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Shabbat in Meron

May 17, 2009 by

First of all, I am not going to tell you about Meron. We had a relaxing. pleasant shabbat with a group of friends at the field school near the city of Meron. It looked like nothing so much as a summer camp in the US. It was lush with trees and beautiful wildflowers with paths to walk and beautiful vistas. Although it was in the area of Meron, we were nowhere near the city. Secondly, the pictures I am going to show you were not taken there. Instead, they are among the many pictures I have already taken of our very special Israeli scenery.

What I am going to talk about is that very hard to describe love of the land that Israelis have. It’s not just that this is our home. It’s not just that we have dreamed of it, worked for it, fought for it, and sadly, many have died for it. It is a deep love for the land itself. We love this piece of earth. We love the trees and the flowers and the birds and the animals who inhabit it. We walk its paths. Every weekend when it is not raining (most weekends in Israel) thousands of people go walking on the paths that are laid out in nature. Everyone- from babies on their parents’ back to people with walking sticks and canes- walks through the beauty that is our land. They wear hats and carry water and generously apply sunscreen and often picnic and sometimes swim and some (usually children) even skinny-dip in the streams and pools along the way. And this is what we see:

April in the Galilee

April in the Galilee

Israeli flowers in the Spring

Israeli flowers in the Spring

Flowers in the spring

Flowers in the spring

Flowers in Emek HaEla

Flowers in Emek HaEla

Is it any wonder that we love this land?

Filed Under: Israel, Ramblings Tagged With: , , , ,

Mazal tov, Matan!

May 12, 2009 by

It’s hard to believe, but we are in the full swing of Bar/Bat Mitzvah season… I expect it to last for many years even as wedding season will begin to overlap.

By now there are 3 Bat Mitzvah girls and 2 Bar Mitzvah boys and today, the third put on his tfillin for the first time. All of us went out to celebrate together. OK, not ALL of us, but all of my children and some of the grandchildren.

It says so much about the future- not just the future of our family, but the future of the Jewish people, as I see these young people take their place as contributing members of the community with dedication. Their bright beautiful faces give me hope.

Read what my daughter Rachel said about this special day in her son’s life. here

Filed Under: Family life, Israel, Parenting, Ramblings Tagged With: , , , , ,

Our taxi driver

May 6, 2009 by

Yesterday, my younger daughter and I went to Haifa. Since we wanted to be there by 10 a.m., we decided to go by train and avoid the rush hour traffic. Very shortly into the trip, we were reassured it had been a good choice as we looked out of the window at the parking lot that the Ayalon Expressway had become.

The train ride was pleasant and we finally arrived in Haifa, we found a taxi to take us to where we were going. We got into the taxi and started driving up the mountain. I can’t remember what we were talking about, but the taxi driver indicated that he understood our English and we continued the conversation with him. He asked if we had been in the country for a long time and we told him that we were soon coming up on 14 years. He said he had been here for 9 years and on the 23rd of May, he would be celebrating that anniversary. He asked where we were from and then we asked him where he was from. He said, “Lebanon.” We both stopped to think and after a second he told us, “I was a member of the Southern Lebanese Army (SLA).” Immediately, we began to think of those men who fought alongside the Israel Defense Forces. They and their families had been forced to flee their homeland when our forces withdrew from Lebanon. The only alternative for them was death for them and their families. These men were fighting for the freedom of their own country against terrorists who terrorized not just Israel, but their own people. When we pulled out of Lebanon rapidly, these people had to flee.

There are approximately 350 SLA families living in Israel since May 2000. These people have integrated into the country and are productive members of our society. But it hurts. Our taxi driver said, “I have no one here, only my wife and two children. Everyone else is there. It hurts me to see my house when I look at it from Israel. I haven’t been to the place from where I can see it for 6 years. It hurts too much.” I said to him, “Maybe when the extremists stop their nonsense…” and he responded, “Do you really think that will happen?” My daughter responded, “We are realists too, but we pray that things will change.” I asked him how his life is here in Israel. He said that his life is good. And then he said, “I isn’t easy to leave the place you lived for 32 years.”

Inside, I cried for him. When he dropped us off, I gave him some extra sheqels and said, with my whole heart, “Thank you.”

Filed Under: Israel, Ramblings Tagged With: ,

My father and my grandchildren

May 3, 2009 by

My father died too young.

He was a good man. He was kind and gentle and he loved his family. He loved nature and he loved beauty. He had a pleasant demeanor and everyone he met liked him. He had artistic gifts and was able to draw, paint, sculpt, build furniture, and take amazing photographs. Above all, he was my father.

He lived to see all 5 of his grandchildren. He got a tremendous amount of pleasure from spending time with them and learning of their achievements. I remember the day my oldest son went with him to a Radio Shack and he showed my father what he could make the TRS80 do. My father was completely stunned and amazed. Whenever we visited, he would tell me the same thing as I left: “Drive carefully; you have precious cargo.” He would tell me, “You are rich; you have 5 million dollars.”

As we all do, when happy times come, I think about my father and how I would have wanted him to be with us. Sometimes, though, I get a very clear picture of how it would be. For example, on Yom HaAtzmaut.

He would see and talk to each of my grandchildren. I can see his face beaming as one after the other was a delight for him to meet and get to know. I can see him laughing and joking with them. I can see him looking up in the trees at my little monkeys who have climbed them and shaking his finger and saying “Get down now, boys!” with a big smile on his face. I see him watching the little girls walking to and fro and enjoying the babies and then I see him talking to the children and telling them he wanted to take them up to Titora Hill to take some pictures of them, knowing all along that he would be pointing out the birds and the flowers along the way. I hear him calling them, “Come along, kinderlach!” and I see them happily skipping away after him.

Filed Under: Family life, Parenting, Ramblings Tagged With:

Yom HaAtzmaut

April 30, 2009 by

Yesterday was Yom HaAtzmaut, Independence Day, and although I have been living in Israel for almost 14 years, I still am completely amazed every Independence Day at the vitality, the excitement, and the strength of this country. No one who watched the opening festivities from Mount Herzl could fail to be moved.

Most Israelis make sure that on Yom HaAtzmaut they get enough meat “al haEsh” – on the grill- to up their hemoglobin for the year. People get together with family and friends to barbecue together. Now in Israel, barbecue has not quite gotten to the level of sophistication that it has in the US. Here the process is 1. Buy briquets. 2. Soak them in at least half a can of charcoal lighter fluid 3. Light 4. Fan (often with electric fans, but sometimes with large paddle-like devices) 5. Add more charcoal lighter 6. Repeat 4 and 5 many many times.

Our family got together yesterday morning for a champagne brunch in the nearby park. We had bagels and lox and cream cheese and cut up veggies and a number of different soft drinks and “milkies” for the children (chocolate pudding in a cup with a whipped topping), chocolate cake for the adults and, um, no champagne.

The children threw frisbees, juggled, climbed trees, and played twister. The little children were treated to rides in a cart attached to the back of a bicycle. My son-in-law enjoys taking his three young children for rides– one on the back of the bike and two in the cart behind it. My oldest granddaughter, Hadas, had lines of little children (most of her cousins under the age of 7 or so) waiting for her to take them on short rides in the park. After a while, her cousin Tzvi gave it a try too. It was an enjoyable day.

Ohad and the cutemobile

Ohad and the cutemobile

In the evening, my daughter Rachel invited us and others to her home for a traditional barbecue. Fortunately, she and her husband are acquainted with better fire starting methods.
She was, as always, gracious and the food was excellent!

I don’t know a way to describe the day to Americans. It’s the way the 4th of July was meant to be. If you saw the movie “Avalon,” you might remember the colored lights and fireworks on the 4th of July in that film. It feels like that– an indescribable feeling.

Happy Birthday Israel! Happy Birthday to the people of Israel, Jews around the world, and ALL who wish her well.

Filed Under: Family life, Israel Tagged With: , , ,

Yom HaZikaron

April 27, 2009 by

Just when I was beginning to feel a bit cynical about governments and politics and self-flagellation, along comes Yom HaZikaron- the day when Israel remembers those who died in her wars and those who were victims of terror. Children from nursery school on are taught the significance of the day. Yesterday, soldiers swept the country and placed flowers on every military grave from all the way in the north to Eilat in the south. To a large extent, the country is united. Shops and places of entertainment are closed. The radio and television air stories of the lives of our fallen soldiers and civilians, play sad songs. All of the commemorations are done with great sensitivity.

The people Israel unite as one and not only metaphorically, but physically “hug” the families who are bereft. Our respect for them is authentic and enduring. May the memories of their loved ones be blessed.

Spring in the Galilee

Spring in the Galilee

Filed Under: Israel Tagged With: ,

Update

April 25, 2009 by

It’s been a very busy week, what with the launch of my new web log and learning how to arrange text and pictures and making tons of mistakes and uploading the same pictures 3 and 4 times without understanding that once they are there, they are there…

But it’s an adventure and what’s making it all the more pleasant is the prospect of actually being able to let people see why these tours I do are so incredibly fascinating.

But that’s for the other site..

After all of the excitement of greeting the new Olim who are living in our upstairs apartment and helping them get settled in, preparing for Pesach, having guests from outside of the country, and the Bar Mitzvah or our grandson Daniel, I was under the impression that things would settle down. But no. This week we have Israel’s Memorial Day and following that, Independence Day. That means that two and a half days (remember, Memorial Day starts the evening before) this week will be taken up with these commemorations. And it’s not like the US where you can ignore these days. The stores close. And EVERYONE is involved in one way or another.

Of course the traditional way of celebrating Independence Day here is by having a barbeque. And the truth is that most people do that. Our family, instead, will be meeting for a picnic brunch so that the children can play soccer and generally run around and have fun. Later in the day, I suspect that most of them will be at traditional barbeques while I recover.

Rachel and family, Independence Day, 2008

Rachel and family, Independence Day, 2008

I always wondered how I would deal with the boredom once all of my children were out of the house. I still haven’t gotten to the boredom part. I am indeed blessed!

Filed Under: Family life, Israel, Ramblings Tagged With: ,

Giving birth

April 23, 2009 by

Can you believe it? At my age? But it’s true. My incredibly talented doula has enabled me to give life to a new blog that is devoted to information and experiences related to travel to China, Vietnam, and Cambodia. It can be found here. This is not a replacement for this blog. It is an additional blog. Here at drsavta.com, I will continue to talk about life in Israel, parenting, spirituality, emotional health, and family life.

Meanwhile, here is a picture of last week’s Bar Mitzvah boy, my grandson, Daniel Michelson, juggling torches for the first time– at his Bar Mitzvah party.

Daniel juggling torches

Daniel juggling torches

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Appreciation

April 21, 2009 by

It’s a lost art, appreciation. People who see something beautiful such as a beautiful house or a palace, may know that it’s beautiful, but they don’t usually appreciate all of the thought and hard work that went into planning it and building it. People who see great performances often don’t appreciate that the performer has spent hours and hours learning, rehearsing, and improving his/her performance. When food is delicious, we often don’t appreciate the wonder of beautiful fruits and vegetables growing from seeds out of the ground in a rainbow of colors and a variety of shapes and sizes. We don’t appreciate the person who peeled and cut and arranged the food. We don’t appreciate the minutes or hours spent mixing, dicing, sauteing, kneading. When the table is set, we don’t appreciate the thought given to settings and colors and table accessories. When we see a garden, we don’t praise the gardener. When someone we love tells us he/she loves us, we hear, but often we don’t really hear. We don’t fully understand or appreciate the importance of ourselves in that person’s life or of their importance in ours. When people die, often survivors then begin to see the kindness, the warmth, the sacrifice of their deceased relative. Then they realize what they have lost.

Sometimes when I wonder what all of the traditions we as Jews observe are about, I remember that there is a large component of appreciation– for the food we eat, for the land we were given. These prayers should serve to sensitize us to the gifts we have been given, whether by G-d, by the people we love, or by those who work to make our lives better.

Filed Under: Ramblings, Relationships, Spirituality Tagged With: ,

TWTSTW*

April 10, 2009 by

This is a post that will need to write itself since I want to write about the seder, but have no idea of where to start. First of all, the logistics: Israeli homes are on average, the size of US elevators so our seder configuration was roughly equivalent to an elevator at Macy’s on the day after Thanksgiving, except that the average age was about 15 months. OK. I exaggerate. The children’s ages: 15, 15, 12,12,12,11,9,7,4,4,3,1.5,1,7 months, 3 months. The fact that the youngest 5 were 3 and under led to a substantial amount of motion and noise. The truth is that all of them were super-adorable. But imagine 5 super-adorable puppies… you get the point. This entailed less barking and a bit less biting, but just as much action.

But all that aside, the family was beautiful. Each and every one of them looked wonderful. We enjoyed reading and chanting and singing together, even when one or more of us were off-key and/or making up our own melody that was similar to but not identical to the ones we are accustomed to singing. There was a feeling of happiness and a real sense of tradition. It all really was worth it. I only pray to enjoy many many more with the ones I love!

*That was the seder that was

Filed Under: Family life, Ramblings, Spirituality Tagged With: ,
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