Shiloh's 2020 Pool Season, Lifesaver

Yes, this year's Shiloh pool season was a lifesaver for sure. It's not that the life guards reported to me that they had to jump into the water to actually rescue anyone, but for many of us the pool kept us feeling alive this hot summer.

Even though Shiloh has had a swimming pool for decades, because of the corona virus/covid there was no guarantee that it would open. The truth is that opening was delayed and only happened because of behind the scenes pressure by some dedicated swimmers.

One of the public venues the government had declared as dangerous contagion areas was swimming pools, both indoors and outdoors. 

When the official corona "danger" status of outdoor pools was removed, the process of opening the Shiloh pool sped up to an Olympic sprint. In a fraction of the time it usually takes, our pool manager had the pool full and the landscape all gussied up for a shortened though much welcomed pool season.

Unfortunately, after a very short time the government reneged, and the pool had to close. But just over a week later, the government changed its mind, and again the pool was full of water and happy swimmers.

Many people hired the pool grounds for "corona-safe" events, even weddings, since there's space enough for maximum permitted attendees in different sections. When the official season was over the manager took advantage of the water-filled pool and offered post-season women's swim time each morning. We paid per swim, and enough women showed up to cover the extra expenses. 

2020 has been a long, hot stressful summer, and not all communities in Israel opened their public swimming pools. Regulations were complicated and changing. Also, local officials didn't want to be responsible for a rise in corona/covid victims. As one of those with the highest attendance rates at the pool, morning hours only, I'm really happy that Shiloh's local government decided to take the plunge and get our pool open. It really saved me this summer.

Gd willing there will be a longer and less stressful season next year. Our dream is to find the financial backing to build around the pool and make it an all year swimming pool, with the Help of Gd. 

Our thanks to the local council and all the pool staff and especially to Gd Almighty who kept us happy, splashing and healthy all summer.

Israel's Heading into Another Holiday Lock-Down

I have no doubt that the new upcoming Rosh Hashanah lock-down is because people have been making Rosh Hashanah holiday plans as if it's a regular year. Too many people are back to inviting their nearest and dearest who actually don't live nearby at all. 

Even worse, some of those invited to green locations aka communities without any recent corona COVID ill come from cities/neighborhoods with people who are sick with the virus.

We survived Passover alone, when we're supposed to be telling to story of our slavery and rescue to our children, so we can survive Rosh Hashanah, two days of prayers, on our own. 

I'm also not hysterical over the "how will I shop?" question. During the first lock-down, we were able to order from our local supermarket, and everything was delivered. My only problem, again, will be getting new yarn and buttons for my latest craft project, bags. I find the crocheting a wonderful way of keeping my hands busy when listening to classes or watching programs and movies. An added bonus is that it keeps the food out of my mouth when I shouldn't be eating.

I trust that our supermarket manager and, of course, chain's owner will keep it stocked. During lock-down #1 we received care packages from the government, too. I developed a number of recipes with the foods we generally don't buy.

Instead of getting hysterical, I'm just taking it all day by day. Since I have no control over the outside things, all I can do is control myself. 

Another Delivery, Golden Age in Corona Lock-down

To be perfectly honest, we're no longer completely locked-down. But we are restricted. We're allowed out and traveling, even on public transportation, as long as we're masked. A few weeks into the lock-down when corona virus, COVID-19 was growing in numbers, I  signed us up for prepared meals as a treat. Constantly cooking, three meals a day for each of us was getting me down. Even though we're just two people, my husband and I are on different food regimes to try to keep our weights down. His is more portion control of carbohydrates and proteins, while I have to stay away from carbohydrates. The bonus to being on this meal list was getting food staples and toilet paper.

After Passover we got a couple of half-empty cartons of stuff, but this week we received lots more.

Besides the toilet paper, which we won't have to buy until next winter, there were beets, oranges, onions, potatoes, carrots, sesame paste, pasta, rice, cookies, salt, sugar, dates, tuna fish, jam, canola oil, long-life milk and a great challenge to fit it all into the pantry. BTW that's just a partial list of what was very efficiently packed into the cartons.

We're on a very limited income, and I will find a way to use pretty much everything we've received. I've blogged recipes for some of the food made with the goodies we've gotten.

I'm grateful that we're here in Israel, and the government is being generous. Most municipalities or regional councils have been providing similar packages to senior citizens. And, yes, if you're wondering, everything is strictly kosher.

Take care. How are you managing?

Corona COVID-19, Lock-down, Stories Continue

More of my life in the corona lock-down.

Sunday-Thursday most weeks

Now it's post-Pesach, so we're back to a "new normal." Whatever that means. I've resumed my daily story reading on Facebook Live, 4pm Israel time, which is 9am New York time. If you're in a different time zone, I trust you can calculate it. Also, I save the readings on facebook, so just scroll down on my page. 

Everyone seems to be coping differently. it's not all a matter of better or worse. It's more that our needs are all different, and we're making great efforts to stay cheerful, healthy and productive. That's really the best we can do.

I still get out with one of my regular walking partners, but now we're masked and stay 2 meters or 6 and a half feet apart.

My favorite special lock-down activity is reading children's books on Facebook live. But I'm running out of books. That's a problem. I'll have to start borrowing books. You can click the link on the bottom if you have a facebook account and watch one of my readings.

Nobody has a clue as to when life will really go back to normal. Am I repeating myself? Sorry.

https://www.facebook.com/shilohmuse/videos/10222552385141151/?__tn__=%2CdlC-R&eid=ARBtOMVDnEjhZ9C9UGzCstxr2P-iPha9Kvh3ch3HassVs4WC0tyvFfxbOIVCdc_UMCxnc6UcYviulgfW&hc_ref=ARRhVhaYti4QsleeSbA8kHHQ9zPVIrnIjTes8xU30t3tZSujDRYgMnv0KKLicLgrw6g

"Prepare My Prayer," Perfect Timing, Book Review

Prepare My Prayer
by Rabbi Dov Singer

I read Prepare My Prayer by Rabbi Dov Singer just as the corona virus aka COVID-19 began to restrict our basic life as Jews. The fear and uncertainty of our basic health has certainly been affecting the faith of most of us regardless of our general spirituality and religious observance. It was very clear that I'd need time to fully digest Singer's book.

page xv

The Introduction had me very wary, because it mentioned "Hasidic revival," of which I've never been a fan. I have problems with the entire concept of hasidism, because for me is theologically problematic. As I understand it, hasidim place a rebbe between themselves and Gd. According to my understanding of Judaism, one of the main principles is that we worship Gd directly. I also don't go to graves and tombs to pray to Gd.

Despite my doubts, I read through the book very carefully. Prepare My Prayer ended up being extremely timely, because it encourages looking for words, phrases sections of our long prayers that speak to us personally, in addition to the solitary, hibodedut, praying we are now commanded to observe.

Temporarily, until the corona virus aka COVID-19 is no longer considered an immediate danger, community aka prayer with a minyan (group of ten or more) is forbidden in most of the Jewish World. Rebbe Nachman and his followers are suddenly "mainstream." We all must learn how to pray alone, and I consider Prepare My Prayer to be the perfect tool to help us.

Here in Israel we're not allowed to take long walks to isolate ourselves for prayer in the ways of classic Bratslav, but we do have to find the beauty and relevance from the text. Singer's Prepare My Prayer really encourages us to look at the prayers instead of just following.

Catriel Sugarman who
reconstructed
Rebbe Nachman's chair

Israel Museum

Davka, just before Purim, at the Israel Museum, there was the grand opening of an exhibit depicting the Bratslav Hasidim's solitary prayer, which I attended and wrote about. The curators were fascinated by the beauty and spiritualism of solitary praying on logs and broken chairs, rather than in well-kept decorated synagogues.

Even when today's restrictions are long over and history, our prayers should be more personalized and meaningful, not just a proscribed mumbo-jumbo. Too many young people have left observance, because they couldn't connect spiritually, intellectually and emotionally to the long, standardized, structured classic prayers. Rabbi Singer is the principal of Yeshiva High School Mekor Chaim, and no doubt he has found many welcome ears for his approach to Jewish Prayer.

Despite my initial misgivings, I got a lot from reading Prepare My Prayer by Rabbi Dov Singer and highly recommend it for yourself and as a gift to people of all ages.

Baile Rochel Locked In? Nah! Can't Keep a Good Girl Down

Baile Rochel tell you how it really is:

Life in The Corona Lock-down

The other day I got an emergency call from my childhood playmate:

"Baile Rochel, the world is waiting for your words of wisdom."
"Nu, me?"

What wisdom?

I'm just a sloppy overweight middle-aged senior citizen who keeps getting chastised by my children for taking walks outside the house. I dress like a bandit with a mask and all. OK, I admit that the "mask" is just a folded shmatta, cut from a ripped flannel sheet. For goggles, I have my trusty multifocals.

When people ask why I still go outside I answer:

"Doctors orders!"

When corona virus, COVID-19, the plague, or whatever you want to call it, is no more than an awful memory, high blood pressure, diabetes, serious aches and pains, etc ad nauseum will still be live threats. In addition, I live in the "sticks," in a private home, so I don't need scuba gear in an elevator or public stairwell.

I rarely see anyone when outside, and if I do, I cross the street. And if that's not possible, proper corona manners demand that the younger wanderer must climb the nearest tree. A close call was averted when a clueless little kid started approaching encroaching on my personal space, about the distance/height of a star basketball player, so I growled. He got the hint and ran away.


Like many, I'm hoping that I still have clothes that fit when this corona has crooned away. In a "normal year," I would have given fattening chametz, the food forbidden on Passover, away before the holiday begins. And in case you haven't been following the Jewish calendar, Passover's next week. Corona prevention regulations forbid giving away food, so my husband and I are enjoying suffering by eating pancakes-made in large family quantity and other forbidden for dieters foods. Yes, I'm finishing the beer, too. It's chametz!

I haven't seen my grandchildren in person since Purim. But now on the advice of one of my kids I am "living my old dream" to be an international "entertainer" by reading children's stories daily on facebook. Anyone can tune in, as long as you have a facebook account. Join to watch my daily shows.


One corona related regulation I'm following very strictly is staying away from the supermarket. My husband can't do his beloved shuq, open market, shopping either; it's in Jerusalem and shuttered. We must be saving a lot of money. Every few days I call the manager of the local grocer and order a few things. They arrive straight to our doorstep.

And I can't remember the last time I ate out with friends, another frugality of the corona lock-down. We now meet frequently on Zoom, Skype, Whatsapp, email and, of course, my blogs written under my other name. But:

 I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND!

Mrs. Sullivan's Dancing School, Bayside, NY, circa 1953

Expert's Response to My Corona Advice Not To Cough in Your Elbow or Rely on Gloves

Immediately after I posted Dumb "Corona Question" About Elbow Coughing and Disposable Gloves, I received a response from a friend who had forwarded it to a corona expert. Here it is:

Indeed! Wearing gloves gives you a fake idea of being safe.. there is an entire, complicated and time consuming procedure to put them on and take them off in a safe way. That’s being applied by medics and was also thought to me during my Wuhan mission but nobody in real daily life knows how to do this, it’s way too complicated! So yes, the neighbor is absolutely right.. wash your hands, often and thoroughly!
The idea of coughing in your elbow is ONLY to be used in a situation where you are surrounded by other people and you do NOT have a tissue nearby.. in such case, it’s safer to use your elbow than nothing or than covering your mouth by hand. BUT using a tissue and ditching it ( in a bin! Not on the street!) asap is definitely far better and should always be the preferred way..

My only question to the expert is:

Why haven't you publicized this? People are endangering themselves and others by spaying viruses around their elbows/arms and relying on plastic/disposable gloves? 

Dumb "Corona Question" About Elbow Coughing and Disposable Gloves

The corona virus stays:
45 minutes in the air, traveling 2 meters 6 1/2 feet
a few minutes on your skin
12 hours on your clothes
up to 4 days on wood
4-5 days on paper
5 days on metal
6-9 days on plastic

If this is true, and the pictures are clear enough so that you don't have to understand the writing, then coughing into your elbow and wearing disposable gloves are worst things to do.

The corona virus stays the shortest time on your skin, which is easy to wash frequently with soap and water.

How many people strip off their tops and launder them after coughing into their elbow?

Ditto about washing your hands with soap after touching any surface is safer than passing around the virus on disposable gloves, which can easily spread the virus as you touch more than one thing.

PS it's much easier to cup/cover your mouth/nose with your hand tissue than catch all the spray on the inside of your elbow.

Corona Lock-down Tips: Keeping Fit, Even if You Can't Get Out

Life in the Corona Lock-down, all the restrictions we're now living in, makes keeping fit much more difficult.

Yesterday I took two "walks" to keep up my general fitness. Since, like most everyone, I can't really estimate how many steps and distance I've walked at home*, I rely on two pedometer apps on my phone.  You can see their icons on the screenshot to your right.

The pedometers I use are free. One is more sensitive than the other. They each have a purpose, and I keep the phone on me all the time, except when it's charging.

There are two ways to find icons for your phone:
1- google play store and "search" free pedometer
2-go into "chrome" or whatever you use and just google "free pedometer"
Match up the icons with those on my home screen.

On the bottom there's the icon on the far left, showing two feet. It's very simple to use and sensitive enough to most walking around the house. And Gd willing when this lock-down is over, it shows a realistic amount of steps when shopping and in museums etc.

There's another pedometer app on the second row, far right with one foot. This pedometer, even at its most sensitive is less so. I like that it shows me how much "serious walking" I've done.

After installing a pedometer, you have to personalize it. Go to "settings," and add whatever info they ask. The most important is "pace distance." You can check the accuracy of that by counting your steps as you walk and check that the app has the same number. "Sensitivity" can also be adjusted. You may need to tweak here and there. I uninstalled one, since it was horrendously inaccurate. The app on the bottom of my screen is more sensitive. I generally try to turn it off when in a car or bus.

Please tell me how you're managing. Is this helpful?

*I turned on facebook live for company. You can join in. Here are the recordings.

One of My Favorite Books, Madeline, Filmed

I loved the book Madeline when I was a child. Like many, since it's in rhyme I had it memorized. And then I read it to my children.

And now I've read it for the public on facebook. This is the only way I can read to my grandchildren, now that we're in corona virus lock-down, a quasi-quarantine.


My plan is to read more books on facebook live. Tune in. I hope you enjoy.

Living in The Corona Virus Lock-down

This is something I wrote on facebook and think it really should be here, too:

Keep a grip on reality in the corona virus restriction/lock-down world: Unless you've been ordered by the medical authorities to keep strict quarantine, staying home and being sedentary is more dangerous for your health than going outside and taking a solitary walk.

You can even walk with one or two others, as long as you strictly keep your distance. Only in crowded places would a mask be advisable, and apparently, they aren't all that useful.

I'm lucky to live in a relatively rural community, where it's pretty easy to find an empty road for walking or running.

So walk with headphones to talk on the phone or listen to music, radio, lecture or an audio-book. Or, like me, turn on facebook live and talk to the world.

When I was out last night for a walk I saw young people running for fun and fitness and others walking in small groups. Physical exercise brings on "happy hormones," which prevent depression.

Gd willing we'll survive this, too.

Benji Lovitt keep the jokes going.