Derashas HaRan (12) And it is stated further: "If a bone lodged in his throat, let him bring the same kind, place it on his skull, and say: 'One-one-down; swallow-swallow-down; one-one'; and this is not in the category of 'the ways of the Emorites.' If a fish bone lodged in his throat, let him say: 'You prick as a needle; you are locked up as in cuirass; down-down.'" None of these are dictated by reason, and, according to the view that "this is not in the category of the ways of the Emorites" applies to all of the things listed until the end of the chapter, there are many things among them that would seem to belong in the classes which the Rambam ascribes to the category of witchcraft. Furthermore, the Rambam states in Sefer Hamada (Hilchoth Avodah Zarah 11): "All of these are vain, empty things pursued by ignoramuses, and they have no foundation in fact whatsoever." This statement is to be greatly wondered at, for the sages stated (Chullin 7b) in relation to the woman who tried to get some soil from beneath the feet of R. Chanina [in order to kill him through an incantation pronounced over the soil]: "R. Chanina is different, for he possessed great merit" [the implication being that such things are effective against those who do not possess such merit]. Also, if these things are entirely unfounded in fact, then why did the sages permit some of them and forbid others, when they are all outside the realm of natural cause and effect? And they also permitted [for curative purposes (Sabbath, Ibid)] the egg of a chargol [a king of locust], the tooth of a fox, and the nail from a stake. Now none of these are dictated by reason or by natural cause and effect. The answer: All things act in one of two ways: naturally or phenomenologically. The phenomenological also acts through nature, the difference being that the natural is dictated by reason whereas the phenomenological is accepted by reason but not dictated by it. An example of the natural is the tendency of cold objects to generate cold and of warm objects to generate warmth (whether or not acted upon by the affected bodies). This tendency is dictated by reason. An example of the phenomenological, which is accepted by reason but not dictated by it, is along these lines. It is well known that the perfect properties are found in bodies not given to change and that the imperfect ones are all found in bodies highly susceptible to change. So that the celestial bodies, not being subject to change at all, are the most perfect, and the elements, being the most changeable of things, are the most imperfect. It follows from this that the compound is superior to its simple component elements to the extent that the combination diminishes and repels change. It is for this reason that the most perfect composite will possess the greatest perfection. And there are some composites which acquire perfection in themselves by virtue of the very fact that they are composites, although their component elements remain distinct, and others that acquire it by means of the fusion of elements within the composite. Some composites give rise to the vegetative élan and others to the animal élan, and others, such as man, become predisposed to the acquisition of a human soul — all of these properties and perfections being acquired according to the compositions and natures of the composites.
Thursday, September 15, 2022
NY Times report, ACLU reaction to report on Hasidic schools spark fierce debate
The New York affiliate of the ACLU, stoked outrage and debate this week after suggesting that funding for yeshiva schools is taking money away from students of color in public schools, based on an extensive New York Times report.
"For years, district leaders in East Ramapo have extracted resources from public schools, which are almost entirely attended by students of color, in order to lavishly fund yeshivas attended by white students," the NYCLU tweeted Monday, with a link to a New York Times report.
Supreme Court declines to block order requiring Yeshiva University to recognize LGBTQ student club
In an unsigned order, the Supreme Court noted that the New York state courts had yet to issue a final order in the case, and that Yeshiva could return to the Supreme Court after the New York courts have acted.
“The application is denied because it appears that applicants have at least two further avenues for expedited or interim state court relief,” the court said.
Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, dissented from the court’s order, noting that the lower courts could take “months to rule.”
“I see no reason why we should not grant a stay at this time,” he said.
Noting that the school objected to recognizing a group that would have implications that are not consistent with the Torah, Alito said, “The First Amendment guarantees the right to the free exercise of religion, and if that provision means anything, it prohibits a State from enforcing its own preferred interpretation of the Holy Scripture.”
U.S. Supreme Court requires Yeshiva University to allow LGBT student club
Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett dissented. Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor had temporarily blocked the judge's order last Friday while the justices considered the university's request. read more
Supreme Court sides with LGBTQ group at Yeshiva University
https://nypost.com/2022/09/14/supreme-court-sides-with-lgbtq-group-at-yeshiva-university/
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the court’s three liberal justices on Wednesday in a 5-4 decision that lifted a temporary hold on the state court order and denied the university an emergency request for relief.
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
Trump faces new legal problem in DOJ pressure allegations
בית שמש: בור ענק נפער בחנייה, וגילה חריגות בנייה, בנס לא היו נפגעים
בולען בגודל 5 על 3 מטרים נפער בחניה של בניין | לפניכם תמונות בלעדיות מהבנייה הלא חוקית שבוצעה לכאורה בקומה מינוס 2 | מפקח הבנייה בעיריית בית שמש דוד די קסטרו: הסיבה לכך שהחניה קרסה לתוך שתי קומות מתחת לאדמה נובעת כתוצאה מעבירות הבניה שבוצעו שם | מנכ"ל העירייה יוחנן מאלי: אני מגלה אפס סובלנות כלפי עברייני בניה | מנהלת פיקוח על הבניה אירה ריצ'וטין: ביום שני נגיע עם צווים מוכנים מבית המשפט ונעבור דירה דירה.
בפעם השניה בתוך חודש: בניין מגורים הוכרז כמבנה מסוכן
https://beitarillit-online.com/4308/
תושבי בניין ברחוב פחד יצחק בו נעשות עבודות בנייה ללא היתר ופיקוח, הכוללות עבודות חציבה וחפירה בסמוך ליסודות בניין המגורים, קיבלו אמש צווים החתומים על ידי ראש העיר המכריזים על הבניין כמבנה מסוכן, המקרה נחשף לאחר שבאחת מחצרות הבניין נפער בור, אשר בעקבותיו ביצעה העירייה ביקורת בה התברר שבוצעה חפירה מתחת לבניין, שחשפה את כלונסאות הבניין מהנדס העירייה הוציא חוו"ד שהמבנה מסוכן לשהייה ובעקבות כך, רה"ע חתם על צווים בהתאם.
Illegal and unsafe building in Israel
As is common knowledge - it is often difficult to obtain permits for changes to an apartment in Israel and as a result much is done without permit or concern for safety
It is also common knowledge when buying an apartment to check what is legal and what was added illegally.
It is also common knowledge that there is a severe housing shortage and thus strong financial incentive to create illegal apartments.
Problem aside from the illegality and possible need to demolish structures is the question of safe building practices being ignored.
Example you have new apartment buildings built to proper safety standards which are ruined by the owners on the ground floor who excavate large areas extending from their apartments. They destroy support pillars of the building as well as physical support for the building bt removing rock or soil.
There have been cases of collapse and damage to the building as well as the new construction.
Anyone complaining against theses illegal structures is labeled a moser.
One case I know where the new construction collapsed. One neighbor was suspected of telling the government and was ostracized by the entire building while the one who actual caused the real damage is viewed as a tzadik.
While it is nice to attack secularist etc for picking on our community The frum world is doing nothing about this dangerous reality. In other words if the community doesn't supervise itself it has no justification for complaining about government involvement
The Missing 160 Years
https://www.torahmusings.com/2019/10/the-missing-160-years/
In a recent lecture, Rav Hershel Schachter says that there are great sages (“gedolim”) on both sides of the issue — some who accept rabbinic chronology and some who modify it in one way or another. He points to the Maharshal’s (Rav Shlomo Luria, 16th cen., Poland) comment in Chokhmas Shlomo (Sanhedrin 52b) in disagreeing with the Talmud’s conclusion that he should not be considered like someone who disagrees with the Talmud because there is no current practical implication to his view. Similarly, there is no practical implication to disagreeing with the Talmud on chronology. Rav Schachter also points to Rav Zerachiah Ha-Levi (12th cen., Spain), known as the Ba’al Ha-Ma’or, in his commentary to the beginning of Rosh Hashanah where he explicitly disagrees with the Talmud about the list of Persian kings (and his colleague, the Ra’avad, says that this is against our tradition).
Fixing the History Books
https://www.simpletoremember.com/other/History166.htm
Rather than dismiss the Greek tales altogether, Dr. Heifetz has recognized that folklore often contains much truth, even if it cannot always be taken at face value. Just as the Greek stories about Assyria an extra Darius and Cyrus. Had and Babylonian are interpreted by modem scholars in the light of inscriptions, Heifetz takes the traditional view of this period as given in Seder Olam as his framework, and reexamines the Greek tales within this framework. In doing so, not only do many of the Greek stories make better sense, but an entirely new dimension is added to the Jewish picture of history.
The Kings of Persia and the Missing Years
https://www.etzion.org.il/en/tanakh/ketuvim/sefer-ezra/kings-persia-and-missing-years
The differing chronologies, moreover, carry major consequences for the dating of Purim. Having so dramatically shortened the Persian empire’s span, the rabbis place the Purim story before the Second Temple was built. According to modern scholarly consensus, however, Purim did not take place until some fifty years after the Second Temple was completed. As Rabbis Yoel Bin-Nun[4] and Menachem Leibtag[5] have suggested, this difference might have profound implications for the meaning of Esther. If the narrative unfolded decades after the Temple had been rebuilt, we might be more likely to view the Megilla as a satire castigating the Jews of Shushan for remaining in the Persian capital instead of returning to their own capital Jerusalem.
Missing years (Jewish calendar)
It has also been posited that certain calculations in the Talmud compute better according to the academic dating. Two possible harmonizations are proposed by modern rabbis:
Shimon Schwab points to the words "seal the words and close the book" in the book of Daniel as a positive commandment to obscure the calculations for the Messiah mentioned within, so that the true date of the Messiah's arrival would not be known.[28] However, Schwab later withdrew this suggestion for numerous reasons.[23]: 281-285 [24]: 66–67 [25]: 67–68, 93
An alternative solution suggests that the sages were concerned with the acceptance of the Mishnah. There existed a rabbinical tradition that the year 4000 marked the close of the "era of Torah". The authors of the Ḥakirah article propose that the sages therefore arranged the chronology so that the redaction of the Mishnah should coincide with that date and thus have a better chance of acceptance.[25]: 67–115