Things are Feeling More Back to Normal :)

 When Chana was here, I actually left Beit Shemesh for the first time since the war started on February 28! Saturday night we went to the Kotel and ohhh, it was SO GOOD to be back!

(PS no in-person health clinics for me at the moment; I'm doing care management for that company now. Great timing because specifically during the war is when all the schools would have wanted on-site health care and I'm SO glad I didn't have to drive to Jerusalem every day during the war)

In running, I'm doing a series (posted on my Whatsapp status) of "places I haven't been to since the war started" ;)

 Ilana looked at the following on my status yesterday and said, "oh, that reminds me--can I take a car tomorrow to go to the beach?!" Another friend called me laughing because she was at the beach when she saw my post:

And one final thought that really sums it all up (although, with each passing day I'm feeling more comfortable)

Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov! May this new month bring us only peace in the world, especially our tiny corner of it.

Holocaust Memorial Day

A lot of the lead-up to this year's Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, focused on the siren and making sure that as many people as possible knew it was going to happen and that this particular siren was not a "go to a safe room" siren (although Percy was a well-trained boy and trotted right over to the stairs, which made me get a little more weepy than I already was).

I spent my day with my usual Tuesday schedule, which means being a private nurse for a Holocaust survivor. Her family was saved by receiving transit papers from Japanese diplomat Chinue Sugihara. Here is part of her family's visa:

And, finally, something to think about by Rav Yisrael Meir Lau, himself a Holocaust surivor:

 

Guess How Many....

 No, not jelly beans in a jar....

Data was just released showing how many pre-alerts and sirens various parts of the country had during the past war with Iran, starting on February 28. So guess how many we had:

20?

35?

47? (that was my approximate guess)

Surprisingly (at least to me, and I was here for every one of them and yet still underestimated by quite a lot) the answer is 65.

Want to guess the number of "throw-your-coffee-in-the-air" pre-alerts we had?

cartoon by Devorah Leibert

After knowing we had 65 sirens, my guess was about 100-120. 

But the real answer is 227 (!!)

(And we had it easy compared to Kiryat Shmonah in the North--where cousins Gil and Nitzan live--because they had 214 actual SIRENS)

Let's hope the next cartoon stays just a cartoon.....

Pesach During a War

 The best thing about Pesach this year was that, against all odds, Chana was able to come in. It took her three tickets to get a flight that didn't cancel, but she made it! Now, daven that she is able to get back on her flight on Sunday.....

We had a lovely Seder with Menashe's mother, stepfather, brother and grandma Mari (who came for a two month visit before the war started and is still here waiting for a flight back), Yuliette (formerly of Colombia and then Boston. A lot of Spanish was spoken! [Too bad I took French in school]) and the brother of Penina's good friend who is a student at the yeshiva in our neighborhood and had gotten "warred in" (it's like "snowed in" but more dangerous) and couldn't go home for Pesach. We fit 11 people to sleep over in our house, which is definitely a record! Too bad that, after finishing our Seder at 1:30 in the morning we got a siren two hours later. Blurg.

The rest of the holiday was extremely low-key as it was almost impossible to go on any Chol HaMoed trips :( due to the need to stay near a safe space and Jerusalem's Old City and Kotel closed (bad Covid flashbacks). 

We went to a nearby moshav for a coffee tasting workshop that was very interesting, even though I'm not a big coffee drinker.  And that was literally it!

We'll see how long the cease fire, announced on the last day of Pesach, lasts. In the meantime, it was nice to open the metal shutter on the mamad, and go for a run and not feel like I had to stay on the exact path I've been running, where I know where all the safe rooms are. I hadn't been to this part of the street since the war started:

Sorry Menashe missed the photo, but happy post-Pesach!

In Memory of Our Neighbor, Binyamin

 Our neighbor Binyamin Airley was killed in action in Gaza in November 2023.

From their grief, his parents Jen and Rob opened Beit Binyamin in Tzfat as a respite house for those affected by war: Nova survivors, milium (reserve duty) families, active soldiers, first responders.....There is unlikely to be a group affected by October 7 and now the wars with Iran who has *not* had a retreat at Beit Binyamin. 

Shalom Shachne and I, in support of our friends and because we wholeheartedly support the mission they are on to "heal the nation one retreat at a time", have taken upon ourselves to fundraise for Beit Binyamin.

Here are just a few videos showing a sample the incredible work they are doing there. 

Nova parents:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4rJvD3IyFE (if the video doesn't work)

And reserve soldiers and families:

https://youtube.com/shorts/2Wye-ZqhQLs?feature=shared

There is the option of becoming a monthly donor as well ;)

There is so much healing that needs to be done in Israel at this time....As we enter Pesach, the holiday of freedom, please join us in helping as many people as possible start their healing journey towards emotional and spiritual freedom: https://beitbinyamin.org/marathon-runner/ellen-goldberg/ (PS the Jerusalem Marathon is postponed due to the war with Iran. But, in any case, whether I run or not doesn't matter. What matters is helping as many people as possible experience the healing of Beit Binyamin).

With heartfelt thanks,

Ellen and Shalom Shachne

Life in Israel as Seen Through Memes (aka "I have no energy/time to write at the moment")

                     

Not a meme, but starting with this amazing guy from Arad. Standing ovation (although mine will be with shoes on. And now you see why we keep shoes in our mamad)

                       

Now, on to the memes:

                                    

local artist Devorah Leibert hitting it on the head with these. I especially love the cartoons with  "ALERTS: Another Loud Emergency Ruining Today's Sanity". Good thing I'm not much of a coffee drinker or that would surely be me with my coffee flying through the air

                                            

Life in Jerusalem Without a Mamad

 AKA "Here's What It's Like for Penina and Menashe". They live in a 100 year-old building that is slated for pinui binui, urban renewal, in just a few years. They are on the second floor, no mamad in the building, no miklat (public shelter) in the neighborhood.

So they've been going to a hotel a block away:

view from their apartment

They leave when the pre-alert sounds as there is simply not enough time once the siren goes off. Check it out for yourself (and since pretty much their whole neighborhood is in the process of urban renewal [look at the buildings on either side], it's rare that there's a clear path to the hotel:

In case that doesn't work, hopefully this link will:

https://youtube.com/shorts/_XDJV3PE4Kk?feature=shared

Unfortunately (like, HUGELY unfortunately), yesterday the hotel announced that, becuase they have no customers 😢 they are closing. As of this morning.....

The other hotel in the neighborhood is housing people displaced from their homes due to destruction from missiles and doesn't have enough space for people from the neighborhood to join their safe rooms.

Penina said that yesterday, her street and neighborhood chats were filled with everyone trying to figure out where they will go....There is an underground parking lot a few blocks away that seems like the best option now.

Praying for permanent peace and safety.....(says the woman woken up at 1 a.m. by a siren and 6 a.m. by giant booms overhead that evidently did not require a siren here)