BLOGGER APPRECIATION

It struck me that many of my recent postings have been rather snide and negative. I am a disagreeable person.
Not that there's anything wrong with that; stirring up the kettle is something I do rather well, and I don't seem to have too many enemies at present.


Nevertheless, I should mention some of the bloggers I thoroughly appreciate, and describe 'em a bit. Sort of a tip of the hat. And a friendly acknowledgement.
[I also appreciate the people who read my blog and comment, but it is for them that I am writing this.]


Dovbear
http://dovbear.blogspot.com/
Politically a liberal, religiously somewhat on the conservative side, likely Modern Orthodox but I've never asked. Manages to irritate the spit out of a huge number of vociferous if not eloquent individuals. One of the major J-blogs.
THIS IS A DAILY MUST-READ


Chaim G.
http://dovbear.blogspot.com/
Contributor and commenter on Dovbear's blog who really gets on some people's nerves big-time. By his own self-description overweight, black hat, Chareidi. But irrepressible and self-depreciating. Might actually not be an overweight orthodox gentleman at all, but maybe (I doubt it) a petite busty Philippina.


Margavriel
http://margavriel.blogspot.com/
Well, I used to enjoy his blog. He's closed himself off from the world in recent times, being now read-by-invitation only, and those invitations probably went just to the people he hangs with.
Still, I appreciate the hours of reading pleasure he has given me. Thanks, dude.


Steg (dos iz nit der šteg)
http://boroparkpyro.blogspot.com/
An insightful geek. And I mean that in an utterly good way. One of the best reads out there, both for his thoughts (esp. regarding Torah-Nach), and for occasional veering off into left field. He's very likeable, and he writes well. His is a warm and sunny blog. Especially for goblins.


Jameel at the Muqata
http://muqata.blogspot.com/
Settler, sociable, and may seem right wing. But that depends on how you define right wing (I tend to think of him as a lefty). Great sense of humour, equally great capacity for outrage. Litvish, strongly so. He and a few of his friends have a thing about waffles which I haven't figured out.
THIS IS A DAILY MUST-READ


Search for Emes / E-kvetcher
http://search-for-emes.blogspot.com/
Has a mind that goes outside boxes. Sometimes his posts are startling, sometimes they're amusing. I suspect him of having Chareidi sensibilities and Modern Orthodox leanings, but he's not easy to pigeonhole. And for that reason you should explore him occasionally.


Halfnutcase
http://www.yonirants.blogspot.com/
One of the best commenters on Dovbear's blog.
I hardly ever read what he posts on his own blog, however, as it is clear that he is trying to work out some serious problems with which I would be of no help. On Dovbear's blog one can count on him to mix material from medical journals with passages from Talmud, argue spiritedly, and actually demonstrate what a profoundly decent chap he is. Definitely one of the stars of the comment-swarm.


Mevaseretzion
http://mevaseretzion.blogspot.com/
Torah, Talmud, Halacha. And pedagogy. I suspect that he is also a Kahanist. Not that that is a problem in my world, but I can imagine that for some people that might present certain obstacles. Those same people would probably be upset if I told them what I really think about the settlements and the Edomites on the other side of the security fence, and how thin my patience with the Arabist point of view has become. Suffice to say that if Mev is a Kahanist, he is an example of what a Kahanist should be. And what we all should become.


RabbanGamliel
http://rabbangamliel.blogspot.com/
Yes, he has a blog. But he doesn't post much. He comments on XGH and on Dovbear. He is more intelligent than I am. Has a sense of humour, and is well-read.


Treppenwitz
http://bogieworks.blogs.com/treppenwitz/
Thoughtful, witty, irascible. And I bet that when he reads this, he'll be almighty surprised at that last one.
Despite his confessed status as a NONSMOKER (shudder), one of the most interesting and readable blogging lights out there. Tends to respond to most of the commenters with a comment of his own addressing what they said.
THIS IS A DAILY MUST-READ


Rabbi Joshua Maroof
http://vesomsechel.blogspot.com/
Read him for your dose of Torah insight. And for a shtikl Rambam.


Chardal
http://chardal.blogspot.com/
Sporadic mustard. Does not post frequently. Claims to be a fundamentalist. I have my doubts. He's too broadminded for that. Stubborn, but likeably so. Again, one of the flock of commenters, and like many, more often encountered as comment than as post.


Midianite Manna
http://www.midianitemanna.blogspot.com/
Her self-description says it all: "Former academic low-life, now secular kollel wife and mother, living with a bad Cohen, a perfect baby, and a naughty cat."
Comments on Dovbear. Mentions the baby more than the cat. Once made pumpkin pie with evaporated skim milk half a year past its due date. Not ashamed to admit that.


Lipman's
http://lipmans.blogspot.com/
Fellow pipe smoker. Linguist. Wit. I still haven’t figured out how come he understands Dutch.
Lipman does not post often enough to really be included in a list of bloggers, and seems to actually have a life. Unlike the rest of us. We are jealous of him in a multitude of languages.


The Clochard Times
http://lipmans.blogspot.com/
Foul-mouthed brilliant Fleming - what's not to like?
Self-described as an extremely unpleasant cocaine-addicted whore and scribbler, morally bankrupt and nihilistic. But I think he's merely shy. Writes in Netherlandish in any case, so you'll just have to take it from me that he's good. He's good.


ADDeRabbi: On The Contrary: Judaism with Comments Enabled
http://adderabbi.blogspot.com/
A thoughtful commenter on Torah, Judaism, and life. Sometimes his writing is too in-depth for lunchtime reading, but by the end of the day my mind consists of too many frazzled loose ends to be able to read him. He's a very good writer, and browsing through his stuff over the years has often answered Torah-Talmud questions that had stuck in my mind for a while. When conditions are right I go through several weeks' worth of his posts in a sitting.


Rabbi Pinky / Yeshivas Chipas Emes
http://rabbi-pinky.blogspot.com/
http://www.geocities.com/npoj8/index.html
If you read this, you will either gain a greater understanding of where this blogger is coming from and what has formed him, or you will end up apoplectic and red in the face. It explains much, but doesn't really clarify anything. I think it is hysterical and utterly worth reading. I have a suspicion that some of you may be outraged, however. Not that I'm really concerned about that. If you don't get it, you don't. Meh.


Jeremy Rosen
http://www.jeremyrosen.com/blog/index.html
Writings by an Orthodox Rabbi with a Renaissance mind. Used to host a mailing-list, which sadly is now defunct. Well written, thoughtful, engaging. A rabbi for both the religiously inclined as the completely secular.
His background is borderline Chareidi (in the American understanding of that term), and his Judaism is very much of Orthodox derivation. But in a sense he represents post-Orthodoxism. Judaism for the curious mind. I really, really recommend him.