Ask JTF for Sunday March 7, 2010

[GodIsrael]

Dear Chaim, I have five questions for you to answer

1. What is your opinion on Jainism? Why do Jains follow a strict vegeterian diet and don't even eat root vegetables such as potatoes, beets, carrots and garlic?

2. Are Chile and Uraguay considered First World or Third World countries when you compare them to poorer countries in South America like Guyana or Bolivia? They have lower infant mortality rates higher literacy rates higher GDP per capitas and higher life expectancies than either Guyana or Bolivia.

3. Wouldn't you agree with me that Israel is the only ally of the United States in the Middle East? People may claim that Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are our allies on the war on terrorism. Why do people believe on such drivel? Every person with at least half a brain knows that people in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia hate our guts.

4. Would you please give a recent Affirmative Jackson story for me? (Just to let you I said 'Jackson' instead of 'action' because many blacks have that surname)

And finally what is your opinion on Arsenio Hall?

[Irish Zionist]

Shalom Chaim

Did you ever get into any confrontations with the "so called" black Hebrew Israelites . If so, could you tell us a funny one. Thanks.


G-d Bless you, your loved ones, your family, The Jews in Israel and around the world.
Bryan.

[Brennanfan]

Shalom Chaim,

1: Please give the rabbinical opinion on King Nebuchadnezzar (yimach schmo), the Stalin of the Bible. Like the Joseph Stalin (ys) of our era, G-d used Nebuchadnezzar to judge both the Nazis of the world and the Jews alike. Both all-powerful tyrants deified themselves, used their massive armies to put nearly the whole world under their yoke, treated the evil and righteous all the same, and put to death anyone even suspected of opposing them or not bowing down to worship them as gods. Millions of good Jews and righteous Gentiles were made martyrs by both. Surely, Nebuchadnezzar and Stalin rank as the top two most powerful human beings of all time.

Why is it, Chaim, that whenever G-d decides to judge mankind, he always uses a monstrously horrible dictator who treats honorable people just as bad as (if not worse) than the evil, rather than a righteous ruler who differentiates between the good and the wicked? Why did the majority of the earth deserve to be ruled with an iron fist by Nebuchadnezzar and Stalin? 

2: While on this note, should Jews and righteous Gentiles honor the memory of the Soviet war effort in WWII and the sacrifices that Russia underwent? Personally, I do not think so, since they were barely any better than Shitler (yimach schmo), because they were the allies of the Nazis at first, and because they would not have won anything without tremendous amounts of Lend-Lease or without the USAF/RAF tying up the Luftwaffe. However, I can easily understand the opposing view (that anyone who fought Shitler in any way deserves respect and admiration).

3: Please say "Fernando Ferrer!".

G-d bless you,
Dr. Brennan Fan

[Moshe92]

Dear Chaim,

Was Baruch Goldstein involved in the JDL in the United States before making aliyah? Did you know him personally? He was from New York, and he was almost exactly the same age as you (both of you were born in December of 1956).

[Jorje15]

Dear Chaim,

What are your thoughts on President Harry S. Trueman? Why did Hitler what to invade the Soviet Union (Russia) during World War II? What are your thoughts on the month of March?

[Trace]

Shalom Chaim,

Why is it that blacks are so interested in adopting Islamic names and customs when the Arabs and Muslims have always played a very active role in the enslavement of blacks? They say they don't want white English surnames because they're "slave names," but they they adopt Arabic names? Do they not realize that the Arabs were probably the ones who sold their ancestors into slavery?

When I was on a plane trip to England the other day, out of boredom I watched a film called "Precious." It is about a black female teenager who is illiterate, morbidly obese, was raped by her father, had two children (one of whom was born mentally retarded) and has AIDS. I actually thought this movie was a pretty accurate representation of the issues facing blacks today. What do you think?

[Rubystars]

Greetings Chaim. In some ways the political climate changed drastically after 9/11, with anyone involved in perceived acts of "terrorism" treated much more harshly than before for the most part, and security is tighter. If something as earth-shattering as 9/11 had happened before the activities of the JDL, would another tactic besides bombing have been used to help Soviet Jews? In that climate you may never have been released from prison. Would the risk have been too great, forcing an alternative plan?

[Dr. Dan]

Shalom chaim

What happened to all the Jews in Persia after Purim?  Can you give us a timeline up to the point when they left (if they ever did)?  Who are some of the important Persian Jews after Esther and Mordechai?  What happened with all of Esther's children? 

On another note, I know that we feel that Pakistan is a nation that has no right to exist.  What if by some miracle all Pakistanis became righteous Noahides and India remained Hindu?  Would Pakistan have a right to exist as a separate nation from India?  I mean, I know it is an impossible thing to happen, but what if that were the case?  What if there was a region of Russia that had a very sizable righteous Noahide population, do they have a right to be a separate nation from Russia?


Thank you

Dr. Dan

[Dan Ben Noah]

Shalom Chaim,

My question is about the Ark of the Covenant.  In the Torah, it seems that the Ark was the holiest aspect of Israelite worship in the Tabernacle which contained the tablets of the covenant, a jar of manna, and Aaron's staff, and G-d spoke to Moses from between the cherubim on the Ark.  The Ark later was brought to Solomon's Temple.  However, in the book of Jeremiah it states the following:

Jeremiah 3:16 In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land," declares the LORD, "men will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made.

Do Jews believe the Ark will never be restored?  If not, why such a drastic change from the original Torah blueprint?  Thanks in advance.

Respectfully,

Dan Ben Noah

[דוד בן זאב אריה]

Shalom Chaim

Plese come back to me with advice. My brother just proposed to to a Non Jew I am very very upset I just spoke to his Chabad Rabbi who lives only 2 miles from the Rabbi. I got really upset at him he messaged me on MSN messenger to tell me the (Good) news. I got really pissed. Please come back at me with something practile.

Kul Tuv

David Ben Ze'ev Aryeh

[WestCoastJTF]

Dear Chaim,

I know you are not a Biblical scholar, but you always seem so well-versed (no pun intended) on the Torah that I thought I would ask you a couple questions.  This week I read Genesis 15, which contains the famous covenant that G-d made with Abram - "from the Nile to the Euphrates".  I notice that before G-d made this promise, Abram fell into a deep sleep and a darkness fell upon him - some English translations say a "dreadful" darkness.  What was the purpose of this darkness?  Does it symbolize that before these magnificent gifts from G-d are given that there must be suffering and trial?

Also, I wonder if you could set me straight on the Jewish use of the names of G-d.  I will try to be careful in asking my question so as not to break any holy laws.

(a) I know that "Hashem" is the name of G-d that Jews use in everyday conversation (though still with reverence).  My understanding is that the Tetragrammaton is the true name of G-d, but may only be said by the High Priest in the Temple, which does not exist right now.  I have heard some people say that Jews no longer know how this name should be pronounced.  Others have said that the correct pronunciation is passed on from generation to generation but only among a very small number of Jews.  What is the truth?

(b) There is another name for G-d that begins with the Hebrew letter aleph (I don't know if I should write it here).  I believe this is only used in prayer. 

So it seems to me that the Tetragrammaton is the highest name for G-d, followed by the name used in prayer, and finally "Hashem" in every day conversation.  I see there are some other names for G-d used in Judaism - for example, the name given to Moses in Exodus.  Do I understand things correctly?

[Chai]

Shalom brother Chaim,

First of I want every one to know it was you that helped make me a bal'tshuva (one that has returned to Torah Judaism) and making proud to me a Jew, for that I want to thank you , no Rabbi I ever met can even hold a candle to your sincerity.


My question is do you believe Bal'tshuvas are on a higher level then other Jews spiritually, if this in theory is indeed true, is it also true in the real world?

Ps what do you think of B'nai Elim?
Thanks for all you time.

[NYC subways are out of control]

Dear Chaim,

1) Can you give a brief history and/or guidelines to cursing someone's name in Hebrew?  For example, How did this start?  Famous curses placed on people?  What makes someone eligible to receive a curse?  What is inappropriate cursing?

2)  What is the event that marks the year 0 in the Jewish Calendar?

3)  I wanted to recommend Rabbi Berel Fein's 5000 years of Jewish history.  I think it's a nice primer for those of us who need to review or lay the stepping stones for being able to study more intermediate topics in biblical Jewish history.  What do you think?  These are available on Yt for free and usually last between 3-6 minutes a piece.

[Zionist Revolutionary]

Dear Chaim,

What is the Jewish view of the afterlife?

[IsraeliHeart]

Did Rabbi Kahane listen to Kol Isha and would he approve of the JTF music videos that feature Kol Isha?

[Spiraling Leopard]

Hello Chaim,

some weeks ago someone on the forum said that the 'Camp Meir' camps of Mike Guzofski were a joke compared to some of the things the former JDL used to organize.
Is this true and if so can you tell a bit about this?

Thank you,

Robert.

[Baltimore]

What are the best sources or iron for a person who does not eat red meat?
Thanks

[patches]

Shalom Chaim,

Why did Rabbi Kahane decide to grow a beard later in life? Was there some political or religious significance to it?

Also, what do you think of the late astronomer Carl Sagan?

Thanks,
Patches

[Abben]

Hello Chaim. My question is:

You mentioned on last weeks ask JTF that in prison, prisoners weren't allowed to have razors, so how do they shave? thanks and GD bless

[christians4jews]

Hey chaim, sorry for the long drawn out concludion from me this week, but its more of a statement than question this week.

If you remember my question from last week, i said that we were harsh on white women as its more prevelent that a white man would marry outside his race. You asked for some raw data on this which i didnt provide last time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interracial_marriage_in_the_United_States

Taken from the 2006 united census bereau . White women main interracial marriage was indeed with blacks which amounted to 286000 marriages, compared to 117000 with white men black female marriage. However a massive 530 000 marriages with a white male and aisan female were accounted for. Overall 2.2% of white men married a non white partner, whearas only 1.9% white women married outside their race.

I also think its a trait of men to notice what their own race of females do, its just natural. i left some links to youtube viedos in the interracial marriage thread of black men and aisan men, saying that white men are stealing "their respective women". So i think us males notice it more.

Finally, if you just take a look at the celebrity world, you can see white men do it just as much. Some examples are venus williams, niomi campbell, whoopi goldeberg, halle berry, zoe saldana are all with white men, not to mention robert deniro and david bowie are with black women. So my conclusion is that i think its a problem for both white women and white men, and raw data shows that white men are more prone of doing  it. I Also conclude, that regardless of colour of skin, men seem to feel that another race is taking their women of their own race. So is it a problem, yes, but i feel that white men have to look at themselves as well, instead of blaming our white women, whom statically are more loyal than us.

Thanks

[eb22]

Shalom Chaim,

Recently there has been two specific forms of Anti-Israeli and Anti-Semitism that have jumped out on ZooTube and elsewhere on the Internet:


1)    That Israel is an Apartheid State.       Leftists and Muslims are currently celebrating  the  "6th International Israeli Apartheid Week",    which is actually a 2 week period  ( March 1 to March 14 ).     This demonstrates their stupidity on more than one front,   as they don't even know the difference between the number 1 and the number 2.

2)     That the Israel which became a country in Israel in 1948 has no connection to the Israel of the Bible.      Basically,   they claim that the Jews of modern Israel are imposter Jews and that Genesis 12:3 has nothing to do with modern Israel and Jews.


My question to you is can you provide JTF members recommendations to counter the hideous beasts who make these claims?   


Thanks as always,   eb22.

[Maimonides]

Shalom Chaim and thank you as always for your hard work and for answering my questions.

Do you believe Israel should develop its own space program, such as NASA and explore outer space?
Are Jews allowed to leave Israel for space exploration if it is for scientific research?

[imaknick]

when are you not allowed to eat matzoh before pesach?

[Secularbeliever]

Chaim, I am sure you have heard about the movie Ajami which was made by an Arab along with a self hating Jew.  The movie depicts some dissatisfaction that Arabs who live in Jaffa have (so much for the idea that giving up Judea and Samaria is the answer to all problems).  What is ridiculous here, is that the Israeli government funded the production of the movie and considered it an Israeli movie until the Arab producer came out and said it is not Israeli because he does not consider himself Israeli (aren't Arab residents of Jaffa Israelis?  Of course he is free to leave).  This is just a pathetic case of self hating Jews trying to suck up to their enemies and getting kicked in the face in return.  The Israelis were actually viewing the fact that this movie was up for an Academy Award with pride. 

[Yaacov Ben Yehuda]

Shalom Chaim!

1. Do you believe in Karma? what's the Jewish view of Karma?

2. What do you think of the term Judas...when people use it as to refer to a backstabber....do you find this to be an antisemtic thing?

3. Why hasnt Iran been attacked yet?  Netanyahu speaks a good one but does nothing! Is he actually willing to be the prime minister that bowed to Obama and let Iran become nuclear?  Does he not realize that this will be his legacy??

4. What do you think of the option for a young Jew looking to make Aliyah of becoming an archeologist in Israel?

Toda ve Shavooah Tov!