Happy holidays

Merry Christmas to all my friends and readers celebrating!
Here in Beer Sheva, we don't get this holiday off, so you'll find me tonight at a training session for new volunteers for Project La'ad at Ben-Gurion University, and tomorrow laying the groundwork to expand our program for the benefit of the Holocaust survivors in nearby Kiryat Malachi and recruiting new student volunteers at Achva College.

Last week, my program brought volunteers from across the country to Jerusalem for a tour of Yad Vashem. This was the second of my nine tours of Israel's national Holocaust museum led in Hebrew, and as always, I picked up some new vocab:
נצר / netzer = stem, shoot.
This is a special usage referring to the lone survivor of an entire family. Our tour guide told us that Yad Vashem knows of 114 such last stems of their family tree who fell in Israel's War of Independence.

Our tour guide also emphasized a list of numbers of Jews by country, compiled during the Wannsee Conference and its Final Solution, a.k.a. extermination of Europe's Jewish population. The list included Estonia, with its relatively insignificant population of a few thousand Jews. So now our job as part of Project La'ad is to reach as many of Israel's roughly 230,000 survivors as possible in clarifying their rights, documenting their life stories in Project LeDorot (a joint program with Yad VaShem), and through a friendly visiting program--all without missing a single town, no matter how small its population of survivors.


At the end of the tour, where the main exhibit opens up to the spectacular rolling Jerusalem foothills, with a group of students from Ein Gedi who recently joined Project La'ad.

--
Speaking of powerful, Dov Lipman's piece here gives plenty of motivation to continue my dad's convivial attitude in greeting everyone he saw with a smile and a 100% genuine "how are you?".

Here's a really powerful Harvard Business Review piece about honesty and making day-to-day decisions with integrity (thanks to my co-aunt (urbandictionary.com's term for my sister's sister-in-law) Jenny).

Dave Brubeck and sitar legend Ravi Shankar left the world in the same week. In addition to catching Brubeck with Dad, thanks to Michigan's University Musical Society, which brought Shankar to Hill Auditorium (and gave students a crazy discount for good measure), I ended that rough week for the music world feeling extremely grateful to have seen both those, among so many other, legends in concert.

Peace and love from the capital of the Negev!
אריק/Eric

Back to normal

The war (עופרת עמוד ענן/Oferet Amud Anan- Operation Pillar of Defense) started as far as I was concerned when I got the following text from my boss:
חיסלו את מפקד החמאס אז תזהר.. בטח יהיו נפילןת [sic]
The Hamas commander was killed so watch out...there are gonna be rocket hits

From there I underwent the longest 17 hours of my life with 20 sirens, made it to Jerusalem (where I was interviewed on WGN), and all the way north to Carmiel, the bag I packed for a week and a half lasted me exactly the correct duration, and then a couple weeks ago I got back home to the South.
Everything, believe it or not, is back to normal. It certainly was odd to report on my timesheet for that "Rocket Thursday" I couldn't get to the office because of war. Anyone reading here ever had to report that on their timesheet???
But I am thrilled to be back in the Beer Sheva I love, that of the pool, the free concert series where I was thrilled to see Peter Rot, one of my favorite singer-songwriters, the weekend spectacular moonlight hike that the student association put together at Yerucham Lake to our south. And this week I've lit candles with some friends from the university. Life is good and I'm very busily back to work.

The incredibly Koby Mandell Foundation opened up its Comedy for Koby shows to Southern Israel residents--I made the trip to Jerusalem for my free show, but will certainly be a regular attendee and help fund raise for their future shows. A friend and former colleague from work at Masa reviewed the show as part of her job at the Jerusalem Post. As Rachel reported- Named for 13-year-old Koby Mandell who was killed by terrorists in 2001, its biannual shows help raise funds for activities benefiting Israelis who have lost loved ones to terrorism. Check out the Foundation's website--I especially enjoyed this list of Koby's favorite jokes.

חנוכה שמח/Chanuka sameach- Happy Chanuka! I enjoyed Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks' basic historical piece on Jewish celebration of this holiday.

Israel's nurses are on strike for the ninth day, sending shock waves throughout the country and the health care system. As the son of a nurse in her fourth decade in the field, it hurt to read the scathing picture this Israeli nurse painted of her work conditions (written very clearly for the layman, for the Hebrew readers among you).

One of Dad's all-time favorites, Dave Brubeck, joined Dad upstairs for a duet (that NPR piece is loaded with fantastic videos). This video of the Kennedy Center Honors performance for Brubeck three years ago is so heartwarming--check out the huge smile on Dave's face when his sons formed a quartet and jammed for his birthday!

Dad--you missed my performance of RSVP for your אזכרה/azkara - memorial last spring, but I'll keep learning your music and give you a nice show upstairs. The Jazz 101 course you taught me was front-loaded with Brubeck. Your enjoyment for his odd time-signatures and unique voice, which so clearly left its mark on yours, passed to me immediately when you got me into his stuff when I was in high school. And then we caught him live at Ravinia at their summer jazz festival, one of so many you came up to Chicago to enjoy with me.

Doctor Sekeres' New York Times blog post on cancer patients holding out for family visits or celebrations before succumbing to the disease hit home especially hard on a week when I received the heartbreaking news that another friend lost his mother to cancer.

Richard Behar, a financial journalist looking professionally from the outside in at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict proved himself extremely adept at presenting background on the situation.

Stevie Wonder let me down big time by succumbing to pressure and backing out on his LA concert for the Friends of the IDF. Stevie--if you're reading my blog :), I met you back on Martin Luther King Day in 2003 after you spoke and played at the Northwestern University MLK Day event. Then you urged Bush to stop the war in the Middle East. While I disagree with your decision to cancel your performance, I see that an IDF-related event might not be the best match for you. But I sure would love to see you find an alternative cause in Israel to support. We love you and need you Stevie!

Peace and love,
Eric

Beautiful Israel

After working with my counterpart in the North from her Carmiel office yesterday, I found this beautiful Magen David monument to a fallen soldier during the second to last war, the Second Lebanon War on the way out of town today. Gilad fell at the age of 29. The Jewish star says it all--that conflict, just like the one that ended for now last night, was all about terror organizations aiming to kill Jews so that we could not live here in our historic (and also beautiful, huh?) homeland. I'll get back on here soon to read and translate some of the memorial plaque. For now, enjoy the view behind the monument, where you can see the rolling hills of the Galilee region.

David Horovitz (yes, he's my main man. Ok, I'm obsessed for good reason, as he spoke to my OTZMA group eight years ago while I was Editor in Chief of the Jerusalem Post; he was just the nicest guy) echoed my sentiments from my post last night, writing "Until the next time." And the onion hit Israel's mood today on the head.

Alright, that's enough of everything that's wrong with Israel, what with her all too precarious position surrounded by enemies.
So here's everything that's right about Israel. This song was the NBA on Sport 5's song for those magical 2011 playoffs. Somehow, until now, I had missed this actual video, featuring the stunning Michal Shapira (the land here is beautiful, and so are the women). Enjoy a beautiful Israeli making some sublime Israeli music:

Now it's time for turkey, Jerusalem style! Missing my amazing Dad and our Turkey Trot 8 mile runs so much! He'd usually wax nostalgic around mile 5. A couple times I mentioned frustrations with the ladies.
I remember him replying along the lines of, "You'll be fine, just stay patient and keep looking. You'll know when it's right."
Anyone have Michal Shapira's number?
Kidding.

This guy is super thankful for the lovely Thanksgiving visit with Mom on Skype! Good luck Amy and the boys in hosting their big dinner in Stamford! בתאבון לכולם / b'teavon l'kulam = bon appetit to all!

And I'm out,
Eric

"Over" for now

I just watched my Prime Minister Netanyahu speak nicely, but with maybe 10% of his typical aplomb. He must have seen the survey showing that 70% of the country was against a ceasefire now. But he has the oh-so-undesirable job of leading this fine country, and it was so obvious that he reluctantly chose this to be the least-bad-option for the evening of November 21, 2012.

Now, I have to take a step back and appreciate how well I've, thank G-d, managed to integrate here. Four years ago during Operation Cast Lead, I had gotten my Hebrew up to speed, but in that gap between wars, I picked up more vocab; now I fully understood Netanyahu and used other words which I had picked up on the news or in the newspaper to be fully abreast of what's happening. And I'll continue to soak up new words--today's news further expanded my war-time vocab:

אוֹת קָלוֹן/ot kalon
stigma, mark of disgrace (used by Ben-Gurion University Med School administration staff to describe med students who didn't stay in town for their rotations)

חָפוּז/chafuz
hasty (used to describe the preparation of the Tel Aviv bus bomb)

and
התנסות ראשונה/hitnasut rishona
first time experience (used by Ben-Gurion University President Rivka Carmi to describe those Beer Sheva residents, like me, who were not yet around the last time during Operation Cast Lead)

But after we ceased our fire per the agreement, the terrorists continue to send rockets toward Israeli civilians. I type, they continue trying to kill us...

It's always something

Two and a half years ago, I got news that Dad's cancer had come back after his first round of chemo, the night before my first exam in grad school. That ambush of exams was the hardest I had in one semester, including Pathophysiology, Budget Management and Planning, and Epidemiology (all in Hebrew, of course). I used Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down a Dream" one of my aliyah anthems, to help me survive that summer's exams.

Last night I had what I think was my first nightmare of sirens and running to shelter to avoid rocket fire. Now I can only hope and pray that Hamas and their compadres will wise up and finally stop terrorizing Israel with rockets (the ceasefire as of now clearly means zilch to them). And I will catch up on my work, keep one foot in front of the next, and make that dream happen each day despite so many useless, hateful anti-Semities who don't want me here.

More recommended reading:

Michael Oren, who revoked his US citizenship for this moment of serving Israel as Ambassador to the US, giving fantastic historical perspective to the conflict of Israel against its haters.

David Horovitz, wisely warning Israel to beware of Hamas's future attempts to outsmart the Iron Dome.

And a touching personal depiction of his son's response to rocket fire and sirens by big-time Israeli writer Etgar Keret, who also lectures at Ben-Gurion!

With that I'll wrap up my visit to the North and head back to Jerusalem tomorrow morning.

Happy trails to everyone getting back home to the South and the tens of thousands of reserve soldiers returning home. And a רפואה שלמה/refua slema - full healing to all the Israelis injured.

Huge thanks again to everyone who reached out to me or my Mom! It means the world to me.

And Happy Thanksgiving America! Love,

אריק/Eric

Northbound

So my ten minute interview with WGN turned into one sentence. And the mispronunciations of my name and especially Beer Sheva were pretty comical! But the version at this link includes both my photo and my name spelled correctly (I'm 1:40 in).

My impassioned plea for Chicagoans to look past the headlines and truly understand the Israeli perspective in fighting terror--not deemed TV-friendly. But I'm glad I was able to provide the voice of a former Chicagoan so that people can try to relate to Israelis under fire.

45 minutes after I was on the air in Chicago as a Beer Sheva refugee who relocated to Jerusalem (Nancy didn't mention, but the relocation is temporary), a second air raid siren was heard in Jerusalem. The rocket landed outside of town.

So I'll go ahead and abstain from publicizing the next city on my Israel tour--I scheduled a visit up north with my work counterpart there once things got out of hand in Beer Sheva. Getting there from Jerusalem is a much more manageable journey. Looking forward to the change of scenery...

Here's another piece by Khaled Abu Toameh, even further dampening hopes of reconciliation with moderate Palestinians.

Thanks for listening, and a huge thanks to everyone for expressing their concern and support! It means the world to me--I couldn't make it without you!
Peace and love,
Eric

Interview on WGN

Watch/listen live to my interview on WGN offering the Beer Sheva perspective. Huge thanks go to former Chicago roommate Andy Zuick for getting me onto the news of one of my all-time favorite channels. As of now, I'll be on as part of a piece around 11:00, noon CT/19:00, 20:00 Israel.
If you can't catch that, here's an archived link. I speak at 1:10 on that. My ten minute interview turned into one sentence...

After Saturday's news of the 73-year-old Beer Sheva man who fell and died while running to shelter (which has not been reported in the media as it should as a murderous attack), I woke up Sunday to learn that a Holocaust survivor with whom I worked closely passed away on Thursday. This is a woman who survived the Holocaust in Romania, moved to Kiryat Shmona in Israel's North, suffered years of relentless rocket fire on her home there, then moved to Sderot, where she hoped she would experience some peace and quiet. Well, Sderot subsequently turned into Hamas' punching bag, the blunt of the majority of the thousands of rockets launched out of Gaza for the last 12 years.
I got the news too late in order to attend her funeral and have not learned her cause of death, but I do know that her last day on Earth was incredibly unpleasant, as rocket attacks on Sderot and the South intensified beginning last Wednesday night.

I'm working from Jerusalem and enjoying the opportunity to catch my friends here during the week. That meant watching the Cowboys' ugly win Sunday night with fellow Dallas fan Debbie and NFL fan and former roommate Noah. Then last night I caught another friend's birthday party. A facetime chat with Amy, Aron and the nephews will always make my week, but especially so this time! 
But I of course look forward to returning home to Beer Sheva and catching up on a great deal of work. It breaks my heart that so many of my training sessions and events will have to be delayed because of the rocket fire on my region.

Suggested reading/viewing:

Beer Sheva under attack
A portrait of my deserted alma mater, Ben-Gurion University. Now can I express gratitude for having completed my degree in between two wars.
Melanie Phillips' take on the news.
Daniel Gordis encouraging the Jewish community to support Israel, rather than focusing on balance and a universalistic approach. 
An in depth look at the development of the Iron Dome defense system, and the developer's prediction of future improvements of the system.
Khaled Abu Toameh once again shows how impossible it is to be a moderate Palestinian.
My friend Sara on the difficulties of supporting Israel in the academic world.
Amir Mizroch with some military insight on the situation.

And last but not least, in Michigan news, Denard Robinson just thanked me for coming out. Beer Sheva to Arlington for the Alabama game, of all games, was a pretty rough one to watch. But Denard just made it all ok.

An older Israeli dies, Hamas celebrates

I just got back from one last celebration tonight for the bride and groom, Racheli and Mark...

The host couldn't even join the party he organized, as he, like tens of thousands of other young Israelis (several of my friends included) was called up for reserve action. The party went on with another round of beautiful, joyous music by the violinist bride, flautist groom, and accompanists on guitar and hand drums. But of course, conspicuous beneath the ecstatic celebration for the amazing couple, we're all feeling this war heavily on our hearts.

הכל בסדר/ha'kol b'seder/everything's ok

Everything's fine here in Jerusalem (despite the siren Friday evening and two rockets landing nearby. Can't miss David Horovitz's crazy insightful analysis of that one). But back home in Beer Sheva, everything is very much not ok. A 73 year old man collapsed while running for shelter (one neighborhood over from me) during an Air Raid Siren (just one of over ten there on our holy Shabbat day of rest), due to a barrage of rockets fired at the city. Magen David Adom medics attempted to resuscitate the man, but he was declared dead. So I'll make my way to bed completely and utterly heartbroken for his family, my family.

My wish

שיהיה שבוע טוב ושקט/May it be a good, quiet week for the Jewish people. May we defeat the terror emanating from Hamas and their cohorts so that my people will never have to spend another Shabbat running for cover during prayer services. May Hamas stop despicably harming millions of people by aiming murderous rockets at our civilians while launching them amidst their own civilian population. May the world see through their pugnacious lies, stop hating on my people by even considering for a second that terrorism can be justified, and start to understand that we take outrageous efforts to kill only those who would wish to harm us, scrupulously avoiding Gazan civilian casualties. May those tens of thousands of soldiers be wildly successful in their mission to provide septuagenarians and all my brothers and sisters with a normal life in which we will not constantly walk around with a bull's eye on our heads, and may the soldiers all come home safe to their worried families and give their moms and wives and kids a big kiss. May those who are in shape successfully continue running on time to shelter to stay out of harm's way and do their part to keep this from escalating out of control. And may those who are unable to run, please G-d, hear no more air raid sirens. Ever. The Holocaust survivors for whom I work have been through enough already.

Most of all, may our enemies (of which we have no shortage) once and for all figure out that no matter how hard they may try, no matter how much they wish that we, the proud Jewish state of Israel, would cease to exist, that I would die or go back to the US...they will fail! They have failed in their murderous intents for nearly a century, and with G-d's help, we will continue to defeat them.

Yes, I am angry...

But I have nothing but love for you,

אריק/Eric

P.S. GO BLUE, Nice Michigan win for a diversion! While we manhandled Iowa this time, one of my all-time favorite memories was watching with Dad as we made the spectacular comeback against the Hawkeyes in 1997, a huge part of our National Championship run. Now Beat ohio!

נ.ב. - P.S.

נ.ב. = P.S.
I hit a shot! Not Dirk style, but I made the game winning shot no less from the paint.

Another small victory now was being able to take a shower without the terror of figuring out how to get the towel on in time to run to shelter. While I was terrified yesterday mid-shower in Beer Sheva, I thankfully made it in and out without having to handle that sticky situation.

In Beer Sheva we have one minute to get to shelter. In Sderot and the communities closer to Gaza, only 15 seconds. These poor souls have been dealing with that shower scenario for 12 years! Enough! That's why this operation is happening.

As we started the basketball game, Tel Aviv ran to shelter once again.

Off to services to pray hard for שלום רב על ישראל עמך/Shalom Rav Al Yisrael Amcha - Peace on Israel, Your people. May my extended family of Israelis know no more Shabbatot in shelters!

Much love once again

Exhaling

Eight glorious hours of sleep later...
My friend and old roommate Noah very quickly extended the offer of refuge from bombarded Beer Sheva. His wife Livia's in the States for a bit, so I'm glad to keep him company here in Jerusalem.

After the previous night of an alarm every hour from midnight to 3am in the form of an air raid siren, after a morning when Hamas wouldn't even let me use the bathroom in peace, I'm immensely enjoying the little things here...also enjoying some hearty laughs while watching absurd YouTube videos with Noah, reading about the insane mind of the Lakers' Metta World Peace, and playing some Wii baseball and tennis.

Cardio workouts and New Balance shoes vis-a-vis survival
Let's go back to Wednesday night. It's a good thing I've been making about three visits a week to the Ben-Gurion University pool, where you can find me "pool running" in the "slow lane." I kept the running shoes ready to go (thanks so much Mom for buying me those back in September in Dallas!). My new roommate Amatzia didn't bother taking his off and just slept with them on. He pulled a muscle on one run down to the shelter. I've been telling him since we moved in he needs to hit the gym with me!

The squeaky wheel gets the shelter unlocked
As for the shelter, I'm very grateful for my downstairs neighbors who called the Municipality ad nauseam until they came to unlock it for our use. Thankfully it's very spacious and clean. That same assertive neighbor must be in her fifties, and struggles with a sore knee to get downstairs to shelter and back up.

Three fellow Israelis were killed yesterday when a terrorist rocket hit their house in Kiryat Malachi. May their memories be a blessing.
They were reported to be by the window. Please know that I am uber-serious about following the orders of the Home Front Command, and will always put my running shoes to use to get to shelter. And for now I used the trusty 470 Egged bus to get out of range. About 45 minutes after we left, we were out of the range of rockets that Hamas had used.
But then last night, sirens were sounded in Tel Aviv.

I'll let my Prime Minister Netanyahu speak for me about the background and the untenable situation of a decade of terrorist rocket fire, with the insidious aim of killing as many of my brothers and sisters as possible:

As for last night's post, I failed to explain what Sheva Brachot is. After the wedding ceremony and for the next six nights, a series of festive meals for the bride and groom are followed by the traditional seven blessings (שבע ברכות/sheva brachot = seven blessings). So the party continued, but I was able to give a taste of the Southern experience to the room of Jerusalemites amidst blessings for the amazing Mark and Racheli.

Mark is one of the best friends a guy could ask for, always there to help, support, offer what he can; and just a happy, fun, deep, bright, musically-talented guy who digs sharing a tasty bottle of wine.

A successful aliyah
I mentioned last night the countless offers from friends here. Ironically, a ton of friends in Tel Aviv offered shelter by them, then had to run to shelter themselves yesterday evening.

I believe very firmly that a successful aliyah means meeting and encountering good people. With that in mind, my move to Israel has been an overwhelming success, with an unbelievable, diverse mix of great people who've entered my life here. Praise the Lord Halleluya for these awesome folks!

As Ben-Gurion--obviously--closed the pool, I am overdue for a workout. So while my heart and mind are with my brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and grandparents in the South, and the brave soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, you can find me on the basketball court for a direly needed ventilation session. Hoping to hit a basket in this Jerusalem pick-up league for the first time. I'm thinking something like this:

Peace and love and shelter from bad things. כן יהי רצון/cen y'hi ratzon/may it be G-d's will. And I'm out,
אריק/Eric

Living on the front page of Jewish history

Moving to Israel means living on the front page of Jewish history. That's usually exhilarating, something that offers wonderful growth and deep meaning to my life.

Other times, that means living on the front page of anti-Semitism and Islamic fundamentalism. That's quite a bit less pleasant.

After our targeted killing of a Hamas leader who was responsible for killing and terrorizing innocent Israeli civilians, not to mention kidnapping and holding onto Gilad Shalit; Israel's South knew the forecast for rockets wasn't any 40% chance--we were gonna feel the pain.

And pain we felt. I lost count very quickly. But my friend and fellow Beer Sheva resident Ravit painstakingly kept track of those last night 7:57, 8, 8:10, 9ish, 12:15, 1:15, 2:35, 3, 6:30, 7:45, 7:48, 8:06, 8:40, 9, 9:15...there were another couple on my way out of town to Jerusalem.

So that was more in about 16 and a half hours than all the sirens I had heard combined in the two years prior.

Skype-ing with Mom and off to Sheva Brachot for my amazing friend Mark (below, his wedding was two nights ago).

And this is the spectacular Negev sunset from my train ride to Beer Sheva yesterday. I got the news from my boss right before I took this, knowing that the sunset to the west would certainly beat anything else coming from that direction in the near future.

Lots of love and huge thanks to so many amazing friends here who offered me a place to crash to get out of rocket range.

Now I'll catch up on some old interesting links. A Wall Street Journal piece about rocking out the morning at work. An interesting guide to which types of produce it's important to buy organic, and which less so. And jazz guitar maestro Pat Metheny, on YouTube, talking about how YouTube's access to so much music has proved to be a game-changer for musicians.

שבת שלום מירושלים/Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem,
אריק/Eric

Dear Dad

Dear Dad,
I'm sitting in LaGuardia waiting for Amy and the sweet boys. I can only imagine how excited you are to see Jake at 6 and Ben, who turns 3 tomorrow! You always were the first to call in the morning to wish Happy Birthday.

I just wrapped up two amazing weeks with Mom at her new place. While it was sad not to stay at the house that we called home for about 30 years, it was absolutely the right move at the right time for Mom to downsize. Last Friday night after Shabbat dinner, I paid a visit to the old house. I pictured you bringing Amy and me into our new home as toddlers. I smiled and pictured you walking our sweet dog Snoopy up and down the street. I saw my home runs raining down on the next-door neighbors' yard (thanks for throwing your pitches right down the middle of the strike zone!). I saw massive trees, which shower the yard and house with shade. We planted tiny trees (one merely became second base for my home run trots, only occasionally tall enough to swat down my long-balls), and they sprouted majestically in a wonderful setting for growth. Just like the home you and Mom made in which Amy and I could develop and grow into who we are today.

Our friends the Browns are Mom's new neighbors. Elinore commented on Amy's and my eulogies that they confirmed your obsession with us. I was pondering during this visit...how many fathers merit to be in attendance to see their son play Carnegie Hall (with the J.J. Pearce High School Symphonic Band) and their daughter as a contestant on the Wheel of Fortune; to attend Amy's graduation from Indiana and mine from Michigan; to cross the world to visit us, seeing Amy at home in France on her semester abroad and allowing me to play Israel tour guide when I was on OTZMA. Not bad!

Tuesday Mom and I took a ton of your music and music educational materials to your alma mater, the University of North Texas. You'll be pleased that those tools will be there for countless UNT students to come; they landed in the great hands of a group of true music aficionados in the library.

Then Wednesday we visited your grave. I hadn't been since the headstone Mom, Amy and I decided upon was put in place. In fact, when I last visited you in May 2011, the grass hadn't even come in yet. There's a young tree nearby that will also take shape and provide shade for your visitors from the Texas sun. You hear a constant hum of cars driving by on the Near North Dallas streets and the adjacent Central Expressway. It's surprisingly peaceful, a bit like the waves of the sea. I bet you enjoy the silence at night. I'd visit you then, but (thankfully), they lock the cemetery up at night.

About 40 years ago you and Mom left the friendly confines of Cincinnati and set up roots in the great Lone Star State, where you will rest eternally.

It's funny that you were the only thing that drew us downtown during my visit! Everything else was out west--my alma mater Michigan laid an egg against an unbelievable Alabama team. How they assembled that much talent in one state is pretty remarkable...I'm actually talking about the endless stream of Bama women that got on the massive jumbotron at Cowboys Stadium. It was good to catch up with some Wolverine friends nonetheless.

We saw Buddy Guy at the Bedford Blues Fest three years ago; this year I saw another favorite, Keb' Mo'. Then I enjoyed the most Texan of places--Fort Worth's Billy Bob's Texas, the world's largest honky tonk. The amazing Texas country singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen officially wrapped up my summer of infinite concerts.

Then Mom and I brought home two winners as the Rangers nearly swept Cleveland (including middle infielder prodigy Jurickson Profar's first action at home in Texas), but old friend Andrew and I watched Joe Nathan's 31-save streak come to an end on a beautifully cool evening. The silver lining was being part of the crowd that pushed attendance at Rangers Ballpark over 3 million (!) for the first time. I don't think I'd been to three games in a row since our early-90's road trips to Houston to see your Cincinnati Reds in Texas. Your fatherly dedication was most conspicuous when you camped out overnight (!) to get us Rangers playoff tickets, but I'm blown away now to think how many hours you invested to take me early to so many games to watch batting practice and collect autographs.

Amy's about to get here. I miss you so much Dad, but I'll always remember all the concerts and games we attended, I'll remember your smile when a Dallas team won or at a family celebration, and of course I'll keep listening to your album the Sounds of Samuels and recall how you were on top of the world during that creative process. The picture at top, taken between sessions, is my new favorite. I love you so much and will keep doing my best to keep your positive spirit alive...

--
Wisdom gleaned among the piles of stuff I recycled at Mom's new place:

"I made stupid mistakes. I'm not ashamed of them. I made them and I admit that. To me, if you admit your mistakes, you don't have a problem dealing with yourself."
-Sparky Anderson, re. managing decisions in the 1972 and 1975 World Series.

About Marian McPartland, from a 1997 JazzTimes when she was 77:
"She'd call me up and say, 'Billy, have you heard so and so, and so and so..." Just kind of pointing the finger at someone else whose talent she admired."
-Billy Taylor
(sounds like you, Dad!)

"Marian is really quite a young lady; her chronological age has nothing to do with her curiosity and her sense for taking chances... She'll hear something and ask, 'What's that?' She's not afraid to ask questions, and the questions she asks are good ones... And that's how she keeps growing."
-Jack DeJohnette
(also sounds exactly like you!)

--
Neil Armstrong has also joined you upstairs. I smile thinking of you bouncing around together up on the Moon. You're surely also grinning from ear to ear.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the world lost an amazing jazz saxophonist and an unbelievably unique human being in Von Freeman a couple weeks back. His memorial was last month in Chicago--what I would have done to be able to be in Beer Sheva and Chicago at once...

As that couldn't be done, I'll reflect here about my experience with "Vonski."

After Vonski called you onto the stage with his quartet, giving you your nickname "Pops," very late into that Tuesday night, Vonski implored me to "cherish your Daddy." That was one of my proudest moments to be your son, watching you trade eights with a legend and my all-time favorite saxophonist!

Unlike so many who don't have the chance to express their feelings until it's too late, I am fully confident that I cherished you completely, and it was 100% reciprocated! What a gift.

My efforts to proselytize and bring everyone I knew in Chicago to see Vonski's priceless concerts were the closest I came to sharing your passion for spreading the music of Clare Fischer, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner, Red Garland, Duke Ellington, Cannonball Adderley among so many others to so many students, friends and family, and fans from California to Japan who bought your CDs.

Vonski also shared your jazz spirit in embracing diversity--his crowds were the most remarkable mix of local South Siders, University of Chicago students, and students from colleges across Chicagoland who came and stayed late for the late-night jam session. And like you, he was so generous in opening the Tuesday gig to everyone who wanted to check it out by not charging cover.

This Chicago Tribune piece is so rich, with some priceless, hilarious tidbits on Von (and the saddening knowledge that such a generous man really struggled financially). Here's one of my old favorite TV shows, Chicago Tonight, featuring Von. Here's a nice reflection from the producer of one of Von's albums, featuring audio of a spectacular solo performance. This post gives a wonderful picture of the Tuesday night experience at the New Apartment Lounge.

Gotta run, my nephews are waiting for me!

Peace, love, and a wonderful new year to all.
Shabbat Shalom/שבת שלום
אריק/Eric

A bittersweet (but mostly sweet) summer, Part I

As with everything in life, this summer has served up heaping doses of amazing (for the most part), along with some great sadness. It's been quite awhile since the last post, so brace yourselves :)

I'll start with the good stuff...since my last post, I received that sweet sheet of paper that says, "You officially have a Master's in Gerontology from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev" (the diploma comes next June). I toiled for two years, went to many a lecture early on that I barely understood, got my Hebrew up to speed, studied many a late night, wrote about as many papers as I could possibly stomach (anyone who got an email pleading for help editing can attest to that), and rocked out a GPA to be very proud of and a new suffix! Eric Samuels, MA baby!

I went to a ton of weddings over the year of mourning for my amazing dad. Some observant Jews don't attend weddings at all over the year. I decided to accept and acknowledge both my immense family sadness and my overwhelming joy for the eight couples by asking them for a "job" on their big day--anything from translating one ceremony for the American guests and emceeing another to guarding the liquor. Doing those jobs well to enhance the happiness of the couples allowed me to feel that I was bringing my dad's giving nature and constant joy to the event. But I didn't dance at the weddings over the year (or anywhere else for that matter). The intense joy that exudes from the dance floor (all the more so to celebrate young couples building a home here in Israel) was just too much for me...

While passing the first anniversary of course does not leave me the same Eric that I was before we lost Dad, and while the pain will always be with me, I was thrilled to make my bouncing, sweaty return to the dance floor at three weddings of friends this summer (I've now been to 47 weddings to celebrate with 94 amazing friends and relatives! And yes, I count).

I returned to the Bloodmobile to donate blood for the 11th time since making aliyah, meaning I had to break in a new card recording my donation dates. If each one can save three lives, so I may have matched my age in lives saved during just over four years, and plan to keep the blood flowing!

A big goal of my October move to Beer Sheva was to slow down and take advantage of what the campus life offers. I've done that by spending many a dusk kicking back on the campus grass to read a book (the consistently delightful evenings are compensation for the hellacious desert days), and I've returned to my fall routine of roughly three weekly visits to the pool, and have now gotten back regularly to the volleyball court. Monday night was my first beach volleyball game since Dad's birthday in June 2011, and man it felt good to roll off some wicked serves, plus a great spike or two and authoritative block.

As for those desert days, our ride back from Eilat finished what summer in Beer Sheva had started--my bar of face soap has melted and turned into goo form. I haven't tried to match what the Texas sun once did to a CD case I left on the dashboard of my car--that case also melted and warped into a new form.

In a nice blast from the past, I saw Pulp Fiction in the theater (on campus) for the first time in about 15 years. How cool to see it with Hebrew subtitles, meaning the original text for Samuel L. Jackson's recurring Ezekiel quote.

On Tisha B'Av, commemorating the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem, I for the first time attended what will surely become a regular tradition:  Beit Avi Chai in Jerusalem's center runs annual day-long programs on this and other dates on the Hebrew calendar, including the Shavuot holiday. Tradition holds that the Jewish people was punished for its blind hatred of each other with the destruction of the Second Temple and exile from Israel, so this day focused on hatred in Israeli society. Most interesting were a cinematic look at unhealthy father-son relationships depicted in Israeli film (which left me thanking G-d for my amazing relationship with my dad!) and the screening of a film (then discussion with the director) about his stormy transition from ultra-Orthodox music star to secular Israeli. Soaking up the fascinating programming helped distract me from the fact that I hadn't been eating or drinking for 25 hours on that long, hot summer fast day. My university deserves a thank you--attending lectures in grad school prepared me to fully enjoy all that programming in Hebrew.

I'll wrap up reflecting on lots of amazing-ness by touching on an...amazing trip back to the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Eilat a couple weeks back to see my favorite jazz bassist, Christian McBride.

His pianist's name is also Christian (Sands). Just awesome to host these unbelievable talents back in Israel! McBride called his 23ish-year-old bandmate "illustrious;" I couldn't find a better word to describe him. All you have to know is that he was the late, great Billy Taylor's protege. I told him after the show that his amazing chops and incredible soul to match made him the perfect pianist for the equally versatile McBride. The great drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. rounded out the trio impeccably (and I'm not just saying that because he's now my facebook friend).

Christian started the show by letting us know how the previous night's crowd had made him feel like Paul McCartney. I immediately thought of Dad's trip to the Dominican Republic with Brookhaven College, when the locals screamed their lungs out for the band and asked for autographs and pictures "like we were the Beatles!"

Playlist:

SKJ, Milt Jackson composition, for his wife Sandra K.

The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

East of the Sun, West of the Moon (which my brother from another mother Josh and I experienced on the way southbound from Beer Sheva, as the sun set to our right and the nearly full moon rose to our left while slowing down and enjoying the view, as Josh does best).

Halleluyah Time, by Oscar Peterson

I Have Dreamed

Footprints

Getting to It, title track from McBride's first album

Encore--Dad, where were you when I needed you for the "Name that Song" game :)

The band stayed backstage for quite awhile, relishing in the second consecutive night of electric crowds. I heard McBride shout, "Did you feel the energy?!?" I thanked all the guys profusely for coming to Israel (now McBride has made seven trips to perform in Israel). I told McBride that Dad was smiling down from heaven on the heavenly festival, and he told me that his grandpa was up there chilling with Dad.


Morning services, Red Sea style, with the sun rising over the desert mountains in Jordan.


The whole South is rocking in the summer--this was Balkan Beat Box at Beer Sheva's לילה לבן/Lila Levan "All Nighter." Danny Sanderson and the Parvarim (with the Beer Sheva Sinfonietta) were outstanding warm-up acts as I caught three shows across the Old City.

I have a ton more to say, but this post is already pretty long and it's late here.
The main source of sadness this week was the loss of the one and only Von "Vonski" Freeman, Chicago saxophone legend. I'll have to reflect on the great gift he gave to me and so many others on many a Tuesday night at a better hour, but for now here's a great one from winter 2011...

Take care and stay cool for now! With thoughts of snowy Chicago nights to keep me cool in the hot Negev,
אריק/Eric

4 years!

A presidential term. An Olympiad.
Four years ago today (I started this post before midnight), I landed on a Nefesh B'Nefesh Aliyah flight and began my journey to Israeli-ness.

Today I sit in Beer Sheva fluent in Hebrew (I work, studied for my Master's in Gerontology and even date in Hebrew). That Master's strengthened my Hebrew drastically. I look back two years to when I enrolled at Ben-Gurion University and realize how much of my vocabulary I acquired during my studies. I also reflect on entire (long) days of work, all in Hebrew, and realize that grad school prepared my "Hebrew endurance" so that I can hang during a full day of meetings, in a language that left me completely and utterly clueless just 8 years ago.

It's right back to work in the morning, but I was delighted to celebrate 4 years tonight with a beer brewed in my backyard at the neighborhood bar.

Now I hope to wake up to an AL victory in what has become the most important game of the year, the Midsummer Classic. GO RANGERS and have a great rest of the week. Lots of love,
אריק/Eric

MA - Officially official

In rather anticlimactic fashion, now it's officially official that I am a Master in Gerontology from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. An administrative oversight led me to believe I was done almost four months ago, but it turned out I had to write one more paper for a required seminar, leaving me with two extra credits for a total of 44 (that fantastic Entrepreneurship and Leadership MBA course was a very worthwhile mistake in pushing me two credits above the required total).

The first thing to do now is send a huge Thank You - תודה/Todah - to everyone who helped me along these last two years and a few months. Especially dear friends and classmates who helped me in that last push for the degree, but everyone who studied with me, hosted me for Shabbat meals, gave me rides between Jerusalem and Beer Sheva, believed in and supported me, edited my papers at all sorts of odd hours across the globe, and made this just an amazingly fun ride that I'll never forget.

My sweet dad called me the day before my first exam almost two years ago to let me know the cancer had come back. Needless to say, it was all uphill grade-wise from that first wave of exams. I pounded out the 2010 fall semester despite many a late night of postseason baseball during the first month of class (let's just say I had a ton of catching up to do in Statistics), made a quick visit to Dallas before the spring term, and then got the dreadful news that I needed to go right back to Texas for a final visit to dear Dad.

Since my return, I've done my best to dedicate my studies to Dad's blessed memory. And I'm darn proud of myself that I pulled it off! I learned a ton (so much Hebrew!), met incredible people, failed three times at the Hebrew exemption exam before knocking it out with the Ben-Gurion home court advantage, and am so glad I listened to everyone who said Ben-Gurion is the place to be as a student. Man were they right! So tomorrow night's Shabbat dinner and afterparty will feature a steady flow of champagne to celebrate in style, כמו שצריך/cmo sh'tzarich ("as you need to" is the literal translation).


But if all that wasn't anticlimactic enough, now I have to wait until...June 2013 to get the diploma! That's just how they roll here in a country where you can often turn in a paper months late, but only until December 31. So Monday night I'll celebrate with my friends who finished everything by New Year's Eve 2011 at their ceremony...who's coming to party with me in Beer Sheva next summer?!?


So now that I can fondly reminisce on the journey, here are the two big student videos from 2011-2012: 

"Shit that students say" (we don't have mascots here, so you can't throw a "Wolverine" into the title). The very relevant line for this guy who didn't always manage to get his papers in on time is at 1:43- "טוב, די, הפסקה tov, dye, hafsaka - enough, break time." As you can see, Yael's paper includes only a title!


And that one refers to the previous satirical music video:  Empire State of Ben Gurion, a take on Jay-Z's song about some city on the east coast. 

The chorus starts: "הבטיחו לי הווי סטודנטיאלי - hivtichu li havai studentiali - they promised me the good student life," as my friends most certainly did to me. The appearance of Dudu Zar, which I had to figure out, was huge for this generation of students, who grew up watching him on a children's TV show.

So now that I at long last don't have a paper to write (!), I can get back to basics, blog more, go back and get some great pics up here, and of course continue to work for Project La'ad, helping South Israel's Holocaust survivors to maximize their rights and benefits. I'm ready to take on new challenges, and as I learned from my best friend from the program, Amiram, "לאכול אותם בלי מלח - le'echol otam bli melach - ~to tear it up (literally to eat them without salt)." Or as I used for my anthem for the last exam in March, "אלף כבאים לא יצליחו לכבות אותי - elef cabaim lo yatzlichu l'chabot oti - a thousand firefighters couldn't put me out." I discovered that 1980 Doda classic by Gidi Gov and Danny Sanderson on the radio on a long winter drive from Beer Sheva to Zichron Yaacov. I'm feeling empowered, a feeling typefied by this Avraham Tal song, מחוזקים לעולם - m'chuzakim le'olam - forever strengthened:

I'll leave it at that for now, already missing being a student at Ben-Gurion, but believe you me...the best is yet to come!

As I go to bed, I'll throw in one last video, one that will never, EVER grow old; one that I'll be able to watch over and over and from which I'll be able to draw inspiration until the day I die:

For tonight at least, those magical Dallas Mavericks are still the defending NBA champs. Getting back the last grade to officially finish my MA felt like the so-special moment at 4:50, with Shawn Marion's mom saying through tears, "We did it baby!" I'll wait for that hug from my mom back in Dallas at the end of August during a brief US visit...

שבת שלום לכולם/Shabbat Shalom!
אריק/Eric

Now it's officially the Rangers' time

And just like that, the 2011 NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks' title defense ended with a resounding thud. Let's just say I knew what I was doing celebrating in style last year--I didn't imagine I'd be able to celebrate like that every year. Last year Coach Carlisle said of OKC, "They'll have their time. But not yet. It's our time." And now it's their young, loaded team's time. I hope I'll get to celebrate another NBA title without having to wait another 31 years, but for now, GO RANGERS...

As seen in the NYT, From Israel, a United Nations of Jazz. If you're in NY, check out the Jazzrael Festival for me until May 16!

The Wall Street Journal says (as the New York Times did recently) that my brain is running at another level since I'm bilingual! Check it out.

Bibi wrote quite a eulogy for his dad Ben-Zion, who passed away on Monday. I stayed at my friend's apartment next door to him during his last Shabbat alive- Bibi's security had the street blocked off the whole weekend, as it does now while Bibi sits shiva.

And I returned to the world of concerts last week at Ben-Gurion University's שלישי בשש (Tuesdays at 6) concert series in the student union. The man and the legend Arkadi Duchin put on a beautiful, intimate show with keys and vocals to welcome me back to live music after taking the year of mourning off. I especially liked his thought that timeless compositions stick around like a good book... Here's the playlist:

1. יש בי אהבה

2. איש בלי נצח

3. מולדת

4. חדר משלי

5. קפה של דינוזאור

6. טמבל

7. מיליוני אנשים לבד

8. סימה (לאשתו)

9. מי אוהב אותך 

Off to bed, but have a great week! Love,

אריק/Eric

Bizarre Jealousy

Tonight's different here in Israel. The neighborhood bars, usually bustling, sit idle. People of all age brackets come together in somber song.

Israel is remembering the 22,993 Jews who have fallen in battle or been killed by terror since 1860. Nearly 23,000 killed because of the countless who don't want us here.

I stood for the siren and attended the municipal ceremony at the Beer Sheva City Hall with good friends. Then I caught a lovely evening of song at the Beer Sheva Theater (the accordion was so clutch). But despite some uplifting songs amid the sad ones (and quite a few songs--new to me--about the South and Beer Sheva), everyone walked out as if they had just been punched in the gut.

I struggle today to fully identify with Israelis, most of whom have lost someone close to them to war or terror. My closest connections are to a former taglit (birthright) co-staff whose sister was killed in a highway shooting on her way home in Judea, and an old taglit tour guide who lost one of the soldiers she had trained. But having joined the club in running to shelter a dozen-plus times, and having read of Israelis who weren't able to get to shelter in time, I do feel the One Family connection more deeply this time around.

On Sunday night I saw one of the most outstanding films I've seen in a long time, Lebanon, on campus, followed by a discussion with its director Samuel Maoz, Shmulik--the film's main character. Shmulik opened his heart in writing the film and shared even more intimately, unbelievably deeply, with the audience.

I thanked him and gave him a hug afterward, saying "I decided to study at Ben-Gurion University instead of enlisting as a 'dinosaur' (those who make aliyah after age 26 aren't required to serve). While I am partly jealous and regretful of missing out on the army experience that most Israelis went through (tough to say after seeing Shmulik's incredibly traumatic, painful war experience), much of me doesn't regret my decision. Regardless, thank you for helping me to better understand the country I live in."

With the powerful feelings of the movie and lecture still escorting me, later that night I had another bizarrely jealous feeling:  my Dad and Poppa (Mom's Dad) are hanging out together now. Damn, what I would do to sit with each of them, both of them, have a beer, talk music, talk Judaism, laugh, smile. Bizarre Jealousy--the only way to sum that up.

--
Last Thursday was Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day. I gave my first really well-received speech in Hebrew. Here it is (I'll have to come back and translate at a more normal hour):

ערב טוב לכולם. באמת לכבוד הוא לי לקחת חלק בערב זה ולזכות להכיר מקרוב גם את ניצולי דרום הארץ וגם את העשייה היפה והענפה הנעשית באוניברסיטת בן-גוריון עבור ניצולי השואה המתגוררים בבאר שבע והסביבה. אני פועל מטעם הסוכנות היהודית והמשרד לאזרחים ותיקים, רכז הדרום של פרויקט "לעד", ששם לעצמו למטרה לסייע לכל ניצולי השואה החיים בישראל בבירור ומיצוי זכויותיהם, בעזרת מתנדבים יקרים ונאמנים מכל רחבי הארץ.

אני עומד כאן גם מטעם פרויקט "לעד" וגם כסטודנט, במיוחד בזכות שתי ניצולות מדהימות.

באתי לארץ לפני שבע שנים כדי להתנדב בתכנית של מסע במשך עשרה חודשים, והקשישים שהכרתי במושב נהורה, ליד קרית גת, שינו את החיים שלי. עדה, ששרדה את אושוויץ', איכשהו תמיד בירכה אותי עם חיוך מאוזן לאוזן, וסימלה בשבילי את הרוח הישראלית- לקחת את הקושי והעצב ולהפוך אותם לשמחה, ולהעריך וליהנות מהחיים.

הכרתי את אסתר כשהתנדבתי בירושלים בקפה אירופה, מועדון לניצולים. היא אמרה לי "לך ללמוד תואר שני. אנחנו לא זכינו ללמוד באוניברסיטה. תפסיק להתלבט ותלך על זה!" אסתר יכולה למעשה להיות מרצה במחלקה שלי, התכנית לגרונטולוגיה- לימודי זקנה. למרות כל האתגרים בחייה, במיוחד המאבק שלה בסרטן, היא תמיד מוכנה לתרום את הזמן והידע שלה, החל מהרצאות לקבוצות של תלמידים וחיילים, וכלה בראיונות לטובת ארבע עבודות שלי במהלך התואר.

בכל יום השואה אני מתקשר אל בת דודה רחוקה שגרה בדטרויט. הסבא היקר שלי, זכרונו לברכה, יצר מסורת משפחתי לתרום לניצולים. פולה הגיעה לביקור באוהיו קצת אחרי שהיא הגירה לארצות הברית, וסבא, אז בעל חנות בגדים, הציע לה לקחת את כל מה שהיא רצה בחנות כולה.

החלטתי לעלות לארץ בזכות קשישים וניצולים כמו עדה במושב נהורה ועברתי ללמוד בבן-גוריון בזכות ניצולים כמו אסתר. עכשיו כולנו מחוברים אחד לשני ברצוננו לעזור ולהתחבר לניצולי השואה בדרום ולמצות את זכויותיהם כדי שהם יזדקנו בכבוד.

התייעצתי עם קרן לפני שנסעתי לאשקלון השבוע ליומיים של גיוס מתנדבים חדשים במכללה. מתנדבת של פרויקט "לעד" שלומדת במכללה באשדוד עשתה זאת באותו זמן שם. קרן הציעה לא להיות אמריקאי מנומס, אלא ישראלי חצוף כמו החבר'ה בעגלות. אבל בניגוד למי שהולך למכור קרם רגליים בחניון באיזו ארץ רחוקה, נהניתי כל פעם, אלף פעמים, שאמרתי "בואו תעזרו לניצולי השואה להזדקן בכבוד?" והם נענו- עשרות מתנדבים פוטנציאלים חדשים נרשמו. כל הסיפור הזה הוא פשוט ההגדרה של המילה שליחות.

המון תודה לכולכם על העשייה הקדושה.

In a sadly typical manic-depressive way, Israel goes from mourning to partying like madmen tomorrow night. I'll be in Rehovot with good friends Louie and Chana, and off to see one of my favorite Israeli singer-songwriters, Matti Caspi, in concert for my first time. I'll choose a fittingly sad classic now, לא ידעתי שתלכי ממני/I Didn't Know You'd Leave Me. But come tomorrow night we'll bust out the celebratory songs and a drink and celebrate Israel's 64th! I won't drink too much--early the next morning I'll be off to hike through the beautiful Land of Israel.

Don't worry baby, you don't have to ask me "Will you still need me 'When I'm 64'?" Love you more than ever, and thrilled to be here!

Love and peace,

אריק/Eric

This Year in Jerusalem! This October in Texas!

I commemorated Dad's memorial last week, on ו' בניסן, the sixth of the Hebrew month of Nissan. That is the day, a short while before Pesach (which starts tonight), that will retain the most meaning for me. The secular date of April 10 (or 9 really as he passed just before midnight) means more for most of Dad's loved ones. As this year that date falls on Pesach, a time of great joy in celebrating G-d freeing the Jews from Egypt and the cohesion of the Jewish people (and on holidays public mourning is to be avoided), I spent today reflecting and mourning. And I found these incredible, goose-bump-enducing words:

And so the teacher keeps teaching us: to keep fighting; to keep eating; to keep learning; to live every moment we are given; to greet the world and all its people hands white and black and brown and yellow and red as clay with curiosity, with compassion, with openness and wisdom, wonder and love. That was the music of Jerry Samuels' life. May it ever echo in ours.

אשירה ואזמרה לה'

That we might in his memory, make of our lives, a song of praise to G-d.

-Our amazing Rabbi David Stern, Temple Emanu-El

My eternal gratitude for Dad's lessons will quite simply always be accompanied by an eternal sadness that he's not with us anymore.

We have the gift of so much great material here on Dad's Myspace page. Many of the same words are on his CaringBridge page as well. Please reflect, learn, absorb, be inspired!

And as a friend in Jerusalem said after the Memorial Music Night last week, there's just nothing like having an amazing parent! So I'll keep his spirit going.

He'll be watching from upstairs as our two-time defending American League Champion Texas Rangers take on the hated White Sox in today's opener. This video of Nolan Ryan owning their new manager Robin Ventura will never get old...

This Year I celebrate Pesach in Jerusalem! This October let's see that World Series trophy finally come to Texas! Nothing but love from the holy city,

אריק/Eric

R.S.V.P.

Here's my first performance of my dad's composition R.S.V.P. that I played at his Memorial Music Night fundraiser in Jerusalem. I made sure to leave room for improvement in the next performance :) And sorry about that very loud piano bench squeaking!

I wrapped up that event Overwhelmed. With immense Gratitude for my beloved Jerusalem friends who opened their hearts with incredibly healing words and said Amen to my Mourner's Kaddish, opened their wallets in contributing almost 2100 shekels towards the new Soroka Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center in Beer Sheva, for dear friend Tamara who opened her house and got the piano tuned to make it happen, to my sweet and brilliant Dad for his timeless, eternal music.

Here's an exquisite explanation of the Kaddish from chabad.org, originally from Maurice Lamm's definitive book on the Jewish rituals of mourning.

We also sang my anthem for the year of mourning, Yehuda Poliker's פחות אבל עוד כואב/Pachot Aval Od Co'ev/Less, but it still hurts. And my friend Naomi had shared a beautiful Leonard Cohen song with my before Yom Kippur, Who By Fire (from the Yom Kippur liturgy), with Sonny Rollins on sax.

Off to bed with a jam-packed rest of the work-week awaiting me until I celebrate freedom on Passover this Friday! Happy 6th birthday to my amazing nephew Jake!

Love,

אריק/Eric

Last Chance to See Me Live on TV

למי שפספס (כמוני) את השידור הראשון, שוב אפשר לראות אותי בערוץ 10, בעוד כרבע שעה! I'll be back on the air in about 15 minutes on Channel 10. Turn on those TVs or go to http://10tv.nana10.co.il/

From Chicago to Beer Sheva

You can watch my interview on Nekuda IL right here (not the best quality ever, but it'll do).

For those like my dear Mom who only understood "Chicago, Beer Sheva and Dallas, TX," here are some brief subtitles for you:

-Sitting with us is Eric Samuels, who made aliyah from Chicago and is pursuing his Master's in Beer Sheva. How's your Hebrew?

-Thank G-d. I got my exemption in Hebrew from the university, after trying for two years.

I grew up in Dallas, TX and worked in Chicago for five years. I learned Hebrew from scratch seven years ago when I volunteered here on a program.

-So tell us a bit about the Jewish community in Chicago.

-It's a fun place for a young Jewish adult to live. Any kind of community you're looking for is there--I myself joined a Modern Orthodox synagogue with an amazing Rabbi. The community offers whatever you're looking for--Hillel on college campuses, etc.

-So if it's so great, why did you leave?

-During my year on the volunteer program, I was exposed to Israeli culture, food, music, a different pace and different way of life. I was especially impacted working with older adults in the community, in a moshav and in Jerusalem.

-Already back then you were in Beer Sheva?

-I was in the south for six months, in Ashkelon and Kiryat Gat, so I connected to the region.

-I imagine it's quite different from Chicago.

-Yea, a bit!

-So now you live in Beer Sheva?

-I live in the Gimmel neighborhood, I really like it in Beer Sheva.

-And what are you studying?

-A Master's in Gerontology.

-First of all, tell us about the degree.

-We learn all the aspects of old age and aging, the needs of older adults, how best to serve them.

-And what will you do with the degree?

-I'm actually working as the South Region Coordinator for Project La'ad, a program clarifying the rights of Holocaust survivors.

-That fits great with your studies.

-Absolutely.

-And how does Beer Sheva look from Chicago? Do they see it at all?

-Not really--it looks like a desert. There's not a ton of awareness about Beer Sheva.

-It's hard for me to understand how someone would move from Chicago to the desert.

-My first three years after my aliyah I lived in Jerusalem and went to Hebrew Ulpan there. Jerusalem has an enormous Anglo community. It's different in Beer Sheva, but there are Anglos there too--great people. But if you want a truly Israeli experience, it's the place. I have Israeli roommates; I wanted to integrate, not to live in a bubble.

-Good luck! Thanks for joining us.

The show will also be aired this Friday March 30th at 11:00 Israel time/3 am Central time for anyone up late Thursday night.

With that I'm off to bed. Take care,

אריק/Eric