who thinks?

"5% of the people think, 10% of the people think they think, and the other 85% would rather die than think." ~ Thomas A. Edison

nightmare

The difference between one's child becoming disabled through the whims of nature verses that through the action of an ignorant doctor that a parent trusted is like the difference between a nightmare from which one wakes verses that of a nightmare from which one never wakes.

Approbation by R' Yitzchok Elchanan Spektor

It is known among the tribes of Israel what has been achieved by that righteous man, the pious gaon Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, of blessed memory, late head of the beth din of the holy congregation of Frankfurt am Main, who dedicated his strength and energy to Israel and its Torah, in order to restore the crown of the Law to its ancient glory and to lead the hearts of tens of thousands of [the people of] Israel back to our Father in Heaven. This is the man who, until his extreme old age, devoted his whole life to [the task of] winning souls for the Torah and the Testimony, to support and uphold it, with his activities--"the labors of the righteous are life-giving" [Proverbs 10:16]--as well as with his wonderful, renowned books that are irradiated by the light of the Torah and the lamp of the commandments .... 

However, the light stored up in his books was hidden from those tens of thousands in Israel who do not know the German language .... Now ... I will offer my approbation and my blessing to my friend, the worthy R. Moses Zalman Aronsohn ... for the great and splendid work which he has now undertaken, namely, to translate from the German language into our sacred tongue . . . the great and wonderful Commentary on the Torah by the gaon Rabbi Samson [Raphael] Hirsch, of blessed memory. 

This is the precious and much praised commentary which is indeed a crown of glory, "the beauty of Israel" [II Samuel 1:19]. It is a most honored work, done for the sake of heaven, a lovely, choice treasure to exalt the Holy Torah, to give strength and honor to the religious heritage of the community of Jacob. The many original interpretations introduced by this gaon and sage, who was great in knowledge and who conveyed understanding in a manner that is lucid and in conformity with reason, are invaluable. Of equally matchless value is his demonstration of the complete unity of the Written Torah and the Oral Law, which he accomplished in a truly magnificent manner. ... 

How deep are his thoughts, which reveal the wonders and the wisdom concealed in the Torah of the Lord! He removes all the alien and doubtful ideas raised by would-be scholars from generation to generation, and demonstrates that the Torah of the Lord is perfect, the word of God stands forever, and that the light of the Written Torah and the Oral Law will live for all time. 

Kovno, Monday, the third day of the month of Marheshvan, 5656 (1895) 

(signed) ISAAC ELCHANAN, residing in this holy community 

[Approbation by R' Yitzchok Elchanan Spektor, (1817-96) to the Hebrew Translation of the Hirsch Commentary on Chumash that was started by R' Moshe Aronshon of Kovno in the 19th century, from The Pentateuch, Terumath Tzvi, Judaica Press]

The Lubavitcher Rebbe on the Importance of Teaching and Inspiring Gentiles

The Lubavitcher Rebbe on the Importance of Teaching and Inspiring Gentiles

Everyone in Your Surroundings

20 Menachem Av, 5745 • August 7, 1985

http://www.chabad.org

Linked Post from Chabad.org: Why and When Did Mourners Start Saying Kaddish Together?

Why and When Did Mourners Start Saying Kaddish Together?

By Yehuda Shurpin

Most surprising in this article is the finding that two famous Yekke's actually promoted - one temporarily - multiple people saying kaddish.

One of the first to mention the custom to have all mourners recite the Kaddish is Rabbi Yaakov Emden (1697–1776), who writes in his siddur that “with regard to various laws about who takes precedence for Mourner’s Kaddish among the Ashkenazim, I will not discuss it, as it is only a custom (and how good and right is the Sephardic custom that if there are many mourners, all merit and recite the Kaddish together, avoiding strife and disagreement) . . .”2 In other words, Rabbi Yaakov Emden felt that it would be wise for Ashkenazim to follow the Sephardic custom of reciting the Kaddish together and thereby avoiding strife.

Note from reader EA:

Rabbi Hamburger discusses this R. Emden approval of this minhag in his lecture found in YUtorah.org at minute 46 onwards: https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/789579/rabbi-binyamin-hamburger/the-development-of-kaddish-yasom/

measuring Ahavas and Yiras Hashem

Today, the fifth of Kislev, is the 80th Yartzeit of Hagaon Rav Baruch Ber Leibowitz Zatztal. His son-in-law Hagaon Rav Reuven Grozovsky Zatztal, related the following:

Rav Yisroel Salanter once remarked; Why do the wicked ones hate the righteous, more than the righteous hate the wicked? He answered; we are not as righteous as they are wicked. Rav Baruch Ber explained; the wicked ones hatred is based purely on bad character traits, thus no great effort is demanded to obtain the hatred. On the other hand, the despising that the righteous have for the wicked, is based on an abundance of Ahavas Hashem, which needs to be attained. He added; I measure my Ahavas and Yiras Hashem by the degree to which I despise evil.

When Bocherim who were protesting the actions of Zionist youth were hit by them, Rav Boruch Ber said; It is Min HaShamayim, in order that Bnei Torah should understand to distance themselves from Zionism. It is comparable to one who wants to distance his son from a dog, he incites the dog to scare his son, and this teaches him to stay away. He added; You see, this is Zionism, when you take-up the battle for Kovod Shamayim, then they strike you.

the Sentry 

Jeckes Museum

Jeckes Museum

"The German-Speaking Jewry Heritage Museum was founded in 1968 by the late Israel Shiloni, and prior to being moved to the Tefen Industrial Park in 1991, the museum was situated in the Nahariya Municipality's building. In 2004, a collaboration contract was signed between the museum administration and the administration of the Association of Israelis of Central European Origin, and one year later the new museum was inaugurated."

likely pretty reform and non-religious but i really don't know
it's near mt meron