Rav Sternbuch - are alternative healing methods permitted?

vol 6 #177

Alternative healing Rav Sternbuch vol six 177 yd The contemporary rabbis dispute the status of alternative healing that originated from idolatry from India and China and has spread to chareidim in Iisrael and outside of Israel in recent time. Some prohibit to heal with these techniques while oth permit claiming that these involve are simply using natural forces that exist in nature which were unknown to us but were known only to idolaters of India and China some of them being revealed to us in recent time and they bring proof from the fact that these treatments work! I found in the sefer Heichal Horaah to my good friend Hagaon Rav Mayer Bransdorfer who mentions that his father the author of Hakaneh Bosem that initially .told him that these alternative medical treatments work only through natural processes therefore he permitted people to go to these therapists for treatment however later he heard from others that these treatments. Involved unnatural forces which causes many concerns and henceforth did not permit treatments except to those who were in the midst of treatment and felt that the treatments were working that they could finish the course of treatment". As far as myself I do not posken as to whether it is permitted or prohibited butI only request that the therapists of these treatments hang up signs in their clinics that the treatments they do is entirely natural I will explain the reason for this In my view the matter depends on whether the treatment is natural even if people aren't certain but they feel it might be then there is no prohibition of magic (kishuf)

The Mesadrei Gittin Conference—Improving Halachic Standards and Personal Sensitivity - a true joke

http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=57263.675
https://www.jewishlinknj.com/component/content/article?id=10491

November 25, 2015

Most of the active mesadrei gittin (get administrators) in the United States gathered in Manhattan last week for a day-long conference. It was a fantastic event. We had the privilege and opportunity to hear from leading halachic authorities such as Rav Nota Greenblatt, Rav Hershel Schachter, Rav Mordechai Willig and Rav Mendel Senderovic (listed in order of age). The focus was on addressing the manifold halachic challenges involved in gittin administration, such as securing the cooperation of recalcitrant men and women. There was also a special presentation by Dr. David Pelcovitz, a leading psychologist who has also been active in beit din matters for many years. Dr. Pelcovitz emphasized the need for get administrators to prepare couples for what will occur at the get, noting that people cope with a traumatic event far more effectively when they know what to expect. He also noted the wisdom of bringing a friend for support (although I noted that one should avoid bringing someone whom the other party might find irritating).

One vignette stands out, though, in my mind as most memorable and insightful. Rav Nota Greenblatt, the country’s senior get administrator who has been administering gittin since 1952(!), related how he dealt with a particular challenge he encountered in a midwestern city. The woman insisted that she should hand the get to her husband instead of the Torah-mandated procedure of the husband handing the wife the get. She argued that since it was he who misbehaved during the marriage and not she (a fact that went unchallenged by the husband) then she should be the one to deliver the get.

9 students killed in flash flood

update ny times
At least nine Israeli teenagers on a “bonding” trip were killed, and one was still missing, after a flash flood swept them away on Thursday while they were hiking in a riverbed near the Dead Sea.

jpost


"We were unable to escape the current and were swept away by the river," a rescued youth said on Channel 10 news. 

Three teams of the IDF's elite 669 Search and Rescue Unit, aided by their three Yasur choppers and one Apache helicopter, were searching for the missing.

Police instructed people to stay away from the area.

As those killed were not carrying ID's their families were brought in to identify them.  

Releasing a statement on the tragic incident, President Reuven Rivlin said: "Our prayers and thoughts are with our brothers, our children, and our loved ones who are in trouble. We are closely following the updates from the south and send a warm embrace to the worried families. We will strengthen all the security and rescue forces, who are in the process of search and rescue and medical treatment. I ask you all, please follow the instructions of the police and rescue forces and be attentive to them."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is closely following the rescue mission and was updated on it over the phone by Operations Directive Maj. Gen. Yoav Har-Even. 

"I support the security and rescue forces that are currently working to save lives and to locate those missing in the severe disaster that occurred today in Nahal Tzapit," Netanyahu said. "We are all praying for better news."

Highway 90 is now blocked in both directions between the Arava junction and the Eilat entry road block. The spokeswoman for the city of Eilat, Dana Zanti, stated that a ceiling had collapsed in the Isrotel Red Sea hotel. 

Alternative Medicine in Halacha: a Review by Rabbi Hoffman

hear rabbi Tendler
yutorah

see Rabbi Belsky Alternative healing
amazon

ywn

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times

Rabbi Rephoel Szmerla’s new Sefer entitled, “Alternative Medicine in Halacha” [Israel Bookshop 198 pages English 398 pages Hebrew 596 total] is divided into two sections – the main part of the Sefer and the in-depth biurim in Hebrew in the back of the work. In the biurim, it is truly groundbreaking in terms of its exhaustive treatment of the aveiros of the occult: specifically, kishuf, doresh el hameisim, nichush and kosaim. It also deals with following the ways of the gentiles (Darchei Amori) and of the Mitzvah of Tamim Tehiyeh. In discussing these aveiros, the author takes us through every opinion of the rishonim.

CONCLUSION

As stated throughout this review – the halachic views of the Rabbi Szmerla constitute amazing depth and profundity in the Hebrew biurim section. The medical views espoused in the main body of the book are, in this reviewer’s opinion and in the opinion of a number of mathematically trained doctors and scientists, quite dangerous. Traditionally, our abilities in calculating the ibbur and other such areas of Torah thought have been described by the rishonim as “ki hi chachmaschem uvinaschem b’ainai ha’amim.” The rejection of statistics in how medicine is applied is a dangerous trend.

The author can be reached at yairhoffman2@gmail.com

A double-blind, randomized study to assess the validity of applied kinesiology (AK) as a diagnostic tool and as a nonlocal proximity effect.

0.927, P = .629.

CONCLUSION:

The data in this study, particularly when seen in the larger context of a review of the literature from the AK field itself by Klinkoski and Leboeuf (1990), which considered 50 papers published between 1981 and 1987 by the International College of Applied Kinesiology, and the survey by Hall, Lewith, Brien, and Little (2008), using standard evaluation criteria [quality assessment tool for studies of diagnostic accuracy included in systematic reviews (QUADAS), Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Studies (STARD), JADAD, and Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT)], for research methodology, as well as six prior non-clinical studies by Radin (1984), Quintanar and Hill (1988), Braud (1989), Arnett et al. (1999), Ludtke (2001), and Kendler and Keating (2003), all together suggest the following: The research published by the Applied Kinesiology field itself is not to be relied upon, and in the experimental studies that do meet accepted standards of science, Applied Kinesiology has not demonstrated that it is a useful or reliable diagnostic tool upon which health decisions can be based.

://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24607076

dr Weil

Dr. Weil notes that physiologically, there’s no reason to believe that an external evaluation of a muscle’s strength can diagnose nutritional problems inside the body, or that consuming a certain nutrient could immediately correct a severely weak muscle. He maintains that AK falls far short on reliability for diagnosis and treatment of any health condition, and advises both skepticism and caution when it comes to this form of care.

המשגיח על החיילים: "אחד מבני החבורה שמת - תדאג כל החבורה"

http://m.bhol.co.il/article.aspx?id=132731&cat=6&scat=41

בימי מלחמת ששת הימים, מסר מרן המשגיח רבי יחזקאל לוינשטיין זצ"ל, דברים נוקבים בפני בחורי ישיבת פוניבז': "מאות אלפים מאחינו מתגלגלים בשדות, בקור ובחום, ופחד המוות מרחף עליהם, משפחותיהם מודאגות ושבורות, איך נפרש את המסתובב בשלוה ומנוחה, ממלא כל תאוותיו ורצונותיו, משום שהוא נמצא במקומו"

Address by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the State Marking the 70th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany

http:http://www.jwmww2.org/Address_by_Prime_Minister_Benjamin_Netanyahu_at_the_State_Marking_the_70th_anniversary_of_victory_ov

Rav Moshe disagrees with view of Satmer

שו"ת אגרות משה יורה דעה חלק ד סימן ח
ב. נס הצלה שנעשה על ידי חיילים שאינם שומרי תורה
ובדבר יהודי שנחטף באוגנדא וניצול משם ע"י החיילים שבאו לשם, מסתבר שיש להחשיב זה לנס גלוי, כי בדרך הטבע לא היה אפשר להיות דבר כזה. וכל מה שנעשה בעולם הוא רק יד השי"ת בין הטוב ובין ח"ו להיפוך, והוא המכה והמרפא. והוא עשה שנשבו, והוא עשה ההצלה בזה שנתן אומץ ורצון שילכו להציל, ואשר הצליח דרכם שהצילו. ודרכי השי"ת שעשה הנס ע"י פושעים נעלמו ממנו. ואסור לשום אדם להתחכם בקושיות על הקדוש ברוך הוא, אלא תמים תהיה עם ה' כמפורש בתורה (דברים י"ח י"ג).
והנני ידידם, משה פיינשטיין. 

FROM MOURNING TO JOY: ISRAEL CELEBRATES 70 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

jpost


Israel’s 70th Independence Day and annual torch lighting ceremony took place at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem Wednesday evening.

As a bereaved father read the Yizkor prayer and the Israeli flag was returned to full mast, Memorial Day segued into Independence Day. This year, 1,500 singers, dancers, speakers and performers took part in the annual event which was attended by an audience of 6,500.

oprah's speech about female dignity

http://time.com/5094585/ivanka-trump-oprah-winfrey-golden-globes-backlash-twitter/

rabbi Aryeh Eidensohn -- Otzar Chochma Journal

http://forum.otzar.org/download/file.php?id=58005

article is from page 191-235

הירחון האלקטרוני לכל מקצועות התורה

הערות למחברים ולמערכת וכן מאמרים לירחון הבא יתקבלו בשמחה בכתובת הדוא"ל:

HaOtzar5777@gmail.com

לתשומת לב המעיינים שמות המאמרים במפתחות הינם קישורים למאמרים בפנים, וכן לחיצה על "האוצר" בסוף כל עמוד מחזירה את הקורא למפתחות.

article is from page 191-235

divination- identifying real tzadikim tape of Rav Yakov Hillel

ohr someach



rabbi Kaganoff
/divination/

At this point, we need to introduce a dispute concerning the extent of what the Torah prohibited. The precise question is whether the Torah prohibits being influenced only by prevalent superstitious practices, or whether any method of foretelling the future not firmly grounded in Torah is forbidden. In other words, we know that the Torah provided methods to foretell the future by consulting the urim vetumim worn by the kohen gadol or via information gained from a prophet. These are certainly permitted. There is, however, a dispute regarding whether one may create one’s own method as a basis to decide whether to proceed with a specific course of action. In the Rambam’s opinion, anything that one would rely upon to base one’s decision or plan of action is prohibited (Hilchos Avodas Kochavim 11:5). However, according to the Radak (Shmuel I 14:9), only practices that are based on superstition, sorcery, idol worship or similar nefarious bases are prohibited. It is permitted to do something as a sign or symbol, because this strengthens one’s resolve. (See also Ra’avad, Hilchos Avodas Kochavim 11:4, 5, who also follows this approach). Shortly, I will show a few examples of this dispute.

Dependent on this dispute will be two very different ways of understanding the following passage of Gemara (Chullin 95b), quoting the great amora, Rav: “Any nachash that is unlike what was performed by Eliezer, the slave of Avraham, and unlike that performed by Yonasan, the son of Shaul, is not a nachash.” Prior to presenting the two approaches to understanding this Gemara, let us examine the two events quoted.