… Esther sent to me …
Tonight we lit 2 candles, or seven if we followed beit Shamai instead of beit Hillel. They say that when the messiah comes, we will all follow the stricter beit Shamai, but for now however, we follow the more lenient beit Hillel school of thought. Maybe tomorrow we’ll look at what those schools of thought say about Hanukkah because tonight, everyone’s busy with the awesome Chanookah gift basket Esther sent us all from America! I mean, cashews, a bottle of Reisling, cookies and candies and chocolate gelt. YUM! Thanks Esther! Also on display, ironic chestnuts NOT roasting on an open shamash candle as well as a Sfenj (Moroccan doughnut – click on link for recipe). Between me and the sfenj, we’re pretty much the only Moroccan things in all of Rechaviah! OK. Happy 2nd day of Hanukkah all y’all!
Oh, funny story. When the gift basket dude came to make the delivery, Rebecca was home and answered the door. He asked if she was Laya. Rebecca answered “No, Laya is my roomate.” A sly grin spreading on his face, gift basket dude then replied “Oh really? Would you liking to be my roomate?” Heh … silly gift basket dude!
Dude, that dude was supposed to be part of the gift basket. The wine was for CK, the cashews for Michael, the chocolate gelt for Laya, and the dude was for Rebecca…I paid for him and everything…jeez. Last time I use them…
Hag urim sameah, y’all. Enjoy!
Esther, you got me cashews?!
CK, ESTHER GOT ME CASHEWS?! WHY DIDN’T I HEAR ABOUT THIS???
God. I hate everyone. Except Esther. I like Esther. She sends me cashews. Even if GLUTTONOUS MOROCCANS WHO SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS hoard them, it’s the thought that counts.
Don’t hate the Muffti! He didn’t send you anything. Ergo, a certain Killer of Christ can hoard it. So when you think about it, you owe the Muffti one.
ck – you’re not the only Moroccan in Rehavia. And your sfenj recipe is 1 egg short of Mrs. Malcha’s (treasured dogeared piece of paper from my student days…) but Happy Hanukah to all!
Oy, I also sent nothing. Are we sending things now?
ck, you are most assuredly not the only Moroccan in Rehavia. I think.
michael, I told ck to tell you to get your fanny over here while the getting was good. I didn’t know the cashews were earmarked for you….so uhh…I’ll save the last 2.
Well, he sure didn’t tell me. ck. He left me homeless, and now he left me cashewless. Boo ck.
WTF? Laya ate all your cashews. But I’ll get you more tomorrow on our jaunt through the old city. As far as shoes go, absent snow, I’ll be in my sandals and no socks. I expect nothing lesss from a hardy, wisconssin bred boy.
Ben-David: Yeah, there may be a morrocan here and there, but really, it sure seems like I am the only one around, especially on shabat with all those scary german misnaged dudes all over the place. I can get 7 different types of strudel but a good cup of tea with na’na is a rarity. Ask about a sephardic synagogue in the neighbourhood and people laugh at you. Frickin Netanyahu lives a block away, as does thhe President and Sharon is 5 minutes away (when he’s not having a doughnut initiated carddiac attack). Rechavia is no place for a good Moroccan boy.
Speaking of good Middle Eastern drinks, I got a finjan and some awesome Arab coffee with cardamom. Too bad you’re busy.
Are we sending things, now?
As should be clear, there are no executive decisions here, really. This was a whim of mine, executed through a company called DashCham, which delivers gift baskets etc to your friends in Israel. This is the first time in a while that I’ve had friends in Israel, and I wanted to celebrate with them even in absentia by sending the gift that keeps on giving: extra calories.
To be honest, no one item was earmarked for any one person (although I believe CK was loving the Riesling at our Jewlicious Winery excursion, but I figured he’d share). But still, someone should have saved something for Michael.
But anyway, it was just a way to be there, even when I couldn’t be there. You know: end of the year introspection breeding guilt and jealousy. OK…back to regrowing my vocal cords destroyed by last night’s rock and roll karaoke.
ck wrote: Netanyahu lives a block away, as does thhe President and Sharon
Isn’t Prez Moshe Katsav of Sephardic/Mizrahi extraction? I believe he’s a Persian Jew… you could chill with him. 🙂
Hmmm, Esther, that is a lovely notion. If someone were to send me an email every once in a while, I could learn where they live and perhaps also send something.
ck:
“scary german misnaged dudes” = my grandparents.
At least, on one side.
And here I was worrying if I’d offended you by confusing sfenj with yoyo or some other delicacy.
Actually some of the best marriages are yekke-yemenite. They have similar traits, as far as that holds for ethnic/cultural groups. I know both my wife and I are supposed to have a house as neat as a pin (both of German descent) but apparently we’ve been “ruined” by American suburbia…
Anyone in the Ra’anana area should go to this great bakery that makes MINI sufganiot. This allows one to sample both dulce de leche and nutella flavors without making yourself sick. I can give you the address, but everyone in Ra’anana seems to know about it – one street north of Ahuza on the east side of town.
Highly recommended (wiping nutella from moustache, children fighting over last one).
Happy Hanukah!