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