Really! Reading the talkbacks may enlighten the reader to what other people think. It’s true that some of the talkbacks are less than intelligent, but everybody has a right to his or her opinions. Is this just another idea to further isolate the very religious from the rest of Israel or the rest of the world?

the followers of the flock should not read talkbacks because it only exposes them for what they are and lets them know what the general public think of them and their nonsense.

Halachic, schmalachic; what a pitiful comment. Read only distorted, and almost perverted writings by Aviner and his followers?. And please, do eat soup to your heart content. -- onion soup, crusty bread and " gruyere " is delicious. Just don't listen to Aviner, I am a "pro "

If some of the rulings by religious authorities don't insult God in the worst way, I don't know what does. Did God bless us with a mind, so we repeat others' pronouncements as if we were brainless parrots? Are we to blindly follow the examples of someone else, when we were given a conscience? I would not want to be in someone's shoes, who threw God's gifts back into His/Her face and who persuaded someone else to do the same. On a more basic level, how is one to know the true meaning of black, unless one knows white?? There wouldn't be good, if there weren't evil, dark without light, etc. What would be the merit of existing in a vacuum without choices and how would such a life honor God? As for not living in a desert without food, can the rabbi promise that something like it or worse will never happen? I know of almost starving, although it was called WWII and I can promise the rabbi that anything edible, and I mean ANYTHING, was more valuable than all the religious tracts combined, unless their pages were made of paper that turned into edible mush, when soaked in water long enough, with the glue of the bindings almost a delicacy.... Why teach children right from wrong, and expect them not to know the difference as adults??? What am I missing?

Under no circumstances broarden your mind by reading of others oponions, forget the normal distribution of ideas , limit yourself to a preselected [by others] slice of oponion.Doom yourself to dogma....and miss out on a normal life .

Don't listen to Rabbi Aviner : ) P.S : In 1948 there were no Talkbacks.

Not reading something is wrong? How can reading a rrsponse/responsa to anything be wrong? Unpleasant? Yes. Irritating? Sure. Wrong? How? Now THAT is just plain stupid. Like not looking at a picture or not sniffing something as you pass by, Reb Aviner. Dum Da dum dum!!!! Oh. Don't read this.

There are not talk backs in Arab News papers untill today... May be is because of this that you are in talk backing in ynet?

Haaretz have blacklisted my talkbacks - so presumably the extreme left and right believe in the same censorship and mind control techniques.

This is not normal at all. Thanks to G-d, people can think and decide and, by now, one can discrimitate silly things of the interested or racional. Rabbis seem to have too much free time ...

you mean like the of thousands of superstitious ultra-Orthodox Jews "studying" in "yeshivot" in order to avoid serving in the National Service/Army, working a job/career, paying taxes, or studying something that could actually earn their families money and benefit society as a whole? THAT'S NOT VALUELESS TIME CONSUMPTION?!

What this Rabbi is saying is the articles, are generally free of swear words, and even when unbalanced, they have to moderate what they say so as not to be sued. Talkbacks have both bad language and personal insults, both of which are not spiritually good for us, Unfortunately the talk backs also carry most of the detail because the low quality of the reports.

Aviner is typical of a stunted mentality that throw out the baby with the bathwater. This problem is completely solved by requiring the media outlet to post the full name of the talkbacker. Any libel (printed slander) could be addressed. Yes you would have to answer for your "right" to free speech. Rashi talkbacks? I thought Rashi was speaking ex cathedra.

Actually, there is something to this thought. He who reads those talkbacks open themselves up to bad karma possibly. It is like opening up a quija board. You never know who is going to be invited in and create havok.

freedom of speach and the right to give an honest opinion is better by far, I say read all talkbacks of interest and ignore the rest- it is due to talkbacks that many take note of the truth.

by reading non "orthodox" talkbacks . That they will see that they were brainwashed with "religion" their whole life ? that they "act" as automats who have'nt seen anything else as their "religion" . And to Konn , the paqid foillower , who changes every day from residence : your name a true one ?

like i said

I agree with the Rabbi. The talkbacks, in many cases, usually represent people who are not competent enough to have developed a concept as well as the author of the article has done, and, in spite, denigrates, often in a snide, aggressive way, whatever the article stated. If the person talking back really had something to say, he/she would have said it before the article writer did. And in many cases it is pure Lashon Horah (evil speech). As an alternative to talkbacks, print the article writer's email address and have any aggrieved readers vent to that address. Thank you.

He's on the money and the proof is in many of the TBs attached to this article! Well stated Rabbi Aviner, thank you for sharing your position.

You haven't "made it" until there's a rabbinical ruling against you.

YOU CAUSED ME TO TRANSGRESS BY YOUR WRITING.... SHLOMO, in my ignorant position to a Rabbis knowledge i say...Then this Rabbi doesnt want us to read to think and to have an opinion which os contrary to TORAH LEARNING WHICH TEACHES US TO READ LEARN AND ASK QUESTIONS....

He's specifically limiting this advice (it's not a rule) to his Yeshiva students. His school, his rules. It's hard enough to teach Torah to young people without having to contend with every nutty idea a talkbacker can conceive.

Pure Hutzpah after all the extreme rulings of the recent days made by what are called "Torah Greats" which are a recent phenomena and a result of the current situation so of course they reject logical and less agressive ideas

and that would be bad for the indoctrination process.

Are all false wizards the same? Is there any greater proof than the words from the leaders mouth. He is afraid of freedom of thought and freedom of choice. G-d however is not afraid of having open discussion about Torah. IN FACT it is a mitzvah for the light of all nations to not only open themselves up to discussions about Torah laws, but to apply the LAW to understand when people are being misled (Devarim 13). It is an obligation to weed out lies from power hungry cult men who try to steal Torah and hide it away from Am Israel. What good is Torah in boxes where they cannot be read or only in places that force you to do ceremonies that violate Torah and make claims G-d said things he did not? At least that is my take on the whole thing. Now who says you cannot talk about Torah on the streets because it is too Holy, yet G-d commands you in the Shmah to do this very teaching and discussion. Any point on Torah should be judged by the individual for no one needs go into heavean or across the sea to go and get it for you. Love for G-d is more personal than these middle men who charge money make it out to be.

Sounds like it is already too late if you mix Karma with Torah. Karma is a pagan concept not relating blessing and curses from our choice in Torah's balance and not atributing G-d in any judgement but rather some force described in a multi-god religion. But don't let a talkback save anyones soul or influence Jewish backsliding.

-There is such a thing as " for our ears only.:.This boorish custom of the "free thinkers" to criticize every comment made by a rabbi that is not to ,their liking shows a real lack of liberalism. The connection between a yeshiva rabbi and his students and is often a life long one. It is not a matter of control-but deep respect for a rabbi who -they value his opinion. . The rabbis' opinions are directed at his audience. If one would sit in on a "liberal" professor's lecture and publicize every remark not to his liking to the outside world - I don't think it would go over well with the academics..Let us understand the entire picture before we begin to pontificate.