Link fest between coughs

Last Thursday evening, I went to Minchah-Maariv (Afternoon and Evening Service) at my "kaddish shul." The next morning, I got on the subway at 6:15 AM to go back there for Shacharit (Morning Service). By Shabbat/Sabbath, I was already feeling ill, and by Saturday night, my nose was running like an Olympic track star. Today, my voice is so hoarse that I might get away with singing ( if I could sing) even in a right-wing Orthodox synagogue, where the belief is held that a man is not supposed to listen to a woman sing (see my umpteen posts re kol isha), 'cause I sound like a baritone anyway. Lesson learned: I can't go to both Minchah-Maariv and Shacharit at an out-of-the-neighborhood synagogue and still get enough sleep to stay healthy. I'm hereby back to davvening bi-y'chidut (praying alone) for Minchah and Maariv. Mom gets one set of Kaddish recitations per day. :( Shacharit is better, because only Shacharit includes Kaddish D'Rabbanan/Kaddish of the Rabbis and three rounds of Kaddish Yatom/Mourner's Kaddish, one after the psalm "Mizmor, Shir Chanukat HaBayit, L'David," and one before and one after Shir shel Yom/Psalm of the Day.

So I've been home from work today, and expect to stay home tomorrow, as well, which accounts for the multiple posts today. Blogging sure beats writing condolence acknowledgments. :(

• Since when is it a good thing for Jewish women to imitate the dress of Catholic nuns?
  
• It's a good thing that my wrists are much better now, because the pews at my "Kaddish shul" are so close together that it's almost impossible to rest a siddur/prayer book on the back of the next pew.
• Sh'lach L'cha: I think HaShem rubbed our ancestor's nose in their sin.
  
• Here are a few thoughts on the Koren Sacks Siddur.
• This is some people's idea of a euphemism???
• Rabbi Student and the widely-respected Star-K kashrut supervision agency apparently disagree re the permissibility of appointing women to communal positions in the Orthodox world.

Notice how I've carefully avoided linking to any posts that are directly concerning my mother's death. Just scroll down to June 12 and keep going--my most recent post on the subject was published today. I had enough literal grief writing those posts in the first place.