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 100th 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
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