Interesting Posts and Articles #374

1. MO Chassid comes out of temporary retirement to speak about the unspeakable.

2. Hezbos on faith in Hashem and Moshiach:

We are being squeezed spiritually because many Jews have yet to submit and yearn for Moshiach's second revelation.

As someone emailed me, oy.

3. Hazak weEmatz with more tznius hyperventilation, taking local definitions of tznius and applying it universally, and translating and promoting a specific kol korei. In part, it refers to, though summarizes, this Rabbenu Yonah (and here) (see right).

4. A stoning of a female driver in Bet Shemesh over lack of modesty.

5. A taanis dibur prevents a home-birth mother from going to the hospital.

In a ridiculous story, worse than ridiculous really as lives were in danger, a woman in Jerusalem refused to go to a hospital to give birth, or even after birth for examination and care, because she was in the middle of a taanis dibbur -  a speech fast -at the time of birth.

According to this report on Kikar, on this past Motzei Shabbos MDA and the police were called in to deal with a woman who had given birth earlier in the day but refused to allow herself to be brought to the hospital for care. Her husband called the authorities. he claims to not have been home at the time of birth, but at some point during the day he had come home and discovered his wife in the bedroom holding the newborn baby that was still attached by the umbilical cord.

They tried to persuade her to allow them to bring her and the baby to the hospital, but she refused to communicate with them.

It gets sillier.

6. A Jewish man won't help his wife, who is giving birth, because he is not allowed to touch her, as she is a niddah. Instead, he flags down a truck driver. I guess he had never heard of the idea of a chassid shoteh.

7. Mekubal shares some stories from his kabbalistic yeshiva. This posed question:

There is this girl, who’s mother ran off on her father years ago, got pregnant and had this girl.  The girl is now 12 or 13yrs old.  So it appears that she is a Mamzeret.  Should I publicize the fact with posters around town?

And second, this:

The guy explains that before he is willing to get married, he wants a prenuptial agreement.  At first I think it is one of those Halakhic prenups, after all they are both fairly modern.  It was not.  It was a prenup that gave the following conditions

1. She would unconditionally accept a Get if he wanted to give one.
2. She waives all rights to her Ketubah price.
3. If he passes she gets none of his assets nor her Ketubah.
4. If they have children and he passes, custody of the Children will go to his mother, if she is also deceased then to one of his siblings who will accordingly inherit his entire estate.

Nothing says love like sitting your intended down and telling her that you want to leave her bereft if you tire of her or predecease her. 

As a follow-up, who attends a kabbalistic yeshiva?

8. At Hirhurim, berachot in the course of the meal.

9. Rav Wosner asks a kallah for a blessing.