Tag Archive for 'Activities'

Purim for Max

So now it’s Max. Two posts before was Hillel’s purim store. Let me tell you mine. It describes time when Hillel wasn’t around in this world and I was.So, let’s begin.
Friday morning I went to Zichron Moshe for Shachris and Megillah reading.
Later on Friday we exchanged with Hillel and I came back just before Shabbos, thinking that I myself need to be here for that day.
So I’ve got ready for Shabbos and I was walking to Degel (place where the Yeshivah davens on in Shabbos). Just in front of me two yeshivah guys passed by and said that there will be Kabbolas Shabbos in the Cheder Ochel. ‘What was happening?’ i thought. There was yeshivah minyan in Degel, why was there need for another one. With this questions in mind I went on.
For continuation look at the next post. The password is MoMo’s socond hebrew name with a big first letter.

The Purim Story

So it’s me, Hillel. My full identity is Hillel the Swordman from the Land of Truth. I’m Max just in the Land of Truth. I use a different name, but my name is also connected to Max.

How does it work exactly? I and Max are the same person just in two different worlds. On Purim we exchange. I come to Max’s and Your world and Maxio jumps there. I’m well informed of customs of Maksiu and I do a lot of things same way, especially if I’m in His world. And, yes, we look same.

Let me share with You what my Purim Story in Your world was.

Thursday night, the day of Megillah reading I planed on going to Yisroel P., the alternative Yeshivah minyan on Purim, but things outside of mine and Max’s power made me late for it. So, I went to Netzach instead. Afterwards I went to cheder ochel to eat, but I was late and there was little food left. To the people there who didn’t now me yet I revealed my identity. I ate a little of what was there.

I looked for a place where happy people are doing something happy, best among yeshivah guys. Most yeshivah people went to places outside of Jerusalem though. There was something small outside the KK”L dirah and somebody was throwing eggs from angels dirah but beside that nothing seemed to happen. Than I went around few dirahs and again beside few people here and there nothing was going on. Let’s jump two hours. Than I went to the corner of KK”L and Usishkin (it has a new name, which I don’t know of) where guys were sitting and dancing. At certain point a chasidishe looking (loosely chasidish though) guy came driving a car. He stoped right at the corner and all the dancing guys started to dance around his car. He turned on the music and danced with them. Than he wanted to go but the guys were sitting on his car and going around it and not letting him go. Michoel went into action and pulled the guys off the car and let the driver go. So the guy turned off the music and went… 6 meters and stopped again and turned on the music again and started dancing on the roof of his car. Michoel sad ‘I’m not helping him this time..’ :))

After the whole corner KK”L/Usishkin happening finished I overheard somebody saying that most off the cars that went this way did It only because there were guys parting and out of it entertainment there. He may have been right till certain extend.

That night I also went to Mayanot in Nachlaot but it was loud and non interesting there.

At certain point I went to sleep, not very late though.

Motzei Shabbos

First of all I’m vary thankful to Reuven Rastaslavitzka from Max’s dirah who was so kind and let me use his digital camera.

I came around Mogen Avrohom and they were setting up things for the Purim shpiel. Than there was shpiel. Before that boys were singing ‘The Rosh, The Rosh, The Rosh is on fire’. Than there was crazy dancing in Mogen Avrohom with the background of few yeshivah boys playing and singing professionally, among them Fredie and Danie Sh.

At certain point The Rosh Yeshivah started giving brochos(blessings) on the street and then in the outside of the cheder ochel. He also played with my Holy Sword from the Land of Truth. Than for a long time there was party in Mogen Avrohom and on the street in front of it.

Later that night I went to Terry for a small party.

Photos from all that.

Sunday Morning

I went to Yeshivah’s shachris and listened to The Rosh speaking. Than there was breakfast in the cheder ochel. While I was eating a long friend of Max and mine, Jub M. (who was Max’s chavrusah for almost two years, and who understands Max at last in some sense), came and gave me mishloach monos, which was very appreciated. Let’s jump to the Seudah.

The Purim Seudah

(Sunday afternoon of Purim Meshulosh)

I arrived at Isroel P.’s house a little late. Everybody, including Zevie W. and Btzalel the fist fighter, were already there. During the seudah I’ve finished one bottle and 2 cups of Wine. It was cool.

About 20 minutes before shekiah I went to Max’s dirah, started second bottle of wine and made a phone call - I had something important to say to somebody, at last in my opinion, something positive though. Lets jump to s’feykoh d’yomoh of Purim.

Motzey Purim

I saw tho guys sitting on a bench and I’ve made photos with them - never saw them before. Than I’ve made friends with a completely random guy and had a photo with him. I’ve asked him wether he is Lubavitch (don’t know why?) and he said that yes, so I said that I love everybody and went on. I’ve pooped into Yochnan P. and said I will come back - photo. Than I walked towards KK”L - why? I don’t know and I don’t think I knew at the time either. Somewhere on KK”L, probably between Usishkin and Ibn Shaprut I’ve put my second bottle of wine, so that nobody will take it from me. I couldn’t remember where I’ve put it and didn’t find it ever. I saw some Rabbi, I guessed from Mayanot, and I asked him whether he teaches at Mayanot, he said yes and I asked him whether he knows Binyomin K. he said yes, so I said I also know him… great. Afterwards I had photos with one Lubavitch guys, than two with guys from Yeshivah and then I made photos of some children holding my Holy Sword. Than I’ve just like that… went into the house in front of which the photo with the  Mayanot Rabbi was made. I went into the dining room. I had a photos with a guy inside and sat down and started speaking with the owner of the house and asked him whether he knew some Lubavitch people which Max knows from Warsaw. He said he heard of them. So we spoke like this for maybe few minutes. Then his (think so) child started playing with my Holy Sword from the Land of Truth - photo. In meantime I started speaking with the Mrs. of the house. I’ve said few words about Midrash Shmuel. I asked whether the boys are too loud or something. She said something like ‘like these guys from next door’ implying that the guys there are loud. I believed her since there are few South Africans in that dirah - that explains everything. I’ve said that eventually Midrash Shmuel boys grow into serious and responsible individuals. She said that she doesn’t really care, which meant she has some self esteem and she doesn’t focus on others. Than everybody else left the room and I’ve stayed inside with the child playing with the sword and I drunk a bear. Summarizing the last point, I went into house that I was never in before, I started talking with people inside and they left me alone with their child. Did you think I’m more normal than Max? Later, from timestamps on the photos, I saw that I was there at last 40 mintes. Than I left.

Than I had photos with more or less known to me people. Among them Fishel (he makes big meals friday night for people which daven at the Kosel) who asked me why didn’t I pope into his seudah (on purim Fishel has a tradition to make seudah for the cats of the neighborhood, some pronouce it Katz), I’ve said that he didn’t want to tell me the address earlier when I asked him and he said he thought I knew it anyway… such a classic Fishel…

Going back to the photos. I had one made with some cyclist and with Josh R.’s (guy in yeshivah) father. Than I caught few other people around KK”L and had photos with them.

Than I saw Yosef, guy from yeshivah. He said there is party at Naftie. When we went into Naftie’s house only the owner was there - a photo (Naftie and Martin didn’t want to be on-line). Yosef asked Naftie, think in english: ‘There were <some number, but big> kollel guys at your party’ and Naftie answered ‘Yes’. I wandered, if so many avrechim were at his seudah that means they came after their seudahs, and seudah would end like at let’s say 7, so how come nobody was there, if it was just about 7: 30? From the timestamps at the photos I worked out that it was 10 pm… I was 2 and a half hours behind.

I went back to KK”L and again had photos with people. One - Dovid Greenman, spiritual guy from Golders Green; second - Elie Meyer, or just Meyer; third - Yehudah Fish, or Fish, sweet guy; forth - Elie Wohl; fifth - Wiss (spelling ?). With Fish we decided that we should go to Meyer’s house, so we went. I saw a great book ‘7 habits of highly effective people’, which happens also Max was reading at the time, and since Elie Meyer’s wife was the one reading it, I started discussing the book with her. Here are few photos of me, Meyer and Fish.

At this point, thinking it’s like 10 pm, I went on a ground level porch of some house on KK”L where few midrash guys were. Than something happened to my sword, I just remember picking up batteries. Than somebody on the porch said that police was comming. He was completly sober, I think it was son of the owner of the house. He had something against Midrash guys. I felt It can’t be like that. He looked so mean, his face… really like a guy who doesn’t try to be happy and only makes life of others misserable. I highly dislike this type. If I see him again I will tell it to him straight and he may see the colors of my sword. At certain point then I felt weird fear that I did something wrong… but I can’t remember what it could even possibly be. Out of this fear I decided to go to Max’s dirah. So very carefully I walked toward the dirah hiding behind trees and cars like afraid of somebody being after me. Than I reached the dirah and told the guys like Mimoun and Daniel that Midrash guys are oppressed on KK”L and we need to avenge them. They say I went in this theme for an hour at certain point switching languages… I don’t remember it though. I went back to my world… to the Land of Truth…

shavuos

my shavuos was really great. probably the best yom tov this year.

i keep two days of yom tov….

beside that i like two days… i don’t know where i will live when i will ‘grow up’?

probably not poland… but where?

i realized also that main problem with poland is that it’s socially off, meanig i have too little friends…

davening was great, learning was great… amazing experience…

everything has it’s end

so it’s end of pesach…
last two days…
just before us…
pesach is good for now…..
it’s comming to an end…
i wish everybody a great ending of pesach.

mysterious phone call

i was starting my evening seder on wednesday. suddenly my phone is ringing (i do not usually carry it – just because some rabbi from poland was in the country). i looked at the phone and it was somebody from midrash shmuel (i did not even remember i’ve ever given my phone number to him) – somebody who has al lot of numbers himself (like 1234 and so on) – so i picked it up.

he said ‘max, where are you?’.

i replied ‘in ohel avrohom’, and i heard him explaining to somebody ‘he is in ohel avrohom’.

he said than ‘come to mogen avrohom’.

‘i have i chavrusah’ i said
‘raffie wants to see you’
‘what raffie?’
than i hear some other voice ‘it’s raffie, raffie m…’.
‘a… a… a… i’m coming’.
raffie is my friend from poland. for first time we meet on a jewish camp in hungary like 11 years ago, but i’m pretty sure we saw each other before that. later on we were close friends. than he went to some jewish high school in america. we havn’t seen each other for few good years.

so i went to mogen avrohom and we met.

it was amazing… just out of nothing… awesome

in shabbos with touch of somethink new

that was an amazing in shabbos… and there were few new thinks…

- the davening was in the school (like rosh hashanah and yom kippur) not in degel… i am not shure how possitive was that.. smaller places have their advantages…

- new ‘bringing food’ company (just for shabbos).. the food was slightly different… for me the shepsels cholent is best… mr. ****less was happy when he saw the cholent for first time…

mesibas chanukah

the mesibah was nice, wild dancing like always in midrash shmuel. i stayed till the end.

maybe will have some photos from there.

chanukah

and there was chanukah.
it was amazing
in out yeshivah there is normal learning on chanukah, even more shtark than normal and the rosh is m’chazek everybody to learn and on.
i think it’s very right that there is normal learning bacause chanukah has a great power, some use it for eating sufganiot(doughnuts or donuts depending on your minhag…) and some for learning.
it was difficult in sence that 3 of my chavrusos were not here. one had to go go america, second had weeding of somebody in the family - mazal tov - and third just left because it was end of the year for him(he is australian) so i was almost learning alone.

hoshanah rabah

on hoshanah rabah few weeks ago i devened in the morning in zichron moshe a minian factory. the shliah tzibur said the beginning of shemoneh esreh like that ‘Boruch ato HaShem, Elo-hay avrohom, Elo-hay itzchok, vAylohay yankev (instead of yaakov of course…)’. i shaked arbah minim… all beautiful.

the alternative simcha bais hashoayvah

Yehuda Dag on of the bochrim of my yeshiva organized yesterday simcha bais hashoayvah in his dirah.

there was a lot of singing.
yehuda made a competition: brought two cokes - regular one and diet one - then took towel and bound it over my eyes so i was not able to see, poured something into a cup and told me to drink the whole cup and then to tell which coke is it? people around were laughing and shouting and said that i should not see(i wandered why? if the coke is already poured so what does it matter if i am able to se it or not?)
… so i started drinking and to my suprise it was fanta with slight “addition”.

what could i do? so i drunk the cup.

and next cup also i drunk(i thought second would already be real - coke) …

we started dancing and singing and some people were giving divray torah.

in any case i think this was for sake of God activity