Kfar Saba's Open House at the Esra clubhouse on March 2 featured Medical Clowns, Rabbi Dan Vogel and freckled-faced Orna (alias ‘Shpilbee’, the cousin of Bilbee, known to many of us as Pipi Long Stocking). There was standing room only!

"Everybody loves a clown," says the colorfully clad, red-nosed Rabbi with a wide grin, “and when we start to blow bubbles everyone makes eye-contact with everyone else.” The tension and fear in hospital waiting rooms, clinics, dialysis units, burn units and children's wards begin to be replaced with sunshine and smiles. “Language is no barrier," adds Orna. "We use a kazoo for non-verbal communication.” “I use my own version of Swedish gibberish,” says Rabbi Dan. “I have no idea what I'm saying, but the children laugh.” Dan and Orna both took the seven-month course to be medical clowns with Simchat Halev at the Ichilov College. "You discover your inner clown and increase your inner happiness," says Orna. “You learn to connect with the needs of the patients. Clowns are also sent to Sderot and Ashkelon to help people, especially children, forget, at least for a while, what's going on outside.”

Dan and Orna work with children and their parents. Many doctors and virtually all nurses invite the clowns into the rooms to help distract their young patients while administering painful procedures. Smiles are infectious, and the staff often becomes involved. Balloons are twisted into poodles, a bottlebrush is used as an ear-cleaner, an empty watering can is 'poured' on a child's hair to make it grow and courage stickers are passed out. A talking puppet and a singing bear add to the joviality of the moment, and for a while we are transported to never-never land.