Thursday October 27, 2011, 6:00 a.m. Adin woke up with wide eyes, bushy tail, and a huge smile. It was the morning of his 8th birthday. Every other day, it takes Aimee and I the better part of a half hour to get Adin up and dressed. But on this day, Adin was the family alarm clock. We had lots of ground to cover and, thanks to Adin, got an early start. All the boys knew about the upcoming day was that they did not have to go to school, we were going on a trip to some special places, and that everything else was a closely guarded secret. After a series of birthday calls over breakfast, we hit the road. Our first stop was almost two hours to the north and thankfully, after such an ... read more

“Leeta”: September 25, 2011, 12:15 p.m. appointment with Miri at “delpak (counter) #9” – Fourth visit to Misrad HaPnim. I arrived a couple of minutes before my appointment. Since the office had been open for over two hours the “line” out onto the street was short … only about 10 people. Yet for some reason, which was unclear to me, all 10 people were squeezed up against the door shouting at the flustered Ethiopian (Jewish) security guards to let them in. One guard was trying to hold the door shut while the other fended off the verbal assault from those in the line. Afraid I would lose my 12:15 appointment if I didn’t get in, I reached over the cluster of supplicants from behind, held my appointment slip in front of the guard’s face, and explained ... read more

Friday, August 26th: Knowing Rabbi Yossi Goldberg from Vancouver’s Kollel “synagogue,” we guessed we were in for a unique Shabbat experience staying with his parents in the upper Galilee town of Safed. Safed is famous historically as the main centre of Kabbala (Jewish mysticism) going back 500 years. It’s also where the Kabbalat Shabbat service originated, and Shlomo haLevi Alkabetz wrote the song Lecha Dodi in the 16th century (The letters of his name start each of the verses). It’s also a hilltop outpost that was of great strategic significance in Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. In prevailing in the battle for Safed, the Jewish forces secured Israel’s position in the north. One feels the reason for Safed’s strategic importance in every step taken in the town - which is either straight up or down. Yossi’s ... read more

Sunday August 14th we met with our friend Rahel Halabe (currently of Vancouver) in her childhood neighbourhood of Nahla’ot, which is next to the Mahaneh Yehuda Market. Nahla’ot is one of “new” Jerusalem’s oldest neighbourhoods which dates back to the 1880s. It’s a maze of narrow twisting alleyways in which one’s sense of direction is quickly lost. Rahel’s description of Nahla’ot’s history was fascinating to Aimee and I. To the boys, not so much. We finished off with lunch at “Steakiat Hatsot” (Midnight Steakhouse), which is famous for “Meurav Yerushalmi” (Jerusalem mixed grill) … comprised of grilled turkey, chicken hearts and chicken spleen. Ezra the carnivore was thrilled, but disappointed that the mixed grill did not include brains and lungs. Seriously. Aimee and I, being of a more delicate constitution stuck with the turkey, which was ... read more

Wednesday, August 3, 2011 – Tuesday, August 9, 2011 After almost a week in Israel we are all starting to emerge from the fog of sleep deprivation, heat exhaustion, and culture and language shock. Still, at times the fog quickly returns to engulf us anew. And throughout it all, Aimee and I keep turning to each other and saying, “I can’t believe we did it.” After a quick and dirty unpacking – duffels and hockey bags remained laying half-emptied around our apartment for a few days – Aimee declared mid-morning on our first day that we should go out and find a good nutritious breakfast at a nice local establishment. … as a way to feel less dislocated and more at home. So we headed to our neighbourhood’s main drive – Jerusalem’s equivalent of Vancouver’s ... read more