Why do converts and BT’s make the craziest email addresses?
I have been pondering this after realizing that many BT’s have names like Tzadik and Tzadakis along with Hashems Little Girl or Aspiring Frummy/shadchun.
What’s the deal? I wonder if they are trying to purge themselves of anything secular that attaches them to their old lives. Is this what they teach you in those programs that pay you to come to Israel and be brainwashed. I stay away from people with flaming BT email addresses.
Many Chabad BT’s will add 770, rebbe, moshiach, baalshem or something else to their name. Everyone else can add 613 and the word mitzvah or Torah. For converts ben/bas Avraham has been popular. For people not so willing to let go adding their English and Hebrew names together with something really frummy is all the rage.
Whats the craziest BT email address or screen name you ever saw?
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I hope this didn’t reflect negatively on me…
I use Tuvia for blogging and stuff because its my Hebrew name. I wouldn’t say its trying to purge any part of my secular attachments, because I only go by it while blogging. It just seems to fit.
I like that one “Hshem’s Little Girl” Sounds kinky.
Great anthropological question. It probably tsems for their need to identify with their new persona.
I don’t get why people don’t just use their names or initials. Obviously, if you run a web site, you might want to use admin or info @ yourdomain. It’s not just BT’s that come with corny names.
The 770 thing is really freaky. I was admin of a Chabad related site a few years ago, I can tell you that 80% of users had 770 as part of their passwords, many have it as part of their phone number or license plates.
I don’t get why people don’t just use their names or initials.
In case of blogging or forums, maybe because people don’t want others to know who they are.
The name thing is nothing new. What’s with all Y”K at the beginning of Jewish names?
Re 770: My father grew up at 765 Eastern Parkway and was there before Lubavitch. It was a well known fact that the best (illegal) abortion doctors operated out of 770.
So you found the ONE thing we weren’t first in. Shkoiach.
Illegal abortion doctors in 770 now that is crazy – I wonder if the chabadnicks know that?
Of course we do. We’re very proud. In fact, some would posit that the tzvatim are gilgulim of all those unborn kiddies.
At least 770 has been converted into something postive. That stupid mosque on the temple mount is next.
We could do some full-birth abortions on all the people who frequent there…
TRS, I can’t believe you shocked me, but you did (comment 12). (I’m no meshichist, but that’s was just awful, if it was an attempt at humor. That was powerful yeridah. I look forward to your upswing.)
Hey wait, I was talking about the Muslims who frequent the dome on the rock!
lol. I thought you meant 770. Either way, they hat auch neshoma. not very nice. If you feel passionate, join the IDF. Good luck shoving a grown person back inside a uterus. lol.
Tesyaa, Is there any news reports that I can research re abortions out of 770?
Either way they have a neshoma? Never happened. You may love your Arab neighbor as yourself, but a pintele yid they don’t have.
Join the terrorist forces of the Zionist entity? Not likely.
Why would you have to shove them back in? Of course, that might get rid of the mothers also…
Trs,
Sounds like you’re part sephardi, I admire your desire to get rid of our enemy “cousins”. It would really be simpler to just carpet bomb, although trying to shove them back into the hole they came from sounds like more fun.
Sorry phil, no frank here.
Former teacher: I guess you could interview my 85 year old father & his surviving sister and relatives who lived there from the 30s through the 50s or so. In other words, not really. I think you’d be better off asking the lubavitch machers themselves; they seem to know all about it.
I use my Jewish name for Jewish stuff and I use my English name for things like resumes and stuff like that. Plus, my goyisha name is just so goyish, so I wanted something for contacting Jewish organizations and applying for Jewish jobs and such.
Heshy, gee, was this blog post aimed at/inspired by me?
Plus, my goyisha name is just so goyish
I’ve always wondered, but is “Elizabeth” really a very Goyish name?
My name is not Elizabeth. Although, I was more referring to my Irish last name.
My online identity is normal, but I have a Lipa song as one of my rintones. How’s that for a BT fanatic?
My name is not Elizabeth. Although, I was more referring to my Irish last name.
I wasn’t referring to you. I saw it mentioned somewhere else, I think on a different Jewish blog. I know that “Christine” is a very non-Jewish name, but I think I’ve met at least a few Jews with the name Elizabeth.
Sergey: I also have a Lipa ringtone, and I’m no BT. As evidenced by my online activities, I have yet to do teshuvah. Which song do you have? My ringtone is the first eight or so seconds of “Letova”.
Lipa ringtones are so not BT, any real BT would know that Lipa is goyishe.
To be honest, I’ve been thinking about this matter. I’m not sure FFBs can really understand what a change of identity the conversion process is. Sure you got some book describing how the first mikveh produces a change in the person and some text about how the newly minted Jew is like a new born baby, but thats just words until you’ve lived it.
About name changes, I’ve toyed with the idea of taking the name of one of my Jewish ancestors, but would prefer to avoid exactly the silliness described here. Its hard to get a name more non Jewish than mine, but thats how it is.
s(b)
“Good luck shoving a grown person back inside a uterus.”
Isnt that how babies are made in the first place?
Chris,
Avraham would be cool as it would make you Avraham ben Avraham. He was also the first convert.
Phil,
In my community thats the name of almost every male Japanese convert, makes the aliyahs confusing sometimes. Besides that, my more recent ancestor wasnt named Avraham. I’m in no hurry to figure this out anyway.
I didn’t realize there were that many Japanese Jews. Do they bring Japanese culture into Judaism such as eating sushi and drinking saki on Shabbos , wearing kimonos instead of robes, or do they take on ashekenaz culture like black hats, gefilte fish and chulent?
Chris,
Why not take Yehudah as your name? Chris means Xtian and Yehudah (Jude) means Jewish. Just a thought. Hey, you’re converting, do you want to join my online group for people converting?
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Jewish_Conversion_Orthodox/
I went to school with one of lipas cousins. They like to call him Lipaf the derech. “lipa off the derech” they do like him though. Just very yeshivish. His father is a rosh kollel and was rosh mechinah
MY favorite is : ILUV2BLOW4HASHEM
Phil,
Stereotype much? Actually there arent lots of Japanese Jews, but get a few Avraham bem Avrahams in one room and an aliyah call up takes longer than it should.
Michal bas Avraham,
Interesting idea, but my full name is Christopher which has a slightly different meaning. Most likely for a Hebrew name I’ll go with one of my ancestors. Probably wont change any of my online names though.
Thanks also on the group invite but my rabbi who I learn from and my community are Masorti/Conservative respectively so I dunno if I’d have much to add to that group.
SCOTT STEINBERG,
You made me blow coffee all over my screen
Chirs,
Sterotypical? Me? OK, maybe.
You do realize that the vast majority of ashkenzaim mainly serve identical food for Shabbos, namely gefilte fish, chicken soup, roast chicken and chulent, you might get lucky and get some brisket and exotic salads if the the hosts are more modern.
I don’t know much about Japanese culture/history except for the Pearl Harbor attack, sushi and kimonos, that is why I was wondering if they keep those, or if they attempt to become “ashkenized” once they’ve converted by switching food and dress to what you would typically see in Brooklyn.
for the uninformed, how do I get lipa ringtones for sprint? thanks
Phil,
Kimonos are only worn on special occasions, otherwise people here dress quite similarly to people in NYC. Do a google image search on Tokyo, just make sure you have safe search on. I really mean that.
I’ve only met one black hat japanese jew and he was a reform internet convert. Yep, you read that right. Black hat, tzitzis, beard and all.
To answer your question though, no, people here dont really adopt customs which arent theirs. Considering how much fresh seafood is part of the diet in Tokyo, I’m pretty sure that most of em wouldnt go within a country mile of gefilte fish.
Chris,
OK, thanks for clarifying all that. So if kimonos are worn on special occasions and people stick stick to their own customs, Shabbos and Yom Tov should be when they wear them.
Would be kind of cool of walk into a chassidic Japanese shul and see all these guys wearing them instead of bekitches or kapotas.
i left my email addy the same, but if i did change it (and i might), it would be my last name and first initials. goyish name not hebrew. that would be for business reasons.
personally i think anything other than your name or an abbreviation of yoru name is silly.
ie
longlivetherebbe770thisisdumbbecausethereisnonameherewherethereshouldbebenavraham@yahoo.com
Phil,
No such luck. I’ve been to Chabad for Shabbos and not a kimono in sight. No surprise really since they take hours to put on and it requires two people to do it right. Wearing one is almost the equivalent of a tux or evening gown. Also you almost never see men wearing em.
Chris,
At least on Purim???
Shmuley,
missed the king moshiach part in your email address.
phil,
that’s in my hotmail address. infact, my hotmail address is yechiadonanumorainuvborainumelechamosiachleyolamvoyedayyaiyaiyaiyaiyaiyaiyaiyaiyaishmuelbenavraham @gmail.com
Getting better, this time you left out the assara tefachim thing.
so therebbeisdeadgetoverit@770.com probably woudnt go over too well?
phil,
If theres ever an options market on tacky, I want you on my team.
Guilty as charged. My twitter name is kenlane613…..that sneaky Maimonides…
Of course it is
I’m a BT and my email address is an homage to the Black Isle RPG “Icewind Dale.” I just replaced “Ice” with “Mike”, because my given name is Michael.
What kind of BT does this make me? I like to think it shows I am psychologically healthy. I’ll tell you, being in a BT yeshiva has made me seriously question the whole BT phenomenon.