Jacquie Bayley

Okay. Got it.

I see a red light.

That's good. Red light's good.

Yes.

And then we're set. Okay, great.

I can't remember what the questions were, but I do have some.

I'm going to ask them.

Have fun, enjoy and I'll see you after.

Okay. Thanks.

Uh. Hi, Jackie.

Hi. Jeff.

It's very nice to meet you. Can you tell me your full name?

Jacqueline Ruth Bayley nee Goldberg.

Okay. Um. Tell me was your family involved in the Jewish community when you were growing up? And if so, how were they?

Oh, hell yes. My father wasn't so involved. He was a member of B'nai B'rith for 40 years. I'm not sure he ever went to a meeting, but my mom was really the face of the Goldberg family up in Vancouver, Canada, British Columbia. But Canada-I have to say Canada because most Americans don't know what "BC" stands for. That's right. Yes, I know it's sad. Um, yes, she was very involved. I think she said when she came back from her honeymoon, she joined a Hadassah chapter. They have chapters, uh, in Vancouver, and all the chapters form a council for a specific area. And so she was involved with Hadassah and WIZO, Women's International Zionist Organization. So Canada and the United States kind of divided up. And WIZO is for the worldwide organization, and Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America is for North America, and then United States decided to have Hadassah International. They like to change the rules. So, uh, I'm not exactly sure how that all played out, but, um, but she went up to the national level. She was on the national board. She was the vice president. And even later on in life, they had started the Henrietta Szold chapter. And as they got older, you know, people just didn't want to get involved. o So they developed something called a circle system, where you signed up for a circle at a certain time of year, and then you helped either do the invitations or find the location or get the program or, you know organize the food or something like that. And that was sort of good to keep everybody involved. And of course not everybody would be involved. But um, and then, you know, people just didn't really want to do anything, so, you know, she would say, "Well, okay, I'll get the location." You know, and somebody else would say, "Well, what about the program?" "Oh, I can organize the program." And then, uh, who is going to send out the invitations? And, you know, I'm not sure whether they ever did an e-vite or something like that, but, "I can do the invitations." And so, you can see how this went. And it was more important, people were very grateful that she did all that because they wanted to be there with their friends. That was that was one thing that my mom was involved in. She was also involved with the the Louis Brier, which is like our Kline Galland here. So, I actually think she went on the board because she wanted to make sure she would have a spot, but she never did go into the Kline Galland, he was on the other side, the Weinberg. And they had one part that was two floors of apartments, which was sort of independent living, and you could eat your meals downstairs, but you had like a one bedroom or two bedroom apartment, and then the other side was more intensive with, uh, nursing care. And that's really where she ended up, you know, um, we were very fortunate that she didn't want to go in. And we said, "Well, you know, go in. Your Auntie Zo is there. And if you, you know, if you don't like it, we're not selling your place. You go in for two or three months and we'll see..."

Mhm.

"...knowing full well she wasn't going to come out." But I remember the day. I would drive up there all the time and she says, "Oh Jackie, it's so nice to see you." And I said, "Yes, Mom." And I said, "I'm here to help you pack up." And she goes, "Pack up?" And she was devastated. She started to cry. And then the next day she was kind of-okay-I've got this. And so she, you know, we got it all together and we had her things, and, I mean, my sister-in-law, bless her heart, went in and took pictures that she thought would be, you know, were Mom's favorites and pieces of furniture and, you know, stuff that would make her feel like she wasn't really moving. So it was really nicely done. And they were all up on the wall and, and, um, so I was taking her there, and she says-she gets in the car-and she, I said, "well, we're going to go to the Weinberg." And she thought maybe she was going to go visit Auntie Zoe, her sister-in-law, and she gets, um, she gets in the car and then we get there and she looks and then it hits her. So she says, "I'm not getting out of the car." And I said, "Well, mom, you know, just go in and say hi to Auntie Zoe, you know?" So she goes in to say hi to Auntie, but I'm not taking my jacket off. Like literally, step by step. Anyways, she, you know, it was the best thing we could have ever done. We were-my brother and I-we were like a step ahead, you know, where, you know, where she should be. She was there for four years, and then I was up every other week, pretty much. Or, like, twice in five weeks for four days. So I never knew what was in my fridge because I wasn't sure what was in my fridge and what was in her fridge. We never did sell the condo until after she passed. So it was a townhouse. It's lovely.

How did you end up in the Seattle area? From-from Vancouver.

Oh, by way of Philadelphia.

Took the shortcut?

Yes we did. No, we, um, my husband at the time was president of Ikea. So he and-and-and they were opening up the first store in Philadelphia, and then they were opening up, you know, the office there. They were moving into North America. So they, um, um, so they opened up, uh, Philadelphia. Then there was Washington, DC, south of that, about 40 miles. And then they opened up, um, Newark across from the airport. And then they opened up Pittsburgh. And so, you know, it was kind of a northeast stronghold. And then he quit. He said, "I'm done. I don't want to sit in meetings. "And so, um, Ikea had sued some people who opened up a knockoff of Ikea. I mean, down to the red shirts and ballroom and everything like that. And-and they won. But in the interim, you know, it was really, uh, it was costly. So that's when they wanted to maintain a foothold, and we wanted to move out to the West Coast. So, Seattle was as close as you could get to Vancouver without people coming for Shabbat dinner unless they planned it. So, um, they-he and his best friend, who was his operations manager in Canada, and then he was country manager. So his job in Eastern Europe was coming to an end as well. They got the franchise for Seattle. So it was a limited franchise, ten years, and they opened up in Seattle, in Renton. And uh, it became one of the most successful Ikeas in North America, and the corporate office in Philadelphia used to send people to be trained in Seattle. And whenever they were opening up a new store, each store would send some people to help with the "build up," is what they called it. And they always loved when people came from Seattle because they knew they were well trained and and they knew what they were doing. So it was a very successful opening. And within two years, a business in the black-pretty good. And then over the ten-year, 12-year period, the building we had taken, 32,000 or something square feet. And then we increased that and then we increased it again. And-and then they realized, I think we should put in air conditioning because it's getting pretty hot here. And, um, yeah. So we did very well, but always grounded. It was never-there was never a day that Bjorn didn't take at least one walk through the store. So, um, because he says you don't learn anything sitting at a desk. You only learn by being out with the people, both the customers and the staff. So it was a it was very well run, good organization.

What year did you come to Seattle?

1990? No, 1994. I have to go by, "What? Where were my children? In what grade were they in?" And, so my daughter, my daughter was, uh, kindergarten, and my son had just finished grade one, so she just finished kindergarten. So October 1st they went to school for the first month until we got everything settled. And I sold the house. They were in Philadelphia. They were in school. And then they said goodbye to their teachers and their friends and their friends. And we got on a plane on Saturday morning, and on Monday they started at the Jewish day school. So it was yeah, pretty good. It was a great decision on my part. I went to Talmud Torah in Vancouver, and so it was a great decision to go to the Jewish day school. I didn't want Judaism to be an add-on after school. I wanted it to be part of their day. So they went to the Jewish day school.

And are you Reform Orthodox?

I was raised Orthodox, but not the Orthodox that they have right now. You know, my mom didn't go around reading all the labels on the cans and things like that. But when my mom and dad grew up, my mom never ate anything unkosher, until she was at a state fair and had a hot dog, and she thought G-d was going to come down from heaven and yell at her. Seriously. That didn't happen, nor did she finish the hot dog. You know, that was like her. And my dad-my dad grew up in Poland. My mom grew up in Saskatoon, but my dad grew up in Poland until he was 12. My grandfather came over three years before, worked a number of jobs, sent money back, and then my grandmother and my uncle and my dad all came over in 1927, I think. And my dad went to cheder, so he did not learn English or math or anything like that. He learned Mishnah and Torah and Talmud and that kind of thing. And so they came in over the summer, he worked with a teacher, and he learned how to speak English. And my uncle was eight years younger, so he was 12. My father was 12. My uncle was only four. So it was a lot easier for him to pick that up.

Yes.

But they were, you know, so both of them were like-it was Orthodox. And then there was Congregation Beth Shalom. I mean, congregation. Not a congregation. It was Beth Israel, and that was conservative. And then was Temple Shalom, and that was reform. But they all developed over time. So I was raised, you know, uh, in an Orthodox tradition. And, it was also at a time where bat mitzvahs was kind of a new thing and we did not have one. Or, you know, sometimes a whole group would get up and I'm not sure if it was...if they would get up and maybe sing some of the prayers or whether it was Friday night or Saturday, but I didn't have a bat mitzvah.

And are you still Orthodox?

No, no, because my husband converted, ben Avraham v'Sarah. And so, um, I wanted to be able to sit together as a family. So we shul shopped because Dov Gartenberg was on sabbatical when we moved here. And so we went back and forth between Herzl and Beth Shalom. And then when he came back, I thought, okay, that's good. And we joined Beth Shalom. And I still go to Beth Shalom to this day. So. it's a pretty amazing synagogue. It's one of the few in the country that's growing. And I don't know how they have time for all these things, but there's constantly, you know, new programs and things happening. And, you know when we do Adon Olam at the end of Shabbat services and Shabbat morning services, the kids go and sit on the bimah steps and, um, well, I thought, those kids, you know, eventually they're going to grow up and and then they'll just be us old farts. But no, there are still young kids growing up, still young kids going there. They have first of the month they have on Shabbat, uh, from two to five. They have young family tefillah. And then from six to 11, they have somebody who leads a program, and they always have babysitting. It's like they're raising Jews.

Excellent.

Yes.

I'm going to just check on the audio. They told me I should do this occasionally.

Yes, that'd be horrible if you went all the way through.

Yes. Only happened to me once in 40 years of interviewing people that I did an interview where it didn't work.

Oh my G-d.

But it was horrifying.

It was horrifying because you had to do the whole interview over again.

I didn't have a chance to do the whole interview over again, so I had to basically write the article. It wasn't an interview like this in oral history, but I had to write an article just remembering what the man had said. Wow. He didn't complain.

He didn't complain. And he thought, oh, he's really got it.

He said, "I'm so articulate."

Yes, right.

How smart I was.

Yes, right. Yes

So during all your moves from Canada to the East Coast, back to the West Coast, were you always involved in Hadassah and the Hadassah Foundation?

No. I never got involved with the Hadassah Foundation until I was here for a number of years. So when I moved back east, um, I got involved in the synagogue because when I was with the real estate agent, they were fixing the road. The highway? Well, the highway, I don't know, Route 23. They were fixing it. So we had to go this way down Mantovan. And there was a synagogue, but it was a conservative synagogue. We went down and around, so I thought, okay, well, there's a synagogue here. I think, I don't remember what happened to their rabbi before, but, um, we got a rabbi who had been in the next town over-Norristown-and he retired to, uh, to Phoenixville, which is the town that we lived in, because he didn't want to infringe on the rabbi who came after him in Norristown. And so he was, you know, the rabbi, he should have retired, you know. And so that's, you know, my kids did programs there and they never went to, uh, they never went to Hebrew school or anything like that there because we really weren't there enough. And I did everything at home. And during that time, in 1990, my father died. So, um, I went to minyan every day, and we had a 6:00 pm minyan. And, the kids, if my husband wasn't home, then the kids would come with me. And there was a retired doctor there who, um, he started to bring suckers in his pocket. His coat pocket for my kids. Because they would come, and then they would climb up on his lap and they would get the suckers. And, I mean, the doctor loved it. Doctor Brown. and my kids loved it, because we have a sucker before dinner. Then I would go Saturday morning and-and I'd go Friday night, and Friday night was always at 8:15, so it was late. But I'd say to the kids, "Do you want to come to synagogue with me?" "Will there be snacks?" That's what they asked and I said, yes. And I said, okay, you go put on some school clothes because I always said we don't wear pants to shul. My daughter to this day does not wear pants to shul, although she'd like to. She says, how come Bubbe can wear pants to shul and I can't? And I said, when you're Bubbe's aage, you can wear pants to shul. I won't be here, you know? I don't know, we always did break fast, and we would have, uh, Rosh Hashanah. And what else? I mean, we'd have Hanukkah and so I would send presents back to my niece and nephew and and then people would send presents for them. I'd decorate the house and then they would know we lit the candles, now go sit under the banner. And that was their cue to get presents, you know. And I said, "Hanukkah is being brought to you by Auntie and Uncle Ken or Uncle Jeff and Auntie Maggie or or Bubbe and Zaidy, you know. " I am in the very fortunate position that both my kids live locally, so I don't have to get on a plane. I do have to drive a lot. But anyways.

Um, so tell me about your involvement with Hadassah Foundation.

So. Okay. Hadassah Foundation-I joined in 2016, and the Hadassah Foundation was formed... we just celebrated 25 years last year. So it was kind of like 1999. And it was a-[pardon me]. It was a way for us to give back to those people who needed it, those organizations who were helping us, I guess women who are in need. And they were always looking for women-run organizations and, um. Organizations that, they were developing leadership in young women in their teens and older. And in the time that I was on the Hadassah Foundation board, it's a limit of six years. We did a strategic plan. And unlike strategic plans in other organizations, we actually implemented it. And they created instead of just giving grants to those organizations in the United States. And then six months later, doing a review of Israeli organizations, they created core grants, which would be both Israel and United States. Then they created spark grants, and spark grants were for startups. There was a limit of $1,800 per spark grant, and it was only over two years. Core grants were over two years, but I think it was $35,000 per year. And then there was visionary grants, and those were for people for organizations that we had supported in past. But sometimes the projects take longer than the two year grant period. And so these these visionary grants would be, I think it's $120,000 over five years. Don't quote me on all these amounts. These were mostly organizations-that we had supported before and that needed a little bit more time to develop their, uh, their projects and maybe operating expenses, which is not what we would give grants for. It wasn't for operating expenses. And we also expanded, um, we expanded the breadth. So it wasn't just teenagers and up to 30. It was beyond. And, uh, but the core was always to develop Jewish leadership.

Um.

So, um, and I don't remember calling the grant that I gave the Bayley fund. Did I really call it that? I don't know, but I gave a large amount and we-I gave it to the Hadassah Foundation. And so we established a, um, we established a separate grant for an organization that develops leadership, opportunity and sisterhood, because that's what I felt when I was a member. And I'm still a member, you know, of Hadassah. Then I when I was honored by Hadassah back in 2009, those were the three things that I-I got out of being a member of Hadassah and-and those were the things that I think, um, Henrietta Szold, those were her, those were part of her vision to to help women and because she was very smart, Henrietta Szold, and she knew that if you train a woman, you train a family, you train a community and you train a village, and it's true. So, you know, in the beginning, back to when I moved to Philadelphia, I was more involved in the synagogue than I was in Hadassah, but I would go to the meetings because they created a new chapter for sort of Chester...Chester Springs, Chester City, but they created a new chapter. And once a year I would have a meeting at my house because I lived on the other side of Valley Forge Mountain and so it was like a 20-minute drive from the suburbs to get to my place, but that was okay. It was only once a year, and then the other times I would drive in to wherever the meeting was going to be held, but I didn't really take a leadership role there. And then when I moved out here, they started a program called the Hadassah Leadership Academy, HLA, and it was based on a contribution from-a very generous contribution-from a member who wanted to develop leadership, not necessarily for Hadassah only, but for the Jewish community. And so the first year, I was part of that first year group, it was a three-year program. So the first two years there were themes, uh, women in the Bible. And what was the first year? It was a long time ago, 30, 25 years. But there was a theme. And then the third year we did a project and we developed, um, our project was "water for life" and it was how to develop water because that was the problem in Israel. And so, that was our theme. And we spoke at synagogues, we gave a d'var at synagogues, and we created a curriculum for Jewish day schools and for, you know, religious schools or, you know, after school. And, um, what's the third thing we did? I think we represented water at, uh, there was an Israel Day, Independence Day, one year at Bellevue Park. And, um, and we had t-shirts and water bottles and something else, I don't know, raise money.

Um, with the Bayley fund. Um, when you're giving grants, what do you look for in choosing your grantees?

When I was developing this, you know, directing where the money was going to go, I was working with our director, Stephanie Blumenkranz, And, um, I established the fund, but I don't sit on the committee. And I said, there are three focuses. So it was leadership-Leadership, opportunity and sisterhood. And that's what I got when I was part of Hadassah Leadership Academy.

Careful. You're good. You were covering it for a second.

Yeah, well, you don't have to hear every word. But that's what I got. I met women that I would never have met otherwise. Not only from-from here. And once a month, we would get together. Sandy Samuels was our counselor, our guide, our facilitator, and we would present somebody different, would do the presentation. Um. And-I'm not touching it.

Good.

We, uh. I'm not sure where I was going with that, but, um, so in establishing this grant, I said that it doesn't have to be a forever grant. It's going to be for ten years. And, um, it's going to go to organizations either in Israel or in United States that fulfill those that vision. And so the first one went to J Girls magazine. And this is a magazine that is totally digital. And it is totally, uh, put together by an editorial board of teenagers, women who are 16 and 17, so Grade 11 and 12. And, um, and they were, I mean, I was just really impressed. Because they were-that's the time you have to get them, and even then it might be too late. But when they are discovering their own, um, Jewish identity and how they want to be connected, and do they want to be connected, and with whom do they want to be connected? And then there's another organization that we also give grants to, and that's called Moving Traditions. And it also works with teens. But it deals with teens who are maybe not the mainstream, so they might be LGBTQ, blah blah blah blah. You know, I don't know, they add so many things to it, but, um, kids who are just not, you know, going to high school, going to day school or going to religious school and then having confirmation. And then, uh, you know, I don't know, but, um, anyways. Moving Traditions and J Girls magazines really had similar visions, and J Girls magazine belonged within the walls of Moving Traditions. And so they combined, and they were very concerned about whether I would be okay with them still getting the grant. And I said, absolutely. I read the email and I got through the first two paragraphs and I thought, why are they not combining? And then I read the third paragraph. And so they were, and I have met the executive director from J Girls magazine, and she's just happy as can be. She's doing what she wants to do in, within the Moving Traditions. So she's-we had lunch when I was in New York, so it was, I mean, it was great. But, you know, it's not something, um, that they have to include me on the committee or, you know, because I'm an alumni now. I'm not on the board, but I think we were pretty specific in setting out the goals for this grant. So, um, I think that I think that they will follow my vision, um, for the Bayley fund, you know, my grandfather, may he rest in peace, bought a number of properties in Vancouver and surrounding areas, and they were transferred from my grandfather to my uncle and my father and then to my brother and I. My uncle never got married. So, um, my brother and I were talking, and, you know, really, it's not very-well-Canada doesn't make it very conducive for Americans to own property in Canada. And so I thought, you know, I'm only going to end up paying taxes. I was paying taxes in two countries. So I decided and my brother said," I will buy you out." That was great. And with the money that I got, I made some major contributions to a number of organizations, and Hadassah Foundation was one of them. I'm still working with Hadassah for something for them, but I also gave money to. Brothers for Life. Soldiers helping soldiers come to a new normal after injury. And, um, I also gave money to Make-A-Wish Foundation. So, yes, because that was very close to my heart. You'd think that I would remember them all if you gave away half a million dollars. Make-A-Wish and Brothers fo Life and Hadassah Foundation. And then I will make a contribution-oh, Hartman, the Hartman Institute. And, um, I've been on the board there since 2008. They obviously don't have limits on how long you can be in, but I have seen the metamorphosis of that board and of the organization itself and how it's reaching out, not just in Israel, butthey're reaching out in the United States and Canada. And, um, we have a co-president in New York, and when I joined the board, um, there was one person who kind of held the fort in the United States, and now there's like 65. So Yehuda Kurtzer, son of Daniel Kurtzer, who was the ambassador to Israel and is now a teacher, but he's, um, he he was, uh, he is the co-president with Daniel Hartman, who is the son of the founder, David Hartman.

And every time I go to a board meeting, I think, okay, well, we're just on a good path right now. And then they come up with something new, and and there's a whole new area in the last five years called Wellspring, and this is as a result of all the calls that we got from, uh, camps and religious schools and day schools and anybody running some program for teens. And so it's just expanded. And that's really, uh, we have a family foundation, Bayley Family Foundation. And, um, when we give to Hartman, that's usually where we direct our funds to go because both my-I have four grandchildren. So both my kids, you know, they each have two children and they want to be able to have an opportunity for the kids, a space for them to feel comfortable. So they have, like Hartman has a teen fellowship program as part of Wellspring. It's like unbelievable. And they've gone from, I think, 60 in the first year to 330 in the third year. And, uh, not only that, but they are also ordaining rabbis in Israel. They started first, and now they're in their first cohort ordaining rabbis here in the United States. So I said, "What will-what will be there?" And you know, what denomination? And they said, the Hartman denomination. You know, you could be orthodox, conservative, reform and any of the other iterations, but you are, you're going by what? Hartman. You know, the way that Hartman learns and teaches from the Talmud and the Torah to the effects that it has today.

So I could sum that up.

Uh, nobody can ever sum it up because it's true. They finally have admitted that we have not got the the elevator speech. But if I could sum up what Hartman is doing, Hartman is using Jewish values and principles and morals to infuse today's Jewish society, both in Israel and in the United States. And they are very different. We see the same situations and the same words with different meanings. And that's just the way it is. It doesn't mean we have to change. It just means we need to understand one and the other. So, it's an amazing organization. And they are teaching scholars, and they have a rabbinical program. And it's just too bad that we missed out on three or four of the programs this year, um, because of the Israel-Iran war. So for that 12-day period, that's when we were supposed to have our second, our biannual board meeting, our community leadership program, that is, we had 200 people signed up two months ago with 100 on the waiting list, and they had organized separate meetings with people, you know, bringing people in. There's such a thirst for that from the Jewish community and a lot since October 7th. Um, for connection, understanding, community.

Um, you've spent so much of your life sort of dedicated to women and leadership. I'm curious what lessons you taught your daughter. Uh, what what did you tell her about leadership? And how has that transformed her life.

Well, not only my daughter, but also my daughter-in-law, who is bat Avraham v'Sarah. But, um, I guess I did it by example. So they knew that, you know, like all the meetings that I went to, and I was on the JDS board and I was on the Federation board and I was on, you know, some other education committee and I was on Hadassah and, you know, so they kind of saw my leadership roles by what I did. And, um, I think there was no prouder moment than when I was honored by Hadassah at a gala here in 2009, and my kids introduced me. So that was really special. I mean, you know, because I mean, they're now in their mid-30s. So this was what, 16 years ago. But still they were you know, they had come of age. And I often thought, should I be taking my daughter to some of these luncheons or things like that? My daughter did co-chair Connections with me one year. Um, and also, I chaired the AIPAC dinner, and she came for lunch when, uh, I was going for lunch with these AIPAC guys, and I said, come for lunch. I took them to Glendale because I was a member. And, um, and they were the ones who said, well, why don't you co-chair this? She's happily eating her salad. She said, well, why don't you co-chair this with your mother? And she goes, you know, she did, but there's a lot of help. There's a lot of staff. When you do something for AIPAC or you do something for Federation or, um, well, Jewish day school, I actually did a lot myself, but I was also the auction chair. And before that, I mean, I came out here, I thought, just keep a low profile. Well, that lasted a year. And, um, you know, I just was at the school because I was raised with my mother being the professional volunteer. And for a long time I couldn't work here. I didn't become a citizen until 2004, but I had a green card, but. So I could do everything, including paying taxes. But I couldn't vote. And by 2004, I was ready. I said, okay, I have to be able to vote. I'm not agreeing with some of this stuff. A lot of good it did me. But anyways, I think it was leadership by example. You know, now, has my daughter become really involved? Not necessarily. But you know, she's involved in her own thing and she's in Maui right now with the family. I have a condo there. So they're there for a month. And I said, would you like to come with me to the Lion of Judah Lunch because she knows that, because we give a certain amount, we're all Lions of Judah through the our family foundation. And so she said, sure, sign me up. And my daughter-in-law is on the Jewish Day School board, and because my granddaughter is going to Jewish Day School, she's three, she's three and a quarter, let's say. And so she's going to- but not preschool. It's preschool, but she calls it school. It's definitely school. And um, and it makes a big difference. I mean, you know, they were lighting candles and making challah at home, but now she knows all the prayers like off by heart. And then she knows how to say Amen at the end. It's like pretty cool. And, um. And then she's been asked to be on the young the Federation Young Leadership Board. Is that what it's called?

Not quite sure, but.

Something like that. So she's going to a retreat in Denver in August. And so, um, then she's got girlfriends that they're very good friends with our cousin, uh, Josh Niehaus and his wife, Carly. And Carly's on this committee, so she's come to be on the committee with me, you know. And then she has Jessica Schweiger, David's very good friend, Barak Schweiger. So they would been really close friends since they came from Israel into JDS. So, you know, she got involved with the Holocaust Museum. I said, "Michel, I have to teach you the n word. It's called no, no." She says, I know, but she says her plate isn't completely full yet. But thank you. I appreciate that, you know. And I said, okay, you know, because been there, done that. So anyways.

That's great. Um, so it's we're almost right at an hour. And I told Lisa I would keep this to an hour. I could talk to you for another hour easily.

I do talk a lot.

Well, I'm enjoying it. I did want to ask just one more question, which is-you're very involved with Israel and with everything that's happening in Israel right now.

Um, yes.

I don't know what to ask you about it, but, words of wisdom for the community. Words of wisdom for the world.

I don't know. I mean, everybody comes to their relationship with Israel on their own. My relationship with Israel, first of all, I have family there who they left from a concentration camp. They went to Israel. And, the family, the woman that I used to see all the time, just passed. The husband passed a while ago. But, the first time I ever went there, I shared a room with her son who was a year-and-a-half. Her son is now 53 or 54. And every time I've been to Israel, I've met up with Miriam, and, uh, and, uh, Elchanan passed a long time ago, but with Miriam and we would walk around, we would have lunch. And then she introduced me to her son, Avishai, and, and his wife, Merav. And I became close with Merav and then their kids. And so, you know, as always, a Shabbat afternoon where we get together, we have lunch, and we just talk, you know, and we catch up. And now the kids, they're fluent English speakers. And so they're great. And I did say, "How are the kids doing?" So she said, Noga, who's actually born on my birthday, um, she's the oldest. She just pulls it all inside of her. She just clams up. And Nadav, who's two years younger, doesn't stop talking. So that's really interesting to see how everybody is, but I've been checking in with, you know, Barbara Sofer, who is a friend. She does the PR for Hadassah office in Israel. But Barbara and I became good friends. So, you know, there's always a breakfast where we just, like, share everything and or a Shabbat dinner or both at her place. And I've gone to Shira Hadasha, which is, it's an orthodox, uh, egalitarian, if you can believe that, synagogue in Jerusalem on Emek Refaim. And then I've had soldiers that I hosted for ten years. So I have a lot of those soldiers that I like to make connections with. And they've gotten married. They've had kids. It's just like, some of them have gotten divorced, you know. And I'm just like a second mom to some of them. And so, um, it's I definitely, you know, have a foot planted in Israel. Would I go and live there for six months? Well, I have grandchildren. I really want to see them, but I might do it one year and maybe not six months, maybe three months. I had an Israeli-sorry-I had an Israeli Hebrew teacher, like somebody who came from Israel. And he says, "We are going to speak only in Hebrew." I was nine, I was in fourth grade. I tried that at JDS and they said "Oh, they won't understand." And I said, "Well, I'm a product of that." And after a month, you understand and you get it. And so I learned how to speak Hebrew fluently, but my brother, who was three years ahead of me, did not. So,'ve lost a lot of the words. They've changed a lot of the words, I learned, you know, with vowels. They write everything. So sometimes I can read it and sometimes not. But, you know, I have enough to be dangerous. So, you know, it's true. If you're speaking and they speak very quickly, but if you're speaking in Hebrew, you never know how much I really understand. So. And for me, you know, I can see that in, in my latter years. Um, I, I find that I'm going to synagogue. When my father died, I said, I'm going to say Kaddish every day. And my husband said, for how long? And I said, I don't know, you know, maybe six months, maybe 11 months, the whole thing, which is what I did. And then, uh, I found it very relaxing to go to synagogue on Saturday morning because he didn't talk about business then. So you were kind of, like, off the hook and, um, when I was going to, when I was in Israel, I went to, um, I was going to Hartman and I just found that I didn't want to answer any email, And I was-I was the Seattle chapter president, then later on, I became a region president and I was on the national board. And, you know, two hours of email every night. And I just thought, oh, I'm taking Saturdays off, you know. And I'd go to synagogue and then I'd come home and maybe have a nap, watch golf, you know. And so, then Covid hit. I was live streaming, but I hadn't, you know, like, at Beth Shalom, we really never stopped having synagogue services. Some of them were outside when we first started, but, I hadn't gotten back into the rhythm of going. And then my mom died. And so I went back and was there-I was actually zooming into our morning minyan because 7:00 in the morning I could hardly get up and be on zoom. And for the first while, we were counted as part of the minyan, until the Religious Practices Committee decided that, you know, um, you had to be in person. But I still go every Saturday and Sunday. So I don't-I'm not zooming in, getting up at 6:25. It's like, well, it's taught me though, to go to bed earlier and I still do that.

Okay. I should wrap this or Lisa will string me up.

Oh. That's okay. [Edited MM 12.12.25]