By Sara Eldor
I wanted to share a recent Shabbat that Shlomo and I spent with Mircia and Aly Hascalovici in Even Shmuel, Israel, along with their family and community.
On Friday afternoon we met Mircia in Ashkelon where we spent a couple of hours in the beautiful Marina, had lunch and enjoyed the sun with a view overlooking the water. This was the beginning of a wonderfully hospitable Shabbat "à la Mircia and Aly."
As we drove towards Even Shmuel, Mirch made a brief stop in Kiryat Gat (15 minutes from their home) and bought food and snacks (including popcorn and candy) to make sure there would be enough for the kids in Shul and for the Kiddush that he and Aly would later host in their home. Having spent a few Shabbats with them in the past, I looked forward to experiencing their legendary hospitality with Shlomo - their open home, their generosity in welcoming guests and their commitment to friends near and far.
Shabbat morning the men went to Shul and Aly and I went to join them for the Brit Milah celebration of a little boy born in their community - wow! The beauty of Even Shmuel is that they are only three hundred families and growing, all celebrating in each other’s simchas. Knowing that everyone from Shul would be coming - men and women - to enjoy the gracious hospitality of our hosts, we all came back to Aly's and enjoyed a beautiful Kiddush!
Apparently, Mircia told everyone that I would be the guest speaker, representing fashion in Montreal. Twenty years ago, I had made Rosa's wedding dress as Mircia was the "Mashgiach” – supervisor - in my workshop which was on Crescent Street at the time. Now, as I was trying to inspire the women, sure enough Rosa's dress was brought out in perfect condition - and with my label!
Finally, after a great cholent and a beautiful Havdalah with the family we headed back home to Ramat Gan, driven by our gracious hosts who spared nothing in his display of real Chesed! Thank you so much, Aly and Mircia. Love you guys! Am Yisrael Chai!
Friday night Kiddush with their daughter Rosa, Eitan and the kids was a picture of beautiful family values, as the grandchildren took complete charge of setting the table and preparing for "Shalom Aleichem" to welcome Shabbat. We were treated to endearing and inspiring words from Yehuda their son - the hero – who, with his quiet voice and humble demeanour, talked about his October 7th reserve mission as a paramedic. He was among the first ones on the scene, sent to Kefar Gaza with his unit, Unit 55. Incredibly, that same unit had liberated the Western Wall in the 1967 Six Day War.
After three weeks of being in Kefar Gaza, Yehuda was deployed to the North near the Lebanon border, Kiryat Shmona, where the inhabitants later on became "Mefunim" - evacuated to the center of Israel. Yehuda’s story continued, Mircia explained, with his return to Be'er Sheva from where he was deployed to Khan Yunis, the middle south of Gaza - real Gevura! Yasher koach! Needless to say, Aly and Mircia did not sleep until his safe return B"H months later...
