by Joel Rich
From chat gpt3 (I hope it got this one right):
It is difficult for me to say exactly what Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik would say to a student who regretted not learning more when they were younger. However, I can tell you a little bit about Rabbi Soloveitchik’s views on education and learning.
Rabbi Soloveitchik was a prominent rabbi and philosopher who wrote extensively on Jewish thought and practice. He believed that education was a lifelong process and that it was never too late to learn and grow. He argued that each person has the capacity to learn and grow throughout their entire lives, and that the pursuit of knowledge and understanding is an essential part of being human.
With this in mind, it is likely that Rabbi Soloveitchik would encourage a student who regretted not learning more when they were younger to continue pursuing knowledge and learning throughout their life. He might also encourage the student to view their regret as an opportunity to redouble their efforts and to embrace the challenge of learning new things.
My comment on the new Israeli government cancelling the sugared soda tax:
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudge_theory
interesting that some folks who are makpid (punctilious) on not using the same plate for meat and fish are not makpid on their own health bderech hateva (in the normal course of events)
- Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz-From The Rabbi’s Desk – Buying a Computer With The Intention to Return It Buying with intent to return may be a violation of onaat dvarim, gneivat daat, hezek, gzeila, chillul hashem and bad ethics. (Me-scary what does that say about how we are ennobled by religion if this is a practice associated with our community?) Perhaps companies are OK with it because many people end up not returning the items??? (me-see Rambam hilchot deot)
- Rabbi Shay Schachter-Disposing of Mitzvah Items After They Are No Longer Being Used R YBS on tashmishei kedusha vs tashmishei mitzvah (but don’t forget to make a tnai concerning the status of excess menorah oil).
- Matan Friedman-A Mincha/Maariv Mishap and Many More Minyan Mix-ups Praying a prayer in the wrong timeslot (eg shachrit at mincha time), what are the implications for getting credit for the wrongly prayed prayer or for the prayer that should have been in that time slot? What and which prayer would be tashlumim, if and when tashlumim is appropriate?
- Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz-Parshat Vayigash: The Sale of Yosef & Free Will How do we understand the actions of Yosef and his brothers? They thought he was a rodef and thus threw him in the pit based on the hashkafa that the scorpions (unlike humans) don’t have free will and thus it would be HKBH deciding what happens to Yosef.
Yosef acted vis-à-vis his brothers to fulfil the destiny of his dreams.
- Rav Asher Wess-Indirectly causing the death of another person If one caused the death of another indirectly is tshuva required. If it’s through normal activity (eg I tried to catch up with him to talk and he ran into the street and was hit by a car), no. If it’s foreseeable (eg a messenger to Don Corleone to say no deal?), yes. In between? TBD.
Why didn’t Yosef contact Yaakov? He saw all the events as divine intervention; thus, he didn’t want to act in a teva manner. His actions with the brothers were to see if they developed the mercy for the family.
- Rabbi Dr. Jason Weiner -Viduy: Theory & Practice Viduy should be said by the individual while conscious but if he can’t, there’s precedent for someone else to say it for him. Why don’t many say it (or aren’t told to say it)? It’s scary if they don’t know about it, we don’t want to scare them at that point.)
- Rabbi Shraga Kallus-The Overly Frum Broker If a plaintiff went directly to secular court because the defendant was known to refuse to go to a bet din, the plaintiff may still be able to collect the court costs awarded by the secular court.
Should (must) a dayan provide his reasons for a decision?
- Rabbi Moshe Taragin-Sichat Mussar for Vayigash: The Two Voices of Religion; Kibud av Va’eim; Religious Exhibitionism The lessons of Yaakov’s meeting with Yosef are that religious fervor and human experience are both important. Don’t be a show-off religiously!(me-or anything else)
- Rabbi Zev Smith-Shidduchim Questions and Answers Shidduchim require a combination of hishtadlut and bitachon.
- Rabbi Dr. Jason Weiner -Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Medicine: Particular Concerns and Strategies for Observant Jews(Me- AI presents ethical issues to the whole world) What are the specific concerns for orthodoxy? If it’s not transparent, how will we know how it decides? What hashgacha will be needed for an orthodox Jew to use it? How will we provide patients with empathy? How will we relate emotionally to AI?
- Rabbi Pinny Rosenthal-An American Pickle Without a strong community and education, it’s tough to not assimilate from the surrounding society.
- Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz-Short Q&A: Kiruv, Politics, Christmas, and more Q and A including: kiruv today (more practical less philosophical), dealing with difficult questions raised by potential kiruvees (focus on the positive, play for time on rest), Jewish/non-Jewish relations (see above), and year-end holiday issues.
- Rabbi Mayer Schiller,Rabbi Efrem Goldberg,Rabbi Yitzchok Franfurter,Rabbi Moshe Taub-12/31/22 – Shiur 401 – To discuss or not to discuss – That is the Question Most interesting point – Mishpacha refused to run an ad for this program!
Should we be providing abuse education, publicizing abusers, premarital counseling … Things are worse now than ever before (me-obviously spoken by someone who didn’t live through the summer of love).
- Rabbi Yehuda Turetsky-What You Can and Can’t Control: Tosafos and Rav Dessler on the Meaning of Mazal How do we understand the relationship between free will and mazal? R Dessler understands that mazal is what we’re given to fulfil our tafkid, it can change if we step up to do a bigger tafkid that’s not being done. TBC
- Rabbi Shraga Kallus-Does An E-Cig Need A Hechsher? Topics include: chalav hacompanies/bovine stomach surgery (treifot?), is vaping (contains glycerin) a kashrut issue? (me-sakana chamura missura), and mumar drinking own wine.
- Rabbi Shmuel Fuerst-Raffle Tickets, Gambling, and Lotteries in Halacha Summary of prior lottery shiurim moving on to practical applications today based on the tshuva of the chavot yair. When is there a violation of msacheik bkuvia? Actual halacha depends on sfard vs. ashkenaz, money vs commodities, and tzedakah purposes vs profit.6
- Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz-Asarah B’tevet: The Secret Fast of the 9th of Teves Discussion of the meaning and events of asara btevet as well as the other temple fast days.
- Rabbi Moshe Sokoloff-Women Reciting Kaddish The micro and meta issues involved in women saying kaddish.
- Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz-Chinuch Ketanim for Fasting There is no children’s chinuch for the public fast days other than Yom Kippur (which has a constant chiyuv of inui and is thus about more than tshuva). Chinuch has two elements – kiyum hamitzva and being margil bmitzvot.
- Rabbi Shay Schachter-Evolving Antisemitism and Our Complicated Relationship With Hashem Antisemitism is a mutating virus but in spite of this we need to appreciate being part of the am hanivchar.
- Rabbi Shalom Rosner-Holistic Avodas Hashem Live a consistent, complete Judaism every day.
- Rabbi Dovid’l Weinberg-In Search of a Sacred Redactor title22 Moshe merged all the texts given to him by HKBH into the final text of the tora.
- Rabbi Reuven Brand-Technology: A New Perspective on an Old Issue R Kook’s take on technology as an opportunity (and challenge) for us to unleash its inner light in a positive way.
- Rabbi Zev Smith-Kabbalat Shabbat and Tosefet Shabbat Tosefet Shabbat has elements of sur mera and aseih tov which may inform on its application Issues discussed include: how much time is appropriate, how do we accept it, what’s allowed bein hashmashot (individual and/or community acceptance, non-Jewish agency, household member) and women’s obligation.
- Rabbi Shraga Kallus-Fast Days And Woman Summary of fasting rules for seminary girls When is one exempt from fasting totally and partially? What does one do when they are partially exempt.
- Rabbi Dov Winston-The Jewish View of Demons Demons aren’t mentioned in Tanach (me-mostly bavli- paging Shay Secunda). How did rishonim view them? How should we? (Pray a lot)
- Rabbi Moshe Taragin-Sichat Mussar for Vayechi: The Three Rungs of the “Ladder of Achdus” : Incentivizing Religious Growth Three levels of achdut: accepting others’ differences/getting along, allowing for different specialization (not conformity) to benefit all, and seeing HKBH in the center of the circle.
- Rabbi Shimmy Steinmetz-Kashrus in the Hospital: Advanced Dementia Patients and Comfort Feedings
When should we be concerned about non-Kosher food in a feeding tube (not derech achila) in a hospital situation? Are there aschshivei concerns for a patient with dementia? What if you really want the cheeseburger in a life-threatening situation?
- Rabbenu Yonah’s Four Kitot 11: Lying for Peace and Quoting a More Accepted Authority When can you lie for peace? Is peace the only permissible circumstance? Part of a series.
- Rabbi Shay Schachter-Are Union Strikes for Doctors, Nurses & School Teachers Halachicly Sanctioned Generally, halacha allows employees to quite but there are other considerations especially for mlechet shamayim and health related professions. Strikes are complex, especially if the results could be catastrophic (monetary or physical).
Please direct any informal comments to [email protected].
