Weekend Hospitality

Busy busy week, full of events.  Last shabbat had a bar-mitzva.  Sunday night had a bat-mitzva.  Monday night had a bar-mitzva.  Wednesday night had a bat-mitzva.  This morning (Friday) saw a funeral.  This weekend is Tu-B'shvat, and we are going to visit my sister. So many events, mostly happy, with a bit of sadness towards the end.  The funeral was for our friend Shlomo Ron (may he rest in peace).  Shlomo had a Phd in physics and worked as a computer programmer.  A few years ago, he had a stroke and has been less than fully functional since.  This week, he had another stroke and passed away.  For him and his family this is a blessing.  For all those concerned, we will remember him as a dedicated individual who was a fixture in the community and an example for us all.  May his memory serve as an example and blessing to us all. No cooking this week, and I know that I will need to cook something complicated next week. ...

An Israeli arab woman from Jaljulia was hit in a traffic accident recently.  She suffers a blow to the head which caused her brain stem to swell.  She was determined to be brain dead at the hospital. The woman's family asked their Mufti for permission to donate her organs and he agreed!  The family told the hospital to donate the organs to anyone who needed it, regardless of religion or race. Three people have new organs (liver and kidney) and one person can now see thanks to a corneal transplant. Thank god that there are good people on this earth.

We host many students for Shabbat who spend a year in Israel studying at a seminary or yeshiva.  For the most part, we have been impressed with the quality of the students.  This year, we have seen a serious drop in quality of the young men.  On our community, there have been instances of american yeshiva students walking drunk on friday evening and getting into fights. Recently there was an article on Mynet  (in hebrew) about a drug sting among yeshiva students.  At the very end of the article it says that all the students were from families in Canada and the US.  By the way, I have no doubt that some of those arrested were indeed involved.  Perhaps some of them were innocent, but not all. With the downturn in the global markets, I have heard that yeshivot and seminaries have lowered their standards to the point where you are excepted to the school if you can pay the tuition.  I am sure that this is not completely true, but I do believe that ...

Its a wonderful day outside. Sunny, in the mid seventies (low 20's).    This week was interesting.  My boys are growing up and moving to their own rhythms.   One son went to visit a yeshiva on Monday evening.  He got back on Friday.  It is very nice to know that they can take care of themselves!   Two boys went on school trips and came back exhausted but happy.  My army son is on extended leave of absence and will now be looking for a temporary job until school starts this fall.  Oh, and we got report cards.  Some good, others less good.  To each his own. This weekend, we were invited out once again for a meal.  This time it is dinner.  No problem, we over compensated by inviting friends for lunch.    One family is preparing for a Bar-mitzva next weekend and they are totally stressed out.  Another just got over a back food allergy.  The third family is just fine and is coming to keep us company!...

This TSA Checkpoint is going to be a big hit in the Internet. I can't believe Playmobile actually built this toy. Oh well, its really fun to discuss on Amazon!

I occasionally suffer from migraines. Fortunately, as I get older, they are less frequent and for some reason, less painful. Perhaps it is just that I can predict their onset and cut them off before they get too strong. An article in the Boston Globe references new research on the causes of migraines. Light has always been a trigger for my headaches, and for those who know me it is why I wear wrap-around sunglasses whenever I am outdoors. In the Boston Globe report, Rami Burstein of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center studies the effects of light and migraines on blind people. Patients who had no optic nerve were unaffected by light, but those who were blind, but could still register light reported increased pain during their migraines. I'm hoping that this study identifies the way that light triggers migraines. Perhaps someday, I will not need to be so careful with full sunlight. elliot

Didn't get to post yesterday before Shabbat.  Part of the problem is that I did not cook this shabbat.  We were invited out for both meals.  Yeah for us!  The second half of the problem is that the infection I had two weeks ago is back with a vengeance. I spent most of the weekend in bed.  Tomorrow, its back to the doctor. Elliot

Now most of you are not going to get this, but trust me that the following cartoon pun is amazing! Kudo's to XKCD !  They rock my boat.

Since the week before Thanksgiving, we have had non-regular shabbatot.  Sometimes because my wife was running an event, sometimes because we were under the weather, and sometimes because we were invited out.  I enjoy going to other peoples houses for meals, but it means that we cannot have sleep-over guests at our house. So, this is a regular shabbat.  No events, no meals out, only one person slightly ill, and four sleep-over guests. We have two gentlemen from Torat Moshe and two women from Shalavim.   We have one extra guest this evening, who had a grandchild today at 9am.  She pulled an all-nighter, so I'm not sure how awake/aware she is going to be at dinner. There is a Sheva Bracha meal this shabbat to which we are not invited.  The hosts asks if I would make a corned beef, and of course I agreed.  To my usually excellent corned beef, I make a glaze of brown sugar, powered ginger, dried mustard and soy sauce.  Too bad I had to sent it away...