I thought I pretty much dealt with a life time's worth of stupid these past few weeks, but apparently, Gd is trying to push the limit of my endurance.
I came home VERY late (12:40 am) to be exact. My mom happened to be up and so she told me all about my sister's teacher, who in my book, should be fired for all the stupid she managed to spew within the 4 months that passed of this school year (see: These People Should Not Teach )
Ok, so, I'll be honest I haven't been updating myself much with wacko frum things (I've been busy lately). Well, so anyway, it seems (again I did not look this up) as if some Rosh Yeshiva or some "Gadol" (is there a difference?) has decided recently to speak out against texting.
My sister's teacher was relaying the message to the girls, and one of the girls asked "What is so wrong with texting?" and the teacher said "It can lead to talking to boys..." (I'm not even going to delve into the fact that you cannot just randomly text a boy, you have to know him *already* to do that).
Now...wtf...really...wtf (wth is just not enough)...wanna guess what the rest of the "..." led to?
NO...don't try...you won't get it...its out of this world!
The teacher said that "...and one should commit suicide rather than doing that"
hmm...so lets see... Lets go back into my past...
I woulda been dead the day of my 12th birthday! Heck, I probably wouldn't have ever been conceived...nor Cain and Abel...
WTF!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Tznius monitors
I was randomly wandering around different Tshirt sites, and I decided that this Tshirt would be the best tshirt for Tznius monitors to wear!!
How amazing would it be if B"Y and Saudi police modesty patrol (or the equivalent) would be wearing that sort of Tshirt as their uniform!
The only thing that needs to change is the color. Red is taboo.
How amazing would it be if B"Y and Saudi police modesty patrol (or the equivalent) would be wearing that sort of Tshirt as their uniform!
The only thing that needs to change is the color. Red is taboo.
Meme!
So I figured I'll do what Babysitter did by combining two meme's into one.
Book Meme
Here are the rules: Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 56. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your journal/blog along with these instructions. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST. Tag five other people to do the same.
You hadn't had much food, because you saved money to finish your drawing, but still you had to cook something and you hadn't paid for it....All right, that's nothing, you can laugh at that. But finally you'll get into a man's office with your drawing, and you'll curse yourself for taking so much space of his air with your body, and you'll try to squeeze yourself out of his site, so that he won't see you, so that he won't hear your voice begging him, pleading, your voice licking his knees; you'll loathe yourself for it, but you won't care, if only he'd let you put up that building, you won't care, you'll want to rip your insides open to show him, because if he saw what's there, he'd have to let you put it up.
This came from "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. I cannot explain what the qoute is about, because I haven't read the book yet. My mom is almost finished with it. When she is done, only then will I actually begin to read it. Though I can imagine it has something to do with capitalism. lol. And the guy being an architect.
Sevent Facts About Me, Meme
I was tagged by both The Babysitter and Material Maidel for this one.
Here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people (if possible) at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.
[1] I cannot go to bed without taking a shower first. Meaning, I must have wet hair when I go to sleep. If I have a high fever, I still shower. If for whatever reason I fall asleep without a shower (and this rarely ever happens, like once in 5 years). I change my bed sheets, or else I wouldn't be able to fall asleep the next night. Shabbos is an exception. But if I spend shabbos at home (and I usually do), I usually have my hair in a bun so that it doesn't dry by bed time.
[2] I am obsessed with the game Sims. I just love that game. I mastered it already. I have so much fun playing Gd. I can play hours on end.
[3] When I was a toddler I refused to eat anything that was red. This includes strawberries, cherries, tomatoes, watermelon, even red candy. Maybe it was the fear of communism my parents instilled in me, as they were refugees from the USSR. My mom thinks the reason I got over it, was because I was once at a party, and all the little kids were eating pizza, and I must of realized it wasn't that bad. The only exclusively red thing I don't like now are tomatoes.
[4] I have low cholestoral and low blood pressure. If I get worked up, its a good thing. Stupid people are actually good for my health, just bad for my IQ development. :). About a month ago, a doctor actually encouraged me to eat MORE red meat. :)
[5] My favorite holiday is pesach. All the cleaning may be a complete pain in the tush, but once the holiday begins, and the house is clean, and one can relax, the feeling of relief is just priceless.
[6] I think being "cultured" is a waste of time. Why is wasting time learning about artists important? Or what about music? I'm greatful that Gd created such talented people, but to value those who "study" this stuff, but have no talent themselves, is just a crock...atleast in my opinion.
[7] I hate writing facts about myself. I'm a pretty upfront person. It's not like the stuff I wrote about were a secret I woulda never written a blog post about in the future had I needed a topic!
****
And I'm not tagging anyone, because when I went around to see who was tagged, pretty much everyone was. So ...enjoy!
Book Meme
Here are the rules: Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 56. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your journal/blog along with these instructions. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST. Tag five other people to do the same.
You hadn't had much food, because you saved money to finish your drawing, but still you had to cook something and you hadn't paid for it....All right, that's nothing, you can laugh at that. But finally you'll get into a man's office with your drawing, and you'll curse yourself for taking so much space of his air with your body, and you'll try to squeeze yourself out of his site, so that he won't see you, so that he won't hear your voice begging him, pleading, your voice licking his knees; you'll loathe yourself for it, but you won't care, if only he'd let you put up that building, you won't care, you'll want to rip your insides open to show him, because if he saw what's there, he'd have to let you put it up.
This came from "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. I cannot explain what the qoute is about, because I haven't read the book yet. My mom is almost finished with it. When she is done, only then will I actually begin to read it. Though I can imagine it has something to do with capitalism. lol. And the guy being an architect.
Sevent Facts About Me, Meme
I was tagged by both The Babysitter and Material Maidel for this one.
Here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people (if possible) at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.
[1] I cannot go to bed without taking a shower first. Meaning, I must have wet hair when I go to sleep. If I have a high fever, I still shower. If for whatever reason I fall asleep without a shower (and this rarely ever happens, like once in 5 years). I change my bed sheets, or else I wouldn't be able to fall asleep the next night. Shabbos is an exception. But if I spend shabbos at home (and I usually do), I usually have my hair in a bun so that it doesn't dry by bed time.
[2] I am obsessed with the game Sims. I just love that game. I mastered it already. I have so much fun playing Gd. I can play hours on end.
[3] When I was a toddler I refused to eat anything that was red. This includes strawberries, cherries, tomatoes, watermelon, even red candy. Maybe it was the fear of communism my parents instilled in me, as they were refugees from the USSR. My mom thinks the reason I got over it, was because I was once at a party, and all the little kids were eating pizza, and I must of realized it wasn't that bad. The only exclusively red thing I don't like now are tomatoes.
[4] I have low cholestoral and low blood pressure. If I get worked up, its a good thing. Stupid people are actually good for my health, just bad for my IQ development. :). About a month ago, a doctor actually encouraged me to eat MORE red meat. :)
[5] My favorite holiday is pesach. All the cleaning may be a complete pain in the tush, but once the holiday begins, and the house is clean, and one can relax, the feeling of relief is just priceless.
[6] I think being "cultured" is a waste of time. Why is wasting time learning about artists important? Or what about music? I'm greatful that Gd created such talented people, but to value those who "study" this stuff, but have no talent themselves, is just a crock...atleast in my opinion.
[7] I hate writing facts about myself. I'm a pretty upfront person. It's not like the stuff I wrote about were a secret I woulda never written a blog post about in the future had I needed a topic!
****
And I'm not tagging anyone, because when I went around to see who was tagged, pretty much everyone was. So ...enjoy!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
In Honor of Christmas
I sit next to my manager at work, so I hear just about everything that goes on in the office. I actually learned to tune everyone out, so I don't listen to as much as I could (a lot is really boring), but when I do tune in, its because I know the convo will be of interest.
A few days ago a non-frum lady (Jewish, a mother of two young kids) came over to my manager and told her a story about how her 4 year old wants to celebrate Christmas. So the lady tells her son "We don't celebrate Christmas"
Her son went crazy and said "what do you mean?!"
She said "Don't worry, we still get all the presents"
He said "Will Santa Clause bring them to me?"
She said "Yes he will."
So this conversation really ticked me off. I generally don't understand why parents would lie to their kids about things like Santa, the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny, and to lie about a character that doesn't even exist within the realm of your own traditions? What's the point?
This lady should've said to her kid "chanukah is just so much cooler than Christmas! We get to light pretty candles, eat Donuts, get EIGHT days to celebrate. Christmas is just ONE day! Why would you want only a ONE day holiday?"
Why lie about santa? I feel as if the parents lose credibility in their children's eyes. Its like when you hit a certain age, and realize all those characters don't exist, and your parents knowingly told you they did, you'll begin to question everything they ever told you. You'll begin to doubt their promises. That is insane. Why go there?
A few days ago a non-frum lady (Jewish, a mother of two young kids) came over to my manager and told her a story about how her 4 year old wants to celebrate Christmas. So the lady tells her son "We don't celebrate Christmas"
Her son went crazy and said "what do you mean?!"
She said "Don't worry, we still get all the presents"
He said "Will Santa Clause bring them to me?"
She said "Yes he will."
So this conversation really ticked me off. I generally don't understand why parents would lie to their kids about things like Santa, the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny, and to lie about a character that doesn't even exist within the realm of your own traditions? What's the point?
This lady should've said to her kid "chanukah is just so much cooler than Christmas! We get to light pretty candles, eat Donuts, get EIGHT days to celebrate. Christmas is just ONE day! Why would you want only a ONE day holiday?"
Why lie about santa? I feel as if the parents lose credibility in their children's eyes. Its like when you hit a certain age, and realize all those characters don't exist, and your parents knowingly told you they did, you'll begin to question everything they ever told you. You'll begin to doubt their promises. That is insane. Why go there?
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Santa <3 Baby?!
I was speaking to a Rabbi I know about Christmas. We got into a whole long discussion, which went on a tangent, and we began to discuss the bad priests, and what a chillul hashem some Rabbi's are (specifically the recent Satmar story). Then he said in an attempt to get back to our original discussion (something about Christmas), he said "You know, Santa is a pedophile, he has little kids sit on his lap all day!"
I started laughing. :-)
Oh boy did I have to share that with my readers. :)
Generally, the Rabbi kept on saying how we are not supposed to learn Torah over Christmas because that gives merit to Jesus (well, he said Yoshka). And I got all annoyed at him. After all, depends on who you hold by, depends on when Christmas is. In the former Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox held Christmas on January 7 I believe, while only Catholics and pretty much the various Protestant Christians keep it the 25th. Does that mean we cannot learn Torah all those days? What bothered me most, and I made this point to him, that by not learning, it doesn't withhold merit, it actually just adds to the meaning behind his existence. By not learning on Christmas (whichever in your minhag...hehe), you're only affirming Jesus' existence.
Why the hell would Rebbeim go out of their way enough to give a darn when he was born? Well... I unfortunately don't even have a theory on that one.
I started laughing. :-)
Oh boy did I have to share that with my readers. :)
Generally, the Rabbi kept on saying how we are not supposed to learn Torah over Christmas because that gives merit to Jesus (well, he said Yoshka). And I got all annoyed at him. After all, depends on who you hold by, depends on when Christmas is. In the former Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox held Christmas on January 7 I believe, while only Catholics and pretty much the various Protestant Christians keep it the 25th. Does that mean we cannot learn Torah all those days? What bothered me most, and I made this point to him, that by not learning, it doesn't withhold merit, it actually just adds to the meaning behind his existence. By not learning on Christmas (whichever in your minhag...hehe), you're only affirming Jesus' existence.
Why the hell would Rebbeim go out of their way enough to give a darn when he was born? Well... I unfortunately don't even have a theory on that one.
Monday, December 22, 2008
I'd be embarrased!
I [unfortunately] speak to alot of people. Some of the dumb things that come out of people's mouths are just outright embarrassing for normal people to be caught saying- never mind, doing! This post is a pretty much a compilation of stupid people stories.
Just stupid:
1- My sister came home the other day fuming about her messed up classmate. Her classmate said "You don't need to know history to be a historian." I asked my sister if the girl was high or something. My sister answered "NO! She's always like this, this is the girl who didn't know who Einstein was in10th grade, after taking a global history course, and then was proud of her ignorance on 'goyish' subjects!"
Patterson- Don't tax non-diet soda, tax new benches!:
2- There is this one lady who wanted to buy new benches. Each bench was like $1000 so all the people involved in the community didn't want to purchase the new benches unless it was an absolute necessity. Her reason for buying the new benches- Because she couldn't slide down on them! She literally had to pick up her butt and move! Oh NO!
Why NYers should shower every day!:
3- This one guy my father knows was bragging about how he always had a seat on a crowded train. What would he do? He would pick his nose, and then wipe a huge booger on one of the windows over a seat. People would [naturally] be grossed out by it, and would abandon their seats. And he would be able to get a seat! - I promise that was true!-
Sterilization should be FORCED!
4- This one lady who my parents used to be close to, was 8 months pregnant. She was out one day, walking on icy streets. She decided she didn't want to get her feet wet, so she JUMPED over a puddle!
5- lady from # 4 was cursing out her husband in the car once. My father said to her "You know, they say babies hear everything in the womb." The lady goes "YES, GOOD. The kid should know what her father is, a $*%($&#(@)!)."
Solution to bad education! Invest into hearing aids!
6- My mom bumped into an old classmate on the train. The conversation turned into one about their HS. The lady kept on saying how terrible the education at the HS was, and how it took her 6 years to graduate Brooklyn College (and then the reputation wasn't as "good" as it is now). My mother said "What are you talking about? I received a scholarship to Columbia and NYU. I was fine at the Columbia summer program, and the time I spent in NYU I was doing very well." The lady goes "YEA! But YOU were listening [in class]!"
***
WTH is wrong with people? How are people not embarrassed to say things like this. If Governor Patterson were to tax the Stupid, NY's budget would be in a surplus!
Just stupid:
1- My sister came home the other day fuming about her messed up classmate. Her classmate said "You don't need to know history to be a historian." I asked my sister if the girl was high or something. My sister answered "NO! She's always like this, this is the girl who didn't know who Einstein was in10th grade, after taking a global history course, and then was proud of her ignorance on 'goyish' subjects!"
Patterson- Don't tax non-diet soda, tax new benches!:
2- There is this one lady who wanted to buy new benches. Each bench was like $1000 so all the people involved in the community didn't want to purchase the new benches unless it was an absolute necessity. Her reason for buying the new benches- Because she couldn't slide down on them! She literally had to pick up her butt and move! Oh NO!
Why NYers should shower every day!:
3- This one guy my father knows was bragging about how he always had a seat on a crowded train. What would he do? He would pick his nose, and then wipe a huge booger on one of the windows over a seat. People would [naturally] be grossed out by it, and would abandon their seats. And he would be able to get a seat! - I promise that was true!-
Sterilization should be FORCED!
4- This one lady who my parents used to be close to, was 8 months pregnant. She was out one day, walking on icy streets. She decided she didn't want to get her feet wet, so she JUMPED over a puddle!
5- lady from # 4 was cursing out her husband in the car once. My father said to her "You know, they say babies hear everything in the womb." The lady goes "YES, GOOD. The kid should know what her father is, a $*%($&#(@)!)."
Solution to bad education! Invest into hearing aids!
6- My mom bumped into an old classmate on the train. The conversation turned into one about their HS. The lady kept on saying how terrible the education at the HS was, and how it took her 6 years to graduate Brooklyn College (and then the reputation wasn't as "good" as it is now). My mother said "What are you talking about? I received a scholarship to Columbia and NYU. I was fine at the Columbia summer program, and the time I spent in NYU I was doing very well." The lady goes "YEA! But YOU were listening [in class]!"
***
WTH is wrong with people? How are people not embarrassed to say things like this. If Governor Patterson were to tax the Stupid, NY's budget would be in a surplus!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
TV
I received a few comments about my last post on Jewish/Kosher TV, and so I would like to update you on the changes.
1- A fellow blogger has informed me that my idea of a Kosher TV doesn't really have anything that would interest men. To that I responded "DTV would be great for men, and plus men should be learning, not watching TV"
I don't think he was quite satisfied with that answer, but I think mikeinmidwood has found a way to make Shidduch Central fun for Jews of both genders.
2- I was informed that Devora the Explorer should really be "Morah Devora the Explorer."
I'm not quite sure why the person felt that way, but I think it is because a single non-Morah randomly exploring would be bad for finding a shidduch. It is untznius for a non-Morah to randomly go browse the world.
3- Dina has also suggested that we need some sort of crime show, like serial denim wearers or something of the sort. And so, I realised that would be an awesome idea, because men would be interested! So my thought is, is we video tape what goes on in COED and/or MODERN orthodox single-gender schools...you know...slit wearing, and denim wearing while learning gemara!
You know...something of the sort!
:)
1- A fellow blogger has informed me that my idea of a Kosher TV doesn't really have anything that would interest men. To that I responded "DTV would be great for men, and plus men should be learning, not watching TV"
I don't think he was quite satisfied with that answer, but I think mikeinmidwood has found a way to make Shidduch Central fun for Jews of both genders.
2- I was informed that Devora the Explorer should really be "Morah Devora the Explorer."
I'm not quite sure why the person felt that way, but I think it is because a single non-Morah randomly exploring would be bad for finding a shidduch. It is untznius for a non-Morah to randomly go browse the world.
3- Dina has also suggested that we need some sort of crime show, like serial denim wearers or something of the sort. And so, I realised that would be an awesome idea, because men would be interested! So my thought is, is we video tape what goes on in COED and/or MODERN orthodox single-gender schools...you know...slit wearing, and denim wearing while learning gemara!
You know...something of the sort!
:)
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The Jewish/Kosher TV
The other day it had occurred to me that the frum community banned the Internet and the cell phone and then realized how utterly messed up they were, so they invented the "Kosher" phone and the Internet filter so that people can still use the technology but in a halachically acceptable way (yet they still deny the necessity of using either!). My father has led me to realize that nothing has yet been created/invented to make the television acceptable. I began to imagine what the acceptable TV would be like.
Firstly, the Jewish TV would be an ordinary "video machine" (calling it a TV would be simply unacceptable) with a premium cable package. This package would literally filter out EVERY single basic cable channel, but will also be the only package that would include Jew channels.
The first station will be Davening TeleVision. DTV will be the all-around 24-hour prayer channel. The station will air people davening and have Rebbeim discuss shuckling methods and different ways to improve on your kavanah. They'll also have "specials" air during prime-time comparing/contrasting the different ways Jews daven (Sephard, Ashkenaz etc). Before each yom tov they'll provide a special on the different meanings behind each "yom tov" bracha that is added. Every Rosh Chodesh, the station will air different songs by featured "hit" frummy artists to help add to the joy of the day.
"Prepare for your date in less than 30 minutes" This show will provide girls with tips on which shampoos and mouse products are the best for blowing/ironing hair. The show will talk about how accessorizing the black "first-date outfit" (black turtle-neck with a black skirt) is essential in getting a second date. The show will also remind it's viewers that it is key to remember to focus on the type of shoes the guy is wearing instead of focusing on secondary things, like his personality, chemistry, and attraction.
Another show on Shidduch Central would be, "How to act on your first date" This show will be a guide for all the guys/girls who unfortunately didn't get engaged to the first person they ever dated. The show will remind them to sit with a straight back and to never ask questions about anything of importance. It will remind the girls that they are required to order either a diet soda or a water because if they order anything containing calories, their date may think they don't take care of themselves.
Another show would be: "The Rabbi's advice" This will be aired a few times a week for 3 hours straight. It will be live and will be hosted by a different rabbi each time (repeats allowed, but not consecutively). The point of the show will be to answer questions of those in shidduchim LIVE! The callers will remain anonymous. If a question is really good, the Rav may decide to give an entire shuir on the topic instead of answering more phone calls.
The other show would be "The Shadchan says..." and it will be a production which would feature a shadchan deciding which people to set up. It will be similar to a reality TV program providing viewers with full view on how the shadchan browses through resumes and how she scrutinizes parents and harasses singles.
Another Station will be "Television's Tznius Network". TTN will air shows solely for women (The TV will have a male detector, and will NOT allow the channel to be viewed in the presence of any).
TTN will air shows like "Tamara Berg Show." Tamara will give make-overs to BT women to help them learn to dress tzniously. She will also interview women who had gone through tragedies (been beat or had acid poured on by radical Charedi men). She will also interview families with OTD members in it (with the faces blurred or shidduchim will be effected). Tamara will organize tehillim groups to help put those family members back on the derech. She will have "T" magazine and also be a model for "Tzipporah's Secret" catalogs of all tznius clothing.
Television's Tznuis Network will also air "Tzipporah's Secret" fashion shows...and will air "Sheitle Keeper's" a guide on how to care for your sheitle.
A show "How to look good Tznius" will have a host which will stop random girls from public schools who are dressed "half-naked." They will then give these girls fully tznius makeovers, and then post their pictures in shidduch magazines around the world. When the girls realize that guys DO want to go out with them, even with clothes on, they'll come to a realization that covered can be attractive.
Being that DTV, Shidduch Central and TTN will not interest children, the Kosher TV will have to provide entertainment for the young. The station for Jewish kids will be called "Yiddishe Kinderlach Broadcasting". YKB will be a station specifically geared to occupy the young innocent minds of the klal.
YKB will provide shows such as "Yossi's Street" where there will be characters like the Kugel Monster who lives in a shul's shtender. He comes out when there is a kiddush and tries to sneak all the kugel back into his shtender.
Another hit show will be "Devora the Explorer" Devora will randomly wander around areas and randomly say things in Hebrew. She will have a little brother Shmuley (she can't have a pet, come on, we're being Jewish!!) who will wander around with her everywhere. She will also have a knapsack that contains all Jewish essentials (ie chicken soup, gefilte fish, money, and a phone with speed dial to Imma). These essentials will help her in her random wanders, because she'll have who to call, what to eat (if she gets sick) and what to share if she meets a friend. She'll also be able to buy something if she wanders into a sale!
Yiddishe Kinderlach Broadcasting will not only air such great shows, but will also air Uncle Moishy concerts.
The final station will be called Tzedakah Home Network, which will air Chinese auction catalogs, and other random events one may attend. If there is a fund-raising dinner, the TV station will spend a few hours showing pictures of the hall it will be held at, as well as pictures of the food the caterer will provide.
***
The Kosher TV will also come with another feature, and that will be "shabbos mode"
The TV will automatically shut off 30 minutes before shabbos and yom tov and will not turn back on until 2 hours after shabbos/yom tov is over.
Firstly, the Jewish TV would be an ordinary "video machine" (calling it a TV would be simply unacceptable) with a premium cable package. This package would literally filter out EVERY single basic cable channel, but will also be the only package that would include Jew channels.
The first station will be Davening TeleVision. DTV will be the all-around 24-hour prayer channel. The station will air people davening and have Rebbeim discuss shuckling methods and different ways to improve on your kavanah. They'll also have "specials" air during prime-time comparing/contrasting the different ways Jews daven (Sephard, Ashkenaz etc). Before each yom tov they'll provide a special on the different meanings behind each "yom tov" bracha that is added. Every Rosh Chodesh, the station will air different songs by featured "hit" frummy artists to help add to the joy of the day.
With the creation of this station, the Rebbeim will discuss if one can use the televised LIVE davening for minyan.
The next station will be called Shidduch Central. This channel will air shows like:"Prepare for your date in less than 30 minutes" This show will provide girls with tips on which shampoos and mouse products are the best for blowing/ironing hair. The show will talk about how accessorizing the black "first-date outfit" (black turtle-neck with a black skirt) is essential in getting a second date. The show will also remind it's viewers that it is key to remember to focus on the type of shoes the guy is wearing instead of focusing on secondary things, like his personality, chemistry, and attraction.
Another show on Shidduch Central would be, "How to act on your first date" This show will be a guide for all the guys/girls who unfortunately didn't get engaged to the first person they ever dated. The show will remind them to sit with a straight back and to never ask questions about anything of importance. It will remind the girls that they are required to order either a diet soda or a water because if they order anything containing calories, their date may think they don't take care of themselves.
Another show would be: "The Rabbi's advice" This will be aired a few times a week for 3 hours straight. It will be live and will be hosted by a different rabbi each time (repeats allowed, but not consecutively). The point of the show will be to answer questions of those in shidduchim LIVE! The callers will remain anonymous. If a question is really good, the Rav may decide to give an entire shuir on the topic instead of answering more phone calls.
The other show would be "The Shadchan says..." and it will be a production which would feature a shadchan deciding which people to set up. It will be similar to a reality TV program providing viewers with full view on how the shadchan browses through resumes and how she scrutinizes parents and harasses singles.
Another Station will be "Television's Tznius Network". TTN will air shows solely for women (The TV will have a male detector, and will NOT allow the channel to be viewed in the presence of any).
TTN will air shows like "Tamara Berg Show." Tamara will give make-overs to BT women to help them learn to dress tzniously. She will also interview women who had gone through tragedies (been beat or had acid poured on by radical Charedi men). She will also interview families with OTD members in it (with the faces blurred or shidduchim will be effected). Tamara will organize tehillim groups to help put those family members back on the derech. She will have "T" magazine and also be a model for "Tzipporah's Secret" catalogs of all tznius clothing.
Television's Tznuis Network will also air "Tzipporah's Secret" fashion shows...and will air "Sheitle Keeper's" a guide on how to care for your sheitle.
A show "How to look good Tznius" will have a host which will stop random girls from public schools who are dressed "half-naked." They will then give these girls fully tznius makeovers, and then post their pictures in shidduch magazines around the world. When the girls realize that guys DO want to go out with them, even with clothes on, they'll come to a realization that covered can be attractive.
Being that DTV, Shidduch Central and TTN will not interest children, the Kosher TV will have to provide entertainment for the young. The station for Jewish kids will be called "Yiddishe Kinderlach Broadcasting". YKB will be a station specifically geared to occupy the young innocent minds of the klal.
YKB will provide shows such as "Yossi's Street" where there will be characters like the Kugel Monster who lives in a shul's shtender. He comes out when there is a kiddush and tries to sneak all the kugel back into his shtender.
Another hit show will be "Devora the Explorer" Devora will randomly wander around areas and randomly say things in Hebrew. She will have a little brother Shmuley (she can't have a pet, come on, we're being Jewish!!) who will wander around with her everywhere. She will also have a knapsack that contains all Jewish essentials (ie chicken soup, gefilte fish, money, and a phone with speed dial to Imma). These essentials will help her in her random wanders, because she'll have who to call, what to eat (if she gets sick) and what to share if she meets a friend. She'll also be able to buy something if she wanders into a sale!
Yiddishe Kinderlach Broadcasting will not only air such great shows, but will also air Uncle Moishy concerts.
The final station will be called Tzedakah Home Network, which will air Chinese auction catalogs, and other random events one may attend. If there is a fund-raising dinner, the TV station will spend a few hours showing pictures of the hall it will be held at, as well as pictures of the food the caterer will provide.
***
The Kosher TV will also come with another feature, and that will be "shabbos mode"
The TV will automatically shut off 30 minutes before shabbos and yom tov and will not turn back on until 2 hours after shabbos/yom tov is over.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Very good
Mikeinmidwood's post "If they had a blog" is VERY good.
Very creative. :)
I highly recommend checking it out!!!
Very creative. :)
I highly recommend checking it out!!!
new blog
I'm randomly browsing around on different links on my site, and I found that I was linked on a new blog "Harry-er than them all"
:)
This totally put me into a good mood. :)
I also highly recommend reading the blog. Rather interesting :)
:)
This totally put me into a good mood. :)
I also highly recommend reading the blog. Rather interesting :)
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Black Hats
One of the most annoying things about Orthodox Jewry is the fact that it is common that the men wear Black Hats. The Black Hat is considered by many a statement of Orthodoxy. To them the hat is like THE ultimate in Jewish clothing. To many the concept of perpetually replicating an Oreo cookie by way of dress is somehow holy. Supposedly, the story goes, the black and white with the Abe Lincoln look-a-like hat, is "Jewish."
Aside from the fact that the hat is ridiculously unattractive on most people, the hat is not at all Jewish. The hat was a customary article of clothing in many Eastern and Western European countries. Meaning, the Jew were NOT the only ones who wore hats. ALL the people wore them. Some people left the mid-ages behind, and the hat just represents that Jews are backwards.
Regardless...the biggest pet-peeve of all is when a sephardi guy wears a black hat. At least Ashkenazie Jews have an excuse as to why they're stupid (it was part of goyish culture), but many of the Sephardim of middle-eastern and Asian background have absolutely NO trace whatsoever of black-hat wearing in their past.
A few of my Sephardi friends hate the fact that on dates, guys wear hats. They hate it. It absolutely bothers them that this new wave of yeshiva returners come back "frummer" than their fathers by turning Ashkenazie.
Whatever...I think ALL men should abstain from wearing such atrocities on their heads. They're ugly and expensive and impractical. If you really want to wear "Jewish" clothing, put on a pair of knickers and turban, and sandals, and viola. Until then SHUT UP, its NOT Jewish clothing you damned GOY!
Aside from the fact that the hat is ridiculously unattractive on most people, the hat is not at all Jewish. The hat was a customary article of clothing in many Eastern and Western European countries. Meaning, the Jew were NOT the only ones who wore hats. ALL the people wore them. Some people left the mid-ages behind, and the hat just represents that Jews are backwards.
Regardless...the biggest pet-peeve of all is when a sephardi guy wears a black hat. At least Ashkenazie Jews have an excuse as to why they're stupid (it was part of goyish culture), but many of the Sephardim of middle-eastern and Asian background have absolutely NO trace whatsoever of black-hat wearing in their past.
A few of my Sephardi friends hate the fact that on dates, guys wear hats. They hate it. It absolutely bothers them that this new wave of yeshiva returners come back "frummer" than their fathers by turning Ashkenazie.
Whatever...I think ALL men should abstain from wearing such atrocities on their heads. They're ugly and expensive and impractical. If you really want to wear "Jewish" clothing, put on a pair of knickers and turban, and sandals, and viola. Until then SHUT UP, its NOT Jewish clothing you damned GOY!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Gift Cards
While I was checking my email earlier today, I received something from bankrate.com. One of the articles linked in that email was called 12 recession-proof holiday gifts. The article listed 12 categories discussing gift ideas and two of them were food and health.
Under the food category the article said the following:
Many Americans' diets have suffered as the price of good, fresh food has risen, both in restaurants and on the grocery-store shelves. For those who've cut back on dining out, a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant may be in order. Gift cards for restaurants are projected to be the top type of gift card this holiday season, according to a survey by the Archstone Consulting. For foodies and cooks on your list, a grocery-store gift card or a rockin' recipe book may be just the right holiday treat.
Under the health category the article said:
With health care costs perpetually rising, good health is more valuable than ever. A gentle push in the form of a three-month, all-expense-paid membership to a gym or a nice pair of athletic shoes may be just the thing to part that special couch potato from his or her couch. For those on your list who have little workout experience, a session with a personal trainer will help them learn the exercises and establish a regimen that will work for them.
The overall point of the article, as both these categories show, is that giving practical gifts is smarter during a recession. Which makes alot of sense. A family will not need a new Nintendo Wii from grandma when they are just making it with their bill payments... a smarter present (according to article) would be either a restuarant or supermarket gift certificate! Or...gym membership for a few months! Practical, fun, and greatly appreciated!
Well...so I receive emails like this all the time, so I wasn't particulary moved by this article's content. I didn't think anything of it until I came across a website (while I was procrostinating from email checking) called ifeminists.net. One of the articles on that site was about Planned Parenthood and the new "gift cards" for Christmas they're offering. One of the points planned parenthood was making, was that healthcare is now on the bottom of womans spending lists even though woman still need health check-ups. So this PP gift card would be a great way for woman to receive basic health needs. So just like with food and health, PP decided to be practical as well. Article read:
The report said the certificates come in $25 increments and can be used for everything from birth control to $58 examinations that include breast exams and pap tests.
So far so good, the irksome part is:
But can they be used for abortions?
Of course, Struben-Hall ["an official in the abortion business"] said. "We decided not to put restrictions on."
Now...umm... I'm not even sure if I can use words to describe how I feel about gift card abortions, but I think "gross" downright covers it.
I mean, when you write up the holiday list and browse the shops at the mall, will you be like "you know, Jill and Jack have been together for a while, I think she'll appreciate the $25 at PP more than this sweater, gd only knows if she can afford an abortion if she'll need one at this time of economic recession, every little bit counts!"
Shouldn't abortion be the LAST resort? Whatever one may consider a fetus, it is still a form of potentional life and sticking a gift certificate value onto ridding it makes it seem like a nothing! I think this is just an extremely irresponsible gift card, nevermind immoral and downright nasty! If Planned Parenthood wants to keep these darned cards, fine, but atleast restrict access on using them towards abortions!
Under the food category the article said the following:
Many Americans' diets have suffered as the price of good, fresh food has risen, both in restaurants and on the grocery-store shelves. For those who've cut back on dining out, a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant may be in order. Gift cards for restaurants are projected to be the top type of gift card this holiday season, according to a survey by the Archstone Consulting. For foodies and cooks on your list, a grocery-store gift card or a rockin' recipe book may be just the right holiday treat.
Under the health category the article said:
With health care costs perpetually rising, good health is more valuable than ever. A gentle push in the form of a three-month, all-expense-paid membership to a gym or a nice pair of athletic shoes may be just the thing to part that special couch potato from his or her couch. For those on your list who have little workout experience, a session with a personal trainer will help them learn the exercises and establish a regimen that will work for them.
The overall point of the article, as both these categories show, is that giving practical gifts is smarter during a recession. Which makes alot of sense. A family will not need a new Nintendo Wii from grandma when they are just making it with their bill payments... a smarter present (according to article) would be either a restuarant or supermarket gift certificate! Or...gym membership for a few months! Practical, fun, and greatly appreciated!
Well...so I receive emails like this all the time, so I wasn't particulary moved by this article's content. I didn't think anything of it until I came across a website (while I was procrostinating from email checking) called ifeminists.net. One of the articles on that site was about Planned Parenthood and the new "gift cards" for Christmas they're offering. One of the points planned parenthood was making, was that healthcare is now on the bottom of womans spending lists even though woman still need health check-ups. So this PP gift card would be a great way for woman to receive basic health needs. So just like with food and health, PP decided to be practical as well. Article read:
The report said the certificates come in $25 increments and can be used for everything from birth control to $58 examinations that include breast exams and pap tests.
So far so good, the irksome part is:
But can they be used for abortions?
Of course, Struben-Hall ["an official in the abortion business"] said. "We decided not to put restrictions on."
Now...umm... I'm not even sure if I can use words to describe how I feel about gift card abortions, but I think "gross" downright covers it.
I mean, when you write up the holiday list and browse the shops at the mall, will you be like "you know, Jill and Jack have been together for a while, I think she'll appreciate the $25 at PP more than this sweater, gd only knows if she can afford an abortion if she'll need one at this time of economic recession, every little bit counts!"
Shouldn't abortion be the LAST resort? Whatever one may consider a fetus, it is still a form of potentional life and sticking a gift certificate value onto ridding it makes it seem like a nothing! I think this is just an extremely irresponsible gift card, nevermind immoral and downright nasty! If Planned Parenthood wants to keep these darned cards, fine, but atleast restrict access on using them towards abortions!
Monday, December 1, 2008
These people should not teach
As I'm walking into the house after work, my sister yells "Hey, do you want to hear the stupid thing or the immoral thing my teachers have said first?"
So I say "Whichever"
Stupid:
Imagine what it would be like without B"Y! Who knows we may be just sitting and doing drugs all day!
Umm...can I just say that this lady should be expelled from her career in education? She should be excommunicated for the Gds sake. On an intellectual level any decent student should've questioned everything they ever learned at the institution which hired her. For Judaism's future, this woman should not teach! This is probably on the top 10 list of the most retarded things BY teachers have ever said.
Hasn't it ever occured to her that not ALL children go to BY? Infact, MOST of them attend Public Schools and Parochial schools and MOST are drug free as well.
Considering it is obvious the teacher meant that without B"Y students would all be enrolled in Public School's smoking and getting high goes to show how oblivious this woman is about the "outside" world's reality. Her ignorance should be a tool used towards firing her! This woman isn't worth the tuition dollars that are being used to pay her. I'm sure the school could hire someone better informed and smarter especially since my sister's school is on the modern side!!
Immoral story (Before I say it, keep in mind its the teachers friend that said this):
Before she realized Jews were hurt in the Mumbai massacre, my friend called me up and said "Let them feel what terrorism is like"
Firstly that is DISGUSTING to say about anyone, whether Jews were or were not hurt. Secondly, this is just a bizarre way to further prove that frum education SUCKS. Wouldn't this teachers friend atleast KNOW that India is mostly a super peaceful Hindu country? A country in which the people would rarely even consider hurting a roach?
Like I said...it is DISGUSTING no matter who this is in reference too, but atleast had she been referring to Iran, Morrocco, Lebanan, Syria, Jordan even Pakistan, alteast then her point would've made PARTIAL sense. But not only was she DISGUSTING (as terrorists are a loud MINORITY in those countries, definitly not the overall majority), but she made no sense whatsoever with her point.
What sickens me, is that the teacher did not say anything negative about what her friend has said, which shows, the teacher approved of what her friend said until she heard Jews were hurt as well!
So I say "Whichever"
Stupid:
Imagine what it would be like without B"Y! Who knows we may be just sitting and doing drugs all day!
Umm...can I just say that this lady should be expelled from her career in education? She should be excommunicated for the Gds sake. On an intellectual level any decent student should've questioned everything they ever learned at the institution which hired her. For Judaism's future, this woman should not teach! This is probably on the top 10 list of the most retarded things BY teachers have ever said.
Hasn't it ever occured to her that not ALL children go to BY? Infact, MOST of them attend Public Schools and Parochial schools and MOST are drug free as well.
Considering it is obvious the teacher meant that without B"Y students would all be enrolled in Public School's smoking and getting high goes to show how oblivious this woman is about the "outside" world's reality. Her ignorance should be a tool used towards firing her! This woman isn't worth the tuition dollars that are being used to pay her. I'm sure the school could hire someone better informed and smarter especially since my sister's school is on the modern side!!
Immoral story (Before I say it, keep in mind its the teachers friend that said this):
Before she realized Jews were hurt in the Mumbai massacre, my friend called me up and said "Let them feel what terrorism is like"
Firstly that is DISGUSTING to say about anyone, whether Jews were or were not hurt. Secondly, this is just a bizarre way to further prove that frum education SUCKS. Wouldn't this teachers friend atleast KNOW that India is mostly a super peaceful Hindu country? A country in which the people would rarely even consider hurting a roach?
Like I said...it is DISGUSTING no matter who this is in reference too, but atleast had she been referring to Iran, Morrocco, Lebanan, Syria, Jordan even Pakistan, alteast then her point would've made PARTIAL sense. But not only was she DISGUSTING (as terrorists are a loud MINORITY in those countries, definitly not the overall majority), but she made no sense whatsoever with her point.
What sickens me, is that the teacher did not say anything negative about what her friend has said, which shows, the teacher approved of what her friend said until she heard Jews were hurt as well!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Snuggie
Guest post written by my sister:
I was watching tv the other day and on comes a commercial. After my initial reaction, extreme laughter, i said something like "wow that's seriously retarted".
The product is called "Snuggie". It's a fleece sweater-blanket or fleece blanket with sleeves.
Seriously? Who in the world would buy that??
Other than being a total waste of money (you can use a sweater you already have with a blanket you already have), contrary to what the commercial says I view it as very inconvenient.
Imagine you're sitting on the couch sipping your hot cocoa and watching a movie on a cold winter day. Suddenly the door-bell rings. You put your cocoa down and pause the movie, and then realize you're stuck. Rather than being able to just fling off your blanket and run to answer the door, you now have an oversized probably longer than floor length sweater blanket attatched to you. Considering you refuse to answer the door dressed in a giant blue, green or red sack, by the time you get out of the sweater blanket the person at the door probably already left causing you to possibly miss your million dollar check from Ed McMahon.
Again Seriously? who in the world would buy that????
I was watching tv the other day and on comes a commercial. After my initial reaction, extreme laughter, i said something like "wow that's seriously retarted".
The product is called "Snuggie". It's a fleece sweater-blanket or fleece blanket with sleeves.
Seriously? Who in the world would buy that??
Other than being a total waste of money (you can use a sweater you already have with a blanket you already have), contrary to what the commercial says I view it as very inconvenient.
Imagine you're sitting on the couch sipping your hot cocoa and watching a movie on a cold winter day. Suddenly the door-bell rings. You put your cocoa down and pause the movie, and then realize you're stuck. Rather than being able to just fling off your blanket and run to answer the door, you now have an oversized probably longer than floor length sweater blanket attatched to you. Considering you refuse to answer the door dressed in a giant blue, green or red sack, by the time you get out of the sweater blanket the person at the door probably already left causing you to possibly miss your million dollar check from Ed McMahon.
Again Seriously? who in the world would buy that????
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
So I got the video from a friend
And I got this from bangitout.com:
Top Ten Changes if the Pilgrims were Jewish:
10. Indians' "How" greeting would have been answered with "I've been on a vashtinkina boat for 2 months, How do you think?"
9. The Mayflower Compact would have been brokered by Goldman Sachs and would have included Mexico and Canada
8. Breakaway minyans immediately open in Rhode Island and New Hampshire
7. Holiday of Succot would be renamed Teepees
6. Thanksgiving dinner was suppose to be veal, but there were Turkey shabbos leftovers.
5. Plymouth Rock suddenly claimed as the Musilims third holiest site
4. Thanksgiving Dinner was arranged by the Ladies Auxiliary and is still looking for a sponsor
3. Jewish geography would be used as the great ice-breaker, "Which Pocahantas? From Queens?"
2. Rubashkins' immediately hires all Indians
1. Pilgrims become automatic Members of the Tribe
Thanksgiving is coming!!
Thanksgiving is this Thursday!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!
One would think I'm a huge fan of thanksgiving, but really, I'm not. I just love the fact that my company is super awesome, and not only do I have Thursday off, but I have Friday off as well!
My family isn't really big on Thanksgiving, mostly because we don't particularly like turkey (too dry). We buy it if its on sale, and make turkey soup (tastes exactly like chicken soup) and turkey meatballs and stuff, but we don't make it for thanksgiving, because we just don't like it as a whole turkey. So well...what does my family do on thanksgiving? We make Russian style ravioli, which is absolutely awesome. We make enough to last us until Pesach cleaning (so well...purim time). It's meat (we mix turkey and beef) stuffed in dough. Kinda look like won tons, but smaller.
After they're made, you cook them in a pot of water, with bay leaves, peppercorns and salt.
And we freeze ALOT of them! The freezer becomes stuffed with them, and then we have awesome meals for the cold, and exhausting days in which neither one of us wants to cook!
And so, if you guys don't like turkey... there is still an option for you! You don't have to do what my family does, but start your own tradition...after all, that is what thanksgiving is all about! :-)
:-)
One would think I'm a huge fan of thanksgiving, but really, I'm not. I just love the fact that my company is super awesome, and not only do I have Thursday off, but I have Friday off as well!
My family isn't really big on Thanksgiving, mostly because we don't particularly like turkey (too dry). We buy it if its on sale, and make turkey soup (tastes exactly like chicken soup) and turkey meatballs and stuff, but we don't make it for thanksgiving, because we just don't like it as a whole turkey. So well...what does my family do on thanksgiving? We make Russian style ravioli, which is absolutely awesome. We make enough to last us until Pesach cleaning (so well...purim time). It's meat (we mix turkey and beef) stuffed in dough. Kinda look like won tons, but smaller.
After they're made, you cook them in a pot of water, with bay leaves, peppercorns and salt.
And we freeze ALOT of them! The freezer becomes stuffed with them, and then we have awesome meals for the cold, and exhausting days in which neither one of us wants to cook!
And so, if you guys don't like turkey... there is still an option for you! You don't have to do what my family does, but start your own tradition...after all, that is what thanksgiving is all about! :-)
:-)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
just cool
(: ¡sɹǝpɐǝɹ noʎ ɥʇıʍ ʇı ƃuıɹɐɥs ɯ,ı os ¡¡looɔ ɹǝdns sı ɥɔıɥʍ www.fliptitle.com ǝʇıs sıɥʇ punoɟ ı 'uısnoɔ ʎɯ 0ʇ sʞuɐɥʇ
(: ¡¡ǝɯıʇ ƃuıʇsɐʍ puɐ punoɹɐ ƃuıʇʇıs ɯ,ı os 'ʇnoqɐ ƃolq oʇ ƃuıɥʇou ǝʌɐɥ puɐ 'pǝɹoq ʎlǝɯǝɹʇxǝ ɯɐ ı
(: ¡¡ǝɯıʇ ƃuıʇsɐʍ puɐ punoɹɐ ƃuıʇʇıs ɯ,ı os 'ʇnoqɐ ƃolq oʇ ƃuıɥʇou ǝʌɐɥ puɐ 'pǝɹoq ʎlǝɯǝɹʇxǝ ɯɐ ı
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Present for grandma
I was just telling someone these stories the other day, so I figured I'd type them up and share them with my readers.
My grandma (on my fathers side) is absolutely awesome. I love her dearly, but she can definitely be quite annoying. She is constantly annoyed with my sister and me for talking too quickly, not wearing makeup, and generally talking too much. She also hates that we're very much "know-it-alls". She hates that we are like that, and she wants nothing more than to turn us into typical girlies who only care about hair, make up, and brand name clothes.
A few years ago, my sister and I are in the car with my grandma and our male cousin. My cousin was the driver, grandma was in the passenger seat, and sis and I in the back. My sister and I were talking to our cousin. Apparently we were talking VERY quickly (something we don't even notice). My grandma got ticked, and she began to do her typical comparison of us vs. some girl in her building (my cousin's 2nd cousin). And she says "You know, you talk so fast, like blah blah blah blah, its just not lady like. Daniella (the girl in building) talks so nice and slowly, and softly, and that is because she thinks before she speaks."
So my sister and I, at the exact same time were like "That's cuz we think quicker"
Oh boy ... my cousin was cracking up behind the wheel, and my grandma (already used to our quick comebacks) couldn't say anything, so she just smiled and shook her head and was like "Oh you guys and your mouth"
***
My grandma has this crazy obsession with fresh air. She hates the city, and thinks that its the worst thing in the world that we live in such a polluted environment. Every year my family used to go upstate to the Adirondack Mountains, and vacationed for a few weeks each summer. One year being the typical teenager, I would sleep-in crazy hours. I would wake up at about 11-12 (only if someone woke me). So before going upstate, my grandma called me up and started lecturing me about how I should wake up early, and stay outside in the fresh air. She kept telling me that my parents aren't paying for the lake, or the vacation, or the cabin (with those cabins, I believed that), but were paying solely for the fresh air. She told me if I stay in, and sleep crazy hours, I would be wasting their money. And she really got under my skin with that, she kept calling like everyday before we left to tell me about how I shouldn't sleep in.
Finally we go upstate, and of course we have to go and get grandma a present for when we come back home. We were thinking about what to get her, and then (I forgot who thought about it) we decided that we should bring her air.
So the last day we were upstate as we were packing the car for the drive back home, we took two of the kitchen garbage bags, and filled them with air from the outside. When we were heading close to home, we called grandma and were like "we're about an hour away, we've got something for you"
As we got even closer, we called her to come down so that we can just give the present and go.
Finally we arrive, she opens the door to the car, we exchange hugs and kisses...
We hand her the huge bags, and she goes "what is this?"
we: WE brought you fresh-upstate air! You can release it, and breath it in your apartment.
grandma- WHAT? This is what you got me? I thought you got me something real!
we: Oh, come on, just take the bags!
grandma- Are you kidding, what will I tell people? My son's family goes upstate and they bring back air for their grandma? I'd rather not be seen with bags.
That was when we started cracking up. :)
Later on I told my cousin about it, and he was rolling on the floor from laughter. He was like "brilliant". :-)
We did buy her something that was packed, like a mug or a magnet. But the air- priceless. :)
And puh-leeze, she loved it. :) She has a nice sense of humor.
My grandma (on my fathers side) is absolutely awesome. I love her dearly, but she can definitely be quite annoying. She is constantly annoyed with my sister and me for talking too quickly, not wearing makeup, and generally talking too much. She also hates that we're very much "know-it-alls". She hates that we are like that, and she wants nothing more than to turn us into typical girlies who only care about hair, make up, and brand name clothes.
A few years ago, my sister and I are in the car with my grandma and our male cousin. My cousin was the driver, grandma was in the passenger seat, and sis and I in the back. My sister and I were talking to our cousin. Apparently we were talking VERY quickly (something we don't even notice). My grandma got ticked, and she began to do her typical comparison of us vs. some girl in her building (my cousin's 2nd cousin). And she says "You know, you talk so fast, like blah blah blah blah, its just not lady like. Daniella (the girl in building) talks so nice and slowly, and softly, and that is because she thinks before she speaks."
So my sister and I, at the exact same time were like "That's cuz we think quicker"
Oh boy ... my cousin was cracking up behind the wheel, and my grandma (already used to our quick comebacks) couldn't say anything, so she just smiled and shook her head and was like "Oh you guys and your mouth"
***
My grandma has this crazy obsession with fresh air. She hates the city, and thinks that its the worst thing in the world that we live in such a polluted environment. Every year my family used to go upstate to the Adirondack Mountains, and vacationed for a few weeks each summer. One year being the typical teenager, I would sleep-in crazy hours. I would wake up at about 11-12 (only if someone woke me). So before going upstate, my grandma called me up and started lecturing me about how I should wake up early, and stay outside in the fresh air. She kept telling me that my parents aren't paying for the lake, or the vacation, or the cabin (with those cabins, I believed that), but were paying solely for the fresh air. She told me if I stay in, and sleep crazy hours, I would be wasting their money. And she really got under my skin with that, she kept calling like everyday before we left to tell me about how I shouldn't sleep in.
Finally we go upstate, and of course we have to go and get grandma a present for when we come back home. We were thinking about what to get her, and then (I forgot who thought about it) we decided that we should bring her air.
So the last day we were upstate as we were packing the car for the drive back home, we took two of the kitchen garbage bags, and filled them with air from the outside. When we were heading close to home, we called grandma and were like "we're about an hour away, we've got something for you"
As we got even closer, we called her to come down so that we can just give the present and go.
Finally we arrive, she opens the door to the car, we exchange hugs and kisses...
We hand her the huge bags, and she goes "what is this?"
we: WE brought you fresh-upstate air! You can release it, and breath it in your apartment.
grandma- WHAT? This is what you got me? I thought you got me something real!
we: Oh, come on, just take the bags!
grandma- Are you kidding, what will I tell people? My son's family goes upstate and they bring back air for their grandma? I'd rather not be seen with bags.
That was when we started cracking up. :)
Later on I told my cousin about it, and he was rolling on the floor from laughter. He was like "brilliant". :-)
We did buy her something that was packed, like a mug or a magnet. But the air- priceless. :)
And puh-leeze, she loved it. :) She has a nice sense of humor.
Friday, November 21, 2008
"Threat" for lawsuit
Woke up this morning, started on my cranky morning routine. Then I receive a text message from my father "call me as soon as you wake up." And so I call him and he tells me to check my e-mail. A lawyer from shul has decided to warn my father, that I can get sued for "libel and slander" for what I wrote in two posts entitled "Such" and "Writing A Speech"
He wrote the following:
"As Matt Drudge recently found out, one can be sued for libel and slander for a blog's postings. There is no absolute First Amendment Protection against Libel and Slander suits for comments made on a blog. "
I honestly never looked at the Blog "Laws" and interesting clauses on what is or what is not protected by the First Amendment. The thing is, is that both posts were ridiculously vague. The only reason this guy (and the others at shul) understood what I was talking about, was specifically because, they already KNEW what was going on.
SO, no, I don't think I will see any legal "consequences" to those posts except for some nasty looks and comments my way in shul. Which I am absolutely carefree about. I didn't mention any names, and I didn't put a gun against anyone's heads to read my blog. My opinion IS protected by the first amendment.
2- The meeting at shul was an absolute disgrace. I understand the votes were "fair and square" , but what the people in shul don't understand is that the premise of the voting was faulty.
My father's speech was SUPER diplomatic. He started off saying how much he appreciates the program and how much effort he put into building it. He NEVER asked to end the program. -if you're from the shul and reading this, I can e-mail a copy of it-
So my fathers side, neutral. and ALL facts are verifiable.
However, the other side, used under handed tactics.
One couple that spoke (at separate times, purposely sat separately from one another) my family knows very well. They were frum for over 20 years. The lady came up and said how for 20 years she had NO shul she wanted to ever attend in Brooklyn.
Well...ummm...how did you manage not to go to shul for 20 years? Did your frummy husband NEVER show up for minyan before? ON shabbos?
Plus, this lady is one of the main families that started another kiruv shul. Her and her hubby were like the 3rd couple to start that shuls program. She bragged about it at that other shul's melevah malka (which both my mom and I attended right before Purim). No shul to go to, huh?
PLUS PLUS...I've been to her shul multiple times. I've seen her at a shuir which was hosted there once (and she knew all the ladies) and I've seen her when I went, on a regular shabbos, for shalosh suedos. No shul, huh?
So really...for her to imply that she had no shul to go to for 20 years...is well...a load of crap.
I can go on and on about the other people I knew at the meeting who claimed to have turned frum due to the program, but were in actuality frum from before.
He wrote the following:
"As Matt Drudge recently found out, one can be sued for libel and slander for a blog's postings. There is no absolute First Amendment Protection against Libel and Slander suits for comments made on a blog. "
I honestly never looked at the Blog "Laws" and interesting clauses on what is or what is not protected by the First Amendment. The thing is, is that both posts were ridiculously vague. The only reason this guy (and the others at shul) understood what I was talking about, was specifically because, they already KNEW what was going on.
SO, no, I don't think I will see any legal "consequences" to those posts except for some nasty looks and comments my way in shul. Which I am absolutely carefree about. I didn't mention any names, and I didn't put a gun against anyone's heads to read my blog. My opinion IS protected by the first amendment.
2- The meeting at shul was an absolute disgrace. I understand the votes were "fair and square" , but what the people in shul don't understand is that the premise of the voting was faulty.
My father's speech was SUPER diplomatic. He started off saying how much he appreciates the program and how much effort he put into building it. He NEVER asked to end the program. -if you're from the shul and reading this, I can e-mail a copy of it-
So my fathers side, neutral. and ALL facts are verifiable.
However, the other side, used under handed tactics.
One couple that spoke (at separate times, purposely sat separately from one another) my family knows very well. They were frum for over 20 years. The lady came up and said how for 20 years she had NO shul she wanted to ever attend in Brooklyn.
Well...ummm...how did you manage not to go to shul for 20 years? Did your frummy husband NEVER show up for minyan before? ON shabbos?
Plus, this lady is one of the main families that started another kiruv shul. Her and her hubby were like the 3rd couple to start that shuls program. She bragged about it at that other shul's melevah malka (which both my mom and I attended right before Purim). No shul to go to, huh?
PLUS PLUS...I've been to her shul multiple times. I've seen her at a shuir which was hosted there once (and she knew all the ladies) and I've seen her when I went, on a regular shabbos, for shalosh suedos. No shul, huh?
So really...for her to imply that she had no shul to go to for 20 years...is well...a load of crap.
I can go on and on about the other people I knew at the meeting who claimed to have turned frum due to the program, but were in actuality frum from before.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
This made me smile :)
Stickers
Little kids make me happy. :)
I like making little kids happy.
My parents and I receive a ton of address labels from different charity organizations. We receive so many, that it would take multiple lifetimes for us to ever be able to use them all up. The thing is, the address labels are just so cute sometimes, that we just cannot bring ourselves to throw them out. So over the years, we've been keeping them, and using them to label meat packages (lamb and beef look the same when frozen).
Problem is, even with us using the labels for meat, we still don't use nearly as much as we get (never mind the ones we've saved up over the years). So mom and I decided to cut out the address parts of each label, keep the cute part, and save them for when little kids come over. Having a million stickers would be an awesome way to occupy little kids time.
So, well, we started with the stickers.
Then a few weeks later one of the guys I work with told me how his daughter started crying one day because she didn't get any mail, when everyone else in the family did.
So I decided, that I'll start mailing letters to little kids with stickers in them.
So I did just that for the little girl (and to this other kid I used to babysit for), and both of them were soooo happy. The girl's mother was very happy. :).
So I'm going to send mail for Chanukah (Gd willingly I'll remember- I forgot on the girl's birthday :'( ). And I think it would be great if everyone thought of making little kids happy. So I shared the way I do it :).
I can't help it, they're just soooo cute!
I like making little kids happy.
My parents and I receive a ton of address labels from different charity organizations. We receive so many, that it would take multiple lifetimes for us to ever be able to use them all up. The thing is, the address labels are just so cute sometimes, that we just cannot bring ourselves to throw them out. So over the years, we've been keeping them, and using them to label meat packages (lamb and beef look the same when frozen).
Problem is, even with us using the labels for meat, we still don't use nearly as much as we get (never mind the ones we've saved up over the years). So mom and I decided to cut out the address parts of each label, keep the cute part, and save them for when little kids come over. Having a million stickers would be an awesome way to occupy little kids time.
So, well, we started with the stickers.
Then a few weeks later one of the guys I work with told me how his daughter started crying one day because she didn't get any mail, when everyone else in the family did.
So I decided, that I'll start mailing letters to little kids with stickers in them.
So I did just that for the little girl (and to this other kid I used to babysit for), and both of them were soooo happy. The girl's mother was very happy. :).
So I'm going to send mail for Chanukah (Gd willingly I'll remember- I forgot on the girl's birthday :'( ). And I think it would be great if everyone thought of making little kids happy. So I shared the way I do it :).
I can't help it, they're just soooo cute!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Such
I consider myself a pretty good writer. I don't know if I'm a great one, but I think I can definitly say "pretty good" without hesistation. Being a good writer is useless if you're not doing anything about it. Over the years, I feel I put it into good use. I used to write "A" stories in JHS. My research papers were well written and organized. I took it upon myself to edit my friends papers, and eventually one of my friends got me into the business of writing papers for this one guy, who owes me $200 now. Bleh...
One of the hardest forms of writing, in my opinion, is creative writing. Mostly because I feel that one needs talent to write a work of fiction, not so much in writing, but in creativity. If you have no creativity, no amount of proper grammer will help you in writing fiction.
Earlier this night, I heard the most marvelous work of fiction, but not in writing, in a speech form. A creative speech is also hard work. The time, the preparation, the lie (why they call it fiction).
The story goes something like this:
Last week a guy entered our wonderful shul for a Friday night. He came in by accident. He had long hair, and was completely irreligious. Our program invited him to stay and eat a meal. While we spoke to him, we realized that his mother was a Jew 4 Jesus, and she tried to turn him into a Christain with her. And he wasn't sure what he wanted, so he walked into a church, and he didn't like it. Then he thought about many things, and eventually found himself in our shul. By the end of shabbos, he chose to become frum. All it took- one shabbos-.
***
I thought that story was marvelous. Absolutely the greatest work of fiction. If only I would've thought to prepare some of my writing works into speeches, I might've inspired a few souls too. I'm tearing up at that story. Really, truly am.
***
One of the hardest forms of writing, in my opinion, is creative writing. Mostly because I feel that one needs talent to write a work of fiction, not so much in writing, but in creativity. If you have no creativity, no amount of proper grammer will help you in writing fiction.
Earlier this night, I heard the most marvelous work of fiction, but not in writing, in a speech form. A creative speech is also hard work. The time, the preparation, the lie (why they call it fiction).
The story goes something like this:
Last week a guy entered our wonderful shul for a Friday night. He came in by accident. He had long hair, and was completely irreligious. Our program invited him to stay and eat a meal. While we spoke to him, we realized that his mother was a Jew 4 Jesus, and she tried to turn him into a Christain with her. And he wasn't sure what he wanted, so he walked into a church, and he didn't like it. Then he thought about many things, and eventually found himself in our shul. By the end of shabbos, he chose to become frum. All it took- one shabbos-.
***
I thought that story was marvelous. Absolutely the greatest work of fiction. If only I would've thought to prepare some of my writing works into speeches, I might've inspired a few souls too. I'm tearing up at that story. Really, truly am.
***
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Quotes
~Since light travels faster than sound, isn't that why some people appear bright until you hear them speak?
~Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.
Elbert Hubbard
~Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.
Elbert Hubbard
~We learn something every day, and lots of times it's that what we learned the day before was wrong.
Bill Vaughan
If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.
-- Rene Descartes
If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you.
-- Don Marquis
I'm tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. That's deep enough. What do you want, an adorable pancreas?
- Jean Kerr
The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.
- George F. Will
Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.
-Ronald Reagan in his first inaugral address
Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.
-- Jules Renard
I write down everything I want to remember. That way, instead of spending a lot of time trying to remember what it is I wrote down, I spend the time looking for the paper I wrote it down on.-
- Beryl Pfizer
Monday, November 17, 2008
Facebook Message
I just received the following from a friend of mine on facebook. It's a plea for money to help pay for a wedding for a couple in kolel:
Getting straight to the point:
I am trying to raise money. I have a friend who is getting married in a few short weeks. The bills keep piling up and they can not afford to make ends meet. Her parents and his parents are unable to help with any of the financial issues. My friend is working two jobs to pay for her wedding. She has to put down money out of her own pocket to pay for a down payment on their apartment and hall.
Her husband is sitting and learning in kollel and does not get paid. I know that many people feel that if they can not afford to live this lifestyle they should not. But this is both of their DREAMS. Both of them have struggled to become the people they are today against great odds. They are not living the kollel life because it is the thing to do they are doing it because they truly want it.
Please help them to fulfill their dream together.
I understand that people can not give a lot. Even if you can just give $10 it will add up.
I ask also if you can try to get other friends/family members to contribute as well it would be much appreciated.
Thank You
***
Ok, So i've done posts on this type of topic before, but I couldn't resist writing another, because this really irked me.
Why would this girl work 2 jobs to pay for a wedding? Shouldn't she just pass on the wedding part? If its a "Dream" you can sacrifice on flowers, a gown, a hall, a band, and everything else a wedding entails.
Any decent Rav would marry them for "free" (a suggested donation would not cost much). Having a buffet style dinner cooked by herself and a few of her friends would cost way less as well, and would allow for her and her husband to live their "dream."
The frum community has more important things to invest their money into than two young brainwashed yeshivishe idiots who think the world owes them a living.
I'm not donating anything, and I hope this economic/credit crisis the world is currently in, shows these people that learning full time is a dumb move.
I feel like what this couple needs is a huge smack, because sometimes a little childlike disciplining works wonders.
I mean seriously... I have dreams I cannot afford as well, how come no tzedakeh organization is out there to help me?
Getting straight to the point:
I am trying to raise money. I have a friend who is getting married in a few short weeks. The bills keep piling up and they can not afford to make ends meet. Her parents and his parents are unable to help with any of the financial issues. My friend is working two jobs to pay for her wedding. She has to put down money out of her own pocket to pay for a down payment on their apartment and hall.
Her husband is sitting and learning in kollel and does not get paid. I know that many people feel that if they can not afford to live this lifestyle they should not. But this is both of their DREAMS. Both of them have struggled to become the people they are today against great odds. They are not living the kollel life because it is the thing to do they are doing it because they truly want it.
Please help them to fulfill their dream together.
I understand that people can not give a lot. Even if you can just give $10 it will add up.
I ask also if you can try to get other friends/family members to contribute as well it would be much appreciated.
Thank You
***
Ok, So i've done posts on this type of topic before, but I couldn't resist writing another, because this really irked me.
Why would this girl work 2 jobs to pay for a wedding? Shouldn't she just pass on the wedding part? If its a "Dream" you can sacrifice on flowers, a gown, a hall, a band, and everything else a wedding entails.
Any decent Rav would marry them for "free" (a suggested donation would not cost much). Having a buffet style dinner cooked by herself and a few of her friends would cost way less as well, and would allow for her and her husband to live their "dream."
The frum community has more important things to invest their money into than two young brainwashed yeshivishe idiots who think the world owes them a living.
I'm not donating anything, and I hope this economic/credit crisis the world is currently in, shows these people that learning full time is a dumb move.
I feel like what this couple needs is a huge smack, because sometimes a little childlike disciplining works wonders.
I mean seriously... I have dreams I cannot afford as well, how come no tzedakeh organization is out there to help me?
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Writing a Speech
This week there will be a meeting at our shul. One of the subjects that will be discussed is very much relevant to my family. Its about a certain program that is at our shul, that my family helped build. We've been at the "ground breaking"/the inception. On top of that, we've spent tons of hours helping to develop it.
My sister and I volunteered to stuff envelopes. We would sit for a few hours with papers all over the place, stuffing the envelopes. My father and cousin spent like 30 hours putting up fliers around the neighborhood, in the cold. My mother and I used to help cook and set up foods. Before each event that was for the program, my family would come in, and decorate. Before the first pesach seder, my father donated cases of chicken (we didn't even show up to the sederim).
Whatever, I can go on and on about what my family did, but that wouldn't matter, because that is not the point. The point here is, is that the program is just not serving the purpose. Its not working. Period. The money that goes into it, is a complete waste. The brilliant Rabbi and shul presidium have their stupid pride to worry about, so instead of kicking out the leadership of the program (a moron "rabbi") they decided to give him something of his own, so that he can screw it up even more. Brilliant, huh?
So about an hour ago I sat myself down to write a speech for my father. The point of the speech was to show the people of the shul that this new something should never have been given, because the new something was not only a dumb move (the leader of the program destroyed the program, why would he not destroy this), but is also a move which is completely counterproductive to the entire point of why the program was started to begin with.
The fact that I'm a pretty good writer has gotten me the "position" of speech writing in the family. The problem is, is that my parents are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too diplomatic to get anything done, and I have no desire whatsoever to write a speech for them. I feel that if my father goes up and uses the approach he wants to use, he'll never get anything.
There's a time and a place for diplomacy, and then there's recognizing you're dealing with a lying and manipulative Rabbi and brown nose-presidents.
I have no desire to write this speech. And I'm flipping out right now, because even if I were to write a speech for myself, my father would flip out if I were to present it.
Bleh kivud av v'eim.
Bleh.
My sister and I volunteered to stuff envelopes. We would sit for a few hours with papers all over the place, stuffing the envelopes. My father and cousin spent like 30 hours putting up fliers around the neighborhood, in the cold. My mother and I used to help cook and set up foods. Before each event that was for the program, my family would come in, and decorate. Before the first pesach seder, my father donated cases of chicken (we didn't even show up to the sederim).
Whatever, I can go on and on about what my family did, but that wouldn't matter, because that is not the point. The point here is, is that the program is just not serving the purpose. Its not working. Period. The money that goes into it, is a complete waste. The brilliant Rabbi and shul presidium have their stupid pride to worry about, so instead of kicking out the leadership of the program (a moron "rabbi") they decided to give him something of his own, so that he can screw it up even more. Brilliant, huh?
So about an hour ago I sat myself down to write a speech for my father. The point of the speech was to show the people of the shul that this new something should never have been given, because the new something was not only a dumb move (the leader of the program destroyed the program, why would he not destroy this), but is also a move which is completely counterproductive to the entire point of why the program was started to begin with.
The fact that I'm a pretty good writer has gotten me the "position" of speech writing in the family. The problem is, is that my parents are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too diplomatic to get anything done, and I have no desire whatsoever to write a speech for them. I feel that if my father goes up and uses the approach he wants to use, he'll never get anything.
There's a time and a place for diplomacy, and then there's recognizing you're dealing with a lying and manipulative Rabbi and brown nose-presidents.
I have no desire to write this speech. And I'm flipping out right now, because even if I were to write a speech for myself, my father would flip out if I were to present it.
Bleh kivud av v'eim.
Bleh.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
ONE YEAR!!
YAY!!
It's been a year since I started blogging. Well, November 5th has been a year since I put up my first post, but since I completely forgot to check the exact date, I'm a bit late with the celebration post.
Ever since I heard about the concept of blogging, I wanted to start a blog of my very own. The problem was, I had nothing at all to write about, so I didn't start a blog. I did however check out other blogs (mostly frumsatire ). I also checked out blogger, and filled out a bunch of stuff to start the blog, but I kept the account closed.
A few years later, I was sitting bored in front of a computer at the Brooklyn College Library (I had a 3 hour gap between classes) and I started reading the news, then I flipped out, and well...I wrote a post, opened up my blogger, and posted it!! I had no readers. I had no idea what I should name the blog or anything, so at first I just called it "Just Ranting", which I knew was really lame, but I figured it was ok for the time being.
Later, that day at one of my philosophy classes I decided "Hey, I like writing about this stuff, I love my major, why not make a blog about how I'm skeptical of frum people's ways, and compare some of their ideas and philosophy with the type of things I'm learning about in class?"
And so I decided on the name One Frum Skeptic.
I tried very hard to write about philosophical issues ALL the time. It didn't work out at all. Even from the beginning I was mostly ranting. Definitely not as much as now, but still.
Basically, I wanted more posts like Judaism and Existentialism and the Game of Life.
I also wanted to have alot of cute/funny posts such as If I rule the world and What if they genetically engineered a pig ?
Well...this blog has a life of its own, or should I say my brain has a little part of it dedicated solely to my blogging, and it has developed my being a crazy and outrageous ranter?
:-)
I'm all ok with that. Blowing off some steam here is good for me, and well, you readers seem to like it. :)
And well...Happy anniversary to my blog! YAY :)
and Thank you all for reading. I do love the comments. :)
It's been a year since I started blogging. Well, November 5th has been a year since I put up my first post, but since I completely forgot to check the exact date, I'm a bit late with the celebration post.
Ever since I heard about the concept of blogging, I wanted to start a blog of my very own. The problem was, I had nothing at all to write about, so I didn't start a blog. I did however check out other blogs (mostly frumsatire ). I also checked out blogger, and filled out a bunch of stuff to start the blog, but I kept the account closed.
A few years later, I was sitting bored in front of a computer at the Brooklyn College Library (I had a 3 hour gap between classes) and I started reading the news, then I flipped out, and well...I wrote a post, opened up my blogger, and posted it!! I had no readers. I had no idea what I should name the blog or anything, so at first I just called it "Just Ranting", which I knew was really lame, but I figured it was ok for the time being.
Later, that day at one of my philosophy classes I decided "Hey, I like writing about this stuff, I love my major, why not make a blog about how I'm skeptical of frum people's ways, and compare some of their ideas and philosophy with the type of things I'm learning about in class?"
And so I decided on the name One Frum Skeptic.
I tried very hard to write about philosophical issues ALL the time. It didn't work out at all. Even from the beginning I was mostly ranting. Definitely not as much as now, but still.
Basically, I wanted more posts like Judaism and Existentialism and the Game of Life.
I also wanted to have alot of cute/funny posts such as If I rule the world and What if they genetically engineered a pig ?
Well...this blog has a life of its own, or should I say my brain has a little part of it dedicated solely to my blogging, and it has developed my being a crazy and outrageous ranter?
:-)
I'm all ok with that. Blowing off some steam here is good for me, and well, you readers seem to like it. :)
And well...Happy anniversary to my blog! YAY :)
and Thank you all for reading. I do love the comments. :)
Monday, November 10, 2008
Antisemitism is geared too...
Many times when learning about the holocaust or about pogroms or some sort of other massive turn out against Jews, the discussion always leads to WHY people hate Jews.
The teacher/speaker always begins by explaining how the secular Jew is looked down upon just as much as the frummy Jew (of course I never went to such a shuir given by non-frummies). They continue by explaining how the frummy looking Jew doesn't hide their Jewishness, but flaunts it in a way, while the secular Jew hides it, in hopes of not being hated.
The speakers always say how the goy looks down on both types of Jew, and that we shouldn't be embarrassed by what we are, and live up to it.
I was even at a shuir once in which the speaker said that if you say something about a black guy, the black guy would be like "Black Pride" and go away, but if you say something about a Jew, the Jew would be like "really? I didn't realize, how should I change?"
And so the speaker continued on and said how we as Jews should just remain Jewish, and persue frummy persuits.
And basically that is the main opinion amongst shuirim/classes I've attended. If Jews only remained secluded to ghettos, no one would bother them or hate them.
I feel like this, if someone is going to hate me, why can't I persue whatever I want, and not worry about them hating me? If they're going to bother me, it won't be legal in today's day, so why bother, unless I have evidence of some war breaking out?
But I never argued with my teachers/lecturers, because I never really had evidence to think otherwise.
The other day at my office, I was sitting at my desk and a coworker walked over and started asking me questions. She asked me about marriage and kosher foods and such stuff. Then she was like "you're not one of those crazy Jews, are you?"
I was like "what do you mean?"
she said "Well you know, you don't want one of those bearded fella's that wear suits everyday, and I see you don't dress so warmly in the middle of the summer like S (frummy in my office) does."
I started cracking up, and said "I'm nothing like that."
And she asked me a bunch more questions, and she was like "well, thats good, I'm glad you're not crazy like her [S]"
I just laughed.
A few weeks after that, I started chatting with the same lady, and I told her how one of my friends was miserable because she already hit her 21st birthday and was not engaged yet. I told her I thought she was a complete nut for driving herself so crazy, big whoop, 21. Mazel tov if you find him, goodluck for the next year, right? Why worry?
My coworker was like "Yea, S ONLY talks about marraige. First it was her kids, now its about grandkids and nieces and nephews and other friends. Thats ALL that is in her head."
I was like "yup, its terribly annoying"
And well...My point here is, is that those who hate Jews will hate Jews. Some will hate the Jews that are crazy like S, but not mind Jews who are seemingly not-crazy like myself. Others will hate us all. and others will ONLY hate the type like me.
This isn't about fingerpointing, or anything.
It just is what it is.
People who want to hate you will, no matter how much you remain out of the spotlight.
Do I recommend a Jew run for President? HELL NO! But a Jew shouldn't feel that the only place to live is Boro Park for fear that he'll be hated outside of this modern-day shtetl.
The teacher/speaker always begins by explaining how the secular Jew is looked down upon just as much as the frummy Jew (of course I never went to such a shuir given by non-frummies). They continue by explaining how the frummy looking Jew doesn't hide their Jewishness, but flaunts it in a way, while the secular Jew hides it, in hopes of not being hated.
The speakers always say how the goy looks down on both types of Jew, and that we shouldn't be embarrassed by what we are, and live up to it.
I was even at a shuir once in which the speaker said that if you say something about a black guy, the black guy would be like "Black Pride" and go away, but if you say something about a Jew, the Jew would be like "really? I didn't realize, how should I change?"
And so the speaker continued on and said how we as Jews should just remain Jewish, and persue frummy persuits.
And basically that is the main opinion amongst shuirim/classes I've attended. If Jews only remained secluded to ghettos, no one would bother them or hate them.
I feel like this, if someone is going to hate me, why can't I persue whatever I want, and not worry about them hating me? If they're going to bother me, it won't be legal in today's day, so why bother, unless I have evidence of some war breaking out?
But I never argued with my teachers/lecturers, because I never really had evidence to think otherwise.
The other day at my office, I was sitting at my desk and a coworker walked over and started asking me questions. She asked me about marriage and kosher foods and such stuff. Then she was like "you're not one of those crazy Jews, are you?"
I was like "what do you mean?"
she said "Well you know, you don't want one of those bearded fella's that wear suits everyday, and I see you don't dress so warmly in the middle of the summer like S (frummy in my office) does."
I started cracking up, and said "I'm nothing like that."
And she asked me a bunch more questions, and she was like "well, thats good, I'm glad you're not crazy like her [S]"
I just laughed.
A few weeks after that, I started chatting with the same lady, and I told her how one of my friends was miserable because she already hit her 21st birthday and was not engaged yet. I told her I thought she was a complete nut for driving herself so crazy, big whoop, 21. Mazel tov if you find him, goodluck for the next year, right? Why worry?
My coworker was like "Yea, S ONLY talks about marraige. First it was her kids, now its about grandkids and nieces and nephews and other friends. Thats ALL that is in her head."
I was like "yup, its terribly annoying"
And well...My point here is, is that those who hate Jews will hate Jews. Some will hate the Jews that are crazy like S, but not mind Jews who are seemingly not-crazy like myself. Others will hate us all. and others will ONLY hate the type like me.
This isn't about fingerpointing, or anything.
It just is what it is.
People who want to hate you will, no matter how much you remain out of the spotlight.
Do I recommend a Jew run for President? HELL NO! But a Jew shouldn't feel that the only place to live is Boro Park for fear that he'll be hated outside of this modern-day shtetl.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
And Hitler Wins
Everytime someone tries to explain why frummies have a lot of children the explanations given are always one or both of the following:
a) It is a mitzvah to reproduce by Jewish law
b) To get back at Hitler/repopulate the Jewish nation to "make up" for the 6million killed
-The first answer (a) seems decent, but definitely dumb. No reason to go on and have too many kids for a normal sane person to handle! I mean, even halacha doesn't say one has to have a crazy load of kids. Just one boy and one girl. But whatever, having a large family is nice and all. But I don't believe even-half the people in charedi-ville are capable of handling all those children. The commonness of the huge (15+) family phenomena gets me wondering about how much attention each kid receives from the parents and such. But anyway, that's not my point...
- The second (b) reason is just beyond ridiculous and I've heard it more than once. Its like "Lets have 10 kids, so if they have 10 kids and they'll have 10 kids and within a few generations we'll make up the numbers" (I've actually heard this from someone I know who is 1 of 9).
So anyway, all this "Lets get back at Hitler" stuff has got me thinking, especially since a few weeks ago at a speech on shabbos, the rabbi said how one-third (1/3, 33%) of the frummies are going of the derech.
1/3!! That's enormous. And I probably wouldn't have believed the number if it weren't for blogging, but I fully believe it.
Anyway, 1/3 is alot of people, and in the end what happens. Hitler wins anyway. Why, because the reason 1/3 of the people are going off the derech is because the rules (mostly crazy chumras) and all the social pressures really end up getting to people, and they just lose it and therefore change their religious affiliations.
- the "at risk" people I've spoken to (the ones that went from frummy to modern- not exactly "off the derech") all had issues with girl/guy taboo, and hated the pressure to conform to every little thing.
- 3 girls from my HS that I know of, I kinda keep in touch with one, and she is best friends with another, and the third is a friend of my best friend. They all hated the pressure of HS. Hated how they were expected to only achieve at being "mothers" (which is fine for some women but not all).
Now, what happens when 1/3 of the people are "off the derech"? You have Rabbi's ban more things, and you have more people question why their neighbor/friend/family member chose NOT to be Jewish. But instead of answering the questions, you have Rebbeim make outright ridiculous claims, and HS principals make wack job remarks.
Where does this lead us? This leads us into labeling ourselves even more (isn't Litvish/chassidish, ashkenaz/sephard enough? atleast those have basis!), and then leads to more questioning amongst kids (why do they do that, or not do that) which only leads to dumb responses by Rebbeim (ie, immodesty leads to Israeli terrorism- "awearness") or something of the sort.
And then the Rebbeim go on and flaunt how many people they put ON the derech. "Look, Oorah made x amount of people frum" or "that particular kiruv HS has so many girls becoming frum each year, it must be working!"
Dude...its NOT working. if a 1/3 of the ALREADY frum people are going off the derech, that only shows that the system is NOT working.
Think of it as a business, when you try to expand on your customer base, you ADD things to the menu, you don't rid them (unless they're not profitable), you want to ensure that your current customers continue on coming as well. So why would you do anything to hurt them?
But Rebbeim don't get that. Rebbeim are so used to not thinking about consequences that they can't help but focus on the high "BT" rate.
Worry about whats in your own community before you worry about others. Raise your own kids, and educate your own community before you reach out to others. Or else you'll end up with a 1/3 off the derech rate, and a BT rate that doesn't nearly come close to making up those numbers.
In the end. 9 kids ain't gonna matter if you don't raise them to want to remain frum. it won't matter if you have 15 kids or 25 kids, because at the end of the day, the percentages speak louder. Rabbi's should teach parents to raise kids as opposed to teach parents how to invite their non-frummy neighbor for shabbos.
It shouldn't be about Hitler winning. Its all quality over quantity. If you've got crappy quality, Hitler wins anyway.
a) It is a mitzvah to reproduce by Jewish law
b) To get back at Hitler/repopulate the Jewish nation to "make up" for the 6million killed
-The first answer (a) seems decent, but definitely dumb. No reason to go on and have too many kids for a normal sane person to handle! I mean, even halacha doesn't say one has to have a crazy load of kids. Just one boy and one girl. But whatever, having a large family is nice and all. But I don't believe even-half the people in charedi-ville are capable of handling all those children. The commonness of the huge (15+) family phenomena gets me wondering about how much attention each kid receives from the parents and such. But anyway, that's not my point...
- The second (b) reason is just beyond ridiculous and I've heard it more than once. Its like "Lets have 10 kids, so if they have 10 kids and they'll have 10 kids and within a few generations we'll make up the numbers" (I've actually heard this from someone I know who is 1 of 9).
So anyway, all this "Lets get back at Hitler" stuff has got me thinking, especially since a few weeks ago at a speech on shabbos, the rabbi said how one-third (1/3, 33%) of the frummies are going of the derech.
1/3!! That's enormous. And I probably wouldn't have believed the number if it weren't for blogging, but I fully believe it.
Anyway, 1/3 is alot of people, and in the end what happens. Hitler wins anyway. Why, because the reason 1/3 of the people are going off the derech is because the rules (mostly crazy chumras) and all the social pressures really end up getting to people, and they just lose it and therefore change their religious affiliations.
- the "at risk" people I've spoken to (the ones that went from frummy to modern- not exactly "off the derech") all had issues with girl/guy taboo, and hated the pressure to conform to every little thing.
- 3 girls from my HS that I know of, I kinda keep in touch with one, and she is best friends with another, and the third is a friend of my best friend. They all hated the pressure of HS. Hated how they were expected to only achieve at being "mothers" (which is fine for some women but not all).
Now, what happens when 1/3 of the people are "off the derech"? You have Rabbi's ban more things, and you have more people question why their neighbor/friend/family member chose NOT to be Jewish. But instead of answering the questions, you have Rebbeim make outright ridiculous claims, and HS principals make wack job remarks.
Where does this lead us? This leads us into labeling ourselves even more (isn't Litvish/chassidish, ashkenaz/sephard enough? atleast those have basis!), and then leads to more questioning amongst kids (why do they do that, or not do that) which only leads to dumb responses by Rebbeim (ie, immodesty leads to Israeli terrorism- "awearness") or something of the sort.
And then the Rebbeim go on and flaunt how many people they put ON the derech. "Look, Oorah made x amount of people frum" or "that particular kiruv HS has so many girls becoming frum each year, it must be working!"
Dude...its NOT working. if a 1/3 of the ALREADY frum people are going off the derech, that only shows that the system is NOT working.
Think of it as a business, when you try to expand on your customer base, you ADD things to the menu, you don't rid them (unless they're not profitable), you want to ensure that your current customers continue on coming as well. So why would you do anything to hurt them?
But Rebbeim don't get that. Rebbeim are so used to not thinking about consequences that they can't help but focus on the high "BT" rate.
Worry about whats in your own community before you worry about others. Raise your own kids, and educate your own community before you reach out to others. Or else you'll end up with a 1/3 off the derech rate, and a BT rate that doesn't nearly come close to making up those numbers.
In the end. 9 kids ain't gonna matter if you don't raise them to want to remain frum. it won't matter if you have 15 kids or 25 kids, because at the end of the day, the percentages speak louder. Rabbi's should teach parents to raise kids as opposed to teach parents how to invite their non-frummy neighbor for shabbos.
It shouldn't be about Hitler winning. Its all quality over quantity. If you've got crappy quality, Hitler wins anyway.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Moving to Canada
Throughout the day I've read and heard republicans say they plan on moving to Canada because of the Obama victory.
I don't understand that.; Why would someone who is a republican move to Canada? It just makes no sense whatsoever. You end up losing. Canada already has the high taxes and the socialist systems.
Going there would be like WILLINGLY choosing to move to the country that ALREADY adapted the very system you voted against when you chose McCain.
In '04 when the Democrats promised to move to Canada, they made sense. Canada welcomes jackasses. I was even hoping promises would be kept and many of them would move there after Bush won! But no, shoulda figured. Democrats and their empty promises.
Back to Republicans: What's wrong with you people? Do you even know about Canada's economy? or high sales tax?
Oh well
I don't understand that.; Why would someone who is a republican move to Canada? It just makes no sense whatsoever. You end up losing. Canada already has the high taxes and the socialist systems.
Going there would be like WILLINGLY choosing to move to the country that ALREADY adapted the very system you voted against when you chose McCain.
In '04 when the Democrats promised to move to Canada, they made sense. Canada welcomes jackasses. I was even hoping promises would be kept and many of them would move there after Bush won! But no, shoulda figured. Democrats and their empty promises.
Back to Republicans: What's wrong with you people? Do you even know about Canada's economy? or high sales tax?
Oh well
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Bible codes
Sometime last month I wrote a post about my Stupid Friend who said that if Obama wins, moshiach will come.
The post had many comments, and one of them was from non-other than Anonymous. And he defended my friend, and said that he believed moshiach will come if Obama wins as well. He said that it's written in bible codes somewhere, and stood firmly by his decision, even though, I did argue with him a bit. Good for him for standing firm on his beliefs.
Anyway, one of the things that was said to be in bible codes (according to Anonymous- I did NOT look this up, I happen to trust this, why else would someone argue something being in bible codes?) was that and I quote:
actually it says obama in the Torah, not a description of him. They found a passage that spells out his name acrostically, and before that it says nasi, which mean president, and afterwards it says mashiach.
***
I'm not here to argue the validity of bible codes. Not at all the point of this post. Say the bible codes are truly accurate, and are truly the determining factors of the world, wouldn't there be major problems with this case?
Firstly, one of the things it says in some gemara somewhere is how we're not supposed to visit the fortune teller, or take our horoscopes seriously. The reason, is because of the concept of Jews being above mazal. Like, we supposedly have free will, and if we seek the services of the fortune teller, and we learn our future, there would be no way for hashem to change it.
My question is, wouldn't bible codes, at least in this case qualify as the same thing? I mean, Obama, would HAVE to win for this bible code to come true. If Obama didn't win, then there would be no way of it coming true, which would then be used as a source to discredit the concept of the Torah.
OR...there really is no free-will, and we all vote, but it doesn't matter, because hashem has some sort of ultimate plan, and we live in an illusion thinking we have free-will, even though we don't.
At the end of the day, should we really be dissecting the bible for codes? We're either going to fall into sticky grounds with knowing about our future, or we're going to find out we have no free will. Either way, are we mature enough to handle that?
The post had many comments, and one of them was from non-other than Anonymous. And he defended my friend, and said that he believed moshiach will come if Obama wins as well. He said that it's written in bible codes somewhere, and stood firmly by his decision, even though, I did argue with him a bit. Good for him for standing firm on his beliefs.
Anyway, one of the things that was said to be in bible codes (according to Anonymous- I did NOT look this up, I happen to trust this, why else would someone argue something being in bible codes?) was that and I quote:
actually it says obama in the Torah, not a description of him. They found a passage that spells out his name acrostically, and before that it says nasi, which mean president, and afterwards it says mashiach.
***
I'm not here to argue the validity of bible codes. Not at all the point of this post. Say the bible codes are truly accurate, and are truly the determining factors of the world, wouldn't there be major problems with this case?
Firstly, one of the things it says in some gemara somewhere is how we're not supposed to visit the fortune teller, or take our horoscopes seriously. The reason, is because of the concept of Jews being above mazal. Like, we supposedly have free will, and if we seek the services of the fortune teller, and we learn our future, there would be no way for hashem to change it.
My question is, wouldn't bible codes, at least in this case qualify as the same thing? I mean, Obama, would HAVE to win for this bible code to come true. If Obama didn't win, then there would be no way of it coming true, which would then be used as a source to discredit the concept of the Torah.
OR...there really is no free-will, and we all vote, but it doesn't matter, because hashem has some sort of ultimate plan, and we live in an illusion thinking we have free-will, even though we don't.
At the end of the day, should we really be dissecting the bible for codes? We're either going to fall into sticky grounds with knowing about our future, or we're going to find out we have no free will. Either way, are we mature enough to handle that?
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Pennsylvania
So it's pretty much "official" that Obama and Murtha won Pennsylvania.
Am I missing something or being called a gun totting, religion clinging Republican is meant as an insult?
Am I missing something when I think that voting for guys that insult you is just a dumb move?
I mean, if you really like being beat and insulted, hire a dominatrix, why screw the country?
Am I missing something or being called a gun totting, religion clinging Republican is meant as an insult?
Am I missing something when I think that voting for guys that insult you is just a dumb move?
I mean, if you really like being beat and insulted, hire a dominatrix, why screw the country?
Monday, November 3, 2008
Suspension
A few girls at my sisters school were suspended.
Why?
Because they were caught cutting a weekly speech given by the principal herself.
My sister thinks the school is nuts. I think the school is nuts.
I generally think that cutting a class shows a sign of normalcy amongst students. Who wants to sit an entire year and NEVER cut a class? Especially if its boring?
I mean, my sister supposedly claims to have never cut class. And I beleive her cuz she's a super geek. But me? I woulda been suspended about 100 times. Especially in 10th grade when I just couldn't stand my english teacher.
And then in 11/12th grade when I knew I was already accepted into college and just couldn't care less about my grades anymore because I knew I'd pass the regents.
Seriously...suspension?
WTH?
Isn't that like child labor to make them sit through such boredom ALL the time and expect them NOT to cut?
Why?
Because they were caught cutting a weekly speech given by the principal herself.
My sister thinks the school is nuts. I think the school is nuts.
I generally think that cutting a class shows a sign of normalcy amongst students. Who wants to sit an entire year and NEVER cut a class? Especially if its boring?
I mean, my sister supposedly claims to have never cut class. And I beleive her cuz she's a super geek. But me? I woulda been suspended about 100 times. Especially in 10th grade when I just couldn't stand my english teacher.
And then in 11/12th grade when I knew I was already accepted into college and just couldn't care less about my grades anymore because I knew I'd pass the regents.
Seriously...suspension?
WTH?
Isn't that like child labor to make them sit through such boredom ALL the time and expect them NOT to cut?
Sunday, November 2, 2008
It's the parents!
Choosing a school based on the middos reputation of its students is a very common occurrence amongst frum people. Like with most things frum people do, this specific occurrence irks me as well.
For example, this shabbos the rabbi of my shul said he will probably send his daughter to a certain school because he doesn't want to worry about her going on drugs, being in the streets, and possibly going off the derech. He said that he's capable of supplementing her education so its not going to be a problem.
Here goes my rant:
WTH is wrong with people these days? We are currently experiencing the highest OTD rate in as long as anyone can remember, as well as the highest BT/conversion rates in history.
So lets take schooling for example:
Many of the OTD people went to typical BY/Yeshivish type schools. They had terrible education, no outside world influences, they didn't speak to people of the opposite gender, and yet, at a certain age, they began to realize there must be more to the world than just blindly following a penguin wannabe. Some people find answers to their own questions, some never ask and just follow the status quo as hard as it may be, while others just decide they want nothing to do with the people who make clarity so difficult to find, and eventually choose a different lifestyle.
Lets take the average BT. The average BT went to a public school or a kiruv type school with VERY lenient rules. Meaning, the BT came from a background that allowed for ALOT Of socialization amongst all different types of people. These people socialized (assuming they're from a city where the trends are high) with Muslims, Christians, atheists, hindus, Buddhists; they've also socialized with many different types of people in reference to race and culture. They've probably been to people's houses and tried a variety of ethnic foods.
These people somehow find a way to become frum. They give up their free-lifestyle. They commit to doing NOTHING one day a week, they commit to not eating certain foods, basically, they generally commit to an entirely different lifestyle than they are used to.
Now...why would someone who has alot of freedom choose to become frum, while someone who is raised with the restrictions and is used to the lifestyle, go off the derech?
Clearly its not IN THE SCHOOL. CLEARLY!! Or else no PS kid would ever in their lives become frum, and neither would a nice BY/yeshivish person go OTD.
It's the parents. Sadly, I feel the parents in frum homes have no say whatsoever in their child's life anymore. They send their kids to schools. These schools decide for the parents what the kid can/cannot do. What the kid can/not see. The school chooses who the kid can or cannot be friends with, and which music the kid can/cannot listen to. They also declare which locations are appropriate for the kid to socialize in, and which ones are innappropriate.
Where are the parents? Oh, that's right, the parents are busy reproducing, so that 5 yrs later they can complain about how they cannot afford tuition to send their kids to schools they cannot afford that doesn't teach anything anyway...
Really...in the PS system, the parents are FORCED to parent, because if they don't, children will end up totally messed up. And if the parents don't parent? The kid learns to make their own decisions. Some kids make mistakes, while some don't. It's all relative to the personalities and the INDIVIDUALITY that develops when you're in a school with a DIVERSE group of people.
When you're in a school with people who are not like you, you tend to question why you do what you do. You question why you're different, and often, people have a specific preference to their own culture, and they form an identity with people who are similar to themselves. They come up with cliques, in which the students find themselves as part of a community of people who are LIKE them! Even if a student forms a clique of people based on things other than ethnicity, there would still be an ultimate binding factor that the student feels is essential to their personal identity.
A student, in such an environment, learns to take care of itself, based on the guidelines their parents set for them in the home.
If a student has bad parents, they wouldn't survive the PS system, because they are likely to find themselves with a group of people who are clueless.
Being a part of the frummy yeshiva system requires bad parents. If parents were decent, they wouldn't feel compelled to leaving their kids in schools for crazy hours. They'd want their kids at home, reading a book, or possibly hanging out with a friend, watching a movie or doing HW or playing a game.
IN the frum world, its no wonder they fear sending their kid to decent education schools, and not focus on middos. They fear the inevitable- their bad parenting would cause their kids to go OTD.
For example, this shabbos the rabbi of my shul said he will probably send his daughter to a certain school because he doesn't want to worry about her going on drugs, being in the streets, and possibly going off the derech. He said that he's capable of supplementing her education so its not going to be a problem.
Here goes my rant:
WTH is wrong with people these days? We are currently experiencing the highest OTD rate in as long as anyone can remember, as well as the highest BT/conversion rates in history.
So lets take schooling for example:
Many of the OTD people went to typical BY/Yeshivish type schools. They had terrible education, no outside world influences, they didn't speak to people of the opposite gender, and yet, at a certain age, they began to realize there must be more to the world than just blindly following a penguin wannabe. Some people find answers to their own questions, some never ask and just follow the status quo as hard as it may be, while others just decide they want nothing to do with the people who make clarity so difficult to find, and eventually choose a different lifestyle.
Lets take the average BT. The average BT went to a public school or a kiruv type school with VERY lenient rules. Meaning, the BT came from a background that allowed for ALOT Of socialization amongst all different types of people. These people socialized (assuming they're from a city where the trends are high) with Muslims, Christians, atheists, hindus, Buddhists; they've also socialized with many different types of people in reference to race and culture. They've probably been to people's houses and tried a variety of ethnic foods.
These people somehow find a way to become frum. They give up their free-lifestyle. They commit to doing NOTHING one day a week, they commit to not eating certain foods, basically, they generally commit to an entirely different lifestyle than they are used to.
Now...why would someone who has alot of freedom choose to become frum, while someone who is raised with the restrictions and is used to the lifestyle, go off the derech?
Clearly its not IN THE SCHOOL. CLEARLY!! Or else no PS kid would ever in their lives become frum, and neither would a nice BY/yeshivish person go OTD.
It's the parents. Sadly, I feel the parents in frum homes have no say whatsoever in their child's life anymore. They send their kids to schools. These schools decide for the parents what the kid can/cannot do. What the kid can/not see. The school chooses who the kid can or cannot be friends with, and which music the kid can/cannot listen to. They also declare which locations are appropriate for the kid to socialize in, and which ones are innappropriate.
Where are the parents? Oh, that's right, the parents are busy reproducing, so that 5 yrs later they can complain about how they cannot afford tuition to send their kids to schools they cannot afford that doesn't teach anything anyway...
Really...in the PS system, the parents are FORCED to parent, because if they don't, children will end up totally messed up. And if the parents don't parent? The kid learns to make their own decisions. Some kids make mistakes, while some don't. It's all relative to the personalities and the INDIVIDUALITY that develops when you're in a school with a DIVERSE group of people.
When you're in a school with people who are not like you, you tend to question why you do what you do. You question why you're different, and often, people have a specific preference to their own culture, and they form an identity with people who are similar to themselves. They come up with cliques, in which the students find themselves as part of a community of people who are LIKE them! Even if a student forms a clique of people based on things other than ethnicity, there would still be an ultimate binding factor that the student feels is essential to their personal identity.
A student, in such an environment, learns to take care of itself, based on the guidelines their parents set for them in the home.
If a student has bad parents, they wouldn't survive the PS system, because they are likely to find themselves with a group of people who are clueless.
Being a part of the frummy yeshiva system requires bad parents. If parents were decent, they wouldn't feel compelled to leaving their kids in schools for crazy hours. They'd want their kids at home, reading a book, or possibly hanging out with a friend, watching a movie or doing HW or playing a game.
IN the frum world, its no wonder they fear sending their kid to decent education schools, and not focus on middos. They fear the inevitable- their bad parenting would cause their kids to go OTD.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
At a shuir
Imagine this situation:
You find yourself at a shuir/speech and you find out that the speaker is someone who has blatantly lied to you on numerous occasions.
You find yourself in this awkward situation of not knowing whether or not you should walk out of the room or just stay-put and listen, just to avoid the drama of people noticing that you're leaving the shuir- something you would never do otherwise- which may get them suspicious and/or vocal about their curiosity.
So you decide to stay-put (to avoid the loshon hara and drama, leaving would ensue) only to find out that the topic of the shuir is about lying.
Throughout the shuir the speaker makes excellent points on why lying is bad and gives excellent examples and explanations on the consequences of lying. But you can't seem to really appreciate the points because you really know the speaker, and you know that everything he's saying is truly hypocritical in your eyes, and taking his words seriously just makes you feel somewhat inept.
During the speech you try not to laugh.
Finally the speech is over and your friend starts going on and on about how amazing the shuir is. What do you say to her?
You can't lie and say "wow the speaker was amazing" because the very reason you didn't like the speech was because of the speaker. But if you say anything (assuming you're talkative) neutral, such as "the content of the speech was excellent" your friend may notice something is off.
What do you do?
You find yourself at a shuir/speech and you find out that the speaker is someone who has blatantly lied to you on numerous occasions.
You find yourself in this awkward situation of not knowing whether or not you should walk out of the room or just stay-put and listen, just to avoid the drama of people noticing that you're leaving the shuir- something you would never do otherwise- which may get them suspicious and/or vocal about their curiosity.
So you decide to stay-put (to avoid the loshon hara and drama, leaving would ensue) only to find out that the topic of the shuir is about lying.
Throughout the shuir the speaker makes excellent points on why lying is bad and gives excellent examples and explanations on the consequences of lying. But you can't seem to really appreciate the points because you really know the speaker, and you know that everything he's saying is truly hypocritical in your eyes, and taking his words seriously just makes you feel somewhat inept.
During the speech you try not to laugh.
Finally the speech is over and your friend starts going on and on about how amazing the shuir is. What do you say to her?
You can't lie and say "wow the speaker was amazing" because the very reason you didn't like the speech was because of the speaker. But if you say anything (assuming you're talkative) neutral, such as "the content of the speech was excellent" your friend may notice something is off.
What do you do?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
We need it too
The following is a smart letter in the Yated, in the sukkos edition. The girl makes an excellent point, and as I was reading what she wrote, I was all like "wow, this girl is awesome!"
Dear Editor,
I'm pretty sure that I am speaking on behalf of many Jewish girls. I'm sure they will agree with me on an issue I've finally decided to voice my thoughts on.
A "frum-from-birth" person is born frum and born to live a religious lifestyle. She has no choice; she was born that way. She's expected to do all the mitzvos, no questions asked. Chas veshalom if you ask questions about Judaism. A baalas tshuvah, however, becomes frum on her own free will. Why? Because everything, Judaism and all the mitzvos, were explained to her, detail by detail. She asked myriad questions and she got answers. This was all probably through a kiruv organization.
"FFB's" however, are expected to act frum with no explanations. Judaism isn't explained to us. To whom should we address our questions without anyone's eyebrows being raised?
In school, lessons are being taught, but questions arise. You can't ask questions in school because, number one, there are too many, and number two, because classmates and teachers will think you've gone crazy! Well, maybe not all my classmates, since I'm sure I'm not hte only one. After all, I'm a normal, smart, yeshivishe Bais Yaakov high school student from Monsey and no one suspects a thing. I'm actually considered one of the more yeshivishe and frum girls of my class, but I still harbor questions! So you never know, there are may be so many more like me.
Maybe Yiddishkeit can be explained to frum Bais Yaakov girls as much as it's explained in a kiruv shiur or a kiruv camp.
Thank you.
S.F.
***
What I find most fascinating is how she feels that since she's yeshivish it somehow unthinkable that she should have a question.
There is sooooo much wrong with today's frummies that it goes beyond anything I can discuss on a blog.
Dear Editor,
I'm pretty sure that I am speaking on behalf of many Jewish girls. I'm sure they will agree with me on an issue I've finally decided to voice my thoughts on.
A "frum-from-birth" person is born frum and born to live a religious lifestyle. She has no choice; she was born that way. She's expected to do all the mitzvos, no questions asked. Chas veshalom if you ask questions about Judaism. A baalas tshuvah, however, becomes frum on her own free will. Why? Because everything, Judaism and all the mitzvos, were explained to her, detail by detail. She asked myriad questions and she got answers. This was all probably through a kiruv organization.
"FFB's" however, are expected to act frum with no explanations. Judaism isn't explained to us. To whom should we address our questions without anyone's eyebrows being raised?
In school, lessons are being taught, but questions arise. You can't ask questions in school because, number one, there are too many, and number two, because classmates and teachers will think you've gone crazy! Well, maybe not all my classmates, since I'm sure I'm not hte only one. After all, I'm a normal, smart, yeshivishe Bais Yaakov high school student from Monsey and no one suspects a thing. I'm actually considered one of the more yeshivishe and frum girls of my class, but I still harbor questions! So you never know, there are may be so many more like me.
Maybe Yiddishkeit can be explained to frum Bais Yaakov girls as much as it's explained in a kiruv shiur or a kiruv camp.
Thank you.
S.F.
***
What I find most fascinating is how she feels that since she's yeshivish it somehow unthinkable that she should have a question.
There is sooooo much wrong with today's frummies that it goes beyond anything I can discuss on a blog.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Opening the door
My kiruv program in HS had some of the most entertaining teachers ever. We had one teacher who literally spoke about sex ALL the time. She made class so much fun.
She taught us all about teharas hamishpacha, as well as all about what we should and should not do/wear on a date. She also told us all about what we should and should not look for in a guy.
Well, anyway, I'll share some stuff:
So this teacher was a psych. major in college. She told us that males are one-track minded. All they think about is sex/nudity and all that encompasses. She constantly told us that "guys fall in love with what they see, and girls with what they hear" and so she told us how her husband wasn't the best looking but was "good-enough" for her. Her point was, was that, us girls should dress to entice on our dates; she told us that we should wear button-down shirts on our first date. So we were all like "what, why?" And she said "so that he can imagine unbuttoning them."
Honestly, I remember laughing, and immediately telling my super frummy friend the minute I had the opportunity. She practically vowed to never wear a button down shirt again (outside of school), which was really funny.
A few weeks later, I was at my cousin's house (guys) who live 2-blocks from my HS. They were telling me how they see the girls from my HS pass by every day, and how "dumb and annoying" they look with "those stupid uniforms". I was like "yea well, our uniforms suck." And the conversation ended. My cousins were playing some sort of video game, and were in complete silence. Then one looked at the other, and was like "imagine how hot they are under those things though."
I was like "WTF?" And I shared that story with that teacher a few days later, to which she said "you see, guys use their imaginations!"
I couldn't believe that. It was a total shock that guys were that "bad."
Anyway, another time she was telling us about how she met her husband.
She had this thing that she wouldn't date a guy who did not open the door for her. She said that if a guy wasn't respectful enough to open the door, he wasn't worth her time. And so, what do you know, she finds herself on a date with a guy whom she really liked, and lo and behold - he did not open the door for her. Since she really liked him there was a dilemma.
So she asked him "why didn't you open the door, don't you know its not just protocol its also a sign of respect?"
To which he answered "it isn't respectful for the guy to open the door for a girl, it is infact untznius."
My teacher bought the answer and went out with him again, and now they are married with children.
***
I find this super amusing. At first the teacher told us how we should dress to get his imagination running, and then told us that if he opens the door, it is untznuis. And it must be a big thing, because my stalker asked me if I minded that he opened the door even though some say it's untznius.
Who cares? He's going to check you out. As long as he isn't giving you one of those disgusting looks, does it matter that he's looking? Do you want to end up with a guy who after marraige realizes he isn't attracted to you?
She taught us all about teharas hamishpacha, as well as all about what we should and should not do/wear on a date. She also told us all about what we should and should not look for in a guy.
Well, anyway, I'll share some stuff:
So this teacher was a psych. major in college. She told us that males are one-track minded. All they think about is sex/nudity and all that encompasses. She constantly told us that "guys fall in love with what they see, and girls with what they hear" and so she told us how her husband wasn't the best looking but was "good-enough" for her. Her point was, was that, us girls should dress to entice on our dates; she told us that we should wear button-down shirts on our first date. So we were all like "what, why?" And she said "so that he can imagine unbuttoning them."
Honestly, I remember laughing, and immediately telling my super frummy friend the minute I had the opportunity. She practically vowed to never wear a button down shirt again (outside of school), which was really funny.
A few weeks later, I was at my cousin's house (guys) who live 2-blocks from my HS. They were telling me how they see the girls from my HS pass by every day, and how "dumb and annoying" they look with "those stupid uniforms". I was like "yea well, our uniforms suck." And the conversation ended. My cousins were playing some sort of video game, and were in complete silence. Then one looked at the other, and was like "imagine how hot they are under those things though."
I was like "WTF?" And I shared that story with that teacher a few days later, to which she said "you see, guys use their imaginations!"
I couldn't believe that. It was a total shock that guys were that "bad."
Anyway, another time she was telling us about how she met her husband.
She had this thing that she wouldn't date a guy who did not open the door for her. She said that if a guy wasn't respectful enough to open the door, he wasn't worth her time. And so, what do you know, she finds herself on a date with a guy whom she really liked, and lo and behold - he did not open the door for her. Since she really liked him there was a dilemma.
So she asked him "why didn't you open the door, don't you know its not just protocol its also a sign of respect?"
To which he answered "it isn't respectful for the guy to open the door for a girl, it is infact untznius."
My teacher bought the answer and went out with him again, and now they are married with children.
***
I find this super amusing. At first the teacher told us how we should dress to get his imagination running, and then told us that if he opens the door, it is untznuis. And it must be a big thing, because my stalker asked me if I minded that he opened the door even though some say it's untznius.
Who cares? He's going to check you out. As long as he isn't giving you one of those disgusting looks, does it matter that he's looking? Do you want to end up with a guy who after marraige realizes he isn't attracted to you?
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Homeschooling
I read the article Homeschooling: An Authentic Torah Approach in this weeks Jewish Press, and I have got to say that I was absolutely surprised by how many frum people actually homeschool. I'm not sure if they gave numbers, but they did interview a few people, and they implied the number was not as low as I thought.
I do have to say that what didn't surprise me was the fact that they kept mentioning marraige on the topic of homeschool. I just find it fascinating that ALL of Jewish life revolves around who you marry. Oh well, those who homeschooled had no problem not being part of the game.
I would like to homeschool one day, and so I find topics such as these (and education generally) fascinating.
I do have to say that what didn't surprise me was the fact that they kept mentioning marraige on the topic of homeschool. I just find it fascinating that ALL of Jewish life revolves around who you marry. Oh well, those who homeschooled had no problem not being part of the game.
I would like to homeschool one day, and so I find topics such as these (and education generally) fascinating.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Cell phones and the family
A few weeks ago I was at a shuir and a Rabbi was telling us how cell phones and modern technology are a cause of divorce. He said that all those new advances in technology are "more interesting than a spouse" and leads a married person into feeling as if they're in competition with an electronic device, which leads them to eventually ask for a divorce when they are really fed-up.
The shuir didn't really rile me up. I am so used to the Rebbeim blaming modern technology for everything that this particular shuir didn't move me, after-all, why shouldn't technology be a cause of divorce if it supposedly causes people to go "off the derech" as well as promote "at risk" behavior?
And so I didn't bother saying anything, because responding to the Rabbi would've been like responding to a wall.
Well, I could argue "facts" now. An article in today's NYPOST says that 47% of people surveyed "said cell phones and the Internet have improved the quality of their family's communication, while only 2 percent said it hurt it."
"Another 47-percent said there was no impact."
Try telling this to a Rabbi. They'll go on and on about Kosher phones and completely miss the point.
The shuir didn't really rile me up. I am so used to the Rebbeim blaming modern technology for everything that this particular shuir didn't move me, after-all, why shouldn't technology be a cause of divorce if it supposedly causes people to go "off the derech" as well as promote "at risk" behavior?
And so I didn't bother saying anything, because responding to the Rabbi would've been like responding to a wall.
Well, I could argue "facts" now. An article in today's NYPOST says that 47% of people surveyed "said cell phones and the Internet have improved the quality of their family's communication, while only 2 percent said it hurt it."
"Another 47-percent said there was no impact."
Try telling this to a Rabbi. They'll go on and on about Kosher phones and completely miss the point.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Stupid friend
My friend and I were shmoozing and ofcourse the conversation led to politics.
She tells me "Don't worry, if Obama wins, Moshiach will come."
I started lmao. Really.
I responded, "oh really? the Jews lived through so much crap and so much antisemitism; the Crusades, the Inquisition, pogroms and the holocaust, and so much other stuff. Why in the world would Obama winning the presidency bring about moshiach if all those events didn't? Don't you think it something that stupid would bring about Moshiach the Jewish people would've lobbied to elect an annoying guy from Chicago with a terrible economic policy many many years ago?"
She couldn't answer me...duh!
What the hell is wrong with my friend? Who feeds her this crap and why does she buy it?
She tells me "Don't worry, if Obama wins, Moshiach will come."
I started lmao. Really.
I responded, "oh really? the Jews lived through so much crap and so much antisemitism; the Crusades, the Inquisition, pogroms and the holocaust, and so much other stuff. Why in the world would Obama winning the presidency bring about moshiach if all those events didn't? Don't you think it something that stupid would bring about Moshiach the Jewish people would've lobbied to elect an annoying guy from Chicago with a terrible economic policy many many years ago?"
She couldn't answer me...duh!
What the hell is wrong with my friend? Who feeds her this crap and why does she buy it?
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Random Debate Stuff
1) Obama said if you make less than $250,000/yr your tax will not go up. He went on making a list of different taxes that will not go up, and he said that the capital gains tax will not go up.
Question-
Since when is capital gains based on income?
2) Barack Obama wants to make college education more readily available to the average American. However, if more people go to college, the prestige behind the college degree will not mean anything anymore. So throwing money into more education isn't going to provide anything, just take away the value of something. Kind of like if you allow more diamonds available to the public- their value decreases.
example- Nowadays it is almost impossible to get a decent job with only a Bachelors. Most people go for Masters now because the Ba/Bs is no longer a big deal, and that is because of people who think EVERYONE is entitled to "higher" education.
Nope...people aren't entitled to anything. If you aren't willing to invest in yourself by taking out a loan, the government shouldn't have to pay up for you, unless the government sees you as a good investment. Meaning- MERIT based scholarships, not income based ones. Brilliant people deserve government funds (they will end up inventing/developing all the stuff that will bring money to the country).
3) Obama said that McCain's campaign was 100% negative with his ads.Ok well, Mr. Obama, how about how you sent reporters into Alaska to dig up dirt on Sara Palin and the fact that you lied about McCain's position on stem cells (as he pointed out in the debate).
AND...ABC Factcheck proved that many of McCain's ads had not been negative.
4) Dude, you're either with them or against them. You hang out with TERRORISTS.- William Ayers IS a terrorist, his organization planted bombs into the pentagon because they were against the Vietnam War.
Btw...Bill Ayers is the guy who was quoted as saying he didn't do enough.
-if you are a pacifist, why the f*ck are you bombing any place?-
- I would say the same thing about Republicans who attack Abortion Clinics.
5) - ACORN- The fact check is, is that Obama did give money to ACORN. At the end of the debate ABC news even found that his campaign gave money to an affiliated group which gave money to ACORN.
****
BTW- I normally do not like bringing up politics on this blog because I get very worked up with the arguments. So I'm telling you this right now, I will most likely NOT debate any argument here, for the mere fact that I do not want to drive everyone at home insane.
****
Question-
Since when is capital gains based on income?
2) Barack Obama wants to make college education more readily available to the average American. However, if more people go to college, the prestige behind the college degree will not mean anything anymore. So throwing money into more education isn't going to provide anything, just take away the value of something. Kind of like if you allow more diamonds available to the public- their value decreases.
example- Nowadays it is almost impossible to get a decent job with only a Bachelors. Most people go for Masters now because the Ba/Bs is no longer a big deal, and that is because of people who think EVERYONE is entitled to "higher" education.
Nope...people aren't entitled to anything. If you aren't willing to invest in yourself by taking out a loan, the government shouldn't have to pay up for you, unless the government sees you as a good investment. Meaning- MERIT based scholarships, not income based ones. Brilliant people deserve government funds (they will end up inventing/developing all the stuff that will bring money to the country).
3) Obama said that McCain's campaign was 100% negative with his ads.Ok well, Mr. Obama, how about how you sent reporters into Alaska to dig up dirt on Sara Palin and the fact that you lied about McCain's position on stem cells (as he pointed out in the debate).
AND...ABC Factcheck proved that many of McCain's ads had not been negative.
4) Dude, you're either with them or against them. You hang out with TERRORISTS.- William Ayers IS a terrorist, his organization planted bombs into the pentagon because they were against the Vietnam War.
Btw...Bill Ayers is the guy who was quoted as saying he didn't do enough.
-if you are a pacifist, why the f*ck are you bombing any place?-
- I would say the same thing about Republicans who attack Abortion Clinics.
5) - ACORN- The fact check is, is that Obama did give money to ACORN. At the end of the debate ABC news even found that his campaign gave money to an affiliated group which gave money to ACORN.
****
BTW- I normally do not like bringing up politics on this blog because I get very worked up with the arguments. So I'm telling you this right now, I will most likely NOT debate any argument here, for the mere fact that I do not want to drive everyone at home insane.
****
Google results while watching the debates
What is a small business?
And I went and further googled what the small business was.
-If any of you have any economic sense, after reading the two links above, you'd realize that Obama is full of it-
***
Obama and Partial-Birth Abortion-
In 2003, as chairman of the next Senate committee to which BAIPA (Born Alive Infants Protection Act) was sent, Obama prevented it from even getting a hearing. BAIPA, by the way, stated that all live-born babies were guaranteed the same constitutional right to equal protection, whether or not they were wanted.
***
And I went and further googled what the small business was.
-If any of you have any economic sense, after reading the two links above, you'd realize that Obama is full of it-
***
Obama and Partial-Birth Abortion-
In 2003, as chairman of the next Senate committee to which BAIPA (Born Alive Infants Protection Act) was sent, Obama prevented it from even getting a hearing. BAIPA, by the way, stated that all live-born babies were guaranteed the same constitutional right to equal protection, whether or not they were wanted.
***
Monday, October 13, 2008
Self-flattery
If you're ever in the need for some flattery, follow this link. It is the greatest :-)
http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~geoffo/humour/flattery.html
http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Can you flush the toilet on shabbos?
Every once in a while when we have irreligious people over for shabbos or yom tov we get asked the question:
Are you allowed to flush the toilet on shabbos/holiday?
Well we usually crack up and go "duh, who'd keep shabbos if you couldn't?"
Or,
"Would anyoone use their own bathrooms if you couldn't? Don't you think everyone would head off to the shul or something?"
Well, I've got news, pretty soon that question will be legit, here's why:
Just What the Economy Needs: A $5,000 toilet
enjoy! :)
Are you allowed to flush the toilet on shabbos/holiday?
Well we usually crack up and go "duh, who'd keep shabbos if you couldn't?"
Or,
"Would anyoone use their own bathrooms if you couldn't? Don't you think everyone would head off to the shul or something?"
Well, I've got news, pretty soon that question will be legit, here's why:
Just What the Economy Needs: A $5,000 toilet
enjoy! :)
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Yom Kippur pet-peeves
There are many people who annoy me on a regular basis, but on Yom kippur I try very hard not to be annoyed, but there are always those who tend to irk me, and here is a list of them
1- The people who wear cologne or perfume. Normally I like perfumes and colognes, but on an empty stomach the scents are just annoying, and make me nauseus. I get very dizzy and well, I think every shul should send out letters that say "No Perfume, no leater shoes.." but stress the perfume part.
2- People who drive to shul. Really now, if you're a RH/YK Jew and you show up to an orthodox synagogue, please be respectful and park a block away. Don't park right infront, then take your cell phone out, and just walk in.
3- Parents who don't send their above 5-yr-old children away when they come in towards the end of davening with food. Its very bad. I remember when my sister used to do that, my mom would either go out with her, or tell her to go play with her friends while she had her food.
4- People who finish their shemonei esrei really fast and then sit back, even though you, who are right behind them are still not done. When the people in front of me sit, I lose alot of focus, and I try very hard not to let it bother me, but it does.
5- Parents with very talkative children who just let them sit during davening. I'm all for kids being in shul. I really am, I love kids and when lil babies are sitting in their carraiges next to their moms, I am automatically in a good mood. But if your kid is talking ALOT take him out until he calms down and only then should you allow him back in during davening. I've taken a few kids out for people during speeches and stuff (over the years-mostly on shabbos though), its not a hard thing to do, even if you don't have a teenager or 20-something to take the kids out for you.
Anyway, I hope you all have a happy and healthy new year.
Next Year in Jerusalem!!!!
1- The people who wear cologne or perfume. Normally I like perfumes and colognes, but on an empty stomach the scents are just annoying, and make me nauseus. I get very dizzy and well, I think every shul should send out letters that say "No Perfume, no leater shoes.." but stress the perfume part.
2- People who drive to shul. Really now, if you're a RH/YK Jew and you show up to an orthodox synagogue, please be respectful and park a block away. Don't park right infront, then take your cell phone out, and just walk in.
3- Parents who don't send their above 5-yr-old children away when they come in towards the end of davening with food. Its very bad. I remember when my sister used to do that, my mom would either go out with her, or tell her to go play with her friends while she had her food.
4- People who finish their shemonei esrei really fast and then sit back, even though you, who are right behind them are still not done. When the people in front of me sit, I lose alot of focus, and I try very hard not to let it bother me, but it does.
5- Parents with very talkative children who just let them sit during davening. I'm all for kids being in shul. I really am, I love kids and when lil babies are sitting in their carraiges next to their moms, I am automatically in a good mood. But if your kid is talking ALOT take him out until he calms down and only then should you allow him back in during davening. I've taken a few kids out for people during speeches and stuff (over the years-mostly on shabbos though), its not a hard thing to do, even if you don't have a teenager or 20-something to take the kids out for you.
Anyway, I hope you all have a happy and healthy new year.
Next Year in Jerusalem!!!!
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