בס׳׳ד
RunnersWrite
2020
A collection of stories, poetry and photography created in Netanya, Israel during the COVID-19 pandemic
Where I’m From / 1
Contents
Runners Write2020
05-12
“Where I’m From”
Therese Berkowitz Diane Jesurun Susan Cohen Melissa Dubinsky Suzie Schwartz Paulette Woolf Viv Simenoff
13-32
“Ma Nishtana Hashana Hazeh Michol Hashanim?” (How is this year different from ALL other years?)
Suzie Schwartz Barbara Schwartz Paulette Woolf Melissa Dubinsky Susan Cohen Cally Collins Therese Berkowitz Viv Simenoff Diane Jesurun
33-44
10 Things I Love & Hate About This Confinement Viv Simenoff Diane Jesurun Melissa Dubinsky Suzie Schwartz Susan Cohen Paulette Woolf Therese Berkowitz
45-61
63-79
Life After Lockdown Melissa Dubinsky Susan Cohen Therese Berkowitz Suzie Schwartz Diane Jesurun Viv Simenoff Paulette Woolf
I’m Ready For My Close-Up Therese Berkowitz Cally Collins Suzie Schwartz Diane Jesurun Melissa Dubinsky Paulette Woolf Susan Cohen Viv Simenoff
80-83 About Our Contributors
Table of Contents / 3
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Where I’m From
Where I’m From / 5
Where I’m From Therese Berkowitz
I am from that cafe on Nitza, which used to be our meeting place before everything closed, where I’d sit and wait for you in the long morning shadows until we headed off on our socially close constitutional. I am from my solitary confinement where I shelter in place with my fears and my phone. I am from an unchartered, uncertain, unprecedented, unpredictable, unknown. I am from a middle-of-the-lands seacliff shore, just north of the corona, where the sun sets in broad daylight regardless of who is not there to watch. I am from the tribe of hope, whose surgically masked faces still gaze toward Zion, and who does not know from giving up.
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Where I’m From Diane Jesurun
I am from handsanitizer washing and scrubbing my hands I am from Clorox Cleaning and scrubbing my house all day I am from Pesach what will this day bring I am from Curacao—wish I were there I am from the ocean swimming all day
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Where I’m From Susan Cohen
I am from Leeds and I don’t need to heed I am from Corona and you do need to heed I am from Corona sending you fear I am from fear so let’s make it clear I am from the light at the end of the tunnel I am the sense that sees that tunnel I am from Hashem and I have a message No longer roam just stay at home I am the sense that sees that message I am from Hashem have no fear, because I am here
April 3rd 2020
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Where I’m From Melissa Dubinsky
I am from a life of facts and deadlines, responsibilities and commitments. I traveled to a new home free of deadlines and commitments, discovered new facts and new responsibilities. Now my world is circumscribed by 100 meters, and every day I fill my time with new facts and new activities And stronger commitments to friends and family than ever before. It’s a new and different life, and enriched beyond imagination, proof that the past is no predictor of the future.
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Where I’m From Suzie Schwartz I am from a star that shot me across the sky until I landed on the moon and was dusted with silver. I am from a rainbow that poked itself through my cloud and dumped me on the ground. I am from the dirt which allowed me to get up and start walking until I found a flower that I could fall in love with. I am from the beach where a wave crashed me onto the shore and plastered me in bubbles of foaming white. I am from a planet that is magical and is called Mother Earth for a reason.
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Where I’m From Paulette Woolf
I am from hollowed out pieces of dough sitting flatly on my palm, waiting to be transformed into crisp lemon cookies. I am from the roaring fires of Auschwitz dancing across Europe to Monsey, twisting and turning, shedding tiny pieces of teeth and tears in its wake. I am from all night green grocers, shelves piled high with fruits galore and Angolan DP camps watching and waiting for life to begin anew. I am from alcohol infested parties, Long Island iced teas, shimmering Margaritas of blue and red dissolving into nightmares all too real even after the sun has faded to a dusty orange orb way up high. I am from faith and love and friendship with bonds hammered from Valerian steel and sifted on sandy beaches never knowing, never caring, always pushing me further into my melodies.
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Where I’m from Viv Simenoff
I am from Manchester I am from an Ashkenazi German refugee father I am from a Sephardi Manchester born mother whose parents grew up in Yerushaliyim I am from non-observance of my Judaism I am from a new found love of my heritage and a journey of learning
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Ma Nishtana Hashana Hazeh Michol Hashanim (How is this year different from ALL other years)
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Pesach 5780 Suzie Schwartz So, I recall Pesach 2001/ 5761 when it was my son’s bar mitzvah on Shabbat HaGadol. Then, in our third year of living in Perth, Western Australia, we had immigrated from Zimbabwe in 1999. We were very much on the periphery, still finding our feet and place within the Jewish community. Everyone else seemed to be bosom pals (which of course they weren’t) with ties forged over many years and even several generations and we seemed to be the odd bods (at least in my eyes). I remember distinctly the shul kitchen, having been cleaned for Pesach preparations with no chametz allowed. Organizing a festive Kiddush for my son’s bar mitzvah the Shabbat before Pesach was a headache. Dee, who was in charge of the kitchen, let everyone know, especially the newbies like me, that it was her domain. She did not disguise her displeasure at having to grant us permission to store some platters of food in her fridge. I ensured they had been armour- wrapped in about a zillion layers of cling wrap so that they wouldn’t contaminate her kitchen with chametz. I remember the cold, indifferent greeting I received from her when I walked into her hallowed space on that Shabbat morning to retrieve my precious plates of food. I took it so personally, not realizing at the time that I wasn’t the first person to have a run-in with her. Though I wore a smile on my face and tried to be joyous, here was a brave new world that I was on the threshold of and it was feeling a little scary. The COVID-19 virus that has hijacked our world with the imposition of its uninvited presence in our lives, has re-infected me with similar feelings I experienced in my dealings with Dee. This Pesach feels to me like the same, brave new world of Dee’s kosher l’Pesach kitchen. I’m treading on eggshells as I wonder what will become of me as I walk deeper into its lair. I have so many questions which one is supposed to ask at the seder. I don’t know if this virus understands that however and whether it will even bother to address my concerns. Will I be
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devoured or mercifully saved to come out the other side? And if I do, what will freedom look like then? It’s all uncertain except one thing. The facts speak for themselves. Not only did I survive that traumatic encounter with Dee, I became close friends with her two daughters who continue to live in Perth, Western Australia. My son Aron and his wife Alana who also reside in Perth, Western Australia have just welcomed a brand new, baby boy into the world. His name is Eli and he was born a few weeks before Pesach THIS YEAR, 2020/5780. B’ezrat HaShem his bar mitzvah will take place in 2033 (hopefully in Israel) and I will be around to participate in this simcha. When and if I reach that milestone, I hope this weird period of COVID 19 will be a tiny piece of a much larger puzzle that has been completed and is a glorious revelation of the Divine plan. In the meantime, I am getting ready for Pesach because that has been around for many thousands of years before, and I trust will be around for many thousands of years to come, long after COVID-19’s expiry date.
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Ma Nishtana Hashana Hazeh Barbara Schwartz
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Ma Nishtana Together— B’Lev Echad Paulette Woolf Silence. Unusually silent. Disquieting. For someone used to hearing the sirens screeching their way to Laniado Hospital and the giggling of teenagers flirting on the Tyelet, it was eerily depressing. The sound made by relentless waves crashing onto shore was magnified threefold. From my 13th floor perch, I could survey the streets as far as the once magnificent Blue Bay hotel. Nothing moved. No cars. No people. Even the ever-annoying cat population seemed to sense that they should stay hidden. Despite having my daughter Shira and husband David to share the quarantine with me, my mood going into the holiday was bleak. We should have been 17 – 8 from outside Israel. Two from Nashville. My son Elie from Manhattan and 5 friends from the UK. I had been looking forward to it for months. Since making Aliya three and a half years ago, we were finally returning to our typical Seder size. Even more important, this was the first Pesach we were going to be spending with the twins. But Corona Virus changed all that. No more visiting the grandchildren. No more wandering aimlessly around the mall. Gone are the long morning runs, sharing gossip and laughter with good friends. Only to be replaced by endless TV episodes of “A Place in the Sun” and “Law and Order.” Morbidly fascinated by the global spread of the virus, taking its toll on Europeans and Africans, professionals and construction workers; bodies and debt piling up in astronomical numbers, unimaginable just a few short weeks ago. I became unmotivated to write or cook or even, on some days, get dressed. Sure, we were creative, moving routine activities to Zoom. I had my pick of AA meetings around the world. I could exercise to my heart’s delight - Pilates classes all day long. David worked endlessly on Shiurim for the community. We reconvened our Women’s Rosh Chodesh program. Our runner’s group created a daily virtual koffee klatch. And the list goes on.
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But none of that satisfied my deep need to be with and hug my friends and family. I even chastised myself. I should be grateful that I was not totally alone as so many were. That I was healthy. That the plague had so far “passed over” our house while afflicting so many others. But it was still with a heavy heart that I headed into Chag, sending false messages of cheer to my community near and far. Seder prep for three was unsurprisingly easy and only reinforced my ugly mood. I couldn’t wait for the Seder to be over. And then... And then... something amazing happened! I found that I was truly enjoying the singing and exchange of ideas and bonding in a way I’d never had before. Without the pressure of worrying every second if I had enough wine on the table or if the soup would be hot enough, I was able to totally commit my focus to the uplifting story of Yitziat Mitzryim and in the process became uplifted. My Emunah rekindled, I asked myself why I had ever doubted in the first place. Hashem is always – has always taken care of us and this year was no different. And then another gift – this time from Klal Yisrael. Rabbi Lau had asked everyone to go onto their Mirpasot at 8:30 to say the Ma Nishtana together – B’Lev Echad. My expectations were low but my family insisted. And the sights and sounds that greeted us were astounding. Of course, from the building across the street and the floors below us my friends were singing. But when we looked out across the city from our view in the sky, we heard singing and whistling and yelling coming from everywhere. People were cheering, and calling greetings to one another and even laughing. I’ve never felt so close to my fellow Israelis and even more importantly, so proud of Am Yisrael. Despite every obstacle thrown at us over the years, we not only survive but survive with our souls and spirit intact. We take every opportunity to
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Israelis take to their balconies to celebrate Passover under curfew (Photo: Adi Greenboim) ŠYedioth Internet. All rights reserved.
celebrate and to live life to the fullest. Full of self-pity, I had forgotten that lesson and it took my brave brothers and sisters to remind me that I’m never alone. I pray that we recover quickly from this plague and celebrate next year in health and ever stronger Emunah.
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Ma Nishtana Hashana Hazeh Michol Hashanim? Melissa Dubinsky Erev Pesach 2020 I must be a contrarian. I am fully aware of the differences to be expected for Pesach this year – without family and friends at the Seder, juxtapositioning keeping in contact with everyone regarding Corona, and keeping in contact at this season to wish everyone a Chag Kasher v’Sameach. Cleaning for Pesach juxtapositioned with spring cleaning and Corona cleaning. Thinking of eleven plagues not ten. Mindful of others who have lost family members or friends to Corona, or to something besides Corona. But I am firmly expecting the good parts to be familiar and welcomed, even if not just exactly the same. Our 4th Pesach in Israel, still a marvel to be here. Baruch Hashem, our good health and that of our family. Plenty of food on the table. Not truly alone and not lonely, with a companion who is an equal partner in getting ready for Pesach, cooking and cleaning, and most importantly discussing the shiurim that are assembled and waiting by our plates to make tonight’s festivities last longer than an hour and a half. Maybe the reality will be much worse than I expect – I will find out soon! But my frame of mind is 100% positive, looking only for the good in the coming days.
Chol HaMoed Pesach Our Seder was great. Just Al and me. We missed having the kids there, but at some level we miss the kids every day anyway. Other than that, it was a stress free, meaningful Seder. Without having to worry about our guests, their involvement in the evening, whether they have enough to eat and our table is sufficient, whether we are running too late for them, whether we are too tired ourselves, we wound up focused on the Haggadah, using multiple references, going as fast or as slow as we wanted. We had a very nice meal,
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but I did not feel the need to prepare multiple side dishes. After Seder (easy cleanup!), we still had the time and energy to take a walk (illegal!) around the block. I think we get wound up in the importance of tradition and habit. In reality, each day is what it is and you can find meaning in the different – not necessarily worse, just different.
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ABSENT Susan Cohen ABSENT from those who I love, children, grandchildren, family and friends. BROKEN by the constant sense of loss of friends that I loved. CORONA anger and pain, time and space, boredom. DISTANCE that has been created, but not out of choice. EMUNAH faith strengthened in hashem and faith in mankind. FORGIVENESS feels very important at this moment in time, to try to overcome the past bad memories, a sense of reality that some people we may never see, love or hold again. G-D creator of good and bad, trying to understand why so many good people have lost their lives, to rationalize this with the Holocaust. HOPE that it will all be over soon, that every day is a day nearer. ISOLATION a very different world to be in. How lucky I am to have what I have, and what I haven’t got maybe I don’t need. JOKES Neville’s are getting worse, I think he’s the only one that laughs at them. KISSING my grandchildren, I just want to hug, kiss and hold them for eternity. That thought gives hope, but also creates a lot of pain in my heart, I miss them so very much. LOSS it makes me think of the positive and negative gains and losses I am experiencing.
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MEMORIES to be held onto, to document, to fill my aching heart. NORMALITY what is it, and will it ever be the same. OUTREACH to be able to support and help others in their time of need. PESACH a very different feel this year. Quiet, missed having guests, struggled to cook for such a small number, missed the family and the noise. Made our Seder on the balcony, it was so nice, relaxing and felt very spiritual. We joined in the singing of ma nishtana with the whole of Israel, united in song, so, so special. QUIET the world seems still, but yet it’s not. RITUALS Pesach is full of rituals, customs, minhagim, and chumrahs. Even some of those have been relaxed this year, to fit in with the situation, feels very strange. SURREAL the whole situation feels so surreal, it’s like I am not really here. I am in another world but yet connected to this one. THOUGHTS positive and negative, worries about the future and what will happen. Trying not to let that enter my world too much. UPSET at what should have been. VEXED angry with corona. WAITING for a better world, wanting to hold onto to the good things that have come from corona.
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XANTHIPPE an ill-tempered woman, desperately trying not to be. YAHRTZEIT Miriam’s, I want to hold her one more time, to cuddle and kiss her, but that will never be, in this world. Miriam will always be with me in my heart. I loved her so much, it still hurts. Even though there is no need to say kaddish, Neville has always done, and this year corona took that away, that hurts. ZOOM my connection with the outside world. B’’H
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Ma Nishtana Hashana Hazeh Cally Collins
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Ma Nishtana HaShana Hazeh Therese Berkowitz There is something about Pesach that always makes me nervous. I do love the holiday, but I worry I’ll forget something really important when kashering, or mess up a dish that I cook only once a year. Or I’ll need stitches. Or get bumped off a connecting flight. I always fear that somehow something will go wrong. This year is no different in that regard. It’s just that the things that might go wrong, would be the result of Pesach decisions I’ve never had to make before. Like being fined by the Police while walking around the corner to a seder. I’d been married 15 years when I finally convinced my mother-in-law, along with all the aunts and uncles and cousins to come to me for the first night. Talk about nervous. I’d spent weeks on the phone with family members writing down recipes, and comparing notes with friends at shul. On the morning of the seder, while preparing vegetables for the tzimmis, I cut my finger carving the skin from a butternut squash. I stopped and washed it and put on a bandaid, but it bled right through. I needed stitches. I did not want to spend my first seder in the ER. I called my neighbor. We’d spoken that morning and compared charoset ingredients. Her husband was a surgeon at Maimonides in Brooklyn. I told her what had happened and asked what time Bernie was getting home from work. 4pm. Do you think he’d mind stitching up my finger?, I asked. She said she’d check. She called back in 5 minutes to say that Bernie would take care of it, no problem. He’d bring supplies home from the hospital. When was my last tetanus shot?, he wanted to know. I continued to cook with one hand, until Steve got home. Luckily, he’d left work even earlier than expected. He was upset when he saw the cut. I told him not to worry and to go check to see if Bernie’s car was in the driveway. Yes. We walked across the street together and thanked Anne and Bernie profusely. Bernie covered a corner of the kitchen table with a blue surgical drape. He soaked my finger in disinfectant, gave me a tetanus
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shot, and another shot near the wound to numb my finger. The suturing took 10 minutes. I thanked him lots more and went home to finish cooking. Everyone arrived on time. The kids sang a rousing rendition of the four questions, we all made origami frogs, my charoset was a hit—guests made two and three Hillel sandwiches—and everyone loved my matzo balls, a mega achievement. Berkowitz matzo ball stories had often lasted well into the night, almost as long the traffic-on-the-Belt-Parkway stories. No one could believe the story about the stitches though. What stories will we tell about the Corona seder? A few years later, the kids began to study in Israel and we started traveling to Haaretz for the chag. Our first hotel seder was on a kibbutz in the north. It was lead by a charming rabbi with a great voice who read quickly and engaged all the kids. At the end of the seder after Chad Gadya, the whole room stood up and sang Hatikvah. Tears streamed down my face. That actually hasn’t changed. I still get teary hearing Hatikvah, only this year I have been sobbing through all the COVID-19 internet videos with soldiers and medical professionals singing it. Then there was the year that we got bumped off our connecting flight in Rome and ended up having to find two seders at the last minute. I kept tearing up as we experienced the exceptional generosity of the Jewish community in Rome. I guess in a crisis of any kind, the powerful desire to help each other out always shines. After years of hotel seders, my oldest daughter asked if we could make Pesach in NY. She pleaded, “what about all our family recipes? our songs? our origami plague of frogs?” She offered to come the week before and help kasher the house. I agreed. She created a journal that year, which I treasure to this day. It documents every step leading up to the seder: the order to clean and store things, detailed grocery lists, when to turn the kitchen, and
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Fluffy Every Time Matzo Balls from Aunt Sydelle’s recipe in “The Berkowitz Family Pesach Guide with Kashering Tips” Therese Berkowitz
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all our family recipes. Of course the quantities are for two nights and large crowds, but it is in her handwriting with adorable little drawings and funny anecdotes like: “Cleaning tip: For those grey metal scratches on the pots and pans shelves try mom’s lethal combination of Ajax scouring powder and ammonia, but don’t forget to open a window.” My favorite is the title page: “A Pesach Guide with Kashering Tips (Mom’s tip: Round trip tickets to Haaretz, if that fails, use this book)”. That daughter is now married, and lives in Zichron Yaacov with three kids of her own. She and her family went to Switzerland for a winter vacation and have yet to return. My other two kids made Aliyah as lone soldiers a few years ago. They live in Tel Aviv, too far to be together for the seder. Nefesh B’Nefesh treated me to my own one way ticket two and a half years ago. Never did I dream that I would spend a Pesach here without any of the kids. That’s different. Really different. A first.
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Our Corona Seder Table in the Absence of Children and Grandchildren Viv Simenoff
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Ma Nishtana Hashana Hazeh Michol Hashanim? Viv Simenoff
Winnie the Pooh and Roger Rabbit joined us at seder together with a photo of our children and grandchildren on the table to overcome our sadness. We went out on the balcony at 8.30pm and sang Ma Nishtana at the top of our lungs so our elderly neighbours could hear. We spent the evening discussing the Hagada, the afflictions of the Children of Israel in Egypt, and the terrible plagues visited upon the Egyptians—somehow, in spite of being a tiny seder, it was a fascinating and enlightening time. The irony of discussing plagues in the middle of a modern one did not escape us! Just as we lit candles for the last night of chag we heard that a friend of ours in Manchester had died from the virus. He had been on a ventilator for 17 days and we had been saying tehillim for him as part of our previous community. We had kept on believing he would recover. He was a young man. Oh how we cried! The week that followed saw us attending Zoom funerals and Shiva houses nearly every day either for him or other people we knew in Manchester. For us, that was the low point.
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Ma Nishtana Hashana Hazeh Michol Hashanim? Diane Jesurun
Pesach… a very busy and hectic time preparing, cleaning and reorganizing my home, fun, working very hard to balance my time between my family, work and preparing for the chag. Pesach… a week to spend time with family and friends. Pesach… 3 grandkids and my son were born around Pesach. Pesach… ma nishatana hashana hazeh… changed plans many times… At first we were going to go with the whole family to a hotel in South America… then my daughter-in-law (in Panama) told me that she was pregnant; her due date was around Pesach and she would really want me to be with them… then we would go with my Israeli kids to Eilat… then I would go to my daughter in Givat Shmuel and as the travel distance decreased and decreased… I ended up being at my daughter’s family in Netanya for the chag. Pesach… ma nishtana hashana hazeh… loneliness, silence, missing being with my family and friends…. Pesach… ma nishtana hashana hazeh… Preparations were easy, putting the house back to normal was easy… but how would I have loved having back the hecticness of other years…
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10 Things I Love and Hate About This Confinement
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10 Things I Love And Hate About The Corona Confinement Viv Simenoff 10 Things I Love About the Corona Confinement 1. Things I love – this has to come first. I guess the first thing I love about the terrible time we are living through is that it is so much easier to be grateful – grateful to be alive, grateful for all we have and grateful for the small but now so important things in life... 2. I love davening with my husband Charlie on Shabbat and Chag — most of all I can see him next to me, rather than having to peer over a mechitzah wall. Our shul is so badly designed for us ladies. Now I can see what he is doing and we can truly daven together. He has a beautiful melodious voice and he sings in a way that is designed for participation. Also the decorum is so good! 3. I love how we are all so connected electronically, and how when we do speak, I invariably learn something new. 4. I love how the usual is no longer considered the normal—it is ok to not be ok. That makes for a much less judgemental world—I hope that continues after this crazy time. It is also ok to talk to yourself and to inanimate objects. I am not at all sure how this will be accepted in the post-virus world! 5. I love that people have more time to talk. We don’t take people for granted as much as we used to. We know that life is finite and seem to be finding a way of making more of it. 6. I love how when I’m grumpy it’s not a personality flaw, it is an understandable reaction to a difficult situation. That is a major blessing! 7. I love how celebrities are no longer our heroes (actually they were never mine!) and we value those who actually make a difference to our lives— like the delivery man, and the hairdresser (oh for a hairdresser!) 8. I love the creativity enabled in us and I adore seeing the acts of kindness, the dedication and commitment of so many people to heal, to help and to save the lives and sanity of others around them. 9. I love the amazing sense of community I feel around me. I love the humour shared at this difficult time. 10. I love the learning that has been going on and the selflessness of those who share their knowledge.
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10 Things I Hate About the Corona Confinement 1. I hate that this could be a long list! 2. I have to explain that my parents called me Vivienne because I was so full of life and such a wriggler even as a new born, apparently I wouldn’t stay swaddled in my blankets and kept wriggling out—being still, being confined does not sit easily with me! Hate it. 3. I hate that people are losing their lives, so many people, and that so many have been so slow to understand how a virus spreads. I hate that people cannot see that each of us has a responsibility to each other. We should not blame governments for the spread of the virus—we the populace have been doing that! 4. I hate the uncertainty of life. I like certainty—I guess ultimately this enables us to put more of our faith in H’—He is the only certainty! 5. I hate that I cannot physically see my family and friends. Most of all I hate that I cannot physically hug—not just my grandchildren, but people who need a hug to help them get through this. Physical contact is so important—we can benefit from electronic communication, but there is nothing like face to face, and there is definitely nothing like a good squeezy hug! 6. I hate that I cannot invite in family, friends and not-yet-friends into my home. I cannot share, and that hurts. 7. I hate listening to the news! I still do it of course, but it is so distressing. 8. I hate that there is no sport—my hubby so loves his sport, and if it makes him sad, it makes me sad too. 9. I hate that tiny viruses can destroy so much and that “all powerful mankind” is helpless in its path. 10. I hate having no patience—I need patience—I need to be patient. This too will pass!
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10 Things I Love & Hate About This Confinement Diane Jesurun
LOVE HATE Togetherness/ Unity Social Distancing Warmth/Care For Each Other Loneliness Israel Vulnerability Innovation Silence Better Environment Zoom
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Top 10 Things I Like and Don’t Like About the Corona Confinement Melissa Dubinsky – 13 April 2020
10. The world has become more sensitive to the need for cleanliness 9. The environment seems to be already repairing itself 8. Our kids have explored the depths of their resilience and ability to manage alone (one is even thriving) 7. I have found ways to stay busy through volunteering from home 6. I have more time to do projects around the home 5. I can participate in many more Zoom-based shiurim and learning opportunities 4. I am closer with my husband 3. I am way closer with my siblings 2. I actually spend more time with my friends 1. I am less stressed 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
I cannot go shopping further away than I can walk I am gaining weight and exercising less I cannot plan for the future I miss the casual person-to-person connections I feel for people who are truly alone in their homes I miss seeing the kids The Coronavirus warnings have made me aware, for the first time, of my chronological age 8. I worry about Israel’s economy, but not as much as I worry about the US economy 9. Our interest in the news has narrowed to the statistical reports on Corona and the unity government only 10. I am suspended in a bubble of time and becoming stagnant
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Untitled Suzie Schwartz 38 / RunnersWrite 2020
10 Things I Love And Hate About The Corona Confinement Suzie Schwartz
What I have hated are the messy STATES it has caused in my mind, such as: • isolation because I have to physically separate from others • resentment that we have all become victims of an event that took place 1000s of miles away • deprivation not only for myself but others who have lost a job, their income and ability to take care of their families • anger at the suffering and death of innocent people • confusion about an invisible enemy that we know little about • insecurity that the rug has been pulled out from under me • uncertainty about what the future holds • boredom because choices were taken away from me and it was hard to find substitutes for them • fear about catching it • loss on many levels What I have loved about this TIME is: • ME-TIME to stare into space if I wanted to • CLEANING-TIME to prepare for a limited Pesach experience • GRATITUDE- TIME to consider that while it could be better, it could also have been worse • CREATIVE-TIME to write, whether it was stories to read to my grandkids on WhatsApp (which they loved) or these pieces for Runners Write and other places. • DIFFERENT-TIME to think about how much time I have on my hands and am not sure what to do with it all of the time • SHARE-TIME on Zoom, WhatsApp with the world at my fingertips. • SLOWDOWN-TIME because what’s the rush, there’s nowhere to go but inside of my home or myself. • ALONE-TIME to re-read old favourites from my book shelf • REFLECTION-TIME to wonder what’s really going on and why • QUESTION-TIME to ask God what He wants me to get before/during/ after COVID -19
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Shlissel Challah — First Challah After Pesach Susan Cohen The ‘key’ to our parnossa [livelihood] is in Hashem’s hands. We pray that Hashem will shower us with abundance.
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10 Things I Love And Hate About This Confinement Susan Cohen
10 Things I Love About This Confinement Space Peace The gift of life, and the future Love that is shared between family and friends Zoom that connects me to my family and friends Sunshine Living in Israel Chesed being able to help others in fragile positions Learning more about technology That my family has remained well and alive, and that our son is with us
10 Things I Hate About This Confinement I have missed the birthdays of 3 of our grandchildren I have missed Pesach with our grandchildren I have missed social interaction, person-to-person I have missed having guests for Shabbos and yomtov I miss the spontaneity of leaving our home I hate the fact that so many of our friends have died from this awful plague I miss walking with my friends, especially on the beach Days melt into one My mind is becoming overactive
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Flaunting the Law By Sneaking Out Paulettte Woolf
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My Love-Hate Relationship with Quarantine Paulette Woolf
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More time to interact with friends and family in person and on Zoom— happy to report that, after 4 weeks, have not yet killed or even seriously maimed anyone in my family. Gave into my OCD, fixated on cleaning and organizing—culminating in double wow finish of dusting dining room light fixture and ceiling fan on the same day. A consequence of no exercise combined with lots of free time resulted in the dreaded NLFIMC (otherwise known as - no longer fit into my clothes). Spent way too much time watching mindless TV shows and vegging out. On the positive side, spent way too much time watching mindless TV shows and vegging out. Rekindled my desire to write more than just a shopping list. Intensified my ongoing war with the pigeons, seriously contemplated sleeping on the mirpeset to keep them away, but settled for strategically laying out obstacles to prevent them from landing. Fantasized about the good ol’ days when we could walk more than 100 meters without breaking the law. Actually flaunted the law by sneaking over to visit friends two blocks away— adrenaline pumping with the thrill of the challenge. Learned that I have no aptitude for cooking, painting or playing Friends with Words—even when I’m not stressed for time, make that even when I have oodles of time. Stalked FB profiles of former friends at 4:00am discovering that I haven’t missed anything over the years. Realized that I’m stronger than I thought but that I don’t need to be because I’m lucky enough to have a great family and live in a caring community in an amazing country. I not only survived, I thrived.
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10 Things I Love & Hate About This Confinement Therese Berkowitz
10. Hate the tease of the sun on the teyelet and the absence of physical activity. 9. Hate reading the news and seeing the mounting number of fatalities. 8. Hate the constant fear and anxiety that I feel thinking about my family in NY, especially my 90-year-old in-laws in their senior home, and my sisters, the nurses, walking into their hospitals. 7. Hate how much time I spend in front of a screen. 6. Love that I am somehow busy everyday. 5. Hate the absence of physical contact. 4. Hated canceling trips to visit my family, and hate even more the inability to think at all about future plans. 3. Hate, hate, hate beyond measure, beyond words, not seeing and holding my grandchildren. 2. Love, and extremely grateful that I can see and chat with my family and friends on Facetime, WhatsApp, Zoom. 1. Love hearing the sound of prayer through my window.
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Life After Lockdown
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Life After Lockdown Melissa Dubinsky (21 April 2020)
We have a mixed marriage. I am young enough to go out and my husband is not. So after several weeks of togetherness, I spent 4 hours away from home today. Frankly, I missed being home. It turns out that I kept extremely busy with volunteer work from home and didn’t get to all the “projects” that have been waiting for me to “get a round tuit.” I think my husband missed me too—he prepared a simply excellent dinner complete with wine (a rarity mid-week). Being on the back end of enforced confinement, I feel it went very quickly. I realize that I am extremely lucky—my husband was good company all the time, I was able to exercise on a good route within 100 m, I could sneak around my building and visit friends from the hallway, and I had lots to do. Since this essay is about me, I need only count my blessings, starting with my health and that of my family, support of my friends, the ability to keep busy, and the patience to accept the conditions and wait them out. I feel for people who don’t have one or more of these blessings, and they get compounded and multiplied if someone lacks more than one of these. There are some life lessons, I think. Don’t get trapped into reading nonstop Facebook posts. It can drive you crazy and keep you from being able to concentrate on anything else. If you don’t already have a home-based hobby, develop one as soon as you can and have the materials on hand. I see people learning to play a musical instrument, indulging in some version of needlework or art, taking on-line classes, learning to cook (as long as it doesn’t include learning to eat!). One of the things that could have made this worse was a massive power failure, so a hobby that doesn’t require electricity is what I am suggesting. Families with children in the home should appreciate them and make them the focus of your day. All too soon they are grown and gone. Allow yourself to be emotional – about the struggles of others, particularly those that are ill and those that are caring
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for them; about the myriad random acts of kindness; about the creativity of others shared on Facebook or YouTube. Find ways to give meaningful tzedakah, since it hasn’t been possible to volunteer out of the home. Be aware that this isolation affects many of the elderly or infirm, every day of the year. In some sense, the rest of the world has joined them. Find extra compassion and take this experience as a lesson for the future. Finally, my next task is to define for myself how I want to live life differently from now on. I have some greater clarity about what is important and what is not, whom to put first and who to step back from, and how to communicate better with friends and family. It will be interesting to see if I have the inner strength to make these new changes in my life, or if in six months I will see myself as exactly how I was six weeks ago.
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In the Absence of a Flower Market—Wild Flowers for Shabbat Susan Cohen 48 / RunnersWrite 2020
Life After Lockdown Susan Cohen
I feel like I am walking on air, drifting away with my thoughts and my feelings, it’s a such a tranquil space to be in. I can smell the intoxicating scent of the flowers, see their majestic colours, shapes, sizes, touch their beauty and feel their texture between my fingers. I am in awe of their beauty, such wonderful creations and a gift from Hashem. I am finally hugging and squeezing my grandchildren so tight it hurts, we are huddled in such a tight group, I can feel myself begin to tumble, but that’s part of the fun, our giggles and silliness we are tumbling down into one big heap. Oh, how I have missed this. They are shouting with excitement “Bubba, it’s been so long, we have missed you so much“ and I have missed you too. My! how they have grown, they have flourished and changed in so many ways, but still my darling grandchildren. To see their faces, their smiles, the gaps where their teeth have fallen out as the new ones haven’t grown yet. But to touch them is beyond words, oh how I have missed this. They are so excited they can’t contain themselves, scrambling to tell me first of all about the things they have done and experienced during lockdown.“Bubba, we went to school, but we didn’t leave the house, it was on Zoom, we could see our friends, it was exciting. We learned to cook and bake, had time to play with each other, to read and learn, to sit and stand, so many new things , so many blessings . We had special time, to spend with our mummies and daddies, in so many ways it’s been the best.” I can’t hear what they want to say as they are all scrambling to talk together, I want to go back to school, others don’t , we missed our friends, it’s not been the same on the phone, or Zoom, we can’t wait to play again, outside like we used to.
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My head is beginning to swim around and around, dizzy from the excitement, the euphoria, I am floating somewhere in heaven. No masks, no gloves, I can walk freely as far as I like on the beach, my feet touch the sand beneath the waves gently caressing my feet washing the sand away. I can hear the laughter of children whilst building their sandcastles and eating their ice creams. Everyone is so happy to be free once more. How blessed I am. I survived. The sun is rising, the sky illuminates from its rays, another day has begun. I begin to stretch, and slowly awake, I turn to my husband, looking and thinking how much I love him and say “I had this dream last night...“ 24th April 2020
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Life After Lockdown Therese Berkowitz
There are some things that I would really hate to see return to their prelockdown ways. Like the current protocol for paying for purchases at SuperPharm. The previous habit of encroaching on my personal space while standing in line used to make me feel resentful. Invariably the person behind me would start to inch up and stand next to me, or even in front of me, and push ahead to put their items on the counter before I’d finished placing mine there. I really like the two meter rule. As restrictions ease, I can not imagine ever feeling the same again about touching anything in public, like elevator buttons or door codes or handles of any kind. Nor can I imagine abandoning our diligent and frequent hand washing regimens, or the public use of alcohol wipes and Purell. Since the crisis began, the lockdown rules have not been consistent, and enforcement has been random. I’ve heard stories about friends of friends who have been fined large sums for just taking a walk, but other stories about people out and about engaging in all kinds of activities, albeit alone or with family members. I’ve seen surfers returning home in their wetsuits and bare feet, seniors sitting on park benches, and little kids doing all sorts of things with their parents trailing behind. Even I am not so innocent. In fact I have cheated throughout the entire lockdown and spent every Shabbat with neighbors. We were good friends to begin with, before this deadly virus hit our shores, and we have only grown closer with each shared meal. Their friendship has meant the world to me during this lockdown. I think I would have lost my marbles had I not been able to spend time with them. I have always been resourceful on my own and have managed to remain busy throughout the stay home rules, making to-do lists of long delayed projects and actually doing them, crossing them off, and feeling that healthy sense of accomplishment. But a simple task like making a Shabbat meal for someone other than myself has
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provided me with an unfathomable sense of purpose. The time alone day after day, even with Zoom classes and Zoom chats, has only highlighted my immeasurable need for human contact. Yet, human contact is only one piece of the overwhelming, all encompassing emotion of missing my grandchildren. When will I see them again? The longing just grows. Exponentially. But back to my friends, my 100 meter neighbors, my life savers, who live around the corner four buildings away. On the second Friday night of the lockdown, after a really lovely Shabbat dinner and conversation, I left their apartment and started walking home when a cop car patrolling their street spotted me and pulled up next to me. They rolled down the window and asked where I was going. I answered in English first and then in Hebrew and said I was going home. They looked me up and down, paused, and then rolled the window back up and drove away. My heart continued to race until I was inside my apartment. Last Sunday when the first easing of restrictions took place, I went for a walk on the teyelet. The 100 meter limit had been expanded to 500 meters. I started to walk down the stairs to the sand when all of a sudden everyone that was on the sand started walking toward the stairs. A police patrol had arrived. The sand was beyond 500 meters from anything. It is the inconsistencies that have kept us all on edge. Along with all our general fears. As the limits are lifted, I wonder when our anxieties will ease. Or, if they ever will.
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Doesn’t it feel like everything looks like the Corona Virus? Suzie Schwartz
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Life After Lockdown Suzie Schwartz
On Friday, 28th February, 2020, we attended Yom Sababa at my grandchildren’s school, ‘Lavi (aptly named ‘lion cub’ ) in Tsur Hadassa, up in the hills near Jerusalem. Yom Sababa is ‘Grandparents Day’ when grandparents are invited to spend a couple of hours at school with their grandchildren and participate in various activities together. What stood out for me overall were the little details so thoughtfully included to make the day truly memorable. For example, as we entered the gates, our grandchildren were among numerous others eagerly peering through the bars of the fence waiting for their grandparents to arrive. Having spotted us, they ran up and literally pounced on us in excitement. Then we filed past a group of older kids who handed out single, long-stemmed pink and orange carnations in a cellophane sleeve to us, the grandparents. A warm feeling of love and acceptance washed over me as I truly felt welcomed and appreciated for making the effort to attend. That was only the beginning and though there were many highlights to follow, one in particular stands out in connection with life after lockdown. My grandson, Chanoch, who is in Grade 4, proudly escorted us into his classroom and sat us down at a desk designed for his size, not ours. As we clumsily folded ourselves to fit into the much smaller desks and chairs, we noticed the room was filled to capacity with kids and their grandparents. When the class teacher stood up and introduced herself, I immediately recognized her charisma. She had organized a wonderful activity which truly helped bridge the generation gap and gave our grandchildren some insight into the way we had grown up. For, on the whiteboard she projected pictures of some of the items that had played an integral part of our lives. Things like a television in its cabinet from the 60s, a record player, long playing records, a telephone with the dial and handset, a video player, a tape recorder, a cassette or tape and numerous other items. We
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grandparents were so enjoying this trip down memory lane while our grandchildren had NO idea that any of these objects had even existed. So in between the photos, we tried to explain their function and how we remembered using them in our lives when we were their age. In life after lockdown, way into the future, I imagine my daughter (b’ezrat Hashem) one day as a savta, attending her grandchild’s Yom Sababa and the teacher showing pictures of masks and sanitizer and words such as ‘lockdown’ and ‘no more than 100 metres ‘ bandied around to evoke what was once the pandemic of COVID-19. Hopefully, this will be the first and last time that the world ever goes through such a phenomenon, and that for my great grandchildren, it will be something that their savta and parents reminisce about as an event in the distant past. I am so grateful that we were able to attend this year’s Yom Sababa at their school because 10 days later, it was closed and we went into lockdown. Even as we attended, the virus was gathering momentum and more and more cases were starting to show up in school-going kids. I remember thinking at the time, when we were in close proximity to everyone on the day, that maybe there was a carrier of the virus in our midsts. Not really knowing much about ‘the virus’ or its implications for our lives, I couldn’t put my finger on the reason why I was already beginning to feel uneasy. Now, as lockdown restrictions slowly loosen, I’m not sure what the immediate future holds. In the meantime, I have that life-long memory of attending Yom Sababa in 2020 and COVID-19 can never take that away from me. Furthermore, I know that the future holds the promise of many more, heart- warming Grandparents Days to attend.
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I now appreciate more than ever Diane Jesurun
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Alive After Corona — I now appreciate more than ever Diane Jesurun I now appreciate more than ever how everything is in Hashem’s Hands and how our control on our lives is but an illusion I now appreciate more than ever our health, which we presume and yet can be so fragile I now appreciate more than ever being blessed with my family so I can hug and kiss them and talk and play with my grandkids I now appreciate more than ever the luxury of traveling to my family abroad whenever I want to, and exploring the wonders of the world that I have not yet seen I now appreciate more than ever not taking for granted the wonderful things that happen to us, opening our eyes to the miracles around us so we can better see them and appreciate them I now appreciate more than ever the beauty of Hashem’s work that I see in the sunsets and the flowers as I walk on the beach I now appreciate more than ever how cherished and appreciated I am to my family and friends and how they miss me just for who I am I now appreciate more than ever how important my dear friends are to me: eating with them, talking, hugging, Zooming, sharing, running and walking together. I now appreciate more than ever how life is made from the seemingly small things, like going for a walk, seeing the smiles from my family and friends, reading a book, shopping, and hearing the ocean. I now appreciate more than ever the cleaner air from no traffic I now appreciate more than ever that we can communicate with each other with the incredible technology. How small the world has become using WhatsApp, Skype, Zoom, and Facetime I now appreciate more than ever how important it is to help others no matter where or when they need it I now appreciate more than ever continuing to realize how amazing life is and not fall back asleep into complacency I now appreciate more than ever who we are and not our material wealth I now appreciate more than ever how our profound faith allows us to survive in this world I now appreciate more than ever how incredibly blessed I am Life After Lockdown / 57
Life After Lockdown Viv Simenoff
For the first time since the rules have eased, I have had choices to make, rather than being confined by regulations. I have been extra cautious. I am not cautious by nature and can be impulsive—but now, now I’m cautious. Am I overly cautious? I have no idea, and we won’t know that until this all ends. I very much hope I’ll be someone to come out of this experience with the phenomenon that is being labelled as “Post traumatic growth” where I realise that rather than PTSD I have increased psychological resilience. I hope that I’ll be able to realise that I coped with this, so I’ll be able to cope with what’s coming next. The creativity this project has unleashed has certainly made me think, and for that I am deeply grateful.
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After COVID-19 Paulette Woolf
“Do you recall living through anything on a scale of this pandemic?” asked my daughter Aviva. “Well,” I responded, giving it some thought, “When I was in my teens, we marched against the Vietnam War and to advocate for Soviet Jewry, but we were too young to really understand the significance of these events. The AIDS epidemic in the 80s was frightening and so many gay people died, including some close friends of mine. I was working in Manhattan on 9/11 but you already know what happened then. We’ve had tsunamis and earthquakes and floods that were horrifying in the enormity of their devastation, but no, even after suffering through hurricane Sandy, I can honestly say I’ve never experienced anything of this magnitude in my lifetime.” The fact that this disease could attack anyone at any time, that it impacted the entire world, that the number of dead in an extremely short time was incomprehensible, numbers literally impossible for the mind to absorb (25,000 dead, 40,000 dead, 2.5 million infected) and that health professionals were scrambling to identify the right treatment, (“You should wear masks – masks won’t help. You must stay indoors – exercise is important and on and on – often reversing their guidance, literally from day to day.) All of this made this epidemic the one that gripped us all in a sort of universal terror, watching the news obsessively to find out what new evil has befallen us. Who could have predicted that the Champs Elysees would be deserted, that Broadway would go dark, that wild animals would reclaim cities whose streets now resembled the ghost towns of old time Western movies? That holidays would be “celebrated” in quarantine, weddings and concerts cancelled. That planes would be grounded and people stranded for months at a time? That people would be locked in their homes for weeks on end, venturing out only for short trips to buy food or to fill prescriptions? That sportscasters would have nothing to report as all sports events, even the
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Olympics are called off? That domestic violence and suicide rates would rise to shocking levels as families lost jobs, businesses, their life’s savings and, of course, loved ones. Even Steven Spielberg wouldn’t dare envision a movie script this dramatic, this dark. But out of the darkness, sprang positive stories of people caring for each other. Opera singers performing on their balconies, a woman mortgaging her home to buy protective gear for health care workers, chefs cooking food for distribution to those in need. Suddenly, the future was not so bleak. The more optimistic among us found the silver lining in our Covid 19 cloud, enthusiastically informing us that the virus had brought us closer together through the use of Zoom and other technologies, how instead of rushing erratically from place to place we could enjoy leisurely family dinners, or use this time wisely for inner reflection. I did none of these things. Unlike my husband David, who saw a community need, and then spent days developing courses on a variety of religious topics to present on Zoom to our home bound synagogue members, (exhibiting the singlemindedness of purpose that is the essence of his personality), I did a wonderful impersonation of a mindless Zombie. Together with my daughter Shira who had moved in with us, I binge watched hundreds of hours of TV, catching up on my favorite TV shows and finding new ones to fill the void, while gobbling entire pints of Ben and Jerry’s coffee ice cream. If the lockdown hadn’t ended when it did, well, suffice it to say that I would be supporting the Israeli economy through the purchase of a brand-new wardrobe. But thankfully, the quarantine did end. Just in time to coincide with the beginning of spring, the riot of color greeting us as we tentatively, even somewhat guiltily, ventured forth, reinforcing for us once again, that we live in paradise. Today, life has almost returned to normal. Schools are opening which is thrilling for my daughter and son-in-law who had transformed their apartment into a Gymboree like environment in an effort to occupy their energetic 18-month-old twins. We are no longer restricted to a walking
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radius of 100 meters, increased to 500 meters for exercise (All these Jews using Google Earth as the basis for their sophisticated calculations. “Sam, it does include the Superpharm. I told you so!”). Stores and malls have reopened, although temperatures are still taken at the entrance and masks continue to be a requirement. Even hairstylists and manicurists were given the green light, vital services as we return to civilization. It’s one thing to take refuge behind a Zoom video, but those scruffy nails are hard to hide when you meet your friend on the street. There is talk of a possible second wave. Pundits predict that life as we know it has changed irrevocably. Unfortunately, my crystal ball is on the fritz so I’ve learned to take things on a day-by-day basis. Although I still worry about my son who lives in Manhattan, I’m grateful to have a government that prioritizes my health and safety, that my friends and family survived this crisis with me, that G-d is in charge and that they have not run out of Ben and Jerry’s coffee ice cream at the makolet on the corner.
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A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Hours in Lockdown
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Lately, I Really Love the Dawn Therese Berkowitz Throughout this trial of illness and loss, I have found myself, with each new day, feeling more grateful than ever for the gift of life. While in isolation, my laptop has been my lifeline to my family around the world and my friends down the block. Its keys, like the dawn, share the promise of a new day of learning, working, creating, contributing and connection.
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Celebrating In Place Cally Collins Yom Haatzmaut 5780 Israel Independence Day 2020. Strict prohibitions were enforced on this year’s national holiday, a day normally celebrated in large gatherings of families and friends around BBQs and picnics at parks and beaches throughout the country.
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My African Past Suzie Schwartz A basket bought on the shores of Lake Malawi in 1994, still in use through this pandemic. A table runner handprinted in Zimbabwe, where I was born and grew up. The table they are placed on, handpainted by me. It depicts corn growing in a field. I grew up with acres and acres of maize fields around me, and always remember eating the freshest, most tender white corn cobs that my father would handpick and bring back from the fields for a delicious dinner.
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Natalie Sara, April 6, 2020 Panama Diane Jesurun This photo was taken by my son, Michael. It is the most emotional image that I connect with the COVID-19 lockdown. With air travel suspended indefinitely and no way to get from Israel to Panama, I don’t really know how to express the simultaneous pain and joy of the birth of a new granddaughter that I have not yet met.
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Love and Necessity Melissa Dubinsky “Because if I didn’t sew on the mustache, no one would know who he was.”
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Shiur Preparation Paulette Woolf My life during the lockdown—David preparing for three shiurim a week, while I obsessively ate and watched Fauda.
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My New Life In A Snapshot. Corona 2020 Susan Cohen
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I’m Ready For My Close-Up Viv Simenoff It’s Charlie ready to go out in his mask and gloves. I told him it’s not meant to be that sort of mask!!!!
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About Our Contributors Therese Berkowitz After a 30+ year career in advertising as creative director/ illustrator/graphic designer, I began teaching at the Yeshivah of Flatbush High School in NY. As a part of an expansion of their arts department, I developed a graphic arts and photography program. During my tenure, I served as faculty advisor for the design of their Literature and Arts magazine and their newspaper. Both publications were recipients of first place awards in the American Scholastic Press Association competition for five consecutive years. It was an honor to witness students’ achievements, and I was grateful for the opportunity. I am a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, and hold a Masters Degree in Art Education from Brooklyn College. In 2017, after losing my husband of 36 years to cancer, I retired to Netanya, Israel. I am blessed to have my three children and my grandchildren living here. In my new life as a retiree, I volunteer as a graphic designer with a number of organizations and tutor Photoshop and Illustrator. The friendships that I have made through the Runner’s group have been invaluable. It has been a privilege to work on this publication with these brilliant and generous women. Carolyn Collins Most people call me Cally. I was born and brought up in the small community of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the northeast of England, in a modern Jewish orthodox family. My father was a German Jewish refugee and came to England as a child with his family in 1939. I was raised with a love of Israel and an appreciation for our homeland from an early age. I moved to the large Jewish community of Manchester to study Nursing followed by Midwifery where I met my husband Mark. We have three daughters. Our oldest, Adina, is married and lives in London and is expecting their first baby, B”H, in the summer. Miri, our middle daughter, made Aliyah last summer and is working in Tel Aviv. Our youngest, Shira, is finishing university and has a job working for Bnei Akiva Mazkut the following year, then plans to make Aliyah. My dear father, A”H, passed away two years ago this Shavuot. I found that was a sign for us to make the move we always knew we wanted, and started planning our Aliyah. We arrived in Israel at the end of January and immediately felt at home. The COVID-19 lock-down and family not being able to visit was not exactly what we expected for the first two months of living here. But we have found benefits of slowing down, learning new skills, talking, writing, listening, not rushing and actually having time to reflect on life. We look forward to when the Israeli flag masks we wore on Yom Haatzmut 5780 become a piece of history that we can show our grandchildren in years to come!
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Susan Cohen I’m originally from Leeds in the north of England. We had the honour of making Aliyah just over one year ago, joining the rest of our family in this wonderful land. Who am I? Well, I am the proud bubba to our beautiful grandchildren, a mother, and a wife. By profession, I am a psychotherapist, and definitely never saw myself as a writer. In my profession words are powerful, meaningful and empowering. Putting and expressing words on paper has proven to be cathartic, and powerful in a new way. I am grateful for this opportunity to join my friends in this project. I have gained so much, not only from their friendship, but have been pushed totally out of my comfort zone. I have enjoyed this project and it is something I will always cherish. Thank you Corona. As Therese has always said “the beauty of this project is that there are no wrong answers�, and this was definitely Right! Melissa Dubinsky I made Aliyah with my husband in 2016 and we are fortunate that both our children live in Israel as well. I have spent my Corona virus isolation time volunteering as a Zoom administrator for two non-profit organizations, as well as indulging in a variety of home-based sewing, cooking, and reading activities. I take advantage of shiurim available by Zoom and Zoom regularly with friends and family in Israel and the US. In my former life in the US and somewhat currently as well, I work as an independent expert consultant to the International Atomic Energy Agency in the areas of siting and environmental investigations for new nuclear power plant programs. My work experience has taken me to many countries and shown me the diversity of the world. However, Paradise is right here in Netanya.
Diane Jesurun I was born and raised in Curacao. My family moved there around 1660 from the Netherlands. After high school, I went to college in New Orleans. From there I moved to Rotterdam where I attended medical school. While in medical school, I married and had my son Michael. It was a very busy time and a lot of fun. I was also slowly becoming more and more religious. I became extremely active in a Jewish student organization, which I started together with a friend. I also started a Jewish kindergarten and primary school during those years. Still living in Rotterdam, my daughters Naomi and Sharon were born and I completed the residency to become a family doctor. People wondered whether I was really going to medical school, as I was spending so much time doing other things. I was working full time, raising three kids and doing a lot of different volunteer work. I was a member of the school boards of the different schools my kids attended and very About Our Contributors / 81
active with Bnai B’rith. I divorced and remarried, moved to the States for a year, but finally came home when I settled in Israel in September of 2018. Currently, I have, bli ein hara, 10 grandchildren, I received my Israeli medical license, and I have found a great group of friends. Here in Israel, I am extremely happy and home.
Suzie Schwartz I was born in Zimbabwe, Africa and grew up on a farm in the African bush. Later when I married my husband Lionel, we lived in the capital city, Harare until our two children reached high-school age. Then we moved to Perth, Western Australia in 1999 and I began teaching in the West Australian Education Department. I worked there for 17 years, mainly in ESL with high school kids from a refugee background before immigrating to Israel in 2016. We have four grandchildren: three in Israel and one in Australia. I thought I was creatively blocked until 1993 when a cataclysmic event in our family’s life proved me wrong. Costing my mother her life, it broke me open and pushed me over the edge. I was in free fall and that’s when I discovered writing as a safety net. It’s something I still do as a daily practice some 27 years later. In 2016, I was able to fulfill a soul yearning and lifelong dream to make Aliyah with my husband Lionel. After a lifetime of roaming around this globe and experiencing what it feels like to be a wandering Jew, there are no words to describe the joy I feel at finally coming home to Eretz Israel.
Viviene Simenoff I’m originally from Manchester, England and made Aliyah four-plus years ago to the beautiful city of Netanya which we have been visiting for 38 years. In the UK, I worked in various organisations in the medical field. The last, for 20 years, being Chief Executive of a Committee of 300 family doctors, assisting them in all aspects of their working lives (sometimes at the most stressful times, such as when they were going through a disciplinary process). My husband is a doctor who has had a number of severe life threatening infections in the past, and I am very protective of his health. (Sometimes I even remember that I am a breast cancer survivor and need to take care of my own health too.) We are blessed with twin daughters, a wonderful son in law and three grandchildren, all of whom, thankfully, live here in Israel. I sit on the Board of our of Synagogue in Netanya, as I did in my home town. I have baked, cooked, re-organised and cleaned my way through the lockdown, (and often found myself wondering “is THIS what it takes for me to sort this out!!”). Once we are back to being able to have human guests around our dining table, I will have to remember to consign Winnie the Pooh and Roger the Rabbit back to their rooms!!!
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Paulette Woolf I was a New Yorker through and through, raising my family in Queens and working for more than 30 years in Manhattan. In my professional career I served in three NYC mayoral administrations including as Director of Contract Audit for the Guiliani administration. In 1996 I moved “all the way uptown and out of the country altogether” to the United Nations, whose complex is considered international territory. I served in a number of positions including as Director of an internal consulting service that I established. The service specialized in change management support for the UN’s global operations. In 2016, I began the next phase of my life, moving to Netanya, Israel with my husband David. The excitement of making Aliyah and fulfilling a lifelong dream did not displace the emotional hole created by leaving behind friends and family. A difficult adjustment period ensued. Before long, though, I’d discovered women with similar interests, and have formed strong relationships. Running on the beach with my new friends while watching the sun set over the Mediterranean provides such joy as I’d never experienced. Add to that the fact that two of my three children and twin grandsons live within a 40-minute radius and you’re talking pure bliss. While I worry obsessively over the fate of the world, I volunteer wherever possible to help those in need, and I am grateful for the many amazing opportunities that Hashem continues to provide to me and all of Am Yisroel. Life is good!
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