The letters of our thoughts are the ideas present in our mind before they come to realization . . . Thoughts that are, yet not felt . . . The words of the subconscious . . . of the soul . . .

These are the LETTERS OF MY THOUGHTS.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Good News!






I'm thinking about making this a semi regular segment: The Weird Signs of the Jewish World!

As well - something I like to call Ohelei Torah Mikvah Wisdom:

"Sleeping is the only thing done during the course of a day that every minute invested is used out fully." - Wisdom of Ohelei Torah 9:30

19 comments:

Yitzchak said...

Yet another thing the litvish did first. In 20 years they will be saying chabad invented it.

On the bright side, at least more people in 770 will actually be learning. Every time I walk in there it strikes me how much more learning goes on in just about every other lubavitch yeshiva I've seen.

e said...

770 isn't a yeshiva. It's a shul where bochurim like to hang around.

Anarchist Chossid said...

MBM: invented learning for r"sh?

e: Every night is nitell night in yeshiva of New Haven?

e said...

where does New Haven fly in from?

Yitzchak said...

CA: yeah, why not? There are a lot of lubavitch "inventions" that were done first by other groups. Though I think it's definitely great wherever it happens, especially with bochurim who are more (pardon the pun) temimusdik than the average fakewooder.

re nittel:Do you celebrate RC nittel or Russian Orthodox?

Anarchist Chossid said...

I was just under impression that learning for refuah shuleimo was a much older custom.

I don’t celebrate gurnisht. Especially considering that in Russia my family celebrated the New Year’s eve (Communists shifted the national holiday from nittel to New Year… with New Year’s tree, Grandpa Frost coming for New Year, etc., etc.… it was actually probably the only anti-religious act by the Commies which made something Jewish-friendly… well, sort of).

I play Go on American nittel night.

e said...

There's a letter in which the Rebbe says to follow the custom of the local goyim. When I was in Ukraine, we praved nittel on January 7th.

CA: What was up with that New Haven reference?

Mottel said...

Other Yeshivas have been doing it for more then 20 years. Ner Yishmael still cons my grandmother every year for the mishnayos they 'learn' each year for my great-great aunt (It was my great grandmother's idea to do for her sister-in-law . . .)

I don't think this is a Lubavitch 'invention' it's an strange attempt
by Tzfatim or Ohelei Torah'niks or G-d knows what to make money.


Re:770 is an interesting place.
B'etzem it's a Rebbe's Hoif . . . and thus has all kinds of things going on - davening, people eating, learning, dancing, singing, sleeping, schnorers of all kinds, crazies, holies, di eltere un di yunge. That being said, it is also a Yeshivah. If you go upstairs to the small Zal - the original Yeshivah and place where most of the 'Americans' and non-Kvutza Israelis learn, you'd see real hasmodah.

E is right . . . in America we do the RC date.

e said...

If you go upstairs to the small Zal - the original Yeshivah and place where most of the 'Americans' and non-Kvutza Israelis learn, you'd see real hasmodah.

Liar, liar pants on fire!

Mottel said...

I am not! Have you ever stepped into the Small Zal at 12 in the afternoon? The place is packed with guys shteiging!

e said...

I haven't stepped in recently, but in my days, it was not packed. And of those who were there, they weren't all shteiging.

Menashe said...

Mottel,

With all the ahavas yisroel that chassidus stresses, one would think that statements such as your's about yeshiva ner yisroel would be unthinkable to come out of a chosid's mouth.

Mottel said...

-E: Yes it is a Yeshivah with bull shovs and guys chrupping. But the overall feel is still of people actively learning - no less then any other yeshivah.
Would you honestly say that the small zal during the thick of seder is any worse - if not in fact better - then OT zal?

-Menashe: My apologies. That being said, bochurim in the yeshivah shaved off the beard of the Rosh (the Honhalo also didn't let guys wash negel vasser by the bed as the water might damage the floor).

An interesting connection:
Rabbi Ruderman learned in Tomchei Temimim for a very short period of time. He didn't like the food and left . . .
When he was nifter the Rebbe sent bochuirim and the local shluchim to the levaya.

e said...

Mottel: The difference is that in OT 190 of the 200 bochurim are physically in the Zal. In 770, maybe a quarter of they guys who are "in 700" are actually there at 12:00.

And just because it's not much worse that OT, doesn't mean that it's packed with ppl shteiging.

Menashe said...

I wasn't saying they're in the right. I could also find 'some' chesronos there. But bear in mind the AR's instructions regarding the real misnagdim and then keep in mind the litvish yerusha carried on only the hisnagdus and none of the seichel behind it. So if we weren't permitted to speak poorly of their alter zeides I think a kal vchomer can be called for..

Mottel said...

Perhaps there's some confusion here. I'm not talking about demographics. I mean that those people who do take it seriously and show up in the small zal do shteig for the most part . . . and there's enough of them to pack the room.

Mottel said...

-Menashe: The Rebbe did call him a misnaged. But point taken. The comment wasn't mature.

Yitzchak said...

I've never been in the small zahl. I'll be sure to look next time I'm in 770.

Re Nittel: I have no mesorah of praving nittel not to learn. Once someone gave me a hard time that I was learning (despite the yeshivas minhag being that you learn but don't bother anyone who isn't) so I told him "I'm Jewish and we don't celebrate this holiday. Merry Christmas."

e said...

Mottel, of those who are in the Zal, the proportion of those learning probably isn't much lower than in other yeshivas.

And the Zal is only "packed" from 4:00 to 6:00 (at least in my days.)