Just a quick one this morning because in a couple of hours Shuie, Yonah and I will be leaving for our first gin-u-wine Israeli tiyul (trip). We’re heading off to the mystical city of Tzfat, a small hilly enclave up North with a long tradition of Kabbalah study, Jewish art, and spiritual uplift for visitors and residents alike. When Shuie and I we first met we discovered a shared love for Tzfat; Now we actually get to go there together!

I’m hoping that the change of scenery and the air that just crackles with energy will give me the shot in the arm of inspiration that I need; quite frankly, I’ve been much more ambivalent about everything than I anticipated since I arrived here. I think much of it has to do with the fact that I have been nauseous and mind-numbingly exhausted for the past month or so (thanks, little Bean), but also with the reality of losing my mother. The pain and anger can be paralyzing sometimes, so much that I feel blocked off from any kind of inspiration or desire to grow. From what I understand, this kind of thing is normal but I don’t want my time here to pass by without having taken as much in as I can.

In Jewish tradition, a first-born boy (who must also be the first fruit of his mother’s womb — that means no previous miscarriages or abortions) is considered the property of the Kohanim (the High Priests) of Israel. When the newborn boy is a month old, we hold a ceremony called “Pidyon Ha’Ben” (Redeeming of the Son), in which we literally pay a Cohen to “give” us our son back. We had one for Yonah a year ago (!). The other day, a friend of a friend asked if his sister could host her Pidyon Ha’Ben in our Sukkah, since it had room for so many people. We gladly agreed. What an honor! So, this past Friday morning, about 50 people packed into our Sukkah for the Pidyon Ha’Ben for baby Yehudah. It was so nice to see family and friends gathered together for such a happy celebration, kids running around outside in the garden, mothers nursing, everyone catching up. And the baby was so little! His mother, Shoshana (who is admirably together considering that she has been sleep-deprived for the past month) and I hit it off immediately; she and her husband Ayal were so grateful to us, they commissioned her brother, Reb Osher (Shloimie’s teacher) to make us a cut-paper sign for our front door (It’s a picture of the front of a house with an open door and a welcome mat. Written above, in Hebrew, is “Mishpachat Bochner” (The Bochner Family). It was beyond nice and completely uneccessary, but a lovely addition to our Israeli home.

Packing calls. Here’s hoping Yonah is on good behavior during the 3-hour bus ride.