Interesting Posts and Articles #69

1. Lion of Zion on the idea that Aramaic developed, and the krei and ketiv in Daniel is used to move the earlier Biblical Aramaic to a more modern Aramaic.
   
   
2. 
   
   At Little Green Footballs, a posting of the British show "Undercover Mosque -- The Return" in which they go undercover to a mosque and see the extremist views being taught there. I saw the first segment and I was not so impressed. (The full show is there, not just the segment above.) There is a disconnect in which I think your average secular viewer (but not your Orthodox Jewish viewer) does not understand religious concepts -- such as that when they said that it was not practiced nowadays, but in the future when Islam is dominant, the idea is not necessarily that they will therefore fight Jihad, impose Islamic law, and then kill all heretical Muslims and homosexuals. Rather, it is theoretical, and we can put implementation out of our heads until some future surreal time. For us, we talk about implementing the korbanos, but PETA need not worry -- it is when mashiach comes. Though the troubling thing is that they have implemented it, and might well try to implement it.
   
   And yes, they feel that they are right and others are therefore wrong. Islam is not a pluralistic religion. Though of course in actually interacting with others, one makes nice and tries to foster good will. (Though they do this in an extremely misleading -- lying -- way.) There were indeed worrisome parts of it, but I think that there is something lost in cultural translation.
   
   
3. I see DovBear has a similar take to my own on the "segulah" used to try to find the location of the drowning victim.
   Meanwhile, Rabbi Harry Maryles actually knew the deceased.
   
   
4. Barzilai on modesty police.
   
   
5. Hirhurim has a post on how working for a living is a mitzvah. In 2007, I posted something related, from Aruch haShulchan.
   
   
6. Jerusalem Post: Bet Din recognizes ketubah of wife who stripped. While it makes sensationalist headlines, it is sensible application of halacha.
   
   
7. The latest attempt to ban certain types of music.
   
   
8. Over at Dixie Yid, keeping track of the horse:
   

   But, as she later told Rav Weinberger, when she met with the Menaheles, the Principal, before the event, she said that there was something important that she hoped that this young woman could fit into the performance. She wanted to make sure that before the end of the night, if she could somehow fit into her speaking or music something about... ... knee highs (!), that this would be very meaningful to the girls there.
   
   She came to Rav Weinberger for advice after the event feeling confused. She didn't understand. She sang and spoke with these girls for a couple of hours and they had so many issues and they were struggling with so many things in Emunah and personally, that knee-highs were so so far from what they needed to hear about. Needless to say, she didn't get around to cheppering them about knee-highs at the event.

9. Why not learn some Rif Yomi?