The Final Festival Flings - R2BC

Part of the Sukkah City behind our building

Late to the party again with Reasons 2B Cheerful as I wanted to wait until after the weekend. It's the last week in September so, for the last time until November, the linky is with Michelle on Mummy from the Heart. Here are my R2BC...

The festival period is coming to an end. Only one more tonight and tomorrow and then we can get back to a proper routine for the first time since before the summer holidays. Whilst a nine week school term with no breaks is a bit scary, I'm so looking forward to a bit of discipline in our lives before we waste any more of it with late nights and hardly any mornings.

On Shabbat we went to my cousins in Netanya. It was a leisurely day including two meals in their sukkah with extremely good company. Some of their friends we meet every year and it's lovely to catch up. Some new faces but no one is completely 'new' as everyone is from the expat community. A bit of delving and you always find a connection. The couple I met for the first time were in the Scouts with my dad and remembered him fondly.

There were wonderful sunsets over the Mediterranean but the 25 hour festival without [visible and hands-on] technology encompassed both of them so no photos this time.

This final festival tonight celebrates coming to the end of the yearly cycle of reading the Torah (Old Testament) which we read weekly portion by weekly portion. We celebrate the Torah and that the the book of life, that we were hopefully written into for the coming year, will be signed and sealed by God. There is a lot of singing, dancing, and rejoicing in the synagogue. It goes on for hours.

It's been an intense three weeks of introspection, atonement and celebration. To be honest, I've had enough and I'm looking forward to real life starting again on Wednesday.

Sukkot 2018: First Day

All the guests depicted in a mural in the Sukkah.

We spent the first days of this seven-day festival in my favourite place in Israel - Kibbutz Alumim. This is my happy place full of wonderful memories of festivals, parties and shabbatot (Sabbaths) going back 30 years.

Two of my friends live next door to each other and share a Sukkah. I took a picture of the outide but we'd not yet laid the tables for the festive meal by sundown on Sunday, so by the time it was looking magical inside, all the technical equipment had been put away for the duration.

It's traditional to have a decoration depicting seven special guests (The Ushpizim) who we [symbolically] invite to the sukkah: Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. One of the decorations in our Sukkah was a mural depicting all the guests, 24 of whom were with us for the first day and the others (not us) will be there on Shabbat.

I am sitting back to back with my hostess - me writing my blog and she reading but also wearing her running shoes. DD is the gymnast with the red ball at bottom right. She loved it. She kept telling me how much she loved her picture.

It was very hot out so the Sukkah was fanned through each of the doors. 

There was also a hanging decoration that DD made in Kindergarten five years ago and we took it with us then. They put it up every year. It's a bit like Christmas decorations that get unpacked yearly. Some are added each year and some are old favourites.

The neighbours' guests included lots of friends, old and new. It was one big catch-up session. We also had a comic rendition of the laws and customs of the festival written in the style of Dr Suess.

On Monday we ate lunch in the enormous communal sukkah that takes up the whole patio in front of the communal dining room. We were about 300 people eating in it. And we ended the day with a light supper back in our own Sukkah.

If you think it's mostly eating and shmoozing you'd be right but there were also a few card and board games going on. Obviously there was a synagogue service in the morning but we didn't go to that - I'm off synagogue services atm but no one minds, each to his/her own.

We had a lovely time, as always. Big thanks to the Landsmans and the Marcuses. xxxx

Meditating And Other R2BC

A sukkah for living in next week during the festival of Sukkot

Reasons 2B Cheerful is brought to you this week in the middle of the Jewish Holidays of New Year, Atonement, and living in Booths. The Linky is with Michele on Mummy From the Heart. 

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Happy Where I Am

A few days ago I was told that they are looking for an English teacher at a school very near where I live. My school is a 40 minute bus ride away. Before I could even weigh up the pros and cons I found myself saying, "no thanks, I'm happy where I am." 

I work in a challenging school and every year so far I've vowed not to return for the following year. But here I am starting my fourth year. This year there are have been a lot of changes in the work conditions so I'm in a better place without going anywhere. It was nice to know that my subconscious mind agrees.

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Rosh Hashana Meditation

I didn't write a R2BC last week as I left it until Sunday and then something tragic happened that made it inappropriate to publish such a post. Had I posted, I was going to mention a wonderful Rosh Hashana experience on the first morning of the festival. 

Three friends got together in one of our homes for a meaningful discussion about the year ahead. We had all expressed some dissatisfaction with the regular synagogue services as they are very rigid and leave no space for your own individual prayers. There's also a lot of unnecessary repetition of things you didn't really want to say in the first place. 

We had a loose agenda decided beforehand including a guided meditation. I've only ever meditated successfully once and that was over 30 years ago. This was the first time since then that I felt the value of it and understood why so many people meditate daily. 

The meeting wasn't supposed to be instead of synagogue but rather an extra something before it. However, we were so content in our little Rosh Hashana circle that we decided to have kiddush together before we went. Kiddush is sanctifying the wine and it's usually an aperitif after services and before lunch, said with a blessing and often served with some light refreshment. 

It doesn't have to be wine - any alcohol will do. So out came the whisky and a plate of biscuits. From there we progressed to tea. Long story short, we spent the morning together and forwent the traditional service completely. This didn't matter as there were repeat services on the second day of Rosh Hashana. Our welcoming in the New Year was perfect. I hope we do it again next year. 

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Sukkot

One of my favourite festivals and we are spending it in various places with family and good friends. It starts on Sunday night though the booths are already going up all over the country. And no school for another week. So that's next week's R2BC taken care of.

After The Fast - Dedicated To Ari Fuld z"l

Today was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. On this day like on no other day of the year, the whole country shuts down. All places of work (except for hospitals and the military) and entertainment are closed. The airport is closed. The streets are clear except for the occasional police patrol or an ambulance. Children who are not synagogue-goers take advantage of the lack of traffic and ride their bikes on the roads. I've written about it before.

After a long day of introspection, prayer, and atonement, we put the old year to rest. We contemplate how we can improve ourselves and our behaviour in the coming year.

There was a lot to think about today. Last week there was a tragic terrorist attack in a community nearby. Almost all my friends either knew Ari Fuld, a 45 year old father of four children, personally or knew someone close to him. For a while many years ago I was in a women's group with his mother. Jerusalem and indeed Israel, is like that. We are all connected.

Many of my friends said it made them appreciate the present. Ari's close friends urged everyone to be like Ari - a man of action, a doer. He was outspoken, yes, but for the truth. He was a teacher, a soldier, and a leader. CCTV footage shows that after he was stabbed and before collapsing, Ari ran after the terrorist and shot him as he was chasing his next victim, thereby saving her life and potentially more lives after that. His daughter quoted Ari at the funeral: "If your life is too comfortable you're doing it wrong."

There was much outpouring of grief. Facebook and newspaper comments inevitably got political. Some comments, both from the extreme left and the extreme right, were way out of order, imo. Emotions ran high. Moderates, in the middle of the road, tried to keep things calm and civil. Well if you can't stand in the middle of the road on Yom Kippur when can you?

At just after 7pm today the shofar (a hollowed out ram's horn) is blown for the last time and we finish introspecting and have to start doing. Of course we have to break our fast first. And then we should start as we mean to go on.

The first deed after Yom Kippur is traditionally to build your sukkah - a temporary booth in which to sleep and eat for the upcoming seven-day festival of Sukkot. As I sat at my computer tonight I could hear the bang bang bang of many hammers as a number of sukkot were being erected in the garden behind my building. 

I was at the computer and finished grading all my Summer Course papers to date. DD prepared her school bag for tomorrow, showered and washed her hair, and read a chapter of her book all without prompting, to show that she was already making good changes.

I will try to be more of a doer. I will stand up for the truth as I believe it. Neither agreeing with those on the extreme right nor the extreme left of most political and religious issues, but finding the middle road with the best possible outcome for the most people. I will continue to support strict security measures and harsh punishments for terrorists whilst not blaming every member of their race or religion.

In keeping with the words of Rabbi Zushya, I can never be an Ari Fuld, but I will try to be a better Rachel Selby.

Why I Hate The Derech Bet Lechem Street Fair

Last night we went to the annual street fair that happens two blocks from our house. They close the road and rent out tables to merchandisers - mostly food and cottage industry crafts. Then everyone comes because there's nothing else to do and it's "free". However the idea of it, from the organiser's point of view, is to get you to spend as much money as possible. The idea of it from my point of view is not to spend any money at all.

As we approached I could see that the road was packed. I told DD that we'd mosey all the way up to the end, then we'd mosey all the way back, and then we'd go home. "What's mosey?"
"It's walking very slowly and seeing everything along the way. Let's see if we can meet more than 10 people we know," I suggested to make it a bit more fun. We met about 20 people we knew before we even got to the entrance barrier.

Two seconds in I got a phone call from a friend from out of town. "I'm at the street fair. Are you here?"
"Yes we're here."
"I'm by the Waffle Bar."
"We'll be there in two secs."

I dragged DD along to the waffle bar. "Hey! This isn't moseying. I wanted to see something over there. Why are we running?"
"Were going to meet my friend."
"Oh no! And then you're probably going to want to stop for a conversation. Correct?"
"We'll talk and mosey at the same time."

It was lovely to see my friend and her husband. We moseyed a bit together and chatted. DD saw a 2 nis key chain with a tin koala and wanted to buy it for 15 nis. I told her we should see everything and if she still wants it we can get it on the way back. She was disappointed and there may have been some whining involved and the tiniest hint of an argument.

Suddenly we saw DD's best friend standing at the side of the road sobbing. We stopped to learn that they'd lost her three year old brother and her father was running around frantically trying to find him. I spotted him and he was indeed frantic. DD's friend was distraught. I apologised to my friends but we had to help look for the boy.

We were just before a dense crowd watching a band playing. It was almost impossible to get past but we pushed our way through and hurried right up to the end of the road and the exit barrier. The music stopped and they made an announcement about the missing child. I gave his photo to a policewoman who shared it on the police whatsapp (or whatever they use). Meanwhile the father had found him holding hands with another policewoman at another barrier.

DD wanted to go back and see that her friend was ok. So we ran back to the concert crowd and DD pushed through, dragging me behind her. A lady tapped me on the shoulder and said, "we're following in your footsteps."
"You'd better hold hands then." I gave her my free hand and we pushed on. I noticed that she had another four people behind her all holding hands. We were a train of seven with DD in the lead. Eventually we made it out the other end and were all able to uncouple.

DD's friend had gone home. I think her father probably needed a stiff drink. I offered DD something to eat. There were 9 mini doughnuts for 20 nis (4 pounds something) - we only wanted one. Or there were thin crepes with a shmeer of Nutella also for 20 nis. I said we'd eat at home. The koala key ring had been sold.

DD lost it and I don't blame her. We'd been out less than an hour. We'd run up and down the road hardly stopping to look at anything. She didn't get anything. Her legs hurt. She was fed up and so was I. I said we could stop at the 24/7 grocery on the way home and she could buy whatever she wanted. "Can I buy Fanta?" I bit my tongue and said, "just this once." And then obviously I had to buy some food for myself that I didn't need to eat.

We spent 60 nis at the 24/7. Grrrr. I should have just bought the doughnuts. Then we came home armed with a load of junk food and I had to spend the rest of the evening playing Rat-a-tat Cat to make up for everything.

(I just want to add that in previous years the fair has been much much better with loads more street entertainment, lots more participatory art, and many more stands with real artists selling real art.)

Eating in the Tabernacle - R2BC

Once again there are Reasons 2B Cheerful. Becky at Lakes Single Mum has taken back the baton for October and I've joined the linky as usual.


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Blogging
I took up the challenge from Jax at Making It Up to blog for all 30 days of September. In the end I only managed 18/30 but that was good enough. My life just isn't that fast to have something of general interest to write every day. Still, the 18 posts were enough to boost my stats and increase my TOTS100 ranking for the second month running. I'm now only 39 tantalizing ranks away from being back in the top 500. So I'm going for another month of lots of blogging to see if I can break the 500 barrier for the first time in almost two years.


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Another holiday
We went back to school on September 1st, we had a few days off for Rosh Hashana, nothing for Yom Kippur this year as it fell on a weekend, and now we have a whole 12 days for Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles). Sukkot is only an eight day holiday but the day before and the weekend after made a great block of days off. Of course this is only for teachers. Everyone else with young children has to juggle childcare for a week while they are at work and the kids are off.

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Lunch in the sukkah
We had a lovely day with friends today when we were invited to lunch in their sukkah. A sukkah is a temporary dwelling outside (a tabernacle) with a natural covering through which you can see the stars. It symbolizes the dwellings in the desert inhabited by the children of Israel as they journeyed from Egypt for 40 years after the exodus, until they reached the Land of Israel. (Funny how it didn't take Joseph and later Jacob and his other sons, nearly as long to make the original journey from Israel to Egypt.)

Just Good Stuff - Reasons 2B Cheerful

A whole village of sukkot between buildings

Remember the frame for this one? 

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A Bevvy of Booths?
The sukkot are sprouting between the buildings and on the balconies. Some have to be finished but they have until Sunday evening to complete them.

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A den
The friend who DD disappeared with last week for the whole day, came to our place today.

First they sat at the table and did all their homework for the holiday (we have 11 days holiday for the festival of Sukkot). DD didn't panic at all like she does when I'm helping her with her Hebrew homework - shows how much she doesn't trust me with it. Her friend was a great teacher, making DD read parts of the text and find the answers.

Then they had lunch. And then they disappeared to play in DD's bedroom and I've not seen them since. After 5pm. I offered to take them to the park but they were too busy building a den.

Finally the friend's dad came by on his way to the park with the dog and took them both to run around outside for a while.  And then we're going to friends for dinner. Another great Friday.

This just started growing in this pot.
So I watered it and weeded out the other stuff.
It's a succulent of some sort. I have no idea where it came from. 

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A Happy Teacher
Without any interruptions this afternoon I am completely up to date with grading for my online courses. Hooray!

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Greenish Fingers
Operation Cuttings is coming along slowly but surely on the balcony. It would be so much easier just to pop down to the nursery and buy a box of plants ready to plant. But that's not the point. I want to grow plants not just arrange them in the pots.

This was a weed in the succulent. I replanted it in its own pot.
I'm waiting to see what happens.
Technically it's no longer a weed.

The Lemon Scented Geranium from London is doing well.
It's next to a dead geranium which isn't.
I'm keeping it in case it comes alive again. 

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Holiday!
I think I mentioned that we are now on holiday for 11 days. And for three of those days DD's school afternoon program runs a summer camp for the whole day including two meals. Another hooray!

I managed to keep this gift from a pupil alive all summer.
I managed to keep the pupil alive all year.

Mint.
Every child at my Kibbutz School went home with a baby something to plant.
I found this one abandoned on the path so I adopted it.

I'm linking up with Reasons 2B Cheerful over at Lakes Single Mum.

Reasons 2B Cheerful - Being Connected

The sukkahs (booths) are starting to appear for the festival of Sukkot

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October and we're still going back to school
I went back to the kibbutz school this week. I started teaching at this school last year for only two days a week. To say the school runs on the principle of organized chaos would be a fair summing up of how they begin the new year. As I'd not received any confirmation that they wanted me back this year, I didn't know how many hours they could give me and no timetables had been finalized, I signed up to teach a summer course at my college which meant I could only start in school at the beginning of October.

In the end they increased my hours at school by 50% and I'm now teaching there three days a week. I must have got used to the way they work because it was nice to be back. It makes a big difference when you walk into a school and you know the people there and they know you.

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I am not a spy
I know my brother-in-law's family pretty well as we all grew up together. Even his cousins were in our youth movements. I know, however, that he has a set of first cousins who grew up in Israel and whom I don't know (although I was at a family bat mitzva party with them once but I don't think they came to my sister's wedding).

This week the son of one of my b-i-l's cousins turned up in my 6th grade class. You might say, 'small world,' but this is Israel. Things like that happen all the time. In fact there used to be a joke that if two Israelis meet and they've not found a mutual connection within five minutes, then one of them is a spy.

Some sukkahs under construction in my building

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Good friends
Yesterday I went to collect DD from school at 11.45. Yes Friday school is from 8 am till 11.45. Don't ask, we suffer it. Anyway, her friends' mother brought an extra pair of roller-blades and asked if DD would like to stick around and try roller-blading. (The school grounds are open to the public when school's out so the basketball courts, playgrounds, and park area are always in use.) The alternative was coming to the supermarket with me so it was no-brainer.

By the time I got home they'd already gone back the friend's apartment for lunch and were playing there. Then they watched a Harry Potter film with the older brother. Apparently, the mother told me, DD was like a little professor telling the other children how they must read books and not just watch movies because you get so much more out of books. She's very aware of what the films miss out and she's worked out for herself that the films can't tell you exactly what the person is thinking wheres the books tell you.

I was told I didn't even need to come to collect her as the father had to take the dog out so he would walk her home. In the end her friend went too and they decided they wanted to play in the park while the dog got his exercise.

So DD arrived home at 7.30 pm, just in time for a shower, supper and one chapter of Harry Potter (we are on book five if you wanted to know). Actually we didn't even get to the end of the chapter as she fell asleep after a few pages. A perfect day.

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And good family
We have been invited to go to Netanya by the sea for the beginning of the Sukkot festival next week. My nephew who is here on his gap year will be coming with us to my cousin's place. One thing I really miss by living here is spending the Jewish festivals with family. This year our satellite gathering will be almost as big as the mother ship in London.

I'm linking up with R2BC which is back on Lakes Single Mum this month.

Shaking The Lulav

This is what it says in the Bible:

Leviticus 23:40 And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. (English Standard Version)

So this is what we do. We take the three branches of trees mentioned (palm fond/lulav, hadass/myrtle and aravah/willow and we bind them together. We hold the fruit of splendid trees (interpreted as an etrog/citron) together with the bound branches and we shake it all about. I'm not being funny. We say a blessing and shake towards the four compass points and up and down, to show that God is everywhere, whilst praying for His mercy and forgiveness. (The Book of Life that we want to be inscribed in for another year is not closed and sealed until the last day of  Sukkot.) We shake the lulav every day of the festival of Sukkot (but, as the song says, not on Shabbat).  

Sukkot Nightlife, Jerusalem

We went to the Sukkot street fair and party on the main shopping street one block from where we live. Music, food, entertainment, market, and just about everyone we know from the neighbourhood. 

Music on every block 

There were two of these lumbering along the road

So much to see I couldn't get her to keep still

A photography exhibition

Watching the break dancing

Open gardens with more to see

The bubble man - a highlight of the evening for DD

Remember Spyro Gyra?

Eating in the sukka

Don't jump!

Chess for fun!

20 shekels well spent!

Every eatery has its own sukka

Living In A Booth

If you saw my Silent Sunday last week and read the comments you'll know what this is all about. If not, I'll recap. This week is the Jewish festival of Sukkot (Booths). To commemorate the temporary dwellings of the Israelites as they wandered in the desert for 40 years, we build our own temporary dwellings and , well, we dwell in them for a week.

The rules are that the sukkah has to have at least three temporary walls, and a natural roof (branches or wood/reed mats) through which you can see the sky.

They have sprung up all over the place. On balconies, in gardens, next to cafes so clients can eat in them, in car parks and even parking spaces. Inside we decorate them (think Christmas) with paper chains, tinsel and paper lanterns.

Here are a few pictures from Jerusalem...