And so the holiday season has drawn to a close. Here in Israel, since the August break, life has never really wound back to normal. Instead we had a leisurely change of gear during September, with the return of work and school, but with many big projects, reorganizations, after school activities and normal school hours, not resuming until next week.
Whenever you asked something of someone over the past few weeks, the answer was always the same, “acharay hahagim” – after the holidays. Life in Israel was paused on half speed and today signaled the end of the festive season. But Simchat Torah is not really an ‘end’ it is surely a ‘grand finale’.
Today’s, Simchat Torah celebrations were joyous and manic. I watched as the men raced around the bima, torah scrolls held in the air or over their shoulders, singing in unison; the women looking on, making their own circles to dance in; clapping and singing along. I smiled at the boy propped on his father’s shoulders, wearing his over-sized jacket and two hats stacked one upon the other. Everyone was happy, celebrating the end of one cycle and the beginning of another.
And so Israel cranks up another gear to something that resembles normal speed. The women all start their diets and the kids their after school clubs. Please G-d our year will be full of health, happiness and peace. Amen.
Sharona B
http://www.judaicamosaica.com/
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Simchat Torah - A Grand Finale
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Pesach Reflections
The kids had a great pesach break. Israel offers a wide range of chol chamoed family activities. Ours decided on a trip to the desert and learned a lot about the terrain – from identifying trees with hidden reserves of water within their branches to a bumpy camel ride.
I have decided that the magnetic messages we put on our fridge are a great barometer to life in the Benjamin house. They tend to sum up how we feel. We only have one of most letters so we have to be quite inventive in what we say. During pesach, this is what we wrote:
This week the fridge reads:
I will post up our fridge messages in my blogs; they probably say more about us than anything else I could write.
So, back to normal now. The kids are back at school and it is a return to the daily grind for us. When I dropped my daughter off at nursery today the pictures of matza and wine were down and up in their place were blue and white balloons in readiness for Remembrance and Independence Days. With hardly time to draw breath we seem to be moving on to the next holiday already. .
Monday, April 6, 2009
Pesach's A-Coming
Nearly there…. oven scrubbed, fridge dismantled, defrosted and de-chametzed, house starting to take shape. The pesach cleaning seems to be on schedule and, as fatigue starts to kick in, the end, thankfully appears to be in sight.
I’m looking forward sitting in my clean house without noticing a cobweb, some crumbs, some net curtains that need a clean. It will be nice to be able to sit down without subconsciously making a mental checklist of all those things still left to do.
Whilst my head has been full of the bigger picture it was interesting to find out via an email group posting, the answer to one of pesach’s timeless quandaries.
HOW TO CUT A MATZO IN HALF http://fun.mivzakon .co.il/Video. aspx?http: //www.mivzakon. co.il/DayMailFil es/matza. wmv Obvious when you know how!
Wishing you a happy and kosher pesach.
Sharona B
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Pre Pesach Mayhem!
When you make aliyah there are many changes in your life – some big, some small, some expected, some not.
One of the pleasant surprises for me was the different array of nature I saw on an everyday basis. Now I am not talking about giant cockroaches or tarantulas here, I mean that I look up in at the trees in my garden and see colourful birds that I have never seen before. It occurs to me that perhaps the creatures I admire for being a little exotic and differing from the norm, are probably the Israeli equivalent of pigeons in the UK. However, I have retained an awe of all the different species around me.
This last week however, there was a less welcomed feathered friend on our patch. A stray chicken (yes you read that right!) seems to have taken up residence at the front of our house. I regularly feed a stray cat and from time to time I now hear an annoying, ‘peck, peck, peck’ as this nuisance of a fowl locates the cat food. Annoyingly, the cat is actually afraid of the chicken and allows her to steal her food.
My husband thinks she would make a nice Shabbat meal but I just want rid of her. I have chased her, thrown sticks at her, put emails out over the local network asking if anyone is missing a chicken and finally, changed the location of the cat food to the garden. The chicken does not seem particularly bright and, so far, has not realized what I have done. I am hoping the removal of the food will encourage her to find another foster home.
So, enough of my feathered fiasco... it is time to get cleaning for pesach. Perhaps, before she departs, I should pluck a feather from the chicken to help me search for chametz!
This post goes out to all those currently surrounded by buckets of hot water, bottles of cleaning products and an array of dusters and cloths. There is something quite therapeutic about pre pesach decluttering and cleaning but it is one of those things that you don't really appreciate until all the hard work is over and done with - whilst in the middle of the task you just have a never ending mental checklist of places still in need of a good scrub. Happy cleaning!
Sharona B
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
A Return to Normality?
It’s raining in Israel. Succot seems to have marked the end of summer with the swish of a lulov. Although September marks the return of many from vacation, the commencement of school and a change of mindset towards a new year, new goals, new priorities; in reality Israel plods along slowly and life does not really resume in ‘full swing’ until the holiday season is over. You can talk to people about any number of ideas or problems you are experiencing in September, but most will make arrangements to get things sorted, “acharay hachagim” – after the holidays.
So finally we have arrived. The New Year is upon us and life is returning to normal.
Although having said that, I think we are still trying to establish what ‘normal’ is for us. Two years down the line; two new businesses, a husband who travels abroad, kids who have changed schools, new work opportunities undertaken… things just keep changing around here. We even have an extra resident – we took pity on one of our ‘garden’ cats (a stray mother and kitten we fed and took care of but firmly kept outside the house) – following a fight and a nasty looking eye infection, we finally succumbed, paid a visit to the vet and now have the kitten fully installed as a house pet.
It’s not that I don’t like change, often it has many positives, it is just that after two years I am becoming a little ‘change weary’. I sincerely hope that by this time next year we will have finally gotten ourselves into a position where we have a ‘normality’ to return to.
On another note, election fever seems to have hit us. No, not of the US variety. There are local elections taking place in November and now national elections appear to be on the horizon. The Anglo culture in Israel is predominantly American and, as a Brit, I have been impressed with how the American’s here have approached the local elections.
In the UK people keep their vote quite personal and vote independently. I have seen how the Americans here have looked to find like-minded people, those with a common cause; be it housing, the environment, whatever, and looked to secure a block vote for the candidate that they feel best serves their purpose. I used to hear in England about the ‘Jewish vote’ in American elections and I really like the way that individuals have realized the power of grouping together and raising issues close to them with the candidates.
Much of the time I cling on to my British ways; I prefer our subtler, more ironic humor; I am more comfortable with a less aggressive approach to life and I sometimes raise an eyebrow at the directness of those around me. However, the elections have really brought home the positive qualities of my American neighbors.
So, with local and national elections over the coming months, yet more change appears to be on the horizon.
Sharona B
Friday, October 17, 2008
Succot in Israel
So here we all are again; sitting in our succahs, waving our lulovs and etrogs; celebrating Succot.
Succot in Israel has been a lovely surprise. It was a holiday that, in England, never quite captured my imagination. Eating outside in a coat and dodging the rain could seem a little farcical at times.
In Israel it is wonderful to hear the ‘tap, tap, tap’ of succahs being erected all around us. It is great to mill around Succot fairs and see a range of lulovs, etrogs and succah decorations for sale. There is just a real momentum in the lead up to the holiday, that I never really felt in England.
Making aliyah is a process and settling in here takes time (and money). The first year we were here we didn’t have a succah and our neighbors kindly informed us every meal that they were invited out so that we could eat in theirs. Last year we put our brand new succah up but we had no table and chairs, so we ended up eating from a coffee table whilst sitting on cushions and bean bags.
This year we bought a table and chairs but had no light.. so I guess next year that is on the shopping list. In a way, this gradual process of getting ourselves set up for the holidays is synonymous with our establishment in Israel. It also means that each little purchase we make is very much appreciated. Not only this but it is the kind of thing that builds family memories - we can tell stories each year; ‘do you remember last year when we…. sat on the floor… ate by candlelight etc.’
I seem to have created our own family Succot tradition too. We dislike the ‘xmas’ style decorations sold here for succahs, so last year I decided to weave some palm leaves into a Star of David. This year I did the same. My daughter also colored in some lovely pictures and the baby also had some lovely scribble pictures on the wall. We added a poster of the Rebbe and our decorations were complete.
Having been a hot summer and Autumn so far, it actually rained on the first night of Succot; so we awoke to a damp and disheveled looking Succah. And there I was thinking how different Succot was over here..!
Sharona B
