Aloha Bread Lovers

Aloha Bread Lovers – This Sunday we will be serving a comforting Bagel’s and Lox plate for breakfast. Yael makes great sourdough bagels, boiled in barley malt before baking to just the right doneness. Regarding music – while we are still on the edge of our seats waiting for Uke Jammer leader Gordon Duarte to get the part needed to fix his car so that he can make the journey from Hilo to Kapaau (he is a dedicated musician!), we do anticipate that the Uke Jammer’s will show up and fill the air with fun sounds perfect for a Sunday on the lanai.

And now this from Yael:

Some of you may have met my cousin Stav and her family at the bakery this week. ❤️

There is something incredibly special about having family from Israel visit us here in Hawaii—literally the farthest point on earth from Israel.

When we first moved here, we knew we were moving away from the people who had been the foundation of our lives: our family, our oldest friends, and the people who knew our stories long before we became who we are today. Over the years, we’ve built a beautiful life here. We made wonderful friends, and we were even fortunate enough that some parts of our family found their way to Hawaii, too.

But having my cousin visit with her husband and their two children has stirred something even deeper.

There are about 21 years between Stav and I. I was a young adult when she came into this world; I have known her since the day she was born (and in truth, even before!). Her grandfather was my grandmother’s brother. Because they came from a very large family, her grandfather and my mother were close in age and close at heart—and that same bond passed down through the generations.

While I grew up in Tel Aviv, her father and his siblings grew up on a kibbutz on Israel’s northern border. In Israel, that was considered far apart! Yet, our lives were always intertwined. We spent holidays together, shared vacations, played, laughed, and argued as we grew up side by side. Later on, we celebrated the milestone of building our own families, and we stood beside one another through saying goodbye to those we loved.

Those years aren’t just memories—they are the foundation of who we are.

When you move far away, the people you meet only know the version of you that arrived. They don’t know the child you were, the teenager, your family stories, or the raw experiences that shaped you. The mirrors they hold up reflect your present, but not your past.

I was talking with a dear friend the other day about “before”—before we met, before we moved here. We laughed about how much there still is to tell each other, and how many chapters of our lives we never lived side by side. There is a certain charm in that. But there is also something deeply comforting about family and about lifelong friends who become family. They already know the story of you.

I’m not naïve. I know that family and relationships aren’t always easy. But when there is love, genuine affection, and a desire to be part of one another’s lives, family can become an anchor. A place where you belong.

Having my beloved younger cousin and her family here has filled our home with laughter, old memories, new memories, Hebrew, and a feeling that is hard to describe.

It’s a piece of home crossing an ocean.

Our hearts are so very full.

We only wish they could stay. 🌊✨

Mahalo – David and Yael

P.S. – A Joke: WARNING – CLICK ON THIS LINK AT YOUR OWN PERIL (some foul language): https://www.oldjewstellingjokes.com/2019/01/16/gary-krakow-onions-499-49/