The Village Smithy

Under a spreading chestnut-tree

The village smithy stands;

The smith, a mighty man is he,

With large and sinewy hands;

And the muscles of his brawny arms

Are strong as iron bands.

From The Village Blacksmith, by Henry Wadsworth Longfeller

We residents of Efrat have our very own blacksmith. Actually, Elimelech Feigin is more than a blacksmith; he is a blacksmith artist and craftsman. Elimelech specializes in a form of artistic metalworking that lies somewhere between silversmithing and blacksmithing. His work might be better explained by examples of his artistry, of which this is one:

This beautiful rose started out as a small blank of iron, about 2 inches square, as shown below.

Through a series of steps, shown below, Elimelech turns pieces of iron, steel, copper or aluminum into amazingly beautiful works of art. His gallery/studio is in the basement of his home, just down the block from me. He makes many of the tools he uses andeach hammer or other tool has its own specific use.


Elimelech’s works of art include mezzezahs, menorahs, handrails and many other works of art. His customers come from Israel and other countries, and his works of art decorate homes and synagogues in Israel and around the world. His contact information is on his website: http://metalcombinations.com/.

Elimelich Feigin is another one of those “DearHearts and Gentle People,” who live in my home town (See my blog of that name - 1/21/11). I’m in awe of his talent and I’m very proud to have him as a friend.

His hair is crisp, and black, and long,

His face is like the tan;

His brow is wet with honest sweat,

He earns whate'er he can,

And looks the whole world in the face,

For he owes not any man.

Week in, week out, from morn till night,

You can hear his bellows blow;

You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,

With measured beat and slow,

Like a sexton ringing the village bell,

When the evening sun is low.

And children coming home from school

Look in at the open door;

They love to see the flaming forge,

And bear the bellows roar,

And catch the burning sparks that fly

Like chaff from a threshing-floor.

He goes on Sunday to the church,

And sits among his boys;

He hears the parson pray and preach,

He hears his daughter's voice,

Singing in the village choir,

And it makes his heart rejoice.

It sounds to him like her mother's voice,

Singing in Paradise!

He needs must think of her once more,

How in the grave she lies;

And with his haul, rough hand he wipes

A tear out of his eyes.

Toiling,--rejoicing,--sorrowing,

Onward through life he goes;

Each morning sees some task begin,

Each evening sees it close

Something attempted, something done,

Has earned a night's repose.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,

For the lesson thou hast taught!

Thus at the flaming forge of life

Our fortunes must be wrought;

Thus on its sounding anvil shaped

Each burning deed and thought!

Be well, Y’all,
Mel

…from the four corners of the Earth

…from the four corners of the Earth

מארבע כנפות הארץ...

At least four times every weekday (not  on Shabbat) in our Jewish prayers, we ask G-d to gather us from the four corners of the earth and return us to our land of Israel. Although I have been saying these words for years, I only recently started to realize that those words are coming true right now. It has been slowly happening over the millennia, but I can actually see it happening now.

Our move to Israel is one personal example of those words being fulfilled. The fulfillment of those words has really been happening on a larger scale during my lifetime. It just really hit home for me this week.

This week Irma and I attended the wedding of a young couple in Jerusalem. The groom is a son of Suzie and Chaim, friends of ours from Denver, who made aliyah about seventeen years ago. They now live in Efrat and we have spent a few happy occasions with them.

The wedding was beautiful – beautiful bride, good food, about 600 people – all the great trappings of a fine, first class wedding. For me, though, all that was overshadowed by the people. Two things really stood out for me.

First, there was Suzie and Chaim’s family. Here was four happy generations, from Suzie’s parents to Suzie and Chaim’s children and grandchildren enjoying this happy event, in Israel, where the three younger generations live in peace and happiness, among the people of Israel. My favorite moment at this event was when generations three and four (kids and grandkids) were performing a program – dancing and singing in honor of the newlyweds. Watching the proud, happy expressions of the grandparents and great grandparents was worth the price of admission. Wow!

But there was more, and it was this “more” that brought it all home to me. Many of the guests were people that I had known back in Denver, two home towns ago for me. Some of these Denver people had made aliyah at a young age and had seen their families – children, grandchildren - grow in Israel. Others made aliyah after they retired – some came to join other family members who had made aliyah.

All around us - at the table, in the room - it was the same story. There were other people who picked up and moved to Israel from America, England and who knows where. Since, arriving here, I’ve met people from all over the world who have moved here; North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia and New Zealand – everywhere except Antarctica (haven't met a Jewish penguin, yet).

G-d may work His plan in a timeframe that seems too slow for us to comprehend, but He is working His plan. I am thankful to be here in Israel to see part of it unfolding. I hope to still around when Moshiach finally arrives.

Thank you, Suzie and Chaim for being our friends and inviting us to share in your simcha. May HaShem bless you and all of your family with health, happiness and all the best that this world has to offer and beyond.

Thank You, HaShem, for bringing us back to the land You have given us. May we all merit to see the rebuilding of the Temple and the coming of Moshiach, speedily in our time.

Shabbat Shalom, Y’all
Mel

P.S. I won't use a wedding picture here, because I haven't asked permission. Instead, here is a model of the Holy Temple – which sits on the awe-inspiring rooftop terrace  at Aish HaTorah overlooking the site where the real Temple stood for 1,000 years before being destroyed by the Romans.

Scale Model of the Holy Temple

How Could I Punish Her?

Bandit’s post got a better response than mine have. Maybe she needs to start her own blog, or maybe she’ll be willing to be a guest author for me.


Today is Sunday. I usually write my blogs on Friday, but I have two weeks vacation from Ulpan so I have a bit of spare time.

This morning, Irma and I went to the new supermarket that opened about four miles away. It was a magnificent day with a beautiful cloudless blue sky. Since the local bus service isn’t so great, we hitchhiked (a common occurrence in Israel). We got there about 10 minutes after we left the house.

Across the road from the supermarket is the Gush Etzion Winery (Gush Etzion is the name of our region). We heard that they had a good restaurant and Irma needed yeast for making wine, so we went there first. We each had a delicious warm mushroom and cheese sandwich on baguette with a salad. Irma got a small amount of yeast and then we went to the supermarket.

We quickly found the herring that we came for, plus a couple bottles of local Israeli wine (about $4.25 each). Before we left, we ran into a neighbor (I’m making the herring for his daughter’s wedding later in the week). He offered us a ride home, so we waited for him to do his shopping.

All in all, a nice morning. My first visit to the new store, and we got rides both ways. It was a nice little morning adventure in Israel without a car and without speaking Hebrew yet.

By the way, Bandit and I had a little talk. We’re negotiating her fee for doing some writing for me. I had to explain to her that even we don’t eat steak, and besides, there’s no money coming from this blog. She said she’d sleep on it.

Shalom, Y’all