Thursday, August 05, 2010

Haiku, Contest, Jokes, Inyanei DeYomah

There's a scene in The Sunshine Boys in which Walter Mathau's character has a hard time opening a door and his nephew tells him to jiggle and not force it. That popped in my head and this came out:

Wiggle, don't force it
True about sticky locked doors
and true about life
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I went in to work today. Nice people. Nice place.
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I met a friend for breakfast this morning. The paper towel dispenser in Mocha Blue electronically released only a small piece of paper at a time. I felt frustration. Then I realized the old truth about places not having paper towel dispensers at all. It's true, even if it is a cliche'.
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In June I received an offer to get copies of a new novel to review and offer via my blog. They've been sitting at my workplace and I just got them today. If you would like to be one of two winners of the book Displaced Persons (see review info here) by Ghita Schwarz please enter a comment as to why you think this is a book that fits for you and/or why you want to win it. I'll pick the winners and mail it out to you as a gift from me and my blog.
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I am a big fan of the Nit'ei Gavriel series. (If I write a proper sefer one day I may name it Nit'ei Binyamin in honor of my father, HSLABW). They found my Rosh haShanah volume somewhere in the school building and held it in the front office for me. I'll take that as a sign that I should open it.
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(That reminds me of a joke Mark Englander told about 25 years ago when he was president of the Young Israel of Windsor Park/Hollis Hills: A shul rabbi makes the public gift presentation to the bar mitzvah boy. When people question his choice the rabbi explains, "At least this I know he'll open.")
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(Speaking of jokes, I told one to a dear friend last night. I thought everyone knew it, but it came to mind based on our conversation, so I shared it. An older woman in Florida brags to her friends that she's got a new boyfriend. they ask if he's nice, rich , handsome. She answers all such questions in the negative. "So," they ask, "why are you dating him?" She replies, "He drives at night." My friend laughed out loud! He had been sharing his concern that his over-eighty parents need to stop driving but don't want to - and he gets that it's hard for them. I think it was good comic relief.)
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And now on to Rav Gavriel Zinner on Ellul, from his work on Rosh haShanah, along with other Ellul related concepts. To make it interactive/interesting I will present only questions for now:
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1. a. What nusach change do some say to employ when we bentch for Rosh Chodesh Ellul? b. In a related minhag what do some say to have in mind when we bentch for Rosh Chodesh Ellul? c. What is the reason behind these two customs? d. Due to the theme of Ellul what other change do some say to make in this prayer?
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2. a. When is it a custom to say LeDovid Hashem Ohri and what is the idea behind saying it? Explain fully. b. Where is this custom not mentioned where you would expect to see it (several answers are relevant and acceptable)? c. What appears thirteen times in this prayer and what may this allude to?
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3. a. What custom do Sefardim start on Rosh Chodesh that Ashkenazim start later in Ellul? b. What should Ashkenazim still do even though they don't do the Sefardic minhag?
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4. a. What reason does the Rambam give for blowing shofar during Ellul? b. During Ellul, can a katan blow the shofar for the tzibbur? c. If a congregation forgot or could not blow the shofar at Shacharit what should they do?
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5. a. What should one include in written letters (and in conversations) from Rosh Chodesh Ellul until Yom Kippur? b. What mistaken minhag developed based on this actual minhag?

1 Comments:

Blogger kishke said...

Here's Seinfeld on old people driving:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAt0u7r3g3k

August 8, 2010 at 4:11 PM  

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