kapusta, now we all want to know the blonde joke – if it is CR suitable, of course. Please.

Why don’t you bake brownies? You can even make them from a mix. You can also take cake mixes and “doctor” them up. There is an easy recipe for doing this – I can look it up for you. You add oil, instant pudding and chocolate chips (to a choc. cake) and for different flavored cakes, you just add different pudding plus the oil. It is really easy. Do you want the recipe?

According to the translation that I read, you are supposed to do kapporos with a goat. That is the only creature mentioned.

May Hashem watch over her and grant her Refuah Shleima.

D/T the fact that I live in a condo with a teeny balcony that has a complete roof (and a cruel condo board) I, alas, cannot have a sukkah. I make good use of the one at my shul, which is enormous.

Baal Habooze, I like your take on YK. A ‘spiritual shower” is a wonderful thing. I often feel like that after Shabbat services, particularly if the Parsha was inspiring, the davening and Torah reading were great and even the sermon was interesting. I suppose I should think of YK as a “spiritual schvitz” as it is a much deeper cleansing and must last a year, B’H’. I have so much to be thankful for and the coming year promises to bring even more great things (my first trip to Eretz), so I shall definitely be keeping your words in mind. Todah Rabah.

YT, I wish that I were your doc – I would have said “no fasting” as you are requiring omeprazole to ease your stomach from the side effects of the other meds. In any case, you had best eat a lot today – try a big bowl of mac and cheese for lunch and have a big helping of some kind of lockshin as a side dish for dinner. That should provide you with ample carbs. I wish you your easiest fast ever and that the coming year should bring you and your family the best of health and parnassah.

Ferd, exactly what are your qualifications for denegrating a noted speaker? Any psychiatrist, psychologist or other health care professional will tell you that bad news (whether personal or political) can increase stress and stress may be bad for your health. First you say that because it is Erev YK you shall refrain, which I take to mean from speaking lashon hora, then you call the Rebbetzin’s audience a bunch of clueless women. I can assure you that amongst her audience are very “clued in” woman – and high numbers of them, many with university degrees and many holding down very responsible jobs. Nobody is forcing you to listen to her message, but you certainly make yourself look less than perfect (which we all are) by criticizing those who do.

Yehudah, please ask about the fast. It doesn’t sound to me (an old nurse) like you should be fasting at all.

Stamper, I just cringe when I see the word Jew used as you used it. Surely you could have found another way to make your point.

Of course you must return the money. This morning the identical thing happened to me. I am trying to quit smoking and am using both the patch and an electronic cigarette (with great success, I might add). I ordered some refills and an extra battery. The batteries are 15.95 each. Instead of sending me one battery, they sent one box of five batteries. That is quite a financial error for a small company. I have emailed them and asked them what they want me to do. I said that I will mail them back if they pay the postage. I shall update you after I hear from them.

When I worked I always had the bedroom alarm clock set 10 minutes fast. When the alarm rang I always jumped out of bed before I realized that I had spare time. In that firt moment of groggy awakening, I always managed to fool myself and I was quite wide awake (well, at least had my feet on the ground) before realizing I had extra time.

For Shticky Guy – an entertaining tip

So your hosting skills, they do not slip

You won’t get un-nerved

Remembering what you served

Keep notes into which you can dip.

(whenever I have company, I write down who I had, what I served, the occasion, the color of the tablecloth and what the centerpiece (if any) was – I know what I served to somebody 15 years ago.)

Realist, you are a little confused. Shredredy does not visit the CR. He posts on a different website.

Must you be an American resident to sign the petition?

You sound like a very level headed young lady. You cannot do too many things at once and do them all well. You say that presently your priority is to finish your degree. As you say that will be within the next year, then concentrate on doing that. After you graduate, you will then have the time to enter shidduchim and be able to concentrate on that. Trying to get the maximum out of a date while worrying about a term paper that is due decreases the chances of both being done well. You are one smart cookie and I predict a happy future for you.

To most of the commenters here: Not all Conservative synagogues are egalitarian. It is up to each individual one to decide for themselves if this is what they wish to do. They have definitely NOT abandoned kashruth. I don’t know what would give you that idea. You have them mixed up with the Reform movement.

How old are you? I think you are probably much too young to be participating in CR discussions.

YT, I am so happy that you were able to get to shul. It must have felt wonderful just to be able to get out of the house – and as the outing was to shul, its a wonderful thing. I hope that you are not considering fasting on YK. If you are wavering on this decision, please, speak to your Rav and your doctor. I don’t think either of them would want you to put yourself at any risk. At this point in your recovery your body requires protein – and a lot of it.

Even if you have an ultrasound, they always ask you if you want to know the gender of the child. If you don’t and it is time for them to scan “that” area of the baby, they tell you to look away. It is not only Jewish people that often won’t purchase baby items prior to the birth. I have been told the same thing by many gentiles, so I wonder if it is a superstition or if it is from some part of the Torah that the goyim know as the Old Testament.

Many years ago my aunt took a flight and arrived 5 minutes before she left. (Of course, I must add that she was on a 55 minute flight and she was flying during the night when the clocks changed from daylight to standard time.)

usa-tralian, what a wonderful story. It reminds of the stories told by Rabbonim to make a point when teaching. However, I am very happy that I am not your plumber, but this event will give you some extra assets to donate to tzedaka. Co-incidentally, yesterday while walking across a parking lot to go to a Judaica store, I found a coin on the ground. As soon as I entered the shop I walked to the area near the cashier and dropped the coin into a tzedaka box. I know that Hashem did not mean for me to keep the money – even though it was a small amount.

am yisroel chai and everyone else who is dearly missing a loved one – I cannot say anything more than what aries did so eloquently. I was also blessed to have my mother for 92 years and it is just 3 years since we lost her earthly body. I know that she is somewhere, still laughing and asking anyone under 60 if they are married, because has she “got someone for you”. After quite a long period of sadness when thinking of her, I am now able to laugh out loud when I think of the things that she said. I am now with my family in Toronto for the Yonmtovim and my daughter and I have mentioned her in our conversations several times daily – always with laughter because she loved to laugh and, as everyone called her, she was the lady with the million dollar smile. So, eventually things will get better and the good memories will overtake the bad ones. I know that it is difficult to believe at this time, but it will happen. I wish you a peaceful New Year.

What metal are the earrings and what color is the metal? I have been geeting irritated from a pair of white gold studs because they are old and probably contain nickel – the usual culprit for irritation. The jeweller rhodium plated them for me and I have had no problems since. Most white metal – white gold, sterling silver and even platinum is rhodium plated because it makes the metal very bright and shiny. If I am not mistaken, it is a derivative of platinum. I paid 20.00 to have this done. I don’t know what can be done for yellow colored metal.

KB, my cataract experience was very different from most people’s. Firstly, I had not noticed any change in my vision and only required the surgery on one eye. At my yearly exam, the doctor said that I was developing a cataract. The following year she told me it was ready to be removed. I had it done a couple of weeks later and had a soft lens implanted. For the next couple of days my vision was very “crisp” and I didn’t need to use my “over the counter” reading glasses, but within a week or so, I needed them again. I was told that was very normal although my friend had both eyes done a few weeks apart and no longer needs her bifocals at all. She wears a very weak OTC reader. About a year ago, I was told that I am developing a “secondary” cataract on the operative eye and am developing a cataract on the unoperated eye. I am told that the secondary cataract is treated by a zap from a laser right in the office. A couple of weeks ago I was told that I can have the unoperated eye done whenever I feel it is the right time. I suppose that one of these days I shall do it – in the spring, after my trip to Israel (insurance reasons). I am beginning to notice that small print is little more difficult to read these days and I use the strongest OTC lenses that I can find – 3.50. I don’t feel like paying for prescription glasses before I discuss the option of having a “reading” lens implanted at the time of the surgery. This is a fairly new development (within the past 8 -10 years) and only became available in Canada a short time after my original cataract surgery. I had no post-op problems with the first surgery. I hope that I have given you enough information for your project. I forgot to mention that the doctor told me the reason that I developed only one cataract (and at a relatively young age – 60) was because I had been on a high dose of prednisone for quite some time, followed by a low dose for about a year to treat an autoimmune disease. This was about 4 year before developing the cataract. Apparently, prednison can cause an earlier onset of cataracts.

yenta. you should go to a medical supply house and have one of their specialists fit you properly. Compression hose come in different strengths – I believe measured in mm of hg, like blood pressure. You may require a script from your doctor. Perhaps you may wish to start with a good quality support hose that may be purchased in department stores and some pharmacies. I just checked the package of the compression hose that I wore after I broke my hips and after my hip replacements. The original script was given to me by the ortho surgeon and they are 20-30 mmHg.