In honor of Purim, for your reading pleasure (I am not the author, just the messenger).

Great post from Treppenwitz about the holiness of the “secular” Jews in Israel, and how this is one of the things about living in Israel that can never be adequately conveyed to others.

Since Rosh Chodesh Adar, there has been a non-stop (well, they stop for Shabbat at least) stream of kids setting off firecrackers in our yishuv. I imagine that they think it is pretty cool. However, for the neighborhood, it just stinks. At random times during the day and night there are sharp cracks made from [...]

Pinchas has photos of the new renovations at the Kotel plaza. Looks pretty cool.

Happy Purim!!

Today is the 12th of Adar, one day before the Fast of Esther, two days before Purim (and three before Purim in Jerusalem). Around here, this means that all of the kids dress up in their Purim costumes before going to school.
As I stepped outside of our apartment today, a van came down the street. [...]

“A”, one of our Shabbat guests, told me that she reads this blog regularly and she noticed that I didn’t write any posts last week.
Did anyone else notice? Did anyone else care?
(“A” also noticed the spot where our dude exploded. I guess that at least one person has been paying attention)
In other news:

Moshe has started [...]

Upon exiting the W.C., one of our guests this Shabbat said “You guys are so frum – even your toilet paper is kosher!”
I went in to check, and indeed, marked on every package of our Shabbat toilet paper/tissues was a stamp that said “Kosher for Pesach leMehadrin, Badatz”. Basically, our toilet paper is under the [...]

Wow. I was just listening to Five Towns Radio and heard a blast from the past (haven’t heard this in at least 15 years). Feel free to sing along if you want:
Achashveirosh Achashveirosh, A-Achashveirosh
Achashveirosh Achashveirosh, A-Achashveirosh
Achashveirosh Achashveirosh, A-A-Achashveirosh
Let’s go save the Jews, O’ Esther.
Let’s go save the Jews, O’ Mordechai.
Let’s go save the Jews -
A-A-A-Achashveirosh
(Shlock [...]

Last Wednesday afternoon (the first day of the month of Adar, second day of Rosh Chodesh), as it was getting close to sunset, I heard a knock on the door. I wasn’t expecting anyone, and the rest of my family was accounted for. When I answered the door, a group of about 10 eight year [...]