1)     Good question. I don’t know.

2)     Tiffilin = glory. We don’t wear such things in the state of mourning we’re in on 9 Av until the afternoon when the state of mourning is lessened. 

3) Maybe the husband slept on the floor with the kids? Personally, I don’t see this question as difficult.

 

 

4) aruv. halacha states many requirements, which includes all those inside of the aruv needing to be shomar shabbas… which therefore invalidates 99.99% of all aruvim in the world.
and upon debating this with younglings, they token responce is ‘goyim are not bound by halachah’
no arguement there. but an aruv is what… as we see in halachah, with a machloket over mizonot (bracahah achronah) and motzeh (berkot hamazon), the question arises over whether one can make an aruv over mizonot. we learn that an aruv is making the public private, the many into one. If goyim are driving around in your aruv on shabbas, then the aruv is not kosher and therefore does not exist.
…
i find that mass orthodoxy is unwilling to consider that anything they do is wrong, which to me is why the Messiah has not come or will not come yet. If we are unwilling to hear and believe in truth –even if it is counter to what we know and think is Torah– then how can we accept the Messiah if he/she was to arrive?

4) I don’t understand your question.  You say yourself that there is no problem with non Jews driving. 

About your other comments: Orthodox Jews, more than anyone else, are constantly being introspective and conscious of their actions and motivations for those actions. Now compare that with your average Westerner.  I’m not saying everyone’s perfect, but let’s be real. 

This “accepting Messiah” concept is a christian invention. There is no such idea in Judaism.  It’s comparable to a person saying, “I don’t accept George Bush as President of the USA” – You may hate his policiy and his guts, but your accepting him or not accepting him as president is irrelevant to the fact that he is the president.  Messiah means anointed.  The one who is anointed as king of the Jews is called Messiah – whether or not you “accept” him.

 

 

5) furthermore…. i heard from the most reliable of sources (to me), that there is actually little halachic basis for mechitzah. so, give me a line and place that explains it, please.
the token reasons behind it I find are asbolete and completely opposite today, and even counter-intuitive by nature.
6) from the same reliable source, i was told that it is written that you (generic you, referring in this case to women) are explicitly NOT permitted to wear wigs. hence my family does not do the sheital, rather the burret-hat thing. I am not necessarily griping with the notion of covering a woman’s head after marriage, but rather, on the fairly widespread notion of wig-covering, which is done in such a way that contradicts the entire notion of covering the head in the first place.

5)     To start with: Mishna Sukkah 5:2 and Talmud 51b; Yerushalmi Sukka 5:2; Middos 5:2; Rambam Hilchot Lulav 8:12;  Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 149:1. See “Woman & the Mitzvot Vol. 2” by R. Ellinson for more.  Even without sources, the claim that it is obsolete, opposite, and counter-intuitive today is, for me, difficult to understand.  Just turn on the TV or go on the internet.  Everyone knows what the mixing of the sexes leads to so it would seem a logical, obvious, and rationale conclusion to separate them in a place where you want a serious, focussed, and introspective environment.

6) Well, there is such an opinion.  However, there are clearly legitimate opinions that wigs are not only acceptable but better.  (Two reasons given: 1-covers all the hair better; 2-Perhaps one can say [this is me speaking – I have not heard or read this anywhere] for the sake of the woman’s self image.  As you can imagine, some women have difficulty [not just in the physical sense, but also emotional] with the notion of covering their hair when they are married.  And, according to the opinion that wigs are ok, it can be an easier transition for the woman getting married. [As mentioned, I have not explicitly seen or heard this approach for the supremacy of a wig over another covering altogether, however I have heard this as a reason for getting a good quality wig if you are getting one.])

7) a conflict within the question itself, before i even ask it… chabad is known beyound its numbers (estimated at 300,000 today). you talked about minhag and custom previously on this wall. if a group of jews, with a largue influence, does things that seem counter to halachah (like not sleeping in the sukkah, and not partaking in siuddah shleshit), how can one broach this side-stepping of what seems to be clear halachah. I have heard the Chabad responce, ‘do you think they did not know halachah’… but i am curious, how, within the confines of respect given Klal yisroel… how can we bridge the gap between different “sects” of judaism… much like the divide between sfard and ashkenaz….

 

 

7) I’m glad you brought this up because a lot of people struggle with it. 

The Jewish people is made up of twelve tribes.  Those tribes already by the time they left Egypt had different dialects etc. Yet they are all part of the collective whole.  They all have their particular path of relating to Gd, but within the overall context of Judaism.  They all agree on the fundamentals: One Gd; Who gave the Torah to the Jewish people; with the Oral Law; and are bound by it eternally.  But accepting those principle doesn’t make Jewish belief one particular path.  Within the context of those overall beliefs, there is room for more than one specific path.  This is where the ideal of more than one way within halacha comes into play.

Another example of this can be seen in Kabbalah.  Kabbalah compares all the souls that come into the world as a body.  There are head souls (more into learning), there are mouth souls (more attuned to prayer), there are hand souls (make money and support the community).  Now all of these are good. And the truth is, all of these people are responsible in all fields of Jewish practice.  But which type of soul you are comes into play in terms of emphasis.  In other words, everyone should learn for some time every day – even the mouth soul – but there are those who will be involved in learning for 10 hours because that is their way of emphasis in connecting to Gd.  And head souls may lesarn for 10 hours a day, but they still need to pray 3 times a day as well (we will come to an exception to this that you brought up in #9).  So there is a bottom line in belief and practise, but beyond that bottom line there is room to move.  And these emphasises are what also developed within different communities.  I hope this addresses your question.

 

 

therefore, as per my question bellow, I am a big proponent of the grand sanhedrin, and think we need another one, stat. it would solve the aforementioned issues, by established a universal court that would effectively establish, without question, what is and is not halachah, or minhag, and allow the entirely of Judea to move forward in step with each other. Others have told me this is an impossible dream that can only be realized AFTER the messiah comes.
I dont understand why. I feel as though we need this unifyier just to be in a place where we are capable of receiving Moshiach. the obvious problem becomes, finding 1001 rabbis would be universally qualify…

Well, we will need a Sanhedrin but I’m not sure their role will be to abolish all present traditions in favor of establishing one route.  In terms of certain halachic issues that will come up and be brought before them, they obviously issue the one binding ruling on that, but as for the different pathways that exist now in general (ashkenaz, sefard, etc), it would seem that it is not intrinsically a bad thing, but rather an ideal as I’ve mentioned in the previous answer.

9) in responce to someone elses question, you said that one should fast in lue of praying on yom kippur. you also talked about the proper mindset in praying, the notion of trivial questions and whatnot…
if one converses with G-d in their own way each and everyday, thanking and praising, asking and pleasing… based on waht you said, this should either qualify as tfillah or be enough to observe the obligation. would that be the case? i know that the one sage (blanking out on name here) he excused from prayer as his Torah study, in and of itself, was his observance of the obligation. But if you see HaShem in everything, and in every moment, and appreciate everything thusly, does one need to open a siddur and chant words, especially if they are intangible to some-one not fluent?

9) Yes if one does those things in his own words from the bottom of his heart, he has fulfilled his obligation to pray.  Now, about your question on Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai…keeping my answer to #7 in mind… the reason he didn’t pray was because he was intensely learning 24-7, and for someone on that level of learning to stop for praying is a step down.  Now, in reference to #7 you will ask that everyone is supposed to be involved in all aspects of Judaism at least at a certain bottom line level, so why shouldn’t he stop learning and why is it considered a step down?  The answer to this question is that, while everyone has their particular soul origin as we’ve mentioned, in then end of the day there IS an objective hierarchy with the Torah learning soul at the top.  That is to say, objectively, Torah learning IS the highest thing you can do in Judaism objectively.  However, to push 16 hours of learning per day on a mouth soul would be destructive and the wrong thing to do.  So, we find a lot of Jewish sources praising Torah learning as #1, but in the end of the day some people are simply not made for 16-hour-per-day learning.  I hope I have presented this clearly.  If there are any questions, please ask as there is much confusion on this subject.

10) technically, back on niddah. I asked my rabbi friend who actually got his shmichah in this topic about the question, but he never finished the answer.
menstruation is an impure thing, as prescribed in Torah. ok, fine. But, if that is the case, then why dont girls, from their first period, go to the mikvah. YES! i understand, they are not (hopefully) engaging in premarital sex, but this does not explain things enough. a woman whos going through menapause, her requirement to the mikvah ends (this is question, i do not know), but i can assume she would still cohabit with her spouse.
But back on point, if it is the blood itself that is the cause of impurity, and we see blood being a big deal often, then shouldnt it be ALL those who have said blood issues going to purify themselves. what if a 11yr old opens a door, and then i open that door. am i impure? it doesnt make sense to me, though i am admittantly ignorant on this.

A woman who does not have menstruation does not have “tumah” take hold and therefore does not need to go to the mikvah. (i.e. pregnant; menopause)

Now, in terms of the extent of the laws of “tumah”, since the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash-Temple, we are not all that concerned with the other lesser forms of “tumah” since it does not effect us.  It is kind of comparable to the following dilemma: Which is a better outfit – a wedding dress or a pair of jeans?  Most of us would initially react and say wedding dress.  The obvious question becomes: Really? What if some ketchup falls onto the wedding dress? That wedding dress is considered no longer wearable whereas if ketchup were to fall on the jeans, you wouldn’t mind keeping them on, so maybe the jeans are really better!? Obvious answer: Since the wedding dress is at a higher level and more refined, it is affected and rendered unwearable by things that wouldn’t phase you if they were to happen to your jeans.  Same here: In Temple times when the general spiritual level was more refined, we had to be more concerned about these things such as your doorknob question.  Whereas now, we are at a general spiritual atmosphere more comparable to the jeans and need not concern ourselves all that much with the lesser forms of “tumah”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 11) It seems like the info you got on this was accurate.  There are differences of opinion on whether or not this would be considered a fullfillment of “Be fruitful & multiply”, therefore, better to have kids the old fashioned way, but if someone cannot, he should try to have kids this way (same goes for invetro).  Now the questions that will arise are questions of relationships – who is the father halachically leads to who is the sibling which leads to who can this person marry and who not (i.e. you can’t marry your sister)

12) a lot of debate about the tchalit… even in the yeshivah i was out earlier in the summer. So whats the word, have we found this mysterous sea creature to make the blue dye, or not.

 12) As you have witnessed, there are different opinions on the subject.

{#13 I didn’t quite understand the question & it was too detailed for this forum. If you’d like to send me it in different words a little clearer, I’ll be happy to try to address it privately -Eli}

14) alaska. a mere 7 days before i dropped my bacon and tv remote on shabbas to began my reacqaintence with HaShem, I was on a family trip to the state. Some days a year, they have 22 hours of sunlight. how would one observe shabbat in such places, or other holidays for that matter? And an offset of this question with the prospects of life on the moon plausible, safe to assume it would be forbidden for jews? I cant imagine how one could determine rosh Chodesh, unless it would be everyday….

 14) I wouldn’t say life on the moon is “forbidden”, but let’s just say it would seem Jews were are better off not to live in such places. Come to Israel instead.  In terms of places that don’t have regular day-night arrangements, according to most opinions: follow the clock of the nearest Jewish community.  Another opinion is to go according to the clock of Jerusalem.  In your question about the moon, since the majority opinion is not really applicable, all agree that you go by the Jerusalem clock.

15) one rabbi once told me that blessing your food raise it to a higher level. it brings out the spark of HaShem (yea, ill get a little chassidic here for a moment). To which my responce was, then why would we not make blessing on unkosher food? (kal vichomer, i would think… to raise something not on a high level, to a slightly less not-high level). the easy responce is, why are you eating not kosher? But, let us be real, there are extenuating circumstances. but ill even give you one. man is dying, and all i go to feed him is pig. if i do not give it to him (ignore the fact that this could be construed as a sin on me, and/or assume there is not enough time for my to acquire an alternative). should this man not say shehakol on this pig? Is he not thankful to HaShem that he has found some sustenance, that he was satiated but then satisfied….

 15) This question involves Kabbalistic background and concepts that would require an entire class to explain.  See “InnerSpace” by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan page 163-164 where he addresses this issue explicitly.

16) i had a daydream one day… i thought it would be so beneficial to world Jewry if they could comprehend the temple. So, i tried to think how this is practical. I figured, what if a huge plot of land was bought in a big state, say, texas. and on that plot of land, an exact replica of the Temple was built, to full scale (obviously, without the Kdosh ha Kidoshim). what this be an act of sacrilege? Is this defaming Jerusalem and her gemstone? I dont have the money to do the aforementioned, obviously, and i dont see many rabbis who would be willing to extend their knowledge on the specs and halachah regarding the Temple, not to mention i dont think any jewish construction company would even come near the project… but i really think it would inspire all those who do not naturally cling to Torah… and we deal with theoreticals all the time in Talmud.

 16) probably sacrilege

17) ill end here. I have heard a few different responces… but most say that shidduchim is the best and ideal way. i have many many many many MANY feelings to the contrary. but regardless (and still being single and unwed), i am quick to question if that makes those who find marriage otherwise looked down upon? I know i have seen it scoffed at by some in charedi community… is it really halachically based, especially to the point that public scutiny therein would even be remotely acceptable, in an act of deterrance? granted, the strict adherance to the laws of Lashon Harah would render most speech made illlegal, but, in matters like these, where is the line?

17) As far as I can tell, the idea of getting setup is good advice and nothing more.  Yes, in Judaism, we aren’t into mixing the sexes because of where it would lead to for the individuals and society at large, but to make the claim that there is some halacha to get set up would be quite a stretch – one which I have not encountered.  In general my advice for people is to keep their options open and see what Gd sends your way.  There is no reason to make a policy “I only go out when I am set up” or “I will only go out with someone by meeting them ‘naturally’”.  Each of those statements is equally idiotic.  I’m not saying you should go to a bar and see what comes your way. Nor am I even saying you should go to mixed public functions to find a wife.  What I am saying is the setup system does make the most sense on paper because when people meet, the emotional tends to get immediately connected to the relationship before it has been made clear that this relationship is rationally sensible.  However, if you happen to meet the right someone somehow, great!  I can’t see a halachic basis for bashing someone for doing the mitzvah of getting married – even if they find their mate by meeting them “randomly” or “naturally”, but if someone were to bash the functions that mix the sexes, I wouldn’t have a problem with that.

 

Ok I hope this has helped.  I look forward to meeting and learning with you soon in Jerusalem.