Continuation of our trip journal....
Mesibat HaBar Mitzvah
Ok, where did we leave off? Yeah, the day of the party. Well, of course we were running late and Tali's hair was wet and I could not find her necklace so she begged to wear the one I just received as a gift from our dear friends, and I was so frazzled, but we made it. Boaz was there, calmly taking pictures as usual...check them out in the album links. Then we rushed to assemble the centerpieces we had prepared in the US and packed and brought with us - a festive Purim theme, since it was the end of Taanit Esther (an unusual occurence - Taanit Esther without Purim that night - great night for a party!). The kids all helped set the colorful tables and we were all set when everyone came down from Maariv to eat. A great time was had by all - we ate, we danced, we had some speeches (almost the same as the US party, we cheated) , showed the video/slide show and danced some more. We shmoozed with cousins and friends - almost 150 people showed up from all corners of Israel! It was awesome and we went back late and exhausted and collapsed to sleep.
Erev Shabbat/Shiloh
Friday morning we shopped in Geula and bought mishloach manot and lots of candy - wow, it's amazing what they make kosher these days and how cheap it is! Then we checked out of the hotel and got a ride to Shiloh, to meet up with Lisa and David Rubin and get a quick tour, because unfortunately we were running quite late. We saw the shul, which is modeled after the mishkan and saw an incredible view from Shiloh to just about everywhere. No wonder it was considered the center of Judaism for so many years. We did not get a chance to see the ruins/excavations, but promised to return on our next visit, IY"H. Then we hurried over to Eli to the Branskis for Shabbat.
Eli
First of all, Eli is a beautiful community - suburban, single family homes with lawns and yards - just like a gated community anywhere in the US. But it is so much more special because it is Israel, and the people were so warm and welcoming. Yonatan and Leora Branski, our cousins, were our hosts, and arranged for some of us to stay in a neighbor's empty house. Since Yoni spent last summer with the Branskis, he felt quite at home and stayed with his surrogate siblings:) (Michael, the 3 year old, actually believes that Yoni is his older brother who comes home once in a while). After a lovely Friday night dinner with interesting Yemenite bread and zatar spiced challah, we went to sleep late, of course. Since this is Israel, we woke up bright and early for shul, and us women rushed to make it in time for Yoni's aliyah l'Torah - and we did. We threw lots of candy and the shul sang mazal tov and tefillah was followed by a beautiful kiddush arranged by Leora and her friends. Of course, there was Yerushalmi kugel and pickles, dried fruit and other goodies. The Rav of Eli spoke beautifully about Yoni and his committment to Eretz Yisrael and Am Yisrael, and presented Yoni with an engraved siddur from the community of Eli. After a delicious lunch, we relaxed, shmoozed, slept, played - even Tali made some new Israeli friends, speaking the international language of Barbie. But the big fun was yet to come.... Stay tuned for Purim!
Ok, where did we leave off? Yeah, the day of the party. Well, of course we were running late and Tali's hair was wet and I could not find her necklace so she begged to wear the one I just received as a gift from our dear friends, and I was so frazzled, but we made it. Boaz was there, calmly taking pictures as usual...check them out in the album links. Then we rushed to assemble the centerpieces we had prepared in the US and packed and brought with us - a festive Purim theme, since it was the end of Taanit Esther (an unusual occurence - Taanit Esther without Purim that night - great night for a party!). The kids all helped set the colorful tables and we were all set when everyone came down from Maariv to eat. A great time was had by all - we ate, we danced, we had some speeches (almost the same as the US party, we cheated) , showed the video/slide show and danced some more. We shmoozed with cousins and friends - almost 150 people showed up from all corners of Israel! It was awesome and we went back late and exhausted and collapsed to sleep.
Erev Shabbat/Shiloh
Friday morning we shopped in Geula and bought mishloach manot and lots of candy - wow, it's amazing what they make kosher these days and how cheap it is! Then we checked out of the hotel and got a ride to Shiloh, to meet up with Lisa and David Rubin and get a quick tour, because unfortunately we were running quite late. We saw the shul, which is modeled after the mishkan and saw an incredible view from Shiloh to just about everywhere. No wonder it was considered the center of Judaism for so many years. We did not get a chance to see the ruins/excavations, but promised to return on our next visit, IY"H. Then we hurried over to Eli to the Branskis for Shabbat.
Eli
First of all, Eli is a beautiful community - suburban, single family homes with lawns and yards - just like a gated community anywhere in the US. But it is so much more special because it is Israel, and the people were so warm and welcoming. Yonatan and Leora Branski, our cousins, were our hosts, and arranged for some of us to stay in a neighbor's empty house. Since Yoni spent last summer with the Branskis, he felt quite at home and stayed with his surrogate siblings:) (Michael, the 3 year old, actually believes that Yoni is his older brother who comes home once in a while). After a lovely Friday night dinner with interesting Yemenite bread and zatar spiced challah, we went to sleep late, of course. Since this is Israel, we woke up bright and early for shul, and us women rushed to make it in time for Yoni's aliyah l'Torah - and we did. We threw lots of candy and the shul sang mazal tov and tefillah was followed by a beautiful kiddush arranged by Leora and her friends. Of course, there was Yerushalmi kugel and pickles, dried fruit and other goodies. The Rav of Eli spoke beautifully about Yoni and his committment to Eretz Yisrael and Am Yisrael, and presented Yoni with an engraved siddur from the community of Eli. After a delicious lunch, we relaxed, shmoozed, slept, played - even Tali made some new Israeli friends, speaking the international language of Barbie. But the big fun was yet to come.... Stay tuned for Purim!
Yoni in his element
our trip to Israel
Finally, I have a few moments to "blog" about our trip to Israel to celebrate Yoni's Bar Mitzvah back in March!
Night/Day One: Rechovot and the Dead Sea
We arrived in Israel on Feb 25 in the evening, met Yoni who was already in Israel at the airport, and went straight to our cousins in Rechovot, Gary and Yehudit Weisinger. We had a pizza dinner and were visited by our other cousins in Rechovot, Shalom and Leviah Applebaum. Then Charlie and Yoni went to meet with Rav Kook, the chief Rabbi of Rechovot, to discuss our program to link every Jew in Galut to daven and do chesed in honor of every soldier in combat in Israel. Yoni also got a bracha from Rav Kook, which was a great honor and Bar Mitzvah gift.
We then piled into the hired minivan (thank you Lisa Rubin) and made the long, late night trip to the Dead Sea. We arrived at about midnight at the Sheraton Moriah on the shore of Yam Hamelach and unloaded our 18 pieces of luggage, and promptly fell asleep. The next morning, after joining an eclectic minyan and being treated to a phenomenal breakfast buffet, Zevi, Akiva and Yoni were picked up by Rabbi Shmuel Landsman of Israel Summer Extreme to take the boys on an extreme tiyul of the south and north. Us girls and Charlie bid them farewell and we went to relax.
First, we made our girly appointments for massages for both of us and a facial for Mommy at the spa. Then we headed out to the beach, which was chilly and salty and did not go over well with Tali. We tried the outdoor pool, which Tali and Charlie enjoyed and Mommy chose to sit in the chilly air on a chair. Charlie then went to take a nap and the girls went to the spa. We went off to our separate massages and met back for the facial, which Tali recorded for all time with many pictures we can live without. We then went to wake up Charlie and took a busride to the main drag of Ein Bokek - shopping strip, tourist traps, treif restaurants...and ice cream. After that, we headed back to the hotel for a phenomenal dinner buffet - Middle Eastern style, and collapsed in bed to sleep.
Meanwhile, the boys were on a 5 hour hike in the Negev near Eilat, then made their way up north to Teveria. They went out for chinese food and then camped out on the beach of the Kinneret for the night.
Day 2: Dead Sea
Rise and shine, buffet breakfast and off to Ein Gedi for a little nature walk - which ended up being a three hour challenging hike up the mountain, thanks to Tali's sense of adventure. My thighs still hurt. It was a glorious, sunny, mild day, Tali swam in one of the springs and we had an amazing time. Exhausted, we returned to the hotel for the buffet dinner - this time, Asian style, and collpased to sleep.
Meanwhile, the boys were up north in Tsfat and the surrounding area, visiting graves of tzadikim, other holy sites, and Yoni took a dip in the mikvah of the Ari - the coldest mikvah in the world. He loved it. Yoni who uses air conditioning all year round. Then they went back to Yerushalayim, met up with my brother Daniel, and camped out on the floor of his apartment (thanks, Dan!).
Day 3: Hebron and Kever Rachel
Rise and shine, buffet breakfast and pile everything into the van from our friends in Hebron to go pick up the boys in Yerushalayim. Meet them at the Sheraton Plaza, unload the bags, take quick showers and get back into the van for the trip to Hebron. Met up with cousin Yossie Baumol and Rabbi Simcha Hochbaum for our customized tour of Hebron. First, Yoni was presented with a gift from the community of Hebron, the Iggeret HaRambam, which Simcha explained and inspired us with later that day. Then, we had the zchut of having Yoni daven mincha for the group as Shaliach Tzibur in the shul in Ma'arat Hamachpela. After some tehillim there, we left the group, went in our private van with Simcha, and went to visit two army bases within Hebron to distribute the packages Yoni and our friends, the Zomicks, made as centerpieces for the party in America. Each package had t-shirts, socks, toiletries, sewing kits, rain ponchos, chocolate and other necessities. Yoni proudly gave them out and was warmly welcomed with singing and dancing by the soldiers. He was truly in his element and it was one of the highlights of our trip.
We then piled back into the van and went to visit Rachel Imeinu. It was the eve of the yartzheit of the Seidenfeld children, 4 young children of a close friend, who perished in a house fire 2 years ago. In their memory, we learned Torah, recited tehillim and gave tzedaka at Kever Rachel.
We then piled back into the van for the trip back to Yerushalayim, to meet up with my siblings - Aliza and Daniel - for dinner at a wonderful little place with huge servings of great food for not a lot of money - and I can't remember the name. It was Aliza's birthday, so we did a little surprise cake/candle thing and a great time was had by all. After a little stroll up Ben Yehuda, we went back to the hotel and collapsed to sleep.
Day 4: Taanit Esther
Boy, we had a big day. After tefillah at the Kotel under an awesome rain and hailstorm and a soggy walk back to the hotel, we all piled into taxis for a trip to Bikur cholim Hospital. Tali had collected toys at her birthday party a year and a half before and we had never had a chance to give them out till now, so we shlepped the "big green suitcase" full of toys up to the pediatric unit, accompanied by Mooshie, the PR lady at BCH. Tali proudly gave out each toy to the sick children and brought smiles to many of their faces, while Yoni discreetly videotaped and instead of taking pictures like I was supposed to, I cried with pride, sadness for the sick kids, joy for my children, thanks to Hashem for the opportunity...whatever. We then met with Akiva (forgot his last name), another PR person at BCH and then took a tour of the new Maternal-Child unit (just like home at Mt. Sinai!) and to see the incubator donated by the Rosenbaum-Senter family in the NICU. We were so proud and humbled by the evidence of tzedaka and chesed.
Then, of course, a little shopping on Rechov Yafo - Purim costume for Tali, candy for the party, and back to the hotel to get ready for the party. Time flies, and of course we were running late...but we managed to pull it off. We headed off to the Shimon Hatzadik shul for the big party and of, course, to break the fast! Stay tuned for more details.
Meanwhile, enjoy the pictures. Click on a pic of Yoni here on the website below, which will take you to our albums. When you get there, you can click on L'via's Public Gallery to see all our albums - bar mitzvah, israel, etc.
Night/Day One: Rechovot and the Dead Sea
We arrived in Israel on Feb 25 in the evening, met Yoni who was already in Israel at the airport, and went straight to our cousins in Rechovot, Gary and Yehudit Weisinger. We had a pizza dinner and were visited by our other cousins in Rechovot, Shalom and Leviah Applebaum. Then Charlie and Yoni went to meet with Rav Kook, the chief Rabbi of Rechovot, to discuss our program to link every Jew in Galut to daven and do chesed in honor of every soldier in combat in Israel. Yoni also got a bracha from Rav Kook, which was a great honor and Bar Mitzvah gift.
We then piled into the hired minivan (thank you Lisa Rubin) and made the long, late night trip to the Dead Sea. We arrived at about midnight at the Sheraton Moriah on the shore of Yam Hamelach and unloaded our 18 pieces of luggage, and promptly fell asleep. The next morning, after joining an eclectic minyan and being treated to a phenomenal breakfast buffet, Zevi, Akiva and Yoni were picked up by Rabbi Shmuel Landsman of Israel Summer Extreme to take the boys on an extreme tiyul of the south and north. Us girls and Charlie bid them farewell and we went to relax.
First, we made our girly appointments for massages for both of us and a facial for Mommy at the spa. Then we headed out to the beach, which was chilly and salty and did not go over well with Tali. We tried the outdoor pool, which Tali and Charlie enjoyed and Mommy chose to sit in the chilly air on a chair. Charlie then went to take a nap and the girls went to the spa. We went off to our separate massages and met back for the facial, which Tali recorded for all time with many pictures we can live without. We then went to wake up Charlie and took a busride to the main drag of Ein Bokek - shopping strip, tourist traps, treif restaurants...and ice cream. After that, we headed back to the hotel for a phenomenal dinner buffet - Middle Eastern style, and collapsed in bed to sleep.
Meanwhile, the boys were on a 5 hour hike in the Negev near Eilat, then made their way up north to Teveria. They went out for chinese food and then camped out on the beach of the Kinneret for the night.
Day 2: Dead Sea
Rise and shine, buffet breakfast and off to Ein Gedi for a little nature walk - which ended up being a three hour challenging hike up the mountain, thanks to Tali's sense of adventure. My thighs still hurt. It was a glorious, sunny, mild day, Tali swam in one of the springs and we had an amazing time. Exhausted, we returned to the hotel for the buffet dinner - this time, Asian style, and collpased to sleep.
Meanwhile, the boys were up north in Tsfat and the surrounding area, visiting graves of tzadikim, other holy sites, and Yoni took a dip in the mikvah of the Ari - the coldest mikvah in the world. He loved it. Yoni who uses air conditioning all year round. Then they went back to Yerushalayim, met up with my brother Daniel, and camped out on the floor of his apartment (thanks, Dan!).
Day 3: Hebron and Kever Rachel
Rise and shine, buffet breakfast and pile everything into the van from our friends in Hebron to go pick up the boys in Yerushalayim. Meet them at the Sheraton Plaza, unload the bags, take quick showers and get back into the van for the trip to Hebron. Met up with cousin Yossie Baumol and Rabbi Simcha Hochbaum for our customized tour of Hebron. First, Yoni was presented with a gift from the community of Hebron, the Iggeret HaRambam, which Simcha explained and inspired us with later that day. Then, we had the zchut of having Yoni daven mincha for the group as Shaliach Tzibur in the shul in Ma'arat Hamachpela. After some tehillim there, we left the group, went in our private van with Simcha, and went to visit two army bases within Hebron to distribute the packages Yoni and our friends, the Zomicks, made as centerpieces for the party in America. Each package had t-shirts, socks, toiletries, sewing kits, rain ponchos, chocolate and other necessities. Yoni proudly gave them out and was warmly welcomed with singing and dancing by the soldiers. He was truly in his element and it was one of the highlights of our trip.
We then piled back into the van and went to visit Rachel Imeinu. It was the eve of the yartzheit of the Seidenfeld children, 4 young children of a close friend, who perished in a house fire 2 years ago. In their memory, we learned Torah, recited tehillim and gave tzedaka at Kever Rachel.
We then piled back into the van for the trip back to Yerushalayim, to meet up with my siblings - Aliza and Daniel - for dinner at a wonderful little place with huge servings of great food for not a lot of money - and I can't remember the name. It was Aliza's birthday, so we did a little surprise cake/candle thing and a great time was had by all. After a little stroll up Ben Yehuda, we went back to the hotel and collapsed to sleep.
Day 4: Taanit Esther
Boy, we had a big day. After tefillah at the Kotel under an awesome rain and hailstorm and a soggy walk back to the hotel, we all piled into taxis for a trip to Bikur cholim Hospital. Tali had collected toys at her birthday party a year and a half before and we had never had a chance to give them out till now, so we shlepped the "big green suitcase" full of toys up to the pediatric unit, accompanied by Mooshie, the PR lady at BCH. Tali proudly gave out each toy to the sick children and brought smiles to many of their faces, while Yoni discreetly videotaped and instead of taking pictures like I was supposed to, I cried with pride, sadness for the sick kids, joy for my children, thanks to Hashem for the opportunity...whatever. We then met with Akiva (forgot his last name), another PR person at BCH and then took a tour of the new Maternal-Child unit (just like home at Mt. Sinai!) and to see the incubator donated by the Rosenbaum-Senter family in the NICU. We were so proud and humbled by the evidence of tzedaka and chesed.
Then, of course, a little shopping on Rechov Yafo - Purim costume for Tali, candy for the party, and back to the hotel to get ready for the party. Time flies, and of course we were running late...but we managed to pull it off. We headed off to the Shimon Hatzadik shul for the big party and of, course, to break the fast! Stay tuned for more details.
Meanwhile, enjoy the pictures. Click on a pic of Yoni here on the website below, which will take you to our albums. When you get there, you can click on L'via's Public Gallery to see all our albums - bar mitzvah, israel, etc.
Labels: Part one of the trip to Israel
and more!
more pics - from my digital camera and a photographer
OK, I'm getting the hang of this, I think. Here's the link to our web album - these are the pics taken with disposable cameras we left on all the tables. Note to self - do not let children under 10 operate these cameras at the next simcha - about 30-40% of the pics we developed were useless....but otherwise, there are some great ones! enjoy!Click on the link below and I hope you see about 403 pictures! wish me luck!
mazal tov!!!
Ok, so it was over a week ago and the statute of limitations for posting pictures is running out...I know...but we've been busy - back to work and school and recovering! I will post some pics later, meanwhile, I am trying to figure out how to post the Oscar worthy slide show everyone is kvelling about - I hope it works!
c ya l8r! L'via
c ya l8r! L'via
The Mishpacha at Yoni's tefillin breakfast, 10/16/06
Yoni putting on tefillin - October 16, 2006
Welcome Back!
Hi Everybody! Welcome back to theweisingers.com! It's been a while since we've updated, but Baruch Hashem for simchas - we have one coming up! Yoni's Bar Mitzvah is just a few weeks away and we are really excited - and stressed!
Here's what we've been up to:
Charlie is busy with his business VIP Cleaners/VIP Franchise Group. Check out his website to find out more: www.myvipcleaners.com
L'via started a new job in August at Mt. Sinai Hospital in NYC. She works nights as an RN in Maternal-Child/OB - taking care of new mommies and their babies and moms with high risk pregnancies. Don't take it personally if you can't reach her by phone anymore - she's like a vampire - sleeping by day, working all night...:)
Zevi is a sophomore/10th grader and he's doing great! He spent the summer touring in Israel with the Israel Summer Extreme program and had an awesome time - we'll post some pictures later on...
Akiva is also a sophomore/10th grader and he is also doing great. He spent the summer in Rechovot with cousins Gary and Yehudit Weisinger, also had an awesome time, and spent a week in Zevi's program - we'll post pics of him, too.
Yoni is a seventh grader and practicing and kvetching for the Bar Mitzvah....He also spent the summer in Israel with cousins Yonatan and Leora Branski in Eli and came home a true blue Israeli, determined to go back permanently asap! Unfortunately, he took almost no pictures but we're trying to get some from the Branski's to post and enjoy.
Finally, little Tali is almost grown up, nine years old and a wonderful young lady. She is quite an artist, loves to sing and has the energy of an energizer bunny! She just celebrated her birthday in November by inviting her friends to come over and make cards for Israeli soldiers for Chanukah and to decorate pushkas to collect money for the Friends of the IDF. It was a wonderful day of mitzvot for her and her friends and we are very proud of her.
Check in periodically for updates on the family and the upcoming simcha and feel free to comment or email us at zaya18@aol.com!
Dash Cham,
The Weisingers
Here's what we've been up to:
Charlie is busy with his business VIP Cleaners/VIP Franchise Group. Check out his website to find out more: www.myvipcleaners.com
L'via started a new job in August at Mt. Sinai Hospital in NYC. She works nights as an RN in Maternal-Child/OB - taking care of new mommies and their babies and moms with high risk pregnancies. Don't take it personally if you can't reach her by phone anymore - she's like a vampire - sleeping by day, working all night...:)
Zevi is a sophomore/10th grader and he's doing great! He spent the summer touring in Israel with the Israel Summer Extreme program and had an awesome time - we'll post some pictures later on...
Akiva is also a sophomore/10th grader and he is also doing great. He spent the summer in Rechovot with cousins Gary and Yehudit Weisinger, also had an awesome time, and spent a week in Zevi's program - we'll post pics of him, too.
Yoni is a seventh grader and practicing and kvetching for the Bar Mitzvah....He also spent the summer in Israel with cousins Yonatan and Leora Branski in Eli and came home a true blue Israeli, determined to go back permanently asap! Unfortunately, he took almost no pictures but we're trying to get some from the Branski's to post and enjoy.
Finally, little Tali is almost grown up, nine years old and a wonderful young lady. She is quite an artist, loves to sing and has the energy of an energizer bunny! She just celebrated her birthday in November by inviting her friends to come over and make cards for Israeli soldiers for Chanukah and to decorate pushkas to collect money for the Friends of the IDF. It was a wonderful day of mitzvot for her and her friends and we are very proud of her.
Check in periodically for updates on the family and the upcoming simcha and feel free to comment or email us at zaya18@aol.com!
Dash Cham,
The Weisingers
