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!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
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!
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!)
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!)
Monday, August 6, 2012
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!
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!
Monday, July 30, 2012
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!)
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!)
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
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!
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!
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
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
Sunday, July 8, 2012
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!
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!
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