Zeh Lo Choshuv...
October 14, 2004
Several years ago Randi and I heard a story from
the well known story teller Rabbi Pesach Krohn which left a lasting impression
on us. The story illustrated how annoyances in life which can seem so
important when they occur are really not very important when compared to true
tragedies and other major events. Based on this story the Hebrew phrase
we try to apply to such annoyances is "Zeh Lo Choshuv" (This is not
important). Of course it doesn't always work. Like the time a
couple of years ago when Elisheva and I were bumped from our return flight
from Israel. I was somewhat upset. Randi said, "Zeh Lo Choshuv"
and I yelled into the cell phone, "IT IS CHOSHUV". In
retrospect I know it was not "choshuv", and, by the way, we did get
on the flight.
So what's with the story? I just needed
to give you a little background. Randi and I consciously decided that
upon making Aliyah we would try very hard to apply the "Zeh Lo Choshuv"
attitude to whatever annoyances came our way. For instance, this was our
general approach to our delayed lift, which I wrote so much about. And
on the day after Yom Kippur when I was pickpocketed in Jerusalem we had
another chance to apply our "Zeh Lo Choshuv" attitude! Yup, my
wallet was lifted right out of my hip pocket. Here's the story.
We had gone into the city to belatedly celebrate
Raanan's birthday at Burger's Bar.
I must digress here to discuss Burger's Bar for a
moment. The name of this restaurant could just as easily be
"Vegetarians Go Away" or "Carnivores R Us".
It has a very simple menu; small burger, big burger, steak sandwich, and for
the girly-men out there some salad-chicken dish. You can get french
fries or onion rings and a drink. That's it! For us meat and potato
types it's beautiful in its simplicity.
We walked back from Burger's Bar on Ben Yehuda to
our bus in Geulah. (It's for another time for me to discuss the
psychology of why we'll take express buses to and from Jerusalem but won't get
on a bus within Jerusalem.) About midway through the bus ride back to Beit
Shemesh I noticed my wallet wasn't in my pocket. We looked around on the
seat and floor, but I knew that my wallet was gone. That wallet was so
thick with stuff there's no way it could just fall out. I think I
had pictures in it going back to high school! After the initial jolt I
quickly adopted my "Zeh Lo Choshuv" attitude. And I really
meant it. I had only to cancel 4 credit/atm cards and lost 1800NIS
($450). In the scheme of things not such a big deal. Also, the
fact that this happened on the day after Yom Kippur made me hope that it was a
Kapara, an atonement, which was being exacted from me to help make things better
for me in the long run.
The next day a fellow from Geulah called me to say
he found my wallet, or what was left of it. He apparently put in some
amount of effort to find my telephone numbers. The cash and cards were
gone, but the thief did leave my NJ driver's license and those all-important
pictures!
Meira's Hebrew vocabulary seems to grow daily.
She already has us running to the dictionary now and then. It won't be
long until we're asking her for help with our Ulpan homework. And of
course soon after that she'll be making fun of our "immigrant"
Hebrew accent! One evening at dinner Randi pointed to Meira's
forehead and said, "What is this?". Without skipping a beat
she said, "Shayna Punim." Now we do live near a Chareidi (Chassidishe) neighborhood
and there is a little Chareidi girl about Meira's age who lives next door to
us, but we still thought it a little odd that she'd be using a Yiddish
expression. She certainly did not learn it from Rivka her Gannenet.
So we asked her where she heard that from and she answered,
"Jasmine." Jasmine! Who could Jasmine be? Her
friends are Tali, Nechama, Bracha, Devorah, etc. Then Raanan got it.
Jasmine is a character in the Disney movie "Aladdin", which she had
been watching daily at the time. (Actually it's not Jasmine, but Robin
William's character, the Genie, who uses the line "Shayna Punim"
when he first sees Aladdin. But who am I to quibble with a 3 year old?)
Succot was wonderful. There is a Succah
built into one of our Mirpesot (terraces) so all I had to do was buy a Schach
mat and some decorations and we were in business. On the first day of
Yom Tov there was a Chamsin (heat wave). I'm not too good with Celsius
yet, but let's just say it was really HOT. Several people we know had
fans going in their Succot. Of course that didn't stop Randi from serving
her delicious hot soup. During the first day of Yom Tov I was
apprehensive thinking how strange it would be not observing a second day of
Yom Tov. OK, so it was strange for about 30 seconds after Yom Tov ended,
then it felt like the most normal thing in the world. I didn't think
twice about it after that, except to remember how I used to rationalize the
"benefits" of two days of Yom Tov. The benefit of taking a
nice normal shower far outweighed anything I used to come up with. Another
small difference made a big impact on me. In the Musaf prayer outside
Israel you read about the Korbanot (sacrifices) for two days on each day of
the Chag. Here, we just read about current day's Korban. We know
the right day. There's no doubt. It's just they way it's supposed
to be.
We were hosting our nephew Ari and a friend of his
for Yom Tov so Randi invited some other Yeshiva boys over for the two Yom Tov
meals of second day. We had 7 boys for those meals, including a few from
Highland Park who are learning here this year. It was nice being able to
do this for them. It was fun for us to order fresh Pizza for lunch the
second day and they loved having it!
On Sunday of Chol Hamoed we went to the kotel for
"Birkat Kohanim". This is a major Chol Hamoed event where
hundreds of Kohanim gather to bless thousands. It was scheduled to take
place at 10:00 am. We hired a minibus to take us to the Kotel and left
plenty of time. However, we didn't account for the major amount of
traffic this event causes. Several streets around the Old City were
closed. We had to get off near the Jaffa gate and walk. People
were streaming through the Arab Shouk so we followed. There was a major
backup at the entrance to the Kotel plaza at the single security check point.
(And "they" say the Palestinians are inconvenienced by check
points!) Time was getting tight. Randi and the girls had
taken another route to get to a point where they'd have a good view.
Raanan and I needed to get to the Kotel to Duchan. While on line we
heard the Chazan over the loud speaker. He was already up to the
repitition of the Amidah. When we turned the corner to see the plaza we
were overwhelmed. I had never seen the Kotel plaza so full. And
how was I going to get to the Kotel in time. I took my cue from some
other Kohanim, raised my Talit bag and said "Kohain coming through."
People really moved out of the way to let us through. Somewhere along
the way I lost Raanan. I got to the Kotel area as the Chazan was saying
"Modim", only seconds to go. The Kohanim were in the first few
rows next to the Kotel. In a "Superman" moment, as the Chazan
finished "Modim" I whipped my Talit out of the bag, swirled it over
my head, and in a flash I went from being a mild mannered Yid to Super Kohain
able to bless thousands with a single Bracha! It was an awesome
experience.
The women had made it to the roof of an
apartment building overlooking the plaza. They had a wonderful view and
got some great pictures. (I posted those and some other new pictures on
our web site http://www.lipkinfamily.com).
On Monday, Joe and Deb Weisblatt (former Highland
Park residents) hosted their annual Highland Park reunion. I had heard
about this for years and was always envious that I couldn't be part of it.
It was well attended with many families who have made Aliyah from Highland
Park over the past 11 or so years. Maybe some of you will be there in
future years. :) The next day we went on a tour of the Shomron (Northern
"West Bank") which was arranged by our friends Yaakov and Michelle
Baruch (aka Stefano and Michelle Brocco). It was amazing. We
visited several small "settlements", aka obstacles to peace (what a
joke). The kids got to make pita bread and go horse back riding.
The spirit and dedication of the people who live in these places was
incredibly inspiring. So much so that Randi, a woman who couldn't even
say the word "Aliyah" a year ago, only half-jokingly said that it
would be even more meaningful if we lived in a place like that! For now
I think we'll stay in Beit Shemesh.
The last day of the holiday was action
packed. Shimini Atzeret, Yizkor, Simchat Torah all rolled into one day.
Again, in anticipation I thought it would be strange, but in reality "Hakol
B'sedar"; everything was in order, quite literally. The Hakafot at
our shul was very lively and spirited. There was lots of candy flying
around for the kids.
Somebody said to me now that the holidays are over
our Aliyah really begins. After the hustle and bustle of the first
post-Aliyah weeks then the excitement of the Chagim things should start to
settle into a normal routine. Elisheva is back in Brooklyn, Etana has
her full college schedule under way, Raanan starts Yeshiva again on Sunday,
and Meira is back in Gan daily. On the other hand with full days of
ulpan and work, picking out stuff for the house, and anticipating visits from
some close friends and family I don't think it will be quite routine and
that's fine by me.
Keep in touch.
Menachem