This seems to be my favorite stomping grounds for travel brisses. Came for a recent Shabbos Bris. Obviously there are no pictures from the event as we don’t take pictures on Shabbos.
Instead I have pictures of the runs and walk I went on. The walk “photo” was manufactured post facto to reflect the walk I had taken Shabbos afternoon.
Friday run (10k)
Shabbos walk
I also managed to go for a run Saturday night. But that story is for another time.
Anyway - Mazal tov to all family.
I flew to Houston for two brisses today. Yes – TWO. When the stars align, this is Hashem’s way of making miracles happen. We just have to notice and say thank you. A family had reached out to me to be their as-yet-unborn son’s mohel. They were going to have an inducement begin on Tuesday night and were hoping for a bris on Wednesday or Thursday (a week later). The anticipated Wednesday and Thursday came and went and I hadn’t heard from them. Meanwhile, a different family from Houston called me for a Thursday bris. Sunday, however, the other couple was in touch to tell me they had their baby, and that he (too) had been born on Thursday. So I told them… wouldn’t you know! I’m going to be in Houston ANYWAY for a bris! With a slight adjustment on my return flight (rebooking to a flight two hours later), I was able to fit in both brisses. All worked out amazingly. Baruch Hashem
Here’s a photo of the Astrodome from the highway
I took a trip to Tampa for a bris in the JCC
The baby had a cute shirt!
This is the first time I've been back in UOS of Houston since they rebuilt the shul after years being in an interim space. I couldn't find a photo of the old building (I remember posting it here, but the picture doesn't seem to show up?), but I am pretty sure that they put the old stained glass windows in the new sanctuary. The new building is beautiful, with many things done "Texas Style" and now "Houston Style" (= elevated in case of flooding).
Anyway, it was an honor to be back and to "see what they've done to this place." The family I worked with was lovely, and their new son evened things out for them - he has an older brother and 2 older sisters.
The bris was the Friday before the periphery of Hurricane Beryl hit Houston. I made it home for Shabbos without a problem. Subsequently saw that Beryl hit over the weekend.
Looking forward to my next trip Houston, which might not be so far off in the future!
I haven't traveled much in the last couple of years due to the difficulty of getting out of the country on short notice. Most of that has lifted throughout the world, so this opportunity was embraced as a way of getting "back into things." This new destination was one to which I had never been before.
Welcome to Jamaica! I went from the airport to the house and then back to the airport, and didn't give myself much time to take pictures along the way. But the water was beautiful, and the mountains I saw near Montego Bay were breathtaking.
There is kosher restaurant about a five minute drive from the airport - I did not have the chance to stop in there, though. But I did speak with the Chabad Shaliach there.
Here are my pictures from inside and outside the airport, and one from my setup before following through on the purpose of my visit.
UPDATE in March-April 2023
Below the line is what I wrote on the original post here from July 2022
We are back up and running for travel - if we can make it work I look forward to joining you for your simcha and bris!
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Over the past two years I have been to much fewer places than the past, simply because COVID made travel such a drag. International travel was out of the picture altogether, and even now it isn't as exciting as it used to be.
I have been to Houston several times, to North Carolina, to distant parts of Florida, and even to Phoenix, Arizona.
It never hurts to call - if I can't make it I'll tell you real soon.
But if you are looking for a traveling mohel, start here and hopefully we can make it work!
MAZAL TOV!!
