‘There Is No Accounting for Taste’

This relates to (although it doesn’t exhaust) the central point we keep harping on – אין טעם ברצון. (This doesn’t just mean we are often (at least) far less repelled by our own bodily functions.)

As the saying goes:

One man’s meat is another man’s poison.

“There’s no accounting for taste” (or the Latin: De gustibus non est disputandum) refers to only mannerisms (or דעות in ‘Talmudese’), whereas the Is\Ought (and especially אין טעם ברצון) distinction refers to all human behaviors, bar none.

Also, see Chazal’s analogy in Nedarim 20b:

כל מה שאדם רוצה לעשות באשתו עושה משל לבשר הבא מבית הטבח רצה לאכלו במלח אוכלו צלי אוכלו מבושל אוכלו שלוק אוכלו וכן דג הבא מבית הצייד.

We Need More Arab Bus Drivers…

The other day, Yom HaShoah or Yom HaZikaron, my son was coming back from Yeshiva on an Egged bus. The siren went off for the moment of silence, and the bus driver just continued driving. He explained himself by saying that he’s an Arab and the passengers are Chareidi.
My comment, as the Chilonim, etc. have been saying the past few days, is “לתפארת מדינת ישראל…”

Only One Thing Stayed the Same: The Taxes…

Bereishis 47:26:

וישם אתה יוסף לחק עד היום הזה על אדמת מצרים לפרעה לחמש רק אדמת הכהנים לבדם לא היתה לפרעה.

Think about it. Egypt was devastated by the Plagues. The king and\or most of his servants drowned in the sea, while their families at home experienced fires. According to historians, Egypt didn’t regain its place as a regional power for centuries.

But the taxes didn’t change a bit.

See more here: How to Visualize Eternity

The Unholy Cursedian Trinity – Translated!

As we noted in the past from Megillah 25b, one may mercilessly mock idolaters. So as a public service, I have translated the Cursedian idols into more accurate and palatable terms (for us).

Here it is in English:

  1. The Adulterer
  2. The Bastard
  3. The Haze

In Hebrew it’s even better:

  1. הנואף
  2. הממזר
  3. הרוח שטות