Loved the video GYE has for their campaign. Give back to the community and d$nate! If you can't donate - give back to the community and join a vaad!

Anyway. All's good here. Neder I previously referenced has been matir'ed. So that's a weight off my shoulders.

Work without little GYE breaks is super boring. On the other hand, work without little GYE breaks results in a lot more work getting done apparently. 

Skipping over Yom Kippur, because that's kinda heavy. I have a question about Simchas Torah.

Anyone else have an absurd amount of trouble on Simchas Torah when they pull down the mechitzah so the women can watch the men dance for some reason? 

Watching men walk around in a circle cannot be exciting. I just don't believe it. I don't understand why it's a good idea for anyone.

There's a great story with the Mir post-Holocaust. The women were standing in shul simchas torah and a certain Rav complained to R' Chatzkel that it wasn't tznuis. He got very upset at the Rav and told him not to interfere. He explained the bochurim need to get married. 
Which explains why single women should watch hakafos in yeshiva but not why married women need to be sitting there all dolled up right next to the hakafos. 

Regardless, I hate hakafos for many reasons. So it is convenient that there ain't no women making it to the 35 second vasikin minyan hakafos. But this is a longstanding grouch I've had.

chosemyshem wrote on 08 Oct 2024 21:24:

Nice grouch. 
There’s actually a reason Al Pi Sod that there’s no Mechitza by a Chuppa and by Hakafos on Simchas Torah. Doesn’t mean that wandering eyes aren’t a problem…. 

A shul with a balcony is a better solution, methinks than 35 second Vasikin Grinchy Hakafos…. Or a Yeshiva…

There’s a minyan in my area that does hakafos on simchas torah mournfully, like by a levaya, with lamentations instead of songs — aching over the עלבונה של תורה on this special day. The women are clad in black headscarves and sackloths and they keep the mechitza tightly shut. PM me for details.

@chaimOigen this is "al pi sod" like a Frankist type of sod? Or a real sod?

Anyway. An update unrelated to my simchas torah grinchiness.

Had some urges today. Nothing major but I caught myself searching for some content. Stopped before it got anywhere.

That's nothing really new (though it's been a quiet couple weeks). 

What surprised me was that with being almost halfway to 90 and all this vaad organizing (obligatory reminder that you can still join!) I apparently started thinking of myself as someone who knows what he's doing. Twas a helpful reminder that I'm the same me who made these dumb decisions for all these years, and I need to keep on doing what works if I want to stay clean. 

chosemyshem wrote on 09 Oct 2024 20:57:

Here’s a pro tip for you, babe. Guys who really know Toras Hanistar neva neva tell….

And don’t forget what the Gaon said, that simchas yom tov is the hardest mitzva to achieve; to constantly be besimcha without hesech hadaas. What’s your strategy for being mekayem this mitzva?

And don’t forget what the Gaon said, that simchas yom tov is the hardest mitzva to achieve; to constantly be besimcha without hesech hadaas. What’s your strategy for being mekayem this mitzva?