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.
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
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