Page 106 - issue
P. 106
bris on Skype, unless it was Shabbos or back home with my immediate family me, traveling alone and insisting on an
Yom Tov. for the end of Yom Tov. Although the aisle seat, being placed next to a group
trip involved a seven-hour layover in of five frum people.
Two weeks to Pesach…a week-and-a- Istanbul, it allowed me to daven both
half…one week. Still no baby. Five days Shacharis and Mincha in the airport Why is this important? For some
before Pesach we got the exciting instead of onboard a flight. I could reason – I have no idea why (although
phone call: a boy! No shalom zachor – daven Maariv after arriving at my certainly Hashem knows) – I was
Friday night was the Seder! If all went mechutan’s house in Potomac. served a kosher meal. I had not ordered
well, the bris would take place on a kosher meal, since I do not eat out of
Tuesday of Chol Hamoed. What about food? Like many of us, I the house on Pesach, and I had plenty
have a minhag going back several gen- of food with me. Without touching the
I then realized that, although erations not to eat out of the house on meal that was placed surprisingly in
impractical, I could still make it to a Pesach. Well, my wonderful wife packed front of me, I noticed that the meal was
Tuesday morning bris. My daughter and plenty of Pesach food that I could eat kosher but clearly chometz. I men-
baby would be released from the hospi- both on the plane and in the airport, so tioned this quickly to the Israeli family
tal before Pesach. They decided to I was well stocked. next to me. With their very moderate
spend Pesach at her in-laws, in command of English, they did not real-
Potomac, Maryland. Now for the excite- I arrived at Ben Gurion and found ize the problem and were preparing to
ment: Could I arrange a ticket on last my flight, all very uneventfully. Of open and eat their meals. They were
minute notice from Yerushalayim to the course, there were few frum people fly- shocked that Turkish Air did not realize
Washington area? And how much ing on Chol Hamoed Pesach, so the that Jews who keep kosher do not eat
would a last-minute ticket from Israel to flight to Istanbul on Turkish Air was an chometz on Pesach, and that they were
Washington during Pesach week cost? interesting mix of returning Turks, served chometz meals. Clearly, hash-
Arabs, and secular Israelis. I saw only gacha had arranged the seating so that
After a few quick phone calls and an one other group of obviously-frum pas- I would prevent them from eating
online search, we discovered several sengers – an Israeli family of five from chometz on Pesach!
viable connections. The least expensive Bnei Brak traveling to Buenos Aires via
was a flight with Turkish Air via Istanbul. As only hashgacha pratis can Imagine the difficulty we all had try-
Istanbul, landing in the U.S. on Monday plan, we were seated together. I’ll let ing to explain to the very polite Turkish
night, the night before the bris, and you figure out the statistical chance of Air crew why the six Jews who ordered
returning the next night. I would be
98 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
Yom Tov. for the end of Yom Tov. Although the aisle seat, being placed next to a group
trip involved a seven-hour layover in of five frum people.
Two weeks to Pesach…a week-and-a- Istanbul, it allowed me to daven both
half…one week. Still no baby. Five days Shacharis and Mincha in the airport Why is this important? For some
before Pesach we got the exciting instead of onboard a flight. I could reason – I have no idea why (although
phone call: a boy! No shalom zachor – daven Maariv after arriving at my certainly Hashem knows) – I was
Friday night was the Seder! If all went mechutan’s house in Potomac. served a kosher meal. I had not ordered
well, the bris would take place on a kosher meal, since I do not eat out of
Tuesday of Chol Hamoed. What about food? Like many of us, I the house on Pesach, and I had plenty
have a minhag going back several gen- of food with me. Without touching the
I then realized that, although erations not to eat out of the house on meal that was placed surprisingly in
impractical, I could still make it to a Pesach. Well, my wonderful wife packed front of me, I noticed that the meal was
Tuesday morning bris. My daughter and plenty of Pesach food that I could eat kosher but clearly chometz. I men-
baby would be released from the hospi- both on the plane and in the airport, so tioned this quickly to the Israeli family
tal before Pesach. They decided to I was well stocked. next to me. With their very moderate
spend Pesach at her in-laws, in command of English, they did not real-
Potomac, Maryland. Now for the excite- I arrived at Ben Gurion and found ize the problem and were preparing to
ment: Could I arrange a ticket on last my flight, all very uneventfully. Of open and eat their meals. They were
minute notice from Yerushalayim to the course, there were few frum people fly- shocked that Turkish Air did not realize
Washington area? And how much ing on Chol Hamoed Pesach, so the that Jews who keep kosher do not eat
would a last-minute ticket from Israel to flight to Istanbul on Turkish Air was an chometz on Pesach, and that they were
Washington during Pesach week cost? interesting mix of returning Turks, served chometz meals. Clearly, hash-
Arabs, and secular Israelis. I saw only gacha had arranged the seating so that
After a few quick phone calls and an one other group of obviously-frum pas- I would prevent them from eating
online search, we discovered several sengers – an Israeli family of five from chometz on Pesach!
viable connections. The least expensive Bnei Brak traveling to Buenos Aires via
was a flight with Turkish Air via Istanbul. As only hashgacha pratis can Imagine the difficulty we all had try-
Istanbul, landing in the U.S. on Monday plan, we were seated together. I’ll let ing to explain to the very polite Turkish
night, the night before the bris, and you figure out the statistical chance of Air crew why the six Jews who ordered
returning the next night. I would be
98 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
