In the Ramat Golan, where we live, there are only a few villages that follow what Americans would call the Orthodox way of life. However, we have come to find out that most of the other villages, observe the high holidays and festivals with as much fervor as their Orthodox brothers and sisters.
We were invited to dine in the Sukkahs of serveral of our neighbors and acquaintances. Our first experience was in the Orthodox community of Hispin where we dined with our friends from Ulpan and their parents. We enjoyed some great laughs and a wonderful dinner. We had much to share with one another as we are all from the Southern California area. I believe that we have become fast friends with these folks from our "neck of the woods."
Next, we dined with our Landlord and his family, on Shabbat. We only stayed in the Sukkah for a short while as it was about 15 degrees C. outside and the little ones were quite cold. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and conversation.
On another evening, we visited over nana tea with our Architect and his family, in their Sukkah. His family is from France and Algiers, and they settled in the highest Moshav in Israel- Neve Ativ. We enjoyed fascinating stories of life in France for Jews, before and after WWII. I am sad to report that the Jews in France today, feel as if they are prisoners in their own homes, as they are afraid to be out in the evenings due to the rampant antisemitism in France.
We also hosted neighbors and friends in our first Sukkah in Israel. During the festival, we traveled to Jerusalem, as in ancient times. The Torah commanded all Jews to make a pilgrimage to the Temple Mount 3 times a year. We have decided to make the trip 3 times a year, in honor of Pesach, Shavout, and Sukkot. Of course Jerusalem was very busy and bustling with people trying to get to the Kotel to wave their own 4 species. It was very heartening to see how many people from all over Israel and the world were in Jerusalem for the festival of Sukkot.
The parents of our friends from Ulpan were meeting friends from So. Cal. in Jerusalem the same day we were making our pilgrimage, so we had company for the long ride down south. We decided to take the West Bank road to Jerusalem and it was quite the experience. We saw a herd of a dozen camels roaming about, goat herds, sheep herds, and many date palm farms. We stopped at a Kosher restaurant in the middle of no where and enjoyed a delightful breakfast.
All this to say that here, we came as strangers, but in the course of a month or so, we have been accepted as friends by many people, here. I commented to my wife, the other day, coming back from Jerusalem, that I now feel completely comfortable in Israel. I don't feel like an outsider, and I know that I can navigate around, despite my lack of Hebrew.
The Haftora reading for Sukkot mentioned that G_d bore the Israelites, "on Eagle's wings" throughout the wandering in the desert and many teachings say that we build Sukkahs because we commemorate G_d's divine glory protecting our people from the harsh environment. We truly feel that G_d has done the same for us. The whirlwind process of making Aliyah, the provision of this fine rental home, in a neighborhood full of kind and generous people, has instilled us with a sense of belonging and awe, over how quickly it all occurred.
We had many interesting conversations about the release of Sgt. Giliad Shalit. Many Israelis believe that his release, on the day that Joseph assumed power over all of Egypt, has prophetic undertones. Our neighbor and my wife also noted that the Haftara reading for last week spoke of releasing captives from the darkness.... There were other opinions as well, but we will leave them for the talk shows and debates raging now.
Shabbat Shalom!
Update: 03Feb12
So, we have experienced our first Ramat Golan winter. And we can tell you that it is cold here from late November to February. The temps at night go down to freezing and during the day it is about 40 degrees, but windy. I'd guess the windchill factor would make it around 35 degrees F. during most days. We received snow a couple of days in our Kibbutz. Of course Har Hermon is covered with snow.
My wife has tried her first few months of "commuting" back to the USA for work. Although we miss each other terribly for a month at a time, we see now that it will be doable for the foreseeable future.
We have made some friends in Ulpan and have continued getting together outside class. We also have made a few friends in the community, so we can always count on invites to Shabbat dinners and informal get togethers. Our nephew from the states visited us for two weeks so we did some sightseeing in the North. Here are a few photos from our trips. Shabbat Shalom!
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