Rabbi’s Musings & Amusings

Anyone who attended Camp Torah Vodaas or Camp Dora Golding when Rabbi Yitzy Erps was the night activity director will likely never forget how he announced the night activity. During supper each weeknight of camp, Rabbi Erps’ voice would boom over the dining room microphone with the longest “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand” you ever heard. At times, he would go for a minute or longer. It was his signature introduction. When he finally finished his elongated “And,” he would continue, “for tonight’s exciting night activity, we bring you…”

Our plumber, Menashe, is a wonderful guy. He’s the type of person I am happy to meet almost anywhere: at a wedding, a parent-teacher conference (some of our children attend the same schools), or in one of the local stores. The only place where I’m not so excited to see him is in my house, because it means he’s coming to fix something that broke and it’s going to cost me. The truth is that when something needs to be fixed, I very much anticipate his arrival. But I would rather not have needed to be so happy with his coming in the first place.

Last week, the Super Bowl featured the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles. There was even more hype than the usual Super Bowl excitement because the Chiefs were looking to become the first team to win a three-peat in the Super Bowl, after having won the last two years. Nine teams have won back-to-back Super Bowls. But none of those teams were able to win a third year in a row.

Making a simchah of any kind – a bris milah, a bar or bas mitzvah, a vort, and of course a wedding – is always a blessing. It’s a blessing that inevitably carries with it some level of stress, as there are so many arrangements and details that have to be navigated. The wise person remembers that it’s a blessing even while feeling stressed.

A few years ago, my dear friend Rabbi Naftali Eisgrau shared with me the following anecdote:

 Shortly after our marriage, my wife and I moved into our first apartment in Flatbush. For the first three months of our marriage, we lived in Flatbush while my wife finished a one-year post-seminary there.