Rehovot 1988 - 89

August 13. 1988

Dear Family,

Greetings from the civilized environ of Rehovot. We are happily and satisfactorily ensconced in our new domicile. In short, we are well and in good spirits and trust you are likewise.

Our move was not without its obstacles and difficulties, among which were: our underestimation of the boxes needed (resulting in single objects being carried out by the movers), sanctions by Gaza workers (ostensibly) causing the cleaning contractors to delay-cancel at the last minute (resulting in us doing the work), and the movers of the departing tenant breaking the elevator (resulting in a $100 addition to our mover bill).

Anyway, we are in and gradually the place is becoming home. Slowly we are unloading the cartons, hanging stuff on the walls and making the place home. The apt. is some 40% larger than our previous flat and the space presents lots of opportunities. We recognized immediately that the fourth bedroom-guestroom could become our TV-playroom so that the kids and anyone else could amuse themselves without interrupting intelligent discourse in the living room. We are soon to acquire a VCR and 8-mm camcorder and with my second set of speakers, we'll have our own mini-media center. The guestroom and two kids bedrooms are on one side of the entranceway and the bathroom on that side has a bathtub. Our bedroom and the bathroom with the shower stall (in addition to the kitchen, walk-in-kitchen-closet, dining alcove, living room and indoor porch) are on the other side of the entrance door. The service porch housing the washing machine is of the children j s bathroom. Hanging wash to dry is somewhat cumbersome and the hot humid climate further aggravates the problem, so we may purchase a dryer. Our building has 8 identical apartments on four floors above an entrance floor and then a penthouse. The buildings on either side of us are almost identical to ours. Our living room porch has a big pine tree right in front of it and less dense housing beyond. The forested Weizmann Institute grounds are visible a block away. Mercifully, nary a fly or mosquito has entered our perennially wide-open apt. Since our extermination, we have not seen many bugs at all...Our own covered parking spot is also appreciated as this weekend I performed my first real auto repair—replacement of the Subaru' s water pump. A water outlet and hose by the car also allowed me to give the car its first hosing down ever. The entrance patio (on the street side of the covered parking spots) is a tiled open area just about the speed of our kids energies. The weather here is truly hot and heavy pea soup, but such is life in the big city... My commuter bus is a 7 minute walk away and door-to door and my 2- 3 bus 1 ½ to 2 hour $6 to $7 commute is now down to one bus, 50 minutes to one hour and $2.50. Alas the ride is less air-conditioned...Our neighborhood is unambiguously more urbane than Gilo. Within one block is a well stocked variety-hardware store, fruit-vegetable store, and mini-market-deli, not to mention assorted playgrounds.

To mark our move we purchased Yehiel his first two wheeler and he now merrily zips
along with the aid of training wheels. He rides well in the apartment and out of it and hopefully soon it will actually become functional in helping us extend our range of walks... Incidentally, the translation of our street name is the first president. It and a long block away is the guarded home of Chaim Weizman, Israel's first president...Our neighbors all seem nice enough and the people one flight below on the street side are US in origin, he being in biophysiscs at Bar Ilan Univ...On Shabbat we walked on the Institute grounds and for the first time in memory did not drive.

Both of the older kids are in the same gan, which continues through Aug 15. Orly will continue in Gan Ruth in September but Yehiel is to begin in the educational system of the State, despite our ignorance of which of the local alternatives is preferred. We'll have to come up with a decision by registration date, Aug . 2.. Meanwhile, the kids are getting older and more fun daily. We all got haircuts this week and Orly for the first time since birth has short hair. I am presently at a loss to describe the fulfillment and accompanying daily frustration which come with parenthood...Of course Ma'ayan has the most evident daily growth. She now props herself up on her arms, responds to visual stimulus and occasionally responds with a smile when prompted.

Work goes OK during this slow period when many partners are away on vacation. My English-language verbal skills remain my most valuable skill. I am now officially into my apprenticeship period here and hopefully no later than Nov 1989 I will be a full-fledged US and Israeli CPA. I am currently involved with a number of projects, including translation of the English internal audit questionnaire and preparation for a series of lectures that two partners are to give to hotel managers. Today (Aug 14) we had a 1 ½ hour power outage and fortunately all I was working with at the time was pencil and paper. I am also continuing to contribute one or more articles to the Israel Economist under the firm byline. Hopefully one day the verbosity will actually bring in a client.

Be well.


August 26, 1988

Dear Family,

Greetings from Rehovot. We are all well and in good spirits and health and trust you are likewise. The summer remains unconscionably hot, especially for this family entering the mediterrranean climate for the first time, but I expect we will muddle through it until the heat breaks. The kids' skin reactions seem to be under control for now, with the help of liberal corn starch application. Lisa has endured strained vocal chords for a number of weeks, but raising her voice less does help, so first that therapeutic cure will be attempted.

The kids have been on vacation from Aug 15 and return to their ganim on Thurs Sept. 1. This is hopefully the last constantly demanding period for Lisa. Mostly she has been managing them on her own with one day spent partially on a picnic with another mother and son (in Orly's gan). Our first babysitter is to be in two day's time when Lisa and I drive into Efrat (a satellite settlement south of Bethlehem) with Ma'ayan for the Bat_Mitzvah of Ellen's niece Yael. Yehiel starts in the religious gan 3 blocks away rather than the non-religious one slightly farther away because we have heard good reports on this one and have reason to expect a group of the other kids will be native english speakers. We know nothing about the non-religious one.

For all its trying nature (of course my time at it is only 1/3 that of my partner's), parenting has its enjoyable moments. Yehiel certainly has earmarks of personality traits. He can console Orly with an "Oh well, that's life" when she cries. He blasts me with a "You're garbage, no body likes you" when he wishes to register extreme displeasure with me. He even affects an occasional effeminate mannerism, a welcome variety from his otherwise non-stop testosterone. He and I have already shared one of life's only true confrontations: while sharing a urinal, he noted "My penis is bigger than your penis." There is nothing left for us to argue about except the car keys.

Orly is no slacker and at two years of age (as of next week) is precocious and secure. When Yehiel challenges her as to why he should abandon their immediate object of desire to be ceded to her, she responds "Because I said so." Her time at her first group experience seems to have passed with little incident. Her brother is already quite competent on his two-wheeler with training wheels (pacing his parents) and Orly will probably get a tricycle soon.

Meanwhile we are all settling into Rehovot, finding out what the town has to offer and where we can fit in. Lisa is likely to join a vigorous aerobics course soon. Vegetables and fruits are not as cheap as we would like to think they should be, so we will have to keep looking. So far it is comfortable.

As for our domicile, I work on some aspect of getting it in order daily and trust that soon the list of tasks completed will exceed the list of those remaining to be done. It is not easy or inexpensive to fill up space, with the perspective that one day we may not enjoy such spacious quarters. Right now I am into a shelf assembly period.

This letter is traveling with my father who will be in the US for 2 ½ + weeks for the wedding of his brother’s youngest daughter. Ellen just returned from a whirlwind trip to Phila where she helped comfort her grandmother, whose health is deteriorating. While she was gone, and because my brother was on vacation, we were able to see him and his kids. Yehiel and Nadav got along well, in fact related to each other at an all time high. We were in Haifa last weekend and on Fri went to the main city beach where Yehiel went down the water slide with the Haifa crew. Afterwards we took the train to Nahariya for a lark and had the obvious possible misadventure: while Lisa stayed on the train in Nahariya with Ma’ayan, the rest of us piled off for ice cream and then the train left without us. Taking the bus back got us in only 10 minutes later than the train.

Our newest family edition is a voracious appetite and fair sleeper at this point. She does smile and is working up a vocal response to Lisa’s cooing. She already pushes herself up onto her arms and holds her head reasonably securely.

P.S. Yehiel spent his first night away from us without incident


6 September 1988

Dear Family,

I hope this is the last of my hot greetings to you. Cooler weather is forecast and I dare hope that a seasonal change may be imminent. In any event, we are in generally good health and spirits and trust you are likewise.

Starting with our youngest, Ma'ayan grows more sentient daily. She is alert, coos and smiles relatively easily. She will probably be ready for solids soon. Today she received her first immunization syringe injection and did not take kindly to it at first but seems to be recovering. She- passed her medical examination with praise and flying colors. She can raise herself up onto her arms and flip over. She is easily up to 120 ml of materna, formula from a bottle daily.

Orly is also in the midst of maturations. We purchased a ladder up to the toilet and she urinated on the toilet twice today. She can now talk almost a mile per minute, though conversations are somewhat limited to somewhat- immediate or well-worn concerns. She is not quite tall or coordinated enough to fully utilize her new tricycle, but she does zip around on another little four-wheeled vehicle and Yehiel is enjoying her pink-and-white tricycle for the time being. She is cute, precious and precocious and a star of our new mini 8.mm cam-corder. For the time being they are enamored with pictures of themselves on TV...Orly is readjusting without incident to her attendance anew at her playgroup. Her first day of shared commuting without her mother proceeded flawlessly. Her second birthday party last week was tame but fun as my mother and another boy from her playgroup and his parents attended.

Yehiel plays very well with Orly and there seems to be enough furniture and cushions for
them to play on for up to hours each day. He has not done as well at gan where his initial response has been an understandable painful shyness. What with the language barrier (though a number of the kids are English-only or bilingual) and the absence of personalized attention from his aunt, the situation is uncomfortable. But everyone seems to be nice and reasonably concerned and he is taking to his head-covering OK and we hope this difficult period will pass. He is always full of energy and it seems his daily naps are over with. His appetite is down of late. He often doesn’t wet his nighttime diaper.

Lisa has declined to enroll in an aerobics course at present. She is meeting and befriending a number of women, principally US immigrants with children the age of ours. With her mornings now less encumbered, life is less hectic and draining. Suppers are again sumptuous feasts. We still are putting fewer kilometers on our car, though now that we both have credit cards I am sure we will be charging more (and hopefully not enjoying it less).

My job is OK, but the slow season is definitely upon us, with Shlomo pressuring everyone to take vacation. I expect to take off most of October, what with Mert and Dottie's visit of Oct 2-16 and studying in the second half of the month for the NOV. CPA tax exam. Sept. I may also take some vacation as holidays, the evenings before holidays (officially 4-hour days) and the middle days of Succot (officially 5 hour days) occur in abundance. Traffic is really horrible and my morning commute is now only 15 minutes faster than the trip from Gilo, though the evening return is still an hour less. The CPA industry here is even more tied to the tax season than in the US (as the management advisory service end of it is less developed) and recent changes in the law will only accentuate this seasonality.

We had a fun time at the Bat Mitzvah last week in Efrat seeing Jerusalem acquaintances for the first time in years. Oct. 5 we return to the holy city for a wedding of a WUJS friend of ours...Leslie stayed with us for a pleasant four days last week and will be with us over the Rosh Hashana holiday. We also expect my mother to stay with us for various and assorted periods over the next 3 ½ weeks as my father extends his US visit to return with my sister and her family on Oct. 1.

Be well.



12 October 1988

Dear Family,

Greetings from a chillier Rehovot. Your manifested concern of late is greatly appreciated and I thank you for all your effort on our behalf. We are generally well and only slightly worse for wear since I last wrote.

Orly and Maayan have some slight congestion from the colder weather but we can report good health otherwise for the past few weeks. We are now all fully double vaccinated against polio (except for Ma'ayan whose vaccination two days ago was her first. Needless to say the deleterious state of the country's sewage system is something of an election year scandal.

We have been entertaining Lisa's parents for the last week and a half and everyone is having a good time. We are doing much traveling, overeating and general partying. The kids warmed up to them almost immediately and the grandparents are grooving on the new family addition. Family moments get more memorable and fun with each passing day.

The kids were off from gan for an extended period in late September for Succot and we ventured up to Haifa for one day to be with my brother's family and eat in their Succa. The return to their structured day began anew uneventfully and Yehiel now almost enjoys (at least he tolerates) his time in the structured Hebrew environment. Orly remains a charm and pesters the other carpooling mothers with "Let's sing a song,.. OK” whenever she gets in their car. One of the problems with their venturing forth into this world, however, is lice, which despite Lisa's best efforts, periodically reappear. Even we are not immune from this infernal infestation.

Anyway, Lisa's father Mert is here on vacation and work purposes and is treating us to lots of good times. Last weekend we were two nights on the road, one in Haifa and one in Nahariya and we took in a number of sights and experiences. This weekend we will again be in the north, but this time inland near the Sea of Galileee and our night out will be in a kibbutz guest house north of Tiberias.

Our visitors have interrupted our settling into Rehovot but I expect we will renew the process after their departure (and their carrying this letter). Two English-speaking mothers of boys in Yehiel's gan invited us over for festive meals during the holiday period and we entertained a cohort of his for some play and we expect to intensify social activity with his classmates to help him make friends...Lisa is also attending social sessions of a post-natal English-speaking support group where she is able to chat with some non-religious types for a change. I have no local friends as of yet, but I'm not worried.

I have been running reasonably regularly and am discovering new paths in the citrus groves. For now I am satisfied with a 30-minute route from our flat that takes me into the Institute and around its borders. Amusingly, a former president of the State of Israel (and professor of chemistry at Weizmann) lives the same 5-minute walk away from us as did the present President when we rented in the middle of Jerusalem. I also recovered my 12-speed bicycle from my brother and had it rejuvenated, hoping to get on it soon before the rainy season starts and it becomes just clutter on our porch.

My sister Judy arrived back from the US recently after a 5 month working visit and is due to give birth to her second child in December. She and husband Ehud and daughter Hagar are well though a reason for their return was Ehud's mother who has now lost half a leg to the ravages of diabetes. My father very much enjoyed his US stay and came back with a renewed and healthy vigor for life, though he did comment that one doesn't have to die to go to heaven, just go to the US. He remains thin and enjoyed being with family.

Of course the big national news is the elections here and in the US.. I expect George will rule over a house divided and here, while polls show a dead heat, I expect the Likud (Shamir) to eke out a plurality but in any event, the governing coalition will be shaky. Alas I have little opportunity to vote effectively for someone speaking reasonable economic sense.

We did manage to attend the wedding of a friend of ours from the 1982 days of WUJS in Arad, that took place in Ein Kerem, outside of Jerusalem. In short, it was a pleasant affair and everything seems to be turning out OK for him.

My reading is pretty much limited to English newspapers and magazines that come my way. As I intend to sit for two of the three examinations on law that I need for the Israeli CPA in late November, I will soon be deeply enmeshed in that material.

As of now, I am slated for m.y 60 day initial army service starting December 18. This
may be delayed until next June.



24 October 1988

Dear Family,

Greetings on a pleasant Rehovot evening. We are in good spirits and OK health and trust you are at least likewise. Most of our health discomfort is Orly's present diarrhea, which seems to be making the rounds. Otherwise, no complaints.

Orly is otherwise endearing as she articulates reasonably succinctly of late, with several sentence dialogs fulfilling and amusing. She plays well with her aggressive older brother and fends off his unwanted physical play adeptly when the interaction reaches a level above her capacity or capability, though even if only by running away. Of course tears are sometimes shed during their interchanges but Orly generally holds her own and she often initiates the variety of their play. Of late she takes less of a shining to going to sleep, even at naptime, so this whole routine becomes more time-consuming and problematic at times...She does have a lot of cute habits and characteristics.

Yehiel, while capable of demonstrating a childish maturity, still remains basically unbridled aggression. He does relate well to Ma'ayan and can manage to keep her smiling for awhile. He can manage to guard her on the couch while he watches TV. He is now totally our of diapers, even at night, though we may have to continue waking him up to urinate before we turn in at night for the near future, as a precautionary measure. He does keep himself amused for a number of hours each afternoon after he comes home from gan, Orly goes to sleep, and Lisa gets dinner ready and does housework. He asks for cartoons but he settles for Lego construction play, cassette and book combinations and other play diversions. As we begin to master our new VCR we are building a reserve of cartoons on tape for the time when everything else fails (which by me occurs too regularly).

Ma'ayan, of course, grows the most each day. She can now turn over with some assistance. She derives a slight amusement from gurgling about in the walker. We are starting her on occasional solids, with predictably slow progress. She is generally happy. She does not sleep well at night, waking up often and randomly. None of our assorted strategies seems to be systematically successful. She, like the other two, has a ton of clothes and their growth and the change in the weather allows Lisa to continually try on new clothes.

Yes, three kids under the age of four are certainly a handful and however petty, I do wax nostalgic about the times when I had more than a few seconds to myself during the day. I have what must be a near-record stack of NYTBR awaiting me and no hopes of getting to them soon.

My next big project, as previously noted, are the two CPA law exams I will be taking in a month's time. I expect to take off 2+ weeks from work to study for them full time. My Absoption Ministry sponsored. review class (in English) begins this week, though it is geared for the exams next May.

I still expect to perform my initial army service from mid Dec to mid Feb and after that I may leave public accounting as my apprenticeship period for both Israel and the US will be complete. I have started searching the classifieds and passively responding to ads.

The excitement in Israel is mounting as elections approach. Last night was the debate between Peres and Shamir and the-later, Mr. smurf, lost. We'll see what the electorate thought. Prospects for anything but a continuation of the statist policies that have plagued us more or less continually since the state's birth are slight however. My vote is for Amnon Rubinstein of Shinui-Center, who is in the peace bloc performed well as Minister of Communications. Oh well, I am sure George Bush will pull us out of any problems we get ourselves into.

We continue to get more settled into Rehovot. This week Lisa is to host the social meeting of her post-natal support group. It remains an enjoyable principal means for her to socialize with non-religious women. Last Shabbat was a brit of the son of acquaintance-friends at the nearby mostly-American synagogue.

Be well.

12.12.88

Dear Family,

A season's greetings from Rehovot. All are well here and in good spirits and we trust you are likewise. Our winter has been quite mild and we trust you haven't been too overwhelmed by inclement weather too date.

A sincerest apology on the 1 ½ month interval between my last letter and this one. I trust the delay will not recur. Lots has happened since I last wrote and I trust it has all been for the better.

On Nov 22 and. 23 I took the Israeli CPA examination for Corporate and Labor, Commercial and other laws. They went OK. I assume I passed at least one. For the moment, I am relieved that it is behind me and I am not urgently seeking a repeat.

The real big personal news is that I have changed jobs. No longer am I an apprentice CPA. I am now controller (read bookkeeper) for the firm of Iruit (translated something like 'Events") Ltd. The company specialty is flag production for order, but they engage in any and all sorts of commercial transactions for profit, both import and export. The amount I can learn is quite great and I am enthused. A 20+% salary increase is also agreeable. The catch is that my boss, the company's owner, David Shimoni, is a nice guy but poor manager. The person I am replacing was asked to leave, or left, but in any event she is certainly as capable as I am, so there is some cause for concern.

Meanwhile, I think I may have come upon a profitable idea: public domain software. The enterprise is to be called Diskettech and I think that a small sales operation of non-proprietary programs will be a worthwhile endeavor. I'll keep you apprised. So far I have rented a P.O.Box ($22 for 12 months), sent away for price lists and product descriptions and initiated a few sample purchases.

The kids are their usual spontaneous and vivacious selves. Ma'ayan is now something of an accomplished crawler, more so than her elder siblings were. She can also get around practically the entire apt by herself in the walker. She has a very agreeable personality and still lights up and seeks out her siblings' company, though her presence is not always without danger to her. She is up to 2 to 3 meals per day of solids and she now also drinks cow's milk from a bottle. She will eat most any mush or gruel put in front of her. As it happens, she is presently listless and under the weather, but we are hoping she'll bounce back soon.

Orly is more and more Miss Precocious every day. Today she repeatedly complained her Micky Mouse face artwork wasn't on the straw-stick "properly" and she and I had a brief animated discussion about her family and my family. She also laughs easily and can entertain herself with only nominal adult input for extended periods. Alas she is still in diapers and has daily bottles, but this will pass.

Yehiel is reasonably well adjusted to his hebrew-speaking religious nursery school. His present best friend is a native Hebrew speaker. He now holds writing implements in the standard fashion and has great fun with coloring books. He is on the border of self-consciousness and has a more-or-less acceptable temperament of late. His fourth birthday has come and passed and we threw him a very subdued birthday party, but he didn't seem to mind.

Yes, the seasons come and go. We are certainly expecting winter's imminent arrival. Orange harvesting is upon us and I have been journeying with the kids to the nearby (block away) open-to-the-public Weizmann Institute orange groves where we eat and gather to stomachs' content. The cold is here, but even though our apt. has poor insulation, the discomfort has been mild, as cold on the coastal plane is not that of Jerusalem or Milwaukee. We bought a portable oil-filled electric radiator and may employ the building's central heating as the needs arise. The seasons also move on in the larger sense. We are now four at the kitchen table when we eat. Orly has joined us and Ma'ayan is in the high chair-walker.

We have been doing a fair amount of visiting to Jerusalem and once to Haifa in the past month. My family is well and all those under 60 gainfully employed, except my sister who recently gave birth to her second daughter, Shimrit Adika , Both of them are in good health and Judy, my sister, will probably start working by Feb. 1 as she is having lots; of' good interviews and doesn’t have the financial alternative of full-time motherhood.


26.12.88

Dear Family,

Well here it is two weeks later and I am still sitting on my previous letter. But I have good reason...Iruit is of the past and tomorrow I start another new job, as a budget analyst at the Weizzman Institute next door. It happened that in my job search at the beginning of the month I had left my resume with the personnel department and the finance department manager Michael (“Tibi") Netzer found it there and called me in. The job entails interfacing and liaising with a number of different departments for a number of different tasks and projects both on a regular and on-demand basis. Among the regular jobs are monthly university-wide salary adjustment calculations, handling of the university's insurance policies, reconciliation of budgeted and actual expenditures, and periodic reports to assorted bodies and agencies.

The salary is super (what I was making in Milwaukee) and the Inst. throws in another 20% for pension and benefit funds. And then we start with all the incidental benefits: up to two subsidized meals per day, nominal cost for family usage of the pool and sauna, summer camp and day care for the kids, library usage and courses, etc... In short, a bureaucrat's dream come true. At my desk I have practically sole usage of an Olivetti AT compatible computer with a 40mb hard disk and color screen and printer. Hopefully, I am set for the rest of my working life. The woman who left the job is going to work for a bank in Tel Aviv, a mistake I would think.

So I am leaving Iruit after a fortnight. I may never see financial compensation for my labors, so we might settle on a Hebrew typewriter for my efforts. The company and management are in sad shape so I wouldn't feel so bad about the whole thing if David, the owner hadn't suffered life's worst tragedy last week. the death of his intermittently ill 20-month old daughter. The funeral was unforgettably moving.

I am moving along with my software idea. I am about to place $500 worth of orders for some 200 disks worth of programs that will constitute my initial inventory. Now I have to organize the corporate form and start the marketing - brochure printing efforts. Within 3 months and $2,000 it should be up and running.

Everyone is in good health here. A real birthday party was held for Yehiel at his gan last Friday and the action was captured for posterity and. is to be available through MNR films. Lots of dancing singing, running around, game playing, eating etc.. The whole immediate family turned out for the affair.

During the kids' Hanukah vacation we did manage to get to visit cousin Scott Rotter on his nearby Kibbutz Gezer. The farm atmosphere and open spaces were great for the kids to run around in and we hope to see more of him and his wife Lisa, when they return from their January Wilkes Barre, PA wedding.

My sister will probably be starting to work in 3-.5 weeks as assistant director of the accounting department at Shaare Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem. They are shopping around for a new car and will probably settle on the same choice as Lisa's sister Leslie, a Peugot 205. Of course my sister will pay an extra $7,000 because she doesn’t' t have the new immigrant rights that Leslie does.

Our social calendar is moderately busy. We usually entertain on Shabbat. Last weekend my parents slept over and next weekend we will probably host for a meal a family with kids in one of our childrens' gans (our usual guests).

My diet of late is typical PCL faire and I am running at least once or twice a week, so I am in reasonably good shape.

Be well and HAPPY NEW YEAR


January 7, 1989

Dear Family,

A hearty greetings to you from a new year and an old correspondent. We trust your winter is not unbearably cold. With but fairly constant runny noses and occasional full-fledged colds, we seem to be making it through not too much worse for the season.

Starting with the smallest, all the children are darling and making their way to becoming sentient, conscious and productive human beings. Ma'ayan can now almost lean up against low surfaces and has started making different noises to communicate. She certainly squirms more when she is being changed and is more capable of mischief-making if the house isn't child-proofed. She crawls reasonably well. Kitchen utensils seem to be of as much interest to her as her formal toys.

Orly remains her inimitable self. Her afternoon nap remains a problematic question. Currently she is not sleeping well and we suspect a pathological cause. Her upcoming first visit to the dentist may yield a clue. Usually she is lots of fun to be with, from morning to night.

Yehiel is making strides towards bicameral consciousness. Of late his drawing has become more focused, patterned, deliberate and almost recognizable. He does a lot of coloring both at home and gan and doesn't object when we push the activity on him. I maintain an adequate supply of large computer printout paper for this purpose. His dialog and discourse patterns are maturing.

I am in great spirits as I settle into my new job and lifestyle. Not since my car-less days in Morris, MN a decade ago have I been traveling less and enjoying it more. My bicycle ride to work is under five minute_ and while I still drive the car a few time per week, it is for very short distances and my bus riding days are over for now. The subsidized buffet-refreshment room in my building frees me from preparing my own breakfast as I munch on a cheese or scrambled egg on roll instead and humus and tehina pita satisfy me at lunch if I don't opt for the chicken or other meat meal in the main dining room.This week the Institute's recreation village opened a weight room with modern nautilus-style stations and I expect to get an athletic routine down either before, during, or after work hours...Weekly movies and other regular cultural activities come to the campus and next week we may take in the flick "Hope and Glory." At the last minute I passed on this week's offering, David Mamet's "House of Games."...Other ongoing benefits include sales by big manufacturers on a revolving basis, and a subsidized grocery.

My job and the work atmosphere are pleasant and relaxed. As might be expected, except for my boss, no one is particularly overworked or under great stress, including me. I am going to have to work hard to fill up my day with productive labor. I hope to have my PC connected to the mainframe system, enabling me to access budget and accounting figures which could help me develop a more sophisticated budgeting process than the current straight percentages based on moths elapsed. It seems that much of the revenue and expenditures could undergo a more thorough analysis.

I have been using the Einstein word processing program installed on my Olivetti to begin composing the catalog for my initial public domain software catalog. So far everything is going well but I have much text to input and otherwise a long way to go. These programs I hope to be getting in under two weeks as my brother is currently in North America on business and I have ordered them to be sent to his in-laws in Phila where he will pick them up. His main stop is in Montreal where in his capacity as a senior R&D staffer at Elscint he is helping orient and introduce the staff of the hospital purchasing Elscint's latest CAT scanner on how to use it. He may have more journeys to come and on this trip, Liat, his middle child, will be with her Phila grandparents for its duration.

My shorter commute and less hours away from home are helpful to Lisa and she is in good spirits. She is presently into a Marge Piercy reading binge and at this moment is absorbed in the recent Gone To Soldiers, which I understand is absorbing and enjoyable. She is hoping to get into an aerobics class offered at the recreation village and will certainly use the under-construction covered pool when it is completed.
Be well.


January 24, 1989

Dearr Family,

A wintry greetings to you from my sunny office facing north and the orange, palm cypress and other trees beyond the parking let. There are still some oranges awaiting plucking that beckon to me each time I glance outward. Today's high of 60°F is most unwintry-like and the Brahms at today's noon piano recital in the Wix auditorium next-door had a definite spring-like feel to it also. At home we are not suffering despite our lack of central heat. I wear a pullover coat on my morning and evening bicycle commute but am otherwise in a sweater or less the rest of the day.

The kids. except for Ma'ayan who is always close to the cold tile floor, seem to be over their sniffles and colds. Orly is also sleeping soundly at night so we assume the molar arrival (?) that was bothering her is past and her first dental appointment has been delayed. Yehiel still wakes up occasionally with muscle cramps in his legs but we assume that they are what Lisa had as a child and will pass with age. Ma'ayan is eating more solids. She often partakes of our dinner repasts. She is a boisterous happy spirit and is often gurgling over with happy sounds and excited body gesticulations. Everything interests and usually excites her and she suffers her elder siblings well. She can now pull herself up to a standing position with relative aplomb and honest-to-goodness scuffling along the edge of furniture can't be long in coming, She is still baby-squat in stature and drinking from a bottle more and nursing less.

Orly is the cutest little chatterbox this side of Tel Aviv. Her Hebrew is improving measurably. She toys with leaving diapers, but alas not yet for good. She is the one who asks for oatmeal in the morning, but she generally eats little as her bottle takes primacy. She still doesn't run preferring to prance/float along the ground.

Both she and Yehiel enjoy going to gan each day. He always manages to get sand in his shoes and socks. so I guess he is having a good time. He reports playing most regularly with two friends, Arik and Erio, He is certainly enjoying his bicycle more and he covets his daily dose of Cartoons .

Lisa is going to the sauna twice + weekly and it may be improving her circulation. She is now past Marge Piercy and presently into Len Deighton's Winter. The winter is passing reasonably easy for her but we are beginning to gear up for my initial 6-week army reserve duty beginning March 13.

I am doing well as I settle into my job and its tenure track obsolescence. Other than handling insurance and periodic reports of various sorts my time is not in great demand. Still. I manage to generally keep busy. My Hebrew typing is improving and I am up to a daily sauna and am enjoying that immensely. I am eating light during the day so my weight is tolerable.

My business plans are proceeding apace. I have been coming into the office at night and been preparing my shareware software catalog. I have now completed the cataloging and it will run to 16 condensed half pages (4 folded pages) and another folded page will be introduction, explanation and disclaimer in Hebrew and English. My brother returned from the US this week (where he had a successful and fun time in Montreal. Clev, Phil, and NYC) with my three bulk shareware purchases. When we see them next week I will begin verifying that the shareware does what my catalog advertises it does. I may also have to delay marketing until I receive site licenses from the shareware authors,

Be well and give my regrads to the new prez, George Herbert Walker B.


April 10, 1989

Dear Family,

Greetings from your Israeli army "veteran". With my basic training behind me, I am back in civilian life and only slightly worse for wear. I trust that spring has sprung in your locale as it has here with a vengeance. We are in good spirits and health as the Passover holiday approaches and trust you are likewise.

As for my army experience. it was not so far from summer camp for adult men. The beginning was ominous enough, as hundreds milled about the entrance to the main base, awaiting "selection" to various bases. We then received our uniforms, had the imprint and photograph of various parts of our bodies recorded (for identification for proper burial in case of dismemberment), ate, and got shipped off to boot camp. Our bus broke down on the way and we arrived two hours late in total darkness, with a thick shroud of cold fog engulfing us, 3 master sergeants barking at us not to move, barbed wire about, and the sound of gun shots in the background. While that experience set the tone. it didn't get any worse.

Our objective accomplishments during our 24-day training were: acquaintance (bordering on familiarity) with the M-16, Uzi and Galil rifles and a cursory knowledge of first aid, grenades, chemical warfare and other assorted army matters. I did learn to: awaken at 4:45 AM, follow orders, exist on army food, stand guard, and live like something of a pampered soldier. Other than the discipline, rifle handling and guarding, it all could have been done cheaper and better by correspondence, and most would agree that at least one week could 1ave been lopped off without ill effect.

Our unit consisted of 135 immigrant men divided into 3 divisions 3 of 45 each. Most were near me in age and had similar family status. Our division had immigrants from 16 countries with the largest contingent (11) coming from the US (all of them save myself and two others being newly or traditionally orthodox). Next in number were the Rumanians, Ethiopians, and French, with 5-7 each. In addition to the Americans, some 4-5 other Northern Europeans and Canadian spoke English fluently. All told, the English-speakers at least, were a fairly impressive lot, with four of them currently writing books.

Our officers ranged in age from 19-23 and more or less acted like kids with authority. As their goals (looking good for their superiors) and ours (taking it as easy as possible) often diverged, tension resulted. Unfortunately they felt they were empowered with 10 effective disciplinary measures, so those who stepped out of line (disproportionately the Rumanians I am saddened to say) quickly learned that there was little price to pay. The base, built by the Jordanians under British supervision, is 3 miles north of Ramallah and our barracks was of that vintage. I am told the army spends about $1.50 per day to feed its soldiers and that is about what it felt like, with eggs, beans, rice and cottage or white cheese twice daily. The meat at lunch was generally edible and everything was kosher...The physical conditioning was quite moderate as we were told the possibility of one heart attack deterred the exercising of 134 others...I. with my obsession for newspapers was able to get a lot of reading in as we hurried up and waited most of the time. We had daily Hebrew newspapers delivered to our barracks...I do hope to retain some remnant of friendship with some of the guys, particularly the authors, as some were quite profound and fun to be with and helped me learn.

While we may be in the same reserve unit, my understanding is that we will mostly be guarding air force bases near our domiciles. Our initial reserve duty was delayed and except for May 3 (when we are to reassemble for assignment), I won't have to be near anything army-related for at least three months.

The most important appreciation I encountered was that the next stage of the intifada will be in the Galil, where Arabs are a majority and are treated as second class citizens. The prognosis is foreboding.

The family fared reasonably well in my absence, with no serious injuries or illnesses befalling anyone...Ma'ayan is still not yet walking, but she can keep her balance momentarily and shuffles and crawls along manageably. With the warmer weather, she and Orly have mth been bought sandals. She makes all sorts of happy gurgling noises both in response to external stimuli and apparent internal contentedness. More outlines of teeth are appearing in her gums and this must be contributing to her occasionally fitful sleep. She remains a reasonably adventurous a hearty appetite.

Orly is diaperless and has been bereft of accidents during her awake hours of late. She remains a budding and blossoming conversationalist. The educational system's Passover holiday includes the week before Passover so we are sending both her and Yehiel to an organized play group for the pre-holiday week. He is looking forward to the return of his original pre-kindergarten teacher Miri after holiday. We are somewhat disappointed that in the school year to date he has not been invited over to a single home to play, despite Lisa's numerous hostings, but he doesn't complain. He is developing little boy strength from playground exercise and running about. We now get weekly dosages of Flintstones, Jetsons, Top Cat and a few other vintage and new cartoons from America's finest, which Yehiel lives for.

Our seder next week will be a fairly simple affair with my parents and sister-in-law Leslie in attendance. I expect the kids will ask the four questions without difficulty. The work will be in the cleaning and preparation, with Lisa being more-or-less on schedule at this time.

At week's end, the Institute recreation center is scheduled to open its pool and refurbished locker rooms. We are expecting this to become an integral part of our summer experience. With more sunlight and warmer temperatures, the kids are more active for more of the day and this outlet is arriving none too soon.

I returned to my job last week and within three days I have caught up on the work that was awaiting me. Now I can devote more of my energies to my still-germinating Software Warehouse business. I trust that within a month the enterprise will be up and running but it will require a lot of work and some luck.

The rest of my family is doing reasonably well. My brother is frenetically busy with moving to their newly purchased apartment, fulfilling the responsibilities of the Marketing Technical Coordinator position he was promoted to at Elscint and getting his own radiation-badge testing business going...My sister and her family all seem to be recovering their health with the warmer weather...My parents are getting psyched for their US sojourn May 10 - June 10.

April 26, 1989

Dear Family,

A happy greetings to you on the night of the departure of our Passover festival of liberation. For me it is always liberating to be able to eat bread products again. We trust your holiday seder and week were meaningful and pleasant, as was ours. Gracing our seder table were my parents and Leslie. We attribute (project) the brevity and hurriedness of our retelling of the story to the children’s' presence and hope (wish) that next year's affair will be more thorough.

The Institute was closed for the entire 8-day duration of the holiday (and day before) so I was able to help Lisa out with the kids. They return to their pre-school settings next Sunday, to our relief. Fortunately the WIS recreation center pool opened for the season on April 15 and we have frequented it almost daily. The kiddy pool is about our speed and so far the kids are not tired of the simple pleasures it provides. It will also hopefully serve as a focus for existing and new friends for the kids (and us). It may also prove to be a facility for Lisa to engage in her favorite exercise.

Yehiel is so far demonstrating a willingness to learn swimming fundamentals and may eve progress to a comfortableness with keeping his head in the water by the time the season is over. He is blossoming with a whole host of sentient manifestations, from competence in basic personal hygiene to facility in clothing and disrobing himself and an inkling into the larger questions awaiting him. Alas, he still possesses a four-year-old's insecurity, at least partially attributable to his remaining infelicity with the native language.

Orly has more self-assurance (a questionable conjecture of someone 32 months old). The evaluation of the organizer of the one-week pre-Passover day care was that Yehiel played wit the younger kids, because Orly would lead him into a group scene and then leave it for some thing new. Her precociousness is fresh and fun. She asks what various street signs say and she has her two alphabets down reasonably pat. She is good at imaginative play, though she has a certain preoccupation with making sweet things. A source of consternation is her picky diet and milk bottle dependence.

Ma'ayan remains as cheery as could be. She unwittingly and willingly relishes the role of the foil in her siblings' endless game of "She's coming." The game can only grow more intense as she learns to walk. Presently Ma’ayan can stand alone well enough but that first balanced step remains an expectation. She remains chunkier than her older sister and is comfortably into clothes designated as 18 months, which Orly did wear at 18 months.

We were in Jerusalem two days ago to picnic with an army buddy of mine and his family and then to share some birthday cake and joy with my brother's children for his middle child Liat who turned 8. My brother and his wife stayed in Haifa, working on unpacking. My parents hosted the party...Today we barbecued with Leslie and my sister and her family at a park half-way between here and J'm and everyone enjoyed the four-hour repast. Our kids got along well with my niece Hagar, who is 3 months younger than Orly.

Work is going OK. I am actually busy now with our quarterly report to the governmental Higher Education Council, the body that oversees the distribution of the one-third of our annual $90 million budget that comes from the nat'l gov't. Other matters do keep me occupied like assorted monthly and quarterly reports and insurance matters, but by now these are quit, routine. I should soon be having my first meeting with the Institute's independent Insurance adviser in Tel Aviv sometime soon.

Meanwhile, Software Warehouse, my mail-order business will take as much time as I can give. Lots of administrative details remain to be addressed so now I am not sure when my advertising campaign and catalog distribution will commence. Progress is being made, however ephemeral or microscopic it feels at the time.

April 27

I do not think that I wrote that I received notification of my successfully passing the two Israeli CPA exam parts that I sat for; Now only the tax part remains, but I have no plans at present to sit for it. Meanwhile the Ohio Board has informed me all they need is my application and upon their reception of it, I will be granted my US CPA .

The weather has gotten quite warm here and our windows are always open (except during the day's heat), letting out our noise (for which we have been anonymously reprimanded) and letting in mosquitoes…The recreation center locker room and sauna refurbishing have been going on for a month, with the completion not yet at hand, so I have been fitfully running and swimming. With daylight savings time due to arrive this weekend I hope to be able to run regularly before iark.

The political situation has no one cheery as despite (or because of) Shamir's best efforts at standing firm, dialog, which will lead to another Palestinian state, appears in the offing. We have all necessarily become hardened to the daily casualty toll from the disturbances.


May 4 1989

Dear Family.

A brief greeting to you on a balmy spring day. Everyone here is well and we trust you are likewise. I am taking the opportunity of my parents' departure next week to send some inexpensive letters.

In the past week I had a workers' holiday (May 1). my army unit assignment and Israel experienced the annual Holocaust memorial day. On my vacation day I ran some personal and business errands, worked on my catalog and went to the pool with the family... Yom HaShoah was somber but uneventful. It was interesting to hear of the kids' first exposure to the matter.. .My army unit assignment was a pleasant reunion with buddies, but a disappointment in outcome as we are to serve in a battle-ready southern border guard unit. which seems to do the maximum (this year 44) number of reserve service days allowable, somewhere far from home along the southern border. Presently they are between the Dead Sea and Eilat so the next 20+ day call-up will hopefully not be until Nov. or Dec.

The children are a mixed delight, as usual. We bought them used matching youth beds and Orly seems to have left the crib without problem. The next steps are weaning her from the bottle and nightly bladder control. She is still not yet 100% interested during the day to get to the toilet on time...Ma'ayan is making progress in walking and eating. She is up to an unstable step now and then and some side teeth are becoming visible. (Correction of last letter: she wears size 24 months clothes).

Life at the office goes OK. My Higher Education Council report is well along, so I am back to a slow pace...I received some 90 new programs and must integrate them into my shareware catalog and am anxious to get going. More or less all the administrative and organizational materials have been satisfactorily addressed.

I am hoping/expecting that I'll be making a more disciplined effort at physical exercise in the near future. Running in the morning seems to be doable and tolerable endeavor.

May will be a month with 4 vacation days and next week we will spend Independence day with my brother and family in their new home, returning the morning after to avoid the traffic.


May 28-30, 1989

Dear Family,

Greetings on a sultry hot end-of-May day from my office window, facing north and the gently swaying trees of the Institute grounds. We trust summer's imminent arrival with you bodes warm cheery days for one and all. With us, the kids are all in good health, but Lisa and I had bouts of illness. I was afflicted with something like sinusitis for the past fortnight, doggedly refusing to see a physician and I think now it is finally just about over. (Of course had I seen a doctor at $2.10 for the visit, I would have received a prescription for free antibiotics and been done, but instead I saw a dentist for $24 when related molar pains appeared and got no closer to a medical cure.) Lisa had recurring headaches which seem to have abated for now.

Yes, summer and its associated heat are here. Weekends and occasionally during the week we are at the Recreation Center pool. So far it has just been frolicking in the water and on the grounds but the time passes easily and fun. We have also been to three different beaches this year already, once by ourselves, once with my sister's family and once with my brother's family. The kid's like the beach, too, so I imagine the sand pilgrimage will be at least monthly this season...For relief from mosquitoes we are employing 8 Watt pellet repellents that are housed in a heating shell (giving off fumes) that plugs into the wall and we purchased an 8 w blue light-grid zapper for flying insects. Ma'ayan has netting over her crib. So far its OK.

Progress on all fronts for the kids! Ma'ayan is definitely taking occasional independent steps. She enjoys putting smaller objects into larger containers and then dumping them out again. She attempts to get into everything, including electrical outlets and plant roots and she likes ripping books, so we have to be pretty vigilant. With the arrival of more teeth, she is eating food less processed. She has a taste for chicken and eats much willingly, except microwaved potatoes. She is still chunky and has a good disposition.

Orly remains precocious, chattering away, when she is actually talking to herself. She drinks warmed milk from her bottle when she goes to sleep and we permit her only water or soda water at other times in her bottle, so she is giving it up fairly painlessly and rapidly. She has certainly benefitted from her day-care situation this year (2 adults for 8 kids) , she knows the days of the week, months, books of the torah and bible, letters, numbers, and more in both English and Hebrew. She plays creatively with building blocks and sets and can be exacting in her orderliness when she wants.

Yehiel didn't have the personal attention in his pre-kindergarten (2 adults for 32 kids) this year. His Hebrew has improved substantially, at least. His drawing is also improving noticeably. He and Orly do general: play well together, still in English. He can be generous and on his own initiative, helpfully. He still suffers occasional leg (we assume growing) pains. Fortunately both he and Orly like peanut butter, which serves as the basis for an any time snack.

I am into my busiest season as the preparation for the annual budget review for the Council For Higher Education Planning and Grants Committee June 14 meeting is principally my responsibility and in full swing. The problem is I need lots of different information from different people, all of whom have their own priorities, so the process entails lots of running around and waiting, in addition to mastering the subtleties of the calculations.

Most nights for the past month I have also been preparing my initial flier for Software Warehouse (enclosed) which I hope to distribute in the parking lot and maybe within the hall of the annual Computax computer fair which runs May 30 - June 1. Of course now the work for this really begins as the business will entail all sorts of attention. [June 4: Initial results were somewhat encouraging as I have already racked up $100 in sales but the response is less than I would have hoped for and the competition is more significant than I had realized.]

Our social calendar remains low key, with occasional get-togethers with other families We did attend a pleasant reception at nearby Kibbutz Gezer for Lisa's cousin Scott, who is a kibbutz member and was married in the US in Jan...We seem to be settling into the Conservative congregation and will probably join by the High Holidays.


June 27-29, 1989

Dear Family,

A summer greetings from my first floor perch. We are all hot and well and trust you are likewise. Worse than the heat, though, the mosquitoes and flies are in full seasonal swing and we are having fitful success keeping them at bay. Hopefully, as was done last year, the city will effectively spray pesticides. In theory we hope to acquire an air conditioner, but certainly not this year.

The pool continues to provide periodic relief. Next week starts summer camp for Yehiel at the recreation center and he probably will not be the only family member getting a daily dosage of the place. He will know some of the kids in group of 4 ½ - 5 ½ year olds from his class, and while they are not his closest friends he should be OK, despite his still basic Hebrew understanding. Orly will continue with the same setup for the month of July.

As usual, parenthood had its satisfactions this past month. Ma'ayan is now a full-fledged walker, rarely crawling. Where once the patter of four little feet greeted me on my arrival home, we know have six (provided I am not competing with the TV). She is also making varied, distinct, and as yet indecipherable talking sounds. She enjoys obvious hide’n'seek type games and will wander off independently to play with whatever adult will respond to her smiles and overtures. Alas she suffers from a persistent diarrhea, which has repeatedly been tested for and proven not to be of bacterial or other foreign cause. As to be expected, Ma’ayan's upright posture has subtly but profoundly altered her perceptions of the world, as she lurches toward self-consciousness.

Orly is usually pleasant to be with as she will be happy to chatter to you about a variety of topics. She can be a cry-baby and does have a spoiled streak that often precludes her participation in cleaning up of scattered toys except under the most threatening sanctions and outpouring of tears. She is also now capable of ill-will as when I threaten to smack Yehiel for some obnoxious behavior, she will pipe in "Yah, smack him, smack him." But usually her comments are in innocent fun. She also has gone the month without a panties wetting accident, though she still generally protests at having to leave her fun of the moment to be dragged to the bathroom.

Yehiel"s progress in coordination, physical strength and mechanical ability continues. He throws, catches, and kicks a big plastic ball well. His drawings are vibrant with colors and shapes and the people increasingly recognizable as such. He is generally good natured and generous in play with others, though predictably less giving with his sisters. He can traverse all the rungs of playground suspended horizontal ladders, progressing arm after arm, a feat his cousin Nadav is probably a year away from. He is making progress in the water, and would certainly benefit from lessons, though we may wait a year with them.

I spent most of the month busy on preparation for the Higher Ed. Council meeting. My role was to prepare the NIS 108 million salary portion forecast of the annual budget, which entailed some creativity and lots of Lotus jockeying. Our meeting with them in J'm has been put off until next week and in the meanwhile they want some written explanations on our budget deviations from last year above their given inflation and devaluation expectations, so I am not yet out of the woods. Otherwise, everything is well under control.

So far we have generated some $300-$400 in software sales from my initial flier and I am now into the catalog preparation for our next marketing effort. Disappointingly my father was unable to bring the computer back with him on his return from the US and I am now expecting it by air freight in 10 days time. I am expecting the wait to be worthwhile as I will be getting a lot more computer for the budget I had allocated.

Lisa is moving into the business management reasonably smoothly but her phone sales ability will certainly pick up as she familiarizes herself with our inventory after the computer arrives. Yet we are still having almost a running discussion as to whether and how she will undertake other gainful employment next year as we gear up to somehow being able to afford to purchase an apartment in less than one year's time.

My family are all well and busy, with every adult under 65 employed. My brother is in Paris this coming fortnight as the Elscint marketing technical support person for the CAT scanners, appearing both at a trade show and briefing European salesmen. Next month he is off to Manilla, in a similar function. His wife Ellen has a 20 hour per week and a 10 hour per week job as a social worker for elderly and she still manages to swim 1 km a couple times per week. She is Phila bound in August with her eldest daughter for a visit.

My sister is very much enjoying her Acct Dept Asst Anger position at Shaare Zedek hospital and is deep in the throes of a new computer system installation. Her daughters, both three month younger than our girls, are growing nicely and the elder, Hagar, gets along well with Yehiel. Ehud, her husband, is content with his bookkeeping job that he started this month.

My parents had a grand time in the US and came back invigorated and enthused. They have resumed their walking and running routines as well as their busy social calendar. My mother now swears by her latest Dexter shoes acquisition.


September 18, 1989

Dear Family,

Well, this is it. We've hit the big time. Our computer up and running and I seem to be unable to get some leisure time on it to write a leisure piece to you. I am composing this letter with a bootleg copy of Wordperfect 5.0 with the help of a bootlegged KO-PILOT, starting it at the office and expecting to finish it at home. I trust the results will be aesthetically pleasing,

So far we are getting what we want from it. Lisa has started the word-processing as we had hopped and Yehiel has almost, though not quite, exhausted his interest in my inventory of games, I have been learning a variety of subjects, I spent a few hours in Tel Aviv distributing Software Warehouse fliers and we have had a little business from that, which we are now managing from home. I also acquired a tax-authority-acceptable bookkeeping program, which I expect to start employing for our income and expenses. I will probably take a full day off to distribute fliers in Tel Aviv later this week,

As usual I am happy to report generally good health all around. Yehiel is basically over his ear infection, but at a cost of our staying away from the pool for the past fortnight and twice-daily eardrops. As a precautionary measure we are taking him for a hearing test, His right ankle still occasionally hurts, yet as nothing shows up in blood tests or X-Rays we will wait before we try anything more extensive,

The development levels of all the kids are fun to observe, though less so for our neighbors, who have given us a third anonymous plea for more quiet on Saturday mornings, Ma'ayan likes to walk and may have said her first word, "more," in obvious reference to food (sweets), Yehiel is almost up to solving 60+ piece puzzles himself, Orly can do a 13 piece puzzle with some help.

The two older kids are enjoying the company of the three new, immigrant kids who moved into the first floor of our building with their divorced mother. It allows them to relax and play in English.

We did spend a pleasant Shabbat at Mt Meron (not Tabor) with my brother & family and caught up with Ellen about her trip to the U.S. Our next family get-togethers will be around the New Years holidays when I expect we'll see everyone at some point.

I am finishing Primo Levi's The Drowned and the Saved, his last work, about his lessons from Auschwitz. I expect to return to more technical and/or periodical reading, but may read Peter Gay' Freud, if I get the chance.

I am less busy at work, so I have been learning about computer software and hope to make significant progress on DOS and C, languages. I am still awaiting my mainframe hookup and the new world it holds in store.

Today I received official notice from the Accontancy Board of Ohio that I am a U.S. CPA. While I expect it not to mean too much here, I have vague plans for returning to the US for the Feb-Apr 1991 tax season, We expect Yehiel to be in his final year a kindergarten and thus for the last time not at much of a loss for any loss of school time. The certification is a real relief and trust the last new line on my resume for awhile.

I certainly consider myself fortunate in that I am experiencing basically everything I could want out of life, with few compromises, Of course, all the bills are far from paid and therein lie the seeds of any potential tragedy, Our next major hurdle will come in the spring when we hope to buy an apartment in Rehovot.

We are in a typically politically fluid period in this nation's young history. Maybe something will come of Mubarak's dialog initiatives. I certainly hope my fellow voters feel likewise. Unemployment here is at some 9.5% and I really don't see a quick solution. The mythical selling off of government enterprises is now at least 5 years in germination.

I personally have been expecting a recession in the U.S. in 1990, based on money supply interpretations. My principal concern is for falling real estate prices and interest rates. Though it may be only wishful thinking, 1 am not yet ready to abandon this expectation.

On this eve of TASHAN (5,750) I am excited and enthused about the Jewish state. Daily life still holds a privileged and magical air, to speak in Hebrew among Jews. My office-mate Yossi is a first generation Sabra of Yemeni descent. He is 40, single, simple and deeply religious. I have learned from him and generally enjoy his presence.

Aargh! Here it is Sept. 20 and 1 am still trying to get this printed out to send to you. This word processor is not without its bugs...Meanwhile, Yehiel's hearing test turned up no problems...Tne weather here has turned scorching, After 6+ weeks of 30 degree C highs, today we are now suffering