Surprise Trip to the North

The kids didn't realize that when we left Netanya we turned North instead of South. They still didn't realize when we drove by Zichron Yaakov that we hadn't passed that on the way to the hotel. Zvi did say then that it meant that we were still at least an hour from school even though we had left much earlier. As we got closer to the north we showed them on a map where we were and they were very excited. The great thing about surprising them is that it's not so important that we actually do something fun because just the fact that we took them somewhere when they weren't expecting it makes it worthwhile for them. We did lots of fun things on this tiyul though.

We drove straight to Tzuk Minara. They had three really fun things to do there:
1. Toboggan - I'm not sure if this is the right term since that usually refers to going down on snow but there was no snow. We go on these little cars on tracks and go up some of the mountain before coming zooming down. I guess it was sort of like a roller coaster ride. Rivka went alone but Zvi and Leora weren't big enough so they had to come with me.


2. Trampoline - They tied the kids to ropes and then pressed a button and, voila the kids went flying. They had pictures of kids doing flips on these but my kids were satisfied just jumping really high. Just the three bigger kids did this.

3. Cable cars - We all went on the cable cars up to the top of the mountain and walked around up there and enjoyed the gorgeous view.


A lot of the stuff is closed since it's not high tourist season. The good thing about it not being high tourist season was there were no lines but the bad thing was that a lot of things were closed. They also have snappling, wall climbing, bouncy toys and omega but none of that was open. We still had fun doing what they did have.

After we finished we went to Metulla. We saw the Canada Center where Danny plays hockey. We also saw the Lebanon border and to Neot Mordechai so Shira could buy new shoes. Then we drove down to the East side of the Kinneret to a "tzimmer" - a little cabin - in Briza Bakfar in a yishuv called Ramot. We tried driving one way but the road was closed so we had to go all the way around and we passed a forest fire just as the fire trucks were getting there. It looked like they had gotten there early enough to get it under control since the fire wasn't near any houses or anything.

We got to our cabin after 6 and we were all starving. We went to a couple hotels but dinner there was really expensive and hardly seemed worth it. We couldn't find a Kosher restaurant nearby so the kids agreed to get dinner at the supermarket. We got small pizzas to make in the microwave and soup in cups and ice cream. It was good and the kids loved eating in front of the TV. The cabin was really nice and spacious with a beautiful view overlooking the Kinneret.

Shabbos in Netanya

We are leaving in less than six weeks and we wanted to do at least one more tiyul before we left. We also wanted to be sure to spend some time with my sisters. My mother's birthday was last week and my father's is next month so we convinced everyone to come with us to a hotel for Shabbos (we even convinced my parents to sponsor it). This was the only Friday off during the season in Little League so we took advantage and left early. We picked all the kids up from school and got lunch for the road.

We got to the hotel around 1 and had all afternoon to hang out with cousins and go to the beach and pool. The great thing about vacationing now is that it's really quiet because it isn't an ideal time to get away. Things were generally very empty.

The hotel had a minyan on Shabbos but in the morning my father and I went to a shul in the neighborhood because he knew the rabbi and had another friend there. The average age in the shul was probably 80 and they were almost all British but we made it through the whole long davening. In the afternoon we had cake and a big Shabbos party in honor of the birthdays and everyone had a nice time hanging out with the cousins. Normally, when we go to a hotel Shira and I end up with 1-4 kids in our room but this time we got a suite and Rivka slept with cousins so we had our own room. Much more relaxing that way.

We were the only ones to sleep over on Saturday night. The kids were excited for that and thought that this meant that they'd be going late to school the next day. We told them that if they were good we could first go to the beach before leaving. So we did that, jumped in the pool and ate a delicious breakfast at the hotel. We finally left the hotel around 10:30. The kids figured we were on our way to bring them to school a little late.

Mother's Day

So we get all these "Yoms" during sefira (haatzmaut, yerushalayim, zikaron and shoa) but I didn't realize until yesterday that the best thing is that we avoid the "Days." No Mother's Day, Father's Day, Grandparents' Day, Secretary's Day, Earth Day or any other Silly Day that obligates us to get presents. We haven't made aliya so I couldn't totally skip yesterday but we were able to tone it down.

I took Shira out for lunch to her favorite restaurant here (Angelo's) and we had a nice time. We got pizza and met Amy and her girls at my grandmother's for dinner to celebrate with her. That was it though. My mother is in Memphis visiting Shayna and family so we didn't do anything for her.

We also got portraits of the two bigger kids. We posted the pictures of the little ones a few months ago so here are the others. We highly recommend the photographer in Matityahu so if anyone is interested just email or call us and we'll give you his info.

First loss

Our Little League team lost for the first time on Friday. It was a really tough loss as we had built a 7-1 lead and were still winning 10-7 going into the last inning. The other team scored four times though to win the game. Almost all the kids were crying after the loss. We're still tied for first place and we're playing this team again later in the season.

We had three girls from Anywhere in Israel sleep at our house for Shabbos but they didn't eat any meals with us. We made Shabbos early again and went to sleep really early. Shira led groups at shul for the first time and all reports that I heard were that she did a fantastic job even though she had to do it in Hebrew. Leora loved having her Mommy lead the groups and Zvi watched Yeshaya so he wouldn't disturb them. We ate lunch with the Sussmans at the Weinsteins' house and had a nice time. Tzivi Bak had made Shira's favorite dessert (some kahlua ice cream or something) so we went there for some of that after lunch.

Happy 60th Birthday, Israel!!!

What a privilege and honor for us to be here in Israel to celebrate along with the country the anniversary of Israel's 6oth year of Independence. I'll start with recapping from Yom Hazikaron. At around 8pm the night of Yom Hazikaron, a loud siren goes off and all are supposed to stop what they are doing and reflect on the many lives lost during war and to terrorist acts. We did not hear that siren, probably because we were busy yelling at our kids to go to sleep. The next day at 11 am David and I were at the fruit store. It took a second to realize that the sound I was hearing was indeed the siren and not an indication that we were under attack. It was amazing to see that people just stop what they are doing and stand still with head bowed. The siren lasted for a minute and you could really feel the unity of the people. It was a little disturbing to see out of the corner of your eyes the arab workers walking along as if nothing was going on. The kids all had different educational experiences at their schools. Leora was shown pictures of a relative of a boy in her class who was killed.

That evening the Yom Haatzmaut parties began. Rivka was invited to spend the night at a friends in Chashmonaim. She had an amazing time with all of her classmates from school. Zvi and I along with Jamie, Effie and Shaya Steiner (our neighbors) walked outside until we were able to see the city's fire works display. The kids really enjoyed it. We then continued walking until we got to the local religious Yom Haatzmaut celebrations. There was live music and dancing. Zvi said it was boring but I saw him mesmerized by the band. It made me think that he'd really enjoy being able to play a musical instrument (since given mine and David genes a singing career is out of the question).

Today we (Greenstone's including David's father) met up with Adina (Ethel), Eric, and their three younger kids for a horseback riding adventure. And adventure it was , for David and Rivka that is. They were the only ones brave enough from our family to ride their own horse. The younger Greenstones were not as comfortable so they got to ride on a pony with a guide. The youngest Greenstone was even too chicken for that. I myself would have loved to go horseback riding, but for some reason Rivka chose David to go with her instead of me. I wonder if it is because I am such a chicken and Rivka has no confidence in me. In keeping with the Yom Haatzmaut tradition (for non vegetarians) after the horseback riding we returned for a delicious Bar-B-Que at the Hagege's. Danny and Ornat and girls came by to say hi and then we loaded up the car and returned to Modiin. We were very happy that we didn't encounter any of the dreaded "pa-kack".

Best time of year to be in Israel

After Pesach, Aryeh told me that the time between Pesach and Shavuot is the best time of year to be in Israel. The first thing is the weather and it's definitely been true so far this year. It's consistently been in the high 70s/early 80s with no rain. After Shavuot it starts getting really hot for a few months until it's rainy season. Then you also have Yom Hashoa, Yom Hazikaron, Yom HaAtzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim. The celebrations for these days in the States can't come close to what we're expecting to see in this country. We even put a flag on our car so we could join in the fun (just because we're not citizens doesn't mean we can't be patriotic). Even Lag Ba'Omer is different in Israel than in the States.

Last week was a quiet week in our house. Nechama A. came for Shabbos and we had no other company so it was very relaxing. In the afternoon we walked over the Baks' house and ate seudat shlishit there. The only bad thing was that the hashkama minyan in the neighborhood disbanded so I was stuck davening at a "normal" long minyan at 8:30. I survived it but I'm hoping a new hashkama minyan will start soon.

Boredom

Yesterday, we couldn't play on the computer, drive in the car or color while everyone else in the country was out having a good time on the last day of vacation. My kids were so bored and they let us know it. My mother had said that she'd try to come over at some point and by 8 AM everyone was anxiously awaiting her arrival so we'd have something to do. We played games (Monopoly, SkipBo, finger baseball) but the kids were still bored. Rivka insisted that we should walk to Savta's house so the two of us walked there around 3 and of course when we got there she was on a bus coming to our house so we missed her and walked right back home. Once my mother came though the day got more exciting as she played more games with them and helped us get a delicious dinner together (the last of the Pesach leftovers). Then after the kids were sleeping we converted the house back to chametz.

Shabbos though wasn't boring for the girls at all. We had Sarah Rosen (we had her for the seder) over with her three daughters and one is a year older than Rivka. My niece Talya (a year younger) and two Rosenbaum girls (about Rivka's age) were also there. Leora had my niece Ayala and another friend came over after lunch. So we had a lively house full of girls that day. Zvi didn't have anyone though so he was bored two days in a row.

I think it's good to be bored on the last day of vacation though so that you might actually look forward to going back to school. At least it should work that way but for some reason Zvi and Leora still weren't anxious to get back. Now we're off to get some pizza so we can enjoy some delicious chametz that we've missed for the last week.

Relaxing Day

After a busy chol hamoed we had a very easy day today. In the morning the kids and I went to visit my parents and grandmother while Shira exercised and cooked. She, Ornat and my mother had made so much food for the first days that she didn't have to cook much today. We went to Herzliya to the Baks' hotel for lunch and enjoyed the bouncy toys at the yom kef there. Then Shira took the kids swimming in the pool. We got home the same time that Danny and Ornat came for yom tov and now we're ready for two more days of rest and relaxation before the kids go back to school on Monday.

Snorkeling for Techelet

I was going to write all about yesterday's tiyul snorkeling for chilazon but I saw that The Muqata did the same thing a few years ago so I'll quote him for some of it:

there's a biblical commandment for one of the threads of tzitzit to be blue, "techelet." A few years back, a group of Israeli (mostly olim from the US) became determined to discover the biblical blue. The gemara talks about the different ways to identify the techelet - it must come from a snail, must be like the sea, must be very steadfast, and identical to the fake plant-based techelet. The Murex Trunculus answers all these conditions, and was found in mass quantities along the Dor beach. The only problem was that the dye produced from the Murex was royal purple -- "Argaman", and the researchers couldn't figure out how it could turn blue. One day, a researcher in the 80's from Hebrew University put his beaker full of Murex dye in the sun while waiting for his coffee to heat up. When he came back 10 minutes later, he removed the fibers which were in the beaker, and when exposed to air, the fibers turned a brilliant blue, and the secret of techelet was re-discovered. For the murex dye to turn into techelet instead of purple, it needs to be exposed to sunlight, which breaks away the bromide from the indigo. You can read all this fascinating information on the Techelet website.

First we watched a movie about the history and the process which was very interesting and even Yeshaya was interested because it was about the ancient city of Dora. What could be better than a movie about Dora? We went snorkeling to try and find the snails. We didn't actually find any but people in our group found about 20. Then we made the dye and dyed a piece of wool techelet. It was pretty cool and we all had a great time.


Last night, my friend Dov Segal who is in Israel for Pesach took a bus out to Modiin to join us for dinner and then we hung out together for a while. Always good to catch up with old friends.

Double Digits

Yesterday was my 10th birthday and I had a great time to celebrate. We started off the day at Eretz Breishit. There, we went on camel rides and we pretended like we were visiting Avraham in his tent. The person who pretended to be Avraham and the person who acted as Eliezer went to get dried fruit and drinks for us. They told us the story of Avraham's life and how there was a good chance that Avraham's real tent was very close to where we were. Then they taught us how to write with a bamboo stick and ink in old Hebrew script like Avraham may have written.


Amy and her family were planning on going on a tour of the choma of Yerushalayim in the afternoon. They invited us to join them but Leora and Zvi just wanted to go home and relax. So they dropped my mother and me in Yerushalayim and everyone else went home. We met Rivka, my oldest cousin, near town and walked to the Old City and found a restaurant to use the bathroom and cool off. We then met the rest of the family and went on the tour around the City. It was a lot of fun but a little scary for my mother who is terrified of heights. After the tour we went out to eat at Cafe Rimon. The food was pretty good considering the fact that it was Pesach.

At 7:30 there was a sound and lights show on the walls of the Old City. It was so crowded on the way down the stairs when we were leaving. We found a bus that was going to the tachana merkazit but it was also really crowded and we had to stand. Finally, when we got off that bus we went on the bus to Modiin and we actually had seats. We got to Country Center at about 10 PM and Avraham Butel picked us up and drove us home.

Pesach bagels

When we used to go to my aunt and uncle's house in Baltimore for Pesach there was a constant supply of bagels coming out of the oven. We all helped make them and we certainly all helped eat them. They're especially good to take on tiyulim since matza is too crumby. I baked them yesterday morning and again this morning for our tiyulim (an entry with pictures about today will come later) and we all enjoyed eating them with cream cheese, margarine or just plain. So I figured I should post the recipe here so I won't lose it and so our loyal readers can try it at home. I think it originally came from the outside of a Manischewitz box.

Mix 2 cups matzo meal with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
Boil 1 cup of water with 1/2 cup of oil.
Mix them together and then add 4 eggs.
Mix it all very well and then let it sit for 15 minutes.
Roll into strips and pinch ends together to make circles so they look like bagles. Put on a pan and bake at 375 for 50 minutes or until they look ready. Makes 12 small bagels.

I double the recipe but only use 4 eggs total since we have more than enough eggs in everything else (actually the first time was an accident but it tasted fine so there's no need to include so many eggs).

Chocolate and Parrots

Our friends, the Neustadters arranged a trip today to the Ornat chocolate factory. About 40 people came including Danny and Ornat (who managed to get a free chocolate since she shares a name with the chocolate) and family. We got a tour of the place - it's not exactly a factory since they don't manufacture the chocolate there but they import it. We also got some free chocolate and the kids got a chance to make their own chocolate balls. (Check out the picture on the top. It was taken when we were done with the tour and just as the picture was snapped our next door neighbor smashed into the glass door. I'm not exactly sure what happened but she was in a lot of pain and was bleeding quite a bit from her nose)

After that we went with the Spodeks to the Parrot Farm. We're in the middle of a chamsin - heat wave - so it was in the 90s today. The Parrot Farm is free for chol hamoed so apparently hundreds of people had the same idea and the place was more like a zoo than a farm. We brought our lunch and managed to snag a table in the shade and ate there. Leora was kvetching about the heat and Rivka and I were being hit by allergies (they've hardly bothered me in Israel but for some reason it was really bad there). Yeshaya had fallen asleep so Leora, Zvi and I went quickly to go see the parrots and then we were ready to go home. The kids were afraid to let the parrot climb on them but I thought it was kind of cool the way one climbed down my back.
When we got home Rivka and Zvi played a game while Leora and Yeshaya played on the computer and watched Dora. The older two kids then went by themselves to have a picnic at the park. It's great when they get along!

First Days of Yom Tov

We had lots of company for yom tov. My Uncle Danny, Aunt Ornat and their three daughters were here. My Saba and Savta and Bubbie and her metapelet were also here. Shabbos was pretty quiet and normal except that we had pitas and no other chametz or matza during the meal. We ate lunch really early so we could finish the pitas by 9:55 in the morning. We all took naps after lunch so we could stay awake for the seder and then we went to the park.

We had a lady from the community and her daughter join us for the seder which only started at around 8:45 at night. I was the only kid who stayed awake until the end. The four cups of grape juice were especially good because my parents got Kedem grape juice which tastes much better than the stuff we've been using all year.

After lunch, we went to the park again on the first day of yom tov and we took short naps so we could stay awake for our seder the second night. Our second seder was much smaller and faster. It was just our immediate family and two of my cousins sat with us just so they could enjoy the grape juice. We started as early as we could, around 8:00 and finished before 10. It was a little weird because my grandparents were going in a taxi and my aunt and uncle were on the phone and taking pictures the whole time but it was chag for us.

Yesterday we walked to my grandparents house for a "chol hamoed" party for all my first and second cousins that are in Israel. It took us about 35 minutes to walk there. We got there at 1:15 and stayed for about four hours. We split up for the walk back and the girls all took the stairs and the boys went around with the stroller (here is a map - the girls basically followed the red line and the boys followed the pink line). I walked ahead and went a slightly different way and got home first. The Spodeks were still at our house and decided to sleep over again. The neighbors had set up some bouncy toys in the driveway and invited us to play on them. So we played, showered, ate supper and went to sleep so we could get up early for our trip today.

Chag Sameach

Today was actually not nearly as stressful as it could have been thanks mostly to Shira's excellent planning and organization. We've also been helped by my parents cooking and picking things up for us and by Shira's brother and sister-in-law cooking and helping prepare.

Yesterday was a great day. For a late breakfast we went out to eat with the Baks to celebrate our siyum of Nedarim. We actually finished about a month ago but were asked to make a siyum after the 5:45 minyan shacharis. In the end some other people had also planned on making a siyum there so we didn't actually make our siyum but we still celebrated. Then for an early dinner we went out in honor of Rivka's birthday. Our custom is that we go out for dinner to the restaurant of the birthday kid's choice on every birthday. My father joined us for that.

After a pretty boring breakfast, we went to do biur chametz. It's a very different experience here than in Baltimore. In Baltimore, there is one centralized biur chametz location at the fire station and everyone brings their chametz. Here, it's each man for himself. We joined with our neighbors and made a small fire at the corner to burn the chametz. It's definitely more fun this way but a little more dangerous too.

We went to the park this morning for an hour or so and then we went to Nof Ayalon to pick up some things that my sister had bought for us and hung out there for a while. We had a scumptious lunch at my mother's before coming home to prepare and rest up for Shabbos and our company. For Pesach, unlike Sukkos, we won't be doing melacha for two days of yom tov which means we have a 3 day yom tov to look forward to. Should be lots of fun!

Chag sameach to everyone.

Where to live

We are trying to decide the best place for our family to live if we move back to Israel. We've had a great year in Modiin and have lots of really good friends and my parents here so it would be hard not to come back. The biggest problem here is that we're not crazy about the options for schools. The school for our kids this year worked out really well for them and we don't regret the decision at all but we don't think it's the best long-term answer for them. Another problem with our current neighborhood is that the price of houses is really high.

When we came to Israel for five weeks a year and a half ago, we spent a Shabbos in five different communities and didn't decide where we wanted to live. We spent a weekend in Beit Shemesh and Ramat Beit Shemesh and considered BS a possibility of where we'd eventually settle. Now there is a new community starting there that looks like it will be really excellent. Our biggest fear is that it will probably be (almost) all Americans living there and it will make it hard for our kids to learn Hebrew and feel like real Israelis.

On Sunday night, Shira and I went to the Blass Bar Mitzvah in Beit Shemesh and we were talking to recent olim who live there. One family that came two years ago said that their kids still don't really know Hebrew because they only interact with English speaking kids. That really scared us from living there. It's a tough decision because it would make life easier in the short-term to live amongst Americans but I think for long-term success we'd probably be better living in a mixed community with American olim and natural born Israelis.

So the search continues. We haven't ruled out Modiin or Beit Shemesh but would like to check out other options. Every community has its benefits and drawbacks and it won't be an easy decision but it's something that we need to consider carefully. We went through the same basic process when we moved from St. Louis. We could have moved anywhere in the US and checked out many different communities before ultimately settling on Baltimore. We're very happy with that decision.

My Sleepover Party

On Thursday at 5:30 eight girls came to my house for a sleepover party for my 10th birthday. We had an exciting night planned. First we ate pizza. Then we made bracelets out of beads. After that we talked and giggled and ran around outside and then we got into pajamas and ate ice cream. We all slept in the living room on mattresses and couches. After we were all comfortable, we watched Mary Poppins. The movie ended at 10:30 but then we giggled and talked some more until we went to sleep at around 11:30.

We were all up at 6:30 and got dressed and ate breakfast. Then we went to the park and we davened when we came home. Everyone packed up their stuff and their parents came to get them. One friend stayed for a few extra hours. We walked to Country Center (30 minute walk) to get fruits and vegetables for my mother and popsicles for us. Then my father picked us up and we came home and played Pig/Tongue with Zvi. After that we watched a movie until her father came to get her. When she left I took a nap so I could go to my Savta's house for Shabbos.

This is what we did at Savta's house. We ate both meals at Bubbie's and rested for three hours after lunch. We played Casino a lot. Then Bubbie came over for Shalosh Seudos and we ate outside. When we were finished we went over to Bubbie's and played Rummikub and Guess Who until Saba came home from shul. When he came home, we made havdala and my father came to get me.

"Vacation"

All the kids in the country had their last day of school before Pesach last Thursday. So now, everyone is scrambling to find things to do with their kids for an entire week before Pesach. We have our plans all set for each day of chol hamoed but we don't have so many plans for this week. There is a daycamp at a nearby school and we gave our kids (besides Yeshaya) the option of going today to try it out. They all agreed to go but this morning Zvi backed out. Rivka and Leora didn't know anyone there so they got a little nervous when they got there but ultimately stayed. Hopefully they're having a good time and will decide to continue the rest of the week.

Rivka had a slumber party on Thursday night with a bunch of girls from her class since it's almost her birthday. She told me that she's going to blog about it so I won't write anything. Zvi played his fourth game of the season and we won 17-4. We're now in sole possession of first place at 4-0 but we haven't yet played the three best teams. After Pesach, five our next six games are against those three teams and we're missing out best player for the first of those games. We got our uniforms so we look like a real team now. Go Cheetahs!

Rivka went to Saba and Savta for Shabbos. We ate Shabbos lunch at the Steiners which was great so Shira didn't have to worry about cooking too much. Then Leora watched Yeshaya so we could sleep for an hour and in exchange we walked her to Aliza Spitzer's house. Aliza was her primary translator in her old gan and is her closest friend here. Unfortunately we don't get them together enough but they were thrilled to see us and Yeshaya played with their son also. We then went to the park and that took us until bedtime. It was another nice and relaxing Shabbos.

Pesach cleaning

Historically, Pesach cleaning has always been done by the mother of the household (well, historically in our family at least - interesting post on the division of labor in the family here). Our house has barely anything in it since we've only been living here for 8 months and we didn't bring that much junk with us. So we figured we could delay cleaning the house until it was really almost Pesach. It's just 10 days away now so it's time to start. The problem is that Shira went to the doctor yesterday and today and tomorrow she's going to be busy grocery shopping (apparently you get much better prices and find many more American products when you leave Modiin to grocery shop).

I decided that as long as I'm home all morning doing nothing with Yeshaya I might as well start cleaning (the truth is that Rivka really started cleaning on Friday by cleaning the drawers in her night table). The advantage of a man cleaning is that he will rarely confuse Pesach cleaning with spring cleaning. I did throw out a lot of junk but that was stuff that was clearly garbage. My main purpose was just to look in all the drawers and cabinets and stuff for chametz. I didn't wash the windows, organize the shelves or dust the hard to get to places (I figure that if there's more than an inch of dust then I don't even have to check there since we haven't been there since we moved in). I finished three bedrooms upstairs (all but my room) and I'm happy to report that it wasn't a complete waste of time. I found some chocolate in Leora's night table drawer (probably only kitniyot) and some falafel bisli (chametz gamur) in a bag in a cabinet.

Another week goes by

We (mostly me) have been a bit lax in our blogging lately. I guess that means that we're busy and don't have too much time for the computer :) We had a good week, nothing too much to report. We got organized for Pesach. Had the Rabbi come by to tell us how to kasher our kitchen and we realized that we have quit a lot of kitchen utensils that are all metal that are easily kasherable. That will save us money and also save us the hassle of having to get rid of it in a few months. Today David did our tally and we only have 85 more days left. David announced this with a smile, but I felt really sad. This past shabbos we ate a simple meal at home Friday night and enjoyed a yummy meal at the Obersteins for lunch. My brother Avi was very close with Nina and Shmuli while studying in Bar Ilan. The Ort's were also there in addition to several of the Oberstein's relatives.
This evening we will be heading to my cousin's, Nechama and Yair Cohen, for dinner. We always enjoy getting together with them. We also will most likely make a stop to drop off another Baltimore bound duffel bag.

On a side note, my sister-in-law, Tikki is raising money for the National MS Society walk. Feel free to make a donation and help her achieve her goal.

Rav Lau

This Shabbos Rabbi Dovid Lau made a Bar Mitzvah for his son so his father, Rav Yisrael Meir Lau was in town. He spoke at our shul between mincha and maariv and we had about 500 people there to hear him. It was an impressive crowd and he spoke well.

This was the first late Shabbos of the year which meant that we still got in naps even after a long lunch at the Baks house. We weren't up too late on Friday night either since we had no company. Erev Shabbos was actually extra long because it was a rare Friday when we didn't have a baseball game. Instead we went to Yerushalayim for a game on Thursday night. Zvi had said that he would blog about the game (I'm not holding my breath) so I won't write about our Cheetahs' second victory in a row.

My trip to Sderot

A few weeks ago I posted a letter that my sister wrote after her visit to Sderot. Today, I was finally able to join her on a trip there. My little sister raised $10,000 from her shul and the people of Los Angeles to buy things for the people of Sderot and she told them that she'd personally deliver it. Zach, one of the sons of the major donor is in Israel studying for the year so he wanted to go also. Amy drove Aliza, my mother, Zach and me down to Sderot.

We stopped at a toy store and bought lots of games and some stereos to bring to an elementary school. Aliza had plans for the rest of the money but we didn't personally deliver those things. The school was very appreciative and the principal was kind enough to give us a tour.

The school has a protective cover over it so that when a qassam rocket comes it will hit the cover and not hurt anyone in the school.

So they're safe when they're in school. The problem is that you can't expect the kids to stay inside all the time. The principal said that during the peak, they had to keep the kids indoors for three consecutive weeks and everyone was going crazy. The problem is that when they're outside and the siren goes off they all have to run inside as quickly as they can. There is a shelter (decorated by the kids) near the playground but the kids are instructed to go inside the school building.

A few weeks ago a rocket landed about 100 feet from the school building. Here is the hole that is left and some holes in the railing from the shrapnel.

Nobody was hurt by it but the kids were very scared. Three kids had to go to the hospital. The principal said that the whole building shook and they were all sure that it hit the building.

It was very interesting to go there and amazing to see these people who live in this kind of danger every day.

Israeli wedding

Last night Shira and I went to Shoshana Peerless' wedding. The Peerless are my parents closest friends from Dayton and later Ramot. Mrs. Peerless (who now insists that I call her Jo Ann but I can never get used to that) used to joke that I was really her son. They also have four daughters just like my parents but they don't have any sons. My parents both have darker hair and Mrs. and Rabbi Peerless have the same color hair as me so the joke was that there was a mix-up and I was really their long lost son (the fact that I was born before they got married didn't phase them). Shoshana is their oldest daughter and is best friends with my younger sister. We moved away from Dayton when they were in first grade but they've managed to remain friends through the years. Aliza flew in from Los Angeles without her 5 daughters and husband just for the wedding.

The wedding was in Mitzpe Yericho and we drove there with my parents, Amy and Erick and Aliza. Then we all sat at one table together with Eric and Ethel. I was trying to put my finger on the difference between American weddings and Israeli weddings and I think I figured it out. I think that when people go to weddings in the US they're going to a fancy affair like a banquet. In Israel it's not like that. People don't get so dressed up for weddings and I think the primary goal of the attendees is just to have lots of fun. I'm not saying that people in the US don't have fun at weddings but it just doesn't seem to be the number one purpose of the wedding. I think it's even evident at the chuppa. In America, it's a long drawn out process with people walking down the aisle, slow music and everyone very quiet. In Israel, lots of people stand, nobody walks down the aisle and people are very, very close to the chuppa.

We definitely had fun last night and tonight we're making sheva brachos at my parents house and I'm sure we'll enjoy that immensely too.

Purim Meshulash

This year, people in Yerushalayim had a three day Purim:

Mikra Megillah is done on Thursday night and Friday morning, as in the open cities; Matanot La-Evyonim are given on Friday.


The reading of Parashat Amalek and the insertion of Al HaNisim into the Shemoneh Esray and the Birchat HaMazon are done on Shabbat, their regular Purim in ordinary years.


Seudat Purim is served and Mishloach Manot are exchanged on Sunday, the sixteenth of Adar.

It was more than 90 degrees here today - not something we're used to from Baltimore so we spent some time in the park. Then we drove to the Callens (Shira's cousins) to join them in their Purim seuda in Ramot. We had a nice time but I managed to stay sober through yet another Purim seuda.

Purim

Purim is very different in Israel than it is in the chutz la'aretz. This year was different anyway because it was on Friday but it's just great to see everyone in the entire country dressed up and partying in honor of Purim. It is a little strange to see some 13 year old girls dressed up in ways that would make Elliot Spitzer proud but it's great that everyone celebrates the holiday in some way. There was a big parade in Modiin but we just ran out of time and didn't even have a chance to go.

I went to an early, fast megilla reading and then Shira went with the girls to a 7 AM reading. After megilla, the kids and I started our trip to deliver shaloch manos. It was a little sad because very few people were at home. Some people were at the parade and others were out delivering their own packages. This is outside Yeshaya's ganenet's house.

He was very upset that she wasn't home but we did go back after our seuda after she had returned from the parade. Leora was lucky because her ganenet was at home and she was thrilled to see her.

We drove in circles in Hashmonaim trying to find all the kids' friends and after we found most of them we returned just in time to get to Saba and Savta's for the Purim seuda with Bubbie and the Fredj's.

We spent Shabbos in Zichron Yaakov and again had a great time with the Hagege's.

Pre-Purim Festivities

Today is dress-up day at all the schools and ganim. The kids were all dressed by 6:30 and just waiting for Shira to get up to put on the make-up. Yeshaya thought he could handle the make-up himself. Here's a picture of them all ready for school today. Nobody brought books or anything to school as it's just parties and then they all get out early

Opening Day

Friday was the first regular season game of the season for Zvi and our Modiin Cheerfully Changed Cheetahs. We were playing Rechovot who was obviously smaller, more Israeli and less excited about baseball than we were. We expected to win but in the top of the first inning they scored a run and we were losing 1-0. In the bottom of the inning the first three guys (including Zvi) singled so we had the bases loaded for our cleanup hitter, Noam Wine. He popped out (he would make up for that later in the game by homering twice). After that out though our team came alive as four of the next five batters got hits and we took a 6-1 lead. We ended up playing 5 innings and we won 18-1. Zvi had three hits including a "homerun." Our defense was really good as we only made two errors the entire game and the kids all had a great time. I'd like to think that we won mostly because of the manager ;-)

My parents came to cheer on Zvi and took a couple pictures of warmups.


Friday night we had the Turks for dinner and had a really nice time with them. Then, for the first time all year, we walked to my parents for lunch since my cousing Tova was visiting from Cincinnati. The walk took a lot less time than I thought it would - less than 15 minutes from shul to their house. We hung out there all afternoon and had a lot of fun playing ping pong and card games, going to the park and eating lots of nosh.

Day off for the bigger kids

We promised Rivka and Zvi a day off because of their amazing report cards. Also, Leora had missed a half day of school to go to Yerushalayim a couple weeks ago with Shira and my mother-in-law. So I had to come up with a plan of what to do with the kids. I'm always nervous coming up with a plan because I want it to be something that they'll enjoy. I kind of wanted this one to be somewhat educational but I really wanted them to have a good time also. We were also bound by time because Yeshaya is only at playgroup from 8:15 until 12:15 every day. We decided to ask the Mayers if Yeshaya could go there for an hour to play with their son Ami. They're best friends and love playing together. They have similar personalities and even look almost the same. Ami has come to our house before and it was incredible how nicely they played together. So that gave us an extra hour to have fun.

Shira and I still had to come up with something to do. We asked Rivka and Zvi but they didn't really have any great ideas and they seemed to nix anything that we suggested. Rivka's ulpan teacher recommended Park Canada, Amy suggested Maalit Yerushalayim and my mother thought going to a park and looking at all the flowers blooming would be a good idea. We decided against all those for various reasons and settled on a day at the Old City of Yerushalayim. I sent an email to the kids last night with our schedule and when they woke up and read it they were excited.

So we left this morning just after dropping off Yeshaya and parked near the Kotel. We davened quickly (or the others did I had already davened) and then went out for breakfast at Bonkers Bagels. Then we went just across the road to the Burnt House Museum. It's a tiny little museum but they have a really good 25 minute 3D movie which the kids really enjoyed. The original schedule had us going to another museum but Shira had the idea of changing it to go to the shuk instead. We bought some shaloch manos packages for the kids to give to their friends and also got some other goodies like hamentashin, candies and ice coffees. Then we were approaching our deadline so it was time to head home.

We dropped the kids off at Bubbie's so they could spend a little time there and then we went to pick up Yeshaya from his friend's house. He had only been there for a half hour and was NOT happy to see me. The Mayers agreed to keep him for another half hour. I went to mincha and then picked Yeshaya up from Mayers, Rivka and Zvi from Bubbie's and Leora from gan. They came home watched a movie and went grocery shopping with Shira. Zvi and Rivka both had great days and even learned something about Yerushalayim in the process. I'd call this day off a success!

The first picture is in front of the Burnt House Museum and the second is in the shuk. We chose to take the picture in front of the fish in honor of our newest nephew, Roi Nun (nun means fish in Aramaic). Mazel tov Aaron, Aviva and Deyah!

Five straight days

We are extending another Greenstone record in our house today. This is our fifth straight day without having on the air conditioner or the heat at all. I'm pretty sure that we've never done that before in our 10.5 years of marriage. The weather has been beautiful and we can keep the windows open. In Baltimore, even when it's great weather, we can't keep the windows open because I get killed by allergies. I've been hit a little here but it's not bad at all. It gets a little hot in the afternoons but we've managed. I think we'll probably turn on the a/c today or tomorrow but we'll see how long we can keep the record streak going.

Today is Zvi's Hebrew birthday and yesterday was his English birthday. We were supposed to have a Shabbos with no company but Adina B. just came back from the States so we had her and she no longer counts as a guest anyway. At the last minute Rivka decided to go to Nof Ayalon to my sister's with my parents. We ate lunch at the Wines with the Zaks' and then we all had dessert outside with the other neighbors in our driveway. The Butels had a big cake in honor of their 9th anniversary and it was also Zvi and Liron Wine's birthdays.

Cheifetz Chashud

As I'm sure many of you have heard, last night at 8:30 pm terrorist entered Yeshivat Mercaz Harav and started spraying bullets. Eight students were murdered and 11 injured. In addition, Sderot, Ashkelon and other parts of Israel have been dealing with the constant barrage of rocket attacks. As Israel tries to defend herself, the world tells her to use restraint or worse condemns the counter terrorist missions. People are starting to feel the strain of the situation, they are our brothers and sisters out there getting murdered. We feel their pain and their loss, but yet somehow we have to put it in the back of our minds and move on with every day life. Last night things really hit home for us. First the attack on the Yeshiva students who were sitting and learning. Innocent lives snuffed out in a second for what? I went to sleep last night with heavy thoughts on my mind. You could imagine the jolt of fear I felt when I was awoken after 1 am by the blaring lights of a police van in the parking lot not 200 feet away. The policeman came on his loud speaker and said something that I could not decipher. My heart was racing but as I looked around everything seemed calm. The police man that I could see was smoking a cigarette. The next to wake up was Zvi and then Rivka (David had fallen asleep working in his office and did not hear anything as he works in the mamad). There was a loud BOOM. Car alarms were set off and people started gathering around. The "party" lasted another 5 minutes and then all was quiet again. I explained to the kids that some alert person found something suspicious and the police came and blew it up in case it was dangerous. They had experienced this before and were not afraid. We all went back to sleep after that.

Ephi

One of my closest high school friends came to Israel for a week with his oldest son to celebrate his nephew's bar mitzva. I'm notoriously bad with calling people and getting together but he called me twice and offered to come to my house to visit. It's a little ridiculous for him to waste a morning shleping out to Modiin when I could go visit him in Jerusalem so I said I'd meet him there. I was going to take a bus but then Shira had the brilliant idea that Ephi could take a duffel bag back for us so I drove there with the duffel. We went to Center 1 for lunch and had a nice time. It's always good to spend time with him. He also told me he saw another classmate of ours who lives in Yerushalayim who I haven't seen since the year after we graduated. He got me his phone number so maybe I'll actually call him one day.

Shira was home all alone today for almost three hours. I realized that is a very rare occurrence. I'm home almost all the time and if I'm not home then usually there is at least one kid here. That might be the longest amount of time that she's been home alone since we came to Israel. That might not interest anyone else but it's one of those little factoids that keep me entertained.

It's Summer

It was about 78 degrees Fahrenheit (we're coming back to the States so I never felt the need to think in Celsius) today and we're enjoying it. We knew it was supposed to be hot so we all dressed the parts. Zvi wore shorts today to school which isn't really that surprising considering he wore shorts on Monday also when the high temperature was probably in the low 50s (at least he brought pants to school that day and admitted to me that he put them on for some of the day). Rivka wore her white spring skirt and Yeshaya and I wore short sleeves. Leora wore her crocs without socks but she still wore long sleeves (she couldn't find a short sleeve shirt that she liked).

Shira and I walked to pick Yeshaya up from his playgroup (a 5 minute walk but I usually drive). Then we picked Leora up and went to the park with both of them before stopping at Bubbie's house. When we came home Shira sat outside with some of the neighbors while all the kids played out there.
We also packed up a duffel bag full of winter clothes to be sent back to Baltimore. The Dresslers are going back to Baltimore for a week or two and agreed to take a duffel bag for us. We came with 17 pieces of luggage but we're probably only going to be allowed 12 going back. We sent one duffel with Adina and now this one with Dressler. We have friends coming Pesach who will take a duffel or two for us and then we should be fine (as long as Shira doesn't buy too many new things!).

Globbing For Charity

"Globbing for Charity"

Our friend Diana has a unique idea to raise money for a worthy charity. Part of my job is to write an entry and she will donate $1 for every blog the word glob or globbing is mentioned in.

Good luck Diana and happy Globbing. Sorry no pictures at this time but we'll let you know when we add them.

Party of Boys

We celebrated Zvi's birthday yesterday (his actual birthday is on Shabbos) and he had 12 boys over for the party. They were all American except two Israelis who are live near us and are in his class. We tried to talk some Hebrew and to encourage the kids to talk in Hebrew but I think that the kids were a little uncomfortable. We had some races, ate pizza, decorated and ate cake and played soccer. It got hectic and a little wild but I think that all the kids had fun. Rivka was smart and went to a friend's house so she wouldn't have to deal with all the boys.

It's been a long time since I blogged so I'll just post some highlights. Last Sunday was my birthday (thanks to all who called and emailed) and we celebrated by eating Chinese at my grandmother's house with my parents and mother-in-law. On Monday we went out for lunch with the Baks since Tzivi's birthday is just a day after mine (I was born on Taanit Esther 5735 and she was born on Purim).

Leora has a friend of hers at our house who doesn't speak a word of English (actually, she was proud of the fact that she knew "yes" and "no") and Leora is adjusting and playing really nicely with her. Rivka and Zvi have both had non-English speakers over a couple times and we were very proud of the way they interacted with them but this is Leora's first time. It's amazing how much Hebrew Leora has learned since she switched ganim.

On Shabbos we had my mother-in-law, Danny and his family and Eli. It was our 5th Shabbos in a row with sleepover guests. This Shabbos we are planning to be home to enjoy a nice quiet Shabbos. We love having company but we're looking forward to not having to entertain one time. On Motzei Shabbos, I drove my mother-in-law to the airport. I ended up taking three other people from the neighborhood who were also flying to the States then. All four of them were on different flights but the times were close enough that it was worth it for them all to come with me.

Just another shabbos in the Greenstone home

FIRSTLY HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID. DAVID IS 33 TODAY!!!

This shabbos was the fourth week out of five having sleep-over guests. My friend Faigy Ort (nee Shwartz) and her four children came for shabbos as they had the Fishman Bar Mitzvah. Faigy and I go way back from Camp Heller "Spat"days and our year in Israel (she was in Michlalah and I slept on her floor many nights). The Ort family is also here for a year from Bergenfield although Chesky (the husband) commutes one week a month back to the US. They actually were the inspiration for us coming for a year. One day I was speaking to my friend Hindy. She casually mentioned that Faigy and family were coming to J"M for a year. I quickly hung up the phone and called to David. I said "let's go to Israel for the year" thinking it would take a lot of convincing but he surprised me and said "okay" (he's not a man of many words). So that started the ball rolling for our fabulous year here.

The Ort's ate over Friday night and our kids hit it off. We all went to shul for the Fishman kiddush and the Ort's stayed there for lunch. We went to the Hellersteins and had a very enjoyable lunch with the Shreibers who made aliyah from Florida. Funny thing is is that both the Hellersteins and Shreibers know several of my brothers. They came to the conclusion that the Spodek clan is definitely and eclectic bunch.

Amy's trip to Sderot

My blog posts have gotten so boring that I decided that I had to get a guest to write some of the material. As luck would have it, my sister sent me an email this morning about her trip to Sderot last week. My friend Aryeh has made a couple trips and arranged supplies for the people of Sderot but most of that was before we came to Modiin. We haven't gone to Sderot at all and really haven't done much for them besides occasionally buying challot from their bakery. I figured that I'd share this email so people can learn about ways that they can help.

Every week, the women in my yishuv bake cakes to bring to Sderot (that is, the women who know how to bake, do so). Two local coordinators collect 30-40 cakes, and a box of candies from one of the nursery classes. Two or three cars drive down to Sderot to deliver these cakes to the local residents. I know, bringing cakes to the local Sefardim there is something like bringing coals to Newscastle. More on that later.

As can be expected on Friday mornings, the men are the ones who usually drive down to Sderot to deliver the cakes. However, last week, our local coordinator told us that there was only ONE volunteer to go there. I told her I'd be willing to drive down with another woman. I finished cooking Shabbos by 8 am (it's easy to do this when you're unemployed), and Erick volunteered to tie up all the loose ends. I met up with Smadar, a teacher on sabbatical, and we went to pick up the cakes and the candies.

Driving to Sderot is like driving to a foreign country. As you approach Sha'ar HaNegev, you roll down your windows, so you can hear if the siren goes off. We were also told to unbuckle our seat belts, so we can jump out quickly to grab shelter if there is a need. Fifteen seconds is all you have. Check out this link (there may be some inappropriate scenes there).

Smadar has a daughter, Reut, who lives in Netivot, but teaches English in the local religious high school. She asked us to stop there first. It turns out that the teenagers are the most neglected of the local population. The little kids are popular stops, homes that have been hit by rockets are also hit by visitors, and the elderly also get a certain amount of attention. So, we were happy to stop there. We visited with the principal, who told us that we should be careful to address the children's heroism, and avoid making them feel that they were recipients of zedakah.

We then went into the 12th grade English class, and gave them one of the cakes. The teacher had a list of vocabulary words on the board, so after the principal introduced us, I told the kids that I had come to teach them a few words in English which they had de factor taught us, and I wrote the words "heroism", "admiration", etc. on the board. They were delighted.

Then we went into the 7th grade class. The boys started clapping their hands, and we insisted that we should be applauding them, and not the opposite. We spoke a bit about how proud we were to see them, and how all the kids in our neighborhood learn about these heroes - them. We asked them if they would agree to take the candies, so we and the kids who prepared them could feel part of their bravery. They agreed to take them :-)

By the way, the principal told us what heroes these kids are. One of them lost a leg one year ago, much the same way as Osher Twito did two weeks ago. On Saturday night, he went to the hospital to tell the family that there is hope.

Then, we met up with Shlomit Eckstein, the local coordinator. She told us that she always points visitors to the house that took a hit that week. Upon seeing my surprise, she explained that every week there is a hit. We drove over to the house, and started knocking on the doors in the building. The dialogue basically went, "Hi. We are Smadar and Amy from Nof Ayalon, and we just came to show you our thanks for being in Sderot by bringing you a cake." It turned out that many of the families were from the garin torani, which means that they are there for idelogical reasons a priori.

Some people clearly wanted to talk. We sat with them for a while longer, and really learned a lot about what they are going through. One woman said, "Yes, we have a shelter in our house. But, you cannot live in your house all day. You need to go out, shop, play, talk to people. That's the danger!"

As we walked around, we could smell these savory smells of Friday morning cooking. Like I said, bringing cakes to these people felt almost humiliating, until one woman told us that these cakes are the tastiest that she has ever had, because they come from the heart. I think that even a big bag of popcorn with a nice note would be equally as effective.

My key takeaways:

1. In talking to the local residents, we need to impress upon ourselves and them that we are not giving to them because they are poor or needy. Rather, we are trying to share in their very heroic acts in a way with which we feel comfortable. By taking from us, they are actually giving to us.

2. Write letters to the locals, expressing your appreciation and admiration for them. These letters could be in English (maybe even to Reut's class). You can send candies

3. If you can, visit them.

Shabbos Ima

On Friday Leora was the Shabbos Ima in gan for the first time since she switched ganim. She was very excited for it and enjoyed it a lot. This was in contrast to the time she was Ima in her old gan when she still wasn't thrilled about going despite the fact that she was going to be Ima. Last week, she had a presentation one evening where they sang songs and put on a show for the mothers. Men weren't invited but Shira said that she did really well.

We had to buy something at the shopping center next the bigger kids' school on Friday so we stopped in to say hello. It's nice to see how many friends they each have in school. We also spoke o the principal for a few minutes and he told us that he's impressed with the kids.

Rivka had a friend from her class from Chashmonaim here for Shabbos. Her family also came for the year but they made the decision recently that they're staying and now they're looking to buy a house. My parents and grandmother and her metapelet were also here for Shabbos but we didn't have any other company for the meals. Zvi went to the Neustadters for lunch so it was pretty quiet. On Motzei Shabbos we went to Beit Shemesh for the Shlocker bar mitzvah and my mother babysat.

Man, these blog posts of mine are getting boring. I need to start thinking of ways to make them better. Maybe we just need to actually do something.

Still Got That Eighties Touch

Okay, so you might think I'm pathetic but I LOVE eighties music and boy did I choose the right country to enjoy it. All they ever play on Israeli radio is eighties songs. My exercise classes are mostly to the beat of eighties music. I am just in heaven!!!

When I was younger my mother always told me never to sing on a date because I'd never get married. I think that she was just trying to save me the embarrassment of a bad voice. I was lucky though, because David is tone deaf so nothing sounds good or bad to him. Since David suffers from this "disability" he never could appreciate music. When we got married I would always listen to the radio but he asked me that when we have kids to limit the music. I didn't realize to him all he was hearing was words, not sounds. Well, as time went on and we added children to our family, I forgot about our little agreement. The kids were and have been exposed to some great music. Problem is, is that I think David may have been right. You see, one day I was driving around Modiin with the kids listening to some music on the radio. I wasn't really paying attention to the words, and actually I wasn't really enjoying this particular song either. Suddenly, Rivka turns to me and ask are they saying "do you want a piece of meat?" or "do you want a piece of me?" I burst out laughing but then realized that perhaps David may have been right. Needless to say, the kids went around the whole night singing "Do you want a piece of me".

However, there are some good points to exposing the kids to eighties music. They think they have the super coolest mother in the world. They are just in awe that I know almost every song on the radio and can name that tune after just a beat or two. How many people can say that their 2 year old knows the course to Phil Collins "Billy don't you lose my number"?

One night Rivka and I played a game. She would throw out a word and I had to come up with a song that had that word in it. She thought I made up half the songs, but I really didn't. She still thought that I was cool though.

A Visit With Our Cousins

As mentioned in several blogs we have a lot of family living in Israel. We have mostly talked about our parents, grandparents, siblings and first cousins but we also have a whole bunch of second cousins too. I happen to have two second cousins my age living in Israel. One of them is my cousin Nechama Feintuch Cohen. Over the years we have kept in touch on and off and see each other every once in a while. When Nechama and her husband Yair were engaged they came to spend a shabbos by us in Baltimore. Although Yair only speaks hebrew we really enjoyed getting to know him. When it came time to sign a lease for our rental in Israel, Yair came through for us with his legal advice (he's a lawyer). This Sunday Nechama and her two boys, Hillel and Eitan came to Modiin and were later joined by Yair. We had a very nice time.


Over shabbos Zvi was sick with a fever and vomiting and got to miss two days of school. By the second day off he was really feeling better but David and I were glad we kept him home because he helped watch Yeshaya while we were recovering with whatever Zvi had.

On Friday Rivka and Zvi got their first ever report cards in Israel. They did so amazing and their teachers are so impressed by them. We are so proud of them and can't wait to reward them for their great efforts.

Several months ago we took Leora and Yeshaya for portraits. It is my tradition to take the kids for a yearly portrait around their birthdays. We found a place in Kiryat Sefer that is the closest to JC Penney's prices. The problem was that we ordered pictures according to American standard sizes and not Israeli. They had to custom order everything. Not as easy at it may sound. It took from Novemeber until now for the pictures to be ready but I think it was worth the wait.

Lots of Company

When we lived in St. Louis there was a single guy, Jarod Hershenson there in medical school. Right around the time that we moved to Baltimore, his fiancee, Jessica moved to join him there. They had both completed their second year of medical school. Two years later they graduated and moved to Baltimore where they both did their residencies. After three years there they decided to come to Israel for a year to study before Jarod does his fellowship at Ohio State. So they've been following us around for a while - St. Louis -> Baltimore -> Israel. They're living in Har Nof for the year with their three little kids without a car so it was a real shlep for them to come out to us by bus but they agreed to visit us for a Shabbos. Their oldest just turned four and their youngest is one and a half so their kids are really, really close in age.

Shira's friend Adina Bloomberg also joined us for Shabbos. Friday night, we had the Gelbergs for dinner and two girls who came to us through Anywhere in Israel. Shira's brother, Eli was supposed to come for Shabbos but we knew we didn't have room for him to sleep at our house so the Butels agreed to host him. He canceled around 11 AM on Friday and when I told the Butels Eli had cancelled they told me that their other company also cancelled. Shira realized that she had a ton of food so she called and invited the Butels also. So we ended up with 24 people for dinner on Friday night! Shabbos lunch seemed empty since it was just the Hershensons and Adina with us. We had a great time but it was nice cleaning up on Saturday night and being able to see our white floor again.

Not enough computers

We actually did things this week but we just haven't had the time to blog about them. Shira's computer broke last week which means that I've had to share my computer with her. This takes away from my free time on the computer and limits my ability to blog. It basically makes it impossible for Shira to blog since I'm always anxiously waiting for her to get off. It also means that the kids don't get to use the computer. I really don't like them using my work computer but I let them check email and stuff once in a while. We ordered a new computer to be delivered to Zale's house and Shira's mother is going to bring it to us in a couple weeks. We are all very excited.

Shira's brother, Avi sent some stuff for us with Tikki's aunt so we went to Tel Aviv to meet them on Tuesday. It was a gorgeous day so we walked along the boardwalk with Yeshaya. Shira had been to a milchig restaurant a couple times with Nechama in Tel Aviv and she really wanted to go again but she couldn't remember the name or where it was so we just came back to Modiin for lunch. Then yesterday we went to the Kotel for the first time in almost a month. We didn't have any kids with us and it was another nice day - a little cool in Jerusalem - so we walked from outside Shaar Yafo.

Today Rivka and Zvi have a half day of school. I'm not exactly sure why but when I asked the kids why they didn't seem to care. They're just happy to get out early. They're getting report cards tomorrow for the first time so maybe this is a pre-reportcard reward or maybe it's in honor of the second day of Rosh Chodesh Adar Rishon. Rivka is going to a friend's house straight from school and sleeping there. Maybe one day Rivka will start blogging again and she can write all about it ... maybe on our new computer.

Sunday morning bowling

Once a month the men of Modiin who don't work Sunday mornings get together for bowling. There is a nice bowling alley here and there are a lot of people who don't work Sundays. Some of them are unemployed but most are people who either work in America a couple weeks a month or work American hours in Israel. There are at least 20 people on the email list but I've gone twice now and we got 8 and then 5 guys there. It's a good idea and we have fun. Unfortunately I haven't bowled well either time but it's OK because none of the guys are exactly superstars.

And now for the obligatory Shabbos recap ... we had Shira's cousin Rena and her husband and her cousin on the other side, Malki for the Shabbos. For lunch, Zvi had a friend and Rivka went to a friend and we had the Adderabbi and his family. It was yet another nice Shabbos here.