The season for oily, oilier and oiliest

Shiputzim. One word, sooo much stress!

Shiputzim is Hebrew for renovations, and that’s what we Israelis do best!

But our shiputzim are unlike anything you know or have seen. We build ‘out’- so that within a few years of a building being built, it has put on ‘lots of weight’ – pot-bellies sticking out from here and there.

We recently decided to add our own touch to our 6 story building- an additional two rooms for our growing family. You may laugh- why spend so much money adding on two little rooms? Why not move to an apartment that is a bit bigger? I’ll tell you why- that’s the way things are done around here! I have a few neighbors who added on 1 meter by 2 meters- just enough room for an extra bed! Sounds silly, but that’s the way it is.

I’m sure that all of you who have remodeled are familiar with the constant decisions, adjustments, compromises etc. involved. Their inevitable byproduct is stress.

A few days ago, having reached a point where I was sure I’d fall apart any minute, I turned to G-d and asked for Him to help with it all. The bills, the tiles, the light fixtures- it had gotten out of hand and I needed His help.

Sara Debbie Gutfreund mentions on aish.com in her article “Hanukkah’s Last Light”:

The Talmud relates that the most talented Jewish artists of the time, the very ones who constructed the holy Tabernacle in the desert, were utterly unable to do the final ‘touch’ of attaching all the last pieces together (called in Hebrew “Hanukkat HaMishkan).

G-d was teaching them (and us) that the ‘last step’ has to come from G-d because the final seal of transformation is always a compassionate miracle. We can’t do it all by ourselves.

G-d extends Himself, so to speak, to help us on the eighth night of Hanukkah, bringing down an other-worldly perfectly pure light.

So how did I ask G-d for help from within a dusty home flying with nails, hammers, color charts, tiles and dirty dishes? Just a simple ‘hello!’ is all it takes. Something along the lines of ‘Hi G-d, it’s me Revital here in the first building on the right with all those cement bellies sticking out. I’m kinda feeling overwhelmed…. Help!” I felt an immediate sense of relief, and knew I could move on… to preparing sufganiyot!

Yes, it’s Chanukah, and is the season for oily, oilier and oiliest. Come on, admit it, you make latkehs in the ‘oiliest’ category, right? 😉 So take out your frying pans and vegetable oil and get fryin’!