jewishfeminist02

I had the same problem when I worked as a cashier. The hours change so dramatically from week to week you have no idea when you will be working, so it’s hard to dedicate the same hour every week. You can always request time off or try to switch with someone if you’re scheduled for a shift that’s inconvenient, but it doesn’t always work. Super annoying.

He says he will one day be a talmid chochom. OK, so when he grows up to be a talmid chochom, at that point he can discuss with his wife whether or not household chores are appropriate for him. Right now, he is a kid just like any other and he needs to take responsibility, not make excuses.

He also needs to learn that actions have consequences. If he won’t do his chores, he doesn’t get allowance (he wants an increase? he hasn’t even earned the basic allowance that he was getting before!) or a later curfew.

Not yet a parent. So how’d I do? 😉

Johnny’s on a vacation far away

Didn’t have, probably.

That would probably be allowed, & would be a good workaround for those who get physically ill from fasting.

Quality of food is debatable; that’s a matter of personal taste. But Umami does have a more upscale atmosphere, more unique menu (Chinese/Japanese “fusion”– ever had their pad thai? it’s AMAZING), and, notably, a great selection of healthy and gluten-free options, which are difficult to find in restaurants in general and nearly impossible to find in Chinese restaurants. There is an entire section of the menu called “Revolution Diet”. Those dishes are brought to you in pretty bamboo steamer baskets. And I really don’t know of many kosher restaurants that make their own cocktails.

I’m not knocking David Chu’s. I really like David Chu’s. It has good service, reasonable prices, and good food. But I prefer Umami for a lot of reasons, many of which are based on objective facts, not opinions.

When my husband and I bought our first mezuzah, we asked the man at the store if we could inspect the klaf and he said sure and handed us a stack of them. We looked at all of them and chose the one that we thought looked neatest and most painstakingly written. (Obviously neither of us is a sofer, but we used our own judgment).

I have never heard of it. My instinct is to be wary. Fasting is difficult (for a reason) and it’s going to be difficult no matter what you do.

He probably decides based on what each person is ready to accept. Force 4 inches onto some women and it will push them off the derech. For those, it’s better to leave 4 inches as an ideal to aspire to when they are ready, and only then. I assume that this rav only makes these suggestions to women he knows well (otherwise he would have no idea of when they are ready).

I know a rav who works with baalei teshuva on a regular basis. He kashered one man’s kitchen and the guy was ready to totally accept kashrus, but the rav actually said it was ASSUR for him to take it on all at once. He said to him, right now you’re crawling. I am kashering your kitchen and I expect you to keep it kosher, but I also expect you to eat anything you want outside of your house. He knew that despite this man’s initial enthusiasm, if he were to try to go from completely treif to completely kosher all at once it would be too overwhelming. Therefore he insisted on baby steps. I heard this story many years ago and that quote “right now you’re crawling” has stayed with me and helped me through a lot of tough times.

Health, I am vegetarian, not vegan. Baltimore has many good quality kosher restaurants. They did not affect my decision to become vegetarian.

jbaldy, my husband’s friends did not go to Schlangers. My husband is not from Baltimore. My friend’s husband, on the other hand, went to Schlangers probably about five years ago. Has it really changed so dramatically in five years?

Also, Umami (not Yumami) has a nicer atmosphere, better menu, really good cocktails, and all around better food than David Chu’s (not David Schu’s). I like David Chu’s, too, but Umami is definitely superior and well worth the higher prices.

“For many, if not most, of the poor folks vacationing in the Catskills with their families for the summer, food prices are meaningless because it’s paid for with a Benefits Card.”

Do you think that benefit cards are bottomless? They are not. A benefit card is not a free pass to buy out the supermarket, whatever you want. (I had a benefit card for a while and then it was canceled because I moved– of course, I can’t reapply because the Farm Bill was defeated and food stamps are a thing of the past anyway. But I digress). Benefit cards do not give you enough money to actually buy food to support your family. You have to be a neurotic price checker and sale checker and even then it’s hard to put food on the table. The amount l used to get as a monthly allotment is only slightly more than what I would reasonably spend in one WEEK. It’s such a joke.

American craft beers are amazing!

Popa, define “religious issues”– obviously the government has its problems just like any government, but there are lots of good neighborhoods for frum people to live in E”Y. What, specifically, makes America more appealing?

“Jfem: I’m sure you are quite aware that the things frum yidden should or should not do isn’t limited to the Taryag mitzvos.”

Your original statement was that it’s a mitzvah. You must have meant “mitzvah” in the Reform sense.

Ender, last I checked, I didn’t see that in Rambam’s list of the Taryag.

I agree with Git Meshige. Plus, the money you will save from shopping elsewhere may even be more than the cost of the gas money to drive there. And you’ll get a more pleasant shopping experience!

Schlangers, TA, and Ner Yisroel are all excellent choices. You really can’t go wrong. I know boys who have come out of all three of them and they have good learning and good middos.

As far as how modern they each are, well, all are pretty yeshivish. I would actually say that based on the boys I know who graduated from each one, the most modern is Schlangers. I don’t think Schlangers is really as elite as periwinkle says. If your son is seriously interested, and if he has a strong learning background, he will be fine.

Ner Yisroel is really the default in Baltimore, though, except for people whose sons started at TA for elementary and middle school and decide to just keep them there, or those who have a particular interest in Schlangers.

Before everyone jumps on me for commenting on this thread, I grew up in Baltimore and I know these things based on my brother’s friends and my friends’ husbands and brothers.

It may be mutar to make fun of apikorsim, but it is certainly not a mitzvah. There are more productive things you could be doing with your time. For instance, instead of mocking YCT’s fake Torah, you could be learning some real Torah.

You are being simplistic. Calling something “propaganda” just because you don’t like it does not make it untrue.

The Palestinian leadership IS evil and our deciding not to “start up with them”, whatever that means, has not, does not, and will not make a difference. Lots of Jews made aliyah to Palestine before it was Israel and this angered the Arabs. Even if you say we should not have a political state, are you really also saying we should give up our right to live in our own land?

Furthermore, imagine the carnage, both political and physical, that would result if we tried to “give Israel to Turkey”. Utter nonsense.

A savvy shopper would shop elsewhere. Why should we have to price check every single item?

Whoever says there is no such thing as good pareve cholent has never tasted my husband’s cholent!

Effexor is just a standard anti-depressant (similar to Cymbalta or Wellbutrin). Plenty of functioning, well-adjusted people take these drugs (and see psychiatrists) and are still productive members of society.

Of course, I can’t speak to your particular situation– I don’t know how long you were seeing this girl, how this information “came out”, or what exactly “erratic and flaky behavior” means (doesn’t sound like it has anything to do with power dynamics, but if this thread called it to mind, then maybe). It’s certainly possible that she did/does not have her depression under control. But there are many who do, and it’s unfair to judge all people based on the medications they take. Keep in mind that those who take medication are 1000 steps ahead of those who should, and don’t.

The mods seem to be doing a good job of keeping track of who’s who.

Look to their leadership! Read the things their nutcase leaders have to say about us! Are you not scared for your life when you see these things? If we want to live in E”Y and not have to be in constant fear– regardless of who “controls the state”– we must fight them. It is seriously naive and unrealistic to think that if we just give in to their demands, they will leave us alone. They don’t even care about their own children; why should they care about ours? They have no compunctions about slitting a Jewish baby’s throat. They are capable of so much evil, it is sickening.

Better question: how many inactive departed posters can you name?

Who remembers SJSinNYC? I really liked her.