Wednesday, July 27, 2005

From the Yeshiva Bachur: More Tough Questions

My interview from EN:

1) What made you decide to go into law?
I'm not exactly sure when I decided I wanted to go into law. Through a series of different events in high school - mock trial, A.P. government, a legal internship, an obsession with The Practice - I came to the conclusion that the study of law is what I really loved. As a college student, I am even more accutely aware that this is what I enjoy. I love political science and critical thinking and arguing with people, so I think law is the profession I would most enjoy. Unlike many people, I am not going into law for the money and I do not want to be a partner in a big law firm (impossible to have a family and do this); I hope to find a niche in law that allows me to both enjoy myself and do something good. (Maybe I should save this for my law school applications.)

2)What was the naughtiest thing you have done?
I'm a good frum girl, which mean I've done plenty of bad things but nothing REALLY bad. I've had plenty of minor indiscretions that bother me and indicate to me that I have plenty more to learn and plenty more places to grow, but I have nothing to put here that I could classify as "the naughtiest thing I've ever done" (and if I did, I probably wouldn't want to put it here). Admittedly this was a bit of a cop-out, but...

3)If you were a boy, would you learn in kollel or become a Balhabos and why?
If I were a guy, I would work. Not because I don't think learning is important, but because I do not think I am the kind of person that could approach learning enthustiastically for that long. I just don't think it's something I could do well. I also don't think I would be happy with the kollel lifestyle. I am far too spoiled to appreciate such a lifestyle. I would, however, consider kollel for a year. (The question of whether I value kollel as a value in and of itself will have to wait, but the bottomline is that I think kollel is appropriate for a limited few who will actually learn well and enthusistically and take learning seriously. I do not think I could do that for a prolonged period of time.)

4)If the president would ask you to join the supreme court would you do it, or demure because it is not tzniusdik?
First of all, I don't know how you touched on this, but I have dreamed of being on the Supreme Court - an unrealistic dream to be sure. I'm not sure what the tznius issue would be in terms of being on the Supreme Court, I mean those robes are pretty tznius... But really, I would be far more concerned about having to make decisions that don't jive with halacha. And I would most certainly ask a rabbi before accepting my dream job.

5)What was the stupidest thing you ever saw a boy do?
I think I've made it clear on this blog that I think boys can be pretty stupid (throw rocks at them), and while I have many examples, I'd rather not post on this blog the single stupidest thing I can remember a boy doing. So, you'll just hafta live in suspense. Although my brother once locked my father's car keys in the car at the gas station. (Which was especially frustrating to me, who had to bring the car keys to my father at the gas station the night before my friend's wedding before I could go out to dinner with her.)

extra credit: ;)

6)What did you get on your SAT's?
Ummm, I am not going to dislcose that information. Let's just say I did well enough to get into Columbia.

7)What does your father do?
I always get nervous when I get this question because my father does computer stuff. I don't know anymore than that so I can't say anything else. He does some sort of computer stuff, despite his masters in an altogether different field.

Now the rules again:
1) Leave me a comment saying "interview me please."
2)I will respond by asking you five questions (not the same as above)
3)You will update your blog/site with the answers to the questions.
4) You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5) When others comment asking to be interviewed you will ask them five questions.

11 Comments:

At 7/27/05, 8:25 AM, Blogger Lawyer-Wearing-Yarmulka said...

> I mean those robes are pretty tznius...

ROTFL!!

 
At 7/27/05, 9:18 AM, Blogger EN said...

1) Great answer.(I think it would be too short for a law school application ;) )

2) "I'm a good frum girl, which mean I've done plenty of bad things"
This is funny, lol. Because you are frum you do many bad things. I expected something like this, I like it.

3)ok

4)I was reffering more to being in the spotlight and on TV and having your picture taken and your whole life in front of the world, which some might consider innapropriate.

5)That is a pretty funny anecdote.

6)Numbers, baby, numbers...(ok, just kidding ;) )

7)what do you know, so does mine.

 
At 7/27/05, 9:39 AM, Blogger Lawyer-Wearing-Yarmulka said...

A bit of advice...

Try to avoid the "why I want to go to law school" personal statement when you apply.

Unless you've got some really far out reason, or some sort of truly unique experience, there's nothing you will write that hasn't been written a thousand times before.

Try to be as original as possible.

 
At 7/27/05, 10:25 AM, Blogger Eli7 said...

CWY (I got it right!), I'm glad you enjoyed the robes crack, and EN I know what you meant about the tznius issue, but I fail to see it as a problem. There would however be many halachic issues with serving on the Supreme Court.

And CWY, I will hopefully write something far more personal, far more intelligent, and far more original for my law school admissions essay (I have great self-confidence as well;). But keep all the law school info coming. It's much appreciated.

 
At 7/27/05, 11:37 AM, Blogger Lawyer-Wearing-Yarmulka said...

I'm curious as to potential Halachik problems. Why would serving on SCOTUS be any different than being a judge in NY? (And there are plenty of frum judges in NY).

 
At 7/27/05, 11:58 AM, Blogger Eli7 said...

I'm not exactly sure what the issues would be, and I'd venture that they're the same on the local and federal levels. However, I certainly think there are issues (anti-sodomy laws and abortion laws, to name a few).

It's one thing to believe that you have no right to enforce your religious views on the masses, but does that make it ok to decide cases which allow people to act in decidedly unhalachic ways? I don't know what the answer is, but I do think that I would ask a rabbi before I accepted such a position.

And just because there are lots of frum Jews who do something, doesn't mean it's right.

 
At 7/27/05, 12:55 PM, Blogger Chaim said...

Interview me please

 
At 7/27/05, 2:44 PM, Blogger Nephtuli said...

I remember an article in the Journal of Contemporary Halacha and Society in which the author argued that voting for a candidate who had unorthodox views does not violate lifnei iver (helping a person sin), at least according to Tosfos, because lifnei iver only applies if the person doing the aveira could not do it without that individual's help. Since the candidate will likely win or lose independent of one's vote, there would be no lifnei iver question.

Working within this logic, the question becomes more serious when dealing with a government position and especially the Supreme Court. If an abortion on demand issue (which to the best of my knowledge is universally prohibited in Halacha) comes up before the Court and your vote swings in favor of creating such laws, perhaps it would be a problem.

Maybe we could use the legal fiction that if the Court allows abortion (i.e., strikes down all legal impediments), then the Court is merely interpreting the Constitution and it was the founders who allowed abortion. In other words, it's the founders fault that people would be having abortions, since they wrote the document in the first place. This argument might hinge on how we understand the nature of constitutional interpretation, though. Any thoughts?

 
At 7/27/05, 7:00 PM, Blogger Lawyer-Wearing-Yarmulka said...

No one is legalizing abortion on demand, it's already legal. The question is, if you vote to uphold it, is that a problem?

 
At 7/27/05, 9:05 PM, Blogger Nephtuli said...

Maybe we disagree on what constitutes abortion on demand, but I used it in the context of allowing abortion in all circumstances, without any restrictions. That's not the case in most states.

Voting to keep such laws on the books might be less of a problem. I'm not sure, but I don't think there's a requirement to prevent someone from sinning under lifnei iver, although there might be other sources for such a requirement. Upholding such laws only allows people to have abortions, it does not facilitate abortions.

 
At 7/28/05, 6:37 AM, Blogger Eli7 said...

Right, so basically, I'd ask a rabbi before I accepted the position of Supreme Court justice, (which means I'll be asking a rabbi in my dreams - since that is the only time I'll get this offer).

 

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