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Activity for Fred Wamsleyâ€
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edit | Post #293106 | Initial revision | — | 3 days ago |
| Question | — |
Analyze an electric vehicle on Shabbat I started thinking about this from a random post and thought of many question, probably missing the important ones. So this is structured as an argument between two people trying to follow the law but not knowing any more than me, a non-Jew. Aaron: "What are you doing?!" Ethan: "Just driving the ... (more) |
— | 3 days ago |
| Edit | Post #291690 | Initial revision | — | 6 months ago |
| Answer | — |
A: How big a building can be included in the eiruv? I absolutely cannot speak to the legalities, but it might be interesting what came up when I Googled "largest eruv". https://jewishjournal.com/community/6241/ (more) |
— | 6 months ago |
| Edit | Post #290123 | Initial revision | — | about 1 year ago |
| Answer | — |
A: The Essence of Judaism Isn't this really two questions? 1. What defines Judaism? 2. How is Judaism different from other faiths? (more) |
— | about 1 year ago |
| Comment | Post #289791 |
I used one of my gift links for the NY Times article, for anyone who is curious and is willing to skip over discussions of non-Jewish dietary law.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/22/business/lab-grown-meat-kosher-halal.html?unlocked_article_code=-BQ1SFwi7k0REXoYsiURX4qBNNfRI_lbx7t-Hsg-aTFtZsnYDU6DxT... (more) |
— | about 1 year ago |
| Edit | Post #289791 | Initial revision | — | about 1 year ago |
| Question | — |
Can cultivated meat be kosher? I am wondering what the range of opinions are, and what the key legal points are, on the question of whether cultivated meat can be kosher. The New York Times (paywalled) just published an article on the subject. The Orthodox Union, I gather, has endorsed at least one process for factory-grown... (more) |
— | about 1 year ago |
| Comment | Post #287921 |
Rosends asks a question for which I don't have the qualifications for even the beginning of an answer, but may I reply with another question?
If you are wearing disposable gloves, which is already a reasonable idea for handling food for others, then legally would the pill pockets for your dog be c... (more) |
— | over 1 year ago |
| Edit | Post #288019 | Initial revision | — | over 1 year ago |
| Answer | — |
A: How can we grow this community? Hmm. One decision branch is whether to look for people like me, intellectually curious non-Jews. The upside is that someone intellectually curious may contribute good questions, and there may be a lot of us. The downside is that it changes the tone of a community to have a stranger in it. Howe... (more) |
— | over 1 year ago |
| Edit | Post #287881 | Initial revision | — | almost 2 years ago |
| Question | — |
Can anyone explain the heavenly voice in the oven of Akhnai? Starting at the beginning, since I don't read Hebrew, how accurate is the translation "Why are you differing with Rabbi Eliezer, as the halakha is in accordance with his opinion in every place that he expresses an opinion?"? There could be nuance in the Hebrew vital to understanding. A point that... (more) |
— | almost 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #287699 | Initial revision | — | almost 2 years ago |
| Answer | — |
A: Reward for mitzvot pre-adulthood I can't answer this, but at least I can reply with another question, which might affect the answer. What form does the reward take? Is there an idea in Judaism that humans improve their well-being by living in accordance with their maker's instructions for care and feeding? If that is the reward, ... (more) |
— | almost 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #287686 | Initial revision | — | almost 2 years ago |
| Question | — |
Why was Rabbi Eliezer ostracized? The context here is the aftermath of the debate about the oven of Akhnai. What did Rabbi Eliezer do that was worthy of ostracism? Dissent, by itself, must have happened many times without disciplinary action. Was he considered to have broken the rules (using reason to settle legal questions)... (more) |
— | almost 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #286909 | Initial revision | — | over 2 years ago |
| Question | — |
Could Jews visit North Korea before the travel ban? It's academic now that US citizens are no longer allowed to travel to North Korea, but I'm still curious. This is one of the things I've talked to Monica about, and she was sure it was "problematic", but there may be room for more in-depth analysis. There are statues to dead dictators all over, an... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #286581 | Initial revision | — | over 2 years ago |
| Question | — |
Why can't a shopping cart interface run on the Sabbath? Starting with what I think I understand, my doubtless oversimplified picture of the world was that processes set in motion before the Sabbath could be allowed to continue. For example, I thought it was all right for your thermostat to close an electrical switch and start a fire in the furnace on the ... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Comment | Post #286475 |
I was still thinking about the prayer books, but am interested in how masks are viewed legally as well and I'm glad you brought it up. (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Comment | Post #286475 |
I remain curious about one point. There is a large practical difference between a doctor carrying a set of supplies to a life-threatening emergency and an action that cuts the odds by some hard-to-measure amount of spreading a disease which can be fatal but isn't always, not even close.
Does the... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #286474 | Initial revision | — | over 2 years ago |
| Question | — |
Worshipping outdoors in the COVID era, issues and options I've chatted with Monica about this. She agreed with my assessment of the place I first heard about it, which I don't consider good enough to link to. It's about a jurisdiction where COVID emergency measures forbade indoor religious services. If the secular law requires holding services outdo... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Comment | Post #286251 |
Thank you for the informative reply. (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #286250 | Initial revision | — | over 2 years ago |
| Question | — |
What does law say about vaccination? The Torah of course predates the development of vaccines, but someone who knows far more than I argues that it requires its followers to receive a COVID vaccine. What's quoted in the news article is far simpler than I think his actual analysis must have been. https://www.jns.org/opinion/get-vaccin... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #286177 | Initial revision | — | over 2 years ago |
| Question | — |
What does "May his memory be for a blessing" mean? This is a possible duplicate, I thought I had posted it but I'm not seeing it. I saw a touching opinion about the meaning of the phrase at https://www.quora.com/What-does-the-phrase-May-his-memory-be-for-a-blessing-mean. The author suggests that the ongoing effects of the deceased's actions in li... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #286175 | Initial revision | — | over 2 years ago |
| Question | — |
How does civil disobedience fit into Jewish law and practice? I'm trying to integrate things I (think I) know. Am I right that there's a general religious principle to follow most secular law? The Bible has more than one example of defying a law that contradicted the fundamentals of Judaism, but have I got it right that most things in the statute book are o... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |