An important part of my job is making sure my Keurig machine is used regularily. It helps me keep my product knowledge and I have managed to pick up a taste for coffee. Every so often I send in my boss a request for 4 boxes K-Cups. I receive the customs note in our mail box. I pick it up at the local post office. If the shipment makes it to Israel, I have never had any problems. The last time I placed my request, my boss said there was a problem. I would now have to order 12 boxes, as it would be more economical in the long run.
On Wednesday I received a note that I had a package in the Postal Tax Office in Jerusalem. I was a little bit concerned as it had instructions for all kinds of documents that would be required under different scenarios. It didn't say how much tax I would need to pay.
On Thursday, I went down to the Post Office. I brought the form to the front desk and said I had no idea what the form was about. They told me to go to the warehouse in the back to get the package. They pulled out a huge box and said I needed the customs agent to come back to see it. They asked me what was inside. I explained it was coffee. They opened the box and saw I was right. Since I put in my request we began carrying 6 flavors of Starbucks which I need to try plus a box of Iced Coffee that I really want. I also started a second job with a company that has 9 flavors on the market. It has been interesting advising customers without ever trying them before. It looks like he may have shipped me 16 boxes of coffee. That would be more than 300 cups of coffee/tea.
First I had to explain that the coffee was for personal consumption. Then I had to explain that I didn't have an invoice because I didn't pay for it. Finally she decided that she is going to charge me taxes based on the $160 declared value on the shipment. She begins processing it and I pull out my credit card. They only take cash or check. Due to difficulties earlier in the week, I would not have access to cash until the next day. She starts making phone calls trying to figure out what to do.
Agent #2 jumps in asking about my Hebrew skills. Agent #1 jumps in with "He speaks some Hebrew, I speak some English. We understand each other." Agent #2 says "Don't you learn Gemara?" This lead into a discussion on where I went to Yeshiva and where it was located. I drew a blank on the neighbourhood of new location. Agent #3 asks me what street it is on. In the back of my head, I am thinking that something is not quite adding up 100% on the line of questions.
Agent #2 (who is not wearing a Kippah) goes to the cooler and gets me a cup of water. He asks me to say Bracha that they can all answer to. He then notices the wedding ring, which blew them all away, especially when I through in it has been 14 years and I have an 8 year old. We made some more small talk as Agent #1 still does not know what to do. "The computer won't let her go forward"
I told them that if I had to come back, I would come back another time. Agent #1 didn't want me to do that because I might get a different agent. The implications was who knew what they would charge me or other problems I would have with the package. In the end she decided to send it to my local post office. I would pay the taxes when I picked it up.
The office could have very easily just turned me away until I had what they needed to clear my package. Instead they thought of me as a person that they did not want to inconvenience. It is something you expect from friends and family, not a person holding a rubber stamp. It is just another of many examples, of where living in Israel really feels like home.
Showing posts with label Jason's Journal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jason's Journal. Show all posts
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
The Beit Shemesh Fault Line
6 days a week, I wake up in the morning and walk my daughter to school. There are only crossing gaurds on one side of the street, so she needs me to help her cross the other street before she is under the care of the crossing guards (who happen to be Grade 6 students). When the school day ends, I meet her at the park near the crossing guards. In a little more than a year, she will be 9 years old and able to do this walk all by herself.
About a 10 minute drive on the other side of town. Orot, a similar religous girls school opened moved into their new building at the beginning of the school year. Their experience is completely different. It is located near the border between the Chearedi Neighbourhood RBS B and the edges of 3 Datei Leumi communities. A group of men calling themselves the Sikirm (bearing the same name as the group who's zealousness to force the Jewish to fight the Roman's lead to the destruction of the second Beith HaMikdash) come out to intimidate the girls (Grade 1 - 6). Name calling, spitting and occasionally throwing rocks and bricks are all par for the course. Parents (and at certain points members of the community) have been escorting the children through the group of thugs to protect their safety. Last week a news crew filmed a scared 8 year old girl, as her mother tried to walk her to school. The image has inspired the country to take action.
The State does have a history of mistreating religious Jews. The Charedi community reaction to the backlash has been t0 fall back to being victims of Charedi bashing and everyone being against them. Most cannot even imagine that this is a direct backlash to their long tradition of using violence and political power to force their life style on others. When I was in Yeshiva, I was a block away from where they protested to have Bar Illan street closed on Shabbat. I saw wrongs on both sides. One night when a police car was hit with a rock, an arrest was made. They spent the night calling the soldiers Nazis, which in their world is a term for anyone who doesn't agree with them. The Nazi imagery that they used Saturday night should not have been a surprise to anybody.
In order to solve the problem at Orot, it is important to look at the real root of the problem. Most importantly this is a turf war. The Sikirm want the school for themselves and to expand the borders of their community and sphere of influence.
Moshe Abutbul was elected under the mantra of a Mayor for everyone. His actions have been anything but as he tries to cater to the Charedi community. In RBS A, the Mikvaot was split between those who wanted a "Mehdarin" experience and those who wanted to have the same standards applied by Jewish communities around the world. He tried to hand them over to the Charedi community and was only stopped by the backlash from the Datei Leumi community and leadership. He has been working to close the only secular school in RBS A, while telling parents he was trying to keep it open. Eventually the Minister of Education stepped in to declare that he will use his powers to guarantee the school stays open. The year my daughter entered Grade 1, school registration was delayed, waiting for the final decision of the school to be made.
When the Sikirm protested the opening of Orot in their new building, the Mayor tried to solve the problem by not allowing the school to open. Once again the Minister of Education threatened to step in, to make sure it opened. The Mayor falsely claimed that he was just trying to listen to the advice from the police.
In order to make peace it will be necessary to remove the political power wielded by the trouble makers in the Charedi community. This can be done both from a policy of not tolerating violence and limiting the dispoportional political power.
- Police should not be afraid to arrest those who are causing violence.
- There has to be a way to enforce a restraining order preventing, such ugly protests so close to the school.
- Following the lead of other democracies and raising the minimum threshold to obtain seats in the Knesset from 2% to 5%. This will allow knock out some of the extremist parties and cause the smaller parties to carry political weight more proportionate to their size.
- Eliminate vote sharing agreements and party mergers during election campaigns. These agreements allow parties with little support to leverage their votes and advertising allotments to in exchange for political favours.
It should be noted that the Charedi fighting does not spread to the communities of Bnei Brak, Beitar Illit, Kiryat Sefar and only seem to be limited to Meah Sharim and Beit Shemesh. The Beit Shemesh Charedi community is made up of a lot of people that cannot afford to stay in Mea Sharim. Mea Sharim is such an insulated community that they just cannot handle the idea that the rest of the world is not like them. Once you think your way is the only way, anything can be justified in the name of your beliefs.
Beit Shemesh will be getting a new Police Chief this week. Hopefully, he will have the skills and if necessary force to make it safe for the Orot girls to go to school. Once that is done, the Charedi community can start worrying about repairing their reputation and getting along as peaceful neighbours. The choice is theirs.
If the Sikirim had been stopped at the beginning of the school year, there would have been no need to bring in the media. Something that should be considered before starting the next turf war. Hopefully, my friends who's daughters go to Orot can let their daughters walk to school without worry just like I can.
About a 10 minute drive on the other side of town. Orot, a similar religous girls school opened moved into their new building at the beginning of the school year. Their experience is completely different. It is located near the border between the Chearedi Neighbourhood RBS B and the edges of 3 Datei Leumi communities. A group of men calling themselves the Sikirm (bearing the same name as the group who's zealousness to force the Jewish to fight the Roman's lead to the destruction of the second Beith HaMikdash) come out to intimidate the girls (Grade 1 - 6). Name calling, spitting and occasionally throwing rocks and bricks are all par for the course. Parents (and at certain points members of the community) have been escorting the children through the group of thugs to protect their safety. Last week a news crew filmed a scared 8 year old girl, as her mother tried to walk her to school. The image has inspired the country to take action.
The State does have a history of mistreating religious Jews. The Charedi community reaction to the backlash has been t0 fall back to being victims of Charedi bashing and everyone being against them. Most cannot even imagine that this is a direct backlash to their long tradition of using violence and political power to force their life style on others. When I was in Yeshiva, I was a block away from where they protested to have Bar Illan street closed on Shabbat. I saw wrongs on both sides. One night when a police car was hit with a rock, an arrest was made. They spent the night calling the soldiers Nazis, which in their world is a term for anyone who doesn't agree with them. The Nazi imagery that they used Saturday night should not have been a surprise to anybody.
In order to solve the problem at Orot, it is important to look at the real root of the problem. Most importantly this is a turf war. The Sikirm want the school for themselves and to expand the borders of their community and sphere of influence.
Moshe Abutbul was elected under the mantra of a Mayor for everyone. His actions have been anything but as he tries to cater to the Charedi community. In RBS A, the Mikvaot was split between those who wanted a "Mehdarin" experience and those who wanted to have the same standards applied by Jewish communities around the world. He tried to hand them over to the Charedi community and was only stopped by the backlash from the Datei Leumi community and leadership. He has been working to close the only secular school in RBS A, while telling parents he was trying to keep it open. Eventually the Minister of Education stepped in to declare that he will use his powers to guarantee the school stays open. The year my daughter entered Grade 1, school registration was delayed, waiting for the final decision of the school to be made.
When the Sikirm protested the opening of Orot in their new building, the Mayor tried to solve the problem by not allowing the school to open. Once again the Minister of Education threatened to step in, to make sure it opened. The Mayor falsely claimed that he was just trying to listen to the advice from the police.
In order to make peace it will be necessary to remove the political power wielded by the trouble makers in the Charedi community. This can be done both from a policy of not tolerating violence and limiting the dispoportional political power.
- Police should not be afraid to arrest those who are causing violence.
- There has to be a way to enforce a restraining order preventing, such ugly protests so close to the school.
- Following the lead of other democracies and raising the minimum threshold to obtain seats in the Knesset from 2% to 5%. This will allow knock out some of the extremist parties and cause the smaller parties to carry political weight more proportionate to their size.
- Eliminate vote sharing agreements and party mergers during election campaigns. These agreements allow parties with little support to leverage their votes and advertising allotments to in exchange for political favours.
It should be noted that the Charedi fighting does not spread to the communities of Bnei Brak, Beitar Illit, Kiryat Sefar and only seem to be limited to Meah Sharim and Beit Shemesh. The Beit Shemesh Charedi community is made up of a lot of people that cannot afford to stay in Mea Sharim. Mea Sharim is such an insulated community that they just cannot handle the idea that the rest of the world is not like them. Once you think your way is the only way, anything can be justified in the name of your beliefs.
Beit Shemesh will be getting a new Police Chief this week. Hopefully, he will have the skills and if necessary force to make it safe for the Orot girls to go to school. Once that is done, the Charedi community can start worrying about repairing their reputation and getting along as peaceful neighbours. The choice is theirs.
If the Sikirim had been stopped at the beginning of the school year, there would have been no need to bring in the media. Something that should be considered before starting the next turf war. Hopefully, my friends who's daughters go to Orot can let their daughters walk to school without worry just like I can.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Simchat Torah -- Surrounded by Children
Journey's 4 came out shortly before Channah was born. I listened to that CD on so many of my trips back and forth from the hospital. I felt personally connected to a bunch of the songs. One in particular was about post war Europe, where some survivors enter a boarded up shul to celebrate Simchat Torah. They discover that the Sifrei Torah are gone but there are a pair of children hiding in the shul.
We danced round and round in circles as if the world had done no wrong
From evening until morning, filling up the shul with song
Though we had no sifrei Torah to clutch an hold up high
In their place we held those children, am yisrael chai"
Every Simchat Torah, I would think of this song as I danced with Channah. She was my Sefer Torah. Last year we realized that it was the last year that she would be my Sefer Torah. She was getting too big to dance with me at shul. Rachel and I were both comforted, knowing there was going to be a new Sefer Torah to dance with this year.
Last night at shul, I could feel a tear in my soul. I wanted to connect to the joy and deep meaning of the day. At the same time, I didn't have my Sefer Torah to hold and dance with. I had a hard time participating, never mind enjoying the night. I had expressed to the Rabbi earlier in the week that I wanted Kol HaNearim. He told me that it had been taken care of.
This morning the auction reached Kol HaNearim. (Chatan Bereshit & Chatan Torah are assigned before the Chag). I immediately put up my hand to bid. Things went so fast that I am not sure how much I bid, but I had to withdraw pretty quickly. A friend dropped out when bidding hit 1000 NIS. Very quickly, the price hit 2000 NIS. The Rabbi called a timeout and asked who the other bidder was. They had a short meeting. The other bidder was someone who is really important in our life and is one of the people we consider to be our adopted family. The auctioneer choked up as he announced the two had formed a syndicate and had purchased the Aliyah for 4000 NIS and were giving it to me. Suddenly, I was overcome with a feeling of peace and comfort. I was able to fully enjoy Hakafot.
The Aliyah gave me a lot more Chizuk then I thought it would. All the kids said the bracha with me while Channah stood behind me. My aliyah talked about the land allocated to Dan, Naphtali and Asher. Our home is in the Dan region and Naphtali was the name we were going to use if Channah had been a boy. Chattan Bereshit (which came right after mine), mentioned Moshe seeing "Gilad" before he died and the Gabi reference, where Moshe died and we don't know where he is burried. It also contains the letter that I wrote for Gabi, although leining was not taking place from that particular Sefer Torah.
I do not believe in segulahs, as they tend to be people putting their faith into made up rituals, where the outcome is not always in our hand. However, having Kol HaNarim seemed to be the correct way to express everything that we have been through this year. I spent the time hoping that Hashem will grant our prayers to not be quite in the same positions next year. Next year, I will be more than happy to stand by and watch as I hold my own new and little Sefer Torah in my arms. May Hashem answer this one prayer with a yes.
We danced round and round in circles as if the world had done no wrong
From evening until morning, filling up the shul with song
Though we had no sifrei Torah to clutch an hold up high
In their place we held those children, am yisrael chai"
Every Simchat Torah, I would think of this song as I danced with Channah. She was my Sefer Torah. Last year we realized that it was the last year that she would be my Sefer Torah. She was getting too big to dance with me at shul. Rachel and I were both comforted, knowing there was going to be a new Sefer Torah to dance with this year.
Last night at shul, I could feel a tear in my soul. I wanted to connect to the joy and deep meaning of the day. At the same time, I didn't have my Sefer Torah to hold and dance with. I had a hard time participating, never mind enjoying the night. I had expressed to the Rabbi earlier in the week that I wanted Kol HaNearim. He told me that it had been taken care of.
This morning the auction reached Kol HaNearim. (Chatan Bereshit & Chatan Torah are assigned before the Chag). I immediately put up my hand to bid. Things went so fast that I am not sure how much I bid, but I had to withdraw pretty quickly. A friend dropped out when bidding hit 1000 NIS. Very quickly, the price hit 2000 NIS. The Rabbi called a timeout and asked who the other bidder was. They had a short meeting. The other bidder was someone who is really important in our life and is one of the people we consider to be our adopted family. The auctioneer choked up as he announced the two had formed a syndicate and had purchased the Aliyah for 4000 NIS and were giving it to me. Suddenly, I was overcome with a feeling of peace and comfort. I was able to fully enjoy Hakafot.
The Aliyah gave me a lot more Chizuk then I thought it would. All the kids said the bracha with me while Channah stood behind me. My aliyah talked about the land allocated to Dan, Naphtali and Asher. Our home is in the Dan region and Naphtali was the name we were going to use if Channah had been a boy. Chattan Bereshit (which came right after mine), mentioned Moshe seeing "Gilad" before he died and the Gabi reference, where Moshe died and we don't know where he is burried. It also contains the letter that I wrote for Gabi, although leining was not taking place from that particular Sefer Torah.
I do not believe in segulahs, as they tend to be people putting their faith into made up rituals, where the outcome is not always in our hand. However, having Kol HaNarim seemed to be the correct way to express everything that we have been through this year. I spent the time hoping that Hashem will grant our prayers to not be quite in the same positions next year. Next year, I will be more than happy to stand by and watch as I hold my own new and little Sefer Torah in my arms. May Hashem answer this one prayer with a yes.
Monday, October 17, 2011
What an End to the Season
Today was the end of the winter softball season. Wow, what a way to end the season. The game was at Baptist Village which is a lot further away then where we play most of our games. It was the first time, I played there. It had a very different feel then Gezer field as the out field fences were better designed to contain the ball. When I arrived the Sunday night pick up game was still playing. I asked them what type of ball they were using because it was bouncing like it was one of the rubber balls you use to play baseball inside a gym when it snows. It turns out that is was just that the field was very muddy, even though the mud was dry.
Before the game could start, we had an unusual problem. We had a full 9 man team but the other team was one man short. Not only that but one of our players brought a bunch of his kids including a 16 year old that we lent to their team. The original trade was a player straight for nothing. Then we realized that most of our main players were away and we only had one bat. At that point we sent in another negotiator to get a bat as part of the trade. We also gave them a LF, until his turn a bat (he batted 7th in the first) until their "9th" player arrived.
I started the game batting clean up and playing 2nd base. The first inning we scored a bunch of runs and held them scoreless on a bunch of pop ups. The 2nd inning they caught up, after we went 3 up 3 down. I was able to catch an inning ending pop up, which is a play that has been a problem for me as long as I have played baseball. First inning I had a one out ground out to advance the runner to their. Second inning I struck out.
Third inning I grounded out again. I also dropped a pop up. Then the controversy started. With the bases loaded, a ground ball was fielded and thrown home. The ball hit the catchers glove and it landed in his feet. The umpire called him out. He said the catcher had the ball and dropped it after being bumped by the base runner. They then hit a grounder to me, which I turned into an inning ending 4-3 double play. The other teams coach who had been on 3rd base at the time went nuts.
In the 4th we made a pitching change. Our (ringer) catcher, came into pitch for our coach. I was moved behind the plate. I did not have a good game behind the plate. On what play with runners on 1st and 2nd with two out a grounder was hit to our 3rd baseman. Umpire yelled, foul ball, so he didn't rush to make a play. Then he said my mistake and tried to rule it a fair ball. If it had been fair the inning would have been over. Once again their coach went nuts arguing the call. He wanted it to count as a single with the bases loaded. It was eventually ruled no pitch and the batter flew out to CF ending the inning.
In the top of the fifth the score was 11-10 with me at the plate with two runners on. I hit a clutch RBI single passed the second baseman making the score 12-10. We scored our last run on a wild pitch bringing the score to 13-10.
In the bottom of the fifth I was still catching. Two runs had scored making the score 13-12. Then the batter struck out with a ball low in the dirt. I don't know if it was a strike or not. All I know is I caught the ball and tagged the runner for good measure. The coach of the other team came out yelling at the umpire again. The ump said either you go or I go and walked off the field. Eventually he came back to finish off the inning. At that point, I went back to 2nd and our catcher went behind the plate as our regular pitcher returned to the mound to go for the save. First play was a ground ball to short which, was thrown to me for a 6-4 out. Then the next ball was grounded directly to me, for me to get the unassisted last out. The game was called, even though there was time left, because the umpires didn't want things to get more out of hand.
When hand shakes went around their coach shook on umpires hand but not the other. This lead to another shouting match, with the coach being threatened with expulsion from the league and the umpire being critized by the other ump for stirring things up.
The final outcome is we won our last game 13-12. Despite my mistakes, I made a solid contribution to the win.
Before the game could start, we had an unusual problem. We had a full 9 man team but the other team was one man short. Not only that but one of our players brought a bunch of his kids including a 16 year old that we lent to their team. The original trade was a player straight for nothing. Then we realized that most of our main players were away and we only had one bat. At that point we sent in another negotiator to get a bat as part of the trade. We also gave them a LF, until his turn a bat (he batted 7th in the first) until their "9th" player arrived.
I started the game batting clean up and playing 2nd base. The first inning we scored a bunch of runs and held them scoreless on a bunch of pop ups. The 2nd inning they caught up, after we went 3 up 3 down. I was able to catch an inning ending pop up, which is a play that has been a problem for me as long as I have played baseball. First inning I had a one out ground out to advance the runner to their. Second inning I struck out.
Third inning I grounded out again. I also dropped a pop up. Then the controversy started. With the bases loaded, a ground ball was fielded and thrown home. The ball hit the catchers glove and it landed in his feet. The umpire called him out. He said the catcher had the ball and dropped it after being bumped by the base runner. They then hit a grounder to me, which I turned into an inning ending 4-3 double play. The other teams coach who had been on 3rd base at the time went nuts.
In the 4th we made a pitching change. Our (ringer) catcher, came into pitch for our coach. I was moved behind the plate. I did not have a good game behind the plate. On what play with runners on 1st and 2nd with two out a grounder was hit to our 3rd baseman. Umpire yelled, foul ball, so he didn't rush to make a play. Then he said my mistake and tried to rule it a fair ball. If it had been fair the inning would have been over. Once again their coach went nuts arguing the call. He wanted it to count as a single with the bases loaded. It was eventually ruled no pitch and the batter flew out to CF ending the inning.
In the top of the fifth the score was 11-10 with me at the plate with two runners on. I hit a clutch RBI single passed the second baseman making the score 12-10. We scored our last run on a wild pitch bringing the score to 13-10.
In the bottom of the fifth I was still catching. Two runs had scored making the score 13-12. Then the batter struck out with a ball low in the dirt. I don't know if it was a strike or not. All I know is I caught the ball and tagged the runner for good measure. The coach of the other team came out yelling at the umpire again. The ump said either you go or I go and walked off the field. Eventually he came back to finish off the inning. At that point, I went back to 2nd and our catcher went behind the plate as our regular pitcher returned to the mound to go for the save. First play was a ground ball to short which, was thrown to me for a 6-4 out. Then the next ball was grounded directly to me, for me to get the unassisted last out. The game was called, even though there was time left, because the umpires didn't want things to get more out of hand.
When hand shakes went around their coach shook on umpires hand but not the other. This lead to another shouting match, with the coach being threatened with expulsion from the league and the umpire being critized by the other ump for stirring things up.
The final outcome is we won our last game 13-12. Despite my mistakes, I made a solid contribution to the win.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Sefer Torah and Hidden Graves
The oppurtunity to fulfill the mitzvah of writting a Sefer Torah by actually writting a Sefer Torah is a rare opportunity. I had done it once before, when my Yeshiva was taking the Sefer Torah from place to place to give alumni the opportunity to write a letter, even if they could not afford it. I was so nervous, that I basically losely held the pen while the Sofer did the work.
Shavuot night, they announced that a new Sefer Torah was being donated to the shul last night. What immediately appealed to us, was that they allocated the last two words for all of the children and would only require a 5 NIS donation. We immediately bought one for Channah and Gabi. After much contemplation we decided to by two letters at full price. One for my FIL who is currently on the winning side of a battle with a brain tumor and one for our family.
We got to the house where the final letters were being written and I told the Sofer that I had bought two letters. He asked if I wanted him to do it or if I would like to do it myself. I told him that I wanted to do it. He showed me how to hold the pen and had me practise on a scrap piece of parchment. I got it perfect on the first shot, so the Sofer picked out some of the harder letters to fill out. My hand started to shake, then I couldn't get the ink to come out. After some moving around he found me a Bet and a Reish to fill in from the world בארץ I wrote my two letters and then the Sofer cleaned them up and finished the word. There are commentaries who say that you can read out all of Jewish History in Parsha וזאת הבראכה and now I had my own special word. I hadn't really been paying attention to the Pasuk and in my head was thinking how it normally refers to the Land of Israel and how appropriate that was.
I then went to Shul for Mincha and looked up the Pasuk. In that section the word comes up 3 times. 34:5 - Moshe died, 34:6 - we don't know where Moshe is buried. 34:11 - evidence there will never be another like Moshe. I immediately freaked out because I thought, I had written from 34:6. My special word in the Torah was a remez (hint) about Gabi. Instead I have a Gzerah Shava (when on word is written in multiple places, we can learn out concepts between the different psukim).
I don't know what the lesson is, but somehow it connects, the first ever generation of Olim (our Aliyah), Moshe's unknown grave (just like Gabi) and those unable to enter the land of Israel.
Shavuot night, they announced that a new Sefer Torah was being donated to the shul last night. What immediately appealed to us, was that they allocated the last two words for all of the children and would only require a 5 NIS donation. We immediately bought one for Channah and Gabi. After much contemplation we decided to by two letters at full price. One for my FIL who is currently on the winning side of a battle with a brain tumor and one for our family.
We got to the house where the final letters were being written and I told the Sofer that I had bought two letters. He asked if I wanted him to do it or if I would like to do it myself. I told him that I wanted to do it. He showed me how to hold the pen and had me practise on a scrap piece of parchment. I got it perfect on the first shot, so the Sofer picked out some of the harder letters to fill out. My hand started to shake, then I couldn't get the ink to come out. After some moving around he found me a Bet and a Reish to fill in from the world בארץ I wrote my two letters and then the Sofer cleaned them up and finished the word. There are commentaries who say that you can read out all of Jewish History in Parsha וזאת הבראכה and now I had my own special word. I hadn't really been paying attention to the Pasuk and in my head was thinking how it normally refers to the Land of Israel and how appropriate that was.
I then went to Shul for Mincha and looked up the Pasuk. In that section the word comes up 3 times. 34:5 - Moshe died, 34:6 - we don't know where Moshe is buried. 34:11 - evidence there will never be another like Moshe. I immediately freaked out because I thought, I had written from 34:6. My special word in the Torah was a remez (hint) about Gabi. Instead I have a Gzerah Shava (when on word is written in multiple places, we can learn out concepts between the different psukim).
I don't know what the lesson is, but somehow it connects, the first ever generation of Olim (our Aliyah), Moshe's unknown grave (just like Gabi) and those unable to enter the land of Israel.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
It's All Dark, At the Ball Park, That's OK IT's A........
Sometimes the stars or in this case the moon, just line up for a perfect evening. It was the last softball game of the season (before the make up games) and I wanted to make sure Channah was able to come see a game. So Rachel and Channah came tonight, which happened to coincide with the full lunar eclipse. The eclipse began after the game started and by the end of the game the moon was completely gone. An open field, with no surrounding light pollution and an excuse to stay outside, was the perfect setting for such an occasion.
We were playing against the Demona 2 team, which is a young team that reminds of the Mighty Ducks. They have a coach that really works hard to guide them and they are constantly cheering or trying to syke out their opponents. They're aggressive, fast and love to bunt. They also have the hardest throwing pitcher in the league who did not pitch tonight.
There were a few great only in Israel moments. The umpire started the game asking what bracha to make on the eclipse. After call our Rabbi, I passed on the message. One of my team mates was so excited he started the first half of the bracha, then stopped and started waiving his arms. He was so excited to make the bracha he forgot what to say. I was glad to help him out.
The coach wanted to try me out at First Base for the game. I was having a horrible night, during warm ups so they moved me back to my preferred position at Second Base. Although, I normally justify my roster spot with my glove, this time it was my hitting that contributed to a great night.
My first at bat, I put down a first pitch bunt that landed straight in front of the plate. The 1B forgot to go to the bag, so all I had to do was run passed in to get the single. I think some runs also scored on the play. I eventually scored to increase the lead to 4-0.
My second at bat was the most memorable for me. On the first pitch, I tipped off that I was squaring up to bunt. This sent the defence into a panic, after my first successful bunt. The base runner knew, I had no intention of bunting and used the distraction to steal 2nd. I then put down a perfect bunt down the first base line for another hit. I eventually scored on a 2 out wild pitch.
My third at bat, I took the first pitch and the runner was caught stealing. I then took the next pitch and lined it over third base for my third single of the night. Next batter, I was forced out at 2nd base to end the inning.
My fourth at bat, I just didn't feel I had the pitcher lined up right and struck out.
The most bizarre play of the night happened when the other team had a runner on 2nd. The batter walked, while the base runner stole third. The batter then took a big turn towards 2nd. He was nailed in a run down, as we conceded the run. For those scoring at home it was a 2-3-6 out on a walk.
As for my glove, we the first ball hit towards me was mostly knocked down by the pitcher and the runner beat out the throw. The 2nd play was a 4-3 put out on a simple ground ball. I played catcher for the last two uneventful innings, as we nailed down the game for the win.
We were playing against the Demona 2 team, which is a young team that reminds of the Mighty Ducks. They have a coach that really works hard to guide them and they are constantly cheering or trying to syke out their opponents. They're aggressive, fast and love to bunt. They also have the hardest throwing pitcher in the league who did not pitch tonight.
There were a few great only in Israel moments. The umpire started the game asking what bracha to make on the eclipse. After call our Rabbi, I passed on the message. One of my team mates was so excited he started the first half of the bracha, then stopped and started waiving his arms. He was so excited to make the bracha he forgot what to say. I was glad to help him out.
The coach wanted to try me out at First Base for the game. I was having a horrible night, during warm ups so they moved me back to my preferred position at Second Base. Although, I normally justify my roster spot with my glove, this time it was my hitting that contributed to a great night.
My first at bat, I put down a first pitch bunt that landed straight in front of the plate. The 1B forgot to go to the bag, so all I had to do was run passed in to get the single. I think some runs also scored on the play. I eventually scored to increase the lead to 4-0.
My second at bat was the most memorable for me. On the first pitch, I tipped off that I was squaring up to bunt. This sent the defence into a panic, after my first successful bunt. The base runner knew, I had no intention of bunting and used the distraction to steal 2nd. I then put down a perfect bunt down the first base line for another hit. I eventually scored on a 2 out wild pitch.
My third at bat, I took the first pitch and the runner was caught stealing. I then took the next pitch and lined it over third base for my third single of the night. Next batter, I was forced out at 2nd base to end the inning.
My fourth at bat, I just didn't feel I had the pitcher lined up right and struck out.
The most bizarre play of the night happened when the other team had a runner on 2nd. The batter walked, while the base runner stole third. The batter then took a big turn towards 2nd. He was nailed in a run down, as we conceded the run. For those scoring at home it was a 2-3-6 out on a walk.
As for my glove, we the first ball hit towards me was mostly knocked down by the pitcher and the runner beat out the throw. The 2nd play was a 4-3 put out on a simple ground ball. I played catcher for the last two uneventful innings, as we nailed down the game for the win.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Pilot Trips Before NBN
In this week's Parsha the Jewish people decide they need a pilot trip before entering the land of Israel. The negative report kept that generation from entering the land. There is a machloket among meforshim if God really approved of the trip instead of trusting him. Rachel and I did not take a pilot trip and the move has gone well for us.
I had an very interesting conversation with a friend this evening.
Me: We are going to the cherry picking festival. This time we are trying to go with someone who knows how to get there.
Friend: but the Mitzvah in this week's Parsha is to explore the land.
Me: I want to explore the land and bring home cherries!!
Friend: That's selfish of you.
Me: Think of what would have happened if the Meraglim brought back cherries instead of grapes. Jewish history would have been completely different.
Friend: The wine companies would use a different logo.
I had an very interesting conversation with a friend this evening.
Me: We are going to the cherry picking festival. This time we are trying to go with someone who knows how to get there.
Friend: but the Mitzvah in this week's Parsha is to explore the land.
Me: I want to explore the land and bring home cherries!!
Friend: That's selfish of you.
Me: Think of what would have happened if the Meraglim brought back cherries instead of grapes. Jewish history would have been completely different.
Friend: The wine companies would use a different logo.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
A Snowflake in Beit Shemesh
From time to time over the last couple of years we have considered buying a car. Most Olim consider buying a car towards the end of their 3rd year, before their rights expire. We had been working with a razor thin budget. We kept getting told that if only we doubled our budget we could get a decent car.
With everything we have dealt with in the passed year, some family members decided to help remove the financial obstacles that were hampering our car search. So this time we were fully committed to the search with quadruple the budget. Again we ran into the response if only we could kick in another 60% we could get a decent car.
This time we had some other things going in our favour. Driving is really impractical for my commute to work. The way our street is designed, it would take longer if we decided to drive some places then to walk. No matter how much we rely on the car, we think it is safe to say it will be a low milage car.
The week started optimistically, as we thought we had found a really great deal on a yellow 2004 Getz. It was sold before we had an opportunity to look at it. Over the course of the week, we ran head first into the frustration, that buying a car in Israel can be.
- A mechanic who we have relied on during previous searches, didn't seem too interested.
- One agent would only look for the best value on one particular make and model of our choice. For 200 NIS he could help us decide what particular car that should be. While we were looking for this century, he was thinking a little older. Plus he never returned phone calls.
- The company that found the first Getz had seemed promising. Then we found out that any car that was not on their lot would require a 500 NIS deposit just for the opportunity to see it.
Out of frustration, I opened up Shemeshphone and called the local dealers. The first one offered 'Haimeshe' service but didn't speak English. Then things started to fall into place.
The place I called was a local dealer in the industrial part of town. I told him what we were looking for. He suggested that we could use financing to and get a slightly more expensive car with more bang for the buck. I gave him our floor price and waited to see what he could do with it first. He said he would contact his Jerusalem lot to see what they had. He would call me back in the afternoon.
He did exactly what he promised. He found 5 cars and only one was slightly above the budget I gave him. He would get a driver to bring one of the cars to Beit Shemesh for us to take a look free of charge. He said he would call us when it arrived and he did.
The car was in excellent condition. A few scratches (this is Israel) and the 'z' had fallen off. We took it for a test drive including going up "the hill". It performed very nicely. There is ample room for what we need.
In the end we bought a 2006 White Getz GLF. Milage is a little high, which will balance out with our low mileage driving. It has a 1.4L engine which solves some of the fuel efficiency concerns. We got it for 8,300 NIS below list price. The engine and transmission are under warranty for 6 months. On Wednesday their mechanic will come in and perform any required maintenance that is coming up. The tires are brand new. Pick up will be on Sunday, once I am able to take care of the insurance.
Tonight the Rabbi made sure to point out which bracha to say when we pick up the car. We think we got a great deal with excellent customer service, while staying local. I don't think things could have gone any smoother.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Returning to the Softball Diamond
With all of the difficulties in the last 6 weeks combined with some much needed rain, has put my attempts to start playing softball on the backburner.
In January, I passed the physical and a few weeks ago I played my first game. I was blown away when I arrived at the field. It was the same one that used to host the IBL. The field was impressive with grass, dirt infield, properly drawn foul lines, foul poles, permanent bases and an outfield fence. They even had two umpires. They also had rules I never heard of for this level of play, such as a designated field and a DH (who could play the field).
The team we played against was really talented. Playing in Spanish, with real baseball names like Rodriguez and Ramirez added to the intimidation factor. I soon discovered that I might be out of my league with the skill of some of my team mates. They stuck me in RF where I had trouble tracking down fly balls (which has always been a problem for me). At the plate where I normally redeem myself, I was hit by a pitch, grounded out, then struck out. We lost but managed to not invoke the mercy rule (down by 15 after 3 innings ends the game). I wasn't 100% sure if I wanted to go back.
The week before Pesach was hard to get guys out especially with two games on the schedule. Last night we had only 9 guys. They stuck me out at my preferred position of 2B. The coach was playing SS. Based on the way we were covering plays, it was clear I did not have his full confidence.
In the 2nd inning there was a hard hit ball to my left. As I tried to get the ball, in fell out of my glove and I ended up making picking up the ball while lying on the field. From my position I could only manage a weak throw and to make things worse I through it into the ground. The ball slowing trickled to the first basemen with enough time to get out the runner.
A few plays later, there was an attempted steal of second base. I ran to the bag and the throw was low and off to my left. Instead of sliding, the runner deciding to go into 2nd standing up. I caught him and the ball at the same time. I took a knee my head as I fell over but as I we untangled I was able to show that I still had the ball and the runner was out. When I first stood up, I was worried because my head hurt and I couldn't see anything. Someone pointing out my glasses had fallen off solved that problem.
From that point on I had the full confidence of the coach. He gave me first choice on handling certain plays. Later in the game, I picked up another assist as the runner fell and didn't get up after rounding second base. As the cut off man, I was able to get the ball in, with plenty of time to get him out.
At the plate most of the team was poping out. Even the catcher caught two foul balls. I managed to hit the ball hard on the ground into a 4-6-3 double play. We lost 19-1 after 4 innings, finishing the game almost an hour early.
This was more of they type of game I wanted to play (minus the lack of offence and losing) and am once again looking forward to the next game.
In January, I passed the physical and a few weeks ago I played my first game. I was blown away when I arrived at the field. It was the same one that used to host the IBL. The field was impressive with grass, dirt infield, properly drawn foul lines, foul poles, permanent bases and an outfield fence. They even had two umpires. They also had rules I never heard of for this level of play, such as a designated field and a DH (who could play the field).
The team we played against was really talented. Playing in Spanish, with real baseball names like Rodriguez and Ramirez added to the intimidation factor. I soon discovered that I might be out of my league with the skill of some of my team mates. They stuck me in RF where I had trouble tracking down fly balls (which has always been a problem for me). At the plate where I normally redeem myself, I was hit by a pitch, grounded out, then struck out. We lost but managed to not invoke the mercy rule (down by 15 after 3 innings ends the game). I wasn't 100% sure if I wanted to go back.
The week before Pesach was hard to get guys out especially with two games on the schedule. Last night we had only 9 guys. They stuck me out at my preferred position of 2B. The coach was playing SS. Based on the way we were covering plays, it was clear I did not have his full confidence.
In the 2nd inning there was a hard hit ball to my left. As I tried to get the ball, in fell out of my glove and I ended up making picking up the ball while lying on the field. From my position I could only manage a weak throw and to make things worse I through it into the ground. The ball slowing trickled to the first basemen with enough time to get out the runner.
A few plays later, there was an attempted steal of second base. I ran to the bag and the throw was low and off to my left. Instead of sliding, the runner deciding to go into 2nd standing up. I caught him and the ball at the same time. I took a knee my head as I fell over but as I we untangled I was able to show that I still had the ball and the runner was out. When I first stood up, I was worried because my head hurt and I couldn't see anything. Someone pointing out my glasses had fallen off solved that problem.
From that point on I had the full confidence of the coach. He gave me first choice on handling certain plays. Later in the game, I picked up another assist as the runner fell and didn't get up after rounding second base. As the cut off man, I was able to get the ball in, with plenty of time to get him out.
At the plate most of the team was poping out. Even the catcher caught two foul balls. I managed to hit the ball hard on the ground into a 4-6-3 double play. We lost 19-1 after 4 innings, finishing the game almost an hour early.
This was more of they type of game I wanted to play (minus the lack of offence and losing) and am once again looking forward to the next game.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Connecting the Mourning of Losing a Daughter and the Beit HaMikdash
My Rabbi likes to say that a Mitzvah has to have Mazel. You never know which ones are going to become popular and which ones are going to be forgotten. One of the forgotten mitzvahs he is big on is tearing kriyah when going to the Kotel if you have not been there in 30 days. I have a special shirt reserved for this purpose. It's replacement has already been lined up because it has too many holes, but this morning I couldn't find it and went back to the original.
Tearing kriyah was a different experience. For one I had my father over my shoulder trying to figure out what I was doing. It was also the first time I teared kriyah since Gabi died. The contrast was quite emotional. While Jerusalem is in Jewish hands and we are able to visit our holy sights we still mourn that the most important thing the Jewish people has lost as a whole has not been returned. On the flip side, as much as I loved Gabi, held her warm body in my arms her failure to have a single heart beat outside of Rachel, means her life halachicly did not count. As painful as losing her is, I did not tear kriyah for her. I could not help but think of how much it doesn't bother us that we don't have the Beit HaMikdash. It is also sad that halacha has not stepped up to the plate to deal with the emotional realities caused by advancement in the field medicine.
I went down to the Kotel. Chabad really annoyed my father with the line "Hey Grandpa, Do you want to put on teffilin?" We davened mincha then I took some time to myself. What I thought was going to be a relatively short tefillah, evolved as it went along. Everytime I thought I was done, I threw in the word "and" then continued. A recurring theme was I kept saying "Eicha" Eicha is the book we read on Tish B'Av, when we mourn the loss of the Beit Hamikdash. The word essentially means "How can it be?" 4 weeks ago, I repeated it over and over again as I cried myself to sleep.
I not only hope that my Teffilot will be answered with a yes, but that I have davened for the right thing as not to have a bracha taken away on a technicality.
Tearing kriyah was a different experience. For one I had my father over my shoulder trying to figure out what I was doing. It was also the first time I teared kriyah since Gabi died. The contrast was quite emotional. While Jerusalem is in Jewish hands and we are able to visit our holy sights we still mourn that the most important thing the Jewish people has lost as a whole has not been returned. On the flip side, as much as I loved Gabi, held her warm body in my arms her failure to have a single heart beat outside of Rachel, means her life halachicly did not count. As painful as losing her is, I did not tear kriyah for her. I could not help but think of how much it doesn't bother us that we don't have the Beit HaMikdash. It is also sad that halacha has not stepped up to the plate to deal with the emotional realities caused by advancement in the field medicine.
I went down to the Kotel. Chabad really annoyed my father with the line "Hey Grandpa, Do you want to put on teffilin?" We davened mincha then I took some time to myself. What I thought was going to be a relatively short tefillah, evolved as it went along. Everytime I thought I was done, I threw in the word "and" then continued. A recurring theme was I kept saying "Eicha" Eicha is the book we read on Tish B'Av, when we mourn the loss of the Beit Hamikdash. The word essentially means "How can it be?" 4 weeks ago, I repeated it over and over again as I cried myself to sleep.
I not only hope that my Teffilot will be answered with a yes, but that I have davened for the right thing as not to have a bracha taken away on a technicality.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
How We Lost Our Little Princess
I want to write down all the things going through my head write now. I just can't capture it in any type of coherent form. I am just going to recap what happened yesterday.
On Monday morning Rachel went to the Kupa for her regular Monday round of appointments at the Kupa. The nurse was having trouble finding a heart beat. She immediately went to the doctor to do an ultra sound. The Kupa doesn't have an Ultra Sound tech working on the day that the high risk doctor was in. She said she saw a faint heart beat and ordered an ambulance.
Rachel called me to tell me it was time and to get to the Mercaz before the ambulance. It took me a moment to register what was going on. She said we were going to the hospital and they would decide if we need an emergency C-Section. Ein Kerem was choosen because it would be closer.
Taking the 38 can be nerve racking at the best of times. Taking it full speed in traffic with sirens blaring was terrifying. Rachel had to do it lying down backwards. During that time, I started refocusing on the possibility that we could have a preemie born that day and we could handle it. I never had the slightest inkling of what really happened.
Rachel was set up in labour and delivery. They brought over the ultra sound machine. You could see the look in the techs face when he didn't see anything and called over another tech. Again the same thing happened and they called in the doctor. Next was a proper ultra sound. Rachel was given the option of how to get there and choose walking as it was the fastest. As I am running with all our stuff, to keep up with Rachel, the staff is trying to get me to take of the paper work. After doing everything they could they determined their was no pulse.
We went back to L&D, before being taken to a mostly private room next door, away from the heart breaking noise of the heart monitors. I called the Rabbi to tell him what happened. 20 minutes later I called to ask the first Shiloh and he said he was already on route to the hospital.
Rachel also needed a Mom, so I called her Aunt from the Shomron to sub in for the role. The help at that point in time was tremendous.
Rachel was given the choice between induction and C-Section. After choosing C-Section the doctors than tried to discourage her. The C-Section was scheduled for 2 hours later. During our wait we also met with the Social Worker.
During the C-Section they showed us the large knot in the umbilical cord. They said it happened very fast and she showed no signs of suffering. The first time you hold your baby girl in your arms, you are supposed to make a Shechiynu. Instead I burst into tears. She was warm and looked just like Channah when she was born, only bigger (1480g). I can still feel what it was like to hold her in my arms the same way, I can still visualize how I used to first hold Channah. It felt like holding a sleeping baby. Rachel was still pretty imobile from the surgery, but she was able to touch her.
The support we have received since then has been amazing. People are spending the night, so Rachel is not alone. I spent a great deal of time, yesterday and today running around to get straight the Chevra Kadisha starightened out. We rented a car so we could go back and forth to the hospital easily. Parking is a nightmare. It is like Yorkdale the week before Christmas, only worse. Channah had her Mesibat Siddur today. My chavrusah arranged for a professional photographer to make a video for Rachel.
We had finally accepted the fact that we had our perfect little family. Then we go to the Kotel and Channah davens for a little sister. A short time later, Rachel's dermatologist would not provide a needed script until she took a pregancy test. She thought it was just jet leg, not the answer to a special little girls prayers. Maintaining this pregancy became a full time job. We were so greatful for the oppurtunity. Hashem gave us such a wonderful gift. I am still having trouble accepting that he would just take it away just like that.
On Monday morning Rachel went to the Kupa for her regular Monday round of appointments at the Kupa. The nurse was having trouble finding a heart beat. She immediately went to the doctor to do an ultra sound. The Kupa doesn't have an Ultra Sound tech working on the day that the high risk doctor was in. She said she saw a faint heart beat and ordered an ambulance.
Rachel called me to tell me it was time and to get to the Mercaz before the ambulance. It took me a moment to register what was going on. She said we were going to the hospital and they would decide if we need an emergency C-Section. Ein Kerem was choosen because it would be closer.
Taking the 38 can be nerve racking at the best of times. Taking it full speed in traffic with sirens blaring was terrifying. Rachel had to do it lying down backwards. During that time, I started refocusing on the possibility that we could have a preemie born that day and we could handle it. I never had the slightest inkling of what really happened.
Rachel was set up in labour and delivery. They brought over the ultra sound machine. You could see the look in the techs face when he didn't see anything and called over another tech. Again the same thing happened and they called in the doctor. Next was a proper ultra sound. Rachel was given the option of how to get there and choose walking as it was the fastest. As I am running with all our stuff, to keep up with Rachel, the staff is trying to get me to take of the paper work. After doing everything they could they determined their was no pulse.
We went back to L&D, before being taken to a mostly private room next door, away from the heart breaking noise of the heart monitors. I called the Rabbi to tell him what happened. 20 minutes later I called to ask the first Shiloh and he said he was already on route to the hospital.
Rachel also needed a Mom, so I called her Aunt from the Shomron to sub in for the role. The help at that point in time was tremendous.
Rachel was given the choice between induction and C-Section. After choosing C-Section the doctors than tried to discourage her. The C-Section was scheduled for 2 hours later. During our wait we also met with the Social Worker.
During the C-Section they showed us the large knot in the umbilical cord. They said it happened very fast and she showed no signs of suffering. The first time you hold your baby girl in your arms, you are supposed to make a Shechiynu. Instead I burst into tears. She was warm and looked just like Channah when she was born, only bigger (1480g). I can still feel what it was like to hold her in my arms the same way, I can still visualize how I used to first hold Channah. It felt like holding a sleeping baby. Rachel was still pretty imobile from the surgery, but she was able to touch her.
The support we have received since then has been amazing. People are spending the night, so Rachel is not alone. I spent a great deal of time, yesterday and today running around to get straight the Chevra Kadisha starightened out. We rented a car so we could go back and forth to the hospital easily. Parking is a nightmare. It is like Yorkdale the week before Christmas, only worse. Channah had her Mesibat Siddur today. My chavrusah arranged for a professional photographer to make a video for Rachel.
We had finally accepted the fact that we had our perfect little family. Then we go to the Kotel and Channah davens for a little sister. A short time later, Rachel's dermatologist would not provide a needed script until she took a pregancy test. She thought it was just jet leg, not the answer to a special little girls prayers. Maintaining this pregancy became a full time job. We were so greatful for the oppurtunity. Hashem gave us such a wonderful gift. I am still having trouble accepting that he would just take it away just like that.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Investigating Kashrut Properly
One of the drawbacks to life in RBS is there are elements of the community that want to be frummer than everyone else. If that makes them happy, then it generally doesn't bother me. The problem is in RBS these elements tend not to be satisfied with "improving" themselves and want to make their chumras public policy. In RBS B (home of such embarrassing groups as the Neturei Karta and the Burka Babes) the trend is to use Tzniut as the vehicle for attack.
In RBS A there has been an Anglo shul that has been the lightning rod of controversy by handling community issues the "Daas Torah" way. Over the past 6 months they have hosted a number of special shiurim designed on increasing "awareness" of the level of kashrut. As an offshoot there have been two major kashrut scandals. When the dust settles it became clear that there was never anything problems with the kashrut of the food. A little more care and due deligence would have prevented setting off the Kashrut Alarm.
Over the past week, I conducted a kashrut investigation of my own. The Keurig website had explicitly stated that Twinings K-Cups were not Kosher. The Twinings web page stated that all of their products sold in the United States and Canada were certified kosher by the London Beth Din with a link to their website. As we sell to schools, shuls and businesses in the Jewish community, providing in correct kosher information would be really bad.
If I followed the models practised locally, we would have notified all of our customers that Twinings wasn't kosher and pulled the kosher information off our website. Instead, I contacted Keurig, Twinings and the London Beth Din. Keurig repeated the Kosher information on their website and said I should take it up with Twinings. The London Beth Din said they would investigate and I never heard from them again. Twinings initially provided their London Beth Din Kosher information. They then told me that they had contacted Keurig and they had accepted their OU certification and the website would be corrected. The Keurig website now lists their Twinings tea as being certified by the OU.
When money and halacha are mixed together, it is very easy for things to get complicated. One time, when our Rabbi was asked to check out a particular restaurant he found certain things that set of warning bells. Rav Goldstein (who is a big local Posek) told him that while there were valid concerns, halchically it would not be permitted to say that the restaurant was not kosher. Unless there is a blatant kashrut violation, time and care need to be taken to get all the facts correct before making public proclamations. In this particular case Twinings was able to reestablish themselves on equal footing with the other 4 tea manufacturers without the mass panic of customers who would falsely think their brewers had been used for a non-kosher product.
In RBS A there has been an Anglo shul that has been the lightning rod of controversy by handling community issues the "Daas Torah" way. Over the past 6 months they have hosted a number of special shiurim designed on increasing "awareness" of the level of kashrut. As an offshoot there have been two major kashrut scandals. When the dust settles it became clear that there was never anything problems with the kashrut of the food. A little more care and due deligence would have prevented setting off the Kashrut Alarm.
Over the past week, I conducted a kashrut investigation of my own. The Keurig website had explicitly stated that Twinings K-Cups were not Kosher. The Twinings web page stated that all of their products sold in the United States and Canada were certified kosher by the London Beth Din with a link to their website. As we sell to schools, shuls and businesses in the Jewish community, providing in correct kosher information would be really bad.
If I followed the models practised locally, we would have notified all of our customers that Twinings wasn't kosher and pulled the kosher information off our website. Instead, I contacted Keurig, Twinings and the London Beth Din. Keurig repeated the Kosher information on their website and said I should take it up with Twinings. The London Beth Din said they would investigate and I never heard from them again. Twinings initially provided their London Beth Din Kosher information. They then told me that they had contacted Keurig and they had accepted their OU certification and the website would be corrected. The Keurig website now lists their Twinings tea as being certified by the OU.
When money and halacha are mixed together, it is very easy for things to get complicated. One time, when our Rabbi was asked to check out a particular restaurant he found certain things that set of warning bells. Rav Goldstein (who is a big local Posek) told him that while there were valid concerns, halchically it would not be permitted to say that the restaurant was not kosher. Unless there is a blatant kashrut violation, time and care need to be taken to get all the facts correct before making public proclamations. In this particular case Twinings was able to reestablish themselves on equal footing with the other 4 tea manufacturers without the mass panic of customers who would falsely think their brewers had been used for a non-kosher product.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
When the Doctor Recommend Going Against Medical Advice
Yesterday all the tests were fine and the baby was doing well. The doctor said he wanted to keep her overnight and discharge her in the morning. When asked for a medical reason to justify his decision he was open and honest. The staff that handle the discharge papers leave at 15:00 and Rachel needed to have the 2nd steroid shot to help the baby's lung development at 16:20. Rachel explained that staying at the hospital was a non starter for a number of reasons. It would mean missing a medical appointment close to home with someone who is only available once a week. There would be no helpful medical care provided. Due to the lack of rooms, Rachel had been stuck in the post postpartum ward with all the crying babies. This also meant any medical care that she was supposed to receive while she was there was taking 10 times as long. The level of systemic medical care was embarrassingly poor. .
After hearing these arguments the doctor agreed that the healthier option for both Rachel and the baby was to be home. He recommended that Rachel sign out of the hospital "AMA" (Against Medical Advice). He told us what paperwork needed to be done and was ready in order to make sure the Kupah would still pay for the visit.
Last month, Bikor Cholim hospital was turned down by the government for extra funding to keep the hospital running. There was a real threat that it would finally be closed down. The hospital has been on financial life support for quite some time. This brought up all the arguments for keeping it open. There was criticism of the possibility of shutting down the hospital located in the heart of downtown, only a few blocks away from some of the worst terrorist attacks during the 2nd Antifada. They mainly serve the local Charedi population who would have a difficult time getting to the 3 hospitals on the outskirts of the city, especially on Shabbat.
After seeing it first hand, it reminded me of the arguments made to keep Branson Hospital open in Toronto. As a kid, it was the closest hospital to where I lived. In every single document for medical permission my parents had to sign for school or camp etc..., they noted not to send me to Branson. Despite their reputation for horrible medical care, people argued that it was close by for people who would have trouble getting to the other hospitals, especially in the Jewish community. Eventually it was closed down and the premises taken over by another hospital. Bikor Cholim is in a prime location for a top level hospital to serve the community. After 160 some odd years, it is about time that they get one.
After hearing these arguments the doctor agreed that the healthier option for both Rachel and the baby was to be home. He recommended that Rachel sign out of the hospital "AMA" (Against Medical Advice). He told us what paperwork needed to be done and was ready in order to make sure the Kupah would still pay for the visit.
Last month, Bikor Cholim hospital was turned down by the government for extra funding to keep the hospital running. There was a real threat that it would finally be closed down. The hospital has been on financial life support for quite some time. This brought up all the arguments for keeping it open. There was criticism of the possibility of shutting down the hospital located in the heart of downtown, only a few blocks away from some of the worst terrorist attacks during the 2nd Antifada. They mainly serve the local Charedi population who would have a difficult time getting to the 3 hospitals on the outskirts of the city, especially on Shabbat.
After seeing it first hand, it reminded me of the arguments made to keep Branson Hospital open in Toronto. As a kid, it was the closest hospital to where I lived. In every single document for medical permission my parents had to sign for school or camp etc..., they noted not to send me to Branson. Despite their reputation for horrible medical care, people argued that it was close by for people who would have trouble getting to the other hospitals, especially in the Jewish community. Eventually it was closed down and the premises taken over by another hospital. Bikor Cholim is in a prime location for a top level hospital to serve the community. After 160 some odd years, it is about time that they get one.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Another Doctors Appointment Another Trip to J-Town
This morning Rachel and I went to the doctor for one of her regular appointments at the OB. The doctor decided herself on something they were not able to get on the last ultra sound. The baby wasn't moving to her satisfaction. So I ran to buy an orange juice to try to wake the baby up. It didn't help, so the doctor told us to go to Haddasah Har Hatzofim to get an ultra sound with better equipment, as a precaution. We had to hurry as it was almost noon and we the technicians go home at 2:30. We went home quickly packed a travel bag and were on the 417 to the hospital. Arrangements were made for Channah to go to fiends after school.
We have had the route planned out for a while of getting off at Bar Illan and taking a bus from their. The only notification was to take a taxi instead. As we hit Jerusalem traffic we asked the driver if it was better to get off immeditaly and catch a cab, then wait out the traffic. He said we should have told him earlier because he would have suggested getting off at one of the first bus stops. Taxis don't go to Bar Illan because they know everyone is taking the bus. He then proceeded to try to flag down a taxi. At one point to save time he drove on a sidewalk (which had people walking on it) to get around a car that was blocking traffic. Eventually he told us to where to get off, to have the best chance of catching a taxi.
We get to the hospital and we completly lost as to where to go. The room marked Ultrasound was actually the office for checking in. Then I had to go downstairs to register Rachel while they began the exam. They found everything to be normal but the baby was not moving to their satisfaction. We then go to the entry area for Labour and Delivery. It was pure chaos as the doctors are dealing with multiple patients and we have not clue what is going on. Eventually they have a huddle of about 8 medical personal to decide what to do. As their is no space in the NICU, just in case we need it, she would be transferred to Bikor Cholim. In response to Rachel's pleas to go home they point out that it is so serious they are sending us by ambulance. About 15 minutes later they asked us if we had a car or if we needed the ambulance.
After more chaos and monitoring the give Rachel the Steriod shot (to help the babies lungs) and send on our way to try to figure out where the ambulance is. To stress the seriousness of the situation Rachel must go by wheelchair and someone would be waiting for us at the hospital.
We find the ambulance, which was more of a Hassaah then anything else. When we get near the hospital we get dropped off by the side of the road and get vague instructions on where to go next. Nobody was expecting us and we had to go through the full registration. Once signed in Rachel goes for monitoring.
After a few minutes of monitoring, I am told to leave the area because it wasn't tznius because woman also needed monitoring. I use the time to call some of our friends to let them know what is going on. One friend calls to say that she is about to get on the bus to come help us out at the hospital. As soon, as I hang up the phone the baby starts kicking. The friend arrives and I am once again thrown out of the room for a much longer period of time. This time the friend is able to keep me updated.
The end result is Rachel is staying in the hospital overnight in order to get the second shot of the steroid. They will also be doing monitoring during the day to make sure everything is all right. We are hoping that she comes home tomorrow or at least in the next couple of days. Channah as her Misibat Chumash on Thursday and we both want to be there.
We have had the route planned out for a while of getting off at Bar Illan and taking a bus from their. The only notification was to take a taxi instead. As we hit Jerusalem traffic we asked the driver if it was better to get off immeditaly and catch a cab, then wait out the traffic. He said we should have told him earlier because he would have suggested getting off at one of the first bus stops. Taxis don't go to Bar Illan because they know everyone is taking the bus. He then proceeded to try to flag down a taxi. At one point to save time he drove on a sidewalk (which had people walking on it) to get around a car that was blocking traffic. Eventually he told us to where to get off, to have the best chance of catching a taxi.
We get to the hospital and we completly lost as to where to go. The room marked Ultrasound was actually the office for checking in. Then I had to go downstairs to register Rachel while they began the exam. They found everything to be normal but the baby was not moving to their satisfaction. We then go to the entry area for Labour and Delivery. It was pure chaos as the doctors are dealing with multiple patients and we have not clue what is going on. Eventually they have a huddle of about 8 medical personal to decide what to do. As their is no space in the NICU, just in case we need it, she would be transferred to Bikor Cholim. In response to Rachel's pleas to go home they point out that it is so serious they are sending us by ambulance. About 15 minutes later they asked us if we had a car or if we needed the ambulance.
After more chaos and monitoring the give Rachel the Steriod shot (to help the babies lungs) and send on our way to try to figure out where the ambulance is. To stress the seriousness of the situation Rachel must go by wheelchair and someone would be waiting for us at the hospital.
We find the ambulance, which was more of a Hassaah then anything else. When we get near the hospital we get dropped off by the side of the road and get vague instructions on where to go next. Nobody was expecting us and we had to go through the full registration. Once signed in Rachel goes for monitoring.
After a few minutes of monitoring, I am told to leave the area because it wasn't tznius because woman also needed monitoring. I use the time to call some of our friends to let them know what is going on. One friend calls to say that she is about to get on the bus to come help us out at the hospital. As soon, as I hang up the phone the baby starts kicking. The friend arrives and I am once again thrown out of the room for a much longer period of time. This time the friend is able to keep me updated.
The end result is Rachel is staying in the hospital overnight in order to get the second shot of the steroid. They will also be doing monitoring during the day to make sure everything is all right. We are hoping that she comes home tomorrow or at least in the next couple of days. Channah as her Misibat Chumash on Thursday and we both want to be there.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
In the Army Now
Last week I was invited to play paintball. At first I was reluctant, as my previous time playing paintball in Toronto was not a great experience. It was dark so I couldn't see very well, including where I was shooting. My gun kept jamming which lead me to playing one game with my hopper open. Plus the paintballs hurt leaving me with welts on my stomach and neck. When I thought about it, I realized that paintball in Israel (where people have real army training), is a completely different experience. The bonus was it was free because they were filming a commercial.
The location was an abandoned army training base, still owned by the IDF. It was a beautiful sunny day, (not too hot not to cold). There were army fatigues for everyone. Well, almost there were not enough pants to go around. The equipment was semi-automatic M-16 in excellent condition. No problems with jamming and they did shoot straight.
There were 3 staff members. There was the company owner who was the base commander. There were also two other commanders who ran the day. One was tough and serious. He liked to yell and make people do push ups run around and other drills. One guys day was done when they had a heated argument with the commander because he didn't want to do a duck walk for the video. My commander was the exact opposite. He did paratroopers and was really laid back. At one point someone offered to do push up, army style (holding his gun). When he was told that his knees should be off the ground, he complained it would be harder. One of the girls in our group proceeded to do a bunch of proper regular push ups.
The day started with getting uniforms before being briefed by the tough commander. He was trying to set the tone of feeling like we were really in the army for a few hours. Having to concede his authority to the cameraman, did frustrate him just a little bit. After being briefed and assigned to teams, we received our weapons.
The weapons training was neat because they kept referring to how things are done in the army. There are 3 ways to shoot (walking, lying down, crouching) and practiced them all using balloons as practice. It was a great feeling knowing that I was able to hit my targets.
All in all we played 3 different games. The first one was capture the flag. The leader of our team had a plan but had some difficulty, assigning the tasks to be organized. I was in the back of a team of 4 who was trying to cut around the outside and moving really slowly. I cut back to the building holding our flag, when I saw some people closing in on our position. It was quite a feeling trying to fend off a position listening to the paintballs, explode over my head not sure where the shots were fired from. I saw them closing in on our position and warned one of our gaurds. They took the flag and the guard chased them down. The gaurd did not know if they could bring back the flag and in the confusion, someone else I had previously had a shootout with scooped the flag. I started to chase, but someone was yelling that had been hit and I was wide open to be taken out by anyone else. In all the confusion and disorganization we lost.
The 2nd game was rescue the hostage. There were 5 "terrorists" defending a hostage trapped in Gaza. My rescue team was lead by the commander, so I got to experience how a real soldier goes into a building. During a shootout, I had a paintball brush off the top of my head. The base commander said there was no paint and sent me back to battle. By that point all of the terrorists had been taken out and the body was been carried back to the base.
The final game was everyone for themselves, for whoever still had ammo left. The position I started with, was a little bit out of the way. After some silence there were was shooting near the main buildings. Someone had taken up a position behind a stack of tires, where he was completely exposed from my angle. I would get off a bunch of shots before taking cover. It was funny because, I could see the paintballs flying and just missing him. I was position so the cameraman had a great angle of me during the battle. After exchanging a few rounds, he was gone. I don't know if I had hit him, or if he was trying to sneak around behind me. I decided to head for the main buildings. There was silence which left me with the feeling of being the only one left. As a result I was way to aggressive trying to take the next building and was shot in the leg. It didn't hurt at all and I barely felt it.
We then returned all of our equipment and waited for pizza. In the mean time someone managed to get a really huge rock lodged under their car. 10 guys pumped up from the day, running up a hill and chanting. It would have been a great video for the commercial. They easily picked up the car, so the rock could be removed.
The final only in Israel moment came on the ride home. The person who asked to be randomly dropped anywhere in Beit Shemesh, was going to the house next to the driver's. I arrived home exhausted after a really enjoyable day. I have no idea how much paintball costs, but it is a great activity.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
The Other Side of the Rabbi Orlofsky Controversy
I wrote a post yesterday on LJ on this topic. Thanks to the power of Google, it has drawn a lot more attention than I normally get on LJ. After further contemplation, here is a revised version of what I originally wrote.
Earlier this year, due to a technical glitch a customer was having problems redeeming a gift certificate. Before giving me time to work on the problem they reported it to their 1000 member Yahoo group. From there things spiraled out of control, as people bashed me and sent threatening e-mails to our company. I was accused of sending hate mail and one person put the glitch on the same level as bashing gays in the local newspaper. It continued for days, even after the problem was resolved. All I could do was sit on my hands and let our PR person do damage control. By that point the truth wasn't relevant. It was a real life lesson on how much damage can be done on a baseless accusation.
Another similar real life lesson occurred during the battle for control of the mikveh. The battle had already turned ugly, when our Rabbi got involved. His first move was to contact the parties involved to get both sides of the story. There was another Rabbi who I lost all respect for. He accused anyone (including my family) who had experienced events that he claimed never happened of being a liar and was not afraid to do it publicly. On the other hand, at same time I learned a valuable life lesson from our Rabbi about getting the facts before resorting to name calling.
On Sunday night, I saw a blog post and some follow up discussions on how horrible Rabbi Orlofsky is based on some of his comments on an audio clip. He was put on par with the worst criminals the Haredi community has to offer. The basis of the condemnation were two clips. In one clip Rabbi Orlofsky accused Rabbi Hersh Weinreb of stupidity and the 2nd one says that modern orthodox who don't believe in the Gedolim are not bnei Torah.
Rabbi Orlofsky was my Mashgiach in Yeshiva. He had a lunch time seder, where I had to make the Siyum because I was the only one who had been to every class, (including him). While the clips were damning, they lacked context and from I have known seemed out of place. I chose to call Rabbi Orlofsky directly. He has given me permission to share the details of our conversation.
The whole controversy began last Friday when the clips were anonymously sent to the OU office. The clip is from a shiur given 5.5 years ago, the time period during the battle over the banning of Rabbi Slifkin's (who I have a lot of respect for) book. Rabbi Orlofsky had taken the rather lonely position, of standing up for the Gedolim. The lecture was at Ohr LaGolah. While people may consider them to be just ordinary Ohr Sameach students, he pointed out that they are really a seperate program made up of Rabbis who's values include allegiance to the concept of following Gedolei Torah. He felt they had not deserved the name calling and personal insults. He was shocked to be hearing these types of attacks coming from a place like Ohr LaGolah. By his own admission he lost control and went overboard. He was not prepared to hear many of the comments and questions he had been receiving (including name calling of the gedolim), in this setting.
The point of contention was not about which Rav to follow but of the importance of having a Rav in the first place. This has been a long standing Jewish tradition and he was shocked to hear these Rabbis rejecting the concept.
Rabbi Orlofsky has a ton of respect for Rabbi Weinreb and meant that even with all his knowledge Rabbi Weinreb would not consider himself to be a Gadol and goes to the Gedolim for advice. The point was that people who were bashing the authority of the Gedolim (the students) were the same people who follow people who go to the Gedolim when their expertise in halacha are required. The attack was an unjustified way of making the point.
Rabbi Orlofsky has since sought out and received acceptance of his apology from Rabbi Weinreb.
The 2nd clip was Rabbi Orlofsky speaking out against the concept of "Catholic Israel" where it is the people who determine Jewish tradition rather than the Rabbis. The Modern Orthodox was a slip of the tongue after saying Conservative 3 times in a row. Given his lecture style he probably explained the use of the Modern Orthodox term, but the clip cuts out right away. He has said that he would love the opportunity to hear the rest of the tape. An anonymous person has claimed that they have a copy of the tape and threatened to make it public. On behalf of Rabbi Orlofsky, I have requested to arrange to get the recording to him. To date the person has not responded. All I know about the person is their IP address is from Brandeis University.
Rabbi Orlofsky is amazed that with thousands of hours of his recordings around there is only a two minute clip on him. If his shiur was so horrible, what happened to the other 58 minutes?
Not only that, but has no one else ever said anything that was not what they intended or worse yet taken out of context?
Rabbi Orlofsky made a mistake a long time ago. He admits he was wrong and has apologized to the people that he hurt. His life accomplishments are not going to be undone by this incident. As we go into the Yom Neroim, it is important to realize that our actions have consequences. Things are not always as they are appear. If we are quick to condemn others without trying to understand the other side, we are just spreading Sinat Chinam.
I will never know 100% for sure what was going on in Rabbi Orlofsky's head or what he had actually intended to say. My experiences of the past year have taught me that things are not always as black and white as they may appear. Perhaps my friendship with him has allowed me to know him a lot better than the people are attacking him.
Earlier this year, due to a technical glitch a customer was having problems redeeming a gift certificate. Before giving me time to work on the problem they reported it to their 1000 member Yahoo group. From there things spiraled out of control, as people bashed me and sent threatening e-mails to our company. I was accused of sending hate mail and one person put the glitch on the same level as bashing gays in the local newspaper. It continued for days, even after the problem was resolved. All I could do was sit on my hands and let our PR person do damage control. By that point the truth wasn't relevant. It was a real life lesson on how much damage can be done on a baseless accusation.
Another similar real life lesson occurred during the battle for control of the mikveh. The battle had already turned ugly, when our Rabbi got involved. His first move was to contact the parties involved to get both sides of the story. There was another Rabbi who I lost all respect for. He accused anyone (including my family) who had experienced events that he claimed never happened of being a liar and was not afraid to do it publicly. On the other hand, at same time I learned a valuable life lesson from our Rabbi about getting the facts before resorting to name calling.
On Sunday night, I saw a blog post and some follow up discussions on how horrible Rabbi Orlofsky is based on some of his comments on an audio clip. He was put on par with the worst criminals the Haredi community has to offer. The basis of the condemnation were two clips. In one clip Rabbi Orlofsky accused Rabbi Hersh Weinreb of stupidity and the 2nd one says that modern orthodox who don't believe in the Gedolim are not bnei Torah.
Rabbi Orlofsky was my Mashgiach in Yeshiva. He had a lunch time seder, where I had to make the Siyum because I was the only one who had been to every class, (including him). While the clips were damning, they lacked context and from I have known seemed out of place. I chose to call Rabbi Orlofsky directly. He has given me permission to share the details of our conversation.
The whole controversy began last Friday when the clips were anonymously sent to the OU office. The clip is from a shiur given 5.5 years ago, the time period during the battle over the banning of Rabbi Slifkin's (who I have a lot of respect for) book. Rabbi Orlofsky had taken the rather lonely position, of standing up for the Gedolim. The lecture was at Ohr LaGolah. While people may consider them to be just ordinary Ohr Sameach students, he pointed out that they are really a seperate program made up of Rabbis who's values include allegiance to the concept of following Gedolei Torah. He felt they had not deserved the name calling and personal insults. He was shocked to be hearing these types of attacks coming from a place like Ohr LaGolah. By his own admission he lost control and went overboard. He was not prepared to hear many of the comments and questions he had been receiving (including name calling of the gedolim), in this setting.
The point of contention was not about which Rav to follow but of the importance of having a Rav in the first place. This has been a long standing Jewish tradition and he was shocked to hear these Rabbis rejecting the concept.
Rabbi Orlofsky has a ton of respect for Rabbi Weinreb and meant that even with all his knowledge Rabbi Weinreb would not consider himself to be a Gadol and goes to the Gedolim for advice. The point was that people who were bashing the authority of the Gedolim (the students) were the same people who follow people who go to the Gedolim when their expertise in halacha are required. The attack was an unjustified way of making the point.
Rabbi Orlofsky has since sought out and received acceptance of his apology from Rabbi Weinreb.
The 2nd clip was Rabbi Orlofsky speaking out against the concept of "Catholic Israel" where it is the people who determine Jewish tradition rather than the Rabbis. The Modern Orthodox was a slip of the tongue after saying Conservative 3 times in a row. Given his lecture style he probably explained the use of the Modern Orthodox term, but the clip cuts out right away. He has said that he would love the opportunity to hear the rest of the tape. An anonymous person has claimed that they have a copy of the tape and threatened to make it public. On behalf of Rabbi Orlofsky, I have requested to arrange to get the recording to him. To date the person has not responded. All I know about the person is their IP address is from Brandeis University.
Rabbi Orlofsky is amazed that with thousands of hours of his recordings around there is only a two minute clip on him. If his shiur was so horrible, what happened to the other 58 minutes?
Not only that, but has no one else ever said anything that was not what they intended or worse yet taken out of context?
Rabbi Orlofsky made a mistake a long time ago. He admits he was wrong and has apologized to the people that he hurt. His life accomplishments are not going to be undone by this incident. As we go into the Yom Neroim, it is important to realize that our actions have consequences. Things are not always as they are appear. If we are quick to condemn others without trying to understand the other side, we are just spreading Sinat Chinam.
I will never know 100% for sure what was going on in Rabbi Orlofsky's head or what he had actually intended to say. My experiences of the past year have taught me that things are not always as black and white as they may appear. Perhaps my friendship with him has allowed me to know him a lot better than the people are attacking him.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Toronto Trip -- Sports
The plan is for the next little while to post some of the highlights of our recent trip to Toronto. Fitting in as many sports as possible was an important part of our trip.
It was not practical to bring my hockey equipment with us. I had enough trouble explaining to security at Ben Guerion Airport why I was traveling with my skates and helmet. For the first little while, I borrowed equipment from another goalie when he wasn't using them. When our schedules no longer worked, I borrowed the upper body stuff from a friend who upgraded a few years ago. The lower body equipment, I borrowed from the person who runs the Monday night game. The equipment had been donated a long time ago after someone upgraded their equipment. If the year had been 1983, it would have been state of the art used equipment. One person kept complimenting me on how well I played and that I would be so much better if I had better equipment. Nobody had a stick to spare so my old Monday night game bought one for me to be added to their spare equipment. Thanks Glenn.
I was playing up to 3 games a week. I easily fit back into my regular Monday night game. They have not been able to fill my spot with a regular since I left. I was also able to play a bunch of afternoon games my FIL runs, that I have never been able to play in before. Who has time in the middle of the afternoon to be able to play hockey? I had a great time and made lots of great saves. Goals that I gave up have been easily forgotten. I also spent a lot of time adjusting the borrowed equipment. I stopped a slapshot from a Junior A player which left it's own 'autograph' on my wrist for about 10 days.
I had been looking forward to Halladay's return to Toronto. The game against the Phillies was moved to Philadelphia to make room for the G20 rioting. The Doc ended up pitching on the Friday night so it wasn't that bad. The result was I got to go to two games instead.
I went to Jays/Twins game with my Father and my Uncle. It was a really entertaining game. My Uncle and I paid extra attention to Twins LF Delmon Young who always seemed to be the centre of the action. HR leader Jose Bautista hit an inside the park 2 run homerun when Young was insturmental in taking himself and CF Denard Span out of the play. It was a rare treat to watch. The Jays went on to win 6-5.
The second time, I went with Channah and my Mom to a Sunday afternoon game against the BoSox. The first play was a fly out to LF, which Channah quickly understood that rule. I have never seen anyone cheer so enthusistically for a foul ball. To her it meant the batter had another turn at the plate. She managed to cheer herself out by the 4th inning and my Mom did a great job keeping her entertained the rest of the game. Every once and a while she would turn her attention back to the game. By that point she wasn't sure if a play was good or bad for the team she was cheering for. It was a really fun afternoon. Jays lost 3-2. I don't think Channah has ever been to a sporting event where the home team won. It could be worse, she could be a die hard Cubs fan.
For me one of the highlights was one of the tremendous displays of Achdut that I have ever seen at a baseball game. There were a lot of vocal Red Sox fans in the section next to ours. Every once in a while they would start the cheer "Let's Go Red Sox" At some point it got really embarrasing for a home game and someone would start the response with a " Let's Go Blue Jays" cheer. Around the 6th inning there was a really long back and forth round of cheering that wore down both sides. There was a short pause as fans from both sides stopped to discuss. Then suddenly all at once in perfect unity they started a tremendously loud round of "YANKEES SUCK"
I bought Channah a bright pink Blues Jays Princess hat that has a pink bow that ties in the back. It was perfect for her. I picked up an official batting practise hat for myself. It is a big improvement to what I have been using for tiyuling. I picked up a cute baseball person for Rachel.
Before we made Aliyah I took Channah to the Hockey Hall of Fame. It was really neat because they had just retired my favourite all time player Patrick Roy. Going back was high on her to do list for the trip. We walked in and all she wanted to know was who "the most famous player" was. It was a very different response to last time where her fascination was the giant statue of Ken Dryden, who was "Bubbie's friend" She tried to make my Mom happy by touching "the famous puck" (from the 2010 Olympics). We played two games of bubble hockey which was the one of the main reasons she wanted to go. She thought the Vezina trophy looked like the Beit HaMikdash and no longer recognizes the building featured on the Conn Smyth Trophy. The real lesson of the day was that she will never understand the cultural significance hockey had on myself and Canada as a whole. It is a small price to pay for the better life I am able to offer her here.
It was nice reconnecting with the sports I love. I am going to try to be more proactive in playing hockey this year. It is amazing how little my perception of professional sports has changed since the days where I used to live and breath it. I still follow, just not to the same degree.
It was not practical to bring my hockey equipment with us. I had enough trouble explaining to security at Ben Guerion Airport why I was traveling with my skates and helmet. For the first little while, I borrowed equipment from another goalie when he wasn't using them. When our schedules no longer worked, I borrowed the upper body stuff from a friend who upgraded a few years ago. The lower body equipment, I borrowed from the person who runs the Monday night game. The equipment had been donated a long time ago after someone upgraded their equipment. If the year had been 1983, it would have been state of the art used equipment. One person kept complimenting me on how well I played and that I would be so much better if I had better equipment. Nobody had a stick to spare so my old Monday night game bought one for me to be added to their spare equipment. Thanks Glenn.
I was playing up to 3 games a week. I easily fit back into my regular Monday night game. They have not been able to fill my spot with a regular since I left. I was also able to play a bunch of afternoon games my FIL runs, that I have never been able to play in before. Who has time in the middle of the afternoon to be able to play hockey? I had a great time and made lots of great saves. Goals that I gave up have been easily forgotten. I also spent a lot of time adjusting the borrowed equipment. I stopped a slapshot from a Junior A player which left it's own 'autograph' on my wrist for about 10 days.
I had been looking forward to Halladay's return to Toronto. The game against the Phillies was moved to Philadelphia to make room for the G20 rioting. The Doc ended up pitching on the Friday night so it wasn't that bad. The result was I got to go to two games instead.
I went to Jays/Twins game with my Father and my Uncle. It was a really entertaining game. My Uncle and I paid extra attention to Twins LF Delmon Young who always seemed to be the centre of the action. HR leader Jose Bautista hit an inside the park 2 run homerun when Young was insturmental in taking himself and CF Denard Span out of the play. It was a rare treat to watch. The Jays went on to win 6-5.
The second time, I went with Channah and my Mom to a Sunday afternoon game against the BoSox. The first play was a fly out to LF, which Channah quickly understood that rule. I have never seen anyone cheer so enthusistically for a foul ball. To her it meant the batter had another turn at the plate. She managed to cheer herself out by the 4th inning and my Mom did a great job keeping her entertained the rest of the game. Every once and a while she would turn her attention back to the game. By that point she wasn't sure if a play was good or bad for the team she was cheering for. It was a really fun afternoon. Jays lost 3-2. I don't think Channah has ever been to a sporting event where the home team won. It could be worse, she could be a die hard Cubs fan.
For me one of the highlights was one of the tremendous displays of Achdut that I have ever seen at a baseball game. There were a lot of vocal Red Sox fans in the section next to ours. Every once in a while they would start the cheer "Let's Go Red Sox" At some point it got really embarrasing for a home game and someone would start the response with a " Let's Go Blue Jays" cheer. Around the 6th inning there was a really long back and forth round of cheering that wore down both sides. There was a short pause as fans from both sides stopped to discuss. Then suddenly all at once in perfect unity they started a tremendously loud round of "YANKEES SUCK"
I bought Channah a bright pink Blues Jays Princess hat that has a pink bow that ties in the back. It was perfect for her. I picked up an official batting practise hat for myself. It is a big improvement to what I have been using for tiyuling. I picked up a cute baseball person for Rachel.
Before we made Aliyah I took Channah to the Hockey Hall of Fame. It was really neat because they had just retired my favourite all time player Patrick Roy. Going back was high on her to do list for the trip. We walked in and all she wanted to know was who "the most famous player" was. It was a very different response to last time where her fascination was the giant statue of Ken Dryden, who was "Bubbie's friend" She tried to make my Mom happy by touching "the famous puck" (from the 2010 Olympics). We played two games of bubble hockey which was the one of the main reasons she wanted to go. She thought the Vezina trophy looked like the Beit HaMikdash and no longer recognizes the building featured on the Conn Smyth Trophy. The real lesson of the day was that she will never understand the cultural significance hockey had on myself and Canada as a whole. It is a small price to pay for the better life I am able to offer her here.
It was nice reconnecting with the sports I love. I am going to try to be more proactive in playing hockey this year. It is amazing how little my perception of professional sports has changed since the days where I used to live and breath it. I still follow, just not to the same degree.
Monday, August 2, 2010
The Move to Nowhere
We have had many people ask us about what happened with the roller coaster scenario of our non-move. So here is the basic story.
We are fortunate to live in an apartment that has a proffessional landlord separate from the owner. She manages a number of buildings, so things have always gone really smoothly. Before leaving she confirmed that there would be no issues renewing our lease for another year. At the beginning of the 9 days, we received a frantic e-mail from her, that the owner has made Aliyah and would like his apartment back. Moving was the last thing we wanted to do. Starting the apartment search out of season, across the ocean created an unpleasant strain to the end of our trip.
On Thursday night we received an e-mail from the landlord. The owner is enjoying life in Kiryat Sefer and would like to renew for another year. However, he is worried he may change his mind and wants the option to terminate the lease on two months notice. Negotiations went back and forth. We went to bed thinking we had an agreement. We would renew for a year. We could each have the option to terminate on 3 months notice, however he could only terminate under a limited set of circumstances. He could not terminate the lease to sell the apartment. As on off hand follow up Rachel sent an e-mail, as it was not discussed confirming there would be no rent increase.
In the morning, we found out the owner agreed to all of the terms but wanted the rent increase. He felt it was reasonable because it matched the going rate in the neighbourhood. We told him he couldn't have it both ways and that no one would move into an apartment with an option to terminate in 3 months. A very short time later he agreed to an unconditional 1 year contract with the nominal rent increase. We are happy with the outcome and will be able to weigh our options from a better position next year.
We are fortunate to live in an apartment that has a proffessional landlord separate from the owner. She manages a number of buildings, so things have always gone really smoothly. Before leaving she confirmed that there would be no issues renewing our lease for another year. At the beginning of the 9 days, we received a frantic e-mail from her, that the owner has made Aliyah and would like his apartment back. Moving was the last thing we wanted to do. Starting the apartment search out of season, across the ocean created an unpleasant strain to the end of our trip.
On Thursday night we received an e-mail from the landlord. The owner is enjoying life in Kiryat Sefer and would like to renew for another year. However, he is worried he may change his mind and wants the option to terminate the lease on two months notice. Negotiations went back and forth. We went to bed thinking we had an agreement. We would renew for a year. We could each have the option to terminate on 3 months notice, however he could only terminate under a limited set of circumstances. He could not terminate the lease to sell the apartment. As on off hand follow up Rachel sent an e-mail, as it was not discussed confirming there would be no rent increase.
In the morning, we found out the owner agreed to all of the terms but wanted the rent increase. He felt it was reasonable because it matched the going rate in the neighbourhood. We told him he couldn't have it both ways and that no one would move into an apartment with an option to terminate in 3 months. A very short time later he agreed to an unconditional 1 year contract with the nominal rent increase. We are happy with the outcome and will be able to weigh our options from a better position next year.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Splitting a Community
"There are two sides to every argument, but I don't have time to listen to yours."
In the months leading up to our Aliyah, a peeping tom was caught for the second time outside our building. This time he was caught with his pants down (literally). Tom happened to belong to our community and was regularly seen at our shul. We decided to make a minimal amount of information public so people could take steps to protect themselves. The community rallied around Tom as they perceived him to be the injured party. Numerous people claiming to represent the Rabbi put pressure on those involved to keep the story quiet. Tom needed to be helped by the community and avoid facing the Justice System.. We were told that if we didn't like it we could leave.
The people who were hurt by the incident were of no concern to anyone. The victim moved back home with her family, undoing a year's worth of effort by tenants of our building to get out the previous drug dealing family. She was replaced by another drug dealing family. The older single mother who had caught Tom was terrified as she was told by police they considered it to be a gateway crime. Of course Rachel was terrified at night or when she was alone, especially since we lived on the ground floor and I would play hockey late at night. Aliyah happened to be our escape from dealing with the issue head on.
Our community has three mikvahs. There is Dolev at the top of the hill which is the nicest and newest. It is in close proximity to most of the Datei Leumi (DTL) community. Further down the hill is Lachish, which is currently closed for renovations. It is in close proximity to the more Charedi community. The Luz mikvah is supposed to be privately built million plus dollar to serve the Charedi community. At this point it is more of a bargaining chip, than having any realistic prospects of being built.
When the new Charedi Mayor came to power, there were plans to replace the Rabbis in charge of the Mikvahs. Our Rabbi who was heavily involved in protecting the DTL community's interests gave a personal guarantee, nobody would ever be subjected to an unwanted 2o minute "Mehadrin" Bedikah. One day Rachel did go to the Mikvah and was subjected to the "Mehardin" experience. She came home bleeding and in tears. We later learned the Mikvah had been split in half and Rachel had ended up on the Charedi side.
A few weeks ago someone posted that the Charedi Rabbis were once again taking over the Mikvah and action should be taken to stop it. Part of the political horse trading that lead to the original split was that the Charedi would take over Dolev and the DTL would take control over Lachish. The mikvahs would be traded again when the never to be built Luz mikvah was built. The political part of the agreement has been broken. Although it presents legal issues, it is not relevant to the needs of the community.
A local Rabbi (who's shul attracts a similar crowd to when we were in TO) had one of his henchman post to the list that everything the person said was not true. The Rabbi should be contacted for clarification. Rachel challenged the claim and was turned over to e-mailing the Rabbi. He was surprised she didn't report her experience to him. Going to our Rabbi who went to the Rav of the city didn't seem like a logical course of action to him. At his request she went into great detail as to what happened. Without answering any questions, he said that he would not continue by e-mail, he would be available for a meeting in person but not for at least another week.
A number of concerns emerged about the change in control. Numerous women have had similar experiences to Rachel. There had been a sign that it was forbidden for women to toivel at Ben HaShmashot on Friday night. According to Sephardic tradition this is the ideal time to go. Waiting until night fall to accommodate the Ashkenaz tradition forces them to deal with leniencies they cannot rely on. There is a legitimate fear that some women will simply skip out on this important mitzvah if it is made to difficult. Another variable is the DTL half of the mikvah was getting twice as many people as the Charedi side. It is not very often that there is such a clear cut way of measuring preference for one methodology over another.
The Rabbi mentioned before had the Charedi position clarified. As he does not write in his own name, a post written and approved by someone who interview the Rabbi sufficed. In the comments section the writer was forced to conclude that the Rabbi felt any complaints against the Charedi Mikvah were outright lies. The DTL had been pushing for Rav Ovadiah Yoseph to take up the Sephardic cause. As the spiritual head of Shas he could use his political power, especially since the Mayor belongs to Shas. He was told that the sign never existed. With all concerns swept under the rug he easily gave his blessing to the take over.
How often do we break our teeth to make excuses for inappropriate behaviour based on a persons religious or community standing? How often do we simply toss aside the feelings of those who have been injured emotionally or physically because it is easier not to deal with an issue? Why is it okay to threaten someone else for not following one particular Rabbi? How often is somebody tossed outside the camp for having a different perspective on a situation?
The Charedi community has used the State to more or less build the type of community they want. For the most part I am willing to let them live the lives they want as long as I can do the same. The Charedi community has moved beyond looking after themselves to imposing their views on everyone else. The backlash has already begun. If their leadership and trouble makers don't learn to play nicely with everyone else, they will end up reversing the gains they have made. A good start in Beit Shemesh will be to let the communities function as an essential public service. Continuing with the status quo is the best way to serve both communities. Nobody wins from the nationally publicized religious battles.
In the months leading up to our Aliyah, a peeping tom was caught for the second time outside our building. This time he was caught with his pants down (literally). Tom happened to belong to our community and was regularly seen at our shul. We decided to make a minimal amount of information public so people could take steps to protect themselves. The community rallied around Tom as they perceived him to be the injured party. Numerous people claiming to represent the Rabbi put pressure on those involved to keep the story quiet. Tom needed to be helped by the community and avoid facing the Justice System.. We were told that if we didn't like it we could leave.
The people who were hurt by the incident were of no concern to anyone. The victim moved back home with her family, undoing a year's worth of effort by tenants of our building to get out the previous drug dealing family. She was replaced by another drug dealing family. The older single mother who had caught Tom was terrified as she was told by police they considered it to be a gateway crime. Of course Rachel was terrified at night or when she was alone, especially since we lived on the ground floor and I would play hockey late at night. Aliyah happened to be our escape from dealing with the issue head on.
Our community has three mikvahs. There is Dolev at the top of the hill which is the nicest and newest. It is in close proximity to most of the Datei Leumi (DTL) community. Further down the hill is Lachish, which is currently closed for renovations. It is in close proximity to the more Charedi community. The Luz mikvah is supposed to be privately built million plus dollar to serve the Charedi community. At this point it is more of a bargaining chip, than having any realistic prospects of being built.
When the new Charedi Mayor came to power, there were plans to replace the Rabbis in charge of the Mikvahs. Our Rabbi who was heavily involved in protecting the DTL community's interests gave a personal guarantee, nobody would ever be subjected to an unwanted 2o minute "Mehadrin" Bedikah. One day Rachel did go to the Mikvah and was subjected to the "Mehardin" experience. She came home bleeding and in tears. We later learned the Mikvah had been split in half and Rachel had ended up on the Charedi side.
A few weeks ago someone posted that the Charedi Rabbis were once again taking over the Mikvah and action should be taken to stop it. Part of the political horse trading that lead to the original split was that the Charedi would take over Dolev and the DTL would take control over Lachish. The mikvahs would be traded again when the never to be built Luz mikvah was built. The political part of the agreement has been broken. Although it presents legal issues, it is not relevant to the needs of the community.
A local Rabbi (who's shul attracts a similar crowd to when we were in TO) had one of his henchman post to the list that everything the person said was not true. The Rabbi should be contacted for clarification. Rachel challenged the claim and was turned over to e-mailing the Rabbi. He was surprised she didn't report her experience to him. Going to our Rabbi who went to the Rav of the city didn't seem like a logical course of action to him. At his request she went into great detail as to what happened. Without answering any questions, he said that he would not continue by e-mail, he would be available for a meeting in person but not for at least another week.
A number of concerns emerged about the change in control. Numerous women have had similar experiences to Rachel. There had been a sign that it was forbidden for women to toivel at Ben HaShmashot on Friday night. According to Sephardic tradition this is the ideal time to go. Waiting until night fall to accommodate the Ashkenaz tradition forces them to deal with leniencies they cannot rely on. There is a legitimate fear that some women will simply skip out on this important mitzvah if it is made to difficult. Another variable is the DTL half of the mikvah was getting twice as many people as the Charedi side. It is not very often that there is such a clear cut way of measuring preference for one methodology over another.
The Rabbi mentioned before had the Charedi position clarified. As he does not write in his own name, a post written and approved by someone who interview the Rabbi sufficed. In the comments section the writer was forced to conclude that the Rabbi felt any complaints against the Charedi Mikvah were outright lies. The DTL had been pushing for Rav Ovadiah Yoseph to take up the Sephardic cause. As the spiritual head of Shas he could use his political power, especially since the Mayor belongs to Shas. He was told that the sign never existed. With all concerns swept under the rug he easily gave his blessing to the take over.
How often do we break our teeth to make excuses for inappropriate behaviour based on a persons religious or community standing? How often do we simply toss aside the feelings of those who have been injured emotionally or physically because it is easier not to deal with an issue? Why is it okay to threaten someone else for not following one particular Rabbi? How often is somebody tossed outside the camp for having a different perspective on a situation?
The Charedi community has used the State to more or less build the type of community they want. For the most part I am willing to let them live the lives they want as long as I can do the same. The Charedi community has moved beyond looking after themselves to imposing their views on everyone else. The backlash has already begun. If their leadership and trouble makers don't learn to play nicely with everyone else, they will end up reversing the gains they have made. A good start in Beit Shemesh will be to let the communities function as an essential public service. Continuing with the status quo is the best way to serve both communities. Nobody wins from the nationally publicized religious battles.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Pesach - Only in Israel
Pesach was really nice this year. The seder was nice and we were able to fit in a nice balance of seeing friends and touring. I used my flexible schedule to almost get in a full work week. Jerusalem, Hevron, Kiryat Sefer (Modiin Illit). We had a great time even if it was a schedule that would offend the White House.
Here are a list of things that happened that can only be referred to as only in Israel moments.
KLP Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
Buying hot KLP food from restaurants or local food vendor.
Cotton Candy everywhere you turn. You know the kashrut status because there is only one brand of plain white sugar in this country.
(Not so) Hurva Shul - People were trying to get in to have a look. An old security guard came outside to yell at people to tell them it was closed. In the mean time people were walking in behind him, until they put up a physical gate to block the ramp.
Mincha at the Kotel - Chanasat Sefer Torah with a 2 piece band. The band stopped so we could say kedusha uninterrupted. A short time later they pumped up the Kotel sound system. (They played what I call the Hasilenu Song - no idea who sings it or what it is called)
Walking down to the Kotel in the evening and hearing the Windows start up chimes from the Kotel sound system.
Restaurants on the road between the Arova and Kotel were open. Burgers Bar - selling drinks and Kippot, Pizza Shop - selling soft ice cream and chips (French fries), Bonkers - selling packaged ice cream and scarves.
Hevron - 3 buses- 2 pick up/ drop off locations, 2 drop off times - buses had to be boarded based on expected return time. Planning #fail
Praying at Marat HaMachpela in the Yitzchak and Rifka Room (only open to Jews 10 days a year).
In the make shift market in Hevron, I asked the vendor about the Kashrut of the lemonade. She told me she made it at home from lemons.
RBS B Post Office - sign from the post office and the police saying it was closed all of Pesach for safety reasons.
One Seder - Never that moment of "Oh no, we have to do this again tomorrow night"
Chametz in all the stores is covered. It is illegal to sell Chametz publicly over Pesach, athough there are some interesting definitions of public for this law.
Rice and other Kitniyot products are everywhere and kept with the regular KLP products. In Hevron they were selling pop corn.
Rachel made a comment that it didn't really feel like Pesach this year. I answered that it was because the Chagim are so integrated to the way of life that they don't seem out of place. It is really special celebrating the Chagim as they were always meant to be celebrated. Ok, minus the super huge giant BBQ, but that we will have again one day.
Here are a list of things that happened that can only be referred to as only in Israel moments.
KLP Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
Buying hot KLP food from restaurants or local food vendor.
Cotton Candy everywhere you turn. You know the kashrut status because there is only one brand of plain white sugar in this country.
(Not so) Hurva Shul - People were trying to get in to have a look. An old security guard came outside to yell at people to tell them it was closed. In the mean time people were walking in behind him, until they put up a physical gate to block the ramp.
Mincha at the Kotel - Chanasat Sefer Torah with a 2 piece band. The band stopped so we could say kedusha uninterrupted. A short time later they pumped up the Kotel sound system. (They played what I call the Hasilenu Song - no idea who sings it or what it is called)
Walking down to the Kotel in the evening and hearing the Windows start up chimes from the Kotel sound system.
Restaurants on the road between the Arova and Kotel were open. Burgers Bar - selling drinks and Kippot, Pizza Shop - selling soft ice cream and chips (French fries), Bonkers - selling packaged ice cream and scarves.
Hevron - 3 buses- 2 pick up/ drop off locations, 2 drop off times - buses had to be boarded based on expected return time. Planning #fail
Praying at Marat HaMachpela in the Yitzchak and Rifka Room (only open to Jews 10 days a year).
In the make shift market in Hevron, I asked the vendor about the Kashrut of the lemonade. She told me she made it at home from lemons.
RBS B Post Office - sign from the post office and the police saying it was closed all of Pesach for safety reasons.
One Seder - Never that moment of "Oh no, we have to do this again tomorrow night"
Chametz in all the stores is covered. It is illegal to sell Chametz publicly over Pesach, athough there are some interesting definitions of public for this law.
Rice and other Kitniyot products are everywhere and kept with the regular KLP products. In Hevron they were selling pop corn.
Rachel made a comment that it didn't really feel like Pesach this year. I answered that it was because the Chagim are so integrated to the way of life that they don't seem out of place. It is really special celebrating the Chagim as they were always meant to be celebrated. Ok, minus the super huge giant BBQ, but that we will have again one day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)