bp27

apushatayid – Trust me the badchan gets paid a nice fee, he is not living of your tip. $5 – $10 is more than enough.

Enjoy your first Mitzvah tantz – you’ll see its not as bad as your Litvishe friends make it out to be. You might even come to agree to those of us who know that bringing the Kallah in to the men’s side during dancing is significantly less tzniyusdik.

zahavasdad – The first day of Spring is only April 4 according to Tekufas Shmuel, which is know to be inaccurate, as is discussed at length in the Rishonim and Achronim. The calendar doesn’t use Tekufas Shmuel.

Obviously you do understand that the Tekufas Nissan is exactly when it is, as it is a physical phenomena. There cannot be a different first day of Spring according to the Jewish Calendar.

This year Pesach is March 26, and is still after the accurate Tekufah.

I thankfully send my kids to a school that didn’t discontinue mid-winter vacation – they never had it. 3 days off during the winter – Sunday of Chanukah, Purim and Shushan Purim.

They also never extended sessions on Sunday – they always had a full day of Limudei Kodesh on Sunday.

I am happy I don’t have your issues.

old man – Yhank you for the reply. In actuality what you are saying is not universal. Yes, what you are saying is the shittah of the Minchas Kohen (which was the prevalent minhag in Germany and Hungary), that all the calculations are calculated backwards from the actual tzeis hachochavim.

There were however shittos that used a fixed sunset and 72 minutes after sunset, regardless of the visual stars. This was the prevelant minhag in Galicia, and is followed today by Satmar, Belz, Klausenberg, and others. By the way, the simple reading of the Mechaber in Shulchan Aruch seems to follow this view.

Aaron Chaim – There are no places, Chassidish or not, that do melocho after the shkiah. I don’t know where you get this that there are chasidish places that are mekabel shabbos after the first shkiah (I assume you are referring to doing melachah, not davening Kabbolas Shabbos).

This has been the case since at least World War I. Even before WWII, there were virtually no kehillos left that were meikil like Rabeinu Tam in regards to Kabbolas Shabbos.

(There are exceptions in the case of a a baby born bein hashmoshos Erev Shabbos, depending on which Chassidus, whether a bris is made the following Shabbos or not).

Best Yiddish – Mekoman shel Zevachim, Close second – Paroh in Mitzrayim

Best English – Just One Shabbos

Best Hebrew Slow – Perok

Best Hebrew Fast – None

Just make a Bas Mitzvah the way it was always done. It is way below your budget – you’ll even have $400 to spare.

Wolf – try imagining what it feels like by the Amud. (By the way after a while your feet don’t hurt, because you don’t feel them anymore)

Between $10 and $300 for a set, and everything in between. Depending on what and where.

(It’s kind of like asking the going rate for a diamond on 47th Street.)

rocker – On Kol Haloshon there are shiurim from Rabbi Dovid Grossman. I think it fits into what you are looking for exactly. It is in English, clear, and doesn’t go beyond the pashut pshat in the Gemara.

I was in Niagara in early July, and they were both open. It was still quiet, as more people come later in the season. I am sure they are open now in August, especially it being bein hazmanim.

I didn’t eat at the meat restaurant (I know they were open because it is right next to the daily minyan). The pizza shop was okay. I went there once during my stay.

The reason frum jews are against Obamacare is for two simple reasons.

1. We are pretty smart and we see the fallacies in the law and realize that it won’t work. Insurance premiums in New York have already gone up almost 100% since ObamaCare was passed.

2. We all know family and friends in Canada or the UK, and see how socialized medicine is a disaster.

chgoachdus – In Boro Park most of the advertising literature and posters were in Yiddish.

The Maharshal says is Yam Shel Shlomo that if there is mixed seating by a wedding or sheva brachos you do not say “Shehasimcha B’Meono” because the shechina is most definitely not taking part in such a gathering.

menucha12 – There was never a time that the concept of shomer negiah and covering hair didn’t exist. Because you didn’t hear about it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. It is standard halacha and always existed.

It’s almost like someone who didn’t grow up frum saying “When did this Shabbos thing start, it didn’t exist when I was growing up?”

In order to deal with sam4321’s issue, I propose the following:

Let’s create a new minhag that we all switch several times a year. How about every time they change the clock? Just like we are supposed to change the batteries in our smoke detectors, we will all change which hand we use to take off tefillin.

We can even make a mishaberach in shul the week before for all those that will participate, and then we can make a kiddush afterwards.

The only question that I have is, will we say tachanun on “switching day”?

bpt- Just to clear up your erroneous assumption, I left Lakewood about 12 years ago, and I have been working hard since. I am actually the one who is too busy working to normally read the CR. So, no I don’t take my wife and father in law to be fools.

I don’t know what is wrong with stating the obvious that one learns better when they are not involved in the Shidduch market, or when they are a Chosson, or when they have a wife and family at home.

If you have a Yeshiva where people stay for many years, wouldn’t you want their first few months to be without any distractions?

besalel – very interesting, the accepted psak for hundreds of years and the opinion of the majority of Rishonim and early Achronim (The Shulchan Aruch and Rama included) caused jews for generations to be mechalelei shabbos and they were no better than unaffiliated jews.

I guess we have witnessed over the past 150 years the largest Baal Teshuva movement in history.

Is the Alos you calculated based on degrees or fixed 72 minutes. I imagine it is degrees, in which case you might be able to be meikil to use Fixed 72 degrees, which in the Arctic circle could make a significant difference.

First of all, who says that a Bar Mitzvah is a celebration for the boy and not for the parents?

Imma613 – In most yeshivas in Lakewood and Boro Park the boys do not come to the seudah. There are a number of reasons. First, the boys end up staying late and don’t function well in class the next day. When you have the entire class not functioning it doesn’t work. Try then to imagine 2-3 bar mitzvahs a week.

Second, the boys can and do get rowdy, and sometimes turn a nice Yiddishe Simcha into a wild birthday party.

A heimishe mom – You can only deduct the amount above 7.5%, not the full amount.

I personally can vouch for CHP. You can make a pretty good salary and still be easily eligible. For our b’h large families, the fact that the per child premium is capped at 3 children is a tremendous savings. It it truly a pleasure having no copays and no deductibles, which is what I had with my old insurance which costed a fortune in premiums.

See how many restaurants under this hashgocho are open on Shabbos and decide for yourself

Contrary to what many commentators have said, no where in Shulchan Aruch does it say that you make a Shehechayanu when you have a baby girl. The Mishna Berura says his own chiddush that you do make a Shehechayanu when you see the girl the first time, as it is no different than not seeing a friend for 30 days. However, most poskim disagree and advise not to make a bracha.

Upon the birth of a son, the bracha is HaTov VeHameitiv, which is said upon hearing about the birth, not seeing the baby.

deiyezooger – actually about 10 years after shanah reshonah the wives start to send plates over again.

Except, that they only send plates of salad . . .

Don’t mean to go off topic slightly, but which parshios do you all think is the hardest to lein in terms of preparation? I have always found the following difficult to lein:

Vayetzei, Vaera, Tazria. Any others?