Rain in Jerusalem

It was so beautiful erev Shabbos. We had been praying for rain and although it was finally cooler and partly cloudy, we had only had enough to get everything muddy and dirty. I came home from my walk and took a shower, and then a friend called. She nonchalantly asked me how I liked the rain.

Rain, what rain? (thankfully I am very shielded in my little corner and have great windows)

So I opened the window and it was pouring!

Well I had just taken a shower, so a little water wouldn't hurt me. I went into the little chatzer (shared space) in my building, protected from the street, and started singing in my head and dancing in the rain. It was a blast.

Then I went out to run some erev Shabbos errands and discovered that my little walking street with steps was now a river! It was OK since I had my boots but it was pretty funny.

The rain had stopped by candlelighting but it was really fun and beautiful. Today was 60's and partly cloudy and such a nice break! A little fall weather in the end of October - what a concept!

The Way It Should Be

It was so nice. Yesterday, I was sitting on the bus on the way to work, saying my daily Tehillim. I young man sat down next to me, and pulled out a Shulchan Aruch. So there we were - me and my Tehillim, and he with his Shulchan Aruch, on the bus going wherever.

The way it should be.

Simchas Torah - Again?

In Chutz LaAretz, there are some people (mostly Chassidim) who do hakafos on Shemini Atzeret.

Here in Israel, people do second hakafos after the chag is over! Basically every shul has dancing with music - the air is electric. At least here where you can hear everything, it feels like music is blasting from every corner of the city. The joy is so palpable.

BTW, it's a little weird to go from Sukkos right into Simchas Torah without Shemini Atzeret first, but it makes so much more sense. There is no one day break where you don't do much that is special - it's just a continuation of the big party, and the gigantic culmination! And when really the entire city is off for Chag Sameach and there are parties everywhere, every single night, and then really the entire city is celebrating Simchas Torah, and everywhere you walk you can hear hakafos in progress, no one is in the street (except those that are dancing!) - I can't describe it! The floor at the shul last night was literally vibrating.

Off to wear my shoes out!

Hoshanah Rabbah is Here

Hard to believe that all this time beginning with the 3 weeks of mourning, to the 6 weeks of consolation, which includes Elul, and then the 10 Days of Repentance, and Sukkos...it's all over. Today is Hoshanah Rabbah, the last day of Sukkos.

On Rosh Hashanah, the judgment for the new year is written, on Yom Kippur it is sealed, and on Hoshanah Rabbah the angels are dispatched to begin instituting the new din (judgment). This is it!

On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we say - yell more like - during davening:

Tefillah (prayer), tzedakah (charity) u'teshuvah (repentance) turns over the negative decree!

I realized on Rosh Hashanah that this is k'neged (corresponds) to the 3 ways we are supposed to serve Hashem, and didn't - or should do better - in the Shema:

B'chol livavcha - with all your heart - your heart went away from Hashem. So now, be involved in "avodah she'b'lev" - service of the heart - prayer - and turn your heart back to Hashem (where it belongs)

B'chol nafshecha - with all your soul - this is teshuvah. By applying the SCAR treatment (stopping the bad act, confessing, apologizing, and resolving to do better) we return our souls to G-d

B'chol meodecha - with all your might - the commentators say this is with all your money. Well, maybe you weren't so perfect with this last year, so now you can give tzedakah!

Today is the last day to apply this and change the din for the entire year. From here on out, don't worry, they still work - but only to change the effect of the din, not to change the din itself (for example, if you are set to make $25K this year, that $25K can go a very long way, or not at all c'v, but you will make $25K no matter what).

So, gmar chasima tova!

BTW It is an interesting question - if everything ends on Hoshanah Rabbah, what is Shemini Atzeret all about? Who needs it! In short, Hashem says "hey, don't leave so fast...it's 6 long months to Pesach and I want one more day with you - just you and me!"

Does the Hechsher Matter?

I'm always looking for new, good places to go to eat. Hey, I get hungry and I miss takeout sometimes, although Baruch Hashem I am cooking a lot now in my apartment.

Anyway, so I'm walking around near the shuk and I see this big sign on a meat restaurant - "Kosher L'Mehadrin." In this neighborhood that is pretty rare, so I decide to stop in and check it out.

I'm looking on the wall - there is a current Rabbanut Stam Yerushalayim (something I personally don't eat). Then there is another Mehadrin hechsher under it (2 hechshers is not so uncommon). However, this mehadrin "hechsher" doesn't look familiar - in fact, it looks fake. I pull out my list of fake mehadrin hechshers, and while this one isn't exactly like anything on the list, it sure looks like a mixture of a few of them.

I decide to get a bit closer to check it out further and see if I can see more signs of fake/real.

And then I notice it. Just to the left of the mehadrin hechsher (which I am 90% was indeed fake) - a nice, mid-sized cockroach, waltzing down the post where they were both posted. Not anywhere near the kitchen mind you...

So I walked out, thanking Hashem for this very clear sign that whatever was exactly going on with the kashrus, I definitely did NOT want to be eating there!