Date Case Study: Barnes and Noble

I figure it's time to bring back what was supposed to be a series about in-depth analysis of particular dating locations, so here we are. For those who missed the first one on Dave and Busters, be sure to check it out.

Without a doubt, I would classify myself as a bibliophile. Every year when the YU Seforim Sale rolls around, I know I’ll end up spending an unreasonable amount of time browsing the aisles, checking out each section, often more than once. There are simply so many interesting and intriguing titles in such a large variety of subjects that grab my attention, I almost can’t help myself. I am constantly enticed to pick up a book, flip through it, and add it to the growing pile I schlep around in my circuitous path that eventually ends up at the cash register. ASoG can personally attest to all this.

However, as basically everyone knows, you’d be crazy to take a date to the Seforim Sale unless you are already serious with one another, the relationship’s existence is public knowledge, and/or you happen to already be engaged – unless you both work there, which provides a decent cover story (or does it?). Going to the Seforim Sale with an opposite gender companion other than your grandparent, parent or sibling instantly puts you on display and gives birth to scuttlebutt which can be a bit annoying. Even hanging out with your other-gender sibling, as innocent as that is, can appear suspicious if no one knows him/her. This actually happened to a friend of mine this year. People asked about the girl he was with, who happened to be his younger sister, for several days after their shopping experience.

While going on a date to the SOY Sale isn’t the best idea, going to Barnes and Noble, on the other hand, is quite a fun and enlightening experience. I personally wouldn’t recommend it as a suggestion for one of the first few dates, but rather as something to do once the initial ‘getting to know you’ phase has been completed. At this point, you’ve established that you like your date a bit, you’re interested in finding out more about his/her interests and personal passions that extends beyond introductory small talk that established a basis of commonality between the two of you.

The Barnes and Noble store in the Manhattan area which I find most suitable for dates is the 4 story location at 66^th and Broadway. There are numerous large, varied areas to browse, including DVD’s, periodicals, travel, children’s, cookbooks, classics, current popular releases, science fiction, and a large comic book / manga section.

One fun place to start off is the travel section, especially since it’s located on the entry level (though you could start at the bottom with the movies/DVDs - I’ve also started in the popular fiction/new releases or children’s section). This part of the store is particularly fun if you’re from different states, or are both out-of-towners. The reason why this collection of books is fun is because it allows you to “visit” your hometown and show it off, to a degree, to your potential significant other. Granted, it’s nothing like actually heading off for an actual tour of all the locales where your family resides, but it’s a close enough facsimile – at least to whet their appetite of curiosity regarding where you grew up. Aside from all the little travel guides, I often find it fun to check out the Weird State series, wherein you can learn about all sorts of kooky stuff that even you probably didn’t know about.

Popular/new releases is entertaining, because it gives you a sense of what the world finds interesting these days. Here you’ll find a ton of instant conversation starters that cover the wide range of issues, ideas, and genres that people are talking about. Whether it’s the annoying newest teen series on vampires/wizards/werewolves/whatever, some controversial political book about Israel, a tell-all (auto)biography, or the latest thriller, you can check out the most recently released reading material.

The children’s section is an enjoyable place to revisit favorite books from when you were young, as well as check out all the zany new stuff on the market these days. I was a big fan of Animorphs and Goosebumps, but others might have fond memories of another series you’ve never heard of, particularly since boys and girls generally don’t read the same sorts of books at that age. Going through your childhood reading – both pleasure and school assigned – and talking about your likes and dislikes is always an interesting conversation.

Cookbooks are a fun place to browse, and particularly in the aforementioned Barnes and Noble since it has a fairly decent sized selection of kosher cookbooks of various kinds, from the New York Times collection of kosher recipes to Pupa Dweck’s Aleppo cookbook. Particularly for people who have different backgrounds, whether Sephardi/Ashkenazi or even Tri-State/out of towner, I always found it interesting to talk about different trademark family dishes, personal preferences, as well as using this section as a bit of a launching point to talk about Shabbos/Yom Tov experiences growing up, which naturally include the food served at those meals.

I generally shied away from the self-help, philosophy, and romance sections, primarily because most things found there are probably not so conducive to conducting informal, non-invasive conversation. Particularly if this is an earlier date in the relationship, it would be rather awkward to stumble across a book addressing an issue one of the daters had at some point in his/her life (or are still struggling with) and have that come up in such a haphazard way instead of a proper, face-to-face/heart-to-heart conversation later on when such things should be revealed and discussed for the relationship to progress into more serious territory. Unless both the people are big philosopher-types, not much worthwhile can be found there for fun date conversation. Romance is clearly out the window based on the unrealistic, not to mention, often-vulgar content found there. What good Jewish boy/girl reads that trash anyway?

The marriage relationship section may be interesting, but I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone not seriously dating, contemplating engagement, or already engaged.

There is also a religion/Judaism section, which may be a place to see what sort of interesting/more religious things are stocked at the store (how many Artscroll/Feldheim titles, for example), but unless you’re into academic Jewish studies or perhaps something more mainstream like Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, I don’t think you’ll find much to talk about there.

I always had a lot of fun going through the science fiction and manga/comic book sections. Granted, the appeal of these areas are limited based on personal preference and interest, but for someone like me, I took it as an opportunity to safely “geek out” on my dates (not in an absurd fashion, I did maintain proper decorum) and see how they reacted. I think it’s very important for people to introduce their date to all the aspects of their personality and their significant interests/hobbies, particularly in relation to pop culture. Presumably, whatever it is you’re “into,” be that a certain book series, comic, movie, TV show or whatever is important enough to you that it helps the other person understand you and what you’re about a bit better.

Along the lines of my long-ago post, Pop Culture Conundrum, I feel that it’s important to personally understand your relationship with pop culture, and that it is absolutely necessary to share this part of you with your potential spouse. If you are going out with someone who is vehemently against general pop culture, or perhaps only invests their time and brain space on more “serious” aspects of secular culture such as “classic” literature, but has little tolerance for anything more mass pop culture, that could be a big problem. For a while, I looked for someone who had similar pop-culture interests, hoping that would be a point of connection, as it often is with shared interests in the secular dating world. After experiencing several shidduchim with girls who were “my type” but didn’t really have any interest whatsoever in my pop culture ventures, I decided (wisely) that the appropriate approach is to find someone who isn’t A) Opposed to or offended by my pop culture interests and B) Can at least tolerate my pop culture interests, but also perhaps enjoy them with me on some level, with the understanding that I shouldn’t have expectations of “converting” her into a sci-fi fanatic or whatever.

In the end, this worked quite well. As I mentioned in my birthday post, ASoG picked up on a point of discussion about a certain book that I was looking forward to buying at some point in the near future, and actually purchased that very volume some time after our date, then presented it me as a gift on my birthday.

Anyway, there are other sections in the store, such as the current fiction, classics, games, periodicals, and the lower floor with all the CDs and DVDs – all ripe for conversation topics, personal insights, and opportunities to tell stories from your life. I never really spent much time in any of them (particularly the DVD section, which is on the bottom floor), simply because we lingered for significant periods of time in the sections I have described.

One of the great things about book stores, such as Barnes and Noble, and especially this particular location, is that they allow you to custom-tailor your conversation experience, offering a very wide range of topics to discuss (I won’t go so far as to say an unlimited). Whereas coffee-shop date conversations can often meander all over the place, there is no real structure to what is brought up. Here, you can have some guidance regarding what is talked about and when – particularly if you know the layout of the store and have a specific story or topic you’d like to talk about – such as me with my sci-fi/comic geek out.

In the end, it’s really up to you. While my examples may be somewhat far-reaching in application, the experience is entirely your own, and I strongly encourage Barnes and Noble as a great date location. As I mentioned before, I would recommend reserving it for a 4^th, 5^th, or 6^th date, after most of the fluff Jewish Geography and Israel experience topics have run their course. When you’re ready to start getting to know your date’s deeper intellectual interests (and to have fun too), Barnes and Noble is the place to go.

It's Pesach, Pesach / Gotta Get Clean For Pesach

Although I have already created a post collecting all the Youtube Pesach music videos, but this new one deserves it's own mention.

A friend from YU named Mordechai Tiefenbrunn has created his own parody of Rebecca Black's (in)famous Youtube phenomenon "Friday" called "Pesach." I like the lyrics a lot, and now I want someone to make a professionally recorded version - complete with music video, of course.



In other news, I hope to have the fourth and final part of "Exodus" completed in time for Pesach, so you'll be able to print out all four sections and share them with your family... I can dream, can't I?

No Maccabeats Video For Pesach! But Here Are Some Others Worth Watching

I'm not sure why this bit of factual news hasn't circulated around the internet yet, which is rife with expectations and anticipation for the supposed Maccabeats Pesach video. Unfortunately, with the time constraints of their many different schedules it just isn't possible to write and record a new song (some may be familiar with the derailing of their second album because of Candlelight). This is aside from the time and energy required shoot, edit and produce the video.

So, sorry, Maccabeats fans.

However, there are a number of other Pesach videos to keep us preoccupied until the next Maccabeat release.

Perhaps the best Jewish Accapela group out there (sorry Maccabeats, maybe one day, haha) Six13 has a new album for sefira and a new video called "P-A-S-S-O-V-E-R."



UPDATE (4/14/11): From Kol Ish, we have the parody song "Just Had Chametz," a take off of a very notorious/popular and very innappropriate song. I won't write the title here, not because I'm a prude, but because I'm worried about search engines and spammers. It's pretty funny, though has it's own crude/euphemistic moments. I think it's better done than the "I Just Broke Shomer," version.

In the vein of of "Llama song," we have this little gem called "Matza, matza fish."



From Jewish Treats we have "Best Seder in the USA," which for some reason isn't getting many hits, despite it's catchiness (or perhaps people are anti-Miley Cyrus music).



The Fountainheads, who competed with The Maccabeats for Purim Song Popularity released a new song/video called "Dayenu, Coming Home." Note: This features women singing and dancing, as in their previous video. This is the second mainstream Jewish video to utilize the very catchy/popular Celo Green's song "Forget You," after Jew Man Group's "Bar'chu! I'm a Jew."

For the older rock-favoring crowd we have "Passover/I'm Going to a Seder" by The What's Up Band.



This one's a little strange, submitted by a friend of mine. I'm not sure how to translate the Russian titles, but it's basically "Go Down Moses," originally by Louis Armstrong performed by some Russian army chorus/band. I've gotta say, the singer's impression of Louis Armstrong sounds a lot like a Russian Louis Armstrong.



In the non-musical department, we have Ayeka Passover, mockumentary-style short which I think is pretty hilarious (at least on the first viewing).



Lastly, we have the Google Exodus, which I think is by far the most creative entry this Pesach video season. It's very well done, and doesn't simply take off of an established motif, as the other videos do. It's the only video that has cracked the million view mark (though Fountainhead is catching up), which doesn't surprise me at all given it's uniqueness.



Enjoy! And please feel free to send me any other Pesach Youtube videos that are out there from this year you might know about.

Aviv Gets Accepted To Yeshiva University!!!!

ASoG and I went to a panel discussion about Torah Umadda last night that was held on YU’s Wilf Campus. While that entire event probably deserves its own post, I’m going to hone in on one particular question asked to, and answered by, Richard Joel, the President of Yeshiva University.

The student moderator asked President Joel what he felt was the greatest problem that afflicts the Modern Orthodox community nowadays, and what we can do to solve it.

President Joel said one of the biggest problems we face is cynicism. People are too cynical – about everything in life, especially every Jewish aspect of their lives. It’s just “so fun” to be cynical, and thereby tear everything apart around us. Nothing is good – but everything is worth picking to pieces with criticism and nothing is ever validated in a positive fashion.

A young man from Beverly Hills, California named Aviv Kleinman recently posted a video on Youtube that features him, along with his mother, opening his acceptance letter from Yeshiva University and its Mechina program. Aviv is extremely excited to have been accepted, it was his first and only choice after all. Aviv attended a public high school, and based on his own growing sense of religiosity, decided that he would like to pursue his college education in the dual-curriculum environment of Yeshiva University where he can grow Judaically as well as pursue his degree.

You would think that people would be excited for this kid, and many are. Yet, there is also a rather vociferous group that have left vile comments on the youtube page and on the Facebook walls of various individuals who posted the video in their status. They speak about how Aviv is going to get “screwed over” by YU, how the experience will be horrible for him, that he’s wasting the 4 years of college, which are meant to be enjoyable, by attending YU. Basically, these frustrated, immature individuals are giving voice to their own aggravations, jumping at the opportunity to bash YU, at the potential expense of ruining the perception of an innocent person who truly believes in the good that can be accomplished by attending YU.

No one is telling you that your negative experiences weren’t legitimate, but what gives you the right to discourage someone else who is looking forward, with great optimism, to their undergraduate college career at YU? You want to make him feel awful, to discourage him, to make him think he was duped into attending a university that wastes the “best years of your life” because YU isn’t your typical co-ed college, rife with opportunities for raucous partying and whatever other physical pleasures you imagine represent the epitome of the college experience?

After reading numerous comments, from both sides – those that support and encourage Aviv, and those that disparage YU and tell him to prepare for the worst – I’ve come to an observation about the detractors. It seems to me that those that are so inherently virulent about disparaging YU, by and large, attended yeshiva high schools. Whether local (New York/New Jersey) or not, they didn’t enjoy their years spent in high school, and enter YU with a very closed mind. For these unfortunate students, who choose to limit their perspectives, YU cannot and will never be a positive experience for them. No matter how good things are, they choose to ignore the benefits that are handed to them on a silver platter, and focus exclusively on the negative aspects of their lives at YU.

I’m not, in any way suggesting that life at YU is perfect. Visiting the registrar’s office has almost always been an awful experience. Administration in general can be difficult to deal with. Not every single class, or every shiur I attended was worth my time. Both my honors English seminars paled in comparison to my AP English courses from junior and senior year in high school.

But, nothing is ever perfect. I think these few negative aspects do not truly invalidate my educational career at YU. I have loved being in an environment that is flourishing in Torah, where my secular classes often directly or indirectly have some sort of impact in my general religious experience. My college experience was absolutely unparalleled when compared to any other institution I could have attended. Indeed, I turned down acceptances to other, respected universities I applied to, in order to specifically take advantage of the opportunities unique to YU.

Nowhere else could I ever have taken a class in biology where one lesson was totally devoted to going through Talmudic and rabbinic sources that discuss the notion of evolution. I could never have taken a literary methodology course where the gentile professor declared that his favorite book was “Halachic Man.” Where else could I have taken, on a lark, a course in Jewish singing (courtesy of the Belz School of Music)? I certainly couldn’t have taken courses about medical halacha, bio-ethics (Jewish and not), Jewish history, Jewish philosophy and Tanach of the caliber that I enjoyed immensely – which have also helped me develop my worldview within Modern Orthodoxy.

And all that is separate from my Judaic studies. At no other university could I have enjoyed the above courses in addition to having a serious morning seder, shiur, and night seder. At any “regular” college, you are forced to use find moments of free time to learn, which may or may not exist. And even if they do, it’s much harder to make yourself be kovea itim when everything is optional versus a situation where learning is built into your everyday schedule. Yes, it can be easy for anyone to just blow off opportunities to learn, but I speak from experience, having attended a secular high school: being immersed in the Torah environment that YU provides makes all the difference in the world.

Complain all you want about the non-coed environment. Honestly, it’s much easier to get my work done and pay attention in class when I’m not distracted by attractive members of the opposite gender. Plus, there’s no shortage of co-ed social events (kosher of course, no dances of drunken frat parties) for you to meet your potential bashert – and that’s aside from the fact that at any given time there are Stern girls in our library and new lounge.

Complain about the food in the caf all you want, but all the spoiled in-towners have no clue what it’s like to live in a place without a restaurant and suddenly be able to go get freshly prepared, (mostly) delicious food 3 times a day without fail. For salad lovers like me, relishing in the ability to enjoy vegetables and various kinds of lettuce without having to worry about checking for bugs at every meal is absolutely amazing.

You think the courses you’re taking are a joke? I guarantee you that there are more involving, challenging, rewarding courses that can fit your caliber of intelligence. Not every course is the most stimulating, but I know that there are students in every class that you find boring who are actually learning and benefitting from the experience.

To all those guys out there that feed off of cynicism and take every chance they get to criticize and bash YU, yet choose to attend YU in spite of their issues, or are forced to attend YU by their parents, I honestly feel bad for you. Why? Because clearly you shouldn’t be here. YU isn’t for everyone. President Joel himself said that. There is no one model of university education, or variation of Torah-observant Orthodox Judaism, that the inherent right way for every single person out there. My rosh yeshiva in Israel would counsel certain guys to specifically not attend YU, based on his knowledge of their personality.

You folks may be stuck going to YU because of your parents or whatever, but why revel in your misery – or choose to inflict others because you don’t feel like things are going well for you? Why can’t YOU choose to make you own life better instead of wallowing in your perceived wretched situation? It isn’t emotionally/psychologically healthy for you to be so consistently negative, and why should you lash out at others who actually find the very things you despise to be not only enjoyable, but extremely beneficial to their lives as Jews?

If you have complaints, if you seen areas that could use some improvement, do something about it. Run for student office and work with the university’s administration, join or create a student group that focuses on specific issues, or even do something more grassroots based. Who knows what positive changes you can accomplish when you put in the effort? So many positive things have been done on campus at the suggestion or through the actions of students. If all you can do is sit there and mouth off, then there is little hope for you. Go talk to a tree or something that could care less, but don’t waste your energy by harming others.

Put simply: I love YU. I always have, since I first discovered it when I met NCSY advisors who went there, through my time in Israel, and especially while studying as an undergraduate here. I admire the rabbeim, teachers, and even, or should I say, especially, President Joel. I could not have gone anywhere better suited for me. YU isn’t perfect, but no college is. Deal with it. The cup is certainly more than half full at YU, it just takes the proper perspective to see it.

To Aviv: you’re going to do great. I congratulate you on your acceptance to YU and the Mechina Program. Enjoy every single moment of your time here, because it’ll be over before you know it. These WILL be the best 3-4 years of your educational experience. Savor it, don’t rush, learn as much as you can. You won’t regret it.

We found him!

Or at least we think so, with high probability. Thanks to everyone who emailed me their suggestions. I've had email contact with the most likely candidate (he agrees that it's probably him), and it turns out I happen to know him personally from YU. Now we just need the original reader who made the request to get back to one of us (or both). So if you're out there and reading this: return our emails already! Thank you.

Reader Request For Shidduch Help

UPDATE 4/24/11 - We've definitely found the right guy. Thanks for your help!

I'm not entirely sure why I qualify for this type of request, but I can't deny the fact that I did receive this email last week. I sort of forgot about it in the pre-Shabbos rush, but rediscovered it last night as I was going through my inbox.

The email reads (copy and pasted it from Gmail):

"Ok this is going to be a strange message but maybe you can help since you are involved in Shidduchim. On the plane on the way to La for Succos I met a really nice guy that I would love to track down for my sister. Problem is I don't know his name or how to reach him. Maybe his name is David.
This is his description: He went to YU and graduated in marketing and works for five years in washington Heights. He lives there as well. His parents live in Israel but he grew up here. He went to Hasc several years ago. In general he was a nice, good looking guy, who helped me with my stuff and didn't mind when my baby was bothering him. Sounds far fetched for an idea for my sister? I don't think so. I did not ask him about the idea on the plane and I messed up. I think it could be a good shot. Please email me if you think you may know who this is. You can also post this on your blog if you want. Thank you so much!"

I will certainly try to find out who this mystery gentleman is, but if anyone can possibly figure it out and/or knows this fellow, please shoot me an email at Shadesofgreyjblog (at) gmail (dot) com and hopefully we can help out.

Must See: "Falling" By Judablue

I saw a friend post this as their Facebook status last night. It's a new music video by the Jewish rock group called Judablue. I'd really enjoyed Judablue's EP "Forty Days," which they released in 2009, so I was eager to check out their new material.

In short: it's simply fantastic.

I can't describe how amazing this song and its video are. The cinematography and composition are wonderful. To think that these guys recorded a few songs during their senior year in high school, and now have produced such an incredible music video, and their fame is just beginning.

There is so much to enjoy about the video itself, so many layers of meaning and so much depth. I particularly love the shot at 3:55, though the flipping, intro bit, newspaper covered room, field, and subtle Pro-Israel elements (such as the Free Gilad on "David's" shirt) are also quite clever and very well done.

My one small critique, if it can even be called that, is that the "Shema Yisrael" section is somewhat reminiscent, though not exactly similar, to Shlock Rock's use of "Shema Yisrael" as part of their song "David and Goliath" (to the tune of "Devil Went Down to Georgia"). It may just be me with my vast database of Jewish Music songs in my head (and on my iPod), since I presume most people won't even know what in the world I'm talking about.

Bonus Factoid: The lead singer of Judablue, Shlomo Gaisen, is the younger brother of Jeremy Gaisen - who recently released the excellent "Umordechai Yatsah" song/video from Purim. Jeremy also appears as a backup vocalist on "Im Lo Aleh" from their EP.

At any rate, I am inspired by Judablue's creative genius. Their songs, and now their videos, are stunning examples of what can be accomplished by being original, creating music that has soul and deep meaning. I hope they continue to produce songs and albums for many years to come.

This Just In: The Maccabeats Are Fakes!

In what can only be described as the biggest fraud in music history since the exposure of Milli-Vanili, reporters have confirmed that the Yeshiva University’s singing sensation known as The Maccabeats are nothing more than a well choreographed lip-syncing scam. Aside from their now infamous Youtube videos, the fourteen 20-something YU undergrads and alumni have fooled hundreds of concert goers with expertly timed lip coordination and expensive audio equipment.

The unexpected turn of events has broken the hearts of tens of thousands of Jewish girls across the world. Each depressed girl once hoped to end up marrying a Maccabeat in order to enjoy the soul-stirring beauty of his voice during weekly Shabbat Zemirot. Now, those dreams have all been dashed.

Rumors began to circulate about the group’s lack of authenticity around Chanukah time when the Maccabeats’ hit video “Candlelight,” was generating millions of views on Youtube while attracting media attention from around the world, both Jewish and secular. After several weeks of television news interviews and appearances, including several on major broadcast networks, those responsible for performing the vocal tracks associated with the Maccabeats decided it was time to stop hiding and step into the light.

As it turns out, the true voices behind the handsome faces and skillfully choreographed lip-syncing are a dozen older men who once belonged to the original Miami Boys Choir, founded in 1977 by Yerachmiel Begun in Miami, Florida.

“I was initially contacted by Chanina [Abramowitz], who is a fellow MBC alum,” Chezky Goldberger, one of the “Real Maccabeats,” said. “He told me they were looking for some guys with great voices who weren’t young enough to attract the maidelach anymore, but wanted to get their voices out there on the market again.” Chezky and his fellow “Maccabeats,” now in their mid-40’s, with beer bellies, receding hairlines and children in high school, were perfect for the part. “So I called up a few friends from my Miami days, and we began recording in the private studio in my basement. The rest, as they say, is history.”

“It’s definitely a strange thing,” remarked Yaakov Brickman, another one of the men behind the A Cappella phenomenon. “I wasn’t really sure we could pull it off, but Julian [Horowitz, the Maccabeat’s director] is extremely talented in coaching the art of vocal miming,” Brickman told Shades of Grey. “I still find it odd that I have girls my daughter’s age who swoon when they hear me singing the solo in ‘Aleinu’ or ‘Go the Distance.’ It’s really strange, yet fulfilling at the same time.”

The burgeoning scandal has rocked the entire YU world, most notably University President, Richard Joel. “I honestly had no idea the Maccabeats were phonies!” He declared, throwing his hands in the air with shock. “Had I only known I would be the only one really singing on their first album [From The Heights], I would never have agreed to sponsor the project with University funds or participate in it. I’ve been taken for a fool,” the forlorn President sighed in anguish. When asked about his son Nachum’s membership in the now-disgraced group, President Joel replied, “Nachum? I have no son by that name,” before slamming the door to his office. The interviewer reported hearing loud, exasperated sobbing and angry fist pounding coming from within shortly thereafter.

The former Maccabeats have withdrawn from public society since the scandal broke, though there are reports that there may be a pending lawsuit refuting the charges against them and suing for defamation of character. Their silence in the face of numerous interview requests is, unfortunately, a form of self-condemnation at best.

Goldberger and Brickman, along with their fellow “Real Maccabeats” have not yet announced any future albums or tour dates, but they briefly spoke about working on an upcoming video with Maccabeats video director, Uri Westrich.

“Uri is a very talented guy,” Goldberger said. “Knowing how great of a job he did vaulting those youngsters to stardom, we have high hopes he can pull off some sort of inventive camera angle or something that will let us look just as good on screen.”

“We can only hope that one day,” Brickman added with a smile and wink, “we can receive the recognition we deserve for all our hard work. In the meantime, I’m happy with all the re-directed fan mail, though the dozens of marriage proposals are beginning to drive my wife a little crazy.”

Purim Fun!

First of all, Mazal Tov to King Ahaseurus and Queen-to-be Esther! A huge yasher-koach to whoever submitted this. I love the section that is supposed to say where the kallah is from, which instead reads: "She wont tell."

Second, I heard about this from a friend of mine of Shabbos: it seems that the campy "Mishenichnas Adar" tune, as seen here, is actually derived from an old slave cotton picking song called "Pick a Bale of Cotton." I'm really interested in finding out how this niggun borrowing evolved.

Lastly, you MUST check out this new song/video by up-and-coming Jewish Music singer/composer Jeremy Gaisen. It's by far the best original Purim song I've heard in years (sorry Maccabeats). The video is quite silly, but the song is fantastic. It's called "Umordechai Yatsah." I happen to know all the guys in the video - great job guys.



Freilechen Purim to all!

P.S. Stay safe and don't drink too much. There is no mitzvah to get drunk to the point of getting hurt or putting others at harm - nor is there any chiyuv whatsoever to upchuck your seudah.

As a friend once put it: "Nichnas yayin yatza sod; and not the contents of your stomach."

Things I've Learned Since I Got Married #5 - Look, Ma! I Can Fix Things

I’ve always been somewhat handy at fixing things that have stopped working (mostly electronics), but not really in the man-around-the-house plumbing, carpenter sort of fashion, which was always Dad’s job. I think this is a role that men tend to start wading into if/when they live on their own in an apartment or dorm, but only fully embrace the part once they are the Mr. Fix-It following the their wedding.

While our apartment here in Washington Heights is quite nice, nothing is ever perfect and various things have broken down or given us some trouble from time to time. No longer do I have my father’s expertise in handling these sorts of situations, and instead have learned to rely on my own ingenuity, strength, and manual dexterity to come up with solutions. I’ll give a one example here and save a few others that have cropped up in the short time ASoG and I have been sharing our abode for another post.

One fine Friday evening, a brief span of time after I left for shul, ASoG was busy going about her last minute Shabbos preparations when she heard a strange pop. Suddenly, the lights in half the apartment went out – including the Shabbos light in the bedroom, the bathroom fixture, and all the lights in our living room, leaving just the kitchen light and hotplate running.

ASoG had already lit her candles frantically tried to figure out what she could do, which included trying to go find the super, go get me, or contact our Rav here to figure something out. In the end, she realized that not much could be done, given the circumstances, and joined me at davening. After Ma'ariv, she explained the situation to me in order to prepare me for our darkened apartment.

When we returned home, we ended up sharing a romantic candle-lit Shabbos dinner together, which was rather nice. Shabbos day wasn't a big deal, and we made it through Shalosh Seudos, but come Motzei Shabbos we had to deal with the fact that we had barely any functioning lights or working electrical outlets for things like our cell phone chargers.

After havdallah, I called our super and asked him if he could drop by and help us. Unfortunately, he replied, he was away in Brooklyn and wouldn’t be back until Sunday afternoon. He did mention that it sounded like we blew a fuse and suggested I go ahead see if one needed replacing. Sure enough, one of the little circular tube things in the panel on our wall was blackened.

Thankfully, the previous residents of our apartment kept a few odds and ends in what has now become our “junk drawer,” which included a brand new replacement circuit. Having been saved from a trip to the almost certainly closed hardware store, I carefully removed the dead circuit and screwed in the replacement, and our lights came back on. Having never performed this task before, I was excited at my success.

ASoG had been quite worried that I’d electrocute myself, but thankfully I approached the task with caution and am still here to tell the tale.

Stay tuned for more stories of stuff once broken, now fixed and my MacGuyver-like handyman skills.