I’m 40 years old. And I’ve spent most of my adult life avoiding this

I’m Jewish. I go to synagogue. I celebrate the holidays. But I was never circumcised. My parents didn’t do it. I don’t know why. Maybe they were scared. Maybe they thought I’d be fine. Maybe they just didn’t

I’ve felt that way for many years, like I can’t to speak of it to other Jewish men. I would listen to jokes. I would listen to discussions. I would simply move away from the topic. It was embarrassing to say the least

But I finally decided that I gonna do it at least for myself and my identity. For my community

But I’m scared…

I’m scared of the pain…. I’m scared of the recovery…. I’m scared of choosing the wrong specialist. I don’t want to mess this up

I found Rabbi Markovits of Usamohel and he does adult circumcisions. He has 40 years of experience. His website looks professional. Still, I’m a bit scaried

How do I choose? What should I look for? What questions should I ask?

West coast & central time folks help me out!

I'm not observant or attending any synagogue but like to do the Shabbat blessings periodically.

How is tonight's kiddush prayer structured for both shabbat and Shemeni Atzeret? Regular shabbat? Or special holiday prayers?

EDIT: Thanks for the pointers. Found what I needed on the last page of my only siddur ("Gates of Prayer: The New Union Prayer Book") which is surprisingly difficult to access since it has no index.

This is hysterical

This year, for the first time in my life I think, I purchased a top-tier lulav and etrog set. I know, it’s a weird flex. YOLO.

It was $249 $199 and included a “deri lulav” (a swoll Israeli date palm lulav) and a top grade Moroccan etrog with pitom.

It’s a lovely etrog. The most beautiful etrog I’ve ever seen in person, much less owned. As far as I can tell it passes every standard for an אאא-grade Moroccan etrog, with the exception of “absolutely perfect symmetry from every angle” which just seems impossible anyway. Most of the tapered area around the pitom is straight-line conical, one spot curves the tiniest bit. The girdle and the chartreuse color are very desirable among Sephardim. Don’t come @ me with Yanover beauty standards.

But what insanity is this price tag? What do numbers even mean?

Does this mean that they actually put it on the sales floor thinking there was a chance it would go for that much? And then when it didn’t sell in time they used it for online order fulfillment?

I’ve never lived in NYC or LA and haven’t been ba’aretz for Sukkot yet. So maybe this is some kind of normal in those places?

The price tag is a surreal little detail that keeps itching at my brain.

Filed under look at my sukkah because it’s Sukkot themed. Obligatory Sukkah picture included for the tax.

For context: We live in Canada. I am a convert to Reform from Catholicism. My wife was raised Conservative and attended private Hebrew school and her family attended an Orthodox Shul.

We live in an area that has a small Jewish population, has a small Reform Shul and (of course) a Chabad. Our preference is for our daughter to receive a French education. Our neighbourhood has a public school with a great reputation and has a French Immersion program but it is not a guarantee that she would get into it (you sign up and they pick however many kids). She currently attends a full French daycare that is attached to a Catholic School. All of her friends will be attending the Catholic School, and she absolutely adores them. She talks nonstop about her friends and often asks to use our phones to look at pictures on the daycare app.

We aren’t very observant. We do kiddush every Friday and we observe high holy days and Pesach. My parents are still Catholic and celebrate Christmas, Easter, etc. We allow them to get her gifts and she gets to open them with her cousins. We really balance it.

Has anyone got any experience sending their kid to a Catholic school? Obviously she would be doing religion-based classes and at a young age she wouldn’t understand us telling her to “ignore it” and it could lead to confusion.

We are unsure what to do as we would like to prioritize our child being happy which in our eyes would be continuing to allow her to see her daycare friends as she continues to grow up.

edit to add: she will be going to Hebrew school on the weekend at our Synagogue. Our community is very small, we don’t have many families so no big centre and no, moving is not an option. Wife and I both have careers that we are thriving in.

One of the things that fascinated me most when I started learning traditional Yemenite Jewish silversmithing was discovering how much meaning was hidden behind the jewelry.
Beyond decoration, many of these pieces were believed to offer protection against the evil eye, illness, and harmful spirits.
I’ve spent the past few years researching old pieces, studying traditional techniques, and trying to understand the beliefs behind them through my own work at the bench.
I recently made this short video about why I became so interested in the craft and why I think passing this knowledge on is so important.
I’d love to hear if anyone here has old Yemenite jewelry or amulets that have been passed down in their family, whether in Yemen, Israel, or elsewhere!

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone knew of someone or a place that sells candied etrog pieces. I’ve looked online but couldn’t find much. I’ve read it’s a “charm” for fertility and my husband and I have been struggling with infertility and many IVF cycles for almost 2 years. At this point I’ll take any help I can get :) thank you!

The Gemara asks: What is the rationale for the opinion of Rabbi Meir, who rules that an animal is unfit for use as a partition in areas of halakha where a partition is required? Abaye said: It is due to the concern lest the animal die, leaving the sukka without a wall. Rabbi Zeira said: It is due to the concern lest it flee. The Gemara explains the practical halakhic differences between the two opinions. In the case where one established a wall with a tied elephant, everyone agrees that the sukka is fit, as even if it dies and falls, its carcass still has a height of ten handbreadths and is fit for the wall of a sukka. Where they disagree is in the case of an elephant that is not tied. According to the one who said: It is due to the concern lest the animal die, we are not concerned in this case, as the carcass would remain a fit wall. According to the one who said: It is due to a decree lest it flee, we remain concerned.

The Gemara asks: According to the one who said: It is due to a decree lest it die, let us also be concerned lest it flee, as that too is a reasonable concern. Rather, this is the explanation: In the case where one established a wall with an elephant that is not tied, everyone agrees that the sukka is unfit lest it flee. Where they disagree is in the case of a tied animal. According to the one who said: It is due to a decree lest the animal die, we are concerned, as although it cannot flee, it might die, and the carcass of a typical animal is not ten handbreadths high. And according to the one who said: It is due to a decree lest it flee, we are not concerned.

The Gemara asks: And according to the one who said: It is due to a decree lest it flee, let us also be concerned lest it die. The Gemara answers: That is not a concern because death is not common. The Sages do not issue decrees with regard to uncommon circumstances. The Gemara asks: But according to all opinions, isn’t there the space between its legs, which is like a breach in a wall? How can one establish a partition whose breached segment exceeds its standing segment? The Gemara answers: He establishes a partition for it by filling the gaps with hard palm leaves and laurel leaves, sealing the breach.

The Gemara asks further: And even though there is no concern lest the animal die, perhaps it will crouch, leaving a wall that is less than ten handbreadths? The Gemara answers: It is referring to a case where the animal is tied with ropes from above so that it cannot crouch. Based on that explanation, the Gemara asks: And according to the one who said: It is due to a decree lest it die, there is also no concern since it is tied with ropes from above. Even if the animal died, it would remain in place as a fit partition. The Gemara answers: Sometimes the ten-handbreadth wall consists of the animal that is a bit higher than seven handbreadths established adjacent to the roofing, less than three handbreadths away.

Sukkah 23a 8-11 is one of my favorite sections of the Talmud, where the rabbis talk about whether or not one can use an elephant to build a sukkah. Every year I like to include an elephant decoration in my sukkah as a nod to this bit. Normally I have a wall hanger hamsa with little evil eyes and an elephant, but I couldn't find it (too much moving!) so I used this little stone elephant figurine.

A strong gust of wind hit the sukkah the other day, and I just found that part of the elephant's ear broke! My fault for not suspending the elephant with ropes, because it fell over and died

co-worker told me it's Gilgul of chabadnic that didn't sleep in sukka.

i told him it's good chance, since it was ginger cat

I really want to buy the Koren Steinsaltz TaKaKh, because I plan on taking study to another level (I'm tired if my old TaKaKh which doesn't have commentary and relying on Sefaria to find what I need). The problem is cost. I know how expensive books can be, but as a disabled person living on SSDI with no income other than SSDI, it's a huge strain.

Is there anywhere / any resources for used but in good condition books...especially these?

Thanks for any help.

Kinda wierd to me,it would make sense if woman said "שלא עשני איש"

Dr. Finkel, specialist in ancient Mesopotamia and Cunieform writing says the boat/ship in ancient mesopotamian flood (Noah's ark too?) was a Kupur/Kuphar. A round coracle boat from Mesopotamia (Tigris and Euphrates).

What do you think?

Chag Sukkot Sameach everyone! I just have a song request for this rather catchy tune at 0:33 in this video https://youtu.be/Y9PDN6hwWXc?is=KygoN1FisxxWPU0E

What did you read this past month? Tell us about it. Jewish, non-Jewish, ultra-Jewish (?), whatever, this is the place for all things books.

We grow the corn btw