Ex-CTLawyer

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  • in reply to: The likelihood of raising a half black child as yeshivish #1379125
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Joseph
    Big cities have a much greater mix of people than small towns. It has been common for many years to see interracial couples on the streets of NY and no one pays attention. In small towns it is unusual and people gawk.

    in reply to: The likelihood of raising a half black child as yeshivish #1379043
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @LeibGershon
    Thanks for your reply.
    Our daughter is 100% Han
    There were more than a few like her in her schools over the years.

    BUT, you have presented a whole new scenario. Most who read the original post assumed 1/2 Black, 1/2 white. That’s why I asked the questions.
    Your child will have more issues than a 1/2 white child. The small percentage of white in the DNA is of interest to you, but won’t matter to those meeting and interacting with your child…initial reactions are based on what meets the eyes.

    Big city society is far more accepting than small town society of interracial people. European society much more accepting than Americans.

    in reply to: Cholopchis vs Gefilte Kraut #1378876
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    Mammele………………..
    Kohl is the German word for cabbage
    Kraut refers to the outer leaves and stems. These less than prime parts of the cabbage were often shredded and pickled for winter use, or made into Krautsalat (Cole Slaw) in the summer months.

    My Oma and her mother (who I also remember) were born in NYC in the 1800s. They learned their speech before America was ever at war with Germany and I don’t believe their choice of words had anything to do with anti-German Soldier slang. During WWI in the US sauerkraut was called Liberty Cabbage.

    My mother’ side of the family came here from Bavaria in the mid 1860s. They spoke High German. That language had less influence with the slavic tongues that the low German of the north. Northern Germany was a great transit route for millions of Jews leaving Poland and the Pale of Settlement on the way to America via the port of Hamburg. They often spent years in transit and earning their fares and had quite an influence on the languages (both Low German and Yiddish).

    in reply to: The likelihood of raising a half black child as yeshivish #1378865
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    I am confused…………………..
    LeibGershon and wife are converts
    Wife is Chinese…………………………………..
    Is LeibGershon White or Black?
    Is the Child 1/2 Caucasian and 1/2 Chinese or 1/2 Black and 1/2 Chinese?
    I use the term ‘Black’ not African-American as I don’t know that the family is in the US.

    Mrs. CTL and I have a daughter adopted at birth in China. She was raised frum, went to day school OOT then Sem, then college and Law school (family tradition). Married a white male who was educated in the Yeshiva system then college/law school…marriage to our daughter and part of family firm.
    No problem being accepted.

    in reply to: Ice Tea #1378771
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Lightbrite
    It’s hidden under the large black velvet yarmulke or fedora, so who knows?

    in reply to: Man Caves #1378778
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @lightbrite
    Mancaves for frum Jews are a modern thing………….BECAUSE
    It is only in recent times that Frum Jews had homes large enough to have space for a Mancave.

    I was born OOT and my parents had left apartment dwelling in NYC for a large house in Connecticut. My father,A”H, like most of our neighbors , had the forerunner of the Mancave>>>>>>a basement workshop, where he could spend hours using carpentry and electrical tools building/repairing things for the family. There was no TV, Microwave, Couch or recliner, but an old club chair, an AM radio to listen to the Yankees or Dodgers baseball game and an ancient refrigerator with bottles of soda.

    I still have assorted bookcases and tables he built in that woodshop, teaching skills to his sons. No female member of the family ever entered this refuge

    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    In our home it was at whatever minyan he accompanied his father to……………….
    Then he went off to work with the father.
    Time off from Yeshiva allowed time to learn the family craft

    in reply to: Firing your cleaning help #1378486
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @huju
    apology accepted.
    I am of the generation where I usually heard cleaning help referred to as ‘the girl’ and find that reprehensible, even worse ‘goyta.’
    My parents (and by extension myself and siblings) always paid a good wage to the cleaning personnel. After all,if they are to be trusted to clean in an environment with valuables (silver, flatware, jewelry) they should never feel a need or temptation to supplement a too meager salary.

    in reply to: Cholopchis vs Gefilte Kraut #1378381
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Mrs. Plony
    Prakas comes from the Turkish language. It entered both Ladino and Yiddish language. For Ashkenazim it entered the Yiddish of southern Poland, Bessarabia, etc.
    In the eastern US it was the prevalent term in Philadelphia (where I attended college more than 45 years ago) and also was well known in Baltimore. Perhaps their early non-German Jewish settlers were from Bessarabia and southern Poland and the tern was established there.

    in reply to: Firing your cleaning help #1378377
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Huju
    I wrote one of those first 19 post and displayed no hostility towards cleaning people.
    I wrote of dismissing a cleaning person who cleaned around things instead of lifting and cleaning the entire surface (after be told and warned that it was a requirement).

    I was paying $30 per hour for the cleaning person and we supply all equipment and supplies. $240 for an 8 hour day with a coffee break and paid lunch is not low wages for a job that requires no formal education.

    We had no problem hiring a new person at those rates and conditions. I the past 12 years we have had 3 cleaning ladies. One left to get married and raise her children. One retired when she reached 65. The one who was dismissed had been with us about a year. Through the local grapevine we have found out that 3 other households had let her go because her work quality went down.

    in reply to: How do frum kids know about guns? #1377727
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    Lightbrite
    I learned about guns in summer camp
    We had a head counselor who spent WWII in the Polish woods fighting with the partisans against the Germans. He felt it was important that all Jews know how to defend themselves.

    I haven’t touched a gun in almost 50 years and that’s fine with me.

    My eldest sisters in-laws grew up in the Yishuv during the 1930s. They both were in the Haganah and taught their sons how to shoot and care for guns.

    in reply to: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Why Are Guys Stuck With The Dating Bills? #1377595
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @CTRebbe

    Maybe the single males you know wouldn’t know if a woman got a professional manicure, but if a male grew up in a household where the women were fashionistas , his mother/sisters got their nails done every week he’d notice.
    Certainly my sons and grandsons would notice how lovely a girls hands were and that the nails were nicely shaped and painted evenly.

    Single women may do their hair for every day life such as school/seminary or work, but for special occasions, and meeting a potential husband should be special, a trip to the hairdresser for a special style may be in order.

    My two youngest daughters were married 14 months apart. They are the same size and often shared clothing. They never shared jewelry and never borrowed. From the time they became B’nos Mitzvah they received jewelry as gifts from family members for Birthdays, graduations, etc. Occasionally, they might buy a piece for themselves.

    As for your theory that a girl could wear the same outfit for every first date, you never lived in a dorm. No girl wants to kidded by her dorm-mates observing: ‘Soraleh is going on a date, she’s got in her Black Calvin Klein and the Beverly Feldman Pumps, again.’

    in reply to: Cholopchis vs Gefilte Kraut #1377598
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    Interesting choice of words, as Gefilte is not Yiddish for stuffed/filled, the actual word is: אָנגעפילט
    Similarly Cabbage in Yiddish is קרויט (kroyt)….
    With a matrilinear line that is German, cabbage to us is Kohl, not Kraut. Oma referred to stuffed cabbage
    gefüllt kohl.
    The Polish cleaning lady ate nadziewana kapusta, also known as golumpkis (cabbage rolls).
    In Russian it was known as Фаршированная капуста (Farshirovannaya kapusta)
    In every Hungarian it is: töltött káposzta the same Slavic root word. Yserbius123 claims Cholopshis as Hungarian, but is a term used by Hungarian Jews, not the name for the dish in the Hungarian language.
    Mrs. CTL’s step-father was Hungarian and his family was in the food business. They did not use the term
    cholopshis. He said he never encountered it in America until the refugees/survivors started to arrive after WWII and the 1956 uprising. We live near Bridgeport, which had the largest Hungarian ethnic community outside Hungary (Jews and non-Jews), there are still Hungarian food markets and they use the kaposzta label for cabbage rolls,

    Not matter what name you use, it’s a winter dish I love, especially when kept warm on the blech for Shabbos lunch, I much prefer it to cholent.

    in reply to: Firing your cleaning help #1377413
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    When the work done doesn’t meet your standards and you have already explained and given warnings, it’s time for the cleaning person to go.

    We recently let go a cleaning person because both Mrs. CTL and I were home on 3 days that she came to clean. We found she was cleaning around things, without lifting/moving them. This was unacceptable to us. We don’t pay $30 per hour for someone to ‘neaten’ when she should be cleaning.

    in reply to: The Casualties of Yiddish in Litvishe Chadorim #1374203
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Chabad 770
    “We speak the real old Yiddish from back in Russia not with any English”

    My Oma would laugh at you ‘peasants from the east’ and how you butchered the German language.
    Yiddish didn’t start in Russia, it developed as it moved out of Germany (Ashkenaz).
    I went to a Chabad Day School, and still have plenty of interaction with Chabad in a number of cities…they’re more than happy to take this misnagid’s checks. There is plenty of English in their spoken Yiddish. They didn’t have computers, cell phones, automobiles, radio back in the pale of Settlement and words for these items were added from English.

    in reply to: Mikvah Price Gouging #1374202
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Meno
    Even if the Mikvah wasn’t used most of the year, the expenses I listed would exist.
    An organization would not dare operate without insurance, both liability for slips and falls, etc. and casualty….fire, theft, a tree crashes through the roof, etc.
    Towels need to be purchased and cleaned, soap, shampoo, etc is needed.
    Especially if not used regularly, deep cleaning is required. Have you ever opened up a bungalow or winter vacation home after a long absence? Dust, dirt and dead inssacts will be there, no matter how well you cleaned before leaving,
    Utilities>>>you still need water, maybe air conditioning, a heat source for water and building, electric lights, etc. Here in New England, you must heat to a minimum of 50 degrees F in the winter or risk freeze damage to the water system
    Payroll….who cleans and fixes for free?
    Upkeep? it will need painting every so many years, grout needs cleaning, rubber flappers in the toilets need replacing

    To the best of my knowledge I don’t know CT Rebbe…………………

    Pricing is based on 2 things: supply/demand and opportunity to raise funds. You might ask why a Kallah is charged 3 or 4 times the regular rate before her wedding compared to what she’ll pay afterwards.

    BTW>>>>OOT most communities have only 1 or 2 mikvaos. In our area there are set fees for women, but just a place to leave a donation for men.

    in reply to: Mikvah Price Gouging #1374104
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Meno
    Assuming the building is paid for…ongoing expenses:
    Utilities>>>water, electricity, gas, oil
    Insurance……lots of possibilities of slip and fall accidents in a Mikvah (we tile, steps).
    Cleaning>>>>>the showers must be cleaned, bleached regularly, floors swept, etc.
    Supplies>>>soap, shampoo, towels, toilet paper
    Upkeep on rotation>>>painting
    Alarm system and monitoring
    Telephone
    Salaries

    in reply to: DEAL BREAKER: Wicker furniture #1373913
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    He needs education……………
    Real wicker furniture (not the imitation garbage) belongs on the porch, in the yard or around the pool. It can be cleaned by hosing it off and goodbye dust.
    It is not appropriate for indoor use, just as bubbe’s velvet love seat with the silk tassels doesn’t belong in the yard….unless waiting for bulk pickup day

    in reply to: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Why Are Guys Stuck With The Dating Bills? #1373782
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Joseph
    I don’t think splitting the cost of a wedding 50/50 would entice a girl to marry a chasid, it might entice her parents to suggest it. Most frum girls don’t pay for their own chasunah

    in reply to: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Why Are Guys Stuck With The Dating Bills? #1372426
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    As the father of children who are all married and not so old that I don’t remember my dating experiences.
    The man pays for the dates, the woman’s family pays for the chasunah. Dating is far cheaper.

    Your average date cost is less than the charge for one guest at the chasunah.

    in reply to: Chopped Liver #1369711
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    You are missing putting it through a meat grinder with some stale challah or a stale egg bagel, then mix in some Hellman’s Mayo and a bit of garlic powder along with your salt and pepper.
    DON’T use the generic cheap yellow onions, buy Vidalia (sweet onions) if available or a large Spanish Onion. The small onions that come in the 3lb bags for about a dollar are bitter.
    The Mayo is a Hungarian thing that Mrs. CTL learned from her step-father’s sister.

    Also, calve’s liver is not as bitter as beef liver.

    We use equal parts chicken livers and calve’s liver. Salt, WHITE Pepper, Garlic Powder, Oil, Mayo, bread.
    It must sit overnight in the refrigerator, then mix well and adjust seasonings.

    in reply to: A Sukkah’la lyrics #1369152
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @DY……….
    now I know we are contemporaries. Down in my basement are all those Rabbi’s Sons albums bought when I was a very new teenager

    in reply to: do you support repeal & replace obamacare? 🚫🔀🤵🏿💉❓ #1368025
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    On August 2nd I posted about the delay in seeing a specialist experienced by my MIL. There was a FIVE MONTH wait to see a gerontologist. Her Blue Cross/ Blue Shield Medicare combination would not ok durable medical equipment until prescribed by the specialist. They had rejected orders from her Oncologist and Internist.
    The EARLIEST appointment she could get was for September 25th.

    Joseph asked if I could pay for the equipment from my own pocket while I was waiting for the approvals. The answer is that I went to our garage and brought in walker, wheelchair and commode that had belonged to my late mother. They were collapsible and we held on to them.

    On August 16th while at Chemotheraphy, she was sent to the hospital for a week’s stay. She was released to a rehab facility and was there 23 days. Medicare and Blue Cross decided she was not making enough rehab progress to warrant the cost of care and we were give one night’s notice to bring her home. There were no private pay beds available.

    MIL was brought home last Sunday morning and we arranged care in our home.

    On Wednesday morning Sept. 20 the Gerontologists office called to cancel the appointment. He had decided to take a long weekend including Yuntif and we were told to call on the 26th to attempt to book a new appointment.

    It didn’t matter……………………………
    10:32 that night while our family was at the Rosh HaShanah dinner table, my wife and I and a private duty nurse were in my wonderful MIL’s room as she drew her last breath.

    The levayah is this morning……………………..all of her family was already here for Yuntif anyway. This will be forever etched in our memories as the worst RH of our lives.

    in reply to: Car Shadchan #1367734
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    Of course the Car Shadchan can fix you up with a 24 or 36 month marriage and you walk away with no strings attached,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

    in reply to: Foods that rhyme with APE, ATE or ALE #1367728
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Meno
    Methinks you have imbibed too much ale if you list Ale as rhyming with Ale

    in reply to: Foods that rhyme with APE, ATE or ALE #1367561
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    Kale
    Snail
    Quail
    Whale
    Skate (a trief fish)

    in reply to: Gas-saving tips #1367562
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    Connecticut has an anti-idling law…….no more than 3 minutes is legal. That coincides with a reasonable engine warm up time in cold weather.

    in reply to: Value in preserving a historic home’s character #1366769
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    It may not be one of the 613 Mitzvos of Hashem, BUT in our case it is a commandment from our town.
    The main wing of our home was built in 1803 by a prominent local family. A picture of the home hangs in the Town’s Historical Society building and another in Town Hall. There is a plaque on the front of the house over the door with the name of the original owner and date of construction.
    We are obligated to maintain the integrity of structure and design as seen from the street,
    There was a major addition in 1903.
    In 2003, Mrs. CTL (who is a designer/builder) went before the Zoning Boards and Historical commissions and received permission for an additional wing that can not be seen from the street. The views visible to neighbors must be harmonious with the earlier construction with wood siding, painted white with black trim. The entire rear of the house facing our woods and property is glass with soaring roof lines, skylights, etc.

    When Mrs. CTL wanted a ‘statement piece on the front lawn, it took years of negotiation for approval from the town. They finally allowed us to park an 1892 horse drawn carriage (without horses) with black cabriolet roof on a 45 degree angle to the street from April 1, to Nov 1 of each year. It has been borrowed fro use in our town’s annual historical parade.

    in reply to: Why don’t shadchanim get paid as much as psychologists? #1366672
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @freddyFish

    Here in small town America, Firemen don’t get paid,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    They are volunteers

    In the large city next to our small town Police and Firemen get the same pay

    in reply to: Do you do this? #1366556
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @dovidBT
    In those days there was a general lack of demand for Glatt by the typical EuroTraditional customer and the shul rabbis who supervised the butchers and caterers did not require Glatt. Many ate stam kosher in their own homes and shuls. The populace was not willing to pay higher prices that Glatt demanded.

    My late parents didn’t buy glatt meat until they retired to Florida and it was all their local butcher sold. Mrs. CTL and I made a decision to have a glatt home because we anted all our friends and relatives to be able to eat here, not because we held by the chumrah of glatt.

    in reply to: Jury duty on Sukkos #1366554
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    I rec’d a notice top report here in CT on Wed 09/20. Lawyers are not exempt. At 5:30 PM tomorrow I’ll check the judicial website to see if in fact I have to report. If it says yes, I’ll click to reschedule. If it says no, I’ll be deemed to have served my obligatory service and can’t be called for 3 years.

    4 years ago I was scheduled for jury duty two days before Pesach. I showed up and was sent to a courtroom for questioning. The bailiff was laughing his head off, knowing I’d be excused because I know almost all the lawyers and judges too well. There was a new kid prosecutor going through the background of the case. He asked if any of the jury pool knew any of the lawyers, defendant, detectives or the judge. I raised my hand and was asked who I knew. I replied all of them. I referred the defendant to his defense attorney, my son in law………..the prosecutor’s jaw dropped and he said excused.

    in reply to: Do you do this? #1366270
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @slominer
    Back in the late 70s I was in both the kosher bakery and restaurant and catering business. Health Department inspections vary greatly by municipality.
    In the New Haven area they were very tough and frequent, in Bridgeport not as tough and once a year

    in reply to: Do you do this? #1366269
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Meno…………
    twice ion all the years I’ve gone with the shochet to the local farm he rejected an animal. The animal was then processed and sold to non-Jewish customers (providing it meets government standards) and the farmer provided another animal for slaughter

    in reply to: Do you do this? #1366049
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @DovidBT
    For an understanding of the problems with spoiled meat sold in major chains I suggest you Google ‘Food Lion Spoiled Meat Scandal’
    Back in the early 1990s this 1100+ store chain in the American South was found to be bleaching tainted meat to make it look better for sale and remove odor.
    Tricks of the trade are to turn the bad side down on the foam trays, to mix in fresh red liquid to old ground beef to refresh the color.
    Nowadays much supermarket ground beef is in packages that has been gassed to preserve the food for a longer period of time.
    Most OOT cities with populations of 50,000-200,000 no longer have a kosher butcher shop. Kosher factory produce poultry and meats are sold in general supermarkets such as Stop and Shop or Shop Rite. The meat always is a sickly color in mini cryovac packages, the poultry (generally Empire) looks better, but when opened is never as clean as the same brand sold in fresh packs in a kosher supermarket….population 150,000 in the late 50s, early 60s>>>
    I grew up in New Haven, there were 12 kosher butchers and 9 kosher bakeries. Today there is one butcher and no kosher stand alone bakeries. There are a few kosher in-store bakeries in Stop and Shop. Same population numbers.
    I live near Bridgeport, the largest population city in CT. My wife grew up here. Bridgeport had 3 kosher butchers and 2 kosher bakeries until the 70s, now nothing.

    Three things killed off the local kosher butchers…………..
    #1 The death of Euro-Traditional Jews (non-Orthodox) of my parents generation. They were children of immigrants who kept nominally kosher kitchens so bubbe and Zaidy would feel comfortable eating in their homes.
    #2 The decimation of the local slaughtering and processing business by the emergence of factory farming and the Agriprocessors of the world.
    #3 The shift to the right by the current frum community. Now everything had to be Glatt. Local supervision wasn’t good enough, local shechita wasn’t acceptable. Food orders would be placed on Tuesday nights for delivery Thursday morning from suppliers in Brooklyn. All of a sudden the local day schools, yeshivos and shuls were buying from out of town while still expecting the local merchant to be financially supportive of the institutions….it drove them out of business.

    in reply to: Why don’t shadchanim get paid as much as psychologists? #1365964
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    I haven’t read the letter……………………
    BUT, many a shadchan gets paid when a marriage takes place after the introduction.
    The shadcan may have worked many hours to find a suitable match. The client may have needed to date many potential mates before a successful match was made. Then the hourly rate is far lower than a case where the Shadchan spends 1/2 an hour with the girl (or parents), 1/2 an hour with the boy (or parents) then makes one phone call to set up the date…the couple hit it off immediately, both sets of parents approve and a chasunah results. The hourly rate can be very high.

    The psychologist has a static hourly rate and collects for each 50 minute hour that a patient is seen.

    So if a Shadchan gets $2000 for a marriage and it takes 2 hours work, the Shadcan makes $1000 per hour before expenses. If it takes 40 hours work over 6 months to a year, the hourly rate is only $50

    The Psychologist may be billing $125 per hour. If the therapist takes insurance the actual rate they receives may be as low as $35…the rest is written off. The psychologist has to work and bill 16 hours to a private pay patient to earn the $2000.

    in reply to: Do you do this? #1365957
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Lightbrite
    Regarding store made chopped/ground meat, etc. a couple of stories.
    My mother told me that she never had hamburgers growing up. Her mother did not trust meat ground by the butcher…never mind what was already ground in the case, but even if you picked a piece of beef and asked that be ground fresh…………WHY? She didn’t trust the butchers to properly clean the grinders during the business day. Maybe they properly cleansed it at the end of the day’s business, but she was afraid of germs growing on the equipment during the workday.

    In 1972 I was at a local general supermarket buying a case of soda. A woman came in carrying a huge parcel wrapped in butcher paper. The manager asked her if there was a problem. The lady said’ I just bought this shell of beef and had your butcher cut it into 1″ steaks (FYI Shell steaks are treif sirloin). When I got home, I went to separate the steaks and wrap them for the freezer…I could see that the inner slices of the shell had spoiled, they were off color and stank.’ The manager gave her a refund for the 12 pounds of meat and she left the store. The store manager paged the meat department manager to the service desk. The meat man arrived, the store manager handed him the package and instructed the meat man to ‘grind this up with the next load of 90% lean ground beef.’

    I never bought anything in this store again. The local chain went out of business about 1975.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    I am very careful about cleaning my meat grinders. The sink and dishwasher cycle is not sufficient, after cleansing with hot soapy water, I boil the metal parts, then run them through the dishwasher.

    in reply to: Are out of town communities less judgemental or is that just a mindset #1365948
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Coffee Addict
    My parents and elder siblings moved from NYC to New Haven in 1952. The local Jewish community considered them NYers until their deaths. Only by their grandchildren’s generation was the family considered part of the local Jewish community. With a community dating back 175 years it’s not unusual to have 7th generation locals.

    I was born in New Haven to parents born and educated in NY…For almost 65 years, every time I open my mouth I am accused of being a NYer….

    in reply to: How much unproductive time do you spend online each day? #1364981
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @LilmodUlelamaid

    IIRC sometime in the past year I read Joseph posting that he taught history in the NY public schools

    Now he posts that as a public employee he has accumulated so much time due him for personal days, etc. that he has time for kiruv.

    There are some who have accused Joseph of being a troll, I have found from experience, that trolls trip up eventually and post conflicting information/hints about themselves.

    I’m not saying he is a troll, but stories change on line to fit situations

    in reply to: Do you do this? #1364818
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Lightbrite………..
    our kids probably tasted raw chopped meat from about the age of 3, our grandchildren the same…

    in reply to: Do you do this? #1364816
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @DovidBT
    Avoiding bacteria………..
    I buy primal cuts and butcher them myself under sanitary conditions and cold temperatures. I have never had a problem. I don’t buy prepackaged or store ground beef. I often buy from local farms and have a shochet who will slaughter on site. A non-Jewish neighbor takes the hind quarters. Mrs. CTL and I are old enough to have started our married life when one kashered meat at home (as opposed to buying factory processed and kashered meat) and don’t mind doing so with locally raised beef.

    in reply to: How much unproductive time do you spend online each day? #1364714
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @syaglchochma
    There is a difference between being Chasidish and being a member of a Chasidic sect.

    I’m a misnagid, but say Ebesther, but I also say Tayrah

    in reply to: Do you do this? #1364190
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    My mother OBM always tasted the meat mixture for hamburgers, meatballs and meat loaf and let us kids do so. She also was known to serve steak tartare as an appetizer on melba toast.
    I still eat uncooked chopped meat.

    That said, we do NOT buy ground meat from the butcher, or kosher supermarket. We grind or chop all our meat at home in our kitchen. Different blends of cuts are used for different dishes, as well as different consistencies.

    Our favorite mix of cuts for hamburgers is ground neck and skirt with about a 15% fat content, less fat dries out to quickly on the grill.
    For meatloaf and meatballs we use a coarser grind of shoulder steak about 7-9% fat. More fat yields a slimy feel in the mouth when eating these items.

    Steak tartare is made with asst. cuts of chuck that are hand chopped in a wooden bowl with a hochmesser. It must have chew and bite to it. It is not a pate.

    And as a reply to the OP, we never use ketchup in our mixes

    in reply to: Are out of town communities less judgemental or is that just a mindset #1364189
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @freddyfish
    Talk about judgmental………………………

    Where is the halacha that religious Jews cannot be Zionists?

    OOT, in small communities we leave politics out of our kids’ education.

    in reply to: Makom Kavua – Being Kicked out of your Seat #1363195
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    “bottom line – can a seat be a particular someone’s to the point that they’re entitled to it”

    Absolutely if the shul has sold it to the person. Ownership is more than entitlement

    in reply to: Who’s seat in Shul – seating gabbai #1363188
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Joseph…………………….
    I remember these policies from when I was a child more than 55 years ago…………..
    There are many congregants who have relatives that come for yuntif. I did not state they are coming 45 miles on Yuntif, they may be at the parents for Yuntif. My eldest brother and SIL live 16 miles away and my Eldest sister and BIL live 30 miles away. They will be here for the Yomin Noraim. Our shul also sells associate memberships for those who belong to instate shuls but visit often. It is a nominal fee of $150 per family.

    In many OOT Orthodox there are 3rd and 4th generation members who are not frum and do drive the 40 miles from their homes on Yuntif. They wish to spend Yuntif in the shul where they grew up, where Bubbe and Zaidy’s names are lit up on the Yarhzeit Board for Yom Kippur. They keep paying dues because they want to be buried along with their ancestors in the synagogue’s cemetery and plots are free to members and not sold to non-members.

    Requiring the letter of good standing keeps Jews belonging to and supporting their local shul. This concept was taken in the 1960s from the Jewish Welfare Board which was the umbrella organization for JCCs in the USA. Your membership card from the New Haven JCC was honored at a JCC in Chicago, you were not subject to a guest fee to use the facilities.

    College Students….as I said I grew up in New Haven, Yale Students (all males in those days) were more than welcome. They were considered a good catch for the local girls. Our Shammos married his eldest daughter to one, who went on to serve a lengthy term on The Federal Reserve.

    As for Yeshiva Students…unmarried family members get tickets. I don’t live in an area where there are OOT Yeshiva Students who would be davening in a neighborhood shul and not at their Yeshiva.

    The shuls who generated these policies during the baby boom, predate the MO nomenclature.

    in reply to: Who’s seat in Shul – seating gabbai #1362968
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @iacisrmma
    OOT, shuls are dependent on dues to maintain the buildings and staff year round. Therefore they do not as a rule sell tickets to anyone who lives within 50 miles. You get enough seats for yourself, spouse and unmarried children.
    Visiting out of state relatives may receive tickets when they provide a letter fro their home shul that they are members in good standing with dues paid up to date. College students are welcomed at no charge, just asked to call in advance and be placed on the seating chart.

    in reply to: Makom Kavua – Being Kicked out of your Seat #1362947
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @motcha11
    While your shul may say no one should tell someone else that he is seated in someone else’s seat, I don’t believe that should apply to seats in shuls that are sold for major donations and have name plaques on them.
    A visitor should not presume to seat at a seat with a nameplate unless directed there by the gabbai.

    When I was growing up in New Haven, it was common for families to belong to multiple shuls and pay dues to each and have permanently purchased seats. I remember on Yom Kippur my father would start the day with us boys at one shul and make the rounds of 3 or 4 shuls during the day, greeting friends and relatives. In each shul, the family seats would be open awaiting our arrival. He varied the order each year.

    When my father was niftar in 1989, I received 3 nameplates in the mail from shuls where he had purchased a permanent seat.

    in reply to: Who’s seat in Shul – seating gabbai #1362569
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    I would expect that the man who travels and returns (as a pattern) is entitled to his seat. The newcomer has been ‘squatting’ but has no permanent claim on the seat.m
    In my experience, most shuls that sell tickets offer seats first to the person who bought them the previous year.

    Our shul has brass nameplates on the seatbacks for those who have purchased permanent seats. We don’t sell tickets for the holidays, seats come with membership dues.

    in reply to: How much unproductive time do you spend online each day? #1362467
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    @Ramd0m3x
    I make no secret of my Misnagid Litvak/German background. I am proud of my heritage.

    Why do I assume Joseph is Chadisish? From hundreds of posts he has made. His choice of words, attitudes and experiences…all point to him being Chasidish…and he has never contradicted my deduction. BUT, if he is feeling mischievous he might.

    I always say that growing up and living OOT you have to get along with all Jews. There aren’t enough Frum Jews in most communities to have separate shuls and minyanim. This morning the man davening for the amud at Minyan davened Nusach Ari, tomorrow, I have yarhzeit and will daven for the amud using an old Tikun Meir, nusach ashkenaz. Not a problem

    in reply to: How much unproductive time do you spend online each day? #1362327
    Ex-CTLawyer
    Participant

    BD…………….
    Joseph and I have an unspoken understanding. We are able to tell when the other is posting tongue in cheek.
    When Joseph instigates, he is provoking thought and analysis on the part of CR readers.
    I like to give him a little reality check from time to time,

    This interaction between a Hasid and a Misnagid of Litvak/German background is enjoyable to both of us.
    I can tell you that if need be, Joseph will be there to cover one’s backside.

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