Hannukah, the Odyssey

Hannukah is vacation time for many here in Israel, and who are we if not to take advantage of such an opportunity? On Sunday, we joined our friend Hillary and her children for a trip to Latrun, the museum and memorial of the armored corp of the IDF as well as a very significant location in Israeli history. The place evokes an interesting mix of emotions and experiences--sadness at the memorial, pride at the independence, and a weird theme park sort of feel when everyone gets to climbing on the tanks.You'll notice Sidney's expression in this picture. She was really sad after hearing the tour guide talk about the soldiers who were killed in this type of tank while saving 30 or more civilians during the most recent war in Lebanon.

The next day we took a trip up north for a few lighter experiences. We drove north to the area of Tiberias. We stayed two nights in a field school run by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. We arrived late--just in time to head into the city for dinner at Pagoda, a really good and not too expensive Chinese/Thai/Sushi restaurant. Josh and I were excited for the Chinese and Thai while Sidney got her fix of salmon sashimi.

The next morning started with a typical Israeli breakfast: fresh rolls, scrambled eggs, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers, an assortment of cheeses, tunafish, oh, and how could I

forget, chocolate spread. We then headed out for our day. We took a short walk along the

shores of the Kinneret, but it was cold and dreary, so we headed inside for the rest of the day. We spent the morning at Kibbutz Ein Gev, the oldest kibbutz on the Eastern side of the Kinneret. There they have a woodshop in which kids can build their own wooden toys. Sidney chose to make a doll bed. She got to paint the decorations and then built the whole thing herself (with the help of one of the professionals). She got to drill holes, hammer nails,

and screw in the screws.

She is really proud of the product and is thrilled to have a place for Laura and Angeline to sleep.

In the afternoon, we visited the "Chocolate Farm" on Kibbutz Degania Bet. They produce high quality chocolates as well as providing workshops for children and adults to make their own chocolate creations. Sidney was the only one who really participated in the workshop, but let's just say that her parents helped out, especially with the sampling:>. She made chocolate dreidels and filled and decorated her own chocolate sufganiyot. Pretty yummy.

That night we headed to Afula for a dinner of shwarma, grilled chicken, a million fresh salads, humus, and pita. Slept well.

After our big Israeli breakfast the next morning, we headed out for a hike led by one of the people who worked at the field school. We hiked through the Keshet hills (so named for their resemblance to a keshet--rainbow) near the foot of Mount Tavor. The area was lush and green being well-fertilized by all of the cows that we encountered on the trail.

Headed back to Modiin after the hike a little tired but a lot happy.

On Thursday, we ran some errands in Jerusalem. In the afternoon, Sidney really wanted to visit the Kotel so we went to the old city. Josh couldn't find a parking space, so Sidney and I went it alone. We happened to be at the wall when the chief rabbi of Israel came to light the menorah for the 7th candle, so that was pretty cool.

Meanwhile, Josh was having a very Israeli experience of his own. He found himself in one of the tiny and unlikely parking lots outside of the Old City. There was a police officer writing tickets for anyone who was parked illegally or had not paid. In his best super-polite Hebrew, Josh told the man that his pregnant wife and little girl had just gone inside for a few minutes. Would it be OK if he just idled in the parking lot, he wouldn't park? The policeman told him where to go and said that it was OK. So Josh pulled into the indicated spot and got out his phone to play some games. After a few minutes, he heard a knock on the window. It was the policeman; he was sure he was going to get a ticket. The policeman told Josh to open the door, then he got in and sat down. Josh asked if everything was OK. The policeman replied that it was cold and rainy outside and proceeded to warm his hands on the air vents for a few minutes before exiting the car. OK.

That night we were lucky to spend a lovely evening and dinner with the Kahn family (Rob, Camille, Avinoam, Dalia, and Elle). Such a good time. Sidney was so excited to win the candle contest--

an honor she shared with Avinoam.

Hannukah prep

So it seemed that preparation for Hannukah began here the day Sukkot ended:>. An amazing variety of sufganiyot appeared in every bakery and grocery, but we waited.The week before Hannukah, Sidney's class had a Hannukah party in the evening. The children got to make four projects (a hannukiah, a candle, a dreidel, and a vessel for oil). They performed several songs that that they had prepared and received a gift from Judah the Maccabee who somehow knew all of their names. They were even treated to sufganiyot.

We spent the next few days getting ready for the holiday. On Thursday, Sidney and Josh went to the mall to get sufganiyot for the holiday. Normally I would translate the word to mean jelly doughnuts, but that would be an understatement. They went to two of the best bakeries and bought one of each variety for a sampling. The pictures say everything.

There was of course the classic jelly filled, but there were also banana chocolate, chocolate, chocolate chocolate, halva, mochaccino, melon vodka...Sidney preferred the one with sprinkles which it turned out were actually poprocks.

No, we didn't eat all of those doughnuts alone. We were glad to share our celebratory dinner with Hillary and her kids (Avi, Penina, and Yael) as well as friends Mark, Amy, and their kids (Adina and Kobi). It was a fun dinner. Josh made latkes (72 total), and the sufganiyot rounded out the meal of fried foods.

Catching up

So it's been a while since our last installment, but a few highlights...

Sidney started taking ballet. Her class meets in a room decorated with hearts and ribbons. The bathroom mirror is framed with a pink feather boa and the toilet seat is gold glitter. Really I should have a picture of the place and her dynamic teacher, Sharone Kisharone. Here is a great picture of the ballerina:

Then Sidney was chosen as the Eemah shel Shabbat (the Shabbat mother) for her class. Every Friday her class prepares for Shabbat by reenacting a family Friday night dinner and one girl and one boy get to be the eemah and abba. Sidney was so excited to get a turn to be the eemah. You would have thought that she won the lottery. She did get a crown which she keeps on hand in the house for special occasions:

Of course that was followed by a turn as the malka (queen) of her afternoon class--a reward for good behavior. She got to bring a special toy and the other kids had to guess what she had brought.

In the meantime, Sidney's Hebrew is developing immensely. She understands everything being said but is still reluctant to speak--except with me and Josh. She carries on full conversations with the two of us. It's pretty amazing.

The winter rains have started. For here, it's winter, but Sidney still insists on wearing short sleeves and skirts everyday. The teachers and parents think that she's crazy, but it does make it into the 60s everyday, so...When I ask her if she wants to wear her winter clothes everyday, she says, "Not until it's winter--not until there is snow." We've tried to explain... That doesn't stop the old ladies on the street from telling us what bad parents we are--oh well, if she's cold, she'll put on the sweater that I carry around for her everywhere we go:>.

Misibat B'reshit (Genesis Party)

After a bit of a hiatus, we're back! Sorry for the delay, but with the end of the holidays came the start of a real routine and that's been busy. However, after Friday's activities, I knew that it was time to write.

Friday morning, all of the parents were invited to Sidney's gan to a misibat b'reishit--a party in honor of the conclusion of their study of creation. When we arrived all of the children were seated ready to begin their performance. They sang songs and acted out the various days of creation. Sidney played the part of the sun --appropriate given that her Hebrew name, Shemesh, means sun. This was one involved performance--costumes, singing, dancing. Sidney was really proud and she did great. Take a look at the pics.

At the end of the performance portion of the program, the children and a parent took part in a very special ceremony based on the Hassidic idea that learning Torah should be sweet like honey. Each child received a small piece of challah baked in the shape of the letter Alef. They dipped the challah in honey to remember sweetly their first experience of learning Torah. It was really beautiful.

That afternoon the rains came. It has drizzled a few times since we have been here, but this was a torrential downpour including thunder and lightning. We even lost power for half an hour. It was a great start to winter. We're supposed to get more weather like that over the next few days. That's exactly what the region needs, so we're hopeful. Sidney was thrilled that she got to wear her rain boots and use her very cool ladybug umbrella, a gift, she reminded me, from her friend Ella back in MA. So we entered Shabbat smelling rain and dodging puddles. All in all, a good way to begin.

Sukkot, Part II

Sukkot continued and we continued to enjoy ourselves. Wednesday we rented a car and traveled a bit north of our home to a place called Park Utopia. It's the project of Kibbutz Bahan--a nature park/garden. First is an indoor orchid park and outside there are mazes made from shrubbery, a butterfly garden, a topiary garden and much more. It was nice, but not great. From there we headed toward Netanya and ended up at an amazing restaurant in the industrial zone--always the best place for good eats. Bat HaIkar (the Farmer's Daughter) is a restaurant specializing in freshly grilled skewered meats. The highlight however was the homemade pita (plain or with zaatar or with tomatoes) freshly cooked in the taboun oven and the 26 (literally!) salads that covered our table upon arrival. Josh actually wrote down every single one, so for your reading pleasure (and perhaps to inspire a little jealousy:):

1. egg salad
2. cole slaw
3. spicy tomato salad
4. roasted eggplant
5. spicy roasted eggplant
6. babaganoush
7. techinah with onions and peppers
8. tabouleh
9. broiled potatoes
10. tomatoes and basil
11. spicy carrot salad
12. corn and mushroom salad
13. cabbage with parsley and cucumber
14. salsa
15. roasted peppers
16. olives and pickles
17. red cabbage with mayonnaise
18. green cabbage with vinegar
19. beets
20. chopped liver
21. deep friend eggplant and peppers
22. sweet potatoes with onions
23. israeli salad
24. rice
25. mashed potatoes
26. pickled vegetables

With a little hummus, mmmmm...

From there we headed to the beach in Netany

a to enjoy the last sun of the day.

On Thursday, we decided to stay closer to home and went to the Soreq Cave. Very cool (see pics). We picnicked in

the nearby JNF forest and then headed over to a local beach.

It was covered in sea shells, so in addition to enjoying the waves

and the sand, Sidney collected a ton of beautiful shells. Not sure what we'll do with them, but...

Friday was again the evening of a festival, Simchat Torah. We had a lovely celebration at our synagogue followed by a festive meal in the gymnasium. Not sure if I've mentioned...our synagogue

meets in the local elementary school. We have our services in a 4th grade classroom and social events in the gym. Many synagogues function in such a way as the primary function of a synagogue here is for services--the other roles that such an institution would fulfill in the U.S. are accomplished through other parts of society. In any case, the dinner was lovely--almost 200 people came. The next morning we returned for what is the longest service of the year. Outside of Israel, the holiday is two days long and has two names--Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah--the prayers are split between two days. However, here the holiday is only one day, so everything is squeezed into one service. In honor of Simchat Torah, every adult member (those over bar/bat mitzvah age) was called up to the Torah for an aliyah. This was accomplished by splitting into four groups each with its own reading to expedite things. While this was going on, the kids received a bag of goodies. I think that Sidney had more candy yesterday than in the rest of her life combined. Not sure if that is more of a comment on the amount of candy or my craziness regarding processed sugar, but still. After everyone had an aliyah we took a break for a large potluck kiddush and then returned to services for a single communal Torah reading. Josh had the first aliyah at this reading and then they did a special blessing for our family as new immigrants. People got up and danced and sang with us to officially welcome us to our new community. It was really nice and a little overwhelming. We then continued with the regular prayers and at some point the kids were treated to popsicles. Israel really is the land flowing with sweets and treats.

I assume that the conflicts in Jerusalem over the last week have also been widely publicized outside of Israel. They stem from a fear on the part of Muslims that Jews are going to storm the al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock and take over the Temple Mount. These fears are really unfounded as religious Jews won't even step foot on the Mount for fear of accidentally stepping on the holy sites; however, extremist leaders choose to spread this fear and hatred for what can only be personal and political motives. Any Jews who want to go up to the Mount are most likely tourists who are interested in learning about the exquisite Muslim sites. It used to be a common point of cultural exchange; I remember going with my parents to see the Mosque and the Dome of the Rock when I was here with them as a child. But everything is different now, I suppose. Last week a friend's son wanted to go to the Western Wall during one of his days of vacation. Muslim worshippers had been throwing rocks down from the top at those praying at the Wall, and his mother thought it too dangerous. She tried to explain what was happening to her seven year old. "Why are the Jews and the Muslims fighting?" he asked. "Because they don't know how to share," was her response. Hmmm. Do we ever really learn how to share? What should we have to share? I thought of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where the various Christian groups have worked out a rotation to share the holy space. Could that be a model? I thought of our sharing problem again on Saturday. Part of the liturgy is a prayer for rain at this time of the year, the beginning of the "rainy" season. This country, this area, which has suffered drought over the last several years, causing dangerous drops in the Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea and the aquifers...we need rain. And to make peace, to have enough water to share in order to make peace, we need rain. May God bless us with rain...and with peace this year.

Sukkot, National Festival, Part I

This past weekend began the holiday of Sukkot, a week-long festival celebrating the harvest. I always felt that it was difficult to understand why any holiday should be a week long when living in the States. It wasn't until I spent the holiday here 11 years ago that I understood the point of such a length. Sukkot is a great time to be in Israel. You really get a sense of what a week-long festival means. Schools close, most people take off of work, and the whole country is on vacation it seems. Little huts (sukkot) can be seen on many of the porches--regardless of whether the residents are religious or secular. The park is filled with parents and their children. Tourist attractions are mobbed, and the hiking trails are well-trod. Kosher restaurants throughout the country erect sukkot so that you can sit in one even while dining out. Really it's just fun...and the weather is amazing--no huddling in your winter coat dodging rain drops.

We brought our sukkah from the States and were even able to clear the last few things off our porch in time to erect it for the holiday. We brought many of our decorations from the states, but I was charged with the task of getting a few more and of getting new lights as the ones we had were not compatible with the electric here, so I hit the shook last week at the height of Sukkot shopping. The variety of decorations is unbelievable and cheap--everything is made in China and probably will have to be replaced next year but will see. The fashion in sukkah decorations here is cheap metallic/tinsil. Very Christmas tree--in fact, I think that's the intended use for most of the decorations available. I got a few things to hang and then got some great lights--banana and strawberry shaped. Very cute--already half broken, oh well.Friday night was the first night of the holiday and the first night that we sat in the sukkah. Although the night was comfortably cool, it was a little warm in the sukkah. The next day we had Yossi, Jen, and the boys as well as three of Yossi's students from the program that he runs over for lunch. It was stifling hot in the sukkah; although it was completely in the shade. Yossi pointed out to us that we had a sukkah intended for use in the U.S. The "windows" of the sukkah were covered in plastic, intended to keep out the cold and rain. Here in Israel, sukkah windows are made of mesh to allow for air flow. In our American sukkah, we were essentially cooking, so after Shabbat, Josh took a razor blade to the thing and removed the plastic windows altogether. Needless to say, air is now flowing--much better.
Saturday afternoon, Josh took Sidney on our synagogue's sukkah hop for kids. Four families opened their sukkot to the children of the community...and took the opportunity to load them up with sugar. Crembo (chocolate covered marshmallows and graham cookies), shluk (Israeli equivalent to the freeze pop), chocolate cookies, and more shluk rounded out the stops. Josh likened it to trick-or-treating without the costume.
Sunday Sidney woke up not feeling well, and by noon had broken out with a fever. By four her fever was about 102 F and didn't seem to be responding to medicine, so we decided to call a doctor. One problem: We have yet to get her a doctor. I got a recommendation and made a call. The office was closed. In fact all doctor's offices in the city were closed--they only work mornings during the holiday week. So we called the HMO hotline to find out what we needed to do. They gave us two choices: take her to the emergency medical facility or get a private doctor to come to the house. Both seemed like overkill since her fever wasn't rising. We figured a call to the medical facility might be sufficient but no one answered the phone. I was getting frustrated and bit nervous and called a friend to get advice. Here's what we were missing: Our HMO hotline also has an option of 24 hour phone consultation with a nurse--just what we needed! Called them and waited on hold...for 23 minutes...until I gave up because Sidney's fever had already started coming down. At least, we'll know what to do next time.
Oh yes, and all this was happening about an hour before we were expecting 15-20 guest for an open sukkah party. Turned out great. Sidney was better and we got to see lots of old friends from Camp Ramah: Ronnie, Minda, Tova, Jen + kids, Hillary, Alex, Sima, Guy and Dror.
Monday we went to Jerusalem, to the Israel Museum where they had special activities in the Art Garden. We went with Jen, Nadav and Eitan. The kids chose to work with clay. They were charged with sculpting the clay like one of several fruits on the table. After taking on several different fruits, Sidney finally settled on making pizza--one of her favorite things to make with clay. We then stayed for a drumming performance and the kids got to try their hands at the various rhythm instruments. It was a fun event.

Today we did a great thing that I highly recommend to anyone touring Israel. The absorption department of our town scheduled a great activity open to all new immigrants of our town--A trip to Neot Kedumim, a Bibilical nature reserve. They have plants and animals as well as agricultural tools that are described in Biblical texts. It's a really cool place.When we first got off the bus, we were greeted by a deluge of rain. For about 5-10 minutes, it poured. We were soaked. It was interesting to see the reaction of the children in the group. In the States, they would have cried or complained, but here everyone was perfectly happy; it was as if they understood the importance of the rain--and anyway, five minutes later the sun was out, it was hot, and everyone was dry. In any case, we did a short hike through the preserve, stopping to learn about different plants native to the area and present in Biblical literature (figs, dates, wheat...). Sidney got to try her hand at grinding wheat flour. She made Za'atar from the hyssop plant, perfume from myrtle leaves (hadas)--and even hand weaved a basket. We got to taste date honey--the type of honey described in Biblical sources. They also had a special display of many different types of sukkot. It was a fun trip. We took lots of pics!Tonight, my cousins Ravit and Ariella came to visit. It was so nice sitting with them in the sukkah enjoying the evening air. Looking forward to more sukkot adventures tomorrow. We'll let you know what they are.

Holy Day in the Holy Land

Yesterday was Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar. Given its proximity to Saturday, most people enjoyed a long weekend--3 1/2 days, and in a country where the weekend is usually a day and a half, that's pretty long. Saturday night Israel went off of day light savings time and began the "winter clock". So for those of you keeping track at home we are now six hours ahead of east coast time. Israel makes the switch on the Saturday night between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur in order to make the fast of Yom Kippur shorter. Well it's always 25 hours, so not really shorter, but the fast ends at an earlier time. We were all off school on Sunday, so we had the opportunity to prepare for the holiday. We did some more home organization, and Sidney and I headed out to the store for some last minute groceries.

One block from our house is a small shopping center known as Country Center (nice bit of transliteration). It contains a grocery, a fruit and vegetable stand, a pizza place, a felafel place, a bakery, a candy shop (or two), a hair salon, a bike shop, and a few other stores. It's extremely convenient. The parking lot was packed! Cars angled their way past one another treacherously. I figured that the traffic must reflect the number of people, like us, who needed groceries. When we got inside the center, we found a line of people wrapped around the courtyard, mostly kids, with their bikes in line for the bike store to make sure that they were ready for the holiday. Yes, Yom Kippur is the day of atonement, meant for reflection, but in Israel, it's the one day of the year when not a single car is found on the streets from sun down until dark the following day. It is the holiday of the ofanaim (bicycle). Some prepared for Yom Kippur by repenting...some by filling their tires. So the streets were filled with kids and adults riding bikes, scooters, and wheeled devices of all kinds--all day. That's not to imply that people didn't go to synagogue. Of course, religious people did--all dressed in white--but secular people did as well--some dressed in finery while others came in white shirts and jeans. Somehow they combined the desire to be part of the communal spiritual experience with the enjoyment of the outdoors and the gorgeous weather.

Our synagogue services were really lovely--amazing singing that created powerful vibrational energy in the room. You would think that a room full of people who hadn't eaten all day would be drab and depressing, but the singing brought energy to everyone. When we blew shofar last night, the room was packed with people who are regulars at our synagogue as well as neighborhood people looking for somewhere to be a part of the experience for the holiday.

Afterward we walked home to break the fast, and once Sidney was asleep, we went out to the mirpeset ("veranda" but it sounds too grand) to begin to build the frame of our sukkah. We weren't the only ones. Echoing between the buildings was the sound of hammering from several other apartments where people were already looking forward to the next festival--Sukkot.