Mazel tov! It's a boy!!!!

I hope all of you have had a meaningful Rosh Hashana, and I wish everyone a g’mar chasima tova. I have been very busy of late. B”H my darling daughter and wonderful son-in-law had a baby boy, born before shkiah on Friday of Parshas Nitzavim. As you can well imagine, with yom tov coming amidst the simcha, we had a great deal to accomplish in a short space of time.

Appropos Rosh Hashana, our little yingeleh is the apple of our eye and a real honey, the teshuva to our tefilla(and apparently quite handsome, intelligent and a baal middos tovos, to boot). I just wanted to share some good news for a change, May Hashem bensch us all with much simcha in this coming year.

To end on a d’var Torah note (if I have said this before, my apologies), what is an “ainekel?” Something more than just a grandchild. According to my Rov, who told this over in a drasha, the word comes from the contraction of two words found in Sefer Shemos, when Moshe Rabbeinu comes upon the burning bush that is not consumed. The Sneh burns, “V’einenu Ukal.” Just as the sneh did not become consumed by the Divine Fire that encompassed it, so too, do we as a Jewish nation,fail to be totally consumed, despite the fire, the guns, the knives, and bombs that are thrown at us to destroy us. Our enemies burn us, but the birth of our next generation and the next, and the next, the AINEKLACH, show the world that we will not be consumed. Am Yisrael Chai!

Have a meaningful fast. May we be zochim to see Moshiach arrive speedily in our time. Have a good Shabbos.