Here's a YWN thread in which the idea that  "a Jewish child molester is on a higher level than Mother Theresa"  finds acceptance.

Lest you think that this opinion is one shared by a small, fringe group of nutjobs, almost every single self-identified Lubavitcher I have ever met espoused this idea without reserve. Here is one example. Chabad is far ( Read more... )

According to most Orthodox poskim, women are not obligated in the observance of  almost all time-bound commandments. Including tallis and tefillin.

According to many Orthodox poskim, people with cognitive disabilities or mental illnesses are less obligated in the observance of commandments, depending on the degree of disability or illness. See here ( Read more... )

Ok, so here's the bad news.

We have to make a Chanuka brochure for our toy store and we can't have any pictures of little girls in it. Of course, we have brochures for goyim which have pictures of girls, but  that would be inappropriate for our yiddishe clientele. Little girls are seductive and it is immodest to show their faces in advertisements ( Read more... )

Which one suprises you the least?

1. A chabad website publishes a letter  from a non- chabad woman describing how she was called a whore in a parking dispute in Crown Heights. The commenters respond by saying that if she is going to judge Judaism by the Jews, clearly she's unfit to begin with or just making excuses for her lack of observance.

One ( Read more... )

I'm really happy that someone finally wrote an article about the very important topic of tznius at the Rebbe's Ohel.

Because if there's any place that gets the hormones flowing and the unchaste passions stirring, it's for sure a holy rabbi's gravesite.

I don't even understand how anyone is expected to have any self control the way things are now, ( Read more... )

In this whole entire city, there is not one package of kosher gum. Not one. I have shlepped from store to store, asked managers and hounded the kosher department workers. There is no gum and there probably isn't going to be any gum anytime soon.

I called Wrigley's. Their people tell me the glycerin is not animal based.

What else? What else is the ( Read more... )

The Chazon Ish, one of the last generation's gedolei hador, apparently held that shaking a woman's hand was a yehareg v'al yaavor.  From here, f.n.14

In other words, a man should choose death rather than shake my hand. People take this seriously, see here, comments 25 & 26.

But BTs are not going to be told that. They will be told that this custom ( Read more... )

Last week, our 14 year old sensitive and gentle son came into my car crying because a teacher pinched and humiliated him in front of an entire school of over 200 kids and staff . And his crime? For not standing up for ashrei at mincha quickly enough.

Miraculously, our boy doesn't blame the Aibershter and is still happy to daven mincha.

Later that ( Read more... )

This past spring, my partner and I moved to Cincinnati. Soon after we arrived, an Orthodox synagogue in town prohibited our attendance. The rabbi of the shul called apologetically to inform us that the ruling had come from a rabbi whose authority exceeded his own. I decided to call this rabbi, who is the head of a prominent yeshiva and a respected ( Read more... )

Okay, which  thread is the craziest?

1. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is not actually an anti-semitic hoax.  Goyim, in fact,  are going to be tripping over themselves for the chance to serve Jews when Moshiach comes. They are going to be jumping for the chance to polish our shoes. They will put themselves lying on the floor and beg the Evdei ( Read more... )