Shana Tova 5781

Let’s go back in time for one year. Of course, it will be from my perspective. At this time, the eve of Rosh Hashana, we were in St. Louis, getting ready to spend the holiday with Monty, Daniella, Tali and Ezra as we had for the previous two years. We were headed to Israel for Sukkot to see the rest of the family. Corona was the beer we had at Red Burger on the beach in Netanya…so much has changed. Yet as we move from the Jewish Calendar Year 5780 to 5781, there is a lot to reflect on, so let’s get started.

Of course, what brought us here for this trip was Shoshana’s Bat Mitzvah celebration. Need I say that it was amazing? Despite the limits of the pandemic, we celebrated in an idyllic outdoor setting, with pretty reasonable social distancing in bubbles or capsules as they say here (school classmates together, family, other friends from their neighborhood). Shoshana had worked hard to prepare a full class on some pretty intense concepts in Judaism, including how the Torah views how we should approach agricultural pursuits, how this can strengthen our relationship to G-d, and how these lessons should be applied to relations between people as well. Shoshana delivered this with confidence and had prepared a powerpoint presentation to illustrate the important points. It was terrific and my summary does not do it justice. There was also a slide show about her life, some beautiful words from Elan, and a lot of awesome food! It was a moment that made us extremely proud. She’s an intelligent, articulate, thoughtful, and caring young woman. As the first grandchild, one of the fun things I like to do with Shoshana is to show her this series of blogs which actually began when she was 3 months old. It’s almost like the story of her life in words and pictures (as it is for all of our grandchildren!) We are blessed with wonderful grandchildren and are so happy that we can share these milestones with them.

The bat mitzvah was last Sunday night, and we returned to Netanya. The initial plan was to have Ariel and Gila and the kids join us for Rosh Hashana here. So, now for the COVID-19 in Israel update….The number of cases continue to climb, hitting 5500 in one day on Wednesday this week. The government decided that to curb the spread, they would place the country in lockdown for the entire Jewish Holiday period. That meant no intercity travel, including fines for anyone caught returning home from another city after Rosh Hashana, no gatherings of more than 25 people, no walks from your home of greater than 500M, all restaurants and non-essential businesses are closed, etc. So, we are here all by ourselves! Kind of ironic, but it's for the greater good. Our local synagogue is making all kinds of provisions, including Shofar blowing at various intersections where community members live, but like everywhere in the world this will be a Rosh HaShana that is marked by the pandemic, with many, many fewer people attending services and people celebrating with their nuclear families.

 

Yet not all is gloomy in Israel. The news of peace with UAE and with Bahrain has given people here something to talk about that does not start with a Cor….The overall tone is very positive. Firstly, it’s a natural progression of what has been happening since Iran began to flex its muscles. There is a large segment of the Gulf population that is highly westernized and has had considerable exposure to Jews in academia, business and medicine. Just look at medical programs at McGill (and across Canada). These well-trained people return to their countries (unlike expats from other countries who train outside and rarely return). This exposure is very important Hasbarah. I think that all in the region will benefit from the technological and economic exchanges that will happen due to the peace agreements, not to mention tourism. My close friend Qutayba Hamid, who was my director (and mentor) at Meakins Christie Labs for many years, is now dean of the Medical Faculty in Sharjah. He says that their population is very pleased, and in fact has been collaborating with Israel on therapeutics since the beginning of the pandemic. What the world truly needs is for the most effective Sars-COV2 vaccine to be a cooperative effort between UAE and Israel!

Rosh Hashana is a New Year commemoration unlike other new year’s celebrations. It is a happy time, yes, with the sweetness of apples and honey, pomegranates and wine, but a time spent in prayer and one that initiates the period of time on the Jewish calendar known as the 10 days of Repentance. This past year, with the total disruption of the world order, the economy, travel and just simple things like a handshake or a hug, definitely gives us pause. As I was planning this section, I had some thoughts that were then well articulated by our son Elan as he sent out his Rosh Hashana greeting to the Canadian Community he serves as director of Mizrahi Canada. The main theme of Rosh Hashana is not repentance, but rather our relationship with God as King of the world. Whether you are a believer or not, the fact that one virus could throw entire societies into such disarray definitely should humble us. However, the other theme of Rosh Hashana liturgy that Elan discussed was how we should work to perfecting the world. That is a lesson that we can also learn from the Pandemic. I have seen in my own professional life how dedicated physicians have worked to the max. Moreover, on the science side, the focus of our research community on trying to combat this disease was remarkable. People began pulling together in ways that were not seen before and efforts were being focused to find multiple solutions to this problem. In fact, I have now joined one of the Canadian COVID 19 Task Forces, which clearly embodies what this is all about- bringing together people to work toward a common goal, to defeat what is ailing people and above all to improve the world. May 5781 be a  year of health, happiness, an end to the COVID induced disruption, and maybe take away the positive lessons of the pandemic that teach us how to cooperate, how to cherish our loved ones, and how to work together for a better world.

We wish you a sweet and happy and HEALTHY New Year, Shana Tova U Metuka!

Shabbat Shalom

Barbara and Bruce

We send sincere condolences to our friend Rabbi Sorin Rosen on the passing of his father

Refuah Shelema to TGE!

Mazel Tov Shoshana! Shabbat Pre-Bat Mitzvah

Welcome to another eventful week! This week’s writing comes to you from Efrat, just south of Jerusalem, home of Elan and Nomi. We will be there for Shabbat in anticipation of Sunday’s Bat Mitzvah celebration for Shoshana Hadassah Mazer, a major milestone as the first grandchild on both the Mazer and Goldberger sides to achieve such a milestone. More coverage next week of course, but here’s what has transpired since our last chapter….

Last Shabbat was spent in Petach Tikvah at Gila and Ariel’s apartment. This was a bit of a landmark occasion not just because it was our first time for Shabbat in their new home, but because they are now really well set up to host guests after moving out of basically student housing in Givat Shmuel. Their new neighborhood is very well located, near shopping, near lots of parks and synagogues, a great bike/walking path, and people appear friendly (hard to tell behind the masks, of course). Ariel went all out doing his best Michael Salomonov imitation (http://www.zahavrestaurant.com/chef.html) with gourmet Israeli salads and we were entertained by Elisha, Ora and Adi. Despite the 34C heat, we even went to the park a couple of times, and had a soccer and basketball tournament.

With Labor day weekend being a North American thing, and Israeli kids having gone back to school in various forms, what else was there for us to do but…shop for kids things. We had two goals: we are in charge of centre pieces at the Bat Mitzvah and a give-away for the young people who will attend (a candy theme was suggested); plus as good grandparents we were looking to get bikes for some of the kids. First, the bike story. There is a great chain of toy stores in Israel called Red Pirate (Pirat Ha-Adom) and one branch was near our home in Netanya. It was in an old warehouse that looked like it was falling apart. When we arrived, it had apparently closed; we and others knocked on the door but no answer. Suddenly, a hand put out a sign with a new address 10 minutes away. Off we went down the highway and we arrived at their new location, a beautiful new store with an adjacent bike shop! So, when you see the attached pictures, you will see what we found! The centerpieces and prizes will be featured next week but the take home point for everyone is this: if you are in Israel and looking for a store which is a combination of Dollar store, Michael’s and HomeSense, go to MaxStock! We found everything we needed and then some, and it was pretty fun!

COVID-19 Update #2: Israel has had a rough week. The COVID wards in the major hospitals are approaching capacity and the number of cases has reached 4000/day. The death rate is still low, and the high case rate is at least in part of the very aggressive testing strategy here: This past week the average number of tests in this country of 9 million was 40,000 daily! A few notables include dorms in schools with a 75% test positive rate (although minimal morbidity), disproportionately high case rate in cities with ultra-orthodox Jews and some Arab towns and villages, and the implementation of a 4 color system (as now in force in Quebec) and an unsuccessful attempt to lockdown the Red cities and towns, which have instead a curfew from 7 PM to 5 AM. The latest news is that there will be a vote in Cabinet Sunday about a country-wide lockdown similar to the spring, beginning next Friday at Rosh Hashana, and continuing till the end of the Jewish Holidays. We will keep you posted; who knows what’s next!

Just to keep perspective, all three of the Mazer inhabited neighborhoods, Netanya, Efrat and Petach Tikvah, are yellow areas and very safe.  The irony: In St Louis, someone in Monty and Daniella’s kid’s school tested positive, so Ezra and Tali were home this week (but no Corona in their house!) What is obviously most important is that people are careful and safe!

Grandparents activity in Israel #2: As noted above, Gila and Ariel moved into a new condo, so part of the set-up is some new furnishings. Ikea (pronounced EE-Kia here) is very popular and well-priced. So, our Wednesday activity? A visit to MaxStock to complete one project and a visit to Ikea for a load of stuff to put some of the finishing touches on the condo! Of course, one of the things we like to do in Netanya is walk along the boardwalk or beach, which we have done twice; but unless you start around 7 AM, the heat and humidity make long walks difficult. Ikea to the rescue! Nothing like 3 hours in their massive store to get your step count up near 10,000 in their air-conditioned interior!

We arrived in Efrat last night and today started Shabbat preparations, shopping, cooking, and hanging with the kids! We are looking forward to seeing Nomi's parents and more family time. 

As we move into Shabbat, Barbara and I want to add a personal note to our close friend Elaine Brandt, whose father Ted Brandt passed away Wednesday. Ted turned 102 in December. He was a master choir-person, with a beautiful voice and fabulous ear for harmony. I had the pleasure of singing with him many times in Beth Zion and we marveled at his 100^th birthday as he did piece in perfect harmony with Cantor Sid Dworkin. He was the consummate gentleman, a wonderful father and Zeida, and was fortunate enough to attend his grandson Brian Hofman’s marriage to Tamara Jedwab in early August (see this amazing piece by Jack Jedwab, Tamara’s father, about Ted). https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/holocaust-survivor-reminds-us-of-the-will-to-survive-the-need-to-celebrate.

Elaine and her family provided amazing support to Ted in the years since Elaine’s mom, Anne, passed away. We wish the family strength and to be spared further sorrows. Ted and Anne’s memories will always remain a blessing for all members of the Brandt and Price families.

We wish that we all should stay safe and have a wonderful shabbat Shalom!

Barbara and Bruce

Shabbat Shalom From Petach Tikva!

Yes, this is not a figment of your imagination! You are actually reading a blog originating from Israel, prepared by Canadians! Even during the most topsy-turvy time in recent memory, Barbara and Bruce have made it back to Israel, Corona Pandemic and all! So, in case you have not heard, although the borders are closed, Israel has been allowing select visitors to come for special occasions: births (and funerals, unfortunately), to attend school, marriages of children, bar mitzvahs of grandsons, and, in our case, the bat mitzvah of our granddaughter Shoshana! This took weeks, if not months of planning, as the laws kept changing and the permit to enter was a very slippery target. However, in the end, the consulate verified all our documents, and provided the permit. Then to add icing on the cake, one week before our departure, Israel adapted the tactic of allowing people from Covid safe, ‘green’ countries to enter and not quarantine for 2 weeks! It was really interesting entering the country and when they saw our passport and declaration of health, we were given a slip that allowed us to enter without the dreaded two weeks with no other human contact. So, that has given us quite a bit to talk about, because instead of being holed up in our Netanya apartment, we have been very happy to spend time with our kids and grandchildren!

 

The COVID 19 situation in Israel is a bit more precarious than in Montreal at the moment. Although Israel did very well at the outset, with a low infection rate and a very low fatality rate, for the past month there has been a steady increase in cases. In the past few days the number of new cases has been nearly 3000 per day. The hospitalizations have increased, but in the past 24 hours there was no mortality. There are some real areas of concentration, and there is a threat to close down those cities and towns (as of now this has not happened). There is even a discussion about closing down the whole country for the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana (Sept 19-20) to minimize people travelling. I guess time will tell.

All that is to say that instead of our usual roaming around the country, or visiting cool places and finding new restaurants, we have restricted our travels to our kid’s homes. Ariel and Gila moved to a new neighborhood in Petach Tikva, which is about 20 minutes from downtown Tel Aviv. They are in a large new condo with a lot of amenities, a great neighborhood, shopping and schools nearby, and good transport options. Elisha, Ora and Adi are all starting school milestones: Elisa is in Grade 1, Ora in Nursery at age 3, and baby Adi, who we had not seen since January, started a new daycare. Of course, our reunion with Elisa and Ora was very exciting, but the best surprise was Adi followed the lead of her siblings and was super happy to hang with us. We have had the fun of just visiting, going to the park, watching Elisha ride his bike (self-taught in about 5 minutes!) and even spending a couple of days before school kicked in, babysitting so their parents could be productive. We even had a Zoo outing with Ora who enjoyed having grandparents all to herself! This allowed us to be grandparents in the early part of the day, and do teaching and meetings at night (sometimes quite late…!)

Over to Efrat, where we spent several days as well as last Shabbat with Elan and Nomi, Shoshana, Shlomo, Nadav and Aryeh. School there has also started and it’s complex due to the pandemic. Shoshana is in school 3 days and on zoom the others, Shlomo on Zoom Friday but every other day in school; and Nadav and Aryeh also start the milestones Grade 1 and Nursery. Shoshana, the bat mitzvah girl, is absolutely a young lady, a voracious reader, an ace baby-sitter and very social. Shlomo is a combination of creative Lego builder and Chess player, and monkey bar swinger and climber. Nadav is reading two languages and has more friends in the neighborhood than you can count, and Aryeh is super active and smiles all the time. Last Shabbat in Efrat we enjoyed the warm days and cool evenings in the garden on the patio under the gazebo that Elan build during his “Corona time” (Lime not included).

Last night we had the rare privilege (again and pandemic special) of watching not one but two Zoom Weddings (who said you can’t dance at two weddings??) One was Ruhama, Gila’s younger sister, who married Avihu Scheonfeld in Gush Etzyon, and the other was our close friend Haim Fruchter, who married Rona Gubarek. May both couples have nothing but happiness and mazal together!

Now we are an hour before Shabbat, this week in Petach Tikva. We have a mountain of food, and we are ready to shut down. Elisha, Ora and Adi are very happy to have us near, but probably nowhere near as happy as we are to be here. Next week, bat mitzvah Sabbat and weekend, so stay tuned!

Wishing you all a warm (air conditioned!) Shabbat Shalom and a great long Labour Day weekend!

 

Barbara and Bruce

Happy Birthday to Yacov Fruchter!

Mazel Tov to Haim and Rona, ad Meah V’Esrim!

Mazel Tov to Ruhama and Avihu and to our Mechtuan, Geula and Yitzhak Twersky!

Mazel Tov to Brian and Tamara!

Mazel Tov to Daniel and Rachel!