Welcome to the new arrival: Shabbat Parashat Lech Lecha October 27-28 2017

A new baby! A New Baby! Now that I have your attention, let’s set the stage properly. This week we have been blessed with the birth of a son to Nomi and Elan, new brother to Shoshana, Shlomo and Nadav. This took place this past Tuesday October 24 very early in the morning. This has culminated an extremely busy and eventful spring and summer for all the Mazer clan. To start, Elan and Nomi left Toronto, where they had lived for the past 4 years, to return to Israel. They moved to the community of Neve Daniel, which is next to Efrat and just outside of Jerusalem. The kids have started in new schools and preschools and have integrated really well into the community. It helps that the neighborhood they moved into has several friends and acquaintances from the past, including Ariel’s in laws the Twersky’s, as well as their close friends Rabbi Jesse and Tara Horn and family and a Montreal family, Dr CD and Lisa Zlotnick. Plus the area is beautiful and breathtakingly picturesque, which makes adapting pretty easy.

Nomi and Elan are not the only ones who moved. Monty was accepted to Washington University in St Louis to train in their Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Fellowship Program. So, late June, Daniella, Monty, Tali and Ezra left their home of 4 years, Buffalo NY, to move to a larger, Midwestern city with a much larger and better equipped Jewish community. We have been out to St Louis twice initially to help them settle in their new place and then to celebrate Rosh Hashana with them. We had the pleasure of hearing Monty lead the Musaf Rosh Hashana service at the Young Israel of St Louis and meeting members fo the community. Monty of course is working the crazy hours of an ICU physician trainee, with lots of nights, weekends and extended time in the hospital. However, they were able to take a week off in October and visit between Yom Kippur and Sukkot, before spending time in Toronto for Sukkot. Tali is in a great new school and she is enjoying it. She spent our time in St Louis during the New Year Holidays keeping everyone on their toes, especially Grandma. Ezra is 18 months and is everywhere at once; full of energy and a bit of mischief!

Gila and Ariel did not move, but as you may remember, we welcomed Ora to the family in April. And so life took on a new dimension, with the long nights and exponential increase in work with two kids! Elisha is a great big brother and we will be seeing them this weekend as we celebrate the new baby in Neve Daniel

Now, more about the new arrival. Let’s start with Barbara/Savti’s arrival last week. Elan’s job in Toronto followed him to Israel and he is commuting to Toronto once a month to run programs for Mizrachi Canada. In his absence, Barbara went to Israel to give Nomi a hand with the kids. Her timing was impeccable; she learned the kids’ school routine and lunch favorites, and helped with homework for a few days. Then, Monday night, Nomi and Elan went to an event in Jerusalem and this led to them staying in Jerusalem and going to the hospital (well, I am not really sure about the cause and effect). By 5:30 AM, the What’sApp lines were blazing with the announcement of the birth of a  boy, 3.7 kg, pictures and a flurry of “Mazel tovs” from all over the globe. After two days in the hospital, the baby and Nomi came home. Barbara and Elan prepared for Shabbat and the special Shalom Zachar (Peace be to the boy) that we celebrate on the Shabbat before the Brit Mila/circumcision.

And Bruce? Well, I am actually writing this on a plane, arriving in Israel about 4 hours before Shabbat (with likely not much time to write after landing), so most of the events of this week have been written from a distant observer’s viewpoint. I can’t wait to actually be on the ground and enjoy the moment with everyone in person. Gila, Ariel, Elisha and Ora are joining for Shabbat as well, so it will be even more fun for all the cousins. (I offered to bring Monty and Daniella and family, but they thought it was a bit much for a weekend trip). In all, this should be a very special Shabbat and celebration of a new member of the family.

BTW, the El Al Pilot was Adam Rubin, a good friend of Elan's and a member of the Stoffmaker legion of great hockey players!

Mazel Tov to Nomi and Elan, Shoshana, Shlomo and Nadav!

Refuah Shlema to Zysel Bat Bella

Our sincerest condolences to friends who lost loved ones this week; to Susan and Ronnie Shondorf on the passing to Zelda Fox, one of my mentors during my training who encouraged me to become an allergist; to Ruth and Phil Farkas on the passing of Ruth’s mother, a Holocaust survivor, and to the entire Grunstein family on the untimely passing of Harry. May they all be spared further sorrows.

I would also be amiss if I did not recognize that this is the 20^th Yahrtzeit (Anniversary of one’s passing) of Barbara’s brother Mark, Mordechai Aharon ben Michael. Mark’s brilliance and generous spirit lives in all who knew him, and he is very much missed. This week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha, begins with God telling Abram (soon to be named Abraham) that he should leave his parent’s home and move to the land of Canaan, where he and his descendants would create a great nation. In the opening verse, it states that Abraham should leave his land and his father’s home to go to the promised land. Why did he have to do that? Why could he not grow into a great nation where he was? Clearly he was a meritorious person. And why the double phrasing? If he left his land did that not also mean leaving his father’s house?  I think one of the lessons is that Abraham needed not only to leave a geographic area, but he needed to go to a whole new area to properly spread his influence. Sometimes being in a too familiar environment makes one complacent; whereas in a new environment, where one is not known, there are no preconceived notions and the ideas you bring carry great weight. Mark left for parts unknown early in his career, going first to Rochester and then to Oklahoma State University, where his work, ideas and legacy left an indelible mark on the world of high energy particle physics. Could he have achieved that without branching out? Perhaps, but clearly his sphere of influence reached tremendous heights in his adopted home. We can reflect on the same paradigm with our children, seeing the impact that Daniella and Monty had in Buffalo, that Elan and Nomi had in Toronto, and that Gila and Ariel bring to Givat Shmuel. While it would be wonderful to have everyone close by, it is amazing to see what they have accomplished in their adopted homes.

We all miss Mark and all he contributed to his family and friends. We can take heart that his legacy lives on in his children Ken and Tamara, and in all whom he touched. Tehe Zichro Baruch.

Happy Birthday to Daniella.

Happy Birthday to Jenna. 

We wish you a wonderful Shabbat Shalom!

Barbara and Bruce

Yahrtzeit of Michael Samuel 5777

This year on Tisha B’Av we mark the 16^th Yahrtzeit of Michael ben Mordechai, Michael Samuel, Papa to many of us. Tisha B’Av is the most solemn, mournful day in the Jewish Calendar. It commemorates multiple disasters that befell the Jewish people, most prominently, the destruction of both the First and Second Temples, as well as the sin of the Spies in the desert. This is a day of fasting and in great contrast to Yom Kippur, we actually go through rituals that are similar to those performed during shiva, the most intense period of mourning following the death of a parent, sibling or spouse. We sit on the floor, abstain from eating, drinking, bathing and carry on in a communal fashion that is much more solemn than Yom Kippur.

However, there is a twist to this intense mourning. We are taught that we do not say the daily Supplication or Tachanun prayer on the afternoon before Tisha B’av, a practice usually reserved for days of festivals. Why is this? What kind of festival can possibly include such mourning practices? Indeed, the explanation for skipping Tachanun is that Tisha B’Av is itself a moed, a festival. How do we learn that? In the book of Eicha read on Tisha B’av, the fifteenth verse of the first chapter includes the phrase: “Kara alay moed, lishbor bachurai”. This translates as “He has proclaimed a set time (Moed) against me to defeat my young men” which sounds anything but holiday like.

Indeed, the fact that this is the day to commemorate our physical exile from Israel and spiritual exile via the destruction of the Temple is enough to create a long-lasting spirit of defeat, of doom and of tremendous loss. In the history of the world, almost no nation has survived such a tremendous uprooting of its population and dispersal around the world. The destruction was insurmountable, and survival almost thoroughly unimaginable.

Yet, we have a slight hint of optimism derived from this very gloomy phrase. And as Tisha B’Av unfolds, we continually see the hints of light beneath the darkness of destruction. The mourning rituals are not all kept for the 25 hour fast, rather, several are lifted at mid-day. The Shabbat that follows Tisha B’av is called Shabbat Nachamu, the Sabbath of Consolation and the 9^th of Av is rapidly followed by the 15^th of Av, which is the Jewish Valentine’s day. It is taught that Tisha B’av is the day that the important messianic events will take place. Moreover, every year we pray that in the Messianic world, when the world order will be restored to peace and harmony among all, Tisha B’av will revert from a day of mourning to a day of tremendous feasting.

Even more important, nearly two thousand years after the destruction of the Temple, a nation, en masse, the Jewish Nation, still sits on the floor, rends its garments and prays for an edifice and for a state of being that, despite the passage of time, is still very much alive for us only through the pages of our holy books. Perhaps that is not what the prophet Jeremiah meant when he described the day as a moed, but the experience of mourning for Yerushalayim, truly highlights the best of our national spirit and in and of itself can be truly uplifting and redemptive.

It is this type of spirit that characterized Papa and his family, whether it was the loss of his beloved mother in childhood, to working to fend for his family, to taking care of a family of 6 as the oldest male sibling, there was a sense that in spite of all odds, all would work out, as long as one would persevere. Through loss, instability, no mater what, the Samuel family collective spirit allowed the family to not only survive, but grow and prosper. Papa would never be too discouraged to forge forward, despite hardship or illness. It is no wonder he was also a passionate boater, since he clearly understood how to chart a course and navigate through both the calm serene lakes and the rapids that would appear unexpectedly.

We all saw and admired this example. However, it’s a lesson that emanates from our national history. The lessons of Tisha B’Av and the survival of our people are integrated in our DNA. We should always remember these lessons, especially as we remember the life and legacy of Mike Samuel as a tremendous example of how we should conduct ourselves as we navigate the not always smooth waters of life.   

Th-he Nishmato Tzrurah B’ Tzror Ha-Chayim; May his memory always be a blessing

Parts of this D’var Torah were inspired by a superb shiur on Tisha B’av by Rabbi Josh Blass of Yeshiva University.

Yom Yerushalayim

How do you know you are in Jerusalem? When you see a Greek Monk order Turkish Coffee from a Muslim Shopkeeper in the Jewish Quarter.

OK, I stole that joke from a comedian who performed at the World Mizrachi Celebration of the 50^th Anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. However, it is a great representation of the ebb and flow of Jerusalem and of all of Israel today. We are in a multi-talented, multi-cultural, high- performing and highly respectful society. As you will see from the fascinating week I had here, all of these adjectives are highly evident.

This trip, for all intents and purposes, feels like a continuation of our Passover trip. Maybe it feels like that since Barbara was in Israel with baby Ora and her family until May 15^th. She arrived home on Monday, and I left on Thursday May 18^t;, first stop, Denver, Colorado. I was invited to the Scientific Day in honor of Erwin Gelfand, the Chairman of Pediatrics at National Jewish Health, and my mentor when we lived in Denver and I was training in Allergy and Immunology. We had a celebratory dinner on Thursday and a Scientific Program on Friday morning.  I spoke, as did another of the lab crew from the late 80’s, Harald Renz. We were among the 4 formal presentations. It was a great tribute to a terrific physician and leader in the scientific community. It was also fun to spend time at the hospital where I trained and see some old friends who had come to celebrate with Erwin. I spent Shabbat at our great friends Michelle and Isaac Teitelbaum, and was happy to see people in our old Shul (East Denver Orthodox Synagogue aka EDOS) and spent time at lunch with the Rubinovitch and Calm families.

Sunday early morning I left Denver for Toronto, en route to Israel. Nomi, Shoshana, Shlomo and Nadav were there, having just dropped off Elan who was taking a group from Toronto to Israel in celebration of Jerusalem’s 50^th anniversary of reunification. They flew EL Al, I flew Air Canada. We all arrived safe and sound. My purpose was to join the Premier of Quebec Phillipe Couillard and over 100 representatives of Quebec in a Science and Technology Trade mission. More about that a bit later.

The Jerusalem 50 celebrations began with a concert at the Jerusalem Conference Center, organized by the organization Elan works for, World Mizrachi (The World Religious Zionist Organization). This was actually much more than a concert; it was a major tribute to Jerusalem and to what it stands for, not just as the center of Judaism but truly the heart of our country and people. The speaker’s list was full of all-stars: The Israeli Minister of Education Naphtali Bennet; former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain Rabbi Jonathan Sacks;  Gov. Mike Huckabee, of Fox News Fame; Racheli Frankel, who lost her son 3 years ago following his abduction along with two other friends by terrorists; and the deputy mayor of Jerusalem. All spoke very passionately about Israel and Jerusalem, but the most poignant line of the night came from Gov. Huckabee. He recounted that on his trip this time (he comes to Israel frequently) he went to Nablus (in the Palestinian Territory) to see Joseph’s tomb. He needed to be escorted there by an armed squadron in the dark of night. He stated that it was a tragedy that a Jew or Christian cannot go freely to holy sites; and in fact, prior to 1967, the Western Wall and the rest of the Jewish Quarter as well as Christian holy sites were off limits and often desecrated. He said this was clear justification for a unified Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, where all religions are treated with respect and allowed full access to religious places.

In addition, there were two choirs, the chief Cantor of the IDF, a moving tribute to the recapture of Jerusalem during the 6 Day War in 1967, a tribute to the three paratroopers who were photographed with tears in their eyes at the Western Wall in 1967, with pictures of them today (as well as them being at the concert in person).  It was all extremely moving and very powerful. But, the piece de résistance was a concert by Yaakov Shwecky which had everyone dancing in the aisles. It was a fitting start to a week of parades and celebration in and around Jerusalem! Happy 50^th Anniversary!

 

The Quebec mission was a very special experience. There were 4 groups, a general political/economic group, and three science focused groups: Universities, Life Sciences, and Aerospace and Technology. I was in the life sciences group. We toured places like Hebrew University and Hadassah Hospital,  Weitzman Institute, Sheba Hospital at Tel Hashomer, and attended a large Biotech Conference. The Israeli institutions showed us how to be more cutting edge, efficient, and utilize technology to our advantage. The visit to Tel Hashomer inspired everyone; they are using new monitoring systems to predict patient deterioration on the wards, they are using large dataset driven tools to predict side effects and responses to medications, and are even collaborating with people at our MUHC research institute on a Data Warehouse project. Overall, there were lots of similarities, but lots of interesting angles for joint technology development and investment.

What was more interesting was the response of the delegation to Israel itself. While I was in Denver, they started off with a Shabbat Dinner at the King David. Rabbi Poupko gave them an explanation of Shabbat and entertained them and educated the group very eloquently. All the scientists I toured with were really impressed. I had many long talks with members to do some explaining of Judaism, Israeli Culture and even gave a few Hebrew lessons! Moreover, Premier Couillard, in his final address at a cocktail party at the Ambassador’s Residence in Tel Aviv, spoke about things that show the face of modern Israel today. He mentioned the Hand-in-Hand Schools that Rabbi Perton is involved in, and a hockey league with Jews, Christians, Druze and Moslems playing together. I think they were all impressed with the safety, the pace and excitement of Tel Aviv, the spirituality and history of Jerusalem and the diversity of the country. The whole concept of Start Up Nation, the high tolerance to risk and the ability to say that failure is a positive learning experience rather than a reason to give up was a recurrent theme in the Premiers’ discussions with us. This was a major Kiddush Hashem- how Israel really acts as a Light to the Nations. As the mission finished I have to say I was very proud to be a Jew and Quebecer all at the same time.

 

Last evening I went to Givat Shmuel and picked up Gila, Elisha and Ora to come to Netanya for Shabbat. Ariel had to really work late (till almost midnight) but was able to take a taxi here. This morning I took Elisha to the beach (forgot my phone so sorry, no pictures) but make no mistake, there is nothing quite like sand and water for a three-year-old! Shabbat will begin soon and we will have fun together in all too short a time as I return home on Sunday to prepare for Shavuot.

We wish you an amazing and inspiring Shabbat!

Barbara and Bruce