Havel Havelim Plus Some Memories

Paula, the Soldiers' mother has put together this week's Havel Havelim.  Take a look at it.  According to the official count, it's number 384.  Divide 52 into that and you get not give me a minute here to calculate... ok, that's about 7.38 years, considering holidays, when some weeks were skipped, that means that Havel Havelim is at least seven and a half years old.  But I think it's even older. 

I've been blogging since 2004.  I've posted 5,531 posts on this blog and 5,468 on Shiloh Musings.

…Strength to the Weary was my very first blog post.  I also used to blog to go over notes from classes I took.  I'd try to share them with my readers. 

Here's my very first mention of Havel Havelim.  As you can see, I didn't know how to link posts or anything.  In those days you needed to learn the code or have it written someplace and just keep copying it. 

By the time I hosted Havel Havelim #34, I seemed to have learned what I was doing.  You have to scroll carefully to find the embedding.  Most of the participating blogs no longer update or function.  I guess that makes me a sort of dinosaur of the Jewish blogging world.

I hope those of you affected/damaged/suffering from Hurricane Sandy are now fine, connected to electricity and getting all the damage repaired.  Some of my cousins have been warned that they'd have to wait a total of two weeks or so for full electricity.  They're camping out in all sorts of places.  I wish everyone good health and a hearty sense of humor.

Doing Without

Generally, Americans like to think that life is so much easier in the United States of America.  When my husband and I, as a newly wed couple, made aliyah to Israel in 1970, the feeling and reality was that we were going back in time.  Most Israelis were then getting their first modern refrigerator, first auto-rinse washing machine and first proper ovens.  Many didn't have private phones and if they had phones, they had waited for a number of years.  When we applied for our first phone, there was still an option to get a "party-line," which would cut down on wait time.

But now, more than forty years down the road, there's no real difference.  Israelis are more gadget and tech-crazy than Americans.  Cell phones were considered a necessity here before in the states.

Living a rather rural life here in Shiloh, I've had to do without water and electricity on occasion.  For my American family and friends, this was considered the height of insanity and primitive conditions.  But things have changed as storms annually ravage Long Island, NY, my old hometown.  I wonder if the people who now own my parents' old home have electricity and if the house and street are safe.

I'm used to getting help from my neighbors, such as the last couple of weeks, when we didn't have a functioning washing machine.  This notice I read in the Long Island Herald about showers being available for those without hot water made me smile:

For residents still suffering from power outages, shower facilities will be available at the Nassau County Aquatic Center at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow.
The facility will be open for residents from 8 a.m to 11 p.m. beginning Saturday, and will open each day until further notice.

It's nice, but considering the gas shortage, I hope people can arrive safely.  Long Island living is based on having a a drivable car or two or more.

credit

I guess the message is that nobody is immune, and we have to learn that all the modern conveniences we consider as necessary can just disappear. 

G-d is in charge of it all.

Making Plans For A Trip

I really ought to visit my parents more.  Everyday is a miracle for them.  They break records every morning they get up alive.  Nobody I know of in their families has lived longer than either of them. 

A number of years ago I began making a point to visit every summer, and that has been the routine, but it doesn't seem to be enough.  Caring for them is all on my sister in Arizona, where my parents now live.  No, not in her home, but still they can no longer do much anything for themselves.

I'm planning a visit different from the previous ones.  I won't go to New York.  The idea of being in New York in the winter and having to deal with the weather there and possible delays...

A very dear friend has been asking me to visit.  She lives in a city I've never been to, a category which includes just about every place you can imagine, so I'll do that too.  Last summer I took a cousin's offer for a day in Philadelphia and it was great!  Now to just clarify dates, get approval and get the tickets.

Learning a Totally Different Set of Rules, I'm Not Good With These Icons

Yes, it, my new washing machine, a Samsung digital, has arrived.  It wasn't as simple as it may seem.  The repairman delivery man had warned me that he couldn't take it up the stairs, NY style front stoop, and I should find someone to assist.  So after he called me up yesterday morning to say he was about a half hour away, I began making phone calls.  The email request for help to the local list hadn't born fruit.  It took quite a few calls.  Either nobody had fit young sons home or their doctors didn't approve either, but then I finally called the neighbor who always comes to the rescue. This time he gave me his son's cell phone number, and the young man easily delivered the machine to my front door.

The spot in the laundry room was "cleaned" and waiting.  That is if you  can distinguish between stains and dirt.  The floor looks like a used car lot.  That last machine had been leaking motor oil.

After the machine was moved into its new home, I got instructions, paid and was left alone to try my first wash.  B"H, that went well.

Today I decided on a more complicated wash, and I think I misread the icons.  Of course I can't find a good icon guide, even in the instruction book, but no big deal.  I'll figure it out.  I can reread the book with stronger glasses for a start.

This certainly isn't the first washing machine I've had to figure out.  It's just the first digital and the first Samsung.  Don't forget that I'm from the generation that still laundered diapers and there were times I had to do them by hand pouring boiling water into a large bucket.  You have no idea how many buckets cracked, but I didn't.

Delicious Healthy Meal in Jerusalem

A couple of weeks ago I met a friend for lunch.  She loves eating in Jerusalem's Village Green, which now has a branch just off of Emek Refaim, on Rachel Imenu Street.  You have more choices there.  Besides their famous salad bar, you can order prepared meals.  That's what we did this time.  We both had a very tasty and attractive salad, all sorts of lentils, quinoa and vegetables in a tasty sauce.

It came with their delicious rolls and butter, which I took and ended up giving to my son, whom I visited afterwards.  The portion was sufficient for me and humongous for my friend, so they packed her leftovers, which she could then eat for another couple of meals.

We had a pleasant time sitting outside.

5 Rachel Imenu St. , Jerusalem.
Phone: 02-6500106
Open Hours:
Sunday - Thursday 08:30 - 23:00
Friday 09:00 - 15:00

Signs of Winter in the Holy Land

The result of the first good rain.

I saw this in Ofra.  It's big and already dying.  It's the Crocus hyemalis, Winter Crocus, כרכום חורפי ,زعفران I haven't seen any here in Shiloh yet, but I haven't taken too many walks during daylight or at all.

But my husband has joined my next door neighbor harvesting our olives. 

The neighbor has a few olive trees and he will take the olives to a press for olive oil.  They always give us some.

This tree was planted before we chose this spot to live and build on.  Our house is next to a public path.  It has grown enormous in the thirty years it's here.

Easy Entertaining of Sorts, The Visiting Christians

I must admit that it wasn't real "entertaining" with food or anything like that in my house or whatever.  What I did was to speak to a Christian group that volunteers for Jewish farmers in Judea/Samaria. 

The person who leads this group has been after me for more "understanding" since  my Shiloh Musings has Jewish Israel posting, and I sometimes remind my readers to beware of Trojan horses and worse from Christian groups posing as Jewish or pro-Jewish.

Especially with Christian groups, I'm wary of their true agendas.

Yesterday, in the fitness park across from my house, I spoke to them very honestly and bluntly.  Yes, that's the only way I know how to speak.  For me being too diplomatic is just a fancy word for lying.

I admitted that my interpretation of Christianity is that they aim to replace Judaism and that they worship a person, which is forbidden by Jewish Law.  I also told them that I do not like the fact that there are Christians who adopt Jewish ritual objects.  And I also said that although we use some of the same terms/words, they mean very different things.  Their god isn't the Jewish G-d.

Since they say they are pro-Israel and asked what they can do, I told them. 

• I told them that their role is to inundate the media, politicians and academics wherever they live and tell them that the only People who have a historic right to be here in the Holy Land is the Jewish People. 
• They must keep on repeating that there never was a Palestinian sic People, nor a Jordanian one.
• They must report the true situation in Israel, the tolerance and the terror.

I should have also told them to support Israel financially by buying as many Israeli products as possible.  What else should I have said?

PS After I had finished talking, some of them helped me by dragging our old washing machine out of the house, so I could prepare the spot for a new one, G-d willing.  What's interesting is the the on/off button fell off of it as it spun its last spin...

Challah Baking sans Mixer

I don't have a mixer, so I make my challah by hand.  All that kneading is manual.

The last time, or times, I've made challah there had been criticism about the texture.  Taste was fine, but you can't slice the leftovers to make sandwiches.  They crumble, so I'm always trying to tweak the recipe. 

I write it as I make it/add ingredients.  Here's the last one.  The only thing I left off was the pinch of salt, coarse aka koshering salt:

1 c sugar (dark brown)
2 T dehydrated yeast
3 c warm water
1 c oil
4 eggs (medium or smallish by American standards)
and 2 kilo or so of wholewheat flour

As I worked I added more yeast, because mine isn't all that fresh.  The yeast, sugar, water, some of the flour mixture didn't bubble much.  It barely simmered.  The dough didn't rise much either.  I took advice I had read on the internet and started with the yeast, sugar, water, some of the flour and left it covered to ferment. 

I was on the computer while preparing it and a facebook friend suggested covering with plastic rather than my old towels.

After the mush showed some life I added the rest of the liquids, eggs and oil and then started adding the rest of the flour plus the pinch of salt.  And I kneaded and kneaded.  Then I left it covered (try plastic) to rise.  Eventually it grew, sort of like a kid with an endocrine disorder.

Then I "punched it down," then "took challah" and because it was pretty late already I decided to make the shapes and paint them with raw egg.

Then, again I let them rise, which they actually did a bit.  And then, because of the weak yeast, I baked them at a lower heat than usual.

I was amazed that they ended up looking fine. Tasting great was never in doubt.

 It isn't all that hard to make challah, even if you have neither a mixer nor a breadmaker machine.

Never Dull in the JBlogging World, HH and More

For those of you who don't normally read my other blog, Shiloh Musings, I'd like to plug an important post on it about how easy it is to be hoodwinked by christians posing as Jews.

And for something more on the lighter and more positive side, there's the latest Havel Havelim at Marina's Letter From Israel.

I'm in a big rush today, so I don't have time to post all of the contact information for HH, KCC and JPIX. You can find them here click.

Enjoy the week.

Ohel Shiloh Elementary School, WOW!

Just over thirty-one years ago, Sept. 1, 1981, the local elementary school opened its doors, yes doors for the first time.  There were three classes in three little buildings.  Eighteen students, boys and girls, studied there.

Today there are two schools, both to the 8th grade, one for boys and one for girls.  There are a lot more than 18 classes between the two schools.  Students come from about a dozen communities from nearby and far, from the Shomron to the Jordan Valley.

Here are a couple of pictures I took the other day from the entrance to one of the schools:

I'm glad to see how much it has grown.  I've been told fantastic things about the school.

Slight "Emergency," Please Help

In a case of blogging incompetence, I ended up deleting my blogroll.  A blogroll  is a list of blogs I like to read and have listed on the sidebar of my blog, this blog to be precise.

As you can see, this is not a medical or financial or security emergency, but as a blogger, this is a very serious problem.

I keep a separate blogroll on Shiloh Musings and don't like to duplicate blogs.  So, I'm asking you to please send me links of blogs I used to have on my blogroll here which aren't on Shiloh Musings.  And of course if you think I've left out blogs that should be on my list, then please add those too.  And G-d willing I'll reconstruct the list, with your help thanks.

In the meantime I've started with the help of Risa's blogroll, which is similar to mine.  We have a lot of blog-friends in common.

This was not the post I had planned on writing this morning, but...

As they say, life gets in the way...

So Much To Blog About, So Let's Go to The Museum

Last night I couldn't think straight.  I had a lot of new pictures in my camera but didn't have the energy to upload them into the computer.  If I had, I would have blogged about some of them instead of my "lemonade" post.

I don't come from a family of Zionists, nor religious or even traditional Jews.  Most of my relatives are nominally involved in Jewish Life at most.  Many are intermarried, although some of those are very strongly identified as Jews and are active members of Reform Jewish communities.  It's rare for any of my relatives to visit Israel, and if they do come, it's a one-time deal.

So I was overjoyed when my father's youngest first-cousin, who is close to my age came for a second visit with her elderly husband.  I met up with them at the Israel Museum and hope to see them again before they return to the states.  She's the same age as some of my first cousins on my mother's side and I usually see her when I go to New York.  They were very happy to discover that the Israel Museum is now easier to maneuver about, since there are now more ramps and less steps.

Their guide told them a beautiful story about the wooden German Synagogue on display.  He had been on a tour of it.  An old man in the group began to cry.  Afterwards the man was asked what happened.

"I know every picture here by heart.  When I was a little boy and my father took me to shul, I was bored stiff and would just stare at the painted ceiling."

Yes, this was the man's childhood synagogue.

PS It's now permitted to photograph in the museum if you don't use a flash, so I've learned how to control the flash on my camera.

Lemons to Lemonade

I'm sure you've all heard the saying about the lemons and lemonade:

If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

It's one of the most important lessons we can ever learn.

I'll never forget my Cousin Mickey with whom I exchanged emails for a number of years.  He told me that he thanked G-d every morning when he woke up.  I told him that it's a Jewish custom.  There's a prayer to be said as we awake.

Modeh Ani Le’fanecha
Melech Chai V ’Kayam,
Shehechezarta Bi Nish’mati B ’Chem’lah
Rabah Emunatecha.

"I Gratefully Thank You,
living and eternal King,
for You have returned my soul within me with compassion -
abundant is your faithfulness!”

Most people probably couldn't understand why Mickey loved waking up every morning.  He had CP Cerebral Palsy and spent  most of his life in a home for the handicapped.  I doubt if it was the sort of life most would wish for.  That is unless you couldn't get around independently in your old wheelchair, or couldn't talk or hear or tell jokes.  Because of his great personality, Micky had a lot of friends.  The staff at the place where he spent his final decade plus would tell me that he was the most popular person there.  I had no doubt. 

I only knew Mickey the last few years of his life.  I hope I've managed to internalize his lessons.  It's so easy, too easy to just kvetch and complain and give up. I must  admit that at times I do that.  I have trouble shaking off insults and unpleasant things that happen.  Sometimes it takes me days to calm down.  That's not good, not at all.

HH Election Fun at Esser Agaroth

This week's, better late than never, excellent Havel Havelim is hosted by Esser Agaroth. and it's theme is the elections, Israeli and American.  Read the wide variety of posts Ya'aqov has found for us.

Marina Shemesh will be hosting next week's edition on her A Letter From Israel blog.  Click with HH as subject to submit your post.

Please join our Facebook Group to keep up on the latest ins and outs of Jewish and Israel-related blogging, and to find out how to submit your posts (every host prefers a different method) and how you, too, can host!

And please don't forget that there are two more Jewish blog carnivals, Kosher Cooking Carnival and JPIX. To submit your links for JPIX, here's the form, and for KCC click this.

These blog carnivals are safe ways of surfing the web, since the links have been checked out by the hosts.

Real Life, Nothing Lives Forever

Ode to a washing machine....

Yesterday I posted this announcement aka status update on facebook:

Our washing machine is "gossessing," as I use a the Hebrew verb for on its last breath or brain-dead.
Yes, you can say it has Alzheimer's. It's like some senile old guy peeing in the fridge, so I finally called the repairman.

When he heard my description-not the peeing just the sounds and dirt coming out during spin-, and considering that although it was a cheap machine bought 11 years ago. Nothing broke that wasn't the fault of a human, and I hadn't called him in for over 10 years... he recommended a new machine. It would cost me over ns300 just for him to come and no promise he can rejuvenate it.

He said that he sells new machines, that are considered scratched or whatever and they come with 3 year service. And he delivers, so I decided to go for it.

Not everyone delivers or services to Shiloh.

Am I crazy?

I was very fond of that machine.  I had bought it in time for my younger son's being drafted into the army.  I wanted a machine that would allow me to launder the army uniforms for two in prewash with cold water.  I knew there would be at least two years with two of them in the army, different sorts of units and different types of grime.  The paratrooper brought in muddy uniforms and the tankist had machine oil.

After much searching I found a simple inexpensive machine. Of course the salesperson claimed that they delivered to Shiloh and would provide service, which wasn't entirely true. 

The previous washing machine had been bought before that son was born. I needed a machine that could handle diapers for two.   It was known as a sturdy machine, the legendary Crystal Super Lord, and facebook friends commented that they are still using theirs. 

This repairman, sales agent, was discovered when Crystal told me to call him since they wouldn't install or repair my new machine eleven years ago.  I was pleased with his service then but hadn't been in touch for over ten years.  The last time was when "someone" broke the security lock on the handle and he fixed it. 

Just recently a neighbor mentioned that he had had his machine repaired by a funny guy, and I just knew he was the same one.  So when the phone number on the sticker he left wasn't good, I called my neighbor who gave me the newer one.  And now I'm waiting to hear about the options.  I figure that he wouldn't recommend my buying a machine that needs much service or he'd have to drive out here a lot.

People tell me that eleven years is now considered a good life span for a washing machine, especially a cheap one.  And considering that I never paid for a service contract or repair for over ten years...  Let's say goodbye to:

And we'll hope that its replacement lasts at least as long.

The Family that Hikes Together...

We seem to have established a new custom.  On Friday we had our second "family hike."  Living "in the country" there's no need to go very far.  First we hiked in Nachal Shiloh and this time we hiked even closer, my favorite place, Tel Shiloh.

OK, as distance goes, we didn't walk far at all, so some purists may claim that it wasn't a real "hike."  But it was far enough for the kids, for sure.  They had a wonderful time, and you know about the aim:

"Always leave them wanting more."

I'm sure that the youngest of the clan had lots of fun climbing and jumping and running and being admired and praised for their prowess.

Even though there are nice picnic areas at Tel Shiloh, Shiloh HaKeduma, my family preferred late lunch at home where I served them my quasi-homemade bourekas.

Quasi-Homemade Mushroom Bourekas

This is a very easy recipe.  All you need are four and a half 4 1/2 ingredients.  Yes, that's right:

• 2 large onions
• at least 3 cups mushrooms (or any other vegetable, or combination)
• oil for sauteing
• ready-made frozen puff pastry dough (in Hebrew בצק עלים batzek allim) 1 kilo (2 lbs) pkg
• optional raw egg to "paint" them before baking

I'm not going to claim that this is a very healthy food, because it isn't.  The dough is heavy, oily and delicious.

1. thaw the dough
2. cut up the onions and and mushrooms
3. saute in vegetable oil
4. cut off pieces about 3" or 7cm from the roll of dough, and stretch it out, either with a rolling pin or your hands
5. place some of the vegetables on one side
6. fold over, pinch seal the edges and place on lined baking pan
7. paint with raw egg for that shiny professional look
8. bake in medium-plus oven, a bit hotter than for a cake.  (sorry, I don't have numbers on my oven, but I know where the dial should be pointing)

Sorry that I never shot a picture of the finished product.  I was so busy that I forgot. 

I got great reviews from the family.  The only complaint was that I should have made at least double the amount.

News From Other JBlogs

A big MAZAL TOV to the "coach's wife," Ruti and family on the birth of a granddaughter.

A soldier's mother goes hiking.

Risa gives us a different perspective.

Seraphic Secrets has some interesting information about Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton about Judaism.

And in all honesty I have a very busy day planned so I really don't have time to blog any more this morning, so I hope you'll visit my blog friends.

Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach

JBlog News: KCC and Chaviva's Aliyah!

Let's have an adventure in kosher cooking land! The very latest Kosher Cooking Carnival is in Mama-Land.

She has done a fantastic job.  There's a great variety of posts, just like there should be.  Visit, comment and share.  Next month's KCC will be at This American Bite.  To contribute a post please send via blog carnival (sign up with them first.)  And if you'd like to host one of our monthly Kosher Cooking Carnivals, which appears on Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of every Jewish month, or have any questions, please contact me.

The biggest news this week in the jblogging world is that the very popular blogger, Chaviva has just made aliyah.

 

Good luck, Chaviva!  We're looking forward to seeing you here in holy Shiloh!