Interesting Posts and Articles #278

1. By now, this is old news. In Emmanuel, the rabbi who damaged the go carts, because of tznius concerns.
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2. Dov Bear links to a picture of the brain drawn by the Chazon Ish, as telling the doctor where to operate. But see my earlier post on the subject.
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3. Hirhurim with a post about masorah on the kashrut of strange animals.
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4. Life In Israel notes bones discovered in Ramat Bet Shemesh C.
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5. Rationalist Judaism on three different perspectives on Judaism's approach to scientific discoveries. There are the avowed non-rationalists and the avowed rationalists, each claiming that their approach is the only legitimate and historically accepted approach. And a third way is to note that there have consistently been proponents of each side throughout Jewish history. A good part of pointing this out is possibly to note that Rabbi Zucker, of YBT, commits to the second approach, that of avowed rationalists (for Rabbi Chait, the head of YBT, was where the quote for avowed rationalists was drawn from); and therefore, he could not grant credence to the idea that Rashi could have been a corporealist. In a related post, on parshablog, I take another essay, from Rabbi Mann, also of YBT, and show how he (incorrectly) takes this second approach as regards to whether the Torah, and Rashi, accept the idea of magical objects.
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6. At the Jerusalem Post, Rabbi Dov Lior and Rabbi Yaakov Yosef refuse to be questioned regarding their haskamos of the sefer Torat Hamelech. This is good, I would say. Besides the fact that often haskamot don't mean that the fellow actually read the book, endorsing it as a work of scholarship is not the same as "incitement", and oftentimes Israeli society of overzealous in quashing free speech in the name of incitement.
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7. The electric company doesn't go into Bnei Brak to turn back on the electricity on Shabbos for the neighborhood, though all that was involved was flipping a switch. This is no pesak, but I would imagine that at the least, amira le'akum for the needs of the community (including shuls without lights) would be permitted in such a case. In the comments there, someone talks about the sakanas nefashos which resulted from not doing this.
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8. Matzav posts about a Pidyon Petter Chamor in Camp Sanz.