he wakeneth morning by morning,
he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear
Isaiah 50:4

for the sake of uniting
the Holy-One-Blessed-be-He
and his Shekhinah
to unite the name YH with WH
in whole union
in the name of all Israel
and let's say: Amen
[Jewish Prayerbook]

The battery of my camera ran out : no more photos in and under and around the "bayit ha-zayit".
But soon there will be another chance! with Mika's four cousins and the co-creation of the five!

At home Imma rejoices in kissing her daughter.
And then we go out together , to the "Creativity-Circle".
My earthen "Fairy-Angel" has been completed, but I forgot to take a photo.
And while in the Circle, I was busy with forming 3 triangular candle-holders,
one for "festive meals of grandma and Mika", as we had planned together,
the same kind for me in Arad (for would there be any such meals at Shoham?)
and a bigger triangle with 8 holes around the edges and a lifted-one in the middle:
a chanukia for myself!
It may have been the last time, that I participated, even if I would come back to Shoham,
for I cannot really help Mika, nor Efrat, so what sense does it make that I come?
In her mother's eyes Mika wastes her time away and kindles her creativity,
only when the hour is over and everyone returns clay, colors and other materials.
In my eyes Mika is so stimulated with what is going on among the creative kids and parents,
that she needs to simply take in, observe and do nothing herself - for a change!

When we exited, Efrat invited us to a light supper in a restaurant,
which in this case turned out to be superflous with regard to me.
When I was done, I called Tamir - "by chance" at this exact timing:
"Tamir, do you know the place of Hagai's wedding tomorrow?"
"But, Rachel, the wedding is today and has already started!"
Strange! I do not go to weddings or rarely anywhere else for that matter,
and only after struggling did I grasp, that Hagai's wedding I should attend.
We raced home in Efrat's car, she ordered a taxi, I put on the velvet gown,
once bestowed on me by Yahia's mother, a Bedouin in the Zealots' Valley,
and made it just in time for the Chuppa of Hagai & Moran, his chosen one.
The gown was greatly admired by my former "partners", Hagai and Tamir,
but though I DID experience with them a few hours of "Heaven on Earth",
the place for telling about their weddings is elsewhere, not in Mika's pages.

In a little suitcase we ordered the items, which Mika had taken home from the "Olive-tree house"

As fruitful as this Wednesday had been, as fruitless, frustrating was the next day. I was to spend only 20 minutes with Mika The few pictures which I took forecast Mika's lack of love for grandma, even after she came back from a party...

Imma showers her, combs her, dresses her up for a birthday party of two kindergarden mates in a place called "The Blue House"
and she looks even more gorgeous than usual...

On Friday, January 8, 8:15, I left the house at Shoham,
even before Efrat took Mika to kindergarden by car.

Whenever Immanuel would return from flight at 2 PM,
I would usually travel to Arad already in the morning.
Efrat would bring me to Ben-Shemen Junction
and I would begin my hitchhiking on Highway 6.
But since a "Grandma-Day for the Quintet",
(which had not taken place since July 19, 2009 !!!)
was scheduled for Shabbat, (initiated by me!)
I used the 24 hours to meet with two friends.
Nir Gur had just recovered from his deadly "event" in October 2009 (s. Jan.15)
and Yanina I hadn't met in person since she visited me in my tent on May 2,2009

It sounds simple, natural, logical, that I acted like this.
But since Efrat had hoped, I would "make a bridge",
my leaving for 24 hours became one of the "stagings",
which may lead to an abrupt-disruptive "Lekh-Lekhâ",
not a gradual, gentle one as I had planned with my son.


When Yanina [see elsewhere about our togetherness] brought me back by car,
half an hour before Arnon and Ayelet,  Yael and Itamar  were expected,
Mika was at the door, greeting me fervently: "I've been waiting for you".
Since I was happy..... that she wanted me to be there for her right away,
I had no time to pack my things for my departure after the Grandma day
nor could I find time for that during the following 8 most intense hours...
[This detail was part of another "staging": when the fathers came to fetch their kids,
I left with Micha, who pressured me, so that I had no time to say Good Bye 'warmly'.
Actually it was me, who was hurt, since my children did not get up from their seats
and didn't stand at the door to hug me and wish me an easy journey home that night.
But since I now know the purpose of all the weird "stagings", I accept being blamed.]

Mika and I managed to "do" a lot during that half hour,
including the cleaning of a heavy metal bowel from the table,
which she wanted to perform with her little broom in the bathroom.
Among many qualities, Mika has the zest of an ingrained house-wife ....

And then came the four cousins!

Though I was singing my recent rhyme: "When expectations from others cause tension, I'm giving my own eyes more loving attention" [with the intention to heal my eyes into visual acuity - see "My Desire Today" Oct. 29-30], I was tense the entire day. Since among other tensions I was afraid that the excited five kids would go on Efrat's nerves, I encouraged everyone to go outside immediately, hoping that in the meantime the couple would leave to follow their own plans. "To the playground!" shouted Itamar, though he is now 11 years old!