One day of chag. If anyone wants a compelling reason for making aliyah, here is one. One day of chag. Not two, and absolutely not three. (To be completely forthcoming, Rosh Hashana is two days, and can become three, and other chagim can become two, but that is the exception, rather than the rule. I knew I was a vatika - old-timer - when the thought of two day Rosh Hashana was exhausting and not old hat.) There is very little yom tov fatigue; that is, being tired of chag before it even starts, dreading the second day before the first even begins. You can enjoy it while it lasts, and then you blink, and it's over. Our chag was really nice. Getting ready was a little hairy, as this was the first early Shabbat since changing the clock. But all the cookies were baked and distributed, and the food was ready with plenty of time. We had Tamar and Jeremy over for dinner. The kids were all very excited about sukkah hopping - the younger set, anyway - and the visitors started to arrive before we were finished eating. Ariella went with Avital and her parents around the neighborhood, and didn't return for nearly an hour and a half, well and truly sugared up and totally happy. Dani and Ayelet each went out with friends, and Shana hung out in our sukkah with some of her friends. David and I headed to Elliot and Leiah's for an oneg in honor of their fifth son, Hillel's, bar mitzvah. It was a fun evening, and it is always nice to chat with friends in the beautiful weather, and to make a bracha and enjoy some treats in someone else's sukkah. Mazal tov to Hillel and the whole family!
Shul on Shabbat/Sukkot morning was packed, and a lengthy davening. Still, as I always say, we finished before 11:30, which is better than many American shuls on a regular Shabbat. We went out to lunch to an "old-time" family in the yishuv - they are among the first 70 families, who each have a number to designate their arrival. The wife, Leeba, was my babysitter back in Silver Spring when I was in about first grade, and David has been working with the husband, Joel, on shul stuff. We had a very nice time, and were even able to squeeze in a nap, despite the early ending of Shabbat.
On Motzaei Shabbat, I had to put together an order for a Sunday evening party - Arica and Lisa's mom and dad are both celebrating their sixtieth birthdays this year, and since all of their daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren are together, they were celebrating now. They got a cookie platter and a birthday cake.
Hope they all enjoyed, not just the goodies but being together. Mazal tov, ad meah v'esrim.
Next up, chol hamoed fun...
Dvora
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