Chol HaMoed Trip to Chevron

So Abba, Elisheva, Ezra, Grandma Rhoda, Bubby and Grandpa left at around 11:30 AM and took a #11 bus to Chizkiyahu Street. From there we caught the charter bus to Chevron. We just got there as the bus was about to pull away. We couldn't all sit together so Ezra and Elisheva found some new friends to sit with. Elisheva had five or six teenage girls fawning over her and Ezra's neighbor gave him half of his candybar. We arrived at 1:00 PM and headed to the back of the Gutnik building for the children activities.

First was the donkey rides.
The boy leading the donkey was about a year older than Elisheva.

Next the kids each got to paint a small vase of pottery and made an afikomen cover.

They also had a little dress up corner called "tachposhet" (costumes), which was really a box full of cut up rectangles of random covered fabrics. Luckily Elisheva and Ezra thought it was a lot of fun.
Abba told Grandpa, Bubby and Grandma Rhoda to go into the Ma'arat HaMachpayla and I would stay with the kids. The lines were very long. Grandpa came back after about an hour, but Bubby and Grandma Rhoda were nowhere to be found. He figured they would have been here by now because he had davened Mincha inside.

Abba set up home base in the kiddy area hoping the missing party would return there while Grandpa took the kids to buy a treat. Ten minutes later when the kids returned with ice pops and still no sign of the ladies, Abba gave the kids lunch and listened to the concert with them, while Grandpa single handedly organized the search party. The plan was to check back at headquarters with Abba and the kids every ten minutes or so to see if Grandma Rhoda and Bubby had surfaced. The kids were getting a bit antsy -- literally climbing the walls.

Finally, Grandma Rhoda and Bubby showed up and then all we had to do is wait for Grandpa to come back from his last patrol. We all finished up the rest of the food we had taken with us and walked back to the parking lot and headed for our bus home.

Elazar's first Pesach

So Elazar wasn't exactly able to "spit out" the Mah Nishtanah, but he did play the "Sh'ayno Yodaya L'shoel". Ezra was a little shy and said it quietly with Ema. Elisheva was ready for Broadway. She stood up on her chair and belted it out.

For Seder we had the Gersten Family, Bubby and Grandpa; Grandma Rhoda, Cousin Eli and Moshe and Ari Schaffer from Teaneck, NY. Moshe is a student at Derech Etz Chaim and his brother was visiting for Pesach.

We got a late start, but we were able to get the afikomen in before 12:37 AM (Halachic Chatzot Israel Standard Time). We were only able to get pictures of the Second Seder (of the Diaspora) starring Grandpa, Bubby and Grandma Rhoda. Happy Passover and Chag Pesach Kasher V'Samayach

Ezra's Birthday & וואך נאכט

On Wednesday night we celebrated Ezra's 4th birthday party (5th of Nissan) at the house. We invited about a dozen of his friends from the neighborhood, but about two dozen showed up. Ema only made 15 cupcakes so we had cut each one in half so there would be enough.

The good news is that we had quite a choir for Shema Yisrael & HaMalach HaGoel for the new baby. Abba stayed up and learned Torah with the baby until he fell asleep. We will hopefully post pictures of the bris shortly

Shalom Zachor in Tzfat

While Ema was resting at Sha'arei Tzedek over Shabbos, Abba took the kids up to Tzfat with Derech Etz Chaim for the Shalom Zachor. We took an Egged Bus from Jerusalem and the kids did pretty well on the 3 1/2 hour trip (We took the back row and each one got the corner window seat)



We stopped off at a rest stop in Afula and the kids were thankfully able to use the bathroom. There was a beautiful field that was lying fallow because of Shmittah so we snapped a picture

We got to the hotel about 4:30 PM after walking from the Tzfat Central Bus Station. We stayed at the Carmel Hotel and roomed with Uncle Josh in Room #7

On Friday we walked down Rechov Yerushalayim in Tzfat and bought some chickpeas for the Shalom Zachor and ice pops for the kids. We got showered and changed for Shabbos and took some pictures around the hotel.

Abba took the kids to Mincha at the Chernobyl shul, but during kabbalat shabbos they wanted to go back to the hotel and luckily I caught Maariv at Kosov. The Shalom Zachor was very nice and it was nice to have the ruach of the yeshiva and all of the rebbeim. Shabbos Day Abba davened at the early minyan and was able to come back before the kids woke up with Uncle Joshua.

After lunch we went to the highest point in Tzfat (The Fortress) and we could see the Kinneret to the South and Meron to the West and what a gorgeous view. Then we went to the park and played with Rabbi Binyamin Wolff's children. After Seudat Shlishit, Maariv and Havdallah we packed up and came home on the Yeshiva bus.

Sorry we don't have any pictures of Shabbos, but we took this cute one on the bus as we pulled out of Tzfat

Birth Announcement

At 2:54 AM on Thursday Morning April 3rd, 2008 a boy was born to Fay and Betzalel Gersten at Sha'arei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem Israel. 3.616 Kilos (8 pounds) . We would have taken more pictures but the camera batteries expired.

Ima is doing well and will be at the hospital through Motzai Shabbos. Visiting hours on Thursday are 4 - 7 PM. She can also be reached on her cell phone at 011-972-54-310-2916. We wanted to thank Joshua for sleeping on the couch and babysitting for proud siblings Elisheva and Ezra.

Happy Birthday Savta !!!!!!!!!