I love that! It's so great to have something to do with all that worrying energy, to use it for good and feel connection with our people. It's so interesting how many writers are also either knitters or crocheters...both of them love languages.
Love all of this...the Chanukah gifts from you to everyone; your gifts to yourself!
You are right - #everydayisJewishbookday! And thank you again for featuring the mini-interview with me on Facebook!
Love the mashup of Tomorrow and the candle lighting blessings, which I hadn't seen before. Very cool. (Hadn't heard of the actress but looked her up, and lo and behold she is from my neck of the woods and got her start in theater at our local JCC, where I, too, used to be in musicals...about 20 years before she was :-)
Such a small Jewish world… and thank you. I hope you give yourself wonderful things this Chanukah. Peace and the return of the hostages and the chayalim would be the best gift of all.
Your support for Israel gladdens my heart. Israel needs every single voice of support on this journey towards a safer country and, with American support, a new Persia.
I'm glad because though I'm not a Jew, I love the people and the spirit of Israel.
I was dating a woman many years ago and had thought that she was the one for me. We were together constantly for six months, and when she invited me to her home in London, I hoped the time would be right to talk about engagement.
On the weekend, she told me we had tickets for an outdoor concert at a magnificent stately home close by.
The day was magnificent. Blue sky, green hills, the house in the background and the orchestra on an island. It was a picnic day. The music began around 5 pm, and by 9 pm the stars were out. It was perfect, and then the lady turned to me and said, "I want to thank you for the last six months, but I'm going to Israel on Monday." I didn't know she was Jewish. But she told me how important it was for her. I was devastated.
As I lay in bed that night, I decided that I didn't like my work, nor where I lived, so I would join her seven days later. I left my workplace and told the landlord. Then I planned the adventure. The Kibbutz Office rang from London, and the arrangements to travel were made. We would be together on a kibbutz in northern Israel, close to the Lebanese border. It was settled.
The last Saturday in England, I went to celebrate with friends when one asked what was happening and I told him of my plans to go to Israel.
"What about the war?"
I'd been out all day making arrangements. I didn't know what he was talking about.
"The war broke out this morning."
Yep. It was October 1973. Yom Kippur.
The Kibbutz Office rang on Sunday to ask if I still planned to fly. I had no home, nor job. I said, Yes.
The next thing the officer did was tell me that the travel arrangements had changed, and that I would be needed at Kibbutz Grofit, just north of Eilat, as far away from my girlfriend as I could possibly be
So it was that I spent six months on a kibbutz during the war. I did manage to get a break and visited my girlfriend's kibbutz. Unfortunately, she had fallen in love with an American guy and was engaged.
Those six months taught a young man, who couldn't have pointed to Israel on a map, how fragile life is in that little country of lions, surrounded by an enemy. I know that only poor leadership by Syrian tank commanders and the bravery of Israeli youth stopped the enemy from rolling through the Golan Heights and into the heart of Israel.
I was proud to stand with them then and even more proud now.
Happy to find a kindred soul crafting for Israel! I've spent the last year+ knitting IDF hats.
I love that! It's so great to have something to do with all that worrying energy, to use it for good and feel connection with our people. It's so interesting how many writers are also either knitters or crocheters...both of them love languages.
Lovely, thoughtful and wise. Sending Hanukkah love to a wonderful friend!
And I’m sending it back to you, dear Amy. Thank you for your kindnesses throughout the year.
Love all of this...the Chanukah gifts from you to everyone; your gifts to yourself!
You are right - #everydayisJewishbookday! And thank you again for featuring the mini-interview with me on Facebook!
Love the mashup of Tomorrow and the candle lighting blessings, which I hadn't seen before. Very cool. (Hadn't heard of the actress but looked her up, and lo and behold she is from my neck of the woods and got her start in theater at our local JCC, where I, too, used to be in musicals...about 20 years before she was :-)
Happy Chanukah!
Such a small Jewish world… and thank you. I hope you give yourself wonderful things this Chanukah. Peace and the return of the hostages and the chayalim would be the best gift of all.
Happy Hanukkah, Merri!
Thanks so much, Erika. And to you!
Your support for Israel gladdens my heart. Israel needs every single voice of support on this journey towards a safer country and, with American support, a new Persia.
I'm glad because though I'm not a Jew, I love the people and the spirit of Israel.
I was dating a woman many years ago and had thought that she was the one for me. We were together constantly for six months, and when she invited me to her home in London, I hoped the time would be right to talk about engagement.
On the weekend, she told me we had tickets for an outdoor concert at a magnificent stately home close by.
The day was magnificent. Blue sky, green hills, the house in the background and the orchestra on an island. It was a picnic day. The music began around 5 pm, and by 9 pm the stars were out. It was perfect, and then the lady turned to me and said, "I want to thank you for the last six months, but I'm going to Israel on Monday." I didn't know she was Jewish. But she told me how important it was for her. I was devastated.
As I lay in bed that night, I decided that I didn't like my work, nor where I lived, so I would join her seven days later. I left my workplace and told the landlord. Then I planned the adventure. The Kibbutz Office rang from London, and the arrangements to travel were made. We would be together on a kibbutz in northern Israel, close to the Lebanese border. It was settled.
The last Saturday in England, I went to celebrate with friends when one asked what was happening and I told him of my plans to go to Israel.
"What about the war?"
I'd been out all day making arrangements. I didn't know what he was talking about.
"The war broke out this morning."
Yep. It was October 1973. Yom Kippur.
The Kibbutz Office rang on Sunday to ask if I still planned to fly. I had no home, nor job. I said, Yes.
The next thing the officer did was tell me that the travel arrangements had changed, and that I would be needed at Kibbutz Grofit, just north of Eilat, as far away from my girlfriend as I could possibly be
So it was that I spent six months on a kibbutz during the war. I did manage to get a break and visited my girlfriend's kibbutz. Unfortunately, she had fallen in love with an American guy and was engaged.
Those six months taught a young man, who couldn't have pointed to Israel on a map, how fragile life is in that little country of lions, surrounded by an enemy. I know that only poor leadership by Syrian tank commanders and the bravery of Israeli youth stopped the enemy from rolling through the Golan Heights and into the heart of Israel.
I was proud to stand with them then and even more proud now.
.
Merri! You really need to see Wicked.
I have to wait until it's on one of the channels I can watch at home. It's so long!