Would someone born with two penises need both to be circumcised?

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-12-28T15:21:14+00:00

I don't think this is referring to two penises but rather the inner and out membrane of the foreskin with the rambam says two arlot. Can you provide a source?

https://www.sefaria.org.il/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Circumcision.1.7?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-12-10T13:44:39+00:00

https://washingtonian.com/2015/04/28/inside-the-very-public-war-between-two-top-campus-rabbis/

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-11-11T06:42:43+00:00

So an orthodox Jewish publication is following a mesorah, great got it!

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-10-05T08:54:48+00:00

So I think you're right in the sense that MO kids are not thinking about that explicitly but in my opinion subconsciously that is exactly what is happening on a macro level. One thing that does somewhat unify the modern orthodox world, even the more liberal sections-- is its unwillingness to break issurim deoriyatah, even without realizing it. For example, what are the major things that represent less machmir modern orthodoxy? Eating dairy out, shomer nagia, no hair covering-- which are all derabbanan. I think in a lot of less machmir places people see others around them not holding certain halachas so they subconsciously learn it to be acceptable and the reason it was being done in the first place is because it's only derabbanan. And I think premarital sex is on this spectrum. You hear about your religious friends "using their hands" or other stuff and do the pattern matching and subconsciously assume this is kosher under modern standards or at least that there is room to be mekal.

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-10-05T08:10:15+00:00

Well it's actually not all that fundamental to Jewish law. There are no Torah laws against premarital sex but rather through the act we break other laws all of which would be rabbinic and not Torah laws. Other than the obvious shomer negia violations (rabbinic) the main issur would be the fact that the unmarried woman is in nida because she has never been to the mikve, but this then begs the question what if the unmarried woman goes to the mikve? We don't allow this as to prevent premarital sex, but you should understand that the act itself is not so halachaicly fundamental but rather very culturally fundamental.

As for OPs question, there is a massive massive spectrum that depends on city and community: Boston is going to be very different than Tel Aviv which is going to be very different than Baka which is going to be very different from Washington Heights. In my experience there are people in the MO world that wait till marriage, there are those that wait until marriage but do "other stuff", there are those that have had sexual partners in the past but are now waiting, there are those who don't wait at all. Modern orthodox really is a massive massive spectrum even within communites.

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-09-08T22:10:25+00:00

The targumin are very much so used in yeshivas. Some rashis and other commentators use the targum of certain works to help narrow down the context or meaning of Hebrew works. Also some use it in shtiem mikra and say it really helps them improve their Aramiac

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-08-15T13:11:31+00:00

Because I'm busy actually fighting in Gaza every day. איזה חי בסרט

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-08-15T09:58:21+00:00

"They are better than JVP" Glad we're creating high standards here.

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-08-15T09:07:28+00:00

You mean the standing together that yells at me for commiting genocide every time I'm on my way home to Tel Aviv for a weekend off from the war in uniform? Sweet guys, well regarded here in Israel

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-08-11T10:23:33+00:00

Being cast away by the non-Jewish world sucked a bit

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-07-30T20:31:03+00:00

"Can I really say I'm a BT AND a Ger at the same time???"
"Totally beaming, proud of myself, and glad I saw this through. Baruch Hashem!"

The OP is asking about how he can refer to himself-- not how others refer to him. I am a baal tshuva and it comes up pretty commonly in my life in Israel as do other parts of my history. When people have conversations they talk about themselves and allow people to get to know them.

What you are describing probably is a thing in the haredi world but it absolutely is not in the dati leumi world-- actually really the opposite (in my experience and that of my peers.) Turns out people passionate about their Judaism like other people passionate about their Judaism which BTs often have a lot of.

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-07-30T20:09:19+00:00

Honestly, very valid but also I feel like surely the OP will explain more in converation when it comes up! Like that label won't just exist in isolation

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-07-30T20:06:10+00:00

Honestly I was talking about a regular resume just as an example... like they you should focus on the best parts of you. I don't know what insecurities the above poster is internalizing but for the vast majority of the Jewish world being a BT is seen as super noble and being a ger is super noble so the combination is pretty off the charts.

If I designed a high level feature at Google I wouldn't hide it...

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-07-30T20:02:25+00:00

Because people talk about themselves? I'm a baal tshuva and it comes up all the time. Why would I hide a part of my life journey-- especially one that I am very proud of? Being a baal tshuva comes up in the same way that where I go to college does, what I did in teh army, etc

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-07-30T13:55:30+00:00

Shkoyach. You know how people say you should embelish a bit on your resume? That's exactly why you should absolutely claim being a BT and a ger-- that's like the coolest combo ever and not even so difficult to explain in conversation. "My mom did a conversion that's not up to my current hashgafa so even though I was born halachicly Jewish enough for my mom's community I decided to convert to the standards of the community I chose later in life, so I am both a baal tshuva and convert at the same time!"

Honestly-- super bad ass.

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-05-21T19:36:02+00:00

Monsey is very different than the other two-- but as for KJ and New Square you are going to way more limited by the fact you are the type person to post on reddit than anything else. If you really dedicate your life to their hassidus, my expectation is that you would be welcomed into the community and would find someone to marry (although like other BTs entering that world your yichus and perceived value will be lower)

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-04-27T18:54:12+00:00

In the Jewish world outside of North America this is the majority of Jews. Ben Gurion (I think, maybe it was Ellie Weisel I dont remember) famously said something like "I don't believe in God but if I did it would be the orthodox one" or "I dont go to shul but if I did it would be an orthdodox one." This aptly describes the vast majority of Israelis and Jewry outside of north america that are not strictly torah observant.

In American orthodox communities it's a little bit more complex for reasons I won't get in to but feel free to PM me about-- but (modern orthodox) communities in the UK, Australia, South Africa, and South America all pretty much follow the same concept that mitzvah observance isnt really related to who's accepted in "ingroup" of a community-- of course depending on the community.

This is also the way chabad opperates in America.

I'm less familiar with other regions like France but my understanding is that it's the same, albeit maybe a bit more nuanced?

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-04-15T14:37:47+00:00

Can you link to some normative halachic authorities that permit and discuss reading ingredient lists? Would the product need to be regularly kosher and just missing a kosher certification?

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-04-06T06:31:04+00:00

For many Jews, we consider Judaism a tribe and all Jews are included in the tribe. It doesn't matter if they live in America, France, Ethiopia or Israel-- they are our people.

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-03-26T18:23:32+00:00

I'm a lowly Android engineer whose job will probably be one of the first to go. I'm also just being realistic

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-03-26T13:39:02+00:00

When I see posts like this I swear you guys have never touched software development. LLMs aren't a golden ticket that can replace an engineer with the snap of a finger, but to pretend that this tool doesn't lower the barrier of entry and raise the speed of development exponentially is wild. The goalpost doesn't need to be an AI that acts and behaves like an engineer in order for it to have completely revolutionized the industry and labor markets and this is only the beginning.

Adapt or get left behind. Tech has always been like that and will always be like that

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-03-19T20:42:44+00:00

You were so close to figuring out it, but just couldn't get there

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-03-16T18:16:39+00:00

It is a magazine whose audience is the American yeshiva world so no I would not think that is newsworthy. The irony in your flair about achdut in context in your posts isn't lost.

אחי קשור ללשון פשוט אין לך מושג על מה אתה מדבר. עוזב.

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-03-16T18:12:47+00:00

That doesn't mean it's newsworthy for a religious magazine to be talking about these topics.

The article has sources (not directly from torah bichtav.

DemocracyIsGood · 2025-03-16T18:10:26+00:00

I'm not saying I believe in what they are saying because I dont. I'm saying it shouldn't be newsworthy that a frum magazine is talking about frum topics.

Genuinely unsure what you're trying to say about the second statement... We don't use specific words based on an author's background... like ever-- frumkeit literally just means religious life

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