tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post113738821773341800..comments2023-09-23T06:50:13.180-04:00Comments on Un-Orthodox Jews: Lip-Shits All Over HimselfPaul Mendlowitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887774341136059873noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137773682028679652006-01-20T11:14:00.000-05:002006-01-20T11:14:00.000-05:00I once spent a Shabbos in Detroit for a family sim...I once spent a Shabbos in Detroit for a family <I>simcha.</I> My hosts were part of the <I>Yeshivish </I>community. If I tell you they sheltered theitr children it would be an understatement. They didn't even allow their children to be present when adults were talking (and the conversation was far from inappropriate, by any measure).<BR/><BR/>When I asked them where the <I>Yeshivish</I> community gets their news from, they responded: "The Yated."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137771221654970192006-01-20T10:33:00.000-05:002006-01-20T10:33:00.000-05:00Pro,Hey take your kids and lock them up in a close...Pro,<BR/>Hey take your kids and lock them up in a closet and let them out after 20 years, let's see what happens to them when they go out in the world.Paul Mendlowitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05887774341136059873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137769969318388142006-01-20T10:12:00.000-05:002006-01-20T10:12:00.000-05:00Correction: R' Moshe would never have assured the ...Correction: R' Moshe would never have <I>assured</I> the Internet...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137769891954698902006-01-20T10:11:00.000-05:002006-01-20T10:11:00.000-05:00R' Moshe would never have the Internet. The "autho...R' Moshe would never have <I></I>the Internet. The "authority" that many of today's "leaders" have, is ill-gotten and pretty much worthless.<BR/><BR/>I agree with you on one point. The Internet is not a necessity (and probably won't be so for a while) for someone who doesn't leave 08701.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137736395500911332006-01-20T00:53:00.000-05:002006-01-20T00:53:00.000-05:00Pro Ban,When you refer to emunas chachamim, you ca...Pro Ban,<BR/><BR/>When you refer to emunas chachamim, you can't use it as a blanket statement of todays rabbonim.<BR/>R' Moshe & R'Aron were chachomim, todays clowns are exactly that.<BR/><BR/>Would R' Aron have permitted the mass genaiva that's taking place by his aineklach from the government?<BR/><BR/>Would R' Aron have set up 14 corporate entities all interlocking and "lending" money to each other and then write them off as losses, because the loan was not repaid?<BR/><BR/>Buddy, you don't have a clue!Paul Mendlowitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05887774341136059873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137732422611471342006-01-19T23:47:00.000-05:002006-01-19T23:47:00.000-05:00-The Gedolim who are policing lakewood are granchi...<I>-The Gedolim who are policing lakewood are granchildren of the founder of lakewood and the mashgiach who they hired. R' Aaron ZT"L built lakewood. Aren't his successers entitled to make policies to their yeshiva/community as they see fit?</I><BR/><BR/><B>No! This is what is inherently wrong with Lakewood: It is not a meritocratic system and is therefore crooked by default. “Successors” aren’t “entitled” to run anything, let alone micro-manage (in complete hypocrisy) the lives of others.</B><BR/><BR/><I>-Yes. True there are some bochrim as you described hanging around BMG. But they are an absolute minority. No yeshiva system can be absolutely perfect. Especially when you have over 4,000 talmidim.</I><BR/><BR/><B>It’s not just Lakewood, my friend. It is all over the <I>Yeshiva</I> world and is a result of an empty, unchallenged, life that is run by the “mind-control police.”</B><BR/><BR/><I>-I would like you to more clearly specify what disservice I'm doing to my children by not having internet in my home.</I> <BR/><BR/><B>The fact that you compared Echo with online medical research capabilities, and a travel agent / telephone reservation number with booking travel online, shows that you are at the deficient end of the digital divide and are truly not aware of how the Internet has had and will CERTAINLY continue to have, a profound effect on things like information, learning, communication, travel and life in general. This has nothing to do with whether or not it has a place in a "Jewish Home." How is the "Jewishness" of the home relevant?</B>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137717614786005162006-01-19T19:40:00.000-05:002006-01-19T19:40:00.000-05:00I have been eating machine made matzos for years n...I have been eating machine made matzos for years now, I buy the cheapest esrog I can find, and never spent more than $50 for a mezuza.Paul Mendlowitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05887774341136059873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137717052808288832006-01-19T19:30:00.000-05:002006-01-19T19:30:00.000-05:00WTF:Valid points. Matzoh is $15/lb because every p...WTF:<BR/><BR/>Valid points. Matzoh is $15/lb because every profiteering rabbi needs gelt for his little stamp he puts on the box. He then spreads the word that only his Matzoh is good enough. First class shmucks...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137705529811590442006-01-19T16:18:00.000-05:002006-01-19T16:18:00.000-05:00Pro ban,you boil my blood.Is that what judiasm is ...Pro ban,<BR/><BR/>you boil my blood.Is that what judiasm is all about.Spending more money on judiasm is what makes you a better jew? "Just like we spend $ 15 a pound on matzos etc" The reason it costs is b/c some fat ass decided to charge $15 a pound to line his pockets!The reason it costs is b/c every aspect of judiasm has been hijacked by people trying to turn a profit on some poor unsuspecting good jew that is simply misinformed(by our so called rabbonim) and thinks being a good jew is about buying matzo for $15 a pound or buying a freakin lemon for $100 or having the biggest shaloch manos in town........<BR/>Come on we all have to get back to basics here,forget banning the internet or whatever nonsense the"rabbis" dream up.....People have to relearn what it means to be a good jew <BR/>ITS TIME TO CLEAN HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137650036429639532006-01-19T00:53:00.000-05:002006-01-19T00:53:00.000-05:00"Pro Ban:"Who appointed the so-called Gedolim to p..."Pro Ban:"<BR/><BR/>Who appointed the so-called <I>Gedolim </I>to police Lakewood? Anyone who purposely refuses to have the internet in their home because of the "danger" is a <I>shoitah</I>, plain & simple. Go live in your bubble and continue to shelter your children. Funny how the biggest rebels in the community are the ones who were raised sans television and for the most part, in an environment cut off from the "snare of the outside world."<BR/><BR/>It's these idiots, with no outlet to anything contemporary, who are the sickest individuals, that run around with their black hats, white shirts, <I>tzitzis</I> flying, and masturbating ten times a day possessing the most warped perception of women, money and many other fundamental aspects of life. Anyone who has been in Yeshivah know these bochurim I speak of.<BR/><BR/>A shrinking technological gap is inevitable; You are doing a disservice to yourself and your children by turning your back on the wonders the internet offers. <BR/><BR/>Don't say you haven't been warned when you are left holding a leash with nothing on the other end. You need to open your eyes and get out of Brooklyn (or Lakewood) once in a while. Maybe then you'll realize that the "Gedolim" actually <I>do not</I> hold up the world (!) and you'll begin to think for yourself run your own life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137643619955207382006-01-18T23:06:00.000-05:002006-01-18T23:06:00.000-05:00The fact is that the same percentage of kids that ...The fact is that the same percentage of kids that go "off the derech" has NOT INCREASED with the onset of the internet or TV.<BR/><BR/>The same parents that don't pay attention to their individual kids' needs without the internet, potentially have the same chance of losing their kids with the internet.<BR/><BR/>It's another blame game you guys are playing. Blame the TV, the internet, the Goyim....damn it look at yourselves and your behavior...you are no friggin role models; your kids see through you and wind up hating everything you stand for.<BR/><BR/>In short the internet is a red herring, the problems are you and your values and your Chinese auctions...oops, got caught Malkiel with your pants down.<BR/>Assholes.....Paul Mendlowitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05887774341136059873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137614523181501222006-01-18T15:02:00.000-05:002006-01-18T15:02:00.000-05:00The Internet and Rabbinic BansFiled by Marvin Schi...The Internet and Rabbinic Bans<BR/>Filed by Marvin Schick @ 12:21 pm <BR/>Unlike other of our handiwork that may have ethical implications – medical advances and design of clothing come to mind – technological innovations inherently are ethically neutral. Much of what we now take for granted is little more than tiny chips that have the capacity to contain an astounding amount of information or to perform complicated tasks in no more than the blink of an eye. How technology is used is another matter.<BR/><BR/>As a rule, technology that is utilized for visual purposes poses a greater challenge to religious sensibilities than technology that is aural. The ready explanation is that what the eye sees has a significantly greater impact on behavior and attitudes than what is merely heard. This is akin to the familiar Talmudic principle, lo t’hei shmiah gedolah mi-re’ah. Hearing is less reliable than seeing.<BR/><BR/>This may explain why certain innovations that may be problematic from a religious Jewish standpoint do not evoke strong negative reactions. The cell phone, which is now indispensable to most of us is also a frequent instrumentality for improper midos, as when it interrupts tefila. It is addictive and results in the enormous waste of time or bitul and (along with conventional telephones), it is a great catalyst for lashon hara. However, rabbinical hackles were raised only when cell phones became Internet accessible. <BR/><BR/>Because they are visual, movies and televisions are regarded as off limits by rabbinical authorities. Apart from their addictive capacity, it is easy to get along without watching any movies or television. They are diversions and nothing more. We can also get by without reading the daily newspaper and while we may know less as a consequence, what we are missing is nearly always tangential to what we must know and do.<BR/><BR/>The computer and Internet are different. Of course, they can be dispensed with, yet the universe of people who do not rely on the Internet is shrinking rapidly as the younger generation which is computer literate replaces the older generation whose literacy in this regard is often limited. This is evident even in Orthodox circles, as it is everywhere else. The Internet is indispensable to most people in business and for lawyers and other professionals. Teachers rely on it, as do students. It is a key source for needed medical information, a money and time saver for shoppers and it is vital for air travel. Before long, the Internet may be the primary means of making telephone calls. Each day, bright people are figuring out how to expand its vital uses.<BR/><BR/>Too many have also figured out how to put the Internet to less than admirable uses. There is a gray zone occupied by many bloggers and a certain genre of entrepreneurs, and there is a far darker zone comprised of those who convey totally offensive material that is at once repulsive and yet also exciting to young people and many adults. There has been an explosion of such material and it has been abetted by a culture of permissiveness and the inability to constrain the Internet within national boundaries.<BR/><BR/>What is evident is that we face a serious problem. Younger people, especially teenagers, are vulnerable, as are many adults. We are faced with a destructive phenomenon that can enter the core of people’s lives and alter their behavior. For religious Jews, the danger posed by the Internet may be greater still and while this may seem incongruous in view of the standards within Orthodox life, the explanation is that because we adhere to a moral code that proscribes immodesty, the intrusion into one’s life of such material can be jarring and transformative, impelling those who are influenced to abandon entirely the values and standards that they were taught.<BR/><BR/>The easy part is to condemn that which is hostile to our way of life. The far more difficult issue is to determine what to do about a technological conveyer of what is highly improper when that same technology is utilized to help us do what is beneficial in our lives. It’s pat to say that we should ban the whole kit and caboodle, starting with the ordinary computer. The strategy of throwing out the baby with the bathwater cannot be effective in a business and societal environment that mandates access to the information and tasks available via the Internet.<BR/><BR/>We can hope that one day courts and society will come to their senses and cease putting a constitutional stamp of approval on material that is far more harmful to far many more people than dozens of items on the Food and Drug Administration’s forbidden list. There is little prospect that this will happen soon, even with world-wide opprobrium and criminal charges directed at the purveyors and viewers of child pornography. We have yet to sufficiently recognize how harmful pornography is to the children who serve as viewers.<BR/><BR/>Our options are therefore limited. Technology to restrict what can be accessed has been developed. While apparently it is not totally effective, improvements are being made, and together with parental determination to establish firm rules regarding where computers are placed and how and when they can be used by children, we should be able to attain a comfort level regarding the availability of inappropriate material.<BR/><BR/>This is not good enough for yeshivas and Beth Jacobs in Lakewood. They have decreed that the Internet is entirely forbidden and parents who transgress this decree will suffer the expulsion of their children from the schools. This isn’t the first time that such a policy has been adopted; as with its predecessors, with all due respect to the Rabbis and educators who are its architects, this is not the way to go.<BR/><BR/>The new policy allows – because it must – exceptions for parents who can show just cause for Internet access in their homes and who will install the proper controls. This inevitably means that there will be loopholes exploited by some parents, while other parents may well pursue the path of deception, which is the usual outcome when something that is useful is banned. At the end of the day, the parents and their children who will be most affected will be those who are most truthful.<BR/><BR/>This protest against what I regard as a wrongful policy should not be misread as a justification of wrongful behavior. The Internet is not going away. More and more people in our community will utilize it because it is increasingly required to get done what people need to get done. We must not target children because we have problems with the Internet and we must avoid the halachically and ethically dubious notion that we can so easily expel students from our schools. Not long ago, our schools focused on the mission of bringing children closer to Torah and mitzvos. It is painful that those who set policies for the yeshiva world are finding justifications for keeping children out of our schools. We are moving away from the great goal of kiruv rechokim to the ignoble principle of richuk kerovim. The children who we throw out or reject are out of sight and out of mind and we blissfully continue on our self-congratulatory path, proclaiming that we are people of chesed and goodness. This is the most disheartening development that I have experienced in half a century of involvement in Torah education.<BR/><BR/>What the Lakewood schools have done needs to be challenged, lest what is toxic spreads. We must not be fearful. Last May I protested in this space against the refusal of certain Lakewood schools to admit applicants whose fathers commit the unpardonable sin of working. This wrongful attitude came to a crisis point at the start of this school year when a significant number of female students had no school that would accept them. Fortunately, Israeli Torah leaders mandated that Lakewood’s Beth Jacobs could not open until all of the applicants were placed. Is it possible that the Internet policy is meant to circumvent this ruling by finding a “legitimate” way of excluding students?<BR/><BR/>Instead of following the well-trodden path of issuing bans, our rabbis and educators should deal with the obviously troubling consequences of Internet access by teaching and emphasizing how restraint and prudence can reduce and perhaps eliminate the potential harm to children. Inadvertently, the employment of harsh measures conveys a lack of faith in the ability of our schools and community, as well as our parents, to properly guide our children.<BR/><BR/>I hope that those who have authored the expulsion policy will reflect on their handiwork and will pull back. The process of reflection might begin with a clause in the frequently cited Mishnah in Sanhedrin that speaks of the merit of saving a single Jewish life. The next statement, which is rarely quoted, teaches that he who destroys a single Jewish life is as if he has destroyed the entire world.<BR/><BR/>RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI <BR/><BR/>22 Comments » <BR/>Bravo. Yet, you underestimate the insularity of the Lakewood powers that be. They believe that their beliefs are G-d given and that they are the only true purveyors of Torah values. Mention the pragmatic behavior of their founder, and the conversation ends.<BR/><BR/>The Internet is treif. End of story. Yet, the BMG office uses the Internet continuously and their operation would cease without it.<BR/><BR/>Is there a disconnect? I daresay there is and the damage this continued heavy-handed thoughtless behavior is inflicting upon their children is beginning to show in the increasing number of Lakewood teenagers struggling with their place in society. Drop out rates are up, drug use is increasing and alcoholism is no longer shocking.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately their leaders are anything but.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137549898314915232006-01-17T21:04:00.000-05:002006-01-17T21:04:00.000-05:00re. Lakewood Internet banhttp://www.cross-currents...re. Lakewood Internet ban<BR/><BR/>http://www.cross-currents.com/archives/2006/01/17/internet-and-rabbinic-bans/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137548749375218422006-01-17T20:45:00.000-05:002006-01-17T20:45:00.000-05:00Boog,That's the ONLY place I wear it.Boog,<BR/>That's the ONLY place I wear it.Paul Mendlowitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05887774341136059873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137547797742914232006-01-17T20:29:00.000-05:002006-01-17T20:29:00.000-05:00UO;When you read this rag on Shabbos in that place...UO;<BR/><BR/>When you read this rag on Shabbos in that place where you can't make the brochos, do you wear your Black Hat?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137544263506040612006-01-17T19:31:00.000-05:002006-01-17T19:31:00.000-05:00Ain't got nothing better to read in the bathroom? ...Ain't got nothing better to read in the bathroom? shame on youAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137542479460889382006-01-17T19:01:00.000-05:002006-01-17T19:01:00.000-05:00Searching,The last thing I want to do in my life i...Searching,<BR/><BR/>The last thing I want to do in my life is to go to Pinny's website.<BR/>I read his crap on Shabbos for entertainment/oneg Shabbos after the cholent in a room you can't make a brocha. I must admit lately, he's pissing me off big time.Paul Mendlowitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05887774341136059873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137542306115899542006-01-17T18:58:00.000-05:002006-01-17T18:58:00.000-05:00Shmuel,a_unorthodoxjew@yahoo.comShmuel,<BR/>a_unorthodoxjew@yahoo.comPaul Mendlowitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05887774341136059873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137528764233828522006-01-17T15:12:00.000-05:002006-01-17T15:12:00.000-05:00Here you go friends, the mother of all bans....mas...Here you go friends, the mother of all bans....<BR/><BR/><BR/>masoret.hevre.co.il/hydepark/topic.asp?topic_id=1766848Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137522980874541852006-01-17T13:36:00.000-05:002006-01-17T13:36:00.000-05:00Unortho, what is your email address? I cant rememb...Unortho, what is your email address? I cant remember which thread you posted it in.shmuelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16252722423994931927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137477632731592432006-01-17T01:00:00.000-05:002006-01-17T01:00:00.000-05:00I am interested in knowing more about his rabbinic...I am interested in knowing more about his rabbinical title. Where has PL received <I>smicha?</I>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137476207838524222006-01-17T00:36:00.000-05:002006-01-17T00:36:00.000-05:00Disgusted,Pipik, weenie and yatzmach are actually ...Disgusted,<BR/><BR/>Pipik, weenie and yatzmach are actually a word game I use to give clues of who I am.<BR/><BR/>Jumble the letters in the right order, and you found out my name.Paul Mendlowitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05887774341136059873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137475474659410252006-01-17T00:24:00.000-05:002006-01-17T00:24:00.000-05:00Boog, Gross, and all tierer chaverim, I write a po...Boog, Gross, and all tierer chaverim,<BR/><BR/> I write a post from a rav in Minnesota, nobody gives a hoot, but go after some shmuck who boils Judaism down to a uniform, everybody( except the board members) cries foul.<BR/><BR/>Lakewood, BMG and the likes are growing because their parents don't have tv's or computers so what else is there to do after night seder? That's the secret guys....keep them making babies to keep those welfare machines greased with new kids who have nothing better to do after night seder?Paul Mendlowitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05887774341136059873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137474157014596822006-01-17T00:02:00.000-05:002006-01-17T00:02:00.000-05:00...My proof is - look at Mir in Israel. BMG lakewo...<I>...My proof is - look at Mir in Israel. BMG lakewood etc.. Growing by the leaps and bounds. why?<BR/><BR/>Are they all fools blinded by a couple of Roshei yeshivos?<BR/><BR/>I don't think so...</I><BR/><BR/>You call that proof? Look at the Mormon Church which has grown by "leaps and bounds" and now numbers approximately 12 million. They "drank the Kool-Aid" too (pardon me for the cliche) - so what? Numbers mean nothing and on the contrary, a sudden adaptation of a rigorous, unecessary lifestyle, is often cause for alarm.<BR/><BR/>Porn Hater: <BR/><BR/>I ordinarily wouldn't acknowledge such a "sophisticated" comment, but I am left wondering at the meaning behind your moniker. Keep your struggles to yourself pal and stay off the net.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20703246.post-1137473431049629862006-01-16T23:50:00.000-05:002006-01-16T23:50:00.000-05:00hey disgusted;what should he call it? A shmuck?hey disgusted;<BR/><BR/>what should he call it? A shmuck?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com