Davening Experience

Our Erev Shabbos / Friday night routine has held up nicely, except now that the weather has been getting nicer, we have decided to eat seudah outside on our patio if possible, just to get out a bit more than we have been due to the current restrictions. I daven with the boys when Shabbos begins and then we all venture outside for a beautiful Shabbos dinner prepared by Shifra, weather permitting of course.

On Shabbos morning, after at least 8-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep, we have breakfast at regular time. At around 9:15am, when we would normally be arriv- ing at shul, the boys and I head downstairs for davening. We each daven at our own pace, simi- lar to what we do every weekday morning. We typically break around 10:15am to hear a Dvar Torah from school and some board games with Shifra and Debbie (the new game lately is called “Sequence”). This is very similar to groups at OE, complete with fun and snacks. At 11:30, we all head out for a walk as a family, almost as if we’re heading into kiddush at OE. We get to see so many people on their porches and walking the streets of Edison with us, enjoying the socially distant company and the weather. The conversations are very lively and help us all see people like we would at shul. We try to take different paths each Shabbos on our walks. When we get home around 1:00pm, we daven Mussaf and then head to lunch and rest. Kiddush, similar to Rabbi Lipschitz, is a “daddy drink” (read bourbon). There may also be a container of maatjes herring, which Joey, Sammy, and I always enjoy together!

We hope everyone is maintaining a beneficial routine during these challenging times and cannot wait to see our OE family again in the not-too-distant future. Wishing everyone a wonderful Shabbos !