בנשמה

The time you see a house in the USA you realize is your dream home...and then your daughter starts playing with a dreidel and on the top of her lungs sings " -- נס גדול היה פה -- ירושלים" -- yep. Huge smile on our faces.

When the teacher writes out of the blue. And you've been feeling so sick of corona news, pending holiday lockdown, miss family, Entenmanns, really miss family.... This males it all worth it. Enough to make you cry. 

The torah portions are fairly clear these days regarding the return to Israel. And while moving from the USA to Israel has come off to some as being brain washed, it seems a bit ironic given the zionist ideals we teach our children. Last shabbat we had fun with rainbow challah and animal duplos on our table. While I can't promise a themed food every week, it's truly a blessing to be able to do this from here. Shabbat shalom from 85 degree weather (yes, we miss New England leaves, but not raking our yard. It's refreshing not to put on our coats. Don't worry, we miss things).

Not going to lie, this time seger feels much harder. Likely, it's because this type of festival is generally open to guests and going from home to home. We did the best that we could, and tried hard to ignore bad press. Every day had someone in a bad mood or bored. But dinner was usually a highlight with a fun theme and learning in the sukkah. Plus movie nights of classics.  Note to self : if you won't let your kids watch television, must get them at-home kits, regardless of the cost. Thank you to local grocery story, בכף שלנו for having toys. 

It feels so dreamy being here.  Our first Sukkot in Israel.  The weather is still hot but pleasant in the evening. It is certainly unlike what we've had in the United States, eating with sweatshirts on and freezing (it actually feels so refreshing to not have to worry about rain, strong winds, and second day yom tov menu planning). Despite the lockdown, with the spirit of the holidays harder to notice, the air is a unique calm. The sunsets are still gorgeous. We could hear hammers at work and received catering menus in anticipation (looking forward to stuffed cabbage and a special thanks to a friend for making that happen since I haven't a clue how to make it, but a yearly staple growing up). Singing this song  made more sense and with the kids leading it on their own...just...melt.   We lent out the Sukkah we lifted with us from the United States for Amudim , a seminary located in Modiin for where the lovely girls will dedicate their learning over ...

One last hurrah before school starts. Today we joined a demonstration for making Italian ice cream in Rechovot. Glida Chooplah does several of these 1.5 hour activities throughout the year. The most ironic discovery was an ice cream flavored named Corona. We thought it would be gross or purposely made that way like Jelly Bellys that are made to taste like snot. But it actually was surprisingly good.  Nothing is planned for tomorrow other than school and figuring out drop offs and pick ups. Hello תשפ"א. Good luck to all!  Orientation for kita aleph was yesterday for which we have a daughter not excited - -" mommy, there are no toys."

The thing about Israel is that it is small. Many families use the last two weeks of August to see relatives, enjoy nature and recharge. Without daycare, you are forced to stay cation or really go somewhere. As you can see, go we did. A few notes. Given the country's size, there really is no reason not to go back home for shabbat. As new olim, ok fine, going on year two, we watched as other families sat with their siblings, parents, grandparents and this made us feel, well, rather alone. For myself at least, no parents and no grandparents at all. The feeling was strange and I ended up missing my parents, a lot. At the playground I asked our son if he knew why we moved here. He looked at me and replied "because saba and savta are here." I asked ok, what else "because it's our homeland."  Bingo. In the constant moving around during the week, we didn't feel lonely at all. Motzei shabbat we learned all the families would return home an...