The practical Halakha of tiny insects Part 2

Last week we covered Part 1 of this topic 

Summary of the controversy over tiny insects: According to the rules of halakha one should act leniently, but because of modern technology heightening our awareness of tiny insects, and providing options for identifying and exterminating them, there is room for the stringent opinion as well * The middle approach:  Do the normal actions required to remove insects, but not in a manner that causes considerable inconvenience or expense * In large factories and kitchens sometimes stringent procedures should be set in order to maintain basic kashrut * The practical halakha – what to do according to each opinion in regards to leafy vegetables, cauliflower and broccoli, corn, strawberries, green onions and leeks

The Controversy over Tiny Insects

In the previous column, I briefly summarized the dispute over whether to check for tiny shratzim (insects) that an ordinary person is unable to see while looking at the vegetable or fruit. I wrote that the halakha goes according to the lenient opinion since this is a dispute regarding a rabbinical prohibition, for from the Torah, these insects are batel b’shishim (less than 1/60th of the total volume of the food), and even from Divrei Chachamim (rabbinic status), some poskim are of the opinion that they are batel in close to a thousand. There is also a safek(doubt) whether even according to Divrei Chachamim, it is necessary to check for them according to the rules of “miut ha’matzuy” (a substantial minority). In addition, there can be no Torah prohibition regarding a tiny thing whose taste and ingestion goes undiscerned, especially if it undesirable, and thus considered d’var sh’aino mitkaven(something unintentional) and there is no prohibition.

The Stringent Opinion is based on Modern Developments

It should be added, however, that the opinion of the machmirim(stringent poskim) has room today as well, as it is based on modern methods of research and measurement, which have heightened our awareness of the presence of tiny vermin in vegetables and foods. It can be implemented thanks to the advances in science and technology that have provided tools for dealing with tiny vermin, such as the development of detergents from which types of soaps have been produced, whose widespread use began about a hundred years ago, and can now be used to clean vegetables from tiny shratzim. Also, the development of refrigerators in which vegetables and food can be stored without the growth of tiny shratzim. In addition, methods have been developed where most vegetables and fruits can be grown under conditions that do not breed tiny insects. As a result, many rabbis in recent generations have instructed le’hadare (to enhance the mitzvah) according to the method of the machmirim poskim.

Israeli Gedoilim Laugh & Mock Satmar SHIT'ah "not to Vote" And Have HUGE "To Vote" Rally!

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Yerushalayim, Monday afternoon, to attend a historic election rally headed by Gedolei Hador Shlita, on Golda Meir Blvd. at the corner of Shefa Chaim Street.

Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky traveled from Bnei Brak to the rally, followed by him going to the Kosel to Daven.

Many Gedolim attended, including the Gerrer Rebbe, Sanzer Rebbe, Boyaner Rebbe, Hagaon Harav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi and many others.

Aguda in Panic Mode: "We will settle accounts with communities that will not vote"

Agudath Israel continues to try and get the Auerbach Fanatics  to vote, this time with a clear threat: "whoever does not vote will not receive help from  representatives when they need it" 

 A senior Agudat Israel official told "Kikar Ha'Shabbat" 

that "this time everything will be clear and computerized,  we invested great efforts and technological resources to know exactly in full detail on how every community voted or didn't vote!

"Groups and communities whose rabbis  forbid voting in the elections and abstain from voting - will not receive any help from our representative in the next term, we have run out of patience."

"We reached a situation where our representatives even got into trouble when they helped those  groups that did not actually vote in the elections, but we always helped everyone, we will no longer turn the other cheek,"

 the senior official says emphatically. "A community or group that does not care to bring its voters to the polls should not come crying to us after elections.

A source in Agudath Yisrael explains to the Kikar Ha'Shabbas: 

"This time we will know exactly how each community and each Chassidic group, exactly to a few percent, voted at any moment, and this includes a very accurate breakdown of all the details. "

Two Sides of the "The Case of the 50 Expelled Bochurim"

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com)

There is a story on all the blogs that has many in the Torah world up in arms.  A Mesivta, somewhere in Lakewood, has allegedly thrown out fifty bochurim for having left the Yeshiva to attend the Skulener Rebbe’s levaya in Brooklyn this past Wednesday.  The Yeshiva’s decision has received condemnation from nearly every circle.

The point of this article is to clarify and remove some of the misinformation that is out there.  Hopefully, this will lead to greater Kiddush Hashem and not Chillul Hashem.

• This Yeshiva is unique in that they have a policy of strict learning. They do not have any Bain haZmanim.  The Zman continues until the day before Pesach.
• The Yeshiva is very “old school” and will be very strict if rules are not kept.
• The Yeshiva is open about its strict policies of expulsion if the rules are not adhered to.
• The Rosh Yeshiva is not by any means, anti-Chasidish. He himself has a chassidish background.  He was also a Talmid of Rav Paller, Rav Beryl Soloveitchik, and Rav Aharon Kotler.
• The Rosh Yeshiva himself was very close to the Skulener Rebbe zt”l.
• The Rosh Yeshiva himself fasted taanaisim when he heard that the Skulener Rebbe was ill.
• The Rosh Yeshiva spoke on Tuesday night about his Rebbe, Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l’s position of not attending a levaya if it is out of town. He cited a Yerushalmi (Psachim 3:7) that the parameters of being mevatel Talmud Torah and going to a levaya (See Kesuvos 17a) are only if it is in town.
• When Rav Elya Svei zt”l passed away, the Rosh Yeshiva forbade the high school bochurim from attending the levaya when it was out of town.

The Rosh Yeshiva has expelled students in the past for similar infractions.  Some have been allowed back in after they had learned their lesson.  Others were to find other Yeshivos.

There are efforts being made by Gedolei Torah to reach out to the Rosh Yeshiva to allow the Talmidim back in.  The Rosh Yeshiva had already stated that anyone that had davened and fasted for the Skulener Rebbe to have a refuah shleimah should come.

The author can be  reached at yairhoffman2@gmail.com

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY!!!!!!!

Frum Parties & The Left Teamed Up To Give Jewish Owned Land To Arabs in East Jerusalem

I will get to the disturbing headline in a minute.....

First a brief background....

There are elections in Israel tomorrow and by in large the Heimishe Yeedin will quietly vote for the Likkud!

And that's why the Chareidie parties are in panic mode!

What??????????

Liar!! Not true!!!!! 

That is what you are probably screaming at your screen!!!!

Well I'll let you into an open secret ..... shhhhhhhhh! Quiet!!!

First of all Deri the crook in the above poster has publicly stated that he is for giving up land!

No..... not his house or the city in Bnei-Brak or wherever the hell he lives ......nooooooooooo!

He isn't for giving back his own property.....he is for giving back someone else's property!!!!

His reasoning is based on a a political decision of the late Rav Ovadia Yosef ....

Back in the days..... 

Rav Ovadia thought that for "peace" for saving a Jewish life it's important to give back land ....and to that end he supported the left and supported Peres ... who he became close friends with...

When Israel, in 2005 with the support of Rav Ovadia evacuated Gaza and Gush Katif, they ...meaning the then Prime Minister Sharon, and the Chareidie "gedoilim" thought that this would finally bring peace!!

Well.... every child now knows that this was one fatal mistake and the blood thirsty Arab savages have fired over 20,000 missiles from Gaza!......

Zionist State Has Lowest Rate Of Diet-related Deaths Worldwide - Study

Israel has the lowest rate of diet-related deaths worldwide, according to a major study published by researchers at the University of Washington.

The most in-depth study of its kind to date, published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, revealed that globally, one in five deaths (11 million deaths) in 2017 were associated with poor diet, with cardiovascular disease the largest contributor, followed by cancers and type 2 diabetes.

The countries with the lowest rates of diet-related deaths, however, were Israel (89 deaths per 100,000 people), followed by France, Spain, Japan and Andorra.

Ezra Friedlander's Iran Spreads Article Throughout Latin America Claiming Israel Performs Medical Tests On Prisoners

An Iranian news site in Latin America has published an article claiming that Israel uses Palestinian prisoners for “new medical trials.”

Despite citing no evidence for the claim, the HispanTV report Wednesday has spread to outlets across Latin America, including the El Ciudadano monthly in Chile and the website of an association of Cuban jurists. It was published on Uruguay’s La Republica website but taken down Friday after a reader complained.

“This fake news crosses all limits of journalistic ethics,” said Ariel Gelblum, the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s regional representative in Buenos Aires.

The Argentine site Infobae first reported the Wiesenthal Center’s complaint.

“HispanTV is for the Iranian regime to influence Latin America, through the presence of Hezbollah, its terrorist arm,” Shimon Samuels, the director of international relations for the Wiesenthal Center, said in a statement. “The charge of blood libel was used against Jews since the Middle Ages. Its use by Tehran is the crudest form of anti-Semitism.”

HispanTV, which is operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, launched in 2011. In 2014, Iran announced plans to expand its media influence in Latin America.

“Iran’s strong and rapidly growing ties with Latin America have raised eyebrows in the U.S. and its Western allies since Tehran and Latin nations have forged an alliance against the imperialist and colonialist powers and are striving hard to reinvigorate their relations with the other independent countries which pursue a line of policy independent from the U.S.,” the Iranian Fars News agency said.

State Supreme Court Judge Rules Against Rockland County Measles State Of Emergency

A State Supreme Court judge has ruled against Rockland County's state of emergency order banning people under the age of 18 who have not received a measles vaccine from public places.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day instituted the ban last month after more than 160 measles cases were confirmed to be infected with the virus.

Since the state of emergency, another six people have been confirmed to be carrying the disease for a total of 167 cases.

The suit against the state of emergency was brought by civil rights lawyer Michael Sussman on behalf of parents of unvaccinated students at Green Meadow Waldorf School in Chestnut Ridge. Another lawsuit was also filed by an unnamed mother from Rockland County.

On Friday, April 5, the judge granted a temporary injunction on the 30-day order enacted on March 26, which for the time being, will end the state of emergency, reported ABC 7.

In Monsey Area Ed Day Fighting With His Own Son Chris Who Is Working With Aron Weider on the Measles Vaccine

A day after his son, Orangetown Supervisor Chris Day, said he would not run for re-election due to the actions of his father, Rockland County Supervisor Ed Day said he is proud of his son in a response to his son's scathing attack.

“This entire situation is a sad commentary on what can happen when private family matters are made public," Ed Day said following his son's statement on Tuesday, April 2 that pointed a finger at the political and personal infighting with his father as the reason for his withdrawal from politics. "Let me state, unequivocally, that my support for my son and his political career has been unwavering."

Chris Day said during the press conference, that the problems with his father and his political cronies have "have been present and impacting my life, my family’s lives, and many political situations since the end of 2014."

The issue seems to have reached a boiling point last week when Chris Day, Republican, suggested working with Democratic Legislator Aron Wieder, D-Spring Valley, on measles vaccine education in an effort to help curb the current epidemic in Rockland.

Satmar Evicts & Sues Chabad of Seagate!

I have to admit that I am not privy to all the details of the story and there is probably a lot more to it ....

but I know this ..... Satmar Chassidim who travel the USA and the world on vacation or for business, utilize Chabad Centers to daven and even to eat....

So...Where is the Hakaras Ha'Toiv? 

Mr Chesed .... how do you have the chutzpah to evict a couple that do kiruv???

A Satmar Yeshiva has thrown Out Chabad of Seagate 

of their building and attacked them with a lawsuit, even threatened Shluchim Chaim and Rivky Brikman with arrest.

The shul had always prided itself on being a place in which every Jewish resident of Seagate would feel at home, so the Brikmans’ Chabad philosophy of warmth and outreach to every Jew was a natural fit.

In keeping with their mission––as shluchim of the Rebbe––the Brikmans founded a Hebrew school, adult education classes, programs for youth, teen and seniors, transforming what was a relatively small Jewish community into one that is vibrant and brimming with Jewish pride.