Sunday, May 10, 2009

New Square 2009

Finally, after a four year hiatus, our shul went for a shabbaton to New Square.  While it was fun, it wasn't quite as enjoyable as the previous times.

We got lucky with the eating arrangements.  Both last time and this time, we ended up eating by an OTD family. They had meat.  Most people in New Square eat only chicken and only with a New Square hashgocha.  There are, however, a few "rebels" who have meat.  Some, even have whisky.  We also got lucky, unlike some of the other people on the shabbaton, to have a host who both, speaks English and who doesn't have men and women sitting at separate tables.

We slept and ate by separate families but both houses were near each other and also within two minutes from shul.  Finished dinner at my usual 1AM, went to the tisch, though didn't stay till the end and left at 2AM.  Shacharis was at a very shabbas nap friendly time of 11AM.  Food was great, though the meat jello, however you call it, I wouldn't touch even if the Rebbe himself gave it to me.

The not enjoyable part was centered around the half-assed organizational skills of the shul.  When we came to the family we were sleeping by, we found out that nobody bothered to warn them that we have a 4 month old infant who needs a crib and not a child bed.  One of my friends, by their hosts, got a mattress to put on the floor for his two and a half year old daughter.

The most fun, however, was had when we came to the Rebbe for a brocha.  There were other people who were let in first because we were a big group so by the time we got into the room it was 2AM.  All the times before, the preggies and families with infants and little kids got the brocha first so they could leave.  This time, a few people from our shul showed just how noble they are.  There was one family with a toddler and a pregnant wife, two families with toddlers, a couple more with little kids.  Who pushed through, ignoring the tired toddlers and babies who were either falling asleep or asleep in their parents' arms?  One of the shul's board members and his wife!  Now, not only were they there by themselves, but they weren't even leaving, they were staying until Sunday!  Then went the gabbai with the preggers wife and toddler, then two other families, and finally us.  The family who was supposed to go next were our friends who were driving us.  Who shoved in front instead, two bochurim, both of whom knew with who we came and who could could very well see me standing with NY in my arms and my mother with Shlomik.  Besides us, there were also other families with kids still waiting, but, apparently the force of the Rebbe's brocha wanes with each consecutive one and it was absolutely imperative that they get in in front.

While we had fun, the enjoyment was marred by these four people's display of selfishness and disregard for others.

32 comments:

  1. I was planning on writing up a New Square post, but it looks like you beat me to it (only because I was busy studying for a test). Hopefully I'll have it up tonight or tomorrow.

    I really hope though that you don't let the behavior of a few individuals affect what was otherwise a very pleasant Shabbaton. The anger isn't worth the energy, in my opinion.

    I mean, I feel bad that you had to wait there with two tired little kids at such a late hour, but it's over with so there's no use in thinking about it now.

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  2. While I'll go again, don't forget that one guy ended up leaving and one of the couples almost left without seeing the Rebbe.

    Sucked that so few people came.

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  3. I don't know... At that point I was so exhausted that I didn't really notice what other people were or weren't doing.

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  4. the meat jello tastes great, you and your strange food should love to try something new. As for the brocha thing; dude,you have got to relax. People will always be that way no matter what the cause happens to be. Breath in, breath out, and break the guy's nose.

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  5. I tried it in Russia when my grandmama made it, ewww.

    Thinking of doing that at the Lag B'Omer BBQ...

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  6. HeHe. Don't tell him it was my recommendation.

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  7. Everyone's talking about the Lag B'Omer BBQ now... I want to go but I have so many things right now that I'm not sure I'd have time.

    Child Ish -- are you from our community?

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  8. He was by sholom zohor if you were there.

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  9. Moshe invited me, and I feel like one of the tribe. I did test at 50% Russian.

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  10. Sally Hazel -- In this context, I meant the people from the community who went to New Square. Obviously that is not how I define 'our' community, but I just asked that way because Moshe and Child Ish were talking about something that happened in New Square.

    I'm trying to figure out who people are in the blogosphere and whether I know them in real life.

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  11. Yeah, unlike Danny S's wife who got a big, fat 0%. Or Vita with her 20%.

    In that case, I'll refer you to one of my previous posts.

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  12. Doesn't really help.. All it tells me is that YOU know those people.

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  13. Pardon this out-of-towner (and grateful for it!), but why would you all want to go davka to New Square? What's the big deal? And isn't New Square the folks whose votes were bought by the Clintons with some dubious last minute presidential pardons?

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  14. wow, that's a rare family you stayed by, that didn't have separate seating. I've got tons of relatives there that I barely know.

    the meat jello is ptcha and really unhealthy, I never tasted it.

    My neighbor actually went there to get a bracha a week ago because of her situation. My neighbor's husband was saying how it's like business and that they will allow you to cut the line if they know your going to give them a lot of money. They don't want to loose a customer by making you wait 3 hours.

    She told me how they made her wear a head covering on top of her sheitel, and she had a hard time putting it on. There were ladies who asked her if she was from williamsberg, now that was funny, then when she said she's from flatbush, they asked her if she flew there!

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  15. Actually, pretty sure most, if not all, families I stayed by didn't have separate sitting.
    Really? Maybe we stayed by them. This time we stayed by Ungar and ate by Sirkus, though could be spelled wrong.

    Healthy or not, eww.

    Well, we weren't and all of us go in at once and there were at least 20 people.

    Yeah, but our shul is warned beforehand.

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  16. Interesting...

    Ungar sounds familiar, o, no it's Lungar.

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  18. Would they know you by name or only your parents?

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  20. oops bad connection...

    they wouldn't know me, it's my father's aunt and cousins and their children and so on.

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  21. yea, few times. Remember the post I wrote about the New Square wedding?

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  22. actually Sunday night is the sqverre Rebbe's grand child's wedding.

    Last night was the Bobov Rebbe's somebody wedding at Floyd Benet Field

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  23. Oh yeah. You said the wedding was in NS?

    Cool. Either one of his children or grandchildren got married 2 years ago, I think.

    Nice. No MSG weddings?

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  24. yea, New Square.

    Madison Square Garden wedding?
    nope, never been to one. you have?

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  25. I've been to a yeshiva backyard wedding.

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  26. So believeable! What were you expecting? It's New Square! Duh! Wouldn't expect anything more than that... it actually sounds like you guys had a banner Shabbat there! I've heard of much worse. Look what they do to their OTB members? It even made the 5 o'clock news!

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  27. Yeh, not planning on going there again.

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