A weekend without the frum weeklies

                                             



After much thought and contemplating we finally did it. We did not buy any of the frum weeklies , newspapers or magazines etc. It was a shabbos with no Yated Ne"eman or Hamodia.  No Mishpacha, Bina or Ami magazine. Not even the new issue of Zman  or the occasional other Jewish newspaper. It's not about the money - the  $25 saved. Rather it was just spending shabbos like it used to be when there was only one paper.

     Instead of reading forced or filler articles, having the kids hit the couch after the gefilte fish to read up on their favorite features, we had a nice shabbos meal with more participation than usual. It was actually not easy, giving up our addiction to the frum papers, but after the Friday night meal I had time to be Maavir sedrah, with some more insight on the parsha. My daughter dusted off an artscroll book we had on the shelf and read a nice biography of a Jewish family. We sat around the couch and spoke to one another, instead of all of us sitting there, each one engrossed in their favorite paper or waiting for next on a particular magazine.

    Our dependence on newspapers and other magazines has started taking over our life and became a staple and a must, that we just can not do without. Unfortunately, it has become that forgetting to buy the paper is equivalent to forgetting to buy Challah.

    While this was a one time experience, yes I'm not looking to deprive myself of oneg shabbos, I'm actually  going to buy the papers on Sunday. However  its refreshing to know that we can appreciate a shabbos together with more quality time. We also didn't miss out much; by not knowing what was written in a paper that was almost a weeks old news anyway.

Satmar rebbe Rav Aaron Teitelbaum gives passionate detailed speech about dangers of technology and Internet, mentions facebook and twitter.

A free translation of a recent speech given by the satmar rebbe Rav Aaron Teitelbaum on the dangers of technology and internet pertaining to the frum torah and chasidishe community.
click Here for Audio.

The yetzer Hora could not fathom the success of klal yisroel and the rebuilding of torah and chesed in America and he brought tummah in the form of technology into jewish homes that caused them to sin. Just like in the time of Haman so too today we have Keilim that have entered our homes and cause us to sin. They are in the form of videos, DVDs, the Internet, a new makkah called facebook, twiters, and other  various names. Others know of these  better than i do. Unfortunately  it claimed many korbanos  and destroyed many jewish homes. Frum ehrliche kids from the best of homes, threw off the yoke of torah and mitzvos publicly, with no shame. There are those who did not go as far, yet, they walk around outwardly dressed in a chasidishe levush but on the inside they are rotting and do kol davar assur discreetly in the privacy of their home. It has entrapped youngeleit ,baal habatim, bochrim, girls and married  men and women of all ages. It all starts with the kvetch of a knepel ,the push of a button, in one second they went into the dirty ports and they arrived at Sheol tachtis. Plunging into the lowest of the low . Its a Makka of which one touch of a button you are joined with others. Its called chatrooms such as facebook were you socialize and connect with others. Men hooking up with light headed women with prutzim and prutzos. Yiddishe kinder are sending pictures of themselves to each other. It makes your hair stand up to what is going on in our machneh of shomrei torah umitzvos. Even the kosher ones is addicting like a magnet, it ruins shalom bayis to the worst degree sometimes its the man of the house sometimes its the mother of the home. The man looses his wife and she looses her husband you cant talk to the husband his mind is totally occupied with his computer day and night. The yetzer hora of arayos is burning like a fire up to the sky. It consumes daily precious neshamos of yiddesher kinder .The maakos of DVDs videos etc...even though initially it starts off kosher with a heter it eventually leads to what chazal say hayom omar lo aseh kach muchur aseh kach etc. untill we come to the worst. This is a fact, it happens and we cant fool ourselves with so called passwords and other safeguards and think that it is protected from others gaining access to it. this is a mistake. Kids and youngsters are smarter and more tech savvy than their parents and can get around the so called protections.

The rebbe ended with a plea to the Women to have mercy on their mishpachos and get rid of these keilim from their homes. If one needs it for parnasah it should be moved out of the house to a different location. In the zechus of us protecting and safeguarding out families from this shmutz may Hk'bh protect and watch over klal yisrael.

Does rav Chaim kanievsky want the web to be his spokesperson.

  A friend asked his chavrusa Shloime if he's fasting today. He asks why? He replies that Rav Chaim Kanievsky requested, that those who could, should fast as a zechus and refuah Shleima for his father in law Rav Elyashiv. Shloime inquires where he got this information from. He says all the frum jewish websites are reporting it.
 First, its ironic how rav Chaim shlita, who spoke harshly about the use of unfiltered internet etc. would say to fast and the web would be the source for spreading his request.

Secondly, we don't know who the request was issued for. Nor who it was it told too. I'm not questioning weather he said it, and those who fasted accordingly have a big zechus. However all it takes is for one website to pick up the story and all the other sites report it too. It gets blown out of proportion with no hadracha or any validity. There has to be Kabolas tannis and other dinim,  yet people see it and assume its true purely based on frum websites and other blogs.

In Yeshivas Chaim Berlin supposedly the Bochurim & youngerleit were told not to fast. In lakewood yeshiva there were no signs signed by the Roshei yeshiva asking all Bochurim and  youngerleit to fast. They actually added an extra hour seder on Thursday night. We cant trust the websites and blogs to deliver the word of Reb Chaim. He could of asked only his Mishpacha, but do we know that he told someone to publicize it for the masses? If the Roshei yeshiva and rabbonim in America tell us to listen to Reb Chaim, then of course we should fast, but how can the word of a gadol only have validity due to sensational journalism.

Tickets for twelfth siyum hashas of Daf Yomi 2012 go on sale

For Siyum Hashas updates, Hookups, Transportation, speakers click HERE


The general ticket sales for the public  has begun. Reservation applications were mailed out.
Seats range from $1000 - $18 .The more expensive tickets are on the field level followed by three levels, concourse 1,2 & 3. The women's seats range from $500 - $18 (an additional $8 handling per order )

you can order online HERE its not through Agudah but an independent site run by partners in Torah.

Seating plan for Siyum has been reconfigured

4 ways to order :
E-MAIL : SIYUMHASHAS@AGUDATHISRAEL.ORG  (credit card only $50 minimum order)
FAX 1-646-254-1610         (credit card only $50 minimum order)
PHONE 1877-SIYUM-12   (credit card only $50 minimum order)
  MAIL- Agudas Israel of America 42 Broadway-14th floor New York, NY 10004


The siyum will take place I'yh Wdnesday August 1, 2012. Metlife Stadium at 7 p.m.
keep in mind the event will be in an open air stadium watch a  preview video here of MetLife stadium.


The priority seating process for the Lomdei daf yomi took place last week, giving the members of daf yomi Shiurim a chance, to reserve seats and sit together with their chaburah and family.

Why the Agudah should have a website.

     Lets face it. The Internet is here to stay. Its not just the future, but the present as well. It is the largest source of information and all it takes is a simple google search or a visit to Wikipedia.Yet, in this web of information, nothing is verified or reputable. Anything can be posted anonymously by anyone. The problem is, when  people are searching for information pertaining to the frum Torah community. They will most probably rely on the results of the search engine. The search will usually yield results based on high page ranking sites; most likely sites that bash our community or other sources, that are not in line with Torah hashkafa. They will use the content as representing of our community. 

     An organization like the Agudah with true Torah leaders at its helm can have a website (not just for their own programs and Siyum hashas info) but one that will have true Torah hashkafos reflecting current events. A site that is reputable with real people backing it up. With no anonymity involved, it will come directly from the source without being second guessed or  interpreted by frum  bloggers (including this one ) or other blogs. A search engine cannot create a perception of true torah hashkafa. It must come directly from our gedolim and not be filtered and second guessed. People can go straight to the source without having to get it repackaged by our detractors. We must be well represented online. Its not just a digital image of us but rather  its how we will be perceived by the world at large.

      The Gedolim have thus far not initiated such a site and its up to them to weigh the issue. However, the option of letting self appointed spokesmen or rabbis for the frum orthodox community, along with anonymous frum blogs and websites,  dominate the world wide web causing a greater chillul hashem maybe worse than not having A-gooda website at all.  

Final score- 27 11

Wait, was the score 27 11 or 21 17?  The country watched the big game come to an end, with the final score of 21 17 and a Giant win. The trophy was hoisted and the Giants walked off with a victory.

A thought comes to mind. Another Giant celebration will take place at Metlife stadium, home to the Giants. No, not the football giants, but rather the giants who will finish shas with a final score of   2711, the number of Blatt in the entire talmud bavli .  Klal Yisroel will celebrate with the lomdei daf Yomi  as they finish shas once again. We can still join in the last few mesechtos and be part of the Siyum.

Super Sunday, creates Turnovers for yeshivos and weddings.

  As the country  gears up for super Sunday, many in the frum  community have been following or getting swept up with  superbowl fever. While some are knowledgeable seasoned  fans, others just jump on the bandwagon for the superbowl, not knowing much about the rules of the game. The NFL  has been marketing the big game more than ever, and for 2 full weeks it dominates the airwaves, advertising and other media. This culture has  impacted many in the frum community, by hosting parties and watching the big game, be it for the commercials, the half time show, or the actual game itself.

 The NY Giants playing in this years game has strongly impacted many in the tri state area. Many mosdos and yeshivos have fundraising dinners scheduled for this Sunday February 5th. There are  many weddings and other simchas too. Now, should a mossad or family not schedule a simcha or dinner on super Sunday? Who could plan ahead on the NY giants making it to the Superbowl. Is it fair to let down a baal simcha or to not support a yeshiva for 3 hours of enjoyment that has no eternal gain. A baal simcha was quoted as saying that he will have to put up screens for the game at his daughters wedding, or the guests wont show! Some point out that following sports is a healthy outlet, but does it take precedent over something eternal?

  Win or lose, those learning Daf Yomi and those rejoicing with them, will for sure have home field advantage at Met life stadium for the upcoming Siyum hashas I'yh.