Shabbat March 29-30

The question we will deal with today is, how do you celebrate the holidayof Purim during a war? So, some background for the unitiated. In our last blog we covered a bit of Greek history and mentioned the Persian Conquests. Cyrus the Great conquered the world during his reign, in the early 500’s BCE. This was 200 years before Alexander the Great, for historical perspective. The Jews had been exhiled after the destruction of the first Temple, and when Cyrus conquered the known world, he was a benevolent king, allowing Jews to return to Israel but also accommodating a large community in Persia. The story of the Book of Esther took place in the 5th century BCE under the rule of King Achashverosh, (who may be one of the Persian King Xerxes). Achashverosh’s Chief advisor, Haman, had a personal vendetta against Mordechai, who was a member of the King’s Court and the guardian of Esther, the Queen of Persia. To get back at Mordechai, Haman convinced the King to allow him to kill all the Jews of Persia on the 14th day of the month of Adar. When Mordechai learns of the plot, he appeals to Esther to take up the cause of her people to the King, though she had never let on that she was Jewish. Esther prays and fasts with all the Jews of the capital Shushan, and then tells the king about Haman. The plot is foiled, Haman is executed, and to this days Jewish communities celebrate the salvation on the 14th day of Adar, except in walled cities like Shushan was (today, pretty much only in Jerusalem) on the 15th of Adar. This took place last Saturday night through Sunday. 

Considering Purim is generally a holiday of partying, this year posed a dilemma. On one hand, people are not in a partying mood with the war still every much a part of life. On the other hand, the relevance of the Purim Story, deliverance from the hand of ones who wish to destroy the Jewish Nation, as Hamas has vowed (note the similarity; I doubt it’s an accident) then some type of celebration seemed to be in order. Purim is a holiday when people, especially children, wear costumes. So, in the days prior to Purim, we saw a steady stream of children in elementary school and often their parents in the streets in costume. On Purim Day, there were people of all ages in the street in costume delivering Mishloach Manot, gifts of food to friends, and giving out gifts to the poor, which is a major part of the customs of the day. 

The story of Esther is  read in Synagogue in the evening and morning of Purim. After the evening reading, our synagogue, Young Israel of North Netanya, has a custom to put on a Purim Play (Purim Shpleil) which is an old European Custom. This was a very ompressince mix of music and comedy, lasting almost 90 minutes, especially considering the writers and actors were predominantly in the 60 to 80 range! Congratulations to the head writer Alan Gold, who has done this for years, wishing him many more Purim Shpiels. 

Sunday after synagogue we went to Ariel and Gila’s house to see their kids in costume, and then drove them to friends for the Purim meal. We continued to Efrat to Nomi and Elan’s house, where they were hosting 3 other families and cooked up a storm! There was terrific food, lot’s of good wine and singing. The company was great and we enjoyed seeing the kids in costume and hoping for an end to the war and return of the hostages, with an ending like the  story of Purim!

Monday was officially Purim in Jerusalem, but why waste a good holiday? Many children were off school both Sunday and Monday. While Bruce went off to the Children’s Hospital, in Ramat Gan, Barbara took Elisah, Ora and Adi to a Carnival in Tel Aviv, with lots of activities and clowns! Elisha even took part as a volunteer, and played his part with the clown really well!

Where do you get YOUR vegetables? Israel has a large agricultural industry for a few reasons: out of necessity, they have pioneered amazing ways to irrigate an arid land and creat perfect soil conditions in not exactly perfect circumstances. This is probably due to the fact that it was not so easy to import from the others in the neighborhood. Most cities have public markets where vendors sell all kinds of produce. Both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv have made their markets much more upscale, as did Petach Tikva. Netanya has a real old fashioned market, with vendors screaming out prices, touting the freshness of their fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices, and anything else that you could possibly want! The past few Fridays have included the 15-20 minute walk to the Shuk (market) from our house, buying oodles of fresh strawberries, grapes, melons, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc….plus the prices are much better than the supermarket! A fun experience that everyone should try. 

Speaking of agriculture, one casualty of war has been huge loss of workers, both domestic and foreign. There are lots of fields and orchards that require hands to help pick produce. When we went to the south we picked “Beet leaves” at a farm in Kfar Maimon. This week, we went to an orange orchard about 10 km from out home. There were lots of oranges to pick and we joined about 10 other volunteers who were helping out. A couple of tips: Orange trees are full of thorns, so bring gloves (I have lots of cuts on my hands to prove the point!). Drink lots of water, it’s deceptively hot out there! There are lots of volunteer opportunities so we can all tap in to our inner farmer!

Welcome Debbie and Zev: Tuesday evening we met our friends Debbie and Zev from Riverdale (and Jerusalem) who have come back for a couple of months. We met them at Shifra and Jamil in Herzliah, just a few minutes walk from the train station, making it very convenient. It was great to see them and we hope they have a great stay here. 

Speaking of friends, we also caught up with our friends Ruth and Itamar Maliach, who had lived in Montreal eons ago when our kids were in high school! They are doing really well, and we had fun sharing stories of travels, children and grandchildren. 

We just changed the clock’s in Israel, 2 weeks after North America but at a similar time as many European countries. Shabbat is not starting so early, and we are hosting Gila,  Ariel, Elisha, Ora and Adi, who at present are enjoying some childnre’s show on the computer. We’re looking forward to hanging out with them and especially special time with the kids!

Wishing you a Shabbat full of special times with family

Barbara and Bruce

Refuah Shlema to Shmuel Zev ben Rachel Ita

Refuah Shelma to Chaim Tzvi ben Shaindel

Happy Birthday Lori!

Welcome to our new great nephews, Elijah Henry (Elimelech Hanoch) and Issac Lev (Yitzchak Lev) born to Daniel and Brandon in Edmonton!

A week in Athens!

Spoiler alert: It’s good to take some time off once in a while. But you knew that already, didn’t you? So, for all of you who have never been to Athens, and even those who have been, let’s roll with what we will call “The best of Athens March 11-14th 2024!”

Best surprise about Athens: Athens is a fairly big city of 5 million residents. What we did not realize was just how geographically pretty and varied it is. Most people suspect it’s near water, as a Mediterranean city and it’s proximity to the Aegean sea is pretty obvious. However, it’s also surrounded by mountains. We were told that Greece has more mountains than any other European country than Switzerland. Now, if you compare the height of the typical mountain in the Alps to Greek mountains, there is a clear winner in central Europe. I would say that most of the Greek mountains we saw were more like Mount Royal than Mount Everest or even Mount Lucerne or Grindelwald. It does mean that the hill that the Acropolis is on is just one of several ringing the city.

Best place to stay in Athens: Athens has a lot of very cool districts; Plaka, Monastiraki, etc. It’s quite hard to choose if you don’t know the city. We purchased a package tour (flight and hotel together) and chose to stay at one of the nicer hotels on the list, the Electra Metropolis. This was a winner for sure. First, the hotel was really nice, it came with breakfast on a 10th floor rooftop restaurant, and the service was terrific. Moreover, the hotel is in the Monastiraki district, one block off Eramus (or Hermes) street, the commerce pedestrian mall in Athens and near two squares. It was a 12-minute walk to the Acropolis, a similar distance to the Acropolis Museum, and, for those of us who keep kosher, a 10-minute walk to Chabad and the Gostijo kosher restaurant. The neighborhood was very touristy but very safe and a great place to wander around! There was even a nightly Carnaval Bus at Monastiraki square piping in music and  getting people dancing!

Best Tour of Jewish Athens: OK, in all honesty, I am not sure how many tours of Jewish Athens there are. Thanks to Rivka and Alex Guttman, we were given the name of Haim and Daniel, a father and son duo who do a very in-depth tour of the history of the Jewish community of Greece and an in-depth tour of Athens. The unique angle that this family has is that they trace their roots to the Romaniote Jews from pre-CE times. In fact, the first Jewish communities in Greece were from the 3rd century BCE (around the time of Alexander the Great), when Jews were brought as slaves. After democracy in Athens started to emancipate foreign slaves, Jews moved across the country and inhabited Islands such as Chaikida and Ioannina (two places where Haim and Daniel’s families originated).  The Romaniote community was established in the time prior to the Babylonian Talmud and so they have their own customs (some based on the Jerusalem Talmud) and style of synagogue that I had only previously seen in the Italian Synagogue in Jerusalem (which may explain their being called Romaniote Jews). The Athens community now has about 2500 Jews, with three synagogues, Beth Shalom, the Sephardi synagogue, Eitz Chayim, the Romaniote Synagogue which is only open on the high holydays and for special events, and the Chabad House which has been in Athens for about 25 years. The larger, well-known community of Salonika (Thessaloniki) was comprised mainly of Sephardi Jews and was probably established post Spanish inquisition in the 15th century. This community was close to 100,000 at its heyday in the early 20th century and was greatly victimized by the Nazi invasion with most of its members deported to Treblinka in 1943. The Greek Jewish community had the support of the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church, who tried to lobby on their behalf. There were other communities saved from the holocaust, such as Zakynthos, also saved due to the intervention of the local Greek Orthodox Clergy. However, in the end, 88% of Greek Jewry perished, destroying centuries of vibrant Jewish life in Greece. 

Our tour was led by Daniel who took us around the center of Athens, pointing out the parliament, the Changing of the Guard, Dionysius Stadium, and other famous landmarks. We spent a few hours at the Jewish Museum of Athens, then to the two synagogues (Beth Shalom and Eitz Chayim) and the Jewish Community Council housed in the same building as Eitz Chayim, as well as the Holocaust memorial at the end of the same block, with its fragmented Magen David with the names of the communities that were destroyed. Then we wandered through the Agora, the ancient Marketplace of Athens and back to the hotel. Daniel was terrific, super knowledgeable and very passionate about what he was speaking about, particularly about Romaniote traditions. Highly recommended!

Best Kosher Restaurant: OK, OK, only Kosher Restaurant! The Chabad House on Esopou St in the Psirri district houses the Gostigo (meaning gift of food) restaurant. Each night we were there it was full and seems to serve the tourist clientele very well. Good menu, reasonable prices, and a good selection. They even have a grocery store attached. Supposedly, a typical Shabbat has 100-150 people! Athens is a city of restaurants, with tons of outdoor seating; there are cafes everywhere you walk. The kosher restaurant does not have outdoor seating (probably for security reasons) but at least you have a very decent place to go for kosher food. 

Best History Lesson: Athens, like Jerusalem, is one big history lesson. The Parthenon gazes down on the whole city from its perch on the grounds of the Acropolis. The stadium of Dionysus is still in its location. Even under our hotel there is an excavation going on showing areas that were inhabited hundreds, even thousands of years ago. The Acropolis Museum provides a detailed guide to the life and times from the 700’s BCE, through the mythology of Greek Gods including Athena, daughter of Zeus and the Goddess of Athens. There are artifacts covering 2500+ years of civilization, including the rise of Democracy, the wars with Sparta, conquering by the Persians, then Barbarians, then Romans (200 BCE to 1200), then the Ottoman empire (almost 600 years), the wars of independence, the first and second World Wars….boy it sounds a lot like Jewish history! I guess this is why Greeks and Jews appear to have a kinship as we have a lot in common; strong families, good food and a wish to maintain our independence since we have a tremendous history to be proud of!

Shabbat in Jerusalem: So as mentioned last week, we did something unusual; we spent Shabbat by ourselves! We had a lovely time at the Dan Panorama Hotel which is very central and an easy walk to most central districts in Jerusalem. Shabbat was nice, with a highlight being a visit from Bilha Fruchter and her daughter Adi. Saturday night we wandered in the central area of the city near the Mamilla mall, and like many things during this wartime, the streets were very quiet, and few people were out in this neighborhood. We went to a restaurant named Gabriella, which opened around 14 years ago, which was a big draw at the time. Now it’s kind of run down and was looking pretty shabby. Sunday was a good day for walking, and we went to the area near Mea Shearim (the ultra orthodox section of Jerusalem) to visit Mr. Joseph Levkovich, a former Montrealer, Holocaust Survivor, educator and of course father and father-in-law of Ziggy and Rivi. Some of you may recall that he was on our summer trip to Poland where her shared what he lived through in the places where it actually occurred. He’s 97, extremely sharp and still travelling to Poland and speaking in many places in Israel. He complained he’s slowed down, but I think the pace he goes at would tire someone 50 years younger! Sunday night, we visited the Machanei Yehuda Market area. It was much busier and upbeat compared to the area we had visited the night before. We had dinner at Jocko St. which we had learned about through a program at TBDJ when the chefs visited. Great food and atmosphere!

Singing in Harmony: We will leave you with one last thought. Most Israeli hotels that are in the area frequented by Jewish tourists have synagogues on the premises, and the congregation is made up of whoever chooses to attend. Last week at the hotel, I joined this spontaneous congregation for the services on Friday night and Saturday. This was a really special experience; about 75-100 men and women, from Israel and abroad, Ashkenazi, Sephardi, white, black and brown, all different backgrounds and customs. Yet, when the services started and familiar melodies were sung, everyone participated. Literally a room of strangers blended together almost seamlessly. You don’t have to be a particularly religious or even spiritual person to be impressed by the fact that people can find commonality so well and so quickly. I think this speaks volumes about what our potential is. If we wish to have harmony, we must reach out and find the right notes. 

Wishing you a harmonious Shabbat Shalom!

 Barbara and Bruce

Refuah Shlema to Shmuel Zev ben Rachel Ita

Refuah Shelma to Chaim Tzvi ben Shaindel

Mazel tov to Orly and El on the celebration of the brit mila of Liam Abraham!

Happy Birthday to Sandy, better known as Auntie Ruffie! Wishes for good health and lots of love! 

Shabbat March 8-9

This week the blog may be a little shorter than usual but don’t miss the pictures!! 

Shabbat last week was spent in Efrat, as we were there for Nadav’s Celebration of his completing the study of the Chumash (5 books of Moses). As usual, it was great; Nomi cooked and Elan barbecued up a storm, the kids were fun (of course we lost in Catan as usual) and we ended off with Movie night and Nachos for the family. Saturday night we took off back across the country to spend a few days in Netanya for Bruce to finish a grant. 

During this grant seclusion we did have a fascinating positive experience with the Israeli health care system that we Canadians could learn from. The medical problem was not a major one (thank G-d); Barbara had bacterial conjunctivitis. However, one thing we in Canada have over here is that in Israel there are no antibiotic drops or creams that are OTC. So, to get proper treatment, we needed a prescription. So, Barbara went to Terem, a group of walk-in clinics for all emergencies except for things that should be hospitalized. She was greeted warmly, her particulars were taken, and in less than a minute she was seen by a nurse for the initial history. Then, again in a few minutes, she was seen by a physician, a full assessment done, and prescription printed. As she left, she got a copy of her medical record (and of course the receipt for payment) and then, off to the adjacent pharmacy to fill it. The Pharmacist (a very friendly and efficient Arab woman) took the prescription, took the appropriate box of eye drops, and handed it to Barbara, with instructions, and she then processes the payment herself. 5 minutes instead of what would take much longer, with intake, prescription filling, labelling, waiting and a 40 minute ordeal like our local pharmacies that will remain nameless! So, what would have taken hours for a clinic or ER visit for a minor medical issue was wrapped up in under half an hour. We should send the blueprint to our health ministers!

Wednesday was Grant submission day, so Thursday was a day to chill a bit and we had a great excuse; we had promised Elisha a birthday “fun day” and so he came for a sleepover Wednesday night, the breakfast of his choice on Thursday AM, a couple of hours at a local playground and then, the piece de resistance, a visit to Cactus Ranch, a stable of horses to take city slickers like us for a ride  (if that what they call a “gringo” in Spanish?).

Of course, neither Barbara or Bruce are experienced riders (actually, I am a complete novice except for maybe the horsey ride at Steinberg’s when I was 3). The ride was super fun, through a very picturesque area near the Mediterranean and along the beach! The guide was super patient, and Elisha’s horse kept sprinting whenever it thought it needed to catch up, which was really fun for him! I was not sure who was in charge, my horse Johnny or me; I think he just was following my guide’s horse and humoring me by pretending to respond when I pulled the reins. Anyway, it was a very fun time, and it sets the standard for birthday fun!

It’s really been an eye opener to be here, in Israel during the current war with Hamas,while watching the events unfolding at home.  To watch the protest, counter protest, barricades of buildings like AISH in Thornhill, the Montreal Federation Campus, Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, and the BAYIT in Toronto is not just alarming, but the rhetoric spewing at the Jewish population of Canada (and elsewhere of course) is chilling. I hate to say that it’s a reminder of what we as a people have gone through for centuries. I guess the kind of clash between the populations is not surprising here in Israel, where there are obvious tensions. What we have seen as a spillover of other conflicts in Europe, we are now seeing in full force in North America, with very disappointing reactions from our politicians and police. We are really praying on both sides of the Atlantic that things don’t spin further out of control.  

We are spending Shabbat in Jerusalem and then Monday taking off for a few days of holiday in Athens. That will be a fun topic for the next installment so stay tuned!

Wishing everyone a peaceful and safe Shabbat Shalom!

Barbara and Bruce

We wish a major Mazel tov to cousins Daniel and Brandon, on the birth of twin boys last Shabbat!

Mazel tov to proud first-time grandparents Roanne and David, and aunts Jenna and Aviva!

We wish condolences to Estie and Stenve Fiter on the passing of their aunt Tema Lewin, a Holocaust survivor and centegenerian. May her memory always be a blessing for your family. 

Happy birthday to cousin Linda!

Refuah Shlema to Shmuel Zev ben Rachel Ita

Refuah Shelma to Chaim Tzvi ben Shaindel

Shabbat March 1-2 , 2024

The weeks are flying by! It’s hard to believe that we have been away for two months. Although, considering the things we have done, I guess we have had sufficient activity to easily fill two months, if not more! Here then is a synopsis of the family, the country and all the news that’s fit to post….

Theme 1: Family Birthdays: Last shabbat we were in Petach Tikvah. Elisha celebrated his 10th birthday last Sunday and Gila (his mom so I won’t’ say how old) celebrated her birthday Monday. We were in charge of the birthday cake for Shabbat dinner (if you are a kid, you certainly don’t mind a 4-5 day birthday extravaganza) so we picked up a really cool fancy cake at a bakery in Efrat. Shabbat was great, and Ariel and Elisha planned the menu full of Elisha’s favorite foods, which turned out absolutely awesome! The cake just topped things off well. Elisha’s present was the game Catan, which is a game developed in Germany about building up an uninhabited countryside. It takes skill and strategy, and is quite complex for beginners. Unfortunately, everyone was a beginner, so the game was a combo of playing and  deciphering instructions. We needed to import an expert like Shoshana or Shlomo (or maybe Nomi!) but I am sure that Elisha will master it!

After Shabbat, we met Lori and Alvan Small in Ir Yamim (South Netanya) at MoJo San which looks like it’s becoming a go to place for Japanese style cuisine. In the Piano Mall; check it out!

Tuesday evening, we went back to Petach Tikvah for a Burger Birthday dinner. It was supposed to be a restaurant meal, but Tuesday was also election day (more later) which meant a lot of people were off work and the restaurants were pretty packed! So, we did take out, and a very good time was had by all. 

The birthday carousel continues with Nadav’s birthday coming up this coming Thursday. That was a pretty intense 10 days in 2014 when both Nadav and Elisah were born in two different countries (and we were able to attend the Brit Milah (Ritual Circumcision) for both!

Theme 2: What’s happening in Municipal Elections? We started last week with municipal election discussions about Netanya and Efrat. In Israel the mayoral candidates and the parties that make up council are separate ballots. You can easily have a mayor who has a minority of councilors from their party on the council. Also, the mayor needs at least a plurality of 40% to be elected on first ballot, even if they are in the lead among all the candidates. So, first take home message. Asking people to vote during a war is probably not the best idea. Israelis are usually political animals, but the turnout was under 50%, much lower than usual. This may have led to some surprises. In Jerusalem, the incumbent got 82% of the vote. Who does that other than Putin and the president of Iran? In Netanya, our incumbent mayor Miriam Feirberg squeaked through 43-40% for the leading challenger, and there will be no runoff election. Not so in Efrat, where there were a whole bunch of candidates; the incumbent will take on the leading challenger. In Tel Aviv, they elected the same mayor who has been there for over 30 years. I guess people like him!

Theme 3: The hostages: We are all praying and hoping that the hostages in Gaza are released and that there can be some resolution to this conflict. However, it’s probably not helpful for the President of the most powerful nation in the world to telegraph messages while eating ice cream and telling Hamas that they need to dig their heels in more…just saying that it’s not a strong negotiating position….

Theme 4: More fun stuff with grandchildren: This morning we were back across the country to Efrat as 4th grader and soon to be birthday boy Nadav and the rest of the 4th grades celebrated completing their first round of study of the Chumash, the 5 books of Moses. The children showed off things they had learned, did class recitations of passages and made their parents and grandparents very proud. It was definitely worth the 1:20 minute drive! Plus a bonus, we will be spending Shabbat here with Elan and Nomi and the kids. 

We wish Daniella, Monty, Tali and Ezra a wonderful first shabbat in their new house in Beechwood! May they have many years of enjoyment and good fortune and may their neighbors always be a welcoming as they have been this week!

Note as we go to Press: As we write this, the population of Iran are supposedly going to vote for their Supreme Leader’s Advisory Council and a new President. A turnout of as low as 18% and as high as 30% is expected. The Reform party was not allowed to field a slate of candidates. And so it goes….

We wish everyone a wonderful Shabbat Shalom!

Barbara and Bruce

Happy Birthday Alex!

Happy Birthday Isabelle!

Happy Birthday to Nadav!

Mazel tov to Orly and El on the birth of a baby boy! Mazel tov Haim and Rhona, Bilha and Hai and Yacov and Ryla and their families on the new arrival. Also, Mazel tov Rhona on the birth of a grandson in South Africa!

Refuah Shlema to Shmuel Zev ben Rachel Ita

Refuah Shelma to Chaim Tzvi ben Shaindel