short takes

[cellio]

I have half a large cantaloupe and more than enough fruit salad. So far, it appears my other options are blender drinks and sweet cold soups. I guess that shouldn't surprise me too much, but I wonder if I can do better.

Today's mail brought a membership appeal from "Toys for Tots Christmas Club". Oh, let me count the ways in which they have missed their mark... no, on second thought, let's not. :-)

I've spent the last month being a registered Democrat for tax purposes. (I'll fix it after the mayoral election -- err, "primary".) It should be fascinating to see what that does to the makeup of my junk mail.

A question occurred to me while contemplating a conference in England that ends on a Friday (not that I'm expecting to be allowed to go, but): If I get onto a west-bound plane shortly before Shabbat, and at no point during the trip am I in an area where it is already Shabbat, is that kosher? (It might not be smart, of course, as one delayed connection can ruin one's whole day.)

Note to anonymous coworker: if you only get the error after you've edited the code, and you can't produce it from the checked-in version, it is not my bug. :-)

Comments

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

If I get onto a west-bound plane shortly before Shabbat, and at no point during the trip am I in an area where it is already Shabbat, is that kosher?

Ooooo, good question! Technically, I suppose, the sun has not set *where you currently are* so it could be kosher. But this points up that such regulations were ill-prepared for the advent of high-speed travel.

A related issue is this: hypothesize that you're above the Arctic Circle near mid-June, or at the South Pole in December, anyway at some place+time where you have 24-hour sunshine. When does Shabbat begin/end?

[goljerp]

If I get onto a west-bound plane shortly before Shabbat, and at no point during the trip am I in an area where it is already Shabbat, is that kosher? (It might not be smart, of course, as one delayed connection can ruin one's whole day.)

As you know, I'm not a halachic authority, but I'd actually argue that it isn't OK. Let's look at something slightly different (but which actually happened to me): I had to fly to California on Tisha B'Av (a fast day). Tisha B'Av, like Yom Kippur, is sunset to sunset... but which one to count? The one in NY, where I started the fast, or the one in CA, which was 3 hours later? Needless to say, I ended my fast on NY time :-)

Likewise, what if you were allowed to light candles on the plane on the ground in England (I don't think they'd have ever allowed this) and so you started Shabbat there. The fact that the plane just happened to take off with you on board is not a problem, actually, from a halachic standpoint. (The problem arises when you land...) Anyhow, let's say the flight goes from London to Halifax, going just fast enough that it's before sundown when you land in Canada. It makes no sense to me that you'd start Shabbat again... On the other hand, maybe I don't agre with myself, since if you flew in, arriving on Thursday night, then of course you'd light at the normal time for your destination, not where you started off. And if you arrived on Friday morning, the same thing goes. Hmm... Which leads back to your question.

I'm thinking now that Shabbat is a toggle: once it's on, it's on, regardless of what your plane does. So one should avoid getting onto a plane right before Shabbat, even if it's going west-bound, because of the problems that would arise if it got delayed... but if you have to, and you luck out... you're lucky.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

I don't know your Shabbat travel answer. What I do know is that I have had friends whose planes have landed during Shabbat (but the flight started before Shabbat). And whether you are at your destination, there you are until the day is over.

I wouldn't risk it.

One of my father's reasons for not becoming more observant was that - as an OB/GYN - he could exempt himself from the regulations for driving to attend a delivery on Shabbat. But he'd have to stay in the hospital... He figured how many days on average he's be stuck at the hospital, and gave up the idea. :-)

[magid.livejournal.com]

I've seen strips of dried cantaloupe at Trader Joe's, if you want to do something offbeat.

[profane-stencil.livejournal.com]

How and why are you a Democrat for tax purposes?