Lizrael Update: babbling about the expat life since 2004
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Another brit, another Jew.
Yesterday we participated in what must be the oldest Jewish ritual, decended straight from (poor) Abraham. I do not envy Sarah, by the way, who had to deal with the healing of not only an 8-day-old with a bruised penis, but a moody teenager and her senior-citizen husband. Yes, the brit mila. Ritually slicing and…
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The Hadassah birthing experience.
In the end, we went to Hadassah Ein Kerem for the birth. It was an issue of confidence and although I think I still would have preferred a homebirth, I can say with 20/20 retrospective vision that I’m comfortable with our experience – it was positive, it was successful and… it was lucky, as these…
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This is how we do it.
The following are a few excerpts from an email I wrote to my birthing class instructor explaining how the birth went in my view. By the way, I highly recommend the class I took (or taking a class at all – it’s not all superficial breathing, but more about awareness). I also recommend having a…
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Remembering to remember.
I’m lost in the new parent time warp. Completely forgot that Yom HaZicaron started last night until we heard the siren from my hospital room. Watched many of the nurses and patients stand still in the corridor while the Arabs and Charedis went about their ways. Yom HaZicaron has the potential to take on a…
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It's all relative.
Learning about breastfeeding in a room filled with new moms. There are posters all over the maternity ward about how to hold the baby. The English ones talk about the “football hold.” The Hebrew ones describe the “darbuka hold.”
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Birthing in Hebrew.
I always thought when it came to my childbirth experience here in Israel, I’d end up automatically speaking, pleading and moaning in my native tongue. Despite Israeli hospital staff. I figured they probably get that all the time, and who doesn’t speak English in the medical field? Well… it didn’t happen that way. I birthed…
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Birth day.
39 weeks. 36 hours of labor. Unmedicated natural childbirth. Careful midwives, wise doula, supportive husband. Beautiful, red, hairy, 2.7 kilo baby boy. Most amazing thing I’ve ever done.
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Tzur Hadassah transportation.
I was asked about transportation to and from Tzur Hadassah. Thought I’d share the options – though they are not as many as would be helpful: Bet Shemesh: Superbus 182. Jerusalem: Superbus 184 and Egged 180. Beitar: Illit buses; there are multiple lines that go to Jerusalem, Bet Shemesh and Bnei Brak frequently. Tremping: People…
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On kids, memorials, and what brings them together.
So it’s come to this: I go to Holocaust memorial services in Israel and all I can think about is how my kids may turn out in this culture. Well, in the first place, I have yet to be impressed by an Israeli-made Holocaust memorial service. They’ve lacked intensity, empathy and authenticity so far. It…
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End of days.
Since I found out I was pregnant, I’ve been watching and waiting as pregnant peers around me finish up their terms, give birth and move on to parenthood. It’s been a sort of countdown of names, not numbers – first so-and-so, then so-and-so, next so-and-so. Happens to be there have been quite a few, especially…
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Don't meet me here.
Taking a walk through Tzur Hadassah‘s Har Kitron neighborhood, you’ll find the following street off the main road… I think this is particularly funny because Har Kitron comes off as a bit of a posh ‘hood. It’s all full, robust houses and a lot of ‘older’ families with teenage kids. I guess this isn’t the…
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Where we are.
So here we are, me and my belly tenant, at the ‘full term’ milestone. This probably means different things for the two of us, but the more I think about it, perhaps the more it is actually the same. It’s probably so comfy in there, with the warmth and the soothing background noise. And not…
Questions? Comments? Advice?