JTF.ORG Forum
General Category => Ask Posters Show Threads => Topic started by: takebackourtemple on July 22, 2008, 10:37:13 PM
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I might as well experiment with a thread where I can answer questions.
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Tell us a little bit about yourself, and how you found out about JTF.
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I grew up in New York and saw a few JTF shows when I lived there. I only started watching them seriously after left. I move around every few years. I currently live in Florida. I've had times when I've lived in Jewish communities and times when I have not. I find that I appreciate my Jewish identity more when it is more when it cannot be taken for granted.
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What kind of work do you do? And where else have you lived besides NY and FL?
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Are you Ashkenazi?
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Are you Ashkenazi?
Technically I am, but I just see myself as just Jewish. I'm not a fan of divisions between the Ashkenazi and Sephardi. I will go to either type of services. Sephardi services are harder to find but they are a nice change every once in a while when I want something different from the usual. Their food is always interesting.
I beleive in Jewish unity, but not at the expense of destroying the religion. At one point in time I had view of unity when it came to orthodox, conservative and reform. There were a few things I liked about the non-orthodox but the problem is I can't just pick the good things and leave the bad out. It wasn't until I went to a few of their services that I saw what they were really doing. I remember once being invited to a place for succot. It was in relation to a JCC which had advertised Glatt Kosher food. The synagogue was really a church. I shouldn't have gone in, but did not want to be disrespectful. When I did go in, I found out the food was not Kosher, but was potluck. I think the JCC provided one dish from a kosher caterer which was mixed in with everything else. Everyone was ultra left wing there. They prayed in a room full of crosses. Instead of prayers they had hippie songs from the 60s which were done with a microphone. The so-called woman rabbi was in her 50s/60s but acted like she was still in her 20s. This was probably the most unkosher place I ever went to. I went to a few other places which were not as extreme. Someone invited me to BJ once. I initially enjoyed the dancing and the music, but later realized this was not Judaism but a pagan perversion of it. Finally when I went to a place that did a Yartziet for MLK, that was the last straw.
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Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders.
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Do you intend to make Alliyah?
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Some day. I need to learn Hebrew first and need to convince my family to make Alliya with me. I know I have my excusses, but I also regonize that it is the right thing to do. The problem is that it is not easy to just pack up and leave. I know that if I do pack up and leave my expenses will be higher and my income lower. I sure wish the current goverment was not as socialistic as it is. Why hard working Israelis have to pay taxes to fund Muslim Nazis who want to kill them is beyond what as I can see as logical reasoning. I guess my only valid excuse is that I don't want to pay taxes there to fund Muslim Nazi terrorists.
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Where is a nice non-touristy part of Florida to visit? (Preferably with a beach)
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Depends on how touristy you like. The more touristy you go, the more third world beasts you'll also find. Miami is known as the most popular beach spot, however, you also have a bad crowd there. Fortunately Miami also has a Jewish population.
Boca is known for having Jews and is near Deerfield Beach. The Embassy Suites in Deerfield beach is a nice place to stay.
Daytona beach is also a popular spot.
It is unique in being one of the few places that allow cars on the beach.
Clearwater beach in Tampa is nice of you want calmer water. There are scenic causeways there.
Florida is surrounded by hundreds of miles of beach, so if you don't want a less crowded place, there are many to choose from.
There are also freshwater spots such as the springs near Ocala that are nice to visit.
Have a good trip no matter where you go.
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Thank you very much for your advice. I've been to the major tourist spots: Miami, Orlando... not Daytona, and now I would like to find a quiet beach that the locals enjoy but will not let the tourists find out about :D
Do you miss New York?
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No. New York is too cold and too socialist for me. I don't see how people are able to pay their rent and living expenses with the cost of living being so high up there. I really prefer to pay less for a larger place with nice weather, palm trees and all the amenities, such as parking, a pool, a W/D, tennis courts, etc. Did you know that Florida has no income tax?
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No. New York is too cold and too socialist for me. I don't see how people are able to pay their rent and living expenses with the cost of living being so high up there. I really prefer to pay less for a larger place with nice weather, palm trees and all the amenities, such as parking, a pool, a W/D, tennis courts, etc. Did you know that Florida has no income tax?
I could not agree more. :) 8;)
And no!! I am SHOCKED to hear that Florida has no income tax! I did not know that!
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(http://www.alexshay.com/listings/uploads/D1234098_101_49.jpg)
Is this where you live? :)
I just looked this up:
"Seven states have no state income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Two others, New Hampshire and Tennessee, tax only dividend and interest income."
http://www.govspot.com/know/incometax.htm (http://www.govspot.com/know/incometax.htm)
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It's missing the pool.
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:'( i know... it could not all fit in the photograph.. maybe with a panoramic one..
here we go:
(http://www.marriottworldcenter.com/Portals/1/Images/Photo_Galleries/Meetings/Aerial-pool-night.jpg)
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Ah that's more like it. I had a choice of a place on a golf course, but golf isn't really my thing.
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How often do you hear of people getting bitten by exotic snakes that got loose or were dumped by their owners? I've heard that's a problem in Florida sometimes.
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You pretty much have poisonous snakes everywhere. The only real difference is that they don't hibernate half the year.
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You pretty much have poisonous snakes everywhere. The only real difference is that they don't hibernate half the year.
In Texas we have venomous snakes like rattlesnakes, cottonmouth, coral snakes, and copperheads. However I heard in Florida you can find all kinds of snakes from huge Burmese pythons on the loose, to exotic cobras and mambas.
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I haven't seen a single snake since I moved down here. The closest I've come was going to a rest stop along the highway that had warning signs about them. Up north I would see snakes all over the place. I'm not sure which ones were venomous.
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I haven't seen a single snake since I moved down here. The closest I've come was going to a rest stop along the highway that had warning signs about them. Up north I would see snakes all over the place. I'm not sure which ones were venomous.
Most of the dangerous snakes we have up here in New York walk on two feet. The few that slither on the ground are Garden Snakes and are completely harmless. ;D
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I remember camping in West Virginia one night. There were huge snakes up in the trees. They must have been around 5 feet long. With their size, they probably wouldn't even need venom to be dangerous. From what I hear, the water snakes are the most dangerous. I've been in quarries with pretty large snakes swimming around. They are more scared of humans, but I wouldn't want to be attacked by one anyway.
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I like snakes but I wouldn't want to be too close to a venomous one unless someone else was controlling the head end.
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Finally saw one last night. Just before Shabbat. Not sure what it was, but it was aggressive. It was in my way and I first tried to scare it with a stick. The stick didn't work, so I pushed a heavy motorized toy car towards it and that was enough to scare it.