Hyehudi.org

Wikipedia has some doubts, of course…

ציטוט הרב ברנד שליט”א מתוך פורום אוהבי ציון:

אם כבר מדברים בתקשורת על מי שבדרך רוחני עושה פעולות להצלחת המלחמה, יש לפרסם בתקשורת זה מה שעושים כבר מיום שני אחרי שמחת תורה עד עצם היום הזה כל שני וחמישי לכל הפחות עשרה מתענים, (חוץ מראש חודש וחנוכה) תפילת נעילה בכותל מערבי, עם תפילת כ”ד ברכות, ותקיעות בחצוצרות וקריאת התורה ויחל

התפילות הם מרשימים מאוד, והכל מבוסס על ש”ע ס’ תקע”ט וטור שם וזה ע”פ המשנה וגמרא בתענית

…

מתחלים כעת עשר דקות לפני ארבע בסליחות וי”ג מידות עם שופרות ואח”כ קריאת התורה ואח”כ תפילת נעילה (תפילה רגילה) ואח”כ חזרת הש”ץ עם כ”ד ברכות ותקיעות בחצוצרות, נגמר עם השקיעה

I gave one example here. Here’s another, from Kahlil Gibran’s book, “The Madman: His Parables and Poems“:

The Wise King

Once there ruled in the distant city of Wirani a king who was both mighty and wise. And he was feared for his might and loved for his wisdom.

Now, in the heart of that city was a well, whose water was cool and crystalline, from which all the inhabitants drank, even the king and his courtiers; for there was no other well.

One night when all were asleep, a witch entered the city, and poured seven drops of strange liquid into the well, and said, “From this hour he who drinks this water shall become mad.”

Next morning all the inhabitants, save the king and his lord chamberlain, drank from the well and became mad, even as the witch had foretold.

And during that day the people in the narrow streets and in the market places did naught but whisper to one another, “The king is mad. Our king and his lord chamberlain have lost their reason. Surely we cannot be ruled by a mad king. We must dethrone him.”

That evening the king ordered a golden goblet to be filled from the well. And when it was brought to him he drank deeply, and gave it to his lord chamberlain to drink.

And there was great rejoicing in that distant city of Wirani, because its king and its lord chamberlain had regained their reason.

Note: I do not recommend that book (vulgar, evil, foolish, and so on and so forth). I was rifling through it half-asleep (yes, really), and I stopped once I realized.

המכתב הבא (החותמים בדף הם הרב נתן זוכובסקי, המספיד של המגועל ח. ולדר, והרב יוסף אפרתי, אבל זה נכתב בהשראת הרב דב לנדא עצמו) שווה זהב טהור:

(המכתב התפרסם בכיכר השבת.)

הצבוע הזה עוד מדבר על חילול השם?! הנה מכתבו של הרב לנדא שבו הוא קרא מתחילה להפר הסכמים כתובים באלעד.

ושוב, המכתב מדבר על “מועמד שאינו מתמודד מטעם יהדות התורה המאוחדת“. לא יאומן עד כמה הם שמים את הקורא לטפש! הניסוח העמום בא לעמעם שמדובר בעוד מועמד, משה אבוטבול, חרדי לא פחות, אשר בעבר נתמך כמה פעמים ע”י כל המפלגות החרדיות השונות וכל הרבנים!

כמובן, אני לא מתהדר בהבנה עצמאית של כל הפרטים בכל הערים (האם הצבוע הרב לנדא הוא ממש קוזאק נגזל?), אלא נסמך על ד”ע, האמורים בחוסר מודעות-עצמית משוועת.

אפשר לסכם את דברי המכתב, דוקא לדעת עצמו בפשטות: בקדרה שבשל בה נתבשל.

(אבל לא רק הוא מתבשל שם. אם מתברר כנכון הפחד שהפילוג יזיק בכל מיני ערים, הרי האשמה מונחת בחיק מי שגרם את הפילוג ע”י הפרת ההסכם באלעד: הרב דב לנדא.)

מתוך אתר כיכר השבת:

גורם בכיר ב’דגל התורה’, אומר הערב ל’כיכר השבת’: “יש לנו ביד הסכם חתום של ויז’ניץ שיתמכו בגרינברג, כל תירוץ שבעולם לא יכול להתקבל, כי ההסכם נחתם לפני זמן קצר וכל מה שידוע היום – היה ידוע גם אז, אז בגלל דילים עם גור וכל מיני הבטחות, הם הולכים להכתיר ראש עיר חילוני (בלוך. ח”ב) במקום המועמד שהיה מוסכם לכתחילה?”.

הערה: בלוך היא לא חילונית אלא דתי-לאומי חזק. ועוד, וכי יש לך רוח הקודש? 

עוד תוהה אותו בכיר: “מה גם שרואים שמדובר במהלך אסטרטגי, הרי ב’כיכר השבת’ יצאה היום הדלפה של מספרי הבוחרים וחסידות ויז’ניץ לא באמת משפיעה על המפה הפוליטית בעיר, אלא מה שהיא משפיעה זה הסחף שהיא מייצרת וזו מטרת המכתב הערב של רבני ‘דגל’ לאדמו”רי אגודת ישראל, כאשר הם תוהים למה זה מגיע להם ולמה ככה להפר הסכם”.

הערה: הפרת הסכמים?! ישמעו אזניך מה שפיך מדבר! בא ללמד ונמצא למד.

No, not really… Chalila!

But the news about the free TorahApp sounds wonderful.

From The Jewish Link here:

TorahApp has garnered excellent feedback from users who say the accessibility has transformed their Torah study. One user said, “I love how easy it makes the ability to learn Torah literally right at your fingertips. I can learn a chapter and get lectures about it at the same time. Of course, I can get to the primary sources and the commentaries and try to understand in Hebrew or be able to see the English translation.”

Another user pointed out the convenience of listening to a Daf Yomi shiur and simply opening the commentaries the magid shiur is referencing that seamlessly appear alongside the text. These nuances, he said, really distinguish TorahApp from other online platforms he has used in the past.

Since Herzberg originally built TorahApp for his personal use, he didn’t need any funding to create it and recommends people send donations to the original content creators (OU, YU, Sefaria, etc.) it’s built upon. The only contribution he wants is sharing the app with friends and family, facilitating Torah learning.

Rabbi Gil Student in The Jewish Press:

Josh Herzberg, a software engineer in Big Tech who helped build Sefaria’s first app while in college, realized while commuting that he could not binge listen to shiurim. Finding no readily available solution, he decided to build his own app to do that. Given his background with Sefaria, he took their massive text library of Hebrew and English sefarim – which they offer for free to developers – and added onto it audio and video files from OU Torah and YU Torah (all with permission)…

What about the selection of seforim included? We have written about the problems with Sefaria here.

Rabbi Student continues:

In December, Josh reached out to me. He wants this app to be widely accepted and used by a broad spectrum of Torah students. As a matter of personal and communal responsibility, how can he ensure that he only includes sefarim and translations that are accepted in the Orthodox community? Sefaria is a wonderful organization that serves the entire Jewish community. However, many in the Orthodox community have reservations about its non-Orthodox texts and translations. How can he create an app that serves those who are not comfortable with this mixed denominational library? In effect, he is trying to enable Sefaria to reach an audience that it otherwise cannot.

So in late December, I sat down with him to get comfortable with his approach. We discussed possible ways to ensure the app maintains standards that are acceptable in the mainstream Orthodox community. He developed a system so that the app is a closed environment and he controls the content in the library. I went through the entire library and gave him specific notes and instructions. He enthusiastically agreed to our process and asked me to be named a Rabbinic Advisor of TorahApp, to which I agreed. Hopefully additional rabbinic advisors join from multiple communities so everyone feels comfortable with the app.

Should I buy a kosher smartphone, then?

… Let me add that this does not imply endorsement of the internet and smartphones. That is a local matter that everyone should discuss with their rabbi. This is to help those who engage with this type of technology to use it for learning and to do so in an Orthodox environment in which they feel most comfortable. I know of roshei yeshiva who recognize that their students and alumni use smartphones and offer guidance on how to do so in the spirit of Torah and mussar. They have strongly discouraged use of Sefaria. I hope that TorahApp meets their approval. I already met with one senior rosh yeshiva, active in this area, and he very much liked the app. We are also preparing a version for the kosher smartphone market that we hope will assist people in their Torah learning.

We live in an age of great technological opportunities that also pose great spiritual risks. Every community is struggling with this in their own way. I hope that TorahApp helps people improve their Torah learning while finding their way through the maze of technology in a religiously uplifting manner. In the past, I have noted how a smartphone puts an entire library in your hands. With TorahApp’s mix of audio, video and text, it puts an entire yeshiva in your hands. In this age of easy distraction, easy access to Torah may be the necessary antidote.

Hmmm. “Necessary but not sufficient”?

The website is TheTorahApp.org. You can reach Josh Herzberg with comments, suggestions, or feature requests at thetorahapp.org@gmail.com.

Request: If any of our readers, Heaven Forfend, has experience with the app, please write in for the sake of our other readers (who may, Heaven Forfend, benefit).

Our “rabbinic advisory board” says: Don’t buy a smartphone.