AbbaGav not only got a whole post out of the "Watch Meme" despite the fact that he doesn't wear one, he tagged me. I don't wear one either. I stopped years and years ago, and I can't imagine wearing one now. The idea of a personal electronic device that doesn't do anything beyond telling you the time seems a bit quaint.
I remember my first watch. It was a Mickey Mouse watch, but there was no picture of Mickey on it--just the words "Mickey Mouse" in red. I guess it was cheaper than the picture one. Maybe that was why my enthusiasm for watches waned as a grew older. If only it had been a deluxe Mickey Mouse watch! I think I had a number of Timex watches, and a few cheap digital watches before the watch river ran dry.
What connections can I think of between watches and Judaism? Satmar Chassidim like the old-fashioned pocket watches. Also, there is the rule that tells you whether you can wear your watch on Shabbos. Would you wear it even if it stopped telling time? If the answer is yes, you can wear it on Shabbos. It has to have jewelry value. Otherwise, you have simply strapped a useful object to yourself, and that is considered carrying when you walk out into the public domain.
More on watches and halachah: At an Orthodox wedding keddushin--matrimony--is accomplished through the giving of a ring. So traditionally there is no engagement ring. What do you give your bride-to-be instead? A watch.
Since watches mark the passage of time, perhaps this would be a good place to note that this blog passed the one-year mark a few days ago.
I also would like to thank Erica Sherman for tagging me with the Israel meme, although I haven't come up with anything yet.
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