a balloontwister’s aliya saga

Home for shabbos and back to work…

Another hour and change left to my israel weekend.

We had rain friday night. shabbos and a little today. When we heard the rain come down… we all ran to watch it. I don’t recall ever doing that. Tamar showed off her hebrew…

GESHEM!

Penina is amazed how she wont say rain …. just geshem… just like when she sees a cat.. she says Chatool….

I was just a bit upset when I got an aliya shabbos. They made an extra aliya for 2 fellas benching gommel.. and I go tthe posuk that started with the children of serug.

Hey, I’m not the only one with a white serugi kippa. Let’s not try to embaress the new guy…. I expected a bit more out of Mendy Newman.. out fearless gabbai. I hope his uncle does a better job this shabbos…as I’ll be in Staten ISland for the Strauss Bar Mitzvah. I brought the booze…fyi…

I also said my goodbyes to Doovid on shabbos. TOday he embareked on a 5 day bike tour from Jerusalem down to eliat. The tour is to raise money for a hospital here and he has been training for months. Cousin Joel Bryk came and is biking in a different tour … the on road one. I spoke to doovid at dinner time but he had to let me go as he put it. “Gotta go, they just put food in front of me.” I hope to interview him for my next podcast after the tour.

Today was a busy day as Penina and I went to speak to Moshe’s Rav and check out a junior HIgh that Yoni wants to go next year. Its a bit more american that his current place and the classes are smaller which may suit him better. One of the better things RBS has going for it is there are many schools that are suitable so you have several choices.

Before we went there we went to get a coffee and a croisant. It was the first time I went to this place since the tznius signs went up.

In the mercaz in RBS a huge sign was put up asking people to dress tznius. I’m also told that if a woman walks into a store with a sign on its door… they will insist on the woman wearing some kind of skirt thinggee. Turns out when I asked the guy behind the counter if I was dressed properly… he let me stay.

Well, I’m going to sign out and have some wine before I get on the plane. I hope my shaspod is fully charged a today is opening day for beitza. MAzel Tov to the daf people.

Also, a mazel tov to One of the best jewish baseball players… not pedro … Jason MArquis from Staten Island. The cardinals won the world series which just proves my point.

The tigers beat the yankees. THe cardinals beat the mets.

The cards beat the tigers… which tells you the Mets lost to a better team.

I’m out.

U.D.

U.D.

So, I woke up a bit late the other day. Instead of waiting until the 7:30 minyan, I decided to go to a different shul for the 7:15 minyan.

I hear it was a bit more modern…. but orthodox non the less.

SO far so good.

I got there and when I walked into the room, I saw there was a small mechitza and there were around 10 women there….PLUS an older fellow with his talis and tephillin on..sitting on the womens side.

Ok… so…. This dude.. maybe can’t sit by himself… so maybe his wife or nurse is helping him… but… hey… I’m just going to daven and that will be that.

The shul was mostly older people.. .a bunch said kaddish… the gabbai asked my if I had yahrzeit. I guess they must get a big walk in crowd that only comes when they have yahrzeit.

Well, I’m walking out at aleinu….and I glance to the womens side… turns out… the older man sitting with the woman was actually a woman.

Yup, wearing tallis and tephillin.

I was wondering.. which is worse… a man davening on the wrong side… or a woman wearing Tallis and tephillin..

anyone?

Shabbat Shalom… I’m going home..

J

Well. Yom Kippur is behind us….. and the chagim are right around the corner.

The mission… if you choose to accept it… try and keep the Yom Kippur feeling…. throughout the chagim..and as long as you can. Just heard ana interesting vort. WE know we start the succa right after Yom Kippur so we can keep our special feeling and take it to succot.

We get out of our white kippa and kittels and get into out workclothes and jeans and put up the succa. We don’t spend out year in a yom kippur setting. WE eat. We drink. We wear shoes. We work. ..etc. So we can’t get caught up and get depressed on how we are not on the same level as we were just a few days ago.. when we were crying at ne’elah.

We aren’t supposed to be.

We are on a different playing field. We have a different job for succot and for the year. To have a different level of holyness. To have H-shem in our thoughts and ACTIONS. Yom Kippur we are all words. Now we are actions. WE build the succa. We wave the Lulav. WE dance on simchat Torah. We are now giving tzedakah. We go about the year in the real world.

Think about the generation that left the midbar.. they left having food taken care of them. They left a place where water was taken care of them. Clothes. Housing. All taken care of them. Thats great for those 40 years…. but thats not reality. The real job is to include H-shem in the real world. Easy to be holy if you are davening all day. Not as easy if you are amongst goyim. Easy when you can’t do any melacha. Not as easy when you have to be careful and be honest in your job and your dealings with people.

Let’s hope that we look at the succa and the chagim and try and include H-shem in our everyday actions.

I found a minyan pretty close to my place, so instead of walking 2 miles … I only had to walk 10 minutes to daven. Small minyan. I actually bought an aliya. I hope they take the money they raised and spend it on a mechitza for next year. Or pay to have a male chazzan.

The only issue was that ne’elah went 2 minutes overtime. I’d rather have a smaller break than have the fast go over. To the shul’s credit they did NOT rush ne’elah. It kind of takes the yom out of the kippur when the chazzan is rushing to make the tekiah deadline.

I’m actually looking forward to speaking with dovid soon. He took Yoni to chevron for yom kippur and I think it would be interesting to interview him for my podcast. So stay tuned for that.

The main thing is that we should all have a year of peace and health for all of klal yisroel.

Last night was the playoffs and championship game for my softball league.

and for the first time in my life…. I actually walked off on the winning side.

We’re talking about playing leagues in camp dora golding going back to 1981.

Being a captain from 1987 through the early 90’s in camp and day camp.

Being on 3 teams just this year.

FINALLY….

Down in the playoff game we came back.

down in the last game, 6-0 we came back… and..

most importantly… and the fellas from Staten Island sunday over 30 team… actually… almost over 40 team…. what is the one thing you can say about me….

besides the tight baseball pants..

ok…. besides hassling ralph..

besides the rickey henderson catches…

I DO bust it out to first base.

I’m not the fastest out there. but I have beat several infield ground balls.

Last night down 6-0 With 1out in the 6th inning (we play 7) against a tough pitcher woh only gave up 1 hit previously… I beat out a grounder to first base. Big deal you say?

Well, this sparked the team and we scored 3 that inning and won the game when I hit a single with the bases loaded in the last inning.

Better than a long drive. Better than a long shot over the short right field at the Young Israel park is beating out the grounder.

At the park laast night, even the homeless guys in right field were cheering when I reached and when I won.

Well, enough of that.

Its wednesday and I’m looking forward to heading home for the chaggim. We are planning on going up north to a zimmer… I think its a bed and breakfast in hebrew… or some language.

It will be good for the kids to get away for a bit. Its not easy having school every day with tutoring… so a few days up north and a day at the water park…. should be an exciting chag.

well, Have a good day and a great YOm tov if I don’t speak to you before Shabbos,

J