Comments for Elias-Bachrach family blog

Comment on Why modern orthodoxy is in trouble by Ari

Ari — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:46:16 +0000

Artscroll is becoming nusach America – that is perhaps the truest and most frightening thing I’ve seen today.

Comment on Why modern orthodoxy is in trouble by Chaim

Chaim — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:06:25 +0000

I’ve actually had an almost identical experience looking for siddurim. For the regular service, my Hebrew is good enough for a Rinat Yisrael or a Koren, but for the special services, it is very difficult. I use the Metsudah Slichot, which is decent, but I’ve never found a satisfactory option for RH/YK. And until the recent publication of the Sacks edition of the Koren, there wasn’t a good translated everyday siddur, either.

The Artscroll-ization of Judaism is a big (and not new) problem. Even more than the lack of decent texts that we’ve been discussing, is the question of minhagim. Historically, there never was a “Minhag America,” but Artscroll has managed to create one. In private ritual it’s perhaps more understanable (if no less frustrating), but in public, at schul, the pulpit rabbis should never have allowed it to happen. (And it’s of course not any better to blindly follow the Luach Ezras Torah, which is the other “standard” that people use.)

Comment on Why modern orthodoxy is in trouble by David

David — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:36:06 +0000

I have been sufficiently frustrated by the lack of haggadot that I’m beginning to make my own. You can get the Hebrew text from Davka (or Mellel or …) and they also have an English translation which is mediocre but is a decent start…

I’m happy to share what I have once I’m done.

Comment on 15 minutes of fame by The other Ari

The other Ari — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:18:48 +0000

This one is better:
http://www.streetwithaview.com/scenes.html
Many more people involved.

Comment on keeping records by Rachel Unkefer

Rachel Unkefer — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:10:16 +0000

Anyone out there from a Bachrach or Bacharach family–I’m the administrator of a Y-DNA study to see whether all the different branches of these families are related. So far, everybody tested has a common ancestor, probably sometime before 1700. Using the genetic matches and the different bits of family trees, we are trying to piece together the migration history of the family (beginning in Germany and extending into Eastern Europe, the US, South America and Israel). See the project website for more information:
http://www.bacharachdna.com
The more DNA samples we collect, the more complete the picture will become.

Comment on Who’s your Daddy by Shoshana

Shoshana — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:08:31 +0000

You have the foundation laid, not to work on the specifics. Cute though.

Comment on land line phones by David

David — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:25:55 +0000

I would *absolutely* keep the traditional phone wiring in place. Old technologies are very, very slow to vanish. Example: a few years ago (4?) I talked with a fellow whose job it was to do telemarketing renewals for those folks who still leased their phones from AT&T.

Also, when you run cabling, leave a slack loop or two at each end so that any future need can be re-terminated on the same wires. 5e is pretty extensible. Also, it’s cheaper to use a POTS phone with a single VOIP gateway / ATA than to get multiple VOIP phones, especially if it’s one line…

Comment on Who’s your Daddy by David

David — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:29:19 +0000

Twofer!

Comment on The real reason I bought a house by Ari

Ari — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 17:19:49 +0000

William: Yeah, that’s basically how I feel. The problem is that Linux just doesn’t have drivers for some of the graphics stuff I want to do. Also keep in mind that this isn’t for my personal computer – this is just the computer that hooks into the TV. It has to be usable by everyone else in the family too. Also since a HTPC usually doesn’t have a keyboard (who wants to sit on the couch with a wireless keyboard in their lap?) it has to be easily usable with a mouse alone.

Comment on The real reason I bought a house by William

William — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 05:29:24 +0000

What? Windows Media Center? And I thought you were a real computer nerd (e.g. Linux/BSD guy)…

One of my friends, who is now in s’micha, was debating what kind of computer to get. When I asked him and he told me he had gotten a Windows system, he then said, “chatati”. I hope you feel the same way… ;)