Everything Old is New Again

"Remember when I was a capable housewife, mother and working physiotherapist. I managed carpool, extracurriculars, grocery shopping, outfitting everyone etc, cleaning house , laundry and I most usually had real meals on the table not only on shabbat, I even managed to volunteer here and there at the schools." That is my new refrain, I say it often and remind myself that once I was a very capable person!
Now, as the song goes, everything old is new again. Slowly but surely I am relearning old skills but each with a new twist. Each time I do something the first time it is guaranteed to not go so smoothly but then the next time it will be a little easier. And so goes the process of relearning old skills. As we prepared for our aliyah I felt like a kallah, buying new sheets, dishes etc. to take with, it was like a new start similar to that of someone getting married. Well I remember when I first got married learning to make a proper shabbos and learning to bake and expanding my repetoire of recipes etc. I am sure there was a learning curve re. laundry and real housekeeping. Well here I am again, except this time there are four other people with us.

"Ema, remember when you use to bake for us" I always loved baking, a characteristic my children and yes my husband liked in me. A few weeks ago I ventured to make their favourite chocolate cake! First, it took a good month to gear up for this and more than a few trips to the super to get all ingredients. Did you all know that cocoa powder in Israel is on the shelf in the coffee section and not the baking section...who knew? not me! I made the cake, it looked fine, I was so happy, this is going to work...I put it in the oven and YES it began to rise, looks good ,looks good...guys come quick, we all gathered around the oven.....look in I tell them , Ema has made you a chocolate cake! Everyone is so excited because although Shiffon (our bakery) is great, they love homemade! YES, Ema is back! I take it out of the oven , okay, let it cool, hasn't flopped yet, I even turned it over on the cake plate in one whole piece...I am great! Then, I cut a piece and give it to one of the kids, he/she who shall remain nameless, they bite it, chew........uh, uh it's..it's....uh....different! What do you mean? I scream. I quickly cut myself a piece and bite in....yes, it is different but WHY?! Why, why, why? One of my children, who always knows the right thing to say when I so need it , told me he thought it was delicious and he would be happy to eat the whole thing for everyone else and that I was still the best chocolate cake maker ever! He is going to be an amazing husband, gd. willing, one day!....LIAR...maybe I was back a great chocolate cake maker in the old country but here I needed some work.

A couple of weeks ago Yonatan came to me...Ema my shoelace broke and I need a new one. WHAT? You need a new shoelace?!!!!.....My heart began to beat rapidly and I broke out in a sweat. I smiled at him and said in a calm voice...no problem I'll get you new shoelaces!! I turned around and went upstairs , behind closed doors I was in a panick. In Toronto, I would have run to the dollar store or run into payless shoes and picked up shoelaces....what was I going to do here? I asked Darrell where did he think I should buy shoelaces....anywhere he answered, this from the man who shops for nothing...big help! Where is the shoelace store And when I get to the shoelace store Where am I going to park? Will there be someone behind me in a car two inches from my bumper...will they be honking like maniacs when I try to parallel park? No, no I am not going to fight with drivers for a spot to buy shoelaces... I will go to the mall and park like a mensch and pick up shoelaces in one of the shoestores!! I am so proud of myself! I happen to have to go for something with Avital. Hang on sweetie I just want to hop in to that shoe store there and buy shoelaces for Yonatan. HOW DO YOU SAY SHOELACES IN HEBREW????? I figure I will just point to mine and they will know. Shalom, yesh lachem ha dvarim she um, um ...et eilu I point to my shoelaces, man I am wearing slipons, I point to her shoelaces. Lo,( actually she just tisks with her mouth and nods her head from side to side a somewhat "rude" in north american eyes signal for "no") and continues on blah blahablahblah blah...basically she has given me directions to the shoemaker down the hall at the end around the corner blah blah blah blah. We go off in search of said shoemaker and needless to say we don't find him. I finish up with Avital's shopping and try one more shoestore I am utterly exhausted, forget it I mutter let's just go home I need some tylenol. Of course, when we walk in my son Yonatan, who is a persistant little guy, asks immediately, so did you get me shoelaces? Well, no, I tried , couldn't find them, no one had them.....blahblah blah blah. Ema..it's shoelaces, regular old shoelaces. Darrell who happened to be right there perks up and says...did you go to the makolet, I think I saw shoelaces at the makolet!!! Why didn't you tell me that when I asked you before....you asked me before? sorry! I bought shoelaces at the makolet, just up the hill from my house and this week when I was in town near machaneh yehudah, I must have passed by 3 or 4 holes in the wall with shoelaces...lots and lots of shoelaces hanging in their door. Look, I cry ...shoelaces, lots and lots of beautiful shoelaces...short , long, white, black, dressy, plain, wow amazing....the shoemaker was looking at me in a very weird way!!

I use to drop my kids off to extra curriculars or chugim, sometimes I waited outside read a book, or did my needlepoint you know had a few minutes to myself. Here I not only take my kids to chugim I go to them myself. Last week I sat on a fludder board at the side of the pool and translated instructions on fludder kick for Sara. We came home and soon I set off with Yonatan for OUR drum lesson...for one hour I sat in the room with Yoni and his Russian/israeli teacher who speaks no english and you guessed it translated...Do any of you know how to say Rhythms, or beats in hebrew? Avital is okay on her own and can manage in hebrew , her piano teacher is South African but her math tutor is hebrew only..he told me he is learning math terms in english from her and was excited to know what a reciprocal was...woohoo! Sara had a little hebrew speaking friend over, we coloured played dolls (bubot) and house (bayit), they let me be the Ema (ema), imagine that. We had a good time and when she left I fell on the couch exhausted. Remember when Sara would have friends over and it was a break for me? That night, Darrell came home and asked what was for supper...SUPPER, SUPPER!!!....I have been very busy playing bayt and bubot, learning to swim, learning to play drums and translating it all and you think I even attempted to make any supper ...yesh, pita, yesh cottage...betayavon!!

And so it continues on. I am still looking for wheat germ..I think the health food store in Efrat will have it but I don't seem to get there at the right time...you know when they are OPEN! The boys now need running shoes, that should be a fun if not expensive venture. Stella Frankl finally figured out what sour cream is called here and what the package looks like..hooray! We new olim share all our great discoveries!! Darrell asked some lady in the grocery store which cheese to use in lasagna in place of dry cottage or ricotta cheese..she gave him two cheeses to mix together told him how and it turned out pretty good, the kids even liked it. Yeah, now I can make lasagna again...I am great much greater than I was when I made chocolate cake ( by the way I since learned that there is a special setting for baking on my over, I will try again this week and let you all know the result!) I am finally getting Talpiyot down , with Stella's help, and know which crowded busy street to turn down and I even get through the absolutely crazy traffic circles, but not without a few good honkings behind me..I have developed the ability to not hear said honkings, I now smile and wave when the angry driver, squeezes up beside me and I see his lips moving rapidly and his hands flailing every which way...Shalom, shalom I wave and smile, great to see you too....!!! They usually stop for one second, in shock, why is this crazy lady smiling and waving at me, I gave her my best honks ever!!? and they begin again and drive off, shalom l'hitraot nice seeing you, my fellow jew! So "leat, leat" (slowly, slowly) as they say here I am relearning the simplest of tasks, I have now got my grocery shop down to one hour and a bit from door to door (although I still go too frequently in a week)....I think that may be a world record or atleast an Israeli record. But next time my kids need a shoelace I know where to go and each task second time around gets easier, thank gd! By the time you all come Y"H, I will be able to guide you all in the tasks you once thought were simple and mindless!!! It will be my pleasure! And I promise B"N that when you ask me these questions I will not begin my answer with "Oh easy, you JUST have to do blah, blah, blah or JUST CALL yada yada and ask! No siree, not me I know that the words JUST or CALL AND FIND OUT do not exist in the language of the new oleh! There is no more JUST or ITS EASY.....not in the beginning anyways!

Our Narrow little Country

Last week I took Sara to gan. It was an absolutely beautiful day out, sort of like a warm Toronto fall day in September. I dropped her off at gan which is at the top of the yishuv. I had to drop by the Frankls so I headed over the hill (on foot of course). When I came to the western edge of the top of the yishuv I looked out as I always do because no matter what there is always a beautiful view to see! My mouth dropped open, I was looking at the mediterranean sea. I looked a little north and there clear as a button I could see Tel Aviv, then Ashdod, then Ashkelon and even further south I could see Gaza city in the distance. Wow, I looked up and down the coast, it felt like I was looking at a map. This is it, this is what they all talk about "on a clear day you can see the sea" , well I could and it was unbelievable! I went to the Frankls and we looked out together.



I rushed home to see what was visible on the other side of the yishuv, looking towards the dead sea and Jordan. I came over the top and I was looking at the absolutely spectacular mountain ranges of Moav or present day Jordan. I could see everything so clearly. I could see where the elevation dipped down to the dead sea and I am sure that if I was up by the shul I would be able to see the dead sea. wow, wow , wow ! Darrell was in Tel Aviv and I wished he could see this.


You know when you are on a tiyul in israel and you are out in the middle of nowhere and it feels like space goes on forever and is so vast! Well, I think that is one of the many miracles of this place....that a space so small at times can feel so big. I stood in my yishuv and felt that if I closed my eyes and stretched my arms out on each side I could reach the med and Jordan simultaneously! I could see all the way to Gaza! Jews used to live there! How small can you cut up a pie and still have a pie?

p.s. I have put in pictures, but you should know that they don't do justice to the actual view....you will all just have to come and see yourselves. Try clicking on each picture to get a better view. In the first picture you can see houses being built, the first building left side is Shauna and Jerry Tepperman's house and the second building left side is our new home in the making! In that picture you are looking at Tel Aviv and in the second picture you are looking just a little more south at Ashdod/Ashkelon. The third picture is of the view to Jordan and you really cannot appreciate the actual view in this one but try anyways.

V'Shavu Banim Li'Gvulam (and your children will return to their own border)

Today the 11th of Cheshvan is the Yahrzeit of our mother, Rachel. So I decided to visit there with thousands of other Jews. I hadn't visited there since we were in Israel on a family vacation in 2003.

The burial place of Rachel, one of the matriarchs of the Jewish people, is a lively place. Located at the entrance to Bethlehem, a short ten-minute drive from the center of Jerusalem, Rachel’s Tomb (Kever Rachel) has become a magnet for Jews connecting to their heritage in varied ways. Whether for religious, mystical, historic or political reasons, 21st century Jews are finding meaning in their connection to the resting place of Rachel.

During 1994 the government was drawing the map of areas which would be given to the Palestinian Authority. Apparently the drafters did not understand the spiritual importance of this place and did not include it in Area C which is the area of full Israeli control, despite the fact that it is only 500 meters from the muncipal boundary of Jerusalem. This decision would have meant it would have been impossible for Jews to continue visiting Mame Rochel. Member of Knesset decided to visit Rabin to try and convince him to change the map. On his way in to see Rabin, Porat saw MK Menachem Porush, who is a great lover of the holy places in Israel. The two MKs went in and described to Rabin the importance of Kever Rachel. Rabin was silent and did not seem to be ready to change the map. At this point, Porush began to cry and he took hold of Rabin's hands and said through his tears, "we can't leave our Mame Rochel." Rabin relented and agreed to include Kever Rachel in Area C.

Despite five years of a deadly war and the ravaging of several Jewish holy sites, the throngs returned to let mother Rachel know she is not forgotten.

Kever Rachel is not a place of military strategic importance. Its relevance is solely spiritual. Most Jews, regardless of their religious commitment, feel the depth of such a spiritual fountain; like the Western Wall in Jerusalem, it represents in a physical sense a basic tenet of Jewish faith. Rachel's Tomb has equal status with Machpelah (the Tombs of the Patriarchs) as the oldest place of prayer. Pilgrims stopped by her tomb on their way to and from Jerusalem on their way to Hebron and Egypt hundreds of years before King Solomon built the Temple. In fact, pilgrims came regularly from as far away as Damascus and the Euphrates valley to pour their hearts out to G-d at Rachel’s Tomb and the Machpelah.

In our day, the action of a few determined people ensured that Rachel’s Tomb would not be closed. Back in November 2000, after the few weeks of closure, a group of 30 women and their babies took things into their own hands and walked into Kever Rachel from the nearby Gilo Junction. Their intention was to stay until the yahrzeit to ensure that the site would remain open to all who wanted to mark the anniversary of Rachel’s death. They were forcibly evacuated that afternoon with the promise that bulletproof buses from the Junction would be allowed later that day.

To this day, those bulletproof buses are the only way Jews are allowed into Rachel's Tomb. Every morning, dozens of worshipers arrive by Egged bus at the site to spend a few moments with the spirit of one of the mothers of the Jewish people. Thanks to IDF protection, the strong stand of those women and the efforts of dedicated people like Evelyn Haies, the numbers of people visiting have risen dramatically and violence has eased lately.

On the occasion of the yahrzeit 2 years ago(November 2003), another example of Jewish action was consecrated at Kever Rachel. Mezzuzot were affixed to a property directly to the south of the Kever. The house was purchased and renovated, laying the groundwork for an eventual visitors’ center and Jewish neighborhood. The three-story building has been renovated and houses an army unit on one floor, and a self-contained apartment at the top. Bulletproof windows were installed and the house is physically linked to Kever Rachel by a cement block wall and roof.



Our guide for the day told us that due to all the activity at the site today, it would be unlikely that we would be able to visit this property even though it is owned by Jews. However as we approached the Kever, our guide noticed Member of Knesset Uri Ariel who was able to help us go to the front of the massive line of people waiting to get in to the Kever and also to go visit the property described above.


The contractor, a secular Sabra who worked on the renovation, tells the latest in a string of mystical stories about the site. He recounts how he opened the door for the first time from Rachel's Tomb into the area of the new property before he built the protective wall linking the two buildings. "I'll never forget the whoosh of the wind that blew into my face," he said. "I could feel the spirit of holiness blowing through..." It’s that spirit that apparently also appeals to adherents of Kabbalah. There is an ancient tradition -- a segulah (a charm) -- to tie a scarlet thread around one's wrist as a protection against all kinds of dangers, especially for pregnant women. Before the thread may be used, it is supposed to be wound around the Tomb of Rachel. This transforms the simple thread into a special segulah.

On the physical level, Kever Rachel has been a place of pilgrimage for Jews for more than 3,000 years. For women, the place holds obvious particular significance. According to Jewish tradition, Jacob chose to bury his wife where she died rather than in the family burial plot in the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. He foresaw that his descendants would pass her burial place on their way to Exile in Babylonia (423 CE) and that she would intercede with G-d on their behalf. The prophet Jeremiah portrays Rachel as a concerned mother weeping inconsolably until G-d assures her children’s well being:

"Rachel is weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted, because her children are not present. G-d says, don’t let your voice weep and your eyes fill with tears. For your work will be rewarded, G-d says, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope for the future, and your children will return to their own border.". (Jeremiah 31:14-17) This final pasuk had special meaning for us this year - When I received my first aliyah on Shabbat upon our arrival to Neve Daniel, the whole congregation sang these words as they do for each new arrival to the yishuv. In addition our group sang this song as we walked from our bus to the entrance of the Kever.

The site is first mentioned in Bereshit (35:19-20) where we learn that Rachel was buried "on the road to Efrat, which is Bet Lehem." The famed 12th century Jewish traveler, Benjamin of Metudela described Kever Rachel in 1170, and until the 19th century nothing changed. Then the tomb was given a domed roof, and renovated by Sir Moses Montefiore in 1841. The only period in history when the tomb was not under Jewish control was for just 19 years of its existence, when it fell into Jordanian hands from 1948 until the Six Day War in 1967.

Tomorrow our boys go to visit Kever Rachel on a school trip. Just a little different from the school trips they were used to in Toronto.

Another Hachnassat Sefer Torah

Last week we were once again priviledged to be a part of a beautiful hachnassat sefer torah. This time it was on our own yishuv. The Noibauer family (Miriam Bloch's sister's husbands family or Miriam's brother in laws family) dedicated a sefer torah in our beautiful new shul in memory of his mother. The ceremonies began in the Noibauer home around the corner from us. The torah was completed and out it came to be danced to its new home up the hill. There were children everywhere and as the sun set out came the torches, it was beautiful. It has begun to get cold here especially when the sun sets and it has even rained, that's what davening for rain on simchat torah will get you. It's interesting, today in ulpan we looked out the window and it was pouring, "look sara it is awful, rainy and wet" Sara looks outside...."Oh , baruch hashem, it is wonderful , smell the earth, just what we need!" It's all in the perspective!
Back to the sefer torah....we arrive closer to the shul and I notice that more people are joining in...all kinds...young, old,teenagers and people are really getting into it. The sefer torahs from the shul are brought out to great the new sefer torah and together we all head in to the shul. The dancing continues on and it was nice to watch. Around sukkot time a few of the newspapers put out these laminated inserts of pictures of gush katif and the synagogues to be hung up in your sukkah. There were pictures of the absolutely beautiful batei knesset some similar in design to ours. We have now been in this community for four months and have been lucky enough to have been a part of new beginnings and special celebrations. We are growing attached to our new community and its surroundings. Each new event that we are a part of connects us more to this place. I find myself looking around in admiration at the shuland at our new kehilla and my mind wandered to the poster. I am only here four months and I feel such strong feelings towards our new home. I cannot imagine what the residents of gush katif felt and feel now, especially those who had been there for years upon years and even those that were not there as long. How did they make that final turn from their shuls and walk away? We are also building our home here...we are making decisions about layout and finishes etc. It is a very exciting thing to build a home in Israel and put down roots in eretz hakodesh. Again, I cannot imagine turning and walking out...giving that mezzuza the final kiss and walking away. I look around and say a little prayer that hashem will bless this new sefer torah and keep it here in its new home with us! May the hachnassat sefer torah be a z'chut to the memory of Aharoni's mother, and may we merit to use it here on our yishuv for many , many days and years to come.

Simchat Torah and Beyond

Well here I am back at the writing board. I haven't blogged since before simchat torah and only because most of us have been under the weather and I haven't been up to it. "Blogging" is now a proper verb in our home and each time something happens that is "blog worthy" Darrell and I look at each other and begin to lay claims to our right to blog it..."I'm blogging this one " " No way it's mine!"

I left off before simchat torah, after a great chol hamoed , with apprehension for the chag which oddly enough caused me to be homesick for Thornhill and the BAYT. When I mentioned to former Thornhillians that I loved Simchat Torah at the BAYT and was really going to miss it they commented on my lack of judgement and misplaced admiration of Simchat T. in Thornhill..."Don't you remember the excessive amounts of food that happened there....drinking and eating?" Well no, I never did any of that, I went to the kiddish after laining but that was it. "don't you remember the absolute bedlam that happened, you could lose your kids for hours and of course the men were of no help to find them!" No that didn't seem to bother me much, I was happy to relinquish my kid responsibilities for the day and be a observer for once. Darrell knew he had to keep tabs on the kids.....or......else...it was the end of the chagim and I WAS OFF!!!! I spoke to friends in Thornhill and they asked me if I had gone crazy, that they had stood and sat in the womens section and bemoaned the lack of spirituality they felt on the chag. After experiencing the chag here, I came to the realization that the isssue was not about where the chag was better. It was about the end of the chagim and that although I had done so well being on our own without our loved ones up to now , I would miss being amongst those I knew and loved, those with a shared history... some short, some longer, seeing all the kids of my friends and even those of people I didn't know so well, it was missing the only thing that I really miss about Thornhill and Canada, our friends and family!! When it came to kol hanaarim my heart was heavy, I saw my kids and smiled and waved but then I had to wipe some tears because I missed all of you so deeply and wished you could be here with us. I looked around and was unable to find too many familiar faces, no one who was enjoying seeing my kids with me or pointing out theirs to me....... I just missed you all!!!!! A LOT!!!!!

There were nice things about the chag in Neve Daniel that struck me and left an impression. What I soon noticed early on in the evening hakafot, was that the ruach..the singing,dancing and carrying on was clearly being led by the youth, the teenagers of the yishuv. Not only was it being led by them, they were pulling in the younger kids who quickly got into it because of the older kids. The kids up on shoulders were on other kids shoulders only a few years older than them. The adults went along , they danced, joined in and clearly enjoyed themselves but centre of it all was the youth, the adults were actually physically on the outside of the circles. It is much easier for younger kids to get into it wnen the older kids are such great leaders.....it was cool to dance with the torah, have fun and let loose. BAYT was leibedik , but it was definately driven by the adults in the group, the teens were not in the thick of it and were certainly not the driving forces. The other difference was the womens section, one women's section remained opened for those wanting to watch their children, but one remained closed. There behind the curtain I watched as the teenage girls danced and sang up a storm. The energy was amazing and I was astounded by the ruach these girls had. I cannot say I ever witnessed or was part of anything quite so leibedik behind any curtain at the BAYT.

So while I missed everyone and everything familiar, I felt priviledged to witness such a spectacular scene and to think that my children have the opportunity to be a part of a society where the youth lead the elders in "simchat torah" and where they will be a part of this amazing energy that I believe comes from living in a holy land and living lives much more physically connected to hashem and to the land which he gave us. Now chag was over, here or there I was relieved and ready to get back to routine and happy to be out of the kitchen a little bit....atleast for two days, shabbat was soon. When yom tov was over and then isru chag, 24 hours had passed since chagim ended..... I realized that everyone in Toronto was still in the middle of second day yom tov across the ocean, maybe they were sitting down to yet another meal , the fourth in two days! After having been through our first set of one day yom tovs....I highly recommend aliyah to you all for this reason if not for the many many others!

Shomer Yisrael Part 2

Last night was my second installment of shmira. Instead of the "glory" of standing outside the shul and greeting everyone on their way into shul I received the glorious 2am to 4:30 shift.

Yarden (an oleh from the US who arrived the same day as us) picked me up in the security truck at 2am sharp and we began our explore. Yarden drove and I was riding shotgun - or I guess I was riding M16. This shift consists of driving around the yishuv looking for anyone out and about and looking for donut shops but they were all closed. Jordan and I are both the adventurous so we decided to go on some of the unpaved roads along the fence which surrounds the yishuv. It quickly became clear that most people don't do too much of this type of off-roading as I had to move small boulders out of our path so we wouldn't damage the truck. At one point we made a sharp left and starting driving up a very steep hill. After a bit the truck started going slower and slower until we came to a stop about halfway up the hill with no place to turn around. I thought we were going to have to back down the hill somehow but luckily Yarden realized the vehicle had a shifter to turn on the 4 wheel drive. Once we made the shift the truck made it up the rest of the hill without a problem.

Around 3:15 we stopped by the water tower and got out of the truck to enjoy the view. By this time I was driving the truck and I turned it off when we got off the vehicle. (Now don't go thinking I locked the keys in the truck - that would be dumb) After a few minutes we go back to the truck so I could drop off Yarden at 3:30 and pick up the next guy on duty. I put the key in the ignition and turn the key but the engine does not make any noise. Hey Chaim I bet this thing has an immobilizer. Sure enough I see the glowing key pad on the dashboard. Mild panic sets in as we don't know the code to push to unimmobilize the car. I ask Yarden to pass me the paperwork that gives all the rules and instructions for shmira thinking the code must be in there. Of course it is dark and everything is written in Hebrew and I'm worried that the other guy is going to wonder why we didn't pick him up yet. But I have Yarden to help me out, right? No I don't - He chooses this point in time to realize he doesn't know where his new hat is. So instead of helping me deal with this conundrum, he starts nattering about his lost hat and climbing all over the vehicle to look for the darn thing. Not panicing yet, but then , the car alarm starts blaring, but after a few seconds I push a button on the remote on the key chain and the alarm stops. Yarden finds his hat so I send him to walk the several hundred meters to get the reliever to come and help us. I have visions of the whole yishuv finding out that we had to leave the truck stranded by the water tower and my brave career ending in ignominy. But then a brainstorm hits- I look on the visor to see if the code is written there- sure enough I see some numbers typed there but it only says Visor #7584. Then another brainstorm- I check the key ring and sure enough it has a little piece of plastic with a paper insert with the code printed on it. I punch in the code as the clock ticks down to zero hour and the truck starts. I drop off Yarden and his hat and make my way over to pick up the next partner, Hillel.

Among other jobs, Hillel is our postmaster. He takes all the incoming mail and sorts it and puts it into the individual mailboxes, etc. Hillel made aliyah from Russia 17 years ago and has lived in Neve Daniel with his wife and 6 children for the last 14 years. We spend the hour talking in Hebrew and at 4:30 am he drops me off for a couple of hours of sleep before the next day begins. Thank God we all survived.