Michael el Chayil

When we first moved to Dallas, we told the rabbi, Rabbi Aryeh Rodin, shilta, that we would like to "upgrade" our level of kashrut to the community standards. That is, we felt we were keeping kosher (we were not, of course), but wanted to be sensitive to other people's (in our mind, unnecessary) stringencies. You know, stringencies like looking for a hechsher when the ingredients on the label seemed just fine. Buying kosher cheese, even though we knew it was made with vegetable rennet. You know, stringencies. Rabbi Rodin came over and started by telling us, "There is nothing magic or mystical about kashering. The basic rule is that you get it out the same way it got in. Pots that always used with liquid for cooking, were to be kashered with hot water. Something that was used with dry heat -- like a roasting pan and the oven grates -- had to be kashered with (high) dry heat. Simple. I was very impressed and it changed my perspective on kashrus and the kashrus industry....

Let's take a look at the annual cycle we experience. The Three Weeks culminating in Tisha b'Av itself are accompanied by three special haftaras reminding us of our situation. Following that we have seven Shabbosim of consolation, also with their special haftaras; so special, in fact, that they even override the haftara for Rosh Chodesh Elul. We then have the Days of Awe; ten days of repentance beginning with Rosh HaShanna and concluding with Yom Kippur. Five days later, the season of our joy, Sukkos! Many years ago, I had the merit that R' Matisyahu Soloman, z"tzvk visited me at home; more on that visit in this TftD . I saw a two volume set of מתנת חיים, writings by R' Matisyahu Soloman, z"tzvk  on the 40 days from Rosh Chodesh Elul through Yom Kippur. Of course, I took a set right away. (I already have מתנת חיים on the Pesach Hagadah.) R' Solomon begins by noting that this annual cycle -- suffering and mourning, then consolation, then repentance and forgi...

Nothing can quite make you feel as old as quoting a comic strip that is unknown to your listener. When I spoke to a group of college students, I knew better than to refer to Doonesbury (even though it is still around). I thought I was safe, though, with Dilbert. Nope. Sigh... Anyway,  on strip that is spot has Alice, the female engineer, looking for a better position in the company. The rule in companies, by the way, is that when you want to promote an internal candidate to a new position, you often need to post it, just in case there are better qualified candidates than the one you want to promote. The idea is sound, but when the manager just words the requirements in such a way that only one person fits. In the Dilbert example, Alice reads the job description: near-sighted, has a red pickup truck, and answers to "Bob". Dilbert notes that "they probably have someone in mind"; Alice still contemplates if she could make it work. (I have seen -- and even written -- jo...