Blessing over the candles,
lyrics by Ronnit Shai
for the Chanuka Celebration
of "the Learning Community",
to which Ronnit and her family belong.

Bless, Chanukia,
over darkness and over light,

Tell, Chanukia,
how we created freedom for ourselves

Help, Chanukia,
that we won't forget that it's like that
let's be joyous, let's be joyous

Thus we'll remember the light,
thus we'll remember the darkness,
remember freedom
let's be joyous, let's be joyous

See and listen also to Ronnit's version of
"We came to evict darkness": "We came to accept darkness"

Towards the end of 2009 I saw my daughter twice:
on the celebration of Mika's birthday, December 19
and on the celebration of Arnon's Bar-Mitzva , Dec. 24.
I used this coincidence to take an initiative, but in a way,
that I would neither fall into the trap of chasing her
and thus risk to be humiliated again and causing her self-hatred,
but neither could she claim, that I didn't care for her.
I invited her for a weekend to Arad "with your mother".

I chose one of the prettiest photos of my children's childhood, wrote my concise invitation on it, painted an envelope in my style, and asked Immanuel and Efrat to hand the gift over to my daugter

towards the end of the celebration for Arnon.

It was Efrat, who managed to carry out my quest.

A few days later I saw Ronnit a third time,
she had something to do at Shoham
and combined it with a visit to Efrat.
After an hour, and before she left,
she came to me,
who was with her daughter and with Mika in my room,
and said:
Thank you for the invitation.
Perhaps over a cup of coffee some time.
I won't come to Arad.
But thank you!

This is what I had hoped for, not more, not less.

Ronnit with little Jonathan visits me in "Succah in the Desert"