Tiyul to Einot Tzookim on Shushan Purim

The day after Purim, known as Shushan Purim to the rest of the world, was renamed by Ima as "Clean Up from Purim Day". And Ima promised if the kids were good and helped clean up that Abba would take them swimming at Einot Tzookim. Hooray!!!

So a little after 12:30 we were all in our bathing suits, shmeared with sunblock, packed and ready to go, minus of course Tali and Ima, as the car only holds five people. I guess Ima and Tali will just have to stay home and nap...

We got to Einot Tzookim just before 1 PM. The guard at the cashier booth told us there was a guided nature hike starting in a few minutes. Even though all four kids wanted to go straight to swimming, Abba overruled them with his veto power and the three older kids reluctantly came along (Noam didn't complain. He thought the tour guide was taking us to the pool - Abba might have said something to that effect).

As usual, after complaining a little bit, the kids actually enjoyed the nature walk. What do you know?!

 

The tour guide took us to a part of the nature reserve that is off limits to everyone who is not on the guided tour. These were areas that only 10-15 years ago had many natural streams that led to the Dead Sea but have since dried up. You weren't allowed to eat on the nature walk. Only drinking was allowed when we would stop along the way to sit and the tour guide would explain the ecosystem for ten minutes. Abba quickly learned to trail behind the group and sneak food to the kids when the tour guide wasn't looking.

Here is a picture of the kids by what is left of a large pond.

We are not really sure why this tower was in the middle of nowhere

Of course there was plenty of time for swimming. After a nice long nature walk the kids enjoyed cooling off in the pools of Einot Tzookim even more, just as Abba had planned. We finished the fruits and vegetables Ima had packed and then walked back to the car to get the towels and water toys.

Even though Elazar could stand and the water was basically up to his waist he still insisted on taking the floater arms and the swimming tube around his waist

Noam spent most of his time with Elisheva, since Elazar had all the floaties. Noam could actually stand also, but it did come up to his neck, and the floor was slick.

Ezra practiced his swimming even though Abba didn't take any video and needed a special invitation out of the pool when it was time to close up a 3:45 PM

Another fun outing for the Gersten children with Abba, while Ima and Tali got to take the day off. Of course upon leaving the camp grounds the kids felt they deserved something from the concession stand for being such good kids. (They purposely put the concession stand right by the exit, just like at the supermarket  There should be a law against that.) But as usual, Abba didn't give in to the pressure and made up an excuse like, "I'm sure Ima made us a nice dinner and we don't want to fill up on nosh. Besides, there are plenty of Shalach Manos to last us until Pesach".

Elazar's Sefer Beraishis Gan Party

Ima went to Elazar's Gan Party for the finishing of Sefer Beraishis and made Aleph Bet cookies for the whole class. Tali kept herself busy as well during the performance. She has become quite a bookworm recently...

I really shlepped back a car...

I guess it was hard on Ima to only have one family car so she had me shlep this back. At least this one is fuel efficient...

Abba's January Trip - Part II

Tuesday morning we didn't have to be in Passaic until almost 10 AM. So we went to an 8 AM Shacharis by Frankel. I felt if we left by 9 AM we would have plenty of time. Google maps said it would only take 45 minutes via the Lincoln Tunnel. I should have known better. I got as far as Ocean and Foster when I caught a glimpse of the Rebbe's Tefillin in my rear-view, and it hit me that I didn't recall putting my Tefillin bag in my knapsack. So after retrieving my Tefillin we were ten minutes behind schedule instead of five minutes ahead of schedule. But I still had 50 minutes to make it to Passaic. BQE was a mess, but I expected that. What I wasn't ready for was how hard it was going to be to get to the entrance to the Lincoln tunnel. It always amazes me how no one is actually in the tunnel. Once you are in the tunnel you can go as fast as you dare in that narrow lane with those baton-like lane dividers. The problem is that all the people stuck in traffic on the roads with the tunnel entrances don't want to give up one inch to let you get to the tunnel entrance, and the lights are green, but you are not going anywhere, and there are no cops to help direct traffic to help people get to the tunnels. You would think the cops would have a field day handing out tickets to all the cars blocking traffic, but I guess they have better things to do. We got to Passaic Avenue only a few minutes after 10 AM. Judah Gross took the Rebbe in while I parked and took in the Sefarim.

After meeting with groups of students as well as individual students in Rabbi Leiman's office we had some Chinese for lunch and headed to Yeshivat Noam in Paramas. It was nice to see Tavi and Alex. I even saw some of Fay's friends Malkie and Ilana, all were staff at Noam. I kept calling it Ezra Academy instead of Yeshivat Noam the entire trip, and only people who knew my kids names and that I'm from New York understood why. While the Rebbe was giving a Gemara Shiur to the top 8th grade class, I had 25 minutes to run up to the Container Store and back to Noam before dismissal, just the challenges I enjoy so much at Rush Hour on Route 17 in New Jersey so I can show Ima how much I care from so far away. We caught Mincha at Noam and Maariv at Ahavas Torah in Englewood where the Rebbe spoke after Maariv. Rabbi Goldin gave the Rebbe and I a tour of the new facility. Then we stopped by to visit Dina, who is living at her in-laws a few blocks from the shul. The Rebbe took a long nap, while I spent quality time with Dina and Zack as Cooper went to sleep early. Unfortunately, Steve was there too. I'm a big believer that dogs should only have names like Spot or Snoopy and not real names like Steve. Certainly, I think something is wrong when you name your son Cooper and your dog Steve, but that's just me. We made it back to Elizabeth by 10:00 PM  but I couldn't figure out where Buchsbaum was, it didn't occur to me that the street numbers would ascend against the one-way direction of the street. Dinner was waiting for us in the fridge and I nuked some for the Rebbe and myself. After making a few phone calls, I tracked down the men's Mikvah on the other side of town. At first the Rabbi who runs the Mikvah barked into the phone, "do you know what time it is?", but once he found out that I was calling for the Rebbe about the Mikvah he said, "if it is regarding the Mikvah you can call me anytime". Couldn't figure out how to use the shower at Buchsbaum, so I let myself into Bubby and Grandpa's house down the block and showered there, checked some e-mail and let myself out.

Wednesday morning we drove to the Mikvah. The night before the Rabbi assured me it would be open, but it wasn't. First the Rabbi's son tried but couldn't figure it out. In Denver, they trusted us with the code to the Mikvah, but I guess in NJ there is much tighter security. We got to Shacharis only 5 minutes late - although as usual I made the Rebbe leave the house an extra 15 minutes early - which he only appreciates when we run into unforseen problems like this - not when we arrive 15 minutes early.

The Rebbe met with many groups of students as well as individual students and staff at JEC. We had Chinese again for lunch with Rabbi Teitz (no complaints from the Rebbe who likes a hearty meal during the week without having to wash and bench). We davened Mincha at JEC and while Mr. Karp took the Rebbe back to Buchsbaum, I headed back to Northern Jersey by myself, while the Rebbe had the night off. Before I left I called our host about the shower, and he said "just pull hard, don't worry, that's why they make repairmen for". So once the Rebbe was watching as a witness I pulled the shower handle hard and snapped it right off. After the handle came off in my hand I saw the mechanism inside, and realized that instead of pulling the handle I was supposed to slide the mechanism toward me. With the repairman on the way, I took the Garden State North back to Englewood to see Dina and Cooper who was asleep the night before.

Zack's parents were also around this time - and yes Steve was there too. I got there around 6 PM and had some time until Racheli's volleyball game at Frisch, where Gail and David would meet me. I tried to catch a 8:00 Maariv at B'nei Yeshurun in Teaneck, but took a wrong turn on River Road and gave up after a while trying to find it in the dark, so I got back on 4 West to Paramus. I didn't really feel comfortable watching a girls volleyball game, so I spent most of the time with my back to the action. The second game Racheli was on the bench so David, Gail and I played shot some hoops on the other side of the gym divider.

Baruch Hashem the game was done by 8:40 as Frisch beat YCQ 2 games to zero, so David and I could make the 9:00 late Maariv at Ahavas Torah in Englewood (at least I knew where that was). Gail went home with Racheli to get supper ready, but after Maariv, I happened to called George, to see if we could stop by to say hi. One drink led to another, and we stayed there a pretty long time (George and David were drinking the hard stuff - I just had fruit juice. I'm glad David and George seemed to hit it off. Gail was just about to give up on us when we walked through the door. We shmoozed for quite a while until I saw that Gail and David were falling asleep and I was laughing my head off at things that did not warrant such silliness. Got back to Elizabeth a little after 1 PM, but once again went to Bubby and Grandpa to use the computer, but I showered back at Buchsbaum with the recently fixed shower.

Thursday morning we davened at the early minyan at JEC so we could make it to Kushner by 9:00. I ignored the suggested route of Google Maps with the GSP and JFK boulevard because it seemed so out of the way. Instead a took Morris Avenue on what looked like a more direct route. Wrong decision. Local traffic was horrendous. The good news was I gave myself 15 minutes extra to get there. The Rebbe spoke to the high school students in four groups followed by private meetings with students and staff which took us until after 2 PM.

The pizza for lunch was cold by the time we ate it, but at least they let the Rebbe take a box of Rice Krispies back with him. The Rebbe was exhausted and needed a break, and we didn't have to be at the Chulent/Parsha Chaburah at the North Avenue Shul until 9:00. So we rested at Buchsbaum until Mincha/Maariv at JEC. Since our hosts were out all day and couldn't prepare dinner, we took out from (you guessed it) the Kosher Chinese place in Elizabeth. After the Chulent Chaburah people met with the Rebbe in Rabbi Schwartz's office until about 11 PM. 

Friday morning, after Mikvah, we went to the late minyan at Elmora Hills, which gave us plenty of time to get to Bruriah by 9:15. After addressing the entire student body for about 20 minutes, the Rebbe spent the rest of the day with private meetings with girls and staff. The Rebbe was helping One Stop Kosher with parnassah while he was in Elizabeth. It seems like every place we went to was catered by One Stop. (The manager happened to have grown up in Mitzpeh Yericho). Bruriah was no different. The Rebbe ordered Kugel and Gefilte Fish for lunch, and there was plenty left over for me. Even after school let out at 12:45, the Rebbe and I stayed until about 2:00 PM with meetings of individuals who couldn't make it on Sunday. After stopping by the Mikvah again Ereve Shabbos we headed back to Buchsbaum where Dov and Hershel had already settled in. I gave them my bedroom and took the couch. Hershel would take over the Gabbai duties through the end of the weekend, so I could go back to just being the Secretary. Hershel took the Rebbe to Elmora Hills early for Mincha, while I took my time and went to JEC for Mincha and made my way back to Elmora Hills on foot in the snow for Maariv. I stopped by the Gross's to make sure everything was set for Shabbos lunch. Had plenty of time during the Rebbe's speech to catch up on Kabbalas Shabbos. Grandpa walked the Rebbe and our entourage to Rabbi Herman's house for dinner. I continued with Grandpa back to Princeton to pick up the Mikvah key from the Katz's, then got back to the Herman's in time for Kiddush. Dinner was crowded but nice, and the Tish was standing room only. I think Rebbetzin Herman made a little bit too much chulent for the Tish, but it was excellent. I'm not sure how many people she was expecting, but I guess she will know for next time. We dropped off Mendel and Isser by Grandpa, because I had the key to let them in, and the Rebbe, Hershel, Dov and I went back to Buchsbaum to sleep.

Shabbos morning we got up at 7:15 and out the door by 7:30 to pick up Mendel and Isser for Mikvah. No one had left the lights on, so in the dark I climbed the stairs to the emergency door on the North Avenue entrance and B"H it wasn't alarmed. That provided enough light for everyone, but also brought the cold in. At 8:10 or so the Rebbe spoke before Mussaf in the Hashkama minyan and then joined the main minyan at 8:30. The Rebbe got Levi aliyah and then spoke after Mussaf. Lunch was at the Gross family. After lunch we stopped by the Alexander home with Sruli Saffern and rested until Mincha. Seudah Shlishis must have been 80 people, most of the shul benched, but 25 or so stayed with the Rebbe for another 20 minutes to finish the Rebbe's extended version of Seudah Shlishis and davened late Maariv. Melaveh Malka was about 30 people at the Rakovsky's. In the middle I left to retrieve Hershel's car keys from the Elmora Hills shul and then after we had the Rebbe back at the apartment, I dropped Hershel by his car and I headed to North Jersey to visit Alex. Stayed there until after midnight. Finished all of the pizza his wife brought home in the doggie bag even though it was room temperature. By the time I left the snow was a few inches, I had to brush off my car. On the GSP home the cops pulled me over with my Florida plates. They thought it was stolen. Checked the VIN and my rental contract. Let me continue after 15 minutes of freezing in the cold with the window down and the engine off. They asked me why I had so many books in the back of the car. I didn't realize books were suspicious. Got home around 1:30 AM.

Sunday morning was Mikvah followed by Shacharis at JEC followed by breakfast with about 6 young couples. The Rebbe spoke about Shalom Bayis and took Q&A. We had meetings booked solid from 1:30 until 4:30 at boardroom with break for Mincha/Maariv. Mrs. Gross packed us some dinner from leftovers of Shabbos lunch. Left the Rebbe with Hershel for the evening appointments from 7:00 to 10:30. Went to Motti's son's Bar Mitzvah in Far Rockaway. Made great time with the Superbowl on and everyone off the road. Also saw Yakir, Grushko, Charlie, and Rabbi Lerner and a few other old acquaintances from the old days. The bar mitzvah boy's principle was actually shana alef during my shana bet year at YSMZ. Went back to Great Neck to see Saba before I left. We talked and I fell asleep on the couch.

Left GN about 1:30 AM and got to Elizabeth by 2:30. Started packing up the suitcases at Bubby and Grandpas for Ima, transferring the amazon packages to the duffle, and printed my baggage voucher. Packed the car, said goodbye to Grandpa who was up at 6:00 AM and went to wake up the Rebbe. Packed my stuff and made sure the Rebbe was packed, headed to Mikvah and Shacharis at North Avenue Shul. Stopped by Bruriah for about a half hour to meet with a few girls we couldn't fit in on Friday. Went back to the apartment to do a once over, pack food and load the car with all of our remaining stuff. Stopped for gas and made it to Newark by 10:30, returned the card and checked in around 11:00 for the 1:30 flight. Got the magazine for Mrs. Weinberg and 12:45 we made a Mincha minyan by the gate. Flight was empty. Had my own 3-seat row in the back of the plane, and I slept for most of the flight.

Abba's January Trip - Part I

Wednesday - JFK to Chicago to Denver. The Rebbe and I always try to reserve the window and aisle of a three-seat section toward the back of the plane, hoping that no one will take the middle seat, but when the plane is full, when the need arises we offer the individual the window or the aisle, which they usually take and we sit together. On the flight from JFK to Chicago, we experienced something I've only heard about on the news, but never saw in reality. A very round man had the seat between us. He was so spherical that he brought his own seatbelt extension in order to connect. When you hear about those people who should be required to purchase two seats on an airplane they are referring to this man. Now granted he was a very polite and nice man, constantly apologizing and thanking us for our patience with him. I genuinely felt bad for this guy, but I also felt bad for the Rebbe and myself who are large people ourselves being squeezed like a sardine into 1.5 seats. The flight attendant eventually came over and said, "Is everything OK, can I do anything to make you more comfortable". Maybe it was the fact that my arms were wrapped around my torso as if I was in a straight-jacket that tipped the stewardess off. So the Rebbe, suggested, "Maybe there is an open seat on the plane". The stewardess said she would look for one after takeoff. This might have been the most uncomfortable 25 minutes of my trip and possibly my life. Baruch Hashem, I relocated after takeoff to a middle seat flanked by two normal sized people, which allowed the Rebbe and I to endure the next 2.5 hours of air travel to Chicago. Reminded me of the story of the farmer who complained to the Rebbe about his crowded house, and the Rebbe advises him one by one to bring in all of his barnyard animals each day, until he advises him at the end to take them all out. Chicago to Denver was uneventful. I sat next to a roofer that was going on a skiing trip and I helped him polish off his crossword puzzles. Arrived at the Heislers on V-street on the west side of Denver by 11 PM, and they had dinner ready, as I called when we left the Hertz car rental.

Thursday we got an early start, Mikvah on Q-street then took Speer down to Alameda on the East Side to DAT (pronounced Da'at) for 7:30 Shacharis and met with the students. Rebbe got Levi and benched Gomel and I got Hagbah. Leib Zalesch took care of us for in the morning with the younger grades.
 
And the principal Daniel Alter showed us where the high school building was a few blocks away. At noon we went a few blocks to Hillel Academy where we met with Faculty only. Then back across Alameda up Speer to the West Side to give a shiur to Toras Chaim on S-street followed by Mincha. Chaim arranged a fleishig lunch for us, and Menachem brought us two yeshiva "dinners" from the kitchen for lunch in Rabbi Wasserman's office. Then Ed Bernstein got his photo shoot with the Rebbe. We had just enough time to find a Verizon Wireless store to reactivate Itcha's portable internet device before heading back down Speer to Alameda on the East Side to meet with DAT faculty, followed by a couple of public school students in Rabbi Sunshine's program and over to dinner at Leib's house across the street, where we also met with the Rebbe's friend Gidon who was visiting from Har Nof. That evening the Rebbe gave a Parsha shmooze at Mercaz.

Then one last time across Alameda up Speer back to the West Side to the Heislers. It was only one day, but it felt proficient enough to start giving others driving directions It felt like we had been in Denver for a week.

Friday we didn't have to be in Hillel Academy on the East side until 9:30 so we decided to daven Shacharis with Toras Chaim at 8, and managed to have a quick breakfast with Rabbi Wasserman and Hillel Goldberg. Once again down Speer to Alameda to speak with the three different groups of students of Hillel Academy until about 10:30. 
We had some time until we had to be go back to the West side to speak to the Kollel at 11:30, so the Rebbe and I sat in the car outside the building. He prepared his Yerushalmi Shiur while I caught up on e-mail. At 11:30 we entered the building, which seemed pretty abandoned, but we figured maybe because it was Friday. The sign said the Kollel was on the 3rd and 5th floor, so at least we thought we were in the right place. However, when we got up to the 5th floor it was deserted. So we got back in and tried the 3rd floor, but the elevator went all the way to the lobby, where we met Yehoshua, one of the members of the Kollel, so again we knew we were in the right place. We pressed 3 on the elevator, but again we went up to the 5th floor, so we walked down to three. After speaking to the Kollel we went back to the Mikvah on Q-street and then while I sent out Torah Insights, the Rebbe met with a few individuals from the West side at the Heislers who would not be able to come to the east side on Sunday for appointments. By a little after 2 PM we were able to get a short rest and get ready for Shabbos. We walked to shul early on the 1st W-street and were the first ones there after the Rav of the Shul, Rabbi Steinberg, his kids and Dr. Unger. After Maariv we walked with Dr. Fine and his guests back to his home on the 2nd W-street for dinner and then Tish, which had a standing room only turnout. On the way home we passed by the shul to drop off the Rebbe's things and slept on V-street at Heisler

Shabbos morning Shacharis was 8:30 but we got up early to walk to the Q-street Mikvah and then back to Zera Avraham on the 1st W-street. Rebbe got Levi and I got Gelilah. Rebbe spoke after Mussaf and sat with Rabbi Steinberg and Rabbi Wasserman during Kiddush with Zemiros. I sat with R' Yonasan's brother-in-law R' Eli. Lunch was at Rabbi Steinberg and R' Kagan came special to wish the Rebbe Good Shabbos even though he wasn't staying for lunch. Rebbe was exhausted and asked to bench and left before desert, our apologies to Rebbetzin Steinberg. After a short rest at Heisler we went back to Zera Avraham for Mincha and Seudah Shlishit, I sat with Rabbi Heisler in the back. Havdallah we did back at Heisler, we had to pack up fast, and say our goodbyes, as the Melaveh Malka at the East Side Kosher Deli was called for 7:30. A respectable turn out. I thought more people would come considering it was the main Kosher restaurant in Denver, but it turns out that one of the shuls in the area was having their annual dinner. We made it to the Kirshbaums around 10 PM, we would be staying on the East Side for the rest of the trip.

Sunday morning we made it to the East side Mikvah OK and then we had to drive to Aish Denver in the South East. I could have sworn the sign said Yosemite, but after we had gone more than 2.5 miles and no sign of Bellview I knew we had made a wrong turn. Later I found out that I was going East instead of South. The question was how to improvise so I wouldn't have to backtrack all the way back to Yale. So I stopped in at a gas station and quickly found out that the Interstate South had an exit on Yosemite. Now the question was right or left off the exit ramp. I made the right and looked for the next gas station, who told me I had guessed wrong. We arrived at Aish Denver about 15 minutes late for Shacharis, which was very good considering how bad it could have been. This is why I always aim to get anywhere about 15 minutes early. I even convinced the Rabbi Tennenbaum to slow down the Chazan so that the Rebbe and I could catch up. The turn out for breakfast and the Rebbe's shmooze was very nice and the niggun and dancing went over well.

We were late to our next appointment but this one wasn't my fault. I got the address of the website, and when we pulled up to the JCC on Dahlia and asked for the Jewish Experience the guard even told us where to go, and the maintenance people even said we were in the right place. It turns out that their offices are still in the JCC, but they had moved a few minutes away to a local public school for Sunday classes. It's a good thing Rabbi Wasserman's son Rabbi Wasserman called me with directions, because I only had the office number. The entire Jewish Experience program was very impressive, I don't think I have ever seen a Sunday School program like it anywhere, where both the students and their parents come for Jewish Education.

The rest of Sunday afternoon and evening was by appointment at the Kirschbaums, although the Rebbe did speak between Mincha/Maariv at EDOS. We had salmon for lunch and dinner with some of the Kirschbaum's extended family. We also stopped by the Deli to vacuum pack some salami for the Rebbe to take back to Eretz Yisroel.

Monday morning we packed up some food and davened Shacharis at Mercaz before heading to the airport. We had breakfast downstairs right outside of security and I have never seen such a long line of TSA in my life, mainly because all gates went through this checkpoint before taking the train to the terminals. We arrived in LGA about a half-hour ahead of schedule and I thought we might be able to make Mincha in Great Neck, but between the luggage taking forever, and the bus services to Hertz taking another forever, we ended up davening B'Yechidus at the airport. It was actually much colder in NY then it was in Denver which was surprising. The Rebbe was concerned that the Mazda 2 we got was too small, but I just wanted to get going, as we had a schedule to keep. Got to Great Neck after Maariv, spent time with Dad, and loaded the car with lots of Chametz U'Matzah that was sitting in the basement since November. We made it on time to the Eisenbergs in North Woodmere for dinner. After a few appointments we headed for Brooklyn for Maariv, missed the 11:00 at Frankels but caught the 11:15 at Landau's and slept in Brooklyn at Frankel.

Stay tuned for the second half of the trip in NY/NJ...