Pre-storm housekeeping

As the entire country stocks up and braces for last year’s major winter storm – because why shouldn’t we take it for granted that this week’s storm will be an exact copy of the blizzard of December 2013? – now’s probably a good time to take care of some blogging housekeeping by finally sharing some post-Chanukah thoughts.

But first, I hope you all had a wonderful, joyous, and light-filled Chanukah!

Zot Chanukah 5775

And now without further ado, some post-Chanukah notes:

1) Before he summarily and abruptly resigned, the former education minister decided, for reasons best known to himself, to shorten Chanukah vacation – to the dismay and indignation of schoolchildren across the country.

And since it soon became apparent that the change was – like many of the former minister’s so-called reforms – hastily conceived and poorly implemented, the kids weren’t the only ones who were annoyed.

Because the result was that no two Shiputzim kids had the exact same vacation schedule, and thus, your humble blogger spent much of Chanukah asking, “Remind me again. Who is off tomorrow?”

2) Due to a bit of car trouble (hopefully more about THAT in an upcoming post), we found ourselves homebound more than we originally planned.

But it turned out that our unintended staycation had a silver lining.

With nothing else to do, the younger Shiputzim kids had a chance to watch both “The Princess Bride” and “Singin’ in the Rain,” and now YZG and I can say that we’ve fulfilled two of our essential parental obligations…

Stay safe, warm, and dry, and enjoy the snow!

A Tale of Two Moments

For me, two distinct moments defined this year’s Yom HaZikaron-Yom HaAtzma’ut continuum:

Yom HaZikaron 5774 - Monday, May 5, 2014
11:00 AM

OS (=Our Soldier) stands at attention in one of Israel’s military cemeteries.

Although he’s wearing his dress army uniform, a scraggly mustache and beard obscure part of his face. Normally, this would be against military regulations.

But today, no one minds. In the IDF, the Jewish army, religious soldiers are exempt from shaving during the Sefirat HaOmer period.

As the siren wails, OS looks down solemnly at the grave of his former elementary school classmate, a hero who was killed while defending Eretz Yisrael and Am Yisrael.

T. stands a few feet away. He too was one of OS’s former classmates. The night before, T. appeared on national television. An officer cadet, he was chosen to be part of the honor guard participating in the Yom HaZikaron torch-lighting ceremony at the Kotel.

Yom HaAtzma’ut 5774 - Tuesday, May 6, 2014
12:30 PM

The entire Shiputzim family – including OS, who’s home on a short leave for the holiday - is driving along Kvish 6, the Trans-Israel Highway, on the way to the gorgeous Shomron for a wonderful BBQ (i.e. a mangal or al ha’eish, for the Hebraically-oriented amongst you) replete with great food and great company.

Kvish 6 is a marvel of Israeli engineering and ingenuity. A toll-road without any toll booths to impede traffic or serve as ugly blots on the scenery, its tunnels blend seamlessly into the Biblical landscape.

The Israeli flag attached to the car window whips merrily in the wind. Blue and white flags lining the side of the highway wave back, and electronic signs wish the travelers a happy Yom HaAtzma’ut.

Inside the car, the usual sibling squabbles (“He’s looking at me!” “She’s touching me!”) are surprisingly absent.

Perhaps the lull in the hostilities is due to the fact that everyone is simply enjoying the rare family outing. After all, in recent years, there have been very few occasions when the entire family was home and able to go on trips.

Or perhaps it’s because the Chidon HaTanach (the International Bible Quiz) is playing on the radio. Like most Israelis, the Shiputzim family has a close connection to at least one of the young contestants, and watching or, as in this case, listening to the Chidon is a cherished Yom HaAtzma’ut tradition.

Kvish 6 – Yom HaAtzma’ut 5774 (As always, please click on the pictures for a much better view.)

What small yet meaningful moments defined Yom HaZikaron/Yom HaAtzma’ut 5774 for you?

Only in Israel: Restaurant edition

Last week, YZG and I found ourselves driving  to Tel Aviv.

After parking our car, we started walking toward our destination when we were stopped by the guard at the entrance to the parking lot.

He seemed to sense that we are from out of town (where town=Tel Aviv, not New York… :-)).

Was it the fact that we missed our exit driving into the city that gave us away?

Or was he simply being prophetic and accurately predicting that later that evening, we would – as we ALWAYS do at the end of every. single. visit to Tel Aviv - have trouble finding our way back onto the highway?

I don’t know.

But I do know that the friendly guard was clearly trying to be helpful when he asked us where we were going.

We told him that we were going to a certain restaurant, and the Russian-accented, bareheaded guard immediately replied, “Is that kosher?”

We thanked him for his concern and assured him that we had checked it out in advance and that the restaurant was indeed kosher l’mehadrin.

!מי כעמך ישראל
“Who is like Your nation Israel…”
(Divrei HaYamim I 17:21)

And on a related note, Latma has a new song for Yom HaAtzma’ut 5773:

Zocheir Habrit

As some of you know, we spent this past Shabbat in the beautiful northern Shomron.

Special thanks to our gracious hosts – longtime Our Shiputzim readers - for their incredible hospitality! We really had a great time!

On the way there, we ran into some wonderfully wet winter weather (try saying that five times fast…) and even had the privilege of reciting the brachah (blessing) on seeing a rainbow.

As always, feel free to click on the pictures for a closer view:

 בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, זוֹכֵר הַבְּרִית וְנֶאֱמַן בִּבְרִיתוֹ וְקַיָּם בְּמַאֲמָרוֹ.

Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe, Who remembers the covenant and is faithful to His covenant and fulfills His word.

Minchah PSA

Reason #7112 for making aliyah:

Starting today (Rosh Chodesh Shvat 5772), there will be a daily minyan for Minchah – 15 minutes before sh’kiyah (sunset) - at every gas station along Kvish 6 (the Trans-Israel Highway).

For more information about this great initiative, do a search for “תפילה בשש” on Facebook.

!חודש טוב ומבורך

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P.S. Speaking of Facebook, don’t forget to “Like” the Our Shiputzim FB page, in order to receive Our Shiputzim updates.

“Name That Country!” --- Tiebreaker

Welcome back to Name. Thaaaaat. Country!

{applause sign lights up, and studio audience claps dutifully}

As you saw, before we headed out to the commercial break, our exciting final round ended in a tie, and so we’ll have a lightning round as a tiebreaker.

Are you ready, contestants?

{contestants try not to look as nervous as they feel}

We’re going to show you two items, and then the talented “Name That Country!” Players will act out another scene.

Afterwards, you’ll have a mere 15 seconds on the clock to correctly name. thaaaaat. country!

And, of course, we’ll provide those of you playing along at home {blows a kiss in the direction of the camera} with extra clues, which will appear on your TV screens during the round.

Here goes!

Please look at the monitor, where you’ll see two emails which were each posted on a community email list somewhere in the country we’re talking about.

The first one:

קרוב משפחתי מחפש לקנות רכב מסוג יונדאי טרג'ט 2002-2005. באם ידוע לך על רכב כזה אשמח להעביר לו.

(Loose translation: “One of my relatives is looking to buy a Hyundai Trajet 2002-2005. If you know of such a car, I’ll be glad to forward the information to him.”)

And the second one:

חברים שלנו מחפשים לקנות מיצובישי ספייס וואגן. האם מישהו יודע על רכב כזה למכירה?

(Loose translation: “Our friends want to purchase a Mitsubishi Space Wagon. Does anyone know of one that’s for sale?”)

[Clue #1 – The potential buyer, rather than the seller, is the one doing the advertising.]

Can you name. thaaaaat. country! yet, contestants?

{contestants, who look more worried than ever, attempt brave smiles}

Well, don’t worry, because we still have a scene for you, which takes place in {consults card} a parking lot.

Aaaaand action!

{Scene: A parking lot}

Man: {parks and gets out of his car, which appears to be about 2-3 years old}

Random Stranger: {approaches Man} How does your car drive? Are you happy with it? How many miles per gallon kilometers per liter does it get?

[Clue #2 – The man doesn’t mind that he was accosted by a complete stranger.]

Man: {gladly answers all the questions}

Random Stranger: Would you like to sell it to me?

[Clue #3 – Once again, the first move is made by the buyer.]

Thank you, “Name That Country!” Players!

And now, contestants, you have fifteen seconds…

{clock starts ticking}

15, 14, 13, 12…

-------

.צום קל ומועיל

Have an easy and meaningful fast, and may all the fast days soon be transformed into festivals and days of joy.

Pitka tava

Seen earlier this week on Kvish 6 (the Trans-Israel Highway), the electronic sign reads: “Happy Succot from the Derech Eretz Company [the operators of Kvish 6].”

I’ve never been a big fan of, um, sweet sweet potato kugels, which are often prepared with things like canned pineapple, brown sugar, maple syrup, or even (shudder) marshmallows. (Seriously?? Marshmallows??)

So I was thrilled when a number of years ago, I found a recipe for something called “Savory Sweet Potato Kugel” in the paper:

Savory Sweet Potato Kugel

Adapted from the Jerusalem Post, this recipe is admittedly a bit more of a potchke than, say, lukshen kugel or even potato kugel but, IMHO, well-worth the effort. (Please feel free to stop by and have a taste if you should find yourself near TRLEOOB* over Simchat Torah...)

Ingredients

• 2 to 2.5 kg sweet potatoes (i.e. batatot, for the Hebraically-oriented among you) - scrubbed and unpeeled
• Oil (I use canola)
• 5-6 large onions - chopped
• 1-2 cloves of garlic - chopped finely (the original recipe called for ground ginger instead)
• 4 eggs
• Salt
• Pepper
• Bread crumbs

Directions

Put the unpeeled sweet potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Add a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Simmer for about half an hour or until tender. Drain and let cool.

While the sweet potatoes are cooking, sauté the onions in the oil. When they’re translucent, add the garlic, and continue sautéing until the onions are golden brown.

Peel sweet potatoes and mash using a potato masher. Add onion and garlic mixture, eggs, salt and pepper.

Place mixture in an oiled 9x13 pan. Smooth mixture and sprinkle bread crumbs on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

!חג שמח

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*TRLEOOB=the real life equivalent of our blog

A new name for an old city?

Shavua tov and mo’adim l’simchah!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that visiting the Kotel and its environs on Chol Hamo’ed is all about bumping into everyone you know. (In other words, it’s kind of like Facebook for the non-online crowd… :-))

Or, as we say here in TRLEOOB*, it’s all about getting points. (Confused? Go ahead and reread the Points post. I’ll wait…)

But what many people don’t realize is that in recent years, these fleeting encounters with one’s acquaintances have undergone a subtle change.

You see, in the not-so-distant past, the conversation was usually limited to a quick, “Hi! How are you? It’s so nice to see you!” – followed, perhaps, by a brief recap of what the two parties had been doing since their last meeting (which probably took place during the previous Chol Hamo’ed…).

However, keen observer of Israeli cultural norms that I am that I pretend to be, I’ve noticed that nowadays, after the initial pleasantries are exchanged, an additional question is inevitably asked: 

“Where’d ya park?”

Which brings me to the following announcement which appeared in Friday’s newspaper: (Click on the picture for a closer view. Toby, this one’s for you…)

Yes, that DOES say the “Old Town” [sic]. And yes, it WAS the municipality which produced this notice…

BTW, if you happen to see us (and our Heblish-speaking kids…) on Chol Hamo’ed– near the Kotel, at a national park, or elsewhere – please be sure to come over and say hello.

We really could use the points…

__________

*TRLEOOB=the real life equivalent of our blog

Don’t forget

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds…” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Apparently, this is the credo of the National Roads Authority’s translation department.

You see, earlier this week, the Shiputzim family spotted two road signs on one of Israel’s northern highways.

Each of the signs was more than blogworthy in its own right.

But the two signs together – situated, as they were, less than a kilometer apart - well, all I can say is that they would’ve warmed Emerson’s transcendental heart…

To remind or not to remind – that is the question…

___________

And in other J-Blogosphere news:

• Ilana-Davita wraps up her fascinating interview series. (I had the honor of being featured here.)
• The latest Kosher Cooking Carnival is available here. Special thanks to Batya for including my Chocolate Chip Surprise Cookies.
• The latest Haveil Havalim is available here. Special thanks to Phyllis for including Meshulam’s tour of Har HaZeitim.

A better place to visit during the summer

Many of you rightly observed that although Har HaZeitim sounds like a fascinating place to visit, it may not be the ideal destination during hot, er, climatically-challenged weeks like this one.

And so, the Our Shiputzim Tourism Department has taken the liberty of suggesting an indoor summertime activity: a tour of Better Place’s visitors center in Pi Glilot.

Better Place (I know I’m not the only one who wants to say “the Better Place” or “a Better Place”… :-)) is the company founded by Shai Agassi which is working to build an electric vehicle network throughout Israel.

The tour includes a movie (aka a “multimedia presentation” in tourist-site-speak) during which the audience sits on refurbished seats from used cars; demonstrations of the company’s cutting-edge technologies; and the chance to test drive an electric car.

The visitors center is located in a converted water tank.

One of the cars

YZG wryly noted that the 1½-hour tour is basically a long infomercial for the company.

And he has a point.

But since the visitor center was air-conditioned, the kids had fun, and, best of all, admission was free, we didn’t mind selling our souls to crass commercialism listening to their sales pitch…

Coming up: A recommendation for another free and climate-controlled vacation activity.

Blue and white on Israel’s highways

Breaking with our usual custom of avoiding the Yom HaAtzma’ut traffic, the Shiputzim family hit the road today.

Flags were everywhere:

  Even on police cars:

And electronic road signs:

There were other electronic signs as well:

  (As always, click on the pictures for a closer look.) 

!מועדים לשמחה לאלתר לגאולה שלמה

Happy Yom HaAtzma’ut!

Have succah, will travel

Long time readers may – or may not – recall that last year I wrote about our succah-on-wheels.

As it so happened, we had occasion to use it this year during the course of our chol hamo’ed travels.

Since we keep the schach mat and the wooden slats in the car for the duration of the chag, the mobile succah is very convenient and takes about 30 seconds to construct.

Also, even though only two people fit under the schach at a time, the family members who aren’t halachically-obligated to eat in a succah can sit on the other seats. (When there are more than two post-bar-mitzvah-aged males, they can simply take turns eating.) Thus, the whole family can still eat together.

And best of all, having a travelling succah is extraordinarily cool! :-)

Here’s a view of the succah in action:

 Click here for an exterior view.

The funny part was that not one of the many passersby said a thing about our unique approach to succah dining. In contrast, when YZG originally assembled it in front of our house two years ago, all our neighbors came out to see YZG’s new “pah-TEHNT” (literally, patent – refers to any creative gadget or workaround).

And on a related note, YZG kindly offered to discuss some of the relevant halachic issues:

Using a car’s sunroof as a succah

by YZG

I. Size: The succah needs to be at least 7 tfachim by 7 tfachim. Depending on the shitah (halachic opinion), that comes out to between 58x58 cm and 70x70 cm. Thus, our car succah’s width is kosher according to even the most machmir shitah (stringent opinion), and the length is fine according to most shitot.

II. Walls: A succah needs at least three walls. (Note that the third wall can be a partial wall.) The car succah has four walls and makes use of a concept called “dofen akumah” – literally, a "bent wall". This means that the succah’s walls can be as far as 4 amot (up to about 6 feet) from the start of the schach. In other words, the rest of the roof is considered to be a dofen akumah – i.e. part of the walls (since they are all less than 4 amot from the schach).

III. Schach: Since the schach shouldn't rest on something that can be mekabel tumah (like metal), the schach sits on wooden slats (see picture above) rather than directly on the metal of the roof.

Thank you, YZG, for your informative post!

!חג שמח

 

“I’ll have that succah to go…”

Helloooo, Our Shiputzim fans!

Several years ago, it occurred to YZG [aka “Mr. S.”] that our car’s sunroof would make a perfect mobile succah, and then last year, he decided that the time had come*.

Admittedly, there is less of a need for such a thing here in Israel, where most tourist sites have succot. It’s very rare to find oneself succah-less.

But – by his own admission – YZG wasn’t motivated by necessity. He was driven [no pun intended] by the “cool” factor.

And so, he set to work. He took lots of measurements [picture the scene in Harry Potter I where Harry is being measured for his new wand] and could occasionally be heard muttering obscure phrases like “dofen akumah” and “tfachim”. Finally, after consulting with various parties (that’s gormim – literally “factors” – for the Hebraically-oriented among you) and purchasing a new schach mat, YZG announced that our succah was ready for use.

Here, then, is our succah-on-wheels:

Of course, only two people can sit in the succah at a time, but it’s the thought that counts…

(Interior views of our real stationary succah can be found in this post.)

And on that note, we wish you a חג שמח from the entire Our Shiputzim staff.

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* Note: Those of our readers who’ve been experiencing withdrawal symptoms due to the lack of renovation-related posts will be relieved to hear that this post - like the popular Mishkan post – definitely pertains to construction.