Kosher Switch & the problematic haskomas - Rabbi Rosen of Tzomet

Chareidi extremists demonstrate in Beit Shemesh

YNET

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox residents of Beit Shemesh staged a demonstration Tuesday evening outside a religious girls' school in the city, in protest of the Education Ministry's decision to open the school near haredi neighborhoods.  [...]

In spite of the organizers' hopes that the protest would be attended by all haredi factions in Beit Shemesh, the only ones who arrived were the "extremists" identified with the struggle, as well as dozens of haredi children. [...]

Baal HaTanya: Success is not determined by rational planning so don't ask advice from a gadol for personal matters

An interesting point is made by the Baal HaTanya. Personal advice such as finances were never asked of a talmid chachom but only a prophet. This is clearly stated in Koheles (9:11). This is perhaps a reflection of believing that everything is determined by Providence as opposed to the view that talented people with intelligent plans are more like to be successful  Thus he seems to be asserting that  a person's success is always determined individually by hashgocha protis - and not by rational planning. The role of a gadol is to give advice in avodas HaShem and spiritual matters. This is related to my previous question as to whether a person should monitor outcome and modify his behavior to increase success. This seems to be consistent with the Chovas HaLevavos that hishtadlus is only a precondition for success but doesn't determine it. Therefore there is no need to modify ones efforts or change jobs because there is no causal relationship between specific type of effort and success.

Koheles(9:11):[Shlomo said] I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not always won by the swift, the strong don’t always win the battle, the wise don’t always have bread, the men of understanding aren’t always wealthy, and the talented aren’t always favored. In fact they will only sometimes be more successful than others but all of them will find that at times their successes or failures are apparently random.

Baal HaTanya(Igros Kodesh #22): My dear friend… Has there ever been anything like this since the beginning of creation? Where can you find in any one of the books of Jewish sages – whether of the earlier period or later period - to have an established practice of asking advice concerning secular matters such as what to do regarding some mundane issue. [This wasn’t done] even from the greatest of the ancient Jewish sages such as the Tannaim and Amoraim -- from whom no secret escaped and for whom the pathways of heaven were clear. In fact asking advice was only done from the genuine prophets such as those that used to exist amongst the Jewish people. For example  Shmuel the Seer was asked by Shaul about the donkeys his father had lost. That is because in truth all matters pertaining to a person – except those having to do with Torah learning or fear of heaven – are not comprehended except through prophecy. As it says, “And the sage has no bread”(Koheles 9:11). Our Rabbis have taught, “Everything is in the hands of heaven except for fear of heaven.” They also say that 7 thing are concealed…and that no man no knows how he will profit… and when the House of Dovid will return… You should note that these are equated to each other. And this that is says in Yeshaya, “A counselor and a sage who silences all,” and also, the statement of our Sages that people “benefit from [a talmid chachom] by his advice and sound wisdom” – that is referring to his words of Torah which are called “sound wisdom.”…

Can the Palestinian Authority survive the U.N. vote?

Time

The U.N. vote on Palestinian statehood is a moment of truth, what it will reveal is that the promise on which the Palestinian Authority itself has been built -- that it is the administrative and security infrastructure of a state that will establish Palestinian sovereignty on the lands conquered by Israel in 1967, and will end the occupation -- is unlikely to be fulfilled either by a largely symbolic U.N. vote or by ongoing talks with the Israelis under U.S. auspices. The dangerous epiphany predicted by Dayton will likely coincide with a growing discontent on the ground as a result of economic pressure, an escalation of aggressive provocations by Israeli settlers, and a recognition that security forces suppressing protest actions are preserving a status quo that does not, in fact, lead to an end of the occupation.

Abbas has called for popular demonstrations to back his U.N. representations, in the way that U.S. politicians bring flag-waving crowds to campaign stops as a visual backdrop for their speeches. The Palestinian leader expects them to express support for his U.N. mission; no more. But Palestinians are far less interested in the status of their delegation at the U.N. than they are about the occupation. And if, inspired by the examples of the Arab Spring, they decide to use the opportunity to wage peaceful protests against the occupation, the prospects for the PA itself to survive will dim.

Riots erupted after police arrested 2 notorious figures in Mea Shearim

YNET

Police arrested two prominent Eda Haredit and Neturi Karta activists in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Also arrested were Yoel Kraus, a prominent Eda Haredit figure and Mordechai Hirsch, the son of Moshe Hirsch, who served as a cabinet minister in the Palestinian government. Local residents responded by hurling stones at the police officers.

Officers and Jerusalem municipal inspectors arrived in Mea Shearim to shut down a slaughterhouse, which was recently opened after previously being closed. The slaughterhouse owner was detained for questioning. Police also arrested one of the leaders of the Sicarii faction. [...]

A Reform Jew tries out being frum for a week

Reform Judaism

For the past week, my alarm has gone off every morning at seven—the click of the radio calling me to another day of altered consciousness. I have risen and washed my hands, recited b’rachot, and—covering my elbows, knees, collar bones—snuck out of the sleepy silence of my bedroom into the briskness of an autumn dawn.

For seven days, I have davened (worshiped) shacharit, mincha, and maariv. I have categorized my food, separating meat and dairy, and offered thanks after meals. Most of all, I have kept close watch on myself, pausing to take the pulse of my religious identity, as I’ve tried, for a week only, to experience a different way of being a Jew.

Having been raised in a committed Reform household, I’ve long known that being a Reform Jew allows me a great deal of personal autonomy in Jewish practice. But…with freedom comes the responsibility of choice. To fulfill myself in a Reform context, I don’t need to observe every commandment, but I do need to know the answer to a very important question: Why? Why do I choose to observe one ritual or commandment and not another? [....]

In Small Towns, Gossip Moves to the Web, and Turns Vicious

NYTimes

But of late, more people in this hardscrabble town of 5,000 have shifted from sharing the latest news and rumors over eggs and coffee to the Mountain Grove Forum on a social media Web site called Topix, where they write and read startlingly negative posts, all cloaked in anonymity, about one another.

And in Dee’s Place, people are not happy. A waitress, Pheobe Best, said that the site had provoked fights and caused divorces. The diner’s owner, Jim Deverell, called Topix a “cesspool of character assassination.” And hearing the conversation, Shane James, the cook, wandered out of the kitchen tense with anger.

His wife, Jennifer, had been the target in a post titled “freak,” he said, which described the mother of two as, among other things, “a methed-out, doped-out whore with AIDS.” Not a word was true, Mr. and Ms. James said, but the consequences were real enough.

Friends and relatives stopped speaking to them. Trips to the grocery store brought a crushing barrage of knowing glances. She wept constantly and even considered suicide. Now, the couple has resolved to move.

9/11 Boat Rescue of Manhattan "You've got to do what you have to do"

Study: Child abuse rose during recession

CBS News

An increase in child abuse, mostly in infants, is linked with the recent recession in new research that raises fresh concerns about the impact of the nation's economic woes.

The results are in a study of 422 abused children from mostly lower-income families, known to face greater risks for being abused, and the research involved just 74 counties in four states.

But lead author Dr. Rachel Berger of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh said the results confirm anecdotal reports from many pediatricians who've seen increasing numbers of shaken baby cases and other forms of brain-injuring abuse.[...]

Mind-Body: The impact of intestinal bacteria on our minds

Wired /Wall Street Journal by Jonah Lehrer

One of the deepest mysteries of the human mind is that it doesn't feel like part of the body. Our consciousness seems to exist in an immaterial realm, distinct from the meat on our bones. We feel like the ghost, not like the machine.

This ancient paradox—it's known as the mind-body problem—has long perplexed philosophers. It has also interested neuroscientists, who have traditionally argued that the three pounds of our brain are a sufficient explanation for the so-called soul. There is no mystery, just anatomy.

In recent years, however, a spate of research has put an interesting twist on this old conundrum. The problem is even more bewildering than we thought, for it's not just the coiled cortex that gives rise to the mind—it's the entire body. As the neuroscientist Antonio Damasio writes, "The mind is embodied, not just embrained."

The latest evidence comes from a new study of probiotic bacteria, the microorganisms typically found in yogurt and dairy products. While most investigations of probiotics have focused on their gastrointestinal benefits—the bacteria reduce the symptoms of diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome—this new research explored the effect of probiotics on the brain. 

Iris prime minister denounces Church & asserts that child protection is paramount

NYTimes

His remarks were a ringing declaration of the supremacy of state over church, in words of outrage and indignation that had never before been used publicly by an Irish leader.

“For the first time in Ireland, a report into child sexual abuse exposed an attempt by the Holy See to frustrate an inquiry into a sovereign, democratic republic as little as three years ago, not three decades ago,” Mr. Kenny said, referring to the Cloyne Report, which detailed abuse and cover-ups by church officials in southern Ireland through 2009.

Reiterating the report’s claim that the church had encouraged bishops to ignore child-protection guidelines the bishops themselves had adopted, the prime minister attacked “the dysfunction, the disconnection, the elitism” that he said “dominate the culture of the Vatican.”

He continued: “The rape and torture of children were downplayed, or ‘managed,’ to uphold instead the primacy of the institution — its power, its standing and its reputation.” Instead of listening with humility to the heartbreaking evidence of “humiliation and betrayal,” he said, “the Vatican’s response was to parse and analyze it with the gimlet eye of a canon lawyer.” [...]

“You can talk about the finesse of diplomatic ties and maneuverings, but what Kenny was actually saying was that you have to prioritize the victims of abuse, and you have to assert very loudly that this is a republic and civil law has to take precedence over canon law,” said Diarmaid Ferriter, professor of modern Irish history at University College Dublin.

How to protect your children against abusers that the police & rabbis won't deal with

I recently received a request for how to deal with a person who abuses children by inappropriate touch - but there is not sufficient proof for the police to arrest him. The person thus is a danger - but falls through the cracks of the system. Neither the police or the rabbis want to deal with it. What is needed is a way for communities to be able to share information about such people both for protection and possibly building sufficient evidence for arrest. It is also helpful if such people could be pressured to go to therapy.

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 Concerned Parent wrote:

What does one do when a parent (or a number of parents) know of an abuser but do not have sufficient evidence for the rabbanim or police to pursue the issue?  On one hand, there is clearly a need for the community to awaken to this issue and be much more proactive.  On the other hand, a "wild west" type of justice is also not going to work.  We are dealing with this situation now, having already been declined by both the police and area rabbinic leaders. We have notified certain parents with young children to be wary of the suspect.  Is there anything else that can be done?  He is not a teacher or hold another position that allows him access to children.  He is something of wanderer nebach type that naturally engenders rachmanus which gets him invited into people's homes.

Thanks for any feedback

Backlash in Chareidi community against extremely modest "Taliban women"

Ynet

An internal haredi battle is taking place these days against "Taliban women", a radical sect of women wearing cloaks and observing strict modesty rules.

Ads posted in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh are announcing the establishment of a special committee against the sect's members. [...]

Five men arrested for sexually abusing minors in J'lem

Jerusalem Post

Police arrested five men in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Nahlaot over the past six weeks for sexually abusing dozens of minors in the neighborhood starting as early as 2006, though the abuse got significantly worse in the past two years.

The men, all in their 40s and 50s, knew each other through the neighborhood but were not acting in an organized fashion to abuse the children.

One of the men arrested recently was also arrested in February for similar sexual abuse of minors. Police requested he be imprisoned, but he was released to house arrest with an electronic bracelet to track his whereabouts.

Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben Ruby said that the man continued abusing children while on house arrest. [...]