Florida day 5

September 24

Saturday morning arrived and we had our day mapped out for us already when we awoke. Whereas the first days here in Deerfield Beach were pretty much unstructured and laid back, this day had several important elements planned in advance. Earlier I had searched the Internet (as I usually had with each town we found ourselves in on Saturdays) to find out where Conservative/Masorti synagogues were located. This morning it was decided that we would attend Temple Beth Israel in Sunrise, FL. This was not the closest Masorti synagogue to Barry and Brenda's current location. Those would have been located in Boca Raton. And it was not the synagogue Barry and Brenda themselves attend. It was the synagogue closest to the place where Maria (Razelle's grandmother's caregiver from her childhood) lived. From the Temple Beth Israel website I learned that their rabbi had been a student of our rabbi in Beer Sheva when they were both originally in Argentina. This discovery was the most important factor for us. This Rabbi here in Florida, the rabbi we had met in Las Vegas and the rabbinic couple we would be going to in Atlanta for Rosh Hashanah, all had close connections with our own rabbi in Beer Sheva.

Although I made it known to Razelle that it was important to me that we arrive in time for the Torah service, I myself tarried too long at Barry and Brenda's place. I also underestimated the time it would take us to travel that far, so we only arrived in time to hear the Haftarah. I felt bad about getting there that late. We missed the chance to say the prayer for the sick during the Torah reading service. However, we did get to hear the rabbi's sermon. It dealt with the topic of leadership (e.g. Moses') in regards to the world leaders who spoke at the UN during their debate over Palestinian statehood. Members of the congregation took turns expressing their thoughts on this topic, but I remained silent and invisible while I listened to them express their feelings.

At end of services, visitors to their synagogue were asked to rise and introduce themselves. I rose and mentioned that Razelle and I were from Israel; from the congregation led by their rabbi's teacher, and that we were traveling around the world. After services, we were surrounded by congregants who welcomed us enthusiastically and wanted to get to know us better. They knew key members from our own community back in Beer Sheva who had participated in their services here in Sunrise. At the Kiddush meal I sought out the rabbi and discussed his sermon with him and with those at his table, while Razelle discussed the economy with the people who sat with her at her table. It was a satisfying experience for both of us, each in our own way. We exchanged contact info some of them, but didn't write it down. We will find them on the Temple Beth Israel web pages later.

We drove next to Maria's home nearby. Razelle and I were impressed with its location, set as it was among canals with water-birds swimming on their shimmering surfaces. Razelle and Maria and her family had much to talk about. While they got reacquainted I drove off to the huge Ikea store beside the synagogue we had just prayed at. Barry had purchased some merchandise there that proved to be defective and he asked if I'd mind returning it while I was so nearby. There are far fewer Ikea stores in Florida than I had imagined, so this was actually an important favor I was happy to do for him. I parked the van in their massive parking garage and walked into the store. I was directed to the returns department and had to consult with Barry by telephone to know which of the several options mentioned was the one he wanted. I searched the store for the department where candles were sold but found none that were suitable for the memorial candles we wanted to light during Rosh Hashanah in Atlanta. I called Brenda and she told me such candles could be purchased at any Publix grocery store. I had entered the Ikea just ahead of a great downpour and again, as I drove away, another classic downpour ensued. Here in Florida they are typically intense but over in a matter of minutes.

I programmed my GPS to take me to the nearest Publix. It was part of a shopping plaza, but there were shopping plazas on three of the four corners at the intersection it took me to. I had a hard time guessing which of them was the right one, and naturally I guessed wrong twice and had a lot of corrective maneuvers to do to get back to that intersection each time. Once I found the Publix I had to navigate within the store to find the shelves with the candles. I bought three memorial candles there. Mission accomplished.

I returned in yet another brief downpour to Maria's home. Traffic in this area on a Saturday afternoon was not light by any means, and through the rapid swiping of the vans wipers and because its defroster caused circles of condensation to form on the glass where they directed their icy blast it was a bit of a challenge. Yet, by the time I had reached Maria's place the rain had stopped and the sun had come out to ensure that the relative humidity here would remain as high as possible.

When I entered the house Razelle produced a pair of scissors and sat me down for my first haircut in over three months. Rosh Hashanah is less than a week away, so it was definitely time for this. Maria has a couple of caged parrots. Petunia is the ornerier of the two and she does not interact well with strangers. She can talk when she wants to and I tried with some success to coax some words out of her. She watched me from her cage as Razelle cut my hair and when it was done Petunia actually whistled her approval. She seemed to accept me, despite my being a stranger, and when I tried to pet her head through the bars she indicated that she liked it and wanted more. When it was time to leave I said good bye to Petunia. She screeched in protest when I said we were leaving. I had befriended this parrot and she didn't want me to leave. Razelle and Maria were very impressed to see how well Petunia had bonded with me.

We returned to Barry and Brenda's place to have them take us to our favorite restaurant on this trip. Here in southern Florida you can't just show up at one of these and get a table. We had to wait half an hour before one was free. They give you a beeper that lets you know when that is. Isn't that something? According to Barry this is still low season in this area. During high season you can't get in at all without a prior reservation. In southern Florida, high season is during the winter months. That makes sense. While we waited for our table we looked around at what the other (elderly) patrons were wearing. Razelle remarked that I ought to get myself some short parts like the retired men we saw had on. That's not gonna happen! I don't know how they could think that these guys looked good dressed that way. Not even Charlie Sheen on "Two and a Half Men" can pull of that look. I certainly have no interest in emulating that fashion example.

The meal was great, and, as always, since our arrival in Deerfield Beach, our conversations never grew stale during our time together with Barry and Brenda. We returned to their home to continue talking there until we all felt it was time to call it a day. We went to bed with repacking unaccomplished. This would be our last night with Barry and Brenda before we pointed our van northward for the final leg of this American segment of our round-the-world journey. What lay ahead of us was a complicated array of high holidays and visits with people all up and down the eastern seaboard, timed very carefully to accommodate them all. The prospects seemed daunting, yet doable. Time would tell if we could pull it all off. We had hoped to leave here for Columbia, South Carolina on our way to Atlanta, but after several phone calls from Fred and Belle, we realized that our stop in Columbia would have to come after Rosh Hashanah and not before. These were the last topics Razelle and I talked about before we sank into slumber.