So how do you keep up the momentum that follows the high
that comes after a wedding? Well, we started to describe the 7 days of post
wedding celebrations that often follow a traditional Jewish Wedding. Ariel and
Gila were “feted” on different nights by various friends and family. I mentioned
the one we organized in the gardens of Anna Ticho house in Jerusalem. The next
day we descended on the town of Neve Daniel where Gila’s family lives for a
Shabbat with the Twersky family.
When you are invited to join a family that has 10 children
for Shabbat, you know that everything will be on a large scale! Our hosts,
Geula and Rabbi Yitzhak Twersky, were amazing, and they clearly know how to
deal with a crowd. The combined Twersky and Mazer families, with our boys, spouses,
children, my mom had the table set for 22 at each meal, not counting a few of
the Twersky’s friends that were invited. Friday night dinner was followed by an
open invitation to the community to drop in and many did, often chipping in
with baked goods or something to add to the table. Saturday lunch after
synagogue also included a group of friends dropping in. Full credit to Geula
and Rav Yitzhak for being amazing hosts; super organized and composed. Really
impressive! The two families hit it off
really well and we look forward to celebrating many happy events together with
our growing circle of families. 
Saturday night also meant the end of Grandma Phyllis' trip to Israel,
as well as the time for Monty, Daniella and Talia to return to Toronto for
Monty’s marathon of residency interviews over the next 6+ weeks. He will be
going from Vermont to Buffalo, from Baltimore to Boston, from New York to Cincinnati
and many points in between. There will be a stop in Florida at the Wagner’s new
condo somewhere in there. I hope he can keep it straight! Truthfully, he’s
really organized, and we wish him luck in matching to a great position for next
year. Phyllis had a great time here; how can you match celebrating a grandson’s
wedding? (Maybe with a great grandchild’s wedding? We definitely hope so!) She
arrived back safely to the less than balmy climate of Montreal.
And now, to more tranquil times (although Gila and Ariel had
two more evenings of celebrations on Saturday and Sunday nights). Barbara and I
took off east to Netanya for some time near the water. We arrived Sunday and
the weather was perfect, 25 and sunny. As noted in previous posts, there is an
open invitation for people to visit us! We took some long walks and even got to
stroll in the sand. Monday was a very eventful day. Since we rented a car (and
Ariel doesn't have one) we volunteered to help the Newlyweds with some shopping
errands, starting at IKEA. Notice the capitals, which is their trademark. IKEA
in Israel is like IKEA stores all over the world…huge, maze-like, with a
dizzying array of housewares, furniture, knick-knacks, organizers, products you
think you need, and many things you never thought you needed! However, Israel’s
Ikea has a few twists. It has a synagogue, Talmudic Study sessions (Daf Yomi,
the daily cycle of Talmud study), and a strictly Kosher cafeteria featuring their
famous Swedish Meatballs (NB: Google Swedish Meatballs: They are always made
with beef, pork, butter and milk… doesn't sound Kosher to me! Must be some good
tasting impostor . We went to the Afternoon (Mincha) prayer service at 2, and
the Rabbi announced that the evening service would be at 6. Considering the size
of the store, it’s amazing we weren't there for the evening service, supper and
maybe breakfast the next day! Gila and Ariel did quite well, purchasing a small
truckload of things for their apartment, which arrived, un-assembled the next
day. Good thing we included a tool kit for assembly…!
After a quiet, rainy Tuesday, Barbara and I drove to the ancient
city of Safed (Tzefat) on Wednesday. Tzefat is best known as the center of Jewish
mysticism. This dates back to the turn of the millennium (not Y2K), when during
Roman Times, Rabbi Shimon Ben Yochai escaped the Roman Armies and fled to the North
of Israel, to Meron, not far from Tzefat. There he delved into the mystical, Kabbalistic
side of Judaism and is considered the author of the primary work of Jewish
Mysticism, the Zohar. Over the centuries the northern city of Tzefat has been
home to many Kabbalistic and Hassidic Masters, including the famous Rabbi Isaac
Luria, the Ari HaKadosh. Today, Tzefat is a city like many others, but the old
city of Tzefat is a haven for artist and history buffs alike. It is replete
with synagogues from past centuries, an artist colony, and dozens of art shops
with an amazingly sophisticated array of Judaic art. One of the vendors was a
high school classmate of Monty’s, Emmanuel Bouzaglou. It was great seeing him
in a different context, and we even bought a gift from him. The combination of
mysticism, spirituality and art is pervasive; talking to artists in the area,
you see their perspective on life. As one ex-Denverite artist who moved to
Israel several years ago told us, there is much more to life than what most of
us are involved in. There is caring about others, beauty, spirituality,
happiness and cherishing the cycles we all go through. What amazing insight!
As you know I often bringing up the political landscape, but
in truth, we have been busy and distracted, and the cease fire was welcome to
all. Regardless of the posturing afterwards, what is crucial is that the
children in southern Israel are safe, and we pray and hope for safety and
security for all children. Israel is having an election in January, and as you
know the multi-party system here leads to confusing, not always logical
coalitions in the ruling government. For now, parties are consolidating their
candidate lists (specific percentage of votes leads to more of a list being
elected) and there is some jockeying between parities. The incumbent Likud led
by Bibi Netanyahu appears to be in the driver’s seat.
We are spending this coming Shabbat in Jerusalem, to see
Nomi, Elan, Shoshana and Shlomo, and will return to the coast on Sunday. Next
week everyone is joining us here, and we will wrap up this amazing visit.
With that, we wish you a Shabbat Shalom, one of artistic
beauty, personal growth and bright lights.
Happy Hanuka!
Barbara and Bruce
We wish Refuah Shlema to Zisel bat Pesia.
We wish the sincerest condolences to the Lieberman Family on the passing of Aron Lieberman Z"L. Montreal has lost a great baal tzedaka and pillar of the community.
No comments:
Post a Comment