Adventures in Covid Testing

 Earlier this year, the company I work for started doing official rapid antigen Covid testing and testing now takes up a surprisingly-large part of my day (seriously--I have done over 650 tests!). Our tests give people either an official travel document or, for people not traveling, the results get entered in the Ministry of Health, thus giving someone a 24 hour "Green Pass" (which is being phased out at the moment, but formerly was required for entrance to a movie theater, hotel, restaurant, etc) ) OR an official Covid diagnosis. The results make their way from my company to the Ministry of Health and then over to the person's kupah (HMO) where they become a "forever" part of their health record. 

this will hold me for a few days!

It's interesting to note the American mindset, as people visiting here just do not understand how un-private your health info is. If you are officially Covid positive and show up to the airport (which, by the way you can't enter without proof of your flight and a negative Covid test) and try to fly--EVEN with proof of a negative Covid test--during the time you are supposed to be in in quarantine: THEY KNOW. And you will (supposedly, at least. Thankfully no one I know has tried to pull this off) be taken from the airport and put in a Covid hotel. So often people say to me, "well, in the US they'd never know". Yup. And here they do. So don't try any funny business!

And speaking of un-private: I was appalled when the list of my vaccinations from my kupah contained two other pages with a list of prescription medication I've taken this past year AND the results of my last blood work! I printed the vaccination list and decided that Delta would just have to somehow deal without knowing my latest blood count (where's that eye-roll emoji?!).

waiting on results

Back to Covid testing: We do a throat (tonsil) swab and a swab of each nostril (also a difference w the US, I hear, as you guys are evidently not throat-swabbing for antigen tests). I am well-protected with gloves, a surgical gown, mask and face shield, which is good given the number of people who gag or cough on me after the throat swab (I hear you, folks--not my favorite thing either).

People flying into the US have to do an antigen test the calendar day before their flight. Note that it's not 24 hours before, just one calendar day, which is much more flexible and user-friendly. This means that anyone flying Saturday night before midnight can do their test anytime Friday. For Shabbat-observant people, this is a huge help. Too bad more people don't know about it, as I generally have a small number of tests on Fridays and a LARGE number of people setting up appointments for Saturday night (those flying after midnight have no choice).

The company uses a scheduling site that books appointments 5 minutes apart, which generally is great as long as people keep to their appointment times. My first test of the day is 7:55 a.m.most days and the other day I was stunned to hear, while I was davening (praying) at 7:35 that there were voices outside. And those voices clearly did not belong to my neighbors getting in their cars and driving off.....EEK.  Luckily our friend Ephraim, who had stayed over for Shabbat, was leaving early Sunday morning and told them I'd be out in a bit. Let's just say it wasn't the best praying I had ever done 

Unusual answers to the website questions:

"City of residence in Israel (required by the Ministry of Health to keep track of which cities are orange/red)": "New York" 

"City of residence in Israel": "US"

"Your passport number": "No" (I still have no idea what this person meant. But they did, indeed, show up with a passport)

And, of course, many of the folks visiting from the US put their birth date in US form, mixing up month/day with day/month (even though the website asks for it in Israeli order and gives an example).

If I'm home/awake, I'm happy to do a test. This has led to some madcap moments such as when my good friend found out she was Covid + on a home test and it was 11:30 at night. "QUICK!!!! Come down right now and I'll get your results in the Ministry of Health so today counts as Day 1". This has happened a number of times around 9 or 10 pm, but that was the only time doing the test and getting the results was a nail-biter countdown to midnight (the results take 15 minutes and it takes another minute or two for me to input into the Ministry of Health). The current rule in Israel is that you have 5 days of bidud after a positive result. the day you get a positive result is Day 1. If you get a negative result (can be on a home test or an official antigen test) on Day 4 and then again on Day 5, you are free from quarantine on midnight at the end of Day 5. So getting that first day in the system is a big help for people.

The Ministry of Education requests that parents give their child a home test before school on Sundays and again on Wednesdays and has supplied parents with free tests and a website to submit their results. Some schools are more strict than others about this testing and require parents to submit their results to the school as well and there is at least one local school which will send a child home if the results were not submitted to the school. However, submitting a positive result to the Ministry of Education/your child's school does not get your child in the Ministry of Health system. Without being in the MOH system, your child does not officially have Covid. Being officially diagnosed means that your child is exempt from needing a booster shot (at least for a while), have an updated Green Pass and does not need a test to fly. The upshot of this is that I have an uptick of tests on the days that people test their children and find out--SURPRISE--that their child has Covid.

Worst part of the job: telling people they are positive, especially those who are asymptomatic and thought they were just going through the formality of testing before their flight :(

Shloshim

 Shloshim, the 30 day period that marks the end of mourning for all relatives except a parent, finished two weeks ago. I am so thankful that I made it to this age without previously being in aveilus (mourning).  I am also in awe of the way that Judaism guides us through the 7 day-, 30 day-, and full year after the death of a loved one....

Although it was hard to leave my Mom and siblings, Shalom Shachne and I came home for the final two days of shiva and it was nice to be supported by the people where we live. I also think it would have felt very.....odd.....to come home after shiva and have everything be "normal".

The kids had put up photos of my Dad on the door (hoorah for Israel's super-safe metal doors that also double as magnet holders) and they are still there. I really love looking at the photos and have no plans for them to take them down any time soon.

So, shloshim: 

--for thirty days I did not wear makeup (my SuperStay24 lipstick habit might have permanently gone out the window [at least while we still wear masks]). No haircuts or trimming nails, either.

--I did not publicly listen to music (I did listen on headphones while running). This also meant that Shalom Shachne, who recently received the incredible birthday gift of a complete refurbishing of his beloved high school saxophone (way to go, Chana, Steve and Jeff!) did not play his saxophone, and SS and Chana only played piano with headphones on. Because we're in this as a team.

--we did not invite any guests for Shabbos nor did we go out for meals. In extreme Covid irony, we went out for Shabbos lunch after shloshim ended and our host called 1.5 days later saying she had just gotten a positive Covid test......

--at the end of shloshim, Shalom Shachne made a siyyum on a portion of learning (seder Nashim) he had finished and spoke about my Dad. I was very touched at the comments people made afterward. Here is a brief sample of what he said:

I’m making a siyum לעילולי נשמת נתן ועלוועל בן בעריל, my father-in-law, Norman Zagorsky who passed away a little more than a month ago.  

He was a person of strong and good character, who became quite successful in business.  He went to work for a synagogue friend who had started a small catalog company, and together they built a $200 million business that went public, opening 150 stores throughout the US.

Norman’s nickname was “Norman the Negotiator”.  He had the ability to make deals that seemed impossible to normal people (like me).  He accomplished this through a combination of traits: 

• fearlessness -- willingness to make seemingly outrageous offers, and also a willingness to start at the top.  His first call would be to the president of the company, no matter how large the corporation.

• a belief in the fundamental fairness of a good deal -- both parties need to get enough value out of it.  If he convinced someone to sell for ½ his original price, it was because the other side was still making a profit.

• and also the ability to develop a good relationship with the person he was negotiating with.  He said that it was his goal that, after getting everything he wanted out of the deal, the other person would want to go out to dinner with him.  

A lot more could be said about his accomplishments in business, but there are two aspects of his character which are examples for all of us.

He grew up in financially meager circumstances in Chelsea, a suburb of Boston, and worked for his father’s and uncle’s glass business every day after coming home from school.  His father sent him out to do estimates for glass installations even from a very young age.  

One day, the glass business got a big break: contractors constructing a large building wanted an estimate to install glass shower doors for all the apartments.   This was the biggest job they had ever estimated and the contractor was shocked when my father-in-law, who was 15 years-old, showed up to do the estimate.   However, everything proceeded smoothly, until the contractor asked Norman a final question:  “will all the shower doors be perfect?”.  Norman answered truthfully, saying that the glass doors always came out of the factory with a few small imperfections, and so it was impossible to guarantee they would all be perfect.  

A few days later the contractor phoned the glass shop and told Norman’s father how impressed he was with his professionalism.  But, he said, they would have to give the job to another company who had promised that there would be no flaws in the glass.  My father-in-law’s truthfulness cost him the biggest business deal that their small company would ever have.

In שמים, one of the big 3 questions we are asked is:  נשאת ונתת באמונה?  Did we deal faithfully in business?  It’s easy to be honest when it costs nothing, but to be willing to lose a big deal that could make your life more comfortable, requires real integrity and courage.

One last point before the סיום:  my father-in-law’s highest priority was always his family -- whether it was his children, grand-children, cousins, or even just friends of the family.  He was always looking for ways to help improve their lives --  whether it was showing up with some tools to do house repairs (as he did many times for us), or calling the president of some company which had treated one of his family members unfairly, or providing financial support for a family member’s education or business venture.   I hope that I will eventually be able to live up to his example with my own family and friends.

-----------------------------------------------------

--So now we are on to the rest of the year of mourning. I still find that I want to tell my Dad something and realize I'm not able to do that by picking up the phone. Don't know if that's going to go away anytime too soon.....

I am learning about how my year will be structured in order to give honor my father and our relationship: this kind of mourning is done exactly twice in a person's life. My friend's daughter is getting married this week; I may attend the chuppah ceremony only, not the meal or dancing. On Purim this year I will get no mishloach manot gift baskets (they can be addressed to us as a family, though). Throughout this year, I will buy no new clothes (bringing to light just how often I used to pop in to one of the stores in the mercaz and bring home "just a little something". The night before I left for Boston, when we knew my father was nearing the end of his life, I ran to the mall to get a new turtleneck to protect against the Boston cold. I got two different colors and one I did, indeed, wear the week of shiva. And one will wait patiently for me for next winter. When I will probably cry putting it on for the first time).

Baruch dayan ha'emet

 Baruch dayan ha'emet. With tremendous sadness along with deep gratitude for our many years together, I share with you that my beloved father died on Friday.

I will be sitting shiva in the US until Wednesday morning, then in Israel from Thursday afternoon until an hour before Shabbos. Please send me a private message if you would like shiva details.

May the memory of Nasson Velvel ben Beryl be for a blessing

New Citizen :)

 In honor of "Aliyah Day" that was earlier this week (to coincide with this week's Torah portion of Lech Lecha, where Avraham is commanded by Gd to go from his land, his birthplace and his family to the land that Hashem will show him), I wanted to give a big shout out to one of the country's newest citizens: Cousin Jillian!!! 

Okay, so she's not likely to be here 'until 120', as we say. She's more likely to be here until she finishes medical school, and being a citizen will help her breeze in- and out of the country with (more) ease during Covid. It will also mean that *her* first-degree relatives can apply for permission to enter the country for a visit (Israel being closed to tourists since March 2020.....). SOOO, cousins Mike, Marlene and Lindsey: hope to see you soon!

I can only imagine my Grandpa Jack, a''h, and Jillian's great-grandpa Louis, who were brothers, are smiling in shamayim at their descendants living in Israel. I would like to thank Jillian for finally giving me a relative in this country who doesn't live under the same roof as me. And for being the kind of person who get choked up when the Philharmonic plays "Hatikva" before the concert begins. Love you and SO proud of you, Jillian!

Six Years!!!!

 We recently celebrated our six year aliyah-versary! Wow. We're really doing this!!! As the kids were all still in the US on the actual day, we didn't do anything as a family (okay, I sent a Whatsapp to our family group, but I'm not sure that counts as celebrating). 

Work is sloooowly gearing up. Almost all my students are still in quarantine, but I did have one clinic so far. Good to be back in the saddle again!

I'm spending some of my time making meals for families of new olim, because they are all in bidud like my students. Eek--I can't quite imagine what it would be like to make aliyah and then find yourself unable to leave your house for a minimum of a week (predicated on a negative Covid test at the airport right after you land and one on Day 7). Especially since most of these people are doing it with kids. A lot of kids for some of them (I'm making dinner tonight for a family with 5 kids). Many of the new olim are getting Meal Trains set up for them to get them through that first week since oftentimes they don't even have a stove yet, never mind know how to set up an online grocery order (or even know from where to order a pizza)! Our street has THREE families of new olim who have moved in, which is crazy rare (we were the last new olim to show up on our street). The (slightly-envious) talk of the neighborhood is a set of families who made aliyah: the young-grandparent/parents along with three of their adult children with *their* families. WOW. How cool would that be to make aliyah with your own built-in support system of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins?!

Penina and Ilana came back from the US and, like the new olim, entered bidud for a week, which for Ilana meant missing the first few days of school which, as she notes, are the only fun ones in the beginning of the year. While I've heard of the police calling or checking in-person if people are sticking to their home quarantine, thankfully all was quiet for them. Their big outing was getting their second Covid tests (thus saith Penina, "Why don't we go to Jerusalem to get them? There's no requirement that you go to a place near you and it's the first we've been out of the house for a week". In the end, though, they did go locally). We somewhat gamed the system by paying privately for them to get rapid tests on Day 6 so Ilana could go back to school on Day 7 and not wait for the results of the longer PCR test (Ilana was just vaccinated in July *and* has antibodies, although she was never symptomatic. Penina, meanwhile, was vaccinated twice in January and then got Covid while in the US this summer, poor thing. She's better now. Anyway, for both of them, the chances of testing positive or being a danger to another person were/are quite low).

first day of 10th grade!

Penina left for seminary last night! She's spending the year in the seaside town of Netanya. Her seminary spends half the day learning and half the day volunteering in a group foster care home.

Saying so long to Percy

We're waiting for Chana to come home at the end of this week and trying to figure out if, given Israel's new guidelines for who needs quarantine after flying in, we can figure out a way she's free by Rosh Hashanah next week. Stay tuned ;)

And, lastly, speaking of Rosh Hashanah, I LOVE that I live in a place where even the milk cartons wish you a "Shana Tova", a good new year! Shana Tova, everyone!

And....We're Back. With Covid, That Is.....

Sigh....That was quick. My last post, on June 17, was about the mask mandate being lifted. Two weeks after that, the indoor mask law was reinstated (but I couldn't bear to blog about at the time).  

I had a whirlwind trip to the US (4 states, 4 plane trips, a rental car and an overnight train ride) earlier this month. It was interesting to note the differences in the US vs Israel: as expected MUCH less mask-wearing in the US, BUT when people did wear masks (and I was in Los Angeles right after their indoor mask law went into effect, so mask-wearers weren't just those that self-selected to do so), people wore them properly. Lovely to see proper mask-wearing and NOT see a person's nose. Or (argh) their nose and chin (not sure what the point is of wearing your mask's earloops and that's all).  In every city I was in, there was a noticeable amount of empty storefronts, definitely an increase from past years (even in JFK airport). 

Sadly, the Covid rates are high and getting higher here: yesterday there were 8700 positive cases, the most since early February. HOWEVER, it is quite clear that the vaccines are protecting people from getting seriously ill. From the Covid 19 Updates whatsapp group (PM me if you'd like the link to join): per 100,000 unvaccinated people in Israel there were 97.3 severely ill and only 17 severely ill who were fully vaccinated. In Washington, DC those same rates were 606 and 12 hospitalizations per 100,000 people respectively.

--------------------------------

Bit of Blog housekeeping here: due to a change in Google, I needed to switch the system that sends out emails from this blog. If you get an email asking you to confirm your subscription, please do :)

Woohoo--DONE

 As of this point, it seems that Israel is DONE with Covid (and please Gd may it stay that way). For about the last week, there have been less than twenty cases a day of Covid (the max was in September with over 11,000 cases in one day). 

The indoor mask mandate--the last remaining Covid law aside from those relating to travel--was repealed and WOOHOO it is just great to not need to wear masks any more. Super popular local video shows a teacher telling her young class that the Prime Minister had just repealed the law requiring them to wear masks in class and then the kids going crazy throwing their masks in the air, tearing them up and just generally having a bedlam-ous good time! I'm sure all my teacher friends can relate :)