Sarasota, FL & Dunedin, FL – What happens when you combine a stunning sunset on a Friday night, some beach chairs, fine wine, challah, fresh mango, sushi, pistachio nuts and good friends like Ed and Sarah Weinstein? You get Shabbat! It’s that simplistic. Call a friend and just show up. Playing at the beach at least monthly should be a mandatory law for those of us who live near it!

Luckily, Shabbat is within a 24 hour cycle and once you figure out how many things can really happen in that time period, the magic is captured. On Saturday, I headed for Dunedin, Florida for a conference on Wright’s Law – Educational Law at the federal and state level. As a special education advocate, my caseload has become more intense and demands constant attention in the area of educational law. It is necessary and important to keep up with the Individual with Disabilities Education Act of 2004, Section 504, NCLB, FERPA & the McKinney-Vento Act, U.S. Supreme Court Decisions, and Commentary, Analysis and Interpretation. For me, Saturday proved to be a day of intense study and learning – something any Rabbi would approve.

As the Shabbat came to an end I was able to celebrate it with my cousin Alan Friedman who lives near Safety Harbor, FL. We met up at Los Mexicanos for dinner, and  a spirited conversation ensued. I learned so much about my family. For example,my Uncle Lester and Aunt Goldie Friedman, Alan’s parents, were married on July 3, 1932. They owned millinery – women’s hat stores. They sold them for $1.98 and $2.98 and apparently at the height of their business had 50+ stores until 1967 when hats finally dropped out of style. In addition, what is important to note about Alan and his late wife, Fran, who passed December 30, 2008, is that they were my parental units during college at Emory University. It is because of them that I learned about healthy relationships. When I could, I spent my weekends with them. They fed me, gave me a comfortable bed, and cheered me up when the life of a college student can wreck havoc on your emotions and intellect. They were my rock.

In the meantime, my husband, Steve, celebrated Shabbat on Saturday at Rothenbach Park with Rabbi Glickman and Temple Emanu-El congregants for a healthy walk and some Torah talk. Erin, our daughter, was in Austin, Texas at her first wedding of her friends. Jake, our son, was on the move to Port Charlotte, FL, and Noah, our son, was in Asheville, NC. Everyone was where they needed to be on this Shabbat. Blessed.