גמר חתימב טובה

Shavua Tov, we just got back from the L’vaya andקבורה burying of David Srulowitz ע"ה

I’ll get to that soon, we hope Sandi Srulowitz has a safe trip back to the US he is at the airport as I write this.

Rosh Hashana was very nice, even though I usually daven at Aish Kodesh, last year I decided to daven Yammin Noraim across the street at our neighbor Montals shul. This way Elkie and the kids can easily pop in and out of shul whenever they want. This year the Seminary that was next to us Tifert just finished building a brand new building about 2 minutes from us down the block and asked the Montal minyan to join them in the Seminary so they will have a Minyan.

When we came last summer we heard they are going to build a building at the end of the block. At that time there was nothing there but and empty mountain. We figured based on how yeshivas go up in America we can expect to see this building in 5-7 years. As the months progressed we watched truck after truck come in and lots of our Arab cousins working on the building. 1^st bulldozers, then a retaining wall, then the foundation, then one floor then another, by Pesach they already had 5 floors up, then came siding windows, racing though the summer, the day the girls came to seminary they finished the brick walkway in front of the building. Pretty Amazing! It’s a beautiful building great job Arabs and Jewish Architects and engineers.

Elkie and the kids came to shul. Yosef sat next to me and was reading along the Haf-Torah for Shmuel Alef. Since he learned Shmuel Alef last year, he knew the whole thing and could have even layned it. When I was in 3rd grade I didn't even know what Shmuel Alef was. We are very proud of him and so are his grandparents. I came back after the 2^nd day and blew shofar for the ladies on the block who missed it, including Rebitzen Habor and her pregnant daughter-in-law. Lot’s of the men in the neighborhood went to Uman. So we ate Shabbos day with 2 neighbors whos husbands were there. We ate in our car port which is right on the Street level, so we got to see everyone walking by.

I have contemplated going to Uman since I do study and appreciate the teaching of Rebbi Nachmon of Breslav. He was very special and unique, his teaching are certainly worth looking into. My friend Rav Lazer Brody told me to invite Moshe Feiglin and he will guarantee him success this year. When I went with Moshe to Har Habaiyit before Tisha B’av I gave him Rav Brody’s invitation, Moshe smiled and replied that he thinks that if Rebbi Nachman were alive today he would prefer that he stay in Israel for Rosh Hashana. I think he may be right.

During the week our outdoor sprinklers had a leak by the main connections, so I fixed it. Then the next connection stared leaking so I fixed that, then the next… I basically had to reconnect ALL the joints since when one was fixed the water pressure found the next weak spot. I got the things I need from the hardware store in Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet or just ב The fellows there are very nice and helpful, even though I LOVE home depot, it’s nice for a change to get help from a chareidy guy wearing black pants and a white shirt of course instead of Frank with a Home Depot apron. The stores are getting all ready for Sukkot, so they left a bunch of Schach out in the middle of the street on the island divider. I guess they trust that no one will steel schach for their Sukkah.

I was parked by the יש supermarket the other day. When I came out a charedi (Chasidish) fellow asked if this was my car, I told him yes. He then showed me on the other side how his wagon went into the car and made a small dent. He offered to pay for it and asked how much money do I need to fix it, I told him to forget about it שיהיא כפרה He asked if I’m Mochel him, I said yes. Some people like to make fun of people in ב I think most of them are decent honest people.

Elkie and I were at the pharmacy and saw this thing called צום קל (easy fast) apparently you drink one in the morning and one before the fast or take the pill, and you fast easier. I asked how much it was. 20NIS I told the woman well that’s cheaper then a Shawarma. We’ll let you know if it works. They change the clock in Israel tonight so that the fast ends 1 hour early. Another benefit of a Jewish state.

We went to Benzi and Yonina Thee in Efrat for Shabbat. It was very nice, They have a beautiful family and nice house. Their baby Yishai is Yosefs age and that makes 2 very active 3 year olds. It's very cute to see them play and talk in Hebrew. Shabbat day we ate by Yehoshua and Chaykie Basan next door. Yehoshua is an 8^th generation Yerushalmi, his great… grandfather was one of the Vilna Gaon’s students who came on Aliya in the early 1800’s. So in 200 years from now perhaps our grandkids can say something similar ב"ה.

Benzi now has Roni and Avivas dog "Guri". It’s a white golden retriever. He is very fine looking, graceful, and the kids loved him. He’s a real family dog. Even if you are not a dog fan, you have to love this one. Shira has a bunch of freinds in Efrat that she met in camp Arad this past summer. She Facebooked them and called them and they all got together Shabbat afternoon. Motzash, Yehuda cut his finger on a tape measure and was gushing blood, but we calmed him down stopped the bleeding and he'll survive.

Finally! We went home, dropped of the kids put them to bed, and went to the Erez Hachaim Cemetery. Uncle David Srulowoitz my father uncle passed away Fri at the age of 92. He lived in Monsey for Many years. 2 of his children Sandi and Charney & Jeff Rabinowitz flew to Israel to bury him. It was called for 10:30PM. We walked in right on time, there were about 20 people there. They brought out the body right away, Sandi spoke, he said two main points.

1. His father NEVER got angry, he always kept his cool even if something got in the way, he would just say "ok lets move on".

2. He NEVER spoke Lashon Hara. He had plenty of things he could have said, but would not say a bad word about anyone.

Thinking back about times I spent with Uncle Davy, that seems to be a very accurate description of him.

The speech was short and to the point. We then went outside brought the body to a van, we followed the van all the way to the end of the cemetery, and buried him. It's in a new section for the Young Israel. He was the 2nd person in that area. Sandi had a cab waiting and was running straight to the airport to catch a flight back to the US, I gave him a quick hug and said Hamokom. Charney went back to the chapel, and sat for a few minutes outside. The Schwarts family from Community Synagogue in Monsey is here for Sukkot, they got an email and came, as well as Nechemiah, Yaakov Moshe, Tzivi Hoch and Ari Walfish from Yerushalayim.

We spoke with Charney quite a bit, shiva will be over tomorrow. Apparently Sid very recently was talking about where they would be buried and even though all their lives they thought it would be in NY they decided the future of the Jewish people is in Israel and they want to be buried there. Kol Hakavod to Aunt Sid and Uncle Davy א"ה for having that clarity and foresight. We should only here of Simchas, and we should not only be buried in Israel but LIVE here as well.

We say in Birchat Hamazon;

הרחמן, הוא ישבור עלנו מעל צוארנו, והוא יוליכנו קוממיות לארצנו

קוממיות means upright (Alive)

I've been trying very hard to meditate on that passage for the last few years.

The Chevra Kadisha at Erez Chaim is 2nd to NONE. Unfortunately this is the 3rd person I helped bury there this past year. They are very respectful an helpful, they even ask the מת for mechila when they are done just in case they showed him any dishonor. I remember going to someones burial in the US, when we got to the cemetery the workers were on a lunch break, the מת and the entire family had to wait half an hour till they were done with their lunch. I remember being very upset at the whole scene we are all waiting to bury a loved one and the workers were taking their time finishing lunch. I understand they need to eat, but they could have taken care of us then eaten lunch, or with 3 workers they could have taken turns. When Esav tried to hold up Yaakov burial, Yaakov's grandson chopped Esav's head off. This would NEVER happen in Israel. If someone reading this remembers who's burial that was please let me know using Post a Comment

To the entire Srulowitz and Rabinowitz families

המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים

Have an easy fast and a גמר חתימב טובה

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