Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Random Things I've Learned From Having Shabbos Guests...

Some are big and some are small.
Correction: They are all big....
  • There are frum people in Germany who have never seen Greunkern.
  • In Holland, children go to bed not to Hansel and Gretel, but rather to Jip and Janika.
  • If you want to daven in the shul in Istanbul, you need to get them your passport before Shabbos.
  • The Basenji is a breed of barkless dog.
  • It's highly recommended to bring your own disinfectant products to clean the bathrooms in certain kosher resort hotels.
  • A few containers of water placed inside your piano will help keep it in tune during the winter months.
  • Some guests will eat anything for dinner as long as it's kosher and doesn't move off the plate.
  • A Cuban girl living on 177th Street can be drawn to Judaism by the holiness of her neighbors.
  • There is more that unites us as Jews than divides us.
  • The lasting impact you have on your Shabbos guests is far greater than you could ever imagine.

6 comments:

Louisa said...

I'm the one who'll eat anything that doesn't move too quick...and is kosher...

BLD said...

I learned from my guest just this past Shabbos: A supermarket is suitable for a Modern Day Shiduch date (Yeshivish).

G6 said...

BLD -
I'm fascinated. Will any supermarket do, or are we talking something like Pomegranate?
Also, aren't they afraid of running in to people they know? (Not my issue ... theirs...)

efrex said...

A supermarket is suitable for a Modern Day Shiduch date (Yeshivish).

Okay, now there's a valuable and instructive shidduch date location! Just think of the important things you can find out about your prospective intended:

"Does he go for flat leaf or curly parsley?"

"What kind of bread crumbs does she buy?"

"Does he/she shop the 'Kosher' aisle exclusively, or does he/she bargain shop, and only get the 'frum' brands when there's no Goya, er, goyish alternative?"

Running into people you know is, of course, not a problem, as, naturally, each person has his own shopping cart (shared carts are not allowed till the fourth date, by which point everybody knows you're together anyway); simply shrug off any curious looks by pretending to debate the other person on the reliability of the hechsher on the box of raisins ("he buys raisins? Kofer! I never want to see him within three aisles of me! To think that I looked at the same can of hearts of palm as him!" *shudder*).

Then again, this might not be the best thing: If I had gone shopping with The Lovely Wife(tm) back when she was The Lovely Not-Sure-What(tm)*, I'm not sure our relationship would have lasted ("Bagged salad?" "Pre-cut garlic?" "Dried parsley?" "Sour cream for latkes?" "What am I thinking?!")

:)

_______________________
* Trust me, you don't want to know. It's a long story, and when I say it's a long story...

tnspr569 said...

So what does Pomegranate qualify as in New York - it's much too clean to be a supermarket by some standards...

Chaim said...

Efrex,

You put a smile on my face. Thank you.