Eating Like You Live on a Stipend

Our newest discovery for eating dinner on our budget - business lunch. Apparently business people like to eat lunch, bargain-priced, large lunch - until around 5 p.m., a reasonable time for non-business people to start eating dinner. Rina and I ate lupper this twilight at Macaroni, a great Italian diner near Ben Yehuda street. For 39 shekels per person we had soup, antipasto, homemade bread, salad, and pasta, and all were delicious. We highly recommend the eatery to anyone hungry for (what we believe to be) relatively authentic and tasty Italian food. Or businesspeople.

Quality and Advertising

I am always amazed by the tag-lines thought up by advertising companies, and more amazed when their clients purchase those ads. For example, I once passed a massive Coors billboard that read "Colder than Jenn when you called her Susan." Funny line, yes, but is 'cold' the best thing you can say about your beer? A variable that is entirely out of your control and has nothing to do with the beer itself is what you are marketing?

I mention this because we have recently been introduced to a nearby pizzeria named Reshet Pizza, whose slogan is "Almost Free". While that is true (only 20 shekels for an entire pie), that doesn't bode well for the taste or gastronomical effects of your product. Sadly, the slogan has been effective, and I have bought three pizzas there since Wednesday; I guess that is why those advertising companies are being paid.

Side comment - why was there an Asian choir singing along with two acoustic guitars in the middle of Ben Yehuda street tonight?

School on Strike? Shop at the Shuk

As it turns out, only senior professors are on strike, and any class taught to international students is exempted, so most of Jon's classes are still running. Today, however, class was over by 11, so he got to explore the shuk at a relatively calm time, and made two amazing (awesome-tastic?) discoveries. The first is a store that sells nothing but beer and cheese. While that spells trouble for midgets with lactose intolerance and liver problems, for us it marks the starting point of a delicious and expensive adventure. The second store is not actually a discovery, but our first foray into the purchase of perishable and easily-diseased foodstuffs at the shuk (sounds even more delicious than the beer and cheese, no?). Anyways, the picture above nicely captures the excitement that fresh fish markets provide during dinner. NB: This is Rina writing now... Jon is the ONLY one that partook in eating the fish head.

Final Weekend of Freedom

For the last Shabbat before Jon begins school and Rina chooses between her two schools (we hope), we decided to finally have some company. Actually, Rina's friend Tobi decided we would have company, but it worked out well. Seven girls with whom Rina attended Midreshet HaRova seven years ago came over to christen our shiny blue tablecloth and have dinner, and we had a great time. An odd note about those in attendance - it was a bit of a British Empire party; there were representatives from England, Australia, Scotland, South Africa, the Colonies/U.S., and of course Canada. The accents were terrifically entertaining.

After shul on Saturday we decided to take a walk instead of heading directly home, and en route passed a large crowd lined up outside a home. It turned out to be a recently renovated building which was part of a walking tour of historical homes in the area. The residents had hired an Israeli architect to redesign their house's interior, and had turned it into a functional piece of art that utilized intertwining stairways, balconies, skylights, custom windows, and modern fixtures and furniture throughout. We can't imagine owning, or even renting, something like this, but it was fun to see how the ridiculously rich and ridiculous live. The entire experience was a very nice and engaging surprise.

For our post-Shabbat entertainment, we went to a movie, an experience far more exciting than it sounds. It was my first time experiencing an Israeli film in theaters (it was called "Noodle", and was a heartwarming comedy/drama about an Israeli stewardess who gets stuck with a Chinese child when her cleaning lady is deported, and we highly recommend it) as well as the mandatory "intermission". I phrase it that way because there was no segue into the break, no sign, no gradual brightening of the lights, just a CLUNK, a stoppage of the film, and sudden daylight. Also exciting was getting to eat movie theater popcorn for the first time in a dozen years. Next time we'll drown it in butter.

Summer's over, that's how it ends...

The summer here has ended. Its demise was easy to note - the temperature rapidly dropped, the rain began, and Jon submitted his class-schedule for approval. Luckily, all three of these autumnal adversaries are easily overcome by either winter coats, umbrellas, or the impending strike by the University staff that threatens to ruin all plans made by everyone on Jon's progam. We'll miss you, summer.

The past and the future of Israel lie in the Negev

The paraphrased quotation from David Ben-Gurion encapsulates the two days I recently spent with my fellow Melton Educators, in terms of sights seen, speakers spoken to, and topics talked about. Throughout the trip we immersed ourselves in the southern region of Israel (staying away from what would certainly have been a dull, grey, and boring trip to Eilat), trying to understand the important role that the desert has played in the nation's history and future.

We began at the archaeological site Tel Be'er Sheva, where we studied texts about Avraham and Yitschak's founding of the city nearby (Be'er Sheva) as well as the construction of cities during the biblical era. It was very interesting to intertwine our study of the bible, historical texts, and the physical evidence upon which we stood in order to build a complete picture, more complete than I've ever received in a classroom setting.

From there we moved to the outer edge of Har Hanegev, with a beautiful Arizona-esque panorama, and from there we moved to Kibbutz Sde Boker, where Ben Gurion (former Prime Minister and proponent of desert development) lived out his life after retiring from the government (twice!). We learned a great deal about his progressive plans to bring agriculture to the arid landscape, as well as to populate the huge (relative to the rest of the country) and undeveloped area. From this point, we travelled to the city of Yerucham, an unfortunate result of Ben Gurion's dream. The city was built upon the massive failure of several waves of immigration from Northern Africa and Western Europe immediately following the War of Independance, when the population of Israel doubled in just a few years, without the doubling of manufacturing capabilities, agricultural produce, or employment. The families coming to realize their Zionist dream left behind wealth, friends, and positions of power to be duped into unemployment and homes without electricity, running water, or more than one room. Even today, nearly sixty years later, Yerucham and many cities like it are struggling to survive. What was perhaps the most interesting part of our discussion with the residents we met was that they have civic pride, and are constantly disappointed by the media's (and probably my) portrayal of their city - they believe in the neighbours and and in their future together, regardless of poverty and unemployment that surround them.

We spent a short night at the Isrotel-Ramon Inn (which I highly recommend - nice pool, huge rooms, and MAMMOTH breakfast (which I would be happy to describe in detail for those who enjoy such things)), and left at 4 a.m. for the Ramon crater, the massive geological remnant of a meteor colliding with Earth. We spent about an hour in solitude and complete darkness, and as the sun rose I noticed that even the insects and wildlife of the desert had been silent during the night. We then spent two hours touring and learning about the travels of Eliyahu the prophet through the region, again bringing physical examples to support and explain biblical characters and images. Then it was back to the hotel for the above-mentioned feast and some time to relax/sleep/swim.

We ate lunch with students of Ben Gurion University, in Be'er Sheva, and we talked with them about their experiences living with and tutoring underpriveleged local children (the students are part of a program that encourages social responsibility by offering rent-free apartments (albeit in undesirable neighbourhoods) to students who partake in the described activities). We then moved on to one of seven Bedouin cities in the Negev. The cities were built as a part of an initiative by the Israeli government to either facilitate the tribes' move into the modern world or to control a potentially volatile part of the Arab population (depending on who you ask). The city was unique in that the houses were all modern, but the spaces between and around them were filled with hovels and live animals, as not all of the tribes had agreed to live in the development. We also saw a traditional Bedouin village, which is still without electricity, running water, or roads, which relies on herding and handcrafts for survival. Most interesting was our discussion with two school principals, who described the unique challenges they face in trying to bring their constituents into modernity without losing their nomadic heritage. My favourite line spoken, which I will give here out of context, was that "My school has no Parent-Teachers Association. Every school I know of that had one has closed."

Overall, the trip was great. I feel much closer to my classmates and teachers, had a break from classroom learning, and learned a great deal about a little-known aspect to Israel. After experiencing the history of the Negev ranging from the prehistoric past through to the modern day, I have to agree with Ben Gurion that the region shows immense promise, while at the same time realizing that to this point almost everything that has happened there has been a colossal failure. The region is a bittersweet mix of natural beauty, amazing history, and tragic human pain.

Saturday night stand-up

After Shabbat, we headed out to the grand opening of a new comedy club in the city center. There was no air conditioning, no door to the bathroom, and the walls were spraypainted styrofoam. Oh, and the best act was the playing of national anthems on the harmonica. Ouch.

Little Johnny's First Day of School

Knowing that we would be home late from the wedding, we planned out the first day of Melton just like every over-protective mother would have liked - the school bag was already packed and next to the door, the outfit was draped over the back of a chair, and the food was bagged and in the fridge. All that was left was to actually go to school. Which I did.

The next two weeks are all about orientation, both to each other and to the program itself. The first day, all 9 hours of it, was spent getting to know the other participants in the program. The thirteen of us come from all over the world and cover a range of ages, areas of experience, and levels of education, as well as Hebrew ability. The first few hours were spent learning together with our teachers and a professor from the university (who gave an interesting lecture about the original Jewish calendar, which she believes to have been solar, not lunar, and responsible for the Jewish holidays and universal literacy). After lunch we spent five hours playing the same group-building games that everyone who has attended summer camp has played before, but everyone got into it and we had a lot of fun. Well, it was fun until we had to have the same discussions about group-building that everyone who has attended summer camp has had before; those of us who talked at the bus stop afterwards agreed that was a little tedious.

My biggest concern going into the day was that my Hebrew would not be at a high enough level to allow me to integrate into the group and understand discussions. While there were many difficulties in terms of expression, there are several others at or around my level, and the entire group was very accommodating, and made us feel comfortable. Overall, it was a great first day.* I am excited for tomorrow, when we begin our course selection, take a tour of campus, and have dinner at on the of the administrator's homes.

*It doesn't hurt that there were platters of rugelach/cheese danishes and that we went out for Maytal and Safi's "wedding" for dinner.**

**I'm sorry, but food is important to us!

Israeli Wedding

Last night Rina and I attended the wedding of a friend from Toronto who has moved to Israel. While the bus was very late in arriving and we both had to wake up early for school, the event was overwhelmingly fun. I have been told that too often our posts concern food, so I'll just say that all was delicious and leave it at that.

The basic event was the same as weddings in North America, but the entire wedding atmosphere was different here, things were somehow more festive. Maybe it was because ties and gowns were in the severe minority, or maybe it was the free food, but a feeling of relaxation pervaded the whole evening. The singing was great, as was the dancing (we even danced the groom to the chuppah), and there was only one speech! There were also a lot of the groom's former campers, and they brought a lot of energy to the dance floor. The bride and groom both sang and danced without pause, putting to shame everyone trying to "m'sameach chatan v'kallah", and seemed amazingly happy. Overall it was a fantastic evening, well worth falling asleep in my first classes of the year.

Happy Times in Mea She'arim

Here are two episodes witnessed today in Mea She'arim that brought smiles to our faces.
1. En route to a bookstore, I peeked into a dry cleaner's. Every rack, without exception, was filled with nothing but various lengths of heavy black coats and dresses. I could almost have been looking at Marylin Manson's dressing room, or the costume department for "The Matrix".
2. In front of a tallit store was a giant inflatable Hassid draped in, what else, a tallit. Of course, one of the small children waiting outside the store was disrobing him, and we were shocked to discover that underneath his religious garb the Hassid was wearing a bright red snowsuit! It was SANTA. All this time Jewish world leaders have been bemoaning the rate of assimilation in North America, but nobody has publicized our high profile converts! Who knows - maybe this year there really will be some gelt under our Channuka bush...

Simchat Torah

For some reason, probably because neither of us are mathematicians, we imagined that because there are so many more shuls and practicing Jews in Israel than in Toronto there would be far better Simchat Torah celebrations here than there. To that end, we set our hot-plate to begin warming dinner at 8:15, and left for a night of revelry.

Our first stop was Shirah Hadashah, a progressive Orthodox congregation that seems to appeal to a younger crowd. We again based our assumptions on false premises, this time that "young and progressive" meant "fun and exciting". In fact, it meant "sing one song per hakafa and stick to a strictly timed schedule, regardless of if you are interrupting people singing and dancing". There were some interesting points, such as when the first hakafa was opened to "Kohanim, the daughters of Kohanim, and the wives of Kohanim", and when women were honoured with the leading of hakafot. We'll give the shul another chance on a regular Shabbat. Once we tired of the Shirah Hadashah scene we headed back to our own neighbourhood to Yakar, a Karlebach synagogue. They were still singing and dancing, the women in the sanctuary and the men and children filling the police-lined streets. It was more fun, but finished within an hour of our arrival. We ended up getting home at 8, fifteen minutes before our food began to heat up.

The daytime was much better and just what we were looking for. We went to Shir Hadash (unrelated to Shirah Hadashah from the previous paragraph), a Modern Orthodox congregation peopled mostly by North Americans. They held one of the better services either of us has attended in recent years, with great songs, lively dancing, and little dragging-on. We left at around 1:30 for a pot-luck (meat, this time) lunch with some old and new Toronto friends, which was also wonderful.

After the chag ended (hurray for one-day yontif!) we went to Hakafot Shni'ot, a musical celebration marketed to Jerusalemites of all religiosities and ages. We enjoyed the music and the spectacle for a while, but most enjoyed bumping into friends, especially the family of a soon-to-be-married Torontonian. Rina finally feels like she is back in the Israel she remembers of seven years ago.

A Tiring Vacation

Rather than post short updates that were just recaps of our daily activities, Rina and I decided to smush them all together into one big recap recap of out Sukkot vacation. Enjoy!

Thursday
We spent the first night with David Resnick and family, some strangers who got our number through the Melton Center. They were very friendly, good cooks, and we had a great time with them. The next day we guessed at the starting time for a nearby shul, and guessed horribly wrong, showing up halfway through the service. We made it in time to do some lulav shaking, but since we are only keeping one day of yomtov this year we were mostly out of luck. Lunch with our neighbours made up for it, though, as they have an adorable daughter and made us feel at home. Once yomtov was over we headed out to the city's most publicized attraction, the Sukariah (the word being a combination of the hebrew words "Sukkah" and "candy"). We expected a Hansel-and-Gretel-esque gingerbread house, teeming with insects and salivating children, but were met with a standard Sukkah (albeit a very large one) with gumball machines and candy themed decorations. Harumph. Everyone else we spoke to was also misled in the same way.

Friday
We took a guided tour of the City of David, the area thought to be the original capital of Israel, before King David captured what is currently called The Old City. The tour guide was excellent and really made the history interesting. We finished off the tour with a crawl through Hezekiah's Tunnel, a man-made underground passage that brought water from a spring outside the city's walls into a pool within them. The spring, and therefore the tunnel, are both still active, making the pitch-black 30 minute trek quite wet, and therefore quite fun.

Friday night we went to Yedidya for services. Yedidya's setup has varying levels of mechitza, ranging from 6 feet tall to none at all. Once finished there we attended a pot-luck dairy dinner on the roof of Pardes. The evening was very nice, aside from the fact that everyone is operating on a student's budget, and therefore brought only a parve side dish or a bottle of wine.

Saturday
Shul at Shir Hadash, where there was an amazing kiddush afterwards (chulent!) of which we could not partake because we were headed to a dairy lunch with a childhood friend of Rina's (lasagna, sushi, and cheesecake!). After shabbat we attended a randomly selected concert at the Yellow Submarine. The band was called Marsh Dondurma, and had an outrageously fun sound that was something like a brass marching band conducted by George Clinton.

Sunday
By far our busiest day, we woke up at 6:30 a.m. so that we could get good spots at the Kotel for Birkat Kohanim. In Israel the bracha is given far more often than in the diaspora, but Sunday's was special because it was organized so that all of the Kohanim present would bless the assembly at once. Jonathan was within arm's-reach of the wall, while Rina chose a spot behind a fence to best capture the circus on film. The experience of praying and blessing with thousands of people was nice, but at the same time disappointing. The pre-blessing blessing said by the Kohanim mentions that they are to bless "b'ahava", with love. Hundreds of men, draped in linen, standing in the Jerusalem sun for hours, throwing elbows in every direction to gain better positioning is not conducive to a loving environment.

Once the hours-long service was over, we went on the Ramparts walk. The guided section took us through the Armenian and Jewish quarters and explained the history of the various sights, while the unguided part took us through the Christian and Muslim quarters, where we had only three stones thrown in our vicinity! Our tour let us out in the Arab market, where we looked unsuccessfully for a backgammon board for $5.

On our walk home we stopped by the Inbal hotel to marvel at their sukkah, whose drapings and chandeliers make it more of a ballroom than a hut. Once cleaned and fed, we got on a bus to Beit Shemesh for their holiday concert, where a number of Jewish/Israeli performers of various styles played for the assembled crowd. And Rina ate cotton candy (candy floss/se'arot shel savta).

Monday
In the morning we walked to the Tayelet, a point from which most of Jerusalem, both old and new, is visible, and went on a guided tour of a tunnel used by the Hasmoneans to transport water from a distant spring. This tunnel has been out of use since the British Mandate, so was dry, but was still very interesting especially because we convinced the guide that our cell phones could be our flashlights (it was more fun that way). At night we enjoyed "Tastes of Jerusalem", a gathering of 20+ restaurants selling their most popular dishes at discounted prices. It was the most wonderfully aromatic event we have ever attended. There were also cheerleaders performing to current pop music on a stage, as well as a Mexican guitar trio playing Spanish and Israeli tunes. Not simultaneously.

Tuesday
We are calling today the "Un-Gloria", which only makes sense if you know Gloria. We began by taking a bus to the central bus terminal, where we bought tickets on the bullet-proof bus to Gush Etzion. We disembarked at a stop in the middle of the highway and walked to the Gush Etzion winery, where we took a short tour and many free samples (including really yummy dessert wine and chocolate liquer). We then hitchhiked/tremped to a nearby kibbutz, Kfar Etzion, where we got directions to a hike that had been recommended by our guide the day before as having "many beautiful springs". The hike was a on a dirt road frequented by roaring 4x4s and vans full of children. We saw two springs, both of which we were sure couldn't be the right ones, as they were built up with tile and steps and benches, completely unlike the magnificent sights and pools at Ein Gedi. Once we were resigned to the fact that the sand/dirt and child filled frigid basins were our destination, we plunged in and had a good time. On our way out we found a wild fig tree, from which we ate, then hitched back to the highway, climbed aboard a bus and came home to some much desired down time (and fish from the shuk).