October 2011
1 post
Man with a face tatoo... terrified of puppies? →
July 2011
1 post
1 tag
June 2011
1 post
Thought-Flow: Why follow news?
Usually I wake up each morning, say hi to my wife and Adina
and grab my phone to check the latest news. I do need to keep track of what is going on in the digital world to a certain extent; however, when it comes to politics, israel & the middle east or especially sports & entertainment related news… I’m starting to question what benefit (if not detriment) there is to doing...
May 2011
1 post
8 tags
Journal of Hashgacha Protis - Restart
Too much has happened which I regret not having kept track of and in getting more involved in blogging both publicly and privately I wanted to re-start my journaling of hashgacha protis in my life.
There have been many many many more instances of hashgacha protis than what I will list below over the past few years… especially with regard to our marriage, the birth of our daughter Adina...
February 2009
1 post
2-10-09 Sorry its been so long
I was just looking out into the amazing view from my room and witnessed, within the windiest day we’ve had all year, a small, dark, bird doing barrel rolls seemingly for fun. And I thought to myself… I haven’t written in my blog for too long… so here I am. I don’t know where I left off and I’m too lazy to check but lets see how I do giving you an update…...
January 2009
2 posts
1-17-09 Yeshiva is chill
Hey peeps an peepettes, Yeshiva has been pretty chill lately. Kate’s back in Israel which is nice! We just had Shabbat with her educational director’s family and the Schwartzmers (I hope I spelled that right). I also got to go over after Shabbat and play with Tehila and help move a bookshelf! And got cake! Right now I’m doing amazing in Yeshiva. I’ve been keeping...
1-6-09 JEWISH BABIES!
My cousin, Karen, is pregnant! AMAZING!!!! She’s probably one of 4 people who read this but thats ok cuz its AWESOME!!!! Congrats to Karen, and I wish everything goes extremely well :) Just to give everyone an update. Kate’s deciding whether or not she’s coming back to Israel but I think she’s leaning more towards coming. We’re being extremely careful beyond most...
December 2008
3 posts
12-28-08 Amazing Community
Wow… so I just got back from a kumzitz… which I’ve heard means come and sit… so i don’t know if its just ridiculous english or yiddish or what… but it was unbelievable. It was held for Bracha Elisheva Bat Kayla because she has recently become ill. First of all the entire community has been praying for her. Second, there were at least 40 people packed into...
12-25-08 goodbye untznuicity
If you don’t understand the title it’s prolly better haha. Life is pretty awesome right now. We’re on Chanukah vacation and Kate and I went all over the city the past two days and had a lot of fun seeing Jerusalem. I feel very at home here now. It’s an amazing feeling to know I know Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and New York city as well if not better than I know Rochester. AND...
12-14-08 sorry it's been so long!
Hey homiez, Sorry I haven’t written in forever. I’ve been very busy. Chanukah is coming up so I’m super excited. I’ve been selling lots of wine, had an amazing trip to Tzfat, switched up my learning so I’m learning a lot more and have spent a lot of time on Shabbat with some of the most amazing people in the community. It’s amazing how close I am to some...
November 2008
2 posts
11-16-08 Chillin in Yeshiva
What up homiez, Life has been pretty normal recently. I had a really crazy incident with my credit card. I’ve alloted myself 200 a month of spending money for travel, food, gifts for shabbat families, personal needs, cell phone etc. At the beginning of being here I was spending a lot and so I tried to cut down and this month the goal was not to break 200! So I checked my bill and it...
Wine shop is open! 11-7-08
Today is the aniversary of the opening of AEPi at NYU in 1913… cool stuff Life is amazing. Today I opened the wine shop… aka I bought wine from a winery near Jerusalem… they shipped it in and everything… and now I’m selling it almost at cost for the guys in the Yeshiva. Already sold a few bottles and now I get my own wine for much less money! There’s a...
October 2008
7 posts
10-30-08 What's Holloween?
It’s been pretty quiet until yesterday… our first day of classes for the new session. I have just been hanging out and watching movies like Kung Fu Panda(which was AWESOME), reading and working out. Yesterday was a little of a shock for me which is weird because it’s the same schedule that we’ve had since the beginning. Also last night was Nosson Lord’s...
So fun it was exhausting 10-22-08
We just finished Simchat Torah/Shmini Etzeret which are probably the most fun holidays in Judaism… actually that’s exactly what they are supposed to be. After all this repenting etc… we celebrate and feel joy… I’m not going to get into the meaning of it… only the facts… I still have the songs ringing in my ears. Basically at night and in the morning for...
Post Bris
Kate and I were just at the Bris of the son of Malka and Yoni. Malka is the daughter of Rabbi Greene from the JEC. It was a beautiful celebration with tons of people. There were a few things, however, that stood out to me. First off, Yoni was thanking the special people who have helped him be where he is and have helped Malka and him and have made real differences in their lives. He thanked...
Pictures of Tehila swinging
So here’s the picture I was talking about. Theres a couple in the album and a video which is too dark to see anything but she’s basically swinging and every time she gets to me she’d slap me or poke my face… lovingly of course: http://picasaweb.google.com/Katie.Lord/ElulAndFallZman#5256366066874180066
10-12-08 Tehila...the cutest baby ever... and...
Just to catch up… Yom Kippur went well! Easy fast and really amazing davening. There’s a guy named Chananol(sorry because that must be spelled wrong) Greenwald, brother of Yoni Greenwald in case you did a MEOR trip, who is an amazing singer and lead a bunch of the songs. Somehow about 7 straight hours of davening were better than 2 or 3 back home. Maybe I just know more about...
Want prayers for you or friends?
Hey everyone! So here’s the deal… just leave a comment or send me a personal message and I’ll pray for you for whatever it is you want… hopefully within the realms of livelihood(money or comfort), marriage, health, children, spirituality or peace and harmony. So just let me know and you’ll get an extra boost… if this sounds creepy to you… too bad haha....
10-8-08 Erev Yom Kippur
So it’s almost Yom Kippur! So much to tell you all… and I guess I’ve got a lot of time. I have to dip in the Mikvah(ritual bath… haha don’t get freaked out) and go do Kaparos… which is the most interesting thing I’ve learned… aka it’s really weird. Kaparot (or os for the ashkenaz) is where we transfer our judgement of death to another...
September 2008
4 posts
9-28-08 I got a cool movie/music little toy thingy
I love the world because I just bought this recorder/music/movie player that does a bunch of cool stuff. I just finished… well I guess not really finished… but I’m putting stuff on it right now. It’s tiny but it’s widescreen and perfect looking. It’s perfect to record the shiurim(classes) and to watch movies while I work out. Which by the way is the most...
9-13-08 Amazing Shabbat and Happiness
These past few days have been really great. I don’t know what it was exactly that sparked it all but I think it has something to do with changing the mindset I’ve been having. For a while I’d been trying to prove the Rabbis and Talmud wrong and constantly just trying to argue… you could say only for the sake of being right… not for truth. Kate has been incredibly...
9-9-08
In exactly one year it will be 9-9-09… I bet they won’t used that for any advertising campaigns… Sooo, my friend Matt Needleman finally got to Yeshiva… and i am finally able to move in to my permanent room. �Everythings settling down. �Today Alex and I went to Machon Shlomo because their cook, Ricki, is amazing and she made my favorite of her food called Kube (cue-beh)....
9-3-08 Anniversary and Tel Aviv
The dinner was absolutely amazing. We went to a Vaqueiro (http://www.eluna.com/Rest/Vaqueiro.asp?mumu=435) which is an all you can eat Kosher Brazilian restaurant. Their specialty is 10 different types of meat which they bring out one at a time. It was so delicious. From the Entrecote to the Pergiot(spring chicken)… everything was so tasty. The staff was also amazing and we wrote them...
August 2008
5 posts
08-31-08 Day before Kate starts school and before...
Today I woke up very late. I did a lot of stuff I needed to do on my computer and did some laundry which was nice to get out of the way. I love showering in a clean shower. I think nice, clean bathrooms are one of the most important things in a house. When you clean yourself in a bathroom that’s not clean it just feels gross. The bathrooms here are awesome and clean and spacious. I...
8-30-08 Shabbat before aniversary!
Shabbat just ended which was wonderful. For Friday night Kate, her roommate Rebecca and I went to a very sweet couple’s for dinner. And then for lunch today we went to one of Kate’s teachers homes. Both meals were awesome and the company was fantastic. I happened to run into my current roommate’s good friend who was hoping to meet up after the meal which worked out amazingly...
8-28-08 Moving to Machon Yaakov
I moved to the Yeshiva I will be in for the year. It is quite gorgeous. The building is only a few years old and theres a full exercise room and a computer room with a ping-pong table. They also have wireless internet and the building is just overall pretty. We also have a sick view of the Judean hills. check em out here: http://machonyaakov.com/photos/ Theres a lot of pictures of dudes from...
8-24-08 STEP IS OVER
STEP, the program I was in for the summer, is officially over. I have from now until the 10th of September to do… nothing! Woohoo. Now what should I do? That’s a great question. First I need to write here since I’ve been a slacker and haven’t written in almost 2 weeks. Something very sad happened the other day. Kate just finished staffing a trip from NYC. And I went...
8-12-08 AWARDS and Jewish dopeness
Sooo… Tisha B’av is over which was not so much fun. It culminates in a 24 hour fast after 9 days of being limited to washing clothes and yourself. I didn’t drink enough and almost blacked out at the Western Wall… luckily Sam Yamshon helped me get some water to make me feel better. Otherwise it was my first time really observing the holiday which was interesting. I just...
July 2008
5 posts
7-30-08 2nd Moshav Trip!
Wow so this past weekend was pretty awesome. I think one thing I haven’t written enough about is… Kate! She is what we call in Yeshiva… “The dopest of the dope” or “The Princess of Awesomeness”. I am having an amazing time here and it’s all thanks to her! If she hadn’t pushed the possibility of taking the year in Israel, it would have never...
7-24-08 2nd session of STEP begins
This week wasn’t too out of the ordinary. I have had a few small adventures in trying to make myself more comfortable in Israel. One of them is in trying to acquire, for myself, a bike. Haha I should just write entire blogs in Talmud language… which is very similar to Yoda coincidentally… anyway I want to get a bike because it would make going out much less of a day trip than...
7-20-08 Fast day in Har Nof
Wow so I’m sorry I’ve been so bad about updating this thing. Today is a fast day so I have lots of time to write. First of all I just uploaded a bunch of pictures of the place we stayed up north and the hike we went on so check that out here: http://picasaweb.google.com/Levin.Omri/Israel71008 I’m going to try and sum up everything else that’s gone on since the last time...
7/10/08 Har Nof, Jerusalem, Israel
Ok so I’m gonna keep it chronological… haha that could be some new slang thingy… keep it chronological. Or not… maybe I’m just super lame. Anyway, after that, I’m going to go out of order anyway. So I ended last blog right before Shabbat on July 4th. So before we talk about Friday night I have to talk about the rest of the week… because Fri led up to...
The 4th of July... except in Israel that means...
So I barely realized that it was the Fourth of July today. More importantly, here in Israel, it is Rosh Chodesh and Shabbat (The new lunar month and the Sabbath day for Jews). It’s pretty weird that I won’t see fireworks but I did see them at Yom Yerushalayim a lil while back. Plus the sounds of explosions always scare the crap out of me here. So big news… Kate and I moved...
June 2008
10 posts
June 29th 2008, Tel Aviv with Kate!
I picked up Kate at the airport that night and ate a huge McDonald’s KOSHER burger which is delicious. If you don’t believe the use of the word huge I believe there is a picture in my facebook of a time I got this burger and it’s about the size of my face. I guess you could say it’s tradition for me to get a burger there now… delicious, healthy tradition. We went to...
Israel and Ted
So everything has gotten much better and any confusions that happened here have been cleared up for the most part. So life is good. I hung out with Ted for the past few days. Today he is in Ein Gedi, an oasis on the dead sea filled with plant and wildlife. I have to pick up Kate tonight at 7 so I’m just hanging out until then. Sunday we went out do dinner with Ted’s friend,...
Israeli Craziness
Let’s start out with Shabbat… I woke up on Friday and went out to get my Safta some flowers. I went to a bunch of different places to find good ones and I realized it’s Shabbat and the color of Shabbat is usually white! So I got a dozen or so white flowers. I didn’t want to spend too much because I know I’ll want to do this again soon. So I brought them home and...
6/19/08 – 8:50pm Tel Aviv, Israel
So I am officially the last Meor-guy in Tel Aviv. Today Sam left to study at Yeshiva in Jerusalem and Josh, Saul and Jeremy probably are just boarding their plane now or just took off. Doing laundry… I just ate dinner back home and it was delicious. Today I woke up and battled myself with whether or not I should run. I ran! It was awesome because I felt great and I got to see a bunch more of...
6/17/08 – 11:30pm Tel Aviv, Israel
Today I woke up to a call with the opportunity to go to the beach with some friends in Tel Aviv. Since I just went yesterday I thought I might as well hang out in Ramat Gan today and see what’s going on. I watched TV for a little and then the phone started ringing in Carmel’s apartment… now usually when I’m in someone else’s house I don’t pick up the phone… so I didn’t. Then it rang again. I...
6/16/08
It is my second day in Tel Aviv and I spent all of last night trying to learn as much Hebrew as possible. As promised I am going to explain last night and as a bonus you get to hear about tonight too! The adventures began last night after I found a taxi to my grandmother’s sister’s(Carmel) house. It was lucky that I chose to taxi it because the Ha-Geffen street that she lives on was different...
End of Meor, Beginning of my year
The day after Shavuot we volunteered at a distribution center of food for the hungry. We filled boxes in half the time that their volunteers usually do. We got there late and left early…hilarious. It was amazing to see what people received but also sad to see that a family may have to live on so little for a whole month. Either way the organization was doing amazing things giving out so...
Post Shavuot
So we just finished Shavuot… the holiday of receiving the Torah. It was amazing and I wish I could have taken pictures to show what we experienced. If you see pictures of Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) where people are packed in by the wall… this was 3-4 times more people. We were literally at the wall. I turned my head to see every square foot filled with people. I mean even...
I can put pictures in my blog!
So I learned how to put pictures in my blog so this one can be super dopeness… Here’s the beautiful view at the ranch where we went horseback riding, some pictures of the guys and pictures from the beach we were at: And here are more pictures: So that was totally out of order and also it made the text a link for some reason… I got some practice to do. Anyway I...
My First Blog
So although this is my first blog it is going to have to be short because I have to write to Katie and I’ve already used most of my hour on the internet. We flew in to Israel yesterday. Usually when I leave school each summer or leave camp each fall I feel a little bit of that disuniting feeling from my friends and experiences. For some reason I keep getting it with Israel. When I saw David...