J.R.R Tolkien was asked by an interviewer why his books are so long. He replied:
"It's a long story..."
Wow. After another long hiatus in publishing, Dialogue 7 has suddenly appeared, in what appears to be a watershed event in Frum publications, akin to the famous OTD issue of the Jewish Observer.
Over half of the issue is dedicated to the complex issue of Child Sex Abuse (CSA).
We have definitely come a long way since a generation ago when no one discussed these matters, or thought that the children should just get over it. Many of the psychologists view CSA as "Murder of the Soul", and explain that children that have drinking problems, suicidal thougths or OTD leanings, are almost as a rule have all been abused. Kudos to Dialogue for dedicating over 100 pages to remedy this situation.
Other articles focus on the Emunah debate. Should one have Emunah Peshuta or should one be able to question and be given satisfactory answers?
Dr. Jonathan Ostroff explains why he dislikes Reuven Shmeltzer's book on Emunah (Peshuta).
Rabbi Eytan Feiner is back with one of his delicious discourses regarding the splitting up of the Makkos into two Parshiyos.
Rabbi David Rosenthal discusses his book on Open Orthodoxy, and shows definitively why it is not Orthodox.
This issue is a MUST read.
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A Message to Humanity - Hamashkif
Child Sex Abuse in the Frum Community - An Overview - Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky, et al.
Securing Our Tents, Protecting Our Future - Rabbi Aharon Yoel Sorcher
The Emunah Debate - Rabbi Aharon Feldman
Review of The Heart of Emunah - Jonathan S. Ostroff, Ph.D
The Mitzvah of Emunah and Personal Investigation - Rabbi Jeremy Kagan
Noah and Avraham: Two Levels of Belief - Rabbi Aharon Feldman
The Lure of the Loyal Locusts: The End of the Ten Plagues - Rabbi Eytan Feiner
Derech Eytz HaChaim - Is Ramchal Its Author? - Rabbi Abba Zvi Naiman
Why Open Orthodoxy is not Orthodox - The Aftermath - Rabbi David Rosenthal
Letters to the Editor
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Dialogue I
Dialogue II
Dialogue III
Dialogue IV
Dialogue V
Dialogue VI
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Donations for the Jewish Community can be sent to Agudath Israel’s offices at 42 Broadway, 14 th Floor, New York, NY 10004 (checks should be made out to Agudath Israel but marked “Disaster Relief Fund”). Electronic donations can be made at agudathisrael.org – with “Disaster Relief Fund” typed into in the “comments”
A dad of the year has come up with the perfect solution to get his forgetful son to text him back – an app that forces kids to respond.
“ReplyASAP,” the new app invented by Nick Herbert, obstructs the recipient’s phone and sets off an alarm until a text or call is returned – even if the cell is on silent mode.
It also notifies users when the recipient has seen the incoming message – giving some relief to worried parents whose children simply won’t contact them back.
“My son has an iPhone, but I still can’t get hold of him very easily as it’s always on silent because he is planning games or has been at school and forgotten to turn the sound back on,” Herbert told GoodHousekeeping.com of his school-aged son Ben in an interview published this week.
“There didn’t seem to be a solution out there that allowed me to send a message to him, that would override the silent function, appear over whatever he was doing and tell me when he had seen it,” Herbert said.
Herbert decided to create the app out “frustrations with current messaging apps,” he wrote on the website for ReplyASAP.
“There are messaging apps that tell you when a message is delivered and seen, but the point is the message can be ignored or not seen because he didn’t hear it,” wrote Herbert.
His son has even taken to the app.
“It gives him the freedom to keep his phone on silent, but with the knowledge that I can get a message to him if necessary,” Herbert told Goodhousekeeping.com.
“ReplyASAP” is currently available for Andriod and will soon be available on iOS.
The June 29 issue of the Flatbush Jewish Journal had me scratching my head. Page 25 featured a picture of Councilman Deutsch amongst other Askanim presenting an award to an emoji-faced female. What was bothering me was the discrepancy in the picture, in that it was titled Flatbush Boy, but the certificate itself said Flatbush Girl.
The answer came today in one of NYC's tabloids...it seems that the FJJ rejected the original ad because it pictured a female, which goes against their policy.
I can understand their policy, but it seems ironic that the same issue of FJJ, which featured many pages exalting the life of R Meir Zlotowitz, does not follow his lead and allow for normalcy in frum publications.
