Our Gift

Our Gift arrived 6-6-12. He weighed 7.3 pounds and he arrived with cries of joy – for all. Our firstborn son, Moshe Yosef is the love of our lives. We could not have asked for a more perfect gift from Hashem. He is our precious little boychick who already makes us proud, happy and tired. Moshe Yosef is our miracle. Miracles aren’t equipped with reasons, explanations and rationales. They just are. Hashem has given us the most magical, sweet and cherished treasure. Joining the ranks of parenthood has been extraordinary, challenging, emotional and beautiful. He makes us smile more each day. He allows us to appreciate life from another angle. Each and every day is fresh with anticipation, suspense and excitement. This angel of ours adds much spark, charm and light to our home. We brought him home only a few days old and each day he grows, develops, changes and we fall in love with him all over again. We are obsessed with his every movement, fixated on every motion and focused on every action. He stretches, he smiles and he sighs – like every other baby. However – he is different. He does it in his own unique way. He owns his trademark. We were all, younger at a stage, but have since grown, learnt and experienced the trials and tribulations of life. We’ve mixed the good with the bad, the joys and the sorrows, the cries and laughter and more. We’ve been tested & tried – and so will our boy – but he will succeed. He makes us prouder parents each day. He gives us the chance to become better parents. We have this opportunity to learn, grow and mature with him. His presence adds an indescribable feeling to our home in which everything is illuminated. Moshe Yosef – welcome to our world.

Israel/Pesach trip 2012 - 5752

Our trip to Israel April 2012 April 1 – No April fools jokes – we head off to Miami International Airport to catch our Boeing 747-400 British Airways flight to Tel Aviv via London’s Heathrow Airport. We are going to Jerusalem for Yaakov Moshe’s Bar Mitzvah and Pesach. 8 hours later we touch down in the Queen’s city. April 2 – Arrival in London’s Heathrow International Airport Terminal 5 (T5). London is hosting the 2012 Olympic games, so there is a fair bit of ‘showing off’ going on all around the airport. One positive for the airport is the amazing job they have done to their bathrooms! We pass security for the Tel Aviv flight, and hardly get by it before a Minyan for Shachris is formed. Prayed, then boarded the Boeing 777 jet for the 5-hour hop over to Tel Aviv. Beautiful scenes as we descend into Israel as we fly above the Mediterranean and onwards to Lod Airport. Disembark followed by immigration, baggage retrieval and the famous Nesher (price increase to 62 Shekalim for a one-way airport – Jerusalem trip). The driver is on his best behaviour and 40 minutes later we are climbing the hills of Jerusalem. Great feeling to back, all the memories are flocking back. Driver drops us off exactly where we asked him (1st Miracle). Staying in the Sharei Chesed neighbourhood of Jerusalem. Close to Rechavia, Nachlaot and town. Say a quick hello to the family followed immediately by coffee indulgence. Green’s on Keren Kayement. One hour later – are we still Milchig? Of course not, so off to Café Rimon on Ben Yehuda. Ordered the Jerusalem Grill and how satisfying it was. April 3 – A trip to Avis car rental followed by a beautiful desert drive down Highway 90 to the Dead Sea. Amazing to see the small villages and camels along the way. Good to hear Galgalatz is still beating out their tunes all over the Israeli FM. We did not get that close to Jordan but we enjoyed their semi decent music stations along the way. After a few checkpoints and a Nascar like experience on the Israeli roads we arrived in Ein Bokek. Large chunks of sea salt are visible, as is Jordan across the Sea. Dinner - enjoyed an all you can eat buffet, followed by a horrendous Israeli band singing English song requests by the Anglo crowd. April 4 – Day 2 in the Dead Sea and our return trip to Jerusalem. We head North up route 90 after receiving perfect and helpful directions from the hotel staff. We return the car, in one piece and head off to get ready for Party number 1 for the Bar Mitzva. Location – Sheyan restaurant, which according to the Jerusalem Post is ‘a captivating merge between Jerusalem's eclectic atmosphere and China's traditional cuisine’. The party was beautiful - delicious food, great wine and plenty of speeches. April 5 – The Bar Mitvah boy has his first Aliyah (call up to the Torah) at the Kotel Hamaaravi (the Western Wall). There must be about 10 other Bar Mitzvah’s happening simultaneously around us. It was a very beautiful and moving experience. Family pictures are next on the agenda (everyone must have that Kotel family picture as proof that you were there). Pictures are followed by Party number 2 – location: Leteccini, which has been reviewed as being ‘From American diner delicacies to fish and pasta, chef Gilad Atlas can do it all’. There were more speeches and performances in which we all wished the Bar Mitzvah boy Mazel Tov. After the celebrations of Party number 2, some of us went to the kitchen while others went off for last minute pre-Pesach felafel at Shalom Felafel on Betzalel. We searched for the chometz in the evening followed by some whisky just to make sure that we cleared and cleaned all the chometz from our system. April 6 - Erev Pesach – we joined the throngs of people on the streets of Jerusalem and participated in a pyromaniac activity called ‘the burning of the chometz’. This is a public spectacle across many of the streets in Jerusalem, and should never be tried at home. The rest of the day was spent preparing to leave Egypt (and preparing our stomachs for the matza and wine onslaught). The Seder was lively. We drank the 4 cups, ate the 3 matzas, told stories, sang songs, welcomed Eliyahu Hanavi and proudly proclaimed ‘This year in Jerusalem’. April 7 – The only day of YomTov In Israel was spent praying at Mayanot in Nachalot to the holy tunes of R’ Shlomo Carlebach followed by the festive meal at Keren Kayemet L’yisrael, prepared by the girls. In the late afternoon we headed off towards the Old City for Maariv and Havdala at the Western Wall. April 8 - Up, bright and early for a tour of the City of David. We descended underground into tunnels and walking paths and see the oldest settled neighbourhood of Jerusalem. They have done a phenomenal job excavating and restoring this unique archaeological site. The rest of the day is spent recovering from the gruelling twists and turns of the tour. April 9 – Off we head to the Museum of Psalms, an exhibit in Jerusalem in which the Famed Artist Moshe Tzvi Berger paints each of the 150 Psalms, with beautiful colour and meaning. The rest of the day was spent meandering the streets of Jerusalem, throughout its outdoor markets and bazaars. April 10 – Day tour outside Jerusalem to Gush Etzion, Hebron and Herodian Castle. The tour started in Jerusalem, we passed some important cities and neighbourhoods, drove along the security wall, through the Judean desert, stopped in at the Gush Etzion Winery and returned to Jerusalem. It was a great day of history of mystery. April 11 - Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, all in a day. Yemin Moshe, the artsy neighbourhood of Jerusalem was the morning adventure followed by Tel Aviv/Givatayim in the afternoon. We headed down the hills to Givatayim, a suburb just outside of Tel Aviv to visit some family. Our driver only got lost once, but was adamant that he knew where he was. The ever-reliable Egged took us home. April 12 – Jerusalem is always crazy. Erev Yom Tov in Jerusalem is manic. However some of us found time (away from the kitchen) to show off our soccer skills against some Nachman’s in Nachalot. We scored some goals and then we were on our way. We cleaned out the local supermarket of pickles and olives in preparation for Party number 3 of the Bar Mitzva (more details to come). April 13 - Eat, Drink & Pray was pretty much the theme of the day. The annual Moshiach Seudah was held, another 4 cups were consumed and then we headed to the Kotel to farewell Pesach of 5752. The Wall was packed – thousands of people from all walks of life made their way down for a special Shaboes service. April 14 - Party Number 3 of the Bar Mitzah was held after davening at the Mayanot Shul on Narkis in Jerusalem. The Bar Mitzvah boy read beautifully and his grandfather spoke eloquently. The party itself was quite unique. The afternoon was spent counting down the hours until Shabboes was over – so we could finally break our chometz drought. When the General gave the green light, we headed to Ben Yehuda and partook in leaven feasting consisting of pizza, felafel and Schwarmah. Everyone was in leaven heaven. We even thought about sushi – but that never transpired. April 15 – We picnicked at Alarazov Park in Jerusalem and then completed the Meah Shearim experience. The experience consists of going into every store on Meah Shearim Street, deciding not to buy anything, only to return to every store and then think about buying everything (Keeping in mind that each and every store carry all the same products). In the midst of our ‘experience’ I lost my glasses (only to find them the next day, in what we are calling a post pesach miracle). We finished off the day with a farewell feast for some of our travellers who were headed back that evening to Australia. April 16 – We were real tourists today. We went on the Jerusalem City Tour Bus. Otherwise known as the number 99 Double Decker red bus (with the open roof). Or more simply, - the hop on/hop off, city tour of Jerusalem. It was really a great ride throughout the city and highly recommended. The other tourists decided to head to the Dead Sea. We ended the day with a trip to the Kotel and dinner at RYU on Emek Refaim. According to the Jerusalem Post, RYU is a combination of Asian/ Israeli Cuisine (whatever that means). April 17 – For some of us, the trip ended and we headed to Ben Gurion Airport to catch flights, while others stayed on for a few more days. We headed out to the Airport at the ungodly hour of 4AM to catch our flight to Miami via London. We had the most amazing trip, and holidays are always too short. Thank you to the entire family for making the time in Israel so wonderful. Mazel Tov to Yaakov Moshe – may you continue to bring us all a lot of nachas and joy.

Festivities of October 2011

The festivals have come and gone ensuring us all a healthy sweet new year. Rosh Hashona (festival celebrating the beginning of the Jewish New Year) was had in Toronto. The Day of Atonement was observed in Miami, as was the festival of the booths. It was wet and wild in South Florida as the tropic summer months continue well into Autumn.

Queen Elizabeth visited Australia for afternoon tea. Speaking of leaders, Muammur Gaddafi was found and killed in Libya as the world watches the birth of another democratic nation. Time will tell. Violence continues all over the Middle East and North Africa, as does “Occupy’ violence from New York to Buenos Aires and back.

‎Finally, after 1941 days, Gilad Shalit returned home. It was a magical and proud moment as Gilad crossed the border and embraced his father. May G-d continue to protect and watch over us.

‎Perhaps it will be third time lucky for Sir Paul McCartney as he tied the knot to Nancy Shevell. In sadder news, technological geeks and Apple Mac fans mourned the loss of Steve Jobs. The face of Apple lost his battle with cancer, he fought hard and long but in the end he bit the apple.

Wishing all the Americans a very happy Thanksgiving and healthy Turkey consumption.
It’s starting too look a lot like Winter …….

September 2011

Happy Jewish New Year and Shana Tova to one and all. We spent the beginning of the New Year, North of the border in Toronto Canada, where the weather is 25 degrees cooler (than Miami).

September was busy as the world watched as the 10th Anniversary of September 11 took place. Special tributes and memorial were held in those places where lives were lost and the world was changed forever. A certain leader and known denier still claimed that the events that took place on September 11 2001 were an American conspiracy. Clearly, the world still needs to be cleaned of such evil.

Investment bank UBS were kept on their toes as suspected rogue trader Kweku Adoboli caused the bank to lose 2 Billion dollars. Social Media got updates of Adoboli’s activity as he updated his facebook status to "I need a miracle" before being arrested. How hopeful!

Stock markets continued to be battered and it seems that being a professional sportsman or woman is certainly one healthy way to make it rich in these tough economic times. Serbian Novak Djokovic pocketed $2.3 million USD prize money by winning the U.S open tennis.

Enjoy the remaining holidays and be nice to one another.

'Outwitting History' by Aaron Lansky

The language of Yiddish is here to stay, and Aaron Lansky tells a story of courage, perseverance and absoluteness. The story begins as Lansky is a college student with a love for the Yiddish language and Lansky ensures that the language continues to be a part of a partially destroyed 19th century. Lansky and some comrades collect and salvage Yiddish books. They save the language and they save the world.

Hurricane season and August

Hello readers and followers, I hope the past few weeks have been good and pleasant for you, wherever you may be.

I moved to Florida at the outset of the 2011 summer, and was warned that the weather would be unbearable, miserable and outlandishly temperamental. And so it has been. We have had patches of summer tropical rain whilst simultaneously having gorgeous summer sunshine.

The summer months bring about Hurricane season, 2011 brought about ‘Irene’. Though it didn’t wage its battle in Florida, it moved North to the city that never sleeps. New York City was able to once again create immense hype as they awaited Hurricane Irene (which was later downgraded to tropical storm Irene). This all came about in the same week that many New Yorkers (and other East coasters) experienced earth tremors.

On the topic of tremors, Wall Street continued to get a beating as world markets and currencies caused headaches worldwide. Google acquired Motorola for $12 Billion and Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple.

London Bridge nearly fell down as rioters took to the streets of many English cities. London was a riot, as youths burnt buildings, looted and made a complete mockery of the Police.

Libyan nationals continue the war on Gadaffi, as they attempt to capture the dictator who now has a price on his head. Meanwhile in Gaza, arms smuggling and terrorism is in full effect (and people still believe the Flotilla was a peace vessel). Wishing a long life to the families of those who lost loved ones in the recent attacks on innocent civilians in the South of Israel.

During the last month, a former classmate of mine, Chaim Yonatan Zev Halevi ben Yael lost his battle to lung cancer. He battled hard, but in the end G-d wanted him back. May his family be comforted in this difficult time and may you only have joyous time from here on in.

As Rosh Hashona (Jewish new year) approaches, I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and sweet new year and may you all be written and inscribed for a beautiful, healthy new year ahead.

Miami Jewish Museum & Isaac Bashevis Singer

I had the privilege and pleasure of visiting the Miami Jewish Museum in South Beach this past Sunday. It was a rainy summer day and in between running between rainfall and puddles it was a good cultured experience.

There is an Isaac Bashevis Singer (and his artists) exhibit at the museum until September 2011 and I recommend that any fan of the literary great to go and check out the small, intimate exhibit at the museum. Singer lived his last days in the Surfside neighborhood of Miami and has a street named after him there. He was a prolific novelist of short stories, poems and more and was one of the greatest writers in the post World War 2 era. He keeps the Yiddish language alive.

The museum on its own is a small museum with interesting and wonderful information on Jewish Floridians, Cuban Jews and the Israeli connection.