Ee-Kay-Ah

With everything going on in this part of the world, this might seem a mundane, ordinary or just plain uninteresting topic but you've gotta believe me when I say that nothing here is mundane, ordinary or uninteresting. And even if it was, sometimes an escape from the intensity isn't a bad thing.

As mentioned in my previous post, we have been tasked (read: blessed) with the guardianship of a small piece of the Land and the apartment that sits upon it. Taking care of an apartment includes furnishing it and, for the past five weeks, we have been actively trying to do just that - which is where Ee-Kay-Ah comes in. You might be more familiar with it as...

There are several in Israel, one about an hour's drive from Afula. In the first three weeks of our stay, we visited there three times until we learned that although you can't order online directly from IKEA in Israel, there is a service which, for a nominal fee, will order for you. That turned out to be a HUGE help with the ten dining room chairs that we would have had to pull off the warehouse shelves and arrange for shipping to our apartment - a multi-step process.

But ordering intricacies aside, IKEA in Israel is unlike anywhere else. The bookcases on display are stocked with volumes of Torah and other sacred texts.

The dining room tables for sale are set with challah and kiddush wine for Shabbat.

And last but not least, where else in the world can a kashrut-observant Jew eat in the IKEA cafeteria? I didn't opt for their famous Swedish meatballs but the salmon, chips, string beans, etc. were tasty, plentiful and reasonably priced.

All walks of Jewish patrons (and some non-Jewish ones as well) were enjoying their choices from the varied menu. Some didn't seem to be IKEA shoppers at all - just there for the food!

The "doggie bags" we took home (or arranged for delivery) included everything from towel bars to barstools; dressers to dining table...

You might think it a stretch to say that IKEA helped us Remember Jerusalem in a meaningful way but as we furnish our home in the Holy Land, we pray that Hashem will soon build and furnish His Home in the Holy City so that we may all live in its extended shadow - even here, way up north.

There will probably be at least one more visit to IKEA before we head back to the States. Yes, it's something of a trek but never mundane or ordinary. In fact, on our most recent drive in that direction, we even got to see the flowering almond trees that I didn't manage to catch on Tu b'Shevat.

Wishing you the opportunity to furnish your very own home in Israel

- and enjoy the meatballs!

"That's how you say 'hearty appetite' in Swedish." (And "b'tay'avon'" in Hebrew.)

Seder Night (and Day)

Don't panic! Pesach is still two months away - but there's another Seder going on in many homes and communities today. It's the Tu b'Shevat Seder and I participated in a communal one for women here in the Lower Galil (Galilee) city of Afula last night - complete with four questions, four cups of wine, a fourteen page "hagaddah" and some very holy ladies.

Yes, I'm Home for the holiday, thank G-d. Being in Israel during the month of Shevat has always been special for me in many ways as it is my birthday month as well as my husband's, and our anniversary month, too. But in between all those personal celebrations comes this one that is national - and spiritual. This holy day is referred to in the mishnah (the basic text of the Oral Law of our Torah) as one of the four "Rosh Hashanahs" of the year. Tu b'Shevat is a very "technical" day with many details regarding the halachic status of fruit grown in the holy soil of Eretz Yisrael. But in kabbalistic terms, it represents concepts such as spiritual renewal and connection to the Land - and I am "all in". 

The spirit of Tu b'Shevat includes my delight in the every-shade-of-green

that I see as I drive around locally and longer-distance and an appreciation for the blessed rains that poured down as Tu b'Shevat began last night. Today, shemesh paz zorachat - a golden sun is shining out from the behind clouds of whites and greys. 

One can usually rely on the almond trees in Israel to blossom 

on schedule though the ones I saw weren't quite as flowery as I had anticipated. But that's ok because the lemon tree in our yard totally makes up for it. Lemon tree in our yard? Did I just say that? I did. And it is. Our lemon tree in our yard.

Well, G-d's of course - but He recently entrusted us to be the caretakers of a small piece of His Land and the apartment that sits upon it. After two years in the works and decades in my dreams, we moved in one month ago for a two-month stay. I am overwhelmed by this gift, humbled by the responsibility and filled with gratitude for Hashem's guidance every step of the way. Enough on that (for now) lest I short-circuit my keyboard with yet another round of joyful tears.

Depending on how old you are and in what circles you've traveled, you may recall this refrain to a popular song. "Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat."

Our little lemon tree is very pretty, indeed. I don't know if I had ever seen a lemon flower until this week but now I know that it truly is a sweet sight to behold. 

At our private Tu b'Shevat lunch today, we will sample a selection of most of the Seven Species for which the Land of Israel is praised (bug-free figs are hard to come by!) and thank G-d "who has given us life and sustained us and brought us to this day" - in more ways than one. Then, when the tithes have been properly separated - and with no apologies to Peter, Paul or Mary - I will bite in (literally and spiritually) to the most delicious lemon I have ever eaten.

In conclusion, we will Remember Jerusalem in the after-blessing which states: "Hashem, have mercy on Israel, your Nation...rebuild Jerusalem, the city of holiness, speedily in our days. Bring us up into it and gladden us in its rebuilding and let us eat from her fruit and be satisfied with her goodness and bless You upon it in holiness and purity. For you, Hashem, are good and do good to all and we thank You for the Land and for her grain and her fruit and her fruit of the vine..." Amen.

Last Night's Seder Table

Wishing you everything Tu b'Shevat has to offer. From the edible to the intangible and beyond!