Schools In

Ok School started. Yosef started 2 weeks ago, the girls and Yehuda this week.

Yosef has a busy year ahead of him. Last year he finished All of Sh'mos and Va'yikra as well as Shmuel Alef and Bet. This year he will learn Ba'midbor and D'vorim and other Neveim. B"H he is doing very well. He like his new Rebbi and his school Toras Moshe Got some new Prefab rooms and plopped them down next to the Gan Campus. So now all the classes and office are in one location. Eventually they will need a bigger building. But Liat Liat the school is growing.

Ariella is no longer taking the bus to Orot in Beit Shemesh which she loved to do (right!!!) now her class is in Gila the same place Shira goes to. It's here in RBS so she can walk and it's a nice new building.

Yehuda started a new Gan. Last year was great but was privately owned and run, this one is public school gan. Run by the Iriaya. The teachers Gannenets are both Religious and teach the kids brachot and Torah etc... They even have 2 mini Toras in the Aaron one Ashkenazi one sefardy it's very cute see pic. Since we are olim we get a 1/2 discount so we pay 75NIS a month. That's about $18. Yes if you have kids this is a major reason to make Aliya. It's in a nice building just for the gan and another gan for older kids next door, there is a small Shul on top of the Gan that runs on Shabbat. Jay Blumenreich (My brotherinlaw's) other Brotherinlaw, is the Rabbi of that Shul.

Simachot:

Ok so we has a double simcha day on Sunday. Our neighbor Dovid Montal got married to Shira Abraham both made Aliya from Elizabeth a number of years ago. So they grew up together and both family are good freinds. It is very special and nice, both great kids. The wedding was at the Great synagogue in Jerusalem. The Bat Mitzva was for Roni and Aviva Baruchin/Thee's daughter in the Givat Ram Campus of Hebrew University. So we had to juggle both. As someone who has been to about 2000 Simchas I had an idea how to pull it off. B"H they were about 10 minutes from each other. We went to the Shmorg of the wedding called for 6:45PM schmoozed and ate a bit, stayed for the Chuppah which started about 740PM at about 8:10PM we got in the car and went to the Bat Mitzvah, got a bit lost but made it by 8:30PM. Danced a bit, schmoozed a bit ate some more, I met and smoozed a bit with Mayer Lupoliyansky the former Mayer of Jerusalem, we said Mazal Tov and headed back to the Wedding to catch the 1st dance set and made it in the middle Hwooooooo!

At the Chuppah they announced the Misader Kidushim is Rav Harashi..., I was waiting for some Yeshiva or Yishuv, then they said, Rav Harashi... LYisrael Rav Yona Mertzger. That's the cheif Rabbi of Israel!

Pretty cool! I guess if you are looking for a top name Rabbi it's hard to beat that. So we bumped into The former Mayer of Jerusalem the Chief Rabbi of Israel in one night, saw lots of Knesset Members including Natan Sharansky, Eli Yishai I(Shas) at the Nefesh B'nefesh landing, go to the Har Habayit with Moshe Feiglin, it's easy to meet popular leaders in everyday life here.

The wedding was nice we went home, We had a busy week, B"H lots of new olim on the block, one of them from England is eating by us tonight. OK gotta run to shul

Shabbat Shalom.

P.S. Shavua Tov!

Ok it's after Shabbat I have some time to spell check now and add a thing or two.

We had the new British Neighbors Morer for Fri night meal, very nice people from London. He, Julian left a very good High Tec job because he decided he want to be in Israel. Most of his friends think he is nuts to leave such a great job. He told them all Hashem is the one who got him that job and can get him a job in Israel too. Apparently this is a shocking concept to most British Jews. She is due after Sukkot perhaps she will be Elikes 1st customer as post pardom dula. Another new oleh on the block is Wagshal, they made Aliya from Baltimore he is a day traitor and is working the American hours from here, also very nice people. Everyone coming here has a great story of how they got here, and are all amzaing people. We all become like family and help each other out right away since we all know what it's like and can understand what Olim are going through.

The girls Shira & Ariella had a Melava Malka at their School Ulpanat Gila. I walked with Ariella and her friend Rachel from Beit Shemesh who is sleeping over by us tonight. Across the street from the school is Beis Teffilla a very large Anglo shul that has a big kollel and lots of learning programs going on all the time. The Rav is Rav Malinowitz from Monsey, a popular Rav who has a great sence of humor. Rav Zev Leff was coming to speak, so I went to hear him. The place was packed. For those of you unfamiliar with Rav Leff. 35 years ago he was giving a shiur in Miami on Yishuv Haartez, when someone raised his hand and said, "Rabbi in Living in Israel is so important why are you there?" With that he picked up and made Aliya. He is the Rav of Moshav Matisyahu, and one of the foremost Halachic authorities. He has taught in many Yishivos and Seminaries including Elkie in Sharfmans 18 years ago. He has a great website where people post wild questions on ANY topic and has his answer in a recording of his voice. It is very informative and entertaining. check it out at http://www.rabbileff.net B"H we get great Rabbis coming to speak and give shiurim in RBS all the time like, Rav Leff, Rabbi Breezak was here last week, Rav Lazer Brody, Rav Pinchos Winston, HaRav Dovid Bar Haim and many more. Rav Natan Silifkin will give a shiur and presentation on the different kinds of Shofars Mon night. Torah and Shiurim in Israel is the best.

She'll be comin round the mountain.

OK finally, I had a meeting in Jerusalem last Tue. If one in Chutz Laaretz would be offered to be borough to Yerushalyim in 1 hour, most people would jump at the opportunity. However when you live here and B"H go pretty often, sometimes if you have a busy week and don't have a lot of spare time you can find yourself saying Ohhh MAN... I gotta go to Jerusalem today!!! Then you catch yourself and say Hey wait a minute, Jews waited 2000 years to do that. So even if it can be a schlep sometimes, like taking and hour trip to Manhattan, it is never the same thing. The meeting was at the Larome hotel, nice place, when I was done I stopped off at a Hall in Bayit Vagan to check it out. Someone called me to do a Bar Mitzva there and apparently there are polls in the middle of the room, so I went to see the best place to set up the music there. When I was done I was starving so I found a Shamarma place on the block. I still remember checking out halls like Anthony's Peir 9 and others, if I was hungry when I was done I would have to settle for a bag of potato chips a chocolate bar or some snacks at a local 711 or gas station mmm. You really feel like a normal person in a country when you can just pop in just about anywhere you are, and eat fresh tasty Kosher food.

Bayit Vagan is on the western side of Jerusalem so I decided to take a new scenic route back to RBS. The main 2 ways of going to Jerusalem from Beit Shemesh are route 38 north to route 1 that's the Main entrance to Jerusalem, or the back roads 375 to 60 which passes Beitar then goes though the tunnels to Gilo in southern Jerusalem. If we are going to the southern part of Jerusalem like the Malacha Mall, Talpiyot or even to the eastern center like the Old city/Kotel we take the back road which usually takes about 30 min. If we are going to the norther part of Jerusalem, Givat Shaul, Maalot Dafna where Frimmi & Yitzchok used to live, Rechavya or the center of town we usually take the Main entrance route 1. Since Beit Shemesh is West of Jerusalem there are actually two other roads one can take. 386 and 395.

If this is confusing. See the Map Here

I already took the 386 route one time just to check it out. You pick it up Ein Kerem, that's where the Huge Hadasa En Kerem Hospital is. Both routes go though the Jerusalem forest and are very windy roads. 386 passes Nes Harim which is a Kibutz that is famous for it's water park. 395 is a more northern route which is closer to route 1. It passes Ramat Raziel and some other small towns. You are literally driving though the forest of mountains right on the edge going down and up. It's a very beautiful trip but you have to be VERY careful and drive slow. It is probably more enjoyable for someone not driving. At one point the road is so narrow that only one car can go at a time. There were some interesting things to see along the way and I really wonder who lives in these secluded small towns, but for now I think I'll stay with the main 2 routes. Apparently one of the Heinamen boys hiked though the entire forest to Beit Shemesh, that's a full day hike. When you guys visit B"H we can take it just for fun.

Until next time Shavua Tov. and Happy Labor day in the USA