Shulom Aleichem!
HaBucher HaChushev Ploni ben Nistar here for shtick, news and fun. You know, a Chassidic life isn't as boring and heavy as most people might think! ;-)
מצוה גדולה להיות בשמחה תמיד
Remember you can always easily stop the playlist at the bottom of this page. Also don't hesitate to send me an 'ask' if you have any questions. I don't bite at the first time.
DISCLAIMER: Questions on Jewish Law (Halacha), I will try to answer to the best of my ability. Note that my understanding may not be accurate nor be the final word on asked topic. One should consult an Orthodox Rabbi before drawing any conclusions.
The Tambler Rebbe when he’s old…
Just came back from the Belzer chassene. No, it isn’t over yet. It will probably continue until the late (or early) morning hours. I was at the kabbolas Ponim (well, partly) and the Chuppa, and since I’m not a Belzer I don’t really feel like attending the whole thing. Plus, I also have another chassene where I have to say ‘mazel tov’.
In order to be allowed inside the chassene hall one needs a special card that they got beforehand. I also got such a card, but I gave it away to a friend of mine. But… it was still fun and I still made a little adventure out of it (which is something for a later post).
Anonymous Asks:
bennistar Said:
Again?
This a public service announcement to ALL anons. Before you ask these kind of questions please see the FAQ and/or tags page on my blog. If you can find the ‘ask-page’ it also shouldn’t be too hard to find these two pages.
As for this anon, your tag would be —> this <— tag. Please read through it before asking any more questions. I’m really getting tired of this.
Anonymous Asks:
bennistar Said:
Hey,
When women stand behind the men there is still not a real separation between them. Both of them will still be able to see and even communicate with each other. It wouldn’t help much for the concentration of either man or woman. We even see it at simches, where there is a mechitza, but it’s not like a prayer service so people sometimes tend to go over to the mechitze to talk to their relatives (or just women going to the mechitze to watch the men’s side). Imagine if there wasn’t a mechitze at all. This is because not only gravity pulls objects to the center of the earth, genders gravitate towards each other as well.
Nature’s impulse is that when in the presence of the opposite gender and a siddur, ones attention will usually be not on the siddur. Perhaps people shouldn’t be like that, but they are. Shuls were built for people, not angels. Besides, There is nothing wrong with the attraction, but it should be in the proper time, place, and setting. While davening is not that setting.
This is just one, and a very simplistic, reason of why we have a mechitze. Also keep in mind that a mechitze doesn’t have to be a curtain or barrier through which you can’t (or hardly) see. In my Shul (which is a large Chassidic one) the Ezras Noshim (women’s section) has tinted glass. We can’t see them, but they can see everything. It’s more of a preference of the shul, not halacha.
As I’ve said before the chassene (wedding) season has been opened. A busy season not just for us, pushete Yidden (simple Jews), but also for the tzadikim of our generation.
Yesterday 11 Sivan (20/05/2013) was the Simchas Beis Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok, Kaliv (USA) & Sassov.
The granddaughter of the Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok Rebbe, daughter of the Rebbe’s son-in-law HaRav HaTzadik Rabbi Eliezer Tzvi Taub, grandson of the Kalever Rebbe (USA) had chassene with the son of HaGaon Rabbi Yosef Kadish Brandsdorfer, Ruv of the Beis Yisroel neighborhood in Yerushalayim and son-in-law of the Kossover Rebbe (Yerushalayim) zt”l (who passed away three weeks ago).
Today, 12 Sivan (21/05/2013) will IY”H be the gigantic and historic simche of beis Belz & Makeve. 
The Yoresh (eldest grandson of the Belzer Rebbe), HaChusson Shulem Rokeach, son of Harav HaTzadik Aharon Mordechai Rokeach and grandson (from his mother’s side) of the Makeve Rebbe will have chassene with the daughter of Rav Yechiel Meir Paneth, R”M at Yeshivas Nadvorna of Bnei Brak, and granddaughter of Rav Aharon Dovid Paneth zt”l. The chusson is also a great-grandson of the Vizhnitzer Rebbe zt”l of Bnei Brak, who was the Belzer Rebbe’s father-in-law.
The chuppa is scheduled for 6pm in Kikar Belz, Kiryas Belz.
13 Sivan (22/05/2013) - Simchas Beis Shotz-Vizhnitz
The daughter of the Rebbe’s son-in-law, HaGaon Rabbi Aharon Folk, rosh kollel Slonim in Elad -author of HaSefer ‘Ohel HaEidus’- will have chassene with the son of Rosh Yeshivas Shaar HaMelech, and grandson of the Av Beis Din of Boyan in America.
The simche will be held on Wednesday 13 Sivan in thei Ganei Hadekel hall, Bnei Brak. In honor of the chassene the Rebbe and his chassidim are visiting kivrei tzadikim in Chevron and other holy places. This is also in preperation of their next chassene in Tamuz; which will be between Beis Shotz-Vizhnitz, Nadvorna and Lelov IY”H.
13 Sivan (22/05/2013) - Beis Linsk
Daughter of the Rebbe and granddaugther of the Rachover Rebbe zt”l will have chassene with the son of HaRav HaTzadik rabbi Menachem Kopp, Ruv of Kahal ‘Shearis Yaakov’- Lelov Bronovitz (בראנוביץ), brother of the Rebbe.
The chassene will be in the Modi’in hall in Ramat Gan. Meir Adler’s band will be playing at the simche.
14 Sivan (23/05/2013) - Vizhnitz, Kalev, De’esh
The granddaugther of the Vizhnitzer rebbe, daughter of his eldest son HaRav HaTzadik Rabbi Chayim Meir Tzvi Hager, Av Beis Din of Chassidei Vizhnitz in Boro Park, will have chassene with the grandson of the Kalev (USA) and De’esh Rebbes, son of HaRav HaTzadik Rabbi Yissochor Dov Taub shlita.
The simche will be held on Thursday in the ‘heichal hagodol’ next to the ‘beis medrash hagodol’ in Kiryas Vizhnitz, Bnei Brak. Kabbolos Ponim will be 3.45pm. Chuppa: 17.15pm. The buchrim will learn their usual hours during the simchas Sheva brochos as as to bring the joy of Torah learning to the Rebbe.
18 Sivan (27/05/2013) - Biala (Bnei Brak) - Mishkenos HaRoim
The son of the Biala Rebbe will have chassene with the granddaughter of the Mishkenos HaRoim Rebbe, daughter of the Rebbe’s son, HaRav HaTzadik Rabbi Yehoshua Usher Rabinowitz. The simche will be held on Monday 18 Sivan in the ‘Ganei Hadelek’ hall in Bnei Brak with the attendance of all the Rebbes and rabbonim.
The Mishkenois HaRoim Rebbe went to Antwerp earlier this week for the chassene of his grandson, son of his son-in-law, HaRav HaTzadik Rabbi Yehuda Leib Brach. The Rebbe will be back in Eretz Yisroel for his granddaugther’s chassene.
19 Sivan (28/05/2013) - Sanz
The first granddaugther of the Sanzer Rebbe, daughter of the Rebbe’s son HaRav HaTzadik Rabbi Yosef Moshe Dov Halberstam, head of the Sanzer yeshivos, will have chassene with the son of HaRav HaTzadik Rabbi Yaakov Simcha Halperin, son of HaRav HaTzadik rabbi Aryeh Leibish Halperin, Ruv of the Ramot gimmel neighborhood in Yerushalayim and grandson of HaGaon Rabbi Elchonon Helperin, gaavad of Goldes Green in London, son in-law of HaGadon Menachem Mender Lemberger zt”l, Makever Rebbe Yerushalayim.
The simche will be Tuesday 19 Sivan at the heichal hagodol in ‘heichal Rozenberg’, Kiryas Santz, Netanya. Shabbos Sheva Brochos will be in Yerushalayim.
19 Sivan (28/05/2013) - Spinka (USA)
Granddaugther of the Spinker Rebbe, daugther of his son-in-law, HaRav HaTzadik Rabbi Usher Yehoshua Eichenstein, will have chassene with the grandson of the Kaloshiner Rebbe.
The Spinka Rebbe (Boro Park) will arrive on Monday in Eretz Yisroel l’kovod the chassene. The chassene will be held on Tuesday 19 Sivan in the Nof HaYarden’ hall in rechov HaYarden, Bnei Brak. Shabbos Sheva Brochos will be in Mosdos Machnivke on Rechov HaShlah.
21 Sivan (30/05/2013) - Alexander, Kopitshnitz
The grandson of the Alexander and Koptshnitzer Rebbes, the son of HaRav HaTzadik Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Filtenstein, will have chassene with the youngest daughter (out of 18 children) of HaGaon Rabbi Shmuel Eliezer Stern, gaavad of the Western part of Bnei Brak.
Shabbos Aufruf will be in Slonim, Yerushalayim. The chassene will be on Thursday 21 Sivan in the Modi’in hall in Ramat Gan.
21 Sivan (30/05/2013) - Pshevorsk
The youngest son of Reb Leibish of Pshevorsk (Antwerp, Belgium), the eldest and most respected of the European Rebbes, will have chassene with the daughter of HaRav HaTzadik Rabbi Yaakov Eliyahu Horonchik, grandson of the Lelover Rebbe, Reb ‘Moshe Mordche zt”l.
The simche will be held on Thursday 21 Sivan in Gan Iruim, Petach Tikvah.
Anonymous Asks:
bennistar Said:
[follow up on this post]
Uhm yeah … I suppose it is…
מעולה! חרדי מחקה את הרב אמנון יצחק,דרעי,אורי זוהר, לפיד,שרון.
Bucher mimicking Rabbi Amnon Yitzchak, Deri, Uri Zohar, Lapid, and Sharon.
Made reblogabble upon request. Click here for original.
[Click here for my post on tattoos in Jewish law]
Short answer: While I disapprove of them, I do think they’re hilarious!
Example: *translations of tattoo*: Biuaro iLMS, or: “eerF shmesh hand”
Long answer: You have to know what Hebrew is in order to understand that it’s terribly offensive to any Jew, especially a religious one to see Hebrew inked on someone’s body.
Hebrew is not just a language like any other language. Hebrew is a language that is very dear and holy to the Jewish people.
According to our tradition it’s the oldest language of mankind. It is language in which G-d created the world. It is the holy language of the Torah. It’s the language in which G-d spoke to Avraham, Yitzchok, Yaakov, our prophets, and all of our ancestors. It’s the language in which our people, from the time of Avraham Avinu (Abraham our Father) have prayed and studied in. It is the language of Jewish scholarship; all of the rabbinic writings throughout the centuries have been written in Hebrew, a language that we call ‘Loshon HaKodesh’ (the holy tongue). It is a language that unites all Jews from throughout the world.
The word ‘Hebrew’ comes from the word ‘Ivri,’ what means ‘from the other side’ or ‘other-sider’ , which is a description of Avraham, who immigrated to Eretz Yisroel (the land of Israel) from the eastern side of the Euphrates River. A Jew -Avraham’s descendant- was thus called an ‘Ivri’ until the word “Yehudi” (from Yehuda/Juda) came into play and gave rise to the word ‘Jew.’ ‘Hebrew’ can also mean ‘Jewish’ or something pertaining to Jewishness or Judaism. So, the Hebrew language is deeply rooted in a Jew.
According to Jewish law we are not allowed to bring any texts in Loshon HaKodesh (read: Hebrew) into unclean places (i.e toilets, bathrooms, etc), not to undress/change ourselves in front of them since this would be disrespectful to both the sacred words and language in which G-d himself spoke to us. We are also not allowed to just discard certain things in Hebrew and throw it in the garbage can. We have a special genizah (burial place) for our sacred Hebrew texts. Furthermore we are forbidden to write down G-d’s name (unless it’s for religious purposes, i.e Mezuzos, Sifrei Torah, etc) or to pronounce it, let alone to ink it on a body!
While to you, and many other non-Jews, Hebrew might seem to be just another language, there are untold layers of deeper meanings and wisdoms locked within its 22-letter alphabet. Every single letter is holy.
In most languages letters don’t have independent value. They don’t communicate any meaning. A letter is a symbol that indicates a sound (much like a musical note) and is only valuable when paired with other letters to form a word. Even then, it is the word that communicates meaning, not the letters.
In English, for example, the letters E-A-R of ‘ear’ have no intrinsic meaning. They mean nothing when they stand alone, and still mean nothing when they stand together. There is nothing about ear, the word or the thing it describes, that is connected to the shape or name of the letters E, A or R. Similarly, no one will say that an ‘era’ is somehow connected to an ‘ear’ simply because they share the same letters.
Letters simply don’t speak for themselves. They must be grouped together before the newly formed words can begin to communicate meaning. The Merriam Webster, spells out clearly:
Word: a speech sound or series of speech sounds that symbolizes and communicates a meaning” usually without being divisible into smaller units capable of independent use.
But for thousands of years, Jewish scholars have done just that. They in fact pondered, explored, and studied, the meaning of each individual Hebrew letter. Countless writings make it clear that each Hebrew letter communicates its own meaning, aside from the words it joins to form.
Jewish literature attributes so much meaning to the letters that whole words can be interchanged simply because they share the same letters. For example, the word ‘mishna’ (משנה), and the word ‘neshama’/soul (נשמה) are seen to be related because of their common letters. Therefore, we do indeed recite mishnayos for a deceased person. Letters also belong to ‘families’, and within a single word family letters can be exchanged to disclose another meaning to that word. For example, the first two letters of the word ‘Mitzvah’, מ and צ (of מצוה), can be replaced with their pairs Yud (י) and He (ה) respectively. This would spell out G-d’s name, Yud, He, Vav and He.
Each letter also contains a gematria (numerical value), and words that share the same numerical value can also be related. For example, the word ‘Hateva’ (nature) is gematria 86, which is the same gematria as ‘Elokim’ (one of G-d’s names).
As I’ve said above, we believe that the world was created in Hebrew. The very first posuk (text) in the Torah says:
Bereishis – In the beginning
Bara Elokim – G-d created
את (Es) –
Hashomayim – the heavens
ואת (v’Es) –
Ho’oretz – the earth.
As you can see the word את (Es/Et) isn’t translated. את is a Biblical Hebrew word that has no translation. However, the word is not meaningless, and while it cannot be translated, it is interpreted. The Talmud is full with respective explanations for the numerous את’s that appear throughout the Torah.
‘Es’ is spelled את (Alef Sav, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet). The ‘Es’ in this posuk was explained by the Magid of Mezritch zt”l as follows:
Bereishis – In the beginning
Bara Elokim – G-d created
Es – Alef through SavIn the beginning G-d created the Hebrew Alef Beis.
Of course there is much more to say on the holiness, and holy origins, of the Hebrew language. But that wouldn’t fit in one blog post (nor do I have the time for it). Because of this, Jews are so tremendously careful, and are obligated to by Jewish law, to respect and honor this holy language.
So you can understand that tattooing Hebrew words (whether gibberish or ‘complete’ words) is not only disrespectful and insulting to the Jewish people (especially the religious ones), but it is also considered to be sacrilegious and seen as disrespectful towards our Creator and Torah.
As far for the appropriation part, since there are more than enough people talking about that, I leave that up to the other Jewish bloggers (aka Jumblrs) on here. I will only stick to the religious part on my blog.
Anonymous Asks:
bennistar Said:
[Click here for my post on tattoos in Jewish law]
Short answer: While I disapprove of them, I do think they’re hilarious!
Example: *translations of tattoo*: Biuaro iLMS, or: “eerF shmesh hand”
Long answer: You have to know what Hebrew is in order to understand that it’s terribly offensive to any Jew, especially a religious one to see Hebrew inked on someone’s body.
Hebrew is not just a language like any other language. Hebrew is a language that is very dear and holy to the Jewish people.
According to our tradition it’s the oldest language of mankind. It is language in which G-d created the world. It is the holy language of the Torah. It’s the language in which G-d spoke to Avraham, Yitzchok, Yaakov, our prophets, and all of our ancestors. It’s the language in which our people, from the time of Avraham Avinu (Abraham our Father) have prayed and studied in. It is the language of Jewish scholarship; all of the rabbinic writings throughout the centuries have been written in Hebrew, a language that we call ‘Loshon HaKodesh’ (the holy tongue). It is a language that unites all Jews from throughout the world.
The word ‘Hebrew’ comes from the word ‘Ivri,’ what means ‘from the other side’ or ‘other-sider’ , which is a description of Avraham, who immigrated to Eretz Yisroel (the land of Israel) from the eastern side of the Euphrates River. A Jew -Avraham’s descendant- was thus called an ‘Ivri’ until the word “Yehudi” (from Yehuda/Juda) came into play and gave rise to the word ‘Jew.’ ‘Hebrew’ can also mean ‘Jewish’ or something pertaining to Jewishness or Judaism. So, the Hebrew language is deeply rooted in a Jew.
According to Jewish law we are not allowed to bring any texts in Loshon HaKodesh (read: Hebrew) into unclean places (i.e toilets, bathrooms, etc), not to undress/change ourselves in front of them since this would be disrespectful to both the sacred words and language in which G-d himself spoke to us. We are also not allowed to just discard certain things in Hebrew and throw it in the garbage can. We have a special genizah (burial place) for our sacred Hebrew texts. Furthermore we are forbidden to write down G-d’s name (unless it’s for religious purposes, i.e Mezuzos, Sifrei Torah, etc) or to pronounce it, let alone to ink it on a body!
While to you, and many other non-Jews, Hebrew might seem to be just another language, there are untold layers of deeper meanings and wisdoms locked within its 22-letter alphabet. Every single letter is holy.
In most languages letters don’t have independent value. They don’t communicate any meaning. A letter is a symbol that indicates a sound (much like a musical note) and is only valuable when paired with other letters to form a word. Even then, it is the word that communicates meaning, not the letters.
In English, for example, the letters E-A-R of ‘ear’ have no intrinsic meaning. They mean nothing when they stand alone, and still mean nothing when they stand together. There is nothing about ear, the word or the thing it describes, that is connected to the shape or name of the letters E, A or R. Similarly, no one will say that an ‘era’ is somehow connected to an ‘ear’ simply because they share the same letters.
Letters simply don’t speak for themselves. They must be grouped together before the newly formed words can begin to communicate meaning. The Merriam Webster, spells out clearly:
Word: a speech sound or series of speech sounds that symbolizes and communicates a meaning” usually without being divisible into smaller units capable of independent use.
But for thousands of years, Jewish scholars have done just that. They in fact pondered, explored, and studied, the meaning of each individual Hebrew letter. Countless writings make it clear that each Hebrew letter communicates its own meaning, aside from the words it joins to form.
Jewish literature attributes so much meaning to the letters that whole words can be interchanged simply because they share the same letters. For example, the word ‘mishna’ (משנה), and the word ‘neshama’/soul (נשמה) are seen to be related because of their common letters. Therefore, we do indeed recite mishnayos for a deceased person. Letters also belong to ‘families’, and within a single word family letters can be exchanged to disclose another meaning to that word. For example, the first two letters of the word ‘Mitzvah’, מ and צ (of מצוה), can be replaced with their pairs Yud (י) and He (ה) respectively. This would spell out G-d’s name, Yud, He, Vav and He.
Each letter also contains a gematria (numerical value), and words that share the same numerical value can also be related. For example, the word ‘Hateva’ (nature) is gematria 86, which is the same gematria as ‘Elokim’ (one of G-d’s names).
As I’ve said above, we believe that the world was created in Hebrew. The very first posuk (text) in the Torah says:
Bereishis – In the beginning
Bara Elokim – G-d created
את (Es) –
Hashomayim – the heavens
ואת (v’Es) –
Ho’oretz – the earth.
As you can see the word את (Es/Et) isn’t translated. את is a Biblical Hebrew word that has no translation. However, the word is not meaningless, and while it cannot be translated, it is interpreted. The Talmud is full with respective explanations for the numerous את’s that appear throughout the Torah.
‘Es’ is spelled את (Alef Sav, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet). The ‘Es’ in this posuk was explained by the Magid of Mezritch zt”l as follows:
Bereishis – In the beginning
Bara Elokim – G-d created
Es – Alef through SavIn the beginning G-d created the Hebrew Alef Beis.
Of course there is much more to say on the holiness, and holy origins, of the Hebrew language. But that wouldn’t fit in one blog post (nor do I have the time for it). Because of this, Jews are so tremendously careful, and are obligated to by Jewish law, to respect and honor this holy language.
So you can understand that tattooing Hebrew words (whether gibberish or ‘complete’ words) is not only disrespectful and insulting to the Jewish people (especially the religious ones), but it is also considered to be sacrilegious and seen as disrespectful towards our Creator and Torah.
As far for the appropriation part, since there are more than enough people talking about that, I leave that up to the other Jewish bloggers (aka Jumblrs) on here. I will only stick to the religious part on my blog.
Chassene Beis Nikolsburg (son of the Rebbe shlita) at Ateres Chei Sura in Monsey Jan 29 2012.
