Sukkot in Jerusalem

Sukkot in Jerusalem is an amazing holiday. There is an entire market dedicated to selling lulav, etrog and hadas for the ritual shaking of the lulav. Then there are small non-permament booth structures built everywhere - from the terraces of peoples homes to the sidewalks in front of cafes. You are supposed to eat and sleep in your sukkah (booth) for the week of Sukkot. You are also supposed to gather together something called a lulav (four species of branches wrapped together) and an etrog (looks like a lemon) and shake them while in your Sukkah.

A Jewish man in traditional black hat and coat closely examining

the ends of the lulav which are not supposed to be ripped or cut.


Lulav, etrog and hadas on a table waiting to be sold. When one looks to buy an etrog they are seeking the most beautiful etrog they can find. No blemishes, good coloring etc. People will go to great lengths to find a beautiful etrog. There is even a movie about this - Ha Ushpizzin - I have not seen it but heard it is very good. It is in Hebrew with English subtitles.

Liz's Talmud teacher, Reb Mordechai helps some of

Liz's classmates choose a fine looking lulav.

Team Liz in Africa

Team Liz took a four week trip to Africa after our week in Amsterdam.
We traveled in Ethiopia for 8 days and then Tanzania for 3 weeks.
This was our long awaited honeymoon. We had a terrific time and saw some
amazingly beautiful places, people and animals. From the stone hewn churches of
Lalibela (Liz's favorite) to the supposed location of the
Ark of the Covenant in Axum and then to 6 days of safari and
then some time on beaches in Zanzibar and down the Tanzanian coast in a
small town called Mikindani (Saul's favorite).
We can not post all the photos but here are a couple -
if you would like a more complete viewing of our holiday click HERE.

Team Liz in Amsterdam 2

The Night Watch painting by Rembrandt, which is housed in the Rijks Museum, is a prominent tourist attraction in Amsterdam. The Dutch have created a life size statue of the Night Watch in a square outside the hotel where the famed deceit took place.

The Central Train Station in Amsterdam at night.

Team Liz in Amsterdam

The Kaiserfolk (Carl, Judy, Mark, Saul and Liz) headed to Amsterdam for a five day holiday of museums, site seeing and eating good food. Saul and Liz arrived a couple of days early and also visited Rotterdam as well as the Hague. The review of Holland from Saul and Liz is - if you have not been there you ought to go. A beautiful country with lovely people who almost all speak English (very helpful when your bike breaks down in the country side) as well as good food, museums and lots and lots of canals.






Saul and Liz rented bikes on our first day in Amsterdam. This was our first stop, Dam Square at the heart of downtown Amsterdam. We biked out of town about 2 hours when Liz's bike broke down...



Liz left her broken bike in a small town outside Amsterdam and rode back on the back of Saul's bike which enabled her to take lots of pictures, some better than others. This one is of the back of Saul's head.


Here you can catch a glimpse of the famous windmills of Holland along the Amstel River - the same River that Amstel Beer is proudly named after.

Carl & Judy in Jerusalem

We were thrilled to welcome the Kaiserparents (Judy and Carl) to Jerusalem. We have spent 2 days touring all around town. Here are some highlights from our days.


Saul shows Judy our fabulous view.

Saul and Judy in front of Moses Montefiore's windmill. The windmill is in Yamin Moshe, the first neighborhood built outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem (c. 1860's).

A big shout-out to Avi and Alex for the awesome wedding gift of matching camelbacks. You can see Saul with his here. Needless to say we have never been as hydrated as these last two days of walking around Jerusalem. Thanks!


Judy, Carl and Saul on the Mount of Olives looking out at the Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mount.

Most Recent Visit to the States

We have been very blessed this year that many of our friends have had beautiful healthy babies. On our most recent trip to the states (end of May until beginning of June) we visited our friend Mike and his new baby boy Paul who was born at the beginning of March. Liz's mom joined us for the journey to New Haven, CT.





By chance Saul arrived just in time to share dinner with his parents and Liz's mom and step-dad.

Team Liz Hosts an End of Semester BBQ

The last weekend of the semester (May 20th) we hosted my HUC class for an end of term BBQ. Check out Saul's awesome new apron - thanks Amy!





View from our kitchen out onto our front patio with friends eating the tasty BBQ.