Parkberger Israel Experience

It's the Final Countdown

2008-07-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-25T13:19:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

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

Let the games begin!

Israeli Shabbat in Efrat

2008-06-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-14T14:39:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-12T14:49:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-06-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-09T23:53:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-07T14:45:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-02T03:57:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-02T02:51:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-23T06:13:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-17T23:39:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-10T13:50:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-07T16:32:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-07T05:51:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-05T13:05:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-05-03T14:15:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-02T04:41:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

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!"

2008-04-25T02:48:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-04-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-16T23:13:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-16T13:09:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-04-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-31T13:48:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-28T06:05:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

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.

Purim - Day 2

2008-03-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

Services at Ramban this morning took a decidedly Purim-esque turn when, in the middle of the Rabbi's speech, a congregant stood up and began singing at the top of his voice. This recurred several times, until the Rabbi relented (it became clear that this was all pre-planned) and the shul broke out in dancing. After a mini-se'udah at home we went to lunch, Jon dressed as Moshe Dayan (albeit with a skull and crossbones on his eyepatch, but we here Dayan was pretty rough).

At 4:30 we went to Yedidya, a progressive Orthodox shul, for services followed by an early dinner and a concert by Pizmon, the visiting a cappella group from Columbia. The show was really nice, and of course closed with Nachamu, Jewish a cappella's most-sung song. We also got to see a friend of Rina's who is in the group while he studies to become a cantor at JTS.

After Shabbat we moseyed over to a friend who lives across the street for a Purim party. There was lots of singing, good food, and friendly folk. After sating ourselves there we and some others (Arielle, Tobi, and Dani) walked up to Nachlaot, the neighborhood near the shuk, for a block party. The quiet and old streets were taken over by DJs, hordes of costumed drunkards, and speakers and strobe lights on every corner. The hippy-like calm that tends to pervade the area was transformed into a rave, and it was fantastic fun. Each street had a different type of music, but it was all deafening and danceable. One DJ had even set up in the courtyard of a group of homes, and the dancers had invaded even the interiors of the buildings. We next moved to Ben Yehuda, which was full of shaving-cream and teenagers, so we quickly went to our favorite cheap pizzeria with Arielle and Atara before heading home at 2 a.m. to get some sleep. We hope.

Purim - Day 1.2

2008-03-21T04:51:00.000-07:00

We started off today at separate shuls, Jon at Yakar and Rina at a friend's apartment. Both of us enjoyed our readings, Yakar's being led by the Rabbi, who used different inflections and voices to keep the audience engaged, and Rina's being led by a group of girls who put together and led the private service. We then met up and walked to the Old City for matanot la'evyonim, where we gawked at the Christian pilgrims on the Via Dolorosa, here for Good Friday, then paid a visit to the Kotel. Our last stop was a pseudo-se'udah of shwarma on King George street. Even though it barely feels like Purim (possibly due to the 25 degree heat and absence of most of the rituals) the many costumed passers-by made the atmosphere festive, and there were carnivals and music on many corners.

Oh, and there is some fantastic news! The hamentaschen from Marzipan, home of the gooiest rugelach ever, are great. They come in six flavours, and the dough is both tasty as well as pliable without crumbling. Finally, somebody who understands.

Purim - Day 1

2008-03-20T17:23:00.000-07:00

We knew the holiday was approaching when the buses yesterday were filled with costumed children. Today, the eve of Purim, even the normally stern shopkeepers in the shuk got into the act, donning rainbow wigs while they screamed angrily across the aisles. We also got clued-in when we dressed up, choosing the ubiquitous Israeli combination of cats and trashcans. The final hint came when looking out the bus window at all of the freakish costumes being paraded up and down the public streets made you think that made a hostile neighboring country has been tampering with our water system.

For megillah reading we went to Pardes, where unique halachic issues revolving around people not halachically Jewish wanting to read the megillah were resolved in the reading of two chapters twice, once in a "dramatic fashion". While we both think this is a ridiculous way to deal with the issue (as it doesn't actually deal with the issue at all, and in fact will only cause more problems in the future), the readings were all done very well and were entertaining at the same time.

After a break-fast of pizza, beers, chips, and dips (can you tell the Pardes crowd tends to be immediately post-college?) we sat down to enjoy two hours of skits and songs lampooning the institution, staff, and students, as well as Israeli culture in general. Even though Jon couldn't follow everything (truth be told, neither could Rina) it was still a lot of fun.

At around 11:30 p.m. we took a bus over to the ביניני העומה, the same concert hall where we saw Idan Raichel, for our first interaction with the phenomenon called "Boogie". The entire lobby was turned into a rave, with pulsing lights and bass, and hundreds of sweaty, stinky, and smiling young adults dancing in a variety of styles ranging from salsa to epileptic fits. The music was mostly techno, but the DJ threw in some Israeli dance and synagogue music just to liven things up (although it seems weird that either of those styles of music could bring life to anything). Interestingly, there was a partitioned area for separate dancing - I guess for those who wanted to go to a drunken club but be modest while doing so. We stayed and partied for about an hour and half, and the main room was still packed and full of gyrating bodies when we left at 1:30. This was a great close to the first of our three days of Purim, and bodes well for the next two.

Pre-Purim Primer

2008-03-19T07:33:00.000-07:00

Because Jerusalem celebrates Purim a day late, like other walled cities, Purim this year should fall out on Saturday. That being disallowed, this year the city will celebrate the holiday over a three-day span. Thursday night, following the fast, will be megillah reading and crazy partying. Friday will begin with megillah reading in the morning, followed by gifts to the poor and crazy partying. Friday night and Saturday the only observance is the insertion of על הניסים into prayers, but the close of Shabbat should bring with it more crazy partying. Sunday's obligations include misloach manot and a party (probably not crazy, though).

Against our better judgement, we tried to replicate the delicious/disgusting sampling of holiday-related baked goods we undertook during Chanuka. For some reason, the eight or so Israeli bakeries' hamantaschen were just scrunched-up flavourless cookies with jam/honey/halva inside. The only worthwhile one thus far was a classmate's homemade version, and that it was eaten during class probably did a lot to boost Jon's enjoyment of it. We miss the soft, pliable variety from North America. If we wanted tough mandelbread with poppy seeds on top we would move to Poland. Note to Israeli bakers - salmonella is an active ingredient in hamentaschen.

soup מהודו ועד

2008-03-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

One of Jon's classes being cancelled today, we decided to meet for an early dinner. We'd heard good things about Ichikidana, a vegetarian Indian restaurant in the shuk, and since Jon was spending the afternoon searching for inexpensive Purim costumes in the area today seemed like a good one. We both ordered the sampler, which included a pile of rice, several chutneys, and a variety of other tasty foods on a shiny metal platter. We've never been to India, but based on the age (post-army) and dress (flowing and colorful) of the people working, as well as the bindi on the cook's forehead, we think the tastes were as authentic as we're likely to find here. The noise and excitement of the neighboring shuk also made the experience fun. Although we left a little hungry, we happily recommend the place.

After a quick look in several other costume stores (read: random stationary and kitchen-goods stores that decided to sell costumes before Purim) we realized that we were still hungry, so we headed over to another hole-in-the-wall shuk eatery, this one called Shipudia (which seems to mean "stuff on sticks"). We both ordered the kubbeh soup, which was a tomato base with other vegetables, and balls of dough with ground beef centers. Sounds weird and was, but was also yummy!

Sated for the time being, we went to the OU center to hear the first part of a presentation on Women as Orthodox Rabbis, given by a friend. This installment was mostly just introduction, with people airing their grievances and baggage, with next week being the examination of rabbinic sources. So far so good, though, and we look forward to next week (when we hope to have more juicy details to report).

For They Bow to Emptiness and Vanity

2008-03-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the third (and probably final) installment of Rina's lecture series, this one on Judaism's feelings on other religions. The presenter was well-spoken, but his sources covered only one side of the issue, and while it was nice that he admitted this it would have been nicer to see a range of ideas. What we did see were several classical commentators presenting surprisingly liberal views, such as why Christians can be taught Torah, how other religions are equally valid meetings with God, and that the Torah was revealed to everyone - Jewish and not - together. We were also impressed at the teacher's artful dodging of questions about "chosen-ness" and conversion. Again, while there were interesting moments overall the discussion was vague and one-sided. I guess we'll have to just keep on hating baselessly instead of finding rabbinic support.

Pardes Purim Preparation

2008-03-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

For a taste of what Pardes is like, check out this new Bible Rap by another student there.

Melton Family Fun Day!

2008-03-14T06:20:00.000-07:00

After recovering from a late-night leak in our water heater which got fixed this morning, we met up with the Melton crew at Gan Hapa'amon. We figured it was time for all of our spouses, partners, kids, and in-laws to meet, given that we've been working together for seven months now, and will be heading back to our places of origin in three. There was football, circle-time, singing, Israel dancing led by Karen, and Pizza Hut pizza (with corn on top!). Though there was the potential for the event to turn into an Office Space-esque work event, it was a lot of fun and everyone was very relaxed and at-home. Then it was back to the grind to prep for Shabbat.

Rina's Trip North

2008-03-13T15:18:00.000-07:00

Not wanting to be left out of school-run trips to the Golan, this week Rina took a tour of northern Israel. Unlike Jon's, which was all sitting and talking, Rina's was all hiking and eating, with some visits to kibbutzim, archeological sites, and vineyards along the way. Needless to say, Jon's sitting at home and writing a term paper did not compare favourably.

Frumka

2008-03-10T13:57:00.000-07:00

At a shiur about married women and head-coverings, Rina heard about a recent and unfortunate fad, which local rabbis are thankfully against. We're not sure if it is better or worse than the parachute pants Israeli women seem to have stolen from M.C. Hammer's costume wardrobe.

Shteiblach

2008-03-08T09:19:00.000-08:00

Accidentally (or purposefully) waking up late on Shabbat morning in Toronto means missing the bulk of shul. In Katamon, it means getting the opportunity to attend one of the many services held at the Shteiblach.

A house-sized building in the middle of a residential neighborhood, the Shteiblach is exactly what it sounds like - many smalls shuls gathered into one. One enters the building into a lobby, and each of the five or six rooms off of that central area houses a different minyan, each one starting at a different time. As soon as one service ends, the room is vacated and another begins in its place.

Aside from the presence of rolling minyanim, ensuring a timely start for all but the sleepiest of Shabbat morning attendees, the most interesting part of the experience was the variety of the people who shared the ten a.m. room with me. Kippot ranged from black velvet to large white knit, from colourful crocheted to suede. Clothing seen were shiny black kapotas, untucked white shirts, striped polo shirts paired with shorts, and a range in between. Shoes noticed included white socks (on top of the pants, of course) and black slippers, sandals, crocs, and standard black fancy dress. The nusach of the prayers was dependent on the siddur you'd selected and on the person leading. Halachic decisions were rendered based on a shouted exchange of ideas. The Kohen and Levi aliyot were assigned based on a discussion within those groups. While yesterday's art gallery exhibit may have undermined our hope for the future of Arab-Israeli relations, today's experience demonstrated that there may in fact be hope for Jewish dialogue.

As long as you are Orthodox. And male.

Rosh Chodesh Adar

2008-03-07T04:46:00.000-08:00

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.

Thursday Night Fever

2008-03-06T14:56:00.000-08:00

Having been in Israel for seven months now, we'd begun to feel bad about not engaging in any Israeli dance, so tonight we went out to dance with our Israeli brethren. Salsa dancing, but dancing nonetheless. The evening began with an hour of Latino line dancing, after which those attending were split into five groups based on ability, and we had an hour-long lesson. We knew ourselves to be in a class with Israelis when the teacher used soccer analogies, and repeatedly stressed the fine line between 'assertion' and 'aggression'. Once the lesson concluded the strobe lights and fog machines turned on, and the hours-long dance party began.

Aside from the entertainment of watching Israelis co-opt yet another culture, it was interesting to see that the room was packed even following so soon after the tragedy at Mercaz Harav. Even though it has been two years since the last terrorist action in Jerusalem, the city's residents took the attack in stride and continued living their lives as usual. Still, when we discovered the news as we left the club the timbre of our surroundings seemed inevitably changed to a far more sombre note than we've seen since our arrival.

Intellectual Afternoon

2008-03-04T14:00:00.000-08:00

We met this afternoon at the Italian Synagogue and museum in the City Center, and spent an interesting hour there. Within the museum there are several rooms of Judaic artifacts from centuries of Jewish life throughout Italy, including wedding dresses, synagogue elements, and even a dramatically painted hundred-year-old sukkah. The biggest room held the interior of an actual Italian sanctuary, transferred in its entirety in 1948 to Jerusalem. The ornate and historic room is actually in use today, maintaining the Italian Jewish traditions, but only on Saturdays, holidays and Rosh Hodesh.

After dinner at New Deli (delicious), we made our way to one of Dr. Aviva Zornberg's weekly talks about parashat hashavua. We've wanted to hear her unique outlook on the sedra for quite some time, and finally found the time and energy to do so. We were worried, however, because this week's parsha is all about the construction of the mishkan. However, Dr. Zornberg managed, without too much wrangling, to discover a kernel of psychological insight into Moses' behaviour, and expanded on that idea until we were listening to a discourse on the purpose of anxiety and impotence. The depth of her knowledge of both secular and religious text was impressive, and she wove it all together very nicely. We're definitely interested in going back.

Dessert

2008-03-03T12:55:00.000-08:00

After a pleasant dinner at Joy with friends and their visiting parents, we ordered a dessert of hot chocolate cake. It isn't clear if the chef hated or loved us, because with our chosen pastry we were given a second dessert for free - vanilla ice cream with tehina on top. Were we guinea pigs for a twisted new frozen felafel sweet? Being welcomed into Israeli culture with an ancient and ridiculous cultish food pairing? Was the waitstaff drunk? The mixture of sweet and sesame disgusted everyone at the table but Jon, who ate the majority of the concoction.

Beaufort

2008-03-02T12:16:00.000-08:00

This evening, as a part of a Pardes event, we watched the movie "Beaufort". It is about an Israeli military outpost in southern Lebanon, and the physical and psychological difficulties that come along with such a posting. We had been told by friends and colleagues that it was an excellent film, and the Oscar selection committee agreed, as do we. The acting and script were both very well done, and allowed the movie to editorialize on a variety of levels - the state of war in the modern era, Israeli politics and psychology, and current events. Perhaps it is because of our current immersion in the State, but we both recognized the unfortunate truths behind much of what the film criticized and laid bare. We apologize for being so vague, but this is a film worth seeing and we don't want to spoil it.

Alon Shvut Shabbat

2008-03-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

Shabbat was spent with Russel, Miriam, Gershy and Yehuda in Alon Shvut. The weekend started off well as we got on bus 164, which was vacated by hordes of post-High school Yeshiva students coming to Jerusalem for an 'out' Shabbat, then filled up again with an equal number of teens leaving their Jerusalem-based programs to spend Saturday with their rabbis in the Gush. Hurray for bus rides that remind us of being in youth groups! The screaming, flirting, and giggling was very entertaining. Oh, and did you know that the laws of Negi'ah and Seminary are suspended when you have to fight through the crowds for a spot on the bus?

Once at the town, we made our way to our hosts' apartment, then visited with RMGY until it was time for shul. Jon opted to go to the city's actual synagogue, while Russel went to services at the Yeshiva, both to hear Rav Lichtenstein and to pick up some more guests. Once everyone was home we had a fantastic dinner, full of Miriam's famous cooking (according to one of the boys there, and we don't doubt him, she makes the best challah in Alon Shvut), good discussions, and no awkwardness at all with one of Jon's ex-students at the table (no, really!).

Saturday began at the Yeshiva for davanning, where we got to meet more students. Then we spent some time visiting with Yael Berdugo, a friend of Jon's from Buffalo, as well as her family. After another gut-busting (in a good way) meal at the Levy's we took a stroller-paced tour of the area. Alon Shvut is far bigger than Neve Daniel, our other Gush destination, and because it is also much older feels much more established. The streets, homes, and yards have all developed character and have lost the feeling of newness and intentional-landscaping. Also, because we weren't on the tippy-top of a hill we couldn't see the emptiness and borders all around us. We felt like we were in a suburb rather than an outpost. Still, the total lack of cars on the street was a little disconcerting.

The rest of the day was spent just hanging out and chatting (and yes, Raquel, eating), and of course playing with the cute kids.

Idan Raichel Project

2008-02-28T14:16:00.000-08:00

This morning was spent studying the state of South American Jewish Day Schools (crazy Melton programming) and the Torah's desire for us to be vegetarian (crazy Pardes programming), but thankfully the weekend has arrived. Tonight we met up with Moshe and Elisheva to attend another concert put on by MASA, the scholarship folk. The artist this time was the Idan Raichel Project, a group that Jon has never liked on CD but for 35 shekels was willing to give a try live. Thankfully so, as the event was great - the music was fun and different, sort of a mix between pop and Middle Eastern sounds and rhythms, and the thousands of shrieking teenagers were more than entertaining.

Pardes Moment

2008-02-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

A line from the Dvar Torah tonight at Pardes:

"I contemplate rapping Torah -
I don't even wrap t'fillin."

Shirah Hadasha Shiur

2008-02-24T13:08:00.000-08:00

Tonight we hosted the second of Rina's Pardes Speakers Series, this time on Parternship Minyanim (Shirah Hadasha style prayer). The speaker was one of the founding members of the shul, and brought a wealth of information to the group. While at times the lesson was derailed by interesting and provocative questions (about halacha, motivation, and the future of the movement), overall the event was interesting and very informative. Most of the shiur centered around the idea of "kavod ha'tzibbur", trying to define what the term means, and how it applies in the context of a liberal Orthodox minyan. the sources ranged from the Talmud and Shulchan Aruch through Rav Moshe Feinstein and Ovadya Yosef, and most endorsed female participation during the Torah service (in principle, at least). Very interesting.

Jon's Trip North

2008-02-21T13:18:00.000-08:00

Over the summer Jon's program took him on a two-day tour of some of Israel's southern region, and over the past two days they did the same for the north. Some of the highlights included:

-Fantastic views of mountains, green hills, the Kineret, and acres of multicoloured farmland throughout the Galil and Golan.

-Visits to the tombs of Talmudic rabbis in Beit She'arim and Israeli poets and songwriters in an arbor looking over the Kineret.

-A guided tour of an artist's studio and products (he is the sculptor who created David Moss' shtender, if that helps) and an early morning walking tour in Safed.

-A tour and tasting at the Golan winery (this wasn't on the itinerary, but instead of going to lunch with everyone else Jon and a classmate made their way to the vineyard).

-A meeting with Israeli-Arab teachers and administrators. This was perhaps the most interesting element, as it is a segment of the population that most North American visitors to Israel never get to see or interact with. Jon feels that much of what was said was either obvious or contrived, but still found value in the meeting.

The tour was organized around the idea of learning the history and meaning behind Israel's north, so readings, lessons, and meetings covered a topics ranging from the Biblical era through Roman times, up to the early 1900s, the '67 War, and today. While the pace of the two-days was a little too plodding for our taste, it was still very worthwhile in terms of information learned, sights seen, and experiences... um... experienced.

Snow...sort of

2008-02-18T22:33:00.000-08:00

Last night we spent our time staring out the window, waiting for the frigid rain to turn to snow. It didn't happen.

We woke up several times during the night (accidentally) and watched the flakes form, then melt as they hit the ground.

This morning there was a dusting of snow on the ground, prompting schools to be delayed, our programs included. OK, but not great. Still enough time for a pancake breakfast.

As Jon got dressed for his day, he made a last check of his e-mail, then began a mad dance around the apartment - Melton was cancelled, due to the danger of slipping! Unfortunately, we did not capture the priceless prancing on video.

Pardes, being populated by North Americans, still has class, while Matan, full of Israelis, does not, so at least Rina will get to come home early for half a day of hot chocolate and movies.

Fun with Hebrew!

2008-02-18T06:32:00.000-08:00

In the medical clinic for a check-up, Jon was asked by the nurse " *בבקשה, להוריד את הגרביים". She then left the room, so Jon started to fiddle with his belt buckle. The nurse returned moments later, and, seeing him removing his pants, shouted גרביים,
**לא מכנסיים " Oops.

*socks
**pants

Shabbat recap

2008-02-16T09:30:00.000-08:00

Realizing we have been remiss in our search for the Perfect Fit shul, today we tried out the Late Minyan. Starting at 9:30 and ending at 11:30, this synagogue combines the best elements of North America (English and late starting time) and Israel (quick but pretty service, and a familial atmosphere). Jon found it tough to sleep in, being conditioned to wake up at 6 a.m., but Rina adored the possibility of making it to shul on time while still sleeping in.

In our chulent we tried cooking jachnun, albeit from the grocery store's freezer case. Jury is still out.

After havdallah we made our way to meet with Daniel Held, who is visiting on a C.H.A.T. trip, and some friends at Tmol Shilshom. We followed that up with pizza and hanging out in the lobby at his hotel. We're such delinquents.

Market

2008-02-15T04:23:00.000-08:00

When malls in North America advertise a Farmer's Market, they mean fruits, cheeses, and handicrafts. When malls in Israel advertise a Farmer's Market, they mean shnitzel, boiled potatoes, and steaming pots of beans.

Happy Hallmark Holiday

2008-02-14T14:19:00.000-08:00

Seeing as we're in Israel for the festive festival of Valentine's Day, we celebrated in the only appropriate way - with a shidduch date at the David Citadel Hotel.

Artists' House

2008-02-12T12:26:00.000-08:00

Because Jon is still on vacation, we took advantage of Rina's early dismissal to visit a nearby museum this evening. The building is called the Artists' House, and is what used to be the Bezalel Arts Academy, which has since moved to the Hebrew University campus. There were three exhibits - one that combined standard artistic materials like acryllic and wood with craft materials like yarn, another that was a collection of Romanian iconography painted on glass and wood, and a third that was a mix of bright paintings in different styles although all by the same painter. Each exhibit brought something entirely different to the experience, whether it was weird melty globs, religious imagery, or clear lines and colours, making the experience varied and interesting. At the end of it all, though, we're glad the admission was free.

Shabbat of "This is Your Life"

2008-02-09T13:51:00.000-08:00

Okay, the weird confluence of Jonathan's past lives this Shabbat:
His cousin Oren, who is in Israel for a semester, stayed with us for Shabbat. Today we attended shul in someone's living room, where we saw a former student and her parents, as well as an across-the-street neighbour from Buffalo who recently made aliyah (Abby Dauber). On the way home from shul we ran into Shai Mintz, a Rabbi from Buffalo, who invited us to his wife's 75th birthday celebration after Shabbat. We then proceeded to Jon's cousins, the Kempinskis, for lunch, but en route ran into Rina's cousin Tammy and her cute kids. After Shabbat we went to the birthday party where we saw Toby Back, another family-friend from Buffalo, following which we went to a Camp Ramah 60th Anniversary gathering/lecture/slide show/sing-a-long to hang out with former directors, counselors, and campers. A weird, weird weekend.

Morocco in Pictures - See Text Post Below

2008-02-06T12:56:00.001-08:00

Morocco - Touring and Tea

2008-02-06T08:32:00.000-08:00

We apologize for the length of this post. If you want to know the short version of our trip here it is - we had an amazing, interesting, and exhausting time in Morocco. If you want to know the details and reasons behind this, read on. To save time and words, know that every time there is an asterisk we drank at least two cups of tea (but probably more).

Monday
We began with a 3 a.m. sherut to the airport, from whence we took a plane to Istanbul and then a connection to Casablanca. We shared the flight with a group of professors from Bar Ilan, who had decided to take a vacation the week after the semester began. At the Casablanca airport we caught a grand taxi (which has a trunk and seats 5, as opposed to the petit taxi, which seats 3 and has no trunk) to the suburb of Oasis, where there is a Jewish museum. We were excited to be able to see the institution, which is the only museum in the city and the only Jewish museum in the Arab world, and we had thought we'd be too late to make it. Unfortunately, the driver had no idea where to go, and neither did the half-dozen pedestrians he assaulted as we got lost. When it became clear that we wouldn't make it to the museum before it closed we tried to explain that we wanted to go to the hostel instead. The driver, however, spoke no French, and when we found a pedestrian to translate we discovered that the driver didn't even know where the hostel was. Eventually, after a 90 minute drive that should have taken 25, we made it to the Hotel Galia.
Once checked into the the hotel we headed over to the Beth El synagogue, the only remaining shul in the city. Like most Jewish institutions in the country, this was behind a plain and unmarked door that we discovered only by luck, this time led by a Jewish butcher we'd stumbled across. The shul was beautiful, covered with white marble, wooden fixtures, and intricate painting. It was also full of Bar Ilan professors attending a lecture. After making certain we weren't interested in sitting in on the lecture, we made our way to the Cercle de l'Alliance, an unmarked kosher restaurant behind a locked door, video surveillance, and a burly Arab guard.. The place was situated in the middle of a dark and dirty alley, but contained crystal chandeliers, a bar, and a dozen rooms full of men gambling. Perhaps because many Muslims will not drink alcohol the establishment has become something of an illicit casino of sorts. After asking the man next to us to translate our menu, we had a delicious dinner of tagine and olive chicken.*

Tuesday
A 7 a.m. train took us to Fes, where we got lost for a few minutes (when we discovered that the street signs were only in Arabic and not in French like we had hoped) before finding a hotel that would let us store our bags and arrange an afternoon tour guide. As an aside - we got lost in every city partly because we had no maps, partly because every major city is undergoing a lengthy street-renaming process, and mostly because every passerby tried to guide us to our location but almost none had any idea where to go. In the hours before our tour began, we walked to the mellah, the old walled Jewish quarter. When entering the grounds of the Ibn Danan synagogue and cemetery (the shul now defunct) we picked up a guide (accidentally) who showed us around the area, including former Rabbi's home, another synagogue (Habbirim) and cemetery, and the courtyard used to celebrate Sukkot. Every location had its own bittersweet charm, as there were clear Judaic influences and many pretty elements, but it was equally clear that they were either neglected and forgotten, or devoid of life. One of the most interesting places was the mikvah in the Ibn Dannan shul, which is still full of water, and has a peeping-hole in the ceiling for family mikvah celebrations before weddings.
After lunch we met up with our guide, who took us on a meandering tour of the city's medina (central walled area) where we saw what is presumed to have been Rambam's house. The medina of Fes was far better than that of Casablanca. The latter city is a port and attempts to be modern, and the medina has turned into a bit of a slum. In Fes, on the other hand, the area is a massive jumble of mosques, medresas, tiled fountains, and souqs organized by guild and product (a souq is like the Machane Yehuda shuk, only more massive, stinky, and confusing). We muscled our way through the throngs to get a taste of each area, with each step happier we had a guide to show us to the highlights. We saw weavers, blacksmiths, and many other tradesmen at work, but the most interesting (and stinky!) were the tanners, who dry, treat, and work animal hides. The whole process was captivating, but the combined scents of lime, poop, wet animal hides, and dozens of dyes was so overwhelming that we had to be provided with sprigs of mint to stand it. At the end the guide took us to each of his favourite stores (where we assume he made a commission off the sales) and we sampled the wares and made some purchases.*

Wednesday
We caught an overnight bus to the southern town of Rissani, and after sitting through a 0 degree night (with no heat) found ourselves in a deserted central square. Rissani is little more than a village, and is the very last city on the highway, after which there are only dirt roads and dunes. We sat in the only open establishment in the area* (it was 6 a.m. after all) and waited for our guide to pick us up, while being pestered by the locals to try out every other tour, all of which were apparently far superior to our own. Hassan finally arrived and we squeezed into his little car and began the drive to Merzouga, an outpost of nothing but sand and Kasbahs (walled areas with native huts inside, usually next to an oasis). Halfway there the car ran out of gas, so we wandered the area while the sun rose and a friend of Hassan's brought us some petrol. After an hour of waiting the gas arrived, so we fashioned a funnel out of a discarded water bottle, filled the tank, and drove to the guide's Kasbah to shower and rest.
After a quick lunch, we took a tour of the Merzouga area, which is populated by Berber nomads who live off of herding sheep, guiding tours, and selling carpets and trinkets. We saw a seasonal lake populated by flamingos as well as a Berber community*, where they even had a few Berber Jewish artifacts.
At 3 p.m. we met another guide, Yousef, who helped us onto our camels and led us into the Sahara desert. After 90 minutes of riding through pristine and golden dunes, we arrived at a camel-hair tent pitched in a small valley. We dismounted* and wandered the area, admiring the vast expanses of sky and sand, before meeting Yousef for dinner* and a lesson in drumming and singing. The experience was complicated by Yousef's speaking of six languages, in none of which we were fluent (but we managed to converse in Jon's broken Spanish and Rina's broken French). Later we lay on a blanket beneath the silent night sky, awed by the perfect sharpness of the starts against the complete darkness of the desert sky. We saw more stars than either of us had ever seen before, with so many clusters of faint stars that it was difficult to make out even the familiar constellations (which were also in the wrong places). Before the temperature sank too far below freezing we bundled up and went to bed so that we wouldn't be too tired to wake up for the sunrise the next day.

Thursday
We climbed the highest of the nearby dunes to daven and watch the sun rise over the Sahara before having breakfast*. Neither of us had ever been in a place that was so silent and calming before. It was an amazing experience. After breakfast we remounted the camels (which were now hungry and angry, taking many breaks to eat the sparse shrubbery and nip at each others' behinds) to ride back to the Kasbah, where we showered and rested. On the way to our next bus we wandered through a local donkey and sheep market, where the nomads meet weekely to trade wares and livestock, as well as to catch up with friends. We also sat with a spice merchant who claimed to be a doctor*, and the dried up lizards and hundreds of packets of powders and salves convinced us. At one point he offered to sell us spices in exchange for a mixture of cash and the clothes on our backs, but our means fell far short of his expectations. The bus we found was not the same inter-city line we had taken to Rissani, which was like Greyhound, but rather a rickety local service operator that had blinds made out of burlap sacks, and stopped wherever the riders wanted along the highway if they clapped loudly three times. The 200km trip took six hours, but we commiserated with a German backpacker we'd met and finally made it to Ouarzazate, a boomtown along the route to Marrakesh used mostly for filming desert scenes for Hollywood productions.

Friday
After a night in a hostel we squished into a grand taxi with three locals and began the trip to Marrakesh. The road wound its way through the Atlas mountains, whose snowy peaks were a striking contrast to the desert we'd been in only a day before. After a pit stop in a tiny village, we made it to our destination around noon, got only a little lost (compared to other destinations), and dropped off our bags at Riad Zarka (a riad being a house with a central courtyard, the type of home inhabited by most residents of the Medina). We then made our way, with the help of many locals, to the hidden synagogue of Id Alijama, the only active shul in the mellah. We only made it into the courtyard on our first attempt, as the sham'es was having lunch, but upon our return got to see inside of the massive golden front doors. The building itself was a mix of remnants of the many other shuls that have by this time closed, but was clearly still in use and seemed to have more life than the other synagogues seen so far. A local boy then guided us to Amram and Annette*, an elderly couple that welcomed us into their home later for dinner after shul and lunch the next day, and who were housing a pair of bearded Sephardi hassidim from Jerusalem who were touring the graves of tzaddikim in Morocco. We spent the few remaining hours before Shabbat stocking up on a few supplies (including some fantastic Moroccan dates, which were the best dates we'd ever tasted) in case our meals didn't work out (read "we were too scared or lost to go back"), then walked to the shul for a Sephardi service followed by a massive dinner with lots of local flavours. The meal was very entertaining, as there were four languages spoken at the table, but not a single one was common between all six of us. Additionally, one of the other guests got drunk off of an Arak-like liquor that Amram procured out of an unmarked two-gallon jug, and spent the night singing as loudly as possible and blessing everyone present multiple times (we've lost count of how many MALE offspring we are now destined to have). The walk home through the dark, winding, and sparsely populated alleys of the Medina was a new experience, as we'd only ever seen them packed with shoppers and colourful things to sample and buy.

Saturday
After breakfasting on freshly squeezed orange juice we davened at the same shul as the evening before, and made the locals very excited and mad when they found out that Jon is a Cohen. Apparently they would do Birkat Cohanim here each week, but almost never have someone to perform it, and were ecstatic when the discovery was made, but not until after shacharit. Lunch was the same as the day before* (broken but entertaining conversation, enough food to feed us for the week including Dafina - a sephardi chulent!, and drunkenness). Apparently the drunken sephardi Rabbi acts the same when he is not drunk and we were blessed once again with many male children. During the afternoon we wandered the labyrinthine souqs, happy we could not have money with us to spend on the faux guides and shopkeepers. In one store we stumbled across a collection of confusing Judaica that included half of a sefer Torah bolted to a copper fixture (priced at $50,000) and a wooden door with a chanukiah attached and decorated with pictures from the Bible and Hebrew phrases.
After Shabbat we walked into the central square of Djemaa el-Fna, which nightly changes from an open area into a packed market full of steaming food stalls, buskers, story-tellers, and cafes, in addition to salesmen hawking their goods and the ever-present dried fruit stands and orange-juice vendors. Some of the best sights - acrobats, snake charmers, stewed lambs' heads and platters of intact brains. When the sounds and smells became to much for us we retired to the balcony of a nearby cafe* to take in the scene from above.

Sunday
More fresh juice to begin the day*, followed by a walk to the Palais al Badi, the former grounds of the Sultan's palace. After seeing older and better-presented ruins throughout Israel the archeological elements of the location weren't particularly impressive, but the history behind it was very interesting. The museum also housed a recovered minbar ('lectern' from a mosque) that was covered in intricate mosaics and woodcuts, which was a beautiful example of Islamic art. We then walked to the Saadian tombs, the cemetery and mausoleums of the same Sultans who had inhabited the palace. Perhaps because of superstition the tombs had not been looted and defaced as the palace had, so the fantastic artistry was still intact. We took a long walk to the public gardens of Jardin Agdal for lunch, then wandered the same souqs as the day before, this time with purchases in mind. Rina's High school French worked splendidly throughout the bargaining process and we came away with exactly what we wanted.
Before dinner we went to a Hammam, which is basically a Turkish bath. We sat in steam-filled rooms and were alternately slathered with olive-based soaps and scrubbed with abrasive gloves by almost naked attendants, then relaxed in darkened rooms full of cushioned couches.* After a relaxing dinner (of salami and olives - yum) we went to a nearby cafe*, again overlooking the Djemaa el-Fna, and ate the most expensive date we could find (75 cents for one, or 150 dirhams per kilo).

Monday
A train returned us to Casablanca, and we took a cab to the Hassan II mosque. In order to give the swarthy city something to be proud of and to create a lasting legacy, the previous king about 15 years ago built this $800 million structure, which is the largest mosque outside of Mecca and has the highest minaret in the world. The tour took us through the marble and mosaic-filled prayer hall that can hold 25,000 worshippers, into the cavernous ablution room and the hammam. It was perhaps the most awe-inspiring building either of us had ever been into, both in terms of artistry and scope. We followed this with a walking tour of some of the architectural highlights of the classier district of the city, then relaxed at a nearby cafe* full of locals watching soccer, the combination of which is something of a local pasttime. At most hours of the day one can walk past coffee houses and see tables full of men staring up at the screen while pots of tea go cold on the table in front of them. We then had our final dinner at Cercle de l'Alliance, where we finally ate some actual Moroccan Moroccan cigars.

Tuesday
After a 5 a.m. train to the airport we flew to Istanbul*, where we met our tour guide Gurkan. He walked us through the sights of the Old City, which centered around several centuries-old churches and mosques. The Hagia Sophia was the first stop, and in terms of awesomeness it easily eclipsed the Hassan II mosque of the day before. The 500 year old structure is massive and full of marble panels and golden mosaics. It has served as a church and mosque to generations of Sultans and Kings, but today is a museum. The majesty and beauty of the enormous central hall is impossible to describe, so we'll stop here. We also saw the Blue Mosque, so called because of the thousands of hand-painted blue tiles that cover its walls. We only had 20 minutes here because of an impending service, but that was plenty of time to take in the beauty of the room. Our third stop was an Egyptian obelisk that had been used in a Roman hippodrome, but now rests in the middle of a busy traffic circle. We finished our walking tour in the Bazaar, one of the largest covered markets in the world. The experience was impressive, but made less so by the many bustling shopping centers we'd experienced in the medinas of Morocco. However, we did get to stop for a cup of Turkish coffee with our guide (although there they just call it coffee). We moved from the Old City to the middle of the bustling modern Istanbul (not Constantinople) on our way to dinner at the Carne restaurant (a suprisingly fancy kosher venue)*, where we ate some deilicious Turkish meals, then it was back to the airport for our late-night flight*.

Off to Morocco!

2008-01-27T16:39:00.001-08:00

Um...read the title.

Tmol Shilshom

2008-01-24T13:14:00.000-08:00

In order to end the semester (the first version of the first semester, anyways*), tonight the Senior Educators Program was taken out to dinner by the staff, and for the first time spouses were invited. We met at Tmol Shilshom, a coffee house/restaurant/used book store in the center of town. The rooms were full of eclectic and cozy atmosphere - mixed wooden chairs, books, brass furnishings, whitewashed limestone walls, and an open kitchen full of dreadlocked employees. The company and the food were great.

The activity for the evening was a meeting with the owner of the restaurant. After telling us about the history of the venue and his vision for its purpose, he read us a short story by an Israeli author, and then began a discussion about it. As the founder of Tmol Shilshom and a published author he has a clear love for the written word, but was also impressive with his easygoing manner and ability to discuss every aspect of the story we brought up.

All in all, the evening was fulfilling - intellectually, gastronomically, and socially. Not a bad way to start or end a vacation.

*The way Hebrew U has resolved the Senior lecturers' strike borders on ridiculous, and will be covered in another post, once we figure out what to do about it.

Pardes Tiyul to Southern Israel

2008-01-23T12:53:00.000-08:00

Rina is back and is too tired to explain the rigours of hiking, touring, and eating her way through southern Israel, so here are some pictures - build your own story.

Eat in Joy

2008-01-23T04:54:00.000-08:00

Rina still being away, I sought comfort during lunch from another shwarma stand, this one named אכל בשמחה, and I did. The portions were generous, and the salad bar was very different from others sampled so far. Firstly, there was a self-serve eggplant bowl. Secondly, there was a salad I've never before seen but which was clearly all of the leftover salads from previous days mixed together (and yes, it was as delicious as it sounds). Lastly, they had an assortment of sauces, and the hot sauce was actually hot! It's too bad that this joint is more expensive than some of the other top-rated locations, and has almost no seating. But for a quick stop it was great.

The night's activity was watching a series of skits at Hebrew U. One of my classmates took a course in theater, and this presentation was their final project. I'm certain that I missed some of the jokes and cultural references, but it was still fun and entertaining.

Happy Tu b'Shvat!

2008-01-21T20:46:00.000-08:00

While it is very exciting the the seasonal decorations put up in the grocery store are Tu b'Shvat themed, does anyone else think they look like Halloween leftovers?

Rina Gone? Shwarma!

2008-01-21T10:09:00.000-08:00

Rina has abandoned me for yet another exciting trip with Pardes, so I went out for Israeli comfort food - shwarma. This time I visited a store near the shuk, which for some bizarre reason was just as clean and orderly as the stand on campus. What won me over despite the 20 shekel price was their vast salad selection, each salad with its own utensil (it seems inconsequential, but it is impressive that they care to keep the flavours distinct). The taste was average, but the laffa was packed and the service was superb - the servers joked around, danced, and even let me swap out french fries in favour of felafel, something no other establishment has yet allowed. I wish I could remember the name of the stand so I could send them business, but I imagine that the above description really only matches one location within several blocks of the shuk.

The State of Modern Orthodoxy

2008-01-20T13:03:00.000-08:00

This evening we attended a lecture and panel discussion hosted by the Mandel Institute, featuring Y.U. President Richard Joel, on the topic of the growing divide between Modern Orthodoxy in the United States and in Israel. The speakers and audience all had difficulty talking in any sort of direct manner, but what seemed to come out of the debate was:
1. People interested in the state of Modern Orthodoxy are all about 50 years old.
2. Modern Orthodoxy lacks any solid definition, but seems to have something to do with combining modernity and orthodoxy, and perhaps Israel and Hebrew, but not necessarily aliyah.

Headline: Teachers' Strike Becomes Comedy

2008-01-19T21:51:00.000-08:00

From the Jerusalem Post, following the Senior Lecturers' solving their labour dispute:

Head of the Coordinating Forum of Junior Academic Staff Associations in Israel Eli Lohar told the Post Saturday night that the group had sent an urgent letter to the Committee of University Presidents (CUP) demanding talks over their working conditions.

"We are not striking yet, but we have called on the CUP to begin talks with us in the coming days. If they decline, we will weigh our options carefully. So far we have not heard from them," he said.

Lohar said the junior faculty's demands focused on pensions, seniority, severance and the other benefits they feel they should receive from the universities but do not.

AND

"After a war, a student strike and a lecturers strike, we will not raise tuition," she said.

שבת שירה

2008-01-19T09:20:00.000-08:00

Friday night we spent with Rina's cousin Tammy and her family. The conversation was lively, the kids adorable and playful, and the food fantastic (is there some weird Cult of the Kitchen in the Tenenbaum family?). We felt right at home, playing on the floor with the kids (Jon learned the most popular Israeli school game, a weird card game left over from 1920) and recapping our lives to this point. It was a great way to spend the start of Shabbat.

This morning we tried out what we'd heard to be a great minyan. The organization is halachically progressive and meets once a month, usually in a member's home. This weekend was their first in a new location*, which they'd moved to to celebrate a Shabbat Chatan v'Kallah. Once again Jon was underwhelmed, but Rina wants to give them another try. The individual who invited them to the club-meeting called it "shorter and sweeter than Shirah Hadashah", which responded to our likes and dislikes exactly, but the service wound up taking just as long, with extended pauses for procedural issues, and had almost no singing. This being our third trip to a minyan of this sort, of which we liked only one, Jon is reminded once again of the statement made by Richard Dawkins, that "organizing atheists is like herding cats" - by nature religious innovators stray from the norm and prefer to be individuals, making institutionalization difficult.

After Shabbat we got a lift from Tammy and Uli to a Tenenbaum Bar Mitzvah in Tel Aviv. While we knew only a portion of the guests, the event was a lot of fun. We got to meet some family for the first time, reconnect with others, and dance some crazy circle dances.

*Of limited interest to some of you may be that the new location is inside the Goldtein Youth Village, the home of both Ramah Seminar and TRY. When I remarked that it was the same as when I visited 10 years ago, someone nearby responded that it is the same as it was 20 years ago. I mean, with wood panelling like that you have to be in either a basement or a camp, nowhere else.

Friday Brunch

2008-01-18T05:01:00.000-08:00

To celebrate 30 months of marriage (it's the Scooter Libby Sentence Anniversary!) we went out for brunch today. We chose an isolated cafe nearby, ShoshCafe, which is several streets away from any major roads, and in the middle of a quiet residential neighbourhood. The interior was bright and lively, and the service was friendly. Oh, and the food (cheeses, eggs, house-bread, juices, coffees, pastries, fish, yogourt and granola) was great and reasonably priced. Hurray for more reasons to eat out!

חבל על הזמן

2008-01-16T04:03:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that Parent month is over, and you have no idea how much those guys will be missed. Before they came, we thought that the 21 days would last forever, but they were gone in a blink, and with them went a seemingly endless parade of meat meals. I realized this morning that, by lunchtime, I would have gone 48 hours without eating meat, and I nearly broke down in tears. But then I realized that there is a shwarma place on campus, and so I dried my eyes. I justified this lunch when Rina told me that she would be having a party at Matan and eating dinner at Pardes; why should she have such a gastronomically pleasing day while I suffered with sandwiches and fruit? Never!

The place was fantastic. Maybe it was because I was the only customer (why didn't anyone else want shwarma at 10:45 in the morning?), but this was the most packed laffa I've ever received, and most of it was meat (of which they had two choices!). Also, instead of the thicker, more pizza-like laffas found at most places, here they used a wrap, maximizing stuffing and minimizing bread. The server was very kind, and only smiled an understanding smile when I came up - repeatedly - for salads, instead of shooing me away with a frightening Israeli stare-down or shouting match. Lastly, the eating and serving areas were disturbingly clean, but the product still tasted delicious (contrary to my previous understanding of shwarma stands, where there seems to be a direct link between dirt and deliciousness). The only drawbacks were the absence of eggplant (although, as I stated, it was before 11 a.m. so they probably weren't fully prepared yet) and the price (7 shekels more than Melech HaFelafel and its neighbour). Still, if for some reason you are making the trip up to Mount Scopus this is well worth a visit.

Israeli Culture Vignettes

2008-01-14T10:47:00.000-08:00

Last night, when Rina called the restaurant to make reservations, they responded that "we don't reserve tables."
Rina countered, "but you did a month ago!"
"Oh, o.k. then." And they reserved us a table.

This morning we awoke to having no running water. We called the utility company, and they calmly explained, "don't worry - nobody has water." Gee, thanks. In Toronto we would have received a coloured announcement taped to our door if there was a chance that maybe a portion of the day's water would be interrupted, along with a timetable and an apology.

In the middle of Jon's Talmud class there was a sudden loud buzzing heard throughout the room, followed by half the class pulling out their cellphones to check their SMS inbox. As if that wasn't Israeli enough, the SMS informed us that half the remaining lecturers were joining their striking brethren for the day.

On a side note, tonight we said goodbye to the Parker-parents, ending our 21 days of Parental Visitation. Now begin the unfortunate months of weeks without steak nightly, and along with them the return of our ability to fit into our pants.

Relaxing Sunday

2008-01-13T12:47:00.000-08:00

After school, Jon met his father near the Old City. After walking through the gentrified Mamilla and picking up some sachlab in the Old City, they went to the Davidson Center and the Southern Wall excavations. Even though both have done the tour many times previously they still enjoyed it a lot, as there is always something forgotten or something new to see. They spent much of the time latching onto different passing tour groups and hearing various explanations of the significance of the area (a Bar Mitzva tour, a Birthright group, and a Christian Mission discussed the stairs to the Temple as spiritual rising, historically interesting, and the location of Jesus' confrontation with the money lenders, respectively).

For dinner we met up with Abba and Ima, as well as Shai and Layla Mintz and a family friend from Detroit. Jon ordered the mixed grill, which is supposed to be a pile of random animal bits, but it came with no explanations so it might as well have been plain chicken. Oh well.

Shabbat Shira (a week early)

2008-01-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

Friday night we went to services at Yakar, the Karlebach synagogue behind our apartment. We tend to avoid their downstairs minyan, as the tunes are dirge-like and haunting, and the Rabbi's speeches tend to be rambling and difficult to hear. All of these things happened, but the trip was worth it because Abba Parker got to see Rabbi MIntz, a long-time friend from Buffalo who now spends half of each year in Israel. We then had dinner with the entire Melton convention at the Prima Royale.

For Saturday's davening we finally made it to Shirah Hadashah, a progressive halachic minyan that gives women the opportunity to participate in many leadership and prayer roles closed to them in standard Orthodox synagogues. While the singing was perhaps the most beautiful collection of tunes and harmonies we have ever heard in a service, Jon was very disappointed that there wasn't a minyan for the first twenty minutes, and there wasn't a minyan of members until at least שמע. To our thinking, if you are going to express commitment to pushing the borders of Orthodoxy into the modern era, you should be committed enough to show up to shul on time, and to making sure there is a minyan. That Friday night services garner greater and more timely attendance than those Saturday seems to indicate that what brings people together here is socializing and song, not a commitment to a religious ideal, which is fine, just not how they advertise themselves.

Meeting the President's Motorcade's Security

2008-01-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

Today was uneventful except for getting to experience the joys of our esteemed visitor's proximity to our neighbourhood. On our way home from grocery shopping an intersection was roped off and dozens of police lined the streets, refusing all pedestrians requests to cross the two empty lanes to the other side. Every so often the riot police, dressed entirely in black and carrying rifles, would zoom by on motorcycles. When asked, the police would tell us that the President would pass by in just a few minutes. The minutes elapsed and the crowds grew, but no Presidents passed. After half an hour, the more antsy people began crossing the street in trickles, and when several mothers pushing their infants in strollers arrived the police gave up and the mass-crossing began. None of us ever got to see Mr. Bush, and I'm not sure that any of us really care.

Tagging Along on Other Peoples' Vacation

2008-01-09T14:35:00.000-08:00

This afternoon Jon got to have lunch at school with his parents, as the English-speaking Senior Educators were invited to talk with the gathered Melton staff in the Faculty Club, which has a great view of Jerusalem and a fantastic fleishig buffet. Jon was worried that he spent too much time talking to the 'rents and too little time talking about the program, but a quick look around the room showed that he was talking about the S.E.P. about as much as anyone else.

After lunch Jon and his mother caught a bus to Yad VaShem to see the new exhibit. The concrete, steel, and glass building is shaped like a prism, with the sharp angles of the exterior mirrored by angled walkways within. The theme of the museum is a microcosmic look at the Holocaust, and how it affected individual communities in Europe from the prosperous pre-war era through to the founding of the State of Israel. There is very little freedom to roam though the space, as you must follow a strictly defined path - there is a definite feel of inexorable movement toward some end (the establishment of Israel and the rise of Jews as a physical power). The museum is well arranged, making good use of design, media, artifacts, and the printed word, and closes with a breathtaking Hall of Names, which contains millions of names and bits of biographical data about the Holocaust's Jewish victims, as well as a three story sculpture that integrates photographs, lighting, and a limestone well. In the 90 minutes they had in the exhibit, the Parkers got through only about a third of the space, and would gladly (weird word choice, we know) go back again.

The museum was followed by some wandering around Ben Yehuda (which had only recently re-opened after the President's thoughtless visit there) while waiting for Abba and Rina. All four of us eventually met up at El Goucho for dinner, to enjoy some Argentine cuisine. We don't think that the South American country has discovered vegetables yet, as none appeared on the menu, but we won't complain. From the enchiladas and carpaccio (raw meat!) eaten as appetizers to the 2.2 pounds of steak eaten as an entree, all was magically delicious. Not too healthy, though, but that is what other peoples' vacations are all about.

Two Conversations

2008-01-07T14:05:00.000-08:00

1. This morning Jon went to a meeting with Marc Brettler, an author and professor from Brandeis. The topic of the meeting was Brettler's book "How to Read the Bible", which espouses the use of the Historical-Critical method starting at a very young age. This means using the Documentary Hypothesis, archaeology, comparative literature, etc. to teach the Bible instead of classic rabbinic texts and religious approaches. Jon proposed to Brettler that this course of action would undermine the formation of Jewish identity and invalidate Jewish ritual, but the author disagreed. Disconcerting but still interesting.

2. Jon asked the guard at the bank, with whom he has become friends, what he thinks the traffic will be like due to President Bush's impending visit. The guard replied, "if you don't have to leave your house, don't."

Eilat - A Landlocked Cruise Ship

2008-01-06T13:05:00.000-08:00

Friday
Breakfast consisted of five tables laden with cheeses, salads, pancakes, regular cakes, breads, cereals, and an omelette station, all of which were kosher. After gorging, Rina, Jonathan, Eric and Mitch went on a jeep/hiking tour of the mountains that surround Eilat. The guide explained the city's background in terms of geography, history, and politics, and gave pertinent examples of each as we passed them by. Highlights included a tour of the Egyptian border, fossil-sightings, and a view of granite mountains and the three Arab nations closest to the city from atop a windy peak with winding 4x4-only accessible roads. Without a doubt the best part of this event was the hike through the Red Canyon, a (relatively) level section between the mountains where high concentrations of different chemicals and whose location along a fault line have rendered some breathtaking natural rifts, shapes and sculptures. Following all this we headed back to the hotels for some relaxation and swimming.

Shabbat began with services at the hotel's shul, which, like all other synagogues in the area, was Sephardi, meaning extra long, loud, and weird. Aside from all of the different tunes and additions, the minyan also included a shouting match between attendees over whose tunes and additions were right. Once the ruckus was finally concluded we all met at the Parker-parents' hotel for a monstrous dinner, one whose scope easily eclipsed the massive breakfast. Soups, salads, breads, desserts, ten types of meat - wedding planners should take notes from this hotel. Dinner was followed by a peek in at the hotels' free entertainment, which was groups of over-excited teens in awkward costumes lip-synching and dancing to Israeli music of the past four decades.

Saturday
Wiped out by the festivities of the day before, everyone but Eric slept in, then got together for a Shabbat-themed breakfast of the same proportions as Friday. Today the pancakes and egg-products were replaced with kugels, jach'nun, and cakes. The balance of the day was spent lounging around poolside. When Shabbat ended and the Godlbergs were seen to their cab, the remaining folk had dinner at an Italian restaurant and wandered the boardwalk.

Sunday
Breakfast as above, then Daddy-Parker, Rina and Jonathan went on a glass-bottomed kayak tour of the Red Sea's coral reefs. The water is too cold for snorkeling to be comfortable, so this was an excellent substitute. We got fantastic views of the many colours and shapes of the coral, and even saw schools of fluorescent fish swimming by. After tired out by paddling, we were loaded into a boat and taken to see the dolphins playing in their enclosure. Lunch with Cheryl, another walk around the boardwalk, and it was off to the plane home for us.

In typical Israeli style our plane was massively delayed but we were not informed. The plane eventually delivered us to our destination of Sde Dov, a secondary airport in Tel Aviv. While we knew it wouldn't be an impressive structure like Ben Gurion airport, we were shocked when we discovered that Sde Dov is nothing more than a landing strip with a tent - an actual fabric tent - next to it. We collected our single bag, and began the search for a way back to Jerusalem. After some quality eavesdropping we found a family heading to Ben Gurion, and some sad-faces and forward questioning won us a place on their minibus to the airport. The group was six people large, with four Chicagoans headed by a Brotherhood-type who had come to celebrate their daughter's Bat Mitzva on Massada, and two Phillipinos. Eventually we got to the actual airport where we caught a sherut home, ending our vacation within a vacation.

Experiences en route to Eilat

2008-01-04T05:20:00.000-08:00

Our day began at 6 a.m., the time we had to wake up for our 6:45 taxi to the airport. Our flight wasn't until 11, but the cab refused to come between 7 and 10 because of the traffic. The fabulous service continued when we received a call from the driver at 6:20, saying he'd be there in five minutes. We disagreed and won. We won again when, at the airport, he nearly refused to take us to the correct gate, insisting that we could just wait and take the free shuttle. Once we were dropped off, he overcharged us and ran away.

At the check-in for your flight, we found out that the control-tower staff had gone on strike, leaving all planes grounded. Planes arriving still managed to land somehow, as the Parker parents showed up from Detroit on time and managed to get their tickets changed to an earlier flight only moments before the strike ended and the plane took off.

The Goldbergs and Parkers reunited in Eilat, where some went to take a nap and others toured the city. Those of us touring got to witness a French wedding on the beach as the sunset, which was beautiful both in terms of the view and the interesting ceremony (a bedekin at the chuppah, lots of songs and clapping, and a clergyman more showman than rabbi). We then reunited again for dinner at a nearby restaurant.

On the way home we stopped off at the Parker-parents' hotel room, which had been upgraded to a suite with a fruit platter, chocolate cake, and truffles (apparently their room wasn't ready when they arrived, two hours before check-in, so they were upgraded). Then we (the Parkbergers) hit up an Israeli disco at our hotel and passed out (not at the disco, but shortly after).

Quick Recap

2008-01-02T13:37:00.000-08:00

1. Monday night we went out to Buffalo Steakhouse with the 'rents and some friends from Toronto. Excellent chicken wings and even better steak (sirloin!).

2. On the bus through Ge'ula/Me'ah She'arim after lunch with the Lazars, Jon saw his first anti-immodesty mob. It was unclear if the police-woman was the cause or the solution to the mob.

3. Tuesday was Aryeshe's birthday, so we went to a restaurant called 1868 (after the historicity of the building). Fanciness! A sampling of what was eaten - goose liver, foie gras with truffles, smoked goose breast, and various cuts of steak. Who knew that Jews ate things other than potatoes and onions?

4. Wednesday lunch at Macaroni with the Goldbergs and the Cormans - still the best lunch in the city.

5. Wednesday dinner with a crew of Torontonians, both visiting and permanent. Even though it was Joy, an upper-end eatery, half the table got burgers and fries.

Concert for a Cause

2007-12-30T13:45:00.000-08:00

Though dead on our feet following last night's revelry and a day full of classes, we somehow found it within ourselves to attend a concert with Eric and Gloria at the Jerusalem Theater. The show was a mix of styles and genres of music, with the Black Hebrews (an American trio) singing soul and blues, Etti Ankri singing country-style music (if such a term can be applied to Israeli music), and David D'Or pretending to be a soprano cantor. The proceeds from the event are being put toward the support of agunot, so even though only half of the music was actually good, the entire evening was worthwhile.

Random meetings of the day - while I was waiting for the bus on Derech Hevron, Isaac Hollander, a co-worker from Or Chaim, stopped his car in the left-turn lane to chat for a few seconds. For dinner, Rina and I went to Shai Mintz's apartment to have dinner with the Arbesmans, a family from the Buffalo days who are here on vacation.

Making Up for Vegetarian Shabbat Meals

2007-12-29T15:52:00.000-08:00

After havdala we met up with Held and Evi, both of whom are visiting for Winter vacation, and went out to town to search out some interesting eating experiences. We started off at Ethio-Israel, the Ethiopian restaurant we've been to before, but they were - no joke - out of food. Our next stop was O'Connell's, a bar that came to us recommended.

A business that Jon has always wanted to see established is a bar with kosher bar-food, but no city outside of New York really has the type of population needed for such a venture. O'Connell's is exactly what he has been looking for - an Irish pub with a menu overflowing with meat. We each ordered a beer (which comes by the liter, not the pint), and shared an order of chicken wings, onion rings, and a platter of mixed meats and dipping sauces. Fantastic. We plan to go back at the soonest opportunity.

Not entirely satisfied, Jon and Held convinced Rina that the next stop had to be Burgers Bar, a standard Israeli joint that Jon has never tried. While the meat and grease hit the spot, the experience was not what it had been built up to be, especially following the dream-come-true that was O'Connell's. After a quick meeting with Moishe and Zvi Jesin, we headed home at a reasonable 2 am. Fun!

Ir Amim

2007-12-29T08:21:00.000-08:00

After spending the last few days touring the Old City, we decided to spend Friday seeing a different side of Jerusalem, and so signed up for the Ir Amim tour of East Jerusalem. Ir Amim strives to give people a more complete picture of the "City of Peoples" (as its name suggests) by showing them neighbourhoods that are off the beaten path, and explaining the historical reasons for their current economic, educational, and fiscal problems. The majority of this tour focused on area impacted by the constructions of the Security Fence (or Separation Barrier, Barrier for Life, etc., depending on your political stance).

Aside from the many interesting facts discussed during the tour, such as the ways in which families and jobs are disrupted, and educational and tax systems fail, the most intriguing element was the surprisingly a-political stance of the guide. At no point did he claim that the wall should be torn down, nor did he parade any propaganda about decreases in terrorism since its construction. Rather, he seemed to be solely concerned with the plight of the residents in the immediate vicinity of the wall and the decrease in their standard of living. The purpose of the tour seemed to be to open our eyes, not to change our minds.

During the tour I thought about something that one of my classmates mentioned on Thursday. He drew the analogy that our perceptions of Israel are similar to a small child's perceptions of his mother. When very young, the boy thinks that his mother is the most beautiful, the smartest, the best cook, and so forth. As he grows up, however, he realizes that his mother is most likely not perfect, and has many human failings and frailties, the same as everyone else. We need to recognize that Israel may not be the perfect Land of Milk and Honey that we would like her to be, but is in fact a nation involved in the global community, and as such has the same challenges and troubles as other countries. Another classmate added that she deals with these issues by compartmentalizing - on the one hand she has the Holy Land, and on the other the State of Israel. However, I'm not certain that this actually deals with the issues; it may just be sweeping them under the rug, and I can imagine this simply causing more problems.

Generations

2007-12-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

At 5:40 this evening we met with Eric and Gloria near the Kotel, at the ticket office for the Chain of Generations tour. None of us had heard much about the experience, but knew that it was new (a rarity in this city) and had received some good reviews. About the content we were in the dark, but gave it a shot anyways.

The museum is a series of rooms filled with glass sculptures, each one completely different from those that preceded it, and commemorating various stages in the history of Judaism, especially as it pertained to Jerusalem. Different textures, lighting, writing, shapes, and orientations helped to convey the emotional state of the artist as he moved through the past 2,000 years of nation building, expansion, corruption, diaspora, and return. The pieces, crafted by Jeremy Langford, were wonderful, and were easily the best part of the museum.

The premise behind the museum, as explained by the guide, is to bring modernity to the Old City, whose other exhibits tend to skew toward historical. To that end, they converted a Crusader passage and several mikvaot discovered nine years ago into the hallways of the exhibit, then filled them with modern art and special effects (like strobe lights and smoke machines, an Israeli necessity). We both found this setup a little jarring, and think that it was probably arranged as such less for the stated artistic reasons and more to offer a kid-friendly alternative to all of the fact-heavy historical edifices for which the city is known.

As we exited the museum we found ourselves in the middle of a giant gathering in the main plaza of the Jewish Quarter, where soldiers and their families had gathered for the swearing-in of a new group of draftees. We stayed and watched for a while and were struck by two things. The first was that we were witnessing the same chain of generations discussed in the museum, with a new breed of Israeli youth at the forefront of the faith's advancement. The second was the stream of Haredi men who walked through the crowds with their eyes screwed tightly shut, probably to avoid the sight of the nationalistic soldiers or the women immodestly clothed in their long-sleeved winter garb. Both those fighting for a contentious future and those hiding in a distant past together in one square. Well, not really together, and that's sorta the point.