Binah says there's "been a" fat discrimination in the Frum workplace

Over Shabbos, I had the chance to look at an old Binah magazine from January 24th of this year. It seems they were looking into the perks and pitfalls of the frum workplace.

What I found most disturbing was the serious discrimination. For starters, they give the example of Chana who supported a kollel husband for many years on a measly teachers salary. Eventually, her husband went to work as a rebbi in the boys division of her very same school. Well, her jaw dropped when she found out that a first year rebbi dwarfed her salary as a twelveth year morah.

Esther, who was also supporting a kollelnik, was told by an administrater to have her parents support her when they weren't paying salaries. Rina was a single girl "out of towner" living with roommates not parents. She was friends with some of the married teachers and found that they were making more than she was, even though at least one was still "being supported very comfortably by her father."

I'm really not suprised by any of this. The secular world has done it to me, too. I've been on job interviews where I was told that I could live with my parents so I didn't need a full time job to support myself. I couldn't live with my parents. My mother was dead and my father felt I was refusing to grow up. I was desperately trying. The money I would bring into a company would be just as green as what a white man with grey hair would bring in, but somehow, they don't see it like that. I was fired from one job for not sleeping with the boss' 50 year old friend who worked there, though it serves me right since I was sleeping with a number of the other guys in the company. (note that this was in 2002.)

Did Hashem intend Jews to expect the world to revolve around them?

There's been a theme going on in my Jewish reading.... First I get an Email that had been through the gamut of FFB after FFB forwarding it to their friends... I should call the congress on behalf of RUBASHKIN... UM, NO, how about NOT. Then I read this article online. The trend seems to be clear to be as cutthroat as possible and not to care about anyone else, even other Jews, in the process.... It just seems counter-Torah to me... hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, what do you all think?

Interesting angles on the Shacharis Psalms...

Psalm 145: Psalm of David: We will praise Him throughout the generations, for He is our powerful and merciful One. We are obligated to tell of his mighty deeds. He will satisfy the desire of every living thing. He is close to those who sincerely wish for it. If we are on His side, He is on ours. Our mouths bestow blessings upon our G-d.




Psalm 146: Don’t look at Hashem’s people, look at Hashem, Himself. Only He has the power to overturn the laws of nature. He will look after me as both an orphan and convert.



Psalm 147: No human can count the stars and yet He counts AND names them. There are lot food analogies in this Psalm. I think David was hungry that day.



Psalm 148: This Psalm is more abstract than specific and covers the large bodies of nature, instead of more specific examples of Hashem’s praiseworthiness.



Psalm 149: The Psalm evokes the image of an Israeli celebration after they got their independence in 1948. The imagery is centered on music/dancing and patriotism.



Psalm 150: Imagery of Hashem’s omnipotence and grandiose nature. You could call this the “Larger than Life” Psalm. This transitions with blast of a shofar to musical imagery.

Double standard

No, I'm not talking about male chauvinism. I'm talking about the double standard that there is one set of rules for the Jews from birth and another set of rules for the converts.

I passed by an Orthodox high school today and witnessed some of their girls leaving. There were two clusters of three friends that I saw. All six girls were wearing tight jean skirts above the knee. One was wearing a skirt with a slit that went way up the back. The most disgusting thing I saw, though, was that one of the groups of girls was flirting with each other. This included a girl grabbing onto the behind of another one of the girl.

So, I blink the wrong way and I have to listen comments about "bas yisrael" doesn't do this or that but, they grab each others touchas? Some guy asked me for my phone number at Kosher Delight a couple weeks ago. He called my phone incessantly while I was eating. After I ate, I met up with him, supposedly we were going to go for coffee but, he stood there on the street asking me the usual, who do you eat by? where do you daven? I told him I didn't think I was right for him. So, he tells me my skirt was too short. Well, how can that be, when all my skirts are longer than what the FFB girls are wearing?

I'm really sick and tired of this double standard. I saw these girls walk out of an Orthodox school, so the excuse people make that, "they must be BTs and this is where they are at," doesn't work.

Some tidbits from comments

Some tidbits that I've been putting up in the Daas Torah blog... food for thought:

Daas Torah and others,


HKBH is Perfect. He wrote the Torah and It is Perfect. Do you deny this? I hope not.



Moving on.... In said TORAH, one is commanded to love the ger isn't 36 times repeated? Do you deny that? If you do, you deny the above paragraph.



There is part of the Torah-the commandment to love the ger-which is being ignored by the vast majority of the people. Jersey Girl and yourself are helping me prove that.



I am just helping to clarify Hashem's Law for Him. This is no different from yourself. Furthermore, we are often in agreement on many issues. Again, in your mind, I am not allowed to have the exact same opinion as you against the establishment. Such an opionion is against the commandment to love the ger.

Blog commenter makes it just too easy....

So, some of you have been following the posts with which I have been featured on the Daas Torah Blog. So, the comments in the latest segment are pretty hot. There are over a hundred comments right now.

This is the blog where this woman who calls herself "Jersey Girl" has told me that, ""My kids are growing up "out of town" as I also did so they have to know the laws of Bishul Akum. It is inevitable that they will be out somewhere and get hungry. here is a lot that, according to our Rabbis, one can eat from a non kosher deli/restaurant and my kids know what they can and cannot have. "

It turns out, she seems to think that anything that the laws of bishul akum permit cooking by a gentile can be eaten in a non-kosher restaurnt. I have instructed her to go and learn the laws of "notain ta'am." It's the middle of night in Israel and so, she has likely posted a response but the blog owner is likely sleeping and so, in the morning, he will go through any comments awaiting moderation and we shall see what she has to say about that. Actually, it's the middle of the night here and so, I must go visit the schluffy monster.

Balancing the Scales: When the community has been fantastik to me....

Ok, so, I've been criticized that I don't offer enough of the positive experiences in my writings.

To launch this writing, I work for frum Jews in their homes. They have all been wonderful to me. I have not had any negative experiences when at any of their homes for Shabbos. Ok, one had a guest who was obnoxious, however, she and her husband stepped in and changed the subject-over and over again, I might add.. Mostly, though, the people I work for are not in the position to host me for Shabbos. One of the young kollel couples goes to her mother's house most every Shabbos.

Some of the perks these frum bosses have generously rendered include: bonuses for Purim, Pesach, Rosh Hashanah, my birthday and Chanukah, two very comfy barely used twin beds, use of the internet when my computer was down, washing a load of laundry for me when I didn't have time to get to the laundromat, occasional rides home from work, high end clothing that was in the gemach donation pile, extra copy of the megillah, free food up the wazooooo and finally, often being the people who restore my faith in the Jewish people. I might even be forgetting something.

Some kindnesses extended by other frum Jews include: rides to the store given by women who didn't even know me, more use of internet when my laptop bummed, some of the positive experiences that I have had in the community, offering a frozen chicken when I thought my Shabbos chicken was stolen out of my freezer, loaning of books, rides to the mikvah to toivel dishes, Shabbos leftovers, and finally, more encouragement when others have put me in the position to need it. Again, there may be something I'm missing here, as well.

In summary, there are, indeed, positive experiences to balance out the negative ones that I have cited in my previous writing. I have listed them above. Perhaps, I will even experience more, so that I can come and report them at a later time.

What signs do you look for?

When you are trying to figure out if a shul is Orthodox, Conservative or Reform? What about conversion stories?

"Rabbi Sheryl will be right with you."

"Diverse community"

And why CANT an Orthodox community be diverse? After all, it never seems to be an Orthodox place when they say that.

How about a conversion story?
"she took up gardening... she converted to Judaism..."

If "BH" or "BSD" are at the top of the page.
So that's Orthodox... duh!

What about people?
If the woman is wearing a headband, black tights and a skirt below the knees...

What can you come up with?

I am an Orthodox Jewish woman....

Just in case any of my readers are wondering, I am Orthodox. Apparently, it wasn't obvious frum the blog so, I guess I had to make an announcement.

Better late than never... the DIBBUK story

http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=43702

Nu, my friend just told me about this, so I had to blog this. How did none of the blogs I read pick up on this?

My vote: mental illness

Is Judaism still a religion? You know, for worshipping G-D?

When I read all this stuff about rabbis defending Tropper and speaking bad about gerim, I wonder, "where is the yiras shemayim?", "have these people forgotten about Hashem?" They are so into twisting and turning every little detail of the Talmud to cater to their social Judaism... and they trump the Torah. Chareidi is supposed to mean fear, as in FEAR of HEAVEN. So, why aren't more chareidi speaking out on the atrocities going on? How are chareidim like Reuven Feinstein taking money in exchange for their names and their backing? Are we really supposed to believe Tropper feared ShMayim when he was pimping his wife out to a non-Jew that wanted to convert? All Tropper's supporters who are chareidi, we're supposed to think they fear G-d? If someone feared G-d, I would think they would disassociate themselves from this man and his organization.

I reiterate, just because he's a Feinstein related to Moshe, doesn't make him the same person. He is showing his stripes by being bought off.

Chumrology

I need advice from my readership.

See, I actually need a new rabbi because I'm sick of my rabbi and his chumros. I'm not supposed to open pop bottles on Shabbos because they attached and it's creating a bottle cap where one didn't exist before but, every shul meal you go to, the bottles are not preopened. So, I asked about it. He said that I should insist on a steak knife so I can destroy the bottle cap, at which point someone would offer to open it for me. If I can allow other Jews to open a bottle for me, then why can't I open it?

There are actually other festering issues that I don't deal with. So, how DO I go about finding a Modern Orthodox rabbi to be *my* rabbi?

POST EDIT:
The important part of this post is:
HOW DO i FIND A NEW RABBI????????

Definition: Frum

This is very interesting. I was trying to remember if frum technically meant religious or observant. I originally learned it when I was in the process and I wanted to refresh this. Back then, I would have thought of "religious" and "observant" as the same thing but, nowadays I think of "religious" as someone who looks the part on the outside but, "observant" as someone who actually practices... which is, of course, a different population.

So, here's the wikipedia link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frum


I like the, "much wickedness and few mitzvos." That sounds like the Chareidi world nowadays, being wrought with scandals and all....

In a colloquial sense, I see people using frum to mean: comfortable to me as an Orthodox Jew... I was in the Hillel and some guy (who's not even a student...) came in asking if they have a job search center in this place. I said, "of course, the magner center." The magner center is with the college, not the Hillel itself. He asked, "is that a frum place?" I was thinking, "technically, this isn't." The Hillel is available to all Jews whether they are observant or not. However, at Brooklyn College where a good fat chunk of the Jewish students are Orthodox, one tends to forget this. So, the Hillel is comfortable for a frum person and it has a kosher fleshig place in it, but, is the Hillel itself frum? No.

Ok, just a pre-Shabbos rant....

10 Funniest Synagogue Newsletter Bloopers

http://www.iheartjews.com/2009/06/10-funniest-synagogue-newsletter.html

Hat tip to my online friend Hannah for this list.

Here are our top 10.
Michal's responses are in eye-talics... that's right italics

10. A bean supper will be held Wednesday evening in the community
center. Music will follow.

...provided, of course by those who have just finished eating...

9. Rabbi is on vacation. Massages can be given to his secretary.
When the rabbi's away, the staff and congregants will play.

8. Goldblum will be entering the hospital this week for testes.
Talk about a transplant!

7. We are taking up a collection to defray the cost of the new carpet in the sanctuary. All those wishing to do something on the carpet will come forward and get a piece of paper.

Yeah, that's right. We want you paper trained like good little puppies....

6. If you enjoy sinning, the choir is looking for you!

Kol isha! However, the men will stick their fingers in their ears, "la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, lalala, la, la, la, la, la, lalala"

5. Don't let worry kill you. Let your synagogue help. Join us for our Oneg after services. Prayer and medication to follow. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our congregation.

I thought that's what the kiddush club was for!

4. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

I guess this applies to men, as women are generally aware that they passed at least five pounds out of a tiny orafice.

3. We are pleased to announce the birth of David Weiss, the sin of Rabbi and Mrs. Abe Weiss.

Some juicy stuff going on at that shul....

2. The ladies of Hadassah have cast off clothing of every kind and they may be seen in the basement on Tuesdays.

Strip club? The men will come to watch and then stone them to death so there's no witnesses.

1. The Associate Rabbi unveiled the synagogue's new fundraising campaign slogan this week: "I Upped My Pledge. Up Yours."

And if you don't like my little comments in italics....

The rabbis don't want women praying?

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2008/03/the-secret-agre.html

I know this article is about a year old but, I just found it. Apparently, the real controversy is that WOMEN ARE PRAYING together and they don't want that? Oh, I'm sorry, they are upset with women's prayer groups. To me, that's saying they don't want us praying at all. So, does it reallly say in the Gemara that women are supposed to be hated or are the rabbis that hate women putting it in there?

Do you see in this article that the men are calling women monkeys? I think they probably hate women so much that they figure if they stop the women from praying, G-d will never do anything for the women, creating a cycle where they have an excuse to treat us even worse. These men are completely and totally sexist. G-d help these men.

Nu, you wanted a Kosher Computer?

NU , you wanted a Kosher Computer..
I don't know if you know this but they are now selling Kosher computers (Made in Israel) called DELLSHALOM. It is selling at such a good price that I bought one. Mine arrived yesterday.

If you or a friend are considering a kosher computer, you should know that there are some important upgrades and changes from the typical computer you are used to, such as:

The cursor moves from right to left.

It comes with two hard drives--one for fleyshedik business software and one for milchedik games.

Instead of getting a "General Protection Fault" error, my PC now gets "Ferklempt."

The Chanukah screen savers include "Flying Dreidels"

The PC also shuts down automatically at sundown on Friday evenings.

After my computer dies, I have to dispose of it within 24 hours.The "Start" button has been replaced with "Let's go!! I'm not getting any younger!" button.

When disconnecting external devices from the back of my PC, I am instructed to "Remove the cable from the PC's tuchus".

The multimedia player has been renamed to "Nu, so play my music already!".

Internet Explorer has a spinning "Star of David" in the upper right corner.

I hear "Hava Nagila" during startup. Microsoft Office now includes "A little byte of this, and a little byte of that."

When running "scandisk", it prompts with a "You want I should fix this?" message.

When my PC is working too hard, I occasionally hear a loud "Oy Gevalt"

There is a "monitor cleaning solution" from Manischewitz that Advertises that it gets rid of the "schmutz und drek" on your monitor.

After 20 minutes of no activity, my PC goes "Schloffen."

Computer viruses can now be cured with some matzo ball chicken soup.

The Y2K problem has been replaced by "Year 5761-5762" issues.

If you decide not to shut down the computer in the prescribed manner, the following message appears: "You should be ashamed of yourself."

When Spellcheck finds an error it prompts "Is this the best you can do?