It's me again

Hi! I'm back. I haven't written in a while, because things (I mean real life) seem to always get in the way. Besides, I always write better late at night, and I've been falling into bed pretty tired. It seems that the Diet RC I drank with dinner and with ice cream after maariv did the trick.
Today we bought a car. Or, at least, we paid a down payment for a car. We can't buy the car until R gets an Israeli driver's license, and he can't do that until he takes a lesson and a driving test, and he can't schedule that until he gets the letter he is waiting for from the Michigan Secretary of State with the issue date of his US driver's license on it, since it's not on the Michigan license. So, we just paid the down payment. The car we bought/we're buying is called a Mazda 5 (click on that for the cool Hebrew website, or click on this for the boring US website.) The good thing about buying a car in Israel is that there is no haggling over the price. The bad thing about buying a car in Israel is that there is no haggling over the price - with our new immigrant discount, we are paying almost double what the car would sell for in the US of A. I'm sure R will blog about the experience some time.
I really wanted to share with you my experiences at the Shabbat afternoon women's parshah class I attend. It is given in Hebrew by a lovely young olah (immigrant) named Adina Ellis, who does a very nice job of intellectual analysis of the weekly portion and personal relevance. Many members of the class are from the community of Ganei Tal, the "community within a community" in Yad Binyamin who migrated here after they were kicked out of Gush Katif. Well, in this last week's parshah, Va'etchanan, Moshe describes the land that the Jews are entering as a land with natural resources that will need to be worked to produce good things. The women of Ganei Tal naturally connected that with their own experiences of growing beautiful tomatos and flowers and other stuff in the desert land of the Gaza Coast. However, this past Shabbat was also called Shabbat Nachamu (the Sabbath of Consolation and Comfort), since it always occurs right after Tisha B'Av. One of the Ganei Tal women in the class decided to make a statement that she had previously only shared privately with a friend: "It is a good thing we got kicked out of Gush Katif - now we know for sure that God is King. Otherwise, we would have just gone about our daily lives, without consciously acknowleging that God is the King." By way of explanation, there is a bumper-sticker/ad campaign here with the phrase "Hashem Hu Hamelech", with translates into "God is the King". Another evacuee protested the statement of something good resulting from the disengagement. The first woman responded: "This week is called Shabbat Nachamu - we're supposed to get comfort from the fact that God destroyed the houses of tzadikkim (righteous people - the Talmud says that we should gain comfort from the fact that God destroyed the houses of the righteous, but not the righteous themselves.) You're a tzadikkah (righteous woman)!"
Wow. Pretty strong people, huh? I'm really glad we moved to Yad Binyamin.
Shabbat Shalom.

This Week's Parshah and Our Visit to Beit Guvrin

Yesterday we needed to get out of the house, so we decided to take a quick trip to Beit Guvrin, where they have the cool Bell Caves, and other caves that you walk around in. It's a pretty well-known site, but the place was empty (probably because it was boiling). It's also not definitively Jewish - the caves are ancient, but there's a lot of different religious symbolism that's not Jewish. But we had a very nice time, and each of us had a different favorite part.
My favorite part is actually a פסוק from this week's parshah:

כִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, מְבִיאֲךָ אֶל-אֶרֶץ טוֹבָה: אֶרֶץ, נַחֲלֵי מָיִם--עֲיָנֹת וּתְהֹמֹת, יֹצְאִים בַּבִּקְעָה וּבָהָר.
אֶרֶץ חִטָּה וּשְׂעֹרָה, וְגֶפֶן וּתְאֵנָה וְרִמּוֹן; אֶרֶץ-זֵית שֶׁמֶן, וּדְבָשׁ.

As you walked on the paved path to the caves, we came across numerous fruit trees still in bloom. We had boxer (is it buxer), the we found some תאנה --



Rena, our expert tour guide and kashrut maven correctly pointed out that you have to check the figs for worms, and lo and behold when we opened them, there they were, squirming around. So we didn't taste those!

Some רמון --










and even some זית שמן!

























We also picked some Sabra fruit from the cactus - actually Abba did that. It was, in fact, rather painful, but when you opened up the fruit, it really was delicious!
We said the ברכה of שהחיינו, and dug in! The brachah was on the fruit, and much more!

The Oven

On Thursday, our oven arrived! Yay! On Wednesday, the saleswoman who sold us the oven called to tell us that the supplier was out of stock, and that she really didn't know when we would get our oven. Ouch, but what can you do. During the call, I quickly thought that someone would have the oven in stock, and we could just cancel the order with that store and buy it somewhere else. The second - literally - that we hung up with her, the phone rang again.

Hello?
זה משפחת ספולטר?
Yes -- it is. How can I help you?
This is the oven delivery people. We have your oven, and want to deliver it. Will you be home tomorrow morning?

No, I don't get it either, but our oven did arrive, which is all that matters. It comes in a big box, and then they're supposed to send their technicians to "install" the oven. Rena calls them Friday morning to ask when they can come do the installation, and when they tell her that it won't be till Monday, she starts complaining that "Shabbat is coming, and I need my oven, and I can't manage without it and can't you send someone sooner..." (She's gotten really good about being forward with people and getting better service.) In any case, the lady felt bad for her, so she told her, "Why don't you just open it up and use it?" Where, on the floor? Sure, why not. Well, isn't it going to affect my warrantee? The lady was adament that Rena could use the oven, and even told her that she would write in the file that she gave us permission to open the oven.
Well, once we could open it, I wasn't going to leave it on the floor for Shabbat. So I "installed" it. This entailed (1) taking it out of the box (2) putting it in the hole in the cabinets already pre-sized for the oven (3) plugging it into the socket in the wall. Really (4) inserting two small screws to make sure that it doesn't fall out. This last part wasn't really necessary.
But they're still coming Monday afternoon for the "install." Not sure why.
Will my installation affect the warranty? Probably. But we had wonderful mushroom chicken for Shabbat courtesy of our oven. It was worth it.

The Water Park at Kibbutz Chafetz Chayim

Yair, Pam et al came to Yad Binyamin, we caught early mincha in the Bike Shop (really) and all headed to Kibbutz Chafetz Chayim. The women and girls and babies went to the working dairy farm there (Hachava shel Chava), and the older boys and men went to the water park, where there were water slides, a pool, a wave pool with no waves, and great fun had by all.

New Meanings in the Torah - Dvar Torah for Next Week

I'm writing my piece for a writing job that I do that's a week in advance, and I of course came across this פסוק from next week's parshah.

והָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם עֹבְרִים שָׁמָּה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ--אֶרֶץ הָרִים, וּבְקָעֹת; לִמְטַר הַשָּׁמַיִם, תִּשְׁתֶּה-מָּיִם. אֶרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר-ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ דֹּרֵשׁ אֹתָהּ: תָּמִיד, עֵינֵי ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ בָּהּ--מֵרֵשִׁית הַשָּׁנָה, וְעַד אַחֲרִית שָׁנָה.

The Torah’s assertion that the Land of Israel is “a land which the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year” raises challenging questions. Doesn’t God watch every land? Doesn’t He care for all people? Rashi, (on verse 12) raising this question explains that “it is [only stated] as if God only watches over Israel.” Of course God spreads His grace over the nations of the world – but the verse teaches us that this divine providence shine through the lens of the Land. Through the interests, needs and concerns of the Land, God watches the other lands as well.

It's a well-known Rashi, and a beautiful expression of the role of כלל ישראל and ארץ ישראל in a metaphysical sense. But for me, this פסוק and Rashi's explanation take on much greater meaning when I read it this year, as I finally read it from the inside, and not the outside. This year, I hope that I'll benefit from God's watchful eye all year long.

Fridge Update

It's here. They charged me delivery, which I thought was included, but . . . (guess not.) I called Appliance Direct and left another message. The kids think the fridge is huge. I guess it was good we've been using a mini-fridge. It makes you appreciate what you have.

Waiting for the Fridge

Last Tuesday, I ordered a fridge and an oven from Appliance Direct in Jerusalem. Very nice English-speakers, so I was able to really know what I was getting. The reason I ordered from them is that they said it would be here before the end of the week. Well, it's Tuesday again, and it's still not here. I called them yesterday, and she called the delivery company, and then called me back to say it would be here today. The oven hasn't arrived yet from the factory, but the fridge should be here this morning. Great! The kids have been having some meltdowns recently, so we decided to go to Jerusalem as a family today, so arriving in the morning would be great. Then the delivery company called. They could not get here in the morning - it has to be afternoon. I explain to her that we won't be here in the afternoon, since we already made plans. She asked if there's any way anyone could stay home. No. I said, "Please! I really need this and we made these plans already!" Okay, she says, it'll be here in the morning - be ready at 7:30. Having had the experience I had with the lift (they said they'd be her at 4pm and showed up at 2:30), I've been up since 7. Granted it's only 7:38, but I'm
still waiting . . .

Tisha B'Av in Yad Binyamin

Check out R's post on his blog, Chopping Wood. ("Shpalter" means "wood chopper" in Yiddish.)

We're Now Official Israelis!

Did we get our Teudat Zehut (Israeli ID Cards?) No - we got those almost two weeks ago - again, kudos to Nefesh b'Nefesh. Did I get my Isreali driver's license? Again no, but I'm working on it. So what makes us so Israeli?
We got our cellphones! That's right, we're now instantly accessible, at all times.
Moreover, we're now chareidi. Or at least our cellphones are. Why did we get such frum phones? Because they're much, much cheaper. Much. (Someone recently told me that it was always a big joke that Tommy Lapid's wife also had a kosher cell phone. That story needs to be checked out.)
A regular phone can cost as much as 30-40 shekel per month, whereas the approved phone is 5 shekel a month - for two phones. And the rates are incredibly cheaper - much cheaper than normal as well. Why? I have no idea, but that's the way it is. The only thing that we can't do that I want to have is text messaging. They're not approved on kosher cell phones. Why? Not sure, but that's the way it is. In any case, I have a bad habit of not always listening to voicemail. It's a pain. So Rena got into the habit of sending me a quick text message if I wouldn't answer. Well, no more text messages. They're not kosher.
But it sure will save us money.
Oh yes - what's our numbers, you ask? Just check on the side -- they're both there!

A Productive Week, so far!

Shabbos was wonderful and busy. I actually cooked for Friday night and we ate at home, which was amazing. For lunch, we ate at the Abrahams, a family from South Africa, and we really seemed to click, which was nice. Shalosh seudos was at home again, which we haven't ever had as a family, as far as I can remember, because R usually eats it in shul. We were invited to a bar mitzvah in town, which was really thoughtful, and we knew many of their guests. Pia and Gabriella Katz were here from Detroit, since Pia is a cousin of the bar mitzvah boy, and was in the country anyway. Hadassah and Gilad Field were here with their kids, too, since they knew the family for a while. It was really nice to see them - Hadassah and I were friends in college - and spend time with them.
Sunday morning began with a bris (circumcision ceremony) of R's cousin right here in Yad Binyamin! Is was great to see the whole family! After the meal, while R went to the park with the cousins, I brought Leah to a backyard camp that I had signed her up for. She cried and held onto me tight, but was smiling when I came to pick her up. The camp is conducted in Hebrew, but Leah knows many of the girls from the neighborhood, and they speak English, many having made aliyah only one year ago. After camp and the park, it was back to unpacking. Our progress is slow, but steady.
Monday morning began as extremely productive. R went to the bank in Kiryat Malachi (a 10 minute drive) to get the stamp we needed to finish our enrollment in our Kupat Cholim. They also gave him our debit/credit cards and our checkbooks. Yay! Now we can start writing checks from an empty account! (We haven't quite gotten around to transferring money yet.) When R came back, he was really happy that it had been so easy - 20 minutes in and out! We then went to Ashdod for our appointment at the Ministry of Absorption (remember that post?). We made it on time, and got out relatively quickly, and were able to spend some time in the Crazy Slide Park before coming back to get Leah. After more afternoon unpacking, the Spolters from Beit Shemesh came. It was great spending time with them, too. The kids all went with Simcha to bring back pizza. I wonder how long it will take for that novelty to wear off.
It is now Tuesday at 2:49 pm. R went to Orot today to meet people and see where his office is. While he was away, I spent the morning cleaning out the washing machine. We opted to buy used, and R went to get it from Ramat Beit Shemesh last Friday. Evidently, the woman who previously owned it did not read the part in the manual about maintenance and cleaning out the soap dispenser. Not fun. In the middle of that, I was back and forth on the phone ordering a fridge and an oven. We went with the Amcor 550 Liter fridge (We get a special discount if we buy Israeli-made, and that was the largest size of the only Israeli brand) and an Electrolux self-cleaning oven. When that was done, Bezalel, Petachya and I walked to the Moatza (offices of the regional council) to give them our bank account for property tax (they take the money directly out of our still-empty account). Then we gave Petachya's ID number to the nursery school department so he can be completely registered, and then we walked over to the school. I had several things to take care of there. First, we went to the office to give our bank account number again, and pay for the books that the school orders for everyone. The secretary told us we were in the wrong building, but we could give her the ID numbers that I didn't have when I registered the kids. I had heard from someone that we could request people to be in the same class with our kids, so I did that with her as well. I had also heard that since there are about 5 kids in the school with hearing aids, there is an accoustically designed classroom and a special hearing teacher who works with those kids. So, I asked about meeting with her, but, evidently I have to go through a whole process to see if Bezalel is officially approved for hearing services. I just left my name to make an appointment with the principal, and went to the other building. The woman was very happy to take my check and bank account number, and we were in business. One small issue - when I got back from all my errands, Simcha had taken a message from the appliance place, which is closed until 8pm. I really need to get a cell phone.
This afternoon, we are going to Yair and Pam. One small problem - our car only seats 5. So, Yair came to get Leah to play with his girls, and she's going to sleep over tonight. I'll go get her tomorrow.
So, sounds like a pretty productive week so far, doesn't it?