Thursday, May 2, 2024

Shlissel Challah, the Key to making it, the reasons behind it

10 Reasons for Shlissel Challa on shabbos after Pesach see below

There is a minhag to bake shlissel challah (shlissel means key in Yiddish) for the Shabbos after Pesach. Shlisel challos are best known as a segula for parnasa,Some bake the challah with an actual key inside,
some make the challah in the shape of a key and some put sesame seeds on top in the form of a key. The Ohev Yisroel says about shlisel challah that “the minhagim of our fathers are most definitely Torah”. There are many reasons given for this minhag of baking shlissel challah; (Some of the items written below can also be found in Taamei Minhagim, Nitei Gavriel, Sefer Hatoda’a and Minhag Yisroel Torah)


First of all, the second mishna in Rosh Hashanah says on Pesach we are judged on the grains, parnasa. Rabbeinu Nissim asks if we are judged on Rosh Hashana then how are we judged on Pesach? He answers that on Pesach it is determined how much grain there will be in the coming year for the world, but on Rosh Hashana it is decided how much of that grain each individual receives. The
Meiri, however, says that on Rosh Hashana it is decided if one will live or die, suffer or not and other such things, but on Pesach is when we are judged on the grains. Based on this there are customs in Sephardic communities to do things Motzei Pesach as a sign that we want Hashem to give us livelihood. In Aram Soba (Syria) and Turkey they put wheat kernels in all four corners of the house on Motzei Pesach as a sign of prosperity for the coming year. (Moed L’kol Chai -R’ Chaim Palagi, Beis Habichira). From a mishna we already see that there is a connection between Pesach and parnasa.

10 Reasons for Shlissel Challa on shabbos after Pesach

1).In Shir Hashirim (which we read on Pesach) it says פִּתְחִי-לִי אֲחֹתִי רַעְיָתִי - “Open for Me, My sister, My beloved". Chazal say that Hashem asks us to open up for Him a small whole like the tip of a needle and He will open up a huge hole for us. Also, Klal Yisroel is called a bride and they are called the bechina (aspect) of bread. During Pesach all the upper gates and minds are open and after Pesach they close and we need to open them. Therefore, we put a key in the challah after Pesach to hint at us opening a small “hole”, through the mitzvah of Shabbos (and, if I might add, the mitzvah of challah) and now Hashem should open up all His good from his storehouses and the heavens like He gave the mon to our fathers in the month of Iyar, and this Shabbos we bless the month of Iyar.

2) After Pesach is when the mon stopped falling and we brought the Omer. From then on we needed to eat from the produce of the ground; we needed parnasa, since untill now we had the mon. It is known that everything has a gate. Therefore just as we daven to Hashem to open up the gates of parnasa we have a minhag to put the form of a key on the challos to allude that Hashem should open up the gates of parnasa for us.

3) During sefira we count 49 days till Shavuos, the 50th day, which is the shaarei bina. We go from gate to gate, and each gate has a key. That is why we make an image of a key on the challah.

4) It says in Shir Hashirim 1:11 תּוֹרֵי זָהָב נַעֲשֶׂה לָּךְ עִם נְקֻדּוֹת הַכָּסֶף - "We will make for you circlets of gold with spots of silver." By the Mishkan it says זהב וכסף ונחשת, putting zahav (gold) before kesef (silver). In Bereishis, by the creation of the world, the first day it says Yehi ohr which is chesed (which is represented by silver) and the second day represents gevurah, which in turn represents gold. The reason is that by the creation of the world it was pure chesed, as it says “the world was built on chesed” (Tehilim 89,3), therefore chesed, which is representative of kesef, precedes gevurah, which is representative of zahav. By the Mishkan, however, Hashem had to, so-to-speak, contract (tzimtzum) the Shechina (Divine Presence) to dwell in it, and tzimtzum is from the aspect of gevurah, therefore zahav precedes kesef by the Mishkan. However, the zahav written there has the nekudah (vowel sound) of a פַתַּח (it has a patach instead of the usual kometz), it says זְהַב הַתְּנוּפָה (Shemos 38,24), and that is the nekuda of chesed –the nekuda of chochma. And פתח (the vowel) also means opening like פתח ושער- from there comes all the kindness. Putting it all together, this that we say in Shir Hashirim תּוֹרֵי זָהָב נַעֲשֶׂה לָּךְ עִם נְקֻדּוֹת הַכָּסֶף means the Mishkan was made with zahav, the aspect of tzimtzum, but with the nekuda of kesef, meaning the (word “zahav”,instead of having the usual vowel, kometz, is written with the)nekuda of patach, which is chesed. And the Shabbos after Pesach is always in the second week of sefira which is gevurah, the aspect of zahav, except that it is menukad with kesef, nekudas patach. Through this we say that we will open up all the gates of blessing and since every gate has a מפתח (key) we make the image of a key on the challah.

5) The previous four reasons are all brought by the Ohev Yisroel in Shabbos Acher Pesach and Likutim Parshas Shmini. There is a fifth reason brought by the Ohev Yisroel, also based on the posuk תּוֹרֵי זָהָב נַעֲשֶׂה לָּךְ עִם נְקֻדּוֹת הַכָּסֶף, connecting the written and oral Torah to challah. (See Ohev Yisroel, Shabbos Acher Pesach)

6) The matza we ate on Pesach is supposed to instill in us Yiras Hashem. And Yirah is compared to a key as we see from the following Gemara in Mesechta Shabbos 31a-b: “Rabbah bar Rav Huna said: Any person that has Torah but doesn’t have Yiras Shomayim is comparable to a treasurer who has the keys to the inner parts (of the treasure house) but the keys to the outer area was not handed to him. How can he get to the inner parts (if he can’t first get into the outer parts)?” Therefore we put a key in the challah the Shabbos after Pesach to show we want the Yirah obtained from the matzos to stay with us, because if one has Yirah then the Torah will stay attached to him. (Yismach Yisroel)

7) The Rambam lists out at the beginning of Hilchos Chometz U’Matzathat there are 8 mitzvos (3 positive & 5 negative) involved there. The key we put in the challah alludes to this Rambam: the letters of מפתח (key) spell פ״ת ח׳ מ׳צות. (פ״ת is bread, representing the “chometz” and מ׳ is for matza- these allude to Hilchos Chometz U’Matza, and theח׳ is the 8 mitzvos involved) (Tzvi LaTzadik)

8) The Shabbos after Pesach we make challos that look like matzos, as an allusion to the matzos that were eaten on Pesach Sheini. And we put a key in it to allude to the “gates” being open untill Pesach Sheini. (Imrei Pinchos)

9) The minhag is to put keys in the challah and make them in the form of matzos. The reason is that in these seven weeks of sefira we are supposed to work on our Avodas Hashem until we reach the the level of the first night of Pesach. The way to do this is to put the “left into the right”, meaning mix the trait of ahava (right side) with yirah(left side). In this second week of sefira we have these two traits in our hands, since the first week of sefira is chesed- ahava, and the second week is gevura - yirah. That is why we make the challah look like matza. Matza is representative of the yetzer tov, the right, andchometz is representative of the yetzer horah, the left. Now, we havechallos which are true chometz, in the form of matza; “the left is in the right”, chometz in matza. (Shearis L’Pinchos)

10) There are many reasons given for the shlissel challah, and I say that the shlisel challos are the keys to parnasa. (Segulas HaBeShT V’Talmidov quoting Nachlas Yaakov)

65 comments:

  1. Non Biased http://torasaba.blogspot.com/2015/04/non-biased-opinion-on-shlisel-chalah.html

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  2. More on the Shlisell Challa http://torasaba.blogspot.com/2014/04/biased-opinion-on-shlisel-chalah.html

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  3. סאוואראנערApril 20, 2017 at 1:27 PM

    The source for this custom is extremely shaky, most Jews, Ashkenazim and Sefardim, do not have this custom from their grandparents and only since the world got smaller have regular people been bullied into believing that there is something to this.

    Get a job, keep time for serious learning, daven and be honest in your dealings. That's H-shem's recipe

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    1. Bullied??? What??? Come again????

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    2. My mother A"H was from a gerrer chasiddishe family in Poland. My father A"H was a misnaged from Litta. My in laws A"H were Hungarian. Not one of them had ever heard of this segula. Who in the world actually practiced it?

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    3. The fact that they never heard of it doesn't mean anything.
      If all the Seforim quoted in the article discuss and give reasons for it then obviously was a Minhag.

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  4. It's actually a chassidishe minhag

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  5. When making your shlissel challah, keep in mind that Parnossa is from H-shem.

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    Replies
    1. Same goes for when you're working.

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  6. The more creative reasons for a minhag, the shakier the origins generally are

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  7. I thought it was because husbands wanted home made challah the weak after Peach so they had to come up with an art's and craft or sugula

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  8. Every year - the same drivel.
    Anyone can do their own research and see this custom originated with ovdei avodah zarah.

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    1. Really? Never seen any bread in the shape of a key by any Non Jews. This is a Minhag Yisrael.

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    2. https://www.alfassa.com/shlissel_challah.pdf
      Never seen? Have you spent time in the bakeries of Europe? Have you researched the pagan customs of the tribes who lived in the countries that our ancestors came from?

      Delete
    3. https://www.jewishpress.com/blogs/muqata/shlissel-key-challah-the-loaf-of-idolatry-2/2016/05/06/

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  9. Definitely NOT a chasideshe minhag

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    1. Well they obviously didn't start it but they definitely consider it a Minhag.
      The Ohev Yisrael that took his time to explain it is a no-one by you?
      The Imrei Pinchas? The Yismach Yisrael? The Tzvi LaTzadik?
      Shame on all these lowlifes with their own invention of Judaism and their Chazir fislech!
      Certain people have a need to makes themselves feel good by showing that they know better than previous generations.
      Just foolish people

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  10. Make your dough and do hafroshas challah. Its an opportunity to do a mirtzva which in itself is a zechus and brings abundant blessing!

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  11. Here we go again
    Whoever runs this site is obsessed with segulos
    Ramban in this weeks sedra
    ודע כי חיי האדם במצות כפי הכנתו להן, כי העושה המצות שלא לשמן, על מנת לקבל פרס בעולמו, יחיה בהם בעולם הזה ימים רבים בעושר ונכסים וכבוד, ועל זה נאמר: בשמאלה עושר וכבוד (משלי ג׳:ט״ז). ופירשו (בבלי שבת ס״ג.): למשמאילים בה עושר וכבוד. וכן אשר הם מתעסקים במצות על מנת לזכות בהן לעולם הבא, שהם העובדים מיראה, זוכים בכונתם להנצל ממשפטי הרשעים ונפשם בטוב תלין. והעוסקים במצות מאהבה כדין וכראוי עם עסקי העולם הזה, כענין הנזכר בתורה בפרשת אם בחקותי: והשיג לכם דיש את בציר וגו׳ (ויקרא כ״ו:ה׳) – יזכו בעולם הזה לחיים טובים במנהגו של עולם, ובחיי העולם הבא זכות שלימה שם. והעוזבים כל עניני העולם הזה ואינם משגיחים עליו, כאלו אינם בעלי גוף וכל מחשבתם וכונתם בבוראם בלבד, כאשר היה הענין באליהו, בהדבק נפשם בשם הנכבד, יחיו לעד בגופם ונפשם, כנראה בכתוב באליהו וכידוע ממנו בקבלה, וכמו שבא במדרשים בחנוך ובבני העולם הבא, העומדים בתחיית המתים. ולכך יאמרו הכתובים בשכר המצות: למען יאריכון ימיך (שמות כ׳:י״א), למען תחיה (דברים ט״ז:כ׳), והארכת ימים (דברים כ״ב:ז׳) – כי לשון זה יכלול מיני החיים כולם כפי הראוי לכל אחד.

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  12. What's wrong wrong with segulos. Bring 'em on! Just don't put all your faith in them

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  13. Ok here goes. If the Nefesh Hachaim doesn't quote it then it's not legit. Period.
    Segulos are for the rest of us.

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  14. Close minded Ameratzim with no Mesora older then 3 to 4 generations think that Segulos is not Jewish.

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    1. I challenge you to find me anyone who makes shlissel Challah today that can definitively say that their great-grandmother also did it when she was young, before the media started to push it.

      I put it to you that all those who make shlissel challah are the geirim and baalei teshuva, who have no Mesorah and pick up Segulos in the marketplace.

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    2. What a stupid and false comment. For me personally I can attest to at least 6 generations back that made shlissel challah.

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    3. My mother never made shlissel challah and her mother bought challos,. I never heard of this minhag until it became popularized in recent years, but I am happy to jump on the bandwagon. (I never heard of the minhag of getting 40 women together to take challah either, years ago. There are a lot of things that have become a "thing", but, I wouldn't say we shouldn't do them )

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  15. Copied and pasted from a recent segulah post

    Seems that the issue is that when we're all educated to keep mitzvos to avoid gehenim and get gan eden then essentially all of Torah is being turned into one giant segula ie we're keeping the Torah to unlock heavenly reward and avoid punishment. Ein lichu segulah gidolah mizeh. When all of Torah Umitzvos is reduced to shelo lishmah as in what's in it for me and how do I best manipulate God to get what I want then segulos en masse is just the next logical step. If we were to actually teach our kids to keep Torah because it's the truth as it is HaShems word and not focus so much on instilling fear of hell and anticipation of reward as the reason we do everything then I think you'd gradually see this kind of stuff get marginalized rather than the mainstream it seems to enjoy. Just my two cents.

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    1. Very nice.
      And let's add, that if you are Kofer in Schar Voinesh then you are an Amhaaretz ane a Kofer Apikores

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    2. That’s where tzadok/beisus were mistaken as well

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  16. Great for the brain dead Hungarians

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    1. Now that's a Jewish comment!
      So impressed!

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    2. The Ohev Yisroel did not live in Hungary and neither did R Pinchas Koritzer and neither did the Yismach Yisrael.
      And shame on all of your commenters here that are ignorant and only find out about minhagim that existed for centuries and then try to sound all smart and knowledgeable by knocking Rishonim Kimalachim

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  17. You have to bring even dumber t o run yo get garlik from the Veretzky " Rebbe"

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  18. What's even more interesting is that people seriously quote torasabaBlog and the Jewish Press as their source for how Frum people should conduct themselves. Anyone that knows anything about modern orthodox would stay far with a ten foot pole.
    When we grew up we had a Sefer
    Named Taamei Haminhagim and later a sefer Minhag Yisrael Torah that do an excellent job in explaining and brining holy sources not garbage ones for Minhagim. No need to become a Modox Kal Oiberchacham to be Jewish. You can be Jewish to Jewish way too. Keep to what the big people of previous generations did and you'll definitely be on the right path. Tze'i lach b'ikveh hatzon

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  19. מורה נבוכים ג לז

    ולהרחיק מכל מעשי הכשוף הזהיר מעשות דבר מחוקותיהם ואפילו במה שנתלה במעשי עבודת האדמה והמרעה וכיוצא בהם - רצוני לומר כל מה שיאמר שהוא מועיל ממה שלא יגזור אותו העיון הטבעי אבל נוהג לפי דעתם כמנהג הסגולות והכוחות המיוחדות - והוא אמרו "ולא תלכו בחוקות הגוי" והם אשר יקראום 'ז"ל' 'דרכי האמורי' מפני שהם סעיפי מעשי המכשפים שהם דברים לא יגזרם הקש טבעי אך הם מושכים למעשי הכישוף אשר הם נסמכים לעניני הכוכבים בהכרח ויתגלגל הענין להגדיל הכוכבים ולעבדם - ואמרו בפרוש "כל שיש לו משום רפואה אין בו משום דרכי האמורי" - רוצים בזה שכל מה שיגזרהו העיון הטבעי הוא מותר וזולתו אסור

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    1. We do not Paskin like this Rambam as is clear from Rabanim Gedolim and Tzadikim in all generations Sfardi and Ashkenazi that quoted and brought down different Segulos in their Seforim.
      So although you try to seem very knowledgeable but Psak does not work that you Google a Rambam to your liking and Pasken.

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    2. Well put
      As We have long been aware He had his areas.
      We leave/have long left those for inferior lesser breeds who are unable ,whether by ommision or commision, to muster past
      We have silently move past those for generations, but have had little desire to broadcast such mistakes

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    3. As usual, this gibberish can mean just about anything, but it smacks of knocking the Rambam in incredibly chuptzpadik fashion. I hope I misread it

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  20. Do you not dip an apple in honey on Rosh Hashana and all the other Simanim that are brought down in the Poskim?
    A key in the Challah is same exact thing.

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  21. That seems like a false analogy

    Simanim are mentioned in the gmara (altho admittedly the Rambam does not bring them) with this key thing at most a few hundred years old and of very dubious origin

    Either way see Meiri on simanim gmara as to why it’s not a problem of nichush

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  22. Right. The Gemara already quotes it! Great thank you!
    Explain the difference please.

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  23. First you quote a Pasuk like a Kara'i. Then you quote an out of context Rambam like the Modox.
    Then when that fails you quote a Moreh Nevoichim that we do not Pasken like. All to prove that all Gedolim and Tzadikim in all generations that took their time to document specific Segulos and Minhagim are all wrong and you finally figured it out.

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  24. How is this different than all the things the Torah assurs that run afoul of tamim tihiye? Do you believe these things are effective? If you dont, then you’re a fool for practicing them. If you do, you’re also a fool for believing that; but do you then think HaShem wants you to manipulate Him with a key to unlock (pun intended) what you want and what you think is good for you? What happened to teshuva tefilah umaasim tovim and leaving it up to Him to decide what’s best for you

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    1. Teshuva tefila and masim tovim are exactly in the right place. And so are Simanim and Segulos.
      Do you dip an apple in honey on Rosh Hashana?

      Delete
  25. Meiri Horayos 12a

    כשמושחין את המלך היו מושחין אותו על המעין לסימן טוב שתמשך מלכותו ולא דרך נחש חלילה אלא לעוררו שיתנהג בדרך מעיין אשר לא יכזבו מימיו ולא יתנהג בדרך שיהיה ענינו כאפיק נחלים העובר לשעתו:
    הרבה דברים הותרו לפעמים שהם דומים לנחש ולא מדרך נחש חלילה אלא דרך סימן לעורר בו לבבו להנהגה טובה והוא שאמרו ליתן על שלחנו בליל ראש השנה קרכס״ת קרא רוביא כרתי סלקא תמרי שהם ענינם מהם שגדלים מהר ומהם שגדלתם עולה הרבה וכדי שלא ליכשל בהם לעשות דרך נחש תקנו לומר עליהם דברים המעוררים לתשובה והוא שאומרים בקרא יקראו זכיותינו וברוביא ירבו צדקותינו ובכרתי יכרתו שונאינו ר״ל שונאי הנפש והם העונות ובסלקא יסתלקו עונינו ובתמרי יתמו חטאינו וכיוצא באלו ורוביא פרשוה גדולי הרבנים תלתן ואנו מפרשים בו קטנית הנקרא פיישו״ל וידוע שכל זה אינו אלא הערה שאין הדבר תלוי באמירה לבד רק בתשובה ומעשים טובים אבל הדברים שנעשים בדרך נחש חלילה אין פקפוק באיסורם והוא שאמר הנה על קצת בני אדם שכשמתחילין בסחורה מגדלין תרנגול על שם אותה סחורה ואם הוא נעשה יפה בוטחים על הצלחתם ושאר דברים הדומים לאלו שהוזכרו הנה אמר על כלם ולאו מילתא היא כלומר ואין ראוי לבטוח על אלו ההבלים ועשייתם אסורה על הדרך שביארנו בסנהדרין והבוטח בי״י חסד יסובבנו:

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    1. There you go. Thank you for clarifying Mikchan Shel Tzadikim that brought down the Inyan and Siman Tov of putting a key in the Challah.

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    2. Wait, respectfully, on Rosh Hashana, isn't "simana milsa" a bfeirush gemara in Horiyos? How can one compare??

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  26. So basically if you do it like the Nadvorna Rebbe in the other post where it's obvious that Tefila is the ikar and it's not Derech Nachesh then it's exactly what we all do on Rosh Hashana.
    So to all you naysayers and leitzanim, this is a Meiri.

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    1. What happens for those who skip the part of Teshuva
      It is still does remain rather vague;how elastic Is it

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  27. Mr cohen it is always a pleasure to read your comments. Do you have another profession or is this your primary source of entertainment?

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    1. An awful large amount of anonymities here
      So well deserved.
      Must they shudder of the fearful skeletons in the closet?

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    2. Today's opinion is tomorrow's skeleton

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  28. Why would you not comment anonymously if you could? It is especially important for those that are not currently anonymous as their comments are sometimes painful to read and embarrassing to anyone related to them.

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    1. It is wrong to attack others comparing their posts with your own incompetency or your skeletons

      Delete
  29. Try it out for a little.Be a sport
    It exudes ehrichekeit

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  30. Skeleton key 🗝️ is a cross. Just Google shape of Easter bread.

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  31. Some people don’t chop their comments don’t make any sense so it would be beneficial to all if they remained anonymous.

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  32. It's the Hungarians that learn more than 7 blatt in each mesechta and therefore know how many times the gemara talks about segulas. We keep are minds sharp for a few shticklech Torah, and when we cut parve ice cream with a par've knife we have to go to the Hasidic dayan down the block to ask how to proceed

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    1. Yeah, but you're still Hungarians.

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  33. Mr cohen’s comments never make sense

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    1. Or you're hiding a few skeletons.Come on.Out of the closet already.Just sign your name

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  34. Historically Chassidim are wealthier than the rest so I’ll go with their segula.

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