Prof. Neusner returns to Reform Judaism

Forward

Once upon a time, there was a young man, a third-generation American who was raised in a classical Reform temple, who in the Reform manner celebrated becoming a bar mitzvah and who was confirmed in the Reform rite. He was inspired by his temple's rabbi to himself become a Reform rabbi. He held national office in the National Federation of Temple Youth, and he was admitted to the Reform movement's Hebrew Union College.

Then, on the very day this young man was supposed to begin studies at Hebrew Union College, he instead entered the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the intellectual citadel of Conservative Judaism. He agreed to give up the lobster dinners, the veal parmigiana and the BLT sandwiches that he had loved, and even to quit smoking on the Sabbath, as admission to JTS demanded.

The decision was not the result of a dramatic change of convictions. He simply thought he would get a better Jewish education at JTS than at HUC. To that goal everything else was secondary. Six years later, he was ordained by JTS as a Conservative rabbi.[...]

R' Metzger deviates from chareidi view on converts

Haaretz

In an unusual departure from the ultra-Orthodox stance, Israel's Ashkenazi chief rabbi has declared that anyone holding a conversion certificate issued by the State of Israel can register to be married in his place of residence. Yona Metzger's declaration, contained in a letter to the Knesset's Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, comes on the heels of converts' complaints that local rabbis were refusing to recognize them as Jews according to Jewish law and to register them for marriage.

In recent weeks, the organization ITIM (The Jewish Life Information Center), which represents conversion candidates in their dealings with the authorities, prepared to file a petition to the High Court of Justice on the matter.

In response to the complaints, Rabbi Metzger said that in instances in which rabbis refuse to register converts to be married, he would "authorize a substitute marriage registrar that would carry out what the law requires."
 
This is the latest development in a controversy which surfaced about a year and a half ago, after ultra-Orthodox rabbis in official positions announced there was no validity under Jewish law regarding conversions performed through religious conversion courts. Rabbi Avraham Sherman, for example, who is a judge on the Rabbinical High Court, ruled that thousands of conversions performed by the special religious conversion court (under official state sponsorship) were invalid.[...]

Pharmacy is not kosher enough for Bnei Brak

JPost

You cannot please all of the people all of the time, especially when dealing with the religious sensibilities of the residents of Bnei Brak, a town with the nation's highest population density, little crime and some of the most zealously Orthodox Jews in the world.

That is what New-Pharm, a drugstore chain owned by Rami Shavit, discovered this weekend.

On Saturday night, dozens of Bnei Brak residents converged on the store, which opened six months ago, and demanded that it close its doors due to the negative influence the store's cosmetics and perfume departments might have on the town's young people.[...]

Rabbi attacked in Tzfat:Request for information

Dear Dr. Eidensohn,

I was reading R' Feldman's new book and he writes that a rabbi was attacked in Tzfat and the attacker only got fined $200. This would've happened in 1998 or, more likely, 1999. I was wondering if you know anything about said incident and if not, could you please put this up as a blog post so your informed readers may possibly inform me what the matziv was (I've searched and searched on Google to no avail)

Sincerely,
Baruch Pelta
=============
Moshe wrote:

The Rabbi was the chief rabbi of Tzefas Rabbi Levi Bistritzky. The attacker was Meir Baranes who later on ran over Rabbi Bistritzky causing him severe injuries from which he never fully recovered till he was Niftar. I attached a pic from this link http://chabad-il.org/sh/601-700/sh696.htm. See also http://www.shturem.net/index.php?mod=print&section=news&id=2796 <http://www.shturem.net/index.php?mod=print&section=news&id=2796>.

Selling kidneys is immoral but blood is o.k.

NYTimes

WHEN the tips her husband earned as a waiter began dwindling a year ago, Esmeralda Delgado decided to help support her family.

Twice a week, Ms. Delgado, the mother of three young girls, walks across the bridge from Piedras Negras, Mexico, where she lives, to Eagle Pass and enters a building just two blocks from the border.

Inside, for about an hour, Ms. Delgado lies hooked to a machine that extracts plasma, the liquid part of the blood, from a vein in her arm. The $60 a week she is paid almost equals her husband's earnings.[...]

Avrech - sentenced to 6 years for cocaine

Chareidim

ההימור והמשחק בחומרים מסוכנים עלה לאברך ביוקר. הפרשה שנחשפה ב"חרדים" הגיעה לסיומה, שש שנות מאסר נגזרו על האברך מביתר שנתפס בחשד להברחת סמים

Mere coincidence or divine truth?

JPost

A niggling curiosity about colors started the whole thing. "For many years, I found myself idly wondering if the name value of colors mentioned in the Bible had any relationship to their wave frequency," says Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Professor Haim Shore.

"In the scheme of things, that's an outrageous suggestion - why would anyone think that the Hebrew name for colors mentioned in the Bible - red, green, yellow - would bear any relationship to the wave frequency of the color itself?" he asks. "Finally, just for fun, I checked it out. When I saw the results, I was stunned. It was a heck of a coincidence, but the two were linearly related."

Chareidi man refuses to let woman sit next to him

The following chillul HaShem & boorish behavior is totally unacceptable. If the man didn't want to sit next to a woman he should have gotten up.

YNet

Haredi man delays bus after refusing to sit next to woman

Bus from Kiryat Gat to Kiryat Malachi forced to wait at station for long time when passenger refuses to have a woman sit next to him, shoving her with his elbow. Man refuses to switch seats, despite other available ones

"I sat on the bus line from Kiryat Gat to Kiryat Malachi next to a young haredi man. He started elbowing me and shoving me. He also swore at me and warned me not to sit next to him," 66-year-old Evelyn Assal related Sunday, describing her experience boarding a bus on her way to a funeral

Baruch Dayan Emes:Bostoner Rebbe of Har Nof zt"l

Just returned from the levaya which was very short since the Rebbe gave orders not to give hespedim.

My contact with the Bostoner Rebbe goes way back to 1965 when I spent Shabbos with him on several occasions. Aside from davening at the Boston Beis Medrash in Jerusalem when I first moved to Har Nof, I spent 5 years there  while I was working on Yad Yisroel. In my time there I noticed a strange thing. While the normal procedure is to give  attention and encouragement to those who devote time and energy to help the shul, and to give not so much to outsiders or those not involved in the shul - Boston was different. The Rebbe had all the time in the world for complete strangers who were just curious about Yiddishkeit or even for frum people who were passing by. On the other hand those who devoted a lot of time and energy to help the community or even old timers in the community were almost ignored. I asked the Bostoner Rebbe's son - Rav Maier - about this phenomenon. He answered simply that the Bostoner Rebbe gives time to people according to what they personally need - not what they would like and not what would be most useful for the community.

He illustrated this was a chassidic story. The Lelover Rebbe's son was very sick and was in fact  dying. He had high fever and the doctors had given up hope. The Rebbe called together all the chassidim and they prayed and said tehillim - in between sobs and tears. After hours went by the son's fever broke and he was clearly out of danger. The chassidim started to dance and shout for joy at the miracle. Suddenly one of the chassidim noticed that the Rebbe was still crying. He went to the rebbe, "Rebbe a miracle has happened, your son is out of danger." But the rebbe kept crying. The other chassidim came over and tried to convince the rebbe that the danger was over but he ignored them. Finally the Rebbe spoke, "I am not crying for my son. I know he is out of danger. I am crying for myself -  because I just realized I love my son more than other people."

Rav Steinman condemns mixed seminars for conversions

An interesting example of error or perhaps deliberate censorship. Mishpacha Hebrew News of this week - on page 22 - carried an article titled in part, "Rav Steinman strongly against mixed seminars for conversion". There was no mention at all in the article of the subject. Anyone know what Rav Steinman was criticizing?

Found the entire article in Moreshet on the internet which contained the missing paragraph

הרבנים דחו בתוקף את הניסיונות של גופים זרים לערוך גיורים וסמינרים מעורבים למיועדים לגיור באירופה. מנכ"ל הועידה, הרב אבא דונר גילה כי נועד לפני כמה ימים, לקראת כינוס הועדה המתמדת במוסקבה, עם מרן הגאון רבי אהרן לייב שטיינמן שהביע את התנגדותו הנחרצת לעריכת הסמינרים הללו. הרבנים החליטו כי לא ישתפו פעולה עם אותם גופים בכל בתי הדין באירופה

.

Brain of famous amnesiac dissected

CNN

Henry Molaison, known as H.M. in scientific literature, was perhaps the most famous patient in all of brain science in the 20th century.

"My daddy's family came from the South and moved North, they came from Thibodaux Louisiana, and moved north," Molaison would say. "My mother's family came from the North and moved South." Within 15 minutes he might repeat this exact statement twice more, unable to remember that he'd already said it. Scientists studied him for most of his adult life.

This week, researchers are dissecting his brain to figure out exactly which structures contributed to his amnesia, which he suffered for more than 50 years.[...]

Abuse: Single witness testifying?

Pesachim (113b): There are three types of people that G‑d loves, the one who does not get angry, the one who does not become drunk, and the one who does not insist on his full rights. There are three types of people that G‑d hates, the one says the opposite of what he thinks, the one who has testimony for someone and yet doesn’t testify for him and the one who sees something unseemly in another person and testifies against him as a single witness. For example, It once happened that Toviah sinned and Zigud came alone and testified against him before R’ Papa and R. Papa punished Zigud. Zigud said, “Toviah sinned and yet Zigud is punished?” Rav Papa replied, “Yes Zigud is to be punished because it says in Devarim (19:15), The truth of a matter is not to be established by a single witness. Therefore the only consequence of your testifying as a single witness is that you are slandering Toviah [since no legal action can be done with only a single witness].”  Even though as a single witness to another’s sinful behavior you can’t testify against him – but you are allowed to hate him [Rashi]. … But how is it permitted to hate him since Vayikra (19:17) says, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart?” If there are witnesses that he had sinned then everyone hates him – so why say that this person is allowed to hate him? Therefore the case must be that he alone had seen the person sinning and there were not two witnesses. R’ Nachman said that it is not only allowed to hate him but it is a mitzva… Rav Acha asked Rav Ashi, What about telling his teacher that he should hate him? Rav Ashi answered that if his teacher believes his words as if he were two witnesses than he should tell his teacher but if not he is not allowed to tell him.

Rav Sternbuch:Redemption through Prayer

Abuse - Testimony only to prevent future attacks

Shulchan Aruch(C.M. 28:1): Whoever knows testimony regarding another person and he is fit to testify and the other person would benefit the other person – he is obligated to testify if he is requested to testify by the court. It doesn’t matter whether there is another witness that will testify with him or not. However if he refuses to testify he is exempt from human punishment but he is liable to heavenly punishment. Rema: A single witness should not testify except regarding monetary issues which will bring about taking an oath or concerning something which is prohibited and it will cause the person to stop sinning. But if the person has already done the sin he should not testify because then it is simply motzi shem rah (slander). It is prohibited for a person to testify about something he doesn’t know directly even though the information was told to him by someone he knows does not lie. Even if someone asks him to stand next to a single witness and not to say anything in order that the one who owes him money will think that he has two witnesses and therefore confess – he should not listen to such a request.

Chalban: Kabbalist gives advice to Netanyahu

Haredim

בראיון מיוחד וחושפני שהעניק הרב חיים כהן, "החלבן", הוא מגלה כי יעץ לנתניהו "לא לחכות לאובמה בעניין אירן", ומקווה שגלעד יחזור חי "ולא כגופה". הוא סיפר גם על טהרתו, על הקשר עם האדמו"ר מלעלוב, ועל ל"ו צדיקים: "מכיר את כולם"

Polygraph used to determine infidelity

JPost

In an unprecedented move, the Haifa Rabbinical Court has ordered a woman to answer questions about her relations with men and alleged drug abuse while connected to a lie detector, Army Radio revealed on Thursday morning.

The woman has reportedly denied accusations by her husband, who told the rabbinical court his wife had been unfaithful and had smoked drugs.[...]

A Jew in England

NYTimes

NEW YORK — When my father was about to emigrate from South Africa to England in the 1950s, a friend of the family suggested that a change of name was in order because it would be unwise to pursue his career in Britain while called "Cohen."

My Dad, a young doctor, said he would think it over. A few days later he announced to the friend that he had decided to make the change.

"To what?" she asked with satisfaction.

"Einstein," he deadpanned.[...]

Lashon harah as public chastisement is permitted

Shita Mekubetzes (Bava Basra 39b): Whatever is said in front of three people is not considered lashon harah… It is clear that for grievances which are between a person and his fellow man for which there is no atonement until he repents or until the offended person forgives him but he isn’t willing to forgive him or other sins that the person continues doing intentionally and not accidentally but are his normal activity – that it is a mitzva to degrade him before all men…so that people stay away from his evil ways…and to motivate him to repent. This is what is meant by this gemora, “All things which are said in front of three people it is not considered lashon harah” and it is permitted to say if they are true. However to say these words of criticism in front of one or two people it seems that his only concern is to say lashon harah and he is doing it only to degrade the person and he is enjoying speaking lashon harah about the person. However if he says it in the presence of three then it is a public statement and it can be assumed that he wants his criticism to reach the person’s ears so that he can reform his deeds. For example in the case where the speaker knows that the person will not accept chastisement and will not repent by rebuke alone, but if he hears that people are complaining about him he will repent. Another justification for criticizing him in public is so that other people will not be influenced to follow in his ways when they hear that people are condeming his sinful ways. There is an additional reason why it is considered lashon harah if he voices his criticism before one or two people because it looks like he intends that his words will not eventually be heard by the sinner. Thus he looks like he is publicly praising the person but in private he is criticizing and enjoying speaking lashon harah and - thus he is acting in a devious way. However this that he is required to act in a way that what he says eventually is heard by the other person is only when the one he is speaking about is not someone to be afraid of. However if the other one is stronger or more powerful and he is afraid of being hurt if he speaks publicly it is permitted to speak critically about him in private and publicly praise him. Our Sages say in such a case it is permitted to falsely flatter the wicked.

Nazi tattoo:Badge of shame or honor? R' Oshery 4:22

R' Eliashiv & Sanz Klausenberg Rebbe: Derech Eretz

While it is true that Rav Eliashiv is not always treated with proper derech eretz as shown in the previous video - but this video shows that there are those who know the proper way

Abuse: Civil or crminal offense?

David Morris presents a cogent discussion of the halachic problems faced when dealing with abuse

The Women of Islam

Time

For his day, the Prophet Muhammad was a feminist. The doctrine he laid out as the revealed word of God considerably improved the status of women in 7th century Arabia. In local pagan society, it was the custom to bury alive unwanted female newborns; Islam prohibited the practice. Women had been treated as possessions of their husbands; Islamic law made the education of girls a sacred duty and gave women the right to own and inherit property. Muhammad even decreed that sexual satisfaction was a woman's entitlement. He was a liberal at home as well as in the pulpit. The Prophet darned his own garments and among his wives and concubines had a trader, a warrior, a leatherworker and an imam.

Of course, ancient advances do not mean that much to women 14 centuries later if reform is, rather than a process, a historical blip subject to reversal. While it is impossible, given their diversity, to paint one picture of women living under Islam today, it is clear that the religion has been used in most Muslim countries not to liberate but to entrench inequality. The Taliban, with its fanatical subjugation of the female sex, occupies an extreme, but it nevertheless belongs on a continuum that includes, not so far down the line, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan and the relatively moderate states of Egypt and Jordan. Where Muslims have afforded women the greatest degree of equality--in Turkey--they have done so by overthrowing Islamic precepts in favor of secular rule. As Riffat Hassan, professor of religious studies at the University of Louisville, puts it, "The way Islam has been practiced in most Muslim societies for centuries has left millions of Muslim women with battered bodies, minds and souls."[...]

First Jewish Service from Germany 1944

American Jewish Committe links

NYTimes

Like many veterans, Max Fuchs did not talk much about what he did in the war. His children knew he landed at Omaha Beach. Sometimes, they were allowed to feel the shrapnel still lodged in his chest.

And once, he had told them, he sang as the cantor in a Jewish prayer service on the battlefield.

On Oct. 29, 1944, at the edge of a fierce fight for control of the city of Aachen, Germany, a correspondent for NBC radio introduced the modest Sabbath service like this:

"We bring you now a special broadcast of historic significance: The first Jewish religious service broadcast from Germany since the advent of Hitler."[...]

Early therapy helps autistic kids

Time

Charlie Lamb was barely 2 years old when he was diagnosed with autism. His mother Susan had been convinced for months that "something was not right" with her second child. He wouldn't stand in line like the other kids in gymnastics class, she recalls, and he spoke fewer words. He was more captivated by spinning wheels than Teletubbies. His father Tom noticed that his blond, blue-eyed son would always walk in circles around the kitchen table and that he would do the equivalent at their local park in Seattle — walking along the perimeter fence rather than crossing into the play area.

Ten years ago, autism was rarely detected before ages 3 or 4. Now, thanks to growing awareness and widespread screening at 18 and 24 months, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, more autistic children like Charlie are being identified when they are toddlers. But for all the emphasis on early detection, very little research exists on how to intervene effectively for children so young. (See TIME's photo-essay "A Journey into the World of Autism.")

A report in the current issue of Pediatrics helps fill in the gap, providing the first randomized, controlled trial — the most rigorous kind of study — of a comprehensive autism treatment that appears to work well for children as young as 18 months. While none of the children in the study were "cured" of autism, those receiving two years of intensive therapy achieved major leaps in IQ score, big improvements in their use of language and significant gains in their ability to handle the kinds of everyday tasks necessary for a child to function at school and at play.[...]

R Yosef Efrati & Rav Nachman

Charedim

Abuse - badge of honor or shame?

I just received the following letter with permission to post it. It raises a very important question - how to react to the shame of abuse. While the solution offered by Rav Oshry is to use abuse as a badge of honor - I really find it hard to belief that the women involved would accept it as such. I also don't see most abuse victims being proud of their degradation - at least not as far as publicizing it. They obviously can take pride in the fact that they are able to function in spite of it and perhaps have a highly developed sense of empathy with others because of it. Obvious Yerachmiel Lopin disagrees. I would like some feedback from others. This is not a theoretical question. I also posted  Rav Oshry's tshuva.

Dear Rabbi Eidensohn,

I would like to request that you post a responsum of great relevance to the problem of molesting.

I am referring to the tshuvah of R. Oshry about eshes ish and removing a tattoo for a couple rejoined after the holocaust. She had been impressed into prostitution in a concentration camp and had a tattoo “a whore of Hitler’s Armies.” As I remember it (having read it in English over 2 decades ago) the psak was to treat her as a woman who cried out based on the assumption that ‘no Jewish daughter would have willingly consorted with those who were murdering her Jewish brothers and sisters.’

He forbade the removal of the tattoo for the usual reasons regarding needless injury to a body but offered words of chizuk about the tattoo which touched me and may touch many who were abused in our communities. The words escape me but they may have been along the lines “wear it with pride as a sign that we triumphed over those reshoim.’ I think we now have thousands of Jews who also need to know they can proclaim the triumph of their survival in spite of the reshoim who molested them.

The alternative is silence motivated by shame. The shame leads to suicides, substance abuse and many other problems. In truth the shame should fall only on their abusers. The victims should feel free to speak to their abuse if it helps them heal.

If you would post this wise and powerful psak with an English translation it might help give yad v’shem to those who were violated. Implicitly they did cry out and no one listened.

Feel free to post my request, or to name me or just to leave me out of this. But I hope you will give serious consideration to this request.

Yerachmiel Lopin
FrumFollies.wordpress.com

Marriage for Down's syndrome couple

JPost

Nearly 2,000 years ago the Talmud recognized that finding a partner for a happy marriage is a miraculous feat. "To match couples together is as difficult as the splitting of the Red Sea," it tells us.

For young adults with disabilities, even splitting a sea does not capture the difficulties they must overcome in order to marry. One determined couple tackled them bravely.

Shalom is unaware that he is a trailblazer. This, he says, is just "the fulfillment of a dream of mine." When asked for how long has he wanted to marry, he responds, "From age zero."

Swiss backlash against Moslems

Aljazeera

Rav Eliashiv:Rabbinic authority/Transcript

link to video bchol.com

Orthodox end silence on sex abuse

APP.Com

The boy was raped before he could take his weekly mikvah. Pinned from behind in the bathhouse where Orthodox Jews purify themselves with rain water, the 7-year-old never saw his attacker.

Now 29, Joseph Diangello no longer wears a yarmulke. He plays the drums and sports tattoos of heavy metal bands. He changed his name to one that sounds less Jewish. On Sept. 26, he stood in a synagogue for the first time in years, he said, before a sea of bearded men in black hats and women in customary wigs. For a brief moment, there was a sense of pride for the heritage he left behind.

"This is the first time I'm validated in the Orthodox community," he said into the microphone, according to an audio recording of the event posted on a Jewish blog site.[...]

Rav Eliashiv:His rabbinic authority & power

This link to Bhol.co.il is a video of Rav Eliashiv which has been of great interest in the chareidi world. It shows certain rabbis trying to explain to Rav Eliashiv what his authority and power is and his response to these assertions.

Battle heats up regarding "conversions"

Yated

The Knesset Immigration and Absorption Committee held a pitched debate following the refusal of the chief rabbis of several cities and marriage registrars to list the marriage of non-Jews who underwent fictitious conversions. Knesset members who took part in the meeting, the legal advisor for the Chief Rabbinate and a Justice Ministry representative announced that they would work to dismiss the rabbis and registrars and file charges against them....

According to Vaad Haolami LeInyonei Giyur [R' Nochum Eisenstein], "Just as government authorities are required to prevent fraud and deception, so too authorized rabbinical authorities are required to check conversion certificates to ensure they meet halachic requirements. If they find a conversion certificate was issued after a conversion candidate falsely declared he is prepared to accept Torah and mitzvas as required by halacha, the law stipulates that the conversion must be annulled ex post facto and the authorized authorities must enforce it just like any other fraudulent act. Therefore a committee of prominent dayonim should be formed to annul any conversion found to have been performed through deception."

9th of Kislev as a special time???

The following announcement was widely distributed. Does anyone know what this means. Even though they claim this happens every 7 years I have never heard of it before. See Bluke Kikar Shabbat
Text of Bris Menucha - first column   

Be'er Mayim Chaim
Foundation Stone

This coming Thursday (November 26th) the 9th of Kislev is a very special time where the gates of tefilot are wide open and Hashem is hearing, accepting and answering our prayers! Like the Ramban wrote: "the 9th year on the 9th month at the 9th hour of the day is a time of happiness and grants from Hashem". and you should know, adds the Chesed L'avraham, "this time is very appropriate for success and is a pipe to bring upon ourselves abundance and redemption."

This very special moment only comes around once every 7 years so we must get ready for it and take advantage of the opportunity granted to us from Hashem. Therefore it is important we take the time to pray and ask Hashem for all we need and desire in a clear and detailed way. In order to do so, we must prepare ourselves and put on paper what is the most important to us so that we can ask it clearly on this very special moment.

Abuse by Catholic Church in Dublin covered up

Fox News

The Roman Catholic Church in Dublin covered up decades of child abuse committed by priests because bishops wanted to protect the church's reputation at the expense of victims, an expert commission reported Thursday after a three-year probe into previously secret church records.

Abuse victims said they welcomed publication of the probe into the mishandling of 1975-2004 child-abuse cases in the Dublin Archdiocese, home to a quarter of Ireland's 4 million Catholics. But they said government and church leaders still had far to go to compensate for past wrongs.

The government said the investigation "shows clearly that a systemic, calculated perversion of power and trust was visited on helpless and innocent children in the archdiocese."[...]

Rav Sternbuch: Guidance of the Avos

Beis din can't violate right to counsel

Law.com

A Brooklyn judge has thrown out a rabbinical court's arbitration award, finding that the court's refusal to allow the claimant to select his own counsel violated New York law, notwithstanding the fact that the claimant participated in the proceeding without objection.

The decision constitutes the first time a New York court has addressed in a written opinion the issue of whether an arbitration panel can require that attorneys appearing before them must receive their approval.

It is also a rare reversal of an arbitration award, in which even mistakes of fact and misapplications of the law are insufficient grounds for reversal.

Here, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Martin Schneier ruled that the rabbinical tribunal's disqualification without explanation of plaintiff Joseph Kahan's attorney, coupled with the panel's insistence on designating Kahan's counsel, violated the CPLR's arbitration procedural requirements. [...]

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2009/2009_29465.htm

The shame of marrying first cousins

NYTimes

WHEN Kimberly Spring-Winters told her mother she was in love, she didn't expect a positive response — and she didn't get one.

"It's wrong, it's taboo, nobody does that," she recalled her mother saying.

But shortly after the conversation, Ms. Spring-Winters, 29, decided to marry the man she loved: her first cousin.

Shane Winters, 37, whom she now playfully refers to as her "cusband," proposed to her at a surprise birthday party in front of family and friends, and the two are now trying to have a baby. They are not concerned about genetic defects, Ms. Spring-Winters said, and their fertility doctor told them he saw no problem with having children.

The limits of rebuke

Would anyone like to explain what this gemora is saying? Is it saying that there is a limit to the mitzva of rebuke and that is when it causes the chastizer a certain amount of suffering. When that happens he is exempt from having to give further rebuke. Alternatively rebuke has no exemption. As long as it is possible to correct the person he is required to do it. But this gemora is saying that there is no mitzva of rebuke when the person isn't listening. The indication of this state is the point of dispute. Also problematic is the issue of his wife being beaten. The Maharsha says he doesn't understand it.


Erachin(16b): How far shall reproof be administered? Rav said until the person being rebuked beats him. Shmuel said until he is cursed. R’ Yochanon said until he is rebuked.This is a disagreement amongst Tanaim. R’ Eliezer said until he is beaten, R’ Yehoshua said until he is cursed and Ben Azai said until he is rebuked…. How much abuse should a person suffer before he changes his lodging? Rav said until he is beaten. Shmuel said until they throw his bundles over his shoulder. In the case where he himself is beaten, everyone agrees he should leave. Also in the case where they threw his bundles over his shoulder there is no dispute. The dispute is only when his wife is beaten. One view is that this is not a reason to move since he is not personally suffering. The other says he should move because there will inevitably be a quarrel. Why is there hesitation to move when he is suffering? Because when a person moves his reputation suffers and so does that of his former landlord.

However there is a contrary view which says that rebuke must be given no matter what the response is

Tanchuma(Tazria #9): G‑d told the angel Gavriel to go and mark with ink a letter tav on the foreheads of the tzadikim in order that the angels of destruction would not be able to kill them. Gavriel was also told to mark with blood a letter tav on the foreheads of the wicked so the angels of destruction will have the ability to kill them. However the prosecuting angel came to G‑d and asked how were the righteous different than the wicked that they should be saved? G‑d replied that the difference was that the tzadikim were perfectly righteous while the wicked were perfectly wicked. The prosecuting angels said that the tzadikim had the ability to give the wicked rebuke but they did not. G‑d replied He knew that even if the tzadikim had rebuked it would not have been accepted by the wicked. The prosecuting angel answered that while it was clear to G‑d that the protest would not be accepted but it was not obvious to the tzadikim. Therefore the tzadikim should have rebuked the wicked and suffered insults in order to sanctify G‑d Name and to endure beatings as we see from the prophets such as Yermiyahu and Yeshaya.

Kiruv for descendants of Anusim - permitted?

This issue has been discussed many times on this blog. I will simply renew my request for a single teshuva from a recognized gadol that explicity permits kiruv of the decendants of anusim.

West Coast wrote:

There is an orthodox shul in San Jose, CA, led by a YU musmach Rabbi Simcha Aaron Green.

The shul advertises they are open to Bnei Anusim. Is it permitted to do outreach to this group even though they require giyur?

The Jewish Press.
Friday, August 1, 2008. Page 47.
West Coast Happenings.
Jeanne Litvin, West Coast Editor.

Shul News: Recently Rabbi Simcha Green, formerly of Young Israel of Santa Barbara, became the spiritual leader of Congregation Ahavat Torah in San Jose, California, which became a Sephardic shul two years ago. Congregants come from Morocco, Syria, Iran, Romania and other communities – including Israel. This shul is an outreach center for Anusim (Conversos), previously referred to by Ashkenazim as Marranos. They are interested in hearing from people who include themselves in this category. On August 12- 18, they are hosting a Sephardic Heristage Week. Events are planned for both kids and adults. They include a Shabbos dinner for college students and singles, a Sephardic Food Cookoff, a talk on Jewish pirates during the Revolutionary War, and a symposium on the history of Conversos (to be held at San Jose State University)."

Justice:Harvard Prof Sandel #7

Chillul HaShem:Failure to punish that which is viewed as sinful by non-Jews/ Rosh

Rosh(17:8): [Translation Prof. Aaron Schreiber] Question: Let it be known to our teacher, may he be well, that here in Cordova a very serious incident took place. The ears of all those who hear of it become “singed.” A certain debased person was detained on charges by Gentiles. He settled with them by paying money. Some of his acquaintances later went to console him. He went out [to welcome them] and stood at the.’ Entrance of his yard. They calmed him in this matter, one of them saying, “Blessed is he who frees the imprisoned.” Nevertheless, he, turning upward, [to heaven], blasphemed and reviled his King and God . . .. About ten of the community notables, men of action, with  this honorable [man] Rabbi Judah, and local sages, with the city elders [decided] to do away with him. Learning of this, relatives of the guilty person went with bribes, it seems, to the great royal dignitary, Don Juan Manuel whom we received in our area as the procurator for his majesty, the king . . ..  This lord agreed that the guilty one should remain in his prison until the Responsum of my teacher will arrive instructing [us] what to do . . .. Response: May the delightful pious and charming notables accept [the blessing of] abundant peace! Your asking me concerning capital cases is rather strange. In all of the lands that I have heard of they do not try capital cases except in this land of Spain. When I came  here I was very astonished. How were they able to try capital cases without the Sanhedrin? They replied that it is by royal authority. The assembly [of judges] also judges in order to save [lives], since greater amounts of blood would have been spilled if they were tried by the gentiles. I permitted them to continue with their practice. However, I never agreed with them on any loss of life. Nevertheless, I see that all of you are of the opinion to remove this evil from your midst. He certainly did desecrate the name of heaven in public and it was already heard by the Gentiles, who view with seriousness anyone who speaks against their  religion and beliefs. The desecration would be increased if no act of vengeance would be taken against him. We do find that in order to sanctify the name of God they raised their hands against princes on behalf of proselytes [see 2 Sam. 21: 8-9] and let their [the princes’] corpses hang overnight. [We also find] that in order to check lawlessness they stoned to death a person who had ridden a horse on the Sabbath [see Talmud, Yebamot 90b]. It is also proper that God’s name should be sanctified by the loss of this wicked person, and so as you see fit. If I were present at your contemplations, my opinion would be to cut off the major portion of his tongue necessary for speech thereby silencing his lips. In  his way they would mete out [punishment] to him according to his deed. This is a well known vengeance which is witnessed daily. You, however, do according to what seems proper in your eyes. I do realize that your intentions are that God’s name should be sanctified.

Chillul HaShem:Failure to punish that which is viewed as sinful by non-Jews/ Rosh

שו"ת הרא"ש כלל יז סימן ח

יודע למורנו שיחיה, שאירע בכאן בקרטבא מאורע קשה עד מאוד, אשר כל שומעו תצלינה אזניו. והוא, שנבל אחד מהנבלים נחבש על תביעה שתבעוהו כותים, ונתפשר עמהם בממון משלו, והלכו קצת מיודעיו לנחמו, ויצא נצב פתח חצרו ודברו על לבו בענין זה, ואמר אחד מהם: ברוך מתיר אסורים; ובכל זה חרף וגדף וקלל במלכו ובאלהיו, ופנה למעלה. והדיינין וחשובי הקהל, כששמעו זה, נתקבצו והסכימו לעשות בו דין. ושגרו לתפסו ולא נמצא, ונשתדלו לקבל העדות שלא בפניו, כיון שברח, ולא מצאו אלא עד אחד, והאחרים נשמטו וכבשו עדותן. ועתה עמנו בעיר הנכבד והנעלה ר"י =רבי יהודה= שצ"ו בר' יצחק בן ואקר, וקנא לשם קנאה, ונשתדל בענין עד שבא לידו מכוער זה ותפסו בכח המלכות וחבשו בבית האסורים. וכמו כן גברה ידו על שאר העדים הנשמטין, והכריחם והשביעם וקבל עדותן כראוי, בענין גדוף זה. ואע"פ שהיה הגדוף בלשון ערב, כיון שנבל זה אינו יודע ספר ולא לשון קדש, הסכימה דעת נכבד זה עם הדיינין וחשובי הקהל שיחשב גידוף זה לנבזה זה, כיון ששם העצם בלשון ערב גדוף כמו שם העצם בלשון קדש ליודעיו, וכדי לעשות גדר בדבר, ולא יפרצו הרשעים קלי עולם להטיח דברים כלפי מעלה. והאיש הזה קשה ורע מעללים מעודו, ולא נמצא בעיר מי שילמד עליו זכות, ויש לו פרשים אלמים החזיקו ידו. והסכימו כמו עשרה מחשובי הקהל אנשי המעשה עם הנכבד ר' יהודה זה, ועם הלמדנים שיש בכאן ועם זקני העיר, לענשו. וכשהיו הנזכרין במעמד הסכמה זו, הלכו קרובי הרשע ושחדו בממון, לפי הנראה, ותבעו מן הטפסר הגדול דון גואן מנואל, שקבלנו במקומנו זה לאפטרופוס של המלך ירום הודו, להחמיץ דינו, ושגר אחר /אחד/ מפרשיו אלינו, שלא נגמר דינו עד אשר נשאל את פיו. והנכבד רבי יהודה זה, השתדל בענין בכל יכלתו, ופייס מן הטפסר שלא יעביר עלינו הדרך להוציא דיננו לפני כותים, והסכימה דעת השר הזה שישאר הרשע בתפיסתו עד אשר תבא תשובת מורי שיחי*ה, כדת מה לעשות. ועתה ברוך יי, אנו מחלין פני מורנו שיקנא לשם קנאה גדולה, וימהר שלוחנו זה קודם שיהפך לבב השר הזה, ונשכבה בבשתנו ותכסנו כלימתנו, ושלח לנו בביאור ובהוכחות דינו מאי והיאך. וכמו כן בחסדו יחזיק טובה ויחזק ידי הנכבד ר"י =רבי יהודה=, ועל מה שהשתדל בענין זה, ועל מה שישתדל לעשות, והש"י יהיה בעזרך מורי, ויאריך ימיו בטובה ונחת. וזו העתקת העדיות, שנתקבלו בלשון ערב בפני בית דין של שלשה, מקבלי עדותו בפני בית דין אחרים, ביום ראשון י"ו יום לחדש אדר, משנת אלף ושלש מאות ונ"ח למנין גוים שקורין אל צפר. העיד בפנינו, אנו חתומי מטה, רבי אברהם ברבי יצחק בן נתן הידוע באלשמש, שבכלל ה' ימים ראשונים מחדש ניומבר שמנינו בו למעלה, הלך זה העד עם רבי אברהם בן אלזוימי, לרבי יעקב ברבי יוסף ספאי*ה, לחצר אברהם ספאי*ה ברבי יעקב. ויצא להם אברהם סאפיא זה לפתח החצר, ונתנו לו שלום, ונשאו ונתנו ביניהם בענין חבישת אברהם ספאיה זה. ואמר לו זה העד: ברוך מתיר אסורים; ועל זה אמר אברהם ספאיה: זה מבורך בשמו; וזו הברכה אמרה על דרך מה שאמרו רז"ל ברכת השם. והמלה שאמרה אברהם סאפיא בזה הגידוף, היתה שאמר: יברך אללה, בלשון ערב, את פלוני; וזה הפלוני הוא השם שאין ראוי לזכרו בזה הענין. ועל זה אמר לו זה העד: ברוך דיין האמת, מה אתה אומר? ואמר אברהם סאפיה: אלולי שהתפללתי לו אני, לא היה נארע לי זה. ובזה היום הנזכר, העיד רבי אברהם ברבי יצחק נ"ע בן אלזוי*מי, אל רבי יעקב ברבי יוסף סאפיה, נוסח זו העדות הנזכר למעלה, שהעיד ר' אברהם בן נתן; אלא שהם לא נתאמת אצלם שאברהם סאפיה זה זכר בעת הגדוף בשמו.

תשובה: ישאו רוב שלומים, הנעימים והתמימים הנחמדים והנכבדים. הפלאתם לשאלני בדיני נפשות; כי בכל הארצות ששמעתי עליהם, אין דנין דיני נפשות, לולי פה בארץ ספרד. ותמהתי מאד בבאי הלום, איך היו דנין דיני נפשות בלא סנהדרין, ואמרו לי כי הורמנא דמלכא הוא. וגם העדה שופטים להציל, כי כמה דמים היו נשפכים יותר אם היו נדונים ע"י הערבים, והנחתיה להם כמנהגם, אבל מעולם לא הסכמתי עמהם על איבוד נפש. אמנם, אני רואה שדעת כלכם מסכמת לבער זה הרע מקרבכם. ובודאי חלל השם בפרהסיא, וכבר נשמע הדבר בין הישמעאלים, והם מחמירים מאד במדבר נגד דתם ואמונתם. וניתוסף החילול אם לא יעשו בו כדין בשביל מיגדר מילתא, וגם כן ראוי הוא שיתקדש השם בענש הרשע הזה. /בדפוס וניציאה שס"ז במקום הקטע: אם לא יעשו בו כדין וכו' עד סוף המשפט, כתוב: אם לא יעשו בו נקמה. ומצינו דמי שיתקדש שם שמים שלחו יד בבני מלכים בשביל גרים גרורים והלינו נבלתם על העץ וגם בשביל מיגדר מילתא הקלו למי שרכב על סוס בשבת וגם כן ראוי הוא שיתקדש השם באיבוד הרשע הזה. ועשו בו כטוב בעיניכם ואם הייתי בהסכמתכם דעתי היתה נוטה שיוציאו לשונו מפיו ויחתכו רוב המדבר שבלשונו ותאלמנה שפתותיו ובדבר הזה ימודו לו כפעלו וזאת היא נקמה מפורסמ' הנראית בכל יום לעינים./ ואתם עשו לפי הענין ככל אשר יראה טוב בעיניכם, כי ידעתי אשר כונתכם שיתקדש שם שמים; וחפץ השם יצלח בידכם. נאם הכותב אשר בן ה"ר יחיאל זצ"ל.

וכתב לרבי יהודה בן ואקר שצ"ו, בענין זה. ארך ימים ושנות חיים נעימים ורוב שלומים; שנים וימים יוסיפו לך ממרומים. כנפש הבא על החתום, הדורש שלומך ושבחך ומחזיק לך טובה, על אשר אני רואה אשר כל מעשיך לשם שמים, לבער הרע מקרבנו. גם הוגד לי שגם נתגלגל לזכות על ידך במקום אחר, ונעשית טובה גדולה לכל הקהל. ובדבר הזה תצלח בכל מפעליך, וימלא ה' כל משאלותיך לטובה. והנה בענין זה כתבתי דעתי לאותן הגדולים ששאלוני; ואתם עשו מה שיראה טוב בעיניכם. ואתה וכל אשר לך שלום, כנפש דורש שלומך וטובתך, אשר בן ה"ר יחיאל זצ"ל.

Jew from Kuwait

Aish Hatorah

Growing up in Kuwait, I had the best of everything. My father owned a successful construction company, and provided us five children with amenities like piano lessons, swimming, calligraphy and trips all over the world. Although we were Muslims like everyone else, we were totally secular and my father always aimed to shield us from religious people whom he described as crazies.

I grew up being told that Israelis and Jews were the lowest type of creature in existence, put on Earth only to kill us Arabs. In math class the teacher would say, "If one rocket killed X number of Jews, how many would six rockets kill?"

My father was rabidly anti-Israel. He was a product of Nasser's school of thought: secular from a Muslim point of view, yet deeply dedicated to the idea of pan-Arab unity. Israel, he believed, was an American proxy in the post-colonial Middle East.[...]

Rav Moshe Feinstein - Thinking positively & chinuch

שו"ת אגרות משה יורה דעה חלק ג סימן עא

אבל אחר העיון יש עצה נכונה שצריך המורה להמתיק להם האמונה בהשי"ת בין בעצם הבריאה ובין שהוא הנותן החיות וזן ומפרנס לכל אשר בלעדיו אי אפשר לחיות אף שעה אחת וכן האמונה שהוא נתן התורה והמצות. ולהמתיקם אשר ידעו שקיום מצוה הוא יקר מכל הון וזהב ומכל תענוגות העולם כי קונה בזה חיי נצח ששעה אחת יפה מכל חיי העוה"ז כדאיתא באבות פ"ד מי"ז. שמלמוד כזה בדברים נעימים להראות החלוק שבין אלו המתאוים לעניני עוה"ז לאלו המשתוקקים לתורה ועבודת השי"ת, עד שיכנס בלבם שיעשו בני תורה היינו שהשקפתם על חיי העולם ורצונם ותאותם יהיה בעניני תורה ומצות ולא יהיה להם שום נסיון כלל. וכבר אמרתי כמה פעמים כי יש אדם שהוא שומר תורה ומצות, ובניו לא די שלא ילמדו ממנו לקיים ג"כ התורה ומצותיה אלא הוא מבלי משים מלמד אותם ח"ו להיפוך, דכאשר רואין דאביהם היה מחשיב למשל שמירת שבת שהוא נסיון לפניו מחמת שהיה יכול לעסוק בעסקיו ולהרויח סך גדול ונמנע ולא עשה זהו חסרון גדול לחנוך הבנים משום שכיון שרואין שהוא נסיון הרי לא כל אדם יכול להיות גבור לכבוש את יצרו ולעמוד בנסיון והרי אנו מתפללים בכל יום בברכות השחר אל תביאנו לידי נסיון וזה יביא שהבנים עזבו תורת ה'. אך האדם הנבון אין לו שום נסיון משני טעמים חדא שיודע שהשי"ת קצב לו מזונותיו וכל הרוחים שיהיו לו ובלעדיו אי אפשר להשיג אף פרוטה אחת לכן אף שאינו נותן בלי שום עסק מהאדם מצד שנגזר בזעת אפיך תאכל לחם אבל ברור שנגזר רק על ימים המותרים לעסוק במלאכה ומסחר ולא על שבתות ויו"ט האסורים ואף לא על השעות שא"א לעסוק במלאכה כמו בשעת תפלה ונמצא שלא מפסיד כלום במה ששומר שבת ויו"ט שמה שצריך להרויח ירויח בימי החול בלא ספק. ועוד אף אם לא השיג באמונתו כל כך וחושב שאם היה עוסק גם בשבת היה מרויח, גם כן אין זה נסיון למחבב השבת משום שהוא מצות השי"ת שחביבות זו שוה כל מה שהפסיד ע"י השבת, וכמו שחזינן שכמה אנשים מוציאין סך גדול לבנות דירה נאה ויש אף לחמשים אלף דאלאר ויותר ולא די שלא יתאוננו על הכסף שהוציאו על הבית אלא עוד שמחים בזה, וכן הוא ממש למי שהפסיד בשביל השבת שלא היה יכול לעסוק במלאכתו שהשבת שוה הסך שהפסיד ועוד יותר ויותר ויש לו ליהנות מזה שהשיג קיום מצות שבת בסך כזה וכזה. וכשרואין הבנים איך ששבת חביב כל כך ששוה כל כסף וזהב שבעולם, וגם שבאמת לא מפסיד כלום אלא אדרבה הוא מרויח מזה חיי נצח וגם שע"י השבת זוכה גם בברכה בעוה"ז הרי ישפיע עליהם שגם הם יקיימו בשמחה מצות השבת וכן כל המצות. וזה צריך כל מורה ומורה להשריש בלב ונפש התלמידים אמונה אמתית ואהבה ומתיקות לתורה ומצותיה, שהוא בהנהגתם בעצמם שמזה לומדים התלמידים הרבה ומהדבור עמהם הרבה בדברים רכים ונעימים והתיחסותם עמהם.

Hirhurim

Mistakenly diagnosed as brain dead for 23 years

Times on line

A man presumed to have been in a deep coma for 23 years has spoken of his "second birth" after doctors realised that he had been fully conscious all along but unable to communicate.

Rom Houben, 46, was paralysed in a car accident that left him in what doctors thought was a persistent vegetative state. In fact he remained aware of his surroundings and could hear medical staff gradually give up hope on him.

Researchers using new scanning techniques discovered that his brain was still active and trained him to use his right forefinger to express himself on a specially adapted keyboard.

His case is being highlighted in his native Belgium by doctors who are pioneering new ways of understanding coma victims, hundreds of whom around the world could be conscious but locked in paralysis – and, unlike a true coma patient, able to feel pain.

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Israeli Medical Association vs. Health minister

JPost

The Israel Medical Association has denounced Deputy Health Minister Ya'acov Litzman for ordering doctors at Schneider Children's Medical Center to treat a lower-brain-dead baby girl like an ordinary living patient and give her antibiotics and other treatment, rather than only keeping her connected to a respirator.

Litzman visited the Petah Tikva hospital three days in a row to make sure that his orders, issued at the request of the baby's haredi parents late last week - were being followed.

A few weeks ago, Litzman said he "does not recognize lower-brain death" as death, but "observes the law."

Under the law, the immediate family of a lower-brain-dead patient can insist that he or she not be disconnected from a respirator or have nourishment withheld, but the patient is not treated like a living person who needs treatment. Otherwise, the default procedure is to turn off the respirator after a two-doctor team decides the patient is brain dead.

Chasid shoteh - sinning in the name of piety

There was recently an event that was designed to inspire and uplift women. The event was carefullly planned and professionally organized - to convey the greateness of Jewish women. Unfortunately something happened which surely would have caused the tzadik who inspired this event to weep bitter tears.

The event was advertised for women only.  A woman in her fifties - unfortunately still unmarried - looked forward to an evening of inspiration and being part of Jewish womanhood. She looked foward to forgetting her lonely existence by hearing inspiring speeches about serving G-d and being sensitive to the feelings of others.

However at the entrance to the event she was told she could not enter. "Why," she asked. "Because you are a girl - you are not married and this event if only for married woman. The woman begged, "But the advertisement did not say that only married women could come and be inspired - it said woman. At 50 years old I am surely a woman." Unfortunately her pleas were ignored and she was told to leave.

I am writing  these words  in the hope that those who dedicate their lives to helping and inspiring others - will stop and think and this embarrassing degradation of a Jewish woman will not happen again. Being involved in inspiring others can never be a justification to insult people and be oblivious to their pain.

I did call up the organization to protest this disgusting injustice. I hope they listen to the messages on their answering machines.

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