Oleh oleh, oleh oleh

On Tuesday we went to Ben Gurion airport to Greet people who made Aliyah! We made posters the night before and then flooded the terminal with seminary girls and tons of singing. It was like the Nefesh bNefesh video in real life! I cry every time (type into YouTube Nefesh BNefesh - come back) 

I love watching people unite with their families!!!!!!!

Since we were in Tel- Aviv (omg so got there) we toured a bit and ate by the water. 

Great trip 👍👍

Shabbat by Lauren

First of all I didn't realize my Shmot blog didn't go through last week so sorry

Last Shabbat was great! We were six girls staying by our Rakezet, Lauren. We got an empty apartment down the block so we had great accommodations. I love going there for Shabbat. It's Lauren, her husband and their two daughters who are like 3 and 1. They live In Ramat Eshkol and their building it's swarming with little kids just running around. They walk into any apartment and talk to whoever is there. Like little kids were popping in all Shabbat just to say hey or get a snack. 

At the dinner table Lauren's husband Issachar Dov (or Kevin) shares a Halacha בן אדם לחברו every week. This week it was about greeting everyone you meet with a pleasant face. You should be constantly smiling when you see people and you should try to be the first one to say hi. Nice

They also read this book called What If? It basically gives you a situation and asks you what to do. 

• A man jokingly tells his friend to microwave an etrog to make it ripen quickly - who is responsible for the damage?
• A surgeon learns a new technique from a presentation, without paying the entrance fee. May he use that technique, or is it stealing?
• A mother doesn't want to reveal her child's illness, thus keeping people from praying for him. Is that permitted?

It's stuff like that. So much fun. 

(Lauren I know you read my blog sometimes so hey, your food was great!!!!)

Saturday was chill. The second after lunch was mincha and then a second after that was seudat shilishit and right after that was havdala. It was all so quick!!

It was a good one. I got to read some of my (signed!!) Jonothan Sacks book. It's called Covenant and Conversation. It's about Sefer Shmot and it goes through it Parasha by Parasha with insights you've never seen before. Def recommend it! Not an easy read but it's great

Kk peace

Millie 

שמות

My DT isn't typed up yet so here's my friends...

Enjoy!

In this weeks parsha Shemot, Moshe Rabeinu asked Hashem why he causes bad things to happen to the Jewish people. We learn from the Gemara that Hashem says It's chaval what He's lost! Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov never complained about what He did! Yet here Moshe complains at the first thing that's tough! The Gemara says that Moshe was punished after as he was questioning the middot of Hashem. 

Later on in the parsha, Rashi comments on the incident where Moshe kills the Mitzri. 

Rashi says that on that day Moshe decides to go outside he saw the affliction with the Jews, and witnessed an Egyptian hitting a Jew. We learn that Moshe looked both ways to ensure no other Egyptians were around. He saw no other man around and so he then hit the mitzri. Moshe then goes outside the next day and sees two Jews hitting each other! He walks up to them and upon seeing Moshe they ask him, are you going to kill us like you killed that mitzri? In the next pasuk we read that Moshe got scared the matter was now known. Immediately following, the 3rd passuk reads that Pharoah knew what happened. 

Yet pshat clearly writes that Moshe was careful to make sure that no one could see him! How does this make sense? 

The Chofetz Chaim explains that as there were no Egyptians around, it must've been Jews who saw and told Pharoah. This is such a powerful idea, when Moshe says the matter is now known, he wasn't talking about being scared that Pharoah found out! Moshe now realizes the answer to his question, it was the Jews talking about other Jews that caused bad things to happen to them. 

This message is really important; the lack of unity between the Jews can destroy. 

May we all help bring achdus in Klal Yisrael and help others to do so too....!

Shabbat shalom! 

Ariella :)

My own input- What I get out of this is the importance of guarding your tongue. Lashon Hara is one of the most powerful weapons a person could use. The Chofetz Chaim has written a lot on this subject. Personally, I've been reading his "page a day" book since I was 16 and it really helps you realize how dangerous speaking badly about people is and how go stop or ateady refrain. It's one of the hardest things to stop but hopefully we will remember to think about this weeks Parasha next time were about to say something 

SNOW ❄️⛄️❄️⛄️❄️⛄️❄️⛄️

Hey guys I know I haven't posted for a few days...it's been crazy

Last Wed, as you probz saw on the news, it snowed. Then it snowed again. We had a foot in a half. Most of my school was stuck in for Shabbat. The caterer couldn't come deliver since the roads were blocked so we had to cook ourselves. People waited on line to GET IN to the grocery store and then bought out the whole thing. We made bags and bags of frozen shnitZel, strong beans, deli roll etc. obv I had my own grilled chicken on the side with my roasted veggies. 

It was a great bonding opportunity. We all cooked together and ate together. No real administration was around except for our madrichot who I give so much credit to for being so organized and on top of things. We had a lot of singing and a shiur. Classic midmo "in Shabbat" except we really did it all ourselves. It was so nice to see everyone pull together. 

Anyways the whole week we were basically stuck in. I stayed indoors from thurs morning straight till Sunday night. Not a step outside. And when I did leave, I wondered why I did and I basically froze my toes off. Hailing a taxi for 45 min isn't exactly the warmest activity. Some great stories from that night. 

I was getting some cabin fever so the second the trains were back up and running I left for the gym. It was the best hour of my week. 

Throughout the week we watched tons of movies and spent a lot of time in the beit Midrash. Totally milked the free time thing. We had no school because since the country never gets snow, they don't have plows and therefore the roads were closed. None of our teachers made it to school. We had a few classes on Skype which was cool. 

It was really an experience of a lifetime. 

I saw so many people help eachother. People pushing cars out, hosting eachother when the power went out, etc. That's Israel for ya. 

משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם

פרשת ויחי

This weeks Parasha is Vayechi. Jacob is about to die so he talks to all of his sons individually and gives them blessings. 

First up is Reuven. Jacob tells Reuven .....

He's the oldest and the strongest and he's up these BUT hes פחז כמים. He has "water-like impetuosity." In English, this means that he didn't think before he acted. It was one mistake that led him to lose his national leadership. He was hasty and reckless. Rashi says that he acted like flowing waters that rush in any direction and don't think about the consequences. Therefore, אל-תותר- you cannot be foremost. Jacob flat out tells Reuven, his oldest son, that he doesn't deserve to serve in the superior positions that were designated for him. 

תרגום יונתן says that since he sinned the birthright was given to Joseph, the Kingship 

to Judah, and the priesthood (כהונה) to Levi. 

It's crazy how he lost so much from one little act. In Parashat Vayishlach it says ....

Reuven interfered with his fathers affairs. He moved his father, Jacobs bed to Leah's tent. (This is a Rashi- in the פשט it says "וילך ראובן וישכב את בלהה- which can be interpreted differently) His intentions were good. He didn't want his dad to sleep with his maidservant before his mother. So listen, we know how important כי יד אב ואם  is and we wouldn't think that someone like Reuven would do something to violate it. However, even minor sins of great people are judged with great gravity. 

This whole situation is totally relatable to our lives today. We really need to think before we act. Each and every one of our decisions can have such a huge reward or consequence. We live in an instant gratification society and sometimes we don't think our choices through. We have to take into accounts the possible ramifications of our actions. We have to use the free will we were blessed with wisely and make sure we don't stray from the path of who we are/ want to be. It's crazy how a mistake that takes a second to make can ruin so much of what you have going for you. It's all because we didn't stop and think about what we were about to do. I'd like to believe, personally, that if Reuven stopped before moving the bed to think about the possible ramifications of his action, he would of stopped in his tracks and  not done it. 

So the next time you're about to bash your friend behind her back, talk back to your parent, chest on your test, or even pig out at 1am, stop and think. I feel like these are all situations that people can be found in, naturally, but they don't always THINK before their final decision.

Shabbat Shalom!

Carmel Spa

ASMFKDKGHJKL IT WAS BEAUTIFUL 

The food was amaaaaazing. We went to all these workout classes and a meditation class. I got a massage and facial, chilled in the Jacuzzi, steam room, sulfur bath, and sauna. It was just so relaxing. There isn't much to say cuz I mostly just read and stuff but it was amazing like everyone's just walking around in robes and slippers! That's it! 

Also there was a Beatles tribute band one night which I enjoyed thoroughly. 

Us in a Jazz Room. I felt like an old person. 

On Saturday night I was glad it was over because at the end of the day, I stink at doing nothing. Like I love being productive and when I'm not, I feel like I'm missing something. However, personal this was a good Shabbat for reflecting. Much needed and I RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL TO ALL OF YOUUU

Saying bye to momma was hard but I know it's for the best

Peace 

Mommaaa

The day I've been looking forward to since I got here. Mommaaaas comin

So Brenda and I decided to surprise our moms at Ben Gurion Airport. So happy I did that! We were standing there with our balloons for an hour with so much excitement. 

When they finally came out from baggage claim we started jumping. It was like a movie if you play it in slow motion. Anyways it was great to reunite. It got a little bit emotional lol. Momma and I took a taxi to the Citadel to check in. It felt like I saw her yesterday. Mommy brought me tons of food and clothes. We had a list of emails going on for a while with stuff I miss 

Here's a fraction of the food haaaa

Ok so there was a Hanukkah Chagiga going on at my school so I dragged my mom there. We rekuded and kumsitzd and mommy got to meet a lot of my teachers. After showing mom my dorm and unpacking some of my goodies  we went to Kedma, a restaurant on a roof in Mamilla which overlooks the old city 

S'cute (do people still say that?)

Monday- so we enjoyed the Citadel breakfast. Like a lot. Then we took a taxi to school. It's a thing to bring your parents to class so that's what I did. For lunch we went to Beit Hakerem which is a really nice shopping center across the street from my school. It's soooo convienient. We ate at cafe Hillel got some frogurt and shopped. (Classic us all summer long)

After one more class mom got jet lag and took a nap in my bed 

I wanted to give my mom the real experience of being Millie so we took the train to the shuk

So squishy. 

Mom LOVED Machane Yehuda. And she loves cauliflower 

We made some nice memories over there. After dropping our bags off by the hotel, we went to the Kotel for Arvit. The Old City was paaaaacked. 

I know this picture isn't crowded but trust me it was. It was so weird going to the Kotel with Mommy because I get to go every week ברוךה׳ but it was a once in a while thing for Momma. 

We taxid straight to Agas Vetapuach (amazing restaurant with gluten free pasta) to meet my friends for dinner. Yeah so it's a thing to take your daughters friends out to dinner so we did that. The food was siiiiick. Momma and I went to Town after to buy every souvenir shop basically. Funny cuz I haven't walked into those stores all year haha

Tues- brought Momma to school again. We went to a few Shiurim In the morning. After that we met Sheila and Brenda and Dafna for lunch at the Old Tachana. 

we ate at Fresh Kitchen. Recommended.  Get the warm green sald with Tofu. So cute cuz my Mom, Sheila and Dafna were a crew in highschool and they still are! 

Momma and I chilled by the vendors and bargained. We got a Gorgous mezuzah for the house in Bk

This is us with the lady we bargained with haha. She makes stuff out of glass and incorporates Kabbalistic symbolism. Very cool. 

We went to Dafna to light Chanukia with the fam afterword. It was so nice to see each kid make their Brachot one at a time and then light. I played some dreidel with Michael and won a twizzler. Go me. 

Dinner was at Black Burger. It was Momma, me, Brenda and Sheila. After enjoying my sirloin steak we went to the Kotel (second night in a row! ברוךה׳) for a meaningful Arbit. 

Wed -momma and I went to Tel Aviv. We hung out on the Namal which is a promenade on the water 

We walked around and stuff. Yeah. We had a late lunch at CafeCafe with my moms cousin ish relative. It's cool that we have family here. 

We went to Nevei Tzedek which was an excellent call. It was like soho. 

We dug it. Got some cool handmade leather bracelets. We went to the Old Tachana (the Tel Aviv one) to cap off our night in town. 

Back in Jerusalem we had Citadel sushi. 

Food was probs a highlight of this trip. Loljk love you mom. 

So Thursday morning we went to town to buy souvenirs before checkout. Then we began our journey to THE CARMEL SPA IN HAIFA. 

Continued in next post

Parashat Vayigash

Crazy week! Here's a Dvar Torah from my friend Ariella Prais...

Parshat Vayigash

With greatest thanks to Rav K,

In this weeks parsha the Sfat Emet noticed the difference between the way the children of Yaakov are mentioned as opposed to the children of Esav. 

The Torah tells us that Yaakov went down to Egypt with “shivim Nefesh” seventy soul(s). The word Nefesh is in the singular. While counting the descendants of Esav the Torah speaks about Nefashot – souls in the plural. The Sfat Emet comments that this is the secret of the Galut and the Geulah. The Jewish people went into Galut as one – with achdut - together. The purpose of this galut was to create the Jewish Nation – the multitudes of Jews that would come out of Egypt – again not individuals alone but with achdut – togetherness. The Sfat Emet goes on to comment that even though the Jewish people are compared to Stars that is because each individual has their particular shlichut to perform. There is nothing wrong with individuality or with differences. In fact the differences between individuals is put there by Hashem, as each of us has our own mission- but we need to work together to survive the galut and eventually to attain and maintain the geulah.

​This idea is found not only at the end of the Parsha but throughout. When Yehudah and Yosef meet with each other and go “head to head” the Midrash compares them to 2 kings who are “avru yachdav” that eventually work together. In fact when we look at the haftorah from Yechezkel we see that Yechezkel is told by Hashem to take 2 branches and write on one Yehuda and Bnei Yisrael and on the other Yosef / Ephraim and Yisrael. Hashem then tells Yechezkel to put the 2 branches together and they will miraculously form one branch!! This seems to be foretelling the future Geula will be when Bnei Yisrael form one unit.

What is the secret of getting to this unity that is so lacking in our generation? This also is found in our Parsha. When Yosef reveals himself to Binyamin they fall on each others necks and cry. Rashi explains that Yosef was crying for the 2 destructions of the Temple that happened in the chelek of Binyamin. Whereas Binyamin cried about the destruction of Shilo that happened in the chelek of Yosef. However, each knew about their “own” destruction as well! So why did this not bother them? 

A Chassidic Rebbe explained that they were each crying not for themselves but for the other. They cared about the others problems more then their own. This is the secret of Jewish Unity and the Yeshuah from the galut – when we care about the other more than we care about ourselves. When we focus on the other person’s pain more than on our own. 

In todays day, it may be hard to focus on Jewish Unity, we just have to keep reminding ourselves what Klal Yisrael is really about and what we should really focus on....

Shabbat Shalom

Ariella :)