Where everybody knows your name: a delightful bed and breakfast in Tzfat!

Yom sheni, 19 Shevat 5774.

The Dearly Beloved and I rarely get a chance to travel, even in Israel. Work, the costs involved, not wanting to miss the soldiers when they're home, our intense affection for our own beds. You know the drill.

We had the opportunity to spend just one night and a few daytime hours in Tzfat, at the bed and breakfast of our newly-married friends Miri and Dave. Simcha Leah's Bed and Breakfast is everything the Dearly Beloved and I want it to be: affordable; quaint and charming; centrally-located; clean and quiet; well-appointed with what we consider necessities (meaning decent beds, lots of blankets in the winter, our own fridge and microwave and kum-kum so we can hide from the world, wifi for when I get tired of hiding from the world). Miri and Dave have made Simcha Leah's all of these things, and so much more! They clearly asked themselves, "What would make us comfortable, if we were away from home?" Then, they proceeded to make it so.

Warmth of every kind: an urn, kosher lamp and plata for Shabbat; a microwave and kum-kum; cozy blankets

Varied reading material; control of the temperature; plenty of hanging space for clothes

Next time, we'll stay long enough to try out some of those board games!

A full-size fridge!

Fruit, nosh, tea and coffee

Wonderfully comfy beds and thick comforters

Even the bathroom is charming and homey.

Just like fancy spas, they even thought of shower slippers.

While the building itself is 300 years old, the room is spacious, with lots of light and color, and with comfy twin beds (long enough for the Dearly Beloved's over-six-foot frame). One can request additional bed options. The fridge is full-sized; and the microwave and kum-kum are in great working order. The water for bath or shower is nice and hot. All the basics are there. The mazgan kept the room nice and cozy, and we ended up not needing the extra blankets. The fluffy down comforters were more than enough.

The walls are decorated with some of Dave's beautiful photographs. We encourage him to add discreet price tags to the photographs, as tourists who know fine photography may be interested in purchasing some of his work (one of our favorites of which you can see here).

We wandered around town in the fog and rain, enjoying Tzfat in its misty, mystical glory even when wet. Miri's son Adam took us on a brief tour, and dropped us off at a very affordable sushi place. When we returned, the too-long skirt I'd worn was soaked for the bottom 10 inches... and Miri tossed it in the dryer. Talk about full service!

After a cold breakfast of yogurt, granola and different kinds of fruit, we headed home... but we plan to return to Simcha Leah's many times, to check out Tzfat in even better weather. Miri and Dave make Simcha Leah's feel like a home away from home.

Below, the Dearly Beloved tests out his new birthday present to show you some of the other lovely features of the room.

For prices and other details, or to make reservations, click on the link here: http://www.simchaleahsbedandbreakfast.com/

"Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came..."  
-- from the "Cheers" theme, by Judy Hart Angelo and Gary Portnoy

Glossary:
Tzfat: Safed
Kum-kum: In my humble opinion, the first purchase an oleh (new immigrant to Israel) should make after landing: a super-fast electric water-heating kettle for tea and coffee. Don't they have these in America yet???
Plata: an electric warmer for food on the Sabbath
Mazgan: An electrical wall unit used for both heating and cooling

Snow Survival, Snow Heroes

Yom rishon, 12 Tevet 5774.

If you live in Baltimore, New York, Idaho, Washington State... this is a typical winter day. But if you live in Israel, this is a once-in-several-years occurrence.

People have been without power for days, at least intermittently. Cars are buried in snow. Schools are closed. The roads have been virtually impassable for the better part of the last few days.

Families are spending quality time together. Kids are thrilled, or are showing signs of cabin fever. I've even seen a soldier or two giving a hearty fist-pump at being stranded on the mountain. We had a special birthday Shabbat planned for the Dearly Beloved. That, as readers of this blog may remember, does not mean birthday cake. The Friday night menu included a cheesy lasagna, fluffy, home-baked challah, and cinnamon rolls. But with no electricity on Friday, the plans changed to a complete stove-top menu (so I could get by on gas): a hearty chicken soup with lots of vegetables, cauliflower rice, baby peas, barely warmed, and paratha, an Indian pan-fried bread. The pot roast which is usually prepared in a crock pot was instead prepared on the stove top as well; and everything was kept warm on an old-fashioned copper blech.

Stunt Man had planned to spend Shabbat in Jerusalem with Molly McMolly's family. Of course, that was illogical, impossible, etc., etc.

So he walked down to the highway to see if he could possibly catch a tremp. A security vehicle came along, and the driver -- after questioning his sanity -- gave him a lift. They traveled down a completely vehicle-free highway, stopping along the way to assist stranded drivers. "There were abandoned cars all over the place. I felt like we were traveling through some surreal post-zombie-apocalypse scene," was how he described his adventure. The driver dropped him off two minutes from his destination.

I don't raise normal people. I raise heroes. Or crazy people. Or both.

Building a snowman under the trees

The Dearly Beloved, going after provisions

Getting ready for some serious sledding

We have a very special community here in Neve Daniel. People have helped each other, by digging out paths from door to street. People have shopped for those for whom getting out is a hardship. After pulling his stint as the shliach tzibur for a local shul, Yoram went to open the makolet... and was joined by store owner Moshe Torjman. Moshe left his cozy home in Gilo on foot (on his birthday), planning to walk to the makolet if he couldn't get a ride. A policeman gave him a ride to the bottom of Neve Daniel's formidable hill, where he walked up to open the store.

Kol hakavod, Yoram!

Happy birthday, Moshe; and happy day after your birthday, Coach!

Moshe fired up the oven, so people could have nice, warm pita bread.

Eli, friend and fellow shopper, duded-up for the weather

Nobody who doesn't own a helicopter is surprised that the makolet doesn't have fresh milk.

But as a public service announcement, I'll offer some alternatives, to get folks by until the milk truck can make it up the hill.

The makolet has shelf milk, soy and rice, in various flavors.

There's fresh soy milk...

...and shoko, strawberry-flavored and mocha-flavored milk...

...and yogurts of various styles and flavors...

...and if all else fails, there are chemicals.

If I still had young kids at home, I'd probably melt their favorite ice cream, and say, "Hey, boys! Guess what? When we have a snow day, even the milk is special!"

Everyone has his priorities. People with small children came to the makolet, hoping to make a milk run. Without young children at home, we made a B - double E - double R - U - N, as the country song goes.

Finally! A home we may be able to afford on the yishuv. As soon as we find out who is the builder, we plan to make a bid. Hopefully before the house turns to liquid assets...

And before a rival buyer makes his bid.

Stay warm. Enjoy each other. Let your neighbors know if you need help. One thing about snowy weather in Israel: in a few days, it will be a memory for a few years.

This jacket, like its wearer, is now officially an antique. Both of us are pretty hearty in cold weather, b"H!

A few snow-survival tips from a former Washington State gal:

1. Do not follow my son's example. Follow the rules, and don't travel when you're not supposed to.
2. Stay off your roof. (Sad story in the news, about a guy who fell off while trying to fix a leak that could have waited.)
3. Walk on snow when you can, rather than ice.
4. When you have no choice, bend your knees a bit, and walk duck-toed (as opposed to straight-toed or pigeon-toed).
5. When going down steps, use the hand rail or a wall, if available, and put your weight on your heels. Falling on your face or tailbone is zero fun.
6. Think out of the box, and try to have fun. Attitude is nearly everything.
7. Get out of wet clothes as soon as possible.
8. Have as much fun as you can!

Glossary:
Blech: Flat metal pan used to cover stove burners on Shabbat, to warm food without direct contact with the flame
Tremp: ride, hitch (as in hitch-hiking)
Shliach tzibur - cantor and leader of prayer
Shul - synagogue
Makolet - corner grocery store (although we are calling ours this affectionately and out of habit these days, as Moshe has made it into a supermarket!)
Yishuv - community, sometimes called a settlement (sometimes disparagingly -- but we ignore those people)

American Football in Israel: Rockin' the Midot

Yom shlishi, 7 Tevet 5774.

Mrs. Coach has a confession to make. I don't know anything about football. I never watched it when I was growing up in America. I don't understand it, and I don't didn't even particularly like the sport. I'm a baseball kinda gal -- which my sons tell me "doesn't actually qualify as an actual sport." George Carlin sums the differences up in a five-minute comedy bit that ends with this:

"In Football, the object is for the quarterback -- otherwise known as the field general -- to be on target with his aerial assault riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing his aerial assault with a sustained ground attack, which punches holes in the forward wall of the enemies’ defensive line. In Baseball, the object is to go home, and to be safe. I hope I’ll be safe at home, safe at home."

(It's really worth hearing it in Carlin's own unique style. Don't worry: for this one, he resisted the impulse to use any of the seven words you can never say on television.)

I was never a fan of American football.

But I love American football in Israel.

I love it for several very good reasons.

My son Sports Guy is truly good at the game. Hashem gave him the gifts that he can play several positions well, and still behave like a mensch. (His mother gives him the bracha that he will be able to continue both activities in equal measure.)

Take six minutes, and watch Number 20. Even if, like me, you don't understand the game, you will enjoy watching this kid move. It's okay -- I'll wait for you.


Video credit: Pavel Arshavsky

Another of my sons, Yeshiva Bochur, is just beginning to play as Number 22. (He picked that number because it's the gematria of his wife's name. Yes, they are that adorable, bli ayin hara, puh-puh-puh.)

Yeshiva Bochur as linebacker with his father, "Coach" - photo credit: Alex Gandler

The Dearly Beloved, sporting his high school center number

The Dearly Beloved is the head coach of the Judean Rebels men's football team and the Ravens high school team. He is a good coach. He doesn't care about "winning at all costs." He cares that his players have fun, put their own families and the families in the stands first, and play fairly and with grace and sportsmanship.

"I don't want to hear any swearing. There are children and grandmothers in the stands. And I don't want to see dancing in the end zone, or hear trash talk. If you're losing, you don't have anything to trash talk about. If you're winning, let the scoreboard do your trash talking for you. When you make a touchdown, you calmly hand the ref the ball, because you just did your job. Let 'em know that you do this every day."

 After coaching his guys this way for several years, I have seen that they take pride in leading the league in examples of sportsmanship. Recently, one of our Israeli players was being harassed by a member of an opposing team, who was trying to goad him into losing his temper. "Shhhh," said our player, pressing his finger to his lips, and with his other hand, pointing at the scoreboard. Situation diffused.

And here is perhaps what I love best about football in Israel: I love it because it is Israeli. It is predominantly Jewish, meaning imbued with Jewish values, to the extent that a gridiron battle can be. (The players are Jewish, both observant and secular, and from various other religious backgrounds as well. That fact doesn't seem to keep them from playing well together.) The league is beginning to crack down on swearing on the field and in the stands. It's not official. It's just that more and more players are having increased fun and decreased anger. Parents and even young people are reminding other young people in the stands that "we don't talk that way." And unlike fans in other countries, most of the chastised listen, and try to "clean it up." We have a lot to do still. But we're making progress.

The teams have taken it upon themselves to do charitable projects, to shine a positive light on American football. The Rebels have gone a few times to Nefesh B'Nefesh events, coordinating with them and with Ben Gurion airport personnel to unload and sort luggage for exhausted and bewildered new olim.

A few Tel Aviv Pioneers even show up occasionally to help out, thereby promoting brotherhood and camaraderie among the teams. (Coach Eastman: "Leave the rivalry on the field, where it belongs.")

And the Rebels recently were permitted the privilege of participating in a project taken on by the Jerusalem Lions, reported at the IFL site by Commissioner Betzalel Friedman. Warning: tissue alert. Though you may be laughing through the tears at how easily those big orange Rebels got knocked out of the way...


Video by Midabrim Communications

Pro- and semi-pro sports is getting a really bad name. From the fields to the stands, in countries all over the world, sport is getting to be a place NOT to bring your kids. Which is a real shame. We're trying to change that, one player, one team at a time.

So do me a favor. If you like what you've seen here, please help spread the word. Pass on this blog post to your friends who love football, but don't even know Israel has it, or to people who need to hear good things about our little country. Let's help Uriel Wang's moment of glory to go viral. It's good for football. And it will make Uriel and his mother smile. Refua shelaima, little man.

Glossary:
Midot (also midos) - good character traits
Mensch - someone who exhibits good midot
Bracha - blessing
Gematria - a Kabbalistic method of interpreting the Hebrew scriptures by computing the numerical value of words, based on those of their constituent letters
Bli ayin hara, puh-puh-puh - an expression little old Jewish ladies say to "ward off the evil eye" -- used by this little old Jewish lady to remind readers that I am not trying to incite their jealously when I write about good things in my life, but rather am giving them blessings for every happiness in theirs
Olim - immigrants to Israel
Refua shelaima - traditional Hebrew wish that one who is ill should have a complete recovery

"Ivrit": a Hebrew word meaning "drives one to drink"

Yom rishon, 28 Kislev, fourth day of Chanukah.

I have a little exercise I take myself through, to sort of check up on my current level of Hebrew language comprehension. I read signs to see if I understand more than I used to. Most of the time, it is a gratifying experience, as there has been some progress, thank G-d. But once in a while, תיסכול (teeskool, Hebrew for "frustration"), doesn't even begin to cover it. Let me walk you through the process.

The sign said " מחסני חשמל הרשת הזולה והמשתלמת בישראל," which transliterates into something like this: Machsanei Chashmal, hareshet hazolah v'hamishtalemet biYisrael. Okay. Here's what I go through with a sign like this.

First, I give myself an "atta girl" that I can translate most of what I'm looking at. After six years in Israel, this is not a fact worth bragging from the rooftops over; but I can see progress, however incremental. Machsanei Chashmal means "Electronics Warehouse"; and it's where we have bought all of our major electrical appliances. (Brief commercial announcement: I highly recommend the store in Talpiot to all new Jerusalem-area olim. They have always given us good prices and good service. Yes, you can ship American items -- but they may not fit into your Israeli apartment. And yes, you can buy European or Israeli products before you come and have them shipped to Israel -- perhaps at lower prices -- but getting them serviced in Israel may be a question. And there is something to say for helping the Israeli economy.)

To my ridiculously over-the-top joy, nearly all of the remaining words now belong to me. Hareshet here means "the station" (sometimes as in "the [radio] station," but here as in "the best location for a particular purchase"); hazolah means "the inexpensive," or "the place for the best prices"; biYisrael means "in Israel." I'm nearly golden. But now it gets ugly. We're left with one two- or three-word big word: v'hamishtalemet.

Sidebar. If our word were English or German or Spanish, all I would have to do is to look up the word in the dictionary. This, sadly, is not how Hebrew works. First, a little dissection is necessary.

I know enough now to know that I can surgically remove the "v'," because it simply means "and." I can do the same -- usually, but one must not get arrogant, as it doesn't always work this way -- with the "ha," which means "the." Now I'm left with mishtalemet. Another sidebar. I am making an educated guess that it is pronounced this way, as opposed to mashtalemet or mastilimet, based on what I've learned in various ulpanim (Hebrew language classes). But again, we don't get cocky about this stuff. Once in a while, what I think I know, I don't know. But I do know that I can drop off the "et" at the end of the word, because it just tells me that this word is in the feminine form, to correspond with the feminine word reshet.

So now it's time to pull out Mister Dictionary. But can't I simply look up mishtalem under "מ," the "m" letter? That would be nice. But it's not always how Hebrew works.

I guess (again, based on what I may have encountered in my thousand or so teeth-busting Hebrew classes) that I will have to look the word up under a couple of possible past-tense forms, as that is how Hebrew dictionaries are organized. Since words morph depending on tense (just as they do in English, but not as recognizably from an English-speaker's perspective), number, gender, and exceptions, you have to figure out what that first letter will be. I'm thinking it will start with either a "נ" or a "ה" -- either an "n" or an "h." (You do not want to know how I know this.) I check the usually-excellent Multi Dictionary: Bilingual Learners Dictionary by Edna Lauden and Liora Weinbach. for both hishtalem and nishtalem (just as I'd previously tried for mishtalem). I don't find it. This is often the case, no matter which of my half-dozen dictionaries I grab first; and as usual, I persevere.

Even though I am thinking this word is an adjective, it is often the case that adjectives come from verbs. Fortunately, I find it in my next resource of choice, the Hebrew Verb Tables by Asher Tarmon and Ezri Uval. Woo-HOO!!! I find it as hishtalem. My troubles are over, right? Not quite. The definition is "(be) paid, do advance study." I try again with Lauden and Weinbach. This time, I'm successful. (It would be nice if I could avoid user error; but sadly, that is part of the game.) It has two definitions: 1. took extension training. Yeah, that's not going to help me much... 2. was worthwhile. Hmmmm...

So now I have to sort of guess what the adjectival use here might be. Electronics Warehouse: the inexpensive and worthwhile station [for appliance purchases] in Israel? The Electronics Warehouse: the inexpensive and advanced-study? -research? station, etc.?

At this point, I usually opt for a glass of יין אדום and something on YouTube. In English.

חג האורים שמח, חג חנכה שמח (Happy Festival of Lights, Happy Chanukah)

By the way -- most of what I "get" in Hebrew (the good stuff, not the mistakes) comes from Ulpan La-Inyan. If you are seriously interested in falling in love with the Hebrew language, check out my friend Ami Steinberger's resource-rich site and fun and excellent classes. He has a brand-new ebook called Hebrew Described. Please feel free to drop my name when you request it. It won't get you a discount (since it's free), but it will make Ami smile.

A Holy Star Returns to the Heavens

Yom chamishi, 11 Kislev 5774.

I don't have any words right now -- but I promised to keep you informed.

Hashem has gathered Stella -- Tzuriya Kochevet bat Avraham -- to Him.

Baruch Dayan HaEmet.

May her dear family be comforted among the mourners of Tzion and Yerushalayim.

A Small Store with a Big Heart

Yom sheni, 10 Cheshvan 5774.

We got some great news last week: our local makolet isn't going to be sold to strangers after all!

Moshe, Sasha, Sahri, and Yoram are eager to give great service!

The Dearly Beloved and I had been slightly depressed for a few weeks, because Moshe was planning to sell Super Torjman, for financial and personal reasons. As much as he has tried to keep prices competitive, we from America know that "competing with WalMart" is a nearly impossible battle. As much as we would miss the convenience of our high-class "mom-and-pop" grocery store, we understood that there was no choice. We hoped that the new owners wouldn't be too much of a disappointment, even as we knew that nobody could replace the team of Moshe, Yoram, Sasha and Sahri.

The good news: Moshe decided, at the eleventh hour, not to sell. His reason: he learned that the potential buyers did not intend to run the store at all, but merely to "flip" it for a quick sale.

"You have to love a store like this, and work at it from inside. You can't just treat it like a business," said Moshe.

Moshe has always tried to offer excellent service, ordering what customers requested, constantly upgrading departments (including bringing in an in-store butcher shop and many specialty products from Europe and the US), and offering deals whenever possible. Our grocery store is in a safe neighborhood... so there is no problem sending small children to do their own nosh shopping, and bigger kids to do light family shopping. And, let's face it: "the super" is just a short or long walk for everyone in the yishuv, as opposed to the big stores, where a car is a necessity.

I asked Moshe what he will do to try to make the store a financial success, so that he can stay indefinitely.

"We'll try to get the word out on a regular basis about special deals and new products," he said. "We'll keep reminding people that if they want something, let us know, and we'll try to get it for them."

To our fellow Neve Daniel residents: wherever you prefer to do the majority of your shopping, do what you can to support the small business entrepreneurs in our area -- to include Moshe and Super Torjman.

Neve Daniel to the Rescue!

Yom rishon, 26 Elul 5773.

"An army marches on its stomach." ~ Napoleon Bonaparte

I have had many opportunities to be amazed by my Neve Daniel neighbors -- so it should really be "old news" by now. But I remain in awe of these people.

Here's the story.

We received word that 80-100 young soldiers had spent Shabbat without food Apparently, these soldiers were sent just before Shabbat to replace 40 who had been moved closer to the north. And when the 40 left, the kitchen was entirely dismantled -- and there was no replacement kitchen, nor fuel for preparing food, and also no MREs. ("Meals Ready to Eat" -- manot krav in Hebrew -- is the modern version of the Spam and candy bar "C-ration" culinary delights that soldiers were issued to keep them alive when they were away from the mess hall.) MREs, we were told, are too expensive to use when it's not quite war-time.

My contact got details from the mem-pay (company commander) in charge. The new arrivals did have food Thursday morning, before leaving their regular base. For lunch en route, they received still-frozen schnitzels, due to the fact that they were "jumped" (reassigned) unexpectedly; and there were not enough for everyone. Dinner simply "didn't happen."

It seems that when the new recruits left their base, it was thought the country was heading to battle. According to IDF policy, in war-time, warehouses are opened and everything needed is provided. However, by the time this group arrived at their new mini-base, the country was not heading to battle, but heading to "wait and see."  No battle. No MREs.

To compensate while the army sorted out the logistical difficulties of getting dietary infrastructure set up after the fact for dozens of soldiers, an army vehicle picked up food from the machsom base about ten to fifteen minutes up the road (that was still being manned by boarder guards and police) and delivered food to the mini-base, but not enough for everyone.  They shared.... and some were still hungry. As one of the boys said, "If you were in the back of the line and the bread ran out, you just didn't get."

So a lot of strapping 18- to 23-year-olds sat around through Shabbat, without sufficient calories. Please don't ask me how this happened, how the army could let this happen, why the army didn't find a way to fix it on its own. This is the definition of the famous army term, SNAFU: Situation Normal, All Fouled Up. And even though there will be people who will assume the SNAFU is an "only in Israel" experience, I can tell you from my US army experience, its not. I can tell you many stories of logistics in the US army that simply went awry, due to situations such as this, where a unit arrived ahead of the planning. Certainly it can happen under the stress of impending war.

What is an only-in-Israel experience is what happened in less than an hour in Neve Daniel. Word was put out on the local chat list.

Eighty soldiers have been without food through the entire Shabbat. A driver is coming to Chez Mizrachi to pick up whatever food we can gather. Please help!

It appeared after that post went out that we should have said "without adequate food," in fairness to the army... but that's the problem with the game of "telephone." But this story isn't about how the IDF is made of humans who make normal, human mistakes. It's about my home town.

Neighbors called, came with Shabbat leftovers, sent children with bags and boxes of everything they had available. The atmosphere was festive, very energized, as only a last-minute group mitzvah can be.

In a very short time, the bounty piled up. The Dearly Beloved now has an evil plan for how to cover the Rosh Hashana groceries at Beit Mizrachi.

It was loaded up in the car, and driven off to its destination by another member of the yishuv.

These were leftovers??? This town eats well, baruch Hashem.

The best part of the story is that I live in a wonderful town, filled with loving, caring, helpful people, who will drop everything and rush to aid a fellow Jew at a moment's notice.

As our delivery person said: "It was not [as it turned out] an emergency. Our children had not been put in a situation with NO food for two days. Assessing how hungry and why hungry... I have to leave that to emptier stomachs than mine. What I can tell you is that these guys, half of whom who will not be home for Rosh Hashana, are enormously grateful for the food, the concern and the love shown them this evening by the good folks of this yishuv. I only wish you could have seen the guys pouring out of the caravanim as they heard that food had arrived. So grateful!"

I am grateful, too, Neve Daniel. Thank you for making us proud. Thank you for caring for your soldiers, and for "being there," as we knew you would.