Live Broadcast Oorah Laptop giveaway

Click  HERE to watch Laptop giveaway for Oorah Auction 2013

Agudath Israel 91st annual Dinner may 5th ,2013

For the 91st Dinner Video click HERE

This Sunday May 5th, 2013 is the Annual Dinner of Agudas Yisrael of America. It will take place at the NewYork Hilton. 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019
Dr. David Diamond, Dinner Chairman

For reservations or to place a  Journal ad click HERE or Email Dinner@Agudathisrael.org
reception 5:00 pm Dinner 6:00 pm

The Kuntris torah magazine Chelek Bais

The Kuntris Torah Magazine "הקונטרס" published the second issue. The Lag Baomer April 2013 issue published a michtav bracha/haskama to the editor Rabbi Refoel Fuchs from Rav Elya Brudny. He writes "it is with great joy I received the first edition of the magazine that you published the Kuntrisit is as its name- a Kuntris of Torah delights, through the Kuntris the masses will see the words are happy and enlightening the dealings of the Torah.

 In this issue there is an exclusive interview with Rav Michel Shurkin on his Rebbe Rav Moshe shmuel Shapiro Z"TL. The Daas torah files divrei torah from the Shabbos Table of Rav Gershon Ribner. Other interesting Halacha discussions covering the recent Meat scandal in LA, a Toen's perspective and an article why people go to Miron for Lag B'omer. Cost is still  $1 at your local news or seforim store.

Rabbonim meeting about youtube uploaded to youtube

A meeting held this week 12 Iyar 5773 at the home of the Skulener rebbe by the Ichud Hakehilos, (see video below) attended by the Satmar Rebbe Rav Zalman Leib Tetelbaum, the Bobover rebbe Rav Mordechai Unger and many other Chasidisher Rabbonim following up on the internet Asifa. Askanim spoke about and discussed the dangers and challenges of technology. The issues discussed were beyond the dangers of the internet. Rabbi Nechemia Gottlieb,spoke about the new phenomenon of posting and uploading everything on youtube for the world to see. Chasunah videos of chosson and kallah pictures with women dancing have become the norm. It is like tiboel lehegmon techillah by posting the videos up on YouTube. Twitting Pictures that depict Leitzanus of mitzvos and sharing it for the whole world to see. The current forms of entertainment and productions of videos making fun of devarim shebikdusha an example was given of a pesach seder showing people struggling eating the kazayis matzah and showing a large kazayis making fun of the leil haseder. These clips are creating a huge churban even to ehrliche yidden even with out any shmutz says rav Mattisyahu solomon shlita it can destroy klal yisroel.

A shud oif yiddisher Gelt

 According to a Forbes Israel report a list of The 165 Jewish billionaires around the world have $812 billion in joint wealth, Forbes Israel reported on Thursday. Haaretz reports: 

 The richest Jew in the world is Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, with a net worth of $43 billion, according to Forbes, up $7 billion from last year. Ellison was fifth on the Forbes 2013 world billionaires list. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is in second place with $27 billion, up $5 billion from 2012. He appeared 13th on the world list. Casino mogul and Republican Party political donor Sheldon Adelson is in third place with $26.5 billion and was 15th on the world list. Eight of the top ten richest Jewish billionaires are from the United States; the remaining two are Russian. The other Jewish billionaires in the top ten are Google's Larry Page with $23 billion; Google's Sergey Brin with $22.5 billion; Carl Ichan with $20 billion; George Soros with $19.2 billion; Alisher Usmanov with $17.6 billion; Mikhail Fridman with $16.5 billion; and Len Blavatnik with $16 billion.

Many of these Billionaires have donated lots of their wealth to charity, some to jewish causes and some to society in general. If only they would give some of it to Tzedakah at least the Maaser, to yeshivos and Mosdos. Imagine if they set up a fund to help solve the tuition crisis, yeshivos wont have to struggle, rebbeim could get a better pay. Lets hope they have the Zechus to be Machzik Torah and support frum institutions of  Torah and Chesed. Their money can have an eternal and lasting effect. 
Do you hear us Mr. Larry Page, Mr. Brin, Mr. Adelson??

Its Dinner time!

Please come and show your support today, Sunday April ,21 2013 to the following Mosdos.

Yeshiva Torah Vodaas tribute Dinner
Paying tribute to Rav Yisroel Belsky 50 years of Harbotzas Torah
Sunday April 21, 2013 The palace 780 McDonald Ave Brooklyn, NY
Dinner@Torahvodaath.org  reception 5:30

Yeshiva Gedolah of Monroe, NJ
Eleventh anniversary Dinner, Sunday April 21, 2013
The renaissance Ballroom 5902 14th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 6:30 reception
Monroe@yeshivanet.com

Yeshiva Ohavei Torah Riverdale, NY
14th Annual Dinner
Glenpointe Marriott 100 Frank W. Burr Boulevard, Teaneck, NJ 5:30 pm
Dinner@ohaveitorah.org

Hatzolah of Flatbush 
Gala Auction Sunday April 21, 2013
congregation Shaare Zion 2030 Ocean Parkway
Women 5-6 pm  Men 6-7 pm
www.Flatbushhatzoloh.org

Shulamith School 
Annual Scholarship Dinner Sunday April 21, 2013
Toras Emes kaminetz hall 1904 Avenue N Brooklyn, NY 11230


Yeshiva Torah Temima
55th Annual Dinner Wednesday May 1st ,2013
The Palace 7810 Mccdonald Avenue Brooklyn , NY
Buffet Dinner 7:30  program 8:30 pm

Publicity of Shidduch crisis backfiring?

We've all heard the scare tactics and fear mongering from the ads proclaiming a certain amount of girls wont get married R"L if the boys dont start shidduchim earlier. The analogy of shidduch island with 100 boys and girls yet there will be more married boys than girls etc. Blaming boys who get married at 23 as the reason one girl will be single forever. The shidduch crisis has been used as a propaganda to scare and try to change the current approach to shidduchim in the yeshivish baal habatish circles.
The Yated Neeman Pesach issue featured an article by Shadchan Reb Tzadok Katz of Lakewood, where he takes those spreading these fears, to task. Whether there is or isn't a shidduch crisis is not the point, he says "lets concede there is a crisis and the numbers of the age gap theory are correct, still the fact that it is being pushed into everyone's face has exacerbated the issue. Simply put the more scared and worried girls and their parents are about the shortage of boys the more vulnerable they become. The result is they allow themselves to be taken advantage of and threatened by those redding shidduchim to give answers within 48 hours after getting a yes from a boy. Worried that they wont get another yes they give an answer with out doing as much research as they would like. The feeling of desperation causes parents to lower the bar and compromise in areas they should not compromise in. They must be allowed and comfortable to say no and given the time to thoroughly validate their decision with fact checking and research. Messages that One out of ten girls will never get married are hurtful, lacking in sensitivity and do nothing to help those in the parsha. Such messages play on the hearts of girls and have parents crying asking weather their daughters will get married.
 The campaign has made the situation worse by causing boys and their parents to be pickier, boys are taking advantage and going out for longer and longer since they are told they have an upper hand in this heavy girls market.
Rabbi Katz agrees that boys should be getting married at a younger age but the way it is being presented to the public is backfiring. He stressed girls should not panic and worry they will never get married. They should not allow themselves to be taken advantage and terrorized by someone redding a shidduch, the stress and panic has changed the dynamics of the frum dating scene. It is time we go back to the way it used to be when the threatening and competitive atmosphere that prevades todays shidduch  world was almost non existent.
In response to the article it appears the ads regarding the age gap issue have been toned down.

More shidduch websites HERE

Think out of the bag! Listen to the shiur about the kohen wearing the bag

Click HERE to listen to the shiur by Rav Nissan Kaplan about a kohen on a plane and the eitzah of a bag as Tzamid pasil.
The picture went viral on the internet, a kohen wraped in a bag on a plane, it was posted by many frum blogs, websites and picked up by the secular media. The result, people who have no clue what it was about speculating and ridiculing orthodox jews and the Torah. When explained that it was about a kohen not wanting to become impure, many have been poking fun and mocking the Torah and Halachos of  Tumah and Tahara and calling it a chillul hashem. To all those who think its funny, would the picture of a yid wearing tefillin also look funny to you? how about a picture of a yid shaking a palm and a citron?  People would make fun of and would find many religious practices just as ridiculous. please take a few moments and listen to the shiur on hilchos tumah vetahara take this oppurtunity to be marbeh kavod Shomayim 

click HERE for information on who is the kohen in the picture

Click HERE for the shiur given by Rav Nissan Kaplan of the Mir yeshiva on the Halacha a kohen flying over a cemetery. At the end of the shiur he discusses the eitzah of  wrapping yourself in a bag. It does not have to be air tight :)

The Holocaust survivors and the handicapped parking spot

Recently there has been  a campaign launched regarding  healthy people parking in handicapped parking spots. Many frum websites and blogs posted articles and videos vilifying people who dare to park in a designated handicapped spot. 

Here is a true story, a friend of mine drove his elderly grandparents both Holocaust survivors in their 90's to a simcha. As he arrived at the Hall it was raining and the closest spot to the entrance was the handicapped spot. This couple could not walk on their own they had walkers and had to be carried up the steps. The driver of the car helped the couple up into the simcha hall which took about ten minutes to get them inside. As he returned to his car he was met outside with nasty comments about parking illegally in a handicapped spot. He told them he had dropped off an elderly couple who are as handicapped as can be.  His words fell on deaf ears as this person continued to yell that he did not have a permit to park there in the first place. Furious the driver asked this person to come inside the shul upstairs so he can show him the handicapped passenger, he went inside the shul where his grandfather was sitting putting on tefilin he showed him the numbers on his arm and said look at these numbers are they good enough for a handicap spot???

  Yes it is a terrible thing to do and we must respect the laws of the land as well as give people with disabilities their rights and help make their life as easy as possible. However, is this really a major problem that is gripping the frum community? is this rampant that in all communities people are parking in these spots? look around most of the time these spots are empty or used legally by someone with a disability. Do we know the circumstances of the car that did park there? why cant we talk about being Dan Lkaf Zechus ?  In these days of Sefirah let us focus on our own problems lets not look at others and create more sinas chinom, and if we want to look at others lets be dan lkaf zechus.

American Hamodia launches new website updated daily with all news features

The Hamodia newspaper has launched a new and improved website full with daily news updates and features. Included, are many articles and letters and a digital copy of the daily print edition. It's only a few years ago that a ad with a website address was not allowed. Now it seems the Rabbonim approve of these new developments.

Rav Nahmani, noted Kabbalist video about North Korea

prediction was made by the mekubal a month before he passed away 19 years ago.

Birchas H'ailanos 2013, list of fruit trees.

With a few days left until Rosh Chodesh Iyar 5773 here is the list of places where one could make a Bracha on a tree for Birchas ilanos 2013. The list is courtesy of Misaskim  a comprehensive list of fruit trees throughout the USA and Canada. Although the list is from 2012 we can assume most of the trees should still be standing except for those that were knocked down by Hurricane Sandy. According to Poskim one may recite the Bracha even after Rosh Chodesh Iyar as long as the tree is still Blossoming.
click HERE for the list.

Frum papers print despite the short week, Yated Neeman did not publish this week

 Wondering why there is no Yated Neeman this week? due to the short work week with Pesach the Yated Ne'eman did not print this week of parshas Shmini. However despite the challenges, Hamodia ,Ami, Mishpacha Magazine did go to print. They prepared their issues ahead of time. To be fair the magazines can afford to prepare in advance as they are more feature based, the newspapers are the ones with the challenge.