11 things I took out of my cart

AND - BTW, are we each others' shopping goy?

I’m gonna get to the cart(s) in a sec. But first, this made me laugh. Have you heard the term “Shabbat Goy?” Says Merriam Webster: “a non-Jew employed by Orthodox Jews to perform services (such as turning lights on and off) which are forbidden to Jews on the Sabbath.”

My beloved grandparents on my mom’s side were very religious. When we stayed with them in Toronto, their building had a “Shabbos elevator.” Since religious Jews aren’t supposed to push the elevator buttons on Shabbat, this elevator would stop on every floor. And of course, in a high rise, it took forever.

Sometimes, religious Jews would get on a regular elevator and do nothing, just waiting for my mom or me to ask, “Oh, what floor?” It made mom mad! “No way,” she would say, later. “You’re not gonna make me your Shabbos goy!”

Here’s something I’ve noticed on Substack of late. People on a “no shopping” challenge are still giving us lists of “must haves” and “what I would buy if I were shopping RN.” Think about it: While they stay all Kosher and non defiled, they still get to partake in juicy, unkosher shopping practices in the name of “content” — only via all of us!

I feel like this might be a spirt vs. letter of the law situation. (Like an old college friend whose very Catholic boyfriend conveniently allowed himself premarital BJs.) In a no-shop aren’t you supposed to observe what you feel and notice all shopping behaviors (like someone in AA doesn’t JUST not drink) — it’s not about finding a work around. And I don’t need to be your work around! I’m fighting my own battles over here. Anyway, as I mercifully end my “one item March” — expect a DEEP DIVE on all of it — instead of telling you what you “must” buy “should buy” etc. etc. I thought I’d share the things I’ve taken out of my cart and why.