Lots of Good Reading in Havel Havelim

Yocheved is this week's hostess with the mostest of the latest Havel Havelim.

Havel Havelim is the long-running weekly international Jewish blog carnival, which we coordinate on our facebook page. It floats from blog to blog according to a voluntary system of hosts. I've been taking the "deserted" weeks when no other blogger has volunteered.

Remember, you don't have to be blogger to read and comment and share blog posts! Enjoy and Shavua Tov to all!

For many of us, blogging is the key to our sanity. We blog about politics, Judaism, health, family, culture, Jewish book reviews, kosher food, weather and more. Whatever Jews talk about we blog about. And we appreciate your feedback in comments and sharing the links, whether in emails to friends, facebook, twitter etc.

You don't have to be a blogger to send in links to Havel Havelim. If you see something that would be good to include, you can send it to us. The information appears in Havel Havelim each week and on our facebook page. And we also accept blog links from newspaper internet sites, not just personal/private/independent blogs. That is the recent revolution in blogging. One doesn't have to maintain a blog to be a blogger.

Shavua Tov, have a Wonderful Week and enjoy the blogs.

Hand of G-d?

There are things that happen, unplanned, that can only be explained by saying that it was Siyate D'Shmaya, The Hand of G-d. 

I felt that way tonight at a very lovely Sheva Brachot, traditional Jewish post wedding party.  The hostess set up a little party game for us to play. There were two sets of small folded pieces of paper. When we read what we had we were to make it like a blessing or advice for the young couple. And the other paper had a Hebrew letter. We each picked a pair of the papers, having no idea what phrase or what letter. Then when it was our turn to read, we had to pick a suitable answer starting with the letter. 

One person had picked a paper that said (in Hebrew, since this is Israel):

"The best restaurant is..."

The neighbor who had to name "the best restaurant" had pick a "ב," (bet) so she answered "בית, bayit, house."

The piece of paper I had picked said:

"The town where you'll live in the future."

And guess what letter I picked... Yes, really, it was a "ש" for "שילה Shiloh!" No joke and no cheating. It had to be  Siyate D'Shmaya. Nothing else makes sense.

מזל טוב!!

MAZAL TOV!!

Portrait for 52 Frames, 2014

Since this week's 52 Frames theme/challenge was a Portrait, I decided to find someone.. let's say older than myself. Older people photograph amazingly. I had a very busy week and was wondering how I'd find the time, when an elderly neighbor of mine showed up at Rami Levy when I was at work. I had photographed her before for a different "theme/challenge." Her photo was the most popular of all.

So, I decided that since many people reuse the same subjects/models, I'd do it, too.  Here she is, sitting with the sun shining on her. I didn't even have to crop the photo.

Visit the official site, please, like,  comment and share.

Get in The Mood for Chanukah!

Kosher Cookbook Memories, Bring on The Celebrities...

I get an email version of Jewniverse every once in a while. It's a cute little service that sometimes has some wonderful tidbits. Yesterday the email "subject" seemed rather familiar,  The 1975 Celebrity Kosher Cookbook That Only a Turkey Could Hate. As I read on, I realized that I had that very cookbook.

In the 1970's when I was a young wife and mother, the older generation of the combined clans, mine and my husband, liked to buy me all sorts of, mostly kosher, cookbooks and health food guides. My kitchen bookshelves are still stocked with them, although I don't cook according to recipes and haven't even glanced at most for decades.

Here are the shelves:

So, when I saw the keywords, celebrity, kosher and 1975, I was pretty sure that I had the book. It fit the timeline of my collection perfectly. Yes, it's the one with the faded pink cover in the top photo.

I don't think that I ever found a recipe I could use in it, but I absolutely loved reading the stories accompanying them. Since I read cookbooks, rather than cook from them, that shouldn't be a surprise.

To be totally honest, I've always had a dream of writing a cookbook, a cookbook that would be more than just a recipe collection. I think it's time to reread "Celebrity Kosher Cookbook."

Winter

I decided to go home from Talpiyot by buses and the train. A #34 from Talpiyot, to Givat Hatachmoshet, (Ammunition Hill,) then the train to Pisgat Ze'ev. And then I waited in the cold and rain.

Finally, I got the 461 which goes up to my neighborhood. But even though we are wet and cold, no heat.

Enjoying

Friendship and a cup of coffee.

The traffic jams have been awful Wednesday mornings so I am at a friend's.

Pink Sky

After a few days of blessed rain, thank G-d, our dirty laundry hamper was overflowing and I noticed a new color in the sky.

So I quickly checked westward and it seemed clear enough to throw a wash into the machine. Please don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't want rain. I certainly do understand its crucial importance, but I also want to do a couple of washes and hang them out in the sun. It can and should rain every night as far as I'm concerned. But daytime is another story. We need some sun.

Jewish Month Kislev, Rosh Chodesh Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh

With rain promising to fall, I'd never say threatening when we need rain so desperately--may it be a blessing-- we were a small group Rosh Chodesh Kislev, at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh. But no doubt, especially with first-timer Yocheved Golani I have no doubt that Our G-d Almighty was happy with the prayers.

There was barely a drizzle until we were on our way home. The same thing used to happen in the early years of my being the Ohel Shiloh Girls Gym Teacher, when the school was located just next to Tel Shiloh. There was no gymnasium or suitable (or any) empty room for days when weather didn't permit outside activity. It was always obvious to me that G-d wanted the girls to get some physical education/exercise, so He'd always hold in the rain until the end of my last lesson of the day. There was exactly the same phenomenon yesterday morning. No doubt that G-d enjoys our visits to the holy site, where the משכן Mishkan, Ancient Tabernacle had stood in Biblical Shiloh for 369 years, before the building of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

G-d willing, next Rosh Chodesh, Tevet, will be during Chanukah. Please plan your Chanukah around it, and join us.

Women's Prayers at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh Rosh Chodesh Tevet

Monday December 22, 2014

30th of Kislev, 5775, 8:30am

Tour of Tel Shiloh

Dvar Torah, Short Torah Lesson

Please come and invite family, friends and neighbors

תפילת נשים ראש חודש טבת בשילה הקדומה, תל שילה

יום ב' 22-12 ל' כסלו תשע"ה 8:30

יהיה דבר תורה קצר וסיור בתל

כדאי לבוא ולהזמין חברות, משפחה ושכנות

You're welcome to join our facebook page.

Mark your calendar, and join us. For more information, please contact me at shilohmuse@gmail.com with "Rosh Chodesh at Tel Shiloh" as subject, thanks.

You can visit the holy site anytime. Guided tours can be arranged through the Shiloh HaKeduma, Ancient Shiloh office. Email visit@telshilo.org.il or phone 02-994-4019.

Have a wonderful and blessed month. May the rain be a blessing for all, G-d willing.

In The Eyes of a Victim, Never The Same

No one is immune from Arab terrorism here, just like even the most successful and assimilated Jews in Germany ended up being rounded up and murdered by the Nazis.

There's a very successful bargain-price chain optician in Israel, Halperin.

The early ads for it showed the elderly Rabbi Rafael Halperin who established it doing a loud karate chop to "break the prices."

Halperin was a champion weightlifter and the national karate champion. He also did well as a boxer before turning to wrestling. (Jerusalem Post)

Rabbi Halperin's great-granddaughter was murdered in a recent terror attack, so whenever I see his business's sign, I think of that.

Chaye Zisel Braun is an American citizen, and the great-granddaughter of the late Rabbi Rafael Halperin.

וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת Vi'eli Toldot, What a Week to Host a Double Blog Carnival...

Cross-posted on Shiloh Musings

וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת Vi'eli Toldot, And these are the generations...

And this is what happened this week, death, terror attack, deaths, shiva calls... This has been a very hard week for the Jewish People.

There will be blog posts about it all in this combined Parshat Toldot Havel Havelim and Rosh Chodesh Kislev Kosher Cooking Carnival.

I'd like to remind you to please remember to send in more links, best with a sentence describing the post. And also please volunteer to host. And most important is to share the carnivals, read, comment and share the included posts, too, thanks.

Remember, you don't have to be blogger to read and comment and share blog posts! Enjoy and Shavua Tov to all!

The Kosher Cooking Carnival is a monthly blog carnival about kosher food, kosher cooking, anything to do with kosher food. I started it many years ago when a post of mine was rejected by a food/recipe carnival that wanted to restrict that edition to ham. Like many if not all of the ancient enemies of the Jewish People, that blog carnival no longer exists, but we're still cooking!
Nowadays KCC is organized on our facebook page. You can sign up to host or find out who's hosting there. Or just write to me shilohmuse at gmail dot com. The editions generally appear around Rosh Chodesh, which is the first day of the Jewish Month. The Kosher Cooking Carnival is more than just a recipe carnival. It includes posts about all aspects of kashrut, what makes food kosher, custom, recipes and also cookbook and restaurant reviews, kosher of course.
Please check out the posts, read, comment and of course share them and this blog round-up.

Havel Havelim is the weekly international Jewish blog carnival that has been appearing well over a decade. It was begun by Soccer Dad who no longer blogs. He coordinated it for quite a while. Now we use our facebook page to coordinate and publicize it. That's where we sign up to host an edition (Hint! Hint!) and see the latest news. Join the page and become part of the community. Next week's host is Yocheved of It's MY Crisis! And I'll Cry If I Need To, please send her your link with blurb to giveretgolani at gmail dot com, thanks, before Shabbat.

I'm starting with the sad stuff. When the week starts with the death of a friend, Charley Levine, you think it can't get worse, and then the next day, the day I went to Jerusalem to pay two shiva calls, one to the family of an older woman and the other to Charley's widow and children was the day of the Har Nof Massacre. May G-d give comfort to the families and refuah shleimah, complete and speedy recovery to the injured.

Paula Stern's article (I just can't use the "O" word) about Charley Levine, Z"L, Charley Levine....and the Lessons of his Life.
My memories of Charley,  Baruch Dayan Ha'Emet, Charley Levine, Z"L.
From his Betar friends, Charley Levine z"l

gathering  for funeral

I'd rather start with this personal post, rather than the more political.
From the Women in Kiruv site about the Har Nof Massacre,  The Kedoshim of כה חשון.
Yocheved's message Reality Check: Terrorism
Elianah-Sharon, Outrage! It's hard not to have a hair trigger reaction to such evil.
From the OU site:
The Har Nof Synagogue Attack: A Personal Account, by Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller
Reflections from a Har Nof Neighbor, by Rebbetzin Chaya Tavin
Real Jerusalem Streets, Jerusalem Terror Too Close to Home

Haas Promenade in
Armon Hanaziv tens of thousands
 of Ethiopians gathered for
 their Sigd Holiday celebration.

From Rickismom, by attacking non-combatants, the Arabs are Showing Their True Faces
A Soldier's Mother, Disgusting BBC Response to Terror Attack
PAULASAYS They Never Took Three Steps Back
IMHO, The Brutal Har Nof Massacre Opens The Door to Clean Out The Temple Mount


Back to the more mundane.
Real Jerusalem Streets' photos bridge the joy and sadness of the week,  Shabbat Shalom: Bitter and Sweet.
Adventures of a Chief Rabbi, Beware the Peace Offering
Yocheved, Shmita is Good for Spiritual Health!
Jacob Richman, The Chanukah Page and over 500 Chanukah Videos
A Soldier's Mother, Oh, My God...He Told the TRUTH
PAULASAYS The Blessing That Is Israel

Yes, I'm on the beer panel

Gail Winston, SPECIAL ISSUE: JONATHAN POLLARD BETRAYED!!
Jewish Book Carnival, lots of book reviews of Jewish books, Step Right Up to the Jewish Book Carnival
From Miriam, My Blessing in Disguise…… Diabetes! Read her story, and if you need help, she'll help you.
Considering the anti-Israel atmosphere in American universities, I can see our international position getting progressively worse, G-d forbid, The Anti-Israel "Atmosphere" on American Campuses is Not Due to Ignorance
Doug, the Israeli boutique beer maven, Results of the Israel Brews and Views -- Porter Beer Tasting Panel, Talman -- the friendly face of brewing and Our first year. Yes, he has been blogging a full year. See his new banner!
Gadget for sale in Center 1, Jerusalem, Chop It Gadget
It seems ironic to use the words “Ronald McDonald” and “kosher” in the same sentence, but venture out to New Hyde Park, NY, and the two go hand in hand. A Taste Of Israel At Ronald McDonald House’s Kosher Kitchen

Ruti Eastman, Memories, and the effect one person can have another after more than 40 years, Elaine and the Soda Fountain.
Tzivia,If you're younger than a certain age, you might not know what JFK said about Israel, but you should. Find out in 9 mind-blowing quotes you've never heard about Israel and aliyah.
Are you ready for a wild ride? Author Rhonda Attar spins a mystical fable that brings out kabbalistic traditions for the Harry Potter generation. Is the book all it promises to be? Check out the MamaLand Review: Elisha Davidson, the kosher Harry Potter –?
Also from Tzivia, The family tree of grief – a quote
Tzivia bakes Janis Dohmann’s (and now my) Pecan Pie
Wisdom from Sharon, Stepping Back for a Sharper Vision
If you'd like to eat something most of us would never be able to cook at home, here's the place, Hamotzi המוציא A non-Shuk Restaurant near the Shuk.
It's hard to believe what happened to our old neighborhood, Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem, Has Sure Changed
Second time, just as good, Return to Gingi, Hadar Mall, Talpiyot, Jerusalem
Dry Bones sure proves the power of a picture:

Rewriting History

Just a reminder to please visit the blogs, comment, share thanks.
You don't have to be a blogger to be part of our blogging community.
Please share this blog carnival to all, thanks.

Hamotzi המוציא A non-Shuk Restaurant near the Shuk

We had decided to take out my nephew before his return to the states. It was just a couple of hours before the pre-season IFL football game. The "Big Blue" Jerusalem Lions is our family team, and it was important for the nephew to see that aspect of the Israeli clan. My older son joined us and recommended  Hamotzi המוציא, just off of Rechov Agrippas 34 (Street,) near the Clal Building Of course, I had never before heard of the Hamotzi. I had already taken my nephew to a very homey kubeh place on Agrippas where you chose your food from big pots keeping warm on a large hotplate.

Hamotzi is quite a few stars higher than that. My first hint was when they greeted us with:

"Do you have a reservation?"

We didn't, but maybe because it was still "early" for a Thursday night we were quickly seated in the outer area. Hamotzi is a restaurant for the adventurous, at least compared to our usual fare. It was definitely easy to find something I'd never make at home to order, since I wasn't at all familiar with the choice of dishes, which were Moroccan or North African and creative, no doubt.

I don't remember their names, but we all enjoyed everything we ordered and would have licked our plates if we had been alone.

Only one of the dishes came with a side salad, so we ordered a fresh salad as an extra dish to share. That extra expense is my only real complaint.

We were stuffed, but when, after paying the bill and getting ready to leave, we were offered a complimentary dessert we didn't refuse. (Apparently our kids are acquainted with a staff member who has enough clout to arrange such things.)

The dessert was delicious and included mint tea. Apparently, Hamotzi is a popular venue for celebrations, and the low buzz of talk was interrupted periodically with singing. The meal wasn't cheap, but for the quality and taste it was worth it. Service was pleasant, too. The waitress managed to explain the menu in English when asked.

"The Princess of Dan," A Book Review

I should be pretty grateful for the books I get to read and review on my blogs, because if it wasn't for the fact that they were given to me for reviewing, I never would have gotten to read them. "The Princess of Dan" by Nechama Sarah Gila Nadborny Burgeman, Menorah Books, is one of that genre.

So what really is the genre of  The Princess of Dan?

The Princess of Dan is fiction, a novel which merges reality and vision, the present and prophecy. The main character, Sarah Danborne, grew up in the 1960’s in an upper middle class home in the United States. During her early adult years, Sarah’s life circumstances led her to Israel where she met many other young women who also found themselves relocated and struggling to stabilize their lives and build their homes in the context of a larger vision. Each one has her own story, a variation of a human theme. (From the Back Cover)

For sure it's a very spiritual book. It's based on the Bible, Kabbala, Jewish mysticism and chassidic thought. I don't know the writer personally, but it's pretty obvious that she based certain talents, if not characteristics of the main character, Sarah Danborne, on herself. They are of the same generation, artists, play the harp and have, actually run, a spiritual retreat. So how much is a fictionalized autobiography?  I can't say, since I don't know the author. I could have known her, since we're of similar ages, and if I hadn't gotten married relatively young and made aliyah soon after with my husband, we would have had met up for sure.

Nechama Sarah Gila Nadborny Burgeman has pictured very vividly in her mind and book the time of the Third Temple. I must find out if Catriel Sugarman's ideas for Third Temple Time is similar. He's the craftsman who constructed an amazing wooden model of the Second Temple and for a number of years had a long-running series in Torah Tidbits, which "took place" in Third Temple Times.

On one hand I can keep on insisting that my way of looking at the world is very different from the philosophy in the book. But on the other hand, I'm the one who has instituted Women's Prayer on Rosh Chodesh at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh. I feel totally connected to Chana and the spiritual power here in Shiloh. That makes me much more connected to The Princess of Dan than I had first thought.

Reading The Princess of Dan is a spiritual and emotional adventure. Try it.

Product Code: TPDNNB

ISBN: 978-1-940516-06-6

Binding: Paperback/ 424 pages

Dimensions: 8.4” H x 5.4” W

Weight: 1.3 lb

Global shipping available.

Pakkuke Jammed

Horrendous traffic jam from Shaar Binyamin to Pisgat Zeev, Jerusalem again this morning. Passenger ahead of me described it as parking lot, not traffic jam.

Chop It Gadget

The other day my husband and I were in Center 1, and I couldn't get over the crowds watching the demonstration of some kitchen gadget. Honestly, my kitchen is full, and I get done what I need with what I have. I'm not a gadget person at all. I do have a food processor, which is used a few times a year, and I have an ancient blender for Passover, which I do use for my Passover recipes, a few at least.  Otherwise I just need a knife and cutting-board. But apparently, other people like and bought the chopping gadget.

Bad News About My New Canon IXUS 145

Simply put, the flash on the Canon IXUS 145 stinks. It's much too weak. My old Canon A620 had a much, much better flash. I had been hoping that the much stronger zoom of the Canon IXUS 145 was accompanied by a suitable flash, but it isn't. Even pictures of a couple of meters out at night in a well-lit place look dark. And trying to lighten them isn't effective at all.

The Jerusalem "Big Blue" Lions at Kraft Stadium thanking their fans, taken with Canon IXUS 145

The Jerusalem "Big Blue" Lions at Kraft Stadium thanking their fans, taken with Canon A620

If I had been aware of that problem, I never would have bought the camera.

Baruch Dayan Ha'Emet, Charley Levine, Z"L

Cross-posted on Shiloh Musings

Yesterday, last night, before I went to sleep I got the bad news. G-d took Charley Levine to the big PR agency in Olam Haba, the Next World. It's hard to believe that Charley's body is dead.

PR leader Charley Levine dies at 62
Charley was a Betari, lover of Israel, devoted husband and father, Zionist, promoter of Israel and friend.

It's always hard to accept that a friend has died, especially someone younger and so professionally successful and inspiring.

When I finally decided to complete my university degree at the then Jerusalem branch of Empire State College, SUNY, I was told that I could get credits for "life experience," the professional skills I had picked up while living my life during the clost to twenty years I hadn't been formally studying. Since I had become the de facto public relations representative of Shiloh, I needed someone with formal training and status to vet my knowledge so that SUNY would recognize it and give me college credit. I called Charley, who they had his CLC Charley Levine Communications, and Charley gave me of his time, support and wrote such a wonderful evaluation of my professional skills, knowledge and experience that they gave me a nice amount of academic credits. At that point in the 1980's, Charley was the premier American style public relations specialist. And he and his wonderful wife Shelly were our good friends.

Charley was loyal to his friends, so when Steve Leibowitz began American Football in Israel, Charley sponsored one of the first teams. If I remember correctly, it began with touch football. Charley was also the first Public Relations head for Nefesh B'Nefesh and recognized my blogging as journalism, which got me a place on two NBN flights. Those were amazing experiences for me.

I'm still in shock that Charley has passed away. I had been looking forward to the se'udat hodayah, the festive meal to celebrate his recovery. When we visited him in the hospital it seemed so sure that he would be fine. But I guess that G-d had other plans for the talented, dedicated and loyal Zionist Charley Levine, Z"L.

Here's Charley:

Havel Havelim Beneath the Wings

The Chayei Sarah edition of the long-running international Jewish blog carnival, Havel Havelim is hosted by Rickismom of Beneath the Wings, one of my all time favorite blogs.

I'll be hosting next week, G-d willing. If you have written or spot a good blog post to contribute, please send me the link at shilohmuse@gmail.com, "HH" as subject and with a short blurb of explanation before Shabbat your time. Havel Havelim is organized on our facebook page, where you can also volunteer to host the weekly blog carnival. If you have any additional questions contact me, "HH questions" as subject or "HH hosting" as subject.

Havel Havelim can contain all sorts of blog posts about Judaism, Jewish Life, Israel, Jewish History, customs, reminiscing, Torah etc. I accept even blogs that appear on mainstream news sites.

Besides Havel Havelim there's another Jewish blog carnival I'm very much involved with, especially since I'm the initiator. It's the Kosher Cooking Carnival. It's monthly, appearing on (or around) Rosh Chodesh the beginning of the Jewish month. Sometimes, when I find that I've committed to host both KCC and HH the same week, I combine them, like last month. And next week/month. KCC is also organized on a facebook page, which you can join and where you can also volunteer to host the monthly blog carnival.  If you have written or spot a good blog post to contribute, please send me the link at shilohmuse@gmail.com, "KCC" as subject and with a short blurb of explanation before Shabbat your time. If you have any additional questions contact me, "KCC questions" as subject or "KCC hosting" as subject.

The Kosher Cooking Carnival is more than just a recipe carnival. It includes blog posts about all aspects of kosher cooking, kashrut, and this year I'd also like to see posts about shemitta, the halachot (Jewish Laws) and practical advice and stories. It also includes reviews of kosher restaurants and cookbooks. So please send me your posts/links asap, thanks.

Remember, you don't have to be blogger to read and comment and share blog posts! Enjoy and Shavua Tov to all!

Shavua Tov, have a wonderful week!

Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem, Has Sure Changed

We lived in Bayit Vegan, and even owned an apartment there, before moving to Shiloh. When we bought our apartment in early 1971, Bayit Vegan was a stronghold of Mizrachi, Mafdal, National Religious Party neighborhood. Rabbi Min-Hahar was the official Chief Rabbi of the neighborhood. There was a large mamlachti dati, state religious elementary school, Neve Etzion, Most of the men wore crocheted kippot and the women some sort of scarf or hat. Admittedly there was a sizable Chareidi population, too, and they had their educational institutions. There were also quite a few non-religious residents, mostly on Rechov Uziel and the beginning of Rechov Bayit Vegan. Our building was mixed. There were a few non-religious among the twenty apartments.

By the time we moved to Shiloh in 1981, things were changing, and it was pretty clear that the chareidim would be the majority. Many of the dati le'umi, national religious, like ourselves moved to yishuvim in Judea and Samaria and even Gush Katif, like Rachel and Moshe Saperstein.

I hadn't taken a walk around Bayit Vegan for a very long time, decades. I've only been on Rechov Uziel to visit a friend in the Shalom Hotel. Actually, that was my destination last Wednesday. But since there no longer is an easy to take #21 bus from downtown Jerusalem to the hotel, I took the train to Mt. Herzl aka Rechov Hapisga, the main drag of Bayit Vegan. I had time, so I took a leisurely stroll by my old haunts.

I just want to make things clear. I believe in free enterprise and don't consider us as being pushed out of the neighborhood. We wanted to move to a small community in Land liberated in the 1967 Six Days War. There are natural dynamics in how populations change. The fact that today's Bayit Vegan is not the Bayit Vegan I enjoyed living in forty years ago doesn't bother me. I find it interesting. One of the reasons we sold our apartment was that there was no market for rentals on the third floor in the early 1980's. If we had been making good money  on rent, then we probably would have kept it. We used the money to build a house using a quality contractor. 

Here are some pictures:

The Calder is familiar, overlooking Mt. Herzl, Yad Veshem, but there weren't trains way back when.

None of this was here. At most there was some felafel, small grocers, a stationery store, butcher shop. There weren't enough customers for the chains to care.

This sign protests internet. Hmm sure not my neighborhood.

Migdal, the old NRP shul looks the same, but I've been told that it's now Chareidi. There isn't much of a dati leumi synagogue left in the neighborhood.

There were hundred of kids exiting the old Neve Etzion school, which is no longer a state religious school. There is now a chareidi school, actually two. I could see the campus divided by a wall for girls and boys. It's also full of caravans or prefab classrooms. 

The only familiar site was a friend who was volunteering as a crossing guard. There are so many children, cars and buses, that they have to use adults to conduct the traffic. I stayed an spoke to her for awhile to get more information about the changes in the neighborhood.

Two of my daughters went to a small private gan, nursery school on Rechov Hachida. It was then a very quiet, sleepy street. 

Just across from our apartment was a large private home, the size of an apartment house, with a big beautiful garden facing us. I was shocked to see it surrounded by a fence, and then I peeked in and saw that the house and garden are gone, and apparently there will be some new building there.

And here it is, our building. There's now a fourth floor, and the people in our apartment closed off the front merpeset, balcony. My kids and their friends had so much fun playing there. I thought it was the best thing about the apartment. 

a view from the side
The building was known for its green and white trissim, shades. Not too many are left.

There had been, all the years we were there, an empty lot next to us. And next to the empty lot was a playground. Building had begun on the lot when we were planning our move.

This ugly thing is what they built.

The playground is being redone. We used to go there every day.

I used to be able to see it from my kitchen balcony.

I'm truly glad that today Bayit Vegan is thriving. And I'm even happier that I live in Shiloh.