Chanukah Family Get Together in Englewood, New Jersey

Thanks to George and Barbara for making the efforts to put this family event together. We would have like to have been there, but we just were not able to make the trip. I hope everyone there understands. Hopefully, we look forward to future family Simchas and get-together opportunities on either side of the pond.

Just a reminder that Elisheva's Bas Mitzvah will be the weekend after Tisha B'Av 2014...

Beyond Mitzpeh

The kids had vacation over Chanukah, so one afternoon Ima told Noam and Elazar, "Abba's taking you guys on a walk" -- and so it was.

We left about 1:30, the weather is nice right now, not to cold, not to hot, overcast but no chance of rain. Mincha was 4:15 and sundown around 4:40 so plenty of time for a nice walk out in the desert beyond Mispeh

We have been to the deserted army base right past the catering hall a number of times, but this time we decided to see what was beyond the army base...

You can't really tell from here, but this is the roof of the army base. You can see the barren artilerary holders and the T shaped vent 

The first thing we found was a simple triangular structure which someone obviously uses to sleep in. 

You can see that there is a sink with running water coming from somewhere. There is only a recently slept in bed inside with some personal items and a little rug, no other furniture and no one around. You can also see the smily face and the worlds כהנא צדק! "Kahana was right" written on the side. Political commentary is beyond the scope of this blog, but I thought I would point it out

Next we found the home of Elchanan and Moriah Entabi with two Chanukah Menorahs, one by the door and one on the side window. This one room structure made of chipboard had windows, potted plants outside and it seems like this couple actually lives here around the year. A great view, low prices and no noisy or annoying neighbors...

Front door facing South with the couple's name on the door and Menorah right outside opposite the Mezuzah

You can see on the right hand side a water/sewage pipe as well as a another pipe for the air conditioner condensation to drip out

What house is complete without landscaping. This is the side of the house with a window view facing East toward Jordan

They seem to have a courtyard on the Western side of their house. The sign says ה' הוא המלך which means Hashem is the King

Back of the house facing North . Not sure what all the old tires are for....

Abba also demonstrated how dangerous it was to get to close to the edge of the trails, by rolling one of the tires off to the side and watching it accelerate and bounce off of rocks while it rolled down the steep slope. I think the kids misunderstood the point I was making, because they thought it was cool and wanted to roll more tires down the desert dunes.

There was still more path beyond the Entabi's house so we kept on walking. On the way we past the following which looks like another outpost that was either dismantled or possibly destoyed. The wood also looks like it has been burnt. There was other large pieces of chipboard and other building materials

 

When we got to the end of the trail we ate our snacks and drank our water and took a few pictures. We could have continued walking, but it didn't seem to be a real trail, more like a footpath and it was much to steep and narrow for Noam, although I still had telephone reception out here. These pictures are all facing East with Jordan in the back and the city of Yericho to the left side of the picture beyond the desert. We took one regular picture...

one serious picture...

and one silly picture

We also took this picture behind us (westward) so you could see how much further it was (about a 7-10 minute walk). You can see the Army Base to the right of center on the hilltop, and the home of the Entabi family is that little rectangle down the hill to the left.

This picture is to the North. You can see the Givah, which is another "outpost" section of Mitzpeh Yericho, but at least it has a single lane paved road and caravans with about 30 families or so and one shul. The walk would be at least 40 minutes from where we were walking back around through the Yishuv

It drizzled for a minute or two on the way back and Abba caught a glimpse of a rainbow and shared it with Noam and Elazar

Zaidy's Visit

Zaidy made Aliyah back in Succos and came for Shabbos Chol HaMoed with David and Gail. He has been living with Aunt Rochelle and Uncle Stefan in Yerushalayim for now.

This weekend we were able to have Zaidy visit. Abba took him home after Yeshiva on Thursday and brought him back on Monday morning

Zaidy enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Mitzpeh, including taking Tali for walks in her carriage and davening nearby at Yagel Yaakov. Zaidy, Abba, Ima and Tali went to the Mehadrin Cafe Cafe in Almog on Sunday morning while the kids were in school, and Zaidy took the kids to the Makolet on Sunday afternoon after school for ice cream.

Here are some videos of Zaidy playing soccer with Noam and Tali and just having fun in general on Sunday afternoon

Zaidy thought the November weather at Mitzpeh was even nicer than Florida. We hope to spend the weekend with him again before he returns to the states for Racheli Sigal's Bas Mitzvah in December

Abba's trip to Baltimore

Before we left, we actually had the chance to be Menachem Avel by the family of Rav Ovadiah Yosef zt"l. The Rebbe was actually able to get us to be the first ones to be Menachem Avel and from there we headed straight for the airport. I snapped this shot opposite the media gallery and inadvertently ended up in a lot of the newspapers on the other end of this shot

The first half of this trip was in New York and New Jersey. Spent time with Saba on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Wednesday night we were in Teaneck and saw Bubby & Grandpa who came from Elizabeth; Uncle Bentzy (the Nagel's live in Teaneck) and Gail and David (who have also been living during the week in Teaneck since Racheli started Frisch). I also saw Judah who came over the few blocks from Bergenfield as well as Avrumki Allen, an old friend from YSMZ, who comes from Melbourne, Australia, but has been living in Englewood for the past 10+ years.

Thursday through Monday we were based in Passaic and visited a bunch of schools. Since Grandma Toby lived about a half mile from where I was staying, I came by on Friday and did the best I could do, which lasted about 45 minutes

On Tuesday morning we visited Yavneh Academy where Binyamin is in the eighth grade. I was able to convince Hershel, a former Gabbi of the Rebbe who lives in Brooklyn, to join us in New Jersey to free me up for the rest of the day, as after Yavneh the Rebbe had a wedding in Boro Park that night and Hershel would accompnay him for the rest of the day.
So after lunch I headed to Elizabeth to pick up the 2 suitcases for Ima, and after trying on a bunch of Uncle Shlomo's suits that didn't fit, Bubby convinced me to go shopping with her on Route 22 and we found 2 suits which Bubby took with her to hem herself and bring with her when she visits with Grandpa for Chanukah.
From Elizabeth I went to Flatbush for Mincha and spent time with Grandma Rhoda, before having dinner at the Jacobs and catching Maariv. Then I headed to Queens to visit Aunt Dina, Uncle Zach and Cooper. Aunt Lisa was also supposed to meet us there, but she had to cancel. Saba texted me that if I wanted to come to visit him that night to see him again I could BUT THERE WAS NO PRESSURE TO DO SO (sic), so I spent the night in Great Neck.

Wendesday morning I went from Great Neck to Flatbush to pick up the Rebbe, back to Little Neck to visit Yeshiva Har Torah, and back to Flatbush to finish some unfinished business. So between Tuesday and Wednesday I went back and forth on the Jackie Robinson Parkway a bunch of times. I thought of mom each time I passed, but couldn't find the time to visit on this trip. From Flatbush we drove to Baltimore via Lakewood to pick up some Sefarim at IsraelBookShop

Thursday morning we were at TA Baltimore where Oshy and Sunny Blashka go to school. That is me hiding behind the Rebbe, with my hand on his back pointing out that this is Grandpa's grandson Oshy.

 On Thursday afternoon I also found time to drop by their home which was a half-mile from where we were staying. I was able to spend some time with David and the rest of the family (although Raizy was working) over some local pizza. Even Mr. Vayes was there.

Friday afternoon, while the Rebbe was resting I finally got to visit Avigdor and his family on Yeshiva Lane, it was about a 15 minute drive from our side of Baltimore. R.T. seemed to avoid me but the other kids were friendly. Avigdor and I took the younger four kids to the playground while Tamara got things ready for Shabbos. Here is Ephrayim on his bicycle

I should have taken more photos but I was too busy enjoying my limited time with Avigdor and his kids on the beautiful Ner Yisroel campus. Although it's my fault that Akiva got some soap in his eyes during bath time, overall I must applaud myself that I caused minimal damage on Aunt Tamara's household.

Motzai Shabbos Avigdor came to the Melaveh Malka at the Baltimore Community Kollel and we spent most of the time analyzing the halachic sources of Melaveh Malka to justify us being there in the first place

Sunday late morning Avigdor had to do carpool, so he dropped of Dovi at the Hachnasas Sefer Torah on our side of town and after dancing with the Torah and showing Dovi my Israeli coins, I drove him back to Yeshiva Lane and spent some more time with the kids before I had to return to the Rebbe in the early afternoon

Sunday afternoon we saw David and his three oldest boys who skipped out on the local Uncle Moishe concert and came to the Rebbe for a bracha.

Avigdor came back on Sunday evening to keep me company while I managed the Rebbe's appointments in the backyard shul. We said our goodbyes looking forward to June, when a family wedding should bring us back together again...

The Weiss's visit over Succos

We finally got some good pictures from Aunt Gail's iPhone to share on the blog so here is the recap of the visit

Gail, David, Racheli and Zeidy came to Eretz Yisroel for Succos. (Zeidy is actually making Aliyah). They joined us for Shabbos Chol HaMoed Succos.

On Friday we headed to Ein Mabua, which is one of our family nature spots near Mitzpeh Yericho. Ima and Zeidy stayed behind to get us ready for Shabbos and the rest of us dressed for a water hike and came in two cars (even Tali came)

We somehow managed to fit everyone in the house for sleeping and for meals in the Sukkah. Racheli, Elazar and Ezra took turns not feeling well and that extra space in the Sukkah made a big difference. Over Shabbos we davened mostly at Yagel Yaakov as it was nearby for Zeidy, but on Friday night Zeidy made the walk up the big hill to the main shul to get a better feel of the people from the older neighborhood as well as to see the lookout over Jericho after davening. Uncle David entertained Elisheva and Ezra with jokes and riddles for much of Shabbos

On Sunday, Gail, David and Racheli took Elisheva to Ein Gedi, while the rest of us cleaned up from Shabbos and hosted the Zeevi's that afternoon for lunch in the Sukkah. Ask Gail for pictures of that (she took quite a few), especially her prized video of the walking crab.

We said our goodbyes on early Sunday evening when they returned back and we didn't think we would see them again, but then late on Sunday night, we were invited to join Eli at his sheep farm in Shilo for a barbecue. Rochelle took Eli, Zeidy and Gail in one car, and David and I drove the two other cars to Shilo. We also met David's brother Alvin along with other cousins from David's side. It was beautiful countryside that I would probably never otherwise see. The land looks like it hadn't been touched since it was conquered by Yehoshua, except of course for the modern sheep pen...

There was also a horse there and the kids were treated to horse rides. The wind started picking up in the late afternoon, when the sheep went on their twice a day grazing, and everyone tried to find whatever shelter they could from the wind. The one-bedroom house where one of the workers lives was not big enough for the thirty people who showed up for the barbecue so we took turns eating in the small Sukkah and sitting in the small house out of the wind. It was certainly a new experience for the entire family, to be in Shiloh and to see a community like that and I'm glad we went.

Pictures from September

In the City

Elazar waiting in the train station at Machneh Yehudah with the Lulav we just bought for the kids

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At the Park

Tali comes through the Tunnel

Tali ready to go down the slide

and then up the slide again

Swings are fun too

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Chol HaMoed Succos we went to a festival in Maaleh Adumim with rides for the Kids

Elazar on the swings with Tali in front

Noam on the Choo Choo Train

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Tali and Noam in Sunglasses

This blog has made my kids so famous that they started insisting on wearing shades whenever we go out in order to stay out of the limelight

Abba's trip to Johannesburg

I thought one of the most interesting parts of the trip to Johannesburg was the stopover in Ethiopia. We took Ethiopian airlines and the new Dreamliner 787, the flight comfortable with a lot of bells and whistles even in coach.

We arrived in Ethiopia a little after sunrise

The airport was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. It seemed that no planes taxi-ed up to the terminal, but left you off on the tarmac and passengers took buses back and forth

Separate prayer booths for men and women right next to the bathrooms

These lounge chairs were all over the airport, with lots of people going around without shoes

Johannesburg itself was also very interesting. We were mostly in the Glenhazel area, where there were a lot more shuls than I expected and all in very close proximity. The dozen or so shuls that we visited were all Nusach Ashkenaz (it was hard to find a Nusach Sefard siddur in any shul). There was no trace of Conservative or Reform shuls anywhere in Glenhazel

In Johannesburg they drive on the left side of the road, and the cars have the steering wheel on the right hand side, just like England, so we opted for a driver on this trip and here is a picture of our driver Clement

Clement our Driver

The trip was in August, but that is winter time in South Africa. Many of the locals were wearing coats and winter hats, but coming from Israel, we found the weather to be quite pleasant

We visited Yeshiva College on Thursday, the Johannesburg Cheder on Friday, and the Ohr Somayach schools on Monday.

Feeding the birds the leftover Challah on Friday after school

That's some playground at the elementary school with cargo nets and Tarzan vines

It was also a pleasure to meet a close friend of Rav Romm, Rabbi Avraham Tanzer, who has been one of the driving forces of Yiddishkeit in Johannesburg for over 50 years. Rav Romm himself was a student at Yeshiva College under Rabbi Tanzer many years ago.

Before I left, people were warning me about the security in Johannesburg. You could see from the way every home, school and shul, were gated and guarded that security was a major concern to the residents. B"H while I was there, there were no incidents. Even though it seemed excessive, I followed the safety precautions given to me by the residents. They explained that although crime in Glenhazel was down over 95% since the main private security organizations G.A.P. has established their presence in Glenhazel, it was still a good idea, for example, not to walk alone on the public sidewalks, even during the day, but rather drive to and from all locations.

On the day we left, we ran into some old Great Neck residents, Lanny Oppenheim, Charlie Goldberg, Irv Golumbeck, Michael Frank and David Kalish, who happened to be davening at the same minyan at Yeshiva Maharsha that we were.

Our trip to Ein Mabua

On the advice of our neighbor ('Old Man' Guttman) who is a tour guide, we decided to head to Ein Mabua, which is actually closer to us than Einot Tzukim. Abba took Elazar, Noam and Tzuriel Guttman along

Unlike Einot Tzukim where you need membership or pay an entrance fee, Ein Mabua is open to the public, so it is a little more crowded any less family friendly. But, Ein Mabua is also kept nice and clean all the same.

In addition, you have the added dimension of a water hike down the stream, instead of just a wading pool, whereas the hike at Einot Tzukim is a nature reserve without water and more instruction about the wildlife. Here the stream is perfect for Elazar and Noam, as the depth of the water is generally up to the knee, and only sometimes coming up to my chest, so the kids are fine managing on their own.  There are tons of fish throughout the stream which the kids love "trying to catch". 

The stream is deep down in the ravine, well shaded and with a lot of trees and greenery. It is actually quite amazing that such a place even exists, and you would never think it, traveling through the desert to get there.

The trail inside and alongside the stream is the right level of challenge for the kids, and they stay wet and cool the entire time.

There are great places to stop along the way to rest, play, take pictures