Do these wires apply castle doctrine? That is if you create a big one and then someone believing in their power enters you are free to defend what is inside?
The wire that transforms much of Manhattan into one big, symbolic home (2017)
131–140 of 313 posts
Re: The wire that transforms much of Manhattan into one big, symbolic home (2017)
#132[flagged]
Has any rabbi ever put together the amount of calamities that befell the Jews with constantly trying to pull fast ones on God?
Re: The wire that transforms much of Manhattan into one big, symbolic home (2017)
#133[flagged]
He's not "fooled" - this is within the rules he set.
Re: The wire that transforms much of Manhattan into one big, symbolic home (2017)
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
My Jewish friend once told me, specifically discussing this wire, that Jews consider finding loopholes in their own rules a national pastime. The same thing goes for the hotels where someone is paid to wave their hand in front of automatic doors so the guests don't force the door to "work" for them or the elevators that run 24/7, stopping at every floor so they don't have to even work by pressing a button.
I am not the brightest spark as it took me a few months of living in a heavily Jewish area to realise that the pedestrian traffics light were configured to run every cycle so they didn't have to press the button. Probably a lot more details I also missed.
Buttons in pedestrian traffic lights are far from universal, my country is not Jewish and pedestrian lights without a button are very common.
Actually I dislike those with buttons. They send the message that cars passing and pedestrians stopping is the "default", and ensure that a lone pedestrian always has to stop, regardless of luck, while establishing the ritual that pedestrians need to "beg" for being allowed to cross. In my view, cars already have too many privileges in cities, it's not the end of the world if they have to stop at an empty crossing from time to time (something that pedestrians also have to do often).
Re: The wire that transforms much of Manhattan into one big, symbolic home (2017)
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes. There are several explanations for this, but the most popular ones are: 1) Making fires is prohibited work. Activating an electric switch causes a spark, which is kind of like a fire. 2) We have a tradition of considering using electricity to be work. 3) This is stupid, not using electricity is more work. Just push the button. 4) This is stupid, but having a day when we aren't all on our phones is nice, so let's…
> Activating an electric switch causes a spark, which is kind of like a fire. So is walking on a carpet and removing your sweater and almost anything involving fabrics and motion. Is it really a useful definition of "fire" and "spark"? Most people think of those as different things. Fire implies oxygen, you put out fires with heavy blankets or with nitrogen gas since time immemorial. Sparks, as in tiny plasma dischar…
There's an important distinction between "thing that happens even if you don't intend it" and "thing that happens because you intentionally caused it" (and the even more subtle distinction between "beneficial side effect of thing you intended" and "neutral/negative side effect of thing you intended").
ie intentionality matters.
Re: The wire that transforms much of Manhattan into one big, symbolic home (2017)
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
Religious Jews consider your contention to be blasphemous, as it suggests there’s a way to outsmart god, which would directly contradict his apparent higher being status.
Not outsmart god, but outsmart yourself straight into hell.
Judaism in most variants doesn't have hell.
Don't try to parse this religion as "Christianity with different rules", it'll only mislead you.
Re: The wire that transforms much of Manhattan into one big, symbolic home (2017)
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
I see this sentiment a lot when it comes to Jewish customs, especially when it comes to eruvs, I don't really get it. Why do you consider it "tricking" God, instead of just following the rules?
If your parents said come home by 6:00 PM and instead of coming home you put a wire around the city to “make it your home” and stay out, you’re tricking your parents.
G-d is not your parents, and set and worded His rules with omniscience that your parents do not have.
Re: The wire that transforms much of Manhattan into one big, symbolic home (2017)
#138[flagged]
I think the thinking is that God appreciates the hustle
Re: The wire that transforms much of Manhattan into one big, symbolic home (2017)
#139[flagged]
He isn't, of course. According to Jewish thought, God is perfect and therefore any loopholes in the rules were put there on purpose. If you have studied the holy texts deeply enough to find the loophole, that makes you more holy, not less. It's like an easter egg for true believers.
The true sinners are those who think that they know what God wants better than what He actually passed down as commandments. God knows what He wants and wrote it down exactly like that.
Re: The wire that transforms much of Manhattan into one big, symbolic home (2017)
#140I'm not religious so I'll admit I don't "get it." It's a neat idea. I'll admit, I especially don't get this part: > The series of practically invisible wires becomes a necessity that “benefits the most vulnerable people of the community.” He sees it not only as a way for communities to come together, but also as a way for the more affluent to give back. The eruv is funded entirely by the Jewish community, with a cons…
I remember attending a tech conference years ago in Dearborn, Michigan. One of the speakers was a devout Jew from NY City. On Saturday he taped the lock open on his hotel room so he wouldn't need to use a key. This drove hotel security nuts and one of the conference admins had to get involved because the hotels employees who were all Arabic did not accept his explanation. They were certain he was up to something shad…
> because the hotels employees who were all Arabic did not accept his explanation
I feel like I would expect Arabs to be the most likely to accept this? Abrahamic religion that also still practices all sorts of ritualistic stuff in a region with a historically high Jewish population?