Shabbat January 4-5th

I owe you all an apology! If you check out the blog posted on December 20^th, I ended it by saying “More next week, it’s a promise! And from the Dead Sea at that!” but then I broke the promise. The good news is that it was simply because the past two weeks have been almost non-stop, and not because we did not have anything to share!

We are writing from Neve Daniel, at Elan’s and Nomi’s house. We “moved in” Wednesday to spend some time with them and help by being home for the kids while Nomi works on a project. Since the late summer, Nomi has been working for a company called FreeMind, an organization that writes scientific grants, primarily for US industry and academic organizations. It’s fun to think that an Israeli company has developed a specialized expertise in helping scientists in the US to get grants! We are staying here through Shabbat, and will be leaving early Sunday AM. It’s at best a 1 hour 40 minute drive from Netanya to here, so not exactly a short daily commute! On the other hand, Neve Daniel is really on the outskirts of Jerusalem. This proximity has allowed us to take advantage by spending the past two days in Jerusalem. Wednesday, we visited the main market, Machane Yehuda, wandering around, sampling Halva (and buying some too) and a picking up a few other things for Shabbat and home. We met our cousin Linda at a new, upscale restaurant called Crave! It’s a New York style deli with a twist; the chefs have developed recipes that include Vegan cheeses so they (reputedly) make a great cheeseburger and I had their version of a Reuben Sandwich (pastrami, sauerkraut, Vegan Mozzarella, and Sriracha Mayo). Yummy. Yesterday we went to the Old City, visited the Western Wall and the under-street level Cardo; the center of trade in Byzantine Jerusalem.  A new attraction is a virtual reality tour back to the time of the Temple, over 2000 years ago. Definitely worth checking out!  

One thing that certainly is easy to notice in Jerusalem is the large number of tourists that are here. Of course, there are the regular Jewish tourists visiting over the holiday period, but there were thousands of others visiting from all over the world. The Old City was teeming with people, the restaurants had huge line ups, the lines to get to the Western Wall were all the way up the staircase; signs of the tourist boom of 2018 continuing into 2019. There is a terrific buzz here, as people come for the history, the beauty and the unique vibe of the country. There were many years when we would visit and the tourist areas were quiet, but tourism has really come back with a roar!

Prior to coming to Neve Daniel, we had a lot of quality time with Elisha (4) and Ora (20 months), Ariel and Gila’s children. We would spend mornings in Netanya, taking walks along the water if the weather was good, or doing errands during the couple of days of rain.  Then off to Givat Shmuel for pick up, playtime, dinner or whatever was needed. Elisha is super active, super curious and very helpful as only someone turning 5 soon can be. Ora is picking up lots of words and absolutely knows what she wants and how she wants to do it!

Of course, we had a couple of days when we did not come to help with pick up, and were fortunate to spend them with friends. We had Zev Kessler and Debbie Kamioner visit for a day; they are to be married in mid-February and we are so happy to celebrate with them as they move into their new life together! We had a great day with Gail Jaffe, who fits into Netanya perfectly, with a good number of ex-Mancunian’s here; hopefully she will join us one day! Spending time with friends and having breakfast on the beach is something everyone should try.

We also had a chance to have dinner with Michal and Ronen Sela at Derby’s Villa, a great place in a town called Hod HaSharon; and with Ruth and Itamar Maliach who live in Givat Shmuel. Both Israeli couples had lived in Montreal what seems like ages ago, but we have stayed in touch and have celebrated marriages, births and other special things together. Of course, another highlight was celebrating Gaby Cohen’s 60^th Birthday in the company of other Israeli ex-Montrealers including Cantor Lippa and Liat Glanz, Natan Samuel and his wife, Nir and Hadas Grossman, Rabbi Yitzhak and Smadar Amar and (current Montrealers) Rochelle and Jeff Rein. Aside from the celebration, it was a treat to see people we had spent a lot of time with in the past!

The morning after the birthday, we packed up and picked up Gila, Ariel and the kids and drove south into the desert, over winding roads and mountain passes, along gorgeous landscapes with water on one side and arid sand dunes and mountains on the other. After a couple of hours, we arrived at the Dead Sea resort of En Bokek. Nomi and the kids joined us from Jerusalem, a “mere” 90 minute drive (also winding roads!) Elan was running a Shabbat program, but our niece Jenna joined Nomi in the car to ride shotgun! It was not super hot, but on arrival we went to the Dead Sea (where you can float without any effort) and of course the kids would not be denied! They took advantage of the bizarre feeling of weightlessness. The Dead Sea hotels are really set up as spas with people walking across the street from the hotel in bathrobes to get their therapeutic baths. We spent a very nice Shabbat at the Isrotel Ganim Hotel with good accommodations, plenty of food and lots of fun times for the cousins to play together. It’s terrific to see them, even at all different ages, having things in common, like the beach, movies, and just having a good time together.

 

Back in Neve Daniel, “babysitting” for Shoshana and Shlomo is pretty simple, as it should be for 10 and 8-year olds. They come home on the bus, have snacks, do homework and then hang out, or help with the younger members of the clan, Nadav (4) and Aryeh (14 months). Aryeh is a riot, a bundle of energy who loves to walk around and climb on everything. Nadav is speaking both English and Hebrew and loves to pretend he is the teacher in school, “reading” us stories and putting on shows.  

Israel will be having another election soon, and the newspapers, websites and bloggers are having a great time with it. Likud, the party led by the incumbent Binyamin Netanyahu, is well ahead in the polls. Israel has an electoral system which includes an infinite number of parties which means that it’s almost impossible to have a clear majority and the government is built on coalitions. The Labor Party, which ruled Israel for the first 30 years of the country’s existence, is a shadow of its former self, and may win 7-9 seats in the 120 seat Knesset. The country’s politics have moved decidedly right (like many countries) but in Israel it’s predominantly for security reasons. Of course, the big controversy is a possible indictment of the Prime Minister on bribery charges. Interesting public perception; if he is indicted, the majority of Israeli’s say he should resign. If he is not, they would vote for him as prime minister. Go figure…..

We are now in the throes of Shabbat preparations, with Gila and Ariel and kids as well as Jenna joining the crowd in Neve Daniel for Shabbat. Then it will be off to the airport, back to “reality” and cold and snow…

We wish everyone a warm and restful Shabbat Shalom!

Barbara and Bruce

Happy New Year!

Happy Birthday to Gail Jaffe

Happy Birthday to Debbie Feldman

Happy Birthday to Sheila Fishman-Booth

Special Happy Birthday to Uncle Peter!!d

Mazel tov to Nikki and Avi Lieberman on the new arrival! Mazel tov to Linda, Willie and the great Grandmothers