Shabbat December 30-31, Goodbye to 2022

 This week brought the conclusion of Chanukah, with the last candles lit on Sunday evening. After a frenetic week of Chanukah, we moved into a bit of a different mode as you will see… 

 In fact, the week of Chanukah ended with Shabbat in Jerusalem. Elan, as some of you know, is the director of Mizrachi Canada, and coordinates educational activities and other programs in Toronto and other Canadian cities. This entails commuting from Israel to Toronto several times a year. Last week, a group of families from Toronto arrived in Israel to participate in a 2-week-long visit to Israel run by Mizrachi. They landed on Friday and their first Shabbat was spent at the King Solomon Hotel in Jerusalem and the Israeli Mazer family joined them. This meant the cousins got together for Shabbat after their time together during the week! Friday night we went to Shabbat services at the Western Wall, which entailed a good hike for the families and their children! It was, as usual, very special and very moving to be there. The pandemic was the last thing on anyone’s mind, as there likely were thousands of people there and not much distancing! Shabbat meals in the hotel were spent among the many groups at the hotel and the food was very good. It rained on and off on Shabbat, so we went to the park with the kids when it was not pouring and raised a ruckus in the hotel (with all the other “trapped” children) when it was raining! Saturday night, we drove to Petach Tikvah and babysat Elisha, Ora and Adi for a bit before we returned to Netanya. Sunday was a very stormy day, so for the first time on the trip we pretty much took it easy with a lot less running around. That was needed as we were leaving the next day for a pretty long drive. 

Essential Tips on How to Prepare for a Long Drive in Israel: When you are setting off for a long drive in a rental car in Israel, there are a few key items that come in handy. Make sure you pack a Tire Pressure Gauge, rain gear, a life jacket or even better, an amphibian car. Let me explain: We rent cars in Israel frequently and on 1 in 2 cars, the Tire Pressure Monitoring System lights indicating an issue with the tire pressure. So what do you do? Check the pressure? How??? It turns out that most service stations we have visited have malfunctioning tire fill up systems. Last visit, Barbara’s attempt to fill a tire led to the tire losing air. This trip, again the TPMS light went on. So, we looked for a gas station; in fact we found two. Neither had a functioning air pressure system and we needed to go to a tire repair store to get them checked out and filled! So, bring a little tire pressure monitor and save yourself some hassles! Second, the rain gear, a life jacket and amphibian car. We drove to Eilat this past Monday. Eilat is in the south of Israel on the Red Sea, over 300 km from Netanya. It’s a gorgeous trip through the Negev desert, with its stark scenery, mountains and arid expanses. However, the roads are full of sharp twists and turns along winding roads through rocky cliffs. It’s also a place which dips below sea level and has absolutely no water drainage. So, when it rains, and especially when it pours, as it did on Monday, the low-lying areas flood and the roads get deluged with water, sand, rocks and tumbleweeds. Which led to quite a bit of white-knuckle driving, navigating over several flooded patches of roads and adding more than an hour onto an already lengthy trip. It really pays to be prepared, but since amphibian cars are not so common on highway 90, perhaps its best to drive when the sun is out! 

 Eilat used to be a tranquil lagoon on the Red Sea with a few hotels, some kiosques and a bit of duty-free shopping. It has grown tremendously over the past few years, with a proliferation of 5-star hotels, multiple brand name stores, large malls and lots of tourists! We stayed at The Royal Beach, right on the Boardwalk, and did a lot of wandering and enjoying the area. The weather was a bit too cool for swimming outdoors, but perfect for walking or hiking. One interesting highlight is The Ice Mall, which as a large mall with a mini-amusement park indoors built around a regulation-sized ice rink! In the middle of the desert with it’s 40C heat in the summer, they maintain an ice surface! There were both skating shows and free skate time for the public; I imagine hockey too but will need to check that out! We had a great time, hanging out around the pool, wandering, enjoying great meals, and just having some well-deserved down-time! 

You will never see this on CNN: One of the most interesting and I think, heartening aspects of the trip to Eilat was the mix of tourists. The hotels, streets and shops were bustling with tourists, divided pretty equally between Jews and Muslims, all eating in the same restaurants, sitting around them same pools and shopping in the same malls. So, is this unique? Of course not, it’s life as usual in large Israeli cities. Waiting outside a coffee shop on the boardwalk, two women in hijabs approached us, and asked directions to the Ice Mall, in pretty good Hebrew. I was happy to answer (since we had been there the day before) and we chatted for a couple of minutes till they continued on their way. Seems very normal, no? Yes, it is, and that’s the point. As we hear what is going on at many college campuses and in the media, what pictures are painted about the situation in Israel you would imagine this could never happen. Indeed, these were not Palestinians from Gazan camps; they could have been Israeli, Egyptian or Jordanian. But what was impressive was the positive atmosphere and the very normal human interactions. It’s a sign that we can move past the politics and create a better society. 

On our way home, the weather was perfect, so the drive was shorter and much less eventful. We stopped about 90 minutes north of Eilat at the Vidon Arava Agricultural Center, which is in the midst of a farming area in the desert. Is that an oxymoron? Farming? Desert? In fact, a large percentage of produce (cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes, peppers, melons) are exported to Europe from the Negev Farming communities! The Center allowed us to learn about and explore the technology behind making a desert bloom; primarily via creative irrigation technology, greenhouse, soil adaptation, domestic bees and use of nature predators instead of pesticides. It's eye opening when you think of the ingenuity; for example, the drip irrigation is now in use in 50 other countries. 

The following 36 hours were ultra-social: Dinner in Petach Tikvah with Ruth and Itamar Maliach, who lived in Montreal in the late 90’s; a visit from Gail Jaffe who is visiting her children and grandchildren, and brunch and a tour of Netanya with Gail and our friends Lori and Alvan Small who are vacationing here from Chicago! Friday AM we said goodbye to Gail, and loaded up the car to spend Shabbat in Efrat with Nomi, Elan and the kids. On the way we stopped in Tel Aviv to visit with Cousin Linda Zysblatt. We had a lovely walk along Rothchild Boulevard (maybe the Los Ramblos of Israel?) and coffee on Shenkin St. Back in the car for the 1 hour drive to Efrat, where we arrived to the excited sounds of a bunch of grandsons running to the car and helping with our bags! 

We wish everyone a wonderful Shabbat and a very Happy and Healthy 2023! 

Barbara and Bruce

Happy Birthday Sheila! 

Happy Birthday Alvin! Refuah Shlema to Adi bat Bilha