Volume 47 Number 62
Produced: Wed Apr 13 5:43:15 EDT 2005
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
ADD/LD issues
[Carolynn Feldblum]
Artscroll Siddur (2)
[Ira L. Jacobson, Ira L. Jacobson]
Geshem/gashem
[Mark Steiner]
Israel Zoller - Zolli - Apostate
[Shmuel Himelstein]
Jewish source for phrase
[Jack Stroh]
Mashiv Haruach Umorid Hagashem/Hageshem
[Orrin Tilevitz]
Megilah - male reader and all-female audience
[Aliza Berger]
Pronounciation / Siddurs
[Carl Singer]
Teacher Training -- was ADHD and day schools/yeshivot
[Anonymous_2]
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From: <KrauseyF@...> (Carolynn Feldblum)
Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2005 07:26:30 EDT
Subject: ADD/LD issues
The whole realm of ADD is often misunderstood in the yeshiva world
today. My first response to the poster with the 10 yr. old stepson is:
has this child been evaluated by an OT for sensory integration,
Audiologist for Central Auditory Processing issues, an Optometrist for
visual issues as well as been evaluated by an education psychologist for
cognitive issues. Also, food allergy testing should be administered if
there is a suspicion or a family history because allergies can mimic
some of these neurological disorders. One has to rule out everything in
order to understand a child who may exhibit bad behavior as well as
having struggles learning.
Today, many people throw all of these issues into the huge melting pot
of ADD and the tide is slowing turning back that the diagnosis of ADD
does not cover all of these things. Giving medication to our children
is an easy out and we need to learn that many of these neurological
issues intertwine with one another, meaning that the child could have
one or more of these issues occuring at the same time. Unless
addressed, these could wreak havoc with the child's educational process
as well as his behavior and self esteem.
Part B is your question about having frum people deal with an ADD. In
an ideal world, yes it would be nice that all yeshivas understood these
issues but realistically most of the staff in these schools lack
knowledge in these areas and appear uninterested in being educated to
help the child. This can be very damaging to the child and the family.
I have found the yeshiva system to be way behind in this department and
unfortunately, there appears to be a rise in all of these neurological
issues.
Yes, there are a handful of yeshivas that address these issues but you
have to search hard to find them and it may mean relocating your family
in order to find a school that will accomodate and understand your
child. I have found the non-jewish world who is educated to deal with
these issues easier to deal with and more open to try different
techniques. My experiences in the frum world have not been positive to
say the least.
My parting words to you and other parents is once your child has been
evaluated across the board; its your responsibility to be the child's
advocate especially if in a Jewish setting where these issues are not
understood. The child is not capable of doing it on their own nor is
the school. Its an uphill battle but at the end the child's self esteem
will be intact and learning will not be as difficult. If necessary,
find a better learning environment if the one your child is in is not
working. This in itself can make a huge difference for your child. And
lastly, never give in if your gut tells you that the advice you are
receiving is wrong. Keep researching and speaking to professionals who
are knowlegable in these areas to have a better grasp on your child's
behavior and learning styles. Remember there is not a one fit mold in
educating a child.
All the best,
carolynn feldblum
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From: Ira L. Jacobson <laser@...>
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 19:04:01 +0300
Subject: Re: Artscroll Siddur
Allen Gerstl <acgerstl@...> stated the following on Thu, 07 Apr
2005 15:35:37 -0400
IIRC "gashem" is the pausal form of "geshem" and pausal forms are
only found in Biblical Hebrew but not in Mishnaic Hebrew ("Lashon
Chazal"). Thus if what is intended is a reference to a biblical
verse then the use of biblical Hebrew grammar would be appropriate
but otherwise the language of the siddur is generally, I
understand, Mishanaic Hebrew.
The proof of the use of the pausal form is that in morid hatal the tet
is qemutza (the pausal form).
IRA L. JACOBSON
mailto:<laser@...>
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From: Ira L. Jacobson <laser@...>
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 19:19:27 +0300
Subject: Re: Artscroll Siddur
Eli Turkel <eliturkel@...> stated the following on Sat, 26 Mar 2005
22:39:22 +0200
To defend Artscroll they have to choose a version. No one wants a
siddur that gives you choices for each phrase. In the siddur
Rinat Yisrael which is very popular in Israel they use "Uvinimah
kedoshah, kulom"
Actually, Rinat Yisrael has both versions: one in Nusah Ashkenaz and the
other in Nusah Sefarad.
That's called hedging your bets.
IRA L. JACOBSON
mailto:<laser@...>
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From: Mark Steiner <marksa@...>
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 18:40:14 +0300
Subject: Geshem/gashem
> IIRC "gashem" is the pausal form of "geshem" and pausal forms are only
> found in Biblical Hebrew but not in Mishnaic Hebrew ("Lashon Chazal").
> Thus if what is intended is a reference to a biblical verse then the
> use of biblical Hebrew grammar would be appropriate but otherwise the
> language of the siddur is generally, I understand, Mishanaic Hebrew.
I think this remark is a bull's eye, every word is right. If
you look at the Kaufmann Codex (an ancient vocalized Mishnah) you will
find the blessing, "boreh pri hagefen" (not "gofen"), the same
phenomenon. What seems to have happened is that in all
pre-Enlightenment siddurim (as in my favorite one, Frankfurt 1691, which
I have referenced already twice)the vocalization is geshem.
The "vaye`tar yitzhak" siddur "Biblicized" this to gashem, and
Baer followed him. I'm not sure how gashem spread to East Europe.
Recently, there was a ludicrous flap in the haredi world, where
a certain Rabbi Krausz published a tract stating that anybody who says
"gashem" is regarded as a maskil unless proven otherwise. He
demonstrated this by revealing the bad traits of the editor of vaye`etar
yitzhak as a maskil (which he probably was). Others protested in the
name of "tradition"--they were used to saying gashem, and gedolim in the
past praised siddurim that had gashem. However, Krausz was able to line
up an impressive list of rabbonim to his side. R. Moshe, z"l, who was
also asked about this, spoiled the consensus by coming out for gashem,
forcing Krausz to explain away R. Moshe's opinion as not based on all
the data, etc.
A remark about the sefaradim (or "Mizrahi" Jews). Often what
look like discrepancies between their siddur and the Ashkenaz are
actually the result of the European Jewish Enlightenment (haskalah)--the
Sefaradi siddurim did not undergo Biblicization. Hence, they have
"geshem," "gefen," even at the end of a sentence. There are many other
examples, such as the phrase "mevarkhin, umeshabhin, umefa'arin,
umaqdishin, umamlikhin..." which is Mishnaic Hebrew. If you take a look
at "my" Frankfurt pre-haskalah siddur, you will see EXACTLY the same
forms...
Mark Steiner
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From: Shmuel Himelstein <himels@...>
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 19:05:33 +0200
Subject: Israel Zoller - Zolli - Apostate
While an article in Judaism Magazine of a few decades ago carries the
entire story of how the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Israel Zolli, converted to
Catholicism, a short version of the account can be found in the
Encyclopedia Judaica.
Simply put, when the Jews of Rome were endangered by the entry of the
Germans into the city in September 1943, Zolli abandoned the community
and took refuge in the Vatican. After the end of hostilities, he
reemerged and attempted to reclaim his position. Not surprisingly, the
community felt he had abandoned it at its hours of greatest danger, and
totally spurned him.
On February 14, 1945 he converted to Catholicism and returned to the
Vatican. He died in 1956.
The Judaism article also noted that but days before he converted he sat
on a bet din regarding some Halachic issue.
Interestingly, in 1968 a Catholic publishing house published his
translation of Tractate Berachot.
Shmuel Himelstein
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From: Jack Stroh <jackstroh@...>
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 11:18:02 -0400
Subject: Jewish source for phrase
A question for my father-in-law. There is a custom not to overly praise
ovdei kochavim for doing good things, but rather to try to find Jewish
sources which may predate the event and praise this. His question is-
he admires the saying of Shakespeare "To thine own self be true." Not
wanting to praise the author of The Merchant of Venice, he is looking
for a Rabbinic saying which expresses the idea that first one must be
honest with one's self. Anybody have an idea about this? Thanks.
Jack Stroh
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From: Orrin Tilevitz <tilevitzo@...>
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 14:22:18 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Mashiv Haruach Umorid Hagashem/Hageshem
Eliyahu Gerstl correctly points out that "gashem" is the pausal form.
But while the phrase is certainly printed separately in siddurim, is
there supposed to be a pause at all, of the type that would would
require an etnachta were it in a biblical verse? It seems to me that
the passage beginning "ata gibor" and ending "umatsmiach yeshua" can be
read as a continuous list of the KBH's attributes.
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From: Aliza Berger <alizadov@...>
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 15:58:23 +0200
Subject: Megilah - male reader and all-female audience
There! I hope the subject line is clarified now.
My mother's and late father's synagogue, the Young Israel of Flatbush
(Brooklyn, NY) had while I was growing up, and I believe still has, a 10
AM megillah reading with no associated tefilah. The audience would be
98% female. (My mother [who reads mail-jewish] would never be there
since she would go to the 6 AM reading and then go to work, but that is
beside the point.) The reader would be male and there was no gabbai. I
always wondered how there could be a reading with no gabbai...Maybe
because the audience was "only" women, who wouldn't know the difference
anyway if a mistake was made!!!???
Bad as this sounds, I have to reluctantly admit that it's better than
the "olden days" when women only went to megillah reading at night.
If anyone has more up-to-date information about such readings, it would
be interesting to hear it.
Sincerely,
Aliza Berger-Cooper, PhD
English Editing: www.editing-proofreading.com
Statistics Consulting: www.statistics-help.com
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From: Carl Singer <casinger@...>
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 11:39:10 -0400
Subject: Pronounciation / Siddurs
I used to kid about the assumptions one could make from the way someone
pronounced the word "Torah" To-rah, Toi-re, To-rahhh, etc. --
No siddur in my collection has any variant on the spelling of the first
two words of kaddish -- nonetheless it seems quite common for people to
pronounce those words with a long "a" -- Yis-ka-dale v' Yis-ka-daysh --
any insights?
Carl Singer
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From: Anonymous_2
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 11:56:11
Subject: Teacher Training -- was ADHD and day schools/yeshivot
One must sympathize with anonymous re: the care or lack thereof re: his
ADHD grandchild.
Generally, one finds the following:
1 - that few teachers (and administrators, etc.) in the day schools /
yeshivot are trained to deal with special needs children -- even to
recognize same.
2 - that many teachers (and administrators, etc.) in day schools /
yeshivot (especially those in limudei kodesh) have NO teacher training
whatsoever.
3 - that most teachers (and administrators, etc. AND parents ) cannot
relate to anything beyond physical clues -- that is a child in a
wheelchair must be special -- a child who "looks normal" must be normal
or a behavior problem.
4 - so-called consultants seem to be chocked full of catch phrases in
lieu of professional training. For example, a recent advertisement from
a local day school boasts that Rabbi Plony will now be consulting to
them. Rabbi Plony has no professional degrees in education and only two
years lifetime experience in a classroom -- but he has a black hat,
beard and a great patter.
For "the people of the book" -- we make too few demands on our day
schools / yeshivot -- but if we are willing to pay only $30,000 / year
for a teacher, we get what we deserve.
My suggestion to anonymous (more specifically to the parents) is to seek
out government mandated programs for your child -- he is entitled to
evaluation / diagnosis and special services. In some larger communities
this might be within a Jewish context, otherwise not.
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End of Volume 47 Issue 62
