Maybe Popcorn is Enough

 So, the nine days of pizza/pasta and worry for me are here. Shifra always calms me down by showing a menu that includes things I happen to like, like salads, pizza, pasta, ziti, pizza, pizza, etc. And luckily there are two Shabbats mixed in this year. 

My dad had a genius idea though. The Blue Jays are playing the Tigers tonight, and the question was, can we extend shabbat and keep eating meat, while other people turn the TV on and cook meat on a BBQ. I was going to ask Rav Sobol but I didn't see him at Mincha, so I asked Rav Chaim Navon who sits right in front of me.

I asked the question, which he thought about for a second, and said he doesn't think it would be Shayach. It's one thing to continue Seuda Shilishit, but its another thing entirely to prepare a whole new meal. TTECHNICALLY it would be okay, but its really not. Then he looked at me, thought for a second, and said - is it a big game? I said "Not really, it is still the middle of the season". Then he gave his Psak:

"Popcorn should be enough".

I do wonder what he would have said if it was a bigger game though. 

 

Rabbi Wasserman 30

 I had a nice time this evening. My three choices were A) Go with Mommy to Rabbi Wasserman's 30 B) Squeeze with Noms and my dad in the back of Bubby and Zayde's car to watch ten minutes of the Maccabiah in Haifa or C) Stay home with Shifra.

I went with A, and we left early enough to hang out with Shifra. 

Rabbi Wasserman was the Rabbi at Saba and Savta's Shul in Passaic. He was also very good friends with them, and by relation, with us. I vividly remember him making Kiddush, and giving out Kedem grape juice. (I think my love for Kedem grape juice comes from there.) But my favorite memory, and thing that I remember him for, was how he knew how to talk to children. 

Somewhere around 2007, we flew back to Passaic. There was a day I woke up at basically noon (Maybe after Aliza or Moshe's wedding?) I had learned in school that you can only daven Shacharit in the first 4 hours of the day, which I proudly told my mom. She was impressed, but told me to go ask Rabbi Wasserman what to do, he was sitting at the table. So I went to him, all shy, and asked. He said "What *I* do when I wake up past noon, is I say Shema and then daven Shmona Esrei of Mincha". Now, thinkint back, Rabbi Wasserman probably never woke up that late, but he made it seem so legitimate that I would.

 It was easy to connect with him after that. He was a calm, collected man, who I learned so much more about tonight, on a personal level. I can see why the Starrs historically have been friends with him. My favorite stories shared tonight were about "Chaim" the sibling, husband, and friend. I think my favorite story was when he was young, and he played with his brother's basketball, it popped. So he folded it up, and made the case that he had got his youngest brother a new football. 

Amazing to think about the fact that Rabbi Wasserman was able to balance very important public positions, and still be a brother, husband, son, nephew, friend, and mentor. The world is a better place thanks to him being in it. 

Nava coming home

 I am super duper excited that Nava is coming home this week. So far, the two leading sign suggestions in my humble opinion are Ephraim's "Will you marry me" and Mommy's Nava's Home! What, now?!"

Loving the Modi (So far)

 So far, so good over here. We love the apartment, the amount of rooms, the feeling of space, the luxury. But poerhaps most of all, the convenience of the location and proximity to our families. So far, we have basically seen reps from each family every day. Most importantly, the kids are loving all the space, and being close to whichever grandparent they are in the mood to see that day.

Natalie had an accident over Shabbat, and all the kids and their guests came over. We also went to pick up Maayan from gymnastics, which was fun. Last night, I went to pick up some burgers from Pop's Burgers, which were deliciously tasty. Later, I walked to my parents, helped them set up their budget excel, and watched the end of Hustle and the Tigers game with them. Shiff's family came for lunch on Shabbat, and my parents came to play in the afternoon. 

We need to add wifi, and change our cell service, so I went to the mall (5 minute drive). It was extremely productive (and I had a Mr. Pretzel - Garlic, Salt, and white chocolate.  I am able to make 7:30 davening most days and still learn with Zayde. 

Today, it took me 70 minutes from door to door to get to our Tel Aviv office. It is a dream come true so far. 

Good bye and hello

Good bye bathroom Eitan made his first poo..

Good bye to the goats and the Roosters who say cockadoodledo...

Good bye to the doggies we like to pass...

Good bye bath where the kids love to play...

Good bye room with a trampoline and a secret baseball field.

Good bye to Shifra's school we can see from our home...

Good bye to the most amazing sunsets there could be...

Good bye Wednesday night soccer..

Good bye new friends we made...

Good bye apartment we thought was our home of the future..

But also..

Hello to the city where it all began,

Hello to our parents who live right there,

Hello to our grandparents who we will see much more,

Hello to convenience, short rides to work,

Hello to our friends who visit their families,

Hello to watching the Lions with Pops,

Hello to softball, tennis, baseball, football and hockey,

Hello to comfort, and a built in support system.

Each place we step will have meaningful moments, and things you do. KY8 had the parks, the Yeshiva. Kedem had the shul, the parks, and lots of walks to see the goats and roosters. And I can't wait to find out what Modiin has in store for us.