December 4, 1972
Hanukkah! Both my daughter Judy and son Ben had very festive celebrations in their gans. Judy’s gan made headpieces and they had a festival of dancing. Judy was the fourth dancer. She knew all the songs and all the motions and was really enjoying herself.
Ben’s was more advanced. They all carried Hanukkah candles while they danced and sang. Then it was the girls turn, while the boys took their seats. I didn’t understand why the girls were looking for their men. But soon it was the boys’ turn. Hava must have told one of the girls to make sure Ben got up when it was his turn, as the girl gave him a big shove.
The boys pretended to ride horses to rout the Greeks. Then they were workmen, repairing the temple. At the end all the kids got up and sang and danced. As usual, all the parents came.
On Saturday in keeping with Hanukkah, we went to Modi’in, the burial place of the Hasmonean kings. Also where the revolt of the Maccabees started. Back in Tel Aviv we were going to a museum until Ben saw a movie theater showing a Walt Disney film. Plans changed, and we watched “Emil and the Detectives.” Instead of going home, which we should have done, we took the kids out to eat. Mr. Moody, as I call Ben, was in a bad mood and broke a glass. Abe offered to pay for it—if not for the humiliation. But the owner refused and said he hoped the broken glass brought Ben good luck. What about us!
Uncle Monster, as I have taken to calling my husband Abe’s brother Heskel, has finally left the country. What a disappointment for him. He was supposed to be on television Sunday night—the Arab language channel—but the television workers have been on strike for an entire week. His poor wife Doris had to stay an extra two days in Israel, as there was an airline strike. I’ve grown accustomed to the strikes and just never really expect anything to operate normally.
Of course, the relatives weigh in on the broken marriage. They think the fault is Doris’s because they say she doesn’t dress nicely enough. She dresses just fine. They’re basically insane. To prove my point, the sister of one of my in-laws told me how much she liked me. But then she said she liked Doris better because she was blonder. Now how do you deal with a mentality like that!
Believe it or not, after all this time, I finally got my first paycheck. They overpaid me by half. I shall see what happens next month. I think I deserve the extra for the mental anguish this job is costing me.
I’m missing a clothes dryer. The rain it falleth every day, to quote good ole Bill Shakespeare. The kids’ clothes never seem to dry. For the first time in two weeks I washed the towels.
Meanwhile, I will confess to not being that diligent with my Hebrew studies. I must persevere!