Welcome to spring in Netanya. Sunny, 23 C, light breeze, the ocean beckons…sounds nice, doesn’t it? Come and join us on our next adventure that we can entitle “Passover on the Beach". Actually, we will celebrate the first night of Passover in our apartment, not far from the beach, and the weather has been lovely, but not lying on the beach weather yet. There is really a fine line between just right and too hot. I think this is just right, not humid, perfect for walks or running after the kids in the park. So, we prepare for Passover in Israel once again.
We arrived on Monday of this week, and have been organizing, cleaning, shopping and in the last 24 hours or so, we have been cooking, all in preparation for the upcoming holiday. One thing is clear; we are very much looking forward to our Passover Seder tonight, the festive Passover meal when we recount the story of the Exodus from Egypt. This is to be made even more special by the fact that our whole family is together. All our boys, daughter-in laws, grandchildren…we have not had all the boys together since 2005!! This is really special and will be greatly appreciated (B"H).
In all honesty this has been a week with pretty routine stuff going on. We arrived Monday afternoon, set up in the apartment, and organized to see the family. Tuesday, after waiting a couple of hours for Hertz to come fix our battery (car didn’t start….but they don’t give boosts, they just change the battery!), we set off for Jerusalem to see Elan, Nomi, Shoshana and Shlomo. We took advantage of one of the huge Passover Supermarkets and the half a million other shoppers to load up on Passover food. We picked up Ariel on the way home and had a great dinner by the sea.
Wednesday was Market day, picking up fruits and vegetables in the City Market in Netanya. Then it was off to Haifa, to spend time with Monty, Daniella and Tali and pick up the roasts, chickens and other meat from the Vishnitz Hassidic Butcher in Haifa (Delivered at 1 AM Wednesday night!). Thursday was cooking day, which was a bit of a marathon (menu available on request) but that is what getting ready for the holiday is all about.I will leave you with a scene of Israel that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. As Passover arrives, we clean our homes of all products that contain Chametz, leavened flour (bread, cakes, cereal, etc). The prohibition about owning leavened products is very important and taken very seriously.
On the morning before Pesach, we customarily burn any leftover Chametz, which is a rather definitive way of removing something from existence. In most communities, the synagogue or community center will set up a bar-b-q or fire pit and everyone will come and throw in the leftovers. In Israel, it is very much a do it your self project. There are fire pits everywhere…any open field, any synagogue….everywhere. Last year I drove to a park where a few people made fires. This year, out our back door is a field, and at least 5 bonfires going on! We didn’t even get to visit the nearby Hasidic community of Sanz, where I figure the fires were burning bright all morning!We wish everyone a wonderful holiday, whatever you be celebrating!
Chag KasherV’sameach!
Have a Happy Easter
And stay tuned for installment 2 next week, when we share the fun of the holiday!!
Chag Sameach and Shabbat Shalom,
Barbara and Bruce
We wish a very Happy Birthday to our son Elan!
Happy Birthday to our niece Jessica and nephew Joshua (no, they are not twins!)!!
