Our friend Claudie has come to visit. We met Claudie at Limmud (UK) in December and instantly became friends. She arrived on Thursday night and after some pastrami on rye from Kosher Delight (delivered, of course!) and a couple of hours of download, we took her to Chulent.
Now, Chulent merits an entry in itself. It is an extraordinary place, run by Yitchak Shonfeld. The place is called Chulent, because each week Yitchak provides a - rather spicy - cholent (as we spell it) for his guests.
Chulent is a weekly meeting of marginalised Chassidim, a bunch of way out and disaffected Jews and some random non-Jewish people who are either fascinated by all things Jewish or who want to sleep with Jewish men (oops, did I really write that?).
They come together in a neglected shul in Midtown called The Millinery Synagogue. It's mostly guys and many of them are a little deficient in social skills. Somehow, it manages to be both welcoming and alienating at the same time.
David has been going each week (I don't feel the need to go quite so often!) and is, naturally, already learning each time in a tiny room at the back of the second floor with a flow of people who join him.
Anyway, we took Claudie there. She was tired and jet lagged and a little bemused by her environment, but I think she enjoyed it.
The next morning I went on a quick girlie-shop with her to Macy's, where she bought all her Clinique products. I then subjected her to a brief Shabbat shopping exercise in Midtown - an experience in itself!
Claudie went to Washington for Shabbat and will be back with us in the morning, when we plan to explore Manhattan with her. It will give us the chance to do some of the touristy things that we haven't had the opportunity to do on this visit.
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