בס''ד

Nachas From Our Eyniklekh..........

My husband and I have been blessed with twelve precious grandchildren. Each child shines in their own way. Our youngest girls, Neta 2 1/2 and Chen 5, both have curly hair, a smile from ear to ear and eyes that twinkle. Neta plays at home and Chen is in Gan Hova. Chenny has an opinion on every topic with the volcabulary skills to be able to express her opinions.

Neta

Chen

Our loveable Oshri 5, is going on 25. Ever since he was a baby, Oshri has been very independent. The things he does by himself are unbelievable. Oshri is very capeable of making himself a sandwich, pouring himself a drink and then putting his dirty dishes in the sink. Oshri is in Gan Hova on his Kibbutz. Oshri is as sweet as sugar and he always has a smile on his face. Oshri loves to answer and speak on the phone.

Oshri

I can't believe that come September, Neta will start gan and Chen and Oshri will go to kita aleph [grade one]. Time goes to fast..............

Our youngest grandson Nadav turned 4 on the second of Cheshvan. Nadav is a very sweet little boy who has a fascination for swords. Whenever you see Nadav, he has his precious sword tucked into the back of his shirt. I don't really know why he has this passion, but when his sword broke a couple of days before his birthday, the only gift that Saba and Safta could natually buy was a new sword.

Saba went shopping and found a Ninja sword set. A long sword, a short sword and two [I don't really know what they are] funny looking swords and a sword holder for his arm. Not my type of gift, but I guess a great gift for a 4 year old.

Nadav

Our granddaughter Bat-El 16, is our oldest granddaughter. She attends the Ulpana in Even Shmuel and is the challah maker of the family. Bat-El makes the best challah. Each Friday, when she is home from the Ulpana, you will find Bat-El in the kitchen creating beautiful challot. When she has a Shabbat Ulpana, Bat-El makes a double batch the previous week and freezes the challah. This way her family can still enjoy her challot. Bat-El's challot are so sweet and yummy, you just can't stop eating.

Bat-El

Talia is 7 and is in kita bet [grade 2] at Noam Tushia in Kfar Maimon. Talia is as sweet as they come. Her mother says the best way to describe Talia is her willingness to help. Talia doesn't have to be asked, when something has to be done, Talia is there to do it.

Talia

Adi is 8 and is in kita gimmel[grade 3] at Noam Tushia in Kfar Maimon. Adi loves to draw. A few weeks ago, Adi had a drawing published in Makor Rishon.[see the blog's label list to see Adi's picture.] Adi is very responsible and will look after her little sister Neta when her mother is busy.

Adi

I have a cute story about Talia and Adi. The other day, I invited everyone for supper. My children decided to turn the supper into a surprise birthday party for me. My birthday was last week.

Talia and Adi wanted to buy their own present. They went to the markolet [grocery store] on their yishuv [community] and picked out a gift. The girls were on a 'budget'. They saw something and ran home to tell their mother what they wanted to buy and what it costs. She said that the gift was too much money and they should go and look again.

Back to the markolet they went and this time they chose three little red, orange and yellow pepper shape spice bottles. They ran back home and told their mother what they saw and the cost. She agreed and gave them money. They went back to the store, made their purchase, came home and made a gift box and each made a beautiful card. This gift is precious. I told the girls that I put salt into one of their bottles and it will sit proudly on the Shabbat table.

Safta with Bat-El, Adi & Talia and the gift.

By the way, I received beautiful cards from all my grandchildren and from my children and their families the most beautiful pair of long hanging silver earrings and a matching bracelet.

Itamar is 12 and is very sensitive and caring. Itamar loves to read and always has a book in his hand. He likes to speak English to me, something he does very well. Itamar is in kita zain [grade 7] at Reshit in Gush Etzion, a wonderful school that intergrates both " normal " and special children. Itamar is very helpful in school and helps with the four special children in his class. G-D willing, we will celebrate Itamar's Bar-Mitzvah after Pesach.

Itamar

Dvir who is 9, also attends 'Reshit' and is in kita daled [grade4]. Dvir has a quiet nature. He loves to read and scoot around on his skateboard. Dvir has a warm smile. He too is trying to speak and understand English. Dvir is showing that he has artisic talents. In art class, Dvir made a beautiful picture of trees and animals by cutting, rolling and curling paper. This year, Dvir was able to go to B'nei Akiva, something that he is very excited about.

Dvir

Our grandson Gilad 12, attends Yashlatz [the junior high school of Mercas HaRav] and is in kita zain [grade 7]. A couple of weeks ago, his teacher asked a question in Navi.Gilad answered the question correctly, so his teacher asked him another question. This back and forth went on for almost the whole lesson. When Gilad came home on Friday, he showed his parents the certificate of merit that he received from the Yeshiva. It stated that his knowledge and participation in the class had increased the level of the class. G-D willing, we will celebrate Gilad's Bar Mitzvah next October.

Gilad

Michael 15, attends the Yeshiva in Suissa and is in kita yud[grade 10]. Michael is definitely his own person. His mother said you can write a book about Michael. He is a madrich [counselor] in B'nei Akiva, a job he takes with a great deal of responsibility. Michael loves to go on field trips and he loves to tremp [hitchhike] home from Yeshiva, no matter how many buses pass. Michael is very kind. Once when I was visiting, Michael wanted to have french fries. He peeled and cut up a couple of potatoes and decided to fry them up with his own recipe. He fried the potatoes with a chopped onion and garlic. When he was finished frying, his snack smelled and looked delicious.

Michael

Yoni, who is almost 19 is our oldest grandchild. He is learning in a Hesdar Yeshiva in Holon. Yoni is very artistic and talented. He has made huge wall puzzles, a giraffe and an elephant from things that he has found around the house. Over the past weeks, Yoni carved out from wood
all the pieces for a chess set. He then painted each piece either white or black and gave each a coat of lacquer. He found a board to make the game base, painted it and 'viola' a beautiful game.

Yoni

and his chess set

his giraffe

his elephant

As you can see, we have pretty terrific grandchildren [I'm not prejudiced] to be very proud of. May Hashem guide each of them to be the best possible person they can be. And to their parents, Naomi, Eliezer, Devorah and Hagai, all we can say is thank-you for giving us wonderful eyniklekh to brag about!

Until next time............

Feel free to comment and pass around.

Safta Miriam

בס''ד

The Passing of a Patriarch......

The central theme of my blog Miriam’s Words is family. When my daughter Devorah and Hagai were married, Devorah was very fortunate to join a wonderful family, The Horevs.

This week is eleven months since Hagai’s father and Devorah’s father-in-law, Yitzchak Horev a”h passed away. On 5th of Kislev, the Horev family lost the patriarch of their family. And what a loss it has been!

This blog is dedicated to his memory.

I would like to give you some background about this man. First and foremost he was a tzadik. Reb Yitzchak suffered personally so that he could live in Israel. In his later years he would sit in the Beit Knesset and learn day and night. He started a Tehillim group [psalms] on the Moshav called Tehillim Melech David and through his inspiration, the men would learn Tehillim all day long. Because he was so skilled in reading, comprehension and writing in Hebrew, everyone on the Moshav that needed a letter read or written, would come to him.

Reb Yitzchak had a special relationship with his grandchildren. He would play with them and learn Torah with them. He had a walker with a seat and he would give the little children rides on his walker. The older grandchildren knew he was someone to turn to whenever they needed to talk and ask questions.

His funeral was no ordinary funeral. According to the Minhag of Jerba, when a learned man who is married and has children reaches the age of 75 he is called a Tzadik and is buried with the outmost of respect according to the customs of a Tzadik.

Rabbanim came from everywhere and all who gave eulogies spoke about this special man in glorifing words. His youngest daughter spoke from her heart and moved everyone.

Before the burial there were seven Hakafot [circles] around his Talit covered body. [In Israel we don’t usually use coffins]. All the men participated in the honour of taking part in the funeral of a tzadik. The shofar was being blown through out the Hakafot. After the hakafot and on the way to the burial they chanted the song Bar Yochai.

When his body was being lowered into the ground for burial, several of his young grandsons went to watch. When Devorah asked her son Gilad why he went when he was told not too, he answered her “I just wanted to see Saba for one last time.” His Saba was his hero.

During shiva, Rabbanim and ordinary people came to menachem [to mourn and show respect] the 16 family members sitting shiva.

Rabbanim would give shuirim all day long. There were 2 large tents set up in front of his home and the amount of bus loads of people who came each day and evening was mind boggling. From the first morning davening [prayers] at 6:00 a.m. until midnight everyday, people came to pay their respects.

I must tell you this very interesting anecdote: When Gilad was born he developed a very bad case of jaundice. At 3 weeks old, he still hadn’t had a brit.

In the meanwhile Devorah and Hagai had decided that they would name their baby son Gilad Eliyahu Raphael. Hagai’s father called him and said that that he had to speak to him. Hagai went immediately to his father.

Reb Yitzchak told him that he had a dream about a very prominent Rav from Jerba, Tunis, Rav Raphael Chadir Tzaban a”h. Rav Tzaban had passed away not long ago and he dreamt that Rav Tzaban came to him in a dream and said it is time for the baby to have a Brit. He asked Hagai if he could possibly give Raphael as one of the names. Hagai agreed immediately. His father said, “don’t you have to discuss this with Devorah.” Hagai, not wanting to tell him that they had already decided on this name just said that Devorah will like the name and will agree.

As far as Reb Yitzchak ever knew, Gilad’s name Raphael came from him.

Hashem certainly works in mysterious ways.........

Last night [Wednesday] was Reb Yitzchak’s Haskara [the Sephardim custom for a yartzheit]. More than 150 people came to remember Reb Yitzchak. Rabbanim spoke about how much he was missed and the good things that he did in his lifetime. Over the past 11 months, his sons have been learning mishnah once a week in their father’s memory. Last night the mishnah was finished and they made a Seum Masechet. [conclusion of a Mishnah.]

This past May, as a school project, Gilad had to write about his roots, to learn who he was and where did he come from. He wrote so lovingly and in great detail about his Saba Yitzchak that I decided to use his words.

This is Gilad’s project.

Name: Yitzchak Churi. [ Reb Yitzchak was an ardent Zionist and wanted to have a Hebrew name. He chose Horev because it means Har Sinai.]

Date of birth: 1925 [month a date unknown]

Date of Death: 5th of Kislev 5769

My Saba's a”h was born in Tunisia and his family lived on the Island of Jerba.

When my Saba was 20 years old, he decided to emmigrate to Israel. For an entire year, he participated in the course given by the Jewish Agency to prepare for living in Israel.

In 1946, Saba Yitzchak went alone from Jerba to Tunis,[ the capital of Tunisa] where he received a passport. His family came several years later.

He went to Algiers and was there for three months. After the three months my saba (and other immigrants) were put on a Greek ship and it set sail for Israel. On the ship there was severe famine and illness.[My Saba always said that the ship was so old it reminded him of a shell from a walnut.] When they approached the waters of Israel in Haifa, the British seized the ship and forced my Saba (and the other immigrants) to board the British ship.

They were taken Cyprus to a hard working prison camp. In the camp the food was not kosher. They didn’t have any beds, and the guards were forever humiliating the Jews. Saba tried to escape twice from the prison camp. On his first attempt my Saba and two friends managed to dig a tunnel underneath the camp. When the guard saw one of his friends who was the first to head out of the tunnel, he shot him to death. Saba and his friend quickly returned back and their lives were saved by a miracle. Saba decided to attempt the second escape as a woman to cross the checkpoints and tried to exit the prison as a visitor.

Saba got a woman's wig and a dress and shoes and managed to go through all the checkpoints of the prison except the last checkpoint. There was a women guard who was suspicious of the strange woman walking in high heels. She stopped him, stripped him and found he was a prisoner tryng to escape. He was put into solitary confinement until he was released.

In 1948 when the State of Israel was established, my Saba and the rest of the camp’s political inmates were released and sent to Israel.

In December 1948, Saba Yitzchak was sent to live Kibbutz Tirat Zvi in the Beit She'an Valley.

He later met and married my Safta Miriam ad120. They moved to the Negev and were co-founders of Moshav Sumara. In 1951 the Moshav moved to a permanent location and was renamed Moshav Sharsharet.

Life was very hard. They were living very close to the Arabs and they suffered persecution and killings of their fellow Moshav members. They had no running water, or electricity or permanent structures. In every respect they lived in substandard conditions. Saba was appointed from the Jewish Agency to be the person in charge of the Moshav. Saba was responsible for the distribution of food that they receive from the Jewish Agency.

He would go to work in Tel Aviv every Sunday, leaving his wife and children. Only on Friday he would return back home to the family. He later worked for the Moetza Sdot Negev [regional council] in charge the water control.

My Saba and Safta raised B”H 13 children. Today there are more than 75 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

Epilogue:

Saba Yitzchak taught his children and grandchildren to grow up in the way of the Torah and not to give up their principles.

Thank-you to Devorah for helping with the translation and in filling in the missing pieces.

It was my husband Avraham and my honor to have known Reb Yitzchak Horev. May his wife Miriam and their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren be blessed with good health and many years of happiness.

Feel free to comment and pass this blog around.

Until next time!

Miriam

בס''ד

Our Special Dividends

The other day I received an e-mail from an old friend telling me that she and her husband were going to be first time grandparents in April. From her note it was easy to see her excitement and feel her joy. My friend can’t wait to become a grandmother. Her note inspired me to write this blog.

We learn that the cycle of life and family are the foundation of Jewish life and guarantor of Jewish survival. This Shabbos we will start to read Sefer Bereishis [book of Genesis], the first book of the five books of the Torah.

Over the course of many weeks we will read about some families, children and grandchildren of our patriarchs and matriarchs. The barren wife of Avraham Avinu, Sara who gave birth in her old age, sibling rivalries, and Yaakov, his wives and family.

Purim we read about Queen Esther and how she risked her life to save the Jewish people and the continuation of the Jewish family.

On Shavous here to we learn about family. We read in Megilla Ruth, about Naomi and her two daughters-in-law who are sisters. Ruth became the grandmother of David HaMelech [King David] and Orpah became the grandmother of Goliath.

The cycle of the family begins with a child being born. As children, we are totally dependent on our parents for all our needs. Our parents have the tremendous responsibility of caring for us, teaching us, showing us right from wrong, guiding us and helping to shape the kind of person we will be. Our extended family, grandparents, aunts and uncles also play a part in who we are.

As we grow from childhood to teenager, to young adult, to adult, our needs from our parents become very different, but our family is still the most important aspect in our lives. We are now able to be somewhat independent and stand on our own ‘two feet.’

The next stage of our life is meeting that someone special and marriage. Now a new family is ready to be started.

Quietly, we as parents pray to The One Above for His guiding Hand to our new couple.

Now it is ‘we instead of I’. The next 40 odd years will be spent by working, raising a family, marrying off our children, and waiting for the grandchildren to arrive to be the next generation and continue the cycle of the family. My father a”h would say that grandchildren are life’s dividends. How true! I can only imagine the thrill of having the Bracha to greet our great-grandchildren.

The cycle of life is an exciting journey. There are many stages in a person’s life and in order to fulfill and reach our potential, we need to experience each stage, one step at a time. In life, we experience many emotions, happiness, sadness, ups and downs. The kind of person we turn out to be and what we accomplish in life depends on our upbringing, environment and what goals we set for ourselves.

Each stage of life is very important. My husband and I have experienced many stages in our married lives. The excitement of waiting for our daughters to be born, the adoption of our son, as young parents and sometimes as older parents making some ‘mistakes’ in raising our children and enjoying our successes, to watching our daughters become mothers themselves and raise their children. The nachas [joy], the laughter, the happiness and the memories that our children have given us will keep us smiling in our golden years.

We have been truly blessed with three great kids, two daughters and a son, two wonderful sons-in-law and 12 precious grandchildren. Our family has grown from just the two of us to nineteen. B”H! We pray that our grandchildren, the next generation, will continue the shower us with Yiddish nachas.

During Chol H’Moed Sukkot we visited our children and grandchildren. And being typical grandparents we did what typical grandparents do.....we took pictures of the children.

Our special dividends:

From left to right:
Top: Nadav and Talia
Center: Neta, Adi and Chen

Bottom: Gilad and the Horev girls





















From left to right:
Top: Itamar and Bat-El
Center: Yoni and Oshrei
Bottom: Dvir and Michael

And while we are on the subject of grandchildren, our grandson Dvir went with his class to a Succot Fair in Nachalot, a section of Jerusalem, to see the Etrogim on display. A photographer from the weekly newspaper BeSheva snapped a picture of some of the children and it was printed on their front paper. Dvir [yellow hat] was in the picture. I told him that I would post the picture on my blog.

















Please feel free to comment and pass my blog around.

Until next time..........

Miriam

בס''ד

Let the Fun Begin!

Shalom everyone! I hope everyone had an easy fast.

Now that the two biggies Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are over it’s time to have fun. This Shabbat is the first day of Sukkot. We will have to wait until the first day of Chol H’Moed to wave the Luluv and Etrog.

On Moetzi Yom Kippur my husband and son put up the frame for our succah. It’s a tradition that after asking Hashem for forgiveness all day on Yom Kippur, that we start off on the right foot with a mitzvah of at least starting to put up the succah.

In our neighborhood and I’m sure in yours too, we could hear banging until very late at night.

Sukkot is very different in Israel than where I come from in Montreal, actually Chomedey, a suburb of Montreal. I can remember more than one Sukkot, my brother and I eating in the succah with snow gently falling all around us.

Boy was it cold! But we had a succah and we couldn’t let the fun and mitzvah of eating in the succah go to waste because of a little snow. The steam from the hot chicken soup would curl up to the roof. My father a”h would make kiddish in the succah and he and my mother a”h would then eat their Yom Tov meal in the house. One year, after I was married, it snowed on Sukkot and my husband joined my parents in the house. All I can say was that he was too ‘chicken’ to eat in the succah. I know of people who put heaters into their succah.

My parents would hang lollypops in between the decorations and on Chol H’Moed invite the neighborhood children to come and find a lollypop. Every kid on our street would come.

I have some great stories of my parent’s succah. Like the time when my parents who lived on a ground floor duplex and came home one day to find their Greek neighbor drawing a pattern for windows on the outside of the succah. He wanted to do a ‘mitzvah’ for them by cutting out windows to give extra light.

The succah is supposed to remind us of B’nei Yisrael who lived in ‘succah huts’ during the 40 years of wandering in the desert. Many people today live, eat and sleep in their succah.

Now in Israel it is easy to camp out in a succah. The weather is genually nice [we don’t usually get the rain until after Sukkot] but in Canada, the wind is already blowing cold air. It could be raining or snowing.

I remember one year in Hamilton, there was a terrible wind storm at night and in the morning everyone found their succah in shambles all over the place. Camping out in a temporary built succah shaking from the wind is no picnic.

So why do people do it? The answer is simple. Sukkot is a seven day [eight days in the diaspora] holiday of joy, where we express our complete trust in G-d. So what’s a little wind............

Since the succah is our temporary home for a week, it is fun to decorate and personalize our home.

In our family, decorating is my job and pleasure. Every year, I try to out do my decorating creations from the year before. Sometimes it’s fun not to grow up..........


Here are some pictures of our succah.

Wishing everyone Chag Sukkot Sameach!

It has become ‘fashionable’ in some circles to organize a boycott of Israeli products, universities & professors, team players etc. I would like to tell you about a group who is fighting back. Buycott Israel is a joint project under the coordination of the Canada-Israel Committee.

Their link is: http://www.buycottisrael.ca/about.php

This is their symbol.

I have written two previous blogs about being diagnosed and living with diabetes [see archives]. About a month ago, I started writing a blog about my diabetes for a health site called Everyday Health.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/diabetes/type2/understanding.aspx

This site has a daily newsletter called Managing Diabetes. If you are interested in seeing my blogs, they can be found at:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/blogs/diabetes-tpe-2-the-ins-and-outs

Saba Avraham and I would now like to brag and we are shepping nachas. Our 8 year old granddaughter Adi submitted a picture she drew to the Makor Rishon newspaper, and it was published in their last Shabbat’s edition....So to our published artist Adi....Kol HaKavod!

original picture

published picture

Until the next blog........

Please feel free to comment and pass my blog around.

Miriam

בס''ד

The New Year 5770 and More...........

Shalom everyone! Just a short blog this time.

With Rosh Hashana over and our new year 5770 just beginning, I hope you and yours had a wonderful and meaningful Yom Tov. May this year bring you good health and happiness.

The davening in our Shul in Netivot was so wonderful. We belong to a small Ashkenazi shul which was first opened about nine or ten years ago for the Russian community who live in the area. Today, it is a community shul with a very mixed and diversed congregation.

The Shul is only used for Shabbat and the Yom Tovim. During the year, the men who attend the shul help with the davening and reading of the Torah, but for the Chagim, the Moetza Dati* sends us a Baal Tefillah*, Baal Kriah*, Baal Mussaf* and a Baal Tokea.*

The voices that these men have are such a Bracha. We have had the same group of men for the past five years. They make the davening so beautiful and meaningful. The Baal Tokea blew his shofar with such ease that it sounded like it was singing a melody. What a pleasure!

*Moetzi Dati..religious community council
*Baal Tefillah..the man who leads Shacharit
*Baal Mussaf..the man who leads Mussaf
*Baal Tokea..the man who blows the Shofar

I added a new link for you to visit. The Crisis Center for Religious Women. The site is in both English and Hebrew. Click the ‘about us’ and view the video. It is eye opening.

Here is a little introduction from their site of the work they do.

Since 1993 the Crisis Center for Religious Women has been providing emotional support, advice and referrals for women and children who are in crisis.

Their goals:
• to help women overcome crisis through emotional
support by telephone;
• to prevent further occurrences of abuse, violence
and rape through education;
• to increase awareness within the religious community to these sensitive topics.

If you are looking to give tzedaka this Yom Tov, please keep the Crisis Center in mind.

The link is:

English:

http://crisiscenter.org.il/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=42&Itemid=62

Hebrew:

http://crisiscenter.org.il/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=42&Itemid=62〈=hebrew

Please feel free to comment and pass my blog around.

Gmar Chatima Tova

Miriam

בס''ד

The Yom Tovim and Diabetes part 3

Time passes quickly and Rosh Hashana is this Shabbos and Sunday. And when we have a Yom Tov, there is always alot of food. All week I have been busy baking and cooking. This spells disaster for me a diabetic, now in control.

Two and half weeks ago, the doctor took me off all my medicine. I am very concerned that I will eat too much and that my blood glucose level will climb. I plan to watch every mouthful, but you know what happens when it is yom tov time and the food is just there.

Since I do not cook for myself, but for a family, I have to be extra careful about what I prepare. The first thing I did was to write a menu. Foods that are very high in calories and high on the G.I. index [Glycemic Index]* were crossed off. This way I can prepare only traditional foods that have lower calories and low on the G.I.index. I’m very happy that the doctor said that I can a little honey on my challah and apple.

I plan to serve fish which is low on the G.I. index for the entrée, our favorite soup, chicken, also low and the main meals will be either chicken or beef. Both haven’t any G.I. value. I just have to be careful about the portion size and remember no seconds. That’s where the extra calories will come from. The stuffing will be made from Kasha instead of potatoes because it is only 54 on the G.I. index where mashed potato stuffing is 70.

For side dishes, I will serve a variety of cold and hot vegetable salads, roasted sweet potatoes and quinoa with stir fried mushrooms and onions. All are low on the G.I. index and low in calories.

As with the rest of my family, dessert time is our weakness. Although I would love to have a piece of chocolate cake, yummy cookies or apple pie, I think I will stick to fruit or unsweetened applesauce, a sugarless jelly dessert and my sugarless oatmeal and applesauce cookies.

For my family I will bake different types of cakes and cookies. No reason for them to ‘suffer’ just because I can’t have any. Both my dietician and doctor told me that I can treat myself a couple of times a month to a square of dark chocolate and a piece of plain cake. I plan to start the new year with a piece of chocolate.

I have so much to be thankful for. I have my family, my diabetes is in control, we live in Israel and the ‘sun shines’ everyday.

I would like to wish you and yours Shana Tova. May you be blessed with good health, happiness and all your prayers and desires be granted.

Am YISROEL Chai!

Please feel free to comment and pass my blog around.

Miriam

* Glycemic Index?
Not all carbohydrate foods are created equal, in fact they behave quite differently in our bodies. The glycemic index or GI describes this difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels. Choosing low GI carbs - the ones that produce only small fluctuations in our blood glucose and insulin levels - is the secret to long-term health reducing your risk of heart disease and diabetes and is the key to sustainable weight loss.

High G.I. 70 and above
Medium G.I. 56 to 69
Low G.I. 55 and under

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

בס''ד

A Mixed Bag of Thoughts.........

Update: I would like to start this blog with an update from my blog Life with Diabetes
part 2.

http://miriamswords.blogspot.com/search/label/Diabetes%20part%202blogspot.com/search/label/Diabetes%20part%202

In this blog I wrote that I had to do a hemoglobin A1c blood test. This test checks the blood sugar over a period of two to three months.

Several people sent me notes off blog asking how were my test. I’m so pleased. To be in normal range according to Clalit you must be between 4.27 and 6.07. My results were 5.60. My primary care doctor said that with these results I am diabetic free. My diabetes doctor agreed with his assessment and took away all my medicine. Hurray!

I believe that everything happens for a reason and the reason that I was diagnosed with diabetes was to give me a wake up call to take charge of myself and be healthy for my husband, children and 12 beautiful, precious grandchildren.

To everyone, thank-you so much for caring. Your good wishes mean so much to me.



How Fast Time Passes When You Are Having Fun.......


















Tomorrow, September 7th, is one year since I wrote my first blog on Miriam’s Words. The title of my first blog was Grandparents Are Special.

When I first published my blog, I wondered if anyone would take the time to read it. Well, 5 people took the time to comment on the blog and several more readers posted kind notes to me via my e-mail.

Your warm words of encouragement gave me the courage to publish new blogs every couple of weeks. This blog will be number 31.


Rosh Hashana Goodies


















With Rosh Hashana just two weeks away I would like to suggest some yummy bake goods to serve at your Yom Tov meal.

Honey Cake:

Preheat oven to 180c or 350F
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
½ cup oil
1½ cup flour
1package baking powder [3 teaspoons]
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup cold strong coffee
½ cup honey

Beat eggs, sugar and oil. Add flour, baking powder coffee & vanilla
Mix very well. Add honey and continue mixing until all ingredients are blended. Pour batter into a slightly greased 8x8 baking pan or a loaf pan and bake 45 minutes.
For a 9x12 pan double recipe. Enjoy!

Pomegranate and Apple Muffins

2 eggs
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 package of baking powder (3 teaspoons)
1 tbs. vanilla
1 tbs. lemon juice
½ cup pomegranate juice
2 cups flour
2 apples chopped in small pieces
¾ cup raisins (soak for 1 hour so the raisins won't burn)

Beat eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla and lemon juice. Add dry ingredients and pomegranate juice and continue beating. Add apples and raisins and mix. Grease muffin tins and fill ½ full. This will make 18 muffins.

Topping

2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons oil
5 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
Mix well and sprinkles on muffin tops. Bake on 350F 30/35 minutes. Enjoy!

Safta's Special Cookies

1 cup sugar (or ½ cup white & ½ cup brown sugar)
7/8 cup oil
2 eggs
1 package baking powder (3 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon orange or lemon juice
2 ½ cups flour

Beat sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla & juice. Add baking powder and continue beating. Add flour and mix together until well blended. Line baking pans with baking paper. Using 2 teaspoons, drop cookie mixture.

Topping:

Sprinkle a mixture of cinnamon and sugar (alternatives: coconut, colored candy sprinkles, sesame seed or a drop of jam in the center of cookie).

Bake at 375F for 10/12 minutes or until brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Makes 5 dozen medium size cookies. Enjoy!

Sugarless Oatmeal & Applesauce Cookies [diabetic]

2 cups flour
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
1 baking powder package [3 teaspoons]
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ tsp. nutmeg [optional]
handful of raisins [optional] soak for 1 hour so they won’t burn]

Beat eggs, vanilla, oil together. Add oatmeal, baking powder & applesauce. Mix well.
Line a cookie tray with baking paper. Using 2 teaspoons drop mixture onto the tray. Makes app. 48 cookies
Bake 190C for 12 / 15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from pan......Enjoy!

Shana Tova!

May you and yours be inscribed in the Book of Life for a year blessed with good health, happiness and parnassa.

Feel free to comment and pass my blog around.

Miriam

בס''ד

Rosh Chodesh Elul is Here. What a Special Month!
The summer vacation is almost over. Yeshivot and schools are getting ready to welcome their students back. On the Jewish calendar, today and tomorrow are Rosh Chodesh Elul, a month of introspection leading up to the New Year. Elul is such a special month.

The four Hebrew letters of the word Elul (aleph-lamed-vav-lamed) are the first letters of the four words Ani l'dodi v'dodi lee -- "I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me" (Song of Songs 6:3). These words sum up the relationship between G-d and His people.

Sephardim start saying the prayer Selichot early every morning. Ashkenazim start saying Selichot the Moetzi Shabbat before Rosh Hashana.

Starting on Rosh Chodesh Elul until Simchas Torah, we say L’David, Tehillim 27 with its moving paragraph that was said by Dovid HaMelech [ King David] “One thing that I asked of Hashem, that shall I seek – that I dwell in the House of Hashem all the days of my life, to behold the sweetness of Hashem and to contemplate in His Sanctuary.”

The Shofar is sounded everyday except Shabbat after Shacharit [morning prayers].

For my family, Elul brings us two birthdays. My son Eli-Chaim on the 4th and my granddaughter Chen on the 16th. I have yartzheit for my dear father Eliezer David HaKohen a”h on the 28th.

During the month of Elul, we are busy shopping, cooking, baking and preparing ourselves for Rosh Hashana. Elul, the month before Rosh Hashana, is the time for reflection. What kind of person have I been this year and what kind of person do I want to be?

To all my loyal readers I hope that you have enjoyed my blogs. On September 7th will be one year since that first blog. I want to thank-you for taking the time to read my blog and for your comments. I wish you and yours a year of good health, happiness and prosperity. May all your prayers be answered!

A couple of years ago I wrote a poem about Rosh Chodesh Elul that appeared in the Hamodia.

The Message

Rosh Chodesh Elul has arrived.
The month we start to awaken.
Every morning the Shofar blows
a long toooooo……….

So many different shofars.
Short, curly, long and curvy,
each with it’s own beautiful sound.

What is the Shofar saying?
What is the message?
Awake, retrospect,
time to do Teshuva.

Shana Tova to everyone.
K’tiva V’Chatima Tova

Feel free to pass my blog around.

Chodesh Tov to everyone!

Miriam

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

בס''ד

Remembering Gush Katif

On Tisha B’Av, the 9th of the Hebrew month of Av, we remember the tragedies that had befallen B’nei Yisrael of yesteryear. The next day, the 10th of Av, we remember another tragedy.

This is when a Jewish Israeli government disengaged its own citizens from our land to appease the American President, George W. Bush and the world. Prime Minister Sharon, known as the father of the settlement movement, wanted to show that Israel was a team player and willing to give up our land to advance the peace talks with the palestinians.

Our holy land, a gift from Hashem, was handed over to our enemy who wanted nothing more than to drive the Jewish people and Israel into the sea.

This year is the 4th anniversary of the disengagement and expulsion from Gush Katif and Northern Shomron.

http://www.archive.org/details/gushkatifexpulsion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl-LmSNmOEo

http://www.gushkatif.net/

Gush Katif was a bloc of Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza strip for nearly 35 years from 1970 until 2005. In August, 2005, around 8,000 residents of Gush Katif were forcefully evicted from the area and their homes demolished as part of Israel’s unilateral disengagement.

Most residents did not voluntarily leave their homes or even pack in preparation of the eviction. On August 15, 2005, the forcible evacuation of the Gush Katif settlements began. Just a few days later on August 22, 2005, the residents of the last settlement, Netzarim, were evicted and the Israeli government began the destruction of all residential buildings.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://english.people.com.cn/200508/23/image
Note: When the google page comes up, type in Gush Katif and click on images.

The names of the settlements from North to South are:

Alei Sinai, Dugit, Nissanit, Netzarim, Kfar Darom, Tel Katifa, Netzer Hazani, Katif, Ganei Tal, Shirat HaYam, Kfar Yam, Neve Dekalim, Gadid, Gan Or, Pe'at Sadeh, Bedolach, Slav, Bnei Atzmon, Rafiah Yam, Kerem Atzmona, Morag

Many of the former residents are still living in makeshift mobile homes called caravillas. Unemployment is very high and family life is in shambles.

Check out this link for more up to date information about the Gush Katif families.

http://gushkatifbook.com/2009/07/

Last August, the Gush Katif Museum was opened in Jerusalem. It is located on Rehov Sha’arei Tzedek.

http://www.gushkatifmuseum.com/

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1218710379199

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3581315,00.html

Just after the expulsion, feeling sick and sadden that a Jewish government would expel its citizens, I wrote this poem called Remembering Gush Katif.

Gush Katif
paradise on earth.
In one week
destroyed and no more.

This beautiful land
so full of Kaddosh.
It’s residents settled the land
with honour and bravery.

Over thirty years ago,
our brave army
reclaimed our land
in a victory so bold.

“It’s the law
I’m just following orders,”
our soldiers told the residents
when they came to remove them
from their homes.
“You need to leave right now!”

Carrying the residents out one by one,
tears flowed all around
from both soldiers and residents.

One last Mincha was said in the Beit Knesset
and with dignity, tears and heads held high
they temporally said good-bye.

Was the expulsion the law
of a cruel government?
Or was this a decree
made in Heaven?

Only time will tell
when Moshiach will come
and our beloved land
will be in our hands once again.

Post Script:

68% Regret Supporting Disengagement
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/168645

The irony of the disengagement was that instead of Israel having peace and quiet from the palestinians that the world thought would happen, Israeli citizens in the south, especially S’derot, were bombarded with kassams, mortars & grad missiles almost daily. Last December, the IDF had to go back into Gaza and clean it up. So much for peace..........

Please feel free to pass my blog around.

Miriam

בס''ד

The Shuk!


Tuesday is shuk day in Netivot. In Hebrew, shuk means “marketplace.” For hundreds of years, Jews from all over the world have vended and shopped in marketplaces. Merchants would travel by ship to sell their spices, fine perfume, material etc. My ancestors going back to the early 1800’s on my father’s a”h side, traveled by ship from Spain to Romania, where they eventually settled, selling all their wares along the way.

I remember when I was a little girl, my mother a”h taking me to Rachel Market in Montreal. The shochet [ritual slaughter] had a stand in the shuk. I will never forget the sounds of the chickens squawking as they were waiting to be slaughtered.

Once a week in our city, merchants and farmers set up their wares and fruits and vegetables in the open air market. You can buy almost anything in the shuk.

Our market is on a large piece of land in the industrial area. Shopper’s crowd onto the bus with their shopping wagons and hand held baskets. Young mothers with babies in carriages and a toddler or two trailing behind are a common sight. Everyone is going to the shuk to look for bargains. And if you are patient and have the time to really look carefully, you will find the bargains.

And so last Tuesday, along with all the other shoppers, I shlepped my large shopping wagon onto the bus for the short ten minute ride to the Shuk.

The traffic around the entrance to the shuk was crazy. The bus driver was honking his horn as he wanted to pass, early shoppers were loading up the trunks of taxis, a vender was unloading his truck of dresses and hanging them on a rack and people were just mulling around. This was only 9:30 in the morning.

The shuk is a very interesting and entertaining place to shop. I stopped to ask one vendor how much his melons’ were and he told me 3.50nis. As I walked away, I had already seen it for 2.50nis, the vendor called me back “gaverette, gaverette” [literally Mrs.] “3 shekels, tov [good]?” I shook my head no.

The moshavim and kibbutzim in the area have a bus that takes it’s residents for an “outing” to the shuk. The older women love to meet and smooze. For many, it’s their only time away from home.

In Israel, most cities have a shuk day. The famous Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem http://www.fonerbooks.com/guide_30.htm and Carmel market in Tel Aviv http://www.inisrael.com/tour/telaviv/markets.htm are a must stop for every tourist.

No matter if you are a native or a tourist, if you have never shopped in the shuk, you owe yourself the experience.

Happy shopping!

Feel free to pass my blog around.

Miriam

בס''ד

The Three Weeks

Last Thursday, 17th of Tammuz was the first day of the Three Weeks. The last day is on Tish B’Av, the 9th of Av. We started the Three Weeks with a daytime fast and will end with a fast that goes from night to night. There are many do's and don'ts concerning the three weeks.

If you would like more information about the three weeks these links will help you.

http://www.aish.com/h/9av/oal/48943916.html

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/3weeks/article_cdo/aid/144558/jewish/The-Three-Weeks.htm

I wrote a poem called The Day of Sorrow about the ninth of Av.

The Day of Sorrow

The day of sorrow,
the ninth of Av
the blackest day,
we Jews know.

Hashem commanded us to fast
and to give up our comforts.
We read Megilla Eichah
and don’t greet our friends.

Why do we have this terrible day?
Is it because we cried for nothing so long ago?
Hashem said “you want to cry,
I’ll give you something to cry about.”

So many tragedies have struck
the Jewish people on the 9th of Av.
Many were murdered on the 9th of Av
in pogroms and the Holocaust
for no other reason than they were Jews.

Mashiach, Mashiach, where are you?
Come now, come now,
For we have suffered all our history.
And bring glory to this nation.

Feel free to pass my blog around.

Miriam

בס''ד













The Graduate

Just a short blog this time with some family news.

Graduation is a milestone in a person’s life. After years of hard work we are rewarded with the title graduate.

We have many graduations in our life. The first is graduation from gan [kindergarten] to Kita aleph [grade 1]. We graduate from elementary school to high school, from high school or yeshiva to university or an advance yeshiva.

With each graduation we take with us an abundance of knowledge.

My husband and I had the pleasure to attend the graduation ceremony of our oldest grandson.

Yoni, graduated from his Yeshiva high school, Yeshivat Orot Yehuda in Efrat. In Elul, Yoni will start Hesder [part of his army service] in Holon.

Last night, our younger grandson Gilad [11 ½], graduated from his elementary school in Kfar Maimon. In Elul, Gilad will start his high school education at Yeshivat Yashlatz, part of Mercas HaRav in Kfar Maimon.

Saba Avraham and I wish Yoni and Gilad mazal-tov and hatzlacha in all their future endeavors. We pray that your dreams will take you to the highest of your hopes and to the most special places your heart has ever known.”

Saba and I are so proud of the two of you and all your siblings. May we only shep nachas and simchas from our children and grandchildren.

Safta Miriam

בס''ד

Diagnosed with Diabetes

Sunday morning started out like any other Sunday morning except that I had a doctor’s appointment. Little did I know the shock that I was in for later that morning.

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. My blog is about being a diabetic. I have a need to write about my first experiences. The only problem is that I don’t know where to start. Do I start with the shock of being diagnosed or the 4 times a day I had to prick my finger to check my blood sugar or my new diet, where I have to watch everything I put in my mouth.

Do I write about the fears and frustration that I feel?

Desperately in need of information I spent hours checking out the web sites of the Israeli, American, Canadian and British Diabetic Associations.

These sites were full of practical information, recipes and good suggestions. Diabetes can affect your eyes, kidneys, cause severe fatigue and unusual thirst plus a list of other problems. I recognized that I had many of the symptoms that were listed.

But let me back track a little. I took some routine blood tests you know the ones we all do every now and then.

Checking my results, my doctor was shocked to see that my glucose number was very high...out of control high. ”This must be an error” he said to me as he took me to the nurse’s office and asked her to do a blood glucose check with her hand monitor. The reading...dangerously high 410......

My doctor shaking his head and said that the high glucose came out of nowhere. “Maybe you have an infection or you are very stressed out” he said as he ordered more tests.

Fortunately for me, the diabetic assistant to the diabetic doctor was in her office. She only works in our clinic one day a week. My doctor introduced me to Dalia.

Dalia is very nice lady who is professional, kind and understanding. She explained what the readings meant and how my life was about to change and gave me some helpful tips. When Dalia handed me a blood glucose monitor, her comment was, “this monitor is going to become your best friend.”

Dalia told me to be in touch with the dietician and said that I should make an appointment with the diabetic doctor for the following week. My doctor gave me a prescription for anti diabetic medicine and told me that he wanted the see my blood reading results from the rest of the day the next day.

I don’t know what I would have done without the internet. Dalia gave me good information, but truthfully I was in shock and when I came home I couldn’t remember anything that she said.

So started my daily routine of watching what I ate, checking my blood glucose and recording numbers.

I was so consumed. When I told my children, they were very concerned and had a million questions that I couldn’t answer.

The next day was Monday, I went to show my doctor my numbers, and he was pleased as they were down a little. I asked him for a requisition to see the dietician and he said that she was in the kupot [clinic] that day and called her to come to his office.

In walked Yifat, a young woman who tried very hard to speak to me in English. She was pleasant, professional and kept on apologizing for not having any reading material in English, but translated an instruction sheet line by line.

Yifat told me that I needed to eat five times a day, three small meals and two snacks and then said that I have to loose a half a kilo by my next appointment in two weeks. She gave me very specific foods and amounts I could eat and what I had to stay away from. She told me to exercise half and hour everyday and I could call her if I had any questions.

My husband, our dog Rocky and I go walking every evening. The exercise is good for the three of us.

Having to use the blood glucose monitor everyday posed a sheila [question] about Shabbos. Everything about the procedure and the machine was against the Halachot of Shabbos.

A question was posed to the Rav. He quickly said that he was not versed enough to answer such a question and said he would pose it to a Rav that specialized in Diabetes and would have an answer in a couple of days.

The answer for me was if I am taking pills and I feel okay then I can’t use the machine on Shabbos. I should check my glucose level just before I light the Shabbos candles and again Moetzi Shabbos. If don’t feel well during the day then I can use it. If I take insulin then I must use the machine as needed.
[Every diabetic has to ask their own question]

The week passed quickly, I was still afraid to put anything in my mouth and I lost 3 kilos. My numbers were constantly going down and I really felt okay.

Monday evening was my appointment to meet with the diabetic doctor and Dalia. The doctor, a professor at Soroka Hospital was a middle aged man, with a smile, a good sense of humor and he spoke perfect English.

He looked at my numbers which were getting lower everyday, and asked me when I was first diagnosed. I told him ten days earlier. All he could say was “interesting.” He then turned to Dalia and said, “You see what happens, when you follow a diet and take the diabetes seriously.”

The doctor said to me “I don’t know what you did to have these great results so quickly, but obviously whatever you did was the right thing, so keep on doing it.” He also told me that I don’t have to prick my finger four times a day anymore but only check it four times one day a week.

In two months I have to do all the blood work again. G-D willing my results will be good and my diabetes will be completely in control.

Having diabetes is just one more thing that Hashem has put on my plate, but I see His Hand everyday helping me. Everything fell into place. The diabetic assistant was in her office the day I was diagnosed, the dietician was in her office the day I went for the requisition. The diabetic doctor who only comes twice a month was going to be in his office a week later....but most importantly my glucose numbers are really good and I am feeling well..........

Miriam

בס''ד

So You Think Ketchup is Just for Fries...

While surfing the internet, I came across a headline on Yahoo that I just had to click...Five Surprise Uses for Ketchup

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/daily_green_news/43/five-surprising-uses-for-ketchup.html;_ylt=ArJf5td45EXRuh1haJk2rSkazJV4

Didn’t know ketchup was so versatile.

It is interesting to know that so many everyday products that we use, can be used totally different than what the product was meant to do.

For example toothpaste can polish your silverware to a brilliant shine. No need to buy expensive silver polish...

-Have a grease stain on your clothes? Rub a little dish washing soap on the stain before throwing it into the washing machine...

-Lemon juice and the sun can fade away any tomato stain.

-Vinegar is not only for salads. Your child doodled on the wall with a ballpoint pen and you don’t know how to remove it. Just dab some full-strength white vinegar on the "masterpiece" using a cloth or a sponge. Repeat until the marks are gone.

-Candle wax dripped on your wood table.. Vinegar and your blow dryer will do the trick. Soften the wax using a blow-dryer on its hottest setting and blot up as much as you can with paper towels. Then remove what's left by rubbing with a cloth soaked in a solution made of equal parts white vinegar and water. Wipe clean with a soft, absorbent cloth.

-Have gum rubbed into your carpets, use yummy peanut butter to clean the carpet. Scrape up what you can, using an ice cube to stiffen the gum, then rub a small glob of peanut butter into the fibers, and wipe up the whole mess with a cloth. To get rid of any left-behind peanut butter, just dab it up with a mixture of 1 tsp of dishwashing liquid in 1 cup of lukewarm water.

-Dandruff can be an embarrassing. Try massaging 2 tablespoons of lemon juice into your scalp and rinsing with warm water. Follow with a leave-in rinse of 1 teaspoon lemon juice in 1 cup of warm water. Use this daily until your scalp is free of dandruff.

One of the hardest stains to remove is grass stains. Here’s where the vinegar comes in handy. For fabrics (ie jeans) soak in white vinegar. On some fabrics it will work instantly and others it will need to be soaked for up to 2 hours. For non-colorfast fabrics, dilute the vinegar 50/50 with warm water. Note: DON'T use detergent to presoak grass stains- detergent will actually set them in!

Many of these helpful tips I have tried and use on a regular bases. Others I was told about by friends or read on line.

If you have any good ‘tips’ post them in the comment section and I will add them to a blog.

Hope you enjoyed my blog. Feel free to pass it around.

Miriam