Hanukkah and Gas Masks

Until recently, all I’d known about the Hanukkah holiday had been learned from Adam Sandler. Just having celebrated Hanukkah (aka Chanukah among various Romanized spellings) here in Israel, I am now slightly more informed.


First off, I learned that “menorah” is a general Hebrew term for any manmade light (i.e. a lamp). And, I’ve learned, a Hanukkah menorah has its own special name—a “Hanukiah”.


Here is the Hanukiah that Nicki purchased at the AM/PM down the street. And in front of it is a Hanukkah donut. “Sufganiyot” are jelly-filled donuts typically enjoyed ruing the 8-day holiday.

And here is a Hanukiah in our neighborhood.

We lit one candle per evening, starting on the evening of December 20th (Hanukkah started on December 21st this year, but don’t forget that Jewish days start in the evening based on the account in Genesis 1:5). Traditionally, I’m told, the center Hanukiah candle (which stands a bit elevated as compared to the others) is lit--and then the far left candle is lit (always using the center candle to light the remaining candles) on the first evening of Hanukkah. On subsequent evenings, and extra candle is lit each night, until all eight glow to close out the holiday. That being said, there are apparently alternate candle lighting procedures also practiced by Jews celebrating Hanukkah--such as starting with all eight candles lit, then removing one each night.


Why are there eight days of Hanukkah, you ask? So did I. As the story goes, when the Jews (led by the Macabbees) reclaimed the temple from the Greeks back in the 2nd century, they apparently only found enough oil to light the temple menorah for a single day—but miraculously, the candle burned for eight days.


While Sammy was interested in learning about Hannukah, he was even more excited about Christmas. After spending Christmas Eve in Bethlehem (where Jesus was born), I took Christmas Day (Sunday) off of work so we could celebrate as a family. Here is Sammy opening a present...


In getting presents shipped from generous family members back in the US, we learned a bit about Israeli import tax. Let’s say, hypothetically, that a generous present-giver in the States were to ship $100 worth of Christmas presents to Israel, and paid (even more generously) $50 in shipping costs to do so. The receiver on the Israeli side would then pay up to 46% tax on the value of the goods plus the amount spent on shipping. So in this hypothetical case, the recipient would pay up to $70 to “receive” the gifts. That being the case, the tax seems to be only intermittently enforced by postal workers—as we were asked to pay to receive one high-value shipment, but not another.


After polling co-workers about this tax, it seems that alternative options to paying the tax include but are not limited to: lying about the value (but in doing so risking paying double if caught) since shipments under $50 are not taxed, or contesting the tax (we were given two phone numbers to call, if desired). All in all, it was an interesting (and funny) lesson for all parties involved.


In other news, my company is participating in the nation-wide “ABC kit” (gas mask) refresh program. As part of the Israeli Home Front Command readiness plan, all Israeli families should have a kit at home, even during peaceful times. My talkative cubemate had a (boxed) gas mask sitting on his desk this week. To be sure, he already had masks for himself, his wife, and his older child—but the new mask was for his baby. When I told him that we had been told that “our” gas masks would be distributed upon need, he recommended that I escalate the issue and demand to have them now…just in case.


Upon talking to another co-worker, it sunk in even more how real the threat can be here. She said that during the Gulf War in the 1990’s, schools were closed for ~6 weeks and each home was required to have a sealed room in which to retreat when the sirens sounded. That being said, she didn’t seem too concerned and commented that she wouldn’t know where to look for her family’s masks if indeed there was an “event”.


On a lighter note, my cube-mate was also keenly eyeing the Iowa Caucus this week—asking me what I thought of Rick Santorum and knowing the details regarding Romney’s slim margin of victory. Truly eye-opening to see how important US politics are to our ally Israel. That being said, most of my co-workers were seemingly uninterested in the caucus.


Here are some pictures of Sammy, in case you are interested (and I know that some of you are!)… Oh, and Nicki and I are in a couple of them too :) 

Many pictures were taken due to Sammy's first Christmas...

Sammy got a new hat (temps can dip down into the 50's on cold winter nights here in Tel Aviv, you know)...

He can sit up by himself (kind of...)!

Sammy's hands-in-pockets were NOT staged...

We tried taking some Christmas pictures at the beach just as sun was setting, but it proved difficult to get Sammy to look at the camera and smile (we needed a helper)...

This one turned out to be the winner for the Christmas cards...at least Sammy was looking at the camera.