My Home in Israel

Today the big girl came with me to work. She enjoys the busses and today was extra special. There is a man who hands out herbs for people to smell. One day it will be mint, the next rosemary. Today he was giving out basil. My big one asked me why, and I said because it made people feel good. We enjoyed watching him while we were on the bus.

On the second bus, we managed to be at the Bell Mall at 8:00 when the bells ring. This morning the song was “Yerushalayim shel Zahav.” Well, big girl knows the words (sort of), so it inspired her to start singing. Everyone enjoyed the concert–especially the bus driver, who stopped at a red light, got out of his seat and asked her to sing some more.

In times like these everyone could use a little cheer.

Well, we are working our way through the list of 39 documents which we need in order to get our bank mortgage. The last one on the list was the Assessor. He needs to come and look at the apartment, give it a value and then we are done.

The spouse spent a morning getting all the forms together, and giving it to the Assessor. The assessor made the appointment to see the apartment (for Tuesday) and today he recieved “Tzav 8″….yes ladies and gentlemen, he has been called up to serve in the army. So, he already deposited the check from us (next time, post date the check!!!) and we need to hunt down another assessor.

I hope he can do the work soon…

Also, I tried to call a babysitter of ours to see if she could help out next week when I still have work, but no childcare for big girl, and discovered that she is volunteering in bomb shelters in Tzfat! I’m very proud of her, but I still hope she will be able to help us out.

Note: I’m not trying to be cynical (well, maybe I am) but truthfully, it hasn’t hit me yet. I’m sure when I’m on vacation in another two weeks, I will see more people around Jerusalem, and really feel what is happening.

Ok now, this story is a bit scary. I wouldn’t even post this if I thought my parents looked at my blog…2 policemen shot in Jerusalem The neighborhood listed as “East Jerusalem/Jbel Mukaber” is the neighborhood which borders on Armon HaNatziv. (My current neighborhood). Prayers and thanks to the border police who are risking their lives patrolling my neighborhood.

One of the advantages(?) of being a new immigrant is that you don’t know many people. The war looks farther away, it doesn’t have a personal affect on you. Since we made aliyah, I know one person who was killed in a bombing, and she was briefly a childcare assistant at my daughter’s childcare. (Not at the time she was killed.)

Unfortunately, the insulation from the war has worn off. One of the soldiers killed yesterday in Lebanon was the son-in-law of neighbors of ours. Not just neighbors…my daughter’s dentist, people who I see on a weekly basis in the neighborhood. People who pray where we used to pray. A year ago Passover, his son’s bris was the Shabbat the day Passover started. Our last chametz was eaten at his bris. And here we are only a few months later, and this little baby’s father is being buried.

Some of my first thoughts were how can one possibly have more children in a world like this, and how I don’t want sons who will go to war. Then I thought of his widow and realized everyone is affected.

A friend of mine heard on the radio today that he died because he jumped on top of the bomb to save his comrades.

Please say a prayer in memory of Roi Klein z”l of Eli (father of two) and his eight comrades who were killed yesterday in Lebanon.

Slate has an interesting chart showing how the countries in the Middle East get along. It is worth a look. I didn’t check the accuracy of all of the notes, but it is easy to see that Israel isn’t well liked.

On a personal level the war(s) going on in Israel haven’t affected me on a day to day basis. Maybe I’ve done a little more news surfing from work. but other than that things are basically the same in Jerusalem.

This changed with the phonecall I should have known would come. My MIL has decided to cancel her trip. Why does that affect me? Well firstly, her eldest granddaughter was very upset that grandma wasn’t coming. Secondly, since we are moving I was hoping that we could do some shopping for the new apartment. But thirdly and most importantly, I have no childcare for the month of August!

Up until now, I’ve been putting things together in bits…three weeks at one camp, a week at someone’s house, two days at work with me (the oldest one only…the little one has childcare through Aug 9).

So, from August 6-10 and 22-31 I have nothing…zip, zilch, nada. Sigh… I have an idea which will probably get spousal veto, but I think it is worth a shot.

Find a 16-20 year old from the North looking to escape and provide room and board (plus some payment, ofcourse) for 8 hours a day of childcare. I would even let them stay during my vacation, without expecting any work from them.

I’ve had positive responses to the idea, but there are two problems…1 Who would really want to stay in “Beit Balagan*” where they would either have to sleep on the living room sleeper sofa or in with the girls. 2 How do I find someone I can trust and would want to be part of our household for a month?

If anyone out there has suggestions or comments, please let me know.

*Beit Balagan translates loosely as Disaster House.

I think people would be suprised to find out who my favorite “modern” writers are. Both David Sedaris and Etgar Keret are quirky writers, with whom I have nothing in common. I love the way they look at the world.

I heard Sedaris on NPR before I read anything by him. It is a good thing I never crashed my car, with all the laughing I do hearing his stories.

I first read Etgar Keret in translation, but the story stuck with me for a long time. I bought one of his books in Hebrew and used it to help me learn the language. Some of his stories are read in schools in Israel.

This week he had an Op-Ed Piece in the New York Times about war and Israel. I highly reccommend it.

Please say a prayer for the Soldiers who are protecting us in the north and in the south…

Yes that is right, we have purchased a home! A 4 room (3 bedroom) apartment in the neighborhood of Talpiot/Arnona. The apartment is a 10 minute walk from our current home. The advantages: great view of Dead Sea (on a clear day), directly outside–without crossing a street, you can get to a) post office, b) mini-market c) pizza shop, d) synagogue e) small playground.

The turn over of the keys won’t be until September, and we hope to do some renovations first, but hopefully we will be in by the middle or end of October!

Little girl is registered for childcare an easy walk from the home, and Big girl will (most likely) be slightly farther than her sister. No more big hills–except when visiting our friends in East Talpiot.

If anyone knows how to map a point on Google Maps, I’ll add it to this post.

P.S. Anyone who replies to this post automatically receives an invitation to the Hanukat HaBayit, which B”H will take place in late October. (Although some of you know you would have received an invitation anyway!)