Shabbat and Sukkot September 23-24

Shabbat and Sukkot September 23-24

It’s hard to believe that this is the sixth post on this trip but indeed, the intrepid galaxy travelers have reached the apex of their voyage! This may be the penultimate post as we head into our last week of the trip and speed back to reality (and a much quieter environment). So, let’s see what’s been going on and capture some important features of this journey.

First, a new feature…Culinary Highlights! Let’s do culinary Netanya! For those visiting Netanya soon, here are our recommendations. If you are craving a burger, try Red Burger which overlooks the Mediterranean; great variety, beef or lamb, steaks, sides and all at great prices. If you prefer takeout, they have a unique system, bun and toppings packed separate from burger which ensures that your sandwich is not soggy! Next recommendation: HaYekev (the Vineyard) which is a couple of doors down, also overlooking the beach and the water. We treated ourselves to a premium Israeli breakfast with omelets, fresh baked breads and lots of different dips and spreads. Then a surprise desert. Amazing setting and very flexible, with a great gluten free menu! Now, in case you prefer to own a restaurant rather than frequent one, we have a deal for you! Ideal location, on a cliff overlooking the water, recently closed. You too could own a wonderful spot overlooking the sea! Just check out “Mul HaYam (near the sea) in Netanya!

OK, now for some highlights. We spent last Shabbat in Netanya, prior to embarking to spend the 8-day holiday of Sukkot with family. Shabbat was very nice and chill, culminating in watching an amazing sunset over the water on Saturday evening. After Shabbat, we met our friends Michal and Ronen Sela at the Herzliya Marina. The marina has a pier which is highly populated by fishermen (fisherpeople?) and people just enjoying the breeze and scenery. We caught up with the Selas, who lived on our street in Cote St Luc between 1999-2001; it’s hard to believe 20 years has passed so quickly!  Sunday was spent picking up things for the upcoming holiday of Sukkot, which began on Monday.

The holiday is based both on the fall harvest and in commemoration of the Jews wandering in the desert for 40 years under G-d's watch prior to entering Israel. We spend all meals in temporary huts (Sukkot) that must have a roof that is both made of natural plant material and lets in more sun than shade. There are also 4 species of plant that are used in the celebration; Palm leaves, myrtle leaves, willow leaves and an Etrog (Citron). Spending time in outdoor huts for 8 days in later September of October can be either amazing or brutal in Canada, depending on the amount of rain, snow or even tornados (circa 2019). However, in Israel the climate is much more conducive, although heavy rains swept through the country last night and part of today. One of the cooler things is that most of the country is on holiday during this period, plus, you can pick up Sukkot items in all supermarkets, hardware stores and on many street corners making it easy to take part! 

Monday we moved into Gila and Ariel’s house in Petach Tikvah to spend the first half of the holiday. They built a sukkah on their sixth-floor balcony and looking around in their neighborhood, there were sukkot everywhere…on balconies and grassy areas, communal ones and individual ones. The kids decorated with pictures made at home and school and we contributed new strings of lights to add just the right touch. On Wednesday, we had a “Best Day Ever” moment (thanks Spongebob!); we took Elisha, Ora, and Adi to the Ramat Gan Safari Park. Driving your car through the collection of zebras, hippos, rhinos, onyx, lions, and wildebeests is not only amazing Corona-safe entertainment but keeps everyone on the edge of their car(seat). There is also a large walk through zoo, which (due to the Corona reservation policy) was great and easy to distance (if you were careful!). So after a dose of elephants, monkeys, penguins and a whole bunch of others, and a pizza dinner, the kids were rather happy and exhausted and bedtime was pretty easy! That evening, we saw another couple who were in Montreal 20 years ago, Ruth and Itamar Maliach, who lived quite near Gila and Ariel in Givat Shmuel. The safari trip was topped off the next day with a visit to a large park in Central Petach Tikvah with a duck and goldfish pond, then to the newly renovated Petach Tikvah Central Market with fruits vegetables and baked goods galore!

OK, so what about fruits and vegetables? Since Biblical times, every 7th year is a Sabbatical year for the land, where the land is supposed to be left to rest and grow fallow or left to grow naturally. This concept of Shemita means that agriculture in Israel in the year 5882 has taken on a whole new meaning. I won’t get into all the technicalities of how produce is grown or harvested without profit to the Jewish owner of the land) but one thing is certain; the fact that Shemita continues to be observed shows a very unique and very timely respect for the land. In our age of environmentalism, climate change and warnings about the danger our planet is in, the lesson of the Sabbatical year is twofold: we need to respect and cherish the land and let it have its natural goodness restored by not overly abusing it; secondly, that too much human intervention can have unforeseen consequences and we need to take a step back and think about how our natural resources can be preserved. The sabbatical cycle has been observed for over 3000 years and perhaps the crops we enjoy in Israel are a tribute to respecting the land in this way.

Now, halfway through Sukkot, we have moved over to Nomi and Elan’s home in Efrat. It rained here last night but we are pretty sure we will be able to have dinner in the Sukkah. The weather is also drier and a bit cooler (at least in the evening) than nearer to the coast, which is good for our Canadian constitution. We spent today taking Shoshana, Shlomo, Nadav and Aryeh to see (guess what???)….Animals! About 20 minutes from their home is a small educational zoo with desert species and lots of interaction with the birds, reptiles and farm animals. Check out Shlomo’s animal farm next time you are in the area!

We wish you Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach with good weather for sitting in the Sukkah!

Barbara and Bruce

We wish a Refuah Sh’lema (Speedy Recovery) to Rochel Etta bat Dobrusha 

We wish a Refuah Sh’lema (Speedy Recovery) to Tuvia Moshe ben Perl

We wish a Refuah Sh’lema (Speedy Recovery) to Mordechai Faiva ben Devorah Leah 

Happy birthday to Hendrix!

Happy birthday to Eva!

Happy Birthday to Avi!

Let’s rewind the tape (what an anachronism!) to the last missive from our Israel-Galaxy travelers. That was about 2 weeks ago, just before Shabbat and 2 days before the onset of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. That’s a lot to cover, so hang on and let’s hope for a smooth ride. 

Of course will start with the COVID update. For the moment things are stable, with 10K cases for the past few weeks and it’s been in the 6K range for the past few days. That may be a function of less testing on the Jewish Holidays. This morning we took a walk to the Netanya City Square and there was a large pop-up testing facility and a fair number of people there. In the Netanya synagogue where we go, the population is predominantly retired individuals, so most have had 3 vaccines and people there are generally fairly cautious. However, there are, like in Montreal, multiple cases in schools and this puts a strain on families, be it due to illness, quarantine, missed work or family time over the holidays. It’s a juggling act with a fair bit of strategy thrown in. We are all trying to adapt to this new normal, wherever we happen to be located. 

Having spent time with both families here, we decided to give them a break from us :-) and spend Shabbat in Netanya before Rosh Hashana. It allowed us to take a few well-deserved walks along the boardwalk and enjoy the sea air and sunsets. Sunday’s “big event” was voting in the Canadian election! Having applied for a mail-in ballot, we were couriered two vote packages and picked them up at a local depot. Your Canadian tax dollars at work! It looks like this Monday’s election will go down to the wire and bring another minority government. Perhaps not as futile as Israel’s 4 elections in a year before this current new government under Nir Bennet came in but a pretty unspectacular outcome considering the time and expense of the election. Plus, with cases of COVID now over 4000 per day in Canada, there will be a fair number of people unable to vote due to illness or quarantine. As we said, a new normal!

Sunday evening Gila arrived with the kids which took us from our quiet Shabbat to the extremely gratifying sound of 3 rambunctious children in the house. Of course, that meant Monday’s preparations had to include a trip to the beach for the kids as well as cooking and other preparations. Ariel arrived Monday early afternoon to complete the gang. As you know, Rosh Hashana has a very extensive liturgy and synagogue services are a major part of the 2-day holiday. Our local synagogue in Netanya had services both in the synagogue and outdoors in a large Sukkah (temporary structure, more about that next week!) on the grounds of an apartment complex a 5-minute walk from our home. We signed up for the outdoor option and in fact Bruce was asked to lead part of the services. (I think that went well or the congregants left their tomatoes at home). One of the nicest aspects is when there is a lot of communal participation; in Eastern European synagogues, there was incredible music but primarily sung by the cantor/service leader. The trend now is for more participation and allowing people to get involved makes for a more enjoyable service. We had a great time with the kids; in fact, as I was preparing to lead the prayers, I had Elisha and Ora listening and singing various melodies along with me or various Youtubes that we were watching. That was a highlight!

By Thursday everyone was back where they belonged, with Yom Kippur a week away; but Friday morning we got a call from Elan inviting us to come spontaneously to spend Shabbat in Efrat, about 1:30 minute drive from here. So we decided that I would work on the grant that I had due the following Wednesday (which had been a preoccupation along with all the other work in Montreal!) and we would hop in the car to get to Efrat just before Shabbat; that strategy worked really well, no traffic and a very smooth drive. The theme of this trip has been impulsivity or perhaps we need to learn to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves! So the Shabbat visit was great, spending time with Shoshana, Shlomo, Nadav, Aryeh and baby Eitan was terrific (Shlomo took great pride in beating me in chess) and we came back to Netanya raring to go for the next week. 

While Bruce pounded away at his laptop Sunday and Monday, Barbara ventured to Petach Tikvah to run errands with Gila; and subsequently to Ramat Bet Shemesh to see our friend Gail Jaffe who bought a condo there and where she has a whole bunch of grandchildren (over 20?). 

Wednesday night began Yom Kippur; the holiest day in the Jewish Calendar with 25 hours of fasting and prayer (but not 25 hours of prayer, in case you were wondering….). We returned to Efrat for the holyday. The weather in Efrat, located in the hills outside of Jerusalem, is a huge contrast to coastal Netanya. Perhaps the daytime temperature is close (28-30C) but the evenings are cool and quite windy. Again, due to COVID, the prayers were held outdoors, and it got pretty chilly! There was some shelter and the daytime was very pleasant. The community Elan’s family lives in is made up of almost all young families with children, and the services were very participatory and inspiring. We topped off the end of the holyday with a great break-fast and then immediately started preparing for the next holiday of Sukkot which starts Monday. Pictures attached!

We’re back in Netanya for Shabbat and will let you know about Sukkot and activities in Israel next week. We enjoyed a great couple of hours with some sun, sand and water, and are ready for a bit of down time!

We wish you are a wonderful and inspiring Shabbat Shalom!

Barbara and Bruce

We wish a Refuah Sh’lema (Speedy Recovery) to Rochel Etta bat Dobrusha 

We wish a Refuah Sh’lema (Speedy Recovery) to Tuvia Moshe ben Perl

Mazel tov to Rhona and Haim on the birth of a baby grandson!

When we last left the hitchhikers across the COVID/Israeli Galaxy, they were welcoming hordes of Mazers arriving from near and far to spend Shabbat in Netanya. All together we were 13; 6 from Efrat (Shoshana went to a Shabbaton with her friends), 5 from Petach Tikvah and us! We were able to use a neighbor’s apartment for Elan and Nomi’s family to sleep in, and otherwise had meals and playtime here. Lots of kids, lots of movement, lots of activity! But amazing. We had great meals, lots of quality time, trips to the parks (timed to not be at the peak of the heat) and all in all a terrific Shabbat together. 

The excitement does not end there! On Sunday we went to Petach Tikva to help out with Gila and Ariel’s children, as Gila is an educational counsellor and teacher and had in-service sessions on the days prior to school starting. So, Sunday and Monday were spent in the company of Elisha, Ora and Adi. Highlights included completing a complex robotics building project with Elisha (now I know why I did not go into engineering), playing hide and seek in giant slides in the playground; going to the mall to escape the heat, playing on the rides and eating pizza, and lots of stories as well as a little screen time to chill. The kids were great; Adi, 20 months, has really only met us virtually, though we were here last year. However, she just went with the flow and if Ora and Elisha seemed to tolerate us, so she would too! 

The rest of the week was much quieter. We had to spend some time enjoying the beautiful weather, but still had responsibilities back in Montreal. So mornings included some great walks, and afternoons and evenings were for teaching, meetings, writing and keeping the avalanche of emails at bay. Plus, as the holidays are coming, preparations are key: we did some large scale shopping and Barbara cooked up a storm including her signature cabbage rolls! 

This coming Monday night is the beginning of the Jewish New Year. I am sure everyone who is reflecting on this is saying the same thing; last Rosh Hashana we prayed for an end to the pandemic and were sure that this would not drag on for another year. Yet, it has. In the last 12 months we have had 3 more waves of Corona virus infection, the launch of vaccines that were released in record time, amazing optimism as the vaccines clearly worked in the very short term, and then the sobering realization that the virus had some tricks up its sleeve. So here we are again. I believe all New Year’s celebrations have at least one common theme; to bring people together. No matter how you celebrate, doing it alone just does not cut it.  The Rosh Hashana construct is rooted in two things; that G-d created the world on Rosh Hashana, and that every Rosh Hashana begins a period that we as individuals are judged on the merit of our deeds. Yet, the liturgy that we use in synagogue is not at all about personal prayer. It’s not beseeching for our individual continuance or even about our own deeds. It’s about community, nation, and even global outreach. It’s a call to unity, to say that when we hear the clarion call of the Shofar (the ram’s horn; check this out if you have not heard one      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNNGB-Py5dI) we are all huddled together as one body that needs to work together to be successful. 

The success or failure of a society is based on individuals working together for the greater good and keeping their eye on the needs of others. In a situation like the pandemic, when we are often more isolated from each other than we wish, we can still reach out; a phone call, a video chat, an Uber eats gift certificate; a kind gesture, a helping hand. This is the take home message. Whether our contribution is big or small, everyone contributes to the collective. Whatever the next year brings, only through all of us contributing to our fellow persons will we continue to have unity, safety and collective success.

We wish you an amazing Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova Umetuka, a Sweet and Happy New Year!

Barbara and Bruce 

We wish a Refuah Sh’lema (Speedy Recovery) to Rochel Etta bat Dobrusha 

We wish a Refuah Sh’lema (Speedy Recovery) to Tuvia Moshe ben Perl