I am in Golders Green London and walked passed the King Solomon Hotel -- one of the main sites of the infamous Singer family stranded Shabbat in London from 2001.

Big Hug not news?!?!?!

Hey gang,  I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that tomorrow, finally, after all these months, The Big Hug will be taking place in the Knesset.  I wrote a piece about it, but two major Jewish papers informed me that it's "not news" that two thirds of the Israeli Parliament is going to participate in a group hug.  One of them offered to put it in their blog, and the other is going to publish the story after it happens in their magazine, since of course, it's NOT NEWS.  The Hug will include representatives from all thirteen parties in the Knesset, including left wing and right wing, religious and secular, Arab and Jewish.  Can someone explain to me how this is not news?!?!   Even in Israel, it is hard to find evidence of the event.  Maariv wrote an article about the idea when it first started (back when only 10 members had agreed to participate).  Other than that, the only sign of it is on Beni's Facebook page (which I recommend you check out if you understand Hebrew-- there are videos showing live footage of Knesset members Daniel Ben Simone and Zeev Bielski, self=-appointed "ambassadors of the Big Hug"--  recruiting huggers in the hallways of the Knesset.   Today the news is about a massive rocket attack into Southern Israel.  A man was killed, a number were injured, and then there was the trauma to many others.  Just like when it snows in America and you turn on the radio for the school closing, there is a list of school closings here due to security concerns.  that's the news.  I get that.  But with all the reports of war and fighting, isn't there just a little space for a blurb about our elected leaders getting along?  Hugging, even?   Anyway, I won't tell you more about the story, since I don't totally know yet how this writing business works, but I don't want to infringe on my own copyright of a story I have been told will run next weekend, but I do want to let you all know that you can tune into the hug live (though everything will be in Hebrew).  It will be broadcast live from the Knesset floor from 2-4:00 israel time tomorrow (Monday).  If you live in Israel, you can turn on Galei Tzahal.  If you live somewhere else, you can go to their website and click on "listen live" (or the Hebrew equivalent of that?!)   I would have gone down to the Knesset to watch it live, but I have to go to an important program at Tali's school.  But I will definitely be tuned into the radio....   Anyway, that's all for now.  If I hear of anyone kissing, I'll be sure to send another update right away.... Em

Eilat in Succot

Hey gang, I hope you all had terrific holidays. Last year over Sukkot, if you recall (or even if you don't...)  we drove two hours each way for an eighteen hour vacation at the beach in Achziv.  This year we thought we'd top that by driving twelve hours to spend forty in Eilat.   On Friday of chol hamoed Sukkot, we drove down to Elazar, where we spent Shabbat with our friends the Richters.  I am not sure exactly how we packed two tents, six sleeping bags, clothes for Shabbat and 3 days of camping, and food all into our seven-seater car that is the length of a corolla (literally), but we did! Shabbat with the Richters was awesome as usual.  It was a brilliant idea both because it is on the way so it broke up the drive, and because the kids are always excited to go there, so  it took their minds off the fact that we were dragging them to Eilat entirely against their will.  The boys just wanted to return to Achziv (the place they insisted they didn't want to go to last year...).  Tali was adamant that she hates Eilat (which she has never been to, so I think maybe she was reincarnated, and had been a colorful fish in a previous life...).   Sunday morning, our two families went together to Ein Bokek-- a water hike that follows a stream up a mountain, walking through small pools and waterfalls.  The kids tried to kvetch about that too, but as soon as we started the hike, walking the whole time straight through the stream, shaded by trees that looked like they were planted and shaped there just for us, there was really nothing for anyone not to like.  Everyone raved about it afterwards. From Ein Bokek, we parted ways with the Richters (the parents didn't want to join us in Eilat.  The kids begged us to take them with us, as our own kids begged us to leave them behind.  I was tempted to offer to swap, but i knew there would be a lesson in there somewhere.... So we drove down to Eilat, where we found the Field School and pitched our tents.  The campsite was perfect.  We went out for a very mediocre dinner (not everything can be fabulous...), and we went back to the capsite exhausted and ready for sleep.   The next morning was our day to "do Eilat."  The day after that we were scheduled to be at a barbecue with friends in Jerusalem, which would mean packing up our stuff and heading out by noon (presuming that no one would have to pee on the way).   We loved the Israeli breakfast, with the exciting omelets to order, and the latte machine that can make fluffy hot chocolate.   The three really Eilat-y things we felt we needed to do were snorkeling (hands down the most important), swimming with the dolphins, and hiking up a mountain from which you can see four countries (none of which are Canada).  The kids weren't really interested in the dolphins, so we let that one go.  They weren't really into the snorkeling either, but that was just too bad.  Come to think of it, they really didn't want to do the hike either.   Well, anyway, we did the hike first.  There were complaints of the heat (how come we can't just do hikes that are through streams and pools?!) and of the difficulty (not hard enough for Abaye and too hard for the rest), but that all changed about halfway up, when it because challenging enough for Abaye, and the others realized how proud they were of themselves.  When they realized there was a watchtower with soldiers at the top, everyone got all excited about offering them drinks.  The top was amazing, and Rivital couldn't stop taking pictures of everything-- the mountain, the view, Eilat, the boys.  (She has since posted all 200+ pix on her Facebook page).  On the way down, the boys ran ahead, laughing and playing, as Tali stayed behind to help Adin, walking with him hand-in-hand.  I felt like we were in a movie about a family who loves going on vacation together. After the hike, we went back to camp to decompress, and then headed for the snorkeling.  Tali said she wasn't interested, but Ross said he would rent her the equipment in case she changed her mind.  Adin and I stayed back in the shallow water, and Ross took the boys one at a time to snorkel around the coral reef.  It was unbelievable.  All the kids were blown away (except Adin, who couldn't be bother to look at the beautiful, multi-colored fish that were literally swimming around his ankles, but he was still having a lot of fun...).  Tali decided to give it a try, and guess what-- She LOOOOVED it.  She was apparently particularly skilled with using the equipment.  She and Ross overshot a turn, and ended up going on a much longer swim than intended.  When they returned, she just wanted to go back again.  Afterwards, she couldn't stop talking about how much she loves snorkeling.  She spent the rest of the trip planning next year, when we have to come back to Eilat.   After snorkeling, we were really beat.  We discovered a kosher pizza place in town.  There was no sukkah at the restaurant, but there was one on the corner that had been put up by Chabad.  By day it served as a place for chabad guys to invite strangers to come shake a lulav and etrog.  By night it was deserted.  It had absolutely no furniture.  But there was a big welcome sign on the outside, and it was totally empty, so we sat on the floor and enjoyed our pizza.  Afterwards, we bought s'more fixings and went back to make a campfire.  Shmuel was asleep before we got the fire started, and Adin and I were asleep by the time it went out, but the other guys headed down to the boardwalk late at night, window shopping and watching a huge ball containing people fly way up to the sky and back down, over and over again, everyone challenging the others to go on the ride. The next morning, I got our stuff together and packed before breakfast time, in hopes of maximizing our last morning.  Two of the kids were really excited to check out the wax "museum" that we passed the previous night, housed inside the Imax.   As it turns out, the only thing about the exhibit that made it feel like an actual museum was the price.  I would have called it the "Wax Lobby."  Still, the kids loved it.  It had many of their favorite musicians, movie stars, disney characters, and a whole section of Greek mythology that made the trip retroactively worthwhile for Shai.   We finished the entire "museum," including going back to the car for the camera and taking every conceivable picture possible, in 45 minutes, and it seemed like we had enough time for one more site.  Friends had told us about a place called "The Kings City,"  something about a ride through scenes of Biblical stories with a water slide at the end.  I thought we should check it out. After getting lost a few times, we arrived at The Kings City, to realize that it was much more than we realistically had time for.  Fortunately, we are not realistic, so we went in anyway.   We said we would go in and take advantage of as much as we could in the short time we had (already calculating that we would be late to the BBQ, but that that was OK).  When I gave the woman my credit card to pay, she said, "Wait!  With this card you have a two for one sale!  But you can't purchase the tickets here.  You have to call them."  So I went off to the corner of the lobby that had the least amount of insanely loud noise, and I proceeded to follow a series of complicated Hebrew instructions that, as it turns out, ten minutes later succeeded in procuring us one free ticket.  I got back in line to complete our transaction.  When it was our turn again, the woman explained, "This is only good for one ticket.  If only you had another credit card like this..."  I asked if Ross's would count, and she said of course, so I went off to my "quiet" corner and repeated the process.  When I came back with our significantly discounted tickets and our negative forty five minutes with which to see the place, the woman pointed out that in addition to everything else, every kid received three free amusement rides.  Yippee.  The BBQ was not looking good.   When we entered finally entered the Kings City, it looked amazing!  Everyone wanted to do everything. When you are working with negative time, it suddenly seems like you have so much of it.  It's like eating when your full-- you don't know when to stop.  So we began in the time elevator, that took us down into what was meant to feel like the bowels of the earth, to walk around and watch little mechanical scenes of Bible stories, interspersed with live animals such as snakes, gerbils and tarantulas.  To be honest, this was totally something my kids could have hated.  In fact, the Richter kids had not enjoyed the place.  But everybody was captivated.  No one would leave a station until they heard the whole scene play out from beginning to end. When we exited the time elevator, we saw the true brilliance of the museum designers.  Upon entrance to the museum, there are four exhibits to enter.  Each one takes you on a totally different course.  But magically, just like the mail room in Bugs Bunny, every one of the exits deposits you into the food court and souvernir shop!!  After the first exhibit, when it would have been a wise time to head home, we saw the restaurant and everyone was suddenly starving.  At this point we realized it was time to call our barbecuing friends and tell them we would not be joining them.  Their response was, "Yeah-- we had no idea how you thought you'd make it here...."   After lunch we split up, since the ride with the water slide was not appropriate for Adin.  Adin, Shai and I went to the room of Illusions, which was AWESOME!  It was like one of those science museums with lots of amazing hands on exhibits.  But in the interest of time, I will just share the coolest part.  After their ride, the other guys joined us and we headed for the exit.  We followed the signs, and found ourselves in a maze of mirrors, where to get out, you had to figure out the way.  Once you got through the mirrors, there was a similar maze, but with bars that made it look that you were always trapped.  At one point, no matter which direction you turned there were bars, so you were really trapped, until you realized that on just one side, the bars were made of rubber so you could walk through them.  This went on for awhile, followed by a hall of terrifying screams, and a narrow suspension bridge surrounded by a tunnel with rotating walls.  It was unbelievable.  The craziest part was that there was no indication that this part of the museum existed-- at least none we had seen, from the outside.  We were just following the exit signs.  When we finally made it out of all the labyrinths, guess where we ended up--  in a bigger gift shop!  From there we headed straight out to the amusement park rides that are just before the parking lot (Do not pass go; do not spend $200 in the gift shop...).  The rides are really for smaller kids, but after a whirl or two on the pitsky roller coaster, everyone had a great time taking turns accompanying Adin.   I think that ends the exciting part of our trip.  From there we went back to the Richters where we slept. Fun, but not exciting.  The next morning we stopped in Jerusalem for some American food shopping (Life cereal, Philly cream cheese, etc-- totally forgetting how packed our car was).  We managed to fit all the food by strapping Abaye in the very back seat, and packing all the food around him.  I don't think that boy had ever been safer.   We made it back to kibbutz with two hours to spare (and prepare for Sinchat Torah and for company coming, if you count Morey and Alissa as company.  They felt more like family, helping us through our raw challah crisis and all...).  Tali made challah dough which we figured we would bake on the holiday (because you're allowed to do that!!).  The rest of the food I was able to throw together before running off to shul.  In the middle of shul, Tali came to inform me that somehow our oven hadn't been turned on (or it had, but someone had hit the Shabbat switch by accident...).  We tried baking the challah in a pan on the stove, but it was just getting burnt on the bottom.  Then I had a sudden inspiration, and we fried the rest of them.  They were SO DELICIOUS!!!!!   I feel like that's enough for now.  Now we see the perils of my not writing more often-- I could go on forever.  But I think we covered a lot, class.  Next time we'll pick up where we left off.  Or in some totally different place.... Hope you all had great holidays, and that you enjoy getting back to normal life. Love, Emily

A Great Party

...even the cows had fun!

I have to say, it is with some mixed feelings that I write with tremendous excitement about today's big party.  You'll see what I mean....

They had been advertising for several days that there will be a big party at the refet (the dairy farm) to celebrate the new "haschacha" (whatever that is...).  A few days is more notice than they give around here for some weddings and bar mitzvahs, so you could tell it was gonna be big.  Today was the big day, and we were about to head down, when the sky opened and it began to pour.  We waited out the heavy part of the rain, while I was trying to picture what was happening to the moon bounces that were promised.    When the weather was down to a drizzle, we put on raincoats (except Shmuel), and headed down to the refet.  

Sure enough, there was a moon bounce and a big blow up slide.  Israeli-style, there were no rules, and kids of all sizes were trampling all over each other.  But no serious casualties, and lots of fun.  There was also a popcorn machine, ice cream, drinks, and a game where they made a pit full of hay and the kids got to climb in and search for candy inside.  

It felt like the whole kibbutz was there.  I am not good at numbers, but I certainly didn't notice anyone missing (except Ross and Tali, who were at Tali's piano lesson).  

When it came time for the afternoon prayers, instead of trekking up to the shul, since everyone was at the party, they just prayed right there (there must be a special religious dispensation for kibbutzniks to be allowed to pray surrounded by the smell of the cows...).  

After the afternoon prayers, there were speeches.  The speeches were very short and to the point.  One of the head administrators of the kibbutz got up to make some "thank you"s.  He began by saying he wants to thank those with whom this day would not be possible.  He said, "I'd like to thank 3219, 3457, 2984, 3542, and 1914 for their contributions."  It took me a minute to realize he was referring to the cows, who are stamped with numbers.  It was hilarious, while at the same time touching a nerve.  It makes me crazy to see all those cows cooped up in little pens with big numbers tattooed on their sides.  

Anyway, he gave some other thanks, and then another guy got up to talk about how much milk they had produced and what a successful year they had had.  He mentioned one particular cow, Felix, "may she rest in peace", who had apparently broken a national record for lifetime milk production.  He said that thanks to their great success, they were able to increase the business, leading to the dedication today of the new "sechacha" (which is, it seems, I don't know how to call it, but like a roof without walls that will make space for more cows).  

The first guy had already thanked the Arab contractors who oversaw the project, but another guy got up later to elaborate how very proud they were to work with such high quality contractors, who took great pride in their work.  He said he thinks it is amazing that we are about to cooperate so well together with our talented fellow Arab countrymen.    

The guy who was speaking last announced, "And now the part of the evening you've all been waiting for....  The hot air balloon will be arriving momentarily... just kidding folks, but seriously... the kids of the kindergarten and preschool will come up and sing."  Then Adin and 40 - 50 other kids got up and sang "Eretz Zavat Chalav" and "B'Rosh Hashana."  That was indeed the highlight.  Except, maybe, for the next part....

After the musical performance, we were all invited back to the "sechacha," where the refet staff said "Shechechiyanu" and cut the ribbon that had been tied in front of the gate.  then they blasted music, and opened the gate.  The sechacha is huge, and the cows started entering just a few at a time.  (here's where my excitement with the evening and my mixed feelings really fought it out...)  As they trickled in, it was like they couldn't believe how much space they had.  They began walking in slowly, but when they saw the space before them, they got so excited they started to leap.  Then, I kid you not, they were DANCING!  They were bucking about back and forth (seemingly) to the music, while everyone clapped and cheered.  You could see the fresh excitement with each new cow that entered the space and saw the dance floor before her.  Until finally it was all crowded like the other sections, and they were back to just standing there, looking around on the ground for food.  So that was the sad part.  I wanted them each to get their own big sechacha.  Oe maybe they could divide them up into a few cows per sechacha, so they could dance together (Don't worry-- no mixed dancing-- they're all girls!!), and then maybe they could sit and drink some tea and play Scrabble.  It's weird-- when I suggested they hire me in the refet to implement my new ideas, they turned me down.  But they did say I could come down one day and give an English lesson to the cows, like I did at Adin's gan last year.  So that could be fun....

Stay tuned for the next update, when I will teach the cows to say "Moooooo...."  

Until then, Good night, good day, and a Happy and Healthy New Year!!

Emily

Beni Update

Beni Update First of all, after seven months of listening for it, we were away when someone finally guessed the Chush HaNichush (Remember-- that's the part of the show where he sings a song silently in his head, and people call in to guess what he sang).  We missed the big moment, but it was a song I didn't know anyway.  And now they're on to song number three. The Final Countdown segment of the show may be over.  I didn't hear it at its regular time yesterday.  Maybe he found a song he likes better.  Or maybe he ran out of listeners who love it as much as he does.... Yesterday I heard my least favorite segment-- where he has someone famous come on and hum a song with him.  I don't usually find it particularly funny or interesting, and I usually don't know the song.  But for some reason yesterday he had two guys on, and they were from some (apparently) popular show on the kids' channel.  When he asked what they want to hum, they said, "Manumanum, from R'hov Sumsum (Sesame Street)."  First of all, I totally know that one!!  And second of all, they did an AWESOME rendition!! But most importantly, the Beni news you've all been waiting for....  Those famous guys asked what's happening with the Big Hug (where he is trying to get all the members of Knesset to participate in a big group hug), and he said it is happening at the end of October.  What a great way for them to start the year after the Holidays!!!  He says he has already 80 members, and he hopes to still bring a few more on board.  I don't know if he has reached Netanyahu or Livni yet.  I think I'll go check out the website and see if he posts stuff like that. In other news, the kids' friends are so happy to have them back, and I am very excited about the new school year.  I am excited because Abaye got the teacher I was hoping for (who is AMAZING)-- he was Shai's teacher last year), and Shai;s teacher is a friend on the kibbutz who also seems terrific.    Meanwhile, we found what seems like this really amazing music school.  It looks like a great community, and I think Tali will LOVE it.  It will be a great venue for all the music she is working so hard on (she will be studying voice and piano and attending a theory class, and she may add guitar at some point (which she has already begun teaching herself).  She will also be in a small choir, and possibly some sort of instrument ensemble down the road.  The theory, choir and ensemble come free with the lessons.  So that should keep her busy (she was worried about school being too easy...).    Adin is having so much fun with his friends and at gan.  He loves being back on schedule (gan started Sunday).  He gave out little gifts of silly bands and American chocolate, and now he is like the most popular guy there.  He is also so excited because he is a "bogair" (one of the older kids-- the gan has pre-K and K, so this year he's one of the Ks).  He says things like, "and he can borrow my hat because it will fit him because I'm a bogair!"  or "And I can help the little guys because I'm a bogair!"      I think that's about it for news from here.  Nothing interesting like earthquakes or hurricanes.  Just boring ole Israel here.  I'd love to hear back from all you East-coasters when you get your power back.... Love, Em

Singer Family Vacation Continued

Ten years ago, when we were on our way to Israel and we got accidentally stuck in London just before Shabbat with two little kids and no place to go, and we somehow magically found at the very last minute a hotel room and a sufficient amount of kosher food, but not without much fear and a few tears, Ross said then the he gets it-- that he is no longer a bachelor who can fly by the seat of his pants..  That now he is a father, and he has to be more responsible.   I felt the same way.  (Raise your hands if you have heard that story about London a million times.  Just double-checking...).

So explain to me how it happened that we thought that two overnight flights, with a 13 hour stop over in Amsterdam in between, with FOUR kids, seemed like a really cool idea.  Though I have to say, in the end, I am not sorry we did it.  That's why we fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants-ers never change.

Our flight from Houston left at 4:00 in the afternoon on Tuesday.  It was scheduled to arrive in Amsterdam at 8:00 in the morning.  Sounded perfect-- we get a good night's sleep on the plane, and get off bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to see the windmills and the dykes and the Anne Frank House.  The problem is, 4:00 PM is not exactly bed time.  When we arrived in the Amsterdam morning, it was 1:00 AM according to our bodies, and most of us hadn't slept a wink.  Just Adin for two hours..  So when we got off, all everyone wanted to do was sleep.  We were so desperate we tried to rent a hotel room in the airport, but they only had single rooms.  We tried to get drinks for the kids, but the airport only sold drinks to people with  pending flights, and our connecting flight was so far away that it wasn't on their radar.  So we sat in chairs by the security exit for awhile just because we literally couldn't put one foot in front of the other.  This was working for some, but horribly uncomfortable for others, so we decided we had to go back to plan A, and take a boat tour around the city.  It was one of those tours where you can get on and off as many times as you like, so we figured we could ride out the circuit a few times, catching some z's, and when we awoke, we could see the sights.

 As we stepped outside of the station, we discovered to our surprise, after the sweltering dry heat of Maale Gilboa, and the record-breaking temperatures of Baltimore, and the blasting humidity of Houston, that Amsterdam was cold, and also rainy.  That had just never occurred to us.  We were not prepared for this eventuality.  But we sucked it up.  No one complained too loud (because they were too tired), and we made our way to the tourist boat.  It was covered and climate controlled, and we proceeded to sleep for 3 hours.

When we purchased the ticket, the salesman explained that it was good on any of four different lines.  We could get on and off as we pleased from all four.  We knew we wanted to see the Anne Frank House, and that was only on two of the lines, so we took the first one of those that came to the station-- the red line.  When we awoke hours later,dozens of people had come on and off the boat many times, I can only imagine them staring and perhaps chuckling at the crazy Jewish family sprawled out over several benches, laden with over-stuffed carry-on bags.  I can only imagine because I was sleeping at the time.  When I awoke (before the others), I made a point to explain to newcomers that we were jet-lagged, on a layover from America.  It made me feel better to think that I could convince strangers to not think we were crazy or homeless or something.  Because hey, you never know when you will see total strangers you meet in random foreign countries again.

As I sat up, I began to take in the breathtaking scenery around me.  We were riding in the canals, along streets with exquisite brownstone buildings.  The automated guide was pointing out where the mayor lived and where the steel company had its warehouse (both storefronts in the same neighborhood and looking amazingly similar, except for the gargoyle statues on the mayor's house, and the company logo on the steel).  Along the sides of the canals were houseboats with real people living in them.  During the short circuit of the tour, we saw a tremendous range of standards of living on these boats.  Some were little run-down boxes with peeling paint on the windows, and tended flower boxes on the window sills.  Others were large and ornate, well crafted and nicely painted, and you could see things like large ornate candlesticks and fancy set tables through the windows.  When Rivital awoke, she looked around and said, "These are the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen."

Eventually we all awoke and agreed to get off at the Anne Frank House.  As I looked at the map to figure out the stop, I suddenly realized that while we were sleeping, the boat had changed routes.  We were now on the green line.  I panicked, afraid that this would be one of the boats that doesn't go to our destination, but as luck would have it, Anne Frank was the very next stop.  With a little change in plan, we decided we would scale our trip down to the Anne Frank House and a kosher restaurant, and head back to the airport.  As we stepped off the boat, we felt the driver smirking, so I explained about how we had just gotten off a sleepless flight and we were jet-lagged.  He smiled and said that makes a lot of sense.  I said, "Oh, do a lot of people do that then?"  His face went serious and he replied, "No."  We told him we were headed to the Anne Frank House, and he said, "Good luck!"

What did he mean by "Good luck?"  We had no idea, ...until we approached the Anne Frank House.  The line went out the door and around the block, extending deep into the neighboring courtyard.  This was going to be a long wait.  In the drizzling rain.  It was amazing-- no one in line looked remotely Jewish.  What were they all doing here?  The man whose job it was to say we couldn't come in with all our luggage told me that they get over a million visitors a year.  Unbelievable!  So Shai and Tali and Abaye and Ross waited on line, and an hour and a half later got to see what it was all about.  Adin and I waited outside in the drizzling rain, squeezing under a little awning when the rain fell.

By the time the guys came out of the museum, our chance for the kosher restaurant had vanished.  In fact, we had to hurry back to the boat to the train to the airport (someone should write a movie about that...).  We made our flight in plenty of time, and here we are in Israel, alive and well to tell about it.

Next year I think we'll try Paris....

Oh yeah-- I forgot to mention the very coolest thing we saw in Amsterdam-- first of all, bicycles EVERYWHERE (though not a helmet to be found), but most amazingly-- A multi-level parking garage FOR BICYCLES ONLY.  Literally-- with the winding parking garage, and all bicycles!!!!  Not to mention all the bicycle street parking where there are just heaps of them lining the streets!!  (of course, they have to come out every two hours and move them to the other side of the street for street cleaning...)  (just kidding-- Manhattan joke...). 

Shabbat Chazon