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To Kill a Mockingbird is a favorite of mine, but I didn’t mention it because it’s somewhat “bleak and depressing” and it discusses (alleged) rape and domestic abuse. I think 11th grade girls should be able to handle the themes, but then I don’t run a Chabad school. Out of curiosity, what are some of the bleak and depressing books the administration has chosen? That will give us an idea of what’s acceptable to them.
Bar mitzvah is at age 13. Bas mitzvah is at age 12. QED.
Englishman obviously davens in different shuls than I do. Maybe they’re Sefardi shuls, since according to Aurora, there are fewer Sefardi Leviim than Kohanim.
There was an interesting article in Friday’s WSJ entitled “Are We Really Getting Smarter? Why IQ Scores Keep Rising.” It’s available to read online. It points out that a century ago, most people didn’t have much use for or experience with abstractions. I was thinking that this certainly isn’t the case for learning gemarah. That could explain why Jews have accomplished so much in intellectual fields.
On the ball: You think there are many more Kohanim than Leviim? Do you have any evidence for this other than anecdotal? I can’t remember davening in a shul where the Kohanim outnumbered the Leviim by much if at all. Of course, that’s not proof either way.
The OP doesn’t want bleak or depressing, yet people are recommending things like The Scarlet Letter and Lord of the Flies? I’d recommend Mark Twain — it’s great literature and he was a philo-semite. I’m told that Agatha Christie was an anti-semite.
There are those who claim that many Arabs are descendants of Jews who converted to Islam, whether forcibly or not.
Romney is confused. He says 47% are on the dole. He comes to this conclusion by saying 47% don’t pay income tax.
Our income tax system has become a witches’ cauldron of social and economic programs. If you count all the things in the tax code that really are entitlements, virtually all taxpayers are on the dole in some sense. For instance, the child credit, the mortgage interest deduction, the charitable contribution deduction, the college tuition credit, etc.
If you’re self-employed and making a moderate income, there’s a good chance that you’ll be paying no income tax because of what you’re paying for medical insurance and self-employment tax. You’re still paying lots of money to Uncle Sam in the form of self-employment tax, and you’re no more on the dole than Romney himself, who I’m sure itemizes his deductions.
csar writes: Gottfredson asserted that “Intelligence as measured by IQ tests is the single most effective predictor known of individual performance at school and on the job.”
Depends on the job. Stephen Hawking would not make a good surgeon. I wouldn’t hire Einstein as a hairdresser.
Some private citizens are required to report crimes or suspicions of crimes. For example, teachers are legally required to report signs of child abuse.
First, it’s cojones, not cajones (where’s Haifagirl when we need her?).
Second, by definition a person with cojones isn’t female.
repharim, we’ve already suggested your approach (you want an expensive wedding, you pay the difference for our guests), and it was rejected.
When we first met his parents, we asked how they wanted to split wedding costs. They said either 50-50 or according to number of guests on each side. Assuming they’ll live up to the latter, we’re now thinking that we’ll just invite a lot fewer people for the meal, and ask others just to come for the chuppah or the dancing. This makes me sad — we’d like to invite a lot of out-of-town guests and you can’t invite an out-of-towner just for the chuppah or dancing.
Am I alone, or is there anyone else here who finds the OP’s question offensive? Why not ask “is there a way to tell if a guy will be a competent husband and father?” It’s a two-way street. BTW, I highly recommend the video “Fish Love” on the Aish website.
Wolf (and other interested parties): google moon gravity heavy boots.
Thanks to all of you for your advice. Let me clarify a couple of points. The young man’s family isn’t threatening to call off the wedding, but they’re saying that if it doesn’t meet their standards, only their immediate family will attend. This in itself doesn’t bother me, but I want us (and especially my daughter) to have a good relationship with them. To start off a marriage with angry in-laws is surely a problem.
I’m aware of the potential kashrus issues, and whoever caters it will have to meet our standards. The same is true of tznius as far as we can control that (we can’t enforce a dress code, but we can nix mixed dancing). These issues are simply not negotiable.
His side suggested that we just invite close family since we can’t afford $120 a person. The idea of cutting out our daughter’s friends and our friends is very upsetting.
uneeq has a unique perspective, saying that before the last election blacks voted Republican. Maybe if you go back to the 1870’s, but not in the 20th century and certainly not in the 21st.
I heard an interesting perspective on entitlements a few days ago. Virtually everyone is on the dole in some sense, if you consider things like tax deductions. It’s very hard to reform entitlements because people aren’t willing to sacrifice their particular benefit. Most people don’t trust government to be fair, so they think that they’ll have to make sacrifices while better-connected people won’t.
I think the reason Obama is doing so well in the polls in because Romney is a weak candidate running a weak campaign. His missteps are legion, from not adequately answering the vulture capitalist charges to not releasing his tax returns to criticizing Obama’s response to the murder of the ambassador to Libya.
R’ Moshe was niftar in 1986. The CD first appeared in the U.S. in 1983. In the beginning, there were very few plants that could create CDs, so they didn’t replace other media for several years. I suspect R’ Moshe didn’t write about CDs; perhaps he wrote about cassettes or phonograph records.
Help!! We’re Ashkenazim. Our daughter is marrying a Bucharian. His parents want a traditional Bucharian wedding. Neither side is wealthy, but since his side’s guests will be helping them to pay for the wedding, they can afford it. We can’t ask our guests to chip in, so we can only afford a more modest wedding. We want to compromise, but everybody tells us it’s not possible — if it’s not extravagant, it’s not Bucharian so it’s unacceptable to their side. The couple just wants to get married — they don’t want to hear about this problem.
Surely others have encountered this kind of situation. How have they handled it?
Don’t use Raid — it doesn’t get rid of the nest. If they’re the little ants, use Combat Source Kill Ant (formerly called Combat Ant Killing Gel). It comes in a syringe.
If they’re big ants, they’re probably carpenter ants. You may want to use a professional exterminator for these, since they can actually damage your house.
There’s a problem with the blanket prohibition against so-called non-kosher phones. AFAIK, kosher phones don’t allow texting. Voice-only phones are useless for deaf people. Which isn’t to say that they need smart phones.
“men that are neither her spouse or husband”
So her spouse and her husband are different people?
It’s my understanding that all sorts of devices, including iPhones, can be filtered. I also know that there are all sorts of “services” that are assur that are available from any phone, including your grandmother’s wired phone.
While the majority of Jews worldwide may be Ashkenazim, the majority of Ashkenazim aren’t frum, and I suspect the number of non-frum Yiddish speakers is rapidly declining. That means that most Jews don’t know Yiddish. OTOH, neither do they know Hebrew.
Vochindik, a major reason Yiddish speakers “have a leg up in learning Torah” over chiloni Hebrew speakers has nothing to do with language. If you have background knowledge, learning is easier than if you don’t.
Vochindik, what about more affordable housing? Not that 400-500K is affordable, of course.
Every child is unique. A school may be great for one child but a disaster for another. That’s particularly true of schools that have a cookie-cutter approach. I’m not mentioning names, but I hold a particular Brooklyn high school partially responsible for a child going OTD.
iced, I’m not sure what you mean by “a Jewish hat.” Before the war, the well-dressed non-Jew wore a fedora. It most likely was non-black, but so was the hat worn by yeshiva bochurim.
Hmm, I thought episode 5 was weak — one joke stretched out forever. In any case, if you click on “About” you’ll find where the website’s name comes from.
I did a back-of-the-envelope calculation, and came up with less than a dollar an hour for 50 fluorescent fixtures, each with 4 32-watt tubes.
Nevertheless, yeshivos have large electric bills. Yeshiva of Far Rockaway has a campaign every summer to raise funds to pay the electric bill. They post their bill, and it’s in the thousands. Obviously, the major factor is air conditioning.
I believe the introduction to the Birnbaum siddur (anyone still have one?) makes a point of the fact that all the type is the same size. Artscroll pretty much uses the same size except for seasonal additions. I suspect the real reason for older siddurim using multiple sizes is to make things fit better, preventing what printers call “widows” (the last line of a paragraph on the next page).
I’m with mason — Charles Schwab has an excellent deal. Open a joint account (brokerage and checking, but you don’t really have to use the brokerage part). Give her the ATM card. She can use it at any ATM. There are no fees and the exchange rate is good. You can transfer money from your bank account. The only downside is that the transfer takes a few days, so you have to plan ahead.
Just to clarify: The Book of Our Heritage is an excellent and very readable treatment of the entire yearly cycle. It’s three volumes.
Assuming what The Wolf said, there’s a very good reason to say it — it’s a segulah for parnassa. I’m annoyed by shuls (like my usual place) that don’t say it. I say most of it while the rav is completing his long shemona esrei, and the rest before I leave shul.
I don’t live in Brooklyn. I say GS to men and boys unless they’re engaged in conversation. Almost all respond. I only say GS to women and girls I know, but if other women/girls instigate, I return the greeting. Am I a shaygetz? Oh, never mind. My first sentence contains the answer.
Curiosity, if the fish is big enough, it won’t be able to fit through the head hole. Sort of like the kli with holes that are smaller than pomegranates.
Kosher L’Pesach white vinegar is synthetic.
My wife is a baalas tshuva. Her parents are not frum. One of our wedding guests was a chashuva rav associated with the Agudah. My mother-in-law was very impressed when he shook her hand — it was a big kiddush Hashem because it helped her be more accepting of her daughter’s and new son-in-law’s frumkeit.
If cholov yisrael spoils more quickly, it’s because the stores are negligent in how they keep it. In Queens and the 5 Towns it’s not all that expensive — I can easily get it for $2.50 for a half gallon. I never have a problem with spoilage (unless my kids forget to put it back in the refrigerator). If your milk consumption is so low that you keep a bottle for 2 weeks or more, YMMV.
CY is pretty much only available where there is a concentrated frum population. If you’re traveling, that means BYOM.
Q: Why is the sky blue?
A: In order to understand the answer, you need to know some of the properties of light… blah blah blah…
Q: Why do I need to use “because” to answer a “why” question?
A: As demonstrated above, you don’t.
I’m no expert, but the following is my understanding. Economists, please feel free to correct me.
The US government does print more money — that’s basically what QE2 (quantitative easing) is about. The Federal Reserve Bank is in charge of monetary policy, part of which is deciding how much money is available. “Printing money” should not be taken literally — there’s a lot more money than there is cash. Most money exists only as an entry is some computer. The Fed can create money by lending money to banks.
The problem with creating more money is that it causes inflation. Think about it — if you had unlimited funds, you probably wouldn’t worry about how much something cost, so you’d pay whatever the seller was charging. So when there’s lots of cash chasing limited goods and services, the cost of those goods and services goes up.
Goq: the OP may be Imelda Marcos.
Shopping613, I agree with the prohibition of words on clothes on many levels. “Juicy” is way over the top — think about it. The tznius issue for the others is that writing attracts attention. I also can’t understand why people are advertising without getting paid for it.
Here’s an amusing story about hoodies in EY. My daughter was wearing a hoodie in Yerushalayim because it was cold. She was walking quickly, I think near the Kotel. The police stopped her because (as she put it) “they thought I was a terrorist.”
fedup, the lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner were written in 1814, slightly less than 200 years ago.
Suppose the third party is Jewish owned.
RebRY, you say they have shailos with meat. What about fish?
ZahavasDad, it’s certainly possible to make healthy cholent. In fact, my wife does it — lean beef, beans, barley, onions, garlic, a reasonable amount of salt, and spices/flavorings. High in protein and fiber.
Zahavasdad: “Since these tickets have been issued directly by MetLife Stadium, under no circumstances will we be able to exchange or replace any lost tickets.”
ConservativeJ: “Do not bring commercial cameras/audio/video equipment, laser pointers or other electronic equipment.”
(Quotes are from flyers mailed with the tickets. Interpret them as you like.)
Non-profits (and politicians) aren’t required to abide by the do-not-call list. As for vendors, they’re breaking the law. What’s particularly egregious is the recorded calls that tie up your line — they don’t disconnect when you hang up. Suppose you had an emergency! There’s a certain furniture store that pulls this trick. They’ve lost my business for life.
One solution that sort of works in not to pick up unless you recognize the caller ID.
My wife commented on women who wear shaitels but whose clothes are too tight and too short. “Why do they wear shaitels?” she asked. “Maybe it’s a bad hair day,” I deadpanned.
Is there any evidence that this machlokes is true other than that questionable article posted elsewhere on this site? That quote about 80% of the attendees being MO is a red flag that the article is incorrect.
I’m assuming you got tickets. If so, there was a flyer in the envelope with the tickets that describes the various options. They don’t recommend driving because of the traffic. In addition, the parking fee is steep ($25). There are buses from Port Authority and NJ Transit trains to Secaucus with a connecting train to the stadium.
Of course, this is assuming that you’re coming from Manhattan or someplace from which Manhattan is reasonable to get to. It would help if you told us where you’re coming from.
Choppy, I beg to differ regarding the OTD rate of Bais Yaakovs. It may be considerably lower than Syag’s class, but it’s not “very very small.” Unfortunately, I have no numbers, just anecdotal evidence.