Norby's Home

The following is an excerpt from Norby's Refuah Sheleimah Page:

Tov L'Hodos Lashem!Shimshon Naftali Ben Esther will (IY"H) be returning to his apartment in Washington Heights tonight October 25th!!!
Sorry we haven't been updating this site as regularly as we would have liked. The good news is that we have been attending to slightly more important things, which enables us to finally BRING OUR FATHER HOME!!! Departure date is, b'ezras Hashem, Thursday October 25th!! He is absolutely THRILLED to be leaving "this meshugenah place" and is overjoyed to be getting back to the beloved Heights.
He has made incredible progress in all areas: his cognitive abilities are up to about 95% of what they were; he is walking well with a walker or cane, even going up and down steps on his own. He can eat just about anything, though thin liquids are still a bit of a challenge. His sense of humor has emerged unscathed. His voice is still a bit scratchy due to the breathing tube he had weeks ago, but that too should improve with time. All in all, he has thus far recovered faster than anyone predicted (except me, that is) and will hopefully continue to improve.
Let me take this opportunity, on behalf of myself, my siblings, and my father, to wholeheartedly thank all those who have been instrumental and helpful to us during this trying time. To those who housed us when my father was in Columbia Presbyterian, who provided food, who visited or wrote, and who offered their services, whether ultimately used or not, we are truly grateful.

Even with the torrential rains over Shabbos, Norby managed to come to all three tefillos in shul.

I must say, Norby's recovery is definitely a testament to the power of tefillah, the power of zechusim and the importance of quality Kibbud Av V'em.

What Happens When NOBODY Comes to Dinner?

As you may or may not know, I initially began this blog as a way of keeping track of our Shabbos guests, the food I made (this weeks orzo ROCKED, by the way... ), what did or didn't 'work' and the general comings and goings across our welcome mat.
This hasn't been exactly the way it turned out but there is an element of oral history to it on occasion.
With Yom Tov over and receding in our memories, the multitude of guests having gone home, we didn't have plans for a very busy Shabbos. Mom went away for Shabbos, Erica and Moshe planned a quiet weekend at home and we had only Chaya S. was slated for Friday Night dinner. Unfortunately, Chaya caught a bug and called late Friday afternoon and canceled. I was hoping that due to the monster rainstorm we were having that Avram might be able to find some stranded guests who needed a meal in shul, but no luck. It was going to be just us - - - nobody was coming to dinner.
And do you know what I discovered? I discovered that my own family make VERY LOVELY Shabbos guests! First of all, for some unknown reason, there were way more Divrei Torah shared than is the norm. There was also some very interesting and enjoyable table conversation. Who knew?