High Holidays - Flipbook - Page 8
ASHER
POULSEN
Iyyar 3, 5784
May 11, 2024
Asher Gelman Poulsen was born September 30,
2010. Growing up in San Francisco, Asher was
raised on Magic Treehouse books and Wild Kratz,
and to this day he has the curiosity of an explorer
and an infectious enthusiasm for new things,
knowledge and experiences that pops up, often at
unexpected times, to brighten our lives.
Whether it’s an obscure movie he saw favorably
reviewed on YouTube that we all had to watch
immediately, a card game he learned from a friend,
a book or an anime, a song or a puzzle, Asher is
constantly bringing his new discoveries into our
home. At nine-years-old he could rave about his
favorite style of architecture, and describe its grace
notes in detail. At 11 he received his black belt in
Taekwando. Last year he picked up a Rubik’s Cube
at a friend’s birthday party, and was so impressed
by the circa-1980 invention that he immediately
devoted himself to solving it, then to solving it
faster, and now there’s nothing better in the world
than spending a weekend at a speed-cubing
competition in a Holiday Inn in New Jersey.
When we moved from San Francisco to Port
Washington three years ago, Asher didn’t dwell for
a moment on the life he was leaving behind, just on
the exciting possibilities in front of him. He couldn’t
wait to spend more time with his grandparents,
Wendy and Steven Gelman, his Aunt Allison
Gelman and cousin Jackson and all his east coast
family. Soon after the move, we impulsively visited
an animal shelter. As a city kid with little exposure
to pets, Asher had always been tense around dogs,
so when a beagle jumped on him and began licking
his face, tail wagging furiously, it was unclear at first
how he’d react. Asher, laughing, proclaimed his
undying love on the spot, and Roscoe joined our
family the same day.
Asher has always delighted us with the creativity
with which he experiences the world. He can
discover the poetry in a Social Studies reading,
draw satisfaction from figuring out the street
corner crossings that best optimize his walk home
from school, and always suss out the bright side of
a rainy day. He approached his upcoming Bar
Mitzvah with the same joy, diligently learning trope
and Torah, his Haftorah and prayers, and thinking
about what it means to be holy as he will share in
his D’var Torah.
We invite the entire TBI community to join our
family on May 11, 2024 as Asher is called to the
Torah as a Bar Mitzvah. Thank you to Josh B, Anya,
Jack G, Rabbi Perlman, Rabbi Mishkin and
everyone who helped Asher prepare for this
special day!
Nisan/Iyyar/Sivan 5784