We pick up in Efrat, where we were spending Shabbat with Nomi, Elan and the gang. Fresh off Grandparent’s Day, we took Shlomo and Nadav shopping for things for Shabbat, a few treats, a pizza and other sundry things needed for both their house and ours. One amazing thing about their neighborhood in Efrat is how kid friendly it is; there must be 9 playgrounds within a 5 -minute walk of their house, each one having their own theme or cool climbing equipment. I took Aryeh to at least 4 on one outing on Shabbat afternoon! On Shabbat we had great meals, and lots of good times, including movie night with all the kids on Saturday night.
The next morning, we took off for Jerusalem, with a few things in mind; to visit the Western Wall (an essential part of any visit to Israel) and to meet up with Debbie Kamioner and Zev Kessler who were also in Israel for a few weeks. They have an apartment in Jerusalem, in a great location, and we hung out at a Café at Mamilla, an outdoor mall right next to Old City of Jerusalem. Definitely a huge contrast, the upscale mall with all the stores you would expect, along a road that had been a Roman Legion footpath to the Old City of Jerusalem, outside Jaffa Gate. Then down to the Western Wall, where we we bumped into Elaine Brandt and Erez Karp, fresh off a trip to Dubai and spending a week in Israel as well! We picked up Jenna in Jerusalem, then returned to Efrat to pick up Shoshana and a friend who were out shopping but were stranded because the city bus broke down and there was not going to be a replacement for a while. So, like good grandparents, we did not only the pick-up but the chauffeuring to the store they were planning to go to and returned the friend to her house on the way home. Of course, we threw in some gift shopping too, so it was a good detour!
Sunday night was the lighting of the First Chanukkah candle, which is of course a very celebratory occasion with lots of singing, dancing and the obligatory Jelly Donuts (called Sufganiot, which can be quite an art form here in Israel). Sometimes they actually look better than they taste….but don’t tell the kids that! At the same time as we were lighting candles, the world was getting set to watch Messi vs. Mbappe, or Argentina vs. France in the World Cup Final (known here as the “Mondial”). Since no self-respecting kid would show up at school the next day not having watched, we did tune in for the entire second half and overtime of what was a very exciting match. The house was divided between those that supported France and those that favored Argentina, but in the end, the best team won (I was pulling for Argentina…. 😊 ). At the same time Shoshana's was participating in her school's a talent show, which I suspect Barbara and Nomi may have enjoyed more than the game!
OK, now here is where we go into overdrive! After a fun breakfast visit with old Montreal friends Carol and David Novosellor (who live in another part of Efrat a few minutes from Elan) we picked up Nadav (age 8) and Aryeh (age 5) after candle lighting and dinner and drove to Netanya. The next morning, Gila came to Netanya with cousins Elisha (age 8) Ora (5) and Adi (3). Clearly the adults are outnumbered here particularly in the energy level! We drove off to a young child’s paradise called Shvil Hatapuzim, meaning the “Orange Grove” which is a superb combination of jungle gym and playland in the midst of orange groves. Plus, in the summer it’s a water park! So after 3 hours of jumping, climbing, sliding, riding electric scooters, and generally having a riot, we packed back in the cars and went home for a celebratory Chanukkah dinner of Mac and Cheese (made with Aged Canadian Cheddar we imported, thank you Costco!) fresh potato pancakes (Latkes to those in the know) and more Sufganiot. Then, in case they were not tired out enough, the next day we went to iJump, a huge trampoline paradise. What’s great about the kid combination is the matched ages, with Nadav and Elisha born 10 days apart and being great friends, and Ora and Aryeh deciding they were each other’s BFF from a very young age. Of course, Adi, being a third child, knows how to elbow her way into the mix and is never left out!
In the midst of all this, practically at the stroke of Midnight, Benjamin Netanyahu cobbles together his coalition, meaning Israel will have its umpteenth new government in the last 2.5 years. The country can certainly use the stability, although things do seem to be running OK despite the multiple changing of the guards over the past few years. Perhaps we’ll write more about that next week.
Friday morning we set off with Shoshana and Shlomo for Jerusalem. Elan brought in a group of families from Toronto and the Israeli Mazer clan were joining for Shabbat at the King Solomon hotel. More about that next week, plus Barbara and I will be driving to the south of Israel to spend a few days in Eilat to decompress from this whirlwind week of Chanukkah! The fun of the week more than compensates for the exhaustion!!
We wish everyone a wonderful Shabbat Shalom, and to our friends celebrating Christmas, best wishes for the Holiday and may you spend special time with family and friends
Barbara and Bruce
Sunday night was the lighting of the First Chanukkah candle, which is of course a very celebratory occasion with lots of singing, dancing and the obligatory Jelly Donuts (called Sufganiot, which can be quite an art form here in Israel). Sometimes they actually look better than they taste….but don’t tell the kids that! At the same time as we were lighting candles, the world was getting set to watch Messi vs. Mbappe, or Argentina vs. France in the World Cup Final (known here as the “Mondial”). Since no self-respecting kid would show up at school the next day not having watched, we did tune in for the entire second half and overtime of what was a very exciting match. The house was divided between those that supported France and those that favored Argentina, but in the end, the best team won (I was pulling for Argentina…. 😊 ). At the same time Shoshana's was participating in her school's a talent show, which I suspect Barbara and Nomi may have enjoyed more than the game!
But, that’s not all sports fans! We were not going to leave out the older kids! So after jumping to their hearts content and lunch in the mall, the younger kid were taken back to their respective homes and “traded” for Shoshana (14) and Shlomo (11). So, we downsized to 2 instead of five and stopped having to worry about who was going to take off across the busy street, get lost or fight over the same toy (LOL). I drove to Jerusalem, switched kids at Nomi’s office at Hebrew University, and joined Barbara at Ariel and Gila’s house to light candles with them! We then returned to Netanya and feasted on salads, latkes and Deli sandwiches.
The next day was Shlomo’s 12th birthday (which is of course one year from Bar Mitzvah year!) and we celebrated in style with some daytime activities, awesome burgers and an Escape room based on “The 100”; the kids honestly were much quicker at solving the puzzles than we were (as it should be). Plus if you don’t know what “The 100” refers to, neither did Barbara and I. So, feel free to email me and I’ll explain it (or Google it!)
In the midst of all this, practically at the stroke of Midnight, Benjamin Netanyahu cobbles together his coalition, meaning Israel will have its umpteenth new government in the last 2.5 years. The country can certainly use the stability, although things do seem to be running OK despite the multiple changing of the guards over the past few years. Perhaps we’ll write more about that next week.
Friday morning we set off with Shoshana and Shlomo for Jerusalem. Elan brought in a group of families from Toronto and the Israeli Mazer clan were joining for Shabbat at the King Solomon hotel. More about that next week, plus Barbara and I will be driving to the south of Israel to spend a few days in Eilat to decompress from this whirlwind week of Chanukkah! The fun of the week more than compensates for the exhaustion!!
We wish everyone a wonderful Shabbat Shalom, and to our friends celebrating Christmas, best wishes for the Holiday and may you spend special time with family and friends
Barbara and Bruce 
Happy Birthday Gail!
Happy Birthday Debbie!
Refuah Shlema to Adi bat Bilha
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