Ask MUMAN613! almost live!

[muman613]

Hey,

Anyone who wants to ask MUMAN613 a question, go ahead.

I dont guarantee that I will answer them, but I will consider it.


muman613 

[q_q_]

did you have the biblical hairdo before you became orthodox and glued to the bible?

ps- glad it said you're almost live.. it looked like "almost alive", I was glad to see you posted it!

[Kahane-Was-Right BT]

This is not a question, but on the topic, I have to say your hairdo is awesome man...

[muman613]

Thank you very much... My hair has evolved through the ages. I used to have very long hair, but now it is short in the back with some very long peyos...

muman613

[muman613]

My current hairstyle...



PS: I took of my kippah for the picture because I just got my hair cut...

[muman613]

Shalom,

I was interested in what the Rabbis had to say about hair and I found the following from Ohr Sameach site:

Bernardo Coiffman wrote:

Dear Rabbi,

What is the significance of hair? Why does Judaism seem so concerned with it? Women cover their hair, men have Payot (sidelocks), and boys have their first haircut at age three...

Thank you

Dear Bernardo,

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch in his commentary on the Torah discusses the subject of hair and reveals some very powerful and insightful concepts. Take your face for a moment -- I sure don't want it :-). There are parts of your face which we would consider more physical and parts which represent the more intellectual. Your mouth and your eyes would be examples of the more physical parts. Your forehead would be the part which represents the intellectual. We know that both of these categories are important but the physical requires special monitoring. If you allow yourself pursuit of the physical without some mechanism for control you could slide into a pattern of self destruction. Hence the hair. It is a marker that says: "Pay attention to this area!! Monitor it so that it can be used for good. Don't allow it to run off unbridled!!"

If you think about this for a while you will get a sense of why Judaism concerns itself with issues such as the covering of a woman's hair (sensuality), Payot for a man (dividing the part of the brain that controls the sensual from that which is involved in the intellectual); and even why we cut a young boy's hair for the first time at the age we begin his education (learning how to use his intellect to control his behavior).

In short, hair [or long hair :-) ] represents sensuality control.

Sources:

    * Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch - Commentary on the Torah, Leviticus 19:27 and 21:5.

muman613

[2honest]

Hi muman!

What country do you live in?
Do you answer all kinds of questions or are there any restrictions?

[MarZutra]

Shalom Muman, Are you currently a Rabbi or studying towards it?  Are you partial to "Orthodoxy" or "ultra-Orthodoxy"?  If so which "sect"?  I use the quotes because, historically and realistically all of these "titles" are fabricated frauds anyway.
Kol tov chavar...
MarZutra

[Tzvi Ben Roshel1]

Thank you very much... My hair has evolved through the ages. I used to have very long hair, but now it is short in the back with some very long peyos...

muman613

    you serious? Your hair is huge. And anyway (furthur down you wrote about what Judaism says about hair- I would like to tell you that having a lot of hair on the head is not a good thing according to Kabbalah (Its sort of bad luck- for men. The hair on the head represent the Gevurot- Strick Judgements. The hair on the beard are the Chessedim, and the Peyot are also Gevurot, but they are good Gevorut, and everone needs some judgements. The best I heard is to connect the Chessedim (beard) with the good gevurot (Peyot), and minimize as much as possible the Gevurot of the head.

[muman613]

Hi muman!

What country do you live in?
Do you answer all kinds of questions or are there any restrictions?

Shalom 2honest,

I live in the good old United States of America. I grew up on the east coast. Born in NY and moved to the west coast in my 20s. I now live in the Bay Area of California.

muman613

[muman613]

Shalom Muman, Are you currently a Rabbi or studying towards it?  Are you partial to "Orthodoxy" or "ultra-Orthodoxy"?  If so which "sect"?  I use the quotes because, historically and realistically all of these "titles" are fabricated frauds anyway.
Kol tov chavar...
MarZutra

Shalom MarZutra,

I would love to study to be a Rabbi. Actually my mom has suggested this to me on several occasions. I am what is known as a Baal Teshuva, one who repents and returns to a religious lifestyle. I was raised in a Conservative Jewish home and was Bar Mitzvahed in a Conservative shul.

About six years ago, after falling very low because of my brothers death in 9/11, I found a local 'progressive' synagogue and started to attend Shabbat services. The local Orthodox Rabbi was doing Kiruv {Outreach} to the local synagogue and I started to learn about Orthodox Judaism. It appealed to me much more than the cheap version of Judaism taught at the progressive shul. Over the years I attended more Shabbatons, more High Holidays, more Purims and Channukahs with the Orthodox minyan.

This year I am going to the Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur services with my local Orthodox minyan. I am not fully observant at this time. I have been adding mitzvahs each year and sometimes at Pesach. I started wearing tzit-tzits about four years ago. I have been working on keeping Kosher {no easy feat here in the bay area with only one kosher market {which burned down about a month ago}}. I am keeping Shabbat much better than I was a couple years ago. I am making changes in my life to be fully observant.

The way to approach this, I have been told by my Rabbi, is to take each mitzvah as a baby step. Once you accept some mitzvahs it becomes much easier to accept the others. It is believed that by doing the mitzvah, even without the proper intention, you get merit. In the future when you do the mitzvah again you will do it with the proper intention.

I am not involved in any 'sects' at this time. Ethnically I am a Ukrainian/Polish descent and since my last name is UMAN I have aligned myself with the Breslev sect. The Breslevers follow Rabbi Nachman of Breslev and they allow their peyos to grow very long.Rabbi Nachman is buried in Uman and his followers make a pilgrimage there on Rosh Hashana to be by his gravesite. One of these days I wish I could go to Uman to be there for the Rabbi Nachman Rosh Hashana.

I hope that answers some of the questions...

Shana Tov!

muman613

[דוד בן זאב אריה]

What made you get religous. Chabad helped me.

[MarZutra]

Very good Muman.  Your history is very similar to my own.  Mine was more of a personal quest but I too am of Ukrainian/Lithuanian ancestry.  My great grandfathers fled glorious mother Russia during the 1880s.  My father's side came from Vilna to Holland and from there to England.  My mother's side from Odessa/Kiev, who walked to England, worked as a peddler to come to Canada.  Once there met another Orthodoxy Jewish fellow he worked in London England with.  Once in Canada the two made an agreement due to my great grandfather founding a little business, financed this fellows younger sister to come and be married in St. John NB. (friends to parents of Louis B. Meyer)

Personally, I found "conservative" Judaism and than found Orthodoxy, like you, but then did much self research and found the most vile Rabbi to ever represent the Jews: Rabbi Kahane Z"L.  After my research, I found that his views were in fact based on Judaism, real Judaism, to which the other Socialist "Jewish" Rats and many other deplorable "Orthodox/Ultra-Orthodox" condemned.  Found that there reasons were more of political and internal strife and not based on Judaism which is probably the reason why none would debate him openly.

So I'm, like you, a Baal Teshuva who is partial to Orthodox Judaism but a Religious Zionist which, quite sadly, most will not believe....sadly....due to political and internal conflict and not Judaism itself. imo

[Mstislav]

How is teshuva done?

[MarZutra]

How is teshuva done?

My advice is to take a walk into your nearest Orthodox synagogue and speak to the Rabbi... 

[q_q_]

<snip>
I would love to study to be a Rabbi. Actually my mom has suggested this to me on several occasions. I am what is known as a Baal Teshuva, one who repents and returns to a religious lifestyle. I was raised in a Conservative Jewish home and was Bar Mitzvahed in a Conservative shul.

About six years ago, after falling very low because of my brothers death in 9/11, I found a local 'progressive' synagogue and started to attend Shabbat services. The local Orthodox Rabbi was doing Kiruv {Outreach} to the local synagogue and I started to learn about Orthodox Judaism.<snip>

An orthodox rabbi was doing kiruv in a progressive institution?

sounds like an interesting story there.

[Shlomo]

Shalom Muman,

How were you first introduced to Rabbi Kahane?

-Shlomo

[muman613]

Shalom Muman,

How were you first introduced to Rabbi Kahane?

-Shlomo

Shalom Chaver,

I am only recently becoming acquainted with the awesome Rabbi Kahane. I have always heard of him but I never formed an opinion. Since I only came to my teshuva about five years ago I have noticed a very powerful shift of my political beliefs back to the right. I have been reading the headlines of Israeli papers for several years and it was during the expulsion at Gush Katif which I felt that the leaders were making a great mistake.

I have always held a hope of moving to Israel and have actually looked {on-line} at properties in Tzfat where there is a nice Breslov community. But since the second intifada and more recently since the qassam attacks I dont think it is a good time. I also have grown fearful of the 'Bolshevic' Israeli government. Since I have taken on religious observance I feel that the Israeli government would like to make an example of me. I could see myself standing against the evil police at Ammona and it is not a pretty thought. Why is the Jewish state causing so much pain to the most religious Jews? It makes me cry late at night to Hashem because it seems so unjust. I realize that Hashem is just in all his ways and ask what we need to make Israel the Jewish land again.

It is these thoughts which bring me to the Kahanist movement. I have always felt that the unrighteous goyim are always trying to kill us. They have killed us back in Ukraine, they killed us in Poland, they exterminated us in Germany, and expelled and tortured us in Spain and Brittan. As we learn on passover, in each generation someone rises to kill us. And my brothers martyrdom in the WTC on 9/11 because he was just going to his job, the American dream, I feel this war personally. I want to see the justice of the Moshiach. I want to be lifted on wings of an eagle and taken to the holy land. I want to be there to fulfill the Ribbono Shel Olams eternal promise to Abraham that his children will inherit the land.

Rabbi Kahane had this dream foremost in his mind. He spoke Torah in all his words. I just watched three of his videos on yideoz.com and I am inspired again. Where is a man like the great Rabbi Kahane today? Nobody speaks so much truth as he did. Chaim is doing his best but nobody will replace the Rabbi Kahane who had so much charisma and love in his heart. He may have been controversial and despised by the arabs, but I have come to believe no matter what we do, we will be despised because we are Jews.

The latest violence in Acco is troubling. I have been watching it for a couple of days now but I dont know when it will be settled.

muman613
 

[Mstislav]

How is teshuva done?

My advice is to take a walk into your nearest Orthodox synagogue and speak to the Rabbi... 

Even the Rabbi could not help me. I think the question also threw him off guard as I am a Gentile. Which Rabbi or Jew expects a Gentile to know anything at all about Judaism?

[Rubystars]

What political issue is most important to you?

[muman613]

What political issue is most important to you?

Shalom RS,

Well, thats a tough one... There are many political issues which concern me. At this point in time the economy is very important to me. I am sure that the economy is on everyones mind at this time because we are witnessing some very unstable times. What is most important for this country is continued economic security. I have always thought that Americas greatness came from its ability to create new products which the people would then promptly consume. This cycle is why we can create jobs for the people and by creating jobs we create more consumers.

I think that the American government should be trying to make it easier to do business in this country and not make it harder. Increasing regulations and taxes on companies only drives them further from doing business in America. This is why I seem to agree with the Republicans on the economic issues.

On social issues I am moving towards more conservative leanings. I am not big on affirmative action nor welfare and I think that both programs need to be looked at and overhauled. While it is very good to help those people who need help it is also important to help these people become self-sufficient. Once again the private sector should be able to provide jobs and health insurance to those who need them.

I think this country needs to work harder to ensure that justice is done regardless of the race, wealth, or celebrity of the judged. It seems to me that we are on a slippery slope which leads to complete immorality. This is why I think more conservative judges are needed for the supreme court of this country. Unfortunately whomever is elected this week will wield a lot of influence on the makeup of this very important court for many years.

We must all remember that regardless of the outcome next week we are still very blessed and very lucky people. We must not become bitter and turn our backs on our faith. As we read in Parasha Noach last Shabbat that Hashem wanted the people to see Noah working on the Ark and ask him why he was doing it. He wanted to give them a chance to turn back from their evil ways. But when he saw them mock Noah and continue their evil, Hashem destroyed them.

I am a man with much patients and understanding. Let me see the redemption!

muman613

[P J C]

Do you disagree with any of JTF's issues? If so, What issue?

[Rubystars]

Great response thanks.

[muman613]

I am still alive!

Only 5 days till Yom Kippur!

Tremble, Tremble!

[The One and Only Mo]

Nice hair-style.