Pesach and Tiyulim (The Unprinted Article) 5/1/2008

This article was written after Pesach but submitted after deadline and never ran in the paper.

I got a call in the middle of chol hamoed from the guy whose family had baked matzot with us. He called to see how “we liked the cardboard” and to tell me that they would not be baking next year since they didn’t like the taste. I was surprised. My matzot were also thick and had less flavor than the “matzo bakery” matzot, but we all enjoyed them because we made them with our own hands.

There is no question that our family wants to make the “matzo bake” an annual tradition. I can even see doing it with my grandchildren way down the road. To each his own.

Having done all our shopping the week earlier, we (ok – so Goldie, Chaya & Aliza) spent the week before Pesach cooking, baking and filling the freezer so that Goldie would be able to enjoy the visit with her parents (who joined us for chag). With four less major seudot to plan and cook for, this was not as tough as it used to be back in the USA.

The Tuesday night before Yom Tov I broke my left pinkie playing in the inter-shul basketball league. The next morning, I went to get an x-ray and the technician asked me if I was injured while Pesach cleaning. Then he read the report and said, “I guess not.”

I responded that even though it was not a cleaning related injury, I needed an excuse note to get out of all future cleaning (even though we were all done cleaning by that time). After the x-ray, he came to give me the x-ray disk and said “Yaish Lecha Ishur” (you have a permit). It has been a painful inconvenience, but is getting better.

Once Goldie’s parents arrived the day before Yom Tov, we were all set to go. Thankfully, we will not have to deal with another Sunday Pesach for thirteen more years. All the headache with eating chametz for hamotzi on Shabbat was enough to drive us crazy, and waking up for a 6:40 AM davening did not help things. With the warm weather we were having, we were able to eat the meals (both at night and during the day) outside on the patio, which certainly helped with keeping the interior chametz free.

We almost did not have any bread to use for the Shabbat meals. Goldie and I assumed that the stores would have a fresh supply of challa available on Friday, but all the stores were converted for Pesach and the local bakery was closed. I had to run up to Ramat Beit Shemesh Aleph where there was one bakery open. So we ended up with some really fresh challa rolls.

One of our returning students, Daniel Pessar asked me how the sedarim were for the family. I loved responding, “Sedarim? What’s that? Our Seder was very nice". Having one Seder instead of two is really a treat. Last year’s seder was a little overcast with all the medical issues we were dealing with. This year, even though we still have issues to deal with, things are much more settled and we were much more prepared to enjoy ourselves.

Chol Hamoed was really hot. The hottest day reached 105 or so, but the rest of the days were scorchers in their own right. This made planning tiyulim difficult, because with little kids and grandparents, we had to be very cognizant of the “wilting” factor and limit their exposure to the sun and heat. With an additional day of chol hamoed here, we also had to keep everyone occupied and busy.

We spent the first day at the safari in Ramat Gan. I am not sure which was worse, the 45 minute wait to get to the entrance or the traffic jam as cars maneuvered to get better viewing position in the safari. The adjoining zoo was so crowded that it reminded me of the Bronx Zoo on July Fourth.

The next day we drove to Ma’alot in Northern Israel to visit Goldie’s two great-aunts who came here from Russia eighteen years ago. It was nice to visit with them, but the six hours of driving in some awful traffic was tough. While in Ma’alot we also went to a mini fair they had over chol hamoed and went go carting and paddle boating. The highlight of the day was having dinner in a Naharia shawarma restaurant that had gone Kosher for Pesach.

By Wednesday we were all exhausted and with the weather forecast calling for 105+ degree weather, we decided to keep the kids home while Bubee and Zaidy took a day in Yerushalayim to tour and shop. Boy was it hot! I think I might even have traded an extra day of Yom Tov for a little less sun, but we don’t get that kind of choice.

Thursday we decided to go to an archeological dig in the National Park at Beit Guvrin, a twenty minute drive from our house. One of the treats of this tour (which was conducted in English) was getting to actually dig for archeological treasure in the Beit Guvrin caves. Every kid found something, be it a shard of pottery or an animal bone – and they loved getting dirty right under their parents’ noses.

On Friday I took my in-laws to Sderot to go shopping. As you know, I try to participate in many “support the people of Sderot” activites. I really believe that showing up and spending money in their stores in order to earn a living with dignity even when many of their regular customers have moved away is a big mitzva. Unfortunately, not everyone does.

Some guy took out several ads in the Jerusalem Post decrying the “tourism” aspect of going to Sderot. In his opinion, we should show solidarity with the people of Sderot by offering to switch houses with them for several months rather than try to catch a cheap “thrill” by coming by for a few minutes and then leaving after a bomb or two (no bombs landed while we were there).

I disagree but certainly hope he continues with this kind of sentiment. I think every time he gives money for a poor person to buy food that he goes to their home to eat their meal, while offering his meal in his home to their family. Or maybe he should personally open his door to all orphans and the handicapped who do indeed need all of our concern for their housing and shelter. Somehow I don’t see it.

What I do see is that we have a responsibility to care for all those who need our help. And if that means that we sometimes go to an orphanage to help make a simcha there, then that is what we do. Or if it means that we need to drive down to Sderot and buy Yom Tov flowers from THEIR florist instead of in Beit Shemesh so that the florist can make a little money with dignity and not have to ask for a handout – then I am all for that as well.

Oh yeah. My nephew was indeed home for the Seder but had to return to vigorous training during chol hamoed during which he fell and hurt himself. So he had an unscheduled visit home for the last day of chag before returning to the base and a resumption of training.