Shabbat April 29-30, 2022

Where has the time gone? It seems like two weeks has just flown by and we have not had a chance to let you know what has transpired in Israel. To be honest, Pesach was a busy time, but communication is still important, right? So, let’s share some highlights as we head into Shabbat this week.

The Passover Seder, the festive meal that is the central experience of the holiday, is an opportunity to discuss the root origin of the Jewish people, relationship with G-d, approach to freedom, and many other very intricate and challenging concepts. The most important concept is that of engaging the participants, particularly the children. We were with Elan and his family and Elan and Nomi created a masterful combination of discussions and fun debates, games like Passover Jeopardy, acting out parts of the story and lots of songs and action. Everyone (except maybe baby Eitan!)  contributed, participated, and really was caught up in the moment.  Of course there was amazing food (thanks to Nomi and Elan with a little help from the other adults) and we continued late into the night. It was a great experience and if you need tricks to keep the crowd moving, feel free to ask!

By Sunday. people were ready to get out of the house, which led to a hike in the hills around the Gush Etzyon area, to a Wadi (stream) which everyone waded through; it was a very hot day, so the cool water was appreciated! That evening, Barbara and I left Efrat with Shlomo, Nadav and Aryeh in tow to spend some time in Netanya. That meant, of course, a beach day on Monday, and the rest of the gang joined us Monday evening. Tuesday’s main activity was a very Canadian thing to do; skating at the arena built in Kfar Yonah, a small town about 12-minute drive from Netanya. There is no doubt our crew (Shoshana and Shlomo for sure, not to mention Elan) were the best skaters on the ice. Unfortunately for Aryeh, the skating is restricted to kids over 5, so he got some one-on-one time with Sabi in a huge new park recently built near our home. No problem getting rid of excess energy there!

On Wednesday we participated in a very moving ceremony in Elan’s community. The development is only a few years old, and their neighborhood synagogue is under construction. The community was in need of a Torah Scroll and Mizrachi Canada, the organization that Elan directs, developed a program whereby Torah Scrolls which were no longer being used in synagogues because they needed repair, were donated, fixed and then given to communities that needed Torah Scrolls. We decided to donate one to the new Efrat synagogue being built in the Tamar community that our kids live in. The Torah was donated in honor of our dear departed parents, Michael and Molly Samuel, Sid Mazer and Barbara’s brother Mark Samuel. Dozens of community members participated (it seemed like hundreds of children!) and there was music and snacks. A major “naches” (great pride) moment was watching our grandsons Shlomo and Nadav reading from the Torah! I would just like to share a few of the concepts that I spoke about at the dedication. All of our parents were born in Canada, as their parents had left the ravages of Europe either pre or post first World War. Although they did not directly experience the Holocaust, life in Canada was not easy for the Jewish Community, due to poverty but specifically due to not so hidden Anti-Semitism. Quotas in schools, restricted clubs and parks, job discrimination; life was difficult. Yet, both families stuck with it, and made sure their children were educated in Jewish Schools and participated in activities. This gave both Barbara and I strong roots, and we are blessed to carry on this important tradition through our children and wonderful grandchildren. The Torah, bearing the names of our four family member on its cover, now can serve as an educational centerpiece of a new community. As we see the turmoil and polarization in our world today, it’s doubly important that we all work together to have strong roots in our own cultures and traditions and respect and help celebrate the cultures of those around us. 

Passover quickly came to a close which was followed by more time with Ariel, Gila, Elisha, Ora and Adi. First, as Gila was away on a trip organized by the high school she works at, we had two afternoons of school pickups in Petach Tikvah, playtime in the park and dinner with the kids, who appeared to enjoy the grandparent time! Then, Bruce took off (sadly) to return to Montreal, but Barbara ‘ran off’ with Elisha and Ora for a day of trampolining, bumper cars and playing in the park. This Shabbat the Petach Tikvah gang is in Netanya for some fun in the sand and then Shabbat together. 

We wish you an amazing Shabbat Shalom!

Happy Birthday to Chuck Wagner!

Happy Birthday to Joshua

Happy Birthday to Jessica

Happy Birthday to Bobby Shaul

We wish a speedy recovery / Refuah Shlema to Shmuel Zev ben Rochel Eta

We wish a speedy recovery / Refuah Shlema to Fruma Menucha bat Chaya

Passover 2022

 Passover has several names, one of which is The Holiday of Spring. So, welcome to spring in Israel. We arrived in Israel on Tuesday, (April 12), leaving our very chilly and rainy city to arrive to sunny skies, 22C and no rain in the forecast. It definitely does you some good to be in the sunshine! We transited from the airport to Netanya (after a second PCR in 48 hours, both negative) to set up shop and organize for Passover. 

It's definitely nowhere near as complicated to clean and prepare our apartment in Netanya compared to a house. However, one thing about Passover shopping in Cote St Luc is that the products that are specially made for Passover (many gluten free products due to the prohibition of leven, special matzah products, and different Passover customs between Jews of Eastern European (Ashkenazi) and North Africa and Spanish origin (Sepharadi) are all organized and easily identified.  That is not necessarily the case here; our local supermarket has many products intermingled, with small signs signifying the special Passover products, but even then they may be mixed up with non-Passover foods. It’s not like keeping kosher is always easy, but this is a challenge that makes you stay on guard at all times and be thankful that your phone camera can magnify the small print on products that identify their status! It’s a bit comical once you are out of the store, but maybe not so funny as you navigate the shelves and rows of products just to find strawberry jam to mask the taste and texture of dry, brittle matzah!! 

To more fun things, we spent Wednesday PM after our shopping excursion visiting Ariel and Gila, Elisha, Ora and Adi in Petach Tikvah. They will be spending the beginning of Passover with Gila’s family in Neve Daniel, which is a community very close to Elan and Nomi’s home in Efrat. In fact, Nomi and Elan were neighbors with Gila’s parents, Geula and Rabbi Yitchak Twersky, when they lived in Neve Daniel after they left Toronto. We look forward to getting together again in the next couple of days.  

Yesterday we moved in to the Efrat Mazer’s home, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. And what did we do, you ask? More Passover prep, more cleaning, cooking, and organizing for the Seder. The Seder is a wonderful time, where we recount the story of the Jewish People’s exodus from Egypt. The absolute key, of course, is in engaging the children. There is no future without our young people having strong established roots. Elan, who is an educator, is a master at developing activities that can really capture the kid’s attention; he has done dramatic portrayals, Passover-themed escape rooms, and other great ways to instill fun and relevance. No question we are all looking forward to this and I will be happy to report on the festivities next week. 

I would be amiss is I did not mention our pre-flight activity, which was to attend the beautiful wedding of Orly Fruchter to El-Nasser Amin Sunday April 10th. We were extremely happy to be able to celebrate with them and wish the newlyweds a life with limitless happiness, love and companionship. Mazel Tov to our dear friend Haim and to Rona, as well as siblings Yaacov and Bilha and their families!  

Passover is also known as the Holiday of Freedom. Perhaps, as we look at what is going on around us, we find it particularly difficult to feel free this year. We are entering the third year of the COVID pandemic, with variants that seem to learn new tricks to help them evade the protection afforded by vaccination. We are witnessing a savage, unexplainable and completely unjust war in the Ukraine, with civilians shot in the street, in schools and in hospitals in the most brutal manner not seen in Europe since the Second World War. We are experiencing out of control gas prices, increased consumer costs, and many of the commodity comforts we take for granted are less enticing. Yet, what Passover teaches us is that there is a cyclic nature to all things. The Jewish people were slaves in Egypt for 400 years, which means that those who descended to Egypt had no knowledge of the ultimate liberation that happened centuries later.  Yet liberation did come. We eat eggs at the seder; round to represent the constant renewal that we all undergo, and eggs are unique in that the more you cook them, the harder they get, a sign that resilience is an important trait. We taste bitter herbs at the Seder, but they are dipped in sweet Charoset (made of apples, wine and honey).  While the micro-view may be on of pessimism, the macro-view tells us that ultimately things will improve, evolve and balance will be restored. For example, despite the illness and distress caused by the pandemic, the international scientific collaboration has led to development of effective vaccines and new drugs in record time. These and other bright spots despite the dim outlook, are reminders that our annual Holiday of Freedom is there to keep us on track, have faith and work together to bring better times for all. 

We wish you a wonderful, Happy Passover, and Happy Easter, and peaceful Ramadan

Barbara and Bruce

Happy Birthday to Ora!

Happy Birthday to Elan!

Happy Birthday to David!

Happy Birthday to Joshua! 

We wish a speedy Refuah Shlema to Shmuel Zev ben Rochel Eta

We wish a speedy Refuah Shlema to all those affected by Omicron….you know who you are ;-)