The Kikars of Jerusalem

They are called "round-abouts" in Britain, "traffic circles" in the USA, but here in Israel it is a "kikar" (plural is probably kikarot).

Technically kikar means "square" as in Safra Square near City Hall Jerusalem. But ..the traffic circle is well..i guess - silly me...a circle is not a square is it?   ... UNLESS, of course, it's in Israel.

Ok, here's the logic...i think!.  A public square is where people gather, nachon?  so...a traffic circle is really a square for automobiles and autobuses to gather..for a brief moment anyway..... except...well, in the this case it's not a square but a circle... i guess it is easier for the autos to manuever.  ....Simple isn't it?

Kikar Safra Jerusalem (Wikipedia)

We have some famous ones...Kikar Zion at the bottom of Ben Yehuda midrahov (pedestrian mall), and as I mentioned, Safra Square at the Iryia (City Hall) Jerusalem.  Neither of these is a "traffic circle" but are popular large or elaborate squares where events are held.

Kikar Rabin in Tel Aviv (Wikipedia)

In Tel Aviv, there is Kikar Rabin, also a very large public square for events, and with a long history.

However, Tel Aviv's Kikar HaMedina IS an actual traffic circle, an enormous one, lined with upscale boutique stores and restaurants.  And the center of the circle, which could be beautiful, has a few trees but mostly unattractive parched dirt..not even grass.  There are walkways through it; I think it's a location for homeless to congregate and sleep. Really, Tel Aviv you could do better than that at the most famous shopping kikar in the country !!

Kikar HaMedina (Visual Travel)

But really, what I wanted to write about were just the everyday traffic kikars of Jerusalem..scattered as they are throughout the City, in every neighborhood, on every street.  Most of them are good directors of traffic, some have interesting side shows like the one in Giva HaTzarfatit, (French Hill).  Right along side the circle, at the edge of the stone sidewalk one can find an industrial scale..which is working.   People stop by and weigh themselves, their children, pets, packages and you name it. What a riot

Directions are given in Jerusalem by landmarks more than by street names, and kikars play a big role in directions. "Go to the kikar at the bottom of the hill and take a right." Almost all of them are maintained with flowers and trees, are frequently updated with seasonal changes. Some are very beautiful.  I have included a few photos of the kikars of Jerusalem, here and on this picasa link because I enjoy them, and want you to enjoy them too !!

I have featured only a few, some of them to also showcase.the surrounding neighborhood - the street itself, the walls, the apartments with Jerusalem stone as our primary and required building material. Beautiful Jerusalem. From time to time I may snap some more pics of other kikars and post a notice on the blog.

Obviously the next best thing would be to come to Jerusalem and see for yourself!

Another Israeli Bus Story

"

I love Israeli bus stories....i've shared some over the years..... the taxi driver who cut off the bus to deliver a passenger the bus driver had left standing in the dust, the woman who handed her baby to an old man on the sidewalk while she loaded the stroller, and the bus driver slammed shut the doors and took off, leaving a bewildered old man with a baby on the sidewalk and a hysterical mother (and passengers) on the bus. I even had to direct a bus driver one time, one who didn't know the route.  Then there are those I haven't mentioned like the bus driver who stopped the bus outside the Merkaz HaRav Yeshivot, asking the passengers if they minded that he talked for a minute about his nephew who was one of the tragic victims of the terrible pigua at the yeshiva the night before.

Most of the time the buses in Jerusalem drive me mad.  They are always late, very very late, they run 2 or 3 buses together instead of spacing them out, the passengers are, ummm, not always on their best social behavior to put it mildly - talking loudly on their cell phones, blocking the aisles with enormous agalot, eating, glaring, shouting, etc..  Tonight however, it was all redeemed (at least until tomorrow. :)

I boarded my #18 bus and walked to the back where often an empty seat or two get overlooked.  Standing at the back door was a young secular man, playing his heart out on the guitar, and singing.  Now this wasn't any just-horsing-around, this guy was GOOD, and he was having a GOOD time.  The song was a really familiar popular song that i couldn't quite place, and i actually don't remember if it was an american or israeli song (i know i know !), but as he entered into a familiar chorus, the whole bus load of people belted it out with him...not just joined in... belted it out at the top of their lungs.

We quickly arrived at the next bus stop and he moved - i thought to let someone out - but instead, he and a few of his friends bounded off the bus. Amazingly, he was still playing the guitar as he leapt to the sidewalk. I was really disappointed I had missed the concert !!  Just then the entire bus load of passengers burst into applause. As the driver slammed shut the doors i noticed the very orthodox, perhaps hasidic rabbi, who had departed at the same stop, walked over to the guitarist/singer, back slapping him and grinning.  (See, we do get along sometimes...:)

Only in Israel.  Made up for all the rotten bus rides i've had. That's what Israel does to you...those precious "Only in Israel Moments" make it all worthwhile.

An Afternoon in the Judean Hills

Looking over the Judean Hills from HS Winery

Recently i spent some time in the Judean Hills with some friends, visiting Tavlin, an amazing spice store in the Eshtaol Forest (tavlin is the hebrew word for spice) and the Hans Sternbach winery in Givat Yishayahu, where we had a delicious lunch. I must say, i think i was too relaxed, too in awe of the beauty of the hills, too lost amongst the fragrances of the spices, and .. too much enjoying the wine and lunch to take good pictures for a story.

Which means of course that i have to take a second trip with pictures and story in mind.  Here are 2-3 photos to tease you.  In addition to the tavlin and the wines, we made a stop in Har Adar, where a craft and clothing fair was held in individual homes rather than under one common roof.  What an idea ! It was fun to drive through the lovely mountain town of Adar and enter various homes to enjoy them.  No pics at all from there though.

By that time, the wine...had settled in.. :)




Wine tasting with Adam, who teaches us about the various wines of HSW

Tavlin Spice Store in the Eshtaol Forest

Photo from israelreservation.com

Sefer Torah Dedication in Katamonim

I promised i would write about the events of Katamonin, specifically the Sefer Torah procession of last week.  In Jewish tradition, when a new Sefer Torah (Torah Scroll) is dedicated to a synagogue, before it is placed in the Ark of that beit knesset (synagogue), there is a procession down the streets - escorting the Sefer Torah to it's home. It's a lovely tradition, colorful, meaningful, and fun.  The Sefer Torah is carried by various honored individuals and under a canopy. It is escorted by songs, dance, brachot (blessings) and usually the young boys carry torches.  Here in Jerusalem, at least the procession last week, the real fire torches were replaced with torch like lights.

I don't know what beit knesset was receiving this new Scroll, although by the sign on the side of the van with the loudspeakers apparently this and other beit knesset are assisted by an organization which provides the equipment and coordination for the procession.

Actually I was in my apartment at my computer and heard the music and the loudspeakers. Of course, I had to investigate, and when i ran up the terrace to the street where the music was coming from, I discovered the parade.  People filled the street and sidewalk, walking along with the procession.  Twice the van broke down, the loudspeakers stopped functioning, the lights were out...and people waited. Most importantly, cars and buses also waited, as this is a busy but very narrow thoroughfare and bus route.  At one point I counted 8 buses lined up waiting for the procession to pass so they could get through.  All I could think was how glad i was that i wasn't ON one of those buses in a hurry to get somewhere !!  It was however, coordinated with the police as there were police vehicles at the front and back of the parade.

I've been to many Sefer Torah dedications and each one is special for its own reasons.  This one was special because it was in my neighborhood, an unexpected simcha (happy event) to enjoy and join in.

For a few more pictures of the procession on Rh.Yosef ben Yozer click here

The Shesek

I've always said my Jerusalem neighborhood is colorful - full of rich mizrachi tradition and wonderful neighbors.  This afternoon as i came home, one of my neighbors called me over and presented me with a sakit (bag) of shesek (loquat) from his tree.  As i thanked him i realized the tree in my own yard was brimming with ripe and unpicked fruit. It got me thinking about the fruit of this Land.

Not long after my neighbor's gift i heard a great commotion on the street above me, with brachot and singing emanating from the loudspeakers, blanketing the neighborhood. A Torah scroll dedication was in progress. I ran up and took several pictures as the Torah was being escorted to it's home in some nearby beit knesset (synagogue). I will share about THAT and the pictures in another post.

..but first the shesek.

The Shesek tree bears it's fruit in late spring and the little oval orange shesekim are sweet and juicy and a favorite amongst Israelis. (both people and birds !! ).  Shesek trees are all over Israel, in yards and home gardens and have deep green large broad leaves that protect the clusters of fruit. When you pick the shesek you have to clip the stem above, otherwise the inner fruit is already exposed ready to peel the skin (if you wish) or eat !! Inside are 3 shiny large seeds..(which..of no importance - float ! when dropped in water)


Here are a few shesek recipes from Liz Steinberg from her Tel Aviv based food blog Cafe Liz . Note: Even though some shesek can be slightly tart (depending on the variety), they can usually be substituted for apricot or peach in recipes.


Liz's recipes include among others:
Loquat Peach Waffles
Creamy fruit dessert with loquat and strawberries
Savory roasted loquat and plum

These pictures here on the blog are mine, but because others must agree it is such a pretty fruit i have also included a rather fun Flicker Photo link celebrating the shesek !

Lag B'Omer 2011

Motzei Shabbat began the semi holiday of Lag B'Omer in Israel (and elsewhere too for that matter).  It is the 33rd day of Counting the Omer from Pesach to Shavuot... (intended to link Pesach - remembering the Exodus from Egypt to Shavuot - the Giving of the Torah).  During the first 32 days of Counting the Omer, some prohibitions are in place and a semi-mourning period exists due to a plague that occurred during the Rav. Akiva's lifetime.

At any rate, on the 33rd Day, the semi-mourning period ends and observant Jews throughout the world celebrate by lighting bonfires, singing and dancing throughout the night.  In Israel, non-religious Jews don't usually participate, but all over Israel, bonfires light the night, smoke fills the air, and partying, singing and dancing continues until the wee hours of the morning, as thousands of traditionally and religiously observant Jews delight in the lifting of restrictions and the end of the mourning period.     

My neighborhood, a richly traditional mizrachi community, was no exception.

Coming home late from coffee with a friend, I discovered the Party a few meters from my front door...so...like any good neighbor, i went out and joined the merrymaking about 2am...it lasted til 4am...

.......

Mmmmm - Israeli Fresh Garlic

Some things are almost too pretty to use, but...how else can i make my shakshuka?

Spring in Israel means many things of course, but one of them is the delightful, delectable, gorgeous (and did i say fragrant?) purple w/green and white stalks fresh! garlic. 

I almost missed them this year...not that i wasn't aware they were on the scene and in the markets, it's just...well, i had a lot on my mind and many things to do, and simply mused over the idea that maybe i would skip them this year.

Thank God i woke up in the nick of time to rush to the shuk (yes even though they are available in the supers, one does NOT buy fresh garlic anywhere else but the shuk. For pete's sake. No way.) It was the end of the season, but LOOK! how beautiful they still are.  I even went back the next day and bought some for a "present" for a friend who was traveling outside the country and knew she would be sad to think she missed them.

I only hang a few to dry but one can buy fresh bulbs without the stalks for a while yet....beats the chemically dried white variety imported from China...

The taste of the fresh garlic is similar and used in all recipes that call for garlic, but..it is delicate, slightly sweet and more mild.  It also stays sweet and doesn't become bitter when sauteing it.  I like to use cloves of fresh garlic when pan frying or poaching salmon.  Very nice.

To honor the fresh garlic i've included a couple of recipes. One, fresh garlic confit, from a wonderful blog called Israeli Kitchen, and a video for a simple chicken/fresh garlic dish from Ynet Foods (Phyllis Glazer.)  My friend Micha Finkelstein sent me this video and while I haven't made it yet, he said it was wonderful and i trust his culinary opinion!   Enjoy!

The Confit:
http://www.israelikitchen.com/everyday-cooking/recipe-fresh-garlic-confit/

The Video:(Video is in Hebrew but there is an English writeup if you click on this hyperlink -it will remove you from the blog to the webpage)
Chicken/Fresh Garlic

The Package

Earlier i wrote about the adventures and challenges of finding addresses, people and places in Jerusalem (Hidden in Jerusalem).  One might think it is simply a frustration we could do without. 

The truth of the matter lies deeper.

Jerusalem -  Israel itself - is a place where one comes, not necessarily to enjoy the finer things of life - though they do exist here - but rather to be challenged to deal with the complexities of it.

I would go even further.  If you are a Jew who has made aliyah like myself, you are here for one reason... and that is to come face to face with the issues for which you were brought to earth. Ha! You thought it was simply that one loves and longs for Israel, and that Israel is the only place on earth where you feel at home.

The reality is that the complexity of finding addresses and people and places is a tiny reflection of the REAL life here in Yerushalayim, and the REAL life here in Yerushalayim (and all of Israel) is a TEST. It is frustrating, challenging, confusing, maddening, difficult, mishugana...  and deep, sweet, meaningful, warm, rewarding, comforting and brings shalom.


When "the search" occurs it is only about this question: ..will you persevere until you overcome and find the treasure, or will you give up halfway through?  This is why one must have the proper attitude towards it....it speeds the goal of learning to overcome.

Sigh.........so in light of the above, i share the following story.

The Package

It doesn't matter that there was a 5 month balygan in the US before the package ever hit the tarmac at Ben Gurion, or that during those 5 months I kept bugging Avi, the postmaster at my neighborhood doar (post office) to look in the back and under the table for my missing package.  Here, if the personnel is in a good mood, they will let you come into the package area behind the locked doors, and look for yourself.  For 5 months I looked - no package, until I finally wore out my welcome...and so i waited and waited for the "slip" at my mailbox inviting me to pick up my package.


When the slip finally came, it wasn't a slip at all, but a letter, in Hebrew, addressed to me in Hebrew, even though the package was written entirely in English.  It was delivered "next door" not to my mailbox and I discovered it by accident...and that's another story. Hmmm......immediately i knew this would not be routine..

The letter told me to come to a "special" Post Office in another neighborhood, 2 buses away....because i owed customs on the package.  Now, I knew that i didn't owe customs on the package, or more correctly should NOT owe customs on the package, so I called the telephone number listed and they explained to me I had to come there to pay the customs, to come to the G'vat Shaul Post Office and gave me directions...  Ha - I wish!!


Luckily a friend gave me a lift to the Post Office, I saw a door marked "customs" but as I approached the door I found it locked. Nevertheless, I spotted a guard and another entrance nearby and went over there. As I entered I asked the guard how to get to the "customs" and was greeted with a sweet Israeli shrug. It only took asking two people "eifo customs?" before i found my way down a hallway and through a door where i could see a counter clearly dealing with such matters.


Finally, I thought, as I waited my turn. When at last I approached the counter with my letter, the woman took it, looked up and  began screaming at me - in Hebrew of course. Not knowing exactly what she was saying, I was taken by surprise, and asked Ma? Lama? (what? why?)??? Waving the letter and motioning first out the door and then the opposite direction, out the window, I gathered that the package wasn't here, in this office.  Eventually another worker who knew English came over and read the letter and told me no, the package wasn't here but he could tell me sort of how to get there, and proceeded with very long complicated directions...to some other building not on this block.  (#$%^#)  When I questioned the customs (after all I was STANDING IN THE CUSTOMS OFFICE), he also shrugged, and laughed and said...you must understand that everything in Israel costs money... (..and yes..it does)

So...i toddled off out the door, down the sidewalk, through the parking lot, and...w**...there was nothing at all looking anything like a post office building ANYWHERE IN SIGHT.


Spotting a restaurant in the bottom of the Post Office and just off the parking lot, I decided to inquire within.  I'm telling you if it hadn't been for these guys, I would still be looking. I entered, asking, with my letter if they could tell me where this Post Office address was.  The first 2 men took me back to one of the chefs, who pointed with equally long directions ...to the left. I know i looked frustrated, so one of them took me outside, pointed to a building quite a ways away, asked me if i saw this tiny barred window towards the back.. "Yes", I said "I see the window."  "Well", he said "if you go around some stairs that are nearby, up into the building from the back...down a hallway, and down some steps, you will be close."  OMG, you've got to be kidding.

But I did. I followed his directions to the T.  When i finally got INTO the building, there was only one unlit, very dark stairwell leading to a basement.  Hmmm...not sure i wanted to go down there....and I heard workers at the bottom...was it safe?  A little nervously i descended the stairs, stepping over the torn up concrete, and almost tripping over some pipes..and found myself in another hallway, with some open docks.  


Stopping at the first door on the right, again with my letter in hand, I was waved further down the now open series of docks.  Finally I found a large receiving area, and a desk of sorts with a man behind it, looking very bored.  Handing him my letter, he nodded, and began the search for my package.  Except he couldn't find it.  After several long minutes he remembered there were some in a pile on the floor ..and ahhh, there it was! 

After 5-1/2 months, omg, there was my package.....I could finally have it. ...but...not yet.  My customs he said was 200 nis.  MAAAAAAAA? (WHAAAAT?)  More than - or about equal to - the worth of the package itself.  I didn't have 200 nis...how could that be when i  was quite sure i didn't really owe anything?


What he said next caused me to lose it entirely.... moving the package away from me he declared you will have to go to Tel Aviv to pay the customs and you can't have the package until the customs are paid.  In my mind i grabbed him by the collar, shoved my face into his face, and screamed I am not leaving here without this package, and I am NOT GOING TO TEL AVIV TO PAY THE CUSTOMS. But...in reality i didn't grab him by the collar, only screaming that i am NOT going to Tel Aviv to the pay the customs... and i burst into tears.

I guess he had never seen anyone do that before....so he did the only thing a certain type of Israeli would do....he looked totally disinterested and...shrugged, turning to the next customer in line. 

I tried to explain my frustration to him and finally decided I would take my never-to-be- used, for emergencies only, credit card....(it turned out the Tel Aviv trip was only if I wanted to CONTEST THE CUSTOMS), except....he would only take cash.  I had no cash. Sitting in front of me was this package I waited for so long, I could touch it, but I couldn't have it.  He was going to save it only 2 days before returning it, but after I pleaded with him, he agreed to hold it a week so I could return with the cash, and then he tossed it on the heap on the floor again...turning finally to the next in line. 

Defeated, I left the dock and returned to the street above, tears of frustration rolling down my face.  It was then that I decided I could NOT leave G'vat Shaul (the neighborhood) WITHOUT THAT PACKAGE.  If I had to rob a bank, I was going home with that package....so I did just that...I robbed my own bank account, where my rent money was gathering, and withdrew the 200 shekels, marched back to the surprised dock worker, shoved the 200 nis in his face, told him someone came and loaned it to me, and left with my package...when he finally found it again......

It's not that I cry that often....but maybe it was good for me...tears are sometimes necessary when it gets too frustrating, challenging, confusing, maddening, difficult, mishugana..........

....and yes, the package was worth it...it was something my daughter sent me.  :)

oh..btw...Avi told me later I should never had had to pay anything...that the whole thing was wrong.   I knew that.   Guess maybe I failed that part of the test.  :)  Still a friar after all these years. !

HOLY PEOPLE

For those who didn't know..the Fogel Family, so brutally murdered last Shabat, were expelled from Netzarim Gush Katif in 2005.

Shkedia Gives Way to Spring

It's been one of those weeks from hell and i thought i might share a story or two..but they are too numerous and too sad/unhappy....so instead will try to cheer us all up (me included) with a few pictures of the shkedia in my back yards...and the lovely branch my neighbor (you know the one who says I am the flower) cut for me so i could have the fragrant blossom and beauty in my dira..

Tu B'Shevat 2011

Tu B'Shevat - a time to remember our connection to the Land of Israel, planting vineyards and gardens, making the desert bloom, partaking of the fruit of Eretz Yisrael.. This holiday is also referred to as the New Year of the Trees.

The day is marked by planting trees throughout the Land, particularly important this year with the forest fires in the Carmel Mountains. Many Sephardi families mark the day with a seder much like the Pesach seder, with brachot over the fruits and the wine.

I had the privilege once again of attending the seder of some dear friends who live in the center of Israel. It is always a special and sweet time.

"and I will restore my people Israel and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine, they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit." (Amos 9:14)

shabbat shalom

10 Reasons why i live in Yerushalayim

10 of the million or two reasons why i live in Yerushalayim

When....

1.I didn't have a refrigerator at least 20 people, even strangers, offered me help, and one of them found me one, bought and delivered it.
2. Some neighbors have a megaphone party in the middle of the night and no one complains.... since i wake up a lot during the night anyway, it's nice to hear the music.
3. We are having a butter shortage because of complications of the overly HOT summer and neither i nor the store workers knew about it when i inquired about the butter.
4. The waiter at the cafe i seldom visit, remembers me, where i sat and what i ordered a few weeks ago (just coffee and some cookies)
5. The same waiter absent-mindly takes the cos mayim (glass of water) i asked for to the table next to me, and then smiles sweetly as if i was his life long friend and he knows of course it is ok and he will bring me another one
6. The arab chef who is now my friend waves to me from the kitchen and sends out special treats for me when i go to that cafe.
7. The flower garden owner tells me i can take whatever flowers i need, he will deliver them and i can pay him whenever i have the money...
8. I recognize the autobus passengers as belonging to my neighborhood even though i don't know any of them and I feel comforted and at home
9. My neighbor, when i tell him i forgot to get my shabbat flowers and am running to get them, tells me that I am the flower.
10. I look around me and am surrounded by Israeli faces and sounds and smells and i know then that everything is ok

Hidden in Jerusalem

Jerusalem is known for hiding it's most amazing places down little alleys ways and behind obscure and hidden doorways.

Every Jerusalemite has been given an address, only to arrive at the building and find no trace of the supposed business or office...UNTIL, after circling the building several times, one spies an unused looking unmarked door in the back corner, behind some bushes, and gingerly pushes it open. Inside he will probably be met with a nondescript stairwell, seemingly leading to nowhere. No signs or names anywhere in sight. If he is uninitiated to the ways of Yerushalayim he might just give up and leave, but for the rest, well, they know the adventure of discovery is only beginning. Some unmarked door off this stairwell will produce the treasures sought: enormous state of the art business offices, sports centers, government offices , art studios, all bustling hubs of people and enterprise.

Lama, lama you ask (why, why?) ... but then you smile and realize that you wouldn't want it any other way. This is Israel, this is Yerushalayim.

I suppose to the person born in Jerusalem, what I am about to say will sound really silly, but I found what I felt was the greatest treasure of all a few weeks ago...and it's one that every kid and his parent knows about - like you know where to find the corner grocery store in your neighborhood. Except I didn't know about it.

Directions here are given not by street addresses but by landmarks. Many times over the last few years, in trying to describe a location in the moshava hagermanit, (German Colony) people would say to me, you know, it's by the swimming pool...or say matter-of-factly "you know where the swimming pool is, right?"

Nooo! I had no idea where this swimming pool was!!.. until that is about a month ago. I stumbled across it by accident. Waiting for something or someone near the big super(market) on Emek Refaim, I decided to walk down a little dark corridor between the super and the change store & coffee shop. The hallway went into the building that housed a few shops... and i had never looked to see what else was inside the building. I knew there was a gym inside somewhere, but as i walked around the corner...i saw a man sitting in a chair as if to take tickets or money...and i thought...you don't suppose........

OMG.... i peeked in and i could see just the beginnings of what i realized was not just any pool....it looked huge!! When I asked to go in and look I found behind this doorway a beautiful outdoor pool with slides, patios lined by a lawn with tables and umbrellas, and an enclosed olympic size pool that is absolutely gorgeous.

I was stunned. Down this dark little funny shaped hallway, there was a treasure of treasures. Right after my discovery, someone told me the pool was closing for good at the end of October, a Jerusalem rumor that, thank God, turned out to be false....but it sent me running with camera in hand and intention to plead for mercy for the pool.

The pool is open May - October for public swimming, swimming classes, exercise classes, and even sports a swimming team. What makes this treasure even more special is that originally, in the 50's before the moshava was built up, before there was a super or an Aroma coffee shop, even before there was a building with a funky little hallway to go down, there was this wonderful swimming pool....out in the open...in the field. Perhaps not the enclosed olympic pool yet, but...a lovely pool that I am sure was the summer hot spot this edge of town.

I was told that I could take pictures but not show the faces of the people swimming....for privacy and religious reasons....and since it is already mid October, the pool was accommodating... it was relatively empty, but lovely on a sunny autumn afternoon.

Forever the teacher, Jerusalem reminds us that the hidden things are worth the search, treasures to be cherished.

.... sometimes, the hidden treasures are people.

See more pool pictures here

Simcha on Rashbag

The long fall holidays in Israel are now drawing to a close......from the apples and honey of our New Year - Rosh haShana - to the deeper nature of Yom Kippur - either somber or joyful depending on one's tradition; continuing into the sukkot of Sukkot, and ending with a tradition of rejoicing and dancing with the Torah (Simchat Torah) - a practice kept by religious Jews, but the spillover of which is enjoyed by all ...

....if you live in my neighborhood anyway.

I returned home from work last night around 10:30 - 11pm...and the street was bursting with sounds of music, laughter, dancing....coming from all different directions and emphasized by techno-music equipment at its best. It was a block party of sorts, not limited to my block only - except that the dancing takes place, not on the street, but in the various synagogues or beit knesset throughout the neighborhood..or in their parking lots!

After a brief moment of resting and recuping from work, and resisting giving in to the back injury i sustained that day on my job, i grabbed my camera and headed for the source of the loudest sound system ! (what amazed me was that you might expect competing music from so many sources, but it seemed to all blend together!). I found the action I was looking for...t was at the very far end of Rh. Rashbag at the Edmond Safra Beit Knesset...in their parking lot and side yard.

As I walked down Rh. Rashbag I could hear the music coming down the terrace from the shuls on Rh. ben Yoetzer...and I was tempted to divert from Rashbag to take a peek there. But.....truthfully, Rashbag is my street, and we are still courting. Any side glance or trip, no matter how innocent or curious, might be misunderstood, and i didn't want to take that chance.... so.... in the end, my loyalty to Rashbag won over any desire to go up the terrace :)

Actually, the walk down Rashbag gave me opportunity to reflect and remember my own deep thoughts of late...and to ponder the personality of the neighborhood.

Just a few days ago, the sukkot (succas) were being frantically constructed - hammering and the sounds of building were filling the air... neighbors were sneaking off with the fronds of my favorite palm trees for the tops of their sukkot, and fall was being delayed with more heat waves.

After a week of the nighttime street being lit up with the colors of the succa and the smells and sounds of the meals and parties going on in them, there was now the sound of the succot coming down..for the most part a quiet and relaxed disassembling. Children could be seen dragging the now dried out fronds to the trash bins while parents packed away the tents and the poles of the succa.

For all practical purposes the chag was over, except for that wildly happy music blaring from the synagogues, and all people dotting the mirpasot (balconies) up and down the block as families stepped out in the night air to listen and enjoy. (Technically in Israel the Chag was over, but in an effort to identify with Jews in the Diaspora for whom Simchat Torah is an extra day, this second night of hakafot or Hakafot Shniyot is always observed. (Hakafot basically means "dancing in circles with the Torah"). Because it is not an official chag, it is relaxed from all or most of the regulations of the Yom Tov.

The yard itself was filled with men and boys dancing with the Torah, with each other, clapping and singing and reciting blessings in between. Women and children, old men and women, looked on, also clapping and singing. Candy and treats were thrown over the crowd several times, sending children scampering to find the treasures now scattering across the floor. Refreshments were available for those who wanted and neighbors, like myself, were totally and happily welcomed.

It was enough to ease the pain from my day's back injury at my job, and lift my spirits...

..As i returned home the melodies of one of my favorites, Anachnu ma'aminim, filled the nighttime skies and the holiday of Sukkot / Simchat Torah 5771 was now history......tonight when i walked down Rashbag..it seemed too quiet and rather dark and dull.

View more pictures of Simcha on Rashbag

Reflections on Yom Kippur

I found my own Yom Kippur message right in my back yard..well, front yard. The rosebushes belonging to the owners looked pretty dead but suddenly this one had the courage to bloom a beautiful rose in spite of the dead branches. So..... if the rose can do it, so, i guess, can we.

Yom Kippur is really nice in a lot of ways...it's sooo quiet...no traffic, kids on bikes and scooters. Erev Yom Kippur, after the meal before the Fast, the City becomes still. Really still. It's quite amazing the difference. Many people go to the synagogue where the Kol Nidre and other traditional liturgy is sung. The tradition for those who observe is to dress in white (symbolizing purity and forgiveness (cleansed white as snow). With no autos or buses, the streets fill with people, many whom are dressed in white.

Last night I walked through my neighborhood and over to Rh.Yochanan ben Zakai where the street was filled with people, strolling in the quiet evening - children on bikes and scooters zipping between individuals, just missing the baby carriages. It was almost midnight and the atmosphere was peaceful and happy and full of community. And that what Yom Kippur should be - a happy day...after all, we are forgiven and given another chance, nachon? !!

I don't attend the services, but walking through the neighborhood, which is filled with many many beit knesset, one can hear the liturgy...and everyone in the neighborhood, whether you have gone to the services or not, drops by the beit knesset at the end of the day - to hear the blowing of the shofar. The shofar mystically signifies that the Divine Presence, which has been near during the 10 days between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, is now leaving. Practically speaking, the shofar signifies the end of the Fast, the end of the 10 days and Yom Kippur, and the Book of Life is now sealed for another year.

Kind of nice..... and now we could go eat!!

Before the evening finished, the sounds and sights of succah building (for upcoming Sukkot) were echoing through the streets...even, to my great dismay, someone cutting all the fronds of a beautiful palm tree near my terrace steps...for their succa of course.

Ah, yes, Yom Kippur barely closed it's door and we are back to this, huh? ....taking liberty with the law...

Back to reality.....and traffic.

Who's On First ?????

Now this is a perfect example of what i was writing about in my previous post "It isn't legal is it?"...

Return to Standard Time Causes Uproar
by Maayana Miskin

While Israel switches to Daylight Savings Time at the same time as much of the Western world, the return to Standard Time in winter is timed to occur before the holiday of Yom Kippur, no matter when the holiday falls on the secular calendar. This year, the holidays are earlier than usual, meaning Israelis are planning to “fall back” to Standard Time in early September – several weeks before most of the world.

......By Sunday evening, nearly 115,000 people had signed an online petition created by high-tech professional Shimon Eckhaus calling to simply ignore the switch back to Standard Time. “Schools, businesses, public institutions, families, everyone – please just keep acting as if the clock didn't move,” the petition read.
Read more at http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/139510

Really, if this isn't hilarious, well, i don't know what is then....

Let's see, in addition to being asked if I keep kosher, or am shomer shabas, i will be asked if i observe standard time or daylight time. 115,000 people said they would just ignore the law of falling back to standard time...leaving part of the country on one time schedule and others on another...except these aren't time zones, and you don't know who's on what!!..

Ammm, that doctor's appointment I made for late September - will my doctor's office be on my time or their time? I'm in a coffee shop and I look up at the clock...is it my time or their time? Will Bezek lower the evening calling rates on my time schedule or theirs? Will the autobus stop running now? or an hour from now?

Look, you wanna live in a country where everyone like a bunch of lemmings, just follows the same clocks within each time zone? Come on... boorrring.....:)