Succos...... and the Chamtzin

Wanna start out by wishing a Chag Sameach to all my dutiful readers out there!

I've actually had a cold for the past couple of days so that was a really fun part of my chag... [cough cough, hack wheez] Um... for the first days of Succos I stayed in Kiryat Belz so i could be close to the Chaimowitz faimly. I went with my friend to her great aunt's house for the first seuda of yom tov. Which was really nice since I up until Wednesday morning I didn't have anywhere to eat for that night. i felt really at home among the bustling family and constant noise of children playing. She seriously had like 25 grandchildren under the age of 10... so anyways, i really like it.

Then for the first day meal i went to the Chaimowitzes. Mrs. Chaimowitz really took care of me, like my own mother would. And it was really nice to get to know all the kids and meet some of the new recruits (Chozer BeTshuva people).

Then for the second day meals I walked to Har Nof..... an hour and 20 minute walk in the heat. Crazy.

Oh- right, did i mention the Chamtzin yet? So there was a heat wave here. Its the hottest Succos anyone can remember. like 90 or 100 degrees. Cool right.

So Thursday night I ate at the Yarmishes.... who are an amazing family that are always doing chesed, together with 50 other seminary girls who needed the american meals. During the each seminary needed to have a girl present a Dvar Torah and also each girl individually needed to answer a bunch of questions such as: What is your name and where do you live? What seminary are you attending? Do you get along with your parents? Tell us one thing nobody in the room knows about you... There were some really interesting responses like "I crashed the car during my road test" and "I built a hydrogen generator" lol- okay that was me.

Unexpectedly during the meal I was tapped on the shoulder by a very good friend of mine that I haven't seen in a few years but used to speak to often. We went to camp Agudah together after 8th grade and saw each other twice in NY since. I was very excited to see her and we spent the whole meal catching up. Afterwards I went to see her dorm and meet the Rav of her sem.

Thursday night I stayed at Rabbi Meisels house (the principle of P'ninim). When I walked in that night I had another amazing surprise. In the Rav's living room sat an old and true friend also from Camp Agudah, who just happened to be my Rav's neice who was also staying there for yomtov. We talked long into the night and finally retired in the early hours of the morning for it had been a very long day.

I had the Friday day meal there with some of the other girls from the P'ninim in the Meisels succah on the roof and then walked back to Belz for shabbos.

I got slightly lost on the way and ended up near the old city but I quickly figured out where I had erred and made it to Belz about 20 minutes from Shkiah.

Friday night I went with the same friend from Wednesday night to her sisters house which was beautiful on account of cool weather and wonderful company. Shabbos day I went back to the Chaimowitz's and stayed till the end of shabbos.

I then caught a bus back to Kiryat Moshe.

All in all, I really enjoyed First days Succot in Yerushalym.