tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post113971813018279215..comments2023-10-26T04:38:20.923-04:00Comments on May Cuties: QuestionsAyelethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452707874685237517noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1144739738579925912006-04-11T03:15:00.000-04:002006-04-11T03:15:00.000-04:00ah so this is the question. but I'm not sure how I...ah so this is the question. but I'm not sure how I would answer this question though I think a good idea would be to introduce your kids to other kids like those who go to JEP who came with little/no jewish background and are now learning what it's like to keep Shabbos and other mitzvas for the first timeAri-freehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00846863080189545029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1143357669869930462006-03-26T02:21:00.000-05:002006-03-26T02:21:00.000-05:00Ayelet. I just wrote a post over on my blog about...Ayelet. I just wrote a post over on my blog about what we've been talking about. Go take a look.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1143355278536118722006-03-26T01:41:00.000-05:002006-03-26T01:41:00.000-05:00Ayelet,Hi. Found you :). Anyway, I commend you wr...Ayelet,<BR/>Hi. Found you :). Anyway, I commend you writing a pretty harsh opinion in a relatively non-judmental way. So, while your opinion itself is pretty hurtful (for the same reason all the stuff I wrote about in my first comment was offensive), the way you wrote it didn't offend me, so I will respond :).<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, it is inherently offensive that you don't think that Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1143172143212929342006-03-23T22:49:00.000-05:002006-03-23T22:49:00.000-05:00Timi, thanks so much for contributing! That is th...Timi, thanks so much for contributing! That is the beauty of the blogosphere.<BR/><BR/>In response to your argument: Certainly such a situation calls for more delicacy. Please understand that I mean absolutely no offense in considering "Orthodoxy" to be the only true Judaism. I believe in the divinity of the Torah, which clearly states that no changes are ever acceptable in the observance of Ayelethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02452707874685237517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1141549512272670782006-03-05T04:05:00.000-05:002006-03-05T04:05:00.000-05:00Hi Ayelet,I just saw your comment on the Jewish Co...Hi Ayelet,<BR/><BR/>I just saw your comment on the Jewish Connection and wanted to respond.<BR/><BR/>I teach my children that there are very areas of life that are black and white and that we all do things differently.<BR/><BR/>Some of those things are open for negotiation and others are not.<BR/><BR/>From a religious perspective I don't like comments like "they don't know Torah" because it Jack Steinerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16625864271071630940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1141287723466654352006-03-02T03:22:00.000-05:002006-03-02T03:22:00.000-05:00Hi Ayelet,I found your blog through your comment o...Hi Ayelet,<BR/>I found your blog through your comment on Ask Shifra. And your questions really touched me somewhere. <BR/><BR/>I'm a traditional Conservative Jew, Shomer Shabbat, Shomer kashrut, etc. But all of these things are shomer according to the Conservative movement, not Orthodox. My Judaism, how I practiced it, was and still is a huge part of me (just like it is for you). I can't Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1141165342992526012006-02-28T17:22:00.000-05:002006-02-28T17:22:00.000-05:00Frim - It's good to see you (finally!). Your answ...Frim - It's good to see you (finally!). Your answer is a great one. It's just a little different when you are neighbors of unaffiliated Jews who are not at all interested in you preaching religion to them. He can't very well take upon himself to educate them! But still, I think it is an important point to introduce the concept of being proactive in introducing unaffiliated Jews to the beauty Ayelethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02452707874685237517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1139974934428647552006-02-14T22:42:00.000-05:002006-02-14T22:42:00.000-05:00Robbie- I'm in agreement with PT on this. I'm not...Robbie- I'm in agreement with PT on this. I'm not into the "do whatever makes you happy, honey" thing that our liberal society has turned into its guiding principle. I believe that there are good colors and not-good colors and I'm here to show my child the beauty of the good colors. I'm not trying to pretend the other colors don't exist, because they're (obviously) there, but I don't think Ayelethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02452707874685237517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1139895003149594892006-02-14T00:30:00.000-05:002006-02-14T00:30:00.000-05:00As someone who doesn't observe to the most machmir...As someone who doesn't observe to the most machmir of ways (being much more liberal in my interpretation of halacha, and certain laws of shabbat, especially electricity) I think I would say something comparing it to coloring - if you tell a person to pick a blue crayon out of a box of 96 crayons, they may choose light blue, dark blue, cornflower, etc. It's still blue, but it's not the same blue Robbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14332398432260922008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1139883011011376342006-02-13T21:10:00.000-05:002006-02-13T21:10:00.000-05:00Miss Nibbles - so glad you joined me here. Welcom...Miss Nibbles - so glad you joined me here. Welcome! I'm really excited about your new blog. Do you plan on responding to comments there?Ayelethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02452707874685237517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1139821067783092142006-02-13T03:57:00.000-05:002006-02-13T03:57:00.000-05:00Right on Psychotoddler!The way I look at it, is th...Right on Psychotoddler!<BR/>The way I look at it, is that spirituality is like a shop. You bring your kids in and let them sample the merchandise, but at the end of the day they have to make the decision to purchase or not...<BR/><BR/>If they feel that it's something special, and that they're lucky to have what they have in being frum; then you are ahead of the game.kasambahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15851529433849846912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1139788806910250522006-02-12T19:00:00.000-05:002006-02-12T19:00:00.000-05:00Sorry, Jordan, but where parenting is concerned, s...Sorry, Jordan, but where parenting is concerned, some things are not optional. It's not optional for them to brush their teeth, it's not optional for them to go to school, and it's not optional for them to observe halacha.<BR/><BR/>When they grow up and leave my house, if they decide it's not for them, then there won't be anything I can do about it. But it will mean that I have failed them in PsychoToddlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00874353280798371891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1139779120086396222006-02-12T16:18:00.000-05:002006-02-12T16:18:00.000-05:00MCAryeh, that's brilliant. Thanks.MCAryeh, that's brilliant. Thanks.Ayelethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02452707874685237517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1139774245605738002006-02-12T14:57:00.000-05:002006-02-12T14:57:00.000-05:00Ayelet, you raise a tricky question. Not being a p...Ayelet, you raise a tricky question. Not being a parent, I am hesistant to offer an opinion, but I won't let that stop me :) I think I would put it in child terms, just that as a child doesn't always listen to a parent even though the parent has the child's best interest at heart, so too we are all HaShem's children, and when it comes to Torah, some of us don't listen and don't always recognize MC Aryehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1139762341627998362006-02-12T11:39:00.000-05:002006-02-12T11:39:00.000-05:00Observance of halacha is optional. All the more re...Observance of halacha is optional. All the more reason to be grateful for exercising that option. If your kids want to know why they shouldn't tell their neighbors, the answer is that it is not their business, and everyone has to come to love torah their own way, and that maybe one day they will have an opportunity to do that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1139759427052919642006-02-12T10:50:00.000-05:002006-02-12T10:50:00.000-05:00The trick is not to instill in your kids a condesc...The trick is not to instill in your kids a condescending attitude towards others, while at the same time making it clear that you don't consider the observance of halacha to be "optional".PsychoToddlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00874353280798371891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1139735334058209092006-02-12T04:08:00.000-05:002006-02-12T04:08:00.000-05:00Ayelet: I remember my first exposre to Conservativ...Ayelet: I remember my first exposre to Conservative Judaism as a 10 year old. My parents sent me over to play with a kid who's parent's were conservative, and they just told me not to eat anything there.<BR/><BR/>My friend's older teenage sister gave me an earful on what conservative Judaism is, and how they are like Orthodoxy, but don't have a mechitza in shul...<BR/><BR/>It was rather Jameel @ The Muqatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15890095633246557332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1139726149220908872006-02-12T01:35:00.000-05:002006-02-12T01:35:00.000-05:00There is a slight difference... Religious generall...There is a slight difference... Religious generally refers to <B>belief</B>, while you are referring to following <I>halacha</I>, which is a matter of observance. A "Mesorati" Sephardi, for example, may be (and often is) far more "religious" than you or I, but not as "observant".<BR/><BR/>(I'm not the anon, but I think that's what he/she meant...)<BR/><BR/>Oh - and I have no clue how to answer Ezziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12494592434522239195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1139725607544125332006-02-12T01:26:00.000-05:002006-02-12T01:26:00.000-05:00Anon - Forgive me if I'm being an obnoxious idiot ...Anon - Forgive me if I'm being an obnoxious idiot but I'm not sure what you mean. What's the distinction?Ayelethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02452707874685237517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1139724768947561182006-02-12T01:12:00.000-05:002006-02-12T01:12:00.000-05:00"they could very well be Jewish but not religious...."they could very well be Jewish but not religious."<BR/><BR/>You mean not OBSERVANT. They could be more religious than you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1139723641716730532006-02-12T00:54:00.000-05:002006-02-12T00:54:00.000-05:00He has no problem with the fact that there are Jew...He has no problem with the fact that there are Jews that do things differently than he does. I've been very careful to stress that it doesn't make them bad (although in his black-n-white view of mitzvah vs. aveira, I don't know if he really buys that). He just doesn't get <I>why</I> they wouldn't keep things like he does. In his view, Shabbat is so special, they'd be crazy not to take Ayelethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02452707874685237517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1139722349158437502006-02-12T00:32:00.000-05:002006-02-12T00:32:00.000-05:00we've explained to our children that not everyone ...we've explained to our children that not everyone observes the same as we do. yes, so and so is jewish but they don't observe shabbat like we do. we emphasize that this doesn't make them a bad person and usually point out the helpful things they do. we've analogised this to keeping kashrut, how not everyone keeps kashrut but we do. this is a concrete explaination that they can understand and queeniesmomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01019952170168937114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10437631.post-1139720173733795812006-02-11T23:56:00.000-05:002006-02-11T23:56:00.000-05:00This is something that's difficult to answer to an...This is something that's difficult to answer to anybody, but because kids are so concrete in their thinking, it's almost impossible. <BR/><BR/>I've had this discussion with my kids over the years. There's no good way to explain it.PsychoToddlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00874353280798371891noreply@blogger.com