Before I became frum, I lived mostly in Queens, New York aka New York City, but not the part of NYC which was commonly referred to just as the city. I also lived in California (Southern California) areas such as West LA, Santa Monica, Brentwood, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks aka the valley.
Several months ago when I told my Passaic pals who asked that I grew up in Kew Gardens, and they replied "oh, very frum". I replied, no not Kew Garden Hills, just plain old Kew Gardens. Now after spending a Shabbos or two in KG, I realize hey this town is kind of becoming frum. After the all, the conservative shul Anshe Shalom, is now orthodox an is being run by Chabad.
Nu, so what's the connection with Anshe Shalom you might ask. Well, that is where even my mom (not yet frum) the matron of our secular jewish ways, would go to be part of Yiskor services on Yom Kippor. There was always some talk of a ticket, and how we get in, however those small details never really stopped us. My father had passed away (was niftir)-(he should rest in peace), in 1985. The whole issue of tickets on high holidays reminds of a very funny joke, which I will not repeat here, not here, not now.
As a matter of fact when I asking my Rabbi about getting a seat for the High Holy Days (about two years ago) he simply stated, you come to shul, you take a seat, and you pray. He was okay about leaving the details to someone else, for another time.
Stephen C. Sanders
July, 29, 2008
http://passaicdating.blogspot.com
http://thewriterscafe.org
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Passaic Dating
Passaic Dating: "Jews affiliated with the Reform Movement also saw a significant decrease in number after 4 generations, going from 100 Jews to 13 (intermarriage rate: 53%, Average children per family: 1.72). Unaffiliated Jews with an intermarriage rate of 72% and 1.62 children per family, were left with only 5 Jews after 4 generations.'"
Passaic Dating
Passaic Dating: "100 Orthodox Jews, with an intermarriage rate of 3% and an average 6.4 children per family increased their numbers to 2,588 Jews after 4 generations. 100 Modern Orthodox Jews, with an intermarriage rate of 3% and an average of 3.23 children per family also increased their numbers to 346 Jews.
Non-Orthodox and unaffiliated branches of Judaism did not fare so well in the continuity equation. 100 Conservative Jews decreased in number after 4 generations to 24 Jews"
Courtesy of: Will Your Grandchildren be Jewsih
Passaic Dating
The Writers Cafe.org
From Aharon Moshe's Notebook
Non-Orthodox and unaffiliated branches of Judaism did not fare so well in the continuity equation. 100 Conservative Jews decreased in number after 4 generations to 24 Jews"
Courtesy of: Will Your Grandchildren be Jewsih
Passaic Dating
The Writers Cafe.org
From Aharon Moshe's Notebook
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Shidduchim, the Dating Scene at Penn, and the Baalat Teshuva | Beyond BT - For Baalei Teshuva and Other Growth Oriented Jews
Shidduchim, the Dating Scene at Penn, and the Baalat Teshuva Beyond BT - For Baalei Teshuva and Other Growth Oriented Jews:
"The stigma of being BT. Not such a big deal in my community, or in the Modern Orthodox world in general, but at the same time, I think there might be something underlying. Part of me wants to marry an FFB, so I can be part of a frum family where I don’t have to be in charge of running the household. When I want a break from Shabbat, we can go visit the in-laws. I can’t help but wonder if other people feel the same way. Maybe FFBs want another in-law family like their own, with Torah values and yirat Hashem.
This only states problems, and not solutions to go with it. I don’t have those, only thoughts. My main thought is the misconception that you need to be in a place with a large number of guys/girls in order to find your bashert. [And the same would go for needing many friends of friends]. You only need to find one person in order to get married, and that person has to be the right person."
Courtesy of:
http://www.beyondbt.com/
Posted by Webmaster of:
http://thewriterscafe.org
"The stigma of being BT. Not such a big deal in my community, or in the Modern Orthodox world in general, but at the same time, I think there might be something underlying. Part of me wants to marry an FFB, so I can be part of a frum family where I don’t have to be in charge of running the household. When I want a break from Shabbat, we can go visit the in-laws. I can’t help but wonder if other people feel the same way. Maybe FFBs want another in-law family like their own, with Torah values and yirat Hashem.
This only states problems, and not solutions to go with it. I don’t have those, only thoughts. My main thought is the misconception that you need to be in a place with a large number of guys/girls in order to find your bashert. [And the same would go for needing many friends of friends]. You only need to find one person in order to get married, and that person has to be the right person."
Courtesy of:
http://www.beyondbt.com/
Posted by Webmaster of:
http://thewriterscafe.org
Shidduchim, the Dating Scene at Penn, and the Baalat Teshuva | Beyond BT - For Baalei Teshuva and Other Growth Oriented Jews
Shidduchim, the Dating Scene at Penn, and the Baalat Teshuva Beyond BT - For Baalei Teshuva and Other Growth Oriented Jews:
A comment from beyond bt
BTs, in particular, endure such withering criticism from so many directions; parents and coworkers who think they’ve gone off the deep end, FFBs who sometimes agree with the above assessment while by turns saying that they haven’t conformed or come along fast enough, Mentors, Rabbis and Rebitsins who scrutinize their every move like another new set of Jewish parents. Worst of all many BTs internalize all of this and even when the external suppliers of critique and comment are temporarily silenced they become their own worst critics.
Anon comment #70
Nicely worded Anon... Although I am not yet shedding any tears regarding the BT's status.
Courtesy of:
http://www.beyondbt.com/
Posted by Webmaster of:
http://thewriterscafe.org/
A comment from beyond bt
BTs, in particular, endure such withering criticism from so many directions; parents and coworkers who think they’ve gone off the deep end, FFBs who sometimes agree with the above assessment while by turns saying that they haven’t conformed or come along fast enough, Mentors, Rabbis and Rebitsins who scrutinize their every move like another new set of Jewish parents. Worst of all many BTs internalize all of this and even when the external suppliers of critique and comment are temporarily silenced they become their own worst critics.
Anon comment #70
Nicely worded Anon... Although I am not yet shedding any tears regarding the BT's status.
Courtesy of:
http://www.beyondbt.com/
Posted by Webmaster of:
http://thewriterscafe.org/
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Okay, so here is how it went.
I came out to California to visit my Dad who was battling cancer.
The fight with cancer is the kind of fight that you really do not get to win!
Even as I write the above lines, I must truly admit that I do not believe them. Today I learn some amazing things in the Daf Yomi. This literally means we study a page of Gemarah a day. Anyone would simply find trying to reead the vast amount of orthodox writings daunting, so instead. we show up every day (sometimes evn the most regular atttendees do miss a day) and get to have our Rabbi read it to us in Hebrew and English, and even expalin a bit.
Do not get me wrong, I do beleive in miracles. However I feel as if the miracles need to be requested sparingly. Not everyone has the merit to have a miracle made for him. I had read up on my Dad's form of cancer. I picked out a current cutting edge book on what substances were natural anti-carcinogenic, specifically for the type of saquamos cells that were cancerous in my Dad (he should rest in peace). I read up on members of the cruciferous family, good old cabbage contained indols (I could even draw you the molecular diagram an aromtic benzene ring type of molecule) and sweet Potatoes or Yams were good as well for their vitamin A along with other substances.
I cooked for my Dad (*rip) even though i knew he could not tolerate the food well. His intial cancer developede in his esophagus. He had a big bottle of Rolaids close to his bed from my ealiest childhood memories in Union NJ. I can even remeber the appearance of the chest of drawers the big bottle or rolaids rested upon. I cooked him the special stew with lamb (something good about lamb, in my anit-carcinogen book) I also fed him watermelon. I avoided acidic foods favoring the alkaline variety. I even found a high protein snack that he liked, and was able to swallow, Peanut butter on ritz crackers.
The planned food to get the miracle diet failed even in its inception for one seemingly minor yet very significant oversight. My Dad* was already on a TPN (liquid food in a clear bag) diet which he received via a catheter firectly into a vein on his neck. Convenient maybe, but food to live on? I think not.
Simple use and dis-use theory tells us that entirer system or individual organs such as the large intestines or bowels will shut down, when they are not receiving the substrate which they work upon (in this case roughage or fiber, in the diet). So after eating I had to witness the pain involve with a normally minor bilogical function of elimination of waste products. Apparently the organ systems needed for eliminating real (non-TPN) foods, had already shut down.
(more to post...some other time)
In case any of my family members ever make here, accept my apologies in advance for my harsh lanaguage in my handwritten journal pages below. These pages were originally written to snatch the light back from the darkness. It seemed a proper introduction to a self help book, to site a dark moment from my own past, These pages were written into a journal type notebook on July 8, 1994. This date is the Rashi's Yortziet. I say this not because I beleive myself to be so elevated rather that Chasidism teaches us that the Yortzeit (death anniversary) of a great soul make certain meritorious "light" available to us here in this lower world of finite things (Machut).
Otherwise we could just say it is a co-incidence. Which is such an interesting word because if two things happen together, for no particular reason, we simply say they coincide in time. To me this seems quite the opposite of the term coincidence.
What does the word coincidence really mean? Anyone, feel free to post an answer or comment here, if you want.
AhMbDvd Sanders October 31, 2007 6:11pm
The fight with cancer is the kind of fight that you really do not get to win!
Even as I write the above lines, I must truly admit that I do not believe them. Today I learn some amazing things in the Daf Yomi. This literally means we study a page of Gemarah a day. Anyone would simply find trying to reead the vast amount of orthodox writings daunting, so instead. we show up every day (sometimes evn the most regular atttendees do miss a day) and get to have our Rabbi read it to us in Hebrew and English, and even expalin a bit.
Do not get me wrong, I do beleive in miracles. However I feel as if the miracles need to be requested sparingly. Not everyone has the merit to have a miracle made for him. I had read up on my Dad's form of cancer. I picked out a current cutting edge book on what substances were natural anti-carcinogenic, specifically for the type of saquamos cells that were cancerous in my Dad (he should rest in peace). I read up on members of the cruciferous family, good old cabbage contained indols (I could even draw you the molecular diagram an aromtic benzene ring type of molecule) and sweet Potatoes or Yams were good as well for their vitamin A along with other substances.
I cooked for my Dad (*rip) even though i knew he could not tolerate the food well. His intial cancer developede in his esophagus. He had a big bottle of Rolaids close to his bed from my ealiest childhood memories in Union NJ. I can even remeber the appearance of the chest of drawers the big bottle or rolaids rested upon. I cooked him the special stew with lamb (something good about lamb, in my anit-carcinogen book) I also fed him watermelon. I avoided acidic foods favoring the alkaline variety. I even found a high protein snack that he liked, and was able to swallow, Peanut butter on ritz crackers.
The planned food to get the miracle diet failed even in its inception for one seemingly minor yet very significant oversight. My Dad* was already on a TPN (liquid food in a clear bag) diet which he received via a catheter firectly into a vein on his neck. Convenient maybe, but food to live on? I think not.
Simple use and dis-use theory tells us that entirer system or individual organs such as the large intestines or bowels will shut down, when they are not receiving the substrate which they work upon (in this case roughage or fiber, in the diet). So after eating I had to witness the pain involve with a normally minor bilogical function of elimination of waste products. Apparently the organ systems needed for eliminating real (non-TPN) foods, had already shut down.
(more to post...some other time)
In case any of my family members ever make here, accept my apologies in advance for my harsh lanaguage in my handwritten journal pages below. These pages were originally written to snatch the light back from the darkness. It seemed a proper introduction to a self help book, to site a dark moment from my own past, These pages were written into a journal type notebook on July 8, 1994. This date is the Rashi's Yortziet. I say this not because I beleive myself to be so elevated rather that Chasidism teaches us that the Yortzeit (death anniversary) of a great soul make certain meritorious "light" available to us here in this lower world of finite things (Machut).
Otherwise we could just say it is a co-incidence. Which is such an interesting word because if two things happen together, for no particular reason, we simply say they coincide in time. To me this seems quite the opposite of the term coincidence.
What does the word coincidence really mean? Anyone, feel free to post an answer or comment here, if you want.
AhMbDvd Sanders October 31, 2007 6:11pm
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