HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: goldberg@techunix.technion.ac.il (Jacques Goldberg)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: Re: Lamed, Lightning, and SS
Date: 6 Sep 92 20:20:37 GMT
Organization: Technion, Israel Institute of Technology

jeffs@lsil.com (Jeff Spiegel 4291) writes:

>BERNSTEIN,AVRON P (gt6390a@prism.gatech.EDU) wrote:
>>
>>Someone posted that the SS logo was taken from two lameds.  I'm sure that there
>>are MANY possibilities as to what they are and why they were chosen.  For
>>example, in a presentation about Satanism, a Christian group on campus here
>>claimed that the SS logo was lightning bolts.

>The similarity in shape between lightning and the lamed is probably significant
>			   /_
>		            /
>even in Judiam.  The fact is that there are allusions in Ezekiel to visions
>of lightning in the Merkavah.  These visions are the basis of the Tree of
>Life containing the Sefirot.  The lightning bolt represented an image of
>transmission of power from on high to the worlds below.  This is analogous
>to descending through the Sefirot from Keter to Malchuts.

>Interestingly, when lighting touches down and is photographed in slow
>motion, there is a parallel bolt that reaches up from the earth to touch
>the bolt from heaven.  Physically this is all based on electron potential
>differentials, but this is meaningful spiritually as well.

>			.\'

>			/
>  bolt from heaven ->  /
>	              /___	
>			 /
>			/  <- bolt from earth
>		       /
>			
>		   our world

>The lightning bolt reaching up represents the path from Malchuts to Keter.
>The Bahir alludes to the fact that our relationship with G-d is a two
>way street.  A stirring from the forces from this world produce a stirring
>of forces in heaven.  Our reaching up to G-d results in G-d reaching down
>to us.  In addition, we are partners with G-d to the extent that we are
>integral to this process.  On Yom Kipur, may it be through our prayers and
>deeds and G-d's mercy that there will be a response from on high.

              Absolutely thrilling and superbly convincing.
              However....
              What was the shape of the LAMED at the time, for example,
              of Ezekiel ?

              Yaaqov "always asking" Goldberg
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
From: warren@nysernet.org (Warren Burstein)
Subject: Re: Lamed, Lightning, and SS
Reply-To: warren@nysernet.org
Organization: Mail to News Gateway at Wang Labs
Date: 7 Sep 92 06:22:39 GMT

hr = hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin)

me: Somehow the idea of starting any sort of Torah teaching starting with
me: the shape of a Nazi symbol disgusts me.

hr: There is not way that someone, or some group, which we despise can be
hr: prevented from producing a symbol for their use similar to a Hebrew letter.
hr: We need not change our alphabet because of this.

I don't suggest that we change the shape of the Lamed (frankly I'm
puzzled how it could be thought that I had), but that we avoid making
sermons about the SS symbol.
-- 
/|/-\/-\       Amar Rav Nachman Bar Yitzchak:
 |__/__/_/     "P'amim sheadam ba b'sharav
 |warren@      v'rochetz afilu b'mai mishrah"
/ nysernet.org 			Jerusalem
From: karner@apap4.pap.univie.ac.at
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: Neve Shalom
Date: 10 Sep 92 23:48:55 GMT
Organization: Vienna University Computer Center

      Hi...I would like to have some information about the settlement
      Neve Shalom (where it exactly is, how many people of each religion
      live there, when it was founded, where to get more information....).
      I've seen a picture from Neve Shalom in the catalouge for the
      exhibition "Juedische Lebenswelten" in Berlin and now I want to know
      more about it...
                       Thanks a lot for your support
                                                      Christoph
 
     PS: My e-mail-adress is in%"karner@pap.univie.ac.at".
   


Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
From: aryk@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (A.J.S. Nusbacher)
Subject: Re: I have yet to meet a Jewish murderer.
Organization: University of Toronto -- Hart House
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1992 22:45:18 GMT

In article <VmLNqB1w165w@valpso.hanse.de> tichauer@valpso.hanse.de (Manfredo Tichauer) writes:

>Your wife and kids could go for a walk at two in the morning in ANY european
>country (besides former Yugoslavia) and also in some south american countries
>(like Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, etc.) even if you live in not so decent neigh-
>bourhood: I'm sure that to walk at night in any mayor city in the USA is a
>dangerous venture! 

No fair gloating over the Yanks!

They'll start another thread gloating about how hard it is to get Dr. Brown's
Cel-Ray outside the USA.

Aryk Nusbacher
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
From: shimoff@umbc4.umbc.edu (Eliot Shimoff)
Subject: Re: Theme bar/batmitzvahs
Organization: Univ. of MD, Baltimore County
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 17:34:36 GMT



>In article <frank2.3@underdog.ee.wits.ac.za>
>frank2@underdog.ee.wits.ac.za (FRANK D N) writes:
>
>>An alarming trend has developed in the Jewish community in 
>>South Africa. Not only are inordinate amounts of money being spent on 
>>batmitzvah and barmitzvah receptions, but they now frequently have themes. 
>>Decorations, invitations, food and speeches revolve around themes such as 
>>Disney, space, chess, etc. There appears to be little awareness of the 
>>mitzvah itself.


Curiously, the Orthodox community has developed its own special expression
of ostentation.

When I was a kid, reading the entire Torah portion was rare; I did maftir
(enough to learn trop, but no more) and the haftarah (a useful skill often
used later in life), and served as sh'liach tzibur (chazzan) for musaph.

Today, kids spend a year or more preparing the entire Torah reading,
even though most will never use the skill again.  IMHO, it's an
ostentatious waste of everyone's time.

A better idea would be for the kid (boy or girl) to complete a section
of mishnayot, and make a siyum (completing the study of a section --
creating a true se'udat mitzvah.  (And a darn sight more reasonable
than a kid reading a rebbe-written dvar Torah: "The Yerushalmi on this
says ...", as if the kid happened to come across a yerushalmi before
breakfast!)


-- 
Eliot Shimoff                  |    n   n   n
   shimoff@umbc3.umbc.edu      |   X + Y = Z .  Easy to prove no solutions
Ashamnu, bagadnu, gazalnu ...  |   for n greater than 2.  Darn.  Can't fit
Better luck next year!         |   it into this little .sig file.  Oh well.
From: terra@athena.mit.edu (Terra Incognita)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: Re: Theme bar/batmitzvahs
Date: 14 Sep 92 20:15:25 GMT
Organization: MIT - DMSE and Bait

In article <1992Sep14.163316.29755@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu> levene@aplpy.jhuapl.edu (Robert A. Levene) writes:
>In article <frank2.3@underdog.ee.wits.ac.za>
>frank2@underdog.ee.wits.ac.za (FRANK D N) writes:
>
>> An alarming trend has developed in the Jewish community in 
>> South Africa.  Not only are inordinate amounts of money being spent on 
>> batmitzvah and barmitzvah receptions, but they now frequently have themes. 
>> Decorations, invitations, food and speeches revolve around themes such as 
>> Disney, space, chess, etc. There appears to be little awareness of the 
>> mitzvah itself.
>
>You left out the ice sculpture, hokey-pokey/alley-cat, memory glass, and
>seedy disk jockey blasting "Celebration," "New York, New York,"
>and "Can't Smile Without You."
>
>As the saying goes, "too much bar, too little mitzvah."

Actually, this description fits too many (non-Jewish) weddings I've
attended over the years.

>> Is this something we have imported from elsewhere, or can we claim the 
>> questionable honour of having developed this all by ourselves?
>
>I believe it's a North American invention, one of the hallmarks
>of well-to-do suburban Jewish communities.
>
While it may indeed be a North American invention, it's probably more
a hallmark of a "catering/partymaking industry" that makes a pile of
money selling folks these generic, lowest-common-denominator-type
events.  Anyone who's even though about planning a wedding knows that
a lot of times catering halls, food, decorations, band/DJ, etc. come
as package deals, thereby saving people planning celebrations a lot of
time and effort; the cost is often that what one ends up with is, as I
mentioned, a party that caters to a "lowest common denominator", which
is where you get the rather unfortunate combination of disco, soft rock,
and the hokey-pokey :-)  A tacky party is, well, tacky, no matter what
the occasion, and unfortunately a lot of people these days just don't
have the time and/or inclination to plan a big party from scratch.

In any case, the sort of party described above is by no means peculiar
to the Jews.

Party on...
>
>Rob
>--
>Robert A. Levene     Internet: levene@aplpy.jhuapl.edu
>  "/  //  / /"         Bitnet:   RXL1@APLVM


--
Terra Incognita                             terra@athena.mit.edu
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA    USA
"Work. Worry. Consume. Die. It's a wonderful life." (Lippy)
From: moskowit@panix.com (Len Moskowitz)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: Re: Synagogue Financing
Date: 15 Sep 92 14:20:01 GMT
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix & Internet, NYC

In article <2015@ceylon.gte.com> sgutfreund@gte.com writes:
>In article <4193@rebecca-lillian.bbn.com>, wwalker@bbn.com (Ward Walker) writes:
>|> In my immediate area, the non-orthodox synagogues' dues are about
>|> $1000 for a family membership.  However, I've seen ads recently in the
>|> local (Boston) Jewish paper for traditional shuls with dues for full
>|> family membership at $200 or $300 dollars.  I'm amazed, because just
>|> the marginal cost of a member at my synagogue is around $150 ($100
>|> UAHC dues + $50 postage, printing, etc.).
>
>I am part of a basement shtibl in Brighton/Boston where dues
>have been $150 for several years. While we also get money
>from donations and selling hakofot, I would not say it is
>a tremendous ammount. Basically, there is just not that
>much in costs if one does not need to hire a Rabbi and
>are not into building glorious edifices.

Our local (Northern NJ) Orthodox shuls have a $400 to $600 annual
membership fee.  Associate memberships are typically $200.  Our local
Chabad House has no membership fee -- people give what they can.

-- 
Len Moskowitz
moskowit@panix.com
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
From: aplebaum@shum.huji.ac.il (Hillel Applebaum)
Subject: Jews in space.
Organization: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Date: 10 Sep 92 13:42:04 GMT

In article <17205@ulysses.att.com>, smb@ulysses.att.com (Steven Bellovin) writes:
|> A long time ago, I used to ask my Hebrew school teacher questions like
|> those.  Things like ``above the Arctic Circle, how do you know when
|> sunset is, and hence when the holidays start?  What about astronauts
|> traveling at near-light speeds, and experiencing time dilation?  Their
|> calendar will get out of sync.  Colonists on Mars will undoubtedly use
                                   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|> the Martian day, which will cause the same effect.  Should they use the
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|> Martian year as well?''  Etc. -- though she didn't even understand some
|> of the concepts I was talking about, since there's nothing in the
|> Talmud about relativity or Lorentz contractions.
|> 
|> Sigh -- for some reason, she thought I was harassing her.

Is it realy so ? will you have a SHABAT after 6 martian days ? 
Will you DAVEN MAA'RIV on martian sunset ?
I don't think so.
-- 

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
/// Hillel P. Applebaum	     |>>    ISRAEL - where all
/// Jerusalem,   Israel      |      jews should live ! 

____  ____  _  ___     _  _  _     ____  ___  _   ____
   |     |   |    |    |  |   |       |     |  |   |  |
|  |     |   | ___|_  __`/    |    |  |     |  |  _|  |
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
     
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
From: warren@nysernet.org (Warren Burstein)
Subject: Re: Synagogue Financing
Reply-To: warren@nysernet.org
Organization: Mail to News Gateway at Wang Labs
Date: 15 Sep 92 05:12:00 GMT

My shul, Kehilat Yedidya in Jerusalem rents space in a religious
primary school.  Rent, and hiring someone to clean before and after
each Shabbat are our major expenses.  We have no Rabbi (we have
several as members (they pay us, we don't pay them) when we need to
ask a question), office, or anything else.  Divrei Torah are given by
members.

Annual dues are 100 shekels for a single, 200 for a family.  The
shekel was 1/2.4 dollars last time I changed money, that's about $83
for a family.  Includes seats for the chagim for adults and children
over 7.  We set up some extra chairs (a few rows in the back and one
or two extra in each row) for people without assigned seats.

Members are expected to prepare and serve kiddush three times a year.
Wine and cups comes out of the shul budget.  Members also help move
the shul when necessary (the room that we use on weekdays and Shabbat
isn't big enough for the chagim so we have to carry it all upstairs
before Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot - baruch hashem school is
closed on chol hamoed so we don't have to do it again for Simchat
Torah - and back downstairs afterwards) from which you can conclude
that we don't have fancy furniture.

Aliyot, ata hareta, everything is free.  I've never heard a
misheberach that mentions money there.  The last shul that I went to
would not only automatically say in the mesheberach "sheyitein
matanah" (or something like that - "that he will give a donation") but
they would send a letter to your house to remind you.  At least they
didn't mention an amount.  Well I don't go there anymore.

They also handed out cards there at Yizkor with a paper clip to put
over an amount.  I took the card home and used the clip to attach my
check, I didn't get a card next time.  At Yedidya we have a bank
account, anyone who wants to contribute to the shul or the tzedakah
fund simply deposits money into it.

We do have a building fund, however.  At the last board meeting we
decided to put 30% of dues into it.  Big money.
-- 
/|/-\/-\       Amar Rav Nachman Bar Yitzchak:
 |__/__/_/     "P'amim sheadam ba b'sharav
 |warren@      v'rochetz afilu b'mai mishrah"
/ nysernet.org 			Jerusalem
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
From: shimoff@umbc4.umbc.edu (Eliot Shimoff)
Subject: Re: Theme bar/batmitzvahs
Organization: Univ. of MD, Baltimore County
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 17:25:55 GMT

In article <1992Sep14.155718.20379@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> saal@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (samuel.saal) writes:
>In article <frank2.3@underdog.ee.wits.ac.za>
>frank2@underdog.ee.wits.ac.za (FRANK D N) writes:
>
>>An alarming trend has developed in the Jewish community in 
>>South Africa. Not only are inordinate amounts of money being spent on 
>>batmitzvah and barmitzvah receptions, but they now frequently have themes. 
>>Decorations, invitations, food and speeches revolve around themes such as 
>>Disney, space, chess, etc. There appears to be little awareness of the 
>>mitzvah itself.
>
>>Is this something we have imported from elsewhere, or can we claim the 
>>questionable honour of having developed this all by ourselves?
>
>It is not unique to your country.  When I was going to classmates' Bar
>Mitzvah parties there was an occasional theme party.  At more than one the
>Mitzvah part was completely lost and the Bar part only meant "as in
>drinks."  That was nearly 20 years ago.
>
>It is even more prevalent now.

And it's gotten immeasurably worse.  Several years ago, planning for
my son&daughter-in-law's wedding, we visited a caterer's office in
an Orthodox synagogue.  A bar mitzvah celebration was underway, and
the entertainment included -- I don't have a better term -- "hooch
dancers," suggestively costumed in a fashion inappropriate for _any_ 
religious (or, for that matter, non-religious) function.  The catering
was glatt; the dancer's weren't!  (well, they _were pretty smooth ...).




-- 
Eliot Shimoff                  |    n   n   n
   shimoff@umbc3.umbc.edu      |   X + Y = Z .  Easy to prove no solutions
Ashamnu, bagadnu, gazalnu ...  |   for n greater than 2.  Darn.  Can't fit
Better luck next year!         |   it into this little .sig file.  Oh well.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
From: ask@cbnews.cb.att.com (Arthur S. Kamlet)
Subject: Re: Conservative Halacha (was re: Orthodox Monopoly)
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories,  Columbus, Ohio
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 22:56:05 GMT

On 10 Sep 92 00:26:23 GMT, schultz@garnet.berkeley.edu (Richard Schultz) said:
> So here's my question for all you Conservative types out there: in what
> areas of halachah is the official Conservative position more machmer than
> even the most liberal Orthodox position?

Does orthodoxy consider electricity to be fire?  And of so, is
it OK to light Hanukkah or Shabbat or Yitzkor lights with an
electric menorah?   Yet many conservtaive authorities would not
consider electricity to be fire and therefore would ask for
a menorah with something burning in it.

A diversion :^)
-- 
Art Kamlet  a_s_kamlet@att.com  AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus
From: wwalker@bbn.com (Ward Walker)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: Synagogue Financing
Date: 14 Sep 92 15:11:56 GMT
Organization: BBN Systems and Technology, Inc.


It appears to me that dues at a traditional synagogue are significantly lower
than those at a non-orthodox synagogue.  What are the reasons for the great
difference?  

I myself have only been involved with non-orthodox synagogues.  (I'm
presently on the board of a Reform temple.)  How do traditional
synagogues support themselves?

In my immediate area, the non-orthodox synagogues' dues are about
$1000 for a family membership.  However, I've seen ads recently in the
local (Boston) Jewish paper for traditional shuls with dues for full
family membership at $200 or $300 dollars.  I'm amazed, because just
the marginal cost of a member at my synagogue is around $150 ($100
UAHC dues + $50 postage, printing, etc.).

Is my perception correct?  Do tradtional shuls in general have
significantly lower dues than the non-orthodox?  If so, how are
traditional shuls financed?  Significantly lower expenses?  Reliance
on donations for the bulk of the budget?  Charging members for Holiday
tickets, etc. separately, making the ``true'' cost of membership much
higher than the dues?

I am fairly familiar with the budget of my temple, and can participate in
a comparative discussion of budgets, if this is needed to illuminate the
reason for the dues difference.

My motivation in asking these questions is to hopefully get practical
ideas about how my synagogue's dues could be cut.

--Ward Walker
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
From: amir@leopard.gatech.edu (amir)
Subject: Smicha and Sanhedrin
Organization: College of Computing
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 19:39:47 GMT

The Rambam in Mishne Torah explains how the Smicha (ordination of
Rabbis) can be reinstituted. (The problem is that officially, the
Smicha is recursive, starting from Moshe. But since the chain was
broken, there are ways to restart it.

Rabbi Yaakov Beirav, the Rabbi of Rabbi Yosef Karo (author of the
Shulchan Aruch) actually re-established the Smicha and ordained some
people, among them Rabbi Yosef Karo. The project failed mainly due to
one Rabbi in Yerushalaim who vehemently opposed it.

In more recent time, Harav Maimon wanted to reinstate the Smicha and
reestablish the Sanhedrin. This did not succeed either. 

I fervently hope that we will be able to see a Sanhedrin in our days,
this is in OUR HANDS.

-- Ami


					
					-Amihood Amir (amir@cc.gatech.edu)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
From: hayim@locus.com (Hayim Hendeles)
Subject: Re: On the SUPERIOR Role of Women
Organization: Locus Computing Corporation, Los Angeles, California
Date: Tue, 08 Sep 1992 17:34:48 GMT

In article <2521@israel.nysernet.org> warren@nysernet.org writes:
>In <ALLEN.92Sep3094542@golem.ssc.gov> allen@golem.ssc.gov (Michael Allen) writes:
>
>I'd like to recommend a book which discusses traditional views of
>women: "Jewish Women in ...
>It neither maintains that the traditional view is
>just fine, nor does it entirely reject tradition.
>			~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> warren

I have no idea who this author is, nor what he says in the book. But -
your comments scare me. You say "nor does it *entirely* reject tradition".

INMHO, this statement is totally meaningless.

Either you reject tradition or you don't. If you accept 99% -
then you have rejected the other 1%, and you have rejected tradition.
It's as simple as that. Anything else is simple rationalization.

Hayim Hendeles
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
From: hayim@locus.com (Hayim Hendeles)
Subject: Re: Surrogate Mothers
Organization: Locus Computing Corporation, Los Angeles, California
Date: Wed, 09 Sep 1992 17:27:03 GMT

In article <1992Sep8.002710.14925@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> weiner@medg.lcs.mit.edu (The Frog) writes:
>While reading about contracts regarding surrogate mothers, I realized that I
>did not know the Jewish perspectives on this issue.  Any help would be
>appreciated with the following questions:
>
>  Is artificial insemination ...
>  surrogate mothers  ...
>
>
>   Merril Weiner                weiner@medg.lcs.mit.edu


You asked a whole slew of questions, which I omitted in the interests
of brevity.

There is a series of lectures available on these (and more topics)
discussing both the ethical and Halachik issues involved with all
these topics. These lectures were delivered by Rabbi Nachum Sauer,
Rosh Kollel of the Yeshival of Los Angeles, and are available on tape.

(BTW I have heard him speak, and he is extremely knowledgeable,
very clear and articulate. I highly recommend him.)

Quoting from an advertisement in this month's Jewish Observer:

"Abortion, Euthanasia, Organ Transplants, AIDS, IVF ...
These are among the most crucial and ethical Halachic issues of our
day, and affect the lives of every individual. Rabbi Nachum Sauer,
Rosh Kollel of the Yeshiva of Los Angeles, has developed a seris
of 70 in-depth tapes on Medical Halacha, using primary sources.
Each topic is analyzed in a clear and lucid style from its Talmudic
sources down thru contemporary responsa, with the various Halachic
opinions presented on each issue. The following is a partial list
of tapes:
...
SM45 - Artificial Insemination by Husband
SM46 - Artificial Insemination by Donor
SM47 - In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
SM48 - Surrogate Motherhood 
...
For a complete list send for a brochure. Each tape is approximately
90 min. long. Each tape costs $6.

Send check to:

Rabbi Nachum Sauer
c/o Yeshiva of Los Angeles
9760 W. Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035


(STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated ...


Sincerely,
Hayim Hendeles
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish