December 26-January 2

We have definitely been through as interesting, uplifting and at the same time challenging week as you can have. Clearly being in a country where there is a major military event going on poses its challenges (more about that later) but as usual, in Israel, the key to survival is that life goes on irregardless of what is going on around you. So, life in Jerusalem,which is not in the center of the action, motors on, with its tourists, shopping and bustle.

Last Friday we welcomed Monty and Daniella and the rest of the Wagner clan to Israel (although the Wagner’s had arrived earlier in the week). We had a great dinner together at the Inbal after touring around Mea Shearim. Shoshana was passed around from person to person and entertained us all. Shabbat lunch was “chez Fiter”, in the apartment they rented for the holidays on Derech Hebron. If you need a short term rental, speak to them about it, because it’s a great place! We spent Monday with Monty and Daniella in Haifa, with Monty visiting Technion University and the medical faculty there. They have excellent facilities and Monty and Daniella appeared to know a bunch of people there. Tuesday was another travel day for Bruce and Monty; we visited Yeshivat Sha’alvim, Monty’s Yeshiva, and gave Steve and Ryan Fiter a tour. We also visited Bar Ilan University to learn about a new Live Cell Imaging System developed in the department of physics there. Really interesting, and we will be bringing back some potential application to our labs in Montreal. We had a fun dinner with most of tehe families at Papagaio, and of course Mazer family dinner with Daniella and Monty as guest stars (check out a video of Daniella Making Shoshana laugh on Facebook!) Wednesday and Thursday were spent in Jerusalem, with visits to the Supreme Court, the Sorek Stalagtite caves near Bet Shemesh, and to the Menachem Begin Heritage center. Today we did some shopping for gifts, as unfortunately, Barbara must return to teach next week. I’ll be keeping the fort up and the Shoshana pictures flowing for about 6 weeks more. Tonight, the Mazers, Wagners and Fiters will be eating together for Shabbat in what promises to be a very freilach Shabbat.

Rachel Fiter contributed a poem that describes our trip to the Sorek Caves:

Stalagmites stalgtites only caves have got them

Tites are always on the top and mites are on the bottom

Coraltites, helictites they are long and twisty.

Be careful not slip in here cause it might get too risky.

Kol Hakavod!

Anyway, if it sounds like we had a pretty normal week, the truth is, we have. Jerusalem, in central Israel, is on alert, but in fact, we are always on alert. There is more security in the Old City, but there are still many tourists, and lots of groups. Two interesting ironies; we were sitting around the Shabbat table with Steve, Estie and co last Saturday, and Estie asked when we thought that there would be a response to the incessant bombing that Hamas resumed just prior to the end of the Dec 19th cease fire. I commented that it is certain to be any day. In fact it had started an hour before. Also as you know, last week I wrote about our great day in the Negev. Since the war on Hamas began last Shabbat, many of the roads we took have been closed and it’s really been a tense, nervous situation for residents of the south, living or sleeping in bomb shelters. We all pray for a speedy end, with a clear resolution, as there is no reason for the residents of Israel’s south to be fired on at will for no reason. Many reservists including several friends and classmates of Elan’s have been called up. To date, things have been going well from Israel’s perspective; only time will tell if the outcome leads to the ability of both sides to go forward constructively.

We are delighted to wish my Uncle Peter a happy Special Birthday!!

Mazel Tov to Yakov Fruchter and Ryla on their engagement!!! See you in Winnipeg

Please pray for refuah Shelemah for Tamar Dina bat Smadar and Gilad Hillel ben Bracha Mirel

Have a wonderful Shabbat and let’s all pray for peace.

Barbara and Bruce

Addendum: Shabbat was amazing, but what was most beautiful was the thousands of people who decended on the old city to pray at the Western Wall Friday night. It was inspiring to see the large numbers and the spirit. Also note that the only protests in Israel have been to accelerate the end of fighting, with no "celebrations" of our victories or "Death to the Enemy"rallies, unlike elsewhere in the world. I am always amazed that in spite of this, this country gets such bad press. Mi Kamcha Yisrael! More on this next post, which may be earlier depending on the state of events. (added Sat night)

December 19-26

Chanukah in Jerusalem is a a time for lights in windows and in doorways, parties, and lots of donuts! We celebrated with dinner at Elan and Nomi’s with Ariel, Mimon and the Fiter’s. Pizza, amazing Latkes from Barbara and the best Sufganiot in town from a bakery in our neighborhood as voted by the Jerusalem Post! (They actually were really pretty, and not nearly as greasy as most kinds.) The week’s highlights also included Kabbalat Shabbat at the Kotel, meeting Yaacov Fruchter, Noah, Yisroel Cohen (who got married Wednesday night), Stan Nattel, , etc,; an amazing Shabbat dinner at Elan, Nomi and Shoshana’s; lunch at out house with the Fiter and the Moss families, and Motzei Shabbat with new Grandparents Chaya and Michael Brody (Mazel tov!). We were treated to the sound and light show at Migdal David in the old city (spectacular but a bit chilly!) and caught up with Leonid (from our adopted Russian family) who is here on Birthright.

I mentioned last week that we would be taking a day trip to the south of Israel. This was being organized by Udi Zinar, the Business Development Consultant for the new town of Bney Netzarim. The original town of Netzarim is in Gaza, and like the other Gaza towns was emptied of Jewish inhabitants in 2005. The trip’s concept: let’s get people to see a part of Israel that is building, fun, exciting and full of surprises that people don’t generally visit. So the Liebermans, Fiters and Mazers met early Wednesday AM to head south. The trip was an unmitigated success! We started off in the Elah Valley, the site of the battle between David and Goliath. The hill overlooking the battle field is beautiful and covered in stones inscribed with the biblical verses that describe the event. It was probably the coldest day since we were in Israel. No matter, the company and a few refreshments kept us warm! The van then took us to the Air Force museum in Be-er Sheva. We have all been told that this is a must see, and it was. We were guided through a history of the Israeli Air Force including a great exhibit of retired planes. There were some terrific stories, including how two planes were flown into Israel by defectors which led to great advancements in intelligence and anti-aircraft strategies. We had lunch at the coffee shop (and finished all his baguettes…unfortunately he must not be too busy usually) and then went further south to The Soppapo Memorial Park, a memorial for the Paratroopers. This was within visual distance of the Gaza Strip and is near the farm of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s. The location was chosen because Sharon was the first commander of the Paratrooper units; the raison d’etre for these units was to stop the cross border raids that killed Israelis in the early days of the country. Many fell in battle, but the deterrence was effective and raids inflicted on the Israelis ceased for a while. From there we were introduced to the new village of B’ney Netzarim. The community was moved to temporary quarters in a Negev Yishuv but has established an agricultural presence, growing and exporting Organic Peppers and Potatoes. Unbelievable Peppers. Try to imagine being in the middle of the desert, with sand all around, and seeing greenhouse after greenhouse with plants growing in the sand! Just to underline Israeli determination, when we asked how they could conceive of growing plants in desert sand, Udi told us matter of factly- “It’s the best! Clean, fine like flour, no mineral content, no rocks; it’s the perfect soil for organic growing because we can control all aspects.” True to form, the greenhouses and gardens were really impressive. We also saw the town in it’s infancy…next week they turn soil to build the synagogue. In fact, Udi brought some Kiddush to the area, as we participated in a l’chaim on the spot the synagogue will be build. We ended the day by visiting a ceramics workshop on a Shomer Hatzair Kibbutz nearby, and then went to K’far Maimon, to “Ora’s Yard”. This restaurant is run by Reuven, a polish Holocaust survivor and his wife Ora, of Yemenite descent. During their retirement in the last 10 years the couple have grown an amazing orchard with exotic fruits. The restaurant uses the fruits of the orchard to create elaborate salads, liquors and jams, which we sampled gladly. Great food, great company and it was a fitting end to the day; our eyes had been opened to the grit, determination and creativity of Israel’s southern residents.

As we enjoyed ourselves in the Negev, the irony was that it is anything but quiet and peaceful on the border with Gaza. Hamas continues to launch mortars and missiles at the southern communities. We ask ourselves when the government will take some kind of action; to learn the lessons that were learned, painfully as we saw at the Paratroopers memorial, that terrorizing the citizens cannot be tolerated.

Monty and Daniella and the rest of the Wagner family have arrived! We are planning on spending Shabbat and the next few days catching up with family and playing the tourist role again. Today we wandered around Meah Shearim and the market (Shook) at Machanei Yehuda together. Everyone looks great and is glad to be here.

We pray for a speedy recovery for Tamar Dina (bat Smadar) Amar, daughter of our friend and former member of Montreal’s Kollel Torah Miziyon, and to Gilad Hillel ben Bracha Mirel.

We wish Yisrael and Tali Cohen Mazel Tov!
Happy Hanukkah to family and friends !
Merry Christmas to those back home celebrating !

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,
Barbara and Bruce

A Chanuka Message from Nomi and Elan

We are in the midst of celebrating Chanukah, and our victory over the Greeks those many years ago. On Shabbat Chanukah, the worlds of Yosef HaTzadik and the Chashmonaim come together, and through Derech HaAvot we can achieve a deeper understanding of the essence of the battle against the Greeks, and perhaps gain some insight and some chizuk for our daily lives.
The last Rashi in Parshat VaYeshev is very puzzling. After interpreting the dreams of his cellmates, Yosef asks the wine minister, who is to live, to put in a good word for him with Paroh, that maybe he, too, can be released from prison. The minister then goes free and subsequently forgets Yosef until two years later when Paroh is plagued by his dreams. Rashi writes that Yosef was forgotten because of his lack of Emunah – he should not have asked the wine minister for help, but rather relied on G-d to save him from all his troubles. The obvious questions beg to be asked: Did Yosef really have a lack of Emunah in Hashem?! Do we not believe in taking action in our lives, and not relying solely Hashem to save us – אין סומכין על הנס??

After Yosef was freed from jail, we can see that he does not repeat this mistake, and while interpreting Paroh's dreams he mentions the name of G-d no less than five times, and even Paroh, the head idol of an idol-worshipping kingdom, declares that he has never seen anyone with such a G-dly spirit (41; 38).

We see this aspect of Yosef at the beginning of exile to Egypt as well. While working in the house of Potifar, his master notices that Hashem is with him (38;3), and Rashi on this pasuk explains that the name of G-d was constantly in the mouth of Yosef, thereby marking him a man of G-d.
Rashi points out this trait earlier in Bereshit as well, by Yosef's father. When Yaakov, dressed as Esav, went to get the blessing from his father, he says that Hashem helped him find food quickly, (27;20) and Yitzchak gets suspicious because, as Rashi explains, it was the practice of Yaakov to constantly have the name of Hashem on his lips.

This trait is additionally found by Avraham. Rashi tell us (24;7) that as a result of all of Avraham's work in the world, the people of the nations always had G-d on their lips. So to, we see that Avraham and also Yitzchak always named places using the name of G-d.
Looking at the whole picture, we can see that each of the Avot gave center stage to the presence of G-d in their life. Whether naming places, finding food, serving as a slave or speaking in front of a powerful king, the message they bring to us is that Hashem should always be right there, a constant presence in every aspect of our lives.

Skipping forward to Chanuka, the midrash (VaYikra Rabba 13;5) reveals that the Greeks commanded the Jews to write on the horn of a bull – קרן השור – that they had no connection to the G-d of Israel. In commanding this, the Greeks hoped to do away with this special characteristic that was passed down from our forefathers. They hoped in this way that we would eliminate G-d from our daily lives, and live just like them in their Hellenistic society.
The Maharal (נר מצוה) explains that by using the horn of a bull, they wanted to remind the Jews of the Sin of the Golden Calf. They wanted to say that even though we claim to have had a G-dly revelation at Sinai, the truth came out immediately afterwards, when we sinned, and that is who we really are as a nation.

As the saying goes, "If at first you don't succeed, try again." Sometimes that's a very daunting task, and a seemingly easier phrase by which to live would say "If at first you don't succeed – lower your standards." When living at a lower standard, there are far fewer responsibilities and expectations, and far fewer obstacles to overcome. According to the Maharal, the Greeks wanted to tell us that we had not succeeded – so we might as well lower our standards. They wanted to say that we could never reach to such heights as was expected of us, so we should just quit now, because we have already failed. In this way, they hoped to convince us to abandon our G-d and our religion, and join them as they conquered the world and spread their Hellenistic beliefs.
Now we can understand the puzzling Rashi from the beginning. Yosef did not actually do anything essentially wrong, but he lowered his standards, and that was his sin. After so many years of being in exile and keeping G-d in his mouth, he reaches a low point and succumbs to the pressure. However, Yosef does teshuva and raises himself up, returning to the high standard at which he always held himself. He could have given up entirely, told himself that although he was still the same person, he was no longer living in the same world as Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, and been happy at a lower standard, but he refused to give up and go down, and that is the greatness of Yosef HaTzadik. He stayed strong in his exile, and ultimately succeeded in bringing G-d's name even to the deepest corner of Egypt, the house of Paroh.
This was the victory of Chanuka – the refusal of our people to lower their standards, and their steadfast determination to live at a high level.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe writes that the reason people eventually stop living at the high standard they once did is because when they make a mistake – as every human being does – instead of getting up and trying again, they grow complacent with their part in life, and no longer try to move forward. They excuse their mistakes, by claiming that they are no longer who they once were. This is the voice of the Greeks, the attack that the Chashmonaim overcame.
May we take the strength that Yosef showed in Egypt, and the strength that the Chashmonaim showed against the Greeks, and find the strength within ourselves to bring Hashem back to the center and the essence of our lives.

Shabbat Shalom!
Chag Chanukah Sameach!
BeAhava, Nomi, Elan and Soshana (the Mazer family)

December 12-19

I don’ t know if it’s the cold that I have, the major scandal in the financial world caused by so-called Orthodox Jews, or the distraction of thinking about the flood in Monty and Daniella’s house, but I am in a crazy mood these days. So, if things seem to be at a 45 degree angle this week, we can blame any or all of the above!

We are in full election mode; the parties have each had their primaries that present the list of candidates who will be eligible for election in the crazy Israeli election scheme. Likud has been in the lead, and in their primary they elected Moshe Feiglin and a group of his very right wing supporters. The party went into panic mode; how can they say they are a centrist party with this list? So their popularity went up from 34 to 37%. Kadima is next at 20% and Ehud Barak and Labor are in downward plummet at 11%. No one wants Barak again. Driving to Hadassah Hospital, there is a huge display on an overpass which tries to portray Barak as tough guy and a real leader. The signs say: “Not sympathetic: a leader; Not nice; a leader; Not cute: a leader” You get the drift. There is Ehud, baby-faced but trying to snarl. It does not work. So, unless there is a major upheaval, Bibi Netanyahu will get another kick at the can, so to speak. Of course, there ARE another 6 weeks to go, which is forever in politics, right?

Shabbat initiated our week with much simcha. We had Elan, Nomi and Shoshana as well as our friends the Zochers for a very spirited dinner with discussion and learning and lots of giggling by Shoshana. The celebration continued at the Shalom Zachar for a new baby boy, son of Avi and Sarah Lifshitz, friends of E and N from Toronto (Sarah) and Yeshivat Hakotel (Avi). The baby’s brit was Sunday Morning, which was also a lot of fun (even though someone fainted and I spent the brit on the floor with him) and we now have a new member of the tribe named Ezra. That’s him being consoled by his new friend Shoshanna. Monday Barbara went back to school….literally! She went to Bet Shemesh to visit Chaya Kessler and attended 2 of her classes. They were excellent; makes you want to be 18 again (or does it??). We went out to dinner in Jerusalem after class (we like feeding Yeshiva and Seminary kids). Tuesday Barbara travelled to Ranana to speak, but mixed business with pleasure by staying over at Sharon Dalfen’s and meeting our friend Mindy Bigman (ex of Cleveland). Mindy’s daughter Hadass was Daniella’s havruta and friend during her year in Israel and wants to see Daniella when she comes to visit next week! Back in Jerusalem, we had our Tuesday night dinner at Elan’s featuring Sweet Corn Soup and Tacos. Ariel has a friend from New York who comes every week for dinner; he was very disappointed to learn we are not staying all year!

The week’s climax or highlight is the arrival of the Fiter Family. This is the first visit for Ryan and Rachel but their parents Steve and Estie have not been here in over 20 years…It’s pretty exciting for all. We got to see them on Thursday, jet lag and all and had a great dinner together. This morning we all took an Old City tour, particularly of the Herodian Quarter, the Southern Wall excavation and the Tunnels. It is amazing to think that we are walking on the same ground as people did in Temple times, and can see actual proof of the laws, rituals and customs as well as the way of life that we learn about when we study classical Jewish texts like the Mishna and Talmud. It is very humbling, but it does drive home the point that the Jews are all part of a chain that has been adding links and growing for 3000 years.

With Chanukah coming, that means that there will be a bit of time for travel and parties (and as previously mentioned, endless donuts). We are planning a day trip south next week to visit the community of Netzarim, which is a transplant of the community that had been in Gaza prior to the evacuation. We will see how they are doing and get the perspective on what the people of Netzarim think of the politics of why they are no longer in Gaza. This has been organized by Willie Lieberman with one of the town’s development people.

Chanukah is the season of light and we begin to celebrate on Sunday night. The candles represent the miracle of the remnants of pure oil left in the Holy Temple following the Hasmonean victory over the Hellenistic Empire. It is a tribute to many parts of our history; the victory of a small nation over a more powerful one; the symbolism of a remnant of oil representing that which was left after destruction, to light the way for rebuilding the future. Much like our forbearers after the Inquisition, the Crusades, or our most recent horror, the Holocaust. We can take solace in the knowledge that there has always been a small flask of oil to keep the flames alive and to continue to build. Good triumphs over evil, and even one small flask of oil can light the entire world. Now let’s do our part.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!

Barbara and Bruce

December 5-12

With only 8 more shopping days till Hanukkah (I know there are actually 10, but 2 are Shabbat!) this period is just another of the amazing contrasts between living in Jerusalem and elsewhere. It is definitely unique to this city and a few other areas of the country. Interestingly, Elan and I were in Haifa 2 years ago in December, and the stores were decorated for Christmas in several areas, and certainly in Tel Aviv and other places there is more of a presence for the upcoming New Year’s celebration. Even then, compared to living in the US and Canada, with the proliferation of decorations right from Thanksgiving until weeks after New Years, with the Holiday music everywhere and of course with the cold and snow, it is really a huge contrast to be here. Hanukkah is very understated; there may be a display in a grocery store or a gift shop, olive oil may be in the main display, but there is very little else going on. The major exception is in the bakeries. As you know, Jewish Holidays are made for eating, and Hanukkah is no exception. It’s just that typical Hanukkah fare is a heart attack or stroke waiting to happen. Deep fried donuts called sufganiot are everywhere. They are stuffed with jam and powdered with sugar. And every place has dozens. Today I went the bakery were I buy our Challot and they had a huge display with a giant Sufganiah that proclaimed in macho fashion “Ours are the biggest!” I wasn’t sure if they were the biggest health hazard or donut. Places make caramel versions, chocolate, lemon cream, you name it. It doesn’t seem that potato latkes (pancakes) have as big an attraction in Israel as sufganimania.

We think we have gotten to know our area pretty well, and can pretty much navigate the streets on foot to get to most places easily. However, driving in Jerusalem, with its dead ends, one way streets and circuitous routes is another story. This was driven home particularly well this week when Our friend Robert (Reuven) Sutnick came to pick us up for dinner. Robert and Barbara live in Tekoa and we’ve been friends since they were a young rabbinic couple in Montreal. Anyway, Robert needed directions to get him from our area to the south of the city. After I sent him down 2 dead ends and a one way street, I thought it was better to just close our eyes and point. It could not have been worse!

Our week as usual had many highlights. Shabbat dinner was at the Inbal Hotel at the Israeli Allergy Society meeting. Honestly, if you are a Jewish allergist, you’ll always have good company. We hosted two ‘newlywed’ couples on Shabbat Fishel and Sarah Leah Stark and Gary and Charlotte Ginsburg. Phil (Fischel) and Charlotte are probably familiar to may of you. Ariel and two of his yeshiva mates joined us. We got together with Karen and Robert Goldberger on Monday, and saw a terrific show. Every year the Koby Mandell Foundation holds a series of comedy shows to raise funds for victims of terror. (kobymandell.org/comedy) They brought in 4 great stand up artists; two Jews (Avi Lieberman, no relation) and Modi, Chris Spencer and Mike Loftus. Hysterical. The crowd was completely caught up and falling off their seats laughing. Great fund raiser. We also found out that Elan and Nomi’s close friend, Sarah and Avi Lifshitz, had a little boy! So we have a Sahlom Zachar tonight and perhaps a brit on Sunday. I saw the baby at Hadassah when he came for a check up and he is very cute!

On the other hand, sometimes being away is not all it’s cracked up to be. As many of you may know, Monty and Daniella had a pipe burst in their apartment this week. It caused a lot of damage, but no injuries, thank G-d. We spoke to them a lot and of course our house is being well used as a temporary shelter, but felt bad that we could not help more. Kudos to the Wagner’s for flying in and helping out a ton, and the Fiters and of course my parents for providing shelter and a shoulder or two. Monty and Daniella sounded really composed and in full problem solving mode throughout; really impressive. Hopefully they will be able to join us here as planned; no doubt they need a vacation now!

It’s hard to believe that in just a few days the Fiters are arriving, then the Wagners, Mazers, as well as the Liebermans, Teitelbaums, Abitbols and many others…..Jerusalem will be inundated with friends and family to visit. We’re even seeing Yaacov Fruchter tomorrow. And in an amazing coincidence, Joel Moss has moved in on our street for his 10 month stint on the refugee board. Time is flying!

Have a great Shabbat and get that Hannuka Gelt ready!

Barbara and Bruce

Week of November 28-December 4

I had no sooner gotten into the taxi to go to the Central Bus Station (Tahana Hamerkazi) when the driver said (in Hebrew ) “I can’t believe what is happening in India. They attacked and kidnapped Israelis”. That was the beginning of many tense hours watching the news and hoping, beyond hope, for a miraculous, safe rescue for those who were ultimately savagely murdered at Chabad House in Mumbai. We had gone to Eilat for a few days of sunshine and outdoor fun, but this was soberly tempered by hours spent watching Israel’s Channel 2, Skynews and Fox. The Israeli and British coverage were very detailed and highly outraged. Fox, usually the bastion of right wing, anti-terror rhetoric, was surprisingly (and disappointingly) more focused on the economy than on the carnage going on in India. Of course there were miraculous escapes (Jon Erlich of Vancouver and others) but none more than the 2 year old son of the late Chabad Rabbi and his wife. One clear difference between the Israeli News media and others was in the appellation of those killed. Most news services called them victims; Israeli papers uniformly called them Korbanot, or Sacrifices. Every life is precious, and all killed by these calculated murderers are not just nameless victims, but true sacrifices. Let us hope that the world wakes up to see the dangers of terror that have been plaguing us for decades (if not millennia) and confront them for the good of all.

Eilat is a gorgeous resort town on the Red Sea, bordered by Jordan and Egypt. The area on the water is lined with hotels, shops and restaurants, and the beach and Boardwalk have a flea market and arcades. And, lots of people. All walks of life, all stripes of religion, Jew, Arab, Christian, Israeli, American or European. The symbiosis in Eilat could be a model as everyone suns, swims and enjoys together. We certainly enjoyed, taking long walks, shopping (no VAT in Eilat, so prices are 17% lower) and relaxing. We stayed at a great hotel (Isrotel Agamim) with a beautiful pool area. Shabbat was wonderful (great food!) and we capped off the weekend with a trip to the Aquarium in the coral reef and a self-drive jeep tour of the desert. And since Bruce did not flip our Jeep over or run it off the road, we got to enjoy the spectacular scenery and red, purple and brown mountains. Highly recommended holiday and we can even give you some good restaurants to try.

Back home Sunday night we went full force into a new week. Barbara spent time with Chaya Kessler on Tuesday and we had a full house for what is now a legend at Yeshivat Hakotel: “Mazer Dinner” at Elan and Nomi and Shoshana’s apartment. We have fun feeding some of Ariel’s hungrier friends. We also had the chance to catch up with Eddie and Michelle Schwartz from Baltimore, here for their nephew’s Bar Mitzvah. We had breakfast with them on Jaffa St. on Tuesday AM, and then we added to the “catching up” by meeting Rav Baruch Plaskow for coffee. On Wednesday the annual Israel Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology annual meeting began, with a twist. For the first time, it was co-sponsored by both the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, and by Allergists for Israel, a great organization that organizes fellowships for teaching Israeli trainees and brings together Jewish Allergist from all over at major allergy meetings. Dozens of US and Canadian allergists attended with our Israeli colleagues. I had a great time seeing a lot of my friends from the allergy world, and also spoke at one of the opening sessions. Tonight in fact we are having Shabbat Dinner at the Inbal hotel as part of the conference. Meanwhile, Ariel invited 5 of his friends to dinner here, and is coming to lunch with 3 yeshiva friends as well. They are having a few other kids over after dinner to night for a tish (don’t tell our landlord). If the apartment is still standing, I will write again next week!!

Seriously, with a week that started with Mumbai and is ending with clashes between IDF soldiers and Jewish residents of Hebron, let us pray for a peaceful and meaningful Shabbat and great news for the week to come.

Shabbat Shalom U’mevorach

Barbara and Bruce

PS: Hi to the Reichmans and Stoffmakers!!