Shabbat January 18-19, 2024

After a couple of high energy weeks to start off our trip, this past week was more about catch up; sleep, apartment, work etc. As it happens, it turned into a pretty social week. Last Shabbat was spent with Lori and Alvan Small, after our outing to the new Galei Sanz Hotel and it’s popular Shabbat Food take out store. It was fun not to have to cook, and the company was excellent. On Sunday we went to visit Ariel and Gila and the kids in the late afternoon, and stayed over that evening as Bruce was planning to go to Safra Children’s Hospital where he will be working part time on a few food allergy projects.

Safra is the pediatric hospital that is associated with Sheba Hospital, the largest hospital in the Middle East. The reason we stayed over is that although at best the drive is about 40 minutes, that does not happen often during the day and between traffic snarls and parking hassles, we figured perhaps it would be best to stay about 15 minutes away (where they live in Petach Tikva). As it happened, it was a 30-minute drive in traffic, so we continued to look for alternatives. I went back on Thursday and this day took the train from Netanya to Tel Aviv (35 minutes) and then a bus that took 20 minutes from the train station to the hospital. Pretty low stress and plenty of place to work on the train, so this may be the go-to method of transport. 

Tuesday evening, we met our friends Anne and Jonathan Homa (ex of Montreal and Livingston, NJ.) They are now living in Netanya after almost 10 years in Jerusalem. They are renting in an area called Ir Yamim, The City by the Sea, AKA the Riviera of Israel. We had dinner at a cool Japanese place with sushi, poke bowls and stir fries call MoJo San. It was busy and the food was fun and very good. 

Wednesday night after a day of work and touch ups in the apartment, like hanging pictures and installing bathroom heaters (if you need a handyman, we were given the name of an absolute gem!) we went grocery shopping and decided to stop for dinner on the way. In true Israeli fashion we stopped at a restaurant at a gas station on the highway. Israel is famous for having the best food at these highway stops. Let me introduce you to BP, a Bistro and Diner that was packed (we waited 15 minutes for a table) and had some of the most interesting grill and delicious diner food you’ve ever seen. 

To continue the social scene, Nina Glick is joining us for Shabbat! She is here having led a solidarity mission to Israel from her community in Teaneck, NJ. We look forward to catching up with her this weekend.  On top of that, Sharon and Robert Dalfen came from Ra'aana to see Nina and enjoy the Tayelet/Boardwalk in Netanya. 

I was going to write more about the situation here this week, as it definitely deserves comment. There is a lot of information flying around; some of it is more accurate; some of it appears to be bending the narrative to fit specific points of view. Just to underscore this point, let’s examine what’s going on in neighboring countries. This week has been fairly tumultuous outside of Israel. One of the key funders and trainers of Hamas of course is Iran. Last week, there was a suspicious bombing at the memorial for Suleiman, the Iranian commander who wrought havoc on Western targets for years. While 100+ people were killed, Iran was quick to point fingers at Israel but the randomness and primitive nature of the attack certainly does not fit any Israeli MO. In the past week, Iran has bombed sites in Iraq and Pakistan, with the excuse that they are wiping out Zionist spy enclaves. Neither the Iraqi nor the Pakistani governments has been effusive in congratulating them for ridding them of spies. In fact, it’s the opposite, the attacks were unprovoked and Pakistan has even filed with the UN security council against Iran. This is in addition to the Iran backed Houthi-Yemenite incursions on ship traffic and drones against American targets, and Hezbollah sending showers of rockets into Israel from Lebanon and Syria. Plus, all the imported anti-Semitic hatred that is now being manifested on North American Universities; kudos to our friend Stephanie Steinman’s husband Neil Oberman for taking this head-on at Concordia. Notice I have not mentioned Gaza or Palestinians till now…The take home message is that the Iranian involvement in attacking Israel is not a question of land, territory, borders, or two enemies trying to position themselves. This is a much broader issue of the Iranian wish to exert control over the middle east and to remove all shreds of Western influence. 

We were sad to learn of the passing of our uncle, Paul Weinstein, husband to Sandra and brother in law of my parents Phyllis and Sid (Z”L). I will share a link to an amazing piece by Mike Cohen in the Suburban who knew him very well. I wanted to share some personal reflections. I have known Paul since I was 6 years old, so basically most of my life. He was always so full of life. When we were kids, he would regale us with stories about his time as a camp counsellor and how he and the other staff drove the kids crazy and about crazy pranks he and fellow students pulled off in dental school. At my Bar Mitzvah as I was about to start the Torah reading Paul leaned over and said “First shot on goal, you will be just fine” using the hockey metaphor to calm my nerves. All through university and med school, he always had encouraging words and sage advice. He took amazing, personalized care of our kids’ teeth (ours too of course, for quite a while) and always took a very sincere interest in what everyone was doing, where they were studying, how the grandchildren were, etc. To learn from talking to others and reading the comments to his family that he did not reserve that generous behavior for family, but all his clients, friends, neighbors, and anyone he touched felt he was genuinely interested and cared. That’s a very special legacy and will carry on for many years. When he fell ill this summer, we hoped it would be like previous health scares, that someone so full of life would overcome it. Sadly, it was not to be this time. We send sincere condolences to my Aunt Sandra (Ruffy to all of us), cousins Jon and Elena, Mitch, David and Jen, and their children who Paul cherished and loved. We feel their pain at this time of loss.

For more see this amazing tribute

https://www.thesuburban.com/blogs/cohen_confidential_with_mike_cohen/dr-paul-weinstein-mourning-the-passing-of-everyones-favorite-pediatric-dentist/article_728c05d0-b59e-11ee-bb6d-43dd9d282ee3.html

We wish you all a peaceful Shabbat!

Barbara and Bruce

Refuah Shlema to Aliza Bat Chaya

Happy Birthday to my best friend and the most amazing wife ever, Barbara

Happy Birthday to Linda Lieberman!

Happy Birthday to Roanne (next week)

Happy Birthday to Jacob Mazer (and Mazel tov)!

Shabbat January 12-13, 2024

Particularly in times like these, with the world in a chaotic state, with what is going on between Israel and Hamas, Ukraine and Russia, with crazy climate swings, economic insecurity, electoral interference, polarization of extremist views and bastions of academia apparently in turmoil, it’s important to focus on core values. I think most would agree that there is nothing more central to our well-being than family and so it’s perhaps even more important in these times to focus on special times in our families. 

And so, two weeks ago I wrote about the amazing events in Cleveland celebrating Tali’s Bat Mitzvah, and last week talked about the pre-Bar Mitzvah events and preparation for Shlomo. So, we pick up on Friday evening, as family and friends descended on Nomi and Elan’s home in Efrat. Nomi’s parents Karen and Robert Goldberger were there as well as her sister Dini and family and her two brothers Eli and Daniel who have both recently gotten engaged to be married! We were represented by Barbara and I, Gila, Ariel, Elisha, Ora and Adi, and our niece Jenna from Alberta. And of course, Shoshana, Nadav, Aryeh and Eytan to round out the gang! We of course missed having Daniella, Monty, Tali and Ezra, and my mother and sister who all had planned to come, but with the war and the cutting back of flights to Israel were unable to make it for this simcha. 

We started off Friday night at synagogue, where Shlomo led the congregation on Kabbalat Shabbat, the special Friday night service. After that, the group consisting of family and out of town friends had dinner together in the synagogue, expertly arranged and prepared by Nomi (with a little help from Elan, Shlomo and Shoshana and us). It was great to be all together, and especially to watch all the cousins and the children from other families click together and have a great time. They decided on their own that there would be a special kids table to be able to all sit together! The meal went on till late on Friday night, but of course the main event was to be on Shabbat morning. A Jewish male becomes Bar Mitzvah (literally Son of the Commandments) at age 13; a Jewish Female achieves Bat Mitzvah at age 12 (which says something about the difference between teen boys and girls; I think some boys don’t hit the same maturity as 12 year old girls until their 30’s…). The Bar/Bat Mitzvah designation means two things: the individual is now responsible for taking on and carrying out the mitzvot or 613 “commandments” that make up Jewish practice. In addition, boys can lead services and read the Torah for public readings on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Last week we highlighted Shlomo reading Torah in School. That is a short reading, only the opening section of the 7 he would read on Shabbat. Shabbat morning, Shlomo read the entire Torah portion of Shemot for which he has been practicing for almost a year. In short, he was great! He read with confidence and was error-free. We were all very proud of his hard work and the main event did not disappoint!

Just a few words about Shlomo. It’s very apropos that he and Tali celebrated in the same time period. Like Tali, he always goes out his way to help people. He has had challenges that he has overcome, and always is positive and never lets health issues get in his way. It was awesome to see his group of friends; watching them at the party on Saturday night was a treat as they really celebrated the event and were tremendously respectful (very unlike most 12- and 13-year old boys!). I had the pleasure of helping to teach Shlomo his Torah portion (mainly on Zoom) and it was a very memorable experience that will be cherished. We wish that the happiness and pride that Shlomo had for his accomplishments this past weekend will always stay with him. 

Where did we leave off? After the services on Saturday, all those in synagogue were treated to a “Kiddush” (best defined as a celebratory snack after the services) which was sponsored by Nomi and Elan. There was fruit, vegetable, herring, ‘kugels’ (if you never had kugel, Google it or email me), snack food and cake, and of course a bit of whiskey to wash it down. This was followed by lunch for the same group who spent Friday night dinner together. Again, the food was prepared by Nomi and Co and was superb. After a brief afternoon rest and the conclusion of Shabbat, friends from all over Israel, family and 40 or 50 of Shlomo’s classmates from junior high got together for a party! Music, dancing, more food, lots of pictures, a speech by Shlomo, and as noted above, a great time was had by all. 

So, what does one do for an encore? Well, we spent the next few days trying to organize things in our apartment. I mentioned last week that we had done some renovations. This was pretty painless, but it seemed like for everything that was brand new and repaired, some of the things that had not been replaced decided to go on strike (or break). I could regale you with semi-amusing stories about Israeli repair people (perhaps only amusing after the fact), but we literally had to fix our washer, our heating/air conditioning unit, one of the new ovens, the cabinet holding the dishwasher….you get the picture. But those are minor inconveniences and things are in really good shape at the moment!

Some other highlights include picking up our friend Gail (from Toronto) in Petach Tikvah and spending time with her, including a very nice dinner in the centre square of Netanya. On Wednesday night, we celebrated Ariel’s birthday with Gila and the kids at a cool new place in Petach Tikvah! And last night, our friends Lori and Alvan Small suggested we go shopping for our Shabbat food at a new take out place (called take away in Israel) in the Galei Sanz Hotel, about 1 KM north of us in the Hassidic community of Sanz. I once wrote about the Galei Sanz hotel, way back when Shoshana was a baby; we had meals there and the place looked like it should be condemned! So, in the end, it was, and in its place is a brand-new beautiful hotel with a restaurant and a store open Thursday and Friday for take-out food. Very impressive selection, and we will be doing pot-luck from this store with Lori and Alvan and perhaps taking a break from our frenetic pace.

We wish everyone a relaxing Shabbat Shalom!

Please be careful of snow and freezing rain!!!

Barbara and Bruce

Happy Birthday to Ariel!

Happy Birthday to Uncle Paul!

Happy Birthday Zev!

Happy Birthday Jeff!

Happy Birthday Sheldon!

Happy Anniversary Roanne and David!

Refuah Shelema to Paltiel Refael ben Esther

Refuah Shelema to Aliza bat Chaya

And may all those held hostage or displaced from their homes be able to return safely. 

Shabbat Parasha Shmot, Pre-Shlomo’s BarMitzvah

Boy, are we tired! Good thing Shabbat is coming up. And, it will be an eventful Shabbat, as we are celebrating Shlomo’s Bar Mitzvah tonight and tomorrow. So, you will need to wait till next week to really get a handle on this special occasion. But first a recap of what is going on. 

Last Shabbat was spent at Gila and Ariel’s home in Petach Tikvah. As you would imagine, any Shabbat spent with family that you don’t see often is very special, and this was no exception. Elisha, Ora and Adi were in great form and kept us thoroughly entertained.  As we were pretty jet lagged, sleep was still a bit of a topsy-turvy proposition, but being able to play with the kids, not to mention chase after them, meant we were not able to doze off during the day! Ariel is a bit of a foodie and developed an awesome crock pot recipe for Asado that you can ask him for. We stayed in Petach Tikvah till Sunday morning, then took off to Efrat, about 1:15 hours away. The purpose of this quick trip was two-fold, to both help with preparations for the coming “simcha” (Happy Celebration) and to be able to attend prayer services Monday morning with Shlomo as was to be reading from the Torah at school. So, we spent part of last Sunday shopping with Nomi for things that we will be using this coming weekend, part practicing with Shlomo for his Bar Mitzvah, and part playing with all the kids after they came home from school. 

Monday AM I joined Elan, Shlomo and Nadav at the boy’s school for services at 8 AM. It was a complete treat. The Monday morning (Shacharit) prayer service is broken up into a Preliminary service and the main section of Shacharit, followed by the reading of the Torah and then the conclusion. Nadav led the preliminary part, and Shlomo took over and continued the main section, as well as the Torah reading. It was amazing to see the poise and confidence of both boys; in particular Shlomo who read the Torah beautifully.  Both conducted their parts of the service like experienced pros! The other children wished Shlomo Mazel Tov and his class feted him after services (and enjoyed the chocolate danish that Elan had brought). In fact, we also contributed goodies; Shlomo and a couple of classmates have celiac disease, so we had bought fancy cupcakes for the occasion from Strawberry Blond bakery in Ottawa, an awesome kosher, gluten- and nut-free bakery. So, these well-travelled cupcakes went from Ottawa to our freezer in Montreal to Paris and then to Israel, where they were put to very good use!!

We returned to Petach Tikva on Monday as Gila and Ariel were both going to be working late; so we picked up Elisha, Ora and Adi and spent some quality time. This included ‘borrowing’ a dinner idea from Daniella; Spaghetti Hot Dogs! First, you create a sculpture of dry pasta buried into a succulent sausage, then you steam or boil it till cooked, and then, you eat your creation! I have learned from Tali and Ezra that this is a combination art project and treat, and (for those into healthy organic food, please close your ears) there was not a hot dog or spaghetti left on the plates, so a good time was had by all. 

We returned to Netanya that night, and spent the next couple of days organizing things in our apartment, trying to determine what fine tuning was needed from the renovations and organizing what would be needed for the weekend (we were in charge of some of the cooking for Friday night dinner and some of the “treats” for Shabbat). We also had dinner on consecutive evenings with Lori and Alvan Small, one night at a great restaurant called Moshe Segev, and one as the first initiation to our new kitchen! The meals were all great, but I give Segev extra points for their deserts!

You may have noted that I have not yet really mentioned the war going on. As it’s constantly in the news, this would appear to be a pretty significant omission. I wrote last week that would try to stay away from commentary on the situation till after the Bar Mitzvah. I do though want to share what we did this past Sunday. Overall, the country is clearly not the usual high-spirited place it usually is. The Hamas attacks on October 7th were a major blow, and the current fighting is clearly taking it’s toll. As we were arriving, we received news that a young man, Efraim Jackman, whose parents, Liat and Sammy Jackman, we knew very well, had been killed in battle in Gaza. On Sunday evening, we visited the shiva, the 7-day tradition where the community visits the home of the mourners to pay their respects. The Jackman’s had lived in Montreal as educators between 2003-2005 and we were their host family. I remember their first Shabbat in Cote St Luc carrying Efraim up 4 flights of stairs to their apartment. Efraim was an accomplished student, musician, poet and was tremendous inspiration to his friends and family. The Jackman’s and Efraim’s friends told story after story of this young man. He loss will be felt deeply by his family and we send sincerest condolences. 

So, now to explain why we are so tired! Yesterday we came back to Efrat for the Bar Mitzvah weekend. It’s been pretty much non-stop preparation since then, with picture-taking, shopping, rehearsing, sewing, cooking, more shopping, bringing things to the synagogue….you get the picture. So, we have just rushed in to prepare ourselves for Shabbat, to spend some amazing family time and celebrate Shlomo, like we celebrated Tali a few short weeks ago. Full recap next week!

Refuah Shelema to Paltiel Rafael ben Esther

Refuash Shelema to Aliza bat Chaya

Mazel Tov to Nomi and Elan, to Shoshana, Nadav, Aryeh and Eytan and most of all to Shlomo!!

And to all a Happy 2024, may it be a year that brings more peace and understanding to the world.

Shabbat Shalom

Barbara and Bruce