Trip to the Zoo

So normally on a blog entitled "Trip to the Zoo", you would expect to find some pictures of the kids, maybe posing with some animals, you know, something like that. Actually, you can search for Elisheva in 'Where's Waldo' style in the above picture (She is wearing the pink outfit)

Anyway, the above picture I snapped at the zoo was taken at 3:45 PM on the sixth day of Chanukah. It's a picture of a mincha minyan. I would say about thirty people (I couldn't fit everyone in the picture) at a random time, since sundown wasn't until 4:45 or so. The mincha was not announced on the loudspeaker or anything -- it just spontaneously generated.

And I'm sure this was not the only mincha minyan that day, in fact right after ours ended another one was trying to get started. There also could have been other locations in the zoo where mincha minyanim could have taken place. It's true that their were hundreds if not thousands of people at the zoo. It's not hard to find a minyan. But that is exactly the point.

Then there was IKEA. Fay and I took the kids to IKEA in Netanya over Pesach to buy some new furniture for our new apartment. IKEA built a special room just as a synagouge. It has all the furniture of a real shul (I'm sure IKEA didn't make any of this stuff) aron, parochet, bima, amud, sefarim in bookcases (maybe IKEA made the bookcases), pews with comfortable seats and with wooden boxes in front that fold out into shtenders. The 2:00 PM mincha I went to easily had 50 people including half a dozen employees wearing IKEA shirts.

The simple point is this is Eretz Yisrael and only in Eretz Yisrael. Yes, I have been to mincha at Eichlers in midtown Manhattan, but nothing compares to this -- not even close.

Okay, fine, I'll throw in one picture of the standing bears for you. Enjoy!

Happy Chanukah

Turn around... Take a spin...Because Chanukah is here.

Light the candles...

...L'Ha'dleek Ner Shel Chanukah...Sh'Asah Nissim La'Avoteynu B'Yamim Ha'Haym B'Zman Ha'Zeh

Ha'Nayrot Ha'Lalu Anachnu Madlikin...

Maoz Tzur Yeshuati....

B'Sha'ah Tova

Fay just went for her 5 month ultrasound and this is the first picture we have of the baby. Baruch Hashem everything is normal and all is well. So Fay and I disagree about who the baby looks the most like. Anyway, you can judge for yourself. By the way if you have never seen this pictures before and can't make it out that's the baby's head and face to the right hand side and the torso from right to left.

Surprise Visit from Uncle David

On the spur of the moment Uncle David just decided to pick up and come visit cousin Eli in Eretz Yisrael. He should inspire us all to just pick up and come. Hopefully, he'll get a chance to stay longer next visit, and each subsequent visit and then...........

We are sorry that we didn't get a picture of Uncle David in Israel. It's not because he was only here a short time, (we actually enjoyed a Melave Malka on Motzai Shabbos with pizza and herbal tea at our apartment in Har Nof) but the batteries for our camera were dead. Hopefully, Uncle David will send us a picture soon.

Welcome Pinchas Dov

Saba and Savta looking like real professional grandparents with Pinchas Dov Gersten - the newest edition of the Baltimore Gersten contingency. Mazel Tov to proud parents Uncle Avigdor and Aunt Tamara. (Photo and e-mail credits to Faigy Muroff)



Rivka Temima and Ephraim Yoel are all smiles posing with their younger brother (Yes!!!! Now we have someone else to blame when Mommy and Tatti find crayon scribbles on the wall)

Dina's Wedding

So we didn't leave the house until after noon and we wanted to visit Aunt Frimmet in Far Rockaway before we had to be back at the hall in Atlantic Beach for pictures. So of course we are having a great time at Aunt Frimmet and stay too long and get to the Sands a little after 2:15. Feeling guilty that we are fifteen minutes late we enter to find as usual that we are one of the first relatives there.


But it was good to get a chance to spend time with our relatives (as they arrived) while we waited for pictures.



Finally, around 3:30 we were all ready to take the family picture



Ezra and Elisheva have been talking about walking down the aisle as the flower girl and escort with cousin Racheli for weeks before the wedding. When the moment had arrived, they looked great and were in good shape until they got to beginning the aisle. But then.......



Apparently no one had told Elisheva to drop one petal at a time as she walked down the aisle, so......she basically dumped all of the flowers out of the basket at the beginning of the aisle and when she ran out - wasn't exactly sure what to do. So the kids just kind of froze with everyone motioning for them to go down the aisle.

It was a lovely simcha and we hope Zach and Dina enjoyed their day and have a happy life together

Our Visit to America

We arrived Sunday afternoon October 7th and headed directly for Great Neck. After some bagels we went with Saba, Uncle Joshua, Aunt Lisa, Racheli and Sara to Allenwood Park
Afterwhich Ezra promply fell off the monkey bars and we ended up in the North Shore University Hospital emergency room for the duration of the night. Diagnosis: buckle fracture of the wrist. He would be in splint until he could see the doctor on Tuesday morning, afterwhich he received his glow-in-the-dark cast for about 3-4 weeks.

Monday Columbus day, Savta took us to the "Harvest Festival" on the Village Green of Great Neck. We basically took turns holding on to our place in line for the pony rides.



An hour and a half wait for a 30 second lap on the back of a equine hyperlipemia. Savta capped off the day by treating us to Lunch at King Kosher Pizza

Tuesday was Ezra's doctor visit and a shopping day at Payless Shoe Store, Old Navy and an indoor merry-go-round for the kids. Wednesday we traveled to Elizabeth via Brooklyn and stopped off at Grandma Rhoda for Lunch/Dinner on Ocean Parkway in Flatbush



Then on to Manhattan Beach for Dinner #2 with Gail, David, Racheli and Yoni before arriving at Princeton Road a little after 9 PM

Thursday and Friday we spent with Grandpa, Bubby; uncles Shlomo, Yudi, Avi; as well as Uncle Bentzy, Aunt Michelle, Akiva and Ella. Naturally, we did a lot of shopping and Elisheva got her long awaited earings when Abba wasn't around.



For Shabbos, Abba went to the Ufruf in Englewood and Ima and the kids stayed in Elizabeth with the gang. We met back in Elizabeth for Chinese food and to discuss Uncle Avi's future before heading back to Great Neck to get a good night sleep before the wedding.

What We Did Over Sukkot Vacation

Here is a picture of Elisheva and Ezra coloring in the Laskey Family Sukkah in the Sharei Chesed /Rechavia neighborhood

Other things we did during chofesh
1st day of Sukkot we had Ari Leskowitz and Moshe Schaffer for Dinner

1st day of Chol HaMoed we went to the bris of Uriel Tzvi Gabler (son of Benjy and Penina Gabler). The bris was in the sukkah of the Orenstein family of Elazar. The last time we were there was for Benjy's Ufruf (how time flies)

Shabbos Chol HaMoed we hosted Avraham Wernick and Simcha Feldman in our "little sukkah" for Dinner, which both Elisheva and Ezra decorated nicely with school projects and paper chains

Sunday Chol HaMoed we went to the Annual Sukkos Event at the Stark family succah with a Magician and concert with Shlomo Katz. Plenty of Pizza and Ice Cream for the kids. On a full stomach we went next to the Somogyi Family for a barbque at her Sukkah with Joshua, Eli and Michael & Elle

Monday was a rest day so the kids just spent time at the park. Tuesday we went to the Laskey sukkah and we almost went to Ramot to Yehudah Katz's sukkah, but the parade in downtown Jerusalem slowed us down a little bit and traffic made getting to Ramot difficult.

Simchas Torah was spent with Derech Etz Chaim and the kids had a great time

Happy New Year - 5768

We want to wish you all a Shana Tovah U'Metukah Tichateivu V'tichateimu -- Our sincere blessings for a sweet and happy new year.

Ezra made a nice Rosh HaShana project that he is proudly displaying dressed for Yom Tov.

Back to School

Elisheva and Ezra headed back to school.

Elisheva started her year at Gan Chovah at Morah Penina across the street from the Pizza place and around the corner from Abba's yeshiva of Derech Etz Chaim. Elisheva gives Abba a report of all the yeshiva boys who went to the makolet during morning seder. She is becoming good friends with Tova Spitzer and they walk together to Gan almost every morning (if we get out on time)

Ezra began his Beis Yaakov Gan underneath the Boston Shul, having graduated from Morah Chanie's playgroup. Baruch Hashem, Ezra already knows a dozen or so friends from the neighborhood in his new Gan. Abba walks with him every morning and Ezra can push the door buzzer all by himself

What we did this summer

Well first we went to the zoo. Here is Elisheva feeding the animals and Ezra keeping his distance.

Next we went boating at Gan Yehoshua in Tel Aviv.

Oh yeah, don't forget the horsey rides at Chavot Beit HaYa'ar

Summer Days

This is what the kids look like after a long day of playing in the sun. Flush cheeks and shivitzy - ready for a bath before winding down to sleep. Temperatures are the same everyday here in Israel 90 degrees with plenty of sunshine. Ima makes sure the kids have sunblock (Thanks Aunt Merril) and plenty of water to drink.

Elisheva's First Bicycle

Check out Elisheva on her new bicycle. Elisheva would like to thank Bubby and Grandpa for making a sizable donation to the Elisheva Leah Gersten Bicycle Fund. Ima was smart to get a neutral color like green so that Ezra would be able to ride it also. "My bicycle is very fun to play with", Elisheva said. "I especially like ringing the bell when I ride down the sidewalk".

Congratulations to the Graduates

Congratulations to Joshua, Jessica and Avi on their high school graduations. My, how fast everyone seems to be growing up. Hope to see you all in Israel next year.

Welcome Zeidy and Dina

Zeidy and Margaret stopped by our home on Monday Night, May 21st for some coffee and dessert. They were in Israel for about a week. They spent some time up North visiting relatives and spent Shavuos with Eli Weiss and the Somogyis in Yerushalayim.



Aunt Dina was also here with her fiancee and their entourage to celebrate Benjamin Eidman's bar-mitzvah on Thursday morning May 24th. We were invited to the Bar Mitzvah in Old City under Robinson's arch in the Davidson Southern Excavation Center, followed by lunch at the Ticho House in Downtown Yerushlayaim. Fay and the kids also visited Dina at the Mount Zion Hotel on Friday, which involved some swimming for Elisheva and Ezra. Uncle Eliezer, Aunt Batsheva and cousin Esti also came by.

Jessica Comes for Shabbos

The Gersten's welcome cousin Jessica Felber for Shabbos. She was here for over a month with her school visiting and touring Israel. She gets to spend her last Shabbos here in Israel with us and we are thrilled to have the honor. Jessica will be flying out Sunday back to San Diego. We hope to see her back in Har Nof IY"H next year when she spends next year here at seminary.
We apologize that Ezra had to scratch his eye precisely when the picture was taken and we didn't have a better one. However that is a cute picture of Ezra and Elisheva on the wallpaper of the computer - don't you think???

A New World Record

Elisheva Leah Gersten has just broke the new world record for vertical stacking of Jenga blocks end to end with 11. Witnesses did claim that Elisheva actually had stacked 12 blocks before Abba returned home from Maariv on Motzai Shabbos, but a photograph to verify the event was unattainable.

Elisheva challenges any of her cousins (or their parents) to beat her verticle stack of eleven free standing blocks and send a picture or video to her. Elisheva is also planning to write a book about techniques and strategies in block stacking. She is only waiting for Abba, Ima or her Morah to teach her how to write. But she is available for consulting and private tutoring sessions at affordable hourly rates.

Tzippy Weiss's Engagement

Mazel Tov to Tzippy and Andrew who are officially engaged (based upon Facebook, Uncle David's emails and personal verification by Tzippy herself). We wish Tzippy the best of luck, b'sha'ah tova u'mutzlachat. Here is a picture of Ima and Elisheva with Tzippy when she was here in January 2005 attending Liana Myers's wedding at the Inbal Hotel in Jerusalem.

Mazel Tov Dina - Get Well Mom

We are all happy to hear how much better Savta is feeling. Our tefillot for a refuah shalayma are still with Ima Morati, Henya bat Tobah.

We would also like to wish Dina a happy birthday (who turned 23 this Shabbos). She has booked her wedding at The Sands in Atlantic Beach for October 14, 2007. Mazel Tov to Dina and Zack. Fay, Ezra, Elisheva and I hope to fly in for the occassion and see all of the relatives then.

This is a picture from last summer when Savta and Dina spent some time with us while visiting for Michael Somogyi's wedding. The picture was taken at the Gan Ovadiah in Har Nof (the park near us) which is currently under construction.

Eli Weiss visits over Pesach

Eli Weiss was our guest for the first night of Pesach at the seder and again for the last days of Pesach. As always the kids enjoyed having Eli to play with and wish he could live with us instead of going back to yeshiva. Eli still has yet to win a game of Sequence for Kids against Elisheva. We always love spending time with Eli and hope to see him a lot more next year when he stays Shana Bet