Catriel Lev's Blog: VeHaShalom VeHaEmmet

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Catriel Lev
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Sep 25, 2010

A Funny, but Meaningful, Satire by Jon Stewart about Demonstrations


In my opinion, the Jon Stewart Satire program where he announces his "Rally to Restore Sanity" is a classic, with almost all of the elements of great satire, which hits upon the underlying problem with many loud demonstrations: that they DO NOT represent the will of the majority of reasonable people.

Here is a link to it:

Sep 20, 2010

The Most Moving Anecdote from Rav Chaim Soloveichik's Shavuot, 5770, Shiur

In my opinion, the most moving anecdote, including a powerful message for this time of year when we are attempting to correct our Middot (character traits), in Rav Chaim Soloveichik's Shiur from Shavuot was the story which he told of being at a Simchah (celebration of a joyous occasion) in America with his father, Rav Aharon Soloveichik, Zecher Tzaddik LiVrachah (of blessed, saintly memory).

Rav Chaim told how they were eating delicatessen at the Simchah, when he happened to ask who supervised the Kashrut of the delicatessen. When the host mentioned the name of the person who supervised the Kashrut of the delicatessen, Rav Aharon Soloveichik put down his fork and said that he could not eat this delicatessen, though he assured everyone that it was kosher and technically permissible to eat.

It turned out that Rav Aharon could not bring himself to eat the delicatessen because he knew of a terrible blemish in the Middot (character traits) of the person who supervised its Kashrut, a serious flaw in his fulfillment of Mitzvot Ben Adam LaChavero (Torah commandments relating to the proper treatment of one's fellow man). In a manner very similar to the Talmudic description of a Chasid Shoteh (despicably foolish "righteous person"), this Kashrut supervisor had instructed his congregation that if they are near an immodestly dressed woman who slips on the ice, they should not help her get up!


Rav Aharon Soloveichik was such a great Tzaddik (righteous man) that his moral standards affected him to such a degree that he could not even bring himself to eat meat supervised by a person who could issue such a ruling!