By Shmuel Katz

Last Shabbat we had the privilege of joining Mordechai for “Shabbat Horim” in Mordechai’s high school. Although he is not our first child in a dormitory setting, all the others went only after high school, not during. At 14, he is the youngest Katz to dorm (well, at least since his father) and is having the time of his life doing so.

He has become proudly independent, and so far his mother’s fears have been groundless. He has made many friends and simply loves being in school. As a matter of fact, even though he has permission to come home for a night during the week, he prefers to stay in school so that he can hang out and play ball with the many students who live too far away to go home.

Through the wonders of modern technology, we are able to chat with him several times each day, so we can keep tabs on him and be in touch. So even though he is not in the house with us, we are still a part of his life every day (as we are with Chaim in New York, Chaya in Yerushalayim, Aliza in Ariel, and Batya and Moshe here with us at home) and he is part of ours.

He stays in yeshiva once a month, but this past week, the parents were invited to take part in a Shabbat together with the boys. They do it once in 9th grade and again in 12th grade, kind of like a hello and goodbye to the school. And we had a great time.

OK, the dorms weren’t that comfortable. (How can anyone sleep on a 4-inch foam mattress?) And the food was . . . food. But seeing how the boys interacted and how deeply they care for and are cared for by their rebbeim was very uplifting. And we know it meant a lot for him that we made it our business to be at the Shabbat Horim.

It was actually quite a maudlin week for us. Aliza turned 20 this week, making us the parents of three kids in their twenties. For someone who still thinks of himself as a kid (and certainly acts the part), it was quite a turn for me to think that our kids have grown so big. I know we aren’t the first and won’t be the last to feel this way, but it is certainly quite a turn.

Not only did she turn 20, but she moved out of the house for what might be the last time. She entered Ariel University this week and has moved into an apartment close to the campus. She will be coming home for Shabbat often and, again, we use technology to keep in touch. But still, she has moved out.

She will iy’H finish her degree at 23 and will probably, like her brother and sister before her, make a move to be on her own as she continues to her next stage in life. And with Mordechai in the dorm for high school, he will then move on to the army, university, etc., as he moves on in his life. So we are down to only two kids living with us at home.

This is obviously something that every family goes through. And it is something we are definitely proud of. Yet it is still very cool to take a look back at who we were when we first landed, with all six kids at home and facing the challenges of adjusting to a new country. And now, we are somewhere totally different and looking forward to what comes next.

Shmuel Katz is the executive director of Yeshivat Migdal HaTorah (www.migdalhatorah.org), a new gap-year yeshiva. Shmuel, his wife Goldie, and their six children made aliyah in July 2006. Before making aliyah, he was the executive director of the Yeshiva of South Shore in Hewlett. You can contact him at shmu@migdalhatorah.org.

 

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