THE BEAR VS. ANONYMOUS

[Thank you DovBear for authoring today's post. PLEASE NOTE: Dov Bear did not actually post to this blog; an alert reader actually notified us of his borrowing some of our material for his blog. We are returning the favor by providing his comments to our last post for your reading pleasure. "Anonymous"'s opinions are in italics, "DovBear"'s are in regular letters. Thank you DovBear and thank you to all of our other readers for your continued contributions. - KollelVeib]

We all grew up in the great democratic United States of America,

My father-in-law didn't, and he reads blogs. Not yours, but still...

where every person who roams this great land feels he has the inherent right to bump out his professed knowledge about everything and anything.

First Amemndment. Inaliable right to say anything we want, anytime we want.

Maybe we could all just take a deep breath and calm down for a minute. Although we are all liberated Americans, we are also Jewish; hence out title of American Jews . . .A basic tenet of Judaism is the concept of Daas Torah . . .

It is? Some might argue that Judaism has no "basic tenets" that so long as you follow the prax you can think and believe as you please. And even those who disagree, say that there aren't more than 13 or so Ikkarim, and guess what: Daas Torah is not among them.

Judaism is NOT a democracy.

True enough, but the Sanhedrin did vote, and "incline after the majority" is a Jewish principle.

Anyway, here's an important point: Truth, by definition, is available to human beings only in partial ways - our knowledge is imperfect. When people bring their own thoughts and their own experiences to the group -where they offer and accept critism, and honor the positions of others- our ideas are refined, and this process makes them better. When Judaism teaches that there are 70 faces to the Torah it is recognizing that human knowledge is subjective, and that truth can only be reached cooperativly. So though I agree that Judaism is not a democracy, I insist that democracy has a certain holiness because when it is used correctly and in good faith, the community draws nearer to the truth.

G-d gave and gives us life, and commands us how we should behave throughout our lives.

Fine, but God hasn't spoken to a man in like 3000 years. When we make decisions about how to live, we aren't relying on God but on human interpretation, and every act of interpretation is, by definition, subjective. Democracy can act as a check on that subjectivity, because it allows others to examine and respond to our interpretation, a process that refines and improves ideas when it is used in good faith.

If you have a problem with that, you could leave this world only to arrive at His next world. What I’m saying is that it isn’t up to any small mind to burp out their foolish opinions . . . A G-d fearing Jew does not value or follow the layman’s opinion.

I know many "God-Fearing Jews" who rely on laymen when it comes to medical and business questions. True, those laymen are also Rabbis, but what some of them know about medicine or business could fit on the head of a pin.

Only one opinion counts and that it revealed through Daas Torah.

Odd then, that frequently one daas torah disagrees with another. You'd think that if daas torah was an infalliable way to discover truth, all dass torah would always agree.

Next time before you contemplate spewing forth YOUR opinion think twice what Hashem Yisborach wants.

I've thought twice- three times even - and I'm quite certain that He wants me to use the brain He gave me to make decisions, as part of the larger community.

ANONYMOUS EXPLAINS DAAS TORAH

[Thank you anonymous for today's post. Please feel free to comment on any topic; you topic may become tomorrow's post - KollelVeib]

We all grew up in the great democratic United States of America, where every person who roams this great land feels he has the inherent right to bump out his professed knowledge about everything and anything. Maybe we could all just take a deep breath and calm down for a minute. Although we are all liberated Americans, we are also Jewish; hence out title of American Jews . . .

A basic tenet of Judaism is the concept of Daas Torah . . . Judaism is NOT a democracy. G-d gave and gives us life, and commands us how we should behave throughout our lives. If you have a problem with that, you could leave this world only to arrive at His next world.

What I’m saying is that it isn’t up to any small mind to burp out their foolish opinions . . . A G-d fearing Jew does not value or follow the layman’s opinion. Only one opinion counts and that it revealed through Daas Torah. Next time before you contemplate spewing forth YOUR opinion think twice what Hashem Yisborach wants.

KIMBALL HOSPITAL RECEIVES HONORS

Kimball honored for low rate of C-section births
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 06/13/06
BY RICHARD QUINN
TOMS RIVER BUREAU

According to a review of recent state health statistics, the rate of Caesarean-section births at Kimball is the lowest in New Jersey.

The low rate is due to a combination of factors, including an Orthodox Jewish population, which prefers natural birthing, and the hospital's commitment to midwifery, a skilled craft that traditionally reduces the rate of C-sections.

Doctors at the hospital noted that Caesarean birth — delivery of a baby by means of an incision in the abdomen and the uterus — is a necessary tool for some women with pregnancy complications. However, they encouraged natural births whenever possible and advised against the use of C-sections as a common procedure.

[READ THE FULL ARTICLE]

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SCHI - MANDATORY TZEDAKAH?

[Thank you Nechama for today's somewhat controversial post. Remember - post on any topic; we may use your comment for tomorrow's post - KollelVeib]

I know it has become the eleventh of the eseres hadibros to say anything against SCHI in this town . . . but here goes.

Why is it O.K. for this particular Mosad to be CHARGING (yes, charging - SCHI requests it from the the township, the township gets it from us) a mandatory TAX to every family to support their mossad?

How about if BMG would get money from the township that was taxed directly from us, or if Tiferes Devorah L'Kallah got money from the township which was added to our tax burden, would that be o.k. ?

"Oh but these heilige neshomos NEED a two to one teacher ratio, it's such a beautiful thing . . . how can you dare criticize it?"

How about my child? No, she is not retarded but she consistently needs extra help with schoolwork - is she less of a "heilige neshomo" because she happens NOT to be retarded? Well she is being treated less heilig because I cannot AFFORD to provide her with tutoring (even once a week) - partly because I have to pay thousands of dollars of property taxes, a substantial portion of which goes to help SCHI and provide those children with HOURS of tutoring every DAY.

Think about that next time you clap your hands with tears in your eyes when you watch the SCHI fundraising slideshow.

No, I am not taking away from their importance of their work, but shouldn't SCHI let US decide if we want our tzedakah dollars to go to ANOTHER hour of therapy for a developmentally disabled child or if we would prefer our tzedakah dollars to go to Hachnosas Kallah, or chronically ill children, or tefillin for Russians etc.

Or just because they can use (take advantage of) the system and other tzedakahs can't, that makes it okay . . .