Last year, I did a round of all my best posts for 2008 and thought I should do so again. So, here are (IMHO) my best posts in 2009. The ones I think are the best and most important are in bold.
Bans, Banning and Banners... and the attitudes they love
We all know that some factions of our community view technology as bad. As a result, they had the idea that a kid + Ipod can only have one result. I disagreed with that.
I firmly believe that the gedolim can no longer just issue bans or make rulings. They need to explain them as well.
If the gedolim are unwilling, unable or afraid to speak their opinions, are they truly gedolim (in the sense of communal leaders) anymore? I'm not so sure.
The Torah and "Proofs"
Is absolute proof of the Torah's truth required for observance? I don't think so.
Can you even question bad proof without it being a Chillul Hashem? I don't think so.
Don't start an argument you can't win -- which is more accurate? The Jewish calendar or the atomic clock?
The Chumra Monster's Coming To Get You!
Not content with foods with two hechsheirim, now we have milk with FOUR.
My very real fear about the dangers of retroactive conversion nullification and the fact that it will irreparably fragment the Jewish nation and spell the end of conversions as we know them.
When one segulah isn't enough -- it's time to sell the double segulah! Next up -- the Super Segulah Deluxe!
There must be something in the water in Lakewood. People leaving anonymous notes about nees [sic] showing and snoods not being dignified. But that's peanuts compared to this one where the letter writer comes close to being a false prophet (while being completely insensitive and boorish at the same time)
Tznius... When does it go too far?
Women are told not to cry at funerals. Right or wrong?
At least one seminary in Israel is teaching their girls that brides shouldn't wear makeup on their wedding day. Silly me... I could have sworn that brides were *supposed to* look beautiful on their wedding day...
If it wasn't so sad, it would be comedy... A phone center opens up to employ chareidi women in Israel. Said phone center takes calls, among other things, for pharmaceutical companies. Then, when the women get calls about drugs to treat erectile dysfunction, they consider the calls obscene.
Tznius.. .the princess or the prostitute. Is there no middle ground? How to lose your audience in the first sentence of your speech.
Do risque fashions in the larger community in which we live save the mitzvah of tznius?
Should we be rude to men/women because of tznius? Am I a deviant because I say "thank you," "I'm sorry" or "good morning" to women? I don't think so. Others, however, disagree with me (although they stop short of calling me a deviant).
Skewed World Views
Remember when Dr. Mazeltov Borukhova was convicting of hiring a hit man to kill her estranged husband? Naturally, some people said that it was a frame job. Which led to an interesting discussion over the rights of U.S. to try Jews at all.
A yeshiva rejects a child with Down's Syndrome. Not because the school can't accommodate the kid's disability. Not because the kid isn't capable of being a member of the class -- but rather because of what people might say about the school.
Some believe that stealing from the government isn't the same as stealing from "people." And they say this unashamedly and with a straight face.
Judaism... oh yeah, that *is* what this blog is about, right?
A discussion on the fact that the Torah is eternal and does not change, but Judaism does.
An interesting set of lecuters about the Jewish books that were composed between the time of Tanach and Chazal.
Lately, I've been very depressed about, among other things, the state of the frum world.
Chinuch
Mechanchim are given the opportunity to meet with the gedolim and ask tough questions about chinuch. Did they use the opportunity wisely? I don't think so.
Urban Legends, Irrational Thinking and Other Miscellaneous Stuff
Non Sequitur shows us what science is like, fundamentalist style.
Were the Kennedys cursed by a gadol? Or if they were, was the curse effective? I'm not convinced.
Does the Vatican have the Temple Vessels? I don't think so.
If you're going to get a tattoo in Hebrew, at least get a Hebrew speaker to proofread it *before* you have it done.
Some people believe that ignorance = stupidity. If we say that a sage was ignorant of a fact, does that mean that we're saying he's stupid? I don't think so.
Apparently, there is a boy in my shul who looks up to and admires me.
Shidduchim
A common sense shidduch suggestion. I'm sure it's doomed to failure.
Shidduch madness -- parental interference and potential honesty all rolled into one.
Yes, we're not immune to stupidity
The absolute, hands-down, best reason why frum Jews should discard science.
What's the hallmark of a "goy?" Ah, yes, the lack of achdus. Pot meet kettle.
Someone thinks we should toss out religious protections in the workplace. After all, they interfere with our frum lifestyle.
Is there a post of mine that you liked that you think I missed? Let me know...
The Wolf
3 comments:
I somehow missed the posting on woman at funerals--thanks for a chance to read it. This is not a new thing and caused a bit of a problem in my family.
My aunt and her husband took a trip to Europe to visit the towns where they were born and raised. My aunt had the intention of having some of the kevarim transferred to Eretz Yisroel. But when they got to the cemetary my aunt had no idea of where to look for the kevarim because back when she was young women did not go to the cemetary. Add in that some of the gravestones had been disturbed and removed and she managed to find only one kever out of what should have been dozens.
When I asked why women weren't allowed to go to the cemetary, my uncle told me it was because they were tomei. So I asked why women who weren't tomei couldn't go. Basically he said that it was because their going would announce that they weren't tomei and so would not be tsniusdik. So then I asked why women of older ages who no one could possibly assume were either tomei or not could not go. And basically the answer I got was "We aren't noheg that way."
Me, I go to my father's grave in Israel and I'd like to see anyone try and stop me.
Can you fix the typo in the title? (Round, not rond.)
Done.
Thank you, Anon.
The Wolf
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