InteGRATion into GRATeFULLness
Singing&Sounding keeps me Sound

2007_05_03

lyrics: Haim Nachman Bialik

tune: Nurit Hirsch

tune among "Songs" on Nurit Hirsch's website both on the English and on the Hebrew site hachnisini-tachat-knafech On the site is also a video-clip "la-ga'at be-ruach", in which Nurit says, that this song is one of her favorites, since it reminds her of the traditional "Hazanut", which she grew up with through her grandfather, while at home she got to know the world of the Opera, because her father was an opera-singer in Vienna.

to former song to next song

She writes "Mika" on a stone which she picked up from the ground

P R E V I O U S C O M P O S I T I O N

A moment later she enjoys a green fig which she plucked from a baby-tree

The intertwining of the two threads
- Arad/Israel-Salvador/Brazil -
seemed to call for a third thread...
as if to exemplify the song that "two are better than one" and "The Threefold Cord is not quickly severed"....

Two days before "the Quartet" were due to come to me to Arad, on Tuesday, when the "Brazilians" were at the height of their holiday, I got a phone-call from Nadav, who lives, with his wife Smadar, his 4 children and Smadar's father Zwi, some five minutes away from me, in the same neighborhood. Zwi's grandfather and Edith Stein's grandfather were brothers! Ever since I had felt deserted by the family in July 2006, when - following an experience of shame with their guests in their home - I had arranged my dramatic "Nebo-Let-Go" from my Desert Vision - there had been no contact between us, and now suddenly Nadav's courageous, cautious quest, if I could join his desert sightseeing with his French guests, far relatives, who spoke German, but no English. I agreed and after a first short desert outing I invited them to my home and learnt the story of the couple Herbert Eckstein - born 1929 not far from my own home-town in South Germany, is the son of a German Jew, who converted to Christianity for his Christian wife's sake, but was not spared the destiny of the German Jews.......... Already in 1935 he had to flee to France, and unlike Smadar's father's brother and wife, did survive. As a French soldier of the French Occupation Authority in Germany, in 1952 Herbert found a home with far German relatives, and thus got to know his wife. Herbert's original German is "inflicted" with the same Suebian dialect as mine. It now - June 6, 2010, seems, that I soon shall be their guests in France

The next day was the Festival of Shavuoth
and Nadav asked me to join their trip to an agricultural celebration.
On our way back Nadav told me, that he had inquired about my idea to bring his guests to "Darijaat",
which had so excited me during "The Walk About Love 2009"
The website of Darijaat proposed a meal with a guided tour for 78 NIS and he felt this would suit his guests,
but he needed me - not only for translating, but for giving everybody the background about this special place.
"You know," I said, "tomorrow my grandkids are coming, and they'll stay till the exit of Shabbat!"
He dared to say: "Couldn't you bring them along? We have 2 cars! and my kids could come too!"
Without thinking I said: "That would be great!"
When I started thinking about the costs - 5 times 78 NIS - I felt deterred a bit.
But we didn't have to pay for transport, and anyway, this was a wonderful chance for my grandchildren!
I also was afraid of the superhuman effort - to translate between the 7 Blochs and their 2 guests!
to pay specific attention to hard-hearing Herbert! to add information and comments for everyone!
and to bear my tenseness concerning my 4 grandkids: would they like it? would they cooperate?
I constantly sang inside: "When expectations from others cause tension,
I'm giving my own eyes more loving attention." [listen to the tune]

This time it was Jaaber's 26 year old daughter Amaal ("hopes"), which was our guide.
Everyone was stunned by her eloquence, competence and overall determination!
I should dedicate an entire page to this woman!

Arnon, Yael and Gai       Amaal shows us the "taboon" and in it the still burning heap, where the bread which we soon would eat was getting ready.

Nowadays most Jews in Israel believe, that they know what a "taboon" is, but even for me it was new, how a genuine taboon is built and that the fire never ever goes out. To the right the raw material for the burning is stored. See the post building behind!

In Brazil Mika collapsed after a welcome party for the guests of the holiday village

Smadar with three of her children (the one in the army couldn't come), Itamar and part of Arnon between the shaded place, where we had slept during the Walk about Love 2009 and the house, where the family of Amaal's father, the founder of this business, has lived so far, and where we soon will get our delicious meal. I'm glad the hosting business seems to go so well, that the family began to build a big house, which we - the twelve - get a chance to admire. [see our twelve passing by - below] And now, since the village became legal in 2004, nobody will tear down the house , as was done to the family concerning their first house in the early eighties.... The left photo below was taken by Nadav, that's why I'm visible .

The Quartet in the cave, the photo above is by me, the photo below by Nadav, Amaal tells the fascinating story of her ancestors on the one hand and the "Acting as Masters of their Destiny" of the present population of 830 people. [See again on the first page of "The Walk about Love at Darijaat"]

a monkey takes advantage of my family's breakfast in Brazil

Salvador at the Atlantic Ocean versus an Arab (not Bedouin) Village in the Desert of Israel


Mika in front of a strange Cross, with the ocean behind her

The seven kids walk together mixed - in front of a minaret
Arnon and Yael ~~~~~ Ayelet and Rotem ~~~~Gai, Amit and Itamar

Wikipedia: Salvador is the third most populous Brazilian city, after São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and it is the ninth most populous city in Latin America ....Over 80% of the population of metropolitan region of Salvador has Black African ancestry, the African influence in many cultural aspects of the city makes it the center of Afro-Brazilian culture and this reflects in turn a curious situation in which African-associated cultural practices are celebrated, but Black Bahians due to their low income are apart from most of the city life options.