Shabbat Chol Hamoed March 29, 2013

Passover in Israel is a time to travel, a time to be outdoors, a time to celebrate the beauty of spring. We were no exception. The weather is beautiful, sunny, warm, and very inviting.  We celebrated the Seder Monday night with the entire family and then Wednesday and Thursday we we in the outdoors. Wednesday we went to a place known as Shvil HaTapuzim (thanks to Daniella for finding this!), The orange orchard. It is a young kids paradise; a playground with tons of activities all interwoven into an orange orchard about 20 minutes from Netanya. There were places to climb, ride and jump and even mini-golf. The day culminates in a chance to pick oranges, 6 kg for about 3 dollars. Shoshana, Shlomo and Tali has a super time, as you will see by the pictures. Between the riding toys, the giant slides, and the oranges, I don’t know what the best activity was!

Thursday, Ariel’s in-laws, the Twerskys, joined us for a day at the beach. Gilah has 10 brothers and sisters, and 7 joined us! We went to the park, had lunch, and played in the sand and water. It was great; Shoshana and Shlomo either had a bunch of new siblings or baby sitters!! It was terrific to see how everyone played so well together.

Of course the holiday started off on Monday night with the Seder. The Seder (meaning order) is the ultimate educational experience. It is aimed at educating ourselves and our children about the birth of our nation, the Exodus from Egypt. Actually, this Seder goes beyond educating; we try in many respects to relive the experience. The goal is to build a connection between the past and the present, and carry it to the future. By connecting our families, young and old, to the beginning, we are trying to ensure that that there is a future. The linking of generations to history is a key aspect of the preservation of what is truly important. To watch Shoshana and Shlomo sing the songs, tell the story and identify the key aspects of the Seder ceremony is amazing and very heartening. We can hardly wait to see Tali join in more as well (although she certainly participated a lot!)

I just want to share a short, slightly political story. I was saddened to read that 200 North American universities participated in Israel Apartheid week. This now annual pursuit of Israel bashing is very unfortunate and upsetting, particularly because it is based in a major distortion of the truth. I won’t’ downplay the plight of Palestinians, especially in refugee camps. However, the concept that there are no rights for anyone but Israeli Jews is clearly false. As an example, at The Orange Orchard, on the second day of Passover, the park was packed with hundreds of people. There were Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs, their children playing mini golf side by side, riding toy cars and climbing the same structures. No apartheid, no separation, just children playing together. Same today on the boardwalk; everyone sitting in the same parks, skateboarding along the same paths. This is as it should be, people living together with respect. The annual university hate fests should visit and see the reality and then we can talk.

So, a few more days to go in Israel before we leave! Shabbat will be spent with Daniella, Monty and Tali and special guest Stephen Lerner and Shmulik Rosenberg. Then a couple more days of holiday and back next Wednesday. Hopefully we can update from home next Friday!

We wish everyone an Shabbat Shalom, Chag Sameach and Happy Easter!

We wish Elan a very happy birthday!

March 22, Shabbat Hagadol

Welcome to the latest installment in Passover in Israel series!  We embarked on our visit via Zurich, which is apparently a popular route for Montrealers coming to Israel; we shared the flights with no less than 4-5 other families that we knew, including the Matarassos. Drazins, Zukers and Yampolskys Sr. The advantage of flying through Zurich is that you get a break from sitting on a cramped plane (of course, we were in economy, unlike a few fortunate others); the airport is not huge, and the lounge is great. We are also told that there is a great play room for kids but we haven’t had the pleasure first hand yet!  The disadvantage, of course is that neither flight gives you enough time to really sleep. Since neither of us are great sleepers on planes (I can rarely do more than nap) the break is pretty welcome. In fact we did sleep a bit on the way, which makes the day go much more smoothly!

We arrived in Israel in mid-afternoon and schlepped our usual assortment of bags with personal stuff, stuff for the big kids (like Starbucks coffee and Tasters Choice), stuff for the little kids (clothes, toys), assorted Passover implements, and a few Passover foods you can’t find in Israel, like good mayonnaise, margarine, and a couple of other products that are distinctly North American. We also bring a whole assortment of home-made brownies and cookies, nut-free of course, to be enjoyed by all (allergic or not!). So, we packed a bit heavy, but will bring back less than when we came, so that is OK.

We took off for Netanya and started to set up the apartment. Since our kitchen is smaller and not widely used, kashering for Passover is not as big a chore as at home in Cote St. Luc. However, the annual “Shop for Pesach foods excursion” is never dull! Now, a bit of explanation about Passover customs. On Pesach, we don’t eat any wheat product that is leavened (bread, rolls, etc. ) which includes things with yeast or that have been allowed to rise more than 18 minutes. Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews have an additional stringent custom which avoids legumes and many seeds (called Kitniyot) which may have been grown with wheat in the fields; these can be used by Sephradi Jews from North African or Spanish origin. As we have explained in past years, back home the Passover sections as well marked and clear, and the vast majority of the products can be used by Ashkenazim, or are clearly marked if they contain Kitniyot. In Israel, the Passover products are not always clearly distinct from the regular ones, Kitniyot and Non Kitniyot distinctions are only found in the fine print of the products! So everyone needs to carefully scrutinize everything! Picture dozens of people in every aisle, jostling for position; and pouring over products to see if it fits your custom. Just a little crazy! We survived unscathed, and proudly came home to tell the tale!

Passover is a very special time; it is the holiday that celebrates the birth of the Jewish Nation, as we remember the Exodus from slavery in Egypt to the freedom in ancient times. And although this took place over 3500 years ago, we relive the events annually in the celebration of Passover. We eat Matza, unleavened bread, for 8 days (7 in Israel) to remind us that the Jews left Egypt in haste and did not wait for their dough to rise, we recount the story of the Exodus at the Seder, the festive Passover meal, and we integrate a multitude of symbolic foods and actions into the Seder to underscore the importance of the event. The key is to remember through education, which is the primary theme of the holiday. Next week we’ll actually talk about the Seder and you’ll see how it all comes together.

What’s new in Israel? Well, a visit from the American president seems to be causing a bit of a stir. The roads around Jerusalem are more heavily patrolled, the media is omnipresent, and there is a political buzz in the air. While we were in transit, there was a news bulletin that the Presidential limousine had broken down in Jerusalem. I guess they didn’t make it to Vickers (an in-joke from Denver; Google it!).   So far it has been a positive trip. He was (perhaps uncharacteristically) hard on Hamas, told jokes, was nice to Bibi, and even spoke Hebrew. The new “centrist” government may be more conducive to peace negotiations, but there still remain lots of questions: who do you negotiate with as long as there are two entities running the West Bank and Gaza? Also, although the Israeli government represents more ‘centrist’ leanings, the Bayit Hayehudi Party, which represents a more modern Orthodox Zionist constituency, strongly represents those who live in Judea and Samaria. So, things are complex, as usual. It appears for most to have been a ‘feel-good” visit.

We had a special visit Thursday night, with Monty, Daniella and Tali visiting and joining us for dinner. Tali is a very smiley, chatty 15 month-old, with lots of curls and terrific expressions! It was lots of fun to see them and we look forward to spending more time next week.

Shabbat before Passover is being spent in Netanya in the company of Ariel and Gilah, who have been co-opted to help us do the major preparations of the apartment. By Monday, Elan, Nomi, Shoshana and Shlomo will arrive, as well as Daniella, Monty and Tali! So we will have a full house and the holiday should be tremendous! Stay tuned!

We wish everyone a wonderful Shabbat and Chag Kasher V’Sameach and a Happy Easter!

A special Chag Sameach to our family, Len and Yayi and Co. in Montreal, Andy and Mara and the boys in Toronto, and my Mom visiting Roanne and David and the girls in Edmonton. Enjoy!

We wish a refuah Shlema to Zisle bat Bella

We wish condolences to George Farkas on the loss of his mother, Valerie Farkas.

We wish condolences to Joy Rothenberg on the loss of her mother. Hamakom Yerachem Etchem b’toch sha’ar aveli Tzion v’Yerushalyim. May you be spared further sorrows.

December 8-14

We are nearing the end of this trip! Sometimes we wonder where the time went, although as you have seen a lot has gone on!  We may actually need a vacation from our vacation!! However, that is not likely to happen when we get back, so let’s just enjoy reliving the last week in review…

Shabbat was spent in Jerusalem at Nomi and Elan’s home in the old city. We actually stayed in the German colony, at our friend Diane and Ed Zeligman’s apartment. It’s really beautiful, in a very central location. On Shabbat morning really did not know where to go to synagogue,  I walked out the front door, and looked lost. A very nice guy from New York (Living in Jerusalem for the last 12 or so years) said,”You look like you need a place to go to shul”, so I followed him. This was a real treat, a beautiful renovated old synagogue on Yael Street. Very friendly people, lots of singing, and a really heimish (homey) atmosphere. The meals on Friday night and Saturday at Nomi and Elan’s were great, and we saw Elan in action as he had students visiting his home to eat and study on Shabbat. It’s really impressive to see both how much he has accomplished both as a teacher and mentor!

At the close of Shabbat we lit the first Chanukah candle. We ushered in the holiday with singing and games with Shoshana and Shlomo. That evening we met Carol and David Novosellors, ex-Montrealer’s who have moved to Efrat. We had a great time catching up.  On Sunday we babysat Shoshana and Shlomo and spent the day at the Jerusalem Zoo! I don’t know who had more fun, the kids or us watching them. That evening, we left Jerusalem and went to the Tel Aviv area for an amazing museum experience, called Dialogue in the Dark in Holon with the Goldbergers. The guides are blind and we were led in pitch darkness through various rooms that provide every day scenarios, like a home, a forest or a market, using a white cane and our other senses. Our guide was excellent and we had some interesting discussions with him at the end about his experience, attitudes and frustrations. Highly recommended!

The rest of the week was almost a blur. Monday started in Netanya, and ended with  dinner in Neve Daniel with the Gila, Ariel and the Twersky’s.  Tuesday was visit ex-Montrealers day, we had breakfast with the Seal Family overlooking the gorgeous Marina in Herzliya (a treat if you have never been there), and then a late dinner with the Maliachs in South Netanya. This was sandwiched by Barbara meeting a group of Israeli OT researchers and some preparation for the family “invading” the next day. On Wednesday we met the Jerusalem gang at Monkey Park, a small zoo the features (you guessed it) Monkeys! The kids had a ball and one sharp eyed monkey almost ran off with Shlomo’s Chanukah donut!  That evening we celebrated Shlomo’s upcoming 2^nd birthday with the Goldberger family. I wish I could post the whole video of his blowing out the candles. A two year old can be very serious!

As it is Chanukah, many people were off for the holiday. I would like to say in passing that being in Israel for Chanukah is most unlike being in North America for the holidays. First, Chanuka is anything but a commercial holiday. Gift giving is really a North American tradition, and most things here are very low key. There are also the different food choices here; in North America, we eat fried potato latkes (pancakes) and in Israel, sufganiot (deep fried donuts). The common denominator is the oil, to celebrate the miracle of Chanuka  that occurred in the Temple when a small flask of pure olive oil burned for eight days. This followed the liberation of Israel from invading armies by the Macabees. The main sign of the holiday is the presence of Chanukiot,  8 armed candelabras,  in windows and on porches and doorways, especially in Jerusalem. Our Montreal weather is not exactly favorable for outdoor placement. The light and warmth of the holiday is very unique and very precious. It is really about freedom and there is a very strong emphasis on the family.

With the holiday in full swing, every place we went was mobbed with kids. It’s a great sight, but on Thursday we tried two children’s museums which were both packed to the rafters before we needed up taking the kids to play at Ikea! Then Gila and Ariel joined us and we had a great dinner out together, before coming home to prepare for Shabbat.  That included a trip to the Chassidic enclave nearby which makes the best chopped liver in the country (well, we haven’t tried that many, but it is really good) and visits to the fruit and vegetable market and bakery.

We spent a superb Shabbat with the kids and grandchildren, talking, singing, playing and just enjoying. We missed having Monty, Daniella and Tali around, but we got to spend quality time with Gila and Ariel and excellent time at the park with Shoshana and Shlomo.  We lit the 8^th Chanukah candle, sang and danced, then said goodbye to all.

This ends this installment. It’s been over 3 weeks, a wedding, Chanukah and special time with everyone. We added a new member to the family and saw the little ones magically grow and change before our eyes. From a practical point of view by now we can drive the central corridor in Israel (Highway 1, 4 and 2) with our eyes closed, and can tell you where every traffic jam usually starts and ends, and what is the best and the worst time to try and do an errand in that area. We bid farewell to the kids, to Netanya and to Israel and look forward to coming back soon (hopefully for Passover) and more special times.

Wishing you a wonderful last day of Chanukah (as we fly home)

Barbara and Bruce

We wish Danielle Wiesz a Happy Birthday

Refuah Shlema to Zisel bat Bella

December 7, 2012 Post Wedding 2

So how do you keep up the momentum that follows the high that comes after a wedding? Well, we started to describe the 7 days of post wedding celebrations that often follow a traditional Jewish Wedding. Ariel and Gila were “feted” on different nights by various friends and family. I mentioned the one we organized in the gardens of Anna Ticho house in Jerusalem. The next day we descended on the town of Neve Daniel where Gila’s family lives for a Shabbat with the Twersky family.

When you are invited to join a family that has 10 children for Shabbat, you know that everything will be on a large scale! Our hosts, Geula and Rabbi Yitzhak Twersky, were amazing, and they clearly know how to deal with a crowd. The combined Twersky and Mazer families, with our boys, spouses, children, my mom had the table set for 22 at each meal, not counting a few of the Twersky’s friends that were invited. Friday night dinner was followed by an open invitation to the community to drop in and many did, often chipping in with baked goods or something to add to the table. Saturday lunch after synagogue also included a group of friends dropping in. Full credit to Geula and Rav Yitzhak for being amazing hosts; super organized and composed. Really impressive!  The two families hit it off really well and we look forward to celebrating many happy events together with our growing circle of families.

Saturday night also meant the end of Grandma Phyllis' trip to Israel, as well as the time for Monty, Daniella and Talia to return to Toronto for Monty’s marathon of residency interviews over the next 6+ weeks. He will be going from Vermont to Buffalo, from Baltimore to Boston, from New York to Cincinnati and many points in between. There will be a stop in Florida at the Wagner’s new condo somewhere in there. I hope he can keep it straight! Truthfully, he’s really organized, and we wish him luck in matching to a great position for next year. Phyllis had a great time here; how can you match celebrating a grandson’s wedding? (Maybe with a great grandchild’s wedding? We definitely hope so!) She arrived back safely to the less than balmy climate of Montreal.

And now, to more tranquil times (although Gila and Ariel had two more evenings of celebrations on Saturday and Sunday nights). Barbara and I took off east to Netanya for some time near the water. We arrived Sunday and the weather was perfect, 25 and sunny. As noted in previous posts, there is an open invitation for people to visit us! We took some long walks and even got to stroll in the sand. Monday was a very eventful day. Since we rented a car (and Ariel doesn't have one) we volunteered to help the Newlyweds with some shopping errands, starting at IKEA. Notice the capitals, which is their trademark. IKEA in Israel is like IKEA stores all over the world…huge, maze-like, with a dizzying array of housewares, furniture, knick-knacks, organizers, products you think you need, and many things you never thought you needed! However, Israel’s Ikea has a few twists. It has a synagogue, Talmudic Study sessions (Daf Yomi, the daily cycle of Talmud study), and a strictly Kosher cafeteria featuring their famous Swedish Meatballs (NB: Google Swedish Meatballs: They are always made with beef, pork, butter and milk… doesn't sound Kosher to me! Must be some good tasting impostor . We went to the Afternoon (Mincha) prayer service at 2, and the Rabbi announced that the evening service would be at 6. Considering the size of the store, it’s amazing we weren't there for the evening service, supper and maybe breakfast the next day! Gila and Ariel did quite well, purchasing a small truckload of things for their apartment, which arrived, un-assembled the next day. Good thing we included a tool kit for assembly…!

After a quiet, rainy Tuesday, Barbara and I drove to the ancient city of Safed (Tzefat) on Wednesday. Tzefat is best known as the center of Jewish mysticism. This dates back to the turn of the millennium (not Y2K), when during Roman Times, Rabbi Shimon Ben Yochai escaped the Roman Armies and fled to the North of Israel, to Meron, not far from Tzefat. There he delved into the mystical, Kabbalistic side of Judaism and is considered the author of the primary work of Jewish Mysticism, the Zohar. Over the centuries the northern city of Tzefat has been home to many Kabbalistic and Hassidic Masters, including the famous Rabbi Isaac Luria, the Ari HaKadosh. Today, Tzefat is a city like many others, but the old city of Tzefat is a haven for artist and history buffs alike. It is replete with synagogues from past centuries, an artist colony, and dozens of art shops with an amazingly sophisticated array of Judaic art. One of the vendors was a high school classmate of Monty’s, Emmanuel Bouzaglou. It was great seeing him in a different context, and we even bought a gift from him. The combination of mysticism, spirituality and art is pervasive; talking to artists in the area, you see their perspective on life. As one ex-Denverite artist who moved to Israel several years ago told us, there is much more to life than what most of us are involved in. There is caring about others, beauty, spirituality, happiness and cherishing the cycles we all go through. What amazing insight! 

As you know I often bringing up the political landscape, but in truth, we have been busy and distracted, and the cease fire was welcome to all. Regardless of the posturing afterwards, what is crucial is that the children in southern Israel are safe, and we pray and hope for safety and security for all children. Israel is having an election in January, and as you know the multi-party system here leads to confusing, not always logical coalitions in the ruling government. For now, parties are consolidating their candidate lists (specific percentage of votes leads to more of a list being elected) and there is some jockeying between parities. The incumbent Likud led by Bibi Netanyahu appears to be in the driver’s seat. 

We are spending this coming Shabbat in Jerusalem, to see Nomi, Elan, Shoshana and Shlomo, and will return to the coast on Sunday. Next week everyone is joining us here, and we will wrap up this amazing visit.

With that, we wish you a Shabbat Shalom, one of artistic beauty,  personal growth and bright lights.

Happy Hanuka!

Barbara and Bruce

We wish Refuah Shlema to Zisel bat Pesia. 

We wish the sincerest condolences to the Lieberman Family on the passing of Aron Lieberman Z"L. Montreal has lost a great baal tzedaka and pillar of the community. 

November 30th Post Wedding

“It will be heard in the cities of Judah and the surroundings of Jerusalem, sounds of joy and the voice of happiness, the voice of a groom and the voice of a bride!” Jeremiah 33 verses 10-11.

Those words are part of the seventh of the seven blessings that constitute the kiddushim, the Jewish wedding ceremony. Kiddushin does not really mean marriage; the root is both that of holy and sanctified or set apart. In the Jewish wedding ceremony, a bride and groom are sanctified to one another, brought together in an amazing union, to build a new, strong house full of values and commitment. It is a wonderful experience and as many of you know, this week we had the honor and privilege to celebrate the marriage of our son Ariel to Gila Twersky.

When we left off last week, we were preparing for the family to come together for Shabbat. We celebrated the special Shabbat Chattan (Groom’s Shabbat) with a Friday night dinner that united the Mazers from all over Israel at an apartment we rented in Jerusalem, with my Mom and our neighbor Ryan Fiter in attendance. Shabbat Morning we went to where Ariel had studied in Jerusalem, Yeshivat Hakotel in the Old City, where he was called to the Torah and read the Haftarah (reading from the Prophets after the main Torah reading). Many of his friends were in attendance, and the whole Yeshiva came alive as we danced with the Chattan in celebration of the upcoming marriage. We had a whole group of friends at Elan and Nomi’s home for lunch, as well as our cousins Linda and Allan Zysblatt. We had great food, great discussion, lots of thought provoking works of Torah in an amazing setting. The stage was being set for Monday’s big event.

Sunday was a day of preparations; a bit of running around and making sure all was set. We hung out in the old city with Shlomo and Shoshana, and Ariel went to his Yeshiva and spent the evening with friends (not to mention Romanian Salami and some good Scotch). I don’t think he overdid things though, because he was up at 5:45 to go to the earliest morning prayers possible to start his day!

Monday we closed up the Jerusalem apartment and drove up to the Moshav where the wedding would be, called Shoresh. Shoresh is a small community on a hilltop 18 km outside of Jerusalem with spectacular views and a wedding hall on the top of the hill. It’s very popular…2 friends of Ariel got married there the week before! We checked into the adjoining hotel to get dressed and get ready for pictures and the celebration. The bride and groom customarily do not see each other for 7 days before the ceremony, so it was fun to see Ariel ducking behind things so they would not see each other while they were taking pictures in the same area!

The celebration itself was amazing (I sent out a link earlier with some of the festivities, for whoever wished to get a taste!) Weddings in Israel are much less formal than in North America. The signing and music are infectious, and the various parts of the ceremony (and there are several) are punctuated with spontaneous singing, dancing and clapping. The groom (and in our case the bride) don’t walk down the aisle formally; they are surrounded by the wedding guests and danced to the Chuppa (wedding canopy). The band and the singing only paused for the ceremonial blessings and the formal reading of the marriage contract. The atmosphere is completely different from the more solemn style of Britain and North America. One of our guests said that she wants all of her kids to get married in that style! Not only is it an amazing, emotional experience to marry off a child but the happiness in the hall makes the event tremendously special.

Just a few words on our new daughter in law, Gila. She’s the daughter of Rabbi Yitzhak and Geulah Twersky. The Twersky’s are from New York and moved to Israel 6 years ago. Rabbi Twersky is an educator and Geula also is in education but is an amazing artist (check out www.geulaart.com). The wedding invitation was based on one of her paintings. Gila is one of 10 children! She is a very poised, articulate and intelligent young woman who is studying in a girls Seminary in the mornings and teaching Hebrew in the afternoons. She is applying to the same university that Ariel is studying in for next year and they will be living in Givat Shmuel, the suburb of Tel Aviv where Bar Ilan University is located. We spent time with her when she visited Montreal during the Jewish holidays this fall and she is a very welcome addition to the family!

The rest of this week was spent in Jerusalem. Bruce attended the 2^nd international Allergy and Immunology Meeting at the David Citadel and Barbara ran around a lot doing things for the newlyweds and seeing friends and family (including Bilha Fruchter). Last night we had a group of Ariel’s friends (including Noam Levkovich and Dan Illouz) for a celebratory dinner, one of seven that the bride and groom traditionally have in the week after the wedding. We were outside, at a place called Anna Ticho House, in the gardens in the center of Jerusalem. I could not think of a more ideal place!

This Shabbat we are getting together with Gila’s family at their home in Neve Daniel. The Mazer clan and Twersky clan, and a few of their friends are getting together to continue the celebrations! More on that next week.

We wish a Happy Birthday to Talia Bella Mazer, who is turning 1!

We wish wish a refua shlema (speedy recovery ) to Sylvia

We wish everyone a Shabbat of joy and happiness with family and friends!

Barbara and Bruce

November 23 Pre-Wedding

We’re here! We made it! After a series of weeks running around, preparations, countless phone calls and discussions, we have landed in Jerusalem and are ready to celebrate Gila and Ariel’s wedding!  We will be in Jerusalem for Shabbat, to celebrate the Chatan (groom) and his last week as a single guy, and complete preparations for the big event on Monday. We have rented an apartment not far from the Inbal Hotel and the Old City (for those of you who can picture the location) and have the whole family including my mother here together.

The situation here is calm and stable. A cease fire went into effect Wednesday evening and at the moment there has been little to shatter the quiet. There is a lot of political posturing by both sides, but at least for the moment, there is no shelling in the south of Israel, and no talk of imminent invasion. Of course, there an infinite amount of potential problems and this is not a definitive answer to for any of the parties. There is much work to be done to provide better solutions to the current situation.

OK, enough politics! The weekend promises to be very exciting, with Shabbat in Jerusalem,  Ariel’s Aufruf (special call up to the Torah on the Shabbat before the wedding)  is tomorrow and wedding preparations on Sunday. The best part is that the family is all together, with Monty, Daniella and Tali arriving from Haifa and Elan, Nomi, Shoshana and Shlomo here in Jerusalem. My Mom, Phyllis, flew in on Wednesday and has been playing with Tali ever since! We get to spend great quality time with the grandchildren and kids (Note the order!) and enjoy being together. We even have a little more of Sunrise Ave. as Ryan Fiter is here for Shabbat and the Wedding as well and Cote St. Luc representation with Anna and Ivan Lerner and Gabi Cohen also joining us tomorrow.

Our arrival was a bit hectic, bringing Ariel suitcases with gifts and his Montreal purchases to his new apartment in Givat Shmuel, picking up some things in Netanya, returning to get Ariel and then on to Jerusalem. Even though gas prices are over 8 NIS (about $2.15) per litre, there is no shortage of cars on the road! The traffic was pretty dense, so we had to pace ourselves. We finally arrived in Jerusalem in time to tuck Shoshana and Shlomo in, have some dinner and then run off the Shoresh , the location of the wedding, to inspect and pick up food for Shabbat! I won’t tell you what time we ended our very long day…

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Today was a rainy day in Jerusalem, and between catching up on sleep and doing errands for Shabbat, we filled the hours very quickly. We’re now playing with Tali and setting things up. Much more to come for next week, with lots of pictures!

Wishing you all Shabbat  Shalom!

Barbara and Bruce

D’var torah in honor of the Yahrtziet of Mark Samuel, 5773

Parashat Lech Lecha


A D’var torah in honor of the Yahrtziet of Mordechai Aharon Ben Michael, Mark Samuel

Parashat Lech Lecha begins with the call to Avram from Hashem to leave his residence in Haran and go to Eretz Yisrael. However, if we go back to the end of Parashat Noach, we see that Avram’s his father Terach and his family actually contemplating going to Canaan. During his Parasha Shiur last week, Rav Nadav Levin quoted Rav Nebensahl, pointing out that the family of Terach was on a sojourn from Ur Casdim to Eretz Canaan (Noach, chapter 11, verse 31). However, on their way they stopped in Haran, and stayed there. Rav Nebesahl reflects on the short-sightedness of Terach’s decision. Rather than continue on their journey and develop roots in Eretz Canaan, which was and would become the world’s center of spirituality, they stopped in Haran, most likely because it was familiar, because it was comfortable, and reminded them of their previous home. Instead of moving out of their comfort zone, instead of trying to reach the next level, they were satisfied with Haran, and there they stayed until Avram got the call to leave in our parasha.


It is difficult to leave your comfort zone, and to try to get to the next level. We look al around us at family, friends and acquaintances, and in general people don’t like to rock the boat, make waves or effect great change. It is those people who do leave their comfort zone, who do seek something higher and greater, that make the most difference in peoples’ lives. Avaraham Avinu set the greatest example, following G-d’s word and moving from the comfort of Haran to the wilderness of Canaan, a stranger among the tribes there. His is purpose, to find and develop spirituality, to publicize the concept of one G-d, completely changed Mankind. This is why the seemingly trivial detail that his father set of to Canaan and stopped, whereas Avraham heeded the call to go, is highlighted in the Torah. The contrast in decisions is one we all face and make in many aspects of our lives.

To reflect on Mark’s life is to reflect on someone who clearly was never satisfied with staying in his comfort zone. His work challenged the basic building blocks of matter and life. He worked continuously to question fundamental principles and to provide real solutions to the question of what makes up the basic tenants of the world. His quest to determine mathematical proofs to these issues (for over 25 years in the pre-PC world, with a slide rule or a calculator that used “reverse Polish Logic”) is even more impressive today as we can hardly add and subtract without pulling out our smart phones or doing an Excel spread sheet. This quest for ultimate truth led him to collaborate with people all over the world, and his travels frequently took him to colleagues in Israel. There is no question how happy this made him. He would make any excuse to see Professor Karlinsker in Tel Aviv, and always would visit Jerusalem and be sure to take in a good piece of the country. He would always come back from Israel reenergized and recharged, and ready to tackle the next challenge.

Leaving our comfort zone, challenging and pushing the envelope is not easy, but staying in our personal “Haran” rather than completing the journey to Eretz Yisrael can leave us empty. Whether we actually do change the world is not the issue. However, if we strive for the best, if we think out of the box, if we aim for higher heights of understanding and spirituality, the positive changes that occur in us will be the ultimate reward.

May Mark’s memory be a blessing and inspiration for us all.
Th-ey nishmato tzrurah b’tzror ha-chaim