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Written by Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow
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Thursday, 16 June 2011 09:59 |
I write a regular daf yomi column for this paper, and hopefully my regular readers are familiar with my stabs at humor. Previous topics included dumpster-diving and finding a get, paying mikveh dues with eggs, and the kashrus status of beer that had a mouse bathing inside. I attempt to write about subjects that can be combined with humor. In this vein, there was a very funny sign hanging in Toddy’s store on Central Avenue that I thought helped explain a passage in the Gemara.
Everyone who has been in the store knows that Jay Todtman, the proprietor of Toddy’s, has a great sense of humor. He even wrote a book on the subject. So, in last week’s article, besides quoting the specific sign, I wrote about how humorous I found the store to be. Unfortunately, my intent was not clear and some assumed that I meant to deride the store. A more carefully written article would have avoided this. (Interestingly enough, although my articles are usually found sandwiched somewhere in the middle of the paper, this pre-Shavuos article was the only one of my daf yomi columns to ever appear on the front page, which doubtlessly drew more attention to it.)
Let me share one example. I wrote the following: “I once received too much change [at Toddy’s] and I told them so. The attendant just replied, ‘That’s okay. We’ll just rip off the next guy!’†I did not explicitly state that it was obvious that the attendant was joking. I personally found his quip hilarious. It was an example of how Jay’s humor has trickled down to his employees. G-d forbid that my intention was anything else. Certainly those who are not my regular readers were susceptible to this terrible misunderstanding. I should have written instead, “The attendant replied tongue-in- cheek …†This would have left no room for mistake.
I feel awful that my lack of specificity and clarity led people to view my article as an attack on such a fine establishment as Toddy’s. Personally, I don’t purchase a cup of prepared coffee often, but when I do I pick one up from Toddy’s on my way home from the daf. My wife’s personal favorite is the German coffee-cake flavor of coffee.
I would like to publicly apologize to Jay Todtman and all his loyal customers. I beg their forgiveness.
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