BBQ #1

In a valiant effort to see lots of friends, eat good food and finish off all of our booze before we leave the country we have embarked on hosting a series of BBQ's. Thanks to the help of some of the young ladies at the party we counted three stars (the traditional indicator that night has come and that Shabbat is over)
and we fired up the BBQ.

Eduardo and Dani toast to good food.

The evening wound down and Saul played some tunes on his guitar.
Eduardo was very thankful for the last song that Saul played.

Some Words of Torah

I humbly post the following D'var Torah (words of Torah) for your enjoyment. I wrote the following comments on this week's Torah portion for a listserve to which I belong. These comments are in honor of my dad, Jeff, and my new nephew, Judah.

This week’s parasha, Bamidbar is the first parasha of the fourth book of the Torah. Bamidbar, the Hebrew name of the book, means literally “in the desert” which is where the Israelites are preparing to enter. In English we refer to this as the book of Numbers, perhaps because the parasha begins with the commandment from God to Moses to conduct a census of the entire Israelite community. All Israelite males, over the age of 20, are to be counted except for those from the tribe of Levi, who will be counted separately.

Two weeks ago, we read parashat Emor which tells of a different kind of counting: counting the Omer – the 49 days between Pesach and Shavuot. This represents the time between the Israelites exodus from Egypt and the revelation of Torah at Mt. Sinai. During the week when we read Emor I was visiting my father, who has been battling cancer for the last 2 years. In preparing for Shabbat I read a particularly poignant D’var Torah that suggested that we think of counting the Omer as a method for taking notice of and appreciating each day. Counting the Omer can be a reminder of how precious time is: by counting each day, we are made all the more aware of each passing moment in time. Spending two weeks with my father was a gift of time for both of us. We were able to value each moment and note that each day is precious and worth counting.

In Bamidbar, which we read just one week before we celebrate Shavuot, Moses is commanded to count the people of the nation of Israel. One reading, according to Rashbam and Rashban, is that the census had a simple strategic purpose; Moses needed to assess the Israelites military strength as they set-off to conquer the land of Israel which explains why only males over 20 are to be counted, and the Levites, who will not bear arms, are counted separately. I prefer an interpretation given in Midrash Numbers Rabbah 2:19: that the people are to be counted to demonstrate God’s love for each individual. The Midrash depicts God as a king with a fabulous treasure, God checks it over and counts it carefully to make sure nothing is lost.

Reading Bamidbar during the period of the counting of the Omer highlights the connection between counting our days and counting our people. While Emor reminds us to be conscious of and appreciative for each moment, Bambidbar emphasizes the importance of each person within our community. Emor’s message of making each moment count is strengthened in Bamidbar as we are reminded to appreciate not just each moment in our life, but each person within each moment. Yesterday, I felt the power of the connection between these ideas as, with great appreciation to God, my brother and sister-in-law welcomed into the world their first child: a son, my nephew. This week my family adds to its numbers; we are thankful for these moments of miracle and feel blessed by the new person who has entered our midst.

May we all have the opportunity to count each day and appreciate those who have joined us on our journey to this moment of Shabbat. Shabbat Shalom.

Team Liz Becomes an Aunt & Uncle

With much rejoicing and thanks Team Liz is proud and thrilled to announce the birth of Judah Ilan Freirich, son of Jonathan Freirich and Ginny Reel, Liz's brother and sister-in-law.

Judah was born on May 17th at 5:10PM in Nevada. He is 6lbs 14 ounces and 18.5 inches long. Ginny is feeling good. Judah was born with a full head of dark hair, a dimple in his chin and his father's appetite! Liz's mom, Marti, managed to catch a plane from NYC to Reno, rent a car and drive from Reno to Carson City (where the hospital is) and still arrive an hour before the birth - don't get in the way of a first-time grandma!

The brit milah will be next Thursday, May 24th.

Arava/Hazon Israel Ride

Team Liz wants to thank all of our friends and family who generously contributed to our participation in the Arava/Hazon Israel Ride 2007. At the last minute Liz had to pull-out from participating in the ride and is presently in America but Saul is off and riding.

Saul set-out on the Ride on May 2nd representing all of Team Liz. Go Saul! Saul left from Jerusalem with 175 other riders and rode down to the Dead Sea and then to Mesada. May 3rd was a rough day that included an almost continuous 13 mile uphill. Saul is feeling good and riding strong. You can check out the progress of the ride by clicking here.

Once again thanks to everyone for your support - all the money you donated to support Liz also supports Saul and will still be received by the Arava Institute and Hazon in support of peace, co-existence and the environment.

Team Liz in Wadi Rum

During Passover break Team Liz visited Jordan (April 7-10). Since we had already been to Petra we decided to spend a couple nights in Aqaba and two days in Wadi Rum, the Jordanian desert. Liz is fond of describing Wadi Rum in the following way "it's like the Negev on steroids - bigger hills, more space, deeper colors." Now if you have never been to the Negev, Israel's desert, this description may leave something to be desired. We hope these photos will help a little. Enjoy!

This photo was taken by our friend Eduardo. What you can not tell from this photo is that we are standing on top of a rock "bridge". The "bridge" was probably 45 feet high. Here you can see us standing at one end of the "bridge" in a Titanic'esque pose.


Perhaps one of the more special moments of the trip, was when Saul got to jam with this world renowned oud player. His name was Sa'id and he is a Jordanian bedouin. He was unbelievable on the oud and he even took a turn on Saul's guitar.



Saul takes a moment to survey the desert. We had climbed up this amazing sand dune. The sand was super fine and very red.

Team Liz Celebrates Passover

Team Liz spent first night (there is only one night of Passover in Israel unlike outside of Israel) of Passover with our friends Sally and Michael Klein-Katz. We dressed up and sat on the floor; we sang songs and remembered that we had once been slaves in Egypt and that although we, as Jews, are mostly free today, there are many people who still are not free.
We ate a large meal and at 1:30AM Team Liz threw in their head scarfs and called it a night - the seder continued even after we left!

Team Liz in Istanbul

With only a couple short months to go living in this side of the world Team Liz is taking advantage of traveling. This past weekend we travelled to Istanbul, Turkey. What an amazing city. We had two fun-filled and packed days of site seeing. Here are some of our photos. This first one has the famous Blue Mosque behind us.


This photo is of the underground cisterns near the Aya Sofia Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque. This was Liz's favorite place in Istanbul, except for the store where we bought her a new bag.

Here is a photo of Saul literally jumping in the streets of Istanbul. You don't catch that on film every day!