Parshas Bo

First off I would like to thank some bloggers. Stacy, Tembow, Leora, and another- you know who you are. (MM- Shh!). You all made me so happy this week. Stacy and Tembow thanks so much for your offers. Leora, your comment on Facebook was so nice, it made my day. Thank you Frayda, KT and Frum Punk too, for your comments that other time. I appreciate all your kind words.

I just came back from a Bar Mitzvah, where the boy gave a thank you speech and was thanking a lot of people, so I guess it’s contagious. But I really appreciate you all so much, you make me so happy!

This week instead of typing from “something to say”, I will tell over some Divrei Torah I learned in my Jewish classics class last semester. As I was sitting in shul, following a long with the Leining, I recognized some pesukim that my professor had brought up. It was about the Karbon Pesach. She mentioned how there are contradictions when you compare it to the other time it mentions the Karbon Pesach in the Torah. We then looked at Rashi to come up with an answer.

In Parshas Bo in Shemos and Parshas Re’eh in Devorim it talks about the Karbon Pesach. There are 3 main contradictions. One is the type of animal to be used in the Pesach offering, another is how this Karbon should be prepared, and another is how many days we should eat Matzos.

1. Rashi – Bakar (Devarim 16:2), here it says you should slaughter cattle. But in Parshas Bo, it says Sheep, so which one is it? The answer is that it’s talking about sheep as the main offering, but that they should eat cattle first to be in a state of fullness when they eat the Pesach offering.
   


2. Rashi – You Shall cook it (Devorim 16:7), here it says cook it, and in Parshas Bo it says Roast it, so which is it? The answer is that this means roasting by fire, that this too is termed cooking.
   


3. Rashi – For a six day period you shall eat matzos (Devorim 16:8), here it says 6 days, but in Bo it says 7 days, so which is it? The answer is a deep one which teaches us through a Yotzei min Haklal, that the 7th day is not an obligation to eat matzah, and therefore the 6 days aren’t either an obligation, but rather optional. The only night that is an obligation is the first night, since it says “In the evening shall you eat matzos” (in Shemos 12:18).

Long Skirts

This is from a long time ago that I just hadn’t posted at the time. I’m posting it now, but it’s no longer geared to any specific person.

I was reading Frum Meet’s World Post about long skirts and it got me thinking. Is it a question of tznius that people are against long skirts? I would say long skirts are more royal looking, and cover more of the leg so they should be tznius.

I like long skirts because I imagine they are like the long flowing gowns people wore in the olden days. Reminds me of like Pride and Prejudice characters and other such classics. I see girls in long skirts to the floor and I love the way it looks. In my opinion it looks better than short skirts, at least for some people. I myself don’t think I look the “best” in long dragging skirts, but I definitely think I look better in long skirts rather than short ones. I do own a few shorter skirts, but I wear them rarely.

At first I thought it was just because of shidduchim that people said I shouldn’t wear long skirts. I understand there’s a whole blog about not giving into doing things just for the sake of shidduchim, but rather to do what defines you even if it is bad for shidduchim. So why can’t I continue to wear long skirts if I like it and feel it’s more “me” than short skirts?

People are always saying how they want to do their own thing and not conform with society. So why here is there a difference? why here does it become distasteful that a person wouldn’t want to associate with someone who wears a dragging skirt? Why can’t it be accepted as something a person likes. People may have different tastes. A person can like short skirts and still not denigrate those who like to wear long ones.

Meme --- Finish The Sentences

Thank you Tembow for tagging me in this meme. I think Meme’s are fun to do, and fun to read, so I don’t mind doing them. I should probably set up a poll asking you what you think of doing Memes. Since it seems like most people don’t like doing memes, and do it reluctantly.

Anyways, this time I won’t tag anyone, since I figure the last meme was a great success and it’s too soon to try to break that record. However, if you would like to do the meme and haven’t been tagged, then feel free to do so, and let me know with a link.

Instructions: Finish The Following 8 Sentences.

1. I wish I could…
2. My biggest fear is…
3. I hate to…
4. I love…
5. Today I will…
6. Yesterday I…
7. My hair is…
8. I will never…

And now for my answers:

1. I wish I could turn the world into a better place, where everyone is good and does the right thing. To get rid of cruelty and “unfairness”.
   
2. My biggest fear is the fear of the unknown. If you have read my other blog, then you know this includes the fear of dogs and special people.
   
3. I hate to do the wrong thing and get on people’s bad side.
   
4. I love My Love, and to be fair, I love Hashem and all the important people in my life.
   
5. Today I will set up a schedule of how long each day I will spend reading and studying. I will also do my first Homework for this semester.
   
6. Yesterday I had my first day of class, a successful one at that B”H!
   
7. My hair is naturally straight, and usually long too, so long as I have a say in it.
   
8. I will never say never.

Jewish Song Sunday --- #12

Barney: I love You (Hebrew)

This song is dedicated to my love. It’s not really a Jewish song, but it’s in Hebrew, so I guess that counts for something. I’ve always loved watching Barney as a kid, and even now I watched a bit in Hebrew and I enjoyed it.

To My Love

I love going to your house.

I love how when you see me coming, you run to me and call out my name.

I love how you make me feel so loved

I love playing with your curly hair

I love holding you

I love feeding you

I love hugging you so tightly cause you’re just so cute

I love taking walks with you

I love feeling your hand in mine

I love how you choose me over everybody

I love when I read you stories

I love singing songs with you

I love playing games with you

I love taking care of you, and things that others call gross, aren’t gross with you

I love when you look me in the eyes

I love putting you to sleep

I love seeing you sleeping in my arms

I love your cute face

I love how when its time for me to go, you start crying and don’t let me leave, and make me stay longer.

I love when you get wild and act like a true boy

I love that your the first boy I ever loved

I love making you happy

I love entertaining you when you’re bored

I love everything about you

I love how much happiness these 2 years have given me

And even though I have a new baby to love, I will always love you too!

Parshas Vaeira

By last weeks Parsha I mentioned the situation in Israel, and tried to use a Posuk for comfort. But it had its complications. Now in this weeks Parsha I have a different posuk that brings a different approach. This approach is an active one, a way to be able to keep Israel with the things we do.

Something To Say:

And I shall give it you as a heritage (6:8).

The Hebrew term Morasha, heritage, appears twice in the Torah. It is first mentioned in this verse, in reference to the Land of Israel, and later in Deuteronomy 33:4, in connection with the giving of the Torah. The Torah that Moses gave us is a heritage, as stated in the expression Morasha Kehilas Yaakov, the heritage of the Congregation of Jacob. The term Morasha is used in two places to teach us that the heritage represented by the Land of Israel can remain ours only if we commit ourselves to keeping the mitzvos of the Torah.

So the trick is to keep the Mitzvos and then we will have the land of Israel. I know that sounds like easier said than done, but perhaps it can really work. If we think of it on an individual basis, of what can each of us do. If we look to improve ourselves, then it is possible.

Chinuch Habonim

In the previous post I said I enjoyed reading parenting and marriage books. So in the previous post I discussed marriage rules, and now I’ll copy over some parenting rules.

This is from a speech I went to by R' Brezak on August 8, 2006, it was a question answer kind of a shiur, but he asked all the questions that he had received previously and he had gotten answers to them from great gadolim. These are only some of them that I had remembered.

Q: My 13 year old by mezomin, he answers to himself and doesn't want to answer out loud, what should I do?

• you Can't embarrass the kid, there’s a story of child who was embarrassed by a Rebbi and it caused him to go off the derech for 20 years
• Mouthing is enough, 2 is enough
• Mezumin- Derabonin, embarrass- deoraisa

Q: My 3 year old turns on the lights on shabbos

• You only have to say something if the child could make the connection between turning off the lights and chilul shabbos.
• You Can't hit a child for chilul shabbos
• If you hit a child they'll just become immune to it, and then you will have to hit harder

Q: My 4 year old is stealing

• Don't punish him he probably doesn't know better, learn mussar with him
• Even the chofetz chaim at age 5 stole, but he didn't know better, once he knew then he returned the apple he stole
• Make them do chesed
• Make them Apologize to store owner every time they steal
• Sometimes children steal because there is an Emotional void and their not given enough love

Q: can I give my child a Pigi back ride, or will he lose respect for me?

• Have to respect the kid and then they'll respect you, if you control your emotions then the child will respect you, so yes, you can give piggy back rides and you won't lose respect from your child.

Q: Older brother picking on younger brother, he pulled out a chair from under his younger brother and caused him to fall, want to cancel the trip he is supposed to go on as a punishment

• Looking at symptom don't ignore the problem, he’s doing this for a reason, he is jealous of his younger brother, try to take walks with him or spend one on one time together
• Never cancel trip, its like for a child a toy boat sinking in bath tub is like a ship in ocean sinking for adult, it means the world to them

Q: child Spills cheerios and makes messes

• Have child come up with solution to punishment, he should clean it up
• But don't get angry at the child, make a serious face show that your not happy with him doing that, and if he doesn't get the attention he wanted he'll stop doing it

Q: child keeps Nagging afraid to give in cause then word doesn't mean anything

• Reevaluate the situation, consider what the child wants
  If wrong then its wrong and don't give in
• Nothing wrong with letting kids have candy, but don't give in to every tantrum a child has, have to be firm

Here are some points he mentioned:

• A story where a Father smacked his child very often, the child became chasidish cause he didn't want any association with his father
• Forcing your glasses on your child won't help, you can't force a child to see through your perspective.
• Can't use same methods as did in previous generation, because nowadays everybody wants everything now, have to use a different approach
• Child gets his self image from his father, if you don't show approval for them then they won't have self confidence.