Day 215 (success)

I finally got a grasp on how to take trumot and maasrot! This is good, because the pomegranates in our side garden are quickly ripening faster than we can eat them, one at a time, in the garden. Now all we need is a juicer, and we can pick those babies.

Here's Artscroll's text for how to take trumot and maasrot:

You can see why I just looked at that and went, "Huh???" North, south, upper, lower, possibly a coin, parts and other parts and the first part and who knows what.

So today I read the O-U and the CRC and the COR have to say, and now things make more sense. The CRC even has a diagram! Now I'm at the point where I can ask intelligent questions. How does the CRC's coin work: do they have to keep replacing it, since it keeps getting filled up? If not, then why not? What is the legal precedent for redeeming Maaser Rishon? Why can maaser be redeemed using a coin that is worth less than the maaser itself?

Much better than staring helplessly in confusion. When all I had was the text in the siddur, I felt like I was back in Microelectronics Theory again. That was the class where I'd raise my hand and say, "Professor? I don't even understand enough to ask a question right now. Could you maybe repeat the last two or three sentences in different words?" (And he would, because he was a good professor.)

In other exciting news, we fed a turtle today! I saw it in our driveway after I dropped off BSM at daycare, and I gave it some pomegranate seeds. Then I went inside and did some research, and I learned (a) that the turtle in question was actually a Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise, and (b) you're not supposed to feed them lots of fruit; they need leafy greens. Oops.

Husbinator found the turtle later, and we fed it some wilted lettuce. Fun times!