English, עברית, Francais, etc...

Hopefully you aren't yet bored hearing about my ulpan adventures .  I'll just assume that the rest of my class is having as much fun.

Let me begin with the new and improved make-up of my class.  The Americans have slid way down on the list.  And this week we have had a lot of new students joining us.

England -1
Canada-1
Mexico -1
Brazil -1
Moldova -1
Holland-1
Ukraine -1
South Africa -1
Australia -1
Russia -3
United States -3
France -6

Lucky for me,  I already speak English .  Hebrew is my second best language.  I speak a super basic medical Spanish (basically,  do you have pain ,  here is your stomach ,  do you have diabetes ,  etc. . . . ,  ) I now know about four words in Russian,  thanks to ulpan.  I studied 4 years of high school French and basically ,  that's where this story is headed.

I studied French for four years of high school .  I even went to France with my Marching Band.  Because we were totally awesome ,  and before you make fun,  marching band was totally the best part of high school .

Anyway ,  at some point, I spoke passable halting French with an awful accent and a limited vocabulary.  My father always told me to study Spanish ,  but there was no way I was going to do what my parents suggested !  Well,  finally finally  I feel justified in taking French .  Because my Hebrew ulpan is chock full of French speakers. And they are all kinder about my French than my French teacher ever was.

Okay,  I actually don't speak French anymore .  But I remember a few things here and there.  But so far (and I say so far because it can only get better from here )  I have learned how to say "bless you"  in French ,  so I say that a minimum of five times a day.  And yesterday,  we were split into small groups to have a discussion on a very interesting topic.  But the topic was eclipsed because someone in my group didn't understand what I was saying in Hebrew.  So I busted right into that French and said,  "tres dificile . " That's right.  Once again I have mastered the art of the many languages.

It's also possible that yesterday I called someone a manyak,  which was probably not the right choice .  But it's in Arabic,  so I just can't control my command of so many languages .  So,  okay,  my teacher said to use the word meshugah .  So fine then.

I did take in semester of Arabic back in college,  when I somehow managed to convince my guidance counselor that I was a sociology major with a concentration in middle east studies.  Actually ,  I just wanted to take Arabic but needed it to count for something as I couldn't afford courses outside of my major.  I'd like to relearn how to read Arabic and to say more than one actual phrase.  Right now I only know how to say what translates as ,  is today a day of onions in a day of honey.  So far,  I've never needed to use that !

Moving on.  In addition to my truly amazing progress in my many new languages   I also learned two Russian words today and promptly forgot them.  Maybe tomorrow they'll come up again.  One never knows what might happen in ulpan .

Now,  onto what some of my kids are up to. Leor's school just started a sort of program of electives.  On Sundays,  during the school day he is taking two classes that he was able to choose.  What did he choose.  Well,  woodworking   and something that he loosely translated as gardening and landscaping  but he says is actually neither.  Basically,  he told me that yesterday,  he and a bunch of other kids spent the period using pickaxes to break up a bunch of rocks that they had to move.  So he is living a 10 year old boy's dream!  And I'm sort of like.  We'll sure you do that during school.  Because,  Israel??

Then he proceeded to tell me that he basically understands everything that his teacher says.  Well,  that's a change since up until now he claimed that he didn't really know what was going on.  We shall see how this progresses.

Next child update.  Actually ,  an update on my first child.  You know how sometimes,  you feel like steam is going to come out of your ears because your child lives in a filthy cave? And you're kind of yelling but trying not to yell?  Yeah,  me either.  Okay, so that wasn't happening (wink wink).  Then,  said child called the bike shop to discuss repairs needed to his bike.  He calls,  speaks to them only in Hebrew ,  with a pretty good accent .  He gets off of the phone and I compliment his accent .  Except I said the word wrong  so he tells me that I just complimented his key.  Ouch ! ! ! That hurt !

Continuing along with the theme of languages.  Every day I am surprised when I hear these "new"  "Hebrew" words.  Such as, ספציפי ,  מודרניזציה ,  נורמלי ? ? ?  I mean,  it's easy for me to understand in class,  but I think if I use the word ספציפי again in class my teacher will make me stop.  Everytime one of these words come up,  we get a good laugh.  And by we,  I mean just two of us.

And finally ,  my last story of the day.  I've been struggling to use slang.  Or not even use it but to understand it.  So today I asked my teacher how to use my favorite slang phrase,  חבל על הזמן .  Which,  if you watched the video from a few weeks ago,  you know literally means,  shame on the time.   But it's slang,  so it is used in several different situations .  Anyway,  I asked my teacher to help me learn how to use it.  So she gave me a lengthy explanation including several example which didn't really clarify it.  But wouldn't you know it.  Not even ten minutes later,  the perfect opportunity fell in my lap,   and  I used that phrase perfectly (confirmed by my teacher ).  After a few (okay,  just one)  fist bumps in class,   I then went back to my usual situation סיטואציה in class which was trying to fit in words like סיטואציה .  Just another day in the life here !

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Ah,  acharei hachagim ,  the magical time I have heard so much about.  It seems so mysterious .  For a month or two,  everything has been revolving around,  acharei hachagim ,  after the holidays.  We'll,  today is the day after the holidays and nothing has happened yet.  But it is isru chag,  so maybe the magic happens tomorrow ? ? ? Okay,  it was isru chag when I started this post.

First let's take a moment and check out this awesome picture Jon took while waiting for the bus this week.

Okay,  post chagim updates .

Let's see.  The girls birthday has finally ended.  Their birthday lives on for weeks every year.  We had two cakes,  a cake made of pastries ,  and candles that were sparklers .  Because ,  Israel!

Sukkot was really fun.  Having extra days of Chol hamoed is really nice.  And for the first time ever,  we were all home together .  Normally,  Jon can't take off any extra days for Chol hamoed because most of his vacation days are dedicated to the chagim .  But now we are  in Israel ,  and his office is closed for the chagim.  This is a huge life change for us.  So we took some fun outings on Chol hamoed .  The kids favorite one of course was the beach.  They have been begging us to go,  but we didn't have a car that we could all fit into. Did I mention that the beach had a sukkah ?  That's right !

Also,  I must mention my new bestie from ulpan.  She held a party over sukkot and invited the whole class.  We had loads of fun,  and it is always interesting speaking in  a mix of Hebrew and English in a big group.  Luckily our teacher was there if we needed help with words.  But I must say that the funniest and most informative part of the night was when the South African classmates gave us Yankees an English lesson.

Curious what a BBQ is called in other places?   In Israel it is called a mangal or Al ha eish.  Which means,  on the fire.  In South Africa,  apparently it's called a Braaii,  or something like that.   Have you ever wondered if a car horn is called the same thing in other English speaking countries?  Well,  it's not.  Apparently in South Africa it is called a hooter .  Like,  stop honking your hooter.  Imagine me hearing this after having one drink.  That's right.  You're welcome.

Finally on Wednesday the kids went back to school .  I think we are  all semi happy to be back in a routine .  Of course,  I just decided that we are all going to a soccer game tonight with Nefesh B'Nefesh,  so we will get home very late and be out of routine.  Oh well ,  shabbat is soon.

You are probably waiting for an ulpan update and I won't disappoint .  Finally we are back in ulpan and my teacher is back.  She was out for a few days before vacation.   So we are all trying to get back in the swing of things.  Since the first day of class, we have been working on using certain proper words instead of easier or more common words.  So today when someone used the wrong word ,  my teacher was like, " oy,  no no no,  not like that,  you say it like this.  That other word is the word you use in this other situation .  Anyway to make a long story shorter,  it led me to sharing (over sharing )  one of my favorite Hebrew phrases that I must have learned when I was here for the year.  It's hot in Israel ,  so you always need to remember to bring water with you on long walks or hikes or whatever .  Here it is.

פיפי צהוב לא טוב .  פיפי לבן מצוין .

Well,  after that,  I wasn't sure if my teacher was going to burst out laughing or make me sit in the hallway.  In the end,  she informed me that I know that only because I'm a nurse.  Ha.  And that my friends,  is some real world Hebrew for you.  You're welcome.

Sukkot summary... So far so good

While I have a bit of down time during Chol HaMoed,  I thought I would give you a little update on our life in Israel.

Sukkot here is very different from what we are used to.  The first night of sukkot,  we were sitting in our sukkah.  Just a few feet on either side of us,  our neighbors were all doing the same.  What a difference to be able to hear the neighbors singing and chatting.  It was so uplifting  especially when everyone started singing.  I think next year I need to organize a group mash-up,  sort of like from Glee or Pitch Perfect,  and we can  have a competition.  Either that,  or we all have to sing songs in the round,  going from one end of the block to the other.  What say you,  neighbors?

We had lunch in the sukkah our of good friends.  Their sukkah is decorated in the exact opposite decor of mine.  Theirs is all nice and subtle.  Mine basically needs a disco ball.  I'm already on the lookout to buy one for next year.

The first day of sukkot coincided with my girls' 13th birthday (English birthday)  so of course we had cakes.  And their birthday lives on because their Hebrew birthday is in just a few days.  So I imagine that we will have more cake.

Then we began Chol HaMoed,  aka,  everyone needs to go on a trip every single day but I'm new here and can't decide where to go.  So the first day we didn't go anywhere,  but we did meet friends at the mall,  then we walked to the circus.  Yes,  a circus here in our town.  Not your typical circus and no animals were involved.  We saw acrobats,  lots of lights,  even more people,  had some food because there is kosher food here,  and eventually headed home.

Next stop was a trip organized by the absorption center in Modiin.  We went to visit kibbutz Yad Mordechai,  which has a very interesting history related to Israel's Independence.   The short story is that they managed to repel attacks from Egypt for five days, despite the huge odds against them.  Today they raise bees,  produce honey  jams,  oils,  and many other products.  We had a nice hayride tour (minus the hay)  and were able to see memorials to the battle and recreations of the trenches and we saw some tanks and such.

View from the edge of the kibbutz looking towards Gaza.

Aside from the heat  it was a really nice day with our family and with friends we have met through making aliyah.

This is our professional picnic.  Trying to be Israeli here. Peanut butter is probably a giveaway,  despite the fact that we made salad.

We came home yesterday and then received an email that the Chief Rabbi of Israel is hosting an event in his sukkah,  which is open to the community.  Good news for us,  because the Chief Rabbi lives about thirty steps away from us.  Okay,  he probably doesn't want us climbing over his back wall,  so we have to walk a few extra steps.  We decided to stop by to see what was going on.

First,  I have never seen such a big sukkah. We were introduced to the Rebbetzin,  by our lovely and friendly neighbors.  She could not have been nicer or more welcoming.   Them we just sort of hung around and watched people go in an out of the sukkah,  greet each other,  pray,  listen to music,  etc....  It was very nice.  We were told there would be live music later,  but we had to take a super tired child home.

But because this is Israel and my kids are who they are,  we can't just walk home normally.  No siree.  One girl finds a pecan leaf on the ground  promptly picks it up,  drops it and smashes the pecans out of one shell.  Other child follows suit.  At least they didn't go hungry on the long walk home.   Because this is Israel and foods grow all over.

Then the three big kids went back to the circus to meet friends,  and the adults went to meet other friends who are in town visiting their relatives who are our friends and neighbors.  Confused yet???   Don't be.  I'll summarize : Israel is great and you should come.  The end.

Shake shake shake your lulav...

The frenzy before sukkot continues.  Actually,  there isn't much of a frenzy, for a few reasons.  First  our sukkah was delivered to our house last week.  So even though I was a little nervous to wait until the last minute  I'm told that last week isn't last minute here in Israel.  So it got delivered one night last week around midnight.  Then  someone on our block was selling lulav and etrog,  which he also brought to our house.  Then  someone else was selling decorations,  which my child rode his bike to pick up.  Normally,  in America,  we always head down to the lower east side to buy a lulav and etrog and of course to get pickles.  But that usually takes half a day when I  need to be cooking.  So this is very relaxing.

Also where else can you go where your bank's website wishes you a Happy Sukkot,  and your coffee comes with special chocolates for the New Year??? I wonder how many years it will take until this no longer thrills me.  I hope that never happens.

Oh and also,  only 1 day of Yom Tov!!  So half the cooking.  Couple that with an invitation for lunch and we are in business people!

One awesome thing so far is how many sukkot there are.  Basically every single house has one.  Anywhere where you see a backyard  a garden or a balcony without a roof  you see a sukkah.  It's super cool to see them staggered along apartment buildings.  We usually used to set ours up in our driveway in NJ.  We were pretty much the only visible sukkah if you drive through the neighborhood,  even though others were scattered about in yards.  It's nice to be part of the crowd.

Remember that I mentioned that we were in the newspaper again?  Well  my neighbors gave me a few copies and we read the story.  Which I am very happy to say I understood most of,  with Jon helping me along.  Of course  context was super helpful, but whatever.  I even love how he told them that we are the same age even though I am currently older,  until he catches up in a few months.  Isn't he the best?  The kids were very excited to be in the newspaper again.  Perhaps they will do a follow up about our first Simchat Torah in Israel,  then our first Chanukah,  first Tu B'Shvat,  etc... : -)

Moving on.  Here is what your sukkah looks like when you sell your giant sukkah and buy a really small one.  Except you have the same number of decorations,  plus the ones you just bought from yours friends kid.

Well,  time to wrap it up because it is almost sukkot here in Israel.  Chag Sameach to all.
חג שמח

Yom Kippur and on to the next!

Here is what is exactly the same about Yom Kippur in America vs Israel

#1 Shul is long and kids complained
#2 I still felt sick and had to leave shul early
#3 Jon still managed to stand basically the entire day.  I don't understand him.
#4 All of my children except for one fast like pros.  I will not take responsibility for the one who feels sick.  It can't possibly be my fault.

Here is what is different.

#1 After Kol Nidre,  my neighborhood set up their chairs and we all sat around for a while chatting outside.  Well,  I don't chat much.  I try and listen to see what I can understand.
#2 No one drives cars here on Yom Kippur
#3 But it seems like every  bike,  scooter and skateboard is out and in use. Helmets?  Not so much.
#4 As soon as everyone has eaten after the fast,  it sounds like a bunch of woodpeckers outside as everyone is working on their sukkah.

So here was another "only in Israel"  moment that happened to me today.  After ulpan,  there was traffic getting back to pick up from school.  There has never been traffic at 12:45pm (which is when school ends).  So I'm thinking,  ugh,  how late am I going to be for pickup.  What was the delay you may ask? Why,  it was workers cutting down palm branches to hand out for sukkot.  You know,  just another normal day here!

Ulpan updates : in addition to my Hebrew improving,  my French has never been so good.  Today I even explained a Hebrew word to a French speaker using French.  Felt pretty proud of myself.  Except I only remember a few phrases and words and once those are used up,  I'm out.  Except I know how to say bless you in French,  so I get to use that daily.  Who would have thought that ulpan would also help my French??

And finally,  evidence that I'm not as quick of a learner as I thought I was.  I went through the chaos of supermarket shopping before Rosh Hashanah.  Did I learn to stay away???  Oh no.  Tonight the whole family went.   If you haven't had this experience,  it's sort of what I imagine a supermarket in the USA is like if Thanksgiving,  Xmas, New Year's and Easter all fell into a three week period.  That was where I was tonight.  Maybe I'll learn eventually.  I just promised myself that I would do online grocery shopping only for the rest of the month.  

Coming soon to a blog near you: We were in the newspaper again.  I haven't read the article yet,  but I'm interested to see what "we"  said.  And also  we almost all fit on one sofa.  So close!!!

The more things change, the more they stay the same

I will begin this entry with a few questions.

#1 Why do Israeli police cars and security vehicles drive with their lights flashing all of the time?

And  no,  despite what you see on the news,  it is not because there are constant emergencies.  I don't know the reason,  but I have a mini freak out quite often because I think they are pulling me over.

#2 What is the obsession with electric bikes? If you're not familiar with this,  then thank your lucky stars.  These people are fast and often not paying attention.  Mix that with Israeli drivers and the way people park their cars,  and it makes for a few extra mini panic attacks daily as I try to avoid them as they whip down the middle of the road.

And now for my awesome Israeli sighting of the week.  This was our bag from the burger place.  Date Night after returning the tic tac car to the airport, which included me going through my first checkpoint as the driver.

 It translates to,  "That you will be like ketchup and not like mustard."  It's a play on the words  "That you will be like the head and not like the tail,"  that we say on Rosh Hashanah.  And of course the bag then wishes us a happy new year.  I love this bag so much.  But sadly  it has been recycled. No space for funny things.

Now a few updates on the family :

Last week one child managed to yell at someone in Hebrew and shut the door on them.  (this was during that chaos of getting sports physicals last week)  I told her that I think she is  ready to hang out with some friends who mostly speak Hebrew.  If you can yell at someone in a crowded place,  then I think you're good.

I picked up another child at school after a club.  This child tells me nothing about school.  But when I picked him up,  I got to witness his little crew of friends yelling goodbyes and chatting. So I guess he is actually enjoying school?  Maybe I should call his friends and ask?

Holiday update :

It's that time of year again.  The time just before Yom Kippur when we gather up our family and build the sukkah.  New place   but same old story.  Actually  we brought our huge amazing sukkah with us when we made aliyah.  When our lift left  we had not yet rented a place so we had no idea if it would fit or not.  We'll,  the answer is not.  I actually sold it the day after our container arrived here.  We sold it to someone in the neighborhood of huge yards (huge by Israeli standards).

So now we (actually not me)  had to undertake the task of getting a new sukkah.  Everyone here seems to have a "guy"   who sells sukkot. So we (still not me)  call one,  ask around to see if it's a decent price,  etc... Then we (again,  not me)  text him back to say that we will buy it.  Except when we open our phone to do so  it turns out that he has already texted us,  saying he is delivering it tonight.  Okay then  that's one way to go about it.  And as it turns out  tonight meant close to midnight.  Where else but Israel can you have your sukkah delivered at midnight?

And today during erev Yom Kippur,  we (still not me)  are helping the kids curb their boredom by engaging them in the sukkah building.  They are pros at it by this point,  otherwise I'd be out there helping.

Wishing you all an easy and meaningful fast.   Enjoy the rest of the chagim.  Next year in Jerusalem (or Modi'in).

Winner winner!!

Brief Post Rosh Hashanah :

Let me begin with my usual.  I love my neighborhood and neighbors.  I mean,  without good neighbors,  then a neighborhood is just some rocks and such.  We were invited to neighbors for both evenings of Rosh Hashanah and they were lovely.  A little bit of Hebrew ulpan practice for all of us,  great food and conversation and a very very very short walk back home.  Like literally between five and thirty steps. One child even left one dinner to come home and sleep,  since he spent an hour trying to sleep on me.

Everyone enjoyed shul.  I liked that it was quite quiet and that everyone seemed to participate.  At least from where I was sitting.  The kids liked that it was shorter than they are used to.  And Jon just liked it. So I call that a win.

Now we begin to prepare for the next set of chagim and the next and the next.  Did I mention that the Schachter challah baking factory is back in business?  Finally!

New topic :

So everyone says that life is not cheaper in Israel.  And it's totally true.  Aside from school tuition of course.  But what they don't tell you is that if you spend an insane amount of money at the grocery store,  you get a free gift.  That right.  After we paid, the cashier handed me another receipt and said I get a gift.  Hallelujah! I didn't receive just any gift.  I received a brand new,  shiny 3-pack of paper towels.  That's right.  Control you jealousy,  it isn't becoming.

This week in ulpan fun: So,  if you've been reading my blog and if you've been clicking on my links, (and I know you are) then you're familiar with my #1 favorite Israeli song     החיים שלנו תותים

My #1 favorite Israeli song (for the moment)

Okay,  so this is my current favorite Israeli song.  So anyway,  we are in ulpan.  Every day  we read the headlines from some educational Hebrew news website.  And wouldn't you know it.  Buried past the actual news,  was a report that my favorite song was the #1 song  of the year here. Of course we played it in class and I sang along to the parts I know (which are the important parts)  I'm so trendy!

Next ulpan update.  I've fallen in love with this video about learning Hebrew words that a friend sent to me.  I have made it my goal to use as many of these words (mostly the appropriate ones)  during ulpan.  You really must check this out.  Then feel free to guess which word I've used the most this week.

Hebrew Dictionary of Key Words

Make sure you clicked that one because it's seriously amazing.

You've heard me discuss how life for kids is different here.  They have a level of freedom that didn't exist for us before.  For example.  Yesterday,  my eldest child's school had a trip to Jerusalem that left his school at 8:30pm. They went to the kotel for slichot.  They arrived back here at 2:30am. They dropped the boys off at a few locations around the city so they could get themselves home.  So yes, at 3am my child arrived home.  I had him wake me up so I knew he was alive.  Three months ago  I wouldn't let him cross a busy road alone.

Tonight I dropped same child off at a park to hear a concert.  Then I got a WhatsApp that it hadn't started so he was walking to the mall.  Okay then.  Just get thyself home so I don't need to park at the mall again.

Finally,  I'll close today's blog post with a few key updates.

#1  We have two licensed drivers
#2  We went to the pharmacy and printed out our temporary licenses
#3 Why in the world do you print your license at the pharmacy
#4 Because,   Israel!
#5 If you play sports,  you need a special sports physical
#6 You can only do this on Thursdays at one place
#7 To understand what this was like, you must understand the Hebrew word בלאגן
#8 This week,  I heard 3/4 of my children speaking Hebrew and one who finally admitted they understand what their teacher says
#9 I have to return my tictac car tonight and I'm surprisingly sad.

Pre Rosh Hashanah musings

As I take a break from my cooking,  I decided to capture a few thoughts before the holiday season begins.  First,  even though I have been Jewish forever,  the holidays (חגים)  never seemed like a season.  Yes,  I was always busy with the shopping and cooking and attempting to find shoes and clothing for my children who hate shopping.  We were hosting and being guests and of course swept up in the holidays while living in the USA.  But here it just seems different.  I have been here before for the holidays.  I spent my year in Israel (go Nativ 16!) back in the day before we had blogs and Facebook and digital photos and texting.  But I was a student and I did not have to do the preparations,  I just had to be there.

So far the pre holiday season in Israel has been something like this.  Two weeks ago the security guard at the market wished me a Shana Tovah שנה טובה.  That began the flurry of similar wishes between good friends and between totally random people I  have met.  It doesn't seem to matter how religious you are or how secular you are.  Everyone says it to everyone.  And it does not just stop at Shana Tovah.  Oh no,  everyone wishes you a year of health,  happiness,  luck at school and work,  wealth,  etc.....  And it culminated today when my app called Moovit (transit app,  which I highly recommend) wished me a Shana Tovah.  I mean  I promise you that I've never had an app wish me that.  I did see something on Facebook today,  but I'm sticking with my story of how this can happen only in Israel.

Oh wait  I forgot to mention what the mall is like.  For the past few weeks,  instead of mall kiosks selling whatever,  there have been kiosks set up all over the mall selling honey  candies,  new housewares,  honey scented everything,  wine,  etc....  Basically everything you could want or need.   Not a Xmas wreath in sight.  But plenty of kosher food and treats.  Need a new siddur???  Come to the mall.  Need a new honey dish?  why come to the mall or the supermarket or anywhere.  Need a new fancy set of honey?  Just stop anywhere.  The hardware store probably even sells it since that's where I bought wine three weeks ago.  Why not??? And to everyone who is hosting us,  I drank the hardware store wine myself,  you're getting better wine I hope.

Okay,  so you get it.  Here it is our holidays  not their holidays.  One can get very caught up in the excitement.  I mean,   I found myself baking challah using silan which is date honey.  I've never done that before.  It's delicious by the way.

Now,  I assume you are all waiting for an update on my neighborhood.  It won't disappoint.  If you haven't been reading up until now,  here is the short story.  My neighborhood is awesome.  They do events together,  have invited us to everything,  and go on trips together.

So on Friday night,  we all did a communal shabbat dinner at the home with the best garden.  There were 40+ people in the gardens that's about 5 families here since everyone has a lot of children.  In addition to a lot of children there are about three boys who look so much Leor that when they were all jumping on the trampoline,  I couldn't even find him.  I guess he blends in with his white shirt and dark pants and sandals.

The dinner was lovely,  as each family brought an array of dishes and salads and challah.  I tasted spelt challah for the first time and had the best tahini to date.  A nice night of new friends,  good food and conversations where they spoke in English,  or Hebrew conversations where I could understand about half of what they were saying.  I even spied my kids speaking to some kids who do not speak English,  so that's a win!

Then came the usual Friday night event of Eli leaving to hang out with his friends from scouts.  Which means he is outside with them until way too late,  but apparently that's what all of the teens do.  So I go to sleep usually before he is home.  A new experience for me,  but hey,  people can change!

Shabbat day was a bar mitzvah at the shul near us.  It was very very nice and I got to hear the Chief Rabbi of Israel speak.  Did I mention that he also lives in this neighborhood?  Well,  now you know.  From what I could understand,  he spoke really nicely (one would hope)  and I even understood most of the joke he made.  His clothing however is not as awesome as the Sephardic chief rabbi.  Just saying.

The rest of shabbat was equally as nice.  Lunch at the home of some new friends,  the usual gathering on our street,  where I continue my Hebrew lessons of Hebrew immersion.  Basically just a great run up to the holidays.

I need to return to my cooking (even though we are invited out for 2/4 of the meals).  So I'll leave you with this wish.

אני מאחלת לכם שנה טובה ומתוקה,  שנה של בריאות אושר, ואהבה.

If you get married right before Rosh Hashanah you receive many apple and honey dishes.  Here is my collection.