Year: 2018

The State of Diaspora Orthodox Jewry

In a major center of so-called Orthodox Jews outside the land of Israel:

  • Men work a full day on Friday, park their cars as Shabbos arrives, then walk to shul by foot.
  • Boys and girls of all ages are given entirely unfiltered smartphones so “they are exposed to the world”.
  • Youth are sent to a papist Catheterlick (Catholic) prep school for a year before going on to college.

All of this is considered normal and in no need of change.

Money Does Buy Happiness!

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Reuters

Americans have a peculiar conviction that the one thing money can’t give us is satisfaction. You can’t buy happiness, we’ve all been told. “Mo Money Mo Problems”, Biggie concurred. And while we can all agree that desperate poverty is hideous, there is a broadly held view that after a certain level of income (around $75,000, say), more money doesn’t buy more well-being.

But it’s just not so. Economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers have been arguing for years that, yes, richer families tend to be happier, and no, there is not an automatic cut-off point. In other words: Mo money, fewer problems.

Continue reading…

From The Atlantic, here.

The Prohibition Against Tight-Fitting Pants ‘In Our Time’

Shulchan Aruch Even Ha’ezer 23:6:

אסור לרכוב על בהמה בלא אוכף. הגה – בגמרא פרק כל היד משמע דאסור ללבוש מכנסיים אם לא עשויין כבתי שוקיים, משום דמביא לידי השחתת זרע, ואע”פ שאפשר לדחות דבגמרא לא קאמר אלא בימיהם שהיה להם תרומה ואיכא למיחש לטומאת הגוף, מכל מקום מדהביא הרא”ש בפסקיו משמע דאף בזמן הזה אסור. ומה שנהגו היתר במרחץ, אפשר לומר דבשעה מועטת לא אסרו, כן נראה לי. עוד אסרו בגמרא לרחוץ עם אביו ואחיו ובעל אמו ובעל אחותו, ונהגו עכשיו היתר בדבר הואיל ומכסין ערותן בבית המרחץ ליכא למיחש להרהורא.

(The Pischei Teshuvah there explains a different possible difference between the periods, rejecting the Rema’s farfetched one, see inside for yet another example of the terrible trend by the Rema toward “custom” and away from the Gemara.)

So, it’s not just the wild-eyed so-called Tznius literature purveyors, anymore…

A Missed Opportunity

We have said so before already.

For as long as Israeli arabs remain here, it’s forbidden to harm them, besides being counterproductive. But the state, by criminalizing the private supply of  genuine security services, and at the same time, doing a horrible job of providing Arabs with security, themselves, are exposing regular Arabs to crime. Neither “Right” nor Left desire to improve things (for fear of false appearances of persecution), the same way they don’t make them pay all taxes (and their own sectorial parties do nothing about it either).

From 972 Mag:

The Arab public wants better policing — and Israeli police don’t care

Israel’s state comptroller released recommendations for improving policing in Arab communities. But none of them seem to address the real problem: police indifference.

By Nisreen Salameh Shahbari

Palestinians citizens of Israel participate in a vigil in the town of Ramle marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, on November 25, 2015. (Yotam Ronen)

 

On a cold February morning this year, my four-year-old son’s daycare was broken into. Sights of happy children singing and drawing were replaced with photos of horrific destruction and looting. This was the third break-in at Daburiyya, an Arab village east of Nazareth, that month. Previous incidents included an armed robbery in broad daylight, during which a person was shot and severely injured.

In a radio segment discussing the incident, police claimed they are handling all criminal activity in the village without delay, and that in cases where the investigation is paused or unsolved, it is because residents are refusing to cooperate. This is a known accusation that is too often regurgitated, a “golden ticket” used by police to explain their incompetence in enforcing the law in Arab communities. When pieced together, the daily acts of violence, from murder to vandalism, reflect a sad reality for 20 percent of the country’s population.

Two years ago, in an attempt to improve the sense of personal safety among Arab citizens, the government established a community policing center in my village. As many Arabs, I, too, hoped that building police stations near crime hotspots will lead to results. But when the police were slow to respond to the above-mentioned crimes, our hope dissipated.

Last week, at the height of the Arab community’s struggle against the Jewish Nation-State Law, the state comptroller released an evaluation of how police manage illegal firearms and shootings in Arab communities. For us, Arabs, the acute flaws in police conduct which were pointed out in the report were far from new. The report’s main contribution was the detailed data outlining Arab citizens’ deep lack of trust in law enforcement, and the sense of abandonment they have grown accustomed to.

Trump proved you can garner a large number of votes by saying you will “solve” a sore issue other distant politicians claim does not exist. This electoral opportunity is foolish to ignore.

Continue reading on 972 Mag here.

Where is Maimonides mentioned in Tosafos?

Torah Bibliography Trivia

A “certain relative” was driving my ears off with an unending stream of odd arcana. ‘Water is known as “Di-hydrogen Monoxide” (i.e. H2O)’, ‘Many more face muscles are required to frown than to smile’, ‘Over 90 percent of the DNA in your body is not yours, but microbes’…

I’ll stop now. You know the type.

I came up with the idea of doing something similar, this time as relates to Torah Bibliography. I asked some confreres what they thought, and received support for the concept.

So here are ten statements of fact and opinion cobbled together; some are arcane, others possibly apocryphal. I hope you enjoy them. You may even find something meaningful and relevant to your current studies.

Ready or not, here I come:

  1. A cute name used by many Achronim for parentheses (also referred to as “brackets, round brackets, curved brackets, oval brackets, or, colloquially, parens” – Wikipedia), is “Half Moons”. It appears in Rashash Berachos 9b and other places.
  2. A common saying goes as follows: Three continuous generations of the Sofer rabbinic dynasty; the Chasam Sofer (R’ Moshe), the Kesav Sofer (R’ Avraham Shmuel Binyamin) and the Shevet Sofer (R’ Simcha Bunim), all served as Rabbi of Pressburg for 33 years until their demise. I assume this entails following the Jewish calendar because the secular dates are: Chasam Sofer 1806 to passing 1839; Kesav Sofer 1839 to passing 1871; Shevet Sofer 1872 to passing 1906.
  3. As I see it, there are four kinds of punctuation common in Torah literature. One, unusual like responsa “Shevet Halevi” by Rabbi Shmuel Wosner, Two, readable like “Even Ha’ezel” and “Ohr Sameyach”, Three, lackadaisical (or partial) like most Achronim, Four, modern (or at least decent attempts) found in modern authors.
  4. There is an ancient Jewish grimoire named “Charva Demoshe”. Literally translated as “Sword of Moses”, the title is actually part Hebrew, part Aramaic. Methinks it should either be rendered “Cherev Moshe” or “Charva Demohi”. “Mohi” is the accurate translation of Moses in Aramaic; see Rabbenu Nissim on Nedarim 10b. Am I missing something?
  5. The English insult “Idiot” is derived from the Greek idiotes, meaning ‘layman’. The known Tannaic word “Hedyot” (as in “Kohen Gadol / Kohen Hedyot”) is one of many expressions Chazal borrowed from Greek. I read the above in a column by Asher V. Finn, Ami Magazine July 24, 2013.
  6. There is quite a long list of books that are considered auspicious (a “Segula”) to keep in the home for mystical protection (e.g. Raziel Hamalach). On the other hand, Kabbalistic “Shoshan Sodos” here (http://www.hebrewbooks.org/19655) is supposed to be dangerous to keep in the home (Source: a tradition).
  7. Rabbi Elyashiv zatzal, I am told, was chief copy critic of “Otzar Haposkim” on Even Ha’ezer, volume 4.
  8. The popular work “Even Ha’ezel” on Mishneh Torah by Rabbi Meltzer was typed up and edited by Rabbi Meltzer’s wife. I assume he edited it all himself later. Um, did you know that one already?
  9. “Nireh li” or “It appears to me” is a ubiquitous expression in Torah literature. The term is intended as an expression of humility. This is based on Sifra Parshas Metzora 5:10 –

נגע מה תלמוד לומר כנגע אפילו תלמיד חכם ויודע שהוא נגע ודאי לא יגזור ויאמר נגע נראה לי בבית אלא כנגע נראה לי בבית

  1. Where is Maimonides mentioned in Tosafos on Shas? See here for the answer. http://www.bhol.co.il/forum/topic.asp?cat_id=38&topic_id=3019270&forum_id=19616

OK, that’s it. I was just leaving!

Have something to say? Write to Avraham Rivkas: CommentTorah@gmail.com