Tefillin Advice from Facebook

It really is a problem that many people wear their tefillin incorrectly.

Have no fear, there is a facebook group here to save us from the falling tefillin:

My Tefillin Shel Rosh is not on my forehead!

The group has diagrams of correct tefillin positions and pictures of members with tefillin.

It is an open group, so as expected it includes women who wear tefillin, before you go crazy, just remember Rashi's daughters among many women who we have stories about wearing tefillin.

(EDIT - While many stories can not be varrified, one intresting one I suggest you look into is the story of Hannah Rochel Verbermacher, a Hasidic holy woman known as the Maiden of Ludmir)

Other controversies in the group include, the Lubavitcher Rebbe's tefillin placement:

R'Hillel Chayim Yisraeli (Israel) wrote
at 2:23am on March 9th, 2007

I have received my very first hate mail! Yay! I was criticized for the comments I made about Rabbi Schneerson's tefillin. Well, let me tell you, I'm proud of that! And Yes, my Hebrew IS good enough to understand what the Shulchan Arukh says about the proper place of the Shel Rosh! So, rebbe or no rebbe, halakhah is halakhah. Halakhah doesn't play favourites, my friends. A tzaddik is a tzaddik based on the halakhah he keeps, not the halakhah that he breaks. But this is what makes me a misnaged, I guess. Well, I'm proud of it.

More on that can be found here.
A great line is

If you think a dead man is the messiah, though, there's no point continuing this conversation since in my mind there's no difference between you and any other Christian.
And I'd rather be in the company of frum, tefillin-wearing women than a dead halakhah-breaking messiah.

The Tav Hevrati

Social Justice.
What does it mean? Is it worthwhile?

The first question is hard to answer fully without getting into politics.

The second question is very easy to answer. It is an emphatic yes!

Just take a look at Nevi’im(prophets)[נביאים] and the main message you will find is one of tzedek u’mishpat(loosely social justice)[צדק ומשפט]. One of the lessons I learned from some of the rabbis at Gush (Yeshivat Har Etzion) and also since is how the main point of the Torah is tzedek u’mishpat. It is also one of the driving forces of my activism for Darfur. I don’t apologize for helping “goyim.” Non-Jews would deserve our help when facing genocide even if the Holocaust and Purim had not occurred. However the people who ask why I am looking for causes 1000 km away when there are so many problems at home do have a valid point. Of course Darfur activism and social justice in Israel are not mutually exclusive. But what about the normal Israeli scene?

There are so many programs and volunteer opportunities out there and so many causes to donate money to. But lets start with something easy and free.

The Tav Hevrati

It’s a certification that restaurants, caterers, and cafes can receive. What does it mean? It basically means that they treat their workers fairly

Bema'aglei Tzedek’s “Social Seal” initiativeexpands the idea of kashrut certification, which is so widespread in Israeli society, to include a "Social Seal," a certificate of approval that is issued to businesses (whether or not they are kosher in the traditional sense) that commit to deal with people – staff and customers, Jews and non-Jews alike – in accordance with the laws of the State of Israel and with the ethical values of Judaism. The criteria for obtaining a certificate are based on Israeli law and Jewish values stressing the need to preserve the basic rights of workers. Although eateries and catering halls are not yet required by Israeli law to be handicapped-accessible, such accessibility is also a prerequisite for receiving the "Social Seal."

- http://www.mtzedek.org.il/upload/socialse.pdf

More details about the exact requirements are here in Hebrew

For more about the Bema’aglei Tzedek look here

Of course this phenomenon has a facebook group to go with it with at this time over 215 members

Facebook Right Wing Hate Groups

Coalition For Arab Expulsion From Israel!

!כהנ�? צדק Kahane Tzadak!

So Maybe you can argues that these groups are political in nature.

Some would disagree

Hind Hassan (U. Leeds) wrote
at 11:51am on March 5th, 2007

This group is racist.

Matthew Civiletti (TCNJ) wrote
at 2:40pm on November 26th, 2006

The very existence of a group like this, which advocates racial and religious persecution, makes me sick.

And some would make the point very clear on the wall of the group

Saling Simon (no network) wrote
at 7:48pm on December 3rd, 2006

im getting really sick of these god damn arabs.

god bless Kahane, may he rest in peace

This is against Facebook's policy. Yet when people reported these groups, nothing was done.
How would we like it if facebook was letting groups use swastikas as their symbols, because I am sure to many people the Kach symbol has just about the same meaning.


On the other side of things, facebook lets Anti-Israel and Antisemitic groups stay on its site.
We hate israel (Shabab Masroof)
WE HATE ISRAEL
F*** ISRAEL!
I HATE ISRAEL
i hate israel

'-=_x_=-' Too Bad Get Off Tha Map NOW '-=_x_=-'

Well I just used up my limited number of reports I am allowed to make to facebook per week. So I encourage everyone to report these groups, and make facebook, the web, and the world a better place