Interesting Posts and Articles #161

1. Bad for Shidduchim about skeletons in the closet
   
   
2. Wolfish Musings complains about the trend of combining segulahs. Unfortunately nothing new.
   
   
3. HaEmtza writes more about Rabbi Cohen's statements. But none of this is a debunking of the halacha. It strikes me as just not liking the results. Just as I don't like the results. At the very least, argue that if it is halacha, ain morin kein. One little note. Rabbi Maryles writes:
   

   I had tremendous respect for Rabbi Dovid Cohen. I thought he was a ray of light on the world of Torah and Halacha - a man who was fearless in Psak - unafraid to go against the tide.
   
   He is certainly very knowledgeable. And he is respected enough to be trusted by both the Modern Orthodox world and the Charedi world. His Psak on controversial issues was respected by many – even by Charedim - even if he contradicted Poskim greater than himself!
   

   It may be that often these things go together. This is the courage to stand for what you believe should be the true psak. It is just that in this particular instance, if the allegations are true, the fearlessness to go against the tide did not serve him well when he went against a PC tide, rather than a chareidi mindset tide. Don't respect rabbonim only when they say what you like!
   
   
4. The Jewish Worker on whether specific types of safek mandate action for Biblical commandments, with the specific topic of wearing techeiles nowadays.
   
   
5. The rationalist / non-rationalist discussion continues in this comment thread at Divrei Chaim.
   
   
6. Vos Iz Neias about a bakery in Queens, where the Vaad HaRabonim ordered the bakery to remove an employee/owner. See the comments there asking whether this is really necessary, to deprive the previous owner of his livelihood. I don't know enough about the likelihood or committing the crime again. But he perpetrated it on a 10 year old boy he befriended, who came into his bakery shop. I could imagine they could have enacted a rule that so long as he was in charge, no children could enter the bakery, or deal with him. Was some of this (community reaction) a reaction to the bad press this was getting, that he evaded a prison term and was going to go, apparently unrepentant, back to his old job with no repercussions? Would the community have been so bothered by his returning to his store had he served some time? I don't know. And I really don't know. And am glad that I am not in a position to make such decisions. Feel free to argue. This was just my pondering.
   
   
7. In a parshablog post from this week, another possible statement of the Gra reflecting a belief in a flat earth. And in the comment section, why point this out?! Everybody knows the earth is round!
   
   
8. Hirhurim considers whether Nechama Leibovitz was a feminist.
   
   
9. At Life In Israel, Tznius brochures distributed in the Sheinfeld area, requesting consideration by conformity to chareidi norms when entering chareidi neighborhoods. He has all the pics, which include neckline diagrams.