Crankshaft (my first commenter from Malaysia, woo!), most Orthodox Jews do in fact take the Sabbath and all other Jewish laws pretty seriously. I know I should comment on the blog on which you contribute, but eh, I’ll do it here.

1. I didn’t read the article but Avi Shafran is pretty famous and exasperates many people here in NY, Orthodox Jews included.

2. Most frum people I know plan their lives accordingly so they don’t run into that kind of situation. It’s only happened to me a couple of times and both times I kept driving. Most folks I know do. Ten miles? Come on. If he was bending the rules enough to get into someone’s car, he should have just stayed in his own. Judaism is all about interpretation and many people would have indeed kept driving in order not to risk their own safety.

3. Believe me, the world in which the Torah originated had far more dangerous neighborhoods than we have today. Do people really think the world was safer in ancient times than it is now?

4. Yes, it’s hard to practice halachic Judaism and I don’t even do it as strictly as many others. If the benefits didn’t outweigh the hardships no one would do it, though, kinda like having kids or living in New York.

5. No one should spend too much time bemoaning what other people choose to do. It smacks of a certain insecurity.

6. Thanks for visiting, come again!

The Jews, especially Orthodox ones, certainly take their Sabbath seriously, don’t they?

Sometimes, the extent to which they do alarms others.

Sarpon, I tried calling Sergey & Larry but I’ve been on hold for four hours now. And the hold music is “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”

OK, I interrupt my own blog to report that Paul Banks is posting on DuJane. Go there now!

I tried yoda-googling “use deodorant magic jewball” but all I got was cullote. What’s up with that?

I never lie, Julia!*

*Expedient exaggerations do not count as lies.

This google thing is like a magic eightball…