Rabbis who insist that their students are subordinate forever

Daas Trah page 202

Maharik (12:62): There are some rabbis who want to dominate their students more than is appropriate and they assert that whoever has been a student even as a child is forever subordinate to them and can never disagree with them in any issue. They claim that this is true even if the student has become their equal or even their superior in learning because they assert that the main factor is where the relationship started not where it is now. They furthermore assert that even if the rabbi has clearly erred or behaves incorrectly, that disagreeing with the rabbi is the same as contradicting G-d and other such claims. The answer to this is that even if the student is forever subordinate to his teacher as these rabbis assert, nevertheless is quite obvious that that is only in relationship to honoring him by standing up for him or ripping his garment irreversibly in mourning for him. However, concerning matters of Heaven e.g., he saw his teacher err in Halacha which is a chilul HaShem - there is no requirement to honor his teacher. This can readily be seen in the many examples in the gemora such as the events with Rabban Gamliel (Berachos 26b)…

Blogger released from Egyptian jail after four years

CNN

A blogger who endured a four-year stint in an Egyptian prison for his writings has been released, saying he was jailed for defying convention.

Abdel Kareem Nabil -- known by his blogger name, Kareem Amer -- is a self-proclaimed secularist who was convicted and imprisoned by Egypt for "spreading information disruptive of public order and damaging to the country's reputation," "incitement to hate Islam" and "defaming the president of the republic," according to a statement from the Committee to Protect Journalists.[...]

Elisha ben Abuya became a heretic because he couldn't resolve a contradiction to the Torah

Kiddushin (39b): R’ Yaakov said: “There is no reward for mitzvos in this word. For example, the Torah says concerning the two mitzvos of honoring parents and sending the mother bird from her nest, that one’s life will be prolonged and go well. A proof that there is no reward in this world can be seen if someone’s father asked him to climb up the a nest to fulfill the mitzva of sending away the mother bird and thus fulfill both these mitzvos and yet he falls and dies on the way down the ladder. Obviously there would be no happiness or long life resulting from doing these mitzvos in this world, so it must be that the reward of mitzvos is in the next world. However, perhaps this scenario has never happened and thus there is no proof? R’ Yaakov in fact saw this happen… Yet R’ Eleazar has asserted that those who are involved in mitzvos are not harmed? … But the case that R’ Yaakov saw involved a weak ladder so that harm was likely and where harm is likely one must not rely on miracles. This principle of not relying on miracles is learned from Shmuel who was afraid of being killed by Shaul. [Thus, the principle that there is no guarantee of reward in this world has been proved]. If Acher [Elisha ben Abuyah] had understood this principle propounded by his nephew R’ Yaakov he would not have sinned. Acher saw something of this nature. Others say that he saw the tongue [from his mutilated corpse] of the righteous Chutspis being dragged in the street by pigs. He lamented, “The mouth that has uttered pearls of Torah now licks the dust.” Thereafter he rejected Torah observance and became a sinner.

We are commanded to know how to answer heresy

from Daas Torah page 192

Rashbatz (Magen Avos 2:19): … The Sages have commanded that we diligently learn Torah in order that we should be able to refute their claims. In the time of the gemora these apikorsim would antagonize the rabbis with their claims from the Bible. Our Sages commanded that we be diligent in learning Torah in order to be able to refute the claims of the apikorsim. In addition, it was necessary to decree a special beracha against heretics in the Amida - Berchas HaMinim. Furthermore, we have been commanded to know how to answer heretics. Therefore, we have assumed a leniency to learn their wisdom so that we can demonstrate to them on their own terms that they have no refutation of Torah. This study of their wisdom is not related to the warning that “whoever reads the external books has lost his portion in the World to Come.” That prohibition only refers to their books which are lacking in wisdom and are just a waste of time. Similarly, the prohibition against learning Greek wisdom does not refer to intellectual endeavors but refers to a specific skill, learned in those times, of speaking in hints. Even that would be technically permitted except for a specific historical occurrence that led to a decree against it. … Therefore, those books that are based upon logical proofs were not included in the prohibition. Someone who studies them can accept that which is true and should endeavor to refute that which is against the Torah. This is what we find with Rabbi Meir who learned from Elisha ben Abuyah who had become a heretic. The gemora says it was comparable to a pomegranate. He ate the valid content and threw away the peel…”

Founder of Human Rights Watch slams the organization he established for moral failures in its treatment of Israel.

JPost by Robert Berstein

You may wonder why a man just shy of his 88th birthday would get up at five in the morning to fly to Omaha to give a speech. Frankly, since accepting this kind offer, I’ve wondered myself. Here’s why. Having devoted much of my life to trying to make the Universal Declaration of Human Rights come alive in many places in the world, I have become alarmed at how some human rights organizations, including the one I founded, are reporting on human rights in the Middle East.

In reading about the discussions and actions of students on American campuses, I learned, of course, that the Israel-Palestine issues were very polarized, sometimes hostile, and that a lot of the hostility was by students angered over Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians and the endless process of trying to establish a second state.

I know we all believe in free speech.

We believe in equality for women. We believe in tolerance of each other’s religious beliefs and in an open campus. [...]

Internet dangers: Family & personality risk factors

In frum circles there is a constant clamor against the Internet as something which must be banned, censored and controlled. The director of one major organization told me that the greatest threat to our community is internet. Ignored in all of this - as with other issues such as off the derech children - is the failure of our family, community and schools to address personality risk factors as well as interpersonal and social risk factors that they create or fail to ameliorate. Internet isn't simply some external evil created to destroy innocent soul. It is a powerful tool for good and evil. It harms those who are susceptible. Those susceptibilities need at least if not more attention as the banning and controlling of internet access. This denying of at least contributory significance is a major concern in general with the way we deal with problems. We need to stop automatically placing the burden of responsibility on external factors. We need to stop say "He or it made me do it."

Aish HaTorah by Rabbi Keleman

The Necessity of Identifying Risk Factors

It is clear that there is a need to protect one's children from the distractions and corrosive elements of the net. Limitations to Internet access, the use of filtering software and pre-filtered Internet providers, placement of computers in highly visible areas of one's home are all good ideas.

Ultimately, restricting Internet access is a necessary but insufficient solution. But what is needed is healing the personality weaknesses that virtually guarantee some individuals will fall victim to Internet temptations. Studies show that those most likely to get into trouble are not deterred by limits on Internet access. Given the net's ubiquitous presence, they will find a way to get online -- at the local public library, if not elsewhere. Therefore, a key challenge to parents and educators is identifying the risk factors and the individuals most at risk.

Researchers describe four pre-existing conditions that put an individual at high risk for getting into trouble on the Internet.  They are: lack of family bonds; low self-esteem; inability to express opinions and questions; and inability to socialize.

My Nigerian identity thief responds to Rabbi Blech

This same identity theft happened to me

Aish HaTorah

Last week I was viciously assaulted.

No, this wasn't a physical attack. And I've since discovered I wasn't the only one to suffer the horrific consequences of a new kind of criminality made possible by modern technology.

What was stolen from me was not my money but my identity. I have no idea how it was done. As part of the generation who still remembers using the old Remington Royal typewriter, computer language is geek to me and Google is a miracle that totally transcends my understanding. But I've come to treasure my email and wonder how I ever got along with the snail mail of stamps and postal service. I love how I can reach out to all of my contacts with just a touch of the keyboard - or at least I did until I discovered that someone could somehow steal my password, reach out to all the people I know and tell them whatever suits his nefarious purpose.[...]

Palestinian Auhority denies Jewish connection to the Western Wall

JPost

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s spokesman Mark Regev called on the Palestinian leadership Tuesday to publicly disassociate itself from the Palestinian Authority “study” denying Jewish claims to the Western Wall, saying “this is not the sort of statement to be expected from a partner in peace.”

“Denying the Jewish connection to the Western Wall is to deny reality. If you deny the Jewish connection to the Western Wall you are in fact denying the Jewish connection to Jerusalem and the land of Israel itself,” Regev said. “When they deny the Jewish connection, they are unfortunately raising very serious questions as to their true commitment to reconciliation.” [...]

Video: Guma Aguiar Talks About his Breakdown

Crown Heights.info

Piety is primarily in motivation - not unique deeds

Daas Torah page 153


Derashos HaRan (#6): Someone who devotes his body and soul to G-d and strongly desires to serve Him [even without being a scholar], will reach a higher level than someone who is a scholar [but is lacking this desire]. This principle is found in Berachos (20a). “Why did miracles happen in previous generous but not now? It can’t be because they were more learned because in fact the current generation is more learned than in the past? The answer is that they were willing to devote themselves totally to G-d while the current generation is not so devoted.” Thus, we see that G-d is most concerned with what is in a person’s heart, when he does good deeds, and not with knowledge per se. It follows from this principle that when a person’s motivation is to come closer to G-d - then even when he is engaged in mundane activities such as business - his activity is actually total service of G-d. On the other hand, someone who isn’t motivated to come closer to G-d - even if he thinks he is serving G-d - is actually rebelling against Him. This issue causes much error amongst the masses when they see tzadikim involved in mundane activities. We also err when we learn that the Avos engaged in activities such as farming or business. Error is produced when we learn from our sages that Yaakov risked his life for some small jars. The masses conclude from this that tzadikim - despite all their piety - act just like the common man. Woe is it to the people that see but don’t understand what they see. They can only see the action but not the internal motivation behind it. In fact, the righteous do everything for much purer spiritual reasons than lesser individuals. This problem is related to the observation that the masses can’t distinguish between a good and bad doctor. The explanation is that the activities of all doctors seem identical in that they provide medicines and ointments. The good doctor however prescribes the medicine to the right person at the right time at the right dosage - in contrast to the bad doctor. We can say the same about the performance of mitzvos. The masses equate the pious individual and the common man in terms of their activities. However, the activities of the pious person are of a higher nature because of the higher-level motivation which is the most important aspect of the mitzva. Also concerning sin - thought about transgressing can be as damaging as the act itself (Yoma 29a).

In light of what is happening: Taking a stand for Integrity

Just received the following

http://www.ottawatorah.org/integrity.html

In Cybertherapy, Avatars Assist With Healing

NYTimes

His talk was going just fine until some members of the audience became noticeably restless. A ripple of impatience passed through the several dozen seated listeners, and a few seemed suddenly annoyed; then two men started to talk to each other, ignoring him altogether.

“When I saw that, I slowed down and then stopped what I was saying,” said the speaker, a 47-year-old public servant named Gary, who last year took part in an unusual study of social anxiety treatment at the University of Quebec.

The anxiety rose in his throat — What if I’m not making sense? What if I’m asked questions I can’t answer? — but subsided as his therapist, observing in the background, reminded him that the audience’s reaction might have nothing to do with him. And if a question stumped him, he could just say so: no one knows everything. [...]

Dentistry: Radiation for fun & profit

NYTimes

Because children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to radiation, doctors three years ago mounted a national campaign to protect them by reducing diagnostic radiation to only those levels seen as absolutely necessary.

It is a message that has resonated in many clinics and hospitals. Yet there is one busy place where it has not: the dental office.

Not only do most dentists continue to use outmoded X-ray film requiring higher amounts of radiation, but orthodontists and other specialists are embracing a new scanning device that emits significantly more radiation than conventional methods, an examination by The New York Times has found.

Designed for dental offices, the device, called a cone-beam CT scanner, provides brilliant 3-D images of teeth, roots, jaw and even skull. This technology, its promoters say, is a safe way for orthodontists and oral surgeons to work with more precision and to identify problems that otherwise might go unnoticed. [...]

Security: Choice between molesting travelers or profiling them

YNET

Should the US adopt Israeli-style airport security measures? A debate over just that issue has been running at full steam over the past few days due to profound public criticism of invasive security techniques which include a full body search and pat down in intimate areas.

House or Representatives delegate for Utah Jason Chaffetz, on Monday called for a probe into methods employed by Transportation Security Administration agents and for a look into alternative methods which would be based on the use of sniffer dogs with secondary use of screening machines and implementing behavioral profiling as Israel does.

In the past, Americans vetoed the security system used at Ben Gurion Airport claiming it casts suspicion on one sector in an inclusive fashion, namely, against Arabs and Muslims. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs explained on Monday that the reason US authorities refused to adopt Israeli methods was because "Israel has one international airport and we have 450 of them that makes all the difference".