#camfoc

[bennistar]

Are you good at playing chess?

I got this ask on Nittel so I suppose it has to do with that. ;-) Well, while I do know how to play it I’m not so good at it, because if I ever do it it’s only on Nittel. I have friends who -unlike myself- play it a lot in yeshiva (at night) or on Shabbos. Some of them are really good at it.

I also have a cousin who as a 8 year old already beat old men with long white beards. That kid really was a genius in chess (today he’s a bucher already). But like I said if I ever play it’s only on Nittel. But to be honest I prefer to do some “non-traditional” activities on Nittel, like reading up on historical stuff, psychology books/studies, etc.

[bennistar]

May I ask a frivolous question? How do Chassidim take care of their own beard? I mean, are there traditional practices to keep it easy to comb and nice?

It really depends. A lot of people just trim their beards with a scissors. Others don’t ever touch it (meaning they won’t cut it), they fold it up really tight with tiny clips. 

But basically everyone just use combs to keep it nice.

[jewishatheist]

camfoc replied to your post:The Golden Age of Judaism --- ?

I believe that, beyond the matrix of thought transfused from Judaism in Western (religious) culture, the greatest Jewish contribution to humanity are the recipes of all Jewish cuisines ^ __ ^ Many Italian delicatessen have Jewish roots

[jewishatheist]

camfoc said: Is it yet possible to read your “posts pushing Judaism”?

Sadly, yet thankfully, the site I wrote for (forums.torah.org) changed their forums and deleted all the posts. I was actually pretty pissed about it when they did it since they didn't make a back-up. On the other hand, I'm glad my idiocy is gone and not polluting any more minds.

but I did find this old submission I made to a random website: search for "leo" (x)

[bennistar]

I've been watching at some Israeli and Canadian news reports about the "Lev Tahor" group. I wondered where the border between religious faith and fanaticism is. Can you help me to understand?  דאַנקען איר

Fanaticism is when people don’t listen to the Gedolei Yisroel and just do whatever they think (or want to think) is right.

The Jewish people have Gedolei Yisroel. Torah scholars who are the leaders of our generation. We have to follow what they say. It is a system that G-d himself instituted during Moshe Rabbeinu’s lifetime. It is a system no one, not even G-d Himself, can overrule (see also this post). Gedolei Yisroel are not made leaders by some vote or committee. They are chosen by the gedolim of the previous generation and accepted by a majority of the people. This is how true Jewish leaders have been picked ever since the time of Moshe Rabbeinu himself.

Anyone who deviates from the words and practices of the Gedolei Yisroel can be called ‘fanatics’ and at times, like Lev Tahor (who openly denounce our gedolim), a dangerous sect. For the words of the Gedolei Yisroel are living Torah. They are there to show us how to properly serve Hashem, observe his commandments and how to improve our lives and with it the whole world.

Anything that goes against the Torah -especially when claiming to be Torah- is dangerous indeed.