How was your holiday?

We are so blessed!

We had a lovely Rosh Hashanah, and survived the three-day chag happily! Any unhappiness was brought on by my neglect of varying blood-sugar levels. Truly, the only thing missing was Loren. We heard he did a great job at Emory, but we missed him here!
We had dinner with the family of my friend Shoshana (a Ramah Wisconsin cohort that we had to Darom for a summer!). She has 4 siblings, and they all have a ton of kids, so ours blended in with the craziness quite nicely. Every contributor to the meal was a wonderful cook (the kids are trying all kinds of new foods happily…that is definitely worth the plane trip). Elan insisted that I get Shoshana’s mother’s recipe for red current and blueberry ice cream (pareve no less!). I’ve been experimenting with different flours for challot, and I fortunately made a few good ones for sharing this chag. They got a round one stuffed with dried apricots, honey and cardamom. I found out that they are all experienced bread makers as well, so I’m glad my experiments were successful! No pressure, baking in a strange oven with unknown flour. The happy bonus was when Mira recognized one of the cousins from her art class! This whole country is one tiny kibbutz, I tell ya!
We ate lunch with another family and then went to a park. We were having a great time until it was time to walk home. The variety of complaints included: blisters, too cold, too thirsty, too tired to walk, too hungry, and no wine for me. Once everyone was fed and watered (and wined), happiness returned.
For second day lunch, we were invited to the house of acquaintances from college and camp. They were so generous about including us! The kids get a kick out of explaining the philosophy of the Democratic School they attend, and they now know they like to eat empanadas! The family lent Mira a two wheeled contraption meant for the circus (think the front axle of a car with pedals) to take home. She is getting really good! She likes to take it everywhere and will show off on the sidewalk near cafes. She always gets applause because Israelis appreciate talent!

For Friday night, I invited a small horde over for experimental dinner, pre-cooked and warmed on the plata (a big, shomer-shabbat warming plate). I told the guests they were all eligible for a do-over dinner in case of disaster. The guests were former Darom staff, one Marietta gent here for the year and friends of guests. It was fantastic to be able to include even more guests (friends of invitees) and still have room for another who came to shul and needed a place to go. So, apparently, we can fit 15 people in our apartment for dinner! And I do know how to work the timer on the plata! And the kids are great hosts! And the whole world won’t end if I use paper plates for Shabbat dinner!
Dinner ended so late, the kids and I slept late and just wandered over to our lunch invite well-rested.
This was another really nice time. Our hosts thoughtfully invited a large group of their friends for us to meet, and at the same time, set the tone for Shabbat in a lovely way. Everyone (adult and child) was invited to share interesting questions and ideas about Shabbat Shuvah, the akedah, and life in Israel in general. I was almost smart enough to follow the discussion of shmitta. It is a shmitta year here in Israel, a shabbaton for the fruits and vegetables grown in the land. How appropriate that just at the time when Loren needed a shabbaton, we are in sync with agricultural life in Israel. We stayed talking (the kids played together and were laughing and singing all afternoon) until Shabbat was almost over (the kids ate dinner too!).

You might think all we did was eat! Doesn’t it feel like that for you? Davening at Shira Chadasha was exceptional. You can sing as loud as you want or sit quietly and listen. There are powerful waves of prayer. You can tell people enjoy praying together as a community. It is wonderful to be a part of it.

Our new fruits tried this year:
Passionfruit (not a hit), pomegranate (always a hit), dragonfruit ("subtly good" says Elan), lychee ("like eating a slimy eyeball" reports Elan. Do eyeballs come in a non-slimy version, my son?), persimmon ("love it" says Mira), kobi ("vague shampoo taste" but Mira and I liked it), starfruit (Amalya's favorite).

One sadness, my friend Tova’s grandfather died in the late afternoon right before the start of the holiday. They needed to hold the burial until Sunday…so hard to wait. From what I know of this special man of 94 years, he was a loving husband and father, married for over 60 years, and loved well by his family.

Thank you so much to all those who celebrated with us this Rosh Hashanah. Thank you also to everyone who writes me to tell me about the exciting adventures of their lives! You are helping us stay connected and feel a little less lonely!

It was a wonderful beginning to the New Year! Gamar Tov u'Chatimah Tovah! (may I learn to type in Hebrew in the coming year)

Searching for Yoga

So, yoga like I had in Atlanta is a little hard to find! The picture is of my favorite teacher, Gina, in Atlanta...if you ever want a fantastic yoga experience...check her out! She teaches all over Atlanta: http://www.yoga5.com/! I am missing my regular schedule. I have had good discussions with a few teachers here regarding the practice of yoga in the states vs. practice here in Jerusalem (Tel Aviv is, I think, another story). Basically, the people who come to yoga in Jerusalem want just a moment to relax, breathe and stretch. I do too, I just want to sweat and go upside-down, balance on my hands, and twist while I do it! Classes just move at a slower pace. Maybe that is what I'm meant to do while I'm here! I'm definitely rebelling against that suggestion. So far, I've tried:
kundalini, not for meme.
sivananda: okay, so it was hard to get it together when the instructor speaks only in Hebrew! I need ulpan just for yoga. Also, he wants the students to practice with eyes closed for much of the time...I need a few visual clues when I don't know what body parts he's talking about!! Also, I've been taught to hold a soft gaze, and that eyes closed suggests savasana (the final resting pose. There is much more pranayama than I'm used to. Again, this is just another philosophy of yoga that is just peachy, but doesn't speak to me like anusara yoga. He does make you tea after class, which is lovely! Everyone sits around, drinks mint tea, teaches me Hebrew in the form of opinionated local politics. The added benefit of these classes is that the studio is about 3 blocks away. I'll definitely return, and take what I can from this practice.

Another great option is the occasional class from a former student at Pardes.
She teaches in English and has a style I like. I'm trying to help her find more students for a morning class (I'm even willing to move furniture and hold the class in our apartment...yes, I'm desperate.
Apparently, most people here work! Unlike freeloaders like myself, they actually spend time on a payroll, or learning somewhere. I could practice in a variety of classes before the kids go to school, and when they get home. For some reason, they require my presence, and for others, I love to see them with their eyes open, so I'm not scheduling too many of those classes.

My next experiment was at a yoga center that is one bus ride (with a 15 minute walk on either side) away. This is a dedicated yoga studio with great energy. The teacher is very helpful (you want to learn Hebrew? Great! I’ll never speak to you in English again! Thanks!?) The class I tried was good, again, just not what I’m used to. They do have an advanced class (three hours!!!) that sounds interesting, and meets during school hours (hooray, no neglecting the kids for my own benefit!). Here’s the deal: they want a year long commitment. What? We just met! We hardly know each other! Can’t we just be friends? I’m going to go for it. Hopefully, I’ll get what I need yogically, meet some interesting people, and maybe even find a ride home!
There are some nice classes at another community center not to far away (they do require the presence of another parental unit for child development activities i.e.: bed time).
The other development that might have to come out of this is the creation of a more regular home practice for me. I just love going to a class and having someone else tell me what to do. I’m sure if I wanted that at home, Amalya would be more than happy to oblige. Also, the community created by practicing together is somewhat like davening in a minyan (apologies for any sacrilege).

I do recognize the need to quit whining. We are here with every blessing we could have. At Shabbat lunch, a friend spoke about the Jews blessings of scarcity (see? Torah talk at the Shabbat table…my life is full of blessings!). She put the centrality of yitziat mitzrayim in our language of prayer and observance in terms of how it blesses us as a people. We celebrate our freedom with bread made from almost nothing! That is our feast! By working with the land and our people, by making do with what we have…we have great ownership over what we learn, do and celebrate. That is our gift from God. This is my interpretation of her much more eloquent words. So I, selfishly, take them to mean what I need to hear in my own life. So I don’t have the plentiful yoga I had in Atlanta, where I could go any day to any number of classes (think Jews complaining about leaving Egypt). Was it really so great? I had a million other obligations (that I gladly took on), and here I have the freedom to learn, sit and think, and breathe. All right, I’ll do it, and hopefully, then I’ll understand.