Making Memories Eliana's First photo shoot!!!! 21st October 2012

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A New Life

 This morning at 1.47am Israel time  17.47pm Kansas Time , Miss Yummy, entered the world at the Natural Birth center Overland Park Kansas.  Miss Yummy Silver  weighed in at an amazing  9lbs 6oz and 22 inches long… she looks just like her father did when he was born.

When I heard months ago I was going to be a grandmother  for the second time, I couldn’t  believe anything would feel as amazing as when my grandson was born. 
However this morning when I heard I had a granddaughter I burst into tears of happiness… I thought of all the bonding things that girls and their grand mothers do, all the rows of frilly dresses I had passed by over the years, but mainly about the special relationships that fathers and daughters have ,and how blessed my son will be to enjoy this relationship.
My heart burst with unconditional  love when I heard her  ‘voicing her needs”  to  her parents when on the phone.
Right now  I hold her in my heart , and I can’t wait to hold her in my arms…and plot all things pink and frilly ( Just kidding Daniella!!)
I don’t know what  Hashem has planned for this young lady, I only know that she is born  to two  amazing loving and responsible parents, who will give her so much love support  guidance and understanding she will have the best of starts in life. I have seen how they bring up their son and I am so proud of them.

Little lady, this is your first day on this earth,you don't know your destiny ...your are to little to have objectives beyond your next feed. However  I your Yaya wish you only health & happiness, that you grow up  strong and caring, that you learn and understand   how much you are loved by all the family, you learn the importance of friendship and community. You understand appreciate enjoy  and are proud of your heritage and religion . You are not afraid to stand up for the thing’s you believe in, and  try  always to do the right thing by others. More importantly what  ever choices you make in life may they be informed and good choices, you are always true to yourself and you take time to laugh and smile along life path because life is fun!!!.   

Because of distance you might not see me as often as we would like, but your Yaya will always love your big brother & you and be there for you ...

Thank you Hashem  for the safe delivery of this beautiful  baby, into the world, all babies  are miracles in their own right, they are all special, but excuse me while I kvell over the newest Miss  Silver, and wish her Parents, and Big Brother,the  other grandparents,  great grand mother ,Uncles& Aunts and the whole extended family   a hearty mazel tov  on our own special bundle of joy as a family we are truly blessed. 

May Hashem make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rochel  & Leah,
May Hashem bless and keep you,
May Hashem shine his countenance on you, and be gracious to you,
May Hashem lift his countenance  to you  and grant you peace.

Amen ...

Baruch Dayan Emet Ayala Pamela bat Leah

When I first moved to Israel and to Jerusalem a good friend of mine said ,"Jerusalem is a city but   you will keep meeting and seeing  the same people till you are convinced that city only has 200 inhabitance.”
Yesterday afternoon, the global village of Jerusalem, Israel and the world lost one of its own,  as the  of soul Ayala Pamela bat Leah left  earth to take its place in the world to come, it seemed that not only the whole city of Jerusalem  but globally.  people were sharing the loss of this vivacious, fun loving  , shining, courageous lady.
I had never formally been introduced   to   Ayala  Pamela bat leah  but I had seen her around, and had been struck by her smile, warmth radiated from her across a shul or a room. Ayala Pamela  bat Leah  was a true friend to many friends of mine.
Yesterday her mother wrote that she "held her but couldn’t save her”. As a mother I can’t imagine anything worse..... My heart went out to her I wished I could heal the heart of her mother, her sister ,her husband, her children and all her friends,  but there are no words.
A few short weeks ago  Ayala Pamela  was diagnosed with  cancer,  during the space of her short but  sever  illness she   touched the hearts of people all over  the world ; social media was used for the good,  tehillim was said, challas baked, money donated, shuirs given, mitzvahs taken on  in her name; all over the globe. This outpouring happened not just in Jerusalem, but in community’s as far apart as Johannesburg, London, New York, Kansas, Toronto  and LA . We  all came together with one heart  to support  Ayala and her family.
We must not think this was in vain, for every prayer, every mitzvah, every thought,  not only supported  but comforted and possibly added to the life of this special young woman. Moreover, importantly we were all linked  together  as one, as Am Yisroel should be ;  I am no doubt that in zehut of  the mitzvots she gave us all ,that  Ayala Pamelas  neshama will rise to great heights  in Gan Eden.

None of us know what is round the corner in life, we say Baruch Dayan  Emet,  Hashem is the true judge, when we hear of a death.However when you are  battling cancer or you are a cancer survivor,  hearing of the death  of someone  with this illness makes one question ones own mortality, almost makes one feel guilty for fighting and winning the fight ; Let us unite in Ayala Pamela’s   zehut  and pray for all the cholim of Am yisroel.
May he   who comforts all the mourners of Zion and  Jerusalem hold the mother, sister, husband  children .all the family and friends of this amazing  courageous young woman  in his heart, and give them strength and comfort  in the days ahead.  
Although a light has  gone out in Jerusalem I have no doubt that her Neshama  is shinning brightly  from above .
Thank you Ayala Pamela for increasing my kavana when davening and  uniting Am Yisroel in prayer and good deeds.

Let Them Eat Cake ( with apologies to Marie Antoinette)

In most families everyone has a signature dish, our family is no exception. When I  reflect on my family gatherings and food, I am spiraled back to  a whole  space of childhood memories, of smell and flavors that would arouse anyone’s pallet . I come from a family where food was important, twice a week I would visit each set of grandparents  for a meal, Tuesday was Grandma Anne and Grandpa Bobby, Grandma Anne  was not a gourmet cook by any standards, but she made the best grilled fish and mashed potatoes I have ever tasted, her Klops or meat loaf with rice and potatoes was stick to your ribs hearty food, but the pinnacle was her Yorkshire pudding  which magically rose to giddy heights every time tantalizing the young taste buds of my cousins and I!   
Grandma Renee, loved being in the kitchen, she made meltingly succulent roast lamb with home made mint sauce, meat pies, and stuffed rolled place parcels  in a lemon and parsley sauce that I secretly prayed she would serve each week!! The recipe for her crumbly fruit "lunch" cake died with her and its one of my greatest culinary regrets that try as I might i could never reproduce this wondrous dish,
When my mothers family got together each of the three sister my grandmother and I  would produce our  "special"  desert   lest the over laden table didn’t  give us enough calories .
My mother is famed for her bannoffie  pie, also  her three tier incredibly gooey and delightful chocolate fudge cake ( so amazing that even after my parents were divorced my father would ask me  “is your mother making  you a chocolate cake for your birthday?” and when I answered in the affirmative he would say “sneak me a piece”.)
My Aunt Helen would arrive with a baked new York style cheese cake that was so soft and light and creamy with that great crunchy base that would be wolfed down as soon as it was placed on the table.
To my mind no one in the world can make a plate apple pie like my Aunt Alma, try as I can and believe me over the years I have tried, no one or nothing can replicate  the crisp light yet crunchy melt in your mouth pastry partnered with perfectly cooked lightly sweetened apples served warm with vanilla ice cream.   
I was always tasked to make my black forest gateaux time release sherry trifle , or original bake well tarts and  always flapjacks ( the British version).

Despite all this  no family simcha  was ever complete without my grandmother   arriving with an enormous tray of her honey cake. She arrived at Yom Tov , family meals, birthdays, engagements, Brits,  and "family get together s"  with a sometimes slightly tinged but always made with her entire heart,  honey cake, tray clutched in her hands; to distribute with unconditional love to all her family and friends. 
If you were lucky enough to visit my grandmother on baking day you could watch her beat this magical cake mixture together while telling you about her day, as we sat together  in the lounge; drinking tea . awaiting the moment to pull the cake from the oven. the fragrance of warm honey and cinnamon would waft around her flat tempting one and all. 

Its getting to that time of year when we all start searching for a recipe  &  baking honey cake, this is my healthy version of my grandmothers cake, I hope when you make it and share it you will invoke or create delightful memories  for all your family and friends. Remember  this care is made to share  with a smile to one and all, after all  if you are a grandmother you want nothing more  than to  add sweetness to your family’s life at any time of the year( but especially at the  beginning Ellul ) so what better way to do it than  letting them eat (healthy) cake!

Bubba Silvers Honey Cake (Spelt Version)

No mixer needed make by hand like my Grandma!
3 Eggs
1 1/3 cups organic  honey
1 1/2 cups  organic brown  sugar
1 cup strong black coffee
2 tsps. Baking powder
1 cup good quality organic sunflower oil. 1 tsp. Baking soda
4 cups whole grain organic spelt flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon all spice
½ teaspoon dry ginger
Flaked almonds (optional)
A large helping of family pride and love (essential!!)


How to make it!
1. Preheat oven to 325./170/ gas mark 3.
2. Line grease and flour a 9 by 13-inch cake pan. 
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs and honey together.
4. Add sugar and mix again. 
5. Mix coffee with baking powder, and then add with the oil  to the egg mixture. 
6. Add baking soda, flour, and spices and beat together well. with  a big smile  and a large helping of family pride and love!
7. Pour into lined and prepared cake pan sprinkle almonds on top.
8. Bake for 55 minutes to an hour. Test with a tooth  pick to check its done

Libriout לבריאות

No hospital visit is pleasant, and out patients  departments are at the best of times crowded, people  feel stressed , agitated by long waits,  But inside the Sharret building ( oncology ) of Hadassah En kerem there is a calmness, as one waits in the pleasantly air conditioned waiting area for your number and colour to be called over the loud speaker.
All  staff in this department from the security on the door, the receptionists,  ancillary staff to the medical team nurses radiologists phlebotomists  Doctors   must be hand picked for their efficacy, language skills, decorum and warmth. 
This is the waiting room of hope, on the surface there is no despair, everyone sits giving encouraging smiles or nods of the head to the other patients . A drinks machine maintained by a local charity dispenses free teas and coffees to the awaiting crowd, while calming silent smiling volunteers with the air of pure gentleness glide between each patient and their family’s offering home made humas and cucumber sandwiches for those waiting to see the doctor.  
 It is here that fleeting  friendships are made, as cancer knows no ethnic or cultural boundaries, it isn’t subject to age size or income it is a leveler of all. Here Arab Christian  and Jew, sit side by side, here the  Haridim, Dati lumi ,traditional observant and the non observant  exchange greetings, news, names for tefillias along with fruit chewing gum and  anti nausea remedies . 
Here the “newbies” are gently schooled into the routine by the vetrans, who offer silent encouragement to the  often terrified newly diagnosed. 
There is a low mumble of chatter and a continual hum of the statutory news  program on TV, Although some people  visiting the unit are indeed running out of time, there is no jostling for places, the majority entertain themselves as they wait , knitting, greeting their “hospital friends” making kippots some people read books or Kindles some read tehillim, chat or sleep, others like me escape into the high tec world of their lap tops.
Patients support patients, family’s support families , some come with huge entourages others like myself chose to come alone, but  `no one is alone here, as  all over, even in  the lift as it  takes you too and from the various departments within the building there is the opportunity to give and receive support, to dry someone’s tears; to briefly squeeze a hand to nod smile and mouth or  say  “ libriout geveret “ to someone who up to an hour before was an unknown stranger, but is now your comrade in the battle for complete  health.
Far from a place of despair and defeat  this state of the arc building houses, fighters  of immense  courage and strength , dedication,  medical miracles  and optimism.  on both the part of the medical team and the patients who in a partnership work step by step  towards each and every patients  destiny.  
This is an incredibly  special building that houses  faith hope and love.
Libriout….everyone  Libriout.

I'm Proud of You

Recently I spoke to my son and said to him, “I’m proud of you”…”Why ?”he asked . I am proud of you because at the age of 27, you are a healthy normal young man. I am proud of you because you are a good husband and excellent father. I am proud of you because you are employed in a job you love. I am proud of you because you have established yourself in a new country, new city, and contribute in your own not so little way to the community when ever you can. I am proud of you because you wear your Kippa with pride all the time. I am proud of you because you don’t indulge in any anti social behavior, do drugs or overdo booze. I am proud of you because you have provided your wife and son with a home, shelter on your own back. I am proud of you for your strong sense of right and wrong. I am proud of your artistic skills, the way you cook, photograph , your eye for colour, your writing skills. I am proud of you for your wacky sense of humor I am proud of you for the way you are loyal to your friends. I am proud of you because you have got where you are despite a rocky start despite the chips being stacked against you educationally , financially and socially you have succeeded in becoming your own man, you haven’t opted out of society, but are very much part of it. I am proud of you in a million ways every second of every day. So when I say I am proud of you , please don’t dismiss it, please don’t say why? Just allow your mother to say quite simply I love you and I am so so proud of you because you are you….

In Remembrance

At eleven o clock this morning I stood in silence on the road between Masu'ot Itshak and Kafa Etzion as the siren sounded reminding the whole country to stand reflect and honor the members of the Israeli defense forces who gave their lives for the country. As I stood in the sun listening to the silence and stillness all around, I saw three military airplanes fly past in formation; whether it was this sudden unexpected act, or looking around at the cars parked at the entrance to the Kefar Etzion cemetery, or the people standing by their stationary cars on this country lane,I felt the enormity of the situation: Here in Israel there is hardly a family that hasn’t lost a son or daughter, mother or father, cousin or friend in the fight for our country. Too many mothers have lost sons too many fathers have said Kaddish for their own gibor…hero. Unlike the UK whose soldiers are honored on a cold blustery November morning when the royal family dressed somberly in black gather at the eleventh hour to unassumingly and somewhat in a detached manner honor the dead ,Here in Israel, the day before we celebrate the countries birth, we take time out to remember, honor and salute the people who made it possible. For that one minute, as the siren wails the country stops still, as if we are all joined in one enormous nationwide circle, each with their own private thoughts, we stand proudly and painfully in silence morning our countries dead. I was just one person on the roadside, I was just one person with tears pricking their eyes sending up my personal gratitude to the unbeknown to me heroes of the country, I pray that we lose no more lives in our struggle to survive.