Thursday, April 05, 2007

Pesach in Israel

Chag sameach! We are in the middle of the Passover week here in Israel and are enjoying very much spending the holiday here. It is a lot easier than trying to keep Pesach in the US! Here, many restaurants have kosher-for-Passover menus, there are all kinds of special foods in the stores, and, well, everyone else is keeping Passover so there aren't too many 'chametz' temptations!

This past week was very special for us, as Josh's dad Gerry made his first-ever trip to Israel. His stay was short but I think he got to see many aspects of Israeli life and culture, as well as some good tourism hot-spots. Among the sites we visited with Gerry were the Kotel, Jerusalem's Old City and Yad V'Shem; Massada, Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea; Tel Aviv and Jaffo; Rehovot (to be treated to Savta's hospitality, of course!); and all over Jerusalem -- including the shuk. We even got lost in the Arab villages atop the Mt. of Olives, an experience which put us on edge at the time, but which is inevitable if you're trying to navigate Jerusalem by car...

And, of course, we enjoyed the Passover seder with my Israeli family. It was especially interesting to follow along the haggadah reading in Hebrew at the speed of lightning, which is about how fast my relatives were reading! The food and the conversation were great, however, and we were really happy that Gerry was with us. Everyone in my family likes him a lot!

Gerry left to go back to Michigan last night, and now we have another week of vacation ahead. Josh starts classes again on April 12, and I am teaching lessons and preparing for a Holocaust Memorial Day concert I'm singing in on April 16. Josh is also singing on the same day in a different concert that will be broadcast on the national arts and culture radio station.

Finally, some fun news: Josh and I finally booked reservations for our honeymoon! We're going to Victoria, British Columbia and will explore Seattle as well. Check out our lovely B&B in Victoria, the Ambrosia Bed and Breakfast!