Some ignoramus asked me recently if I'm feeling better now that I'm on the diet ( Read more... )

Never in my life have I ever seen such wonderful trolling done so right.

I attended a brit mila (ritual circumcision) of a classmate's 8-day-old son today. I'm not good with these things, as I tend to take the pain of the baby too much to heart. I'm not an intactivist by any measure of the word, but circumcision does make my skin crawl when it's done on an 8-day-old baby without a true sterile environment and real ( Read more... )

stone_ mentioned this concept to me, said it would be an interesting concept for me, given my state of Judaism. I sorta don't get it, unless I remembered the term wrong. Thing is, what I get from various blogs etc. is that Orthopraxy is just Orthodoxy without the faith, which certainly doesn't describe my state of Judaism. I do prefer Orthopraxy as it ( Read more... )

Pardon me as I go all God-talk on you. It's part and parcel of what I want to say right now, and it needs to be said.

But please, take a look at Psalm 92, verse 2-3. (We'll use the linked version for the translation as it's more accurate, and I will take liberties in re-translating bits of it. One cannot learn Old Testament without reverting ( Read more... )

This is a bit of a burning issue for me. I tend to take this very personally, especially within Judaism, since within Judaism, it should be crystal clear that the health, well-being, quality of life, and life of the patient takes precedence over any kind of halachic consideration whatsoever, with the exception of Murder, Adultery, and Idolatry ( ( Read more... )

Further to my Facebook status update earlier today, this is the first time I've angrily defriended someone based on a difference of beliefs.

Former Friend's status update:
If Israel is a Jewish State, why is it that the Jews who live Torah-observant lives are the ones who aren't granted freedom of expression and the right to follow halacha?

• ( Read more... )

Every day for the past 15 years or so, I feel like there's always someone or something that's actively trying to push me away from Judaism ( Read more... )

You guys (specifically kmelion, happyduck1979, trempnvt, and stone_) all suck for not being able to follow simple instructions.

On that note, you guys all rock. Thank you for making me feel somewhat more normal. It's good to know that I'm not the only heathen around here.

One of my biggest beefs with the current state of Judaism is the complete lack of condemnation of those who believe that the late Lubavicher Rebbe, R'Menachem Mendel Shneerson zt"l, is the Mashiach. Well, in Australia, a bunch of Mashiachists held a "Seudat Yom Tov" - a feast for a holy day - on the Tenth of Tevet, a day that is a fast day. ( Read more... )