Wednesday, November 4, 2009

haredi parent blocks burned toddler from Hadassah hospital

its sad that people can't react on their own to health matters and need the views of a rabbi, and will allow political disagreements to get in the way of proper healthcare

Haredi father blocks burned toddler from Hadassah

Crisis between ultra-Orthodox public and Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital surfaces again. Even though his 16-month old suffered from severe burns on her body caused by boiling water spilled on her, father refuses to allow ambulance to take his daughter to Hadassah because 'rabbi advised otherwise'

Ronen Medzini

Published:

10.30.09, 13:20 / Israel News

A 16-month-old toddler, who was severely burned when boiling water spilled on her, was hospitalized Friday morning in Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, which does not have a burn unit, because her father opposed her hospitalization in Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. The father justified his insistent refusal, claiming that "the rabbi advised otherwise."

About a month ago, the tensions aroused between the hospital and the haredi community by the 'starving mother' affair seemed to have subsided. However, now it seems as though the ultra-Orthodox boycott of the hospital is alive and kicking. Magen David Adom paramedics sought to evacuate the toddler suffering from severe burns caused by boiling water to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital because there is a specialized burn unit there.

The father, however, expressed his strong opposition. According to the medical team on the ambulance, the father caused a commotion on the ambulance and insisted that his daughter be taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

"The 16-month-old toddler was apparently burned by boiling water," said to Ynet Ilya Davoner, a Jerusalem Magen David Adom paramedic who evacuated the girl to the hospital. "An ambulance arrived to evacuate her to the hospital. Halfway there, we transferred her to a mobile intensive care unit. She suffered from second-degree burns over 15% to 20% of her body. The burns were mainly on her face, chest, and shoulders."

"We wanted to evacuate her to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital," he said, "but the father actively resisted, shouted, and caused a ruckus. He told us: 'Hadassah Ein Kerem doesn't treat our group well. That's what the rabbi suggested to me, and I am following the rabbi's recommendation.' The father insisted on going to Shaare Zedek Hospital despite our attempts to convince him to choose Hadassah Ein Kerem, where the treatment options are better considering the toddler's health condition. She is currently hospitalized at Shaare Zedek."

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Hezi Rot, on call for United Hatzalah, a volunteer emergency medical service, provided first aid to the toddler outside the family's home. "The parents came downstairs with the toddler towards the medical team," he said.

"She was naked and wrapped in wet towels that the family had dressed her in. She suffered from burns all over her body from a pot of boiling water that spilled on her. Her skin was peeling. It was a serious burn. We immediately provided her first aid with bandaging. The parents were very stressed, panicked."

Rot recounted that some neighbors on the spot pressured the parents not to take the girl to Hadassah Ein Kerem: "This is a family with children. Of course they were very stressed. At the same time, a group of neighbors messed with their minds with protest. They said, especially to the mother: 'No way should you take her to Hadassah Ein Kerem.' Apparently, the pressure worked."

Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital has withheld comment at this time

Mother suspected of starving toddler son

Neturei Karta member believed to be suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy arrested after security cameras catch her disconnecting malnourished son from feeding tube; toddler's condition improving; Jerusalem welfare office set ablaze in protest of arrest

Efrat Weiss

Latest Update:

07.14.09, 21:42 / Israel News

Cleared for publication: A haredi resident of Jerusalem was recently arrested on suspicion of starving her three-year-old son.

The toddler, whose weight dropped to a mere 15lbs, is hospitalized at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in serious condition.

Jerusalem Magistrates' Court Judge Alexander Ron, presiding over the woman's remand hearing Tuesday, called the affair "the worst of the worst."

According to suspicion, the woman – who so far has not been cooperating with the investigation – suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a psychiatric disorder which causes those affected to inflict physical harm to someone else, typically a child, in order to draw attention or to themselves.

Psychiatric disorder. Mother enters courtroom (Photo: Dudi Vaaknin)

During the court hearing it was revealed that the child was hospitalized for the first time at Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital in September 2007, at the age of 19 months, with a fever and inflamed oral wounds. He refused to eat or drink and vomited. The toddler was released after two days and has since been admitted to the hospital on seven different occasions. He was transferred to Hadassah Ein Kerem in February 2009 and has been there ever since.

The medial staff became suspicious after the child's condition showed no signs of improving despite the intensive care he had received and they installed a hidden security camera in his room. To their dismay and horror, the footage showed the woman disconnecting her son's feeding tube and in some cases pouring an unknown substances down the tube.

The hospital immediately alerted the Jerusalem Municipality Department of Social Services, as well as the police. The Police arrested the mother shortly thereafter.

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Further investigation revealed that the woman is a member of the Neturei Karta community – a radical Orthodox, anti-Zionist faction. She has other children and is currently pregnant.

Hospital officials said there was an improvement in the toddler's condition since the mother's arrest and that he is now able to eat without the use of a feeding tube.

Several hundred haredim rioted on Bar-Ilan Street and at the Shabbat Square in the capital Tuesday evening in protest of the mother's arrest. The demonstrators torched dumpsters, also in protest of the City's decision to open the Karta parking lot on Shabbat. One person was lightly injured.

Social workers in Jerusalem said they were threatened by members of the haredi community for their part in the mother's arrest.

Earlier in the day ultra-Orthodox residents of Jerusalem distributed flyers urging people to take to the streets in protest of the fact that the mother was arrested as she was leaving the welfare office.

On Sunday the municipal welfare office, located near the Jerusalem's Ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighborhood was set on fire in protest of the woman's arrest. No suspects have been detained as of yet, but police investigators said they knew who was behind the act.

Yael Branovsky contributed to the report

First Published:

07.14.09, 17:26

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Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Dreidel robbers?! - rabbis take on shadchanim who set up men with much younger women..!~

its insane that this is in the ny post...its like the frum tabloids! (hat tip - clark!) I do support this effort, and think its a shame men aren't willing to date people closer to their age...

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/dreidel_robbers_mbSeeelLPmPxWpFhd6DqUI

Dreidel robbers

Rabbis taking on mismatch-makers

By REUVEN BLAU

Last Updated: 5:46 AM, November 1, 2009

Posted: 3:32 AM, November 1, 2009

There's an epidemic of kosher cradle snatchers -- and a group of rabbis is out to tame them. The Talmudic titans, based here and in Israel, are calling for matchmakers to stop setting up Jewish men with much younger women, claiming the practice is leaving too many older women unmarried. Matchmakers should set up men only with women whose ages are "within a year or two of the boy's, or even older," the 60 yeshiva rabbis declared in a letter. The marriage missive, issued in late September, also suggested that shadchanim-- Jewish matchmakers -- concentrate on girls "age 20 and above." Local singles bristled at what they saw as an implication that women who aren't even of the legal drinking age are already old maids. "That mindset is the reason there's a crisis," said Allison Witty, 30, a communications director. "Women in the Orthodox Jewish world shouldn't have an 'expires by' stamp on them." Sima Greenstein, a volunteer matchmaker in Cedarhurst, LI, had "mixed feelings" about the letter. "When 30-year-old men say they want a 19-year-old girl, it's just unfair to the ones who are the right age for them," she said. But, she added, "I'm not closing my doors to anybody. There are some 19-year-old girls who want to get taken by an older man." About five years ago, the rabbis assembled an emergency meeting to address the growing number of single Orthodox women -- the so-called shidduchcrisis. Those rabbis concluded that older men marrying teen women was the primary cause. They sponsored ads in Jewish publications promoting close-in-age matches. Some even suggested that matchmakers get paid double for making such connections. Rabbi Shmuely Boteach, author of "The Kosher Sutra," a relationship guide, welcomed the latest edict. "Men need to grow up," he said. "Rather than appreciating a woman who has matured like a fine wine, they often look for someone who is all cover and no book." He said he knows many women in their 40s and 50s who have completely given up on love. "This is getting worse because we live in a visual age. Men are only looking for wrinkle-free women," he said. Michael Salomon, author of the book "The Shidduch Crisis," said the rabbis need to do more. "I think this [edict] is a feeble attempt to address a situation that has never been addressed properly," said the Orthodox Jewish psychiatrist from Long Island. He said the crisis is also reflected in spiking divorce rates and domestic violence among observant Jewish couples. Singles are being bullied into marriage by pushy matchmakers, the therapist said. Ilana Hostyk, 18, called it "good advice" to marry someone close in age, but noted, "When love comes around, I don't think you can place rules on it." <a href="mailto:rblau@nypost.com">rblau@nypost.com</a>

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There's an epidemic of kosher cradle snatchers -- and a group of rabbis is out to tame them.

The Talmudic titans, based here and in Israel, are calling for matchmakers to stop setting up Jewish men with much younger women, claiming the practice is leaving too many older women unmarried.

Matchmakers should set up men only with women whose ages are "within a year or two of the boy's, or even older," the 60 yeshiva rabbis declared in a letter.

The marriage missive, issued in late September, also suggested that shadchanim -- Jewish matchmakers -- concentrate on girls "age 20 and above."

J.C. Rice

AGE-OLD ISSUE: Ilana Hostyk (left), 18, here with pal Abby Vishniavsky, 20, agrees with rabbis' bid to stop matchmakers from hooking up older guys with young gals.

Local singles bristled at what they saw as an implication that women who aren't even of the legal drinking age are already old maids.

"That mindset is the reason there's a crisis," said Allison Witty, 30, a communications director. "Women in the Orthodox Jewish world shouldn't have an 'expires by' stamp on them."

Sima Greenstein, a volunteer matchmaker in Cedarhurst, LI, had "mixed feelings" about the letter.

"When 30-year-old men say they want a 19-year-old girl, it's just unfair to the ones who are the right age for them," she said.

But, she added, "I'm not closing my doors to anybody. There are some 19-year-old girls who want to get taken by an older man."

About five years ago, the rabbis assembled an emergency meeting to address the growing number of single Orthodox women -- the so-called shidduch crisis.

Those rabbis concluded that older men marrying teen women was the primary cause.

They sponsored ads in Jewish publications promoting close-in-age matches. Some even suggested that matchmakers get paid double for making such connections.

Rabbi Shmuely Boteach, author of "The Kosher Sutra," a relationship guide, welcomed the latest edict.

"Men need to grow up," he said. "Rather than appreciating a woman who has matured like a fine wine, they often look for someone who is all cover and no book."

He said he knows many women in their 40s and 50s who have completely given up on love.

"This is getting worse because we live in a visual age. Men are only looking for wrinkle-free women," he said.

Michael Salomon, author of the book "The Shidduch Crisis," said the rabbis need to do more.

"I think this [edict] is a feeble attempt to address a situation that has never been addressed properly," said the Orthodox Jewish psychiatrist from Long Island.

He said the crisis is also reflected in spiking divorce rates and domestic violence among observant Jewish couples.

Singles are being bullied into marriage by pushy matchmakers, the therapist said.

Ilana Hostyk, 18, called it "good advice" to marry someone close in age, but noted, "When love comes around, I don't think you can place rules on it."

rblau@nypost.com

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/dreidel_robbers_mbSeeelLPmPxWpFhd6DqUI#ixzz0VpBDMZ7K

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Monday, November 2, 2009

who knew there was such a word!--acnestis - The part of the body where one cannot reach to scratch!

From: Wordsmith [mailto:wsmith@wordsmith.org]
Sent: Monday, November 02, 2009 12:25 AM
To: davetrek@gmail.com
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--acnestis

This week's theme
There's a word for it

This week's words
acnestis

Many ways to read AWAD
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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

Little strokes make a letter and those letters come together to form words. We assign meanings to the words. Often they express simple ideas: a tree, a rock, water, and so on. Sometimes a word describes a more complex idea.

Have you ever found yourself wondering, "Wouldn't it be nice if there were a word for it?" Well, there is a word for almost everything under the sun. This week we have dug up five words you may not have known existed.

acnestis

PRONUNCIATION:

(AK-nist-uhs)

MEANING:

noun: The part of the body where one cannot reach to scratch.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek aknestis (spine), from Ancient Greek knestis (spine, cheese-grater).

USAGE:

"In what has to be the longest post-election season in living memory, the last five months have felt like an acnestis upon our collective soul; like that little patch of skin on our backs that we just can't reach to scratch ourselves. It's irritating. It's annoying. It's left us reaching and spinning around in circles."
A Wish List to Soothe Our Collective Itch; New Straits Times (Malaysia); Aug 5, 2008.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

A decent provision for the poor is the true test of civilisation. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)

Sponsored by:

delanceyplace.com: thinker's daily quote
A carefully selected non-fiction book excerpt free to your email each day.

WildWords - Not Your Grandma's Game
New tiles, squares, and rules put all words in play. See how. Very cool concepts.

Monday, October 26, 2009

sadder... Jerusalem 'chastity squad' branching out to new neighborhood in jerusalem

Jerusalem 'chastity squad' branching out

Residents of capital's Beit Israel neighborhood say members of 'modesty guard' recently attacked young divorcee, American yeshiva students suspected of screening porn films

Ari Galahar

Published:

10.22.09, 08:44 / Israel Jewish Scene

Jerusalem's "chastity squad" is branching out and has recently begun operating in the capital's Beit Israel neighborhood. According to local residents, several of the neighborhood's inhabitants have been violently attacked by members of the "modesty guard".

One of the residents told Ynet that a divorcee living in the neighborhood had been assaulted by squad members, who poured hot water on her and beat her at a local playground.

Indictment

'Chastity squad' man charged with attacking computer store clerks / Aviad Glickman

Shmuel Weisfish accused of threatening to murder employees of Jerusalem computer store for selling 'non-kosher' MP4 players

Full story

"The 'chastity squad' members snatched her at the playground, poured hot water on her, and when she began shouting they beat her up," said the resident who witnessed the incident.

In a separate incident, squad members allegedly broke into an apartment where several American yeshiva students lived, sprayed them with tear gas and stole a laptop.

A neighbor who arrived to help the students could not identify the assailants, who fled the scene quickly.

Local residents explained that the squad members had suspected that the young men were screening porn films to local teenagers. Following the incident, the yeshiva students left the apartment.

Another incident took place in the house of one of the local residents, where his friends used to visit him every evening until the small hours of the night.

About a week ago, unknown people painted the stairs leading to the apartment, and the resident told his friends that he had received several warnings from members of the "chastity squad", accusing his friends of harassing girls passing nearby.

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The Beit Israel neighborhood has been changing its nature in recent years, from a traditional Sephardic neighborhood to a neighborhood similar to the haredi Mea Shearim.

According to one of the residents, the "chastity squads" are trying to change the neighborhood's acceptable standards and give the place a more conservative nature.

Chastity squad' man charged with attacking computer store clerks

Shmuel Weisfish accused of threatening to murder employees of Jerusalem computer store for selling 'non-kosher' MP4 players

Aviad Glickman

Published:

04.02.09, 22:06 / Israel News

The Jerusalem Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment Thursday with the capital's District Court against Shmuel Weisfish, 22, a member of the notorious ultra-Orthodox 'chastity squad'.

Plea Bargain

Prosecution seeks maximum sentence for 'Chastity Squad' offender / Aviad Glickman

Elhanan Buzaglo signs plea bargain after beating a formerly religious woman leading 'immodest' life

Full Story

Weisfish is accused of attacking employees at a computer store in Jerusalem's Geula neighborhood and threatening to torch the store and murder them. Charges include rioting, blackmail, threat, and aggravated assault and battery.

According to the indictment, Weisfish took part in "chastity squad" protests that were regularly held outside the computer store, which the members accused of selling "non-kosher" MP4 players. According to the 'chastity squad', the gadgets expose users to inappropriate content.

During these demonstrations, which began in June 2008, Weisfish would drive customers out of the store, damage merchandise and threaten to murder the employees and burn the store down.

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The prosecution said that during one protest Weisfish and a fellow 'chastity squad' members dragged the manager out of the store and held him down as their friends beat him, and in another demonstration he threw a rock at the store, injuring one of the employees.

During his interrogation Weisfish identified himself using a false name, and also refused to give out his parents' names.

sad - taking money from christian charities is a form of idol worship? or is it politics...

Christian donor to out haredi recipients

By MATTHEW WAGNER

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What's this?

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, chairman of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, said Thursday that his organization was compiling a list for publication of haredi institutions that receive its donations.

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski

The move comes after Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, considered the most respected and influential halachic authority among Ashkenazi haredi Jews, signed a declaration saying that receiving money from Eckstein's organization was "close to idolatry."

"We are not trying to push anyone into doing anything against their will," said Eckstein, who spoke with The Jerusalem Post from the US. "If they don't want funds, they don't have to accept them. But we are not going to go along with a situation in which haredi institutions accept them under the table without publicizing where they get their funding. So we are compiling a list to make sure everything is perfectly transparent."

A month ago, Elyashiv signed a document together with Rabbi Tuvia Weiss, head of the Eda Haredit's rabbinical court, that stated it was forbidden to receive donations from organizations like the IFCJ, probably the single largest philanthropist to Israel.

According to Eckstein, the IFCJ raises $70 million a year among Evangelical Christian communities around the world who are interested in supporting Israel.

The importance of Christian charity has grown due to the financial downturn in the US. Many haredi organizations that might prefer not to receive money from Christians have no other choice if they want to stay afloat.

Now, with Elyashiv's ruling, it remains to be seen which will be stronger - haredi organizations' fidelity to their spiritual leader, or their desire to continue to do good deeds.

What complicates matters is speculation that the timing of Elyashiv's decision is no coincidence and that his "handlers" might be using him to advance a political agenda.

One of the most high-profile haredi recipients of the IFCJ's money is Rabbi Yitzhak David Grossman of Migdal Ha'emek. Grossman, known as the "disco rabbi" for his unique methods of Jewish educational outreach among youth, has been involved with various social activism projects for more than three decades.

Grossman might also be vying for the position of Jerusalem chief rabbi. Those opposed to Grossman might have purposely arranged for Elyashiv's decision to be made and published ahead of the upcoming race to hurt Grossman's chances of winning.

According to Eckstein and IFCJ sources, however, Grossman is not alone. Various haredi organizations in Israel and abroad receive money from the IFCJ or have received support in the past. These haredi bodies include Bnei Brak's largest soup kitchen; a shelter for battered haredi women located in Beit Shemesh; and a soup kitchen for the needy in Haifa run by the city's Chief Rabbi Shear Yeshuv Hacohen.

Another haredi organization funded by the IFCJ is Tikva, headed by Rabbi Shlomo Baksht, chief rabbi of Odessa, which helps homeless, abandoned or abused Jewish children in Ukraine.

In March of this year, Ukraine's Rabbi Yaakov Bleich lamented that Christians were stepping in to provide funding where Jewish organizations were unable to do so.

Kollel Chabad gave thousands of care packages to needy families in Israel this past Rosh Hashana, funded by the IFCJ.

Rabbi Menachem Brod, spokesman for Chabad in Israel, said that he was not aware that Kollel Chabad received aid from the IFCJ. He said that Chabad's rabbinical court in Israel had issued a halachic decision binding only in Israel recommending to its emissaries not to receive money from Christians.

According to Eckstein, the IFCJ has aided in funding security costs for Chabad Houses in Morocco and India and for the Chief Rabbinate in Turkey.

The document to which Elyashiv added his signature, originally drafted in 2002 by the Eda Haredit, gives three reasons for the prohibition against taking money from Christian organizations. First, publicizing that Christians have given to Jewish charities aggrandizes Christianity, which is a form of idolatry according to many rabbinic opinions. Therefore, it is "close to idolatry." Second, it aids missionary activity by making Jews beholden to Christians. Third, there is a prohibition against receiving charity from a non-Jew when it causes a desecration of God's name.•

crocs - to comfortable for yom kippur? and the elevator controversy continues...

who knew - perhaps for those who hold this way its good i am sending this out after yom kippur...

Rabbi Elyashiv: No Crocs on Yom Kippur

Lithuanian religious leader's new halachic ruling stipulates that it is best not to wear Crocs shoes on Jewish holy day because they are too comfortable
Ari Galahar

http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3781873,00.html

Rabbi Elyashiv of the Lithuanian stream of ultra-Orthodoxy has ruled that it is best not to wear Crocs shoes on Yom Kippur even though they are not made out of leather and, therefore, would seemingly be permissible for the holiday. His reasoning behind the ruling is that they are too comfortable, and thus don't provide the level of suffering one should feel on the holiday.

Leather is traditionally not worn on Yom Kippur as a symbol of humility and increased humanity on the atonement holiday.

The halachic ruling came in response to a question posed to the rabbi by a young yeshiva student asking whether it is permissible to wear on Yom Kippur shoes one would normally wear throughout the year. In response, the rabbi ruled it is best to avoid wearing Crocs on the holiday. "It is permissible legalistically, but it is inadvisable," said Rabbi Elyashiv.

The rabbi further explained his ruling saying that he ruled according to the halachic authorities who believe that the prohibition against "wearing sandals" refers to not wearing leather shoes.

Despite this, the rabbi added, he took into consideration the interpretation of halachic rulers who see the prohibition against "wearing sandals" as referring to creating a level of discomfort. As such, any shoe that is not from leather but is comfortable to wear is forbidden on Yom Kippur.

Rabbi Elyashiv's ruling will create a challenge this year for his students, many of whom have chosen in recent years to wear Crocs on Yom Kippur. Because worshippers spend most of Yom Kippur at synagogue for prayer services that include long periods of standing, Crocs have been a favored choice among synagogue-goers on the holiday and have gained popularity in the haredi sector because of the difficulty posed by standing through all the prayers.

By TIA GOLDENBERG (AP) – 3 hours ago

JERUSALEM — The Jewish day of rest has become a bit more labor-intensive for Yosef Ball.

The Orthodox Jew and his wife are no longer using elevators custom-built for the Jewish Sabbath, ever since a rabbinical ruling last month outlawed them. Instead, they have been hiking up seven flights of stairs to get home each Saturday, lugging with them their five young children and a double stroller.

"It's been very hard, but we're walking up the stairs slowly and with a lot of patience," said Ball, 29, pushing a baby carriage with two toddlers in tow on a recent day.

Jewish law, or halacha, forbids the use of electrical items on the Sabbath. But for decades rabbis have allowed special elevators that automatically stop at every floor without the riders pushing any buttons, permitting Orthodox Jews to ride them and live in high-rise buildings.

The ruling last month by one of Israel's leading rabbis, calling the elevators a no-go, has reignited a vigorous debate over the lifts, forcing Orthodox Jews living on top floors to decide if they're up for the steep hike home from synagogue on Saturdays.

The ruling stretches far beyond Israel's borders. Buildings with Shabbat elevators are common in Orthodox communities around the world, and residents in places as far away as New York are now struggling with how to interpret the ruling.

No single authority interprets religious law for Orthodox Jews. But Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the revered 99-year-old scholar who signed the elevator ruling, is one of the most influential voices in the Jewish world, widely considered to be one of his generation's greatest authorities on religious law.

Most members of the Reform and Conservative movements, the liberal streams of Judaism to which most American Jews belong, do not strictly observe the Sabbath and would not be affected by the ruling.

The Orthodox community has long been divided over the elevators. Opponents say that while the riders push no button, the weight of the passengers still increases the amount of electricity required to power the lift, thus violating Jewish law.

Still, the elevators, in use for some four decades, have opened the door for large numbers of Orthodox Jews to dwell in modern skyscrapers.

"No young couple is going to move into a ninth or tenth floor building if it becomes a prison for them," said Jonathan Rosenblum, an ultra-Orthodox commentator in Jerusalem.

Lila Lowell, a Bronx native now living in Jerusalem, installed a Sabbath elevator to access her second-floor apartment and won't stop using it despite the decree.

"My elevator is kosher," she said. And she added: "My husband and I have difficulty with the stairs, so we need the elevator." Her young grandchildren also use the lift.

The ruling, decreed last month, is the latest in a series by Israeli rabbis on the minutiae of applying Jewish law to daily life. Top rabbis can count tens of thousands of followers who abide by their rulings.

Elyashiv has been behind other controversial decisions before. In September, he proclaimed Jews could not wear Crocs shoes on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, because they were deemed too comfortable for the somber fasting holiday.

In 2004, Elyashiv prohibited religious women from wearing Indian-made wigs because the hair may have been used in idol-worshipping ceremonies, which are forbidden under Jewish law. Religious women cover their heads with wigs or cloth as a sign of modesty.

A debate a decade ago by another leading rabbi concluded that nose-picking was allowed on the Sabbath. It was under discussion because nose hairs may be plucked out in the process, and cutting hair on the Sabbath is outlawed.

The elevators are just one of several electric devices that rabbis have found loopholes for, allowing their use. Religious families can use timers for their lights and special hot plates to warm food as long as those hot plates were not switched on or off during the Sabbath.

Hospitals and hotels catering to Orthodox Jews have also had to weigh how to address the elevator decree. The plush David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem said it will leave it up to visitors to decide whether to use one of the four Sabbath elevators, but expects religious guests to request rooms on the lower of its 10 floors.

Jerusalem's 10-floor Shaare Zedek hospital said it has not received any directive on the matter and will continue operating its Sabbath elevators as usual.

Proponents of the lifts say followers need not change their habits.

"I think people understand nothing has changed technologically," said Rabbi Israel Rozen, head of the Zomet Institute, which specializes in Sabbath-appropriate electrical equipment. He supports the use of Sabbath elevators.

"But if people decide they want to climb 10 floors because of this, that's their choice."

Friday, October 23, 2009

UWS real estate happenings - trader joe, new kosher places, new building in park west village, new chabad on 86th...

here are a few items about upcoming things on the west side - the first is part of an email sent to me by a friend on the fate of trader joes at 72nd & broadway

FYI: A few months ago we heard that Trader Joe's was going to be in the new building still going up on 72nd and Broadway. More recently, heard that the deal was off. Apparently Linda Rosenthal, our assemblyperson also heard that and did some research. The deal is still on for Trader Joe's coming to that building. Just heard it from her last night.

Landmarks Commission Approves Chabad Proposal

by Avi - October 1, 2009 - ShareThis

chabad The Landmarks Preservation Commission has approved a controversial proposal by Chabad of the Upper West Side to build a day school, synagogue and community center in two landmark rowhouses on West 86th Street.

The proposal, which was voted down by Community Board 7, would allow Chabad to build a roof and rear yard addition to the building as well as perform other renovations. It also means that the renters who live in the buildings now would have to move out. Those renters and neighbors complained that the new construction would change the neighborhood too drastically. But Chabad of the Upper West Side Associate Director Rabbi Meir Ossey told Lubavitch.com that "the renovations will preserve the buildings' historic appearance and will also restore original architectural details that have been lost over the decades."

The commission originally asked the organization to change the proposal, in part because it involved elevating the floor heights, which they found unacceptable. The commission's vote was unanimous, said spokeswoman Lisi de Bourbon.

Chabad's updated proposal "called for keeping the floor heights/plates the same, reducing the height of the rear addition so that the cornice is the same height as neighboring buildings — you can't see the play terrace or the fence — and bringing the addition back from the lot line by three feet," de Bourbon wrote in an email.

The project won't likely be completed until 2013.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

How Keen Is Manhattan Valley?

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By Dana Rubinstein

October 13, 2009 | 3:10 p.m

120 West 106th Street.

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PropertyShark.

Upper UWS Downzone Shoots Itself in Foot

The upper Upper West Side thought it was done with luxury high-rise problems when, in a bout of anti-Ariel fury, the community board and the City Council downzoned 51 blocks of the UWS. But in a moment of weakness, the community board left out one site -- the Jewish Home Lifecare campus at 120 West 106th Street. And now it's come back to bite them in the tuchus. The retirement campus plans to swap properties with developer Joseph Chetrit. Jewish Home can build a new 22-story building on what is now a parking lot in Chetrit's Park West Village on 100th Street, where the new zoning called for open space. Chetrit can build luxury housing on the current retirement home site. Everybody happy? Not quite. Upper UWSers are crying conspiracy and drafting legislation to take back the Jewish Home's zoning exemption. But Ethan Geto, the Jewish Home spokesperson, is sure everyone will be fine once the shock wears off. "It's not a betrayal," he says. "The only thing it is, it's unexpected."

Council Approves Plan to Limit High-Rises on Upper West Side

By RAY RIVERA

Published: September 26, 2007

The City Council unanimously passed a rezoning plan yesterday that limits the spread of high-rise buildings along 51 blocks on the Upper West Side, an area that officials say has undergone a significant increase in development.

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The plan is intended to preserve the physical character of the community. It generally limits buildings to 14 stories along Broadway; 10 to 11 stories along the other avenues; and 6 to 7 stories on the side streets. Additionally, it imposes design restrictions so that new developments more closely match the neighborhoods around them.

Councilwoman Melissa Mark Viverito, a Manhattan Democrat who represents the area, called the plan a "safeguard against aggressive overdevelopment that is running rampant throughout the city."

The rezoning area is bounded to the west by Riverside Drive and the east by Central Park, and to the south by 97th Street and the north by 110th Street.

The plan was prompted by the construction of 37- and 31-story condominium towers along Broadway near 99th Street by the Extell Development Company, said Councilwoman Melinda R. Katz, a Queens Democrat and chairwoman of the Council's Land Use Committee.

"That basically galvanized the community to make sure" the area wasn't overrun by large-scale development, she said.

Under the old zoning rules, there were no height restrictions and developers could buy unused air rights from buildings on surrounding streets. The new plan ends those transfers.

The 51-to-0 vote comes as the Council is preparing to consider a far more contentious expansion plan by Columbia University that calls for Columbia to take over 17 acres in the nearby neighborhood of Manhattanville.

Aroma Pizza Cafe to Open

Another midtown lunch option is set to open the week of October; Aroma Pizza Café is finishing the final touches to its large space on 36th St. (between 5th and 6th).

Aroma Cafe will offer the range of lunch options we have beome accustom to - fresh salads, sushi, sandwiches, fish, pizza and hot lunch varietes, but is singling itself apart from the rest with a hummus bar.

Prices are set to be compettive - check it out!

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	Posted on 10/13/2009
Prime Grill to Add UWS Location Kosher-NY has learned that the one and only Prime Grill, a leader in quality Kosher dining, is planning another Manhattan eatery on the Upper West Side. The new location will offer an international bistro style menu - stay tuned for further details.
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Posted on 10/13/2009

My Most Favorite Moving Uptown

It seems that expansions come in twos! Kosher-NY has learned that My Most Favorite Food, a midtown dairy staple, is opening a new location 72nd Street, between Broadway and West End Ave.

MMFF will be the third Kosher restuarnst to try its luck in the very same location with Nargilla Grill and Dougies both having been previous tennants. Management confirmed that construction is well underway and a total overhaul is taking place.

Expected opening is mid November, stay tuned for details.

Davetrek vs The World

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

haredi parent blocks burned toddler from Hadassah hospital

its sad that people can't react on their own to health matters and need the views of a rabbi, and will allow political disagreements to get in the way of proper healthcare

Haredi father blocks burned toddler from Hadassah

Mother suspected of starving toddler son

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Dreidel robbers?! - rabbis take on shadchanim who set up men with much younger women..!~

its insane that this is in the ny post...its like the frum tabloids! (hat tip - clark!) I do support this effort, and think its a shame men aren't willing to date people closer to their age...

Dreidel robbers

Rabbis taking on mismatch-makers

Monday, November 2, 2009

who knew there was such a word!--acnestis - The part of the body where one cannot reach to scratch!

acnestis

Monday, October 26, 2009

sadder... Jerusalem 'chastity squad' branching out to new neighborhood in jerusalem

Jerusalem 'chastity squad' branching out

Chastity squad' man charged with attacking computer store clerks

sad - taking money from christian charities is a form of idol worship? or is it politics...

Christian donor to out haredi recipients

crocs - to comfortable for yom kippur? and the elevator controversy continues...

Friday, October 23, 2009

UWS real estate happenings - trader joe, new kosher places, new building in park west village, new chabad on 86th...

Landmarks Commission Approves Chabad Proposal

How Keen Is Manhattan Valley?

Upper UWS Downzone Shoots Itself in Foot

Council Approves Plan to Limit High-Rises on Upper West Side

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