Chanukah


The holiday has finally arrived!!! And it's... well... different, and that's OK. For those who love peppermint lattes, the smell of pine, blinking lights and seeing cultures mesh together, the United States definately has that going (anyone else remember the glaring of lights blinking in your window as you were trying to fall asleep? At a certain point, it was kind of nice). It is also bizarre not to have a week of vacation off like I did for 7 years at Brandeis University. Or snow. Though the closest we've got to that is the Frozen pom pom hat our baby wore, purchased by his Baba Raba for which his second name is in honor of hers (and my dad). 

In Israel kids get off of school. As do daycare centers for infants (at least, ours). For extra pay the municipality offers camp in one of the school buildings, but the kids really wanted time to just relax. In our case, since Josh works from home (and I soon will be too! - - contact me privately please if you want details - - yes, in Marketing and yes hopeful, excited, humbled - - and we might be moving to Meitar. We think. Maybe. Who knows.) that puts a lot of pressure on daddycare versus mommycare and mommy having major FOMO. Like, major. 

The kids went to a museum their first day off where they held an 180 pound snake and a variety of other creatures. Their giggles and smiles captured on camera were priceless. The next day they went on a private tour of the Maccabis and dressed as them. They also made oil lanterns as was done back in the day. We right now have a lot of mud in our rental car, as it settles. 

This time of year also surprisingly comes with airborn viruses. Since Sunday I struggled with 101.5F and 102.6 temperature. And yes, we all got the flu shot. Every night activity I had organized was canceled and other ones came up that the older two went to without me. And I'm not the only one with this lovely virus. I learned of at least 4 more that caught it at exactly the same time. 

To make Chanukah feel special and unique here, we've purchased different types of sufganiyot every day. Tonight we purchased a really cute Chanukah bag of chocolates made by Eilit. It was a joy watching the kids playing dreidel and sneaking in gelt as a treat (right before dinner, of course).

In Israel, you have to look around closely and find events that will make you feel a sense of the holiday. There's actually so much going on that it's very unlike the Chabad or shul events we have been used to in the past that are very nuclear. There's also no Sunday off, or any workday, for that matter to show nationwide appreciation (we counted last night and it appears only Yom Haatzmaut and voting are days off - - starting to understand the joy of MLK, July 4, Memorial Day, Patriots Day, Yada Yada Yada, but love it here, promise.) This is why it's nice to find at least one shul event, if it exists where you live. The kids tomorrow will design their own sufganiyot and make sugar cookies at home. They will also go to a gaming event at the Matnas and another event at a shul. We will celebrate the final night with ice cream for which we were asked why, given the cold. But hey, we are Bostonians and our son is wearing shorts - - in December! 

It is amazing to be in Israel, our homeland, where artifacts are found from centuries ago. Walking in those footsteps, discovering and uncovering our history, you simply can't deny Jewish heritage. We placed these artifacts by the Menorah and hope to save them as a reminder. And so while the high winds one night and rain another canceled what we hoped would be a nighttime stroll to see the menorahs, we found a way to commemorate the miracles of the past, present and Gd willing look forward to the future, as we continue to carve out and discover how we fit in a new country. 

We also shared happy near tears of joy as our 5 year old recited her candle lighting blessings with an Israeli accent. 

There's no place like home, and in time, we will create new traditions that replace or perhaps rather enhance our past. 

Chag Urim Sameach! Our prayers and love to all who have been hurt by acts of hatred. May light always be a source and guide to push away the darkness. 

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