Friday, June 11, 2010

A message to YWN re: the "coveted Rinah Mashke"

Hat Tip: a reader

Yeshiva World News,

Please demonstrate a bissel sechel when posting stories out of the frum world. A big, huge thumbs down for posting this ridiculous piece of congratulations glorifying a behavior set that so many are working to combat. Is it just me, or does anyone else feel that they have been transported to a permanent Purim land. What is that Yiddish saying about a shikur again?

Only those who are confused about a proper derech would celebrate the lifting of a ban that now makes 96% alcohol more readily available for kiddushim and farbrengens. On the upside, it is nice to know that those who have bootlegged the "coveted Rinah Mashke" from New Jersey to New York now can burn their gut out without having to travel such distances.

Rate my mood cynical. The comment by James pretty much sums up my feelings on such judgement.

Orthonomics

15 comments:

Leah Goodman said...

but it's really good for doing certain fire tricks at weddings and such! Likewise, if you add a little to your sour cherries, they turn to brandy sooo much faster.

of course, if anyone actually DRINKS it... oy vey... thanks, I'll stick to a glass of wine once in a while when we're with friends for a Shabbat meal.

Mark said...

I make vanilla extract out of 95% alcohol. Just put some in a dark container, insert a vanilla bean and wait a few weeks. You can refill with alcohol periodically because the vanilla bean will last quite a while.

Mark

Leah Goodman said...

You can do *that* with regular vodka - I have 2 750ml bottles sitting on my counter at the moment. (one for me, one for a friend.)

tesyaa said...

Vanilla extract is so ridiculously cheap at Costco that you should really save your vodka for a differnt purpose. (Hey, this is a frugality blog, among other things!)

Commenter Abbi said...

tesyaa, real vanilla extract is very expensive here in Israel and only comes in tiny bottles imported from America, while cheap vodka is easy to come by at the local makolet. So, here, making your own with cheap vodka really is cheaper than buying real.

Leah Goodman said...

tesyaa - for comparison's sake, my brother-in-law picked up 22ml of vanilla extract on super-duper sale for 12 shekels (regular price is 29 shekels). 750ml of keglevich vodka is 39 shekels. I'm selling vanilla at 22 shekels for 6 beans. (i.e. I get them cheaper)... that's 61 shekels for 750ml.

At the super-duper sale price, the extract would cost over 400 shekels for that amount.

Not exactly higher mathematics.

tesyaa said...

The pure vanilla extract at Costco is 473 ml (16 fl oz) and costs about less than $6.00. That's about 23 shekel(?).

Leah Goodman said...

tesyaa - great, so you're offering to bring me some? :) It's called making the best of what you have. We can get tomatoes for 3 shekels a kilo sometimes... so we live with the fact that our vanilla costs a little more.

And let me know if you can find an apartment for $750/month that's in walking distance of a shul where membership is under $200/year per family, and a day school where your total payments including books, trips, uniforms, are under $2K per year...

I'm actually ok with paying an extra couple bucks a year for vanilla :)

tesyaa said...

Whoa Leah, it's not a competition! Or is it??

Leah Goodman said...

I donno. Sometimes it feels like y'all are still talking about America as the goldena medina... just want to remind you that vanilla and zip-loc issues aside, it's not all bad here ;)

Anonymous said...

Ah, nothing like the seeing the israeli way of talking on display.

It reminds me why I have no plans on moving to Israel anytime soon.

And yes, for the time being, America is the best country in the world for many jews if not most.

Leah Goodman said...

You're judging Israelis by ME? I'm a curmudgeon with fibromyalgia and a kid who constantly needs surgery (waiting for a date on surgery #4, anesthesia round #5) and medical care. (He's 18 months old now.)

And anyway, most Israelis think I'm insane for living here when I have US citizenship...

But go ahead, enjoy your stereotyping.

Unknown said...

I wonder about people whose idea of simcha shel mitzva is to get blasted out of their minds. Some adult should step in.

Anonymous said...

as usual , chabad places mashke kneged kulam... yet another chilllul lubavitch....

bikores.blogspot.com said...

Chilul Lubavitch? Haaaaa. Yeah, those Holtzbergs H'yd in Bombay for example, placed mashke k'neged kulam, didn't they ... ditto for the shluchim in Thailand, China, Siberia, Alaska, etc. just a bunch of drunken louts, you think ...

Mishpacha magazine interviewed Rabbi Dr. Yaakov Mermelstein, veteran educator and psychologist, born in the 1920's.

It was refreshing to read that he said, "We must find some more time to simply 'chap a Slivovitz' and schmooze with our family and friends ..."

Refreshing because he's normal. I'm tired of the other popular frum psychologist and his followers who go on and on about our diseases and addictions and sobriety and recovery.