Yom Kippur Fun (For ages 7 and under)

Well, Yom Kippur has come and gone. Thank God we all survived and the children even behaved pretty decently. They scored some new toys and games to help keep them occupied. (Yes, my children are growing up looking forward to Tisha B'Av and Yom Kippur because they get new stuff. "Yay, fast days!" they have been known to shout. Whatever it takes, man, whatever it takes.) So I played Mastermind with Ariella, although we got a defective box that was missing half the colors. And Yaakov got some new animals, including a lion, so he now has TWO lions and they can play Lions with each other. (Question: Do you think the lions just call it "playing?")


Certainly the highlight for the children, though, was playing in traffic. On Yom Kippur, the one thing we all decide, as a nation, is not to drive. Drinking, eating, any of the other no-nos are fair game on Yom Kippur, but no one, and I mean NO ONE drives. So it becomes "Chag HaOfanayim" (the bicycle holiday), because the streets are devoid of cars and kids ride their bikes up and down. We live directly above the main drag in Modiin, and on Friday night the kids were watching everyone playing in the streets. Then it occurred to them that they could also go play in the streets. Despite their lack of bicycles, and the warning that they would have to walk up and down the five flights of stairs, they were very eager to go play in traffic. So down they went. Nadav and I watched from above. They had a great time getting an up-close look at the construction and running around. In fact, they had such a good time that on Yom Kippur morning, they decided to go again, and stayed for around an hour. I enjoyed feeling so Israeli and letting my kids run in the street. Although as my sister Leezy pointed out, they weren't barefoot, so I guess that takes away from the true Israeli experience.


After a zillion more games of Mastermind (Ariella is gooood. She did the same pattern twice in a row, knowing I would never think to guess it again, and it took me almost until the end to get it.), a billion puzzles, books, animals, snacks, and I think two or three packs of gum, it was time for the fast to end. We all ate (On the menu: Melon and lasagna, and a delicious apple pie, made using the recipe that my grandmother A"H used for many years and always served after the fast. Ok, full disclosure: We had the pie and accompanying homemade cinnamon whipped cream after the kids went to sleep.)

And now we move on to Sukkot, where the Roses become homeless because we have no sukkah, but luckily have good friends and family to take us in for the holiday, and the rest of the time Donny will have to go around being a sukkah beggar; hopefully someone will help him out, and the kiddies and I will be playing the We're Only Women and Children Card so often it's going to get old and frayed. Plus, the 'rents are coming, so stay tuned for some good fun to be made at the expense of DADZ.