WolfishMusings

Purim costumes go on sale Nov. 1. 😉

Heh. I use the same policy with regard to Valentine’s Day. 🙂

Eeees and I celebrate the anniversary of the day we met (separately from our wedding anniversary) — and that date is in late February. I get to pick up lots of good stuff for the occasion every year after Feb. 14 has passed.

The Wolf

If we had candy in the house for Halloween kids, it would never make it to them. It would all end up in my stomach. 🙂

The Wolf

Ben Torah,

So, then, what derech of teshuva do you recommend for those of us who met our future spouses in this manner?

Ben Torah? Can I take your lack of answer for an affirmation that there is no teshuva possible for one such as I?

The Wolf

Imagine you are a dayan in a capital case. There are two kosher eidim, and everything has been met. But, a bas kol says, “he didn’t do it.” Would you execute the innocent “murderer”? What would G-d want you to do?

Considering the fact that a conviction in Bais Din is not final until the execution is actually carried out, I might think that there may be grounds to re-open the case. Is HKBH worse than the condemned himself? If the condemned himself can re-open his case with new information, I think HKBH Himself can too.

The Wolf

What’s on your mind?

I challenge your assumption that I actually have one.

That being said, I, sadly, have lost all interest in politics.

As you might have guessed, I love debating. Give me an issue and some information to work with and I’ll go head-to-head with people. But that only applies as long as we stick to the issues. Once the debate turns nasty, personal or ugly, I lose interest.

I lost interest in politics shortly after the 2000 presidential election. To me, that was when politics *really* started turning nasty. Perhaps it’s because I used to listen to a lot of talk radio — both sides do an excellent job of demonizing their opponents rather than actually debating the issues. To me, that’s a total turn-off.

I’ve since found that it’s nearly impossible to debate politics with people without it turning into a hatefest. It’s not about issues anymore — now it’s about how the other party is corrupt, only in it for the money/power, are personal lowlifes, etc.

Feh. Life’s too short and I don’t need the aggravation. Yes, I’ll vote on the issues… but I don’t debate politics anymore.

That’s what’s on my mind (if I can be said to have one).

The Wolf

How to type Hebrew

Hit the “H” key, followed by the “e” key, then the “b” key… 🙂

The (very helpful) Wolf

In the spirit of the OP, there are very few, if any, people on earth who give their children to Molech.

The Wolf

YOu can make your bread once its baked milchig (butter..) But you cant initially bake it milchig unless you put a sign on it.

I know, I know. I’m just kidding around. (Hence the smiley).

The Wolf

I suspect that all our pictures, even those more in the know will be Dali-esque.

Ooooh… I hope so. I love Dali’s work. I even have one of his prints (Metamorphosis of Narcissus) on my desk here at work. 🙂

The Wolf

I am reading a Mishpacha Magazine article that basically blames all of the teens going OTD that we are seeing on the internet and specificly improper images.

Anyone who points to one cause (i.e. blames all) for OTD (whatever that one cause is) is terribly oversimplifying a very complex issue and clearly has not done due diligence.

The Wolf

milchig bread” which is assur

Cool. I had no idea I was sinning every time I buttered hot toast and ate it. 🙂

The Wolf

I don’t know about this particular offer, but I would advise you to adhere to the following two rules:

1. If it’s so easy to make money this way, everyone would be doing it. The fact that everyone is *not* doing it indicates that it’s not so easy. That’s not to say that it’s impossible, but just that it’s probably not as easy as the pitchman claims.

2. The old adage “If it sounds to good to be true….” should always be heeded.

The Wolf

My point wasn’t the veracity of the story per se, but the fact that in the story she was credited.

But if the story is false, then what difference does it make?

The Wolf

even the worse sinner here, Squeak.

I’m not sure what to make of this clause. Did you mean to refer to me as the worst sinner?

I totally missed that! I thought *I* was the worst sinner. 🙂

The Wolf

Does the lack of opportunity to perform an aveira make one virtuous? Does a person locked away in a prison deserve praise for not breaking and entering into someone’s house?

By the same token, if the lack of opportunity to perform an aveira DOES make one virtuous, wouldn’t it also hold true that the lack of opportunity to perform a mitzvah makes one less virtuous? By that theory, I’m to be held accountable for not keeping the mitzvah of yibum even though I do not have a brother.

The Wolf

I guess I must be the only person on Earth who hasn’t heard this story.

The Wolf

I know a fellow who had his chest hair shaved off without asking a shaila.

Of course, the fact that it was for life-saving surgery might have been a factor.

The Wolf

I, in all honesty, have no idea what the heck you’re talking about.

The Wolf

I don’t think anybody would consider two slices a snack.

For someone of my girth, two or three pies can be considered a snack.

The Wolf

if you were FFB, would you marry a BT?

My wife did.

The Wolf

When there is 15,000 – 20,000 murders PER YEAR (compared to a Jewish Beis Din having ONE death case per SEVENTY [or seven] YEARS)

I think you read that wrong. No where does the Talmud state that a Bais Din had only one capital case in seven(ty) years. The correct reading is that a Bais Din that *carried out* a capital sentence in that time period was called a “murderous Bais Din.”

Considering the near-impossibility of actually imposing the death penalty under Bais Din (how many criminals do you know that are going to respond [as required] “Yes, even so I’m going to do it” to a warning?) and given the statements by other Tana’aim (was it R. Akiva who stated that if it were up to him no one would be executed?) it is, indeed, a wonder if a Bais Din actually executed one person in seven years.

But that does not mean that they only had one case in that time. I’d venture that they had many cases and that the vast majority resulted in an acquittal (or, perhaps, lacking a proper warning, witnesses and the like, were never brought to Bais Din in the first place.)

The Wolf

Ben Torah,

So, then, what derech of teshuva do you recommend for those of us who met our future spouses in this manner?

Obviously I don’t have (and never can have) charatah because it led to my meeting my wife, with whom I have been happily married for almost twenty years and with whom I have three wonderful children. If I had to do it again, I would in a heartbeat — I can’t imagine life without my wife and kids.

So, in my situation, how does one do teshuva? Or am I burdened to live with the sin for the rest of my life?

The Wolf

My chumash does not say “Lo Sigzol MaiAchicha…” It simply says “Lo Sigzol.”

The Wolf

The first Kosher by Design book has a wonderful hickory smoked chicken smothered in onions recipe.

We found that we liked it better when we substituted mesquite for hickory — but both ways were good.

I don’t have the book handy, but you can find the recipe by previewing the book on Amazon. Then go buy the book — it’s a wonderful cookbook.

The Wolf

I know this is *asking* for flaming, but I’ve always been a sucker for punishment.

Many of us like to bash the Reform and Conservative movements for their lack of halachic observance. I’ll even grant that criticism for some of those people may indeed be deserved. But the vast majority of them did not grow up with (Orthodox) Torah values at all and cannot be expected to want to keep an Orthodox lifestyle. As such, I think that instead of bashing them, we should try to encourage them whenever possible.

Example: The vast majority of my extended family is not frum. Nonetheless, they are “devout” Reform Jews. They attend their Temple every Saturday, they observe the holidays (even the “unpopular” ones like Succos & Shavuous) to some extent. They maintain *active* Jewish identities, including sending their kids (at their own expense) for Hebrew and Judaism lessons.

Are they completely halachic in their observance? Sadly, no. Yes, they don’t keep Shabbos as you or I might. They eat non-kosher. They even go mixed dancing. I’m not saying that we should endorse or even condone such things. But we should acknowledge what they do keep and encourage them to continue doing so (and go further).

We should be acknowledging that they maintain an active Jewish identity rather than give it up entirely and completely assimilate into the background.

We should be acknowledging that they take the pains to sometimes eat kosher and keep at least some aspects of Shabbos and the holidays.

We should be acknowledging that they give tzedaka to Jewish causes (even if they aren’t always Orthodox Jewish causes).

And that’s what I do with my family. I don’t harangue them for driving to shul on Shabbos. I don’t yell at them for eating non-kosher. Instead, I tell them that it’s wonderful that they’re having a seder. I tell them that it’s fantastic that my cousin sends her kids off to Hebrew school twice a week after public school. I smile broadly when they tell me about the sukkah they built for their Temple and about their plans to use it.

It’s easy to bash people because they aren’t as observant as you or I. And, again, I’m not saying that we have to accept or condone non-halachic acts. But I’ve always been a big believer in the concept of catching more flies with honey than with vinegar. I think that if we spent more time praising the positive rather than bashing the negative, we’d all be much better off.

Flame away.

The Wolf