Ruminations upon Friday May 2, 2025 until Saturday May 3, 2025 in Osaka, Japan
Friday was another rainy day. We focused on school in the morning and by the afternoon the boys were clearly devolving. I finally put my parenting foot down and ordered everyone out of the house to explore the market and buy much-needed produce. It rarely feels good to force kids to do something they do not want to do, but sometimes our boys need help breaking out of whatever funk they are stuck in. Within minutes, every “ooh” and “aah” validated my insistence on leaving the house. After returning home with an enormous quantity of fruits and vegetables, I started cooking for Shabbat only to realize we were out of salt.
In true comical fashion, the moment I returned from the store with salt, Amichai decided we suddenly did not have enough snacks to last all of Shabbat. I did not have the time to return to the store again, so he decided to try his hand at food shopping solo. He came back empty-handed and annoyed. To his credit, he decided to try again. This time he came back with snacks and spaghetti he thought the family could use. In the world of parenting, watching an adolescent child who normally takes zero responsibility for food shopping come home carrying something he thought would help the entire family felt like a huge win.
Since there is no Chabad in Osaka, we had a lovely Friday night dinner by ourselves. Later that night, Amichai, Eitan and I had some hilarious and educational discussions about menstruation, sperm, eggs, and what it means to be a good man. Somewhere during this absurd yet surprisingly educational conversation, Amichai burst out laughing, grinned widely, and said, “I love our discussions!”
With no Chabad or place to daven/pray, everyone slept in late on Shabbat morning. After a very late breakfast we walked to Osaka Castle, located about two-and-a-half miles from our house. Since we were in no particular rush, we stopped at a park along the way so the boys could run around. The attention to detail in Japan is next level. Even the sewer covers were beautifully designed with elegant lines and décor. At last, we arrived at the castle, its deceptive simplicity inspired awe. Unable to enter due to Shabbat, we explored all of the grounds that were open to the public and found ourselves imagining what the inside must look like.
After walking the grounds for a while, we plopped ourselves down on a nearby plum grove. While Chaim, still recovering from a recent work all-nighter, napped, the boys and I played a hilariously competitive game of Duck Duck Goose. At one point Amichai smiled and said, “This feels like Shabbat at home.” And he was right. We were sitting in a random field next to Osaka Castle playing a children’s game, yet somehow it felt deeply familiar.
Eventually, the boys’ hanger kicked in and it was time to go. Incredibly, their hanger did not prevent them from wanting to visit the park again on their way home. Finally home, we scarfed down our food, snacks included, and made burgers the moment Shabbat ended.
