Simchat Torah

[The Grovers Corners Yenta]

Posted: 10/7/04 at 5:39pm

At sundown tonight starts one of my favorite holidays,Simchat Torah. It is when we come to the end of the weekly Torah readings and starts all over again with Genesis. It is customary to sing and dance with the Torahs. In my synagogue we do that and we have another interesting custom. The synagogue was founded by German Holocaust survivors a little over sixty years ago. They celebrate by having a lunch of knockwurst, sauerkraut, potatoes and beer. Very much like Octoberfest. How do others celebrate it?

[Matt_G]

Posted: 10/7/04 at 5:40pm

Shrimp Chow Mein and a little bump n' grind w/ BT.

[Plum]

Posted: 10/7/04 at 6:47pm

Shrimp Chow Mein?

*headdesk*

[Matt_G]

Posted: 10/7/04 at 6:47pm

Hmmmm. Strange I wrote that. I was actually thinking Shrimp Lo Mein. Maybe I had Mama Rose in my head.

[Plum]

Posted: 10/7/04 at 6:48pm

You're my kind of Jew.

[Matt_G]

Posted: 10/7/04 at 6:52pm

Why can't the MEN say that to me????

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/7/04 at 7:22pm

You're MY kind of Jew too, bubbelah.

[The Grovers Corners Yenta]

Posted: 10/7/04 at 10:01pm

Childdren















Children!

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 10/7/04 at 11:02pm

Matt_G, you crack me up!
At my shul, we all gather on the bimah and everyone gets an aliyah by their birthday month. Then, with everyone gathered round, the rabbi scrolls back the Torah and points out important places and parts as he goes. He basically tells the whole story backwards. I love it! There is also lots of dancing and singing inside and outside. It is so much fun!
Yenta, that is a very interesting custom!

[kissmycookie]

Posted: 10/7/04 at 11:09pm

have an eggroll, Mr. Matt_G

[Matt_G]

Posted: 10/7/04 at 11:11pm

Have some muscle, have a jock boy, have a bear!

[TGIF]

Posted: 10/7/04 at 11:15pm

"You're MY kind of Jew too, bubbelah."

Bubbelah .. hah! Thats what I call my dog.

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 10/7/04 at 11:38pm

Yenta maybe you can explain this to me.

I was walking past an orthodox jewish temple on the upper east side today and the guy standing outside stopped me. he said that, because he's orthodox, he can't use electricity right now, and he asked if i'd help him out by following him inside and flipping all the light switches for him. so I got to play my part for the jewish faith by following him around the empty temple and flipping the switches he'd point at, I even got to adjust the air conditioning and turn on the electric candles up at the front. nice guy. the only thing that made me go "Hmmmmmm..." was how, before we went inside, he suddenly got gravely serious and asked "So you're definitely not Jewish, correct?" i'm not.

I have 3 questions--
1. huh?
2. what jewish holiday has an electricity clause?
4. if it's banned, why is it OK to use if someone else physically turns the electricity on? they're still "using it", just not operating it.
5. am I going to hell now?!

[kissmycookie]

Posted: 10/7/04 at 11:46pm

well, if it is Shabbos, no work can be done on the Sabbath. This maybe included in some holidays as well. That includes the use of electricity. However, someone who is not Jewish (goyim) can do this work instead, because you're not bound by scripture to not do the work as the Orthodox are. Whether or not you're going to hell is a totally different story, but you've done a good deed today and may get a special intercession on your behalf...

[Plum]

Posted: 10/8/04 at 12:08am

Correct. From sunset Friday to sunset Saturday Jews can't do any work. Can't even open an umbrella. There are certain exceptions, but I'm not going into that, especially because I don't know the English words for a lot of it. :)

The only time I observe Shabbat or the kosher diet rules is during holidays. (I'm a bad Jew.) So since Yom Kippur fell on a Saturday this year, I drove my roommate crazy asking her to look up baseball scores and turn on lights for me.

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 10/8/04 at 12:22am

ahhhhh thanks guys! that's a lot less ominous than it seemed at the time. i took it more as an amish-style self-denial sort of thing. i never knew that was a part of shabbos. I thought all that consisted of was dinner. i guess that makes me a bad jew too. or at least a bad non-religious person with a jewish side of the family. but they're jewish like my mom is catholic- twice a year.

well thanks again! i learned something today.

[The Grovers Corners Yenta]

Posted: 10/8/04 at 12:45am

No such thing as a bad Jew..only Jews who might benefit from learning more. On holidays and shabbos traditional Jews refrain from using electricity, driving cars, writing etc. This is because this is considered work and G-d said that we should not do any work on those days. These people are called Shomer Shabbos or Shomer Yom Tov. Shomer means to keep or guard. Shabbos is sabbath and Yom Tov means holiday. People will keep their stoves on a low flame, use electric timers etc. Personally I use electricity , etc. But the things I wont do during those times are shopping, cleaning, and watching TV. And by the way, just enhance your holiday or sabbath pleasure......it is a double mitzvah to make love then!

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 10/8/04 at 12:58am

i love that about the jewish faith! back when I was young enough to be forced to attend church, all I heard was negative stuff relating to sex. or if not blatantly negative, the concept of sex was equal to farting in church. not something god would punish you for, but not something you should share or admit to others. there are a lot of religions that take the "act as if it never happens" approach. jews though, jews get it on!

Updated On: 10/8/04 at 12:58 AM

[The Grovers Corners Yenta]

Posted: 10/8/04 at 4:52pm

I had a wonderful time at Simchat Torah services at my synagogue today. We even did shots of scotch while reading Torah. At one point, we took the Torahs out side and danced in the parking lot with them. Here we were coming to the end of the reading in Deuteronmy with Mose's death and started all over again with creation in Genesis. I think that Torah is the gift from G-d that just keeps on giving! Our traditional knockwurst, sauerkraut and beer luncheon honoring the Germans who started our synagogue was a big hit. One little girl commented that the place smelled like farts. Out of the mouths of babes.............

[BwayLover]

Posted: 10/8/04 at 5:11pm

I didn't celebrate much. At around 10 PM there were three terror attacks at hotels on the Egypt/Israel border, killing more than 30 people. Some are still trapped under the ruins.

Needless to say...I can't really be happy at the moment. This is my home,I love it and will never leave, but sometimes I just have to wonder...am I doomed to live like this my entire life? The thought it just too depressing.

Sorry for ruining the mood but I had to let this out somewhere.

[The Grovers Corners Yenta]

Posted: 10/8/04 at 6:00pm

Bway lover.......while I was busy celebrating and getting a bit drunk, I also thought of those in Israel who were not in a festive mood. I said a special prayer.

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 10/8/04 at 7:09pm

Correct me if I am wrong, but if you are shomer Shabbes and you have a Shabbes goy, aren't you not supposed to specifically ask that person to turn on the lights, etc. You can say "I wish there was more light in here" but not "will you turn on the light." Is that correct? or is that just with other not-so-observant Jews? This always confuses me.

BwayLover, it is awful to wake up in the morning and look at the headlines and see another article about violence in Israel. I have family and friends there and don't want anything to happen to them. I hope you and your family stay safe.

Also, have you ever heard of Chava Alberstein (sp?)?

[BwayLover]

Posted: 10/9/04 at 5:36am

Thank you. I am feeling a little better today but it has indeed been terrible. But- life must go on. This is our way of saying...we're still here, and we're not going anywhere!



P.S. Yeah, I've heard of her. She's a very famous singer here in Israel.

Updated On: 10/9/04 at 05:36 AM

[sabrelady]

Posted: 10/9/04 at 9:55am

The theory goes that anyone who is in your EMPLOY cannot work But a request is ok. Also one of the little bits of "pilpul" is that work cannot be Initiated on the holyday but it can be continued so if u keep yr water tap sl open so it drips/low flows u can open it to a fuller flow but NOY reopen it it if u shut it off. ( the equivalent of drawing water from a well)

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 10/9/04 at 11:16pm

Sabrelady- thanks!

BwayLover- My family and I love Chava Alberstein, we have a bajillion of her CDs.