May 28, 2005
Lag Ba'Omer
We are very glad that Tyler is in preschool. He has fun and has made lots of friends. Also, it helps us get to know our neighbors and learn about Israeli culture and Jewish traditions. Last year at this time we were surprised by the bonfires built all over the city and we didn't understand what was going on. This year, we were invited to a bonfire celebration with Tyler's preschool.
Lag Ba'Omer is celebrated on the 33rd (the L of Lag stands for 30 and the G stands for 3) day of Omer, which is the counting of days between Passover and Pentecost. It is a happy celebration in the middle of what is supposed to be a somber period. No one is quite sure what it celebrates: either the end of a plague or of a war that killed 24,000 rabbinical students in the 2nd century.
Now it is a time when families get together for a picnic and bonfire. During the week before Lag Ba'Omer, children scour the city for anything that will burn. Construction sites hide their supplies because anything loose is scavenged. Scott saw several 7 or 8 year old children pushing shopping carts full of wood that they had found.
We actually celebrated Lag Ba'Omer a day early because the parents of the children at Tyler's preschool thought it would be safer without the chaos of the older children the next night. We ate hot dogs, pita, hummus, and we cooked potatoes in the bonfire.
Family at Lag Ba'OmerThe children were really good around the fire. They were content to run around in the trees on the hill next to our apartment building.
The bonfireOne of the parents led the singing of songs about Lag Ba'Omer. As you can tell from the picture below, the children only sang half-heartedly.
Tylers class singing Lag Ba'Omer songs
Tyler was thrilled that he got to hold a sparkler.
Tyler with his sparklerA couple of days after Lag Ba'Omer, one of Tyler's preschool friends had a birthday party at Nemashim. It was the third time we had been there for a birthday party. Both Tyler and Brooke love it. It is kind of like a Gymboree, with a padded floor and lots of toys to play with. Brooke's favorite thing is a motor home with a kitchen to play in. She alternated between driving the motor home and cooking in the kitchen.
Brooke cooking in the motor home
Brooke was convinced that this padded ramp was a slide. She climbed down it several times. We think she was a little confused that she didn't slide down.
Bumpy slideAt the birthday party, there was a clown. Tyler doesn't like clowns (possibly due to the fire-breathing clown from a previous birthday party), but this one brought a parachute which Tyler loved.
Tyler and the parachuteOur other adventure of the week was a trip to the American Embassy in Tel Aviv. Tiffany had to renew her passport. We also had more pages added to the passports of Brooke and Tyler. We got to the Embassy shortly after it opened, so we were done just a half an hour later. We received the passports when they were finished by courier service.
Tyler-isms:
"She's not a guy, she's a girl!" - After Tiffany said, "Good job, guys," to Tyler
and Brooke.
"Fireside" - Lag Ba'Omer bonfire
"These are all my kids!" - About a picture of his friends from school
Brooke-isms:
"Shoes" - just like it sounds.
"Feet" - What the shoes go on.