S.I.E: OH YEAH, AND FOR THE RECORD:

'Sichos in English' is neither Sichos nor English.
- berl, crown heights 11.25.05 - 10:57 am / Link: #

Posted at mentalblog.com / Thread: R. Goldshmidt is banned from Moscow. (I know, I already posted a thought for today, but this is a short one... At some point I hope to do a list of "one-liners" -- and I'll include it again there -- but that will take a while.)

SOME GRAMMAR NOTES

intransitive and transitive in the same construct. Posted at mentalblog.com, Thread: Sharpshooter Markovitz:

Empathetic sorrow:
ויבא אברהם לספוד לשרה וְלִבְכֹּתָהּ
(Genesis 23:2)

Ibn Ezra states that the word וְלִבְכֹּתָה translates as "to cry over her".

What’s Ibn Ezra’s question?
Well, he is trying to resolve a grammatical difficulty: The verb בנין פעל ) לִבְכֹּת ) is an intransitive verb ( פועל עומד ) "to cry". Whereas לְבַכֹּת ( with a pattach under the veis - בנין פיעל ) is a transitive verb ( פועל יוצא ) "to cry over, to bewail". You can either simply "cry" or "cry over something". But you can’t "cry something". So the proper word here should have been לְבַכֹּת (levakkois) and not לִבְכֹּת (livkois). Ibn Ezra’s answer means that, simply put, this particular verb can be both intransitive and transitive in the same construct ( בנין פעל ). To that end, he brings another example of such usage of this word.

The ארקוולטי ([not sure if it is Arikvalti or Arakvalti)] quoted by Avi Ezer), offers a beautiful explanation of this usage: the intransitive construct is used here to indicate the degree to which the mourner identifies with the mourned – they become as if one. (Thus in his crying over Soroh, Avrohom is also crying in her stead, not merely crying "over" her.)

berl, crown heights 11.22.05 - 5:37 pm Link: #

PETA vs RUBASHKIN

Posted at mentalblog.com / Thread: R. Elyashiv on force feeding


...I accept that "people who are behind this [attack on Rubashkin] in PETA are conservative Jews", just as you report it. They may even be really well-meaning.
However, wittingly or unwittingly they are lending a helping hand to an organization that is, in my long-held opinion, part of the global political force that is currently aligned against all Jewish interests and is anti-Semitic (their holocaust campaign was not just "shameful and distasteful", it was downright evil and very indicative of how this organization feels about Jews). It should not come as a huge surprise that Jews may be involved in PETA – Jewish רחמנות has been misdirected many times before. What you consider "extreme terminology" [in previous posts] is my actual opinion and I do not know how to phrase it any other way...

On the Rubashkin issue, there should be less room for disagreement. No חומרה can't possibly take precedent over the well being, פרנסה, and reputation a Jewish family. Any serious פוסק (and neither you nor I are that) that feels a need to speak out on this issue – may do so themselves...

SUMMARY:
1. PETA - must be opposed at all costs.
2. Emotional and finacial well-being of a good Jewish family - more important that any חומרה.

This all I plan to say on this issue.

berl, crown heights 03.02.05 - 3:10 pm Link: #

---

Oh yeah, and there was this back & forth:

[Berl,] it's not just Lubavitch; Orthodox Judaism has become a political game. To a Chabadnik , no Chabad man can do wrong, A Gerer will defend his compadre as well and go down the line.
Is it not possibile for a Lubavitcher chasid to behave in a manner not 100% correct ?

schneur 03.02.05 - 3:20 pm Link: #

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Berl responds:

"Is it not possible for a Lubavitcher chossid to behave in a manner not 100% correct?"

Yes, on this I can testify myself - I am 100% not 100% correct.

"Calling for an investigation" is different that creating a forum for irresponsible run-away allegations of wrong-doing. And I would find it equally distasteful should a similar smear campaign been conducted against ... any Jewish proprietor. Beware of jealousy and other base emotions! On kashrus there is no choice – pick a Rov and rely on him. Leave others alone to do the same. Simple enough.

berl, crown heights 03.02.05 - 3:35 pm Link: #

LUBAVITCH IS WHAT IT WAS

Posted at mentalblog.com -- Thread: We’ll all live happily ever after -- in response to claims that the Rebbe had perhaps taken the Lubavitcher movement in a different direction, with different ideals than that of the previous Rabbeim...

1. The Rebbe’s agenda was at least as intellectual and inward-focused as that of his most illustrious predecessors. He developed תורת החסידות both in breadth as well as in depth to a completely unprecedented level. His מאמרים שיחות פלפולים ואגרות inspired, guided and produced a great number of real משכילים ( וואס שטיין גאר ניט אף די גרעסטע משכילים פון אמאל ). This despite the obvious ירידת הדורות in terms of עבודת התפילה !

2. All the Rebbe’s predecessors (starting with the holy Baal Shem Tov and the צדיקים נסתרים before him) were no less focused on taking responsibility for all segments of the Jewish nation ("kiruv") than the Rebbe. The written record regarding this is extensive. It encompasses the agricultural settlements of the Mitteler Rebbe, the anti-Haskolo activism of the Tzemach Tzedek (as well as his efforts for the kantonist’n), the anti-pogrom activism of the Rebbe Maharsh, and, yes the very establishment of the Tomchei Temimim by the Rebbe Rashab – to educate future "נרות להאיר" and "חיילי בית דוד" in his own words. The Previous Rebbe’s entire tenure was devoted to supporting and spreading observance of מצות מעשיות by the simplest among the Holy Nation. Not to mention the efforts to disseminate תורת החסידות among all Jews that was instituted by the Alter Rebbe & continued by all the נשיאים.

There is much more to write, but this will suffice.

berl, crown heights 04.10.05 - 8:53 pm / Link: #

---

Followed by:

...the biggest mistake is the idea of the "chief focus". נשיאי חב"ד did not distinguish between the 3 pillars of:אהבת ה' אהבת התורה אהבת ישראל
Without this fundamental understanding any discussion of what the נשיאי חב"ד לדוריהם tried to do is doomed to failure.

berl, crown heights 04.10.05 - 9:04 pm / Link: #

A

FREILICHEN

SHABBES

MEVORCHIM

LUBAVITCH BREAK AWAY MOVEMENT?

Posted at mentalblog.com (thread: New/old Chabad stream? ) in response to a proposal made by a commenter stating that there should be a "break away" movement from mainstream Lubavitch due to the current "failings:"

Do you honestly think that paying lip service to yiras shomaim, learning & davening in a "break away" group will somehow magically work better than the lip service paid to those ideas in the current group? Do you actually know a large group of people who practice those values themselves but are having a hard time transmitting them to their children? I will submit to you that parents who personify those values are seeing the same in their children. There are exceptions, but those are few and far between.

My point: Those that embody the abovementioned values already, do not need to break away. Those that do not - braking away will not help them.

I do strenuously disagree with you on this item from you list: "No more bochrim shlichus".The Rebbe wanted this shlichus! And it is the most potent maturing & eye-opening experience these kids will ever have before they enter adult life!

berl, crown heights 04.04.05 - 10:45 pm Link: #

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And this one from: Lubavitch ministry of education

...And while I feel that a separate Chabad "group" as neither desirable nor practical, I predict that new חדרים וישיבות בדרך ישראל סבא חב"ד will spring up all over the map. It is already happening as we speak.
berl, crown heights 04.07.05 - 1:55 am Link: #

...As for me - I feel that Chabad International is the Rebbe's baby - I am going to stick around, come what may. (Although of late I am constantly investigating & re-evaluating my assumptions about the Rebbe’s specific positions on things, as I said.) I also have a feeling that we are not all looking for the exactly same thing. I am interested in my kids growing up למדנים, פנימים ומקשרים but I am not interested in the purely "old-fashioned version" of anything. I really believe that like every time, our time also demands its own ("new") language to express these timeless ("old") ideas. And I am fascinated to watch the kids looking for this language. If this is too "New-Age", so be it.
berl, crown heights 04.07.05 - 2:36 am #

CHASSIDIC CREATIVITY, NEW AGEISM & FRUSTRATION – A RESPONSE

Posted at mentalblog.com, Thread: Originality in the Charedi world or dozen tomatoes

Schneur writes:
…There is little originality left in the Charedi world. If you are an original person, you will be labeled a meshugener and will have issues in shidduchim, etc. I recall Reb Michel Abehsera describing the Orthodox world like a dozen tomatoes genetically produced to look the same color, size and shape… …And many of the so called Shluchim who do the Chabad House circuit are speaking not about Chassidic ideas but rather they advertise Chassidic ideas. What they talk about is either straight out of the self help genre in Pop Psychology or Religious (New Age) psychology of which there are hundreds of similar books in Christian book stores or they are trying to copy the success of the Kabbalah Centers and teach Kabbalah to control your life, etc. But few teach chassiduth…

----------------

Berl responds:

"Creativity & the "Baal Shem Tov revolution": I think the entire premise/expectation that the multitudes of the Jewish people can turn into original creative thinkers and lofty spiritual seekers is both unrealistic & wrong. Such an outlook smacks of a utopian world view that flies in the face of human nature (G-d’s creation). I always thought that the core message of the Baal Shem Tov’s was quite the opposite – "Jew, no matter how "mediocre" you or others think you to be, your sincere performance of the mitzvos, your heart-felt prayer are near and dear to G-d!" Creativity is important, to be sure. But the kind of creativity discussed here is, by definition, the lot of the few. Those that were endowed by the Creator with such intellectual and spiritual abilities are responsible to strive high and should not "stop at the age of 21". But I would submit to you that such people are few. And they are few among the sheluchim as well – as to be expected! For a simpler person, creativity could mean "translating" chassidus into their own language ( בלשון המשפיעים - אייגענע אותיות ). That brings me to the other topic:

New Ageism & the Mechanical sichos: Translating the ideas contained in chassidus into one’s own language is true when teaching as well. Everything depends on the audience. There are people who are inspired by the "Divine plan for the Jewish people" – and they should be told that. But, sadly, there are many Jews today who speak the language of the New Age and do not feel any emotional connection to the Jewish people. They need to be reached as well. One way of reaching them is translating the ideas contained in chassidus into that language. The test is not in how these lectures sound to Schneur or how often the lecturer mentions "Rabbi, Judaism, Mitzvoth", but whether this actually causes these Jews to take on the observance of mitzvos! And the fact is – it does that. As to the mechanical repetition of sichos (as off-putting as it is), this too finds an audience for whom the strength and power of the ideas contained therein shines through.

Frustration with the above: Dissatisfaction is inevitable for people that attend the wrong lecture hall. A man that belongs in Reb Yoel’s shiur should not expect to be happy with the typical Chabad House speech.

berl, crown heights 06.01.05 - 1:02 pm Link: #

עובר אליבא דכולא עלמא

For a Lubavitcher, the פוסק אחרון on [trimming beards] is the צמח צדק, who holds that even trimming one's beard is an איסור דאורייתא.

(I once suggested to a friend who trims his beard that it might be less of a חוצפה for him to use a real razor blade and be עובר אליבא דכולא עלמא and thus avoid singling out the צמח צדק with such disregard.)

berl, crown heights 03.31.05 - 5:13 pm / Link: #

(Oh yes, this was the follow up:)

I know, that was twisted.
berl, crown heights 03.31.05 - 5:17 pm Link: #

Credit: mentalblog.com / Thread: Simon Jacobson - the proof is in the pudding

DEFINITION OF R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Posted at mentalblog.com - Thread: I'm 23, I live in Crown Heights and I write well. Deal with it :)

In response to S.H., who wrote: "I respect a person’s right to choose their own lifestyle."

With all due respect, this is a formula statement (the kind one is expected to make in polite company) with not a shred of any meaning. Do you mean to say that while you sincerely respect the right of any Jew to be mechalel shabos, you equally respect the right of the beis din hagoddol (when it is re-established once again) to stone said mechalel shabos (with proper eidim vehasrooh, naturally)?

STERN WARNING FOR IDIOTS: the preceding comment is tangential and has nothing AT ALL to do with any [specific] individual...

berl, crown heights 11.01.05 - 11:47 am Link: #

--------------------------------------------------------

Although, this back & forth WAS posted further down:

GOT IT: respect / ri’spekt / noun(n) :
Describes a willingness to tolerate someone’s disagreeable actions and refrain from attempting to ‘force them to change through humiliation, intimidation, or the threat of being cut off from the family’.
berl, crown heights 11.01.05 - 12:58 pm Link: #
--
Respect... I like to think of it as a transative verb rather than a noun. It gives it more oomph, you know? Well, that's about right. Sounds a little militant, I suppose, but I think you've got it. ...
S. H. 11.01.05 - 1:08 pm Link: #
--
OK, I looked it up and have to admit that I am wrong on this one.There is a dictionary definition of the word 'respect' that means simply 'avoid harming or interfering with'. And here I though it was just a common misuse. Hmm.
berl, crown heights 11.01.05 - 1:12 pm # )

PROVE IT

Posted at mentalblog.com (New/old Chabad stream? ) 4/4/2005:

It seems to me that what has been emerging lately as a theme is that we have all made some assumptions regarding the Rebbe's various initiatives. Perhaps time has come to re-investigate all the claims that are made in the Rebbe's name, and strip away that which did not expressly come from him?

berl, crown heigths 04.04.05 - 11:03 pm -- Link: #

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And this, from Lubavitch ministry of education:

Berl writes: A number of years ago I asked a school principle in Crown Heights to explain why his school did not implement a certain policy that seemed to be rooted in basic common sense. The man replied: "Yeah, that sounds great, but Rabbi Chodakov would never let us do that..." It this crap that I no longer accept. Before I surrender my common sense, show me in writing that your idea comes directly from the Rebbe!

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And finally (same thread): ...Perhaps a new t-shirt is in order: Shut up. Give it to me in writing!

berl, crown heigths 04.06.05 - 1:03 pm -- Link: #

REQUIRED READING FOR ALL BERL FANS

B E R L M A N I F E S T O:

1. I have never pretended to be an objective commentator. My allegiance to רבותינו נשיאינו is total, fanatical, blind, without any conditions and unabashed.

2. I do not expect other people to agree with my interpretation of all events & facts. Reasonable people can disagree on such things.

3. I do expect, however, that facts that serve as a spring board for any conclusion-making are indeed facts and not a mixture of distortions, misquotes, innuendos and omissions. I am not afraid to entertain any fact, provided it is true. Reasonable people should be able to agree on this.

4. I also expect that when my interpretation of any fact is a plausible as that of my opponent’s, that it would be acknowledged as such. Beyond that, everyone is free to draw whatever conclusions they wish.

5. Anyone who does not find these truths self-evident, has already made up their mind about Chabad as strongly as I have (albeit in the opposite way) and there is, indeed, nothing to be gained from a dialogue between us.

berl, crown heights 03.27.05 - 1:34 pm #

Credit: mentalblog.com / Thread: To Schneur Zalman of NY on DR. Rigg & 65 years of silence

FINANCE

Posted at mentalblog.com

Berl, Crown Heights writes:

...In addition to having more advanced secular education, most Modern Orthodox practice severe birth control (at least as compared to average "charedi" couples) and thus not only have less children to support, but are also more likely to have 2-income households. I know quite a few "charedi" heads of household that hold what would be normally considered well paying jobs and still barely "making ends meet". A guy earning a respectable 100K (before taxes) simply can't support 8 kids + wife + house in Brooklyn with ~40K going toward Yeshiva tuitions. And what is there to say for a guy making 75K (also a decent pay)????

Good professional education is simply not enough to support the cost of the current "charedi" lifestyle. And I honestly do not see how this can continue without some very serious communal intervention - and soon! If you want to talk about kids being disillusioned, growing up in poverty is a major contributing factor for sure. I have heard quite a few first-hand accounts of kids saying to their impoverished parents: "I do not want to live like you when I grow up..."

I would even venture to say that the "charedi" community attitudes about spending & lifestyle are more self-destructive than simple "materialism". I have been thinking about this for a long time and will try to write more on this later. A well-paid professional "charedi" head of household, even if his head is "screwed on right" about money & spending (i.e. he does not feel that a new hat for יו"ט is "a must" of יהרג ואל יעבור proportions) simply can’t afford to pay even for a very modest lifestyle. For a guy like that (~100K before taxes with 8 kids) tuitions will not be a cent under 40K, and that is after all the "breaks" (even in Lubavitch!). Now you tell me, what is left (after taxes & tuitions) to pay for housing, clothing, food, etc for a family of 10? If his wife does not work – he is flat out of luck. And how much can a mother of 8 earn?

There only 3 ways to maintain this lifestyle:

1. Be a successful businessman.

2. Have a cash job and be on all the "programs"

3. Best of all - combine "1" & "2" !

Anyone still wonder why yungelite after kolel do not break down the doors of universities in rush to become physical therapists, lawyers or financial analysts?

MAINSTREAM LUBAVITCH

Posted one year ago at mentalblog.com:


Here is what I think are some very basic and mainstream Lubavitcher beliefs:

1. A belief that חסידות חב"ד היא שער הכולל המביא אל דרך עולה בית א-ל.

2. A belief that while קיום מצות מעשיות is valid as practiced by all the "orthodox" Jews, this is not so when it comes to 'עבודת ה and even less so concerning what is commonly known as "אמונות ודעות". (In fact, correcting this deficiency was a core reason for the very establishment of חסידות חב"ד by the אדמו"ר הזקן. Immediately prior to that, the prevailing conditions - in terms of these crucial points of Jewish existence - in the countries then known as "ארבעה ארצות" deteriorated to a state of total corruption and gross aberration. Many of the innovations by the אדמו"ר הזקן were nothing more than restored authentic practices of the קדמונים [as he testified to his interrogators in the Tainy Soviet])

3. A visceral belief that being a מתנגד is a vile state of being that causes a man to deny the very existence of G-d by breathing alone.

4. A belief that it is a birthright of every Jew to taste the נועם אלקי של חסידות חב"ד and be connected to the חוטר מגזע ישי. So do the Lubavitchers want all Jews to be Lubavitchers? You bet! Proudly so! (It’s just that we do not mind if they want to hold on their beaver hats or white socks. However, I never understood this - why does this belief bother anyone? Is anyone forced to do anything against their will? Their anger reminds me of the age-old accusation leveled against Jews by all anti-Semites: "Those Jews think they are superior to us!" The question that these people never address is: "If it is not true, why does it bother you so?"

berl, crown heights 05.16.05 - 3:45 pm #

WELCOME

Baruch atta b'voecha; Baruch atta b'tzesecha!

There has been - for quite some time - a clamor for words of inspiration. Unfortunately, many who seek to inspire often lack the requisite tools to succeed; therefore I seek to provide a daily quote, culled from the archives of the blogosphere, that contain a healthy dose of substance, humor, sarcasm and cynicism, bringing meaning to the mundane and inspiration to the faceless masses who travel these halls...