Guest Post

I've been kinda busy this past week as I'm sure all of you have been. And if you haven't, try not to rub it in our faces.

It's not like my fingers haven't been itching to get some words down "on paper." I even started two posts. One of which has become a story which may or may not end up on my blog. Of course, I didn't finish the posts, so they weren't posted. Should I write another sentence or two with the word post in it. Sorry, just a little punch drunk... haven't been getting too much sleep.

So I got an e-mail from a reader offering his services... NO! Not like that!!! Get your minds out the gutter!! He offered to post for me. And of course, I said, "yes." I believe in making my life easier soooo... I would like to introduce you to Yossi and his rant on wooden spoons and Pesach cleaning.



I’ve been thinking about this all day, as I furiously scrub down my apartment ahead of the looming deadline, and I have reached a conclusion: It’s all because of the wooden spoons.

For as far back as anyone can remember, Jews have been buying wooden spoons to use during the b’dikas chametz ceremony, even though they serve no known function. They simply get carried around for a little while, then get burned with the crumbs found. Despite the lack of utility, great effort has generally gone into getting these spoons, and no Passover can be complete without one. Or so it seems.

I trace back the entire genre of senseless, unreasoned, extra-halachic stringencies to this dynamic, all provoked by the lowly wooden spoon.

Why wash off the chametz before putting it away? Why clean in places no rabbi ever demanded? Why spend extra to buy unwashed eggs, so the shell shouldn't touch (non-chametz) soap? Why hire anti-Semitic Eastern Europeans to steal, break, and scratch everything in the house? Why raise the home tension level and blood-pressure to unsafe levels?

Does anyone think that the rabbis of the Talmud did such things? They didn’t even have aluminum foil!

The Ben Ish Chai, Chief Rabbi of Baghdad at a time when that community was very rich and living in huge homes,wrote a “Mussar” letter to the women in the community. I paraphrase: “Don’t be lazy when it comes to Pesach preparation and cleaning. You are privileged to live in large homes, and have plenty of help, so don’t wait until the last minute! Start cleaning two, maybe even three, days before the holiday!”

I rest my case. And my pruny-looking dishwater hands. Excuse me while I go learn Divrei Torah on the Hagada.

More Great News!!

Shmellen my friend and sort of relative is due soon. Of course, I just found out yesterday. You see, just because I'm close with someone doesn't necessarily mean that we speak every day. We haven't spoken for about 4 months, but we picked up right where we left off.

Anyway her news absolutely and completely made my day yesterday. I'm so excited!!!!! I'm going to pick her up from work today and give her a lot of my baby and child care books including Healthy Sleep Habits Healthy Baby. She's going to need her sleep since she will be raising the baby alone. Yup, Shmellen is having the baby without being married and without the baby's dad being involved. No, it was not an accident. She planned it out, and asked shailas and her brother started learning about it for her (halacha wise).

I'm soooooo excited. I already called that I get to babysit, and that the baby will call me Aunt CR. I'm also sooo impressed and blown away, by her guts. Shmellen is my age and she didn't want to wait anymore. I know how she feels. I have been thinking about having another baby for quite some time, and DB has been asking since forever. Of course, I'm not in a financial position to do so. Still, I started reading about the halachos, because I don't know if I will ever get re-married. I would most definitely like to meet Mr. Right and have a big happy family, but that might not happen. Actually, I vacillate between wanting to get married and live my life without a husband. Notice that I didn't write man because there would be no way for me to give up men, but I think that y'all know that already.