Is this Yiddishkeit?

amother

Cyan

Mon, Jul 30 2018, 12:45 pm

SixOfWands wrote:

Well, very clearly whomever created the list doesn't want you purchasing -- or baking -- a birthday cake or birthday presents, as both are referred to as "non jewish."

Is anyone familiar with a halachic basis for banning the celebration of birthdays?

Birthday celebrations aren't banned. Birthday cakes are banned. I am not Satmar, but in our chassidus a birthday cake is looked down at as a way of celebrating a birthday. I'll prepare the dessert of the birthday child's choice, and will encourage them to say more tehilim on their birthday (age appropriate obviously). It is known that on one's birthday their tefillos are answered (perek 2 of tehillim, posuk 7 and 8: bni ato, ani hayom yelidaticha. Sh'al mimeni v'etno.)

Flower Power did a fairly good job of bringing recent sources for birthday celebrations among gedolim. Not one of those gedolim celebrated with a cake (or by making a birthday wish before blowing out the candles...!).

wifenmother

Mon, Jul 30 2018, 12:57 pm

Maya wrote:

It is absolutely our place to judge and to speak up about how wrong this is. This is why ultra orthodox leaders are able to behave like dictators and run their organizations with terror tactics. Because everyone else politely says “don’t judge.”

We’ll judge someone who is less frum than us from here till tomorrow, but when repressed and abusive practices are implemented in the name of religion, suddenly we “don’t judge.”

Pathetic hypocrisy.

I won't join this discussion as I will not get involved in debating whether or not someone that is viewed as a gadol hador by many, did the right or wrong thing. I do not view myself as worthy enough to pass judgement on a talmid chochom.

I am however astounded as to how on a so called 'frum' site the behavior of orthodox leaders can be called "dictatorial" and other posters agree and 'like' the post without commenting on it!

Maya

Mon, Jul 30 2018, 1:06 pm

Mommyg8 wrote:

Those are very strong words, Maya, but ok, I'll believe you.

On the plus side, though, everyone gets into school, everyone gets help (tzedakah) as needed, and the level of frumkeit (for those who care about those things) remain consistent.

These are all things which do not necessarily exist in other communities.

Everyone gets into schools? Everyone gets tzedakah? The level of frumkeit remains consistent? What are you talking about? It’s so obvious that you don’t know anything about the inner workings of this community.

Mommyg8

Mon, Jul 30 2018, 1:15 pm

Maya wrote:

So.youre saying that the Taliban doesn't have much control after all.

Maya

Mon, Jul 30 2018, 1:19 pm

Mommyg8 wrote:

So.youre saying that the Taliban doesn't have much control after all.

What?

And let’s note here that the use of the word Taliban is your own, not mine.

Mommyg8

Mon, Jul 30 2018, 1:23 pm

Maya wrote:

What?

And let’s note here that the use of the word Taliban is your own, not mine.

You said, and I'll quote "This is why ultra orthodox leaders are able to behave like dictators and run their organizations with terror tactics."

If they can't control their own community then they're not much good at being dictators or using terror tactics, are they?

Maya

Mon, Jul 30 2018, 1:27 pm

Mommyg8 wrote:

The discussion is not about how effective they are, but about the methods they are using and the behaviors they are displaying. Even the most ruthless dictator will have dissidents, and it doesn’t make them any less of a dictator.

Maya

Mon, Jul 30 2018, 1:39 pm

wifenmother wrote:

I don’t see why there is a contradiction between Orthodox and dictatorial. Do we really believe that every single Orthodox person is a good person solely by virtue of being Orthodox? We decide good and bad based on people’s behaviors and motives, not on religious association.

SpottedBanana

Mon, Jul 30 2018, 1:43 pm

Maya wrote:

Because there are halachos of LH? Speaking LH about a group is no more mutar than speaking LH about an individual.