Wednesday, May 09, 2007
One of the things I did in the Heights was visit Kehos books (40% off sale, woo!). I bought Likkutei Dibburim vol. 3 and 5 (4 is currently out of print, bummer).In vol. 5 the Frierdikker Rebbe discusses the birth and childhood of the Alter Rebbe. I can't adequately decribe how I felt reading about this. It was very intense. Getting a personal glimpse into the lives of our rebbes is very special - I love the Likkutei Dibburim series. Another book I picked up is called "The Secret of Challah." The guy at Kehos said the book is flying off the shelves, and I can see why. It offers lots of tips, great recipes, braiding ideas, and even mentions segulos and kavanos. (BTW Wendy, I tried your 4-braid technique and it was beautiful!)
I also bought a 5-volume series of Ba'al Shem Tov stories. I bought some videos for the kids and I also bought Volume 1 of "Lessons in Tanya" (ours was falling apart). Despite the 40% off sale, I spent a pretty penny in Kehos. More than I spent anywhere else combined the entire trip, in fact (heck, I spent almost as much as my round-trip ticket).
And speaking of travel, I had an interesting experience on my way home. The driver who picked me up to take me to JFK was quite a character. I couldn't tell whether he was Russian or Israeli (maybe a hybrid?). Anyway, I asked him (politely!) if he would take my suitcase to the car. He shook his head no. "You can't help me get my suitcase to the car?" He paused for a moment. In a thick accent he replied; "Five dollar." "You want 5 dollars from me to get my suitcase to the car?" I was quite annoyed - I did it myself. I did tip him 5 bucks at the end of the trip, but I admonished him; "When a woman asks you for help, you don't ask her for money." Judging by his expression, I think he took it to heart.
Love, Maven @ 
4 Comments:
At 9:15 AM,
Mrs Andy said…
I'm glad you had a nice trip. I also was away last week at a conference for Church--spent waaaaayy too much $$$ on good books, and things. But I always love coming home with more for the home study!!
I was also wondering if you could explain what is Lag b'Omer and what it's signifigance is. I've tried too google it, but I'm just not getting a good explanation. What is special about this holiday and do you have to do anything special for it (as with Passover, Succoth etc.)
At 9:26 AM,
Maven said…
There was a time when the students of Rabbi Akiva were fighting and dying, and on lag b'omer these tragedies stopped.
also, it is the anniversary of the death of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a kabbalistic master and author of the zohar. It is said that when he died, he ascended to heaven in flames. He also asked that this day be celebrated with joy and not mourning.
Thus, lag b'omer (which means the 33rd day of the omer) is a day which Jews celebrate with bonfires, barbecues, etc. (fire symbolizing Rabbi Shimon's ascent). People play music and dance, make parades, etc.
At 10:48 AM,
Mrs Andy said…
Ok, thanks for the clarification. The wikipedia explanation was so weird.
Anyway....glad you had a nice time. It's always nice to go back to the old haunts and neighborhood every so often. :)
At 6:10 PM,
Wendy said…
Glad it was nice. I want to hear more about the challah book!
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