Pizza Pizza

And who doesn’ t like pizza? Santa Rosa has several great local pizza places in case you need a slice of pie:

Mombo’s. On Mendocino, near us. This is our favorite to take out. New York style thin crust, great combinations and very fresh.

Mary’s Pizza Shack. Fourth Street, downtown. Mary was a real Italian mama, whose children/grandchildren are still involved in the business she started in 1959, a local institution. This is classic American style pizza–order it with a Mary’s salad (hold the salami if you’re vegetarian like us!).

La Vera. Fourth Street, downtown. Slow service, but the first place locally to do “gourmet pizza.”

Rosso. Third and Brookwood. The newcomer–stylish place with upmarket feel. Neopolitan style crisp, yeasty pizza made with locally grown/produced ingredient in a wood-fired pizza oven. Try the white funghi pizza!

Vocabulary

For those among our family and friends who aren’t familiar with b’nei mitzvot (the plural of bar/bat mitzvah), here are some terms you might want to know:

Bar mitzvah: “son of the commandment.” The Jewish coming-of-age ritual, which follows a boy’s 13th birthday; girls can become bat mitzvah at age 12. The joke, of course, is that on this day, the boy “becomes a man,” but in practice, it means that he becomes responsible for the commandments (read: his spiritual, moral life) and that he literally counts–he can be part of a minyon, the “quorum” of 10 necessary for communal Jewish prayer.

Mitzvah: a good deed. We speak of “doing a mitzvah,” for instance. As part of Isaac’s bar mitzvah process, he was required to do community service. He chose to do several mitzvah projects: selling fair trade coffee to support the Abayudayah Jews of Uganda; petting puppies at the Dog Assistance League; helping at Elisha’s Pantry to distribute food for the Redwood Food Bank; and helping maintain the landscape at our synagogue.

Bima: the stage, platform, or special area where the Torah service takes place. It is always considered an honor to be “called to the bima,” and during the service, we’ll try to include as many family and friends as we can.

Torah: the “Five Books of Moses,” the first five books of the Old Testament, and the most precious text in Jewish tradition. Isaac will read from a handwritten Torah scroll that was saved from a community in Czechoslovakia that was destroyed by the Nazis. Every week, a different parashah (portion) is read, and the whole Torah is reread every year. The Torah is treated with great respect: the congregation will stand whenever “in its presence”; Isaac will read from it using a yad (“hand,” a silver pointer) in order not to touch the parchment itself; at various times people will kiss something (a tallit, a siddur/prayer book) then touch it to the Torah.

D’var torah: a teaching based on the Torah, or the sermon Isaac is writing and will read during the ceremony.

Haftorah: “completion”; the reading of a section of the Prophets, sometimes with a tie-in to the Torah portion. When Isaac completes his reading of the Haftorah, there will be singing and clapping to signify the end of his major accomplishment in studying and preparing for his bar mitzvah

Kiddush: the prayer praising God for wine, recited before dinner on Shabbat and at other times to sanctify the day. Also refers to the food and wine served after morning services.

Kippah (pl. kippot; also called yarmulke in Yiddish): the headcovering, worn mostly by men as a sign of respect to God. Because ours is a reform synagogue, wearing the kippah is optional. Isaac wears a kippah handmade by the Abayudayah, the Ugandan Jewish community that he has helped support with his mitzvah project (more on this elsewhere in the blog).

L’dor va dor: “from generation to generation.”

Oneg (Shabbat): “celebration”; the social gathering including refreshments held after worship services. The Friday night before Isaac’s bar mitzvah, the oneg will be hosted by our chavurah (“friends”). We’ve been meeting and sharing Jewish holidays with these six families since Isaac was a toddler.

Simcha: a joyous event

Tallit (pl. tallitot): a prayer shawl with special fringes called tzitzit tied in the corners. The fringe is meant to remind the wearer of the 613 commandments. Isaac will receive his tallit at the start of his bar mitzvah service.

Where the deer, giraffe and zebra play

One of the surprises in Santa Rosa is Safari West, a private African wildlife preserve about 25 minutes from our house. Unless you’re coming early or staying late, taking the jeep tour probably won’t fit into the bar mitzvah weekend schedule (you need at least two hours), but you may want to consider it as part of your next visit to us! It’s a beautiful place–a wine country version of an African savannah–and as you bump along you discover small herds of gazelle, oryx, giraffe, zebra, and a range of oddball deer (there are about 400 animals). There are also some primates, exotic birds, and a cheetah. It’s all pretty laid back rather than zoo-like, and great fun. They even have snazzy tent cabins up there, so you can wake up, look out the window, and see a giraffe looking back at you. You might catch a glimpse of baby Jiggs (seen here), born June 14. A couple of years ago, when a baby zebra was born near the road, traffic backed up for miles–how many times have you had a chance to see a newborn zebra on your way home from work?

Where to stay

We have held a block of rooms in Railroad Square, which puts you in a great location for all bar mitzvah-related events, plus an easy walk from shopping, restaurants, a historic district and the new Prince Memorial Greenway.

We’ve reserved a block at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek (ask for the group rate for Melissa’s last name). This is an attractive hotel, with a pool, an in-house spa, a fitness room, a restaurant and cafe and Tuscan-style decor–it’s the most attractive hotel in this area. There’s also space for family/friends to gather, and on Friday afternoon, even a complementary wine reception. Plus, the area has pleasant walks. We have guaranteed 10 rooms to secure the discounted price of $199 (a steep discount from an internet price of $319, given this will be a weekend in high season). We can add extra rooms to the block if necessary. Please book immediately, if not sooner, so we can make sure everyone who wants to stay there can. Also, it will take a big load off our minds, since we had to guarantee these rooms to get the discount. Their cut off date is August 25.

We have some back ups if the Hyatt fills; we’ll add them back here if necessary.

We’ve discovered that the least expensive motel that is most convenient to the bar mitzvah events is the Hillside Inn ($70-95), which does not handle block bookings, but you can call for yourselves. The rooms are clean and basic, with some kitchenettes, and it has a small pool. It is close to a couple of good restaurants and shopping in Montgomery Village. It’s at the start of the road to Sonoma, so there’s easy access to wineries. Like all the budget hotels in town, it is on a noisy street, but we’ve had good reviews from locals.

PLEASE book early; Santa Rosa in September is busy, busy, busy, with beautiful weather, the harvest in full swing, and many weddings and other special events scheduled.