Northern Lights and Reflections: the War and Alternate Universes

It's been over two weeks, soon approaching three weeks.

I'll start at the beginning.

No, actually, I can't start at the beginning - I'll have to start in the middle.

In the middle of davening on Shmini Atzeret, I went outside of our shul and unwittingly stepped into an alternate universe. But it took some time until I understood that.

Our shul is the tiniest shul in town, and we meet inside a bomb shelter, so we were literally inside shul with our heads underground on October 7, when the world changed. 

We didn't know what was going on in the south. We were just focused on the Tefillot, our singing, dancing with the Torah, and being happy that we were able to celebrate another Simchat Torah with our Or Hatzafon family... Inside our shul that day, we were in our normal universe.

I went up the stairs and outside into the courtyard during Yizkor, and someone came over and told me that something was going on in the South, so we should just be aware. I said thanks for telling me. He said, lots of people are being called in but we don't really know what's going on. My normal universe shook a little, or so I thought. I didn't understand yet that we had actually entered an alternate universe.

Then a couple of minutes later, someone told me that the town security team asked him to instruct us to leave the miklat (bomb shelter) unlocked after we finished our davening. I was a little surprised because what does something going on in the south have to do with leaving our bomb shelter in the Golan unlocked? Feeling like my normal universe was shaking, I didn't really know what to think.

So I went back into shul. We finished our Tefillah and had a small kiddush together (cake and ice cream!) and then we locked all the shul's most valuable items up into the closet in the shelter, and left the shelter open. That felt really strange and unsafe, and I was kind of wondering what universe I was actually in.

I told myself that there have been other times when local residents got a little jumpy and didn't like the idea of a closed shelter, so the powers that be must be trying to avoid that, and leaving the shelters open was just a precaution they chose to take, in order to keep from having to field complaints. After all, we hadn't heard any sirens and it didn't seem possible that an uptick in the south would really impact us... The normal universe and the alternate universe are really at odds, and my brain was working very hard to convince me that I was still in my normal universe.

On our way home, we saw a friend who'd been checking the news and he told us that there's been a horrible massacre at the border of Azza (Gaza), and it looks like we're at war. He told us there are hostages in Azza (Gaza), including children, he told us no one really knows how many people were killed, but it is BAD. And then he told us it looks bad on the Lebanese border too. We were shocked. And really confused, but now we knew for certain that we weren't in our normal universe, and we had, in fact, stepped into an alternate universe.

In this alternate universe, our existence as a Jewish State and as a nation is being threatened by Hamas. Our lives have been radically changed overnight. Our country is at war, our business is effectively closed, and our safety feels tenuous.

And in this alternate universe, there are over 200 hostages being held by Hamas. Hostages are being held by terrorists who savagely murder our people and openly declare their goal to destroy every Jew. 

I cannot imagine the hell they are being subjected to, because that's actually another alternate universe, one that should not actually exist.

Please daven for ALL the captives. It doesn't matter who has what passport - we need to bring them all home. My heart is broken for them.

Find out more about each person behind held by Hamas. If you can manage the Hebrew, watch this series.

Each and every one is important, and a world unto themselves.

Help get them out of their hellish alternate universe.

Jamie's Prematurity Story

My husband and I made aliyah shortly after getting married and I was pregnant with my first due to give birth in Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Karem September 15th. During my 31st week of pregnancy I suddenly felt tightness in my stomach but just brushed it off like it was nothing...

We decided to go check it out soon after just to make sure indeed it was nothing...on the way to the hospital my stomach was tightening and loosening with no time in between...putting 2 and 2 together it was contractions...

I was almost fully dilated by the time I got to Hadassah and was was told I needed an emergency c-section. They pumped me with a drug to help mature my babies lungs but warned me it likely won't take effect because they were performing surgery at that moment. I've never been so terrified in my life - not for me but for my helpless baby being ripped from me too soon...

I was completely under with general, so I didn't get to hold my baby which I wouldn't have anyway even if I wasn't under because she was born in a dangerous state of respiratory distress. After experiencing hell and back in the NICU, I got to hold my baby and then a few weeks later she was breathing on her own and out of the incubator. and by 6 weeks she weighed 2.2 kilo!

I brought my baby home and she's a healthy 5 kilo now, EBF and beautiful. Baruch Hashem for Hashem's miracle babies and koach that us Mamas need to have throughout it all.

 Here is collage I put together shortly after she came home, she's much bigger now

Elul Thoughts

We recently moved. We debated and debated and thought long and hard about this move. In the end, we jumped in and bought a house. In the Golan. And we really do love it here. Only there is this issue - that we're really quite close to Syria. I would minimize this issue, but they've been involved in a very bloody, terrible civil war, and are posturing now - threatening to send missiles to Israel. And we all know that they have Weapons of Mass Destruction.

So we have our gas masks, and we sort of know how to use them, but we don't want to ever have to use them...

The threat of war in the week before Rosh Hashana makes me think that this may just be our wake up call. 

It's time for all of us here to remember why we're here - whether we sacrificed much to come to Israel, or if we were born here and this is just "home" - there's a reason we stay here and are loyal to this little country in the Middle East. It's our homeland. And we must remember that this is the homeland of ALL Jews, no matter what type of head covering or, perhaps, no head covering. We are all here in our homeland, together. 

Now, it's time to set aside our differences, stop the bickering, and try to find a way to implore Hashem together - in all our many ways we daven - to watch over us and protect us.

So misguided

Recently, someone was posting pleas for Hachnassat Kallah everywhere in the social media world, at least in the social media world I am part of.

I understand that Hachnassat Kallah is a very important mitzvah, it really makes sense to help those less fortunate get on their feet at the beginning of their married life. Especially in the case of a bride or groom without family support.

However, this plea really struck me as inappropriate. The writer says that they don't have beds, enough money for food monthly, or "even" a HAT to wear to the wedding!

This plea just turned my stomach. It made me think of how messed up people's priorities are. They are arranging for a HUGE wedding, with a band, and catering, and wanted a special wedding gown, a special suit and hat, presumably because that is the cultural norm. It seems to be expected that couples (or their parents, or a benefactor) will go into debt to throw a party beyond their means... Not only that, but then they refuse to accept used items, for couples who don't have enough to meet their basic needs on a daily basis.

Really? 

When we first got married, I accepted used items. I still do. Without that, we'd be in trouble, as it is really hard sometimes to make ends meet, even with gainful employment. Especially in Israel.
 
When you tell us that the Chatan learns half a day and works half a day and cannot afford food for his family, does it really make the case that we should all give him money? Just so he doesn't have to accept the indignity of working full time?

Why not sponsor a modest backyard wedding, with homemade food, a very small crowd... and help the Chatan find a full time job? And with all the money saved - a lavish wedding costs a TON - help them get on their feet? Who needs flowers? There are so many ways to make a "simcha" on a budget, and this organization, instead of trying to turn that into a dignified answer for people who don't have a lot of money, has chosen to make it their mission to help destitute people look like they are "keeping up with the Cohens"! So misguided, in my opinion.

I was reminded of this article on Orthonomics, and I think it would be great if our communities could re-examine the way we celebrate smachot.


Here is the basic text of the plea - it is bound to be replaced with another "current couple in need" at some point soon.

Currently, while they have a hall, catering and music, they have absolutely NOTHING ELSE! They lack even cutlery and crockery for the food! There isn't a photographer at this point in time either!

The bride has nobody to drive her to the Chuppah, no proper wedding dress, nobody to help her with her make-up on the big day and not even a pair of shoes appropriate for the wedding day! There are no flowers! She has no special bridal chair to sit in! She lacks a veil! In short, there are some serious basic necessities missing to make this Simcha even the start of a true wedding Simcha! In addition, the guests - mainly the Avreichim of the Kollel - have no way to get to the wedding. They require a bus to take them through and we have no way at this stage to assist them with this!

The couple lack beds for themselves, a stove, fridge, washing machine. But more, the Chatan does not have enough for a Tallit or even a hat! The Chatan learns half day and works half day but his salary does not provide enough even for food each month! They lack the basics in clothing and by no means have the ability to purchase new clothes for the wedding!!!

We accept ANY new items to assist all our couples - which are passed on directly to the couple. Financial donations may also be given. Money is not usually given directly but rather used to purchase the items the couple actually need - and which are then given to the couple directly - much to their delight!!!

If you are able to give ANYTHING to this couple (items or Tzeddakah), you will be truly taking part in a very special Mitzvah assisting a special couple! Financial donations can be done directly on the website below. Anybody who has a wedding-service they could provide - see services that are needed as above - including just coming through to dance(!) is asked to please contact me as well. Money is not the only thing needed here. There are real items and services that are required to make this wedding a success! Those who can donate services or items please contact us immediately

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.

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...