Volume 47 Number 11
Produced: Mon Feb 28 5:54:38 EST 2005
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
11th Siyum Hashas New Manhattan Location
[Joshua Meisner]
Alternative Reason for Mechitza
[Joshua Sharf]
Bris Sensitivity (was Metzitza discussion)
[Chaim Shapiro]
Hadran le-Masekhet Niddah
[Yael Levine]
Just because it's in print or on the internet
[Carl Singer]
Key Cards revisited
[Larry Israel]
Mechitza
[Batya Medad]
Metzitza b'peh
[Hanno Mott]
Recycling and Genizah
[Jonathan Sperling]
Religious Freedom in Early US Colonies (2)
[<FriedmanJ@...>, Batya Medad]
Seoul South Korea
[David Riceman]
Testing a mohel for herpes
[Carl Singer]
Uva l'Tziyon
[Israel Caspi]
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From: Joshua Meisner <jmeisner@...>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 12:46:42 -0500
Subject: 11th Siyum Hashas New Manhattan Location
> From: "Aryeh Berger" <aberger@...>
> Subject: 11th Siyum Hashas New Manhattan Location
>
> The Daf Yomi Commission is pleased to announce, that due to overwhelming
> demand, the Jacob Javits Convention Center, located on 11th Avenue and
> 34th Street, will be made available to the public for a live hookup to
> Madison Square Garden and the Continental Arenas for the 11th Siyum
> Hashas of Daf Yomi. The price is $20 per seat. Tickets can be purchased
> at the following locations:
>
> MANHATTAN: Agudath Israel of America National Headquarters 42 Broadway,
> 14th Floor (888) Siyum-11
>
> BROOKLYN: Eichler's 5004 13th Avenue (718) 633-1505, 1401 Coney Island
> Avenue (718) 258-7643; Torah Treasures 3005 Avenue L (718) 677-3089
>
> MONSEY: Five Star Judaica 457 Route 306 Wesley Hills Plaza (845) 354-3033
>
> FAR ROCKAWAY: Ki Tov 1847 Mott Avenue (718) 471-0963
>
> PASSAIC, NJ: Z. Berman Books 110 Van Houten Avenue (973) 471-1765
>
> QUEENS: Gift World 72-20 Main Street (718) 261-0233
>
> We hope that all those who are interested, will still be able to partake
> in this monumental Kiddush Hashem.
> Please forward this message to your E-mail network.
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From: Joshua Sharf <jsharf@...>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 06:40:51 -0700
Subject: Alternative Reason for Mechitza
Rabbi Barry Freundel, in "Contemporary Orthodox Judaism's Response to
Modernity," (p. 268-269), cites Norman Lamm (Tradition 1:2, "Separate
Pews in the Synagogue") in support of this position:
Further, proper prayer is all about creating the right mood.
Part of this mood is seeing oneself as standing alone before
God and feeling a sense of awe at His presence. Again, this
is much harder to accomplish when standing together with
one's spouse, who is the source of one's strength. The
spouse's presence simply creates an emotional contradiction
with the mood that is most necessary.
The mechitza may be defended on grounds of modesty, but this is not a
modesty argument. Freundel and Lamm are not arguing that modesty is
related to emotional comfort, nor are they arguing on the grounds of
sexual distraction.
Naturally, such a claim doesn't hold for singles.
Joshua Sharf
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From: <Dagoobster@...> (Chaim Shapiro)
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 10:27:28 EST
Subject: Bris Sensitivity (was Metzitza discussion)
Just a note about Birssin in general. While I understand the Simcha
people are experiencing at the birth and bris of their son, sensitivity
MUST be employed when handing out Kibudim (honors). And although it may
seem counterintuitive as it is a wonderful Segula, many people who are
having fertility issues are quite sensitive to the Kvater concept.
It is not that they don't appreciate the thought, they do. Think of it
as an older sister walking down the aisle at her younger sister's
wedding, self conscious to all the stares and thoughts people are having
or she thinks people are having.
Kvaters often wonder what people are thinking of them. As Kvater, the
husband marches in, in full of view of the Shul. No one wants to be
seen as a Nebach. I know a story in which a well meaning parent called a
childless community couple they did not know to offer Kvater. A
beautiful thought indeed. But as the husband, who we must understand,
suffers from the fact he has no children on a daily basis (think of the
child running up t his dad in shul) who turned down the Kvater request
told me, "why does he need me, any Nebach will do."
Please approach the request with sensitivity.
Chaim Shapiro
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From: Yael Levine <ylevine@...>
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 19:18:59 +0200
Subject: Hadran le-Masekhet Niddah
The "Hadran" I wrote (Hebrew) to mark the occasion of the forthcoming
Siyyum ha-Daf ha-Yomi, was published in Friday's ha-Zofe. The article,
entitled "Al Het Hava ve-Tikkuno: Hadran le-Masekhet Niddah" (Sofrim
u-Sefarim, pp. 12, 14), utilizes a wide range of sources; talmudic,
midrashic, medieval commentaries, kabbalistic, and hasidic. It is also
posted on the website:
http://www.hazofe.co.il/web/katava6.asp?Modul=24&id=30782&Word=&gilayon=2289&maor=
Yael
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From: Carl Singer <casinger@...>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 08:32:16 -0500
Subject: Just because it's in print or on the internet
I wanted to remain silent re: the misinformation about the early Jews in
New Amsterdam, however several postings have issued corrections. What
is of interest is to me is the ORIGINAL source of the misinformation --
someone, somewhere has chosen to write or post "information" with gross
inaccuracies and others pass it along as "gospel" -- This seems to be a
trend in modern Jewish "scholarship" -- or am I being too kind.
BTW -- are you aware that several Rabbaim who attended secular
university in Europe AIR-BRUSHED yarmulkes onto their heads so future
generations would have appropriate role models.
Carl Singer
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From: Larry Israel <VSLARRY@...>
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 05 15:17:47 +0200
Subject: Key Cards revisited
Is there anything new on how to deal with hotel key cards on Shabbes?
Are there differences in the kinds of cards? And lights in rooms in
general?
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From: Batya Medad <ybmedad@...>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 15:06:08 +0200
Subject: Mechitza
I remember learning that the separation is to reduce distraction. To
illustrate, at the same time I was becoming religious, a friend who
lived somewhere else, was also getting more involved in Judaism and
going to her local shul on Shabbat. But one week she called and told me
that she had decided to stop. She went to a conservative shul. "I'm
sick and tired of everyone making such a big deal about which guy I'm
sitting next to. So I'm not going anymore." I didn't have that problem
in the Orthodox Great Neck Synagogue.
Batya
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/
http://me-ander.blogspot.com/
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From: Hanno Mott <hdm@...>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 15:37:39 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Metzitza b'peh
One of the recent comments concerning the above states that - in
Israel, as I recall, "cold sterilization" was not sufficient to kill the
HIV and Herpes viruses so that disposable knives were recommended.
I had a discussion about this with my doctor this morning - I
was seeing him for other reasons - and he told me that "absolutely
effective cold sterilization" could be achieved by use of
"Glutaraldehyde"
I'm not a doctor - only a lowly lawyer - so I can't vouch for
this medical advice, but see www.afscme.org/health/faq-glut.htm.
Hanno Mott
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From: Jonathan Sperling <sperling@...>
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 22:57:14 -0500
Subject: Re: Recycling and Genizah
Ed Norin asked;
I have three questions or recycling of Shamos and Genizah:
1. Are there any articles that suggests that a person can recycle
genizah?
2. If so, what were his limits? (name of God...)
3. Were there any responses from Rabbinic figures?
See "Sheimot and Their Disposal" in Volume XXII of the Journal of
Halacha and Contemporary Society (Succot 5752). The author is Rabbi
Jacob Schneider, who is identified as a member of the Telshe Kollel and
a researcher for the Ofeq Institute. He proposes that recycling be
permitted so long as (i) the material contains none of the seven shemos
of Hashem, and (ii) the recycled material will be used only for other
Torah works. I do not have the next several volumes of the Journal and
therefore do not know if there were letters to the editor responding to
this article.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: <FriedmanJ@...>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 08:48:27 EST
Subject: Re: Religious Freedom in Early US Colonies
in the beginning, the Puritans and other protestant colonies wanted
nothing to do with anyone that didn't belong to their own
religions. they learned they needed to be tolerant, especially of the
Jews, since the Jews were merchants and traders with money connections
to Europe and every single body was needed.
in fact, they were even less tolerant in the colonies of the catholics
than they were of the Jews.
i have been working on a book for children about this and i have spoken
to many historians and read many books. They were not going to be
allowed to Daven. It was only through the intervention of the Dutch
Reformed Church that they were allowed to do that. And the Church
watched over them that first winter until they could establish
themselves, because Stuyvesant wanted them out, especially if they had
to be provided for.
Remember, they arrived penniless after having been set upon by pirates
in the Caribbean, and pushed away from Curacao.
The whole Newport business happened when war broke out and the Jews fled
from New Amsterdam to Newport, Charleston and Philadelphia. In fact, the
largest Jewish communities in the New World for a time were in
Charleston and Philly, not Newport and not New York.
Asser Levy and Jacob Bar Simon were not Sephardim. There were Ashkenazim
in New Amsterdam and they weren't the only ones, though most of the
others were Sephardim. The Sepahrdim had already been in Holland and
Holland's colonies for 60 years since the Inquisition--enough time to
learn Dutch and Yiddish if they wanted to.
(A total aside that has nothing to do with the price of tea in China,
but the Sephardim also found refuge in a place called Sarajevo in the
Balkans.)
Asser Levy, the Ashkenaz, stood up to Stuyvesant, especially on the
battlements by being part of the militia to protect the colony--and
refusing to pay money instead.
Stuyvesant didn't care or know about the difference. He wanted Jews
marked, ghettoized and speaking Yiddish. It didn't work. Ten years
later, the colony was taken over by the British without a shot while
Stuyvesant was out of town on the South (Delaware) River.
And wasn't it a Dutch Jew, Menasheh Ben Yisroel, who negotiated to get
the Jews back into England after arguing with Cromwell? It wasn't that
far in then distant past....
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From: Batya Medad <ybmedad@...>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 15:01:02 +0200
Subject: Religious Freedom in Early US Colonies
Religious freedom in "the colonies" meant for various Christian sects,
not for all religions. The Mormons had to go all the way west, isolated
for their freedom of religion. Traditionally (maybe not by
constitution) the US is a Cristian country. That's why their holidays
are official vacations. In areas with many Jews, for economic reasons,
schools sometimes close for Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur. When "the
founding fathers" discussed religious freedom, they weren't thinking of
Jews, Moslems, Hindus, etc.
Batya
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/
http://me-ander.blogspot.com/
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From: David Riceman <driceman@...>
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 11:07:01 -0500
Subject: Re: Seoul South Korea
My wife may have to spend a week in Seoul this summer. Can anyone
recommend what to do about Shabbat and about obtaining kosher food?
Thanks,
David Riceman
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From: Carl Singer <casinger@...>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 08:45:38 -0500
Subject: Re: Testing a mohel for herpes
Would any of the medical folks on the list venture a bit of science re:
the transmittal / latency of herpes. It would seem (again) that testing
a mohel is nearly pointless if even a "clean" mohel doing metziza ba'al
peh could spread this from one child to another (while, of course,
infecting himself in the process.)
Carl Singer
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From: Israel Caspi <icaspi@...>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 09:14:20 -0500
Subject: Uva l'Tziyon
In Uva l'Tziyon, why do we say "HaShem Elokay Avraham, Yitzchak
v'Yisrael..." instead of the usual phrase "...Avraham, Yitzchak
v'Ya'akov..."?
Israel Caspi
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End of Volume 47 Issue 11
