Volume 51 Number 93
Produced: Fri Apr 7 6:09:40 EDT 2006
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Counting for a Minyan (2)
[Stu Pilichowski, Ira Bauman]
Counting Mechalel Shabbos for Minyan (2)
[Batya Medad, Bernard Raab]
Kosher Rest. in Amsterdam
[Frank Reiss]
Most fluorescent lamps contain glowing metal
[David Charlap]
New Free Passover Clipart
[Jacob Richman]
Once a century event (6)
[Shayna Kravetz, SBA, PM, Hillel (Sabba) Markowitz, David
Prins, Perets Mett]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Stu Pilichowski <cshmuel@...>
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 11:33:54 +0000
Subject: Counting for a Minyan
Has it ever occurred to those objecting to the "women in a minyan issue
being ignored by the Rabbis" that by their silence the Rabbis were
offering their hashkafa that women belong at home bringing up their
children in the Jewish derech? That by counting women in a minyan they
would have to leave their homes to participate in minyanim in shul?
(Perhaps after or before child rearing responsibilities the question to
the Rabbis could set in.)
Chag Pesach Sameach
Stuart Pilichowski
Mevaseret Zion, Israel
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: <Yisyis@...> (Ira Bauman)
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 17:32:32 EDT
Subject: Re: Counting for a Minyan
And there is no question that the minyan system operates as an
extremely effective news and gossip transmitter. I suspect that
the present frum Jewish society is one of the very few throughout
history where the male news and gossip network is more efficient
than the female equivalent
Apparently the same situation can be seen as very different from
different perspectives. My wife asks me every morning what I heard in
shul. The answer is always "not much".Most people come, put on their
tefillin and start davening, with barely a hello to each other. There
is little or no talking during davening and half of the minyan is gone
before the end of davening to catch the bus to work. A handful of
people may tarry if there is a tikkun. On shabbos the situation is
slighly better with people congregating outside shul afterwards. The
shiurim in shul are similar and there is really very little time for
gossip. On the other hand, I always envied my wife. Although she
arrives later to shul on shabbos, she always finds out what's happening
in the community. Also, even the shiurim during the week or shabbos
afternoon for the women are based around a social gathering, something
the male equivalents don't have.
It may be that the female of the species is hard wired to try to
increase their opportunities for effective communication. In my
community, at least, they have succeeded better than the men.
Ira Bauman
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Batya Medad <ybmedad@...>
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 16:50:24 +0200
Subject: Re: Counting Mechalel Shabbos for Minyan
>> I must be missing something here. Why on earth would someone who
>> "brazenly desecrates Shabbat as an act of rebellion against HKBH" want
>> to join a Minyan?
>
>Excellent question and one I have asked a few times to people. The
>answers I've usually gotten are either they are attending as a social
>activity or respect of parents.
Here we go again...
Why do you treat Yahadut as a private exclusive club? I wouldn't be who
I am today if that was the attitude in the OU and NCSY in the 1960's,
and I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only in mj one from a similar
background. As I wrote before, Rabbi Wolf, zatza"l, considered
including non-frum men in a minyan as a way of bringing them into
observant Judaism. The idea that regardless of their observance they
are accepted as Jews is of the utmost importance. Just that
acceptance--"You count!"--can be the key.
A few years ago, when an mj lurker gave a shiur in Jerusalem, we
discussed something similar. It concerned (could it have had been a
Cohen?) on Shabbat who after dovening went to work. There was a
question about his status during the dovening. I remember saying that,
my feeling was, until he was actually mechalel Shabbat, he was to be
considered as Shomer Shabbat. Who knows? It's possible that one
Shabbat, he'll suddenly say: "I can't go to work. Shabbat is too
important!"
Chag Kasher v'Sameach,
Batya
http://me-ander.blogspot.com/ http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/
http://samizdatblogfree.blogspot.com/ http://shilohpics.blogspot.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Bernard Raab <beraab@...>
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 15:26:52 -0400
Subject: Re: Counting Mechalel Shabbos for Minyan
>From: Avi Feldblum:
>They basically believe that what they do is OK, often based on common
>practices within the larger Jewish community they live in. They are not
>making any "statement" by "driving" to shul on Shabbat (i.e. "act of
>rebellion against HKBH"), if anything they are making a statement about
>driving "to shul" on Shabbat (i.e. act of affermation of their
>connection to Klal Yisrael). This is a sociological change that has
>occurred within the last 100-150 years. That is why I am hesitant to
>simply accept the quotes from earlier poskim that have been brought by
>some members of the list on this subject. The reality has changed, and
>that is why you are seeing some changes in the recent piskei
>halacha. This is the fundimental issue, in my opinion, about how we
>treat "mechalel shabbat b'farhesia" today.
I totally agree with Avi. In my former community we were friendly with a
group of Conservative/Reconstructionist Jews who were impressive in
their dedication to their search for a synagogue and a rabbi to their
liking. And what they sought, in general, was an environment of
spiritual fulfilment as well as social and intellectual
compatibility. Of course, being able to drive made the search possible,
and without that I doubt that many of them would have affiliated with
any synagogue.
b'shalom--Bernie R.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Frank Reiss <freiss47@...>
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 04:18:52 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Kosher Rest. in Amsterdam
Hi we will AH have a stopover of 6 hrs on way to Israel. We wanted to
see Anne Frank house, is there kosher rest. nearby? Also I heard there
is Israeli chain of felafal stores called maoz, are these kosher, some,
under hechsher?
Frank
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: David Charlap <shamino@...>
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 11:13:22 -0400
Subject: Re: Most fluorescent lamps contain glowing metal
Tom Buchler wrote:
> A physicist on the list might be able to confirm: as far as I
> undersatnd, LED lamps do not contain glowing metal at all, and would
> be a suitable device for the discussion that you wish to avoid
> regarding Torah versus rabbinic permissibility of kindling a
> non-incandescent lamp on Shabbes.
Assuming that the glowing filament is the only aspect of violating
Shabbos.
I seem to remember learning that the act of closing a light switch can
be considered putting the finishing touch on a construction - which is
also a Torah-level violation. If this is true, then it would be
prohibited to close a light switch even during a power outage.
But perhaps this aspect doesn't apply if non-mechanical switches are
used (like those found in electronic dimmer switches.)
Either way, the issues surrounding electric use on Shabbos are not
simple. One should be very careful when making statements that imply a
particular electric device could be permitted.
-- David
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Jacob Richman <jrichman@...>
Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2006 00:09:36 +0200
Subject: New Free Passover Clipart
Hi Everyone!
I just added new Passover clipart to the
Jewish Clipart Database at:
http://www.j.co.il
The 26 new graphics (x 3 sizes) include the 10 plagues with Hebrew
quotes on the larger size graphics.
Whether you need a picture for your child's class project, a graphic for
your synagogue, Hillel or JCC Passover announcement, the Jewish Clipart
Database has the pictures for you. You can copy, save and print the
graphics in three different sizes.
Enjoy!
Happy Passover,
Jacob
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Shayna Kravetz <skravetz@...>
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 06:37:52 -0400
Subject: Re: Once a century event
>From: <chips@...>
>On Wednesday at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning,
>the time and date will be
>
>01:02:03 04/05/06
>
>not quite once-in-a-lifetime but still ...
Only in the US and for those who follow its dating patterns. Up here in
the True North, that time and date read as occurring on 4 May 2006. --
in other words on the night of motza'ei Yom HaAtzma'ut, to pick a
landmark with real significance!
Kol tuv and a merry and kosher Pesach.
Shayna in Toronto
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: SBA <sba@...>
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 23:13:32 +1000
Subject: Once a century event
Well, you can in fact have it twice this month..
In other parts of the world where the month is written after the day, it
will happen on 4th May.
SBA
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: PM <phminden@...>
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 17:37:55 +0200
Subject: Once a century event
No, it will be 01:02:03, Nissen, 7, 5766.
(Apart from that, non-Jewish Brits have a month more to prepare for the
event.)
ELPhM
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Hillel (Sabba) Markowitz <sabba.hillel@...>
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 11:16:55 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: Once a century event
In Europe and in Eretz Yisroel the date will be 4 May 2006.
Hillel (Sabba) Markowitz | Said the fox to the fish, "Join me ashore"
<Sabba.Hillel@...> | The fish are the Jews, Torah is our water
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7637/544/640/SabbaHillel.jpg
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: David Prins <prins@...>
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 10:25:44 +1000
Subject: Once a century event
1. All dates and times with a two-digit year representation are once a
century events in the convention in which they are written.
2. Those using the more common European convention of dd-mm rather than
mm-dd will experience this on 4 May rather than April 5.
But more importantly, and especially given recent m-j discussion on the
importance and appropriateness of celebrating Hebrew calendar dates
rather than secular calendar dates, the occurrence of this date in 5706
and 5806 would seem to be more remarkable in this forum than 2006.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Perets Mett <p.mett@...>
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 13:27:49 +0100
Subject: Re: Once a century event
Only in the USA.
In the rest of the world 04/05/06 happens next month.
PM
----------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Volume 51 Issue 93
