Barry Hammer

794 reputation

319

bio	website
	location	Amstelveen, Netherlands
	age	41
visits	member for	1 year, 5 months
	seen	2 days ago
stats	profile views	51

I work as a computer tester by day. By night I like to write. I like cats and dogs.

	794 reputation	bio	website		visits	member for	1 year, 5 months
319 badges		location	Amstelveen, Netherlands		seen	2 days ago

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Oct 16	comment	Can you do benching for 3 people when one person does not know what to say in response? Thanks for the answer, but I felt that the answer you gave based on the shulchan aruch was based on someone who knows what to say but refuses to do so, as opposed to someone who doesn't know what to say. If someone refuses to answer, if they are coerced (!) they can reply; a person who doesn't know what to say, even when forced, still wouldn't be able to answer (unless you gave him a transliterated book and pointed out to him what needed to be said)
Mar 6	comment	What's up with this strange new hechsher? I'm wondering if I'm the only one who finds this a bit offputting. I mean, I know that some hechshers are questionable, but at least then it usually comes down to one rabbi representing the hechsher (OU being the major exception). With this label, though, any moron with a printer can slap a label on some food. In today's world, where there are almost countless possibilities for kosher food with a reliable hechsher, I just don't see the value of this (other than someone trying to sell their own baked goods - and let's be honest, the majority of those people's friends know if it's kosher or not)
Mar 6	comment	What's up with this strange new hechsher? I can't imagine who would want to drink a kosher diet coke with bacon flavor! That just seems unseemly disgusting, hechsher or no.
Feb 15	comment	Are there any restrictions about a chazzan if there are questions about his orthodoxy? Thanks for your answer. The problem is that there are quite a few people who are 'questionable', and it's not like you can say definitively they aren't kosher or shabbos observant. But I'll be more worried about who is called up to daven during Rosh Hashanna or Yom Kippur.
Feb 8	comment	Obtaining the 7 Species in the U.S You can also try using Bulgur en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgur, which is made up of wheat; alternatively, some Kasha is also made of wheat.
Dec 28	comment	Is there such a thing as kosher perry? Thanks, that gives me a bit more to work with; I tried looking up Kosher Perry and Kosher Pear cider, but didn't get the same hits you did (the main ones were for a comedian Rick Perry). Still, there has to be something with a London Kashrut!
Dec 28	comment	Is there such a thing as kosher perry? @SethJ, No, I can't say that it is widely available outside the UK; I recognize that this is a fairly unique drink, but I saw it featured on a show once and was intrigued. Besides, I live in Holland, so in theory I should be able to get access to Perry a bit easier - if it doesn't come all the way from Australia, that is!
Dec 28	comment	Blowing out channukah candles before leaving the house @Naftali, leaving after the 30 minutes are up
Dec 5	comment	Being exposed to Christmas music @ShmuelL, this is sort of an extention of listening to non-Jewish music. Because Christmas music is so prevelant in Western culture (unlike other Christian holidays - you don't usually hear any Candelmaas music unless you're in a church setting), this is unique - you're not actively looking to listen to non-Jewish music when you watch television, for example, and more than half of a TV show's soundtrack is just background music. Christmas music is the big exception.
Dec 3	comment	Does someone who dies very young have a soulmate? @Menachem, I was indeed asking about someone who dies young; in theory, I could also have asked about those who die unwed, but to my mind (also like msh210 says) there is a big difference to someone who could get married (even if they are young), and someone who never had the chance because they were a small baby when they died. I tried looking for this question, to see if it was asked before, and didn't see it asked, which is why I asked it in the first place.
Dec 1	comment	Sand art on Shabbos @MosheYitzhak, when you use sand in this fashion, you're making it into a drawing, albeit one made of sand. The whole point of using colored sand is to be able to make some kind of art.
Dec 1	comment	Filmmaking - Bal Tashchis? @HodofHod Just to clarify - I'm only speculating why some people would be upset with using eggs and coffee as props in a video. Yes, melting glass down to reuse it again would be ridiculously expensive, but it CAN be done (or at the very least, sent to a recycle center where it will be done for you). Using mud-colored water instead of coffee would have been a good alternative for that in the video. And as far as eggs, you would have to ask the guy making the video if it was necessary in the first place, and then if he checked how much making fake eggs would cost.
Nov 30	comment	What other work can a mashgiach do in a kosher restaurant today? That was indeed the reason; in Amsterdam, they have both an Ashkenazic and Sephardic hechsher.
Nov 29	comment	Uman for Rosh Hashanah? I have a second cousin who went there once (he missed his connecting flight in Amsterdam and was stuck for Shabbos here). He showed up at our door carrying a knapsack and a 10 liter bottle of vodka (I'm guessing - it was HUGE). So some people go to pray; others go for the cheap booze.
Nov 29	comment	Davening on Plane Zmanim I'll definetly have to remember this when I fly from Amsterdam to New York!
Nov 29	comment	Filmmaking - Bal Tashchis? It depends on how much money it would cost to make the eggs. It would also depend on whether dumping eggs on the floor was even necessary in the first place (there are probably plenty of other cheap props - such as a fake cup of coffee - that would get the point of spilling a product across).
Nov 29	comment	Giving milk and meat to a baby Move to Holland. The tradition here is to wait only 1 hour between eating meat and milk.
Nov 29	comment	Is Red Bull™ kosher? Personally, I couldn't care less if it's got a proper hechsher or not. I tried Red Bull once, and it was disgusting! Give me good ol' coffee any day of the week!
Nov 28	comment	Pictures of Chometz on Pesach Thanks! I'm glad I'm able to contribue to something where I actually have some knowledge I can bring to the table ;)
Nov 28	comment	Which Kosher Certifications are trusted by all? OU would be considered the largest hechsher, as they have a very wide influence; but I agree, there is no agency that is universally accepted. There are many people who will only accept a hechsher from their rabbi alone, for example.