Shabbat #3

This was our 3rd Friday in Israel.  It is hard to believe  that we have just one more left and that this was possibly the last one that we will spend in the company of my Meme, Pepe, Yoram, Momi and Leah.  I sat at the dinner table in awe of the scene.  Everyone is a bit older and a bit quieter that I remember them being as a child and young adult.  Pepe still tells the same same stories, re-runs of past Shabbat dinners and Meme serves up a delicious supper.  Moments earlier we skyped with my my mom and dad and through the wonders of the internet brought our family a little bit closer.  Disconnecting and saying goodbye is always difficult and I have a hard time believing that in 12 days we'll have to say goodbye to our extended family.  Andrew and Adam tell me that they feel the love that the family has shared with them and that they feel quite at home here. The hardest for them and for me too is being without Gabe, my beloved partner and their amazing father.


This morning we had breakfast with my Aunt Rachel (my dad's older sister by 2 years) and my cousin Natalie and her adorable 3 year old munchkin Har El.  My Aunt and Natalie both told me about Tati's final days and together we cried.  Tati knew I was coming to Israel, in part to visit her.  She also knew that I loved cookies and cakes made of almonds.  She asked Natalie to pick some up for her 2 weeks before we came to Israel.  Tati labored over the almonds,  blanching, grinding and making a delicate almond paste.  She then stored the contents in the freezer.  After Tati passed, Tata Rachel found the container in the freezer.
Tata Rachel also told me that Germany recently has recognized the angst suffered by Jews in Morocco during WWII and with pressure from Israel has agreed to pay reparations.  In my family's stories of time before  they left Morocco they have memories of restraints in Morocco enforced by Nazi Germany and of the start of Pogroms even there.  And while, we don't have first hand family testimony of family members perishing in the Holocaust, we do have a collective memory of suppressed times that in part led to them leaving Morocco for Israel.  It seems like there is still quite a bit to unveil in regards to the effects the Third Reich had on other parts of the Jewish world.

Fresh honey comb!
Israel is after all the land of milk and honey!

Later in the afternoon, the kids and I decided to stop by the "Kanyion" (mall) to pick up an Israeli bongo drum.  The mall on Fridays becomes a Farmer's Market of sorts, with booths and tables set up throughout selling all kinds of homemade foods for Shabbat.  There were quiches, baked goods, Chinese food (the kids loved that), a laffa stand,  the honey man, and the spice counter to name a few. On any other day, the mall is just a mall with its collection of chain and speciality stores.  On Friday, it becomes a mall and a shouk at the same time!




The kids and I are totally excited about Gabe's arrival on Monday night.  Dearest love:  please travel safely!

An elderly lady prepared each laffa and  then places it on this
hot drum with the help of a pillow for it to bake.

Kung Pao beef and pepper chicken!
Sorry, no chopsticks!