that of Orthodox Judaism.” He said he “violates state law” when he approves some foods as kosher that are not kosher under Orthodox definitions.” The laws have been on the books since 1980.

Rabbi Lewis wants to be able to say that a restaurant he supervises is kosher even though they use non-heckshered cheese. This is a completely different issue from fraudulently printing an OU on unsupervised foods. The NJ and NY kosher laws cover this case adequately - any restaurant certified by Rabbi Lewis would have to disclose that he is not an Orthodox rabbi, and that he doesn't require hecksherim on his cheese.

I suspect the author of the article genuinely doesn't see the difference. As far as he is concerned, a restaurant that serves unheckshered cheese is a treif restaurant, period. But this logic has no end to it. Lubavitch chassidim insist that chalav stam is treif - they do not accept Rav Feinstein's ruling even b'deivad. Should all restaurants that serve chalav stam not be allowed to call themselves kosher? Many chassidic groups don't consider stam shechita to be acceptable. Should a restaurant that serves Empire chicken be called treif?

The role of the secular government is to prevent consumer fraud without ruling on religious disputes. Someone who puts the OU on a product without actually being under the supervision of the OU is clearly committing fraud. No special laws whatsoever are needed - it would be like selling Del Monte Pineapple while being in no away affiliated with Del Monte.

Yated no more?

2009-08-05T11:09:00.001-04:00

My free email subscription to the American Yated is going away. It now will cost $15 a year, leading me to wonder if I can support them, and if so is it worth that much to me. I generally read the letters column, the 2 halacha columns, and the 'ooh, shabbes is SO special' column. Once in a while I print off a recipe. Worth it or no?

Yorea Deah hypothetical

2009-08-01T23:12:00.003-04:00

Inspired by my chevruta study today in Basar B'Chalav.

Imagine you have a new 8 ounce metal spoon, which you use to stir an ounce of melted margarine. Later that day you take out two spoonfuls of beef stew with the same spoon. When you go to spread margarine on your bread, you realize that it is dairy margarine.

How many ounces of Beef Stew has to be in the pot in order to nullify the spoon and still be kosher?

Highlight the area below for my answer.
540 oz. The relevant halachot are

If you know exactly how much food a kli (utensil, like a spoon or a pot) has absorbed you can use that amount instead of the total size of the kli.
If you dip a mlichig spoon twice into a meat pot you need 120 rather than 60.
So the first time you dip the spoon, you need 60 * 1 oz to nullify the diary in the spoon. At the same time 8 oz of bliot from the meat enter into the spoon and become a chanan of milk and meat. So the next time you dip the spoon, you need 8 oz * 60 to nullify the spoon which is now full of milk and meat. 60 + 480 = 540

Maybe we're learning

2009-07-20T14:41:00.003-04:00

I was pleased to see the OU taking forthright responsibility for a ~~screw up~~ outrageous action by their Israeli subsidiary and doing what they could to put it right. This is a big improvement from an organization that has had trouble refraining from cover ups and obfuscation in the past.

OU disavows publication distributed to IDF

Making the 3 weeks meaningful

2009-07-13T19:52:00.001-04:00

Last year I tried to make the 3 weeks meaningful by spending some time each day imagining being in Jerusalem as the Romans breached the walls. This picture was heavily influenced by the Avalon Hill war game Siege of Jerusalem. In the game, the first time any Roman unit enters an area of Jerusalem the Roman's haven't been in previously, they are immediate attacked by random inhabitants - people with knives, clubs and other improvised weaponry. By the rules, these people are effectively committing suicide - the best outcome of the combat for them against an intact legion unit is that they are not destroyed and do minimal damage to the unit. But that image of the people of Jerusalem swarming from the surroundings like dragon's teeth with toothaches stayed with me. I also tried to visualize being one of the Cohanim - as day after day rolled by without being able to offer the daily tamid and the increasing fear that this time Hashem wasn't going to send a plague to strike down the besiegers as He did Sanchirev.

This year instead I'm trying to make myself feel the absence of the Beit Hamikdash. To know that once there was a place where Hashem was undeniably manifest, but now it is gone. To visualize the daily activity as the kohanim, leviim and yisraelim performed their daily functions.

In my vision today, a man comes to offer a todah (thanksgiving offering) for a child who miraculously survived an illness. As designed, the todah offering is too large for even an entire family to eat, so they and their neighbors have an informal block party, eating the sacrifice, singing tehillim (psalms) of praise and gratitude, and feeling a direct connection to Hashem that Larry in the 21st century finds almost unimaginable. They have two days and the intervening night to finish eating the sacrifice, so the child's grandparents are able to come from their farm outside Jerusalem to join the celebration. They bring their ma'aser sheni money and buy some extra supplies for the celebration - perhaps some olives soaked in a salty brine so as to consume one of the 7 foods for which the land of Israel is praised.

That's all gone now - I've only ever been to one seudat hodah. It was moving, but isn't the same when it is ordinary food and not kodoshim (holy food).

The things that bring us together

2009-07-01T12:43:00.001-04:00

Jews and Muslims unite against Jerusalem Museum of Tolerance

Korach question

2009-06-21T16:26:00.003-04:00

Why were the tests Moshe specified for Korach to participate in (the 12 staffs, the earthquake) not invalidated because of the principle of lo bashamayin hi?

An apt rejoinder

2009-06-18T12:09:00.002-04:00

Rabbi Avraham Sherman is at it again, questioning the motives of all potential gerim in Israel, who are overwhelmingly Russian. My favorite response to the article was in one of the comments: Dear Rabi Sherman: In Olam Habah, gerim nullify you.

Out of town will save us all?

2009-06-15T10:40:00.002-04:00

From a beliefnet article by David Klinghoffer

Excerpt:

Most Jews who know anything about Orthodox Judaism associate it with major population centers like New York, Baltimore, Miami, etc. The truth is that almost all the negative stereotypes linked with traditional Judaism stem from such places. Yet there exists a whole alternative universe of Orthodox Judaism in traditional communities in other places, provincial localities like Seattle where I live, but others as well: San Diego, Portland, Sacramento, Atlanta, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and other relatively small American cities. The Orthodoxy in such places is quite different from what you find in New Jersey, Long Island, and so on. It is thriving and dynamic, accepting and diverse, enthusiastic for tradition in surprising ways, and largely undocumented. It's also a lot more attractive, at least to me.

Anyone from the provinces care to speak up?

Tales of HP

2009-05-28T13:40:00.005-04:00

Another example of why I love this town. Letters are boiled down and not acutal quotes. Rabbi Sephardi is not the head of the local Sephardi shul.

From: me
To : Rabbi Ashkenazi, Rabbi Sephardi
Subject: Eruv Tavshilin

Can I make an eruv tavshilin using a baked food and a roasted food, rather than the traditional baked food and boiled food?

From: Rabbi Ashkenazi
To : me
Subject: Re: Eruv Tavshilin

After the fact it is ok, but if you haven't made it yet you should use a boiled food rather than a roasted one.

From: Rabbi Sephardi
To: me
Cc: Rabbi Ashkenazi
Subject: Re: Eruv Tavshilin

According to the Rambam [detailed cite], an eruv tavshillin may be made with boiled, fried, pickled or even salted foods.

20 minutes later:

From: Rabbi Ashkenazi
To : me
Subject: Re: Eruv Tavshilin
After getting Rabbi Sephardi's email I checked the Shulchan Aruch. He is correct and I am therefore changing my psak - roasted food is ok to use in the eruv even l'hatchila.

Mazel Tov to Professor Charlie Hall

2009-05-27T09:42:00.001-04:00

Since I know he's too modest to promote himself, I'll quote Professor Hall's Daily Kos column:

Twenty years ago next month I set out to apply to graduate school in an attempt to have a career in academia as a professor. Last week I was informed, first by telephone calls from the department heads from each of my two departments, and then by a letter from my dean, that I am going to be promoted from Associate Professor to full Professor effective July 1.

Schrodinger's Chicken

2009-05-21T23:52:00.003-04:00

This scenario came out of yore deah class tonight. Imagine that you strap a chicken into a Schrodinger's box before Shabbat starts. Seal the box closed. If something is emitted by the radiation source in a fixed interval before Shabbat the chicken dies, otherwise it lives. Because you've read too many comic books, you're worried the radiation may cause the chicken to acquire superpowers. As a result, you've equipped the interior of the box with a spring loaded kinfe that will decapitate the chicken and push the head outside the box when you pull a catch, which purely mechanically releases the knife.

No it is Shabbat evening and your ~~whiney~~ adorable child wants to play with a ball, only he doesn't have one. Can you decapitate the chicken, thus both giving him a ball and ensuring a lifetime of therapy bills for the poor kid?

Note: There are probably lots of shabbat violations in this setup. I'm interested in them, but the key issue I'm focused on is the following: We don't know whether the chicken is alive or not. Assuming decapitating a dead chicken is not a Shabbat violation, may we pull the catch or not?

I'll offer analysis later, but let's see what people say first.

Sauce for the gander

2009-05-14T17:07:00.003-04:00

I really feel for this anonymous man who is being deprived of the opportunity to shep nachas from his daughters and grandaughters for no reason other than gender. May this injustice and others like them quickly be corrected. The letter appears in this weeks Yated.

BAIS YAAKOV GRADUATIONS: INSENSITIVE
Dear Editor,
Recently, certain Bais Yaakov schools have changed their policy in regard to both high school and elementary school graduations. Whereas fathers and zaides were previously allowed to attend, now they are herded into a separate room and only allowed to enter the auditorium at the end of the ceremony for the handing out of diplomas. These schools might as well forbid males to attend the entire ceremony. It is demeaning and insensitive to treat fathers and zaides this way. On the day when they want to shep nachas from their daughters and granddaughters, they are treated like second-class citizens. If the administration feels men shouldn't listen to girls' valedictorian speeches, they should ban them from coming outright. One is either given a proper invitation or not invited. Becoming "frummer" should never be at the cost of hurting another's feelings. As Chazal tell us in Pirkei Avos (4:2), "Who is honored? He who honors others."
Name Withheld

XGH Anthem

2009-05-12T23:41:00.002-04:00

Ben Newman is an acquaintance of mine. He's presently a graduate student at Brandeis, but he also writes and sings folk songs (including filk, for those who know what that is). One of his songs strikes me as the perfect anthem for the Modern Orthoprax movement that XGH is presently pushing.

Here's the mp3 of the song and here are the lyrics:
"That's My Story (and I'm Stickin' to It)"
lyrics and music by Benjamin Newman

/ D G / Em GA / 1st /[1. Em A :/[2. EmA D /

In every single culture since the ages of old,
Folks have found their meaning in the stories they told --
Their ethics and identity, the values they hold --
And the stories were for reading out loud.

But then the age of reason came, and somebody said,
"Those stories never happened, so mythology's dead,
And you're gonna have to look for meaning elsewhere instead,"
But me, I gotta go with the crowd:

/ D C / G D / 1st /[1. G A :/[2. GA D /

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it;
I'm gonna interpret the whole world through it.
It may not be factual, but it's true,
And that's good enough for me.

That's my tale, I tell it with conviction,
Though I know it's practically entirely fiction,
Still, it keeps me moving in the right direction --
That's the way that it oughtta be.

The facts are strangely silent on the right and the good,
'Cause logic can't compel you from an "is" to a "should".
Open up your moral code and then look under the hood,
You'll see you've made a few assumptions to start.

But what should those assumptions be, and how could we know?
Well, that's been an open question since forever ago,
And if your favorite answer is "A book told me so,"
That's 'cause it fits with what you feel in your heart.

It's your story, and your choices reflect it
And the notions it proposes of what's true and correct --
It's from a long time ago, and yet you've kept it connected
To the way of life you're living today.

It's your tale -- it forms your moral foundation,
It's played a major role throughout your whole education,
It ties you to tradition, culture, people or nation,
And it colors every word that you say.

Mythology and reason both have something to teach,
But sometimes the perfect balance seems a bit out of reach,
So on behalf of both of them I humbly beseech
That you take the matter seriously.

A myth can keep us steady or can call us to change,
While reason can reveal the way the world is arranged.
The truth has many facets (and they're all a bit strange),
And you gotta open both eyes to see.

It's your story, but it's not the whole picture --
There are things you oughtta know that aren't recorded in scripture --
And yet it still provides you with the context in which you're
Gonna place the other things that you learn.

It's your tale, it should be kept in perspective --
It's beautiful and true, but not exactly objective --
But if you can approach it thinking like a detective,
You'll find clues everywhere that you turn.

Each people has a story, handed down from the past --
They teach it to their children and they cling to it fast --
But other stories also may be destined to last,
And there's wisdom to be found in each one.

So, get to know your people's stories, and the other ones, too,
And keep an open heart and mind, whatever you do,
'Cause there are many different ways in which a thing can be true,
And there are stories that we've only begun...

They're our stories, and we're stickin' to 'em;
We're gonna interpret the whole world through 'em.
They may not be factual, but they're true,
And they've served us ably so far.

They're our tales, we tell 'em with conviction,
Though we know they're practically entirely fiction,
'Cause myth and reason, mingled, are our common condition --
That's the reason we're the way that we are.

Larry explains it all for you

2009-05-12T09:58:00.002-04:00

Shira of On the Fringe quotes extensively from some of my comments about C Judaism here.

Pirke Avot 2:1

2009-04-25T21:44:00.002-04:00

Rabbi taught: ... Be as attentive to a minor mitzvah as to a major one, for we do not know the reward for each mitzvah. Weigh the loss incurred in performing a mitzvah against the gain ...

Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi's words above seem to contradict themselves. One the one hand, he says that we do not know the reward for mitzvot, and on the other hand he suggests balancing any loss we might incur from perfoming a mitzvah against this unknown gain. How are we to perform this balancing act?

One solution comes from Rabbi Yaakov, who is quoted in Pirke Avot 4:22 ... one hour of bliss in the world to come is worth more than all the pleasures of this world. The reward in Olam Haba for each mitzvah is so inconceivably vast that even the reward for a minor one is worthwhile. Do not say that I will only perform the major mitzvot and acquire the awards for them - the reward for even the lightest mitzvah is beyond our imagination. And when we think of the cost of keeping kosher, of not working on Shabbat, or of getting our clothes checked for shatnez, balance that against the infinite reward awaiting us.

Purim Spoof from Jewish Week

2009-03-11T13:48:00.002-04:00

Jerusalem – A coalition of 33 Orthodox rabbis in Israel declared this week that the government’s plan to switch all television reception to a digital signal is forbidden and unacceptable.

“It requires converter boxes,” said group spokesman Rabbi Lazer Disk, “and we don’t recognize the converters as kosher.”

More details if you follow the link

Non traditional Purim observance

2009-03-11T10:48:00.002-04:00

Shira has a checklist for Purim mitsvot, which focus on the traditional aspects. To complement her list, here is a checklist of supplementary/non-traditional purim practices:

1) Did your community have a Vashti dance to support domestic violence shelters?

2) Did you or your kids if any wear costumes either to shul or otherwise during the day? If so, what did you or your kids go as?

3) Did your community have a purim shpeil? After, before, during, or instead of the Megillah reading?

4) Did anyone give Purim Torah, either at the seudah or elsewhere?

Purim torah 5769 - 2

2009-02-24T22:50:00.001-05:00

Hilchot Purim for Women

1) On Purim women are obligated to drink until they no longer remember they have only 4 weeks to clean for Pesach

Purim Torah 5769 - 1

2009-02-24T11:14:00.002-05:00

If not for the feminist impulse, no woman would attend shabbat services, study practical halachot, or teach their children good middot.

In the 1970s the gedolim prayed for the feminist impulse to be taken away. It was only removed from them, and with its removal common sense vanished and they issued chumrah after chumrah as without the feminist impulse they also lost their rachmones.

If there were a bracha on being made president ...

2009-01-22T16:35:00.001-05:00

I would know the answer, but is the rule safek neder l'kula or safek neder l'chumra?

Forbidden mixtures: A PG rated story of issur and heter

2009-01-19T13:04:00.002-05:00

A work in progress. :>)

"And your name is?"
"K'Ikkar. Taam K'Ikkar."
The beautiful octoroon licked her lips. "Tasty." she murmured.

A halachic riddle

2008-11-28T08:50:00.002-05:00

How can you remove a kazayit of meat from a hot soup and make the soup milchik?

Forests and Trees

2008-11-25T13:01:00.002-05:00

Rabbi Chaim Rapoport author of Judaism and Homosexuality: An Authentic Orthodox View was scholar in residence at my shul this past Shabbat. In a drasha he gave on Chumrot, he told the following story:

The Gemara in Brachot makes it clear that one must be very careful to pronounce the words of the Shema clearly and correctly, not slurring any of the words together or mispronouncing them. It lists several cases where the risk is particularly acute. One of these is in the 3rd paragraph of the Shema, where one must be carefult say tiZkaru rather than tiSkaru. When we pronounce the word correctly, we are saying we must remember the mitzvot. If we mispronounce it, it appears we are saying we must be rewarded for the mitzot. Pirke Avot makes it clear we should be like servants performing without expectation of reward, rather than those who only work to receive their reward.

Once when he was in a shul in Jersualem Rabbi Rapoport heard a man who was reciting the Shema with great concentration and attention. Sweat was literally pouring down his face as he continued. When he tried to say l'man tiZkaru, he wasn't happy with his pronunciation. 3 times he repeated the word, before finally saying in Yiddish "Lord, you know what I mean" and finishing the prayer.

Afterwards, Rabbi Rapoport walked over to him and asked him why he put so much effort into it. Surely there was no reason to work so hard at saying the prayer? The gentleman replied "But think of the schar (reward) I will get for doing this!".

Interesting Bracha questions

2008-11-20T12:02:00.003-05:00

Should a bracha be recited over food that might taste terrible? Vos Is Neias has an interesting article on it.

They talk about a brand of jelly beans that has a mix of edible and foul tasting beans. The beans are not distinguishable by color or odor. When you eat a single jelly bean, should you recite a bracha or not?

Interestingly, the article misses what I regard as some key points.
1) Perhaps you could eat a handful of beans so the chance of getting one good tasting one is large? The question would be whether such a mix could taste ok, or would the whole mix taste foul.

2) They tasted the 'foul tasting' jelly beans on adults, not on kids that would buy the mix. Perhaps the kids derive enjoyment even from the foul tasting beans?

3) They question whether the OU should certify such a halachically difficult food. I remember hearing that in Israel 10 - 20 years ago the Badatz had serious questions about certifying bubble gum and ice cream as they saw no point in children eating such trash. The natural question is why the OU should have qualms over this when they already willingly certify things that don't need certification. I'll remain silent about the elephant that may or may not be shechted with this question - perhaps one of my commentators will say something.

Middah Kneged Middah in Vayera

2008-11-11T14:02:00.003-05:00

Just a quick thought which I will expand if I can think of more to say. Lot's treatment of his daughters in Sodom shows that he places the mitzvah of responsibility to guests over humane treatment of his daughters. After Sodom is destroyed, his daughters' treatment of Lot shows that they place the mitzvah of pru urvu over proper treatment of Lot.

Rav Elyashev assurs most sheitels

2008-11-05T21:05:00.004-05:00

Anyone ever hear of a on-line newspaper named Hamercaz? They are reporting that R' Yosef Sholom Elyashev recently stated categorically that the typical Sheitels worn by most Orthodox women are forbidden. They also include a link to a audio link.

Anyone who hears about this for sources other than the Daas Torah blog please drop me a comment.

Tales from HP 2

2008-10-18T23:03:00.005-04:00

During Sukkot the shteibel I attend had a Simchat Beit Shoevah. One of the Bostoner customs is that during the celebration the 15 Psalms that begin "Shir HaMalot" are recited. For each psalm Reb M would ask someone to recite the psalm (with everyone repeating each verse), and then pick a zemer (song) or niggun (wordless melody) for us all to sing.

My ability to read a random Hebrew text is limited - I can stumble through it, but it is obvious I am struggling. Since there were more than 15 men there I was relaxed since Reb M is familiar with how much I dislike reading unfamiliar texts aloud. Imagine my surprise when he called on me to read! Oh well, into the breach. Shir Hamalot, Bishuv Hashem, Et Shivat Tziyon .... He asked me to read the psalm we say on Shabbat and Yom Tov before bentching! I was so pleased he had done such a thoughtful thing. I got through it without difficult and led people in my favorite niggun.

A Yated letter that needs to be read

2008-10-10T11:51:00.002-04:00

WE NEED IT TOO
Dear Editor,
I’m pretty sure that I am speaking on behalf of many Jewish girls. I’m sure they will agree with me on an issue I’ve finally decided to voice my thoughts on.
A “frum-from-birth” person is born frum and born to live a religious lifestyle. She has no choice; she was born that way. She’s expected to do all the mitzvos, no questions asked. Chas veshalom if you ask questions about Judaism. A baalas teshuvah, however, becomes frum on her own free will. Why? Because everything, Judaism and all the mitzvos, were explained to her, detail by detail. She asked myriad questions and she got answers. This was all probably through a kiruv organization.
“FFBs,” however, are expected to act frum with no explanations. Judaism isn’t explained to us. To whom should we address our questions without anyone’s eyebrows being raised?
In school, lessons are being taught, but questions arise. You can’t ask questions in school because, number one, there are too many, and number two, because classmates and teachers will think you’ve gone crazy! Well, maybe not all my classmates, since I’m sure I’m not the only one. After all, I’m a normal, smart, yeshivishe Bais Yaakov high school student from Monsey and no one suspects a thing. I’m actually considered one of the more yeshivishe and frum girls of my class, but I still harbor questions! So you never know, there may be so many more like me.
Maybe Yiddishkeit can be explained to frum Bais Yaakov girls as much as it’s explained in a kiruv shiur or a kiruv camp.
Thank you.
S. F.

Larry's comments follow:
I couldn't agree more. This cry is repeated at all levels - BTs complain that after they leave their initial kiruv situation they feel abandoned and neglected, gerim say that post-conversion their formal education comes to an end. Judaism is supposed to entail education for life - and not just the rote memorization of halacha and minhag, and not just divrei torah, but serious spiritual struggle with both our texts and the world. Growing up as a Conservative Jew, I was told that one of our big differences from other religions is that free questioning was not just allowed, but desired. That spirit needs to be part of Orthodoxy as well. No one ever died from a question, but people need to ask them if only to hear an authority figure say "I don't know, but nevertheless I believe."

Alphonse and Gaston with Mitzvot

2008-10-07T14:57:00.002-04:00

Everyone knows the old Alphonse and Gaston routine, right? Two guys trying to go through a door, but the keep deferring to one another rather than one of them just going through already?

Well, I see that happen at my shuls all the time, and there often is some creative jockeying for position. One morning I was walking into shul. Someone was holding the door already, and Avi and I were about to pass through. I gestured to Avi to go first, and he handed me his siddur. As soon as I took it, he said "You're holding a sefer, you go first." Point to Avi.

This past Shabbat at Shalosh Seudah I was trying to go through a door after washing before eating bread, and Yaakov was trying to pass through the door the other way. He smiled, backed out of my way and said "You're doing a mitzvah, you take priority." Point Yaakov. On the way out after benching, we got tangled up in the door again and I told him "You're the zaken (elder, wiser one), you go first." He looked a little hurt and said something about "I'm not sure that was fair" but he went through anyway. Point me.

A Joke and A Serious Question

2008-10-07T11:35:00.003-04:00

First the Joke:

Back in the 30s Sheinar Shendle was a new immigrant to the US from her shtetl in Poland. She quickly found a neighborhood fool of landsmen and found a rabbi to consult for her shailas. She had one peculiarity - every Friday morning she took her chicken to the rabbi to check that it was kosher. Week after week she came, the rabbi looked, and pronounced it kosher. Finally, after many months, the rabbi asked her "Why are you bringing these chickens to me to check every week? You should only come if you see something that makes you doubt it is kosher." Sheinar Shedle replied "I knew it! But the other ladies in the community insisted that A&P grocery store chickens were treif!"

The serious question:

If I bring home a chicken today from a shochet, rather than buying it at the store, is there any kind of inspection that can be done to reveal that the chicken is actually treif? Obviously we can't review the knife, or whether the shochet said the blessing, but what can be done? On the one hand, there are lots of stories about women taking their chicken to a rabbi when they aren't sure it is kosher. On the other hand, once the feathers are off and the internal organs removed, what is left to inspect?

Yom Kippur humor

2008-10-06T16:49:00.002-04:00

Last minute tickets on youtube.

Kosher Agencies Merger

2008-10-06T12:15:00.003-04:00

From Kashrut Today:

Orthodox Union set to announce KOAOA merger
New York…The near 100 year-old Kosher Overseers Associates of America (Half-Moon-K symbol) has ceased to exist and is already a part of the Orthodox Union (OU). A spokesman for the Orthodox Union confirmed the widely reported rumors about the merger, including a report on at least one kashrus website, but he said that a formal announcement would be made in the coming weeks. Founded in 1910 by Rabbi Hyman Sharfman, the Los Angeles based KOAOA, had in recent years upgraded the level of its certification but in the end decided it was better to merge with the world’s largest certification agency. KOAOA was headed for many years by the founder’s son, the late Rabbi Harold I. Sharfman, a flamboyant and outspoken personality who had on occasion clashed with the kashrus establishment. His half-moon K symbol was challenged in the courts by the Brooklyn based OK Labs which charged copyright infringement, citing the “similarities” of the symbol. Rabbi Sharfman was a passionate defender of kashrus but his certification was never fully accepted by many mainstream kosher consumers. After his demise in 1998, the agency made a major effort to upgrade its certification and several kashrus authorities had even gone out on a limb with the improvements.

While the half-moon K symbol will continue to appear on many products, the Orthodox Union is planning to phase out the symbol and replace it with the Circle U. Kashrus sources say that any products with the half moon K symbol were already produced under widely accepted kashrus standards. Rabbi Dovid Jenkins, who was the manager of KOAOA kashrus operations, is now part of the OU kashrus team in its Manhattan headquarters. In an open letter in June 2007, Rabbi Jenkins and Rabbi Zushe Blech, the senior kashrus administrator, spoke of the upgraded standards for the KOAOA’s 580 certified companies representing 20,000 products. It was not clear how many companies and products will be affected by the merger.

ME and I have been telling people for a while that the Half Moon K's certification had improved and most products were considered reliable. A number of people simply refused to believe us. They weren't even willing to investigate on their own, just told us that 'everyone knows' that it is an unreliable certification. They got upset when we told them that was Lashon Harah. See this earlier post of mine as example of doing it right.

Who asks for forgiveness

2008-09-17T11:25:00.002-04:00

The Elul season is one time of year I try to do a serious cheshbon hanefesh (self appraisal). I think about the big personal events I had this year, how I acted during them and how I wish I had acted. Then I review my relationships with my close friends and determine who I owe apologies to and for what. Since I view the purpose of doing teshuvah as self-improvement, I don't regard blanket statements to people of "If I did anything that wronged you this year I'm sorry." as having any value at all. Instead I try to think hard about what specifically I did that I need to apologize for, and then make my apology to that person directly for that behavior.

I'm finding this was easier to do when I lived in a nonobservant and nonJewish community. The coworkers and friends I approached started by getting weirded out, but afterwards they said they actually appreciated the discussion. Sometimes I learned that what seemed a big deal to me wasn't anything they even remembered, but something I had forgotten seemed like a big deal to them.

Here in my frum community I'm finding this exercise somewhat harder. The one person I approached this year didn't let me finish speaking, but since told me I was forgiven (for what he had no idea) and asked that I forgive him for whatever (unspecified) wrongs he had done me. It was formulaic and very offputting.

I'd be interested in the opinions of my readership (all 5 of you :>). Do you do detailed apologies? Do people stop to listen to them? Do they serve a purpose in your eyes?

A Moshol

2008-08-24T18:26:00.002-04:00

Once a man was zoche to own the Mona Lisa. He wanted to be in a position to fully appreciate all the qualities of the painting. And so he studied - he learned about the history of painting, the Renaissance, the biography of Leonardo DaVinci. Then he moved on to learning about other paintings in order to appreciate the Mona Lisa better.

A friend came by and told him he was doing the wrong thing. "What if you find that you like some other painting better? What if you are looking at the painting one day and you find yourself thinking "The Mona Lisa is nice, but the color in Van Gogh's Starry Night is nicer"? And your study of painting techniques might lead you to mistakenly think that the painting could have been done better. The best approach to fully appreciating the Mona Lisa is to avoid any interaction with other paintings and restrict yourself to the Mona Lisa alone.

Cleanliness is next to Hashemliness

2008-08-15T10:10:00.005-04:00

In my community there are occasional problems with 'frumming out' - a phenomenon where kids become much more stringent religious than their parents. Parents could either take advantage of this trend or nip it in the bud with the following lesson:

The quote below is from Rav Shlomo Aviner's On the Air #46 a summary of his twice weekly radio broadcast. The shows can be heard at http://www.kimizion.org/shiur/shut.html.

Clean your room!

Q: I am eleven years old. I do not like cleaning my closet and it is pretty messy. My parents say that it is important. Is it important to have a clean closet?

A: Yes, there must be order. If a person has a clean closet, he also has a clean head. If he has a messy closet, he also has a messy head. If he is not responsible in his closet, he is not responsible in life. If he fulfills the mission to clean his closet, he becomes accustomed and educated to accept other missions and advance in them. Therefore, there should always be order. I understand that it is difficult for you to clean, but you need to see this as a challenge and begin in stages. Let's say that your closet has eight different areas, you can clean one or two areas a day. It does not matter how much as long as you are progressing. In the Mussar Yeshivot, there were two opinions regarding order. Some said that order was a preparation for serving Hashem. Others said that order itself was serving Hashem -- not serving Hashem like observing Shabbat, but serving Hashem nonetheless. The Master of the Universe created the world in disarray as it says (Bereshit 2:1): "And the earth was chaotic and darkness was upon the surface on the deep." Hashem organized the world and He asks us to continue to organize the chaos that is in the world.

I find it interesting that Rav Aviner does not mention kibud av v'aym in his response.

Sanhedrin vs. the Government of China

2008-08-04T16:16:00.004-04:00

The nascent Sanhedrin has urged the Chinese government to cease persecuting the Falun Gong:

With this background, the Court found that in cases involving persecution by governments, Justice cannot be achieved by adherence to normal rules of procedure and of evidence. Adherence to such rules would be “stopping ones ears from hearing of blood, and shutting ones eyes from looking upon evil” [per Isaiah 33,15]. The only way to discover the truth is to allow indirect, hearsay and circumstantial evidence, since that is all that is available. This type of evidence is acceptable in Noahide jurisprudence.

On the basis of the accumulation of the various testimonies and indirect evidence, the International Court of the Nascent Sanhedrin, came to the conclusion that there were unnumbered cases of killing of innocent Falun Gong practitioners, perhaps also out of consideration of material benefits derived from organ harvesting.

The Court wishes to clarify that it does not reject capital punishment in principle, in accordance with the seven Noahide commandments.

The Court finds it appropriate to turn to the Government of the People’s Republic of China with an unequivocal demand to assure the minimum of liberties as indicated by the seven Noahide commandments, as given to Adam, to Noah and to all humanity, which include:
1. Prohibition of Murder
2. Prohibition of Theft
3. Dealing Justly with Criminals
4. Honoring internationally accepted humanitarian law to the extent that this law is not in contradiction to Torah and to basic human morals.

These laws include prohibition of torture, unlawful confiscation of property and organ harvesting without the consent of the donor.

The Government of the People’s Republic of China is required to implement the Chinese law, which was enacted in the spring of 2007, which will put an end to the killings without trial and to organ harvesting without consent.

The Government of China is required to allow missions sent by a coalition of international public organizations to investigate freely the compliance of the Chinese government agents with the basic elements of the seven Noahide commandments as stated above, which are the Human Rights Charter according to the Torah [The Five Books of Moses]. These missions are to have freedom of travel and are to have the freedom to grant protection – including extradition - to anyone who testifies or who tries to testify before these missions. These freedoms are necessary to ensure that the missions will be able to verify compliance with the said elements of the seven Noahide commandments.

Full decision in English (pdf)

Hat tip: Religion Clause

This is how we should do it

2008-08-04T09:42:00.004-04:00

A rabbi in Israel has reviewed the kashrut at many different restaurants. He doesn't just list who the certification authority is, he describes their standards and whether they live up to them. This is such an improvement over the US, where a supposed fear of lawsuits(*) results in rabbonim and other certifying agencies simply saying 'recommended' or 'not recommended' and refusing to give a reason. Even worse, most commonly one doesn't even consult with a rav but simply listens to the common rumor on the street.

Hat tip Kmelion on livejournal. Actual report available in Hebrew pdf format starts on page 5.

(*) "The truth is no libel" has been an established principle in the US since colonial days. Don't want to lose a lawsuit? Don't lie. Furthermore, courts are extremely reluctant to rule over religious issues such as whether a store is really kosher or not. Also, Lashon Hara rules do not apply when it comes to preventing someone from commiting an averia. Arguably one commits more Lashon Hara by saying "Restaurant A is not kosher" then by saying "Restaurant A's mashgiach comes in once a week, and he doesn't thoroughly check vegetables".

50 Million Frenchmen wrong again?

2008-07-21T13:30:00.002-04:00

The reality based community blog has an article about the decision of a French court to deny a Moroccan-born Muslim woman citizenship, because she does not uphold one of the fundamental values of the Republic, namely gender equality. (Court decision in French here).

What does this mean for Orthodox Jewish immigration to France? I think this decision is thinly disguised anti-Muslim prejudice. Anyone else have an opinion to share?

Yated quotes Hirhurim!

2008-07-03T16:15:00.002-04:00

From this weeks email version of Yated:

Why do People Stay Orthodox?
by Avrohom Birnbaum

“Why do people become Orthodox?” was the question posed.
This was one answer:
“Community. Orthodoxy creates a powerful caretaking community. Little wonder that so many step into an Orthodox synagogue and feel instinctively, here is the emotional core of religion at its best. The shul visitor to Shabbos lunch quotient, which I propose as a measure of a community’s fidelity to itself, is immeasurably higher in Orthodox communities…”
Here is a second answer:
“Coherence. This is not only a feature of Orthodoxy, it is the defining intellectual position. All of the tradition is essentially seamless…There is no degree of apparent discontinuity that would persuade the Orthodox community that Moses…Maimonides…were practicing essentially different faiths…”
And a third answer:
“Connection…Mitzvah is, at bottom, ratzon haBoreh. …nothing can be greater than its fulfillment. G-d wishes it. A mitzvah can make a difference in the fabric of the universe… How pale, by comparison, is the dutiful liberal explanation that the mitzvoth will make you a more sensitive person, a more caring person, someone closer to the history and destiny of your people. Of what power is such therapeutic encouragement beside G-d’s expressed will?”
The reader may think that these answers were presented by one of the capable kiruv rechokim organizations that have done such wonderful work in bringing Acheinu Bnei Yisroel back to Avinu Shebashomayim. Believe it or not, these answers given to the question of “Why do people become Orthodox?” were written by a Conservative rabbi!
Before discussing the clergyman’s wise, insightful comments, the following disclaimer is in order. A little more than ten years ago, I penned my first op-ed article devoted to drawing the lines between Orthodoxy and Conservative and Reform Judaism. The piece lamented the fact that well-intentioned individuals were conducting kiruv rechokim efforts in Conservative and Reform temples, something that granted de facto legitimacy to those places of worship, thereby violating the ruling of the great roshei yeshiva of the previous generation that prohibited such conduct.
Ten years later, I am citing fascinating quotes from a Conservative rabbi named Rabbi David Wolpe on why Jews become frum. No, I have not changed my opinion on the prohibition of collaboration with Conservative clergy, nor would it make a difference if I did. The ruling of the roshei yeshiva is incontrovertible.
Nevertheless, these quotes, far from placing legitimacy on Conservative Judaism and their clergy, do just the opposite. They show how even from within the very leadership of the movement, their own clergy admit to the bankruptcy of their denomination. The only question that he leaves open is why he himself does not become Orthodox!
I was sent the above quotes by a friend who gleaned them from “Hirhurim,” a popular website that primarily offers the Modern Orthodox point of view.
Indeed, Wolpe’s wise ideas bear contemplation. He rightly zeroes in on two very important foundations of Torah Judaism.
I have not, however, cited these quotes to show the bankruptcy of Conservative Judaism. That has been proven repeatedly over the past few decades and is akin to beating a dead horse. Rather, I think that a far more contemporary lesson can be gleaned from the above mentioned remarks.
If the above answers are to the question of why people become Orthodox, I think we can extrapolate and ask, “Why do people stay Orthodox?”
It is no secret that our Torah observant communities - right, left and center - are experiencing the tragic loss of a small, but not insignificant, minority of our youth who are falling through the cracks and abandoning Torah observance. This abandonment is most often the result of physical and emotional issues, not because of any underlying ideological concerns that they have with Torah Judaism. If we desire to stem that tide, surely there are common themes between why someone would want to become frum and why someone would want to stay frum.

THE CONCEPT OF “COMMUNITY” OR “CHEVRA”
Community. Chazal refer to it as dibuk chaveirim. Dibuk chaveirim - belonging to a close-knit group of individuals and feeling that one is an integral part of a group - is an important component that cannot be understated. There are so many mitzvos that we primarily perform as a group, including davening with a minyan, eating seudos Shabbos, and many others. As Torah observant Jews, we sometimes take the idea of community for granted. We do not properly appreciate the tremendous boon represented by being part of a community, a shul, shteibel, a yeshiva or a kehillah. Lonely people who don’t belong to any particular group can attest to the fact that the loneliness, the feeling of not having others who care and who worry about their whereabouts if they don’t show up, is one of the most difficult things to bear. Belonging to a group is a foundation of Yiddishkeit that cannot be understated.
Undoubtedly, an important component in keeping youth anchored in a Torah lifestyle is giving them the true feeling that they belong to something, that they are an integral part of something bigger than themselves - a close-knit, warm community that truly cares about them. A community and a home that does things together, davens together, eats together, sings together and cares for one another together.
I have the sneaking suspicion that if one speaks to an average child who is at risk, one of the underlying feelings that will surface is the fact that he does not feel that he belongs; he does not feel that his community, family, school, rebbi, etc. really cares for him. He may be dead wrong, but in this case his perception matters even more than the facts. Therefore, projecting the ideal of dibuk chaverim, chevrah, and belonging to a close-knit community, school or yeshiva, and taking pains to connect with each child and teen on a personal level, are surely some of the most important factors in ensuring that “people stay Orthodox.”

THE CONCEPT OF “COHERENCE AND CONNECTION”
The second and third points mentioned by Wolpe are also very significant. He calls it “coherence and connection.” I would like to rename both points in our vernacular as “a solid hashkafa foundation.” Understanding why we perform mitzvos and serve Hashem. Understanding that we perform the same mitzvos as those performed by Moshe Rabbeinu and Rabi Akiva. Understanding that the mitzvos performed by little me and little you make a difference in this world and the Upper Worlds.
Understanding that mitzvos build celestial worlds and aveiros can destroy celestial worlds, and comprehending why that is so, are so integral to ensuring that a young child or teenager performs mitzvos not lifelessly and by rote, but with a penimius, with a fiery depth that is truly meaningful.
Recently, I had a discussion with a prominent yeshiva principal about the tremendous spiritual hurdles facing our youth, hurdles that we did not dream of encountering when we were younger. The menahel pointed out that, in his opinion, it is imperative to place a far greater emphasis on teaching the foundations of emunah and hashkafa in the upper elementary school grades if we want to have a chance of succeeding to inoculate our youth with a vaccine that will help them overcome the carnal pull that characterizes life in technology-saturated 21st Century.
If we want to equip our youth with the requisite tools to fight against the nisyonos, the spiritual tests and hurdles that face them daily, they must be firmly grounded in a solid hashkafa of what mitzvah observance is all about, what emunah is, and what it is that Hashem wants from us, our observance of mitzvos and our refraining from aveiros.
Just doing mitzvos by rote, because that is what everyone does, simply won’t do. We must take the time to address questions, even those that aren’t voiced. By doing so we can perhaps ensure that a niggling question or a kernel of doubt should not serve as the excuse and facade of legitimacy to follow the momentary, fleeting physical pleasures in exchange for true happiness, both in this world and the next.
Yes, just as these two critically important issues - of community, of belonging to something, combined with a renewed emphasis on the foundations of emunah and hashkafa at a young age - are indicative of why people become Orthodox, perhaps they are also two of the most integral components in ensuring that those who are Orthodox stay Orthodox. We can’t afford to ignore them.

A positive attitude

2008-07-02T14:32:00.002-04:00

From the weekly announcements of Khal Chassidim, the small shteibel I belong to:

We were miracle to a neis last Shabbos when a large branch from a tree crashed down onto the Beis Medrash, breaking a hole in the roof. Baruch Hashem, no one was injured even though people were learning in the beis medrash at the time.

I would have been complaining about the ill fortune of the tree breaking the roof, not rejoicing that no one was hurt. That's especially true since we're so financially troubled.

Ungrateful son-n-law letter fake!

2008-06-26T11:13:00.001-04:00

From this week's Yated:

WHY DO YOU BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ?

Dear Editor,

Cynicism has its drawbacks, but it is also very important in our lives. People who swallow everything they hear or read are in danger of falling for scams, rip-offs, being taken advantage of, and being left looking like an utter fool. Jews, especially, have not been known to be gullible. Maybe it’s our upbringing. We see how the Gemara takes nothing for granted and every statement must be backed up with solid proof or else it is met with a “Meiheicha teiseh?”

I must admit to being disturbed by the number of people who take letters in the Yated - many of them totally anonymous letters, mind you - at face value and allow themselves be carried away and be taken for rides. I have nothing against readers expressing opinions. But that is all it is: an anonymous opinion. Just because a letter is signed, “A Mental Health Professional,” or “A Teacher,” or “A Hurting Mother,” or “A Son-in-Law,” does not guarantee in any way that any such person wrote that letter.

For all any of us know, someone wrote it for the kicks, or to get people upset, or to support a cause, or for any other number of reasons. Take what any letter says for what it says, but don’t go around telling your friends, “You know, I read a letter where a son-in-law said the most disgusting things which display such bad middos! And this is a ‘learning’ person! I mean, can you imagine?!”

You don’t know that any such person ever wrote any such letter. These letters in the Yated get quoted, posted, e-mailed, talked about, and they take on a life of their own. It becomes ‘fact’ that such and such a person said such and such a thing about such and such a topic. All this shows is how many people are gullible. It shows little else.

How do I know this? Because I did a terrible thing. I am very embarrassed to admit it, and I almost decided not to write this letter. But I realized that the only way to undo the damage done is to write again to this very forum. There were no “two yungeleit” who were upset at their shver for asking them to say a shtikel Torah. Are there yungeleit who lack hakoras hatov? Probably. Are there people of all stripes and colors who lack hakoras hatov? For sure.

But these two were made up. How do I know? Because I made them up. I wrote that letter, which got so many people upset. Now you’re thinking that I am a terrible person. I won’t argue. I am terribly ashamed of what I did, and even more disturbed by the motzie shem rah I caused. Honestly, I thought more people would catch on that it was a fake. I guess that’s the excuse I made for myself when I wrote it. It was such a stereotypical letter, throwing in the support they receive and the car, all just to throw it all back in the shver’s face. I was just throwing in all the ‘code words’ to get a rise out of people. And it worked. Sadly.

I don’t even know why I did it. I guess partly for the kicks and partly because I was angry at my own son-in-law. So I let it out in this (destructive) way. If I’d have to be honest, I must admit that I ask my son-in-law for a lot more than just a shtikel Torah. I guess I’ve tried to run his life, mix into his private business, and I got brushed off - politely, but firmly. I was mad and I let it out in this terrible way.

I ask mechilah of everyone, and hope this will serve as an example in the future.
Unless a letter is signed by a real name, take it with a truckload of salt.
A Contrite Father-in-Law

Star-K statement on oven use on Yom Tov

2008-06-05T18:05:00.001-04:00

Regarding Star-K certified Sabbath Mode ovens:

Rav Heinemann, shlita, stands by his Psak that it is permissible to raise and lower temperatures on YomTov on ovens equipped with that particular Sabbath Mode feature.

Please see Star-K website: http://www.star-k.org/cons-appl.htm, or call our office for details about your particular model. Star-K will, in the next few days, post an audio presentation from Rav Heinemann explaining his views.

For those who wish to refrain from placing their ovens in Sabbath Mode and still use their oven on YomTov, please be aware of the possible serious "Michshol" on many models. Opening the oven door will immediately shut off the heating elements, an act clearly forbidden on YomTov. Thus, even if you don't raise or lower the temperature, it is still important to keep the oven in Sabbath Mode.

While we live in Galut, we will always be oppressed

2008-06-05T13:11:00.001-04:00

Another letter from Yated (attn Sephardi Lady)

QUIZZED BY THE SHVER
Dear Editor,
Why do I have to feel like I am being farhered every time I go to my shver’s house in Brooklyn? I understand that he gives us money each month and we appreciate that very much. But does that mean that I have to be subject to questions about what I’m learning and pressured to say vertlach on the parsha every time we visit?
My in-laws are very nice people. They shower my wife, 5 children and me with gifts, they bought us a car, among other things, and graciously give us a monthly check to keep us afloat. Is that the reason that my father-in-law feels compelled to quiz me every time I come to his house? I mentioned this issue to a friend of mine who said that he experiences the same exact thing. This friend encouraged me to write this letter to the Yated. Actually, he’s pushed me for months to write something, but I never got around to it.
Perhaps there is a father-in-law out there who can explain it to us. Why do you have to bombard us with your questions on our limudim and with your vertlach on this inyan or that inyan? It is not that we aren’t interested. It is just that we somehow are made to feel that we have to constantly be ready for our next “exam” when we meet you.
(This is surely not as bad as a different friend’s shver who actually makes him fax a shtickel Torah to him once a month. This friend lives in Yerushalayim, while his father-in-law lives in New York.)
There are other issues about in-laws that my friend wanted me to share, but for now I think this one will suffice.
Answers, anyone?

New Horizons in Chutzpa

2008-05-29T16:45:00.003-04:00

A yeshiva bocher who is looking for a Shidduch writes the following in this week's Yated:

90% of us boys have rabbeim whom we speak to during the dating process. From the girls I have dated and hear about, it seems that only 10% speak with someone smarter than them to help make the right decisions (and parents don’t count).

[snip]

Recently, a major shadchan wrote an article stating that 80% of the time, it’s the girl who says no at an advanced stage because “it just didn’t click,” which is not a real reason that any rov would say is enough to break a potential shidduch.

So it looks like this bocher believes that marriage is properly a matter decided between a boy's rebbe and a girl's rebbe. Not only don't the parents have a say, neither do the potential chattan and kallah!

Rabbi Yitzchok Miller on Women's Identities

2008-05-15T18:22:00.004-04:00

From the Reader's Write section of this week's Yated:

BAS PLONI L’PLONI

Dear Editor,
A sincere yasher koach to the Yated editors for producing a quality newspaper every
week.

I read with interest Sruli Gross’ explanation of the Chazal (Sotah 2a), “Bas ploni l’ploni,” to provide a mekor that a husband should be older than his wife. However, I beg to differ; I don’t think Chazal had this implication in mind. Why, then, does it say “bas ploni l’ploni” and not “plonis l’ben ploni”? Because in the signon of Chazal, a girl, especially an unmarried girl, is not given her own identity, but rather is referred to as bas ploni. The same Gemara teaches us that a bas kol proclaims, “Sodeh ploni l’ploni - The ownership of So-and-So’s field will be transferred to So-and-So.” The bas kol doesn’t say this field will become So-and-So’s. The field’s identity is defined by its owner; it is sodeh ploni. So too, an unmarried girl is described in Chazal as bas ploni, even if she is already born.

The Gemara in Pesachim (49a) gives the advice that “a man should strive to marry a bas talmid chochom and a father should marry his daughter to a talmid chochom. It doesn’t say that he should marry his daughter to a ben talmid chochom. This is because, as stated above, a girl’s identity is defined by her parents, whereas a boy has his own identity.

When Rivkah fulfilled the “test” that Eliezer created for her at the well, he asked her, “Bas me at - Whose daughter are you?” He did not ask, “Me at - Who are you?” True, he needed to ascertain if she was from Avrohom’s family or from Canaan. But just as she answered his question by stating not just her father’s name, but also her grandfather’s and great-grandmother’s (bas Besuel ben Nachor asher yalda lo Milkah), she would have done the same had she been asked, “Who are you?” Eliezer didn’t ask her this because this isn’t the derech haTorah; a girl is identified as being bas ploni.
[snip]

May we be zocheh to live our lives according to standards the Torah sets for us.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Yitzchok Miller
Chicago, IL

RCA statement on invalidating Israeli Conversions

2008-05-06T16:30:00.001-04:00

The Rabbinical Council of America, having taken note of the recent ruling of the Bet Din Elyon (Rabbinic Court of Appeals) of Israel, nullifying certain conversions performed by the State Conversion Authority led by Rabbi Chaim Druckman, has today issued the following statement:

Having reviewed the ruling of the Bet Din Elyon in detail, and being fully mindful of the respect due the rulings of duly constituted rabbinical courts in their respective jurisdictions, the RCA finds it necessary to state for the record that in our view the ruling itself, as well as the language and tone thereof, are entirely beyond the pale of acceptable halachic practice, violate numerous Torah laws regarding converts and their families, create a massive desecration of God's name, insult outstanding rabbinic leaders and halachic scholars in Israel, and are a reprehensible cause of widespread conflict and animosity within the Jewish people in Israel and beyond. The RCA is appalled that such a ruling has been issued by that court.

Baruch sheptarani mei'onsho

2008-04-13T23:26:00.003-04:00

Khal Yisrael was increased today by the addition of Ovadiya ben Avraham Avinu. May he proceed to Torah, Chuppah, and Maasim Tovim.

Tzaria/Metzorah thoughts

2008-04-06T15:15:00.000-04:00

Last week's and this week's parshiot each deal with laws relating to the disease of tzaarat. A metzorah is expelled from the camp until his disease has receded, as determined by a cohen. Why was this task assigned to the cohanim? Some possible reasons:

1) The metzorah was expelled from the camp. One reason given was to give him a chance to contemplate his sin. One danger of unguided contemplation is that he might end up feeling alienated and hostile instead of repentant. Weekly visits by the cohen both provide an opportunity for spiritual guidance also reassure the metzorah that while they might be isolated, their welfare is of enough concern that someone with the status of a Cohen is obliged to personally look after them.

2) A Cohen is a person of great prestige. He may enter sections of the Beit Hamikdash closed to most people. Wherever he goes receives gifts (terumah, challah, etc.) from the common folk. Having to minister to the metzorah helps drive home the idea that with his privileges come responsibilities, even to the least among his people.

3) The talmud says that the causes of tzaarat were lashon hara (slander) and gavrah (arrogance or pride). As someone at the head of the religious hierarchy, a Cohen might have been especially at risk for these character flaws. Perhaps viewing the consequences helped the Cohen from actually committing the sin.

Tales of Chesed 1

2008-03-21T15:57:00.003-04:00

I'm a reluctant BT - I became observant primarily under the influence of my wife. One of the things that won me over was the feeling that at least some Orthodox hashkafot had a better-than-average chance at creating mentches. For me, mentchlicheit is the prerequisite for frumkeit - you can't be a good Jew in my eyes without being a good person first. There are other hashkafot than this, as has become increasingly clear to me with time.

One of the main reasons we moved to my present town was the high degree of achdut among the Orthodox community. Shul bulletins routinely publicize other shul's events, many people are members of multiple shuls, most people eat over one another's houses. When we were first looking into the community, we were sitting in a realtor's office when a 16 year old boy came in. He had seen me at mincha, and since we were obviously looking over the town, he wanted to see if he could help - were we looking to stay over Shabbat, did we want to know about the town, whatever. Malka Esther said to me afterwards 'any town where they are raising the boys to be that helpful has got to be a good place to live.

So to help me get over my recent bout of negativity, I thought I would share some stories of chesed in my town. Here's the first:

D. had moved to town about a month ago. He was going to marry R. who has lived here for about a year. Neither of them had developed a lot of friends in town yet. D. & R.'s wedding was scheduled for a Thursday. That weekend was the afruf and wedding of the son of one of the town's biggest baalei tzedakah. The wedding on Thursday came off beautifully. A number of people who only knew D. casually not only showed up for the wedding, but were instrumental in making sure everything ran smoothly.

Friday night there was huge oneg shabbat in honor of one the visitors in town for the big wedding. He was a very well known Israeli rabbi, and literally dozens of people showed up for the oneg. The room was packed, and nowhere more so than the head table. Not only were the speaker and the wedding party there, but so were the rabbis of two synagogues, the head of the local kollel, and other prestigious out of town guests. While we were waiting for things to begin, in walks D. The host of the oneg sees D., makes his way to him through the crowd, gets a rousing chorus of "Od Yishama" started, and then brings D. to the head table, where everybody scrunches over to make space for the new chatan. Personally, I had never seen a bridegroom treated that way other than at his own sheva brachot. Here at an event for someone else entirely, someone made sure that the chatan was made to feel like a king, despite being new in town.

Kosher Drama in Miami

2008-03-13T12:38:00.002-04:00

Get the full story by clicking on the title of this post.

Excerpts:

On March 3, 2008, representatives of Kosher Miami received information from a private investigator (who would not disclose who he was working for), that he had surveillance of activity that allegedly showed that an employee of Fu Xing Chinese restaurant was buying non-kosher chicken and bringing it into the restaurant.

Immediately after leaving the office of the private investigator, the delegation of Rabbonim went to Fu Xing. They immediately questioned the employee whom they saw in the pictures, and the employee ran away on foot before answering any questions. The Rabbonim went to the parking lot in the back of the restaurant, found the employees car, and were able to see chicken in a bag inside the automobile.

The restaurant owners claimed that the employee must have been stealing chicken from the restaurant.

As a precautionary measure, the Rabbonim asked the restaurant patrons to leave immediately, and suspended the hashgacha of the restaurant pending further investigation.

...

Kosher Miami representatives went with the pictures to the non-kosher meat supply house where the purchases were allegedly made, and asked the management and staff if they recognized the Fu Xing employee as someone who shopped at the supply house. No one was able to recognize him.

It has been reported to Kosher Miami by reliable sources that the private investigator was hired by a competing Chinese restaurant. Considering this, and considering the results of the investigation, Kosher Miami at this time does not believe that the allegations are true, but the investigation is still ongoing.

Bookish thoughts

2008-03-06T17:04:00.001-05:00

If I ever do write this, I have no idea if it will be a Purim torah essay or an entire book, but I call dibs on the title What color is your Kool-Aid? - A guide for the new BT

The notebooks of Latzar Long

2008-02-13T18:32:00.003-05:00

Click on the title for the original.

What is the halacha? Again and again and again - what is the halacha? Shun wishful thinking, ignore obscure cabala, forget 'a good segula', avoid blogs, care not what the minhag Yerushalmi is, never mind the unguessable future 'daas toirah' - what is the halacha , and is it d'oraita, d'rabbanan or minhag? You pilot always towards Olam Haba; halacha is your only chance. What is the halacha?

The Long Non-Vidui

2008-02-05T09:49:00.000-05:00

This may be humor (or at least irony) but it certainly isn't simcha.
So I'm publishing it on erev Rosh Chodosh Adar, which is to be celebrated this year as a Yom Kippur katan.

Not everything that is thought should be spoken aloud
Not everything that is spoken should be written down
Not everything that is written should be published
Not everything that is published should be read
Not everything that is read should be believed
Not everything that is believed should be acted upon
Not everything that is acted upon should be admitted to aloud

If we perform this whole cycle once, let us lather, rinse, and repeat

Buddhism and Avoda Zara

2007-10-29T15:04:00.000-04:00

From a recent Ask the Rabbi in the Jerusalem Post. The rabbi in question is Rabbi Chaim Brovender, president of the ATID Foundation (www.atid.org) and Rosh Yeshiva of Web Yeshiva.

Q: I was recently on a business trip, and while I found the city to be very nice etc., I am a bit concerned. I visited an Asian restaurant, not owned by Jews, (Under the local Rabbis) There seemed to be active idolatry taking place. There was a statue of Buddha, where they had placed a large bowl of oranges and burning incense right in the entrance to the place. At the end of the meal I was served oranges (Possibly ones that were previously in front of Buddha) Is this place considered a "Bais Avodah Zorah" ? And can a Jew eat there?

A: Avoda Zara should certainly be avoided. For that reason going into a Catholic church (perhaps real idolatry) is problematic. However,Buddism is different. There the reference is to a great religious teacher called "the enlightened one". It is hard to imagine why this might be called Avoda Zara.

If you ate an orange, I do not Imagine that Avoda Zara was the problem.

Where is Ashai-Ray's commentary ?

2007-08-27T11:10:00.002-04:00

An excerpt from the complete bible translation into pig latin:

1:1 In-ay e-thay eginning-bay Od-gay eated-cray e-thay eaven-hay
and-ay e-thay earth-ay.
1:2 And-ay e-thay earth-ay as-way ithout-way orm-fay, and-ay
oid-vay; and-ay arkness-day as-way upon-ay e-thay ace-fay of-ay
e-thay eep-day. And-ay e-thay Irit-spay of-ay Od-gay oved-may
upon-ay e-thay ace-fay of-ay e-thay aters-way.
1:3 And-ay Od-gay aid-say, Et-lay ere-thay e-bay ight-lay: and-ay
ere-thay as-way ight-lay.
1:4 And-ay Od-gay aw-say e-thay ight-lay, at-thay it-ay as-way
ood-gay: and-ay Od-gay ivided-day e-thay ight-lay om-fray e-thay
arkness-day.
1:5 And-ay Od-gay alled-cay e-thay ight-lay Ay-day, and-ay e-thay
arkness-day e-hay alled-cay Ight-nay. And-ay e-thay evening-ay
and-ay e-thay orning-may ere-way e-thay irst-fay ay-day.

A quick thought about Rabbi Akiva

2007-07-31T09:15:00.000-04:00

It is out of season I know, but it occurred to me that 1000 pairs (couples?) of students died for each additional year Rabbi Akiva stayed away after from Rachel after he became a Talmid Chacham.

First BeyondBT post

2007-07-30T09:35:00.000-04:00

My first post to BeyondBT is up. I hope people like it.

When Church and State mix

2007-06-28T13:53:00.000-04:00

From the ever useful Religion Clause comes an account of some schools in England who are trying to supply halal meat to their Muslim students:

Two local Councils in Britain find themselves in the middle of a dispute in the Islamic community over which bodies are the appropriate certifiers of Halal meat. Schools in the localities have halal meat on their lunch menus, but have recently changed their meat supplier.

This Is Lancashire yesterday reported that the Lancashire Council of Mosques has urged parents to have their children select vegetarian options or take their own lunches until the controversy is resolved. The new supplier gets its meat from New Zealand, and the meat is certified by the non-profit Halal Food Authority.

Salim Mulla, secretary of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, says they want the meat certified instead by the Halal Monitoring Committee. Lancashire County Council has replaced meat with an alternative option until the situation is resolved, while Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is keeping halal meat on the menu, but is meeting with mosque council leaders to resolve any problems.

Couldn't you just see this happening if US public schools tried to supply kosher lunches? You just know they'd buy Hebrew National and other Triangle K products, along with Tablet K cheese. And then the board would be so bewildered at the outrage ....

On post-death baptism by Mormons

2007-05-27T12:15:00.000-04:00

Rescuing this from an older source and posting it in response to a friend's post:

According to Mormon theology, all post-death baptism offers is a chance for the deceased person to join the Mormon religion. Since they think everyone else is in hell, they naturally assume everyone accepts. Here's how I picture it.

It is a lovely Shabbat evening in heaven. (It is always Shabbat there). Mr and Mrs Levy and their children have just finished singing Shalom Aleichem when there is a knock at the door. Mr Levy opens it and an angel is standing there, looking uncomfortable.

Mr. Levy smiles. "We were just singing to welcome you. What a pleasant surprise! What a great timing!".

The angel squirms. "Actually, Mr. Levy, I'm just here to ask you if you want to become a Mormon." Mr Levy roars with laughter, and says "No thanks. Are you sure you don't have time for some kugel? In heaven there is always time for kugel!"

The angel enters, says amen to the kiddush, winds up staying for the full meal, and then sadly departs to ask the next person if they want to convert.

Never complain about a 3 day chag again

2007-05-11T13:30:00.000-04:00

Taken out of context from religion clause:

From November through February, traditional Hopis are prohibited from engaging in government or significant non-religious pursuits.

Another reason to want to be Sephardi

2007-05-08T09:10:00.000-04:00

I so dislike the difficulties caused by the Ashkenazi rules about dairy and meat equipment. Bad enough to need 4 sets of pots, but 6 is really ridiculous. It is interesting to me that in this issue they don't cite Ashkenazi practice. Although the list in question is Sephardi, they usually mention Askhenazic custom when it differs.

The Rabbi Jacob S. Kassin Memorial Halacha Series
Authored by Rabbi Eli J. Mansour (5/8/2007)

To dedicate Daily Halacha for a day please click here. Thank you.
http://www.dailyhalacha.com/sponsorship.aspx

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Description: Is It Permissible to Use A Meat Pot To Cook A Parve Item That Will Be Mixed With A Dairy Item

Is it permissible to cook rice, or some other parve food, in a pot that had been used for meat, and then eat the parve food with milk or another dairy product? We refer, of course, to a case where the pot is clean and does not contain any actual particles of meat on its surface. Does the fact that the pot had been used for meat render it forbidden to use the food cooked in that pot with dairy foods? (This question arises with regard to the traditional "M'gedra" (rice and lentils) which is commonly eaten with yoghurt.)

There is a Halachic concept discussed in the Yoreh Dei'a section of Shulchan Aruch called "Notein Ta'am Bar Notein Ta'am Le'heteira." This term refers to a case like the one described above, of a clean pot that does not contain any meat, but does contain the taste of meat within its walls. When food is cooked in that pot, the taste embedded within the walls now enters the cooked food, and we refer to this "second degree taste" as "Notein Ta'am Bar Notein Ta'am." According to Halacha, if the food cooked in the pot is parve, and thus no violation occurs when it is cooked in the pot (as opposed to a case of dairy food cooked in a meat pot), the food remains parve and may be eaten together with milk. Since the parve food contains only a "Notein Ta'am Bar Notein Ta'am," and not the original taste of meat, it retains its parve status, and one may eat it with milk or other dairy products.

The question then becomes whether or not one may prepare a parve food in a meat pot with the initial intention of eating it with dairy foods. Thus far we have established that a parve food that had been prepared in a meat pot may be used with dairy products. But does this Halacha apply only if this occurred inadvertently, or even "Le'chatechila" (optimally)?

The Shulchan Aruch rules that one may use the parve food with dairy foods only "Be'di'avad" (after the fact, if it was mistakenly prepared in a meat pot). However, in "Bedek Ha'bayit," revisions to the "Beit Yosef" that Maran (author of the Shulchan Aruch) published after writing the Shulchan Aruch, he cites the position of Rabbenu Yerucham (Provence-Spain, 1280-1350) who allowed cooking parve food in a meat pot even with the initial intention of using it with dairy products. This is, indeed, the ruling of Chacham Ovadia Yosef, in his work Yabia Omer. Rabbi Shlomo Amar (current Sephardic Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel) likewise follows this position in his work of responsa, and Chacham Ovadia, in an introduction he wrote to Rabbi Amar's work, commends Rabbi Amar for his courage in publishing this lenient position.

It should be noted that this Halacha applies equally in the reverse case, of a parve food prepared in a dairy pot that one wishes to eat with meat. One may cook a parve food in a dairy pot even with the initial intention of eating it together with meat.

Furthermore, this Halacha applies regardless of whether or not the pot had been used with meat or milk within the previous twenty-four hours. Although regarding many Halachot we distinguish between utensils that had been used for meat or milk within the last twenty-four hours and those that have not, with respect to this Halacha no such distinction is made.

Summary: It is permissible to cook a parve food in a meat pot and then eat it with dairy foods, or to cook a parve food in a dairy pot and then eat it with meat, provided that the pot is clean. One may cook the parve food in a meat pot even with the initial intention of eating it with dairy foods, and vice versa. This applies regardless of whether or not the pot had been used with meat or dairy foods within the previous twenty-four hours.

See Halichot Olam, Helek 7, Page 74.

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Difficult Halachic problems

2007-04-24T07:37:00.000-04:00

Over Pesach I was thinking about the places where halacha and my ethical intuitions clash - not in big abstract ways like the Amalekite baby problem, not in controversial ways like homosexuality issues, but the day to day problems that both halacha and I regard as settled, but where each of us have settled on contradictory answers.

One of the reasons I call myself 'traditionally observant' is that I tend (at least in the abstract) to act according to what the halacha dictates, even as I strongly feel I am doing the wrong thing. I don't have the ability to do polls, so here are some hand made ones:

1) Your cat is chas v'shalom hit by a car on Shabbat and needs the attention of a vet. None live within walking distance. Do you
a) drive your cat to the vet/phone the vet yourself
b) ask a non-Jewish neighbor to drive your cat to the vet/phone the vet
i) and stay behind yourself/don't talk with the vet
ii) and get in the back seat with the cat/talk once the call is in progress
c) stay beside your cat and comfort it as it dies
d) euthanize your cat to put it out of its pain

For the record I think 1.b.i is just over the border of not being defensible within halacha, 1.c is plainly ok, and all the others are plainly against halacha.

2)Imagine (may it not happen for 120 years) you are at the funeral of one of your in-laws and your spouse is completely bereft. They really need a hug or some other form of non-sexual physical support. Unfortunately, the niddah laws completely prohibit this at the moment. You don't think they will kill themselves without comfort, but at the moment they are unable to function except to wail their grief and beg for support. Do you
a) comfort your spouse physically,
b) abandon them for a moment to find a friend who can provide support
c) provide verbal comfort alone, while frantically looking for someone who can halachically touch them?

Nightmare 2

2007-03-29T13:36:00.001-04:00

In Nightmare 1 I described my fear that in some hashgachot within Judaism the average person isn't expected to be a moral agent at all - all moral decisions are deferred to the gedolim, and a person's free will is exercised by choosing to follow their decisions.

I encountered that thinking again this week, in a discussion with a chassidic friend in Brooklyn. I was describing to him how my wife treats the lottery as a game. She buys one ticket per lottery if she buys one at all. "If Hashem wants me to win, then one is enough; if he doesn't want me to win then buying lots won't help." Then she spends hours plotting how to use her winnings, in great detail. Usually about 80% goes to some form of tzedakah - building a new women's mikveh at one end of time, buying out her financially strapped parents' mortgage, starting a trust fund for Mazon, etc.

My friend said that if he won the lottery he would put it all in a trust fund and sign it over to his rebbe, then go back to his normal life. He quoted some mussar that if Hashem makes you wealthy the reason is Hashem wants you to redistribute it properly.

I was appalled by this answer. If Hashem wanted his rebbe to have the burden of redistributing the wealth, Hashem would have his rebbe win the lottery! This attitude seemed gross ingratitude on my friend's part. An analogy would be if the young shepard David, having been offered the kingship, abdicated in favor of Shmuel.
After all, a navi would do a much better job ruling Israel as Hashem wished than David could hope to. So let Shmuel rule and David be a shepherd!

Thoughts? When Hashem sends us tests, is it our job to struggle with them, or to pass them along to people more likely to pass?

Why did the dinosaurs die?

2007-03-27T14:01:00.000-04:00

This past weekend my shul had Dr. Gerald Schroder< as scholar-in-residence. Dr. Schroder is a physicist who writes on issues of reconciling science and Torah. Despite being a physicist, Dr. Schroder spent a fair amount of time discussing evolution and abiogenesis (the creation of life from non-life).

I talked with Doctor Schroder after one of his lectures, and he mentioned he believes that just as Hashem intervenes in human history, Hashem intervened in earlier times in the history of Earth. He identified two such points at the Cambrian explosion and the destruction of the dinosaurs. He stressed this was belief and not science.

I started thinking about the death of the dinosaurs at the hands of Hashem, and I came up with the following fable:

When the time came for Hashem to give the Torah, he went to all the species of dinosaurs. Hashem approached Tyrannosaurus Rex and asked "Will you accept my torah?" T. Rex asked "What does it say?" Hashem said "Of all the animals that walk on the land, these you may eat..." T. Rex said "I am the mightiest carnivore to ever walk on the land. Anything and everything is my prey. I will not accept the Torah."

Then Hashem approached the Apatosaurus. "Will you accept my Torah?" "What does it say?" "The fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually, it may not be extinguished." "Oh no", the Aptosaurus replied. "Fire is wild and uncontrolled, and when the land burns we must flee before it or die. I couldn't keep a fire burning. I won't accept the Torah."

Hashem went to the Velociraptor, from there to all the other species of dinosaurs. None would accept the Torah.

Then a small Hadrocodium wui, the earliest mammal spoke up. "I will accept the Torah, Hashem". Hashem said "But you are too small and feeble - you cannot fulfill the mitzvot. But because your desire to serve me exceeds your ability, I will make sure your descendants have the ability you desire. And the dinosaurs shall learn that without my Torah they have no purpose."

Little Mosque on the Prairie

2007-03-19T07:34:00.001-04:00

I've started watching Little Mosque on the Prarie, a Canadian comedy, on youtube. It is mildly amusing. The thing I find worth mentioning here is the resonances with Orthodox life, especially that of 40 years ago. Episode 2 discusses whether the mosque needs a barrier separating men and women praying. Episode 4 talks about whether Muslim kids should trick or treat, as well as dealing with efforts to get woman only swim time at the municipal pool. There is an ongoing internal debate as to the importance of keeping cultural markers - should goat be served at a Ramadan breakfast, or are cucumber sandwiches ok? If you watch videos it might be worth taking a look - nothing deep, but an interesting glimpse in a funhouse mirror.

Religious accomodations in stores

2007-03-15T11:22:00.000-04:00

I found the following post in the Star Tribune interesting. Some Muslims working as cashiers in a supermarket are refusing to touch (wrapped) pork products, instead asking the customers or another cashier to scan them and put them into the bags.

I remember a few years ago a local Rabbi was asked for a psak about a teenage who wanted to work in the snack counter of a local theater that served hot dogs with cheese and other basar b'chalav combinations. He suggested she not take the job.

The sources quoted in the article seem to think that the cashiers' actions are legal, and that this falls within the requirement to 'reasonably accommodate' the religious beliefs of employees. Initially I thought this was unacceptable, but after more thought I'm inclined to agree.

Unintended Consequences?

2007-03-14T13:27:00.000-04:00

YNet reports on a bill filed by Shas to prohibit proselytizing in Israel:

Shas was also sure to defend the bill from accusations of violating Israel's freedom of religion principal, saying that "we do not mean to violate freedom of religion or freedom from religion. We mean to allow everyone to believe in their own religion, and prevent harassment by any source trying to harm the basic democratic right according to which 'every man may live in his religion.'"

The proposal pointed out that the law does not specify which religion it applies to and therefore also forbids the proselytism of non-Jews to Judaism.

"The law also applies to Jewish sects bringing Muslims from the Old City to convert to Judaism," it said.

I worry about the (hopefully)unintended consequences of this bill. (I also worry about the intended consequences, but that is another issue). Will this bill hinder efforts to enable non-Jewish Russian immigrants to convert? Will the Reform movement be forbidden to offer 'Introduction to Judaism' classes? How will the government distinguish between efforts at conversion and simply making educational efforts available? Will it be ok to open an Xtian science reading room, but forbidden to advertise its existence? Will atheism be considered a religion, and organizations such as Footsteps be outlawed in consequence? In principle, could Aish Hatorah be required to confirm people are Jewish before letting them into a Torah codes lecture?

Remembering to Forget Amalek

2007-03-01T13:48:00.000-05:00

The pasuk says Therefore, when the Lord your God grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!.

This passage is peculiar. Why are we commanded to blot out the memory of Amalek when we are at peace? Shouldn't Amalek be blotted out as part of the process of war and conquest?

I interpret this to mean 'When you are not at peace, you may have to do terrible things to survive and prosper. Fighting wars are necessary, but they are dangerous to the victor as well as the vanquished. When you have defeated Amalek and are at peace, do not take up the ways of Amalek. Instead blot out the memories of what you have suffered, and behave as though the coarsening effects of war had never touched you.'

Reimagining Purim

2007-02-26T12:53:00.000-05:00

One of the most mentchlidik and torahdik characters sitting at the King's gate was Shushan boy.

"I just cut an onion in half with a milk knife but I want to cook the onion with meat. What do I do, Shusan boy?"

"Cut off a klipah from the cut sides of the onion with a pareve knife and you're fine".

"Thanks, Shushan. You're metchlidik and torahdik."

"Bless you, sir".

Little did anyone know that whenever there was a call for help....

"OY! OY VEY ZEMIR"

Shushan boy became in real life that member of the Beis Din Hagadol, Mordechai!.

Guest Post - Encoding Jewish Internet Debate

2007-02-26T11:02:00.000-05:00

A Modest Proposal for Encoding Jewish Internet Debate

by Steven Weintraub (stevenw at chelm.org)

With well over a 2 and a half decades of experience in the Jewish Internet I have noticed the problems that were discussed back in 1981 and those of today are either similar or the same. In fact, I notice the arguments used are the same as in 1981 and that the arguments used in one issue and the arguments used in another are often the same. As a result I thought I would aid in efficiency and number the most common arguments, and save much Internet bandwidth.

In doing so, I discovered a remarkable phenomenon. That like elementary particles, each basic argument has an equally compelling anti-argument. One does not arise without the opposite arising in the same argument.

Moreover I have discovered that true net Rabbis are adept at using both sides of a pair - depending upon which flavor supports the desired outcome of a particular issue.

Here are the pairs I have so far discovered and are immediately obvious to me. I am currently researching and developing more. If you know or discover any, please add them to the list as an aid for the whole community. I hope to have a fairly complete list by the 14th of Adar II.

I present these in hope that their use will aid in shortening our argumentation here.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1+ These are the halacha on which I base my opinions.
1- These are the opinions on which I base my halacha.

2+ Current practice is wrong, the halahca I cite is right
2- Current practice is right, the halacha you cite is wrong

3+ Rabbi X does it this way
3- Rabbi X's practice is irrelevant

4+ Rabbi X says this is the halacha
4- Rabbi X's opinion is not to be trusted.

5+ This newest issue/scandal/ruling proves the moral bankruptcy of Orthodoxy
5- One incident/person/ruling shouldn't tar the whole movement, there are
bad apples in every movement

6+ This newest issue/scandal/ruling proves the moral bankruptcy of Conservatism
6- One incident/person/ruling shouldn't tar the whole movement, there are
bad apples in every movement

7+ This newest issue/scandal/ruling proves the moral bankruptcy of Reform
7- One incident/person/ruling shouldn't tar the whole movement, there are
bad apples in every movement

8+ The liberal movements of Judaism are the main cause of assimilation
8- The liberal movements of Judaism are rescuing those who have assimilated
and are bringing them back to Judaism.

9+ The Jewish people would not follow such a ruling
9+ The Jewish people need to be educated about such a ruling

10+ Current practice is mixed in this area
10- There is only one obvious way this should be, regardless of current practice

11+ We must put up fences to protect the Torah
11- Its a needless Chumra that detracts and cheapens halacha

12+ You're stretching the halachic envelope to meaninglessness
12- Its necessary to understand the bounds of halacha to know what is actually
allowed.

13+ This is a social/economic/political argument, has no religious relevance
and thus does not belong on the list.
13- Torah encompasses all aspects of life, so this is fair game.

14+ This is the sort of criticism you would expect from a self-hating Jew.
14- This is a heart felt response from someone who truly is trying to see
a flaw in a traditional Jewish view.

15+ Criticism of Israel is antisemitic or self-hating.
15- Israel is a Jewish state which we are responsible to bring to the highest
moral ground.

16+ This halacha is just plain wrong and immoral.
16- Halacha is THE definition of right and wrong and morality.

17+ This is the right way and we must change halacha to match.
17- Until a way is found in halacha, we can not do that.

18+ The halacha in this area is X. (often found in combination with
argument 4+)
18- That is one valid practice, there are many others (often found in
combination with argument 4-)

19+ To participate in that would imply the validity of less halachic movements
19- To participate in that would lead to greater Jewish unity.

20+ To do this would imply the suzerainty of more halachic movements
20- To do this would lead to greater Jewish unity by allowing halachic
movements to participate.
------------- Here start Larry's additions ------------------------------------
21+: It is best to be stringent so as to satisfy all opinions
21- "Greater is he who can rule leniently than he who can rule stringently"

22+ We cannot hope to approach the authority of the earlier generations
22- Halacha follows the most recent opinion

Maryland Aguna Law

2007-02-25T12:46:00.000-05:00

From Religon Clause comes some new of progress on a proposed Maryland Get Law which featured testimony by the OU and a letter from Maryland's attorney general giving his opinion that the law does not violate the Establishment clause.
Source:
Jewish Group testify in favor of Maryland Get Law. It is interesting that there were apprarently representives of the Agudah present as well.

Ger Tsedek: Defining frum

2007-02-25T12:40:00.000-05:00

Ger Tsedek: was nice enough to take a comment of mine and give it an extensive analysis in Defining frum.

Take a look and join the conversation.

Field Trip?

2007-02-01T20:15:00.000-05:00

A number of people are meeting at the YU book sale on Thursday night, probably between 6 and 6:30. We'll do a short shopping trip there and then go out to eat and socialize. Anyone who might be interested please contact me. The email address is larry at lennhoff dot com.

I was just thinking

2007-01-29T11:14:00.000-05:00

It is forbidden by halacha to make a 3 dimensional representation of a complete human being. This is because man is made in the image of Hashem, and we are forbidden to make an image of Hashem. The question is, does this prohibition apply to aliens? It seems clear to me that it does, as is made clear from the language of the commandment "Lo Sasson E.T.".

Bo knows free will

2007-01-28T23:08:00.000-05:00

Parshat Bo continues the issue of Hashem's hardening of Pharoah's heart. There are a lot of good takes on the issue, most of which I've read for the first time in the past few years.

I’m sure someone came up with this before (and if you know I’d love a reference) but here’s my take on the hardening Pharoah’s heart. I think it was measure for measure punishment. Pharoah claimed to be a divinity, and he took free choice away from an entire nation by enslaving them. In response, Hashem showed Pharaoh that not only was he not in charge of his nation, he was not even in charge of his own choices.

N.B. This post originally appeared in slightly different form as a comment on Yesh Omrim.