Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Eternal Jewish Family is now Tiferes Bais Yisrael of One Jewish Family


Eternal Jewish Family is now Tiferes Bais Yisrael and is holding a conference in Newark, New Jersey in December.

They state:The Role of Tiferes Bais Yisrael

           

                Well over half of all Jews worldwide choose to intermarry, yet some of these couples eventually decide to raise Jewish families.

                Proper guidance is crucial when a non-Jewish spouse sincerely seeks a halachic conversion.


                To assure full acceptance into any Jewish educational system or community throughout the world, including Israel, the conversion must adhere to the requirements and standards of Jewish law, as established by recognized Torah authorities.

                   

                TBY assists intermarried couples who display a sincere and strong commitment to live a Jewish lifestyle, in accordance with Torah and halacha.

                In this situation, the Jewish spouse is becoming a fully observant Jew while the non-Jewish partner is committed to become a sincere and fully observant convert.

           


Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Science Research- Dr. Hauser of Harvard - fraud or errors of judgment


New York Times

The still unresolved case of Marc Hauser, the researcher accused by Harvard of scientific misconduct, points to the painful slowness of the government-university procedure for resolving such charges. It also underscores the difficulty of defining error in a field like animal cognition where inconsistent results are common.

The case is unusual because Dr. Hauser is such a prominent researcher in his field, and is known to a wider audience through his writings on morality. There seemed little doubt of the seriousness of the case when Harvard announced on Aug. 20 that he had been found solely responsible for eight counts of scientific misconduct.

But last month two former colleagues, Bert Vaux and Jeffrey Watumull, both now at the University of Cambridge in England, wrote in the Harvard Crimson of Dr. Hauser’s “unimpeachable scientific integrity” and charged that his critics were “scholars known to be virulently opposed to his research program.” [...]

Monday, October 25, 2010

Obama claims political woes are result of neurological problem


JPost

In an increasingly desperate attempt to develop a narrative for their coming collapse, the Democrats have indulged themselves in what for half a century they’ve habitually attributed to the American Right – the paranoid style in American politics. The talk is of dark conspiracies – secret money, foreign influence, big corporations, with Karl Rove and, yes, Ed Gillespie lurking ominously behind the scenes. The only thing missing is the Halliburton-Cheney angle.

But after trotting out some of these with a noticeable lack of success, President Barack Obama has come up with something new, something less common, something more befitting his stature and intellect. He’s now offering a scientific, indeed neurological, explanation for his current political troubles. The electorate apparently is deranged by its anxieties and fears to the point where it can’t think straight. Part of the reason “facts and science and argument does not seem to be winning the day all the time,” he explained to a Massachusetts audience, “is because we’re hardwired not to always think clearly when we’re scared. And the country is scared.” Opening a whole new branch of cognitive science – liberal psychology – Obama has discovered a new principle: The fearful brain is hardwired to act befuddled, i.e., vote Republican. [...]

Defriending electonically on Facebook


New York Times

ENDING a friendship takes many forms: an ugly confrontation, a polite “I don’t think this is working out,” or just the fade-out with not returning phone calls or responding to e-mail.

Or it can be a simple click on your Facebook page.

As many know, it’s called “defriending,” a term that the New Oxford American Dictionary formally acknowledged this summer. But can technology mitigate the complicated emotions that are associated with a failed friendship? Maybe not.

What is a Jewish State?


New York Times

The more stridently Israel insists on Palestinian recognition of it as the nation-state of the Jewish people, the more adamantly the Palestinian leadership seems to refuse.

As a result, some senior Israeli officials are beginning to question the wisdom of the policy of their prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made recognition of the legitimacy of the Jewish nation-state a prerequisite for any final agreement with the Palestinians.

More recently, Mr. Netanyahu offered it as a quid pro quo for a temporary extension of a moratorium on building in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Nascent Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have stalled since the moratorium expired last month.

Abuse Book - Sending it to Amazon by Wednesday for printing

There are more twists and dead ends in this journey then in the 5 other books I have published. I decided not to produce an ebook. I discovered that removing copy protection from an ebook is very simple and that there are hundreds of sites on the internet that describe the process.
While I am aware of the issue of DRM and music - I think this would be different because of the subject of the book. I am concerned that it would become viral amongst those who are more concerned with the problem then finding a constructive solution.
Therefore I am left with the path of publishing on demand. I am just finishing editing the last essay which I got yesterday. Then some basic formatting and just need to approve a prototype and that's it. The cover took another reitieration. Hopefully this is the final version. I will be publishing it in two volumes - the essays and the halachic sources in Hebrew and English.

Friday, October 22, 2010

R' Avi Shafran on Mendelsoh, Science & Slikin Affair

On the Main Line


http://onthemainline.blogspot.com/2010/10/interview-with-rabbi-avi-shafran-about.html


Here's a guest post consisting of a very interesting interview with Rabbi Avi Shafran conducted by Baruch Pelta. Below is the interview transcript. I will post another post shortly which will give some of the background info regarding the Mendelssohn article published in the Jewish Observer nearly 25 years ago, which may or may not be known to readers - but see this post for some of that background, as well as links to the relevant articles.[...]

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Yisroel Meir Bricksman


Kikar HaShabbat


סיפור גירושי בריסקמן-שכטר מסתבך: עסקנים הפועלים בארה"ב בענייני עגונות, שהצליחו בשבוע האחרון להוציא גט מישראל בריסקמן, נעצרו באשמת חטיפה והכאה.


מדובר בבני זוג מוכרים מליקווד - ר´ דוד ווקס ואשתו. כזכור, בתחילת השבוע חשף "כיכר השבת" כי סיפור העיגון בפרשת בריסקמן-שכטר הסתיים, והאשה קיבלה את גטה בארה"ב בעקבות מעורבותם של חברי "מאפיה" מקומיים.


כעת אנו מביאים, לראשונה, את פרטי הסיפור המלא
....

Audiotape of the Chicago JBAC Event this past Sunday

Chicago
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JBAC.WMA
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2010 20:44 PDT.
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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Yisroel Bryskman assaulted in Lakewood


APP.COM

LAKEWOOD — A local couple were arrested after police say they kidnapped a man and beat him before dropping him off in New York. David Wax, 48, and Judy Wax, 46, both of Somerset Avenue, here, were charged with kidnapping. David Wax was also charged with criminal restraint, luring, aggravated assault, theft and robbery, and Judy Wax was charged with conspiracy.

Sometime after 9 p.m. Saturday, David and Judy Wax handcuffed Yisrael Bryskman, 36, and moved him into a room at their home on Somerset Avenue before beating him and ordering him to call his family and demand money, according to Lt. William Addison.

Bryskman, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was staying in Lakewood, and was seeking employment with the Waxes when they assaulted him, said Addison. [...]

Petition supporting Rabi Elon



YNET

Some 300 former students of Rabbi Mordechai Elon, who has been accused  of sexually harassing his underlings, have signed a petition in his favor. The young men say they have never been abused or harassed by the rabbi.


Rabbi Elon is being charged with sexually abusing and committing indecent acts on underage students who sought his advice. The Takana forum, which has been accused of protecting Elon, announced recently that it would soon release the details of the allegations against him.


The forum says it has documents signed by the rabbi, in which he admits to the allegations and accepts sanctions imposed on him by the members – including a prohibition to meet with students.[...]