Shanah Tova

Wow its been a long time! I’ve been so busy and also just haven’t had the patience to wait for the Internet. I’ll write a blog about this week maybe tomorrow or at the end of the week but for now I’ll share a bit about last week’s excitements.

Last Wednesday (September 5^th) is exactly one of those days I idealized sharing. It started off regularly with classes and such. Originally I was planning to go to the Contemporary dance class that my fried was giving at Neve but was convinced to go to a Bracha (blessing) party down the street. The reason I decided to go was to give my Yetzer HaRah (bad inclination) a kick in the tush cuz it wanted me to work out for the 4^th time that week rather than take an opportunity to learn/grow more. Thus, me, and my two friends – Rachel and Rebecca – made our way down Hakablan street to the apartment of a woman named Rachel. She was so excited to see us there right on time which meant that we were able to help her set up while she showered. We put out several varieties of snacks – this is the whole point of a bracha party, to serve different foods that fall under the categories of all the brachot (blessings). We also took the time to notice that she had a balcony….a GIANT balcony perched at the top of a mountain overlooking Jerusalem – SOOO BEAUTIFUL! I literally could have fit my apartment in that space twofold.

Back to the event – after about an hour of waiting there still weren’t that many people there and we were highly considering bouncing to bed. However, an Israeli woman began to speak and gave us a little talk about the importance of the month of Elul, giving tzedakah, prayer and saying Amen to blessings. She told us a bunch of crazy stories and before leaving offered us all Kupot (charity boxes) that we could put one shekel a day in. Rachel and I opted to do so and every morning we put in one shekel in the honour of the Rabbi who started the charity (he helps find shiduchim (matches) and make weddings for orphan Jews) and also for a list of people (each for a specific reason) that is taped near my box. Once that was over the real star of the show came in - Tovi Baron. For those of you who have heard of a bracha party or of the idea that each blessing is meant for something specific (ex: wealth, health, marriage) – it all came from her! The craziest part is that in some parts of the world these gatherings are really popular and the blessing significances are even sold in stores yet most people DONT KNOW that she is the original source. If I sat here and told you all about that night it would take an hour so I’ll just share a story (there were at least 5 others to parallel it) that may shed some light on why I was so impacted by this experience. One time when Tovi was at a simcha she was approached by an elderly woman who said that he grandson was fighting in the Lebanon War (2006) and she was sick with worry over him. She knew that Tovi had bracha parties, the merit of which had lead to many answered prayers. Without Tovi knowing, the grandmother slipped a piece of paper with her grandson’s name in her jacket pocket. A few days later Tovy was doing a program about blessings at a school with around 300 kids (I am recounting from memory so I am not positive about the numbers but it was a lot). Each child had a little bag with three different foods, each requiring a different blessing. As she was talking to them about the importance of answering Amen to other people’s blessings, she happened to put her hand in her pocket to find the note from the grandmother. It was the perfect moment so she asked all the kids if they would want to send their brachot to the soldiers in Lebanon. They were all excited and the merits of over 900 Amens were sent to that one soldier. A few days later Tovy received a call from that boy’s grandmother who was excited and nearly tearful. She recounted that her grandson had been a part of a raid in Lebanon. /he had walked into an apartment building with three terrorists inside with his gun ready to fire. The terrorists were armed and the boy tried to fire his gun but it was jammed. The three terrorists threw a grenade at him and by some miracle he flicked it back so that at the time it exploded it landed back in the home of the terrorists killing them all instantly. The grandmother thanked Tovy, for she felt that the merit of the blessings had saved her grandson’s life. This is one of several stories that she told us about (and other women who had also been to bracha parties recounted their own); even the greatest cynic would realize that coincidence was not the factor at play. Some of you may or may not know that brachot (blessings on foods) are something particularly close to my heart as I feel that it is so important to recognize where what we have comes from – GD. Its one of the ways I connect most with GD. I realized how much of an injustice I was committing by saying my brachot silently in Montreal (for fear of judgment and comments) preventing others from saying Amen or for bringing the reality of my gratitude into the world.

Rewind a few hours, on the way to the bracha party we heard really loud music, which is very uncharacteristic for late night Har Nof.  Like typical curious ladies, Rachel, Rebecca and I followed our ears to find a parade of men, women and lots of children following a chupah along the road. In front of this cupah was a van with a giant disco ball with lights and music blasting. It was a Hachnasat Sefer Torah (the welcoming of a new Torah into a shul)! The torah is treated like a bride and as such is carried underneath the chupah and danced around with great simcha (joy). It was the first one I’ve ever been too and was also Sephardi (Syrian to be specific), which meant there was some extra, spice: p

Now before I finish telling you about Wednesday let me share another reason for why this day was so meaningful for me. Earlier in the day I had a meeting with one of my teachers during which time we discussed my difficulty in seeing G-D’s presence in my world and the fact that I have issues saying my brachot out loud. She told me that if I didn’t say them out loud they didn’t count and also that saying them out loud would definitely help me see Hashem and appreciate his role in my life. I then went to Rachel and told her that if she ever saw me about to make a bracha she should remind me to say it out loud. It was only a few hours later that she suggested we go to the bracha party leaving me to choose between that and the dance class. Although at the moment I didn’t notice it, within the hour I started to feel that Hashem had specially carved this day out for me, to show me he was in control and that if I opened my eyes (as my teacher suggested) I would become aware of it. The entire day built upon itself to end off in inspiration that has carried through to this day (Sept 16^th).

On Thursday, as I was walking to do some errands, I found a baby kitten (~ 3wks old) trying to get attention from people walking by the bottom of the Neve hill. Feeling bad for it as I usually do for animals and upset by how dirty and sick it was, I decided to bring her (I’ve decided it’s a girl) into the school. We’re not allowed pets in the building so me and another girl made it a little home and I found it some food and water as well. The little kids in my building named her Gingi (as you can see from her colour) and everyday they would hang out around her or ask me how she was doing. As the days went by different girls took ownership over her, bringing her food, bathing her (she was full of flees) and make her several new homes. When I’d walk by shed come and perch herself on my foot and rub up against my leg. She was the yummiest little thing but I could tell still really sick as she stopped wanting to eat or drink. Yesterday (Sept 15), I noticed that she was meowing differently; she was really lethargic and barely breathing. I sat by her for a bit because I didn’t want her to die alone but as more kids started to come by I moved her farther so that they wouldn’t know when she died. A few hours later when I went to visit her she was gone L

I have no idea where she is, the little kids ask e everyday and I tell them that she found new friends. The truth is there is no way she was strong enough to walk away so it was probably a bird, a cat or a jackle that got hold of her.  The whole thing is really sad but as we all know life without a mommy is no way to live (love you Imah) and it was evident that we couldn’t substitute that role as humans (who really couldn’t touch her because she was sick).

Later that same day (of finding Gingi) I went with my friend Shevy to the Old City where the Aish HaTorah Yeshiva boys (the young one) were having a Kumzits at 12:30 AM by the menorah overlooking the Kotel. They had guitars, a violin and a recorder and were all singing various songs. It was really a beautiful thing to listen to and quite a site with every type of Jew from secular to Hasidic stopping by to listen and even participate.

Now I leave you on Erev Rosh Hashanah with more than a week of other details to share but definitely not enough time nor room in your minds for more.

I have loads of things to do before chag starts but I will be sure to do my best ot post this week and share some more.

Whether you are going to shul or not, whether you’re going to a Rosh Hashanah meal or shopping instead, keep this one thought in mind: These next two days of Rosh Hashanah are days of Din – Judgment. Hashem is open more than every to listen to what you have to say as he will be basing the rest of your year on who you are at that moment. However, whatever it is you connect to or believe in, do your best to be nice to others, don’t speak meaningless words about yourself or other people. Be positive and nice especially to yourself. For those of you who will be in Shul – usually women and the men sometimes like to talk and schmooze about the outfits of others or meals they are hosting. If you cant help yourself not to speak at all then take on the challenge of not speaking from when the first shofar is blown until the very last shofar sound. If you’re usually ambivalent about the holiday let the sound of the shofar open you up to the meaning of the day, to appreciate your moment in front of G-D and your ability to live up to your fullest potential at that moment because that is really all that he wants from us.

 Shanah Tova!

Have a sweet new year and may you all be inscribed in the book of life

xoxo

Dana

PS HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Imah #2 - Cindy Shmueli :)