Here is Aaron laughing along to his favorite songs:
Monday, March 30, 2009
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Monday, March 16, 2009
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Vach Nacht Hamalach Hagoel
Grandparents, siblings, uncles and aunt sing Hamalach Hagoel to little baby Eitan the night before his brit, the melodious Vach Nacht!
Check out www.youtube.com/agusbunch for a video of the serenade.
Thank G-d our family grows
We are so happy to welcome Eitan Rafael into the agusbunch in Raanana. Five certainly is a big bunch!
Introducing Eitan Rafael!!!
For Agi, Feldmans, and other loved friends and family who could not make it to our beautiful new grandson, nephew and cousin Eitan Rafael's brit this morning in Raanana, Israel, please share in the simcha by watching the videos here and on Estie's youtube page. The simcha was exceptionally moving. With thanks to Hashem and brachot to all, we look forward to celebrating this little treasure with you all soon!
The transcript for the speech follows below:
BABY NAMING SPEECH
MARCH 16, 2009
Estie and I first want to thank Hashem שהחינו וקימנו והגיענו לזמן הזה, for the Bracha of a healthy Purim baby, We seem to have a theme of Holiday babies going here with Isak born on Chanukah and Eitan on Taanit Esther, both holidays on which we recite the על הניסים. We take no birth for granted and recognize the hidden miracle in every child. We are blessed with a Nes Nistar on the holiday that celebrates a Nes Nistar. Coincidentally, our Nes Nistar was born to the son of Esther.
We are thrilled to be celebrating this moment in the new building of בית כנסת אוהל ארי together with so many close family and friends. We are truly overwhelmed and amazed by all the generositythe community has shown us in the past week in particular and really from the moment we moved to Raanana almost five years ago. It is a community of people who know how to step up to to the plate, much like the spirit of Purim. One of my favorite scenes in Megilat Esther is when Mordechai implores Esther to make the choice of speaking up for the Jewish people.
כי אם החרש תחרישי בעת הזאת רוח והצלה יעמוד ליהודים ממקום אחר ואת ובית אביך תאבידו ומי יודע אם לעת כזאת הגעת למלכות
If Esther sits still, the Jewish people will still prevail but Hashem will bring salvation through other means. Perhaps the entire reason why Esther got to be Queen is to step up for a moment like this which demands action to help save the Jewish people. We are truly honored and humbled to be a part of this great community.
Estie and I want to especially thank our family who are with us here for making this special effort to come to Israel for Eitan’s Brit at a very hectic time. Especially when you are planning to return to Israel for Pesach in just a few weeks. We thank Estie’s siblings Daniel, Joe and Mindy for being here, and for rearranging their schedules around us. To our parents, Mom and Dad Feldman and Mom and Dad Agus, we love you and thank you so much. We are so grateful to Hashem that ALL of you were able to make the trip to be with us here today. We miss Grandma Betty Feldman who is unable to travel here, and we note the absence of our grandparents, Sally and Isak Levenstein, Joseph Feldman, Anne and Robert Appel and Edith and Chaim Agus, zichronam livracha.
Now I would like to discuss the name we chose for our son, Eitan Rafael.
Eitan Rafael is named after three of my grandparents, Edith Agus, Dr. Chaim Agus and Dr. Robert Appel, zichronam livracha. My grandmother, Edith Agus, or אטה חיה passed away just 15 months ago. She was a very elegant woman with a sharp wit and strong minded nature. My grandmother symbolized the word Eitan, meaning strength or stability. She believed very strongly in supporting Israel and Jewish causes and used to tell me how proud she was that our family lived in Israel even though she was personally saddened that she could not see us as much. When she volunteered for causes she took her role very seriously. As National Treasurer for Amit Women, she used to travel to Israel often to oversee recipient causes and make sure the money was properly spent. When she believed in something, she would very strongly advocate her position with words and action. A few days before she passed away, she expressed to me how Hashem blessed her with living a good life and that she was very thankful for that. Some elderly people are full of complaints and I can certainly understand why. But my grandmother looked at the positive in her life and was very grateful for that. It is our hope that Eitan continues my grandmother’s legacy of being blessed with not only physical strength but also emotional strength and devotion to every task he tries to fulfill.
We chose the name Rafael to symbolize the lives of both of my grandfathers. They were both known to be extremely dedicated physicians in their respective communities, Borough Park, Brooklyn and the Lower East Side of Manhattan. They both worked tirelessly to cure patients, way beyond the call of duty. A patient once told me how Dr. Haim Agus once saved his life when he was a sick child by not leaving his bedside for 4 days straight to make sure he received the proper medical treatment and care. He was also a shochet, a Baal Koreh and served in the U.S. armed forces under General Paton who ultimately helped to free Jews from concentration camps. My maternal grandfather, Dr. Robert Appel was equally dedicated to his patients. I remember watching him on television in the 1970s, reported to be one of few doctors who still made house calls. He had the distinction of serving as a physician for Harav Moshe Feinstein, zichrono livracha. A patient of his who happened to be Sarah’s elementary school teacher in America once told us that her Mom once thanked my grandfather for healing her sick child. My grandfather replied that that he was only a messenger and that the true healer is Hashem. This is the real meaning of the name Rafael.
My Rav from Yeshivat Hakotel, Rav Darmani, explained to me that there is also a connection between the name Eitan and Rafael. Tehilim פט begin with the words משכיל לאיתן האזרחי, which are used to describe Avraham as a person who knew not only how to relate to Hashem but also to people and to channel his influence for a higher purpose. In the גמרא בבא בתרא, one explanation given for the phrase
וה ברך את אברהם בכל is that, according to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai,
אבן טובה היתה תלויה בצוארו של אברהם אבינו שכל חולה הרואה אותו מיד מתרפא
According to this line of thought, Avraham was such a great and blessed person that Hashem even gave him the power to heal.
So it is our hope that our Eitan Rafael has the zchut to take after his immediate ancestors which he is named for as well as the many chains of ancestors linking all the up to Avraham Avinu.
ESTIE:
There is somewhat of a contradiction in the names of Eitan and Rafael. After all, Eitan means strength and Rafael implies that the human condition is weakened and in the need of being cured. But it is our bracha to our new little baby that his name link this balance of his own personal strength versus seeking Hashem for physical and spiritual strength.
We know Eitan has great role models at home with three attentive big sisters whose only argument this week has been on who gets to hold the baby first! And he is lucky to have big brother Isak to show him the ropes, Someone said to me, King Isak now has a new apprentice in his palace.
We go about our everyday lives thinking of our own actions and their effects on the world around us. Very often we forget about the true hidden agent in this whole process. As Rav Soloveitchik has said, the world we see is like the back of a tapestry with all the knots and loose strings, it is not possible for us as humans to see the full picture of the completed tapestry.
This hidden miriacle, Nes Nistar is one of the messages of Purim as well. The Nes Nistar can easily be explained using only humans in the story. Hashem’s name does not even appear in the Megilah. This message hits really close to home when it comes to childbirth. There are so many things that can go wrong during pregnancy and child birth. We are so grateful that this Nes Nistar happened to our new son.
After 4 pregnancies in 5 years (I think many of you have never seen me with a regular waistline), we may not understand how God works, but we are so thankful for this extra bracha of Eitan Rafael. And we are so thrilled to share this simcha with all of our parents, family and friends.
Thank you again and we invite everyone downstairs for a seudat mitzvah.
The transcript for the speech follows below:
BABY NAMING SPEECH
MARCH 16, 2009
Estie and I first want to thank Hashem שהחינו וקימנו והגיענו לזמן הזה, for the Bracha of a healthy Purim baby, We seem to have a theme of Holiday babies going here with Isak born on Chanukah and Eitan on Taanit Esther, both holidays on which we recite the על הניסים. We take no birth for granted and recognize the hidden miracle in every child. We are blessed with a Nes Nistar on the holiday that celebrates a Nes Nistar. Coincidentally, our Nes Nistar was born to the son of Esther.
We are thrilled to be celebrating this moment in the new building of בית כנסת אוהל ארי together with so many close family and friends. We are truly overwhelmed and amazed by all the generositythe community has shown us in the past week in particular and really from the moment we moved to Raanana almost five years ago. It is a community of people who know how to step up to to the plate, much like the spirit of Purim. One of my favorite scenes in Megilat Esther is when Mordechai implores Esther to make the choice of speaking up for the Jewish people.
כי אם החרש תחרישי בעת הזאת רוח והצלה יעמוד ליהודים ממקום אחר ואת ובית אביך תאבידו ומי יודע אם לעת כזאת הגעת למלכות
If Esther sits still, the Jewish people will still prevail but Hashem will bring salvation through other means. Perhaps the entire reason why Esther got to be Queen is to step up for a moment like this which demands action to help save the Jewish people. We are truly honored and humbled to be a part of this great community.
Estie and I want to especially thank our family who are with us here for making this special effort to come to Israel for Eitan’s Brit at a very hectic time. Especially when you are planning to return to Israel for Pesach in just a few weeks. We thank Estie’s siblings Daniel, Joe and Mindy for being here, and for rearranging their schedules around us. To our parents, Mom and Dad Feldman and Mom and Dad Agus, we love you and thank you so much. We are so grateful to Hashem that ALL of you were able to make the trip to be with us here today. We miss Grandma Betty Feldman who is unable to travel here, and we note the absence of our grandparents, Sally and Isak Levenstein, Joseph Feldman, Anne and Robert Appel and Edith and Chaim Agus, zichronam livracha.
Now I would like to discuss the name we chose for our son, Eitan Rafael.
Eitan Rafael is named after three of my grandparents, Edith Agus, Dr. Chaim Agus and Dr. Robert Appel, zichronam livracha. My grandmother, Edith Agus, or אטה חיה passed away just 15 months ago. She was a very elegant woman with a sharp wit and strong minded nature. My grandmother symbolized the word Eitan, meaning strength or stability. She believed very strongly in supporting Israel and Jewish causes and used to tell me how proud she was that our family lived in Israel even though she was personally saddened that she could not see us as much. When she volunteered for causes she took her role very seriously. As National Treasurer for Amit Women, she used to travel to Israel often to oversee recipient causes and make sure the money was properly spent. When she believed in something, she would very strongly advocate her position with words and action. A few days before she passed away, she expressed to me how Hashem blessed her with living a good life and that she was very thankful for that. Some elderly people are full of complaints and I can certainly understand why. But my grandmother looked at the positive in her life and was very grateful for that. It is our hope that Eitan continues my grandmother’s legacy of being blessed with not only physical strength but also emotional strength and devotion to every task he tries to fulfill.
We chose the name Rafael to symbolize the lives of both of my grandfathers. They were both known to be extremely dedicated physicians in their respective communities, Borough Park, Brooklyn and the Lower East Side of Manhattan. They both worked tirelessly to cure patients, way beyond the call of duty. A patient once told me how Dr. Haim Agus once saved his life when he was a sick child by not leaving his bedside for 4 days straight to make sure he received the proper medical treatment and care. He was also a shochet, a Baal Koreh and served in the U.S. armed forces under General Paton who ultimately helped to free Jews from concentration camps. My maternal grandfather, Dr. Robert Appel was equally dedicated to his patients. I remember watching him on television in the 1970s, reported to be one of few doctors who still made house calls. He had the distinction of serving as a physician for Harav Moshe Feinstein, zichrono livracha. A patient of his who happened to be Sarah’s elementary school teacher in America once told us that her Mom once thanked my grandfather for healing her sick child. My grandfather replied that that he was only a messenger and that the true healer is Hashem. This is the real meaning of the name Rafael.
My Rav from Yeshivat Hakotel, Rav Darmani, explained to me that there is also a connection between the name Eitan and Rafael. Tehilim פט begin with the words משכיל לאיתן האזרחי, which are used to describe Avraham as a person who knew not only how to relate to Hashem but also to people and to channel his influence for a higher purpose. In the גמרא בבא בתרא, one explanation given for the phrase
וה ברך את אברהם בכל is that, according to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai,
אבן טובה היתה תלויה בצוארו של אברהם אבינו שכל חולה הרואה אותו מיד מתרפא
According to this line of thought, Avraham was such a great and blessed person that Hashem even gave him the power to heal.
So it is our hope that our Eitan Rafael has the zchut to take after his immediate ancestors which he is named for as well as the many chains of ancestors linking all the up to Avraham Avinu.
ESTIE:
There is somewhat of a contradiction in the names of Eitan and Rafael. After all, Eitan means strength and Rafael implies that the human condition is weakened and in the need of being cured. But it is our bracha to our new little baby that his name link this balance of his own personal strength versus seeking Hashem for physical and spiritual strength.
We know Eitan has great role models at home with three attentive big sisters whose only argument this week has been on who gets to hold the baby first! And he is lucky to have big brother Isak to show him the ropes, Someone said to me, King Isak now has a new apprentice in his palace.
We go about our everyday lives thinking of our own actions and their effects on the world around us. Very often we forget about the true hidden agent in this whole process. As Rav Soloveitchik has said, the world we see is like the back of a tapestry with all the knots and loose strings, it is not possible for us as humans to see the full picture of the completed tapestry.
This hidden miriacle, Nes Nistar is one of the messages of Purim as well. The Nes Nistar can easily be explained using only humans in the story. Hashem’s name does not even appear in the Megilah. This message hits really close to home when it comes to childbirth. There are so many things that can go wrong during pregnancy and child birth. We are so grateful that this Nes Nistar happened to our new son.
After 4 pregnancies in 5 years (I think many of you have never seen me with a regular waistline), we may not understand how God works, but we are so thankful for this extra bracha of Eitan Rafael. And we are so thrilled to share this simcha with all of our parents, family and friends.
Thank you again and we invite everyone downstairs for a seudat mitzvah.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Birth weight
I don't really understand why this info is so important in a modern age, but I suppose it has to do with empathy for the mom.
Baby boy, 6:15am local time, 4 kilo.
=
12:15 am EDT, 8.5 lbs.
He's already very international.
Baby boy, 6:15am local time, 4 kilo.
=
12:15 am EDT, 8.5 lbs.
He's already very international.
Fresh Israeli produce
First pics from Beilinson.Bright-eyed and bushy-haired, ready to greet life. Too bad he made a fuss getting into it.
No this is not the same baby as below. Who says all newborns look alike?
Mazal tov.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Bets on the next?
A Purim baby is like, well, the lottery. Boy or girl? Sun, Mon, Tues? "Hey, you never know." בשעה טובה ומוצלחת.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Aaron Amichai Feldman
Welcome to the newest member of the Feldman family! Here are some photos of the "drop-dead gorgeous grand baby."
Ma and Pa's Trip to Mexico
Here are the pics from Mom and Dad's trip's to paradise:
http://picasaweb.google.com/MKFeldman/MomDadMexico09?feat=email#
http://picasaweb.google.com/MKFeldman/MomDadMexico09?feat=email#
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