Gigantic Grapes

Yisrael is learning ספר במדבר and just finished learning about the מעשה המרגלים.  Yisrael came home all excited, telling me that his Rebbe wants to make a play with them, and that the boys can prepare mammoth sized "fruit" for the מרגלים.

We decided to prepare a bunch grapes- we took balloons, covered them with layers of paper mache (this project kept us busy for 3 afternoons!) and then, once they were covered well and dry, we painted them purple, tied them together, and made a really nice looking bunch of grapes!

All the kids had fun helping - there was more than enough work for everyone - and they are busy dreaming up ideas of other things we can make next time they have vacation...any nice ideas?

Nissim on the move!

A few days before Sukkos, Nissim decided to take a few steps on his own- but of course, as soon as I started to spread the word, he promptly decided to stop!  No matter how hard we tried to encourage him to walk, he refused- he was scared of walking without anything to support him - he just wasn't quite ready yet.

So I decided that we're not going to pressure him.  I knew that it would happen sooner or later, and rather than pushing him to walk and making him more scared, we were just going to drop the whole issue until he was really ready.  But when I started to get reports from his gan after Sukkos that "Nissim walked 20 steps today" or "he walked the whole length of the yard" I must admit I got a bit antsy.  But I continued to tell the kids (and myself) not to pressure him...

Well finally, one day last week, while my hands were dirty with paper mache (that's another post), suddenly Azriel Shraga says to me- "Mommy, Nissim is walking!"  - I turned around, and sure enough, my little miracle boy was walking across the living room!  Of course my hands were filthy and I couldn't grab my camera...and I only had a chance to catch him on film today (by now he's an expert at walking!)

Since then Nissim's been on the go- playing games with his siblings, where they reach out for him to walk to them, and then he 'teases' them by changing directions when he's within a foot of their reach, or walking back and forth from the couch to the wall, etc.  Its adorable to watch, and we are full of gratitude to HKB"H for this milestone. May we continue to see him grow and flourish!

Trouble viewing?  Click here to download the video.

Cute Quote: Love and Marriage

After getting a very exciting phone call from my sister Adele and her (at that time unofficial) Chassan Yakov, I told the kids who had called, and why:

Mommy:  Do you know who that was on the phone?
Kids: Who?  תגידי לנו!
Mommy:  It was Adele Minkus- do you remember her?
Kids: Yes! 
Mommy:  Do you want to know why she called?
Kids:Yes!  Yes!  Tell us!
Mommy:  She called to tell me that she found a Chassan and she's going to have a Chasuna!
Bruria:  They're going to have a Chasuna?  Do they love each other?
Mommy:  Yes!

Here, I paused, watching their faces, waiting for a smile, a smirk, a giggle, or an inappropriate comment.  I figured I'd have some really good "Cute Quote" material here.

But no one smirked, smiled, giggled, or commented.  Apparently, Bruria's question, and my response, didn't strike them as funny or inappropriate.

And that's when I realized that this was the cutest quote of all.  For my children, the concept of love and marriage hasn't been tainted by Disney or Hollywood.   Their understanding of the concept is exactly what it truly is, without being poisoned by Western society's perverted views.  To them, love is what exists in a home home where a Mommy and Tatty live in harmony (most of the time at least!) working together to achieve their goals and raise a family with happiness and devotion. 

I was so touched to realize how lucky I am, to be able to raise my children in such a beautiful atmosphere of קדושה, where they can appreciate the values so inherent in our תורה הקדושה, without having been poisoned by negative influences.

And on that note, my bracha to Adele and Yakov, as they begin to plan their בית נאמן בישראל, is that they too should be zoche to build a home where תורה values ring true, without any negative השפעות!

Grape Picking in Bat Ayin

I think most families have the same challenge during vacation time- what to do with the kids that will be fun AND cheap at the same time?  Add to that being age-appropriate, and close enough to get to- that makes the challenge even  harder.  Bentzi and I were putting our heads together, trying to come up with some nice trips for the kids over the summer, and Bentzi found out about a free grape picking event in Bat Ayin, one of the yishuvim in Gush Etzion, which is not far from us.  He readily volunteered to stay home with Nissim (the vineyard wasn't exactly stroller friendly) and that I should take the kids (we can also only fit five of us in the car).  So I headed out with the 4 older kids bright and early, to hit the vineyards before the hot summer sun was at its hottest.

When we got there, each kid was supplied with a special shears to cut the grapes off of the vine.  Everyone had fun finding the grapes buried within the leaves of the vine, and we were amazed at how many crates of grapes we were able to pick.  Just as everyone was starting to get tired, the vineyard owner offered us a ride in his tractor- which was a lot of fun and left us invigorated, ready to do more.  We got to taste plenty of grapes - yum! - and we even brought home a huge bag full to make our own wine (which we did...but the product was not so successful!)

It was also nice to see the מצוות that are connected with farming, hands on.  We were show where the פאה was, and warned to make sure not to pick from there.  And Yisrael, who had learned all the הלכות this past year in Cheder, was busy explaining to everyone what he had learned about לקט and שכחה.  It was a nice חזרה for him, and a wonderful learning experience for the rest of us!

While we were there, the vineyard owner's wife- who is originially from the US- told me about a natural spring nearby which was made into a mikveh hundreds of years ago- and is still used today.  She said its a lot of fun, so after we were too hot and exhausted to continue picking grapes, we headed to the spring.  The spring flows from within a cave, and there is a structure with a kosher mikveh inside.  Yisrael and Bruria tried going in the actual mikveh, but it was too deep for them to reach the floor.  Outside of the structure is another pool they built, which is much shallower- and the kids had an absolute blast splashing around in the water- they were there for hours - literally!- and they enjoyed every mintue! 

I hadn't come prepared with bathings suits (I think I did have one towel in the car) so afterwards we went for a short hike in the area to dry up- where we found ancient homes and a shul- I'm not sure which תקופה they were from.

We finally headed home, happy and exhausted - and best of all, aside from transportation, the trip was completely free!  (unless you count the pie of pizza we bought when we got back to Beitar because everyone was starving- I hadn't planned on being out until almost 4 in the afternoon!)

A lovely afternoon in פארק בגין- עין קובי

Yesterday we planned to go to the park in Gilo (which many of you are familiar with) to have a BBQ and play in the park.  But when Bentzi came home from morning seder, he commented that it was a really nice cool day - and its a חבל to "waste" going to פארק גילה on a day like that (for those of you who are unfamiliar with this park in southern ירושלים, it is on the side of the mountain and very shady- so even on a pretty hot day, its rather cool there)  So we changed our plans and decided to stay local, and spend the afternoon in one of the parks here in Beitar.  Yisrael wanted to go to one of the new parks in Givah B, but when we got there, we couldn't really find ANY shady, grassy areas which would be comfortable for a BBQ.

So we came up with an impromptu Plan C- to go to פארק בגין, a forest preserve that's 5 minutes down the road from Beitar (in safe territory, no worry!)  It was close enough that Bentzi was able to drop me off with some of the kids and then pick up the rest of the crew (we don't all fit in our car)  It was a great choice- we picked a nice spot with picnic tables, and got our BBQ started.

There's an interesting blog I visit from time to time, written by a frum woman here in E"Y.  She has many tips on frugal living- and one post of hers describes how to make a BBQ without buying any coals, using bits of wood instead.  I figured we might as well try it out (we did bring coals along just in case!)- so the kids got all busy collecting different sizes of branches and wood scraps that had fallen from the nearby trees.  It was a lot of fun for them, much more so than a regular BBQ- even Naftali was busy bringing me twigs to put in the fire.  (Anyone who has bought cheap "coals" here in E"Y has seen that they are really just pieces of wood covered with a black substance- and our "coals" worked just as well- if not better!)

It was a great learning experience- the kids got a mini science lesson, as I explained how the fire burns the wood, and how the thicker pieces get really hot so even when the flames die down, there is still plenty of heat from the wood.  Bentzi offered a mini mussar lesson, using the fire as a משל to illustrate how the fire of תורה goes into a person's נמשה and heats it up, and how once a person's נמשה is so hot with תורה, that heat can spread to warm up others.

While the food was cooking, the kids had fun climbing in the olive trees right by the picnic tables.  Bruria is already becoming a mini seminary girl, asking me to take pictures of her in various poses in the tree.  Yisrael and Azriel joined her, and then we even got Naftali to go up- so we got a few nice family shots.

After a delicious lunch, we played in the historic site nearby- עין קובי - which has underground caves running from the ruins of ancient houses, to a water cistern which they dug.  The kids had fun crawling through the caves and coming out at all the different exits (I tried joining them but there were parts of the caves which were a bit too narrow for me!)- we gave them a flashlight and they had a real blast.

Before beginning to head home, we lit a small bonfire (now that we were experts!) and roasted marshmallows- a delicious treat to leave a sweet taste in our mouths after a really fun afternoon!

Cute Quote: Who gets to learn תורה?

I held my breathe this morning as I got Yisrael ready for Cheder - with the rest of the family on vacation (except for Nissim), I was worried that he would get upset and not want to go to Cheder.  I packed him up some nice snacks, and was very gentle with him, not wanting to upset him.  As the clock got closer and closer to 7:30, I was wondering (and silently davening!)-  how I was going to convince Yisrael to go to the bus stop alone- he usually goes with Bentzi since they both catch a bus at the same time.  B"H Hashem answered my תפילות in the best possible way:

Yisrael:  Oy, its almost 7:30 already!  Where is Tatty?  We are going to be late for our buses! 
Mommy: (cautiously) Yisrael sweetie, Tatty isn't going on the bus today...he has vacation today.
Yisrael: YESH!  I'm the only one who's going learn תורה today!  I am the luckiest person in our whole family!  Quick, Mommy- give me my תיק - I have to hurry so I won't be late!

And he cheerfully ran out the door, on his way to go learn תורה!  (Not quite the standard scene depicted in  חז"ל of תינוק הבורח מבית הספר!)  Imagine my relief- and happiness- at such a sweet reaction!  May he always have such a חשק to learn תורה!  (I sure hope this scenario repeats itself for the next few days, and that I don't חס ושלום get an עין הרע for posting this!)
 
(I didn't bother mentioning that the reason Tatty didn't come back from Davening yet was because he WAS busy learning תורה at that very moment!)

Cute Quote: What makes you fat?

Bruria's been commenting a lot lately on my growing abdomen- she has yet to ask me anything directly, but she's awful suspicious....here was an adorable conversation we had one day last week, as we were walking home from Gan:

Bruria:  Mommy, your belly is SO שמן!
Mommy:  That's because I'm an *אמא שמנטוז!
Bruria:  But Mommy, you don't eat so many potato chips!
Mommy:  Potato chips, Bruria?  What does that have to do with anything?!
Bruria:  Because if you eat a lot of potato chips, it makes you get fat!  But you don't eat so many potato chips, Mommy!  I think your belly is so big because there's a baby inside!

*שמנטוז is Israeli slang for "fatso"- although I'm not sure how its really spelled!

Nissim's new glasses

Yes, I know these new glasses look a bit nerdy,

But they are very flexible and sturdy,

For a boy who breaks his glasses almost every week,

Its just worth having him look like a geek!

 

Photo taken at Nissim's מסיבת סוף שנה last week

Azriel Shraga's מסיבת סוף שנה

Actual Date: 5/22/2012

Azriel Shraga has been looking forward to his מסיבת סוף שנה for weeks - he's been complaining that the time is passing by so slowly...but B"H the big day finally arrived.

His גננות prepared quite a presentation- and since it's right before Shauvos, the theme was תורה.  They started off with a "הכנסת ספר תורה" procession- some boys carrying "candles" while holding on to a rope, some holding up a "chuppah" with others holding ספרי תורה underneath...and to lead the procession, they decorated a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe as a Sefer Torah truck!  It was adorable!

After that they had lots of songs with motions (a few too many in my opinion...some of the boys- and Mommies too- were getting kind of restless) including a song/skit about Rabbi Akiva sitting with the shepards (Azriel Shraga was one of the shepards...see below) and how he saw the water making a hole in the stone, and ended up becoming the Gadol Hador. 

It was really very cute, and Azriel Shraga was into it the whole time- watching his Morah to make sure he was doing the right hand motions...I barely got a smile out of him the whole time because he was so busy concentrating on performing!

 

(For those of you who don't know, מסיבת סוף שנה is the equivalent of a nursery graduation...but they don't always do it at the very end of the year...Azriel Shraga doesn't finish until Tisha B'Av, and yet his party was on Rosh Chodesh Sivan!)

Cute Quote: Mr. Show-Off

Nissim was walking around with his walking toy (thank you Aunt Dinah, he is really enjoying it!) - and I like to cheer him on to encourage him to keep going.  Today we had the following cute scene:

Mommy:  Kinderlach, look- Nissim is walking!  Everyone clap for Nissim!
Azriel Shraga:  Why should we clap for him?
Mommy:  Because it makes him happy when we clap, and then he'll walk even more!
(a few seconds pass by)
Naftali:  (starts to walk around in an exagerrated way) LOOK!  I'm walking!!

I guess everyone likes a little recognition every now and then!

Happy Birthday, Nissim!

Today was Nissim's Hebrew Birthday- B"H he is two years old!  Its amazing to look back at where we were two years ago...and to see how much progress he has made.  KA"H he is an adorable little boy, full of smiles and laughs, who is learning how to make lots of trouble (he is officially in the "Terrible Two's" now- and he's making sure to live up to the title!)

I joined him in Gan today for a sweet birthday party- they played some cute music while the kids banged on tamborines, waved flags and pom-poms.  The most exciting part was when they put balloons (and then Nissim!) inside a parachute.  Afterwards we gave out ice cream to his fellow gan-mates, which they really enjoyed!

Of course we had to have another ice cream party in the afternoon with the rest of the Yunger Dynasty (shhh...don't tell them that Nissim and I got to have ice cream twice!)

May we be zoche to share many more wonderful birthdays, and continue to see  much Nachas from Nissim!

Chol Hamoed Pesach- trip to מערת המכפלה

One thing we've always wanted to do was go to מערת המכפלה- I was supposed to go in seminary but our trip was cancelled when the Intifada broke out...and I haven't made it there since.  So when we saw all the ads about special security, transportation, and activities in חברון over חול המועד, we decided to take advantage and go join the tens of thousands of other Yidden who go out to מערת המכפלה during Pesach and Sukkos.

It was a bit of a shlep going there- the buses going straight from Beitar were not leaving until late in the afternoon, and not coming back until the evening- not so conducive for little kids.  So we went to Yerushalayim (some by bus, some by car) where we took a bus from בניני האומה to חברון.  When we got there, the area was packed- Yidden of every color and stripe, all coming to daven by קברי אבות- it was such a beautiful feeling- to be part of a global community that is so varied, yet so united in our desire to connect to the רבש"ע.

After sitting down to eat and refresh ourselves after all that traveling, we waited on line to enter the מערה.  Since there were so many people there, the security was limiting the amount of people allowed inside at one time.  We had סייתא דשמיא and when the soldiers saw that we were waiting with such young children, they allowed us inside so that we wouldn't roast in the hot sun.  We davened by each of the קברים- even the children said some תהילים, and then met up again outside.

On the men's side, Bentzi was listening to a man describing how he went into the actual מערה (deep below the structure where everyone davens) as part of a secret mission about 25 years ago.  He bought a DVD from him, where he describes what he saw there, including pictures, videos, and quotes from חז"ל.  (Bentzi and I watched it at home once we got the kids in bed- and it was really interesting!)

There were many activites going on in the area around מערת המכפלה- singing, projects, donkey rides, and tours.  We decided to take a tour of the old city of חברון- where Yidden lived for hundreds of years, up until the pogroms in 1929.  The tour guide pointed out many different buildings, describing for us what life was like in חברון העתיקה.  We even walked through the Arab שוק, where he showed us where the מזוזות used to be, in the now Arab "owned" storefronts.  There were soldiers positioned all over the place (note the picture below of the soldiers on a rooftop) to make sure that we were safe.

We had a really nice, exhausting day- and while I wouldn't do it every חול המועד, we were very happy we went and hope to go again!

 

Our Erev Shabbos "Bath"

This past Erev Shabbos was a HOT day. And with such a long afternoon ahead of us, we were trying to come up with ideas to keep the kids busy, without creating a huge mess in the house.

The Solution: A pool/bath! We filled up the pool in our front yard (which is shady in the afternoon) and gave everyone a bath in the pool. They had a real blast- we can't fit all five in at the same time in our bathtub, and I let them splash as much as they wanted because it wasn't going to make a mess all over our bathroom! After letting the kids splash and "swim" for a while, we started washing them all down with soap and shampoo (the bubbles from the shampoo caused lots of excitement).

 

Once everyone was finally washed, dried, and brought inside to get dressed, they had let out lots of their energy, and they were happy to sit on the couch and read books- a real win/win situation!

We'll have to try this tactic more often!

Bruria's מסיבת סוף שנה

Phew! Its hard being a mother with 4 kids in Gan!  Aside from the daily ins and outs of taking care of such young kids, it means you have to shlep to all their parties in Gan!  Well B"H I think I'm done for the year (Yisrael will have a סיום on ספר שמות and ספר ויקרא after Tisha B'Av, but that's Bentzi's turn!)

Bruria's end-of-the-year party was something special.  First of all, its a big milestone- after all, she'll be in first grade next year!  Its really amazing to watch how she and her classmates have grown over the years- they are really getting big! 

The גננות that Bruria had this year did an excellent job of letting the girls do their own projects (not so common here in E"Y) and she's really developed her talents nicely.  She is also on the threshold of reading- she knows all her א-ב and while they haven't officially started wtih reading, on her own, Bruria's started sounding out words, and trying to read and write them.

Her "graduation" was a wonderful end to a wonderful year.  They prepared a beautiful program of songs and a short song-skit, all based on the theme of תפילה.  Bruria was singing the songs and practicing the motions in the house for weeks, so it was familiar to me by the actual performance- but I enjoyed it nonetheless.  Bruria really enjoyed her chance to perform- with a smile on her face and a nice loud voice, she was really a star!  (takes after her mother, no?!)

May we continue to see much Nachas from Bruria, as she moves on to 1st grade (we've already bought the uniform shirts!)   May she go מחיל אל חיל!

 

Our visit in מכון למקדש

ACTUAL DATE: 4/11/2012 - 4th day of חול המועד פסח

Anyone who's taken the steps from the Old City down to the Kosel has noticed the Menorah enclosed in a glass case on the way down- (when I was in seminary it was in the Cardo, but has since been moved). The kids were always so excited to see it, and I would burst their bubble and tell them, not its not really זהב טהור, its just a model. And the real מנורה in the בית המקדש was much bigger too (after all, the כהן גדול had to climb up a set of stairs to reach it, didn't he?)

Well turns out that I was wrong on both accounts. Yes, the מנורה is REAL gold, and it is (at least according to some שיטות), the exact size of the מנורה in the בית המקדש. We learned all this and more, at our visit to the מכון למקדש on חול המועד פסח. We went for a very enlightening tour of the different replicas they've made -בגדי כהונה, שולחן, מזבח הזבב, to mention a few! The kids really enjoyed, especially Yisrael who had just finished learning about the משכן and the בגדי כהונה in פרשת תרומה and פרשת תצוה- he participated nicely when the tour guide asked questions to the group, showing how well he had learned these ענינים.

According to what I learned there, the מנורה was not nearly as tall as you'd imagine- the כהן גדול could easily reach the top without the steps- but he needed the steps so that his sleeve wouldn't slide up as he reached upwards to light it. Once climbing up the steps, he would be able to reach straight in front of him to light the מנורה, therefore keeping his arms properly covered (this example of צניעות in the בית המקדש is much less known than the example of the ramp to the מזבח).

This is just one of the many amazing things we learned during the tour, where we were able to see, touch, and even smell many different things that were in the בית המקדש. The last part of the tour was a model of the בית המקדש, which was much more beautiful (and supposedly much more accurate) than any other I've seen.

After the guided tour, we watched a video presentation depicting what it was like to be עולה רגל and bring the קרבן פסח. It was very entertaining for the kids, and made the concept much more real and concrete. They also had an activity center where each child was able to choose a project to make, related to the בית המקדש, as well as a cute skit about bringing the קרבן פסח.

Once we finished our visit in מכון למקדש, we headed down the stairs towards the כותל, and of course appreciated the model מנורה much more (it belongs to מכון למקדש and they display it there). And while davening מנחה at the כותל, surrounded by thousands of other Yidden all being "עולה רגל", I felt much more כונה when davening that Hashem should give us back the בית המקדש- for only one who truly understands and appreciates how beautiful it really was, can really mourn its absence and daven for its return, במהרה בימנו אמן!

Our Pre-Pesach Getaway

Since Bentzi started teaching, he doesn't have much vacation.  Usually we like to do something right after Pesach- when the weather is nice and places aren't crowded.  Only this year, he started teaching the Sunday right after Pesach.  Which meant the only time off he had for Pesach was the week before Pesach, and Pesach itself.   So I hustled and got my Pesach cleaning done early, so that we could have a few days to go away before Pesach started.

So early Tuesday morning, with the kitchen turned over and the house ready for Pesach, we packed up the van we rented (no room for our whole family in our regular car!) and headed up North- our destination:  the Golan/Kinneret area.  We headed up along the shore of the Mediterranean, with a stop in Ikea in Netanya where I got some goodies for the house.  They've got a great (free) "babysitting service" there, where you can leave the kids in this huge play area for an hour- they get proper supervision and we get to shop without five kids in tow (we kept Naftali and Nissim with us).  Afterwards, we treated the family to soft-serve ice cream.

Next we stopped by the beach in חדרה for a picnic lunch and to play in the sand.  The water was cold, so we just stuck our toes in (except for an over-eager Bruria who got her whole skirt soaked!)  Sorry, no pics- I was too busy supervising  and couldn't double as a cameraman!

Then we headed towards our final destination for the day- a camping grounds right off the Kinneret.  We found a lovely beach called "חוף גופרה" which had quite a few frum families - enough for a minyan (I guess we weren't the only ones who finished getting ready for Pesach early!)  We barbequed hot dogs and roasted marshmallows, and finally fell asleep in the tent (thank you Menucha for lending us your equipment!) after a busy but enjoyable day.

The next morning, the kids had a blast playing in the water- the כנרת was much warmer and they enjoyed splashing in the water and collecting seashells while we packed up the tent and got ready to head out (don't worry, they were well supervised the entire time!)  Then we headed out to Moshav Yonatan, in the Golan, to visit our Saba Mordechai.  The kids had a nice time visiting with Saba and munching on the rest of his chometz which he had to finish off!

We had hoped to go on a really fun water hike, the מג'רסה, but when we got there, we found out that the site was closed temporarily.  So instead, we  headed towards טבריה, where we took a small boat ride out onto the כנרת.  We had a fun time seeing the shore from a different perspective, and we even saw a few fish splashing through the surface of the water! 

By the time Tatty davened Mincha (and we had some ice cream while we waited) we headed towards the campgrounds.  Only problem is that by the time we got there...it was closed- apparently they only allow entrance until sunset.  But we had wonderful סייעתא דשמיא and were able to find a nice vacation resort nearby- and we "happened" to meet the manager, who let us stay for the night at a rock-bottom  price.  Not quite as cheap as camping, but the accomodations were definitely more comfortable!

After a good night's sleep, and a filling 5-star breakfast (we were shocked to discover that the products they served were actually הכשרים we use!) we got ready to go home, with one final attraction on the way- we went "sledding" and "skiing" on הר גלבוע.  While it was a bit ouf of place- it was a hot sunny day- we had a lot of fun (especially since I've never gone skiing before!)  Basically, they have special matting laid down on the slope of a mountain, with cold water sprayers, to make it feel a bit like you're on the snow.  The kids had fun sledding down the mountain- forwards, backwards, doubled up, and all four holding onto each other's sleds- and Bentzi and I took turns supervising and skiing down the slopes.  The kids also enjoyed watching their Mommy ski, challenging me to try the more difficult slope- which I must admit was actually more fun!

After a few hours of (hot) fun, we ate a quick lunch, and headed back to Beitar- just in time for בדיקת חמץ!

B"H we all had a really nice time, and came into Yom Tov feeling refreshed.  And the one of the best parts was that we were able to eat as much Chometz as we wanted, without having to do the "chometz dance" and worrying about bringing crumbs into the house!

Cute Quote: What kind of Jew are you?

On Shabbos, we were discussing the various different minhagim you'll find across the different "sects" of Yidden, come Pesach time.  I was explaining to the kids that the ice cream we had for dessert was not Chometz, but it has kitniyos in it- so even though we can't eat it on Pesach, ספרדים can.

Then one of the kids asked, "What are we?"

At first, I answered "אשכנזים" and then I added that we are also "ליטאים".  To which Bentzi interjected- "Well, we're also somewhat חסידים" (we don't eat Gebroks and we daven נוסח ספרד).

Naftali, listening to the conversation, had one thing to say - "אנחנו טעים"- and he continued to eat his ice cream!

And you know what?  He's right!  No matter if we're ליטאים or חסידים or אשכנזים or ספרדים ...to Hashem, we are all חביבים (which I guess is similar enough to 'yummy')!

Announcing...the answer to my riddle!

Last week, I presented you with a riddle in my post about our trip to the zoo on Shushan Purim.  This riddle generated a lot of very creative responses from my readers in the western hemisphere (should that be capitalized?)  I must admit I was disappointed from my readers here in the Middle East, as they did not participate in the fun.  At least one reader here admits she was offended by the zebra's position (she would have preferred a front view)- I apologize, and next time I will try harder to get the zebra to pose nicely!

I must admit, that this is one of those examples where you could say that the question is better than the answer.  I DO have a real answer, however, it is much less exciting and creative than some of the suggestions that were given.

In order to give you the answer, I first need to give you some background:

A while ago, I read an interesting article in the Mishpacha, about the "Living Torah Museum", started by Rabbi Shaul Shimon Deutsch.  Rabbi Deutsch's mission in founding the museum, was to display concepts mentioned in the Torah in a tangible way, making them come to life.  The museum features artifacts, real "stuffed animals", as well as diagrams and models.  (Sounds like a really nice place to visit if you're ever in Brooklyn or Lakewood).

I'm going to quote part of the article, where the answer to my riddle is found:

At this point in my tour, a school bus pulls up and deposits a group of seventh-graders from the Mirrer Yeshivah, accompanied by their rebbi. Rabbi Deutsch, clearly practiced in leading this type of group, starts right in with a splash:

“In Megillas Esther, it says Mordechai sent riders mounted on extremely swift animals — referred to as haachashtranim bnei haramachim — to tell the Jews they could defend themselves,” he tells the boys. “Does anyone know what a remach is?”

They shuffle expectantly; no one knows. “One source tells us it means zebra riders,” Rabbi Deutsch says. “Look, I just got a baby zebra. Anybody want to hold it?” He reaches up to pull a small zebra, posed in a sitting position, from a shelf. A dozen pairs of hands reach out to pet it.

“A lot of people think that zebras can’t be domesticated, but they can,” he goes on, clearly in his element. “Rothschild did it — he had a team of four zebras brought to England, and they pulled his coach.” He flicks on a monitor mounted near the ceiling, and a photo flashes of Lord Rothschild, seated regally in his carriage behind four harnessed zebras. Then he directs their attention to a nature video showing zebras leaping through the savanna, to show the boys just how fast they are.

Well, there you go!  Hope you learned something!  (You can read the full Mishpacha article here)

Shushan Purim in the Zoo!

Since the Friday after Purim was one of the rare occasions that the whole family had off (now that Bentzi started teaching he doesn't get much "בין הזמנים" anymore...), we decided to take advantage of the opportunity, and go on nice family outing to the zoo.  So as Purim drew to a close, I quickly whipped the house back into shape, set the Shabbos table, and got things ready so we could leave for the zoo in the morning. 

There was a real Purim spirit in the zoo- starting with a clown walking on stilts that greeted us at the entrance (the kids asked me, "is he a REAL clown or was he just מתחפש to a clown?!"- I explained to them that ALL clowns are really people dressed up as clowns).  They also had a "Lion" and "Tiger" near the entrance, which Yisrael and Bruria got a kick out of, but the younger kids were too scared to go near them no matter how much I coaxed or explained!

All the zoo staff were wearing headbands with animal ears.  Why, even the elephants had "face paint" (and tushy paint too)!

Now, a Purim riddle for all my dear readers.  What does this picture have to do with Megillas Esther?  Post your answers in the comments below, and stay tuned soon for the answer!

Happy Shushan Purim!

Purim Costumes!

Each year its getting harder to get all five kids together for one Purim picture...this year, I don't think I had all 5 awake in the house at one time the entire day!  With Yisrael learning in "ישיבת מרדכי הצדיק" and Bruria prancing around town delivering משלוח מנות to her friends,  and Nissim needing a nap, just getting a picture of each of them didn't prove to be such a simple feat!  (Not to mention that Mama was pre-occupied with getting ready for a Seuda which we hosted!)

B"H everyone looked adorable in their costumes.  Yisrael wanted to be the כהן גדול again (he wore the same costume last year)- he just finished learning פרשת תצוה in Cheder and was very excited to wear it.  Only problem (if you can call it that!) is that he learned the Chumash so well, that he knew all the measurements of exactly how long everything was supposed to be, exactly of what type of material, and kept on complaining about the innaccuracies in his costume.  We did make a new ציץ and מצנפת which were more authentic looking, but I put my foot down when he asked for an אבנט that was 32 אמות long!

Bruria was a כלה, and she relished the opportunity to get all dressed up and wear makeup.  She was a real beauty, and I must admit at one point when I was watching her, I had a thought that before we know it  I'll be marrying her off!  (okay, well a bit longer than that....but time really does fly!  Seems like just yesterday they were just babies!)

Azriel Shraga was  מררכי הצדיק (in the picture he's missing his beard...oh well).  He loved his costume and was especially proud of the horse and the sign that he wore which we made together.

Naftali, who is always a bit of a clown, decided to make it official and dress up as one.  Good thing I got a picture right after I did the face makeup, becuase right afterward he ate a chocolate hamantasch and got it smeared all over his face!

And Nissim was a clown too- which matches his bright, happy personality.  The ribbons in his hair drew lots of comments- they just added to his natural cuteness!  (he didn't want to keep his hat on, even just to snap a picture...oh well!)

I did not manage to snap a picture of Tatty with his hat...he picked up some strange Santa style hat with braids (not sure what it was really meant to be!)  He wore it to Cheder and his students (all Americans!) called him "Mrs. Santa".  Definitely a bit didfferent!

Enjoy!

 

How do you eat your Hamantasch?

If you have trouble viewing, click here to download the clip

(Inspired by the Reeses Pieces commercial from about 20 years ago,

not sure if they still use this idea!)

The "Queen" of all Pekelach

For days, Bruria has been talking about the משלוח מנות (AKA Pekela) she has been making in Gan.  "Its a כלה, and if you turn it, it turns into a מלכה" - I could not figure out what she meant...until she came home with this exquisite project today:

They took a formula can, glued a toilet paper tube to the top, and then decorated each side of the tube as you see above- with the nosh was all inside the can.  Bruria is so proud of her work of art (they really did most of the project themselves really excited about it, and now that the junk food is all gobbled up, she's planning on using it as a jewelry box!

!משנכנס אדר מרבים בתחפושות

Like every other year, on ראש חודש אדר, the kids come home from Gan all dressed up.  Its amazing to see all the original ideas the Gananot think of every year!   Bruria had a carnival in Gan and came home dressed up as a clown, along with a cupcake which she decorated as a clown!  Azriel Shraga came home dressed up as shepard/sheep, with "צאן קדושים" written on the back (Naftali's gan also dressed up as the same thing, but he was home sick, poor thing).  And Nissim came home dressed up as a candy, with a sweet poem about how he's the sweetest of all...

(Sorry, Yisrael..in 'כתה ב you don't get any of this fun stuff....)

Mirror, Mirror on the wall

One feature of the Minkus house which you just can't miss is the wall of mirrors along the living room wall.  Growing up with a house full of girls, those mirrors got PLENTY of use- we'd admire our outfits in front of them, put on makeup in front of them, dance and act in front of them, why, we'd even just talk to each other while looking at each other in them, rather than facing each other!  (Remember those days?!)

I hadn't thought much about those mirrors lately...until I went with Bruria to Gedalia Minkus's wedding last week.  Before we went home, I took Bruria to the bathroom...and right before she entered the toilet stall, she noticed that one wall was covered with a wall-to-wall, full length mirror.  Bruria was ecstatic!  She pranced around in front of the mirror, turning around slowly to admire her dress, she lifted up her arms and danced, watching her reflection...it brought back such fond memories!  Since we don't have any full length mirrors at home, she doesn't usually have this opportunity!  I had a hard time getting her to actually use the bathroom, since she was so enamored with her reflection!

100%

In case you didn, know, B"H Yisrael is a bright young fellow (takes after his mother, of course!)  He does very well in school, always bringing home 100's on his tests and worksheets.  His Rebbe is very good about writing comments on his work - and as soon as Yisrael comes home, he rips out his paper to show me what his Rebbe wrote.

Yisrael was sick at home for the last two days.  This morning, as he was getting dressed, I joked around with him that he missed two whole days of learning (at the pace they learn at in their Cheder, that's at least a perek or two in Chumash and Navi) and that maybe he won't do so well on the next test.

Well when he came home, he was smiling ear to ear- and handed me his test.  Sure enough, he got 100%.

And read the comment his Rebbe wrote:

It says "!תגיד לי איזה מלאך הגיע אליך ללמדך תורה, שגם יבוא אלי- בסדר"

May we be zoche to see Yisrael use his potential!

As a side note, Yisrael's Rebbe this year is a gem- he's a great-grandson of R' Aryeh Levine, and he definitely inherited his Elter Zeide's warmth and love.  He is loving and encouraging, and can really understand the mentality of a 7-year-old.   Yisrael loves him to pieces!

The ULTIMATE compliment

My darling Bruria is ever the social butterfly, always wanting to go to play at a friend's house.  So imagine how great I felt after the following scenario:

Yesterday I bought Bruria and Yisrael each a deck of cards- card games (primarily war), have become the new obsession in our home.  I decided to teach Bruria how to play "Spit" so that she'd have a variety of what to play.  So we were sitting on the rug, playing "Spit" (I was letting her win; isn't it nice that I can control myself for my daughter's sake!?) when the phone rang.

"שלום, זאת רבקי ברים, אפשר לדבר עם ברוריה?"

I handed the phone to Bruria, sure that our game was over.  I only heard Bruria's side of the conversation, but it went something like this:

"מי זאת?"

"מה את רוצה?"

"אבל אני משחקת עם אמא שלי!" (said with a shrug of her shoulders, her body language that means, I don't want!)

"שלום!"

Aaaaaaawwwwwww...

Nissim: Two posts in one

I've got two blog posts to write about Nissim, but they both apply to the same video- so I'll combine them as a two-in-one:

POST #1:  "I did it all by myself"

I'm so used to the kids coming home with projects that their Morah made, that when Nissim came home with some sticker projects from Maon, I thought, oh, yeah right-  Nissim can't do this- why do they even bother?  Until the kids sat down and pulled the orange stickers off his tree (they are learning about oranges)- and he took them and stuck them back on!

Since then we've been doing lots of playing with stickers- it is SO good for his fine motor skills- he transfers it from his left hand to his right, makes sure to get the sticker on the tip of his finger, and rolls it off of his finger onto the paper.  Each time he sticks a sticker, he claps his hands and looks to his audience for a round of applause.  SO ADORABLE!

(Of course in the video, he decided to make shtick and put the stickers in his mouth, which he NEVER does when we are just playing...I guess he's like some of his other siblings who get silly in front of the camera!)

POST #2:  Nissim's New Look 

By now, most of you have heard that Nissim needs glasses- and a select few have already Skyped with me and saw him live!  He just got them today and has to get used to wearing them- when he's not distracted he tries to pull them off, but I'm hoping he'll get used to them soon!

And now for the video....

Trouble viewing the video?  Click here to download it

Yungers in Action: Reaching new heights!

Nissim learned how to climb up the stairs- and we are all thrilled!  (Don't worry, we're putting the gate on the stairs!)  Its so exciting to see him growing and developing and reaching new milestones!

Trouble viewing the video?  Click here to download it.

Cute Quote: Don't mess with me!

Yisrael is learning פרשת משפטים in Cheder- and it looks like he's taking his learning seriously!  He came home one day and told me about the following incident- in a totally serious tone of voice!

Troublemaker:  Yisrael, I dare you to go do XXX!
Yisrael:  No, I'm not going to listen to you!
Troublemaker:  If you don't listen to me, then I'm going to tell my big brother to break your arm!
Yisrael:  He wouldn't do that, because he knows that if he breaks my arm he'll have to pay me for שבת, ריפוי, נזק and צער!

Well, the kid had nothing to say to that!