The braisa in Sanhedrin 71a says that there never was and never will be a Ben Sorer U'Moreh because in order for this wild child to be put to death his parents need to be similar in voice, appearance, and height which simply can't be. Why not? True it is rare but how can the Tanna say so with certainty.
One explanation is that the Torah is teaching us a valuable parenting lesson. Often the parents each have their own agenda and their own set of priorites and fundamental beliefs. This sends the child conflicting signals and conflicting guidance and it leaves the child confused. Surely a child with such an upbringing is capable of misbehaving. His veering from the path is not a sign of internal rot. It is a ramification of poor chinuch for which the death penalty is not warranted.
But if the child has two parents that are on the page, they speak in similar tones, they both show the same appearance by acting in a similar manner to that which they demand of their child, and they both set the same goals and heights that they want their child to reach, and with this beautiful consistent easy to understand chinuch the child still leaves the right path, then there is something seriously wrong with the child in his soul and in his core. A child like that is better off dead.
To this Rebbi Shimon says emphatically, impossible. Every Jew has a pure neshama and if his parents present a united front and set a good example to follow the child will absolutely not behave in this way and therefore Ben Sorer U'Moreh can never exist.
http://www.thejewisheye.com/rev_pkiseitzei.html
31 Aug 2012
Convention activities
If you click here, you will find a list of events scheduled to take place at the Democratic National Convention starting today, including the Rabinowitz/Dorf Shabbat Dinner.
Atlas Shrugs reports that one event is no longer being listed at the charlotte2012 site but is still being advertised here. Why was the listing for the event removed?
Below is a quote from David Yerushalmi, senior counsel of AFLC, after a judge issued a ruling requiring the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority to accept an advertisement for its buses.
“Judge Engelmayer deserves praise for his ruling, not only because he authored a 14-page opinion on the very day of the hearing, but also because he has consistently and in the highest traditions of his judicial office applied the law to the facts and preserved for all New Yorkers their liberty to speak on political issues, even when the government, in this case the MTA, wanted to suppress our clients’ speech because it violates the PC-code that Israel may be publicly attacked but not the savages who murder innocent Jewish women and children.”
http://www.wnd.com/2012/08/judge-post-support-civilized-man-over-savage-ad/?cat_orig=us
Atlas Shrugs reports that one event is no longer being listed at the charlotte2012 site but is still being advertised here. Why was the listing for the event removed?
Below is a quote from David Yerushalmi, senior counsel of AFLC, after a judge issued a ruling requiring the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority to accept an advertisement for its buses.
“Judge Engelmayer deserves praise for his ruling, not only because he authored a 14-page opinion on the very day of the hearing, but also because he has consistently and in the highest traditions of his judicial office applied the law to the facts and preserved for all New Yorkers their liberty to speak on political issues, even when the government, in this case the MTA, wanted to suppress our clients’ speech because it violates the PC-code that Israel may be publicly attacked but not the savages who murder innocent Jewish women and children.”
http://www.wnd.com/2012/08/judge-post-support-civilized-man-over-savage-ad/?cat_orig=us
30 Aug 2012
Five years later
YNET article published in 2007
The first rabbi to be ordained in Germany since the Holocaust is so worried about being identified as a Jew that he often wears a baseball hat over his skull cap. "It's a fact - it isn't smart to display I'm Jewish. This is a problem and we have to face it," German-born Daniel Alter, 47, told Reuters in an interview. He is worried about neo-Nazi attacks and says anti-Semitism in Germany - still tortured by memories of the Holocaust in which Nazis wiped out six million Jews - puts the growth of Jewish communities here at risk.
Continue reading: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3353070,00.html
2012 article
One of the first rabbis ordained in Germany since the Holocaust has been beaten up on a Berlin street, prompting a seminary to advise its students not to wear skullcaps in public.
Daniel Alter, 53, was attacked in front of his young daughter after collecting her from a piano lesson on Tuesday after a young man asked him “Are you a Jew?”, said Berlin police.
...
The Abraham Geiger College in Potsdam, currently training 28 rabbis, said it had boosted security around the building as a result of the attack and was checking mail.
“We have also given guidelines to our students on how to behave so that they do not become victims of such attacks,” the college’s rector Walter Homolka told the Berliner Morgenpost.
“We have advised them not to wear their skullcaps on the street, but to choose something inconspicuous to cover their head with,” he said.
Continue reading: http://www.euronews.com/newswires/1641290-german-jewish-college-shuns-skullcaps-after-attack-on-rabbi/
The first rabbi to be ordained in Germany since the Holocaust is so worried about being identified as a Jew that he often wears a baseball hat over his skull cap. "It's a fact - it isn't smart to display I'm Jewish. This is a problem and we have to face it," German-born Daniel Alter, 47, told Reuters in an interview. He is worried about neo-Nazi attacks and says anti-Semitism in Germany - still tortured by memories of the Holocaust in which Nazis wiped out six million Jews - puts the growth of Jewish communities here at risk.
Continue reading: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3353070,00.html
2012 article
One of the first rabbis ordained in Germany since the Holocaust has been beaten up on a Berlin street, prompting a seminary to advise its students not to wear skullcaps in public.
Daniel Alter, 53, was attacked in front of his young daughter after collecting her from a piano lesson on Tuesday after a young man asked him “Are you a Jew?”, said Berlin police.
...
The Abraham Geiger College in Potsdam, currently training 28 rabbis, said it had boosted security around the building as a result of the attack and was checking mail.
“We have also given guidelines to our students on how to behave so that they do not become victims of such attacks,” the college’s rector Walter Homolka told the Berliner Morgenpost.
“We have advised them not to wear their skullcaps on the street, but to choose something inconspicuous to cover their head with,” he said.
Continue reading: http://www.euronews.com/newswires/1641290-german-jewish-college-shuns-skullcaps-after-attack-on-rabbi/
Red light green light
Oriental Boulevard’s pedestrian-activated stoplight at Ocean Avenue is designed to slow down cars, but it’s also bringing religious Jews trying to cross the Manhattan Beach thoroughfare to a complete halt on the Sabbath, residents claim.
Manhattan Beach residents say religious Jews who go to synagogue each weekend are forbidden by Jewish law to press the button that would turn the flashing yellow signal to a red light — leaving them with only two options: crossing the street against the light or going four blocks out of their way for a stoplight that turns red at regular intervals.
Read full story: http://brooklyndaily.com/stories/2012/35/bn_sabbathstoplight_2012_08_24_bk.html
Manhattan Beach residents say religious Jews who go to synagogue each weekend are forbidden by Jewish law to press the button that would turn the flashing yellow signal to a red light — leaving them with only two options: crossing the street against the light or going four blocks out of their way for a stoplight that turns red at regular intervals.
Read full story: http://brooklyndaily.com/stories/2012/35/bn_sabbathstoplight_2012_08_24_bk.html
An excellent upbringing
On Wednesday mornings a group of women from the neighborhood get together and recite Sefer Tehillim and pray for individuals who need a refuah sheleima.
This morning I rang the bell of the woman who hosts the Tehillim get together but no one opened the door. After ringing a second time, I gave up and continued on my way. I bumped into a friend of mine who told me that she had been contacted by the woman. Apparently, the hostess had to be out of town and she left instructions for her daughter to be home Wednesday morning to open the door. Either the daughter forgot or something else came up - I am not sure what happened.
This evening I received a phone call from the daughter apologizing for not being there. I told my mother what great chinuch the daughter had received and how impressed my friend and I were to receive a phone call from the young girl. My mother replied that it was only natural to behave in such a fashion and she would not have expected anything less. "But I grew up in a different generation," she surmised.
An apology which would have been expected a generation ago was nowadays a sign of excellent upbringing and a rare occurrence. How sad.
This morning I rang the bell of the woman who hosts the Tehillim get together but no one opened the door. After ringing a second time, I gave up and continued on my way. I bumped into a friend of mine who told me that she had been contacted by the woman. Apparently, the hostess had to be out of town and she left instructions for her daughter to be home Wednesday morning to open the door. Either the daughter forgot or something else came up - I am not sure what happened.
This evening I received a phone call from the daughter apologizing for not being there. I told my mother what great chinuch the daughter had received and how impressed my friend and I were to receive a phone call from the young girl. My mother replied that it was only natural to behave in such a fashion and she would not have expected anything less. "But I grew up in a different generation," she surmised.
An apology which would have been expected a generation ago was nowadays a sign of excellent upbringing and a rare occurrence. How sad.
29 Aug 2012
Chodesh Elul and Teshuvah
The Shela HaKadosh brings down from tzadikim of previous generations that the Pasuk "Aryeh Shoag Mi Lo Yirah"; when the lion roars who is not afraid, is a Siman for the Yomim Noraim and the Days of Judgement. The word Aryeh has the letters Aleph, Reish, Yud, Hey which represents Elul (Aleph), Rosh HaShana (Reish), Yom Kippur (Yud), and Hoshana Rabba (Hey) the day when our fate is handed out to the Malachim to carry out. The lion's roar of these days is a sign for us to be afraid and do Teshuva.
Teshuva he says is an acronym for the various ways we show our remorse. Tuf - Taanis, fasting; Shin - Sak, wearing a sack cloth; Vuv -VaEfer, ashes; Bais - Bechia, crying; Hey - Hesped, mourning over our aveiros.
The letters of Elul we all know stand for "Ani LeDodi V'Dodi Li"; I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me. The last letters of each of the 4 words is Yud with the numerical equivalent of 40. This represents the 40 days from Rosh Chodesh Elul until Yom Kippur that are a special time for Teshuva.
http://revach.net/article.php?id=865
I caught the video below about Teshuva at the Lakewood Scoop.
Teshuva he says is an acronym for the various ways we show our remorse. Tuf - Taanis, fasting; Shin - Sak, wearing a sack cloth; Vuv -VaEfer, ashes; Bais - Bechia, crying; Hey - Hesped, mourning over our aveiros.
The letters of Elul we all know stand for "Ani LeDodi V'Dodi Li"; I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me. The last letters of each of the 4 words is Yud with the numerical equivalent of 40. This represents the 40 days from Rosh Chodesh Elul until Yom Kippur that are a special time for Teshuva.
http://revach.net/article.php?id=865
I caught the video below about Teshuva at the Lakewood Scoop.
28 Aug 2012
Judge G. and Judge G.
Judge Goldstone and Judge Gershon have something in common. Both have surnames that begin with the letter G. Both issued verdicts which pertained to actions taken by the Israeli army. But that is where the similarities end. Judge Goldstone's verdict was welcomed for getting to the truth of what happened in Gaza. In fact, some members of the newly formed Rabbis for Obama organization penned a letter to Richard Goldstone which contained the following excerpt.
As rabbis, we note the religious implications of the Report you authored. We are reminded of Shimon Ben Gamliel's quote, "The world stands on three things: justice, truth, and peace as it says ‘Execute the judgment of truth, and justice and peace will be established in your gates' (Zaccariah 8:16)." We affirm the truth of the report that bears your name.
http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71654?oid=172660&sn=Detail
The signatories to the letter affirmed the veracity of his report even though Judge Goldstone wrote in the Washington Post, "If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone report would have been a different document."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/reconsidering-the-goldstone-report-on-israel-and-war-crimes/2011/04/01/AFg111JC_story.html
Judge Gershon "rejected on Tuesday accusations that Israel was at fault over the death of American activist Rachel Corrie, who was crushed by an army bulldozer during a 2003 pro-Palestinian demonstration in Gaza."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4273862,00.html
I was curious as to how the members of rabbis for Obama and/or signatories to the Goldstone letter would view the verdict. I wasn't diappointed as one of the signatories has already posted, "Today’s verdict is not surprising. It was clear two years ago that the court had no interest in a fair examination of the evidence."
I await the opinions of the rest of those who claim to be interested in justice and truth, (as long as the truth puts Israel in a bad light.) One thing I won't count on is a letter to Judge Gershon affirming the veracity of his verdict authored by the same people who signed the Judge Goldstone letter.
As rabbis, we note the religious implications of the Report you authored. We are reminded of Shimon Ben Gamliel's quote, "The world stands on three things: justice, truth, and peace as it says ‘Execute the judgment of truth, and justice and peace will be established in your gates' (Zaccariah 8:16)." We affirm the truth of the report that bears your name.
http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71654?oid=172660&sn=Detail
The signatories to the letter affirmed the veracity of his report even though Judge Goldstone wrote in the Washington Post, "If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone report would have been a different document."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/reconsidering-the-goldstone-report-on-israel-and-war-crimes/2011/04/01/AFg111JC_story.html
Judge Gershon "rejected on Tuesday accusations that Israel was at fault over the death of American activist Rachel Corrie, who was crushed by an army bulldozer during a 2003 pro-Palestinian demonstration in Gaza."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4273862,00.html
I was curious as to how the members of rabbis for Obama and/or signatories to the Goldstone letter would view the verdict. I wasn't diappointed as one of the signatories has already posted, "Today’s verdict is not surprising. It was clear two years ago that the court had no interest in a fair examination of the evidence."
I await the opinions of the rest of those who claim to be interested in justice and truth, (as long as the truth puts Israel in a bad light.) One thing I won't count on is a letter to Judge Gershon affirming the veracity of his verdict authored by the same people who signed the Judge Goldstone letter.
G-d's money
Yonoson Rosenblum has witten an article for Mishpacha Magazine titled Zev Wolfson's Best-Kept Secret. Below are two excepts but it is worthwhile reading the article about the philanthropist who was niftar recently in its entirety.
He was just post–bar mitzvah when, fleeing their native Vilna, the family was exiled by the Soviets to Siberia. Two years later, he carried his dead father on his shoulder in order to ensure he received a Jewish burial in the frozen tundra of Kavkazakhstan, and undertook the support of his mother and younger brother.
...
He had no doubt where his wealth came from. Upon being introduced to Mr. Wolfson for the first time, the chairman of Merrill Lynch asked him how he had acquired his wealth. “G-d gave it to me,” Zev replied, without hesitation. He felt no need to expand.
He not only believed that G-d had given him his wealth, but that the money belonged to G-d, and was only entrusted to him as long as he used it for G-d’s purposes.
Read full article: http://baltimorejewishlife.com/news/news-detail.php?SECTION_ID=1&ARTICLE_ID=31875
He was just post–bar mitzvah when, fleeing their native Vilna, the family was exiled by the Soviets to Siberia. Two years later, he carried his dead father on his shoulder in order to ensure he received a Jewish burial in the frozen tundra of Kavkazakhstan, and undertook the support of his mother and younger brother.
...
He had no doubt where his wealth came from. Upon being introduced to Mr. Wolfson for the first time, the chairman of Merrill Lynch asked him how he had acquired his wealth. “G-d gave it to me,” Zev replied, without hesitation. He felt no need to expand.
He not only believed that G-d had given him his wealth, but that the money belonged to G-d, and was only entrusted to him as long as he used it for G-d’s purposes.
Read full article: http://baltimorejewishlife.com/news/news-detail.php?SECTION_ID=1&ARTICLE_ID=31875
27 Aug 2012
Marriage blessings
On the occasion of his son's wedding, Jeremy Rosen has penned an article titled Kickstarting a Healthy Marriage With an Abundance of Blessings in which he offers a nice explanation for the seven blessings recited under the chupah.
"The opening blessing over wine is how all religious ceremonies are celebrated. It is something special and different, and places it within the world of physical pleasure and joy and the need to be grateful, to thank the Divine.
Then comes the invocation of life, creation. That’s where it all starts, and in this ceremony we are contributing to it. If we have been privileged to be part of the universe, we also have an implicit responsibility to appreciate it, develop it, and protect it.
The apogee of creation is humanity. There follow two blessings that concern humanity. There is the simple fact of life, but there is also a life well and fully lived. One can live a physical life very fully if one is fortunate as well as wise. But without a spiritual dimension there is something lacking. The two blessings celebrate our physical and our spiritual potential–two blessings, with the same “human” message.
Humanity, however, does not exist in a vacuum. One has to find one’s place within a community. The next crucial ingredient of Zion represents our religious and social identities. Simply to be part of the human race is too inchoate and vague. We humans need to live within smaller economic, cultural, and religious subdivisions, to be aware of others beyond our own immediate selves and to be loyal to shared causes and ideal.
These blessings establish one’s position in relation to God and the universe. Then they turn to the most profound and creative relationship of one’s life. The final two blessings specifically refer to the bride and groom. The first blesses “the groom and the bride”. The second blesses “the groom together with the bride”. It is a subtle and intentional distinction that first emphasizes the individuality of each partner, the need to recognize the differences and needs of the other, then in the second blessing uses all the words we have for joy to celebrate the ultimate partnership, which is greater than the sum of the parts, in which the individual is encompassed within the marriage."
Read full article: http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/08/24/kickstarting-a-healthy-marriage-with-an-abundance-of-blessings/
"The opening blessing over wine is how all religious ceremonies are celebrated. It is something special and different, and places it within the world of physical pleasure and joy and the need to be grateful, to thank the Divine.
Then comes the invocation of life, creation. That’s where it all starts, and in this ceremony we are contributing to it. If we have been privileged to be part of the universe, we also have an implicit responsibility to appreciate it, develop it, and protect it.
The apogee of creation is humanity. There follow two blessings that concern humanity. There is the simple fact of life, but there is also a life well and fully lived. One can live a physical life very fully if one is fortunate as well as wise. But without a spiritual dimension there is something lacking. The two blessings celebrate our physical and our spiritual potential–two blessings, with the same “human” message.
Humanity, however, does not exist in a vacuum. One has to find one’s place within a community. The next crucial ingredient of Zion represents our religious and social identities. Simply to be part of the human race is too inchoate and vague. We humans need to live within smaller economic, cultural, and religious subdivisions, to be aware of others beyond our own immediate selves and to be loyal to shared causes and ideal.
These blessings establish one’s position in relation to God and the universe. Then they turn to the most profound and creative relationship of one’s life. The final two blessings specifically refer to the bride and groom. The first blesses “the groom and the bride”. The second blesses “the groom together with the bride”. It is a subtle and intentional distinction that first emphasizes the individuality of each partner, the need to recognize the differences and needs of the other, then in the second blessing uses all the words we have for joy to celebrate the ultimate partnership, which is greater than the sum of the parts, in which the individual is encompassed within the marriage."
Read full article: http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/08/24/kickstarting-a-healthy-marriage-with-an-abundance-of-blessings/
Pertaining to the Olympics
The Algemeiner has posted a latter from Dan Yagudin to Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman.
Continue reading: http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/08/23/a-letter-to-aly-raisman-from-an-idf-soldier/
Tomer Devorah posted about the US flag falling during the Olympic ceremony.
Rabbi Wallerstein discusses what we can learn from an Olympic athlete who fell but the following day she was able to put the incident aside. Even though she fell the day before she could put it out of her mind and try to do her best the next day. It is something for us to learn -facing our failures and turning them into victory, particularly during the month of repentance.
Continue reading: http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/08/23/a-letter-to-aly-raisman-from-an-idf-soldier/
Tomer Devorah posted about the US flag falling during the Olympic ceremony.
Rabbi Wallerstein discusses what we can learn from an Olympic athlete who fell but the following day she was able to put the incident aside. Even though she fell the day before she could put it out of her mind and try to do her best the next day. It is something for us to learn -facing our failures and turning them into victory, particularly during the month of repentance.
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