Hail the Victorious Dead

Today was Israel's Memorial Day. It is a very different affair from the American version. Their are no sales to coincide with the memorials. People go to work (at least for part of the day). Everyone knows someone that died fighting for this country. It may have been in a war or from terrorism, but everyone here is connected to someone that now lies in a military cemetery. So it is a solemn day. There are 2 moments of silence, one in the evening before Memorial Day (Yom HaZicaron), and one at 11 a.m.

We did not make it to a ceremony today. There really aren't many geared for children. But we did make a point of being outside. We were on a terrace overlooking David Raziel Street in our neighborhood when the siren started. I stood there with Netanel standing at attention beside me and I thought of the boys and girls, men and women that have died. I thought of the funerals shown on the news, in pictures, on YouTube. I saw in my head the proud soldiers in neat uniforms crying on each others shoulders over the loss of a dear friend and comrade. And I cried.

When the siren started a bus winding upt he hill pulled over. On eor two other cars stopped as well. But many other cars continued on their way, most of them cabs. Maybe they were driven by Arab cab-drivers who don't care about Israel. But it made me mad. They have more freedom to drive their cabs here than they would in Jordan or Palestine. They get more rights and liberties. I don't care if one of the mourned soldiers killed their brother. Let them pull over and cry for their own family. But stop your car and pretend to show respect. That's my feeling as a proud Jew and Israeli.

We remember the fallen and hope that we need not have any more sacrifices. May God grant us peace speedily with security and faith.

Back Home

We've been back for a week and a half. Pesach was nice. It was good to spend time with my parents and the kids enjoyed their cousins too. Now, after a week back in the absorption center we realize that we need to get out of here. It would be more bearable if we could open the windows at night. Unfortunately, the lights being on attracts a huge number of flying things of all shapes and sizes (no locusts yet). Screens seem to be not int he works for this institute.

We are still working our plans to move up north. We'll be going to Moreshet for Shabbat. It's a lovely yishuv (town) of about 200 families in the Western Galilee. We had fun there on our first visit and are looking forward to it. Here's to getting settled in a nice place... and hopefully the right one too.

Today we went to the zoo with my parents. It was awesome. I am always impressed with the Tisch Family (not only) Biblical Zoo here in Jerusalem. The kids also had a blast; climbing, running, looking at animals, etc. Video will hopefully be posted to YouTube (and Facebook) soon. the bears were quite the show-offs. Also, the (I think) new walkway over the anumals of the savannah is really cool. We were about 5 feet from a giraffe, at eye level. Odeliya dropped her pacifier into the ostrich and rhino pen. After replacing it with the spare (always carry a spare) she and Netanel tried to get the ostrich and giraffe to go get it back for her. The ostrich tasted it and moved on. The giraffe just ignored us.

At one point the giraffe did his business and Odeliya commented that he needs a change. Maybe she's ready for potty-training.

After the zoo we went to the mall for dinner. It's so cool to be able to eat int he food court at the mall. I don't know if I'll aver fully get used to it. I hope not.

So to sum up, it's good to be home.

Shabbat Shalom.

Round trip from Israel

We have made our first round trip flight with Israel as the base. It was sooner than we had expected, but for years Ayelet and I had talked about the day when our flights would have Israel as home. It's was a very cool realization as we landed at ben Gurion airport.

Our trip to the U.S. was caused by my brother-in-law's wedding. We stayed for the first days of Pesach, since my in-laws would not let us leave so close before the holiday. they miss us too much. We did manage to spend the end of Pesach here in Israel. We were with my parents in Katamon. It was the first yom tov we spent together in several years. It was also our first yom tov as Israelis. It was cool to keep one day, especially since the kids were strung out enough at that point. My sister, also back from a tour in the U.S, was also there. 5 jet-lagged kids is a lot.

But now we are back and it's time to get to work: nose to the grind-stone seriousness. The people in Yonatan want to meet with us (yay!), Ayelet is moving her business along (http://www.wholebodybirth.com), and I am calling in contacts for my ideas as well. I hope to launch several new products over the coming months. Anyone want to help? Email me if you do.

Now I need to do a little unpacking and get back to the kiddies.

Shavia Tov and Shabbat Shalom.

Business building

We've been in Israel for 2 and a half months already. I have trouble believing it. I still can't wrap my mind around Sundays, but in a good way. On Sunday night I smile when I realize that I have an extra day left in the week. This could be because I am not going to a daily J.O.B.

It's clear that we need to start doing something and bringing in some income. We are finally getting clear on what we want to do. Ayelet is very clear on her mission. You can read all about it on her website: http://www.wholebodybeauty.com. Please join her mailing list and make comments. In a nutshell she is a perinatal health mentor, i.e. she helps educate women and families about all things regarding childbirth. The goal is fact-based decisions (not fear-based) and happy births.

I have been less sure of my path. There is so much open to me, but nothing was jumping out. Also, not being settled was eating away at me. I kept coming back to The Organized Office (http://www.efficientandorganized.com), which is the business I started last fall in the U.S. Basically, I go into a company and help them tweak their procedures or office setup to get their business operating at peak efficiency. I had stopped marketing myself for a little bit, but I kept thinking about it, visualizing myself doing helping people. So I am officially back in the market. I can help companies of any size: large corporations, non-profits, solo entrepreneurs just starting out. And I will bring my relaxed, positive attitude with me.

And we are also working on a new venture that inspired Ayelet the other day. More information is coming soon, but we are going to use the skills we have learned and our growing network of business coaches to help people start their own businesses and live their dreams. This is still in the planning stages, but anyone interested can contact us now and get a special rate.

The world is opening up before us. We are preparing to move to a beautiful town in the Golan Heights, we are building businesses doing things we love, and we are spending time together as a family. May God guide us to help discover our part in the Master Plan and help us fulfill our mission.

Some older suff

Ok, I know that there about 4-6 weeks of our Aliyah Adventure missing form the blog, and that these are the first weeks after we arrived. I will try to fill these stories, but I make no promises. For now (it's late and I didn't get a Shabbat nap today) here's a quick little anecdote: on election day we went to the Israel Museum. It was a nasty day with lots of clouds and wind and even a little rain (this was before the heavens opened during our trip up to the Galil and Golan.
In one picture of us in front of The Shrine of the Book, a.k.a. the giant Hershey Kiss you couldn't see the building because is blends in with the fog .

Odeliya said, "It's windy?" I confirmed that it was very windy and she said, "'Top it windy."

I thought it was very cute.

Jobsearch

I had a meeting with Terem today. Terem is an organization that provides immediate health care. This helps relieve the strain on hospitals emergency rooms and local health clinics. It also helps relieve strain on patient's nerves, because they get quick care. I met with a director and the head of nursing to see if my EMS skills will be useful there. It was exciting since I would get to use these skills again. We found that I need further training, beginning with a Magen David Adom course to transfer my U.S. license to Israel. They gave me the name of the guy at MDA and I walked right over to his office, but he was not in. I left another voicemail and I will have to keep trying.
Even if we move up north very soon I want to take this course because I want to be able to work/volunteer as a medic wherever we live. If I could expand my training it would be even better. Step one is to keep bugging the guy at MDA until I get certified.
In the meantime, Ayelet's website is coming along and soon she will be able to relaunch her business here. Stay tuned...

Go North Young Family, Go North

When discussing Aliya Ayelet and I both felt that the northern part of the country was the right place for us. We had both come to this conclusion individually before we had met. For various reasons we thought it smart to start in the Yerushalaim area and to move up norht after a little while. After the first few weeks living here we decided to check out communities up north and see if it made sense to come sooner rather than later.
To that end we rented a car and spent the last week (including 2 Shabbatot) driving around the Galil and Golan. We met with Michele, the head of Nefesh B'Nefesh's Go Norht! initiative, made contacts using a book put out by Kehillot Tehilla, and went up.

First of all, it rained more than half the time and everything was green. The different shades of green, the fields and orchards were just beautiful. Also, the hills and valleys in the Galil are breathtaking, especially set against the gray sky. As we drove up on Friday we saw bracha-worthy rainbow. That night we witnessed a lighning storm as well (up close and personal). we got to make all 3 brachot in one day, although the rainbow came first. Maybe it's a sign.

We looked at 3 yishuvim and 2 cities. the cities were mostly just as places to rent while we continue our search. We are focused on a yishuv. We like the small town or settlement type of living. We think it will be great for Netanel to be able to run around everywhere and play with other kids. Already he loves running around the merkaz klita with less supervision. To be able to do it in a place with multiple playgrounds, grass, and more kids would be awesome.

We spent the first Shabbat in Moreshet in the Western Galil. It's very nice and friendly. We also checked out Mitzpe Netofa near Tzomet Golani and Moshav Yonatan in the Golan. We learned that many people have a pet cat and/or dog.

We really fell in love with Moshav Yonantan. It is located in the Golan, about 10 minutes from Katzrin. It is literally in the middle of nowhere. The town consists of about 80 families. It started as a farming collective but went private. Now all residents get full membership and voting rights, but only the original members get to share in the profits of the farming. The moshav owns cows and also hosts cows for other towns. They supply much of T'nuva's milk. Also there are apples (Jonathan apple to be specific) and other crops. The town also owns a share in the Golan winery and the makolet sells wine at a discount. The people there are sweet and down to earth. It's great hearing people appreciate the rain because their livlihood depends on it. Kind of like our lives, but the connection is much greater here.

Walking around felt like being back in camp. There were tons of bikes left around without being chained up. Supposeldy in nice weather the kids just run around and are in and out of houses. Unfortunately we missed that part, but Netanel did make some friends.

As for income, the Galil and Golan are covered with Industrial parks and many people have home-based and telecommuting businesses/jobs. The consensus was that almost anything you want to do is possible up north, so our entrepreneourial spirit will be nurtured here. The drawback is that a car is pretty much required.

Towards the end of the week we went to Nahariya. Living there would be comparable in cost to Yerushalaim, but it is a nice place to visit. And we did get to go tot he beach (Wednesday and Thursday were gorgeous: warm and dry). The kids and I had fun getting our feet wet. Thursday we went to Tzfat and walked around. As olim chadashim everyone gives you brachot and wishes of support.

We spent this part Shabbat in Yonatan. Our hosts for sleeping (we ate each meal somewhere else) have a dog that is not so friendly to kids that like to jump on dogs. When we came into the house after Shabbat the dog came over to us. Ayelet was holding Odeliya. Odeliya tucked her feet in, away from the dog and said, "My toes."

I think this post is log enough to make up for the lack of contact til now. Hopefully I'll keep you posted and events upfold regarding our request to get into Yonatan, securing the house available for rent and getting our lift out of storage in Ashdod.

Shavua tov,
Yoram