The forum used to be a fairly busy place. Then the site imploded. Since the return of the forum it has been very quiet around here. 

I realize that people come and go. I realize that people have lives outside of forums that can impact the time and energy available to them to participate on a forum, but I cannot recall on other forums such a precipitous drop in participation. Any ideas why? Any ideas on what might be done to change it?

I’m wondering if the reduction in the number of sub-forums might played a role in the drop. I wonder as well if the fact that if one goes to thehebrewcafe.com and click on “forum” one is taken to the Hebrew language forum, not here. I know that created a problem for me when the forum first came back and I was trying to get back here.

Greetings to all. My name is Ezra. I'm new here to the Jewish Forums. 

I was born and raised in Texas. Recently I moved to Massachusetts. I've been living here around Springfield for about a month now. I'm 19 years old. 

I have aspirations of going to college here soon. I started a semester back in Texas but dropped when I moved here to Mass. There are tons of education options here in Mass, so I'm definitely going to look into enrolling somewhere soon! I don't (as of now) know what I want to do career wise, though. Right now I'm just working in a grocery store (something I've been doing since I was 17).

When I was younger I was enrolled in the Nigri International Jewish Online School. It's a Jewish day school online that's put out through the Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch (which is the central Chabad-Lubavitch educational organization in Crown Heights). I learned there because there was barely any Jewish presence in the town I grew up in -- and when I say barely, I mean it! There wasn't even a single synagogue. The closest thing Jewish was 15 miles away and it was a small, dying Reform community. Since I was being schooled Orthodox, my family and I would have to travel at least 4 hours away to get to the closest Orthodox synagogue. 

Like I said, I recently relocated to the Springfield area in Western Mass, and am apart of one of the Orthodox communities here. Since most of my schooling and Jewish experiences come from Chabad, I would consider myself to be somewhat Chabad. (I daven from Siddur Tehilas Hashem, I wear a hat and jacket on Shabbos, etc.) 

I'm just looking for a place to talk and discuss Yiddishkeit. English is my first language, but I'm proficient in both Hebrew and Yiddish. I look forward to schmoozing with all of you here on the Jewish Forums. 

If you have any questions about me, please ask below! 

Also check out my profile on Mi Yodeya, the Judaism Stack Exchange: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/users/...ab=profile

Shalom chaverim, I have a question about tefilin..
I work in construction and I the only time o have available to put on refueling is 2 hours before sun rise.
I start work at 7 and therefore o have to put on tefillin at 5.
What should I do?
Cant do it at work because I'm dirty from working with cement and cutting wood.
Help please.

Life happened, and we fell in love. My boyfriend is Orthodox. I was baptized Catholic but grew up in a household that did not practice. I am very spiritual, but didn't have a clear idea of who God was to me. 

My boyfriend and I are eight months in, and trying to figure out if we can really make a future together. He is truly struggling with having non-jewish kids. I don't feel it would be right or true to myself to have an Orthodox conversion. The more we have spent time together, the more I truly appreciate the religion and the history. I have been enlightened, and it's a part of my life that I appreciate he has provided to me. All that being said, I still don't feel an Orthodox conversion makes sense for me. I would however, see the benefit of raising children in an Orthodox home. 

If anyone has any suggestions for options whether it be my conversion to conservative or reform, and conversion of the children after birth. I'm wondering what the requirements are for children to go to Orthodox school in this situation. I'm looking at any possible options, even IVF with a Jewish egg, or adoption. My boyfriend is seeing things as very black and white, whereas I am desperate there must be some kind of option to make this work between us. Any advice and honest feedback will help. Thanks!

I don't want to say what my religion is but Jewish mythology has always fascinated me...in particular that idea of the Golem. So, I'm writing a webcomic and one of the HARDEST arcs I have planned is where the main character one day finds a temple once belonging to a Golem village in his backyard where it wasn't there before. When the main character and his friends explore the place, it triggers a bunch of switches that open up the temple. In the center of the insides of the temple is a odd-looking Metutelet, otherwise known as the Jewish Pendulum or the Hebrew Pendulum. When I mean odd, I mean that most Pendulums are made of simple beechwood cylinders crossed by a cotton cord. This one is a weird, constantly shifting glowing crystal with Hebrew symbols on it, connected to a silver chain. When the main characters grab it, it teleports them to California, where they go on a "National Treasure" style adventure to why they were teleported and find a way back home. From what I've learned (and please feel free to prove me wrong) "The Metutelet, [...] not only has the ability to Diagnosis [sic] of diseases, [but also] To find water, To find minerals, Locating lost objects, Finding missing persons or animals, etc ... It also can act as a support [sic] in the art of Feng Shui, and the use of Tarot [sic]...". As such the main characters are pulled by the magical force inside the Metutelet to find multiple objects that lead them to the revelation that their world was once protected by a race of Golems before they were nearly wiped out and the source of their power was destroyed by an evil snake known as 
"Apophis". The main character was chosen as part of some cliche chosen one prophecy to go back in time with the Golem magic and get the original, odd crystal that the Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel of Prague of Prague used to make the first Golem, known as Joseph (from what my research has told me, which isn't much, the first golem was called Joseph). So the main character goes back and it's revealed the crystal never went missing, he just took it, and when he comes back to the present, the crystal instantly changes the "Met" on the foreheads of the Golems (meaning dead) to "emet", meaning truth or, in this case, alive; and the golem population is restored.

Does this sound like a lot? Does this sound confusing? Does this sound irritating that I got any of them wrong? Please let me know, because this is my goal.
- I'm trying to figure out why the demon snake Apophis would want to kill the Golems, and why it waited this long for them to come back.
- A subplot is in there where an archeologist claims that the US government was hiding the golems in the US instead of in Prague for their protection. Why? And it's not because the US is anti-semetic or corrupt in this story.
- Most importantly, what items of Jewish mysticism could the main characters find that the golems would hide away so that a worthy one would find it to accept this herculean task? I tried looking up items like that but all I got were the usual (Star of David, Ring of Solomon, etc). I want more original stuff.
- Why have the golems waited for so long? Why have they awoken NOW? I was going to have a big demonic entity resurface and the golems coming back would signal his forecoming, as well as the main characters being the chosen one to stop it, but that just seems to cliche and I want to flesh out the Golems' influence in this story world.



I would really appreciate it if you guys would help a dumb neophyte like myself with developing this story. There are some people of the Jewish faith in my area but they seemed distant and weirded out when I asked them, and did not want to help me. Hope you have the time to do so. Thanks in advance and God bless.

For me, a deep feeling of gratefulness is what originally brought me towards Judaism. 

Sometimes there are many moments of bliss/thankfulness in a day, a week or a month, regarding the small things. I thought it might be nice to have a thread for sharing those moments, for those who would like to do so. Maybe as an ongoing thing to appreciate what just makes us happy.

For me, it was the feeling of bliss of walking in crisp fresh air to work, under a blue sky with the light painting a fantastic symphony of colours on the buildings, the trees, the water. I also saw some small sparrows hopping around under a bush, they are so adorable.
I then had a great day at work, interacting with students and my colleagues and I just feel so connected to everyone. I am happy and so thankful for these interactions. I feel like I am running on love for everyone and everything.

I am also happy that I found another congregation in my area that holds services only a few days a month, but they have one tomorrow and I hope I can make it. I am happy and thankful to have seen it just in time so I can go.


What made you grateful or happy today or recently?

Dear all,

Blessings to all. I am a Catholic that has met many Jewish people over the years and have Jewish friends in the US, in Latin America and in Israel. I am honored to be considered a friend of people of the Jewish faith.

My question is about 'lending money and paying it back' in the Jewish faith, and I apologize if this has been posted elsewhere and I'd be happy to look and the best link or source. And I most emphatically apologize for any unintentional potentially offensive text below.

----> My 4 questions are: 

1) what does the Jewish faith mention about lending money, about the responsibility of paying it back?
2) if it is paid it back not in money but in favors, in food, in material things, is it considered 'paid back'?
3) the value of this statement: it is not paid back because the money is for 'the greater good' and the person who is not paid back has instead accumulated 'many blessings for the afterlife'
4) HOW FAR does sacrifice go?

I want to be as clear and factual as possible, so here goes my story:

My wife and I (no children) know a Jewish doctor, a psychiatrist, for about 20 years now, a highly regarded professional who devotes himself to helping others, that has saved many lives, addictions, attempted suicides, psychiatric patients, etc. He says it is his mission to help everybody at all times, even when he himself can't afford a meal. On many occasions he has waited for payment of his services from VERY wealthy clients, who in the end never pay him. He complains that this is the problem with rich people; however he moves in this circle, as he has saved some important people and word gets around. 

Me and my wife started lending him money more than 15 years ago, first sporadically, then on a consistent basis. He has also gotten very sick at times and we have covered his health bills, hospitals included. He is not a young man.

He invites us to dinner once a week religiously since about 2004 and cooks several plates and entrees, and serves a lot of wine. During these dinners he gives lengthy expositions about the Jewish faith, what it means to be a righteous person, how many of his rich acquaintances are persons of the highest morality and beacons of society. He also says many of his clients from the Community are in the commercial sector and have 'no liquid funds' and pay him 'in kind', so me and my wife have dined expensive food and wine once a week, and have collected a few wine bottles, a few brand shoes, and items of clothing over the years.

He is awaiting to receive a large sum from his pension, from which he has stated that everything and everybody will be finally paid. The issue is, this process has taken more than 5-6 years now, because a letter is always missing, an apostille is missing, a certificate was the wrong one, a copy of his birth certificate is needed again, etc etc. Many steps and near misses, and this 'almost there' feeling that goes on and on and is starting to raise doubts in me. But not in my wife.

He has also gotten sick from time to time, and mentions that his other Jewish friends/acquaintances are from high circles of society and that it does not look good to ask them for money; he maintains that his image in the Community is what gets him patients. He has been offered executive positions more than once in important companies, but he claims that this would limit his ability to serve and cure the needy people, the poor, and has therefore refused these paying jobs. 

So, between waiting for the next document/thing missing for him to receive his pension, attending to his medical bills when he gets sick again, his utility bills, etc., over the years me and my wife have incurred in deep serious debt. More than half of my salary goes to pay loans I have taken out in my name that were supposed to be paid back quickly. I have no savings anymore and am living paycheck to paycheck. My wife just last week took out another loan God knows how and sent him again a couple of thousand dollars. His family has cut him off since many years ago; I used to think they are pure evil but now I'm not so sure.

When my wife or me get sick, he is the first to call to give us a list of instructions and medications (is this also pay back?), some medicines not cheap at all, and he reiterates how much he loves us and that his money is just around the corner.

I am at the end of my mental, emotional, spiritual and financial line. I fantasize about having a normal life, buying a shirt, going to the movies without feeling guilty and counting pennies, with savings in the bank for when I retire in the next 20-25 years, if I even live that far, and I have nightmares about never being paid back and literally living on the streets or in a spare bedroom with my parents at 60 years of age.

My wife... only needs to hear him sob over the phone to lose any sense of financial responsibility. She argues with me on and on about our duty to 'be as Jesus', to 'work for the blessings in the afterlife', and for me to 'develop empathy'. I have responded many times to her, and not in a calm voice, that we are in this situation because I HAVE expressed a deep empathy, beyond any logic, for over 15 years and --hundreds of thousands of dollars-- ago, that I am completely drained and only thinking about our survival at this stage, and that her point ceases to have value if we can't even afford to live a normal decent frugal life. For me, saving a life through lending money to one person is not a noble act if it destroys another person's life. Unless all my aspirations were an illusion and I'm supposed to be a doormat in this life.

She replies that the doctor cannot control his desire to cure people even if they can't pay him, that he saves many many lives, that my 'sacrifice' helps save all these many lives too and I should be proud. That we should keep ALL of this to ourselves, not share with any friends or any family because they would never understand. And that I need to meditate and strengthen MY spirituality.

This past Yom Kippur I imagined he would call us to say hi, to express some understanding of our situation, some sorrow, to say he was sorry, something. An acknowledgement of what I think Yom Kippur means, but I could be wrong. But he just told my wife in a 10-second phone call that he was very busy with the Community during this important celebration and to not call him.

I am seriously considering a divorce, and disconnecting myself from her and from the doctor for the rest of my life, but... what if I get paid back? Am I accumulating blessings for the afterlife? Am I just 'a victim of fear of the unknown, which is the Devil's work, the Devil instills fear in us to destroy us'? 

I have some good days where I think maybe this is all in my head, that I'm just being paranoid and that the promises received over the years will eventually materialize. I also have some very dark days. The past year I spent some time actually thinking (JUST thinking, fantasizing, I promise) about how things would play out if I just killed myself and let everybody else go to hell.

I used to think that I was doing God's work, that my inner light would get me through, my innate nobility, my desire to be a force of good. Now I have turned into a bitter person, full of resentment and venom. I see beggars on the street and I pass them quickly, thinking of the doctor. I see so much pain on TV and the news and I just flip the channel. Every time I receive a compliment 'you're such a great guy, so humble, so moral' I think to myself no, I'm not a noble person, I'm AN IDIOT who has fu***d up his life.

I thank you for your patience with this very long letter.

A.M.

Hey friends, It's been a few months since I've been here. Unfortunately, I had a viral (we think) attack on my vestibular system. This is the inner ear/brain system that controls balance, position in space, and eye movements. Mine was damaged on both sides cause extreme dizziness, slurred speech, difficulty walking, and blurred vision. I've been in therapy for about 4 months now and I'm improving the recovery takes 1-2 years, and some people never recover. I have been ASSURED that I will recover. My system will always be damaged but my brain will map new pathways via neuroplasticity. But it's a long, HELLISH process. I have had to learn to walk again, learn to think clearly despite feeling like I'm in a hurricane (I feel like I am rocking, swaying, falling, spinning, rotating, etc), read, stabilize my vision, and learn to sleep while always moving. It's been rough and I have a long way to go. I've had some dark, dark moments. Thankfully, I have family that's been right beside me. I couldn't look at a phone or computer for months, but now I can do that a bit, so I thought I would give an update. I'm working very hard and I hope to feel 95% again one day. I hope everyone here is doing well!!! 

Quick question:  I hope I’m not violating any forum rules, but wanted to know what the consensus of this forum thought about the online Journal of Hebrew Scriptures (if allowed, here’s the link:  http://www.jhsonline.org/)?  

It seems to have an absolute wealth of data relative to the TaNaKh.  I won’t make a habit of posting links inasmuch as I don’t know what links are deemed acceptable by Admin.

Just wanting to get your thoughts on these journal papers.  It’s very rare that peer reviewed symposium papers can be found in PDF’s online.

 Hi everyone I would like to learn Hebrew as I plan to go on the birthright Israel trip this summer. Thanks!