Feliz Ano Nuevo Judio

And so this is Rosh Hashonah...and what have you done? Ah, that John Lennon were still alive...

So yesterday I picked up some kosher style food (my orthodox friends say kosher style is like a "little pregnant") and headed to ancient Mom's house. She no longer travels past about 5 miles from her condo, so no longer wants to have RH celebrations with us. I decided that if Grandma couldn't come to Rosh Hashanoh, RH would come to Grandma.

I heated up the matzoh ball soup and brisket and spread some honey on challah for her, and we had ourselves a merry little RH. She enjoyed it, but I was reminded how out of it she was. I told her a joke about a pirate, she pretended to listen, and then said "OH, David, ANYTHING can be funny." Tick, tick, tick...her time passes...

Then I picked up D2 at MIA. We had planned to have just a small dinner, the 4 of us, but got a last minute invite to our new neighbors, the internet millionaires we met through our orthodox rabbi friend. The Ds were game, so I trudged off to Total Wine for a gift. Would they have kosher wine? I think Total Wine stocks Swahili wine. Of course they have kosher wine --2 full shelves of it!

D2 and I continued our discussion about the perils of college drinking into the store. She was amazed at the place, as everyone is. The Disney of booze. The Wal Mart of alcohol. I picked out a kosher Rioja, and a few Australian Pinots, and we left for home.

What a scene at the kosher mansion. Our guests have, essentially, a commune for folks who moved to Miami to work for the company, to stay until they find permanent homes. There were some Israelis, a couple of Los Angeles folks, a lady from Cincinatti, and our hosts, originally from Montreal and Milwaukee...

The food was delicious, the conversation stellar. The company's owner and his brother, 2 brilliant guys, were debating with some of the other execs whether they'd rather own Amazon or Ebay...

No one was older than their 20s...The whole executive board of this company was there, a company which now has a larger online operation than Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and no one is 30!

The Ds enjoyed meeting the folks, as well, but I truly felt ancient. And Wifey was clearly older than most of their mothers...

All of the folks came from religious families, and were one of between 9 and 15!!! siblings. They're truly on to something. There were few tales of loser brothers or sisters. One of the guests was one of 8 kids of a widowed mother in LA. The woman raised 8 kids and was somehow a nationally known neurologist at UCLA.

So many of us seculars "drown in a glass of water," as the fine Cuban expression goes, and these religious types balance amazingly busy lives...

So we came home, after the most interesting Rosh Hashonah dinner in years.

As I write, the D2 are still sleeping. Oh, what an increasingly rare pleasure it is for Wifey and me, to have both of them home, like little girls.

When they awake, we're heading off to the other semi shut ins in our lives, Wifey's parents. My in laws are also past any travel to our house, so we're bringing RH to them as well.

Wifey is an only child. When she told our hosts and the other religious guests last night, there was a collective gasp. One child? Unheard of...

After dinner, D1 is headed off to her part time job as a hostess to the rich, famous, spoiled, and sometimes hideous...

D2 will come back home, where she has some school work. We're going to see the Canes "battle" Bethune Cookman tomorrow. I love having her home.

And so, a new year is upon us on the Jewish calendar. I was surprised to learn last night that many of our hosts don't go to shul. They chose to blow their own shofar, as it were. I joked that I upped my contributions to Rabbi Yossi, to avoid going as well. Sort of like buying papal dispensation...

I probably WILL go for Yom Kippur, though. Kol Nidre, the service before the Day of Atonement, is Friday.

May my family and friends be inscribed in the Book of Life. It's great to be here.