by Joel Rich
From R’ A Lichtenstein: Thus, they have also said: “He who chops down his plants, even though he is not permitted etc?” Also, the entire discourse about he who tells another] “Tear my cloak, break my vessel or my hand or my leg” (BK 92a) deals only with the liability to pay or the lack of it. However, it is certainly prohibited and the permission of one’s fellow is of no avail with regard to this.
ME IIRC there’s a tshuva concerning jousting (Purim?) that holds one not liable for damages due to implied consent. Does this imply that the jousting is prohibited?
Kaddish drabanan after learning (assume some agadita too) – required, suggested, permitted or discouraged?
- The High Price of Orthodox Life & the Dangers of Keeping Up with the Goldbergs, with Rabbi Avrohom Leventhal and Rachel Krich (168) The high cost of Jewish living in the US (and Israel) results in a strong need for chessed as well as people falling for Ponzi schemes. There’s also a lot of peer pressure. Includes a description of how two organizations (lman achai and ezra) deal with breaking the cycle of poverty.
Interesting points – sometimes asking for assistance can be a addiction and the second generation needs to be involved in breaking the cycle.
- Adam Friedmann-GPT Can Pass the Rabanut Semicha Exams. Does That Mean It’s a Rabbi? Basic explanation of how AI (machine learning/chat GPT) works and can it do psak? Not if the schina can’t be shoreh on the AI or if psak needs a human personality (Me-I would imagine the schechina can be shoreh on whatever it wants to, but what is the ratzon hashem?)
- Rabbi Shmuel Fuerst-Kriah@Kotel/Ohr Yehudah/Walls of the Old City, Handling Treif Gifts, Work in Non-Kosher Restaurant, and More Q and A including: Why do we tear on the mikdash but not on arei yehuda, what can you do with treif meat, can you work for a treif restaurant, naming after someone who died an unusual death al kiddush hashem, getting married/sheva brachot on 17 Tamuz, cohain going into the cemetery for 7 relatives, oseh maaseh breishit on niagra falls, second ketuba status when the first is found, brit in the afternoon/tachanun in the morning, guten erev shabbat, havdala for women, and which ktav to use in stam.
- Rabbi Ya’akov Trump-From the Shayla Archives: Coffee on Shabbos There are many different types of coffee products (eg instant, via, french press, turkish) and they all need to be analyzed for shabbat use based on bishul, borer and avsha milta.
- Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz-Rav Reisman Q and A with @CampKaylie Masmidim Q and A including: dikduk, R Moshe’s shiur, saying karbanot, balance in life and learning, why the yeshiva world didn’t embrace R YBS (politics), learning chumash, always look for the yesod of a sugya, sifrei macshava, having a sense of humor, segulot, sheidim and mazikin, chazal and science, and being mtzapeh lyshua.
- Mrs. Tami Drapkin-Top 5 Lifecycle Events and Their Impact in Medicine and Halacha Analysis of physical and halachic taharat hamishpacha reality through various women’s lifecycle events.
- Rabbi Hershel Schachter-Schmoozing With Camp Kaylie Masmidim Topics include: dinim duraita in the gemara, saying thanks for a loan, saving a non-Jew’s life, electric cars on shabbat, keeping a connection with someone who intermarried, psakim from R YBS, HKBH straightens everything out, halachic man’s word view, being choshesh for all shitot, and talmudic medicine.
- Rav Dovid Cohen-Q and A with Camp Kaylie Masmidim Q and A including: picking a yeshiva, sfarim, eilu veilu in hashkafa, his rebbi, pikuach nefesh in mental health, afkinhu rabannan today, variant girsaot, different approaches to psak, R Cohen’s psak from tanach, thank you for loans, chanifa, hatzala drivers on shabbat, kavana for lamalshinim, pressuring for a ge,t and how to chazer.
- Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz-Ten Minute Halacha – Eating at a Shul Kiddush Without Washing Review of the various opinions concerning pot haba bkisnin and kviat seuda
- Rabbi Ezra Schwartz-The Meaninng of Bikur Cholim and how it is performed What is the source and scope of the mitzvah of bikur cholim? Specific focus on when to visit and the nature of prayers for cholim (including to die and mi sheberachs).
- Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz-Ten Minute Halacha – Netilas Yadayim with a Band Aid Under the rules of chatziza, generally something you’ll eventually want to remove (eg band aid) should be a chatzita for washing. There’s an exception for a serious bandage which might place the skin under it in a category of “not hand” but rather part of rest of the body.
- Rabbi Shay Schachter-Thoughts on Burning the Sefer Torah in Sweden: Is the Torah Treated Like a Grandparent to You? We need to be machshiv torah, HKBH will make sure that torah survives.
- Rabbi Moshe Benovitz-Can God Be Proven? – An Honest Talk About Faith Many of us live a life of doughnut Judaism ( orthopraxy) without a central core of belief. Why doesn’t HKBH prove his existence 100%? Perhaps to give us choice and have a process of struggle (me-no nahama dkisufa?)
- Rabbi Michael Rosensweig ,Rabbi Yehuda Turetsky-Finding God in Gemara: Learning Torah as a Faith Experience Torah is a gift which allows us to form a relationship with baalei hamesora of all generations and with HKBH. We need to integrate both the intellectual and midot elements of our tora learning. Not always having all the loose ends tied up is part of the learning process.
- Rabbi Yonason Sacks-Emunah and Tefillah Tfila is very powerful and all tfilot are used by HKBH where they are most appropriate. We need to look at the big picture.
- Rabbi Netanel Wiederblank-The Laws of the Nine Days Nine days practice include those related to: nihugei aveilut, minimizing simcha, bad mazal, and zecher lechurban. Focus here on commerce, building and laundry.
- Rabbi Zev Smith-Yearning for geulah It’s difficult for us (especially successful bnai yeshiva) to feel the loss of the beit mikdash. Here are some tips on how to feel it.
- Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman-The Controversy Over Siyumim in the Nine Days How do we look at making a siyum during the nine days v erev pesach? Why have we become more meikil about both? In any event, we should focus on the loss!
- Rabbi Moshe Sokoloff-Who Can Receive An Aliyah On A Fast Day May one who isn’t fasting get an aliya on a fast day? Can he be a shatz? Is there a difference between Monday/Thursday (when there is a chiyuv kria) and fasts on other days of the week? What about shachrit v mincha? Practical psak provided. TBC
- Rabbi Dovid Rosman-Looking Inwards – How One’s Own Emunah Impacts His Teaching Don’t be insecure as a teacher (let students in) and remember that teaching can be part of your personal growth. Also provides strategies for connecting with difficult students.
- Rabbi Howard Apfel-Parnasha Career Medical Choices The Delicate Balance between Bitachon and Histadlus Is hishtadlut really make believe (i.e. a necessary fiction) or an essential part of our avodat hashem (R Dessler vs R YBS)?
- Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz-Q&A: Rashi, Trauma, Hobbies and more Q and A including: primacy of rashi, why some sfarim become more accepted, role of a rebbi, talking responsibility for your life, making a living, standards of living, segulot, dealing with yissurin, taking stock of your life, consciousness post death, and the torah’s attitude towards recreation.
- Authority Versus Autonomy in Orthodoxy Today, with Rabbi Chaim Ozer Chait (166) When can one (me-how capable and knowledgeable must “one” be to qualify) disagree with his rebbi and hold like another? Can one have more than one rebbi and must one accept a rebbi across halacha, hashkafa and public policy realms. Remember to seek emet and keep HKBH (not a rebbi) in the center of your life.
- Rabbi Zev Smith-Dealing with the growing shaimos challenge Sheimot (a bit of a misnomer) are a big problem today due to the explosion of people writing psukim on everything from invitations to cereal boxes. R Smith delineates the different categories of “sheimos” and how they should be disposed of lchatchila and bdieved. Better not to put oneself into that position!
- Rabbi Shmuel Fuerst-11 Different Cases in Choshen Mishpat by R’ Elyashiv Eleven choshen mishpat cases that could happen to anyone. There’s too much detail to summarize but my favorite was, is it mesira to report someone who is doing illegal construction? (Don’t get me started!)
- Rabbi Etan Schnall-The Tears of Tisha B’Av: Words of Inspiration in Preparation for Tisha B’Av Our goal is a close connection with HKBH.
- Rabbi Michael Rosensweig-NCSY Kollel Staff Training – The Value of Our Community One of the lessons of sefer dvarim (mishna tora) is that context is important. We need to keep this in mind as we see the best of the outside world through the lens of torah.
- Rabbi Baruch Simon- The opinions who hold mincha gedolah is a good time to daven
- Rabbi Ezra Schwartz-Lying: Its Permissibility and Parameters Did chazal take a utilitarian or consequentialist view of truth telling? How did later authorities interpret the evidence in Tanach and the Talmud?
- Rabbi Zev Smith-The Aron Hakodesh in Halacha The aron kodesh is central to Judaism, and thus it is treated with much respect. (perhaps due to its role in housing the sefer tora). Listen here for the specifics.
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