יום השואה: לזכור ולתקן

Yesterday was Yom HaShoah.

Yesterday at 10:00 am the sirens went off. At 10:00 am every Israeli stood atogether in silence. Cars stopped. At 10:00 am every Israeli, and every Jew, remembered where we came from and those whose lives were lost at at the hands of intolerance and ignorance.

The sirens are powerfully haunting. The entire country stops in respect and remembrance. I have never experienced anything like it. Here are some videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYooy2KcKbE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lYADekjoG0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

At 9:48 I was eating breakfast with my coworkers in the dining room. Noam looked at the time and said we had to hurry back before the sirens started. We got to the madan at 9:58. We ran inside and turned on the radio. The emotions I experienced in these moments before the sirens reminded me of waiting for a tsunami to hit. I think it was suspense caused by the knowledge that something powerful was coming and inevitable. Then the sirens started. Even without the radio on, we could hear them. They are deafening and they fill the air. It was stunning. At that moment, I felt a deep sadness and yet an intense appreciation for my life.

I am lucky.

Pesach

Today is the last day of Pesach. In 45 minutes I will join my family to celebrate the coming of Shabbat and the conclusion of Pesach.

I spent Seder here, on the Kibbutz, with my family. The day of Seder, Dan and I helped Leann make floral arrangements in the dining room. Leann gathered the flowers herself, from the fields surrounding Ma'agan Michael. She arranged the flowers in an organic and whimsical way that was quite impressive.

Seder was HUGE. I think the official attendance count was something like 900 people. Sharon, my mom, led the seder while I sat with the rest of the family and ate matzah with ketchup. At the end of Seder, Sharon and I sang Oseh Shalom Bimromav together, on stage. It was a special moment. I was very nervous. I am glad did it. Sharon says that it is in challenging yourself and doing things that you are scared of that you grow. She is right.

Seder was different than I am used to. Not religious. Fast. Big. I missed home. I missed my family and mama's matzah lasagna...and Mina's matzah candy!

Pesach in Israel is strange. Those who keep kosher, follow the sephardic tradition and eat rice and legumes and barley. I don't which meant no hummus. Many people look at you like you're crazy when they realize you observe Pesach. Someone even asked me "Why?!"

Once you leave the kibbutz, keeping kosher gets a little easier. Restaurants advertise that they are Kosher for Pesach and grocery stores hang sheets over the shelves of food that isn't kosher because you aren't allowed to buy it. In restaurants, you can get matzah for the table instead of bread. What tickled me the most was walking down the street in Tel Aviv and seeing random matzah crackers littered across the sidewalk, abandoned in the park, and being eaten by men in the mechanics shop. It made me feel proud. Often, during Pesach in America, you really feel alone. While you eat dry matzah and macaroons, everyone else is indulging in jelly beans and chocolate bunnies. Here there were no chocolate bunnies...just matzah in the grass. It might sound sad, but actually, it felt refreshing.

I like the feeling of giving something up in order to gain a higher and more alert concienciousness of my Jewish identity and of myself. I have always found it comforting to know that I am just one amongst millions of people who are making a similar sacrifice for a common purpose. We are reminded not to take for granted our freedoms and to celebrate what it is to be Jewish. Pesach is a time to look inward. To relieve the body from the bondage of indulgence in order to cleanse the soul and open the mind. It is a time to recollect where we came from and how we will move forward. Forward I move...

!חג שמח לכולם

With undying love for מימונה, שסקים, בבקשה, אין כניסה לפילים, וזיקיות

(meemoonah, shesekim [a delicious fruit growing on my neighbor's tree], No Entry for Elephants, picking grapefruits, and chameleons.)

I respectfully remain,

J. Michael Hess Webber

the squeegee.

The squeegee (see left) is a staple of Israeli housekeeping. Seemingly, the mop does not exist in the Land of Milk and Honey. There is only the squeegee and the broom. Sometimes the broom doubles as a scrub brush but ALWAYS the squeegee reigns supreme.

The squeegee serves multiple functions.

1) When water is not used, the squeegee can be used in place of a broom. For example, if there are matzah crumbs on the floor, and you are an Ulpanist, you can use the squeegee to gather and push the matzah crumbs out of the room.

2)When used with water (as it is intended), the squeegee pushes the water around and ultimately down the drain. All Israeli bathrooms are equipped with a drain in the middle of the floor. This way the water can be removed easily. This is very necessary because, on the Kibbutz, the entire bathroom is your shower. There is NO shower curtain OR tub. Thus, after a shower, the entire bathroom is wet. So, then you take the squeegee and push all the water down the drain.

(quick tangent: before you take a shower, you also have to move your toilet paper to a high shelf AND lift the toilet seat to avoid getting it wet. )

3)I have also seen the squeegee be used to remove the water from a tabletop after a spill AND to clean the windshield of a van. Mind you...this would be the same squeegee that is used to clean the bathroom floor.

As I see it, the squeegee would not serve much purpose for an American household because, unlike in Israel, American architecture does not revolve around the squeegee. It is rare to have a drain in the floor...which entirely eliminates the usefulness of a squeegee. This is unfortunate because I am growing quite fond of squeegeeing.

With Undying Love for Squeegees...

I Respectfully Remain,

J. Michael Hess Webber

יום חמישי

As per usual, I am eating cookies...only this time they are special. They were homemade by Nonny! She sent me cookies and now my room feels like home. Mmmmmm. Angela just told me to stop eating. She said, את משמינה״"..." you are getting fat". Haha. I'm not getting fat but she is very worried. I am very happy.

Today brings me to the end of another week here on the kibbutz. The week has been fairly uneventful. Although, on Tueday night, Dan and I ate dinner with our adopted family. We made Sushi and it was a blast. I left covered in "tattoos". The kids drew stars, butterflies, skulls, hearts and flowers all over my arms. I was sad when they washed off in the shower. We also "fat-boothed" (look for pictures on Facebook) and they taught me how to pop-and-lock. Then we practiced the four questions for Seder Pesach.

Today I had my second Hebrew exam. I think it was okay. I'll see on Sunday. I wrote a funny essay about nature. Speaking of nature, I killed a fish today. I stepped on it. It was an accident. I drank too much coffee and was all jittery. I think I need to cut back on the coffee...it is causing harm to small, armless creatures. Speaking of fish, one pooped on my face today. I injected him and his poop shot onto my chin. I was actually impressed. Anyway, how many people can say that their face has been pooped on by a fish? I think it's probably good luck.

Angela just got home and popped open a can of liquid energy. I am scared. I think she is going to clean. Oh geez...she just put on Ukrainian trance music...it is getting real serious. :)

More later. I'm going to Alex's to make soup.

With undying love for facebook monster-offs, my dolphin pillowcase, dominos, Voxer...and (right now) my earphones!

I humbly remain,

J. Michael Hess Webber

R.I.P. Crush

Today, Crush died. We are sitting shiva for him. Please don't send flowers.

:(

See you later, alligator

I have been doing so many neat things this week and I haven't had a chance to write! I have a lot to talk about so I am about to have a post party. Get ready, get set, get excited!

To summarize, these past two weeks have been extraordinary.

YANN:

Last week I had my first visitor in Israel -Yann! For those who don't know Yann, he was our Brazilian foreign exchange student in high school. We fostered a true friendship and he has been part of my family ever since...for almost 10 years.

Unfortunately, this visit was the result of a lot of sadness for Yann. His father, who had been sick for quite a while and was living in here in Israel, passed away last week. Yann got the news and flew over to Israel almost immediately. He was here for the funeral and to sit shiva. He was staying with his cousin in Ashdod (20 miles south of Tel Aviv). His visit to Ashdod correlated almost exactly with the start of Hamas' rocket attacks on the city. Yann saw a missile fly overhead while he was driving down the road.

He was due to leave on Wednesday so on Tuesday night he came to the kibbutz. We had dinner, skyped Mom, Shea, and Mitzvah and then we drank a few beers with my friends. We went to bed early and awoke on Wednesday at 5:30am so Yann could make it to the train on time. It was a fast visit but it warmed my heart and I think it helped Yann relax after a very intense week. I love him.

THE WELSHMEN - Robin and Matthew.

Alex and I had our customary jasmine tea last Wednesday afternoon. She got a new teapot and matching teacups from the כלבו. They are very pretty and the cups help keep my hands warm because they don't have handles. Before I left, she mentioned that her friends from Wales were going to be visiting the kibbutz the next day. Of course, we had to meet. We share blood.

I met them at the pub on Thursday night. Immediately, I sensed something so familiar about them. Robin is tall and thin, witty, and super hip. He looks like someone straight out of a River Island catalogue. His face reminds me very very much of my cousin, Matt. His sense of humor reminds me of that of my Irish friend Jason Byrne. Matthew, on the other hand, is a little more working class, but in such a charming way. He didn't wear flannel or turtle shell glasses (in fact, he was the only one of the four of us not wearing turtle-shell glasses) but he is an extraordinary conversationalist. His face reminds me a lot of my cousin, Andy. We decided to go on a grand adventure the next day...

HAMAT GADER:

Friday morning the four of us piled into a rental car. Our destination: Hamat Gader. Hamat Gader is a spa village in the Golan Heights. We were headed there to spend the whole day lounging in the hot springs.

This trip was the first time that I had seen the Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee). It was gorgeous. So blue and calm. The Kinneret is extremely important to Israelis because it is the sole source of "sweet water" (fresh drinking water) for the whole country. They pipe the water out and send it north and south. For almost a decade, the Kinneret has been low and it is a big concern for the country. On the news each day they will announce the level of the lake. We talk about it in class too. If the Kinneret runs out, there is no water to drink.

We arrived at Hamat Gader and first visited thier alligator farm/petting zoo. The petting zoo was FULL of Baboons. Baboons are ugly. I would be okay never seeing another baboon. They can stay in the trees. I will stay away from those trees. They have the weirdest bottoms.

After watching the the Baboons for too long, we played with baby bunnies, chicks, and turtles. Then we went to see the alligators. They were huge and awesome. We were watching them from a floating bridge in the middle of the pool. Then it started to move. I looked in the water and saw that an enormous alligator was stuck beneath the bridge. Watching his body wriggle back and forth just below the surface of the water was eerie. The tail alone was as thick as my body. All the sudden I had a huge appreciation for the power of the alligator.

Then we submerged ourselves in the hot springs. Mmmmmmmm. They were full of Russians and we people watched for hours. We drove home around the north end of the Kinneret and up into the Golan Heights. We saw a rainbow and beautiful lush rolling hills. As is common in Israel, the beauty of the land was juxtaposed against the reminents of a difficult past...ruined homes, landmine warnings, and abandoned army towers.

We came home. Adi broke his nose while he was surfing. Alex took him to the hospital. His nose was gross and awesome. He drank Arak and felt better. Then we went dancing. The next morning we all went for a walk on the beach and then had a picnic outside Alex and Adi's house. Matthew and Robin left at 2pm. Alex and I, both cold, got into sleeping bags and talked for a long time. She is important.

MY ADOPTED FAMILY:

I have been adopted! Here is the story, Morning Glory...

As an ulpanist, it is possible to be adopted by a family on the kibbutz. You become part of the family, help take care of the kids, go to family events, spend Shabbat together etc. Having a kibbutz family also provides a lot of support for an ulpanist. If anything happens while the ulpanist is in Israel, their kibbutz family would be er to help handle it. Having an adopted family also helps ulpanists learn conversational Hebrew. All-in-all, being adopted is very beneficial for both the ulpanist and the kibbutz family.

So...

From the first time I went to the post office, I knew it was meant to be. The name of the lady at the post office is Leann (לאן). I felt an immediate connection with her. She is funky with crazy hair. She always has a colorful scarf wrapped around her head and she has a raspy smoky voice. When she laughs, you can tell she really means it. She is interesting and she is wise. I always look forward to going to the post office because I love talking with her. It became my goal to woo her into adopting me.

So...part two of the story...

Canadian Dan and I were running on the beach when he told me that he had finally been adopted. Of course, I asked him who had adopted him. He said "Leann Portugali from the post office". My heart fell. Dan got very lucky. By now, many ulpanists had already been adopted and I was starting to feel like it wasn't going to happen for me. I was a little orphan without a home.

So, I went to the cafe on Friday night and Leann was sitting with Dan and her sister, Sharon. She invited me to sit with them. I did and we talked and talked and it started to rain and we didn't care, we just kept talking. It was time for Sharon to go home and before she left she asked "Mikey, would you like to become part of our family?"

Uhmmmmmmm....duh. It's all I have ever wanted....and now I am happy. I walked home with Dan that night. Actually, he walked and I skipped. Now, he is my adopted brother.

Sharon has two kids who she raises alone. Yurinai (8) and Noor (5). On Thursday night, I helped Leann set up for a modern opera that she is putting on tonight. Then Noor and I went for a walk to the park and I helped Yurinai with his homework (which is too advanced for me). Last night, was the one year anniversary of the death of the mom of Leann and Sharon. I went to Sharon's house and met the whole family. Leann, Sharon, their sister, Dana, and I sat on the porch all night. They smoked cigarettes and showed me old family photos. I absorbed it all. I am so lucky. I will write more about the Portugali family in an upcoming post.

CRUSH:

My friend and coworker, Gaston, found a little turtle in the koi pond yesterday. He brought Crush home. Crush is now living in a Tupperware container with rocks and more lettuce than he could eat in a lifetime. He is a very handsome little turtle. Gaston and I were going to take fish from work to keep as pets. Now, Gaston only wants Crush. I want a hyrax (the Israeli version of a squirrel).

We also found a giant sea turtle on the beach. He was not alive. He must have washed up on shore. It was sad to see. He is the talk of the kibbutz this week. Today, Adi told me that once a cow washed up on the beach and sat alone in the sand for weeks before someone removed him.

Alright...

Many words. Much time. הרבה מילים והרבה זמן!

More soon. I still have to write about my trip to the desert!

With undying love for giraffes in high heels, Elvis in Jerusalem, Walkie-talkies, יופי תופי, popcorn fish, and BANANAS!

I respectfully remain,

J. Michael Hess Webber

52!

Happy Birthday, Mama! As of today, the world has been a better place for 52 years. I love you.