Fly away home
Man plans and God laughs. How many times do we use this phrase? Since I have been away, I have been writing my columns in advance, not knowing what the future actually holds. Allow me to create the current scenario. It is now Thursday, August 1, 2024. We were supposed to fly home on Tuesday, August 6, 2024.
As most of you know by now, United has canceled all flights to and from Israel as of when I am writing this column. Tensions are rising. Bad guys have been killed. What will happen tomorrow? None of us know. All I know is that our flights have been canceled.
My kids in Israel are thrilled that we will be here longer. Each of our Oreos in America has one of our cars, so they are thrilled. Is this a good thing? I am trying to convince Husband #1 to just rebook on El Al premium, and I will sell a kidney when I get home, but he said no. I am happy to be here, thank God, we have a place to stay, though it will get crowded if Son and Dil #3 arrive for their year in Israel before we are able to depart. But the bottom line is, there should be peace. The hostages should be returned home. Our borders should be safe. That is all that matters.
Husband #1 is now on hold with Lufthansa to try to get seats together for our currently scheduled flight. Of course, the flight we booked yesterday for next week has already been canceled. We are assuming this one will be too. Selling that kidney is looking pretty good right now.
Did you know that if you fly on Tisha B’Av, those flights on El Al are cheaper? Who knew? But Husband #1 is determined to rebook these flights. This will be an ongoing saga. I look forward to sharing it with you in real time, though it loses its humor as time goes by. But it is funny to hear Husband #1 think of letters for each of our confirmation numbers. W is for watermelon…Baruch Hashem.
Back to our trip. We were privileged to volunteer at Pantry Packers. You need to book a visit in advance, and Husband #1 was so excited to do it. He is a real mitzvah boy. Pantry Packers supplies food to more than 37,000 families with food insecurities. It helps mothers who need formula, it feeds the elderly and Holocaust survivors. Bottom line — it does a lot of good.
We were greeted by a very friendly young man named Shalom, whose main objective is to tell you all about Colel Chabad, which sponsors Pantry Packers. And then, and more importantly, he is quite adept at playing Jewish Geography. Nothing makes Jews feels more comfortable than the ability to find connections to people they know. The family that we volunteered with were big fans of Husband #1’s father, so that made him really, really happy.
I was happy watching Husband #1 do quality control of the yellow peas we were bagging while wearing a hair net. It’s the little things, after all.
If you are planning a trip to Israel, you should definitely put this on your itinerary. It was totally worth it. Whoever made their PR video did an amazing job, because you leave there wanting to donate all your money to this cause. Unless, of course, you are married to a guy from Monsey, and then you just donate a reasonable amount. But a mitzvah is a mitzvah.
Okay, so I decide to take some initiative and go on the El Al website. Long story short, Husband #1 has me call them, and then we find some flights leaving 10 days after our originally scheduled date. During this phone call, Mark, our El Al customer service guy, was being really patient, because at one point, I told him that I might murder Husband #1. This became very funny later, because when we were asking about seats together, Mark said, “I am a little concerned for your husband’s safety. Perhaps you shouldn’t sit near each other.” Funny guy, that Mark, but if he gets us home, through Boston and then to LaGuardia, he can be as funny or unfunny as he wants.
And that is where we are right now, on August 2, 2024. I am going into my fourth Shabbos in this amazing country with my amazing children who live here. And with instructions on what to do if there is a siren while I am saying the Amidah prayer. And there you have it.
Wishing only peace and safety to everyone in Israel and everywhere else….
Banji Ganchrow of Teaneck really hopes she is back in America by the time this column comes out because she is supposed to be running Camp Babka and it’s non-refundable!!!
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