Rosh Chodesh Adar

While the atmosphere here is subdued, we decided to follow the advice of Raquel's cousin and do our best to bring in the new month happily. We started off at an exhibit in Beit Shmuel, the center for the World Union for Progressive Judaism. The exhibit was entitled "A Dialogue Between Jewish and Arab Israeli Artists". While many of the pieces, which ranged from photography to acrylic to pastel, were very interesting and insightful, we didn't notice any dialogue at all. Each of the artists stuck to his or her own themes and subjects, with very little overlapping or debate. Was the curator trying to make a comment about the state of dialogue between these two parties in Israel?

For lunch we finally got to go out for humus at From Aza to Berlin, a whole-in-the-wall eatery we have been told has the best humus in Jerusalem. Having sampled many tubs of mashed chickpeas throughout the city, we can easily attest to this. There were a variety of delicious oil-drenched dips arrayed in the steaming pots on the stove, the pita was both fluffy and filling, and the atmosphere was welcoming and authentic. It didn't hurt that the outside seating also offered shelter from the ridiculous 25 degree heat.