Page 45 - issue
P. 45
Costa Rica
Kolaniyot at Shokeda 37
used, find out if a conference room is available where it is
yours for the entire Sabbath. Perhaps you can rent a hot-
plate from one of the restaurants. Or contact the local
Chabad 506-604-57450 (there are no extra numbers here!)
or email jabad@jabadcr.com.
Saturday night, I left for the airport at 10:15 p.m. for a 2
a.m. flight to Houston. I had another flight to Dulles
International Airport with a one-and-a-half-hour window to
claim my bags and go through passport control. The suit-
case with my change of underwear and toiletries never
arrived, but, thankfully, the suitcase with the suit for the
wedding I was to attend did.
◆◆◆
My trip was over, and I had lots of time on the way home
to assess it. There were some disappointments and misun-
derstandings, being ripped off by the caterer, a missing
suitcase, and occasional tension between me and my trav-
el companion. But all in all, I am very grateful for another
opportunity to see something of G-d’s amazing world. I felt
revitalized by the experience. I am reminded of what Rav
Shimshon Refoel Hirsch once remarked about how he
would be taken to task in the olam ha’emes if he had not
taken the opportunity to marvel at G-d’s magnificent Alps.
When I finally got over my jet lag, about two weeks after
returning to Israel, I traveled south to the northern Negev
and the moshav of Shokeda to marvel at the thousands of
delicate flowers known as anemones (kolaniyot, in Hebrew)
that had blossomed over large areas in the forest outside
the moshav. The tiny points of red made me think of the
rods and cones in the retina. Israel does not have the vast
rainforests of Costa Rica, the mountain ranges of
Switzerland, the verdant valleys of France. But it has a spe-
cial beauty of its own, in small measure and with enough
variety to make it a small world in its own right. Sometimes
you have to go far from home to appreciate what you have
next door.◆
u 410 358 8509 u
Kolaniyot at Shokeda 37
used, find out if a conference room is available where it is
yours for the entire Sabbath. Perhaps you can rent a hot-
plate from one of the restaurants. Or contact the local
Chabad 506-604-57450 (there are no extra numbers here!)
or email jabad@jabadcr.com.
Saturday night, I left for the airport at 10:15 p.m. for a 2
a.m. flight to Houston. I had another flight to Dulles
International Airport with a one-and-a-half-hour window to
claim my bags and go through passport control. The suit-
case with my change of underwear and toiletries never
arrived, but, thankfully, the suitcase with the suit for the
wedding I was to attend did.
◆◆◆
My trip was over, and I had lots of time on the way home
to assess it. There were some disappointments and misun-
derstandings, being ripped off by the caterer, a missing
suitcase, and occasional tension between me and my trav-
el companion. But all in all, I am very grateful for another
opportunity to see something of G-d’s amazing world. I felt
revitalized by the experience. I am reminded of what Rav
Shimshon Refoel Hirsch once remarked about how he
would be taken to task in the olam ha’emes if he had not
taken the opportunity to marvel at G-d’s magnificent Alps.
When I finally got over my jet lag, about two weeks after
returning to Israel, I traveled south to the northern Negev
and the moshav of Shokeda to marvel at the thousands of
delicate flowers known as anemones (kolaniyot, in Hebrew)
that had blossomed over large areas in the forest outside
the moshav. The tiny points of red made me think of the
rods and cones in the retina. Israel does not have the vast
rainforests of Costa Rica, the mountain ranges of
Switzerland, the verdant valleys of France. But it has a spe-
cial beauty of its own, in small measure and with enough
variety to make it a small world in its own right. Sometimes
you have to go far from home to appreciate what you have
next door.◆
u 410 358 8509 u
