Community Magazine June 2009

110 Community magazine Part 2: The Crocs Kids Arrive at the Farm “Seventy-two days left,” Ezra sulked. “Ezra Pardes!” their mother scolded. “We didn‛t even get there yet!” “Look!” Rebecca shrieked. “I see the sign!” Ezra, Rebecca, Morris, Sharon, and Baby Charlie (Joey and Judy had come a day earlier with their father) peered at the massive bill- board. Sharon read it slowly, “Pardes Acres – Kosher Family Farm.” Spread out as far as the eye could see were acres of rolling farmland, dotted with buildings, cabins and stables. As their car turned onto the gravel drive, Morris sat up abruptly. “A goat! I see a goat!” he yelled. Goats, sheep, and horses began trotting up to the white fences and peering through curiously. Chickens fluttered in front and behind the bigger animals. Further back, cows grazed calmly, betraying no interest in the newcomers. Suddenly, the kids saw an amazing sight. Sitting on a small tractor and driving it himself up the road towards them was…Joey! Judy was sitting next to him, holding on for dear life. “Joey‛s driving?!” Morris wondered. From the looks on Joey‛s face, it looked like he‛d decided it was going to be a great summer after all! “It‛s a tractor,” his mother explained, “and by law around here, anyone thir- teen and older can drive a tractor on farm grounds.” Piling out of the car, the kids went to check out their new home. Ezra rushed toward the cabin, pushed open the door and peered inside. “Hey, look at this! A bed under the steps! Mommy, can this be my bed?” His mother, already busy unpacking, nodded. The kids wandered around the spacious cottage, exclaiming over the fireplace, the quaint bedrooms up in the loft, and the screened porch. Ezra plopped down on his new bed and stared up at the steps over his head. Despite himself, he was beginning to feel just a little bit excited. But he quickly quashed those feelings. Sure, the first few days will be fun, discovering everything on the farm. But they had a looong summer ahead of them. Soon, he was going to be bored of the animals, sick of his new bed, and wishing he was back in Brooklyn. He thought about the Wii, hidden in his suitcase. He‛d have to be careful that Mommy didn‛t find it. But whenever he could, he would hide out and play. That would keep him sane for two months till he got back to Brooklyn, to his beloved computer games. “Hey!” Judy called. “Who wants to find eggs in the chicken coop?” There was a mad dash for the door. Crocs thudding silently on the perfumed grass, the kids headed out to discover the wonders of the farm. A pair of eyes stared at the new arrivals. “It‛s time to send y‛all packin‛,” a hoarse voice hissed. “Cropsy don‛t take kindly to intruders. I want this farm empty. The same it‛s been for the past fifty years, before you bothersome people came. Don‛t want none of you snoopin‛ around and findin‛ Cropsy‛s hidden secrets. I‛m gonna make sure that don‛t ever happen.” As the little group in their rainbow colored Crocs ran and squealed as they examined the animals, none of them heard the hidden man‛s whispered threat… Torah Riddle, Rhyme & Reason Riddle: What’s the Jewish way to put on your shoes? Rhyme : After I destroyed the Bet HaMikdash I boasted that Hashem could not defeat me In reply, Hashem sent his tiniest creature to enter my brain And in the end I died because of a flea! Who am I? Reason: What’s the reason for holding up our fingers to a flame during Havdalah? Answers: Riddle: First put on your right shoe, then your left. If you have laces, a “righty” should first tie his left laces, and then tie the right, while accord- ing to some, a “lefty” should tie his right shoe first. This is because in tying we give priority to the side on which we wear tefillin. In the case of Velcro straps or a buckle, everyone should close the right before the left. Rhyme: Titus, the Roman general who destroyed the Second Temple. Reason: We curl our right hand fingers (covering our thumb) and hold it up between our faces and the flame to remind us of the very first fire ever produced. Throughout the first Shabbat, Adam Harishon enjoyed a special light that shone continuously. But with Shabbat’s end, darkness descended. Adam never experienced darkness before, and he was terrified, fearing that Hashem was punishing him for his sin. Hashem gave him two stones and showed him how to create fire by striking them together. When Adam received this gift of fire, he praised Hashem saying: “Baruch… bore me’ore ha’esh – Blessed is Hashem, Who creates fire with its various colors.” We say this beracha with a flame on every Mossa’ei Shabbat, because it was then that fire was created.