Shabbat, Israeli Style: Connecting to People, Connecting to History, and Connecting to the Land
By Linna Ettinger
Shabbat preparation starts days prior to Shabbat, and for our Boston-Haifa Connection Seminar, it clearly started prior to our shared Shabbat together. For the Friday night dinner, my hostess Mali cooked up a feast, and invited her colleagues Vardit and Ella, with whom she became very closely bonded during their travels to Boston as part of the Boston-Haifa Connection several years ago. Since then, Mali, Vardit, and Ella have maintained their close friendship and regular informal outings. Their close kinship is warm, loving and welcoming, and I feel connected to their sisterhood. Their spouses and children are also warm and welcoming.
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| Vardit, Mali, and me at Mali's house. |
The conversation went on into the evening, with jokes and fun, in Hebrew and English.
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| Friday night dinner was a feast for the eyes! |
On Saturday morning we set off to Zichron Yaakov to meet up with several other Haifa families and some of the other Boston educators for a group picnic. Within Zichron Yaakov is a beautiful nature park and garden named Ramat Hanadiv. Ramat Hanadiv is the destination of hundreds of locals who enjoy the playground, nature paths, sensory garden, and expansive picnic grounds. Ramat Hanadiv is dedicated to the memory of Baron Edmond de Rothschild.
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| The core values of the House of Rothschild are inscribed beneath the shield: Unity, Industry, Integrity. |
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| We all tried to stand together on a rope swing! There were so many of us that it was tough to find a spot on the rope! |
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| We were so lucky to enjoy the beautiful day with our Haifa partners on the hiking trails. The hiking trails are surrounded by fields of wildflowers and olive trees. During our leisurely hike, we engaged in informal conversations to get to know one another better. |
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| We stopped to enjoy a breathtaking view of Haifa Bay. Gur, Efrat's husband, explained to me that I was looking at fish farms below. |
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| Efrat's sons enjoyed the fragrance garden. |
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The signage in the fragrance garden includes Hebrew, English, Arabic, and Braille for those who are vision impaired. |
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| It was so much fun to get to know the children of our partners, and they had fun bonding with one another. |
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| Reut, Efrat and Rotem helped the children make pita. |
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| The families really enjoyed making pita! |
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| Children enjoyed rolling out pita dough to cook on the taboon. |
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One of the families brought a portable taboon upon which to cook the pita.
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| Our Haifa partners put out an abundance of hand-made salads for lunch! Here are Shifra, Liron and Vardit, along with Efrat's son. |
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We were surrounded by hundreds of families with young children enjoying the large playground shaded by tree. It was inspiring to see families enjoying this beautiful winter day.
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The picnic grounds are expansive and well-shaded. Today it was a little chilly in the shade!
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Our outing at Ramat Hanadiv in Zichron Yaakov was truly refreshing and delightful. It was a blessing to spend Shabbat here with our Haifa partners and their families.
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