Rosh Chodesh Elul-- Rosh Hashanah's Only a Month Later

Summer is almost over... it'll soon be Rosh Chodesh Elul, and then a month later, Rosh Hashanah. Tishrei is the only "new moon" which isn't celebrated in it's own right, because it's the beginning, "head" of the Jewish Year. There is no Rosh Chodesh Tishrei. Rosh Chodesh Elul will be the very last Rosh Chodesh in 5786. That's a good reason to join us at Tel Shiloh for Rosh Chodesh Prayers. 

Tel Shiloh is an Ancient Jewish Holy Site. It was in Shiloh where the Tabernacle rested for close to four hundred 400 years as a center for prayers to Gd. The Biblical Chana prayed for a son in Shiloh, promising Gd that if He have her a son, she would give the son back to Gd to serve the Jewish People. Her son Shmuel was later born, and when he was old enough, she brought him to Shiloh to study with Eli the High Priest. Later Shmuel led the Jewish People and anointed our first two kings, Saul and David.

Since Rosh Chodesh is traditionally a "women's holiday," and Shiloh is known for women's prayer I began inviting women to pray there together on Rosh Chodesh decades ago.

Ancient Tel Shiloh is a well developed archeological site with a large variety of activities and exhibits for all ages. For more information +972 2-578-9111 and visit@telshilo.org.il. Ancient Shiloh can also be reached by public transportation.

All's Well That Ends Well-- The Miraculous Trek Home From Jaffa Port

 

The trip home from Jaffa Port was complicated... read all about it...

 

Whenever I'm not sure of the route, I trust Google Maps, which is pretty reliable, especially nowadays when there are so many changes in bus routes and bus stops. Actually, I arrived at the Jaffa Port reasonably easily via Ariel, where I had taken one of the buses to Tel Aviv and had gotten off by some government offices. From there I had no problem finding the 44 to the port. The instructions for the walk to the port weren't all that clear, but by concentrating on how many meters were left, I could see if an about face was needed. Trust me; there were quite a few. But then I saw the massive building by the port and just had to find the entrance. 

Where was I going? To a beer festival, the Beer Market had returned to Jaffa Port. Last time I traveled with the rest of the beer tasters via Jerusalem, but since then I discovered that it's easier and faster to get to and from Shiloh via Ariel. 

I was the first of our group to arrive; most arrived soon afterwards. This post isn't about the festival and beers, though I hope to blog about some favorites at a later date. Wisely I packed a nice vegetable omelet for dinner-- to counteract the alcohol of the beer and give me healthy energy for the trip home. 

As usual I consulted Google Maps and then was happy to discover that my favorite Tel Aviv-Ariel the express bus was listed as the one I'd catch "somewhere," but before I left the port the instructions began changing rapidly with all sorts of cancellations. 

The Beer Maven invited me to join them in the taxi to the Tel Aviv Train Station, where they were catching the train to Jerusalem. I thought about it for a nanosecond but decided it would just increase my trip, and I may be stuck in Jerusalem. I needed a bus to Ariel where I could catch a bus to Shiloh. 

With Google Maps, and a number of helpful strangers, to guide me I finally found the 44 going back to Tel Aviv. I got off where Google Maps instructed but couldn't find an Ariel bus anyplace. I kept asking people, but they didn't see the 286 number anywhere either. Finally a nice young man took out his earphones and began searching via the app Moovit. Apparently some big event in Tel Aviv changed traffic and bus stops. 

After we walked close to a kilometer we returned to where I had gotten off the 44, and we crossed the street. The 286 wasn't listed, but there was a 285 to Ariel on a sign, but it wasn't on the board  of "live" buses. He insisted that his app said the bus was close. He spotted a bus passing us and managed to hail it for me; yes the 286. I thanked him and climbed in through the back door. Yes, the bus hadn't realized that I was waiting. That tzaddik-- righteous man really saved me. 

I used my efobus app to check if I had a chance to catch a Shiloh bus in Ariel, and thank Gd I did. It wouldn't be true to say that the trip was uneventful or quick, but I got off at the first stop in Ariel on time. 

Then I walked slowly through the Ariel Shopping Center on the road, hoping that a neighbor would notice me and take me home. Finally, at the bus stop I waited for the bus which would take me to my street, ok via the scenic route of Eli, but it was MY BUS. 

Since my phone's battery was too close to zero for anything not urgent, I didn't check how the rest of the crew was doing. Once home, I plugged in my phone and contacted them. The Pisgat Zeev Beer Tasters had "landed" in Jerusalem but still not near their neighborhood. 

I enjoyed the beer and the company... and thank Gd and wonderful strangers I made it home safe, sound and sober.

Closest Shopping Mall Near Shiloh

on the road to Eli from Shiloh

Actually, if we in Shiloh want to go shop in a mall, we don't even have to go as far as Sha'ar Binyamin or Ariel.  Five minutes away, there's a mall, ok, they haven't totally completed it and most of the stores are still empty, in Eli.

My neighbor and I had decided to check out the newly built supermarket there and took a "road trip" one morning.  We weren't quite sure where it was, so we followed the signs.

Eli is much larger than Shiloh, and its population is much more varied. They accept everyone who wants to move there and can find a home, while Shiloh only accepts those who are Torah observant.  Eli also has a very large and thriving young dati le'umi, "national religious" community, because many students and graduates of the Bnai David Mechina, pre-army yeshiva end up making Eli their home.

The old Eli shopping area is pretty empty, because the supermarket and pizza/coffee house moved to the new building.  See the difference!

Eli Markol supermarket entrance

I was happy and surprised to see that my Shiloh neighbors had opened a branch of their "Dvarim Yaffim" store in the new mall.  They have wonderful clothes at reasonable prices.  One thing I and many of my neighbors know is that Dina keeps stock of all of the basic "layette" supplies one needs for a new baby. Considering that many people don't like to buy baby clothes before the birth and hospital stays are relatively short, you need a store very nearby to set up for a newborn, especially a firstborn.

But we went to Eli to see the supermarket!  It's also owned by someone from Shiloh who entered the grocery business locally, possibly even before Eli was established.  He also now owns the supermarket in Ofra, besides Shiloh and Eli.

As are the other two stores, which I frequent regularly, it's orderly and clean, besides being very well stocked.  Prices are very reasonable for a small private chain.  Some things were less than at Rami Levy.

The Eli branch is the only one with a green grocer, fresh furit and vegetable section.  There's also a butcher, fresh poultry department only open Wednesdays-Friday.

The pizza/coffee shop was closed when we visited.  Even though "breakfast" was on the menu.

There's a also an attractive well-stocked housewares store that seems to have almost everything one could need.  That's important with all of the people moving into Eli recently.

Eli, terraced apartments under construction

The New Eli - Shiloh Bicycle Path

When I was a teenager and younger I loved to ride my bicycle.  It's one of those things I haven't done for decades, but it's also one of the few things still popular, at least in this part of the world, Israel.  One of my sons finds cycling to be the most efficient and quickest commute to work.  The bonus is that it keeps him fit, and he has to be fit for his job.

Way back when, in the "old country," my friend Louise Rosenstein and I met up a couple of times in-between Bayside and Great Neck on Northern Blvd at the bicycle path near the Throgs Neck Bridge.  We'd cycle to the "end of Queens," then go into a store, buy a big container of ice cream, get some plastic spoons and then finish off the ice cream, sharing it until the very last drop.

Israeli cities, including Jerusalem, have bicycle paths which you can see on the sides of roads.  And even here in the Shiloh area there's a new bicycle path to tour Emek (the Valley of) Shiloh, Tel Shiloh to Eli.

When I was at Tel Shiloh on Rosh Chodesh we spotted a number of cyclists riding by.

Here's a video of it; hat tip: my husband.


חנוכת שבילי האופניים בשילה הקדומה from Ronen Siman Tov on Vimeo.
אירוע חניכת סינגל במרחב מעיינות שילה- עלי, אירוע מאורגן למופת על ידי תיירות אזור בנימין, בהובלה של חברת בוץ ובעבודת בנייה של חובב, מאות רוכבים התקבצו ובאו להפנינג של רכיבה בנופים מרהיבים. הסינגל זורם ומהנה ביותר! וההשקעה בבנייתו ניכרת. שיר הנושא הוא "דרור ויקרא" בביצועו של שלמה בר מהברירה הטבעית.

Spring in Shiloh

Friday morning I took a walk around the neighborhood, in the other direction, from my usual. The views and flowers were gorgeous. This is the nicest time of the year. In Israel it rains in the winter, only, so the winter is green and spring is colorful. Passover is for taking pictures, a good excuse to get out of the house and burn those Kosher l'Pesach calories!

Here's the Beit Knesset Mishkan Shiloh, the Shiiloh Tabernacle Synagogue, Shiloh's largest, modeled after the Biblical Tabernacle, which "rested" in Shiloh for 369 years and was the spiritual center of the Jewish People during that time.

To the North of Shiloh is Eli, and to the west is Ma'ale Levona.

And enjoy "nature," since within a short time, it starts drying up.

f2f-ing again

I was at a beautiful and special wedding last night, no, sorry, no pictures, and I f2f-ed with Reb Nati, who lives in Eli. Generally we only meet up in cyberspace. This is probably our first real f2f. His wife and I "tremp" together on occasion.

I'm going to have to treat myself to a small camera for the events I can't schlepp the big one to. Yes, my new cellphone has a camera, but it's not the same. I ought to find out how to transfer the pictures from it to the computer, but still... A few times, I found myself viewing a scene, wishing I could "preserve it on disk." The phrase used to be "preserve it on film," but that's now passe`.

Actually the experts are predicting that the disks will deteriorate very quickly, and that old fashioned film/negatives and photo prints are much hardier than the disks and cyberspace.

During my last dvd shopping trip in NY, I picked up "My Fair Lady." In its "extras," in includes a documentary of how they rescued the movie from total deterioration. Now, how did I get on to this? It's rather distant from my original topic...