Yom Ha'atzmaut 5773

It's that time of year again.
You know, when the flowers are in bloom, but all of a sudden instead of the countryside arrayed in colors ranging from violet to sunny yellow, everywhere you look it's Blue and White.

Israelis have a lot of national pride. And rightfully so! We have given so much - so much blood, sweat and tears, and prayer, and yearning... all of it so that we could return to our land and have a sovereign State of our own. I say we, because, we, all Jews, have been a part of that.

It's the time of year when we can't imagine living anywhere but here. When we lived in America, it was the time of year when I missed my spiritual home so deeply. And I am so glad that now we are here, and that we are making it work, and figuring things out so that each day here is better than the one before!

And then there are the discussions that bug me. Those people who say that because the State is not run according to Halacha, it's not a Good Enough sovereignty to celebrate. And they refuse to take part in the day, the one day a year we give thanks to Hashem specifically for allowing us to return to our land after 2000 years of wandering, persecution, and yearning.
 
Yom Ha'atzmaut celebrations are really something that generations past would have LOVED to see and have. How can anyone, after davening daily, asking for the return to our land, not know that? (And in case you missed my post on my other blog, there are many ways you can celebrate this Yom Ha'atzmaut, many of them for FREE!)

I saw a great quote on the Life in Israel blog - "So true are the words of Rav Shalom Gold: 'It is interesting that anti-Zionist rabbis constantly were able to find God in the horrors of the Holocaust, but were never able to find Him in the miracles of the establishment of the State and the 65 years of Independence!'"

This really resonated with me, and reminded me of my trip to Poland on a March of the Living Program in high school, so many years ago. We went to Poland and visited the terrible, death camps, the places that left me wordless and horrified. And then we went to Israel, and celebrated Yom Ha'atzmaut here, and nothing ever seemed more right. Celebrating in our land, after bearing witness to the horrors of history. Never again seems possible now that we have a land of our own again.

And so I am rambling. I apologize. But I feel so strongly that this little country of ours is OURS. And there is room here for the several million more Jews that are still scattered and wandering. And it's time. It is Just Time for everyone to Come Home.

Hidden Gems

It was the last long Friday of the year.

Obviously, we had to do something, as starting the week right after, we'd be ushering in Shabbat BEFORE 5 pm. We actually thought everyone else would have the same idea, and that the parks and whatnot would be packed.

I imagined finding a park and then having to help my kids navigate playground politics (just exactly how long is a child allowed to stay on a swing when there is a line forming?!).

The boys wanted to practice their baseball skills with my husband, and the girls really didn't care where we went, as long as there are slides and swings.

I know, baseball is not exactly your typical Israeli pasttime...

I was really hoping to find a park with a great playground, big wide open grassy fields, and public bathrooms.

In the end, we didn't find exactly that, but we did find a gem of a place anyhow! It was lacking the big wide open grassy fields, but we went to Park Rabin in Migdal Ha'emek, since we knew it had bathrooms and a great play area.

I really expected crowds, as we only got there in the afternoon, and schools were all out already. But it was practically empty! There was one couple with a toddler there, a family with a few little kids, and 4 kids on bikes. For most of the time we were there, those were the only other people we saw.

The boys got to practice their baseball in a field that was dotted with olive and other trees. Makes for interesting baseball.

When the girls needed the bathroom (they always need the bathroom when we are out), we found the one unlocked toilet and discovered it was very clean, but lacked toilet paper and soap. Luckily I carry toilet paper around in my backpack, and hand sanitizer too, for when we find ourselves without soap...

The girls loved the lack of playground politics in the kiddie playground.




 
But when we ventured up to the upper play area and discovered the HUGE slides... well, they were ecstatic! (And the boys had fun there too.)








 

Those were really huge slides. The kids love all those colors zooming past them as they come sliding down. We literally had to drag them away so we could go home and finish getting ready for Shabbat...

 

Friday Tiyulim

We've been doing Friday tiyulim - mostly hikes - for a few weeks now. This means I frantically cook and bake on Thursdays, but then we get to go somewhere as a family for a short tiyul on Friday! So much fun.

Until a couple of weeks ago.

We planned to do a Friday tiyul really nearby, and we had done a little bit of research, and found a short (1/2 hr to 1 hr) hike to do. We drove to the park where the hike was, and there were a few people hanging around. One recommeded we detour off our path and check out the natural springs, and they were so pretty! We walked a little in the forested area, but eventually we decided that if we were going to do our "planned hike", we had to get started. So.we.did.

At some point it turned into too much walking for my girls. It had already been an hour, and I didn't feel like we had begun to loop back yet. My husband and I discussed it a bit, and we decided that the girls and I would wait in the shade, not far from the road leading out of the park, and he and the boys would continue the hike and when they got back to the car, they'd come pick us up.

Sounds good.

But it wasn't. The trail signs had apparently been redone since the website we used had been updated. The red and white signs we had been following turned into more of a 3-4 hour hike, and ended right near Yokneam. No.Where.Near.The.Car.

It was getting later on Friday afternoon. Our Shabbat guest texted me that she was waiting outside my house. The girls and I were ok, we were in the shade, and I had been stretching our water. Michael and the boys, however, were dehydrated and exhausted. They had run out of water. We decided they needed to either get a ride back to the car, or get a cab.

We tried to call a few people in the area, to see if anyone had 20 min to help Michael and the boys get back to the car, but we were out of luck.

Eventually, Michael flagged down a taxi, and 50 shekels and 30 min later (they had to stop for a bicycle race on the road), they got back to the car.

And picked us up. And we got home 55 min before sunset.

And. well. sigh.

It was a day I won't forget. At least all the cooking was done in advance!!

Swimming hole!

When I was a kid, my siblings and I always went swimming at our local JCC, until we moved and my family didn't join the JCC in the new location. I think that coincided with the year I became a Bat Mitzvah and mixed swimming became a non-option anyway.

We had a pool in our backyard in Florida, and my kids miss it. There is a pool in our local town, but membership for the summer was over 1000 shekel, and I just couldn't fathom laying out that kind of money to take my kids to an overcrowded pool with no separate hours. And the beach is fun, but no place for kids to actually swim!

So my kids are completely out of practice! We've been talking about finding our way to one of the numerous "maayanot" and natural swimming holes in the area, but all summer long we were warned of crowds and shmutz and experiences that turned out to be NO fun at all. But we really wanted to get the kids in the water where they could swim a bit.

We waited until the day before the mainstream world sends their kids back to school, figuring most of the vacationers had left the area, and the local swimming holes would be less crowded and more fun.

We thought we would go to Maayan Charud, but for some reason, google maps' directions were all wrong. We stopped in at a gas station and the kippah-wearing attendant recommended Ayn Moda, which was just a short drive away. He said that he heard Charud was pretty dry anyhow, and that Ayn Moda was really great and shady and free... So we followed his directions, traveling on dusty agricultural roads until we found the back entrance to Park Hamaayanot, where Ayn Moda is just a short walk from the parking area.

First impression: we were the only Jewish family there.

This came as somewhat a surprise. But then we reflected upon all the cultural differences between us and our cousins, and we realized that most likely the Jewish families buy country club memberships and the Arab families don't. We can't afford a country club membership, so we tried out the swimming hole.

(As time went on, a few other Jewish families did show up, but a couple of the Arab women were so surprised by our English speaking that they hung out near us the whole time. They were fascinated with my 4 year old - we seemed to be the highlight of their day! )

Second impression: Water flowing from underground springs can be COLD even when it is over 40 degrees Celsius outside! The water was shockingly chilly when we dipped in. My kids overcame the cold and swam around and played. I couldn't get over the fact that those rocks on the bottom were KILLING my feet. And I was just dipping in to get wet, and play a little. I had no plans to do laps wearing my mitpachat and glasses (I am nearly blind without my glasses, so taking them off for a swim doesn't make me feel safe)...

So, I don't know whether or not we'll go back to the swimming hole. My guess is we will, but we'll get better equipped first.


If you plan to go to a swimming hole and are not the rough outdoorsy type, make sure you are wearing good water shoes. Also be aware that there is no ladder in and out like a pool, so you will need to hoist yourself out, and lift your kids out too. And be prepared for chilly water.

And then, have lots and lots of fun!

Daydreaming

Everyone heard about the El Al fare glitch on Expedia, Cheaptickets, and more today, right? In case you haven't, here's the recap:

For a few short hours, round trip tickets with a stopover in Paris or Zurich from N. American cities to Tel Aviv, on El Al, were selling for $350 - $450 TOTAL.

I checked if it was also working for the other direction (originating in Tel Aviv). It wasn't.

But for a few minutes there, while I was frantically emailing and Facebooking all my loved ones in the NY area, I thought I'd be getting some visitors this winter. I mean, really, who could pass up that price, EVEN if it means you have to deal with a stopover in Europe for a few hours?!

After all, Europe is not Istanbul.

Yes, we once had a stopover in Istanbul. The biggest nightmare of a trip, I think, because we really were not supposed to stop in Istanbul... It's a long story, and I'll tell it to you another day, once I get over my PTSD from it, ok? It was only about 3 years ago; in another 10 years or so I'll be good to go, ok?

Anyhow, I was daydreaming about all of our family and friends finding ways to visit us. I told them all it was time to make a pilot trip... you know, plan their Aliyah...

But it wasn't meant to be.
All good daydreams must end.

Miss you all! Please come visit! The next time there is an airfare glitch can you PLEASE be available to buy some tickets?!

XOX

Laundry after the 9 Days

I have an unusual laundry set up for Israel. We actually have our laundry room in the basement, and we have a laundry chute! We just open the door of the chute and dump the laundry down and promptly forget about it. At least, that's what we did during the 9 Days.


So now the laundry room looks like this:

It also looks like SOME people have decided that various boxes, and yes, even Tonka trucks belong in the laundry. If I find those things in the washing machine, I bet you'll hear about it!!
 
Are you wondering, as I am, just how long it will take to sort out that laundry into manage-able piles about the size of a load?

 Or perhaps you wonder, as I do, exactly how many times I will be loading up my trusty washing machine this week?
 
 Or maybe you want to know who is going to hang it all to dry, shlep it back inside after, and then fold it?

 So many laundry questions to ponder...

During the rest of the year, I usually go down there every couple of days to "check" on the laundry. We have a 10 kg washing machine (Love it!) and I like to run full loads. So when I have enough for a load of laundry, in it goes, and then I hang it on my drying racks. This house did not come equipped with a clothesline, but luckily we purchased these awesome, handy-dandy folding drying racks with tons of space and stowed them on our lift.

They look a lot like this, only we actually purchased them at Ikea. (Sorry, the current Ikea catalog does not seem to include them. So, Israelis, you may be out of luck. But those of you in America can  just order them - free delivery - from Amazon , and you'll be air drying your clothes in no time, whether or not you have a clothesline!

Have I mentioned that air drying our clothes helps keep our electric bill down? I won't say manageable, because it's all relative. We started air drying clothing when we live in Florida, and got the shock of our first electric bill there in the summer. It was either give up A/C or give up the dryer. We gave up the dryer, and I don't really miss it!  Try it out, let me know  if you've considered giving up your dryer...

Homeschooling Fun!

I was so happy to be able to host a homeschoolers' get together today at my house!

We had kids playing with cars, trains, dolls, puzzles, computer programming, softball practice, cartwheeling, jumping rope, running in the grass, and perler bead making. (I'm sure I missed a few of the activities that took place, but that should give you an idea of what it was like around here.)

It was busy, rowdy, and lots of fun! (And everyone was happy. Imagine that!) I love that we can have kids over ranging in age from about 1 to about 14, and everyone finds something to do!

We also had some eating. At the last minute, I made up a recipe for Raisin-Bran Cake. Check it out!