This was a huuuge Shabbat. The emails and the phone calls kept pouring and the guest count to rise… Thursday, we already had around 60 guests planned… There was no way we could fit everyone in our house (unless we asked them to sit on each other’s laps J ) So we decided to host the Shabbat meals for this week in the Novotel, a great hotel where we organized already many celebrations, Purim, Pesach, Rosh Hashana… (this is an opportunity to thank Mr. Attias, manager of the hotel for his valuable help and all the staff of the hotel, always eager to assist us and a pleasure to work with).
That was some organization: cook the meals in our home for 70 people (the numbers went up on Friday), pack and transport everything to the hotel, think about all the details… where would we wash our hands? Bring the song booklets, the wine openers, all the salads, fish, main and side dishes, the cakes… Transport packs of water and cold drinks, cutlery and plates, etc. Of course, we also needed to kosherize the oven in order to reheat the food prior to Shabbat…
The meals were fantastic: 70 guests from France, Israel, UK, United States, even Venezuela gathered to feed their bodies (!) and souls with the delicacies and the spirit of Shabbat… There was a group of French young people vacationing in Greece, teachers from the UK, a school principal from Israel who invited the former to make Aliya and teach there (she said there is a lack of male teachers), various couples and families who all mingled in a relaxed atmosphere. Each one introduced himself in a round full of laughter…
There was a lot of work before and during the Shabbat of course, (not forgetting the cleanup after), but amazingly, like an angel sent from Heaven, Leah Touger came to our rescue. She is staying with us for the week, and did not rest until all the work was done, the plates set, the dishes washed, the kids taken care of... Leah, the words “thank you” are too pale for what you have done, but our hearts are forever grateful for the help you have offered us, always with a smile!
I hope you always continue to smile, and that life should smile back to you!!!!
As for us, it’s time to look for a larger place…