Josh Z"L

 I was so sorry and sad to hear about Josh W passing. I always loved him, whether as my friend's dad, my orthodontist,  or even just a guy in the community. The funeral was heartbreaking, the Shiva was too for different reasons (I went every day). His kids are so strong though. He was such a pleasant guy, and he did so much no one knew about til after. An example I want to take from him is his making everyone happy in the simplest ways, like bringing kugel to shul setup (which I later learned that my dad took on after he left Josh's team), and inviting the Gabbais for a BBQ, taking his kids out once a week early so his wife could sleep, and doing a learning + breakfast type thing - loved this idea, and it really speaks to me. 

I feel lucky that I saw him a few weeks ago while walking the kids to Gan. 

"Hi Josh"

"Hi Daniel"

"How are you?"
"Chasdei Hashem"

"Kids are cute. Where are you taking them?"
"Gan, just at the bottom of Sara Imenu"
"Ok, have a great day Josh, feel good"
"Thanks"

That was the last conversation of many we shared together. No words. 

Shavuot 2 in the Shul

 Shavuot was so special this year. It was a lot of logistics for me, but overall I was very happy to contribute. At some point there were 4 groups of around 50 kids all learning Torah with someone. The schedule worked well, and all were very happy with it. I spoke about ChatGPT and Torah, and whether we still need to work so hard to learn if all answers will be available very soon. Hint: Answer is yes. 

By far, the best part of the whole holiday was sitting and learning Torah with my little dude for about 15 minutes at night before dinner at the shul. We learned about the ten commandments, through stories and songs. He was so happy, and I know he was enjoying it second most. 

Shul Politics - but why?

 I got on a call tonight with three parents of teens who wanted to speak about Teen Minyan. JK, BC, and DB. They wanted to talk about "major" issues they saw with Teen Minyan. 

It started off way over agressive for no reason, with JK informing me that this wasn't one of those times where you hear something as a suggestion, but rather one of those things that you hear and do. Then he spoke for a long time about how bad the teen minyan is, that its better if we don't have it at the current way, and he is going to gather parents and go to the Vaad with him complaints and suggestions, with me or without me. I stopped him and said that this was a very aggressive opening for a first conversation when we've never spoken about Teen Minyan before. His main complaint - Teen Minyan has talking. (BTW - less than most minyans at the shul, and when it gets to be too much I go tell them to stop). BC and DB raised some other good points, in a much less aggressive way, and then I asked to talk. After he was done, I went point by point, and mentioned whether I agreed with it, or whether I think it isn't realistic/inaccurate. At which point, he told me that he is twice my age, and we aren't on a level playing field, as he is a parent of a teen. The second time he said that he is double my age, I told him "so that means that I have been a teen more recently. My main point was that yes, it would be great to have a silent davening, where people can daven with Kavana, but its not very realistic unless I start being a policeman and not letting people in, which I said I don't want to do. He said, well I am a Shul member paying for your salary, and my kid is my priority, so if thats the decision, you are the employee. And if not, he will suggest to the Vaad to find a replacement. He also said Very weirdly ugly conversation, I kept my cool. He did say that he doesnt blame me, it is the format I was handed. I told him I am there on a high level that ideally we would like TM to be a place of Tefillah, but I am not sure how that vision connects to reality. He said he is going to rally up some other fathers and make a case to the Vaad. If nothing changes he will try to shut down the minyan. One thing also mentioned is how can our minyan finish before 9:30. I explained that our Chazzans are learning, and they don't know how/want to shlep it out, but we do encourage singing. Other suggestions JK came up with was asking Hesder boys/young adults to be there, or to have help monitoring (no young adult that is finally home for shabbat wants to come to that, believe me). And that there should be a hard line, where kids who aren't there to daven will not be welcome at the minyan, even if less kids - it should take a lot longer. Another suggestion was to have a break in the middle for a kiddush and Shiur, which I did not think would go well. Also the rabbi comes anyway (which he said could also be changed, think big).

Look, he is coming from a good place of passion and the desire to make TM a place for inspiration. And I think it would be great if it was, BC gave some good practical suggestions which I will already implement next TM. But its not realistic for 100 boys and girls to be in a room

A heart melter

 Jerusalem Day is coming and E is letting his Gan know. He wouldnt tell us, because he is punishing us for not letting him speak Hebrew to us (he told us who he could tell), but his ganenet did. He spoke to the whole gan about going on the trian to Machane Yehuda, about buying fruits, vegetables, and candy there. And about how he davens at the Kotel to Hashem. A Heart Melter.

3 games, 6 days

 Just had my best three games on a personal level, or at least the last two. The first game we tied against an undefeated team, and I played solid CF and got a hit. The next game, I was on fire defensively. JM was pitching, and so I got a ton of action in Center. Running catches, diving catches, sliding stops, routine plays - it was the most fun I've had. in center. And also got two hits to boot. However, we lost 15-13 (very impressive with JM pitching). It was also against my buddies IK and RS, in Baptist. And the third game I got another 2 hits, making that 5 in the three games. Also got my first HBP, and reached on a walk, meaning I got on base 4 out of 4 times. 

After this stretch, my average was .381 and OBP was over .500. But alas, last night we played again, and I went 0-3 with 2 strikeouts. It hurt especially because we were leading AS team the whole game until the Top 7th. We hit a 3 run homer to bring it back to a one run game, only be caught by AS in center. It was the nicest catch I've ever seen in a game I was playing. What a dream, I am so jealous. He ran back to the wall jumped up, fell on the fence, and managed to hang on to the ball. Crazy. This sport is humbling, and I am loving it.