October 3-10

Welcome to sunset in Netanya, with a light wind blowing along the boardwalk, populated by joggers, couples strolling, and others taking in the cooling evening weather (still about 26 C). The colors over the Mediterranean are really pretty and the setting is idyllic. So Barbara and I chilled out at a new Israeli Steak House (Jack and Rose; highly recommended) as our time is Israel comes to a close. The week has been hectic (as usual) and fun (of course) with a clear smattering of solemnity due to the events around us. So in more detail, here is the recap.

Shabbat was lovely, and was a nice prelude to the end of Sukkot. We had lots of time to talk, to enjoy 19 month old Elisha’s company, take him to the park and be amazed at his vocabulary growing every day. The juxtaposition of Shabbat and the last day of Sukkot (Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah) on Sunday night made for a bit of a marathon, in terms of preparing, cooking, time in Synagogue, eating (especially) but also led to great family time. In Israel the final day of Sukkot combines the manic energy and happiness of the day known as Simchat Torah (Rejoicing for the Torah) which is celebrated as a separate day outside of Israel with the Memorial Prayers that are said for departed parents and other loved ones. One minute we are dancing, the next we are remembering those who have left us. This is a bit of a microcosm for Jewish History, where the ability to remember the past and progress towards the future has helped with the continuity of our people. For our friends at Beth Zion, there was no throwing of water at the Young Israel of North Netanya. I can’t say I missed it. Anyway the dancing with the Torah at our Netanya Shul was perfect for Elisha, who, with the other kids, was showered with candies (soft candies, a British tradition) and enjoyed a whole bunch of raisins, while being ferried around by Ariel or his Sabi Bruce.

The rest of the week we hopped around the country. Our lemon of a car seemed to hold its own, having had a new battery installed on day 3 of our trip.  On Tuesday we went to Jerusalem. Gila went to pay respects at the Shiva for her teacher Rabbi Eitan Henkin and his wife who had been shot by terrorists while driving home with their children in their car. It was obviously very emotional, with both political and religious leaders attending, in addition to family friends and former students. 

In a lighter vein, we took Elisha to the Machanei Yehuda Market in Jerusalem, which has been gentrified somewhat, with a wider main drag and several upscale restaurants. We met Barbara’s cousins Linda and Alan Zysblatt there (more on them in the January 2015 blogs) and bumped into Montrealers Marla and Peter Veres and family, as well the Ottawa Steinmans. After a bit of shopping and Elisha convincing me to buy him a baguette (he twisted my arm), we met Carol and David Novosellor and David’s father Rabbi Novosellor for a cool drink just before leaving Jerusalem. They all looked great and it was nice to see David’s father, who was visiting from New Jersey. We went back to Givat Shmuel where Gila and Ariel live and since Elisha went to bed, dined on take-out sushi and then headed back to Netanya.

A sidebar here. As you may have seen in the news, there has been a new type of terrorism happening in Israel over the past week, since the horrendous killings on the road to Itamar. “Lone wolf” Palestinians have been stabbing people randomly all over the country. There were three deaths in Jerusalem, and at least 4 attacks per day since Tuesday. The modus operandi often is an attempt to attack a soldier, usually female and steal her gun, but there have been attacks in crowds outside the old city and on busses. The perpetrators have been apprehended or killed by soldiers or police in the act of stabbing people. Obviously, we are all on edge, as the rhetoric from the leadership of the Palestinan Authoroty and Hamas praises these “heroic acts” leading to more copy-cat attempts. However, in a macabre twist that says a lot about what is wrong about the world today, Wednesday there was a solidarity rally in New York at the Israeli Embassy…Protesting the deaths of young Palestinians at the hands of Israelis during this spate of violence. In fact, an interviewer lobbed a softball to one of the leaders of the protest who talked about the evil of the IDF against their heroic boys. No mention by either the interviewer or anyone else that the reason these young men were killed was that they were in the act of attempting to kill someone else. So, those who are there to protect victims are the monsters, and the perpetrators of crimes are the heroes. We are certainly living in warped and very unnerving times.

Of course, like good Israelis, we keep life moving along at a normal pace! Wednesday following a trip to the bank (which includes a Monty Pythonesque story that really should make it to this blog, but won’t…) we visited with Ronen and Michal Sela. Michal, a nurse, has become head of Women’s Health for a large district of the Maccabi Health Insurance organization. We saw them near her office in Raanana, which was perfect because it was on the way to Givat Shmuel. We made it on time to pick up Gila and Elisha from Elisha’s day care and venture into the wilds of Bnei Braq, a very religious city adjoining Givat Shmuel, to do grocery shopping and pick up books and a few other things. Then we had dinner with the kids, before a visit to Ruth and Itamar Maliach (also ex-Montrealers) who live close to Gila and Ariel. Their daughter Annael was recently married, so we visited to wish them Mazel Tov, drink and toast “LeChaim!” and see some of the pictures from the celebrations.

The week wound down to where this blog began, with some errands, a walk along the beach, preparation for Shabbat and then a stroll along the cliffs to watch the sun set and enjoy a bit of sea air. Greatly needed and greatly appreciated.

This morning, we awoke to see that the streets were wet, the cars were wet, the grass too…it had rained! In a country with no major water resources, Israel is highly dependent on rain. In fact, the last day of Sukkot includes special prayers for the rains. Sure enough, the day after Sukkot there were downpours all over the country. On Wednesday, there was so much rain in Raanana that there was a power outage and here in Natanya there were pools of water all over the beach. This is obviously a good sign. After a few errands and breakfast, we went to Givat Shmuel to pick up Gila, Ariel and Elisha, for one last Shabbat before we go home.  On the way to Netanya, we stopped at a great playground not far from where we had dinner last night, and enjoyed some fun and a picnic. As we finish the last minute preparations, we look forward to a great Shabbat here and to the reality check that will come when we return home on Sunday!

We wish a Refuah Shelema to Zysel bat Bella

We wish a Refuah Shelema to Ha-Rav Hayyim Yechiel ben Malca

We wish a Refuah Shelema to Noam Shmuel Hayyim ben Yehudit

Wishing you a Wonderful Shabbat Shalom!

Barbara and Bruce