mamashtakah

I once had a similar situation, except it was in the shule where I grew up and was a regular. Another member (who incidentally had smicha) was a constant talker. At the time, I must have been in my late teens, and he was in his early 50s. It got to the point where I just couldn’t take his constant chatter anymore, so after davening one Shabbat morning I pulled him aside. I very respectfully asked him if he could stop talking during davening. He became confrontational and said, “Why are you asking me? I’m not the only one talking.” I said (again, very respectfully), “That’s true, but you know the halachot about talking during davening. You know better.” He harumphed and walked away, but at mincha that afternoon he came over to me, said I was right, and apologized for what he said earlier. He also said he would stop talking during davening – and he did.

It is best, and most healthy, to strictly limit contact.

Based on what evidence?

And no, there is nothing intrinsically holy about a black hat. However, wearing a black hat shows that you identify yourself with the yeshiva community, who put Torah and Halacha above all else.

I disagree. Wearing a black hat may identify oneself with the Yeshivish community, but it does not mean the wearer necessarily puts Torah and Halacha above all else. Plenty of black hat wearers have been arrested and convicted of criminal activity; they obviously did not “put Torah and Halacha above all else.”

One slight nitpick – there are two shiva houses. One is in Yerushalayim (Ruth Fogel’s family) and the other is in Neve Tzuf (Rav Udi’s family). There is no shiva in Itamar.

I went to the shiva house in Neve Tzuf yesterday (Monday). If anyone has a chance, they should go. Rav Udi’s father told us how much chizuk the family gets when people they don’t know come by to be menachem avel. I saw him comforting a friend of his son and daughter-in-law who came to the shiva house in tears. They are truly remarkable people.

I used to work in a place where the non-Jews would say (in the winter) “It’s Friday afternoon. Doesn’t your Sabbath start soon? Get out of here so you’re not stuck in traffic.” They were actually concerned that I would forget to leave. They knew I came in early every day during the rest of the week to make up the hours.

I always request an aisle seat, because I like to be able to get up and move around at my own convenience. It would not bother me to sit next to a woman, as I don’t find a need to use both armrests. I would switch if asked, as long as I get an aisle seat in return. (I also would not want to sit near families with babies or toddlers, but there’s not much one can do about that.)

No offense, but can you please put the question into standard English? I have no clue what this means.

My mother used to put chili powder in the cholent. It was great with an ice old beer!

Is a sock with a hole in it useless?

Of course not – you wear it to shule – because it’s holy.

Sorry, it had to be said! 😉

I never really appreciated rain until we made aliyah. E”Y is always desperate for rain, so you never really hear anyone complain when it comes.

I still remember the first rainstorm we had after we made aliyah. It was on a Friday night, and we had just finished the meal and were clearing the table for dessert. There was thunder, the lights went out, and it started pouring. It was amazing to hear, as we hadn’t heard any rain for several months. We all went out the front door to watch. Who watches rain? But we did, as did several of the neighbors. Even our dog was excited; we hooked her to her outside leash, and she stayed out in the rain long after we had gone back to our meal.

Let me start off by saying we are not chareidi.

That being said, we made aliyah when my kids were older – two were in HS, and one in 8th grade. Let me say, from their perspective, it was the best thing we ever did. B”H they all found good kids to be with and they managed to pick up the language. I can compare them to the kids they were with in America, and they are much, much less materialistic than them, and much more idealistic.

We have asked each of them several times since we’ve come if they want to go back to America and live, and B”H they have always said no. And that’s what’s really important, is it not?

Look, for certain people, driving to shule is a step forward. We had friends who lived far from the community, and they gradually became more interested in Shabbat and frumkeit. In the beginning, they drove in on Shabbat and left before Shabbat was over. With encouragement from us and others in the community, they eventually started coming for all of Shabbat. Eventually, they sold their house and moved into the community. They have continued their growth over the years; they themselves are now encouraging others to take the same steps themselves. So, perhaps those you see driving on Shabbat are making their way forward as well!

In addition to my flu shot this year, I also got a pneumonia vaccination that should be good for 10 years.

I remember how excited my mother was when Bac-o’s first came out. Boy, she put those little bits on everything!

who can imagine typing ten page term paper on type writer, so if left out a line on page 3, had to type 7 pages over again.

My first typewriter was manual; you had to pick up your hand to hit the return lever to bring the carriage to the next line. Remember the little bell that went “Ding?”

Even on an electric typewriter, you still had to hit a key to send the paper to the beginning of the next line.

Of course, there was all the correction stuff as well – either Wite Out, or correction tape, or a cartridge you could pop into the electric machine.

If you will note what was said afterwards, you’ll see that Obama (via his Secretary of State) still castigated the Israeli settlement policy. I don’t think he deserves any thanks for that.

A friend on FB the other day posted something about “who remembers when you had to walk to the TV to change the channel?” I asked her why she was asking, and she said she worked with a bunch of 20-somethings who had no idea TV used to be like that.

One for Medinat Yisrael, one for tzahal. There are two others that are added after the mi shebayrachs for cholim and before shevi’i – one for Jonathan Pollard, one for Gilad Schalit.

Our shule has a Carlebach minyan every week. When we first got here, I always went. Now I’ve drifted away a bit. My oldest daughter loves it, so when she’s home from midrasha, I go with her. Otherwise I generally go to another minyan.

The Carlebach minyan is packed, though, every week except when people go away in August.

There’s an old story about a yeshivish American who gets into a cab in Yerushalayim and tells the driver “Ani roytzeh laleches l’koysel.” The driver says to him “B’ayzeh safa ata m’dabair?”

Are they renters? If so, complain to their landlord.

If that doesn’t work, call the police. It’s sad, but sometimes it has to be done.

Depends. What do you do now? Do you have a college degree?

. . . in NY you pass way too many people on the street on every walk to constantly greet everyone.

That’s just ridiculous.

zahavasdad, have you called or spoken to your Rav yet to ask him about shoveling snow on Shabbat? Please let us know what he says.