Quite the J-Blogging Day...

Wow. From almost no posts earlier in the week to an incredible amount today... the J-blogosphere is one sporadic place. Before y'all get overwhelmed, most of these posts are good, quick reads. The others are just really, really good - trust me, I have no attention span to read long posts unless they're really worthwhile (and even then I have trouble sometimes). So, sit back, relax, and enjoy some of the best of today's J-blogosphere:

New blogger Rivka has a great post on depression, her struggles with it, and what's not being done by the people who deal with it:

My answer so far has been to share my feelings with my husband and my counselor. And now, my blog. To the rest of the world, I'm intelligent and competent and respectful and considerate and empathetic and all those things that are moral and valued and not associated with depression. Were you to meet me in real life, you would probably never know the pain I hide.

Because sometimes it's just safer that way.

Canonist writes a good piece on the plagiarism issue:

Yeah, DovBear has only been shown to have stolen maybe a couple dozen times (of course a true analysis could reveal more), but that doesn’t make the act less reprehensible. And obviously DovBear’s accuser certainly seems to carry some truck for opposing political opinions, but that doesn’t change any of the facts. Excusing DovBear’s conduct is working to make that conduct acceptable, and if that conduct’s acceptable to someone, we all have good reason to think that the excuse-makers are willing to do the same as DovBear.

Via a comment on Harry Maryles' blog, watch this video about Crack Square.

Chana weighs truth and happiness. (Sigh... don't we all?) Her post on the subject, which focuses somewhat on religion, is excellent:

But suppose we all agree there is a basic modicum of factual information that must be provided to all. And suppose we agree that living behind walls, in ghettos, that sheltered communities, in other words, where people deliberately block this flow of information- well, this cannot be right. And in these cases, we feel justified in providing such information. We feel justified in giving these people the tools to choose, not merely to be candidates for a brainwashing process.

Okay. So very good. But let’s take it further.

Cross-Currents puts up back-to-back posts by Jonathan Rosenblum and R' Yitzchak Adlerstein that are simply top-notch. Rosenblum on shidduchim:

Already a half century ago, the Chazon Ish felt that the most important question was too often left out of shidduchim investigations. [...] “Did you ask if he would make a good husband? If that quality is lacking, it is not a good match, no matter how many other positive qualities he possesses.” [...]

Commitments made in the flush of youthful idealism may have little to do with subsequent reality. Not all those who undertook to support a husband in learning and raise a family at the same time find that they are capable of doing so ten years later, any more than every young man who expressed a desire to learn “forever” is able to keep learning with bren after a decade in kollel.

R' Adlerstein on the recent education edicts:

One hopes that the recent Bais Yaakov edicts will not have a spillover effect upon American shores, further eroding the legacy of Rav Yaakov that has come under increased attack. It is not a good bet, however. Like fashion trends moving from Paris to New York, there is a tendency in Torah matters (lehavdil) for Bene Brak to call the shots even when they do not intend to.

This is not the way it always was. Some people think that it is one of the most unhealthy developments in Torah life in our times. While Rav Moshe and Rav Yaakov were both alive, American haredim turned primarily to them for leadership. People did not regard this as a slight to Torah luminaries in Israel. Rather, they recognized that not only did Torah leaders in America have a better grasp of local realities, but that HKBH Himself had different plans for, and different expectations of, communities in Israel and America. Forcing square pegs into round spiritual holes was not going to get people very far.

Elsewhere:

• TownCrier and others find that GoogleEarth is... anti-Israel?
• Daled Amos is one of many to note that 14 more people quit the Carter Center over ex-President Carter's anti-Israel book, along with a scathing letter.
• Jake's Comedy Corner takes some fun digs at the charedi women/education issue.
• Ariella and Krum both discuss the 5 Towns Jewish Times editorial about Orthomom, Krum, and other J-bloggers.
• Krum also wonders - with good reason - why R' Weinreb seems to be getting pushed out of the OU.
• Jameel notes that affirmative action has reared its ugly head in Israel... for a major ministry.
• ElderofZiyon has a great expose by NBC about the US not doing what it should for its troops - which is to get Israeli technology.
  

Tags: Depression, plagiarism, shidduchim, drugs, truth, happiness, education, Israel, US, Trophy, Five Towns, Jewish, Carter, apartheid, charedi, OU.