Parshas B'Shalach Kramer Chronicles This Week in Kramer History

ד״סב
January 21, 2005 Parashas B’ Shalach Volume I, Issue 13
Hadlokas Neiros: BALTIMORE: 4:56, LAKEWOOD: 4:45, LOS ANGELES: 4:55, MONSEY: 4:42, ST. LOUIS: 4:53, YERUSHALAYIM: 4:23
Home Page: http://www.thekramers.org Issue Archive: http://www.thekramers.org/kolkramers
Welcome to the thirteenth issue of KOL KRAMERS, the newsletter that helps all current, former, & honorary
Kramers, stay even more in touch with each other than we do already. [Ed. Note: This week’s issue is once
again guest-edited by B.J. Kramer]
Parshas B’Shalach
Chananya writes:
(as he recalls being told by Rabbi Paysach Krohn)
(f:zy)… qlmub \jlh axw \ycna wnl rjb ucwhy la hcm rmayw
Rashi brings, from here the Chazal stated: “Your disciple’s honor shall be as dear to you as your own honor”
(Avos 4:12). Rashi explains that when one is imparting wisdom to his talmid, he has to treat him with respect as
an equal.
Rav Hutner zt”l asks, why does the Torah choose to teach us this lesson in Chinuch by the milchomo of
Amalek? Would it not have seemed more logical to have this lesson learned in a conversation between
Yehoshua and Moshe by Mattan Torah?
Rav Hutner explains that the Amalek of our generation is the secularism, immorality and lures of the outside
culture. What the Torah is teaching us is that is you want to teach your talmid or child how to combat against
the forces of our Amalek, it can only be taught if you respect your talmid or child as an equal.
Kramer Chronicles
Mazal Tov to Kramer Machetonim, Yitzy and Linda Jacobson, upon the birth of a grandson
on Shabbos. Mazal tov also to the proud parents, Binyomin (Yisrael Meir's "Rosh Yeshiva")
and Chana Rechel (Mommy's Kol Kramers email buddy in Ramat Beit Shemesh) Jacobson,
and of course to doting Aunt and Uncle, Chumie and Yisrael Meir.
Mazal Tov to JJ and Kayla upon the engagement of JJ's cousin Yossie Rabinowich of Brooklyn and Ner
Yisrael to Miss Tehillah Tadjerstein of Baltimore. And mazal tov to proud Uncle and Aunt, Kramer
Machetonim Joe and Lydia Rabinowich! And the Rabinowich family gets another Mazal Tov upon the birth
of Penina to niece and nephew Shevi and Shimon Marciano.
Mazal tov to “Pringles”, Chumie's old Breuer's classmate, upon her recent engagement!
This Week in Kramer History
Ninety One years ago, on January 22, 1914, Irene (Esther) Sreter
- our beloved Grandma - was born in Debrecen, Hungary, the
youngest child to Avraham Moshe and Malka Sreter.
All of the Kramers wish a very happy birthday to Grandma, and
express our Hakaras Hatov, our deep appreication, for what “this
week in Kramer history” means to us. After all, what would
Kramer history be without the one who started it all? GRANDMA! We
love you and wish you only health, happiness and continued Nachas
from your many children, grandchildren and great grandchildren!
KOL KRAMERS Page 1 1/20/2005

This Week in (Monsey) Kramer History
B.J. Recalls:
Every year about this time, Renaissance Technologies is kind enough to take all
of its employees and their families on a
Caribbean vacation. This year we opted out, but
we went to the Casa de Campo resort in the
Dominican Republic in the three previous years.
These pictures are from two years ago. We got
some quality time in the sun (and I promptly got
some minor sunburns), and I got to shoot a
shotgun. My gun-owning officemate Kevin went
shooting with me, and he referred to me as
‘Dirty Harry’ for the rest of the trip, as a testament to my accuracy.
Let’s see, what else happened this week in Monsey Kramer History? Well, four
years ago Mikey was expertly moheled by none other than world-renowned
Mohel and Lecturer Rabbi Paysach Krohn on the coldest Shabbos of the year.
Many Kramers and assorted others made it up to The Great White North for the
festivities, and they were very thoroughly fed by the Lakewood Josephs and the
Staten Island Joffes (Adina’s aunt and uncle); there was a delightful little miscommunication and each family
was under the impression that it was the sole food supplier. And each one brought more than was needed, “just
in case”. There was so much extra food, that we served two of the pots of cholent at the shalom zachor, (and
they were immediately consumed by the freezing crowd). Ah, too much food – that’s my kind of happy Kramer
History memory.
“Continent To Continent” KRAMERS:
Mommy’s Report:
[Ed. Note: The following report was inadvertently omitted last week; it concerns
what happened on Tuesday, 1/11/05.]
On Tuesday, Mommy joined the Yarchei Kallah women on a bus tour of the water
springs that feed the Jerusalem water supply. She enjoyed the company of Ilana
Hellman’s (Kayla’s Breuers classmate) mom, Naomi, plus Chassi Reisman and
Luba Feuer, Shlomis Eisenberg’s sisters, (Luba is also Sylvia Heyman’s
Machetainista!) plus Esther Lewittes’s daughter, plus Aunt Judy’s good buddy
Raisel Freidlander, plus BJ’s friend Hannah Kalish. (Hannah wanted Mommy’s attention on the bus, and
not remembering my first name, called out: “BJ’s Mom!”) The tour involved much communing with nature,
and clambering up and down steep hillsides, and Mommy kept thinking
how much Aunt Tyra would have loved it. How much more than
Mommy, who was huffing and puffing,and trying, with difficulty, to
think nice thoughts about the tour
guide. But it ended with a picnic
lunch at the Tayelet, Haas
Promenade, which will always be
fixed in our minds as the location
for our pre-Mimi’s-wedding
family party, and Uncle Yisroel
calling out with feeling: “Are there
knives still on the table?” as we
were about to bench in full view of the Churban on Har HaBayis. And
after last year’s tour of Ir David, with the description ringing in our ears of Yerushalayim sitting between two
shoulders, and there it sits between Har Zion, and Har HaZaisim… What can I say, you can’t beat that view!
KOL KRAMERS Page 2 1/20/2005

Mommy and Tatty then cabbed over to the Old City for some touring and
picture taking, and were joined by Chumie for a delightful snack at the Café
overlooking the Kosel. After checking out the Cardo, (happily noting that
all the intifada-closed shops we saw on previous visits seemed now to be
open for business) Mommy posed yet again for a photo in front of HER
palm tree (“…I’m standing here
in the rebuilt Jewish Quarter of
the Old City of Jerusalem…”)
and then the 2 parents taxied to
JJ and Kayla’s where Mommy
promptly passed out on Kayla’s
sofa, having been hit by the jetlag-sleepy-stick
most reliably again, while Kayla busily prepared a
yummy feast for 3 out of 4 Kramer sons in law (We missed you
AVI!) and Chum, Mom, and Ta. Then Tatty headed back to the
hotel to catch up on IBM stuff, Mommy and Kayla went to Rav
Oratz’s shiur for Ohr LaGolah wives, and then Mommy rushed back
to the hotel to catch the end of Rabbi Orlofsky’s terrific and
entertaining shiur for the Yarchei Kallah women. Then tea, cake,
schmoozing, and preparing for another packed day on Wednesday!
[Ed. Note: We now return you to our regularly scheduled program.]
Week Two in the Holy City
The weather in Jerusalem has been delightful.
Sunny and crisp.
(Warmer outside than in, it seems…lottsa stone cold floors…daughter’s apartments are not carpeted like the
hotel…)
When last we left off on this narrative, Yarchei Kallah was winding down, and Mommy was moving in with
Chumie and Yisrael Meir, since Nacham was ensconced at Chez Rabinowich.
Friday was a blur of napping and Shabbos prep…it is a VERY short day in the big J…But by Friday night both
young families had each put together a splendid Shabbos feast.
After Bentching Licht, Mommy and Chumie walked to KK and JJ’s and were most impressed to see a lovely
table set for twelve. Things got more impressive when the guests and the guys arrived and Kayla started
dishing out her gourmet menu! Asher Anschel and Yudi Wilheim and their 3 adorable kids joined us, as did
Avi Heyman and Daniel Cohen who both sang beautifully. Then Mommy passed out on Kayla’s couch and
awoke for Bentching, just as JJ’s and Wittz’s heated debate on feminism was winding down! What a time for
the jet lag to hit!
On Shabbos day, the Rabinowich’s and Nacham joined Mommy at the Jacobson’s and another gourmet feast
ensued. Chumie’s schnitzel was divine, and Yisrael Meir’s special additions to the Cholent were a big hit as
well. Mommy missed Tatty, but the lively crowd kept her happily distracted.
After Havdalah KK and Chum went to a concert of competing Seminary
choirs…kind of a “battle of the bands” for the sem girl set…and Aunt Tyra
and Uncle Moishe took Mommy to visit Kayla and Avrohom Boruch
Pitter and their gorgeous blue eyed Sara Shayndel. Their apartment in Ezras
Torah is clean, modern, but …shall we say…cozy. (Very good size for the
new little family to bond.)
Then Uncle M and Aunt T dropped Mommy at Center One to meet up with
the two old married ladies, who were reliving their bygone years as carefree
Seminary girls after the extremely loud Kedma Concert. (Darchei Binah
won, yay team!) Much hot cocoa and various yummies were consumed…
KOL KRAMERS Page 3 1/20/2005

On Sunday morning Kayla had a major CLEP test to take, so
Mommy came over to “bubby-sit”, and then cabbed much too cute
Yehuda Leib over to Har Nof, so that Kayla could feed him before
her math class. Kayla treated Mommy to a Neve Cafeteria lunch,
whose fare consisted of five, yes five, varieties of starch. (The
mystery of “Seminary fat” has been solved.) Then Mommy froze
pleasantly in the Maalot lounge, while reading Murder on the Orient
Express (thank you JJ), and making goo goo faces at her Israeli
grandchild, till Kayla joined us and we taxied back to Ramat Eshkol.
Sunday night saw Chumie and Mommy starting Moreshet Week on
the Neve Yerushalayim campus…Mommy was registered by a Mrs.
Hartman, who, it turns out, is married to Ezra Hartman who went
to EHA with Tatty and Mommy in St. Louis! (His father was the
late Rabbi Chatzkel Hartman, a”h.) [Ed. Note: Rabbi Ezra Hartman was also
your interim editor’s rebbe in Yeshivas Bais Yisrael, 1990-1991] Mommy finally
got to meet the legendary Rabbi Kass, and to hear from Donna’s good friend and
mentor, Rabbi Dovid Refson, who has created an amazing collection of women’s
institutions on the Neve Campus. (There are 16 separate colleges and divisions
listed on the letter-head.)
After returning home, Chumie was visited by her old sem friends who stopped by
to say goodbye before returning to the States after their 2 week visit to
Yerushalayim. Much squealing and hugging ensued.
On Monday, Mommy’s career as a sem girl began in earnest, with more classes by
Rabbis Kass and Keleman. Tuesday’s teachers included Rabbis Refson, Kass,
and the incomparable Rebbetzen Tziporah Heller. Once again, the day was
rounded out by a girls’ late lunch at Center One, and after a little confusion as to
the meaning of pesto (no, Kayla had not intended to order overcooked fettuccini
swimming in an olive oil bath) Hot Chocolate Cakes cured all memories of bad
service.
On Tuesday night, Mommy
again joined Kayla for her Ohr
LaGolah wives program…Last
week’s speaker was Rabbi
Oratz, and this week was Rabbi Yaacov Marcus, who gave
practical tips on presenting a Kiruv class. Wednesday saw
Mommy shteiging away at sessions with Dr. S Slater, Rabbi
Beryl Gershenfeld (who is JJ’s teacher as well!) and Rabbi
Ari Winter.
Upon leaving Neve,
Mommy was
accosted by a former
BYLA girl who asked
to have her picture
taken in front of the main building. Mommy figured turnabout was fair
play!
On the cab ride home, Mommy got an SOS from Kayla, whose babysitter
had suddenly cancelled, so instead of heading back to
Jacobson’s, Mommy bubby-sat for yummy Y.L., who, of course,
repeated his adorable trick of the last time Mommy watched
him…which is to choose to fill his diaper while bouncing vigorously in
his ultra-saucer.
KOL KRAMERS Page 4 1/20/2005

Jerusalem Diaries
Kayla’s Column:
hi family! well, first of all- that video of ozzie jumping was the cutest thing in the world!
oh, by the way adina- how come yehuda's sleepers get pilly after just one or two washes?
its so annoying...anyway, this week has been a lot of fun- having mommy around can sure
wear you out! she is really on a roll with all the classes in moreshet- i even got snookered
into going to one- i went to rebbetzin heller on women's issues- she's like, so brilliant, its
kinda intimidating. i actually only heard snippets in between mommy saying under her
breath that "these girls are so stupid... if they dont stop asking dumb questions i'm going to
kill them..." but what i DID hear was great. um, my husband is dying from hunger so i have
to go make soem fruit salad-- hey- it’s a salad?!?- ok, we miss you all!
-Kayla
Travels with Tatty:
I had a firm in Africa…
My work has taken me many places
around the world, but rarely does
Kramer family history intersect
with my being an accidental tourist.
But, such was the case in Nairobi,
Kenya. No, we do not hail from
Kenya. None of the Kramer
ancestry can be traced to the Great
Rift Valley. So, how is it that Kramer Family history takes
us to Nairobi?
I went to Nairobi in the fall of 1994 for some business
purpose which I no longer remember. Not far from my Nairobi, Kenya
hotel, The Norfolk, was the Nairobi Synagogue. As is the
case in most places around the world outside of North America, the shul is nominally orthodox. The minyan
appeared to be mostly transients – I do not think there is much of an indigenous Jewish population. Students,
Israeli diamond merchants, some diplomat-types, tourists…
In any case, I remembered vaguely that my Uncle,
Rabbi Julius Fischer, had been a Rabbi in Africa during
the war years. Was it Nairobi? I knew no details, but
inquired of an elderly gentleman who appeared to be
the gabbai or some official of the community. Did he
recall a Rabbi Fischer some half-century ago?
Diminutive, soft spoken, trimmed goatee… Yes, he
remembered. Not only was Rabbi Fischer the Rabbi of
this shul, but he was the Rabbi at this man’s Bar-
Mitzvah!
Rabbi Julius Fischer, a talmid chacham, a learned, soft
spoken, scholarly, gentle man, married Gizi (Gizella)
Sreter, Grandma’s older sister some time in the early
1930’s. When things were getting very bad for the Jews
in Europe, any way out was a good way out. So
somehow, Rabbi Fischer got the shteler in Nairobi
during (I think) 1941. I don’t know what kind of Jewish community existed there during those years, but I
suspect that Rabbi and Mrs. Fischer were not the only Jewish refugees finding sanctuary in that distant country
far from the war.
KOL KRAMERS Page 5 1/20/2005

The gabbai told me that the shul of that period was on the same
site, but was rebuilt just a few years ago to the more modern
structure we see now. Nairobi has grown significantly in the past
60 years – from a safari outpost to a major commercial center of
Africa - and the location if the shul is now quite urban. At the
time of my uncle’s Rabbanus, however, the shul was out beyond
the edge of town. In fact, the gabbai told me, for Shabbos
mornings, they would hire a few locals (he used more colorful
language…) to beat the bushes (literally) before the morning
davening to scare away the lions. The congregants could then
safely walk to shul.
Rabbi Fischer and Aunt Gizi, with son Emeric and daughter
Ruth, moved to the USA sometime in the 40s, and Rabbi Fischer
took a position in
New York City as
Rav of a shul on
79 th St. Here our
story comes full
circle as they took a
very active role in
hatzalos nefashos,
raising money and
Aunt Gizi (on the table)
personally packing
and shipping food,
clothing and supplies back to Europe to those devastated by the
war – including the Sreters and Leo and Irene Kramer of
Nyreghaza.
[Note the thank-you card signed by my father. The typed English
translation from the Hungarian, while accurate, is rather stiff and
formal. The original Hungarian note in my father’s hand is much
warmer.]
Grandma, my father, Grandma's mother, Aunt Tusi, -
Nyreghaza 1946
So – not a major
connection to
Kenya, but a link
nonetheless to
reflect on how
the disastrous
upheaval of those
years rippled
through the lives
of so many and left imprints, big and small, for all of us. And
for today, a good excuse to remember a wonderful, unusual
couple, my Uncle Rabbi Fischer and Aunt Gizi.
KOL KRAMERS Page 6 1/20/2005
###

This weeks Crème de la Krames goes to Yaakov
Kramer, pictured here at his siyum on Mishnayis
Mesechas Brachos. May he be zocheh to finish many
more mesechtos!
News from New Jersey:
Nacham writes:
News From The Holy Land
Nacham’s trip to Eretz Yisroel for Agudath Israel’s Yarchei Kallah
By: Nacham Josephs, as told to him by his trusty wife/stenographer MLJ (italics by her)
[Note: for those of you who don’t know Nacham WELL, he has certain
words that he likes to use, over and over, which sometimes take on new
meanings depending on the situation. For example, the word of last
week seems to be: “K-nocked”, meaning anything from “did a great
job” to “packed it in” to “got a lot out of it”. Just a little tip.]
I’ll try to share with you some highlights of my trip. It was really great
and we really K-nocked away in the learning and the Chizuk. First and foremost, I would of
course like to thank my amazing wife for sending me – her Mesiras Nefesh continues to
inspire me daily, what an Eishes Chayil!
I arrived in Eretz Yisroel on Monday afternoon to the beautiful new terminal at Ben Gurion
airport. As I was looking around, a nice Israeli guy said to me “Ze Kmo JFK, Lo?” “ Um,
Lo.” I said, I mean, I didn’t want to make him feel bad, but the fact is JFK is more like a
city, and this is more like just a nice terminal. Anyway, I was anxious to get to
Yerushalayim and join the program already in progress, so I ran around trying to get a
Sheirut, but quickly realized that the odd stares and pointing gestures in the wrong direction
that I was getting were probably because I was randomly shouting “Sheirutim? Sheirutim?” at everyone – and I
guess that was NOT what I should have been doing. Ooops. I finally fired up a Tender with some other people,
stopped off in Telshe Stone, practiced my excellent Hebrew with the driver, and eventually made it to the
Renaissance hotel in Yerushalayim.
After meeting the Shvigger and Shvester-in-laws in the
lobby (and handing off my bags), I went to join the Shiur
being given by Rav Yaakov Perlow, the Novominsker
Rebbe. His talk was followed by Rab Nosson Tzvi Finkel,
Rosh Hayeshiva of Mirrer Yerushalayim who spoke
about Chinuch Habanim and how the only way to protect
our children from going astray is to give them Ahava . He
recommended that, as the Gemara specifies, class sizes
should be limited to no more than 25 or it becomes
impossible to provide the love.
I hooked up with my Rebbe/Chavrusha, R’ Moshe
Rabinowitz and we planned our evening itinerary. I was
anxious to pack it in, knowing that I had a family
Chassunah that night.
KOL KRAMERS Page 7 1/20/2005

Interesting side point: My friend “Coopy” from Lakewood, also a participant in the program, asked me if he
could borrow my hat for a wedding he had. I said I also had a wedding. He said his was in the Tamir. I said so
was mine. He said, who is yours? I said, um, I forgot the names but they are my cousins and I think one of them
is Schwartz (this was a little embarrassing), then he said he wasn’t sure of his names either but we’d probably
see each other. In any case, it turned out there were three different weddings in the Tamir that night, so we were
in the same place but not the same Simcha.
R’ Moshe and I were off in his rented car, along with a friend of
mine, Zalman Shapiro, and some others, to meet with some
Rabbonim. First we went to see Rav Eisen, whose father used to
give Divrei Mussar to R’Moshe back when he was in Yeshiva.
Rav Eisen told us that in his father’s day, there was no such
thing as Bein Hazmanim in Yeshiva –as he put it: “Maan D’char
Shmei” (“who ever heard of that?”). He gave us some shticklach
Torah, then we went to Rav Zeidela Epstien on Sorotzkin, who
was unfortunately not doing physically well enough to really
talk to us, then we went to Zalman’s uncle, Rav Saks (a
tremendous Ohev es Habrios – ALL Briyos…) and heard his
insights into the Parsha.
The wedding was a real Israel experience- the Chosson’s side were shtarka Yerushalmi Charedim and the
Kallah’s side (my cousins) were a Zionistic Mizrachi family anxious to show me off to their Machatonim as the
“cousin from Lakewood”. It was great to catch up with all of them (even if it was a little embarrassing to be
shlepped around from table to table introduced to people – even into the separate room where the women sat!)
and especially nice to see the Kallah’s aunt, cousin Rena who used to live in Lakwood, her kids, and my sister
Meira, brother in law Reuven, and their family. We knocked
out lots of Josephs schmoozing, eating, more
schmoozing and it was a beautiful Simcha that had a very
nice “Gefeel” of all types of Jews joining together in
celebration.
Late that night I finally made it to my host’s house, Kayla
and JJ, who already had my bags there waiting for me and
made me very comfortable. “Shkoiyach” for the hospitality!
Their little Yehuda Leib is really cute I gotta say, ok, not
like my Rivka, but mamesh cute.
Yehuda, who's almost as cute as Rivka, wearing his new
outfit from ML
Tuesday morning after Shacharis was a 9:30 Halacha shiur
and then the Chavrusah session began at 10:30. It was very
geshmack learning with R’ Moshe and the Shver, with many
others from our table taking advantage of R’ Moshe’s Torah
as well. Afterwords we heard a Shiur from Rav Dovid
Cohen, Rosh Yeshiva in Chevron, then Mincha and lunch
with Arachim during which they showed us interesting
techniques used in Kiruv.
After a good shmooze with Coopie and Zalman, and a Shiur from Rav Shmuel Aurbach, Shlita, R’ Moshe
arranged for an old Russian rabbi (actually he’s the one in the picture in last week’s Kol Kramers which was
mis-labeled as Rabbi Saks – my mistake) who came to the hotel to
speak to us for a while. He told us all about what it meant to grow
up in Russia as a Yid. Very intressant.
Tatty, the shvigger, Chumie, Yisrael Meir, and I all had dinner at
Kayla and JJ’s that night. She’s a good cook! Then R’ Moshe
picked me and JJ up to go to the Kosel where I did the ripping shirt
thing and davened Maariv.
Wednesday morning the Shver learned with JJ, so R’ Moshe and I
k-nocked out the learning on our own. After a Shiur by Rav
Boruch Dov Povarsky, Rosh Hayeshiva of Ponovez and a lunch
by Kollel America, I went with Mordy Stern from the Mir and R’
Moshe to Har Hamenuchos. There we met an old old Yerushalmi yid who mamesh knew where every single
KOL KRAMERS Page 8 1/20/2005

Kever was in the entire place. We davened at the Kevarim of
(among others), R’ Moshe Feinstien, R’ Ahron and R’ Shneur
Kotler, R’ Aryeh Leib Bakst, the Salel (my borther in law)
grandparents, and of course, Zaidy Kellner, ZT”L. The view
from Har Hamenuchos is really amazing. Excellent.
On our way out of the cemetery, as we were trying to find some
Chashuva Rabonim that R’ Moshe knew, we got lost. Every time
R’ Moshe would make a turn I’d ask him If we were heading
into Ramallah, but he seemed very relaxed so I just left it to him
(help.). We were finally nearing Bayit Vegan where we wanted
to see R’ Azriel Aurbach, Shlita to get a bracha, but on the way
we saw a mini-Yad Vashem museum/memorial and R’Moshe
wanted to go in but it was 5 minutes after it closed… still it
turned out bashert because an old man who saw we couldn’t get in asked us where we wanted to go next and
when we told him we were trying to find R’ Azriel, he directed us exactly to his door (which we otherwise
never would have found) and after that, he also directed us to another Rabbi: Rav Haza, a well known
Mashgiach.
At that point R’ Moshe had to go give a shiur at a speaking engagement somewhere, so he dropped off me and
Mordy to meet up with some other guys and we took a car to B’nei Brak where we davened Maariv at R’ Ahron
Leib Shteinman, and spoke with him about the family, got brachos, etc. We then went to R’ Chaim Kinyefsky,
and waited until 10:00pm when Rav Pas (a friend of Coopy’s parents) used his pull and helped us get to the
front to get a bracha for the entire family (he keeps the paper with everyone’s names). Very unique experience.
Thursday morning I went to the Mir, visited a Kollel in Bais Yisroel and then took a tour of the Ramot Torah
Schools (kind of like the Shalom of Eretz Yisroel) given by Rabbi Swiatisky. (By the way, we saw Rav
Elyashiv, Shlita, riding by as we went in!) Of course, they all thought I was the “Groiseh Gvir” from America,
so each class we visited they stood up for us, echem, and showed off their learning, etc. In the fifth grade they
were learning what’s Assur or Mutar on Shabbos, all chanting together, but if they wanted to answer a specific
question they had to do it “rak baetzba” (“only with a finger” – one finger raised). One 12 th grade high school
girl told us her story, how she was originally from Maaleh Adumim in a Chiloni school and she wound up
following her brother here. Now she’s Dati and going to Seminary- she was shy but proud, and they are proud
of her. Another alumnus of the schools went on to be a Talmid of Reuven in Mir Brachfeld in Kiryat Sefer and
got married two days before my trip. Big Nachas. Amazing to see what’s going on in these privately funded
Kiruv schools.
Afterwords we heard from Rabbi Kaplan, a big Gabbai Tzedaka, on the matzev in Yerushalayim and how he
collects for Aniiyim in Eretz Yisroel with his own food stamp program that helps people survive. Poverty is a
big issue. Very Shver. Not Pashut.
10:30, R’ Moshe and I had another gevaldige chavrusah session, heard a shiur from Rav Mechel Silber, and had
an interesting luncheon with a delegation of 50 rabbanim from the former Soviet Union, including the
Shvigger’s friend Rabbi Goldschmidt. The idea was for the Balabatim to take on different cities as their project
to help the Shema Yisroel School Network there.
Off to the Kosel with R’ Moshe, it took us over an hour to get there with major traffic. Once there, we saw the
swearing in ceremony of the Chayalim, which, while interesting, was also depressing to see the crowd of
onlookers not at all showing respect for the makom Kadosh at which they were standing.
On to Meah Shearim/ Geula to souvenir shop (R’ Moshe was leaving that night). We hit all the major places,
the olive wood shop, etc. and at one point R’ Moshe recognized an old couple who ran one of the shops since
back when he was a bachur in yeshiva. He knew they were holocaust survivors so we went in to say hello,
schmoozed, and chapped a mitzvah of making them feel good.
Back at the hotel we got a Shiur from Rabbi Yitzchok Berkowitz, a Rosh Kollel, and then had the goodbye
dinner with R’ Nochum Porush and a group of victims of terror to heighten the group’s awareness. All in all, it
was an excellent lineup, and good program by the Yarchei Kallah.
Shabbos at Kayla and JJ’s was great. Fabulous meal Friday night with the shvigger, Chumie and Yisrael Meir,
Witz and Mrs. Wiltz, Avi Heyman and Daniel Cohen. Good Shmoozing! We were really firing it up: Politics,
feminism, the Israeli Army, you name it… Shabbos lunch at Chumie’s was really delicious, and, they have a
REALLY beautiful apartment. Good job by you Chum!
KOL KRAMERS Page 9 1/20/2005

Motzei Shabbos I went to say goodbye to the Kosel, then Aunt Tyra and Uncle Moishe came over to Chumie’s
to visit, very nice to see them. I went back to Kayla’s, packed up, and took a taxi to Kiryat Sefer to visit my
sister Meira, Reuven (the mashgiach of Mir Brachfeld – and my brother in law) and their family. I had a good
shmooze with Meira, ate a whole plate of “milchige” (sweet rolls – my grandmother’s recipe) and got major
major heartburn. TUMS!?!!?? Meira sent me down to the corner late night drug store to try to find some
heartburn medicine. I had no idea what I was looking at so I went to the guy at the counter, who, of course, did
not speak a word of English, (you’re killing me) and I tried to describe my symptoms. For some reason he just
stared at me blankly no matter how many times I told him I had “Lev Aish! Lev Aish!” (he probably thought
Nacham was either a very passionate man or just totally insane…), so I had to leave the store empty-handed.
Sunday was a full day in Kiryat Sefer. That place is really something. After Shacharis, we went to visit my
nephew Mordechai’s school which follows a different Derech Hachinuch than the mainstream, more B’kiyus,
sticking with the same Rebbe for many years, lots of memorization, etc. There’s a school modeled after this one
in Lakewood now too. Again, the Rebbe thought I was the visiting American G’vir, so I got the whole tour,
what they’re learning, etc.
Then Meira and I walked all
over Kiryat Sefer and I had a
major Kugelach (Chamesh
Avanim) tournament with
my nephews during lunch
hour. More schmoozing and
resting in the afternoon, the
kids played with the puzzles
ML sent and then we had a
nice family supper together.
I went with Reuven to
Maariv at Brachfeld and got
to see the Yeshiva. Finally,
it was time to head out to the
airport. I felt extremely confident (not) when the taxi driver informed
me that it is “Meod MEOD Mesukan (dangerous) Po, Ze acharei hakav hayarok, (I’m sinking lower and lower
into the back seat at this point), Kayn, ata yodaya, Meod MEOD Mesukan!!???”
At passport control they almost didn’t let me through because they didn’t believe my passport picture was really
me. Hmmm. Plus, I must look like a terrorist because the security guy gave me a complete Faher including the
specifics of what I learned in Yeshiva to see if I was authentic. They offered to bump me to the next day’s flight
for $500, but I figured that Shalom Bayis is worth more than $500. (good move.)
On the flight home, I sat next to a priest from Houston who liked to talk, and he told me that the media has it all
wrong – that Israel is such a great country with such wonderful people and that the Jews are so resilient…All in
all, it was a really outstanding trip, a great opportunity for Learning, Chizuk, Hisorrirus and a chance to explore
some of the behind-the-scenes in Eretz Yisroel. It’s not easy to live there, that’s for sure, but what a Z’chus. Am
Yisrael Chai!
-Nacham.
Malka Leah writes:
Last Shabbos, though we missed Nacham greatly, we all had a grand ol’ time with the Feders – thank you for
coming and chasing away our loneliness! We were particularly impressed with Uncle Avi’s Mechanech par
excellence/Pirchei leader abilities as he led the Parsha discussions at the table. Choosing age appropriate
questions for each of the 11 children assembled (all right baby Kayla Bracha and Rivka weren’t all that
involved) one at a time, Uncle Avi had everyone contributing, and even painstakingly adjusted the questions for
the upper grade Bais Faiga girls to be read aloud in that unique and beloved language of “Ivris”! It was very
cute to watch, and I am grateful to my kids for whispering the right answers in my ear when it was my turn!
Friday night we were all so tired and just couldn’t tear ourselves away from the shnoozing center to enforce any
formal bedtimes, so all the cousins had a real “party-on” evening that lasted past midnight as they built “ice
skates” out of clicks among many other creative cousin-y activities. I gotta say, little Kayla Bracha is a clone of
her uncle Chananya as a baby! (ok, maybe a little less dopey – I mean that in a good way – and more pretty
looking, but still the same face!) Hair aside, she’s really such a big fat gutchkeroo, Asher and medium-sized-
KOL KRAMERS Page 10 1/20/2005

Kayla (not to be confused with Big HUMONGOUS Kayla in Israel) couldn’t get enough of holding her all
Shabbos. Devorah, in a very Nacham/Uncle Zevie moment, pondered whether baby Kayla’s hair is all wrapped
up inside her head just waiting to sprout – (imagine sound effects and motions if you will). Little Rochel wins
the award for most bouncy-smiley-teeny-tiny-cutey. Just when you least expect it her adorable little head will
always pop up out of nowhere and you’ll hear the perkiest: “Hello!” Leah, Rivka and Rochel all spent time
working on conflict resolution regarding various toys we only have one of (doll stroller, toy car…) and the boys
generally had a wild and wonderful time with Hooda and Asher-Bush.
Shabbos afternoon Grace and I walked over to Blanca’s to visit and made ourselves heimish with some of her
Kiddush leftovers.
Motzei Shabbos we were honored to host The Kellners (all the ones who currently live on E. 11 th st. minus
Rivkie – we missed you!) plus Breindy (a.k.a. Asher’s teacher Mrs. Shnidman) and Miri. A lovely time was had
by all, and though of course we missed the Baal Habayis, we tried to fill the void by discussing and rediscussing,
what else, the KOL KRAMERS! (Racheli, perhaps as an addendum to her pre-teen quote from last
week, noted that “maybe we should all decide NOW what to write in next week’s KOL KRAMERS, that way
we’ll know what we’re doing all week!)
Sunday, after saying goodbye to the Federim, I took all the kids (plus Asher’s friend Baruch) roller skating!
Rivka watched, Yehuda played the arcade games, and the big 4 skated away like crazy. After a major cleanup,
we all went out to drop off the big girls at the Bais Yaakov high school play (Lakewood’s version of Broadway)
which they loved.
Monday morning bright and early we welcomed home Nacham! Hooray! Lots of jumping with the kiddies
ensued, and everyone thanks Babika for the beautiful, author-inscribed Barchos book and the welcome kit from
the mayor (our den now says welcome to B’nei Brak). With tatty home, things have settled back in to their
regular routine around here and we’re looking forward to hosting Devorah’s friend from Brooklyn (they met in
camp Agudah Midwest this summer), Shifra Braude. Devorah has already informed me that we will need to
have a family meeting tonight on how to act “normal” this weekend. Hmmm – a pretty tall order…
Family Mazel Tov section:
Mazel Tov to Asher and his entire class on finishing Parshas
Vayera, and on continuing to learn “geshmack” in his Mishnayos.
He baked a chocolate cake for the Siyum, and a lemon cake on
Monday for Tatty’s welcome home supper – plus, he’s having his
third piano lesson tonight – way to go Asher!
Mazel Tov Kayla on losing four more teeth! What a “holey”
smile you have now sister Kayla, mamesh Gevalt!
Mazel Tov to Racheli
on getting a 96 on her
VERY difficult
Chumash test and
even completing all
the Yiddish teitch correctly! Thank you Aunt Gracie for studying
with her so diligently on Shabbos! (“No, no, wake up Racheli, we
can’t stop now, only three more Psukim to go”…poke, nudge,
dance around the coffee table…)
Mazel Tov Devorah
on starting
rehearsals for your
seventh grade
performance which
will include the
Ladino favorite:
“Avram Avinu”
(which, thanks to Susy’s help back in sixth grade, I know is
actually pronounced “Abram Abinu”.)
KOL KRAMERS Page 11 1/20/2005

Mazel Tov to Yehuda on making such a beautiful bird-feeder in
honor of Shabbos Shira (“Nisht Fargessen – da feigelach hobt
gibben essen!”)
Baltimore news
Mazel Tov to Rivka
Bivka Roo on
sleeping in a big girl
BED with her big girl
BIKA (blanket) for
the last two nights
without even falling
out. (almost.)
Good Shabbos!
-ML
Faige reports:
Hi everyone. This week has been a fantastic one but exhausting. It started out with a great
weekend with my parents. They arrived Thursday night. We went out for Chinese food
and brought them back some. We shmoozed and put the kids to bed late. Friday we all
slept in (except for Chananya & Zaide who got up early to attend kollel Dirshu that
Chananya goes to each morning and-Suprise! My father was asked to speak. So he managed to get his fist
speech in before 7 AM) and were off to the science center!! (see photos). The IMAX was great and all the
exhibits were fun. I was trying to enjoy in between my spurts of laughter. All I could think of is Malka Leah and
her recent article of taking her kids to a museum in Manhattan. I turned into my mother!!
The IMAX was amazing but Shmuel got a little scared so I took him out in the middle. We called Chan on the
cell phone and that made Shmuel feel better.
(Chananya inserts: The conversation went something like this:
Chananya: Hello? Shmuel?
Shmuel: AAAAMMAAMMMSCARRRYAAAMOMMYAAAAAAWANNAGOAAAAIIIYY!!
Chananya: Shmuel? Are you okay?
Shmuel: AAAAHHH!!!,
WWWAAAAHHHHMOMMYAAAASCARYAAAAYYYY!!
Chananya: c'mon Shmuel, I'm sure it's not *that* bad...
SHMUEL:AAAAHHHHMMMMHHWWW!! SCARYAAAAAMMMMVIDEOAAIITATTYAAA!!!!! )
After that I went home to
finish last minute cooking
and errands and met my
mother at the pizza shop for
lunch. She had all the kids
and it was nice. I took my
father with me and we had
some quality time. He is
such a special man (OK I am
prejudiced, but the little
things he does that people
don't notice are amazing).
Shabbos was relaxing and fun. I slept in and woke up to a clean house!! I put on maternity for the first time on
Shabbos and B"H got very nice reactions. The best was Chananya. He looked so surprised that I was in
maternity. I finally said, "I have some nice news....." We had a good laugh.
(Chananya inserts: I still don't know why she's wearing those loose fitting outfits...!?)
KOL KRAMERS Page 12 1/20/2005

Shabbos was also Faigy Thav's Aufruf. The kids had a blast throwing peklach and my father spoke Shalosh
suedos all about Faigy.
Monday night was Faigy's wedding. Since she does video editing, she is editing her own wedding video.
Knowing that, Chananya made a HUGE comedic cameo on her video. I was absolutely hysterical. Aliza and
Eata did their fare share of shtick and me......I was a good audience. OK, so I still laugh at Chananya's jokes.....
(I think he's funny)
Wed night was Yaakov's siyum. What a gorgeous thing. Each class was in a separate room while each boy said
a Mishna for the parents of that class. [Ed. Note: See Crème de la Krames for the photo] After that, all the
parents convened in the auditorium for a fleishig supper and speeches and a video. Yaakov was on the video,
learning. The zoomed in on him so much that he finally looked up at the camera (he was looking in his chumash
until then) and gave the yummiest, gushiest, sweetest smile. Of course I was Kvelling. (Chananya inserts: Faige
was one step away from standing up and announcing: "THATS MY BAAAABY!!”)
Then On the way home Chananya reminds me that I have to write for Kol Kramers!! OK,so that was my week.
Now Chananya will read this over and add in his comments. (Chananya inserts: no I won't)
Looking forward to maybe having Nacham write about his week in Israel!!
How many cab driver friends did he make at the end of the week? What was his average? 2 a day? 3 a day?
-Faige
Sara Chana Reports:
Hi Everyone!
Let me sum up: Shabbos with the Josephs was great! The kids had a
blast! Of course, it wasn’t the same without Nacham but we did make
sure to spread all the newspapers around the den in his absence. ML
cooked up a storm! Avi was the Pirchei leader – firing out questions to all
ages, even translating to Hebrew for the older Bais Faiga girls. 3 cheers for Racheli for doing so well on her
Chumash test, ahem, I will take some credit for that! Once again we thought of Nacham when the late hour of
our Chumash study session caused some wild shukeling! ML hosted an impromptu Melave Malka so we could
have the chance to see the Kellnerim including Miri and Breindy. Thanx ML for always being the hostess with
the mostess!
Sunday saw us visiting G&G in Queens with new baby Blima Feder. B”H all our travels went well and we
arrived home on Sunday nite in time to unpack and repack for a 7:30am flight to St. Louis. Baby Kayla and I
had a great trip and Avi held down the fort at home. It was so wonderful to see Grandma, I only wish I could do
it more often. We sat and talked and sang and Grandma held and cuddled baby Kayla. KBF cooed at all the
right times so Grandma could hear her. Grandma is such an inspiration. She
always keeps her spirits up and never complains. We took beautiful shots together
which I hope to share soon. I got to see Aunt Susan too which was really nice and
she took good care of me – shuttling me around.
We are off to the Pearlstone convention center for Shabbos for a TA Rabbeim
Shabbaton. The older children are going to the Adlers and Kayla and Rochel will
be with us. I even managed to get Eeta and friends to come along to baby-sit! She
was willing because the guest speaker will be Rabbi Orloweck whom she wanted
to stalk. Works out great for me cuz I get to have her company, have a babysitter
for the girls whom they love, and have an excuse to make sure she’s mentioned in
this week’s KOL KRAMERS!!!!
Much love,
-Gracie
KOL KRAMERS Page 13 1/20/2005

Mostly Monsey (and Manhattan too):
Monsey Musings:
Living Life by the Brita
There are many things, while insignificant in the broad scope of our humanity, that jar us with the
sense that time has flown before we had a chance to notice its passing.
“Wow that roll of toilet paper went fast. I just changed it…” “Yes officer, I will update that expired inspection
sticker right away…has it been a year already?” “Is our daughter
getting married in a few weeks? She was a toddler not too long
ago...”
I am sure you’ve experienced at least one of these jarring
moments, if not all of them, some time in your adult life. I am sure
you can add many of your own examples to the ones I’ve listed.
While your “Household Hint” editor is usually on top of most
“time-related” issues, even I experience these humbling moments
on occasion. I have my carpets cleaned every six months and
whenever months June and December roll around I am struck by
how quickly time has passed (and how dirty things can get in just six months time). I take my car for regular oil
changes and “three to five thousand” miles adds up faster than you think. Even our Brita water pitcher has an
indicator to remind us to change the filter. Two or three months of filtered water and you begin to wonder
where time has gone. And of course, the Shabbos deadline can throw even the most organized housewife a
most humbling curve.
So, as the days, months and years become what we affectionately call life, remember to stop and take notice of
these important and seemingly unimportant mile markers. Take a minute to contemplate how far you’ve come
since the last toilet paper change or vehicle inspection, and reevaluate how you want to spend your days until
the next one. Be appreciative that B”H your life has a pace you can handle; although I’m sure you wish that
once in a while things might slow down. Be appreciative, as it keeps you guessing what auspicious moment
awaits you right around the corner.
B.J. Writes:
The weather in Monsey has been
delightful.
As usual.
Every single day.
If you’re a masochistic penguin!
Here we have an unretouched
photograph of the dashboard of my car
from one morning this week. Yes,
you’re reading that correctly; it was
seven degrees outside. (That’s about
14 degrees below zero for our non-
American readers).
In other news, Mikey asked me to take a
picutre of him dressed ‘as a soldier’
(perhaps in the army of The Duchy of
Grand Fenwick). He chose the pose
himself. Strange kid.
Ozzie got a new present this week: a
jolly jumper. I’ve posted a video of him in it on the website, because
he’s just so adorable. Please note the dark patch on his sweatshirt
around the neck – that’s drool. This kid is a veritable drool machine.
KOL KRAMERS Page 14 1/20/2005

Understanding Computer Graphics
In honor of the release of Picasa 2 this week, I’ll talk about graphics on computers. For
those who don’t use it already, Picasa is the easiest to use (and probably the best) program to
organize and manipulate your digital photo collection. It is not designed for the photo
professional, because its touch-up and editing tools are pretty basic, but it does most of what
most people need (rotate, basic color correction, red-eye removal, cropping, etc). I bought a
copy for myself at its original $30 price, then I bought copies for
MLJ and another for someone else (I can’t remember who). Then
Google bought the product and started giving it away for free.
Well, my money was well spent. I urge everyone with a digital
camera to download and use it – the new version has tons more
editing tools, and is far more powerful than the old one, and it’s
still free.
Anyway, on with the lesson. There are two basic kinds of images
a computer can display: vector images and raster images (also called bitmapped
images). A vector image is one that the computer ‘understands’ by using a starting
point for a line, and end point for that line, and some degree of curve to it, and
possibly a fill of some kind. If you have the computer re-size the image, it will recalculate the lines and the
image will look exactly the same. Contrast that with a bitmapped image (which is what all photos are on a
computer), which essentially uses a grid and defines the number of dots that make up the grid, and what color
each dot is. I’m aware that’s a vague description, so maybe you’d like Wikipedia’s description better:
Vector graphics describes the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and polygons
to represent images in computer graphics. It is used by contrast to the term raster graphics, which is
the representation of images as a collection of pixels (dots).
You will find vector graphics used in programs like CorelDRAW, Adobe Illustrator, and Macromedia Flash
(which is all over the web). Raster graphics are what you get when you take a digital photo, scan something into
your computer, or create something in a program like Adobe Photoshop or The GIMP.
Raster photos can be made smaller by a computer very easily, but making them bigger usually results in the
image getting ‘blocky’ or blurry. This is because the computer is increasing the size of the grid which defines
the picture, and it has to essentially guess what color to use in the new intermediate pixels. For example, if the
first pixel (that’s a dot, remember) is red, and the second is blue, and now you’ve resized the image such that
the part of the picture that used to be defined by those two pixels
now is represented by four pixels, the computer must guess what
colors to use in those four pixels. A ‘dumb’ resize will do
something like simply average the adjacent pixels (so the one
that now appears between the blue one and the red one will be
colored purple), but a ‘smarter’ resize (often called resampling)
will take more of the image into account and try to generate the
smoothest interpolation it can. Most programs do a decent job of
this nowadays, but they can never get results as good as taking a
higher-resolution original. This is why you should always take
digital pictures at a high-enough resolution appropriate for the
final output (printers use smaller dots than screens, so use higher
resolutions for pictures you plan to print – if you want to print
large images, make sure you use the highest resolution you can).
It is also important to know something about graphic file
formats. Most cameras now store their shots in JPEG format, which typically uses the .JPG extension. JPEG is a
lossy format, which means that the computer compresses the image to save storage space – and it does it in such
a way that actually reduces the quality of the image, but usually not enough to notice. Normally this would not
be a very wise thing for a computer to do, but a typical JPEG-format photo will take maybe 1/10 th Example of Picasa 2’s new ‘soft focus’ effect
the disk space
required by a RAW-format photo (RAW format is available mostly on high-end cameras, and it keeps all the
detail in the photo, and does not attempt to compress it at all). What this means is that if you open a JPG photo
in Photoshop (for example), do some editing, and save it again as a JPG, it will compress it again, and you will
lose some more detail. If you do this a few times, the reduction in detail in the photo will be easily apparent.
KOL KRAMERS Page 15 1/20/2005

Another common graphic format is GIF. GIF is becoming less popular nowadays, but you’ll still see in use on
most web sites. The GIF format is limited to 256 different colors in the image, so it is rarely used for photos, but
it compresses well with no loss of detail (it uses a lossless compression algorithm). It also supports a
transparency layer (often called an alpha channel), which simply means that the program displaying it (a web
browser, for instance) knows to treat one specially-designated ‘color’ in the image as transparent, and allow the
background to show through. This allows for some very clever graphics on websites, because it allows you to
give the impression that your bitmapped images have a defined shape, rather than just being rectangular, which
all raster graphics really are.
There are literally hundreds of graphics formats out there, but these are the important ones nowadays. If you
want to understand this topic in greater detail, I highly recommend following the Wikipedia links above,
especially the one on raster graphics, which explains things much better than I have.
One last thing: If you have little kids (age 3+) that might want to doodle on the computer, I heartily recommend
you check out a VERY easy to use program called TuxPaint. It has a very cutesy interface, and makes adorable
sounds when you use it (potentially annoying for adults), and comes with hundreds (thousands?) of little
graphics the children can drop in to their artwork. One word of caution: if the kids have access to a color
printer, they will waste A LOT of your ink.
Cute Kid Quotes:
Sara Chana writes:
This was from a few weeks ago, when discussing Parshas Shemos.
Leah (age 3.9) said “They put the baby in the box, then they put a
guitar on it, so Paroh wouldn't throw the baby in the water”.
More recently, when the cousins were playing "Twister" at the Josephs
this Shabbos, Chananya Feder (age 7.36) cutely remembered a trick
from Babika that helped all the kids play more productively:
"Everybody hold up your hands with your fingers together and your
thumb straight out to the side, you'll see that the LEFT hand makes the
letter L!" Everyone was very happy with this practical advice!
Malka Leah writes:
Last Thursday, when I was having a typical “sauces flying” afternoon with every pot and ingredient out all over
the counters, Rivka (age 2.7) came home from playgroup and said: “Mommy, what are you doing?”, I said
“Cooking”. She said, “Nu uh mommy, you not cookin, you makin a big, huge mess!” (Not long afterwords
when Yehuda's carpool pulled up, I heard her run to the door to tell him: “Hooda, look a dis, Mommy's makin a
huge huge mess in da kitchin!!”)
Ainekle Art
B.J. Writes:
Mikey delightfully surprised his parents by ‘drawing’ some
Hebrew letters with his Webby’s. He even made a letter Adina
had never heard of, the ‘end-a-chof’. Mikey has not been taught
the term ‘chof sofis’, apparently.
Malka Leah Writes:
Kayla made a picture of how happy she is to have
her tatty home from Eretz Yisroel, and didn't want
to make mommy feel bad either, so this lovely
piece depicts improved Josephs domestic life with
BOTH parents in residence!
KOL KRAMERS Page 16 1/20/2005

Happy Birthday to:
Asher Josephs who turns 9 today! (January 21 st )
and to Avrohom King who will turn 8 on January 26 th ,
and to Lauren Lieberman who will turn 27, also on January 26 th ,
and to Rochel Kellner who will turn 9 ALSO on January 26 th !!
And once again, a happy 91 st birthday to Grandma on January 22 nd !
Krispy Kramers Recipes:
Rochel Kellner (9) holding birthday cake -
surrounded by admirers [Ed. Note: Photo courtesy
of Rabbi Brodsky]
This week’s recipe comes straight from chinuch.org’s collection.
Because it’s already nicely formatted as a PDF, it will simply be
attached at the end of the document.
Finis
KOL KRAMERS Page 17 1/20/2005

Tu B’Shvat – Shabbos Shira – Shiluach HaKan
Instructions:
You can make adorable,
edible bird's nests out of
Chinese Noodles and
chocolate bits (perfect for
Shabbos Shira, or for learning
about Shiluach HaKan)!
• Mix one large bag of thin Chinese Noodles (the crispy ones that are as thin as
spaghetti, not the ribbon-like noodles) with two bags of melted semi-sweet
chocolate chips.
• Spray two 8 inch round cake pans with Pam or a similar product and press half
of the chocolate/noodle mixture into each of the two pans, pushing down slightly
in the center, while building up the sides a bit. (This is kind of messy work, but
licking your fingers afterwards is a lot of fun.)
• Chill till hard, and pop your two "bird's nests" out of their pans. (The bottoms
and sides will be straight, and the tops will be slightly concave to hold the
"eggs".)
• Fill your nests with "eggs" --actually rounded cookies (any recipe, but ground
almond cookies give a nice color and shape) which you roll in confectioner's
sugar to whiten.
• For a crowning touch, add a decorative bird! You can purchase these at hobby
stores, or have your students make their own origami folded birds, or cut out
simple bird outlines from colored paper, adding feathers for wings and glueing
on googly eyes.
Note: For individual nests that each child can take home, double or triple the recipe as
needed and form the nests in large muffin tins, instead of round cake pans. When
hardened, pop them out and fill with jelly bean "eggs", or use pastel colored candy
coated almonds. Little origami folded birds are perfect for these mini-nests and will help
your students and their families to remember to express Hakoras Hatov, by feeding
crumbs to the birds on Erev Shabbos Shira!
And since Tu B'Shvat is the Rosh HaShana for the Trees, making Birds Nests (which
are found in trees) will fit right in with your Tu B'Shvat lessons!
From the Collection of: www.e-Chinuch.org File # L_00874 Page 1 of 1
Submitted by Mrs. Shana Kramer