Conspicuous Consumption ... 8 year old Master Chefs

Week 2 - January 19-26

This was a relatively quiet week.

The highlight, the most anticipated event of the week, was Trump's inauguration. Everyone I know here was thrilled. We watched it at Batsheva's and when he took the oath of office we all applauded. Well, not all of us. Dori was in Jerusalem for Shabbat, and she was the only one who didn't share our enthusiasm. As Shlomit (one of the daughters-in-law) put it, you're on your own in this family if you're not right wing. I was happy when Shlomit asked Dori where she stood on Israeli politics, she said she was moving more towards the center. As Sid quotes Churchill, if you're not a liberal when you're young you have no heart; if you're not a conservative when you're old you have no brains.

We had Shabbat lunch at the Sternlights, a family that Dori has known for close to 20 years. Terrific people, very warm and welcoming, great hosts and excellent cooks. On Saturday night we went back to Beryl Wein's shul for another lecture in the street names series -  this time on King George Street. Fascinating lecture about a fascinating period of history.

Sid went to the army on Sunday morning. Neither one of us slept well the night before; there's always the worry that you won't hear the alarm in the morning. But everything worked, he got picked up nice and early, and made it to the meeting point at the airport in plenty of time.

I, on the other hand, was in some sort of limbo. Sid wasn't around and I wasn't exercising - not even walking as much as I normally do. My twice-weekly krav maga class was suspended temporarily and it was high time to figure out a way to compensate. I called my friend Shefa, who in the past year got her krav maga instructor's certificate and is teaching once a week at a local gym. We met for lunch and figured out when we can get together to train. We start Sunday morning. That evening I attended the first of a 3-part series on reincarnation, and it's different than what we normally think of as "reincarnation". Spoiler alert - Job, according to the lecturer, was the reincarnation of Abraham's father Terah, who in that life did not sufficiently repudiate idol worship.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the frumest of them all. On Tuesday I went to my first ultra-orthodox consumer fair (for women only) ever. It was actually pretty interesting. There were lots of suppliers, primarily food preparation and child care products, as well as workshops on health, cooking and caring for infants and toddlers. Plus wigs, giftware and modest fashion. It was mobbed.

We finally got the television to work ... I've been switching back and forth between FOX and local stations. The local press coverage in many ways parallels what we see at home. Even more than the new administration, the cause celebre here is the witch hunt that's being carried out against Netanyahu. The press, which is in the thrall of left-wing anti-Bibi psychosis, is determined to make the government fall at exactly the wrong time. With Trump in the White House there has never been a better opportunity for actual progress on a fair resolution (i.e. Israel not slitting its own throat) to the hundreds of years war that has been waged in this corner of the world.

BTW, the washing machine in this apartment is the best yet. There's a 30 minute cycle that works beautifully. I'm still trying to figure out the oven, altho I did make brownies and an apple pie last week and they turned out fine.

The title of this week's post refers to a birthday party I attended Wednesday. Yes, for 8 year olds (twin girls), who are the daughters of Batsheva's brother David. Some background ... David is a very successful manufacturer of computer parts. He and his wife became parents very late in life - they were over 50. Having kids at an age when most people are becoming grandparents, well let's just say they approach things differently than 20 year olds. When I heard about the Master Chef themed party, my first reaction was what are they going to do for the bat mitzvahs and weddings? I know this sort of thing goes on in the States, and it can get pretty out of hand; I had no idea it also goes on here. Apparently it goes on a lot because there are companies that do themed kids parties. In spite of my inclination not to like it, the party was delightful. There were 50 kids (the girls are in 2 different classes in school, and the custom is to invite everyone in the class), all well-behaved. The organizers did a great job dividing the kids into groups, explaining what to do (they made pizza and pasta), and keeping everything moving along and under control.

So was it fair to dismiss this as conspicuous consumption? What about parents who can't afford to keep up? But there's always another perspective. David has the means to give his kids more than the average parent, and at his age why not? He might not be around for a lot of the celebrations that will take place in the future. He had a big dose of that reality a couple weeks ago; he barely recovered from a collapsed lung. So why not lavish his girls while he can share the fun with them?

Shabbat shalom,

Peggy and Sid