Simchat Torah One Year Later

 On Simchat Torah, I gave a shiur to the teens - about 20 kids came, and it was pretty nice. What we spoke about was the fact that we are blending happiness and sadness this year and probably forever, and how to go about doing that. My main example was watching the Lions knock the socks off the Cowboys, but also watch my favorite player get injured for the entire year in an ugly injury. May we have more moments of happiness than sadness.

Also on ST, we did kids Hakafot for the first time. First I asked them trivia questions and gave them candy, then we took a Torah out and started dancing songs that I knew they knew. It was very special for them (besides the enormous amounts of candy) because they were the main players during this Hakafot, as opposed to being extra on shoulders. They walked around, danced, and sang. Then Natan spoke, we did some Tehillim and sang Acheinu, and that was it. Very special.

Some Highlights from the Chagim

-Slichot Concert and Musical Slichot with Shlomo Katz in Efrat

-Iranian attack during Etrog sorting with Noam W

-Being Chazzan for Yom Kippur Mincha

-Arba Minim successful delivery, no huge issues

-Hoshana Raba at the Nova Festival Site

-Hakafot Shniyot in the Otef (Nova Site, Nachal Oz Mutzav, and at Tzomet Shaar Hanegev

We Danced Again.

Special experience last night, one year later, with Charlie Engelhart and Ezra Engelhart that I will never forget.

We started at a quiet Hakafot Shniyot with the Hostage Families at Shaar Hanegev.

Then we went to Nachal Oz base to do some Hakafot Shniyot with אפרים זקס  and fellow soldiers. One year later, in that base that lost 55 soldiers, in a spot in between the famous Tatzpitaniyot Migunit and their Chamal, to be singing songs like Am Henetzach and Am Yisrael Chai with the soldiers that are protecting us. 

After that, we headed down to the Nova Festival area for Hakafot Shniyot with thousands from all of Am Yisrael, to sing from a place of Tefillah for our hostages, and to show that even though we took a big hit as a nation a year ago, we are bouncing back and here to stay. This one was also organized by families of fallen and hostages.

With mixed emotions, and with all of our fallen, injured, displaced, soldiers protecting us, and hostages in mind, we danced again.

Cute Eitan Sentence

 

Have to share a cute Eitan sentence from today:  "I wish I had 4 arms so I could always hug you with two of them, and do other things with the other two".

Another Siren

 

October 7th 2024 was always going to be a tough day. I watched the "as it happened" TV Broadcast highlights which was very powerful, since I hadn't seen the original. I watched clips and ceremonies, and the "One Year Later" broadcast. But what was most powerful was the documentary called "We Will Dance Again", showing the Nova party and the aftermath. Was very gripping and hard to watch, but powerful. 

And while I was trying to somehow get some work done - we had a siren. Before I heard the siren, I saw the kids sprinting to the Mamad, they are so fast and also used to it by now. (not to compare them to kids in Kiryat Shmona or Sderot who truly have that as a 6th sense unfortunately. 

Rosh Hashana 2024

I can't believe we are already at the Chagim. I was not excited about being disconnected from the news for 72 hours, while David, Matan, Naftali, and so many others are in/getting ready to go in to Lebanon. But it was a very nice Chag. We played, ate, had lots of fun, had some good simanim. The best Simanim included popcorn to continue the Tigers movie of a season, a bowl for a Lions Super Bowl, and Magen David Ptitim for the security of our beautiful Israel.