Going out for ice cream...yum! |
It's
been a while since we've updated the blog and we've covered a lot of ground. In a very brief nutshell, here are some of the
highlights of the past weeks: healing from broken and sprained bones (everyone
is now cast and pain free – yeah!), being guests at a Masorti congregation in
Beersheva for Shabbat, getting together with Alexander’s family in celebration
of his parents’ 50th anniversary (mazal tov Reena and
Stuart!), shopping
(including looking for tallit and tefillin for Yonah), and continuing to work through our
extensive list of kosher restaurants to try (most recently a Thai noodle
restaurant).
We have only
a week left of our sabbatical; but we have weeks’ worth of things we still
want to do! It's amazing, even with all the time we've had, we still feel like
there is so much we have not seen.
With school out,
we spent at day the Israel Museum. 1½ hours in the archeology wing only
scratched the surface; but it was a great way to review many of the sites we've
seen. A tour of the Knesset brought us
to more recent history. Today, we picked
bushels of tomatoes under a hot sun with Leket (an organization that works
in partnership with farms to pick fresh, in-season produce and distribute food
to the needy). The kids were great
sports and we hope they feel that they've both taken from and given to Israel
during these months. We toured Chaim Weizmann's house (he was the first
President of Israel and an accomplished scientist) and the science garden at
the Weizmann Institute provided fun, hands-on activities for kids and parents
alike.
In the past few
days, we've been excited to welcome two new additions to the family. Limor and Aaron (Esther's brother) had a baby
girl and we are enjoying spending time with them. Esther’s other brother, Ira, and his wife, Max,
had a boy in The Netherlands. Mazal
tov to both!
Cooling off in the spring at Ein Prat |
On the last day
of school (after yet another day of cookies and films), we took the kids for a
short tiyul to a place called Ein Prat.
It is just northeast of Jerusalem -- about 10 minutes (for those of you
who don’t get lost like us) from Pisgat Ze'ev. (Some of you may know Ein Prat from the
singing group, The Fountainheads who hail from there.) Even in the scorching
summer heat, the stream continues to flow. The park was filled with Jewish and Arab
picnickers, hikers, rock climbers and those who simply wanted to cool off. We had a picnic ("Ughh…more sandwiches!")
under the shady Eucalyptus trees and among the bees. After a bit of coaxing (the kids were
crashing from sugar withdrawal and exhaustion), we set off on a short hike. We walked past a 4th century monastery
to the source of the spring. Leave it to
Koby and Ami to fall in! We then hiked
downhill to a wonderful natural pool and jumped right in. How refreshing! This oasis in the Judean desert was not only a
wonderful way to prepare for Shabbat, but upon reflection, it also feels like
the perfect way to begin to bring this sabbatical to a close.
Micah takes a leap of faith! |
Like Ein Prat,
this shabbaton has indeed been a wonderful way to feel refreshed and rejuvenated.
As we discovered in the hills of the Judean
desert and as we read in last week's parasha, there is water right
beneath the surface. Sometimes though,
it is hard to see or at least difficult to extract. In the Torah, when Miriam dies and the water
dries up, the Israelites sing that a well might rise up and accompany them on
their journey. As we prepare to return
to Minneapolis, this is my hope as well.
May the waters of Torah that have quenched my thirst here in Jerusalem
return with us, that they continue to refresh and nourish me and my family and
that together as a community, we learn to uncover the life-giving waters
flowing just beneath the surface of our lives.
There is much we
haven’t covered in this blog – the political situation, the social protests,
the status of Conservative Judaism (this is one I hope to return to) and on and
on. But we've enjoyed the opportunity to
reflect on a few of our experiences. Thanks for taking time to read. We look
forward to sharing more with you when we get back. Anyone want to see our pictures? We only have a few hundred slides to show you!
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