New class in HIghland Park

One of the things I love about living in Highland Park is the wide range of educational opportunities available. This came across my desk today. I'm editting out the contact info, but if anyone is interested contact me for details.

A chabura is in formation to learn the laws of baking matza. The plan is to learn the halachos in depth over the course of the next year and to begin planning, purchasing the oven and necessary equipment, and preparing to bake matzos mitzva next year (in yerushalayim; and if mashiach hasn't come, then in HP). If you would like to participate in the chabura, please reply to [name elided]. As we already have several shiurim on Shabbos, a weeknight or Sunday time may be required. I anticipate that the chabura or individuals will also need take a few field trips for those who have not yet participated first hand in matza baking.

Purim Parties

I went to 3 purim parties yesterday. You can take it as given there were wonderful divrei torah, excellent food, and enthusiastic singing. I wanted to focus on a couple of 'Only in HP' vignettes ..

1. Going to the house of a white haired rabbi and feeling the floor literally flex with the vigor of the dancing, with the rabbi keeping up with the teenage yeshivah bochrim every step of the way.
   
2. Finishing up at a seudah, when one of the guests mentioned that they were from Jackson Heights, someone asked "Isn't that where Patty Duke lived?". This resulted in half a dozen people singing the Patty Duke theme in 4 part harmony until it was confirmed Patty and Cathy lived in Brooklyn Heights, not Jackson Heights.
   
3. Someone giving a dvar torah citing as a source a time when Spock erased Kirk's memory of his love affair with Edith Keeler in City on the Edge of Forever to be followed instantly by a correction from someone else that first cited Reuven Malter's correction of Rav Saunder's gematria in The Chosen, followed by the fact that Spock erased Kirk's memory of Kirk's affair with Rayna in Requiem for Methuselah
   
4. Leaving the MO party to get to the chassidic seudah to discover one of the local chassids playing the 'Beverly Hillbillies' theme on the banjo as the Rav commented it was a lively tune.
   
5. Someone reciting a dvar torah written by someone else by giving the introduction "Here I am as a man of 50 years, yet I did not understand a simple gemara about Purim until Rabbi Norman Lamm explained it ..."