"Spot the Jews" -- Does Anyone Else Play This Game?

When Moshe and I were in Orlando for the first time, we made up a game:  Spot the Jews.

We had noticed an interesting phenomenon: Frum (Orthodox) Jews were walking around in baseball caps, rather than wearing a kippah, tichel (scarf), or hat, like they would in New Jersey or New York.

For whatever reason, these Jews choose to "hide" their Judaism.  To us, it is obvious they are Jews.  Between the baseball caps and the modest dress, they stand out like violets in a field of daffodils.  I imagine they feel like they are "blending in."

We find this fascinating. 

Why the need to "pass"?

Why not just dress the way you normally dress, and be who you are?

Why pretend that you are not different?

Moshe and I wear our kippot and tichels (respectively). 

It never occurred to us to dress any differently.

As a result, Jewish staff workers share with us their identities.  Many are excited to learn that we are visiting from Jerusalem and share with us their hopes to visit Israel.  (I gave our contact information to several people I met, Jews and non-Jews)

This visit, we noticed a few Jewish families who dressed "normally," with kippot, etc.  Two of the families were Chabbadnikim, so that was not so surprising.  Two of the families were from Israel, one from Tel Aviv, the other from a yishuv (settlement/suburban community -- I don't remember which one, maybe Beit El).  We also met some Israelis who were not religious, but were communicating freely, in Hebrew.

It was nice to see other Jews, who were openly Jewish.

Of course, we still spotted groups of "Jews in disguise."

Fascinating.



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

Home Sweet Home

This post is full of details, mostly so I will remember them. 
Feel free to skip it if you get bored.
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We had a fantastic, albeit complex, family vacation!

We all left for the States on Thursday night, December 3rd, and everyone but my eldest just returned late last night, Sunday, December 20th.

We got back later than expected because of a snowstorm; our flight was delayed for FOUR HOUR.  Good fortune prevailed, and strong tailwinds shaved off two of those hours from our flight time.

Our eldest was with us for the first week, but left on Sunday morning, December 13th, so she could attend final rehearsals for the upcoming production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance; she is in the chorus.  (For those planning to attend the show, she will be in the yellow and purple costume.)

My parents joined us for our second week in Orlando.  They wanted to come earlier, to spend more time with all of us, before our eldest left; but my dad had a professional convention at the same time, so he had to attend that.

We all overlapped for one Shabbat, which was wonderful and one of the highlights of our trip.

During the week with just our immediate family, we played for one day in all of the major Disney and Universal theme parks.  We spent Sunday through Friday, as follows:  Hollywood Studios Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Animal Kingdom.  My parents, who had one less "play day" to begin with, chose to pass on both Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom and spend an extra day at Epcot. 

Since Universal is closer to the airport, we went there on Sunday (after spending the morning in the airport, making sure our daughter was secure on her first solo flight across the world).  Then we spent Monday through Wednesday at Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Islands of Adventure, respectively.  For our last day, we went, again, to Epcot.  That night, while still at Epcot, our kids had several hours of "alone time" to play with their grandparents.

Moshe and I left early to see La Nouba, Cirque du Soleil, a spectacular show combining acrobatics, juggling, clowning, and dance.

All in all, we were in Orlando from Friday, the 4th, through Friday, the 18th, spending a total of 7 days in Disney parks (1 day each in Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, 2 days at Magic Kingdom, and 3 days at Epcot) and 4 days in Universal parks (2 each at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure).

On Friday, December 18th, my parents flew home to Arizona and we flew to New Jersey.

I stayed up all of Thursday night, with my mom, packing and tidying up. 

At 4:30 am, I woke up Moshe and the kids;  I was still rushing about, trying to finish up!  We got out later than we had planned, but we got to the airport in time to make our flight.... almost.

I had packed food to eat while we were waiting.  Though it became obvious that we would not have time to eat at the airport, I forgot that I had packed liquids (drinks, yoghurts, etc.).  Ridding us of all our liquids caused enough of a delay at Homeland Security that we got to the gate just as the plane was pulling away.

Ironically, we spent several hours at the airport waiting for the next available flight, during which time we could have enjoyed our food and drink!   Oh well.  We were grateful to catch another flight and get to Teaneck before Shabbat!

We spent Shabbat with very close friends of ours, who used to live in Jerusalem.

During the afternoon, my grandfather and his partner came to visit, as did a few other courageous friends, who braved the snow!  The visits were short, as I did not have a lot of energy and needed to rest.  (I still had at least 8 hours of sleep to catch up on!)

Based on Friday's weather reports, we thought our flight would be cancelled and we would "win" another day or two with our friends.  But, after Shabbat, our plane was still "on schedule."

The airline actually started the boarding process on time, until it became clear that de-icing the plane would be more complicated and the delay would be extensive. People actually de-boarded the plane, which is very unusual.

The airline ended up moving the de-icing station to the start of the runway, so the plane could take off as soon as they completed the de-icing process.

A few hours later, the airport cancelled all flights. By that point, we were well on our way home.

When we finally walked into our own doors, I was so incredibly grateful to be home!

Is It Our Last Day Already???

I wrote this last Thursday, and thought I posted it... but I see now that I did not.  So, here it is.
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I can't believe that we are nearing the end of our vacation.

Tomorrow is our last day in the parks. 

We decided to spend a third day at Epcot, rather than a second day at Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM Studios, at Disneyworld).  We were divided -- the kids preferred Hollywood Studios (so they could repeat "The Tower of Terror" and the "Toy Story" rides) but Moshe and my parents preferred Epcott.  I could have gone either way.  Everyone was willing to

We will have spent seven days at Disneyworld (Magic Kingdom, Epcott, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom) and four days at Universal  (Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure).

It is not enough.

We did nothing else, and there is still plenty to do in this area of Florida -- Cape Canaveral, Discovery Cove, Sea World.....

I could spend a month here with no problem!!

We have to start some sort of  "Annual Fantasy Fund" so that we can come back in a year!

Did I mention that we could see the new Harry Potter buildings being built?

OMG!!!  It already looks awesome and it is not even finished!!!


Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

Where the Magic Begins....

I am not a supersticious person, but I did not want to write anything.... until we had our tickets.

Well, now we have them, so I can share our news:

We are going to Orlando!! 

Some very generous people have made it possible for us to go and we are SO EXCITED!!

We have not had a real family vacation for ten years! 

The last time we went to Orlando, we were on the way to my brother's wedding.  We couldn't really afford it then either.  But I had just gotten over a year of post-op infections, following a "simple" hernia repair that turned into a nightmare, including two month long hospitalizations:  the first time for sepsis (by the time my best friend convinced me to go to the ER, I was already going into shock); the second time coincided with Pesach, which I spent in the hospital, away from my kids.  Having such a serious infection (I did not realize I could have died until months later), made me understand that "life is short."  So we went to Disney and Universal and had a magical family experience.

Our kids were really little then.

For years, we have dreamed of taking them to Orlando when they were older.  But we could never justify the expense.

When I mentioned this dream, during one of my visits with our oncologist, he told us "don't wait"  -- not because I have cancer, but because you never know what the future will bring....

Moshe and I LOVE Disney and Universal.  They are our favorite places in the whole world (besides Israel). We went there, for the first time, on our honeymoon.

Moshe's fantasy job is doing programming for Disney (and working in the underground studios).  But you can't work in Orlando and live in Israel.....

I wanted to wait until the Harry Potter park opened, but that will not be until the spring.

The thing is, right now, my chemo is in pills, so traveling is much easier.  We don't need to worry about infusions or how to get them or how to transfer the medication.  But, we don't know for how long this chemo will work.  No one knows what drugs I will be taking this spring....

So, we are not waiting.

If we could, we would go once a year.

There is so much to do in Orlando, and we are such little kids (don't be fooled by these "grown up" bodies), we could play there forever!



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA