Rosh Chodesh Adar- Save The Date

I'm trying to give you enough notice before our next Women's Rosh Chodesh Prayers at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh.

Rosh Chodesh Adar, Gd willing, Tuesday February 25, 8:30am

ראש חודש אדר, בע"ה יום ג' 25/2 ב8:30

For more information contact: shilohmuse@gmail.com, subject: Rosh Chodesh.

Shiloh is a traditional place for Jewish Prayer, thousands of years, since the days of the Bible. Chana prayed in Shiloh for a son and then sent her beloved son Samuel to Shiloh to train for leadership of the Jewish People.

Ancient Shiloh is a well-known archeological site with an ongoing dig and various attractions for all ages to enjoy.

Visitors come from all over the world to see the wonders of Biblical Shiloh. You can hire a private guide or just follow the signs. For more information contact Phone: 02-5789122, visit@telshilo.org.il. The site is open on weekdays. There's also a gift shop, and snack bar.

Our women's prayer group sings Hallel out loud and prays the other prayers silently and individually.

The month of Shvat has just begun, but I like to plan in advance.

#morningcoffeehaiku Into The New Decade

Whether home or away, I still begin most days with a #morningcoffeehaiku posted on facebook. I find the simplicity of the 5, 7, 5 syllable structure of haikus just perfect to galvanize my brain as I wake up and drink my morning coffee, after water, usually with slices of lemon and ginger.

I must admit that after many years of writing these haikus, I may get repetitive in the phrases and even complete lines included in these mini-poems. Please forgive me. And there's also a limit as to what I can photograph, the dawn, darkness, coffee mugs and various coffeemaking apparatus.

Following is a selection of recent #morningcoffeehaikus. For more, search on Facebook, where I've made both a page and a group titled #morningcoffeehaiku. You're invited to join and follow.

dark cold early morn'
saved by great strong hot coffee
starting week grateful

tired, not enough sleep
post-Shabbat syndrome, plus pool
coffee must kick in

got up too early
sun's oversleeping, not me
love drinking coffee

exquisite sunrise
though dark winter clouds invade
while I drink coffee

Need good hot coffee
Winter in Jerusalem's
not for the wimpy

dull, grey cloudy morn'
looking forward to sunshine
cheered by good coffee

Instantly COFFEE
Perfectly hot on cold day
In Jerusalem

sparkling ice raindrops
drinking hot coffee to warm
very winter day

woke up to bad news
but sun still shines so brightly
need sweeter coffee

Hot coffee "still life"
In Holy Jerusalem
Need caffeine to wake

exhausted this morn'
Rosh Chodesh before Shabbat
last night my team won

desp'rate for coffee
fun, friends and beer aren't sleep
sun's still shining bright

much too early but...
coffee preceding sunrise
soon Shabbat plus more

pastel colored dawn
I need strong coffee today
Where's the orange sun?

pretty new kettle
spectacular orange dawn
great start to new week

Chodesh Tov, New Month
Joyful Ladies' Holiday
drink coffee and smile😍

Experience Van Gogh in Herzliya

Today I went to the most amazing Van Gogh state of the art experiential exhibit at the Herzliya Marina, Van Gogh Exhibition, Arena Mall, Herzliya January - April 2020.

This isn't your usual museum art exhibit, nor was it in a museum. We saw images and illusions, not real paintings. Actually, I don't even know how to properly describe the experience. Yes, it was more an experience than a classic art exhibit.

The explanations were in Hebrew and Russian. The very friendly helpful staff assisted me and some of my friends, and of course other visitors to the exhibit, in downloading and using Google Translate. I learned how to aim my phone on Russian text and then see a translation on my phone screen. To be perfectly honest, it was rather hard to read it. I guess that's what dyslexics have to suffer through. My illustration/screen shot to the left was among the "clearest" of the translations. White on black is far from my favorite, but there were much better things to come.

We entered a large room with all sorts of chairs and lounges. On the floor, walls and ceilings of this room were the most amazing projections. I can't really describe them. Vincent Van Gogh's most famous paintings were not only projected, but they morphed and moved as if alive. Look at the videos and photos.

Once we were pretty sure we had experienced the "whole show," we continued to the next part. There were desks, crayons and "coloring book pages" of some of Van Gogh's most iconic paintings. We felt tempted to sit and color in the artwork, but curiosity drew us away.

We found ourselves experiencing a surreal virtual reality.

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is a 360 degree experience in the universe of one of the greatest geniuses of the last century.

Perched on stools, we were helped into hi-tech masks which blanked out the room we were in and substituted something otherworldly. We felt we were traveling, even though we could feel the floor when we let our feet down. The trip felt so realistic, we held onto the stool, so we wouldn't fall off. Somehow we entered Van Gogh's village. This was a 360 degree experience. Look up, down and around, and we weren't in Herzliya by the Marina. We saw a small European village from about a hundred and fifty years ago.

My description doesn't do the Van Gogh Exhibit justice. You must experience it yourself. The entrance fee is high, but there are ways to get discounts. Enjoy, and tell me what you thought of it.

Winter Blues...

I love sunrises. They cheer me up. Way back when... I remember sitting by a view of the sunrise nursing my first children. Our Jerusalem apartment's bedroom faced east looking over most of Jerusalem. It was spellbinding.

A few years later when we moved to Shiloh, I picked a building plot on the eastern side of the neighborhood. We have enormous windows in the living room and dining room facing east. Stunning sunrises greet me spring and summer when I get up.

But now we're mid-winter. It's so hard to get up to darkness. Gd willing soon the days will be longer, and morning will start earlier. In the meantime...

Harvey's Smokehouse, Must Return

Last week, after attending Rothschild and Sons, I went with friends to Harvey's Smokehouse. Even though it was very windy and rainy outside, they did their best to warm us up. We were very lucky to get a perfect table without reservations. I guess Gd knew we needed a good meal.

Harvey's Smokehouse is a Bar & Grill · Barbecue Restaurant · American Style Meat Restaurant, strictly kosher, of course. It's on 7 Ben-Shetach Street, a couple of minutes' walk from Zion Square, 02-624-6444, opens 12 noon, Sunday-Thursday.

Because of the hour, we didn't order a real complete meat meal, their specialty. That's one of the reasons I must return.

I started with beer and was very happy that they offer on tap Shapiro's Israeli craft beer. There was a choice between Shapiro's IPA and Wheat beers. Since I wasn't sure which I wanted, I was brought both to taste. The wheat was pale and anemic both in looks and taste, but the Shapiro IPA didn't disappoint at all. My only mistake was getting a "third" rather than a "half."

One of my dinner companions ordered a fruity cocktail, which I tasted. It was absolutely perfect, too.

My companions ordered a couple of servings of meat chili, onion rings and one "cole slaw." I was offered tastes of them all. The chili and onion rings were fantastic, but I was so disappointed to see red cabbage masquerading as cole slaw I just couldn't touch any. Maybe it's the New Yorker in me, but when I hear cole slaw I expect to see white (green) cabbage and carrots. Anything else is sacrilegious, an abomination. The only one of us who tasted it insisted that the dressing was genuine, but then again, he wasn't raised in New York.

I ordered a salad that had bits of grilled chicken breast and their own "bacon bits." It was labeled as having "ranch dressing," but all I tasted was mayonnaise, and I don't like mayonnaise. When I mentioned this to the waiter, he quickly took away my plate and replaced it with a new salad, sans the guilty mayonnaise. There were simple dressings on the side, which were perfect.

We had been tempted by the lamb chops and other grilled meat, but having shared two portions each of the chili and onion rings, besides the big salad, we barely had room for a bit of dessert, chocolate mousse and apple pie for sharing.

Our driver perked himself up with some coffee, and then we drove back to Shiloh after a totally enjoyable evening in Jerusalem. Great food and company. I can't ask for more. But I really do want to return to Harvey's Smokehouse and try their meat, lamb... I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

Not Quite Broadway, But Fun, Rothschild & Sons

Last night I joined a few hundred people in the packed Beit Shmuel Auditorium, Jerusalem, to see Rothschild and Sons.

It's a lovely production based on the true story of Europe at the time and of course the Rothschild Family. There are Hebrew and English subtitles shown throughout the show for those who need. They are on top of the stage, so they don't distract from the action and dancing.

I'm rushing to post this today, because there are still a few more performances.

Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020 – 7:30 pm
Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020 – 7:30 pm
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020 – 6:00 pm
Thursday, Jan. 16th, 2020 – 7:30 pm
Location:
Hirsch Theatre, Beit Shmuel, 6 Shama’a Street, Jerusalem
To Order tickets call: (054) 578-9006

You can order tickets by clicking the link or calling (054) 578-9006.

Enjoy!

PS My friends and I were especially impressed by the live music and how they managed to place the little, though totally excellent orchestra in such a small space between the stage and row 1.

Happy Ending With The Help of Social Media and Friends

Happy lost & found story 

When I was sitting in my "Parshat Shavua," Weekly Torah/Bible Portion class, I realized that one of my earrings was missing. Walking back home I tried to remember exactly how I had gone and looked for it. Couldn't find it, nor at home either.

So I sent out notices with a photo to local email and Whatsapp groups. About an hour later a neighbor called. She said that it looked familiar. She thought she had seen it while walking home and even apologized for not picking it up.

I went to where she said she though she had seen it, and there it was.

When I thanked her, I said that obviously I was in need of those extra 200 or so steps.

Baruch Hashem

Save The Date: Rosh Chodesh Shvat, Women's Prayers at Tel Shiloh

Rosh Chodesh Shevat, the 1st of Sh'vat, 5780, will be on Monday, January 27, 2020, and the Women's Prayers at Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh will be at 8:30am, בע"ה.

For more information contact: shilohmuse@gmail.com, subject: Rosh Chodesh.

ראש חודש שבט, תש"פ, תפילת  נשים ביום ב' 27-01-2020, בשילה  

הקדומה, תל שילה. נשים ונערות מוזמנות. 

לפרטים נוספים 

shilohmuse@gmail.com, subject: ראש חודש

Women, young and old, from Gush Shiloh-Eli, plus guests gathered to pray together during Chanukah on Rosh Chodesh Tevet. We sing Hallel together and pray the other prayers silently.

Shiloh has been a center of Jewish Prayer for thousands of years.  During Biblical times, it became the spiritual center for the Jewish People after the return to the Holy Land. The Mishkan, Tabernacle rested in Shiloh for almost four hundred years. This was before King David  declared Jerusalem the Capital city.

It was in Shiloh that Hannah prayed for a son and then brought him to serve the people in the Tabernacle, train by Eli The High Priest.

Shiloh Hakeduma is an active and well-developed archaeology site, which offers activities and tours for visitors of all ages. For more information contact Phone: 02-5789122, visit@telshilo.org.il.