by Joel Rich
If you attend a minyan where the haftara (or any of the megilot)are not read from a klaf, what is the kahal’s practice (and has the shul rav directed this) during the haftara reading? 1. listen intently to each word 2. read along word for word with the one reading from the bima 3. read by oneself at their own pace 4. other ________.
From a PBS special on Sandra Day O’Connor:
Scott O’Connor, Eldest Son: [Moyers] Nothing’s ever settled on this Court for sure, is it?
[O’Connor] No, it’s never an absolute end to any issue. It’s more a process of a continuing dialogue.
[Moyers] Dialogue — between?
[O’Connor] Between the court and the Congress and the nation as a whole.”
My internal conversation:
Joel1: [joel2] Nothing’s ever settled in halacha for sure, is it?
[Joel1] No, it’s never an absolute end to any issue. It’s more a process of a continuing dialogue.
[joel2] Dialogue — between?
[Joel1] Between the gedolim and the gvirim and amcha as a whole over generations
Your thoughts?
- Rabbi Shay Schachter-Making Meaning Out of Life Challenges: Do You Only Use a Flashlight Or Do You Develop New Appreciations Different strategies for dealing with challenging circumstance (mainly realize you’re part of something larger).
I was comforted to hear that R H Schachter believes that some people are given nisyonot that they can’t overcome and thus are held blameless (it took me decades to come to believe that after being constantly told the opposite).
- Rabbi Shmuel Fuerst-Choshen Mishpat: Assessing Value of Damage: Case where you are allowed to be a mazik Are damages based on market value, replacement value, owners perceived value or something else? One is permitted to destroy someone else’s sinful objects( eg radio) and not pay damages.
- Rabbi Tanchum Cohen-Learning Brisk, Inside (1): The One and Only Names of Hashem? First in a series illustrating “Brisker torah”. First session covers the Brisker Rov’s analysis of the Rambam on two ways to (not) say shem hashem.
- Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz-=Harav Yitzchak Breitowitz – Ohr Lagolah Kiruv Seminar 17Th Of Tammuz 2023 (1) There are a number of halachic reasons given for involvement in kiruv and everyone can do it in their own way. Also discussed, shabbat invitations for the non-observant.
- Rabbi Yona Reiss-G’neivas Daas Gneivat daat comes in a number of forms including deceptive commercial transactions (with or without cost consequences), misleading another (eg inviting them when you know they can’t come) and not informing the other party of defective merchandise. What is the source of the prohibition (gneiva or sheker) and is it duraita or drabanan? Applications discussed.
- Rabbi Shraga Kallus-The Answer To All Of Life Questions Q and A including: smicha today, correcting parents, shidduch readiness, standing in front of someone saying a long shmone esrai, learning halacha from the mishna brura, dealing with anxiety (have bitachon), kolel guilt (shouldn’t be), boxing and. why isn’t talmud tora in the asseret hadibrot?
- Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz-Air B and B for the Wrong Shabbos Who is on the hook (and how can we resolve the issue) based on miscommunications caused by different parshiyot dates in chu”l and aretz? Applications include B and B reservations, catering deliveries and bar mitzva parshiyot.
A wide range of opinions presented, would be interesting to get them all into one room and hear how they work out which approach should be the primary tie-breaker.
- Rabbi Yonason Sacks-Rav Sacks @Camp Kaylie – General and Specific Mitzvos Some mitzvot have both an individual and a community component.
Mitzvat rshut allows us to develop and show ahavat hashem.
Mitzvot with no set time trigger (eg zachor) are once a day requirements according to the Rambam.
- Rabbi Shraga Kallus-The Answer To All Of Life’s Questions Part 2 Q and A including: being yotzei a doubtful kiddush, chassidim and technology, relating to different learning styles, using a pool as a mikvah, blood donations through apikorsim, lying to avoid embarrassment, on-line college, being late to daven, bug issues, suggesting to a student to move to a new yeshiva, and, tshuva for going up to har habayit,
- Rabbi Asher Weiss-Yesodos in Avodas Yom Hakippurim Avodat yom kippur which parts are incumbent upon whom?
- Rabbi Zev Smith-Kedushat Beit Hakenesset A beit knesset is used only for davening, a beit medrash is used for davening and learning. While the beit medrash has a higher level of kedusha, we allow some uses that we don’t allow a beit knesset so as not to unduly constrain learning. Specific applications discussed.
- Rabbi Yona Reiss-Rabbi Reiss: Choshen Mishpat Series – Chaburah #7 – When A Jew Sues Given the prohibition of arkaot, can one Jew threaten to take another Jew to secular court in order to leverage a settlement?
- Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz-Ten Minute Halacha – Picnics in a Park Picnic issues including: covering the picnic table, ntilat yadaim (for bread), and using grills(basar vchalav).
- Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz-From The Rabbi’s Desk – Relying on the Siyum of a Non-Jew Can you count the learning of a woman, katan or non-Jew (en route to conversion) for making a siyum ( perhaps yes, yes, no).
- Rabbi Zev Smith-The truly wise person Think about the effect of your words and deeds on others!
- Rabbi Ezra Cohen-Is Amira Lenochri Limited to the Laws of Shabbat? Does the prohibition of amira lakum on shabbat extend to other issurim? Perhaps it depends on whether it’s duraita or drabanan and whether the reason is shlichut, davar davar or you might come to do it.
- Rav Asher Weiss- כח האומדנא לבטל קנין Chazal identified two types of umdna – theorizing what happened in the past and theorizing what someone had in mind. How does the latter differ from a tnai? There can be different levels of confidence (eg umdna vs umdna dmuchrach) in umdnas.
- Rabbi Chaim Eisenstein-The Heart of the Three Weeks title Three weeks practices may have started from the ground up as a subjective response to the pain of the churban, do we feel the pain?Description
- Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz-Reflections during The Three Weeks The three weeks are a tikun for kina, taava, and kavod. Especially during this period, we need to change our perception of reality and recognize (and act on) the lshonot of geula.
- Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz-Ten Minute Halacha – Dipping Challah in the Soup One might think that putting bread into hot soup on Shabbat would be a simple question and in a way it is, if you know the opinions concerning bishul achar afia, kli sheni, kli shlishi, ladles, kalei bishul and yad soledet bo.
- Rabbi Ezra Schwartz-Halachos of Hachnasas Orchim Details on how to properly carry out the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim are learned from Avraham. The key is to focus on the oreach’s needs and feelings. One needs to define oreach (is there an extra focus if he is poor?) and prioritize ben adam lmakom vs chaveiro (me-usually a projection based on one’s weltanschauung).
- Rabbi Shraga Kallus-Hilchot Berachot: When To Make The Beracha On Water? When does water get a bracha rishona? Is it a function of hanaat cheich or quenching one’s thirst? There are a myriad of questionable cases (eg throat clearing, needed for nursing …)
Does seltzer have a din of water?
- Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz-From The Rabbi’s Desk – Giving Away my Non-Tzanua Clothing How do we apply lfnei iver, msayea and lfnei lfnei (you gave something to someone who will use it to cause someone else to sin)? How do we apply the schach’s rule that there’s no msayea in the case of a mumar? How about saving one from a greater nichshol by abetting a lesser one (Paging deontologists and consequentialists).
- Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz-From The Rabbi’s Desk – Sleepy Tefilah If someone fell sleep after saying baruch hashem lolam at maariv, does he need to daven tashlumim or does baruch hashem lolam count as a mini-amida?
- Rabbi Michael Taubes-Parshas Mattos-Massei Some Insights into Mar’is Ayin Maarit ayin examples from the tora and the talmud.
- Rabbi Howard Apfel-The Delicate Balance between Bitachon and Histadlus Pure bitachon in the result is warranted if HKBH promised the result or if one is purely righteous, elsewise there’s some debate (result-oriented v process-oriented). May one pray for a miracle may be a related debate.
- Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz-Q and A With Rav Rosner and R’ Lebowitz – 2023 Q and A including: learning all day v other pursuits, going into chinuch v kiruv time allocations in different periods of life, focus on gemara v halacha, different talmidim of the same rebbi developing different styles, how to relate to karbanot/slavery, and, what you need to figure out before dating.
- Rabbi Isaac Rice-Keurig and Tevilas KeilimDescription
- Ari Wasserman ,Rabbi Anthony Manning, Rebbetzin Esti Hamilton,Rabbi Zev Leff,Mrs. Bracha Jaffe-7/15/23 – Shiur 427 –Women Singers – Is it preferable that women attend a performance by a male or female singer? Women singing for women – outstanding opportunity to connect with HKBH or a breach of tzniut?
- Dr. David Sclar-Sparks of History: The Golden Path – Maimonides Across Eight Generations – A Yeshiva University Museum Exhibition Rambam’s history, works and the current exhibition at the YU museum. What is his legacy?
Please direct any informal comments to [email protected].
