Shayna and Lazer Visit Neve Daniel

Well once everyone left in December we began getting back into routines...........routines are good especially after a couple of weeks without them. Our next countdown was to Shayna and Lazer's visit. I thought it was just Darrell and I who were so excited but one day Yonatan woke up and commented on how many days left until the Friedmans arrive, it was very cute he said something like" man I wish I could just close my eyes and wake up the day they are coming"!

Although they arrived in Israel on a Sunday for their hockey tournament in Metulla we didn't get to see them until Friday when they made their way to our house. Darrell did get to see them with young lad Ari in the streets of Tel Aviv but unfortunately the rest of us missed Ari! Next time Ari, you won't get off so easy.
Friday afternoon Darrell picked them up in Jerusalem, he took them straight to our new house to show them around before shabbat and then they were at our driveway. We ran out to greet them, it was sooooooooooo great! The kids were cute, so excited and not sure what to do.........in the end there were hugs and smiles and we were all so happy to have them. We settled them in and lit shabbat candles............i had thought many times about having them here and now they were here. They were also our first shabbat guests since we had really settled in.......officially Roberta and kids were the first but we all spend shabbat with boxes all around. This was real, we were unpacked and unlike in August we were now really a part of this new community that we wanted to show and share to the Friedmans.

Now I have never really had a chance to describe Shabbat on our yishuv..........suffice it to say it is very special and we all REALLY look forward to it. It is hard to put my finger on exactly what it is but even Sara counts down to shabbat. On Thursday when she asks yet again how long until shabbat and I say its tomorrow, she jumps up and down and tells me how she loves shabbat and is so happy! One of my personal favourite parts of shabbat and my week for that matter is Kabbalat Shabbat. In Toronto, after I lit candles I would plunk down on the couch, read with Sara or most often doze off until everyone came home. Here I set out with the whole gang down the street to a little shul in someone's basement. And there I experience bringing in Shabbat in a way I never had experienced. It is a small little place packed with men and women and the singing is extraordinarily beautiful!! I don't think there has been a week where at one point in the davening I feel tears brimming in my eyes. THe tunes are spectacular, but what is more amazing to me is hearing everyone's voices together, and in harmony. You hear in the tones and depth of emotion of the singing that people here understand what they are saying and that makes it that much more beautiful.

So we lit candles , hugged and wished each other shabbat shalom and set off to shul. It is a short walk but there is a beautiful view overlooking the hills of Judea and Efrat, the air is crisp, everything is quiet except sometimes the prayers of our cousins over the hills can be heard. I take deep breaths and my shoulders drop and I always begin my shabbat with a little silent prayer to hashem , thanking him for bringing us to this day in this place. We arrived in shul and took our places and soon the singing began with yedid nefesh and went on and on. After Lecha Dodi, the men dance and sing on for a while, i hadn't dared to look at Shayna before this moment........so I leaned over and said.......isn't it an amazing davening......yup..........can you believe I get to do this every week......"I can't really talk too much right now, I don't think I can talk right now, I'm holding myself together but it may not last" was Shayna's reply and I knew exactly what she meant. We finished Davening and headed outside to make our way home, people came over to meet our guests and it was a nice feeling for our old friends to meet our new ones and to have some kind of connection between the two worlds. We had a lovely shabbat dinner, the kids enjoyed the attention and didn't want to leave. After they went to bed ,we stayed up to the wee hours of the morning schmoozing ....just the four of us. It was great to be with our dear old friends.........not that our friends are old just our friendship!

Next, morning we attended the Bet Knesset mercazi , the main shul. Shayna and I sat upstairs in the balcony...........just like we use to. The davening was nice, our rav spoke and Shayna was so pleased she understood most of it. Can you believe it ,I asked , in a little over a years time we will be celebrating Yonatan's barmtizvah here. During tefilla, someone in the mens section fainted, and there was a call out loud for a "rofeh", I realized right away what had happened. The man was fine and was taken care of quickly. As it turns out Lazer had a little fright , thinking that something was going on other than a sick congregant! Baruch hashem he was mistaken. After shul, we walked to a second shul on the other side of neve Daniel , our friends were throwing a kiddush in honour of their daughter's batmitzvah. We didn't make it for the kiddush but we got to see some of our friends and connect our two worlds again. I think it was also nice for Shayna and Lazer to get a sense of where we are now and that it is a good place.

We made our way home, and had a wonderful lunch with our friends the Ports..Jeffrey and Ariella and their five wonderful kids....three of whom are best buddies with Yonatan, Avital and David. It was fun and lively and I felt very content. The Frankles stopped by for dessert also...........so then it was REALLY lively!! Darrell and Lazer went to shiur together and Shayna and I schmoozed. MAariv on the street below us and shabbat was coming to an end. It had really been a very special shabbat.


After shabbat Darrell got ready and set off to the airport for his first trip to Chutz. He said it was the first time he did not feel so bad leaving because he was returning in just over a week. Then Shayna , Lazer and I ......a new threesome........set off to Alon Shvut to see the Simon and Garfunkel Tribute concert. It was amazing, it was a pretty anglo crowd from all over the Gush, and the music was fabulous. The emcee was Yonatan and David's principal...........the charity was jobkatif an organization which helps evacuees retrain and find employment. At one point I leaned over to Lazer and said ...."you see, even crazy,evil settlers like to kick back and enjoy the little things in life" .......we also realized that an event like this could never happen in Toronto. We saw the Seidenfelds and the Kleins there and Shayna and Lazer bumped into a few more people they knew to boot. We made our way out of Alon Shvut through the fog and came home exhausted and very happy. Shauna Tepperman showed up at our door and we stayed up late again talking and laughing.

The Friedmans spent the next couple of days in Jerusalem and then on the Tuesday morning I did my carpool to Bet Shemesh and drove into Jerusalem to pick up my buddies and we were off to the Dead Sea. We had two nights and almost three days of fun and hanging. I was worried about still going on the trip when Darrell had to back out to go to Chutz, but it was wonderful. There aren't too many friends that i could go away with , without my husband for over two days and feel comletely comfortable with. Poor Lazer, he was suddenly being told what to do by two women..........he was a great sport and whenever overwhelmed he turned up the volume on the Ipod and closed his eyes. Shayna and I indulged in a spa massage which was lots of fun. We hung, we walked, we swam and relaxed. We also bowled, i was sore for two days after. Oh, and did I mention the food which was out of this world! I think the three of us were the last in the dining room both nights.......yapping and yapping. I must admit that as comfortable as I felt I did miss Darrell.........We definately have to go back there, this time together.






drove back to jerusalem, to the Dan Pearl........no one talked about this being the end of a great trip and that a good bye had to be made once again. To make matters worse in the parking lot I banged into an out of sight ledge and yes I made the first dent in our new car.........I so wanted it to be Darrell!!! We said our sad goodbyes...........it was awful......i can't keep saying goodbye to you all ,over and over!!! Luckily, I called Dan Rand who had just arrived and he met us at the hotel and he came out with me to Neve Daniel to see the kids and our new home. Being male, he didn't seem to catch on to my deep sadness and talked away about this that and the other, it was just what I needed! So I deleted Shayna and Lazer's temporary Israeli cellphone number from my phone and added in Dan's number which I had to delete also 5 days later!!!! ADD-Delete, ADD-DELETE...........Thank G-d..........keep coming, we love to see you!