Mitzvah dogs, Tel Aviv and one more winery

Thursday was a very early morning - up at 5:30 to meet a cab at 6:15 to get to Tel Aviv by 8 to meet with USY group 6. We met the group (they were tired at the beginning of the day) and after an opening talk, half stayed to meet Phyllis Haimowitz and the girlfriend of one of the soldiers that was killed in the same tank as Galid Shalit was in when he was captured. Phyllis runs a non-profit that provides group therapy for men and women who lose loved ones (boy/girlfirends or fiance/es) in the Israeli Army - it was a very powerful session.

I went to the Urim Parenting Center in Holon with half of the group to meet with Avshalom Beni, Ivgeni and Rachel (who of his facilitators) and about a dozen therapy dogs. I met the puppy MHF bought for HAMA, BegalD (the Great Dane I'm with above). At 4 months he was walking me, is already about 60 lbs and is sweet and adorable. The USYers asked great questions and learned about Avshalom's important work with many at rist populations. It was a great morning.

In my honor, Thursday night was going to be another poker night; usually the game meets every other week, but because I was around, another game got scheduled. Rather than return to Jerusalem with the group, where they were meeting with Yael Rosen of Atzum, who provides support to the 40 remaining Righteous Gentiles living in Israel who saved Jews in the Holocaust, I stayed in Tel Aviv, so that my trip to Herzliya to meet Yossi would be easier. I revisited the home of C.N. Bialek that I last visited before its renovation 8 years ago (pictured above), went to the Carmel Market (where I ran into Washingtonians Karen and Barry Fierst), and mostly just bummed around downtown in the oppressive heat. I took two buses to get to Herzliya, which took about 90 minutes, and then walked to Yossi's office. The game was a lot of fun, I won a few shekels and had a great time.

After about 5 hours of sleep in Har Adar, Yossi and Dina drove me back to Jerusalem Friday morning and dropped me at the shuk so I could buy ingredients for shabbat dinner. I got what I needed, got back to the apartment and started to get things ready (chicken, potato kugel (I bought it prepared) green beans with toasted almonds, salads and rugelach for dessert). At about 12 Scott and I went out for a schwarma, and then my friend Shlomi Zadok picked us up so we could visit Avital Goldner at the Katamon winery. Avital's winery is in his apartment building in katamon. He is a sofer (writing parchments for mezuzot, etc) and makes about 1500-2000 bottles a year. We tasted 3 wines in the barrel, his 2009 chardonnay, cabernet and merlot. Then we tasted a white dessert wine in a tank (not ready yet - it was a little bland to me) with 2 different reislings, and 3 grapes I don't remember. His Merlot 2007 was nice, but will likely improve a bit with age. After joining Shlomi and his daughter Noam while they ate lunch, Scott and I went back to the apartment to get things ready for shabbat. We were 4 for dinner (Scott and I, Danny and Jonathan Portath). We went to shul at Shira Chadasha, and had a nice dinner.

Shabbat morning we were up by 7 and Scott and I walked to Baka to go to Yedidya. It was very nice. I ran into an old friend from USY who was originally from Minnesota, Prof Saul Wachs and a few other people. We were invited to Alice and Efri Jonahs for Lunch (Alice is an amazing cook) with what seemed like all the women from her Jerusalem Scrabble Club. We had a great lunch, walked home in the worst heat since we've been here (we're in the midst of a multi-day hamsin) and spend the rest of the afternoon resting in the cool apartment.

At about 6:30 Anita and Giora Shkedi from INTRA came over, and we talked about their new project, a research study on the benefits of Equine Therapy on long term sufferers of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, involving mostly veterans from the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The Project is just in its second week, and hopefully will continue for a year. Anyone interested in helping to sponsor a veteran for a year of Horse-assisted therapy (there is room for 30 in the program) the cost is $2200 for the year - please be in touch with me. They are also considering offering a therapy/vacation package for American soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan through an organization called Horses for Heroes. If you are interested in helping, I will help you get the information you need. After shabbat Scott and I went out for ice cream (my first of the season), and since then I've been writing these blog entries. Tomorrow is our final USY group - we will be packing boxes of staples with Lev Ramot, and splitting the group in the afternoon between Big Brothers Big Sisters in Israel and Ruth Schlossman of Gift of Comfort.

More on that later - shavua tov from the hot and sticky Jerusalem.