It's the Final Countdown

For our last full day here we decided to spend some time, among the hours of packing and saying goodbyes, to visit two sites of import: HaShamen and Pituyim. For lunch we had shwara at what is rumoured to be the best shwarma place in Jerusalem*, and in terms of taste it certainly lived up to its reputation. The meat was plentiful, and there were even bowl next to the ample salad bar so you didn't have to feel embarrassed to take extras. An added bonus, never before seen at any other salad bar - fried onions. Unfortunately, the price was very steep and keeps this joint out of serious contention for the crown.

For dinner we ate at an old favorite, Pituyim, one of the first restaurants we visited when we arrived here. Their salads, fried cheese dishes, and creative combinations of different fruits and vegetables make this off-the-beaten path eatery well worth it. We ordered a series of dishes we've never tried before, enjoyed them all, and returned home at midnight to continue/begin packing for the 5.5 week trip home.

*We know that we claimed in an earlier post that we were visiting what was supposed to be the best shwarma place in Jerusalem, but it turns out we erred in our directions and visited the place next door. Oops.

Our Favorite Archangel

Taking a break from packing and planning, we ate dinner (really a very late business lunch, but still) at Gabriel, a French restaurant on Shimon ben Shetach street, a surprisingly trendy and calm road near Ben Yehuda. The space is very small, but used well, and the jazz in the background and lack of street traffic make the atmosphere very relaxed. If you arrive between noon and 5 p.m., for the price of a dinner entree you get a choice of appetizer as well as a main course. Between the two of us we tried lamb kebabs in tehina sauce, red mullet, confit of goose leg in apple something, and sirloin in a plum sauce. The presentation was beautiful and the food fantastic, and we're really happy that we saved this, one of our top restaurant visits this year, for last. Now we're off to starve in Europe!

Final Friday Fun

Today being our last Friday, we decided to join the throngs of locals and Birthright groups that descend on the shuk before Shabbat. After we did the minimal grocery shopping required for our last few days here, we sat down in our favorite dry-goods store for coffee and weird sesame cookies. Jon had what he claims to be the "best sachlav" he's ever tasted; however, he has only tasted it twice before, the 30-degree heat may have addled his brains, and the drink came with a free cookie, so his judgement is suspect. After the break we did some shopping for supplies for our upcoming trip, and had a final delicious shwarma at Melech haFelafel Actually, Rina had a pizza. Silly lady.

First Deadly Sin

For today's entertainment we went to King David street, which was shut down for the day, to watch the Gay Pride Parade. The whole thing was far more tame than expected, except for the occasional bouts of threatened violence. Of course, all the threats were made to Jon. Two different police officers, noticing that Jon was the only spectator wearing a kippah, singled him out of the crowd and advised him that if he threw anything or said anything or moved an inch toward the parade they would beat him and physically remove him from the premises. This was fine until we saw friends of ours marching - they waved at us and called our names, and we could do little more than nod politely in their direction for fear of provoking the hot-tempered constables.

Thank goodness the Brazilians colonized Israel

Tonight we had a choice between seeing the grand opening ceremony for the Bridge of Strings, Jerusalem's most recent love-it-or-hate-it architectural wonder, a piece of the not-yet-running light rail system, or we could have all-you-can-eat meat at a Brazilian restaurant named Papagaio's. After twelve kinds of meat, delivered on cutting boards, skewers, platters, and weird pitchfork thingies, adding up to a meal that lasted three hours, we knew that we made the right choice. Harp-shaped bridges are nice and all, but can't compare to all of the meat stations at a wedding coming to you instead of you waiting in line to come to them.

Jerusalem Tour

Our time in Jerusalem rapidly dwindling, today was spent visiting those sites and sights that we either wanted to see one last time, or that we haven't yet had the time to see appropriately.

We began our day with shacharit at the Kotel. Luckily we came late enough that the wall was casting a cooling shadow, and most of those begging for money weren't present. We did our duty, then stayed in the Old City to visit the Cardo and Cousin Dov's shop, Shorashim (which we highly recommend!). We had to go and come back several times, though, as there was a lecture being given to a visiting Christian missionary group from Colorado, and we didn't want to disturb them. Also, the door was locked.

After enjoying our final fantastic meal at Macaroni, still the best-priced and tastiest business lunch we've found, we were off to Mea She'arim for some final Judaica purchases. As always, we enjoyed the spectacle of the neighbourhood.

For dinner we walked over to the mall, where Jon finally got to indulge his desire for treif by eating at both Burger King and KFC in one night. While we're certain to regret this sort of outing later in life, it was lots of fun. Burger King was as good as could be expected, but KFC surprised with its crispy, tasty chicken wings that were actually really good.

The Graduate

Presentation of Participants' Posters
Standard Series of Speakers and Speeches
Delicious Dairy Dinner
Goodbye to Graduates

Let the games begin!

Israeli Shabbat in Efrat

Now that we've been here a year and are about to depart, we figured it was about time we spent a Shabbat with actual Israelis. The girls from Rina's program at Matan, along with their husbands/fiances/children, all got together in Efrat to spend the weekend together. The parents of one of Rina's classmates own a beautiful house there, and had enough children to warrant having enough bedrooms that their home could be turned into a hostel. The weekend was lots of fun, even though for some reason we went to a shul populated by North Americans, and we even got to eat our first authentic pashtida! It turns out that it is just a quiche. But an Israeli quiche!

Afternoon Adventures

After a long and productive day, we met up in the shuk for dinner. We wanted to go to a small whole-in-the-wall called Azura, but they were closing. However, we did have time for the following conversation to take place:
"Do you have kosher certification?" Jon asked.
"No, do you have kosher certification?" the owner replied.
"No, I don't, but at home I know what's going into my food."
"Here too! We're Jews, just like you. Don't trust the Rabbanut!"
We wound up at another grill-and-humus joint, where we had some fantastic soup. The meat-filled kubbeh were as large as an infant's shoe! Little baby Ezra would have looked adorable wearing them!


After dinner we did some quick shopping in the market. At a fruit stand we're pretty sure we saw Hagrid. He was without his umbrella, but was easily identifiable by his massive size - at least 100 times the size of little baby Ezra!

Later in the evening we finally made it to the Off the Wall Comedy Basement to hear David Kilimnick's "Aliyah Monologues." He was very funny and made great observations about the ridiculousness of an American's life in Israel. One of our favorite bits was the comparison between the Israeli גבר גבר and the American חמוד . Cute as David was, though, he doesn't even come close to little baby Ezra!

We closed out the evening with another free concert at the Jerusalem Theater, which is thankfully still celebrating the Israel Festival. The show tonight was a quartet - bass, drums, and two guitars - of middle aged Israeli men playing American hits from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Their accents were dead-on and their music was a lot of fun to listen to, and they had the room packed to capacity, with many people doing the hippy-hippy shakes. We were both surprised at how many Israelis knew the words to the songs, as we figured they probably had other things on their minds in those initial years of statehood.

Pre and Post Shabbat Outings

In the midst of preparing for Shabbat, we went to a nearby bakery to buy challah. While out, we passed the weekly artisans' market. This time around, we sampled the wares of an Israeli vineyard, and even got to try some kosher port. On the way home, we stopped by a local wine store, and while we selected a bottle the owner came by with some samples, and we got to try a kosher champagne-like vintage called brut. Fun!

After Shabbat we walked to the Jerusalem theater, where as a part of the Israel Festival there was supposed to be an evening of free jazz. For some reason the band was playing Latin music instead, but we still had a lot of fun listening and watching the geriatrics spin around the dance floor.

Jaffa Afternoon

After we finished our respective days at school, we met at the Central Bus Station and took the familiar trip to Tel Aviv. This time, however, we got off at a more southerly stop and walked a short distance to the neighbouring city of Jaffa.

We made our way to the old city by walking toward the most visible and recognizable landmark, a brick and glass clock tower. Once there we wandered through the bazaars and flea markets until we'd had our fill of cigarette smoke and hooka stores, and then made our way to a nearby park. In the park we visited the lookout over the sea, examined some monuments and statues, and gawked at the many not-so-modest brides who had come to have their pictures taken in the pretty location. We also found a restored area full of artists' shops.

For dinner we met a friend at a restaurant named Dr. Shakshuka. The decor was all newspaper articles and old iron-work, and the food was Tripolian. We aren't certain, but are under the impression that "Tripolian" either means delicious or full of beans, beacuse the meal was both.

After stuffing ourselves we waddled over to the Mayumana House for a show. The performance was sort of like Stomp melded with Israeli music, but it was so much more. The styles of dance included tap, latin, and belly, the musical instruments guitars, violins, and didjeridoo, and the percussive items trash bins, gas cans, and the human body. Every participant was involved in multiple aspects of the show, and the room was full of energy. It was also nice that David Broza, the primary musician and vocalist, was fully integrated into all elements of the show, including the acting, drumming, and dancing. Mayumana has shows all around the world, and we highly recommend going to see the show if you have a chance.

Second day of Shavuot? Pooh!

Flouting religious doctrine, we spent today visiting sites that we've wanted to enjoy but haven't yet taken the time to.

We began at the Museum on the Seam, a museum on the border between East and West Jerusalem. The current exhibition revolves around conflict, and artists from around the world submitted pieces that deal with this issue. The art ranged from photographs to paintings and multimedia, and covered a range of topics such as racism, sexism, and the treatment of prisoners and political opponents. While not all of the styles of art were to our liking, the experience as a whole was interesting and we'd recommend it.

After making up for an upsetting cheesecake experience on Shavuot with a trip to the Anna Ticho house, we went crazy-Israeli-clothes shopping. On our way home we stopped to watch an installment of the Israel Festival, which was kids performing Judo and gymnastics (not simultaneously) while trained actors and mimes were forgotten in the background. People in face paint just can't compete with kids in pajamas.

At night we went to see some friends perform in "The Taming of the Shrew". While long, the comedy was a lot of fun and mostly intelligible, and was enjoyed by us both, although we've probably had our fill of amateur theater for the year.

Shavuot

As usual, we began our Shavuot with all-night learning. This year this practice was also the end of our holiday, as there was only one day of chag, and we slept away the entire day to make up for the lost night. Anyways... We began the night at the Conservative Yeshiva, where we heard Joel Roth speak about the greatest challenges to the Conservative movement. Aside from self-aggrandizement and a push for us to read his book and articles, the Rabbi's talk focused on Conservative leaders' beginning to effect changes in halacha based on their moral desires as opposed to within the framework of legal halachic change. More simply, Rabbis are changing Jewish law because they want to, and care little about making these changes in a way that continues the traditions of our ancestors.

We spent the rest of the night with a friend at Beit Avi Chai, "a cultural and social center located in the heart of Jerusalem that seeks to express and refine the voices heard in Israeli Jewish cultural discourse." There we found hordes of people divided into different rooms, each with a different lecturer. Every hour there was a short break for the crowds to reshuffle and new lecturers to find their classrooms. The first teacher we sat in on was Rachel Elior, a professor from Hebrew U who taught us about the ancient Jewish calendar (which was far better than the current one), and how it was demolished, and Shavuot given a lesser status as a holiday and in the Mishnah, in order for the Rabbis to promote themselves and their agenda over that of the Priests. The second speaker, Micha Goodman, told us the complete opposite of Rabbi Roth, that as the readers of the Bible it is we who hold the power to interpret the words therein, and that it is impossible to understand or even approach understanding of the author's original intent. At 2 a.m. the three of us went to the cafe downstairs and learned together from on of the many pre-made lessons lying around the room, and at 3 a.m. went back upstairs to hear Yisrael Campbell, the comedian Jon saw with Melton, perform excerpts from his monologue about Jewish identity.

One of the nicest elements of the learning at Beit Avi Chai was that, because of the evening's academic nature, many of the attendees came solely to learn, and were completely disinterested in any religious aspects to the night. There were people wearing black hats, others wearing crocheted kippot, and still others sending text messages during class. It was really nice to see Jews of such varied backgrounds coming together to spend the night learning.

For early-morning davenning, Rina and our friend headed home to Katamon, while Jon walked with a classmate from Melton and a visiting friend from Australia to the Old City. The comment made by Jon's classmate best summarizes their approach to the Kotel - it was like thousands of black ants streaming into an anthill. From all over the city Jews were coming to the Kotel to pray at sunrise. Like Sukkot, the mobs were a unruly and pushy near the wall, but Jon stayed farther back and prayed with a Sephardi minyan, which was both culturally interesting and far more calm. Much of the experience was soured, however, when the thousands of attendees both arrived and departed via the Muslim Quarter; teenagers sang, danced, and shouted through the narrow alleys, not caring that the residents were still sleeping.

The balance of the holiday, as expected, was spent sleeping, hanging out, and eating a variety of dairy products including lasagna, home-made blintzes, and a range of cheeses we are pretty sure were kosher.

Saturday in Town

Continuing our last-minute rush to partake of the many different synagogues in Jerusalem, today we walked in the City Center to attend the Italian Synagogue. We visited the site once before, but during the week and as a museum, so today's experience was quite different. There were many visitors and tourists there with us, but the service was clearly authentic, or at least very different from our own backgrounds, as were the tunes. Jon spoke to one of the Kohanim, who told him that while he himself was not Italian, he had learned his tunes from an elderly Italian who had since passed away but had recorded his melody for Birkat Kohanim so that the Florence tradition would be kept alive here in Jerusalem. Much of the service was Sephardic in nature, but with a variety of interesting twists that made the walk to and from the shul well worth it.

After Shabbat we went back into town for the fresh crepe Jon has been craving since first seeing them last August. It was as delicious as he'd hoped. We then walked to a large open area in the old train station, where dozens of vendors representing the nation's publishers had set up booths. The event was part of the week long Shavua Ha'Sefer celebration, where books of all types, from religious to children's and fiction, are sold at ridiculously cheap prices. It's a shame all of our savings will be wiped out when we have to ship all of our purchases back to North America.

We closed out the day with a stop at Shnitzi's, a fast food place that specializes in shnitzel. Jon, feeding yet another craving, ordered the House Special, which is chicken breast covered in Bissli crumbs. The sandwich came with a variety of toppings and sauces, and was satisfactorily delicious and a good final meat meal before the delicious dairy of Shavuot.

Yom Yerushalayim

Last night was the 41st anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem (under Jewish rule, anyway). To celebrate we attended a festive davening at Yakar. The room was packed to standing-room-only, and there was musical accompaniment to all of the prayers. We then walked over to Independence Park, where we watched a bit of a concert that began at 8:30 and ended at 5 a.m. That venue, too, was packed to capacity, and was lots of fun. Like Yom Ha'atzmaut, this holiday demonstrated how happy and appreciative people can be that their home exists, and that national celebrations need not be meaningless or rote if the citizenry truly cares about the State.

Eastern European Vacation

Jon just returned from a Holocaust education conference in Poland and Hungary, where he and his group learned both about the Holocaust, the Jewish life in those regions before World War Two, and the current "resurgence" of Jewish life today. Below are some non-Holocaust highlights.

Sundays in the Park - In the heart of Warsaw, surrounded by fantastic architecture, is a massive park with a lake in its center. Every Sunday there are free hour-long Chopin concerts, after which the crowds wander through the gardens to relax, eat, and feed the peacocks that roam the area freely.

Food - Apparently borscht, made by Poles in Poland, is actually really good. Who would have guessed?

Good Luck Charms - Pictures and statues of Jews holding money are good luck charms in Poland, and can be found everywhere. Kind of ironic, like a rabbit's foot.

Synagogues - The shuls in this region, even though they often have severe troubles with attendance, are beautiful. This is especially true of the Neolog temple in central Budapest, which is fashioned after local churches. The massive building seats over 3000, and is covered in gilding. The structure even houses an organ over a storey tall which is played every Shabbat (by a non-Jew, of course!).

Transportation - It seems to be the law in Poland that all drivers must brake only at the last minute, and only to avert imminent disaster - if wild swerving or swearing can take the place of gentle defensive driving it should. Also, taking a train ride after visiting Aushwitz, especially if it involves sleeping on a triple-decker bed in cramped quarters, is not recommended.

Scenery - Krakow and Budapest are gorgeous European cities, regardless of what our grandparents tell us.

Life - Many of the Jews in this region either hide their Jewishness or have only found out recently about their roots. One individual with whom Jon talked found out from his second cousin, while he was vacationing in Toronto at the age of 12. Another learned from her grandmother, at the age of 19, when she told her about an impending vacation in Israel. Still, people are rebuilding communities and identities in these battered nations. Also, German tourists wearing Ben Yehuda t-shirts are scary.

Sabbath recap

Friday night Rina and a friend went back to the Bretzlaver shul we visited several weeks ago. This week they added a second nearly-endless song to their repertoire in honor of Lag Ba'Omer - Bar Yochai.* Jon attended the Great Synagogue, where the building was beautiful and the service was meh. That's right, meh. The cantor had a very nice voice, but there is no reason that counting the Omer should take longer than the rest of Maariv put together.

On Saturday we got to spend time with Rina's cousin, who is in the country with Birthright. For some reason her hotel is an hour away, on top of a rocky hill, and surrounded by barbed wire. Nice hotel, though. At night we hung out with her on Ben Yehuda (for shwarma and felafel, of course), then went to another friend's graduation party (hurray for doctors!). Then it was back home for Jon to pack for his trip to Eastern Europe, and Rina to not sleep before her last week of school.

*This is probably uninteresting to everyone but Jason. Sorry!

Oops, wrong cave

To continue our celebration of cave-dweller Shimon Bar Yochai's demise, we today went to the most famous cave in Jerusalem, that within the Church of Holy Sepulcher. We wandered (not aimlessly,but pretty close to it) through the Arab and Christian quarters until we found the Seventh Station of the Cross (the first six were too hard to find or too much inside of a closed off mosque on the Temple Mount), then followed the stations to the Church, which houses both the traditional place of crucifixion as well as the tomb. The church is an immense stone structure with meandering tunnels, alcoves and chapels for prayer, and icons icons everywhere. We then went to the Arab shuk to finally buy a backgammon board, then to the everybody-shuk for lunch. Happy Lag Ba'Omer!

Lag Ba'Omer

While the connection is unclear, on Lag Ba'Omer bonfires are lit to celebrate the death of Shimon Bar Yochai/that Rabbi Akiva's students stopped dying/the bravery of Jews in standing up to their Roman oppressors. We have both seen bonfires before, but never anything compared to the scope of the celebration here. The moment you step out the door you can't help but smell the smoke in the air, and there are kids running up and down the street dragging every available piece of wood to wherever they have begun their blaze. Jon even saw two boys carrying a dresser whose doors had been removed. In a nearby park there were at least a dozen fires going, with huge groups of kids dancing and singing around them. As mentioned above, the ritual purpose of this pagan pyromania is unclear to us, but it looks like lots of fun. One question though - doesn't Israel have a shortage of trees?

Pardes in Tsfat

This weekend was Pardes' last trip, and it was to be in Tsfat (or Safed, or Sefad, or any one of many ways of spelling it). We met the group at Pardes at 6:30 a.m. for lunch-packing, and we then loaded up the buses, and were on our way north.

Our first stop was Mount Gilboa, where we hiked the Emek Ha'ne'elam (Disappearing Valley) trail. The route took us over rocky terrain and through lots of varied and pretty vegetation, with a view of the farms and towns below us the entire time. The hike ended in a large field of amber waves of grain, a sight completely unexpected, but which the Kansas representatives seemed to love. After a quick stop to relax and to refill our water bottles, we made it to Madressa, where we did a water hike. The trek was through a stream whose depth ranged from ankle to waist-deep. The trees and flowers there were completely different from those seen earlier, and the whole thing seemed reminiscent of North America. This hike ended in a huge natural pool full of Israeli kids screaming and splashing, activities we promptly joined.

Planned poorly, our organizers next took our two buses of soaked, smiling, and smelly hikers to the Tsfat cemetery, where those who aren't Priestly (Elvis or otherwise) toured the graves and heard stories about some of the scholars who had lived in the area.

The next morning began with prayers at a local synagogue (the Beit Midrash of the famous Ari synagogue), and then we moved on to the tomb of Shimon Bar Yochai, a location we had visited just a few weeks ago as a part of our Yam L'Yam hike, and the remains of an ancient synagogue. Needless to say, this visit was much more relaxed and educational than our last. The options for the balance of the day were to hike a route we'd done during Pesach or to spend the day in Tsfat, so we opted for the latter. Our first stop was the Meiri Cheese factory, where a few of us took part in a guided tour. The cheeses are made in a massive ancestral home overlooking the valleys around the city, and the secrets to the recipes, and the home itself, have been passed down within the family for six generations. The recipient of the tradition is determined shortly after birth, when he is given the name of his granfather. One of the keys to the cheeses' unique taste is the natural underground river that passes through the basement of the home, and is the same water that feeds the Ari mikvah (thankfully the mikvah is situated after the home, so that the unique flavors are not the the sweat and soil washed off of the bathers).

After the fascinating and delicious tour we began to meander about the city, looking at artists' booths and wares. For a snack we ate a Yemenite dish we can't even pronounce, let alone write out, but which might best be described as a crepe that went terribly and deliciously off course, with egg, tomato, zatar, and other assorted Middle Eastern items in the center. We also snuck onto a German tour of the Joseph Caro synagogue, which is barely in use but houses treasures from the Cairo geniza we visited in Egypt, in addition to its intrinsic historical value. As Shabbat got close we and some friends were lucky enough to be able to see the Tree of Life shtender presentation that Jon saw with Melton. As with the previous experience, everyone in the room was left in awe of the piece's beauty, intricate design, and meaning.

We began Shabbat at a Kosover Hassid shul. We had hoped that it would be similar to, but more authentic than, the Bretzlaver synagogue we'd tried in Jerusalem, but there were so few attendees that the experience was actually a little sad. However, it was interesting to pray among so many fur hats (for Jon; Rina was behind a wood-and-cloth cage), and the dancing was fun.

Saturday we attended services at the Ari synagogue. The Kabbalistic art and architecture was fascinating and pretty, though the services were standard. In the shul's center is a bimah a dozen steps off the ground, making Torah reading central physically as well as theologically and temporally. The bimah was covered in whimsical colors and wood carvings, each with a deeper meaning we doubt we could fathom if we tried. One of the things we did note, however, was that the charity boxes are built into the building's supporting columns, promoting the message that tzedaka is vital in supporting our world. After lunch we took a guided tour of the city, stopping off at the Abouab shul, which houses some of the oldest synagogue architecture and the oldest Torah still in use in the world. We learned all about the city's interesting and long history, much of it centered around the study and practice of Kabbalah, and only made it back to the hotel in time for dinner, havdalah, and departure.

Christopher does Jewish Comedy

Tonight Jon attended the keynote event of a conference for community Day School administrators and workers, which was a dinner and a comedy show. The comedian is a very popular American who made aliyah, and his show centers around his life in a very Jewish, very self-deprecating way. This is interesting, given that he was born and spent his young adult life as a Catholic. Since then, however, he has endured three circumcisions and three conversions, as well as the process of moving to the foreing country of Israel, with its foreign language and very foreign culture. The entire show was laugh-out-loud funny, with some members of the audience having to dab tears away from their eyes. It was certain that the show would be a success from its opening line - "Is it hot in here, or am I the only one wearing 17 Century Polish winter clothes? Don't be fooled by my peot, I'm just growing them out for a come-over." It was great to see someone embrace everything about this culture, from the fun to the ridiculous, especially when the items and ides he raised are some of the most divisive in this country.

Four-shul Shabbat

We realized recently that we have only five more shabbatot in Jerusalem, and there are still many flavors of synagogue we have yet to try, so this weekend we went on a bit of a binge.

Friday night we attended services at the Bretzlaver Chassid shul near us. The room was windowless and the women were trapped behind a wooden lattice on the second floor. The prayers seemed pretty standard in both formulation and tune until we reached Lecha Dodi, when suddenly every verse was sung to a different tune, and was ended with a long series of "nay nay nays" and wordless singing. Many of the attendees began clapping and jumping, and at several points the congregation even broke out into dance. Once the twenty minute songfest was over the prayers returned to normal. The only other item of note at this shul was the surprising absence of Bretzlavers. Even though the venue was packed with people, only a handful belonged to the sect, and the rest were just wannabes and visitors.

This morning we ventured to the wealthy and beautiful neighborhood of Yemin Moshe, one of the first areas of Jerusalem outside of the Old City to be settled by Jews. The synagogue there had an amazing interior - ornately carved wooden fixtures, a high arched ceiling, lots of natural light, and views of the the Old City. The prayers were standard and the population surprisingly anglo, but the surroundings made this a real treat. Also the ridiculously delicious dairy kiddush following services. But mostly the architecture and art.

On our way to a friends for seudah shlishit we ran into said friend, who took us to a local shul named Yael (after the street after the heroine). This shul is small but nice, a pleasant little prayer-house tucked inside a residential neighborhood. We've been once before and were happy to go back. For ma'ariv a stranger came to our friend's apartment and asked if any of the males present were willing to help him make a minyan. Two of us went with him, and we were led to his house a block away, where a group of teenagers were waiting. We did our business and then made our way back.

The array of shuls here is fantastic, because there is always something different to try. Oddly, though, though there are many options, we still haven't found the 'perfect' one for us. Luckily we still have four more weekends, or sixteen services, to do so.

Independence Day - Part II

We began our celebration of Yom Ha'Atzmaut this morning with prayers at Yakar, the Carlebach shul near our apartment. The service was pretty standard aside from Hallel, which lasted 45 minutes (as opposed to the standard 15). The tunes sung were all very nice, and a woman brought a bag of musical instruments with her, and so the service was accompanied by guitar, tambourines, and bells. It was a little weird and reminiscent of Jon's Debbie Friedman-infused childhood, but made the atmosphere very festive.

At 10:30 we made our way to the Jerusalem theater to make use of the Chidon HaTanach tickets we obtained yesterday. After making our way through tougher-than-airport security that included metal detectors, x-ray machines, chemical-detecting swatches, and interrogations, we got into the main auditorium, which quickly filled up. The stage had been turned into a neon and smoke covered game show set, with seats and microphones for the contestants and rows or tables for the judges. The host stood in front of a large video screen, which was used for film clips and interactive sections of the competition. The event itself was split into four rounds, each one thinning the crowd of contestants until only two remained, and those two went head-to-head. In between rounds the crowd was entertained by the army choir, dancers, and rock performances. We only knew the answers to a handful of questions, but watching the spectacle and an Ulpana girl make it all the way to fourth place made the whole thing a lot of fun.

In the afternoon we took a bus to Neve Daniel, where we met up with friends for the traditional Independence Day barbeque/mangal. Is charred flesh something all cultures associate with freedom and statehood, or an American import? Anyways, we had a lot of fun with our disposable charcoal bbq, and even got to roast blue and white marshmallows! How patriotic. Or unpatriotic, if you choose to dwell on the charring and melting. Fun either way.

Independence Day - Part I

We began the transition from Remembrance Day to Independence Day with a festive prayer service held by the Bnei Akiva alumni association in Jerusalem. The room was full of relatively recent immigrants to Israel from different countries around the world. This made the service seem far more meaningful than it might have otherwise, as all of those present truly felt an emotional attachment to the creation and maintenance of the the State.

After the service and dinner, we walked to Kikar Zion, a square at the bottom of Ben Yehuda street and at the center of town. There we were met by mobs of other celebrants, many wearing blue and white and the younger attendees spraying shaving cream and silly string in the air. All of the streets had been closed to car traffic, and a massive stage was set up and performers helped turn the jostling crowd into a mosh pit. The area quieted down when a fantastic laser and firecracker show began, and all eyes were glued to the skies as the explosions signaled the start of the celebration.

A few blocks away we soon found ourselves at Kikar Safra, the square we'd visited earlier in the day for a sombre ceremony. Now the venue was full of plastic chairs, video screens, and speakers, and everyone there was singing along to Israeli music composed and popularized over the last century. At 11:30 the chairs were cleared away and the vast area became crowded with people eager to celebrate the birthday of Israel with a throwback to the days of the kibbutz - Israeli folkdancing. For hours on end the hundreds of people in the square formed arbitrary circles and pranced, twirled, and Yemenite-lefted; if the dancers had worn tembel-hats and shorts instead of kippot and pants, we could easily have been looking at 1948 and not 2008. We left at 2 a.m., but the party was still going strong.

יום הזכרון

Our Remembrance Day began in the square amid Jerusalem's municipal buildings, Kikar Safra. There we heard from the mayor and several other dignitaries about the importance of the day, some of them talking about Jerusalem's contributions to Israel's history, the many sacrifices the population has made, and the possibility for a brighter and less violent future. There were also honor guards made up of policemen and soldiers, as well as a group of teens wearing the traditional blue and white. The event didn't match the scope or the intensity of the Independence Day preview Jon saw, but it wasn't supposed to - the people there honored the State's fallen by their presence and their respect.

After the ceremony we went to the shuk, and while we were there the siren sounded. We've already heard the wailing call to remembrance twice in the past week - on Holocaust Day and last night - but this time was very different. Rather than people stopping their cars in the middle of the street or halting their relaxation to stand at attention, it took several moments for the bustling arena to be shushed into silence, and even then you could see the smiling shopkeepers counting down the seconds until they could resume their shouting and hawking. The reverence and awe seen and felt at the other siren-soundings was almost completely absent there. At the same time, it was amazing that so large and busy an area could be quieted so quickly and to such a great extent.

In the afternoon we tried to plan out our schedule for tomorrow, Independence Day. We decided it would be fun to go to the Chidon Hatanach, the International Bible Quiz, which takes place annually on Yom Ha'Atzmaut. We called the venue, who directed us to someone named "Rav Somethingorother". This Rav referred us to another, who agreed to give us tickets after Jon said his students often compete (which is true). Jon then went down to the office where the tickets were being held. He entered the room and was greeted by a bearded "Rav".
"Can I help you?"
"Yes, I'm Jonathan Parker. We spoke half an hour ago about tickets?"
"You're Jonathan Parker?"
At this point the Rav strokes his beard and raises a critical eyebrow, as if to say "why would someone as beardless as you want tickets to this event? And why would some as beardfull as me agree to give them to you?" Luckily he had already put the tickets in an envelope and written Jon's name on it with permanent marker, and probably couldn't bear to waste all that work, so with a dismissing wave he sent Jon on his way.

Independence Day Preview

Somehow Jon's program was able to get twelve tickets to the dress rehearsal of the offical Yom Ha'atzmaut celebration, so tonight he and several classmates made their way back to Har Herzl. They arrived at 5:45 to get seats together, and at 8 p.m. the program began. It was a complete run-through of the presentation that will be nationally televised on Wednesday night, only with a different guest of honor delivering the address.

The bleachers were packed with flag-waving celebrants, and none (that Jon spoke to, anyways) left disappointed. The ninety minute event, whose theme was "Israel's Children", was made up of dances, acrobatics, daglanut (flag waving) by both the military and youth group representatives, speeches, videos, music, and of course torch-lighting. The event was a masterpiece of propaganda meeting entertainment, and although there were several moments of overly-militaristic grandstanding, the artistry and excitement of the performers made the entire spectacle spectacular. Jon now understands why Israelis in North American educational institutions love to plan assemblies - having grown up with fantastic displays of patriotism like this, prancing and setting things on fire is in their blood.

Waffles!

After Shabbat, we and Oren walked over to Beit Lechem road to a wonderful cafe named Waffle Bar. Unlike the joint nearer to us, which is actually a bar that happens to serve waffles, this restaurant seems to take pride in its product, with mountainous waffles topped with flavored creams, ice cream, fruit, and toppings made from chocolate to bananas to fans of apples drizzled in maple syrup. They also serve a range of sandwiches, pastas, and crepes, but at a place named Waffle Bar it seemed silly to order anything without a grid. The servings of the desserts were massive, and we each left feeling stuffed and tremendously satisfied, if not a little high on the sugar.

Har Herzl

To prepare for the upcoming days of Remembrance and Independence, Jon's school today took a tour of Har Herzl, Israel's cemetery and monument-center in honor of its political and military leadership. As always, our guide constantly pressed us to look beyond the words on the sign, and to try to penetrate to the deeper meaning and purpose behind them. He pointed out many interesting ideas that we would certainly have missed on our own, for example the use of a phrase found on Bar Kochba's coins on the inaugural plaque, and a grove of imported cedars, the type of tree used in the construction of the Temple. Stopping near Herzl's grave, where the building of a massive auditorium for Independence Day celebrations is underway, we discussed the political motivations behind different elements of the structure, the placement of the grave at the mountain's highest point, and many other issues. When the group proceeded further into the cemetery Jon got spooked by the rampant impurity and so we left.

After an inadvertently-long tour of the very pretty neighborhood of Beit HaKerem, we made our way to מנה וחצי , a shwarma place we have been told is the best in the city. While the name means "serving and a half", for some reason a serving in a pita cost more than a serving in a laffa anywhere else. Still, the salad bar was fantastic and the meat was very tasty. Even so, the product wasn't twice as good as the front runner's, which it would have had to be to make up for the ridiculous price.

Holocaust Remembrance Day

We spent the day today, both separate and together, attending lectures and workshops centered around the the theme of the Holocaust. There were discussions about the nature and purpose of the Israeli version of the holiday, a film about Polish Christians discovering their Jewish roots, and a lecture about what may have motivated individuals to murder, among others. Perhaps most interestingly, few of the activities involved discussion of the Holocaust itself, but rather looked at the present, the future, and the psychology of the perpetrators. This suits the Israeli holiday - The Day of the Holocaust and Courage - very well, as the State understanding of the Holocaust is as a catalyst for the formation of Israel, and as the ending of the "old" Jewish paradigm in favor of the new one: the self-sufficient, strong, independent Jew.

Old City Tour

After a fantastic lunch at Humus Talpiot (Kubbe soup, humus with meat, french fries, bottomless pita) we walked to the Old City for a tour that Jon had seen advertised on an events calendar online. We assumed that since the tour was organized by the Society for the Protection of Nature it would somehow be connected to the natural world. Maybe centering on plant life indigenous to the area? Maybe about efforts taken by the residents and visitors to the Old City to keep it environmentally friendly? While not quite endless, there were many possibilities for interesting tours.

When we showed up, we found three senior citizens standing with an even older gentleman, who was wearing the khaki hat of the society. We were later joined by a woman in her mid-40s, but that did little to ease our discomfort. We asked the guide how long the tour would take, and he responded two hours, but once we set out we realized that most of that time would be taken up by walking slowly and carefully from place to place, with lots of rests in the shade.

In the end the tour had nothing to do with nature at all, but instead took us from Jaffa Gate to Mount Zion, with the guide pointing out all sorts of interesting items at our sides. Sure, the tour was largely without explanations, had no historical references, and time was measured in terms of "older" and "younger" with no specifics at all, but we were shown an array of places and monuments whose existence we'd never have known of otherwise. Several archaeological sites were visited, in addition to David's tomb, the Diaspora Yeshiva, and views of nearby Churches whose locations have New Testament significance. As we imagine most tours for Seniors are, this one was relaxing, interesting, and a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

"Yam L'Yam" or "Bananas to Bananas" or "How to Lose Inches off Your Waist in Three Short Days!"

With our vacation time finally overlapping, we decided to spend chol ha'moed hiking in northern Israel, from the Mediterranean to the Kineret. With a trail map, canned tuna, and lots-o-matza we figured we were as prepared as we were going to get, so off we went.

The earliest we could catch a bus to the coastal city of Naharia was 6:30, and that didn't get us there until 11. While not ideal, it was the only option available. We began at Akziv beach, at the city's northern end, and proceeded east. The first forty-five minutes were spent trekking through banana plantations. Certain we were lost, we called the makers of the map who assured us that "you might have to walk through banana fields. There are lots of them there." Might? After an hour of walking we made it through, and found ourselves at an avocado farm. Luckily there was a farmer who pointed us in the right direction. Now on the trail we followed the dried-up river Kziv through many twists and turns until we made it to Montfort, a ruined Crusader castle atop a mountain in the middle of Goren National Park. The views were spectacular, but after having hiked through the heat of the day we were looking forward to refilling our water bottles at the station the map promised would be at the peak. Our first lesson in hiking - pictures on the map cover more ground than the items in reality. The faucet was actually on the next peak over, so we didn't get to refill. After wandering the hilltop we descended and began to hike through the heavily forested area surrounding the peak. There were many cool rivers and springs, with lots of families and other hikers enjoying the location. Noting that our time before dark was running low, we hurried toward our campsite. Second lesson about hiking - elevation lines do matter, a lot. Our site was at the top of yet another mountain, but this time we were running out of daylight and energy. We made it to the top at seven, with thirty minutes to get set up. Luckily we had practiced pitching our tent at home first, and so the process was pretty quick, and we got ready, ate dinner, and got to sleep to prepare for our next, much longer day.

Wednesday morning we woke up and were warned by a couple in a neighboring tent that the temperature was to rise to 37 degrees Celsius in the shade. Not realizing quite how hot that was, we thought we could rely on our second day's supply of water to see us through the day. We discovered our error when the hike downhill to the trail and the following hike uphill to the city of Ma'alot, where our trail actually began, consumed much of our supply. We therefore stopped in the city at a quaint little market to restock our bottle water before continuing. We followed highway 89 to our trail at the base of Mount Hermon, where we hiked over rocky ground, past a series of springs (many of which with cows pooping or naked babies bathing). In this park we bumped into Jon's cousin Oren, who was hiking with his school in the opposite direction. After a short break we continued on, making sure to ration our water supply by drinking every twenty minutes. After a few hours of hiking through the heat we realized that drinking that sporadically was not enough, as before beginning our third hill of the day Jon decided, and his total lack of energy corroborated, that he was dehydrated. We took a short break to rehydrate from a nearby supply, hitchhiked to the summit, and then hiked down the other side. That our last hour (out of nine) of the day was spent on a decline and in the evening sun was really pleasant, and made for an enjoyable end to a very long day. Our trail finished at the Spring of Bar Yochai, which for some reason is a crazy camping scene for the Chareidi public, who nightly set up tents and barbeques that cover the entire area. We found space beneath the party scene in a public area nearer to the spring, but this was overrun by a youth group that had turned the cute park into a refugee camp. A little farther off we pitched our tent with some other groups of displaced hikers, and passed out for the night.

We planned to start our third day with a visit to the Spring, but after a local advised us that it was dry, we chose to pack up and head out early. Our final day kept us on a single trail (Nachal Amud) which is also part of Shvil Yisrael (which runs the entire length of the State). This made the navigation easier but made it more difficult to gauge how far we'd travelled. Happily we met up with several other hikers and did the trail with them. We began with a group of Australians, one of whom is taught by a friend of ours here in Israel, then moved on to a nice Israeli couple, and ended with some Americans on break from their year-programs. Thursday was probably as hot as Wednesday, but with less shade. We trekked through a canyon, bordered on all sides by thorny shrubs, towering rocks, and full of scorching sunlight. There were some fantastic rock formations, as well as caves and wildlife (a boar!) After ten hours of hiking we were able to see the coast, the shore of the Kineret. Of course, this is when our bodies realized that we had been eating nothing but matza and jam for three days, and decided to protest this unfair treatment. After stopping four times in the last kilometer, as well as wading through yet another banana field, we found ourselves at the beach. We soaked our tired feet in the water, and realized that the rest of our bodies were so tired that we couldn't even enjoy the beach. We decided to collapse onto the bus to Jerusalem, and when we arrived at 11:30pm rewarded ourselves with matza-pizza and the most relaxing night of sleep we'd had in days.

The hike was a lot of fun, and we greatly enjoyed the views, people, and exercise (although it would be nice if our pants weren't so loose on us), but 65 kilometers in three days seems a little excessive. We were in such a hurry to make it through each day's quota that we didn't have time to swim or relax. Still, the opportunity to see so much of the country, whose beauty is inaccessible by car, was absolutely worthwhile.

Random tips:
Cheese and chocolate sound like fantastic snacks after a long day of hiking, but do not react well to temperatures above those found in your refrigerator. They will still be delicious, but you will need to eat them like astronaut food, squeezing the melted goo through a hole in the packaging.

If you've been hiking for three days and your face feels like it is covered in sand, give your skin a lick - the grit may well be the salt from your sweat dried to a cake-like film on your body.

Second day of חג? Pooh!

Rather than spend another enjoyable day in prayer and without hot water, today we shed our Diaspora traditions and spent our time flicking lights on and off, setting things on fire, and cooking for meals several days in the future. Once all that heretical fun was over, we walked to the Israel museum, which is free during Pesach. Even though their permanent exhibit is closed for renovations, there was plenty to see. The sculpture garden, in addition to its usual residents, was home to a wide array of performers and activities for children - clowns, painting, origami, musicians, and pottery stations filled the area. Even though it is Pesach, there were also food vendors (yes, they were selling shrink-wrapped matza).

We saw several exhibits, including one on contemporary Israeli art ("art", perhaps, is better). The highlight of the trip however, and our biggest reason for going to the museum, was a pair of exhibits entitled "Looking for Owners" and "Orphaned Art". Both exhibits featured works of art looted from Jews by the Nazis, now reclaimed through the work of several organizations. Much of the collection has been returned to the original owners, but the pieces on display either lack a recorded history or have not yet been claimed. In addition to its artistic merits, the display was interesting because it demonstrated a different side to the victims of the Holocaust, both their financial losses as well as their assimilation into European society. The vast majority of the works were not on Jewish topics or themes, but rather political or historical in nature, and painted by some of the world's most famous painters, not simply Jewish artisans.

The balance of the day was spent buying maps and provisions for our three day (we hope) hike from the Mediterranean to the Kineret, which we leave for at 5 a.m. tomorrow.

Pre-Pesach Pyromania

After a final stuffing meal of pasta and bread at our favorite dairy eatery, Macaroni, we came home to continue our preparations for Pesach. On the way, at several locations in our neighborhood, we saw large groups of people, crockery and appliances in hand, clustered together. Closer inspection revealed that they were waiting for teens with blowtorches and giant pots of boiling water to either toast or boil their wares to prepare them for Pesach. It seems odd - and simultaneously cool - that religious Jews are so concerned with kashrut that they are willing to heat their cookware to red-hot temperatures while at the same time are so trusting that they allow teenagers in dirty t-shirts set up on street corners to administer the cleaning process. The man standing next to Jon remarked, "I used to think I had OCD. Then I realized it was just my Judaism."

Pics of Egypt

To keep you from the deadly boredom of reading the post below here are some mildly-more entertaining photos.

We Missed Charleton Heston So Much, We Just Had to Go to Egypt

For a timely pre-Pesach vacation we decided to take a short trip across the border into Egypt. A five-hour bus ride from Jerusalem left us in Eilat, Israel's southernmost city, where we spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun and feasting on Middle Eastern meat skewers (the last non-peanut butter protein for the rest of the trip).

At five a.m. we caught a cab to the border, which was as quiet as one would expect such a place to be at such an hour (especially since in Egypt it was only 4 a.m.). We walked through Israel's customs and taxes, then across a parking lot and through Egypt's customs and taxes, and were soon met by one of our two guides, Walid. Once in the air conditioned van we promptly fell asleep for most of the five hour trip to Cairo.

In Cairo we were given a short driving tour of some of the monstrously huge city (22 million residents!), highlights of which included the President's house, the Nile river, and many, many mosques (Cairo is known as the city of one thousand minarets). We disembarked at the Egyptian Museum, a massive building that houses artifacts from hundreds of sites covering thousands of years of history. We met up with the second of our two guides, Heba, and began a three hour tour (a three hour tour). According to the Lonely Planet Guide if you spent only 1 minute at each exhibit it would take more than 9 months to see the whole museum. Unlike museums in Israel, that are all glamour and interactivity, or museums in North America, that are assembled in a rational way, with plaques explaining what is behind the glass, touring the Egyptian Museum is like walking through the recently discovered attic of a rich relative - there were thousands of shiny, mysterious objects haphazardly strewn about and impossible to understand without a University degree. Luckily Heba had exactly that, and has been leading tours of the museum for quite some time, and so capably guided us through the basics of ancient Egyptian religion and politics, and pointed out some of the museum's highlights. By far the most impressive section was that containing the treasures found in King Tut's tomb, including his golden sarcophagi and fantastic burial mask. Pictures don't do justice to the beauty of these functional works of art - which is o.k., because photography was prohibited.

After the museum we stopped at the Papyrus Institute, one of many businesses that keeps the art of making papyrus alive primarily in order to sell to visitors. The explanation and demonstration of the paper making was interesting - the art for sale not so much. Very tired, we then made our way to our hotel for the evening, the Meridian, where we found the our hotel room had a view of the pyramids. Awesome. Some strolling and swimming closed out the day.

The next morning we met Heba at the front desk, and then drove to the pyramids of Giza. The heat was excessive (36 celsius) but we spent hours walking around the amazing structures, and even got to descend through the original passageways and into the burial chamber inside one of them, where the King's sarcophagus still sits. The many locals hawking cheap souvenirs and camel rides to nowhere were annoying, but could not detract from the experience of standing so close to the only remaining wonders of the ancient world. The magnitude and mystery of the three (nine if you count the six baby buildings for the womenfolk) pyramids was fantastic. We closed out this part of the trip with a visit to the Sphinx, where once again pictures fail to do the subject justice. To stand in the presence of an artifact so magnificent and so ancient was quite an experience.

We moved from the ancient to the relatively recent with a visit to Coptic Cairo, an area of the city once inhabited by the Christian Arabs who built beautiful churches such as the 'hanging church'. Also in that area we toured the Ben Ezra synagogue (which was converted from a church into a shul), a now-defunct house of worship dating back hundreds of years. Both types of buildings were very interesting in that the designers and artisans clearly worked very hard to marry their disparate faiths to the indigenous Arab culture tastes, with a lot of tile work and mosque-like architecture and coloring.

The last part of this day was a quick look at Cairo's bazaar, very similar in scope, scenery, and smell to those in Morocco. On our way to St. Catherines, our destination for the next day, we got to see more of Cairo. Perhaps the oddest areas seen were the Cities of the Dead, massive cemeteries that also serve as neighborhoods for the city's poorest residents.

A six hour trip got us to our hotel at 10:30pm, where we had two hours to nap before our trip to Mount Sinai (or so they claim). At the base of the mountain we and what seemed like hundreds of other pilgrims made the trek up to the summit past vendors and camels, and after three hours of climbing made it to the summit just in time for sunrise. While the dubious identity of the mountain made it something less than a religious experience, the hike itself was great and the view of the Sinai desert was beautiful. We hiked down the opposite side of the mountain, on a path known as the 3,000 Steps of Repentance, and wound up at the Monastery of St. Catherine, a white walled fortress and series of green gardens nestled in between some of the regions highest peaks. The monastery is still operational, and when we toured it we saw Greek Orthodox pilgrims practicing their faith and worshipping the remains of the Saint's thumb, and at a well claimed to be the site where Moses met his wife, and a bush claimed to be the burning bush (although now safely extinguished).

The trip back took us past the Red Sea, which in Egypt is mostly resorts and beaches, and as we crossed the border in Eilat early we got to relax on the beach with a beer before heading home to Jerusalem. Our tour through Egypt was rushed, but we got to see thousands of years of history and culture, and monuments to religions both long dead and still living. A culture and a place entirely different from any other we've ever seen or experienced, Egypt is a place we're both glad to have taken the time to visit (especially without the slavery, murder of children, and bloody doorposts and Nile).

Happy Pesach!

חופש בחיפה

Tuesday morning Jon ditched school and we made our way to Haifa, a city on Israel's northwestern coast. We began our day at the Bahai Gardens, a massive terraced enclosure that is home to the Bahai religion's headquarters, in addition to being the burial-place of their first prophet (the Bab) and destination for Bahai pilgrims from all over the world. The gardens themselves are set up on eighteen terraces that descend along a hillside toward the city, and include not only beautiful landscaping but fountains, buildings, and sculptures as well. We didn't learn much about the notoriously tight-lipped Bahai or their faith, but very much enjoyed their penchant for gardening. Unfortunately, that the gardens use steps (around 1400 of them) made walking deceptively simple - the rest of Haifa is far hillier, steeper, and altogether more difficult to navigate than even a city as hilly as Jerusalem, whose rises and falls we long ago acclimated to.

We next went to Haifa University and the neighboring Mt. Carmel National Park, where we hiked though surprisingly dense undergrowth and tree cover, as well as along rocky cliffs that looked out over the city below. On top of seeing lots of breathtaking views, we also saw herds of goats, many kinds of birds, and salamanders in every nook and cranny.

Our third stop of the day was the beach. While it was too cold to swim, we did walk along the coast and enjoyed watching others, more brave or more foolish than we, take the plunge. There were also many people surfing and just enjoying the weather and view.

After interrogating our hotel's concierge, we determined that it is far harder to find kosher food in Haifa than in any city we've yet visited this year (outside of Morocco. Maybe). Eventually we discovered a Chinese place in a nearby hotel, and were very glad we did! They had options outside the usual peanut-chicken and won-ton soup, and the service, presentation, and atmosphere were all delightful after a long day on our feet.

Wednesday was an altogether more restful day. After a great brunch at the hotel we did some shopping in nearby stores, and visited a park full of bronze statues. The statues were very lifelike, aside from fact that the artist forgot to give them clothes even though they were playing tennis, catching fish, and roller skating. Or maybe that is lifelike, and we're just not living the right sort of lives.

After the park we went back to the beach to eat a lunch pillaged from breakfast. We then walked to Castra, which our concierge had told us was an artists' market. Jon had foolishly imagined bustling stalls and artists busy as work crafting innovative and different pieces, and so was a little disappointed when we found ourselves at a mall that contained art stores. Still, we did find an exhibit of dioramas that told the history of the Jewish world, from Adam and Eve through to the modern day, using dolls, styrofoam, children's toys. Once done learning about our past via dismembered and disfigured playthings we made our way to the bus station and returned home.

First Day of Nisan Vacation

After sleeping in, we both went about our business during the morning. In the afternoon, we met up with the Cantors for their last day in Jerusalem. The five of us (3C + 2P) went out for a light lunch at Tarantino's, a restaurant specializing in wraps, which is painted full of scenes from "Pulp Fiction". None of us was really sure what connection was between the food and the film, but all agreed our orders tasted good.

At night, the two of us attended the wedding of a classmate of Rina's from Matan. She was marrying one of the sons of the rabbi of Yakar, and the music at the event reflected that. Most of the songs were soulful and wordless, but everyone get into them. The dancing was great, and the location, on a kibbutz near Beit Shemesh, was beautiful, with flowers blooming all around the outdoor chuppah, and the dinner and dancing set up inside of a massive tent. Perhaps the best part of being at a truly Israeli wedding was not being at all embarrassed to ask the waiter for second helpings. Weirdly, everyone cleared out by 10 p.m. I guess when your friends get married every other week you don't feel the need/interest to stick around.

Tel Aviv Weekend

Friday morning we took the bus to Tel Aviv and spent some time in the Palmach museum which we had been told was well-designed and worth a visit. Like other modern museums in Israel, this one is experiential rather than frontal, but unlike others it completely did away with fact and artifact and instead focuses solely on emotion and story. The museum is built in such a way that you "follow" the exploits of a troupe of Palmach fighters through their early lives as trainees into the establishment of the State of Israel and the creation of the IDF. While the underground labyrinth of caves, roadside cafes, and bunkers was impressive, and the movies we very nice, neither of us feels that we came out of the experience knowing anything more about the history of the country or the people who fought for its creation and safety. The entire production seemed centered more on the promotion of Zionism and patriotism than on education.

After the museum we ate lunch in the the beautiful HaYarkon park, and watched rowers, dog-walkers, and roller bladers turn Tel Aviv into Central Park. We then ambled down the pier area, and even discovered a Max Brenner chocolate shop and cafe (if you don't know Max Brenner chocolate, think of Godiva's). After a relaxing afternoon we caught the bus to Givat Shmuel.

We spent Shabbat with the family of a friend of Rina's (herself, her husband, and their adorable and friendly baby). Unlike the villages of our other Shabbat excursions, Givat Shmuel is a practically a city, with high-rise apartments, malls, multiple synagogues, etc. While smaller than the neighboring Benei Brak and Petah Tikvah, the area has far more of a 'city feel' than areas in the Gush. We had a great time with the family and their friends and seeing the area, and closed out the weekend with an all-day breakfast at a local cafe (not that it lasted all day, it was just offered by the cafe all day) then came back to Jerusalem to get ready for the last few days of school before Pesach vacation.

tick tick BOOM!

Tonight's entertainment was the play "tick tick BOOM!", put on in English by an amateur theater troupe in the Merkaz HaMagshmim. Rina knew two of the actors through Pardes, and we both enjoy the songs from RENT (one of us more than the other), so were excited to see this play, written by the same playwright. While none of the actors were professional, they were all talented and the production was more than enjoyable. The songs and the acting were both very well done, and the music was terrific.

Darna

This evening we got together with the Cantors and some of their cousins for dinner. We met up at Darna, a Moroccan restaurant that we have wanted to try since even before our trip. While the service wasn't great (the waitress was pushy and rude, to the extent that she brought us things she recommended even after we'd declined them), the food was delicious and the decor was true to the theme. Colorful mosaics and carpets covered the walls and ceilings, and we shared dishes ranging from tagines of different meats to a variety of couscouses and arabian salads. Both the bread and the tea were very good replications of what we'd had on our trip, and made us excited for our next adventure. It's actually kind of sad that we had to wait until two months after returning from Morocco to try its food, but it was apparently worth the wait.

The Joy of Hebrew

While Hagaddah shopping in town today, Jon passed a burly Russian who asked if he spoke English and wouldn't mind translating for him. Proud of his Hebrew skills, Jon was pleased to help out and so ventured over to where the Russian was standing with an Israeli. The two men would tell Jon the sentence to be translated, and he would relay the information to the other party, leaving out the editorial comments ("Is he cheating me?", "Is he drunk?", "I'm so drunk!", and so on). Jon was very pleased with how well things were going, but after only a few moments of discussing hourly rates and different locations it became clear what transaction he was facilitating - the Russian wanted to procure a prostitute. As it turns out, it's 100 shekels an hour.

Rain Delay

Tonight we went to a barbecue, attended largely by Torontonians. The event had been organized so we could all watch the Blue Jay's opening game, against the Yankees in New York. This was to be Jon's first baseball game in a dozen years, if not more, so of course it was rained out. Still, the sound of English in the air and the scent of roasting hot dogs was well worth it. After that it was off to meet the Cantors, Jon's Aunt and Uncle visiting from Toronto.

Oh, and for those of you interested in following a tangent to the frumka story, check this out.

Sunday Stroll

Our trip to Haifa cancelled due to rain, this afternoon we took a walk around the nearby neighborhood of Yemin Moshe. Um...that's all. Very pretty.

Free Culture Shabbat

Although probably not theologically sound, we chose a shul today based almost entirely on its kiddush (although the Rabbi's speech was good, it couldn't compete with mini-pizzas and bourekas). After a heavy snack/light lunch, we walked over to the Museum of Islamic Art, which is free to the public on Saturdays. The museum was not what either of us expected, as rather than simply showing Islamic artists' work, it taught us about the history of Islam and Islamic culture through art. Each of nine rooms covered a different era, location, and style, and had signs containing both historical information and explanations about the artistry. The amount of information with which we were presented was quite heavy, so we're not sure how much we'll remember, but the experience was very worthwhile and we'd gladly do it over again (especially if there is a pre-visit pizza snack).

After eating our actual lunch at home we took advantage of the early spring weather to walk to the Tayelet to appreciate the view of Jerusalem and the park's gardens.

Following Shabbat, we went to the Jerualem theater, an installation only a short walk from the Islamic Museum, to enjoy one of the many performances being presented around the city as a part of the Jerusalem Arts Festival. We thought we were going to hear an Israeli jazz ensemble, but it turned out to be a group of High School kids from a kibbutz playing a mix of big band, jazz, and klezmer tunes. They were great, though, and the large crowd of mostly grandparents and proud parents, and us, had a fun time.

Museum and Market

After hearing several good reviews, this morning we got to see the Menachem Begin Heritage Center. Like most other contemporary Israeli museums, this one is almost entirely frontal, with audio and video components taking the place of artifacts and reading. The tour was informative and very well put together, and the site is beautiful and has a fantastic view of both the Old City and Gan HaPa'amon. However, we couldn't help but feel that the presentation was a little bit lopsided (in Begin's favor, of course), and failed to give any historical context to the biographical and political events it was narrating. Still, if you're looking for an overview of the man's life and career, or simply want to hear speeches about human dignity set to moving musical scores, this museum is fantastic.

On our way home, we stopped by a market set up in the yard of a school on Emek Refa'im. The tents that filled the area housed clothing, cheeses, wines, baked goods, crafts, and all manner of other home-made goods. It was fun to browse through the unique goods, sampling foods and fashions (if "fashion" can be applied to Israeli outfits), enjoying the sunshine at the same time.

Purim - Day 3

After a much needed sleep in on the first 'real' Sunday in a long time, we made our mishloach manot and delivered them around the town. The walk was nice, both because of the 30 degree summer heat that arrived, and because of the many costumed children running to make deliveries of their own and to enjoy their festive meals. We went to our own seudah in the afternoon at the Bergers', with Jon dressed as a lifeguard and Rina as a cat. The sixteen or so people in attendance were all in costume, and the meal was served backwards, beginning with cake and ice cream, then moving to main courses, and closing with appetizers. The whole day was lots of fun, and a very tasty and enjoyable close to a ridiculously long Purim.