Blog/June 2015/Jun 12th
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< Blog | June 2015
| June 12th (See this week's devar torah) | Comments or questions? Click here! |
B”H, I’m back in the Land! It was a good trip: good that I went and even better that I returned. Over those ten days I was able to spend time with my mother and brother (which was the primary purpose of the trip), be with my nephew (an unexpected surprise), attend my Rabbi’s daughter’s wedding (a nice bonus) and catch up with family and friends. Curiously, lots of people wanted to see me. The weather was mostly spectacular, being clear and warm most of the time
I mentioned this last week, but I’ll repeat: I now have a US phone number. If you are in the US or Canada, and want a regular phone number to call, it is: 425-296-0766.
The most difficult part of the trip was being separated from my innermost-family. Fortunately, that was easy to remedy by simply returning home. The second most difficult part for me was dealing with “kashrut” issues — getting and preparing kosher food.
It’s not that finding “kosher” food is particularly difficult in the US; but since my standards regarding both dairy and meat are considered “more stringent” than the norm there, and since I was in the Pacific Northwest of the US, where choices in kosher supervision are extremely limited, it was challenging. Therefore I refrained from eating any meat (or chicken) while there, which didn’t cause me any particular difficulties, except that I had to repeat my reasons for not eating meat ad naseum. People are surprisingly touchy when you’re unwilling to eat their food, you know?
It was even more difficult with respect to dairy, since mostly everyone accepts the “O-U” supervision for dairy. If you don’t, as I don’t, you’re considered to be “holier than thou” <sigh>. So I had to explain my reasons for that as well (though not as often, since B”H Chabad also doesn’t accept the OU supervision for dairy).
One does so tire of explaining oneself…
Further complications arose from the fact that the environment in which I was staying was not “kosher keeping”, so of necessity I had to be hyper-aware of what I was doing while making my meals. Again, this was not an issue for me, but others were sometimes mystified as to why I was doing what I was doing.
In any event, setting aside the care and feeding issues, it was a good trip. I was able to spend some quality time with my family, and we were able to enjoy each others’ company. Yes, they even enjoyed my company (believe it or not)! We spent some time reviewing with my nephew the situation in which he currently finds himself, and what his next steps should be. I sincerely hope he follows our advice.
On shabbat I was with friends in our old community; my nephew Chaim joined me. He was surprised by the “hero’s welcome” I got from some of the people there… he had no idea I was a “prayer leader” back in the day. I had hoped to conceal that sordid chapter of my past. Anyway, it was nice to reconnect with people and see that a decade (more or less) doesn’t make much difference. On the other hand, a decade didn’t make much difference (and the wise will understand…).
In the meantime, Sarah and Esther passed the week quietly, each in her own manner. Now we’ve got our own mini-reunion going on, and I’m really looking forward to this shabbat!
Home at last, home at last! On the menu:
lots of wine,
homemade ḥalla,
beef bourguignon,
baked chicken with rice,
stir-fried veggies,
salatim,
probably other things,
and brownies.
Until next time,
shabbat shalom!
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