Nothing much. I have friends that are no longer religious, and many that are no longer ultra-orthodox. We obviously don't go to the same synagogue, or send our kids to the same schools, so we don't hang out like we used to, but I find that the person who leaves Judaism wants nothing to do with old friends and old…

I LOVE Masterchef, even though it's becoming patently ridiculous.

I love Richelle Mead's Georgina series.

Oh my gawd this is hilarious. I love the BDB, and I'm a scientist, but even I'm aware that it's just completely ridiculous. I read all of them but Payne's book, and even then, I realize that it was only the first couple of them that were decent, and now it's just like they're a parody of themselves.

Jewish men and women wear pretty oppressive garb in the summer.

The stroller thing I can understand. Seriously, I have no depth perception when that thing is stuffed with kids and groceries. But body checked? Elbowed in the stomach? By WHOM? Random Hasidic guys?

Very fabulous. Well done.

They shouldn't be, actually. Six years old is considered the start of the "age of chinuch", meaning when a child is capable of being taught. Tzitzit at three is something that not everyone does, and I personally didn't do it because my child wasn't really toilet trained at that age.

I would agree with you, it's just that I'm torn between being upset that the media is reporting on private communication now, and happy that media attention might do SOMETHING to alleviate the bizarre extremes that Ultra-orthodoxy has gone to in recent years.

I don't think they put a lot of women on the front lines?

I took my kids recently. It cost me FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS. Not including all the price gouging they do at the door. And to be honest, I felt pressured into the experience. Not that both my kids and I didn't enjoy it, but I think Disney has some sneaky marketing tactics that have pervaded all decent society.

I hope it's deader than that.

For the latter paragraph, I think you're missing the point. If he was "persistent enough" to get the Rav do what he, in fact, had chosen to do, why bother go to the Rav in the first place? Going to a Rav to tell you what to do in your life is a very Chassidish concept. Litvacs don't understand this at all, and it…

I think that age is only important as a line in the sand. I happen to think that any kid who's 13 is an adult, because I'm Jewish and that's when we celebrate these kids actually being adults. Bar and Bat Mitzvahs aren't just parties - they're symbolic birthdays that imply that your actions now carry consequences.

I would, absolutely.

Oh my God YES.

I know! Isn't it great?!

Can I just say that regardless of how this case turns out, I'm really happy that all this controversy happened. Why? Because, for freaking once, everyone knows the name of the rapists and has seen their faces. I hope that every time they apply for a job in the future, their employers will see the 8 million google…

I agree with you, but then again, I believe that children are considered adults by the time they turn teenagers. I don't think they should have the same kind of punishment until 18 as adults, but I don't believe in expunging records of juvies. Another commenter discussing her raping classmate illustrates why.

That would include the US as well.