Hiking Shoes? Only in Israel

One of those very "Only in Israel" things is the Israeli understanding of Hiking Shoes, especially for people my age and older. When I was at last week's Kenes Shiloh, I took one of the offered walking tours.

Before all the lectures start, one can register in advance for one of two tours. One is for "first-time" visitors, or those who hadn't been to Shiloh Hakeduma in the past few years. It gives a general background of Tel Shiloh and takes the participants to the movie, among other sites. And I go on the tour for recent visitors which tries to give us the latest discoveries and the newest high tech sites.

Even though these tours are walking tours, more like hikes, many participants are older than me and need the aid of walking sticks etc. Besides that, look at their "hiking shoes."  Yes, Israelis wear sandals for hiking.

I wore comfortable sneakers, which are my summer hiking shoes.

My guess is that most older Israelis don't find anything strange or unusual in hiking in sandals. That's how they had been raised. Even in the 1970s when my older children were young, your typical Israeli only had one pair of shoes at a time. They had heavy 100% leather shoes in the winter and sandals, also of leather, in the summer. These shoes and sandals were also produced here in Israel.

One summer in the late 1970s the girls and I spent the summer in New York with the family. (My husband joined us for August, since he needed to work.) My mother registered my older daughters in a free local day camp. We sent them with their lunch, so kashrut wasn't a problem. One of the first days of camp they came back reporting that they had been forbidden to play sports.

"Why?"
"Only children wearing sports shoes were allowed. Sandals aren't considered safe here."

So we quickly went off to buy them sneakers.

In Israel kids played soccer in sandals. They kicked balls and hiked in their summer sandals. There were no such rules about shoes being required at that time. A few years later, when we were already living in Shiloh, I became the girls gym teacher. The girls were required to wear suitable shoes for sports classes. I also made them wear pants under their skirts for modesty. I even calculated their grades according to their cooperation with the dress cold. My rationale was that sports talents were gifts from Gd, while they were responsible for dressing themselves. I didn't like the idea of giving a girl a low grade, because she hadn't been blessed with athletic ability.

What do you think?

Only in Israel 😍

Who can label/caption this? Your captions in the comments, thanks.

Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach

May You have a Peaceful and Blessed Shabbat

Only in Israel, 9th of Av

As much as people like to kvetch that the State of Israel doesn't function as a truly "Jewish State," there still isn't any country in the world more Jewish than Israel. Today is the 9th of Av, called Tisha b'Av in Hebrew. And if you think it's hard to find a good choice of restaurants open during Passover or Shabbat, then you're in for a bad surprise if you want to eat out today. Besides in non-Jewish neighborhoods, there won't be much to choose from. Many stores are closed or open shorter hours, too.

It's not as quiet as Yom Kippur, but the 9th of Av National Day of Mourning and fasting has cast a pall and keeps people at home.

And some of you may have noticed that all of a sudden Israeli men in all walks of life, including media, politicians etc. suddenly look sort of scruffy. They haven't been shaving. You're not supposed to cut your hair (including shaving) during the three weeks (some only observe this the week) before the 9th of Av.

Yesterday, after the weather forecast on the radio, they announced when the fast was to begin in various locations. Do you get that in Monsey, Boca or Stamford Hill?

Oops! Or is this "all Greek" to you? Did I lose you when mentioning 9th of Av?

The 9th day of the Jewish Month of Av is the saddest day on the Jewish Calendar. It's the anniversary of the destruction of both Holy Temples and the total occupation of Jerusalem by foreign invaders. Yes, both Temples were destroyed in the same deadly season hundreds of years apart. The Jewish People have commemorated this for thousands of years.

Here we are in the Land of Israel with a Jewish State. Things may not be perfect yet, but we're only human. It's not so simple to evolve from exile to Redemption, but I have no doubt that we're on our way, Gd willing. Yes, I just wrote "Gd willing," but it's up to us. Each time we take the right step, Gd will step in with "matching funds" and help us to help ourselves.

Tzom Kal

Easy Fast to Those Fasting

More in My Car-less Traveling Saga

Cross-posted on Shiloh Musings.

As most of you certainly know, we don't have a car. My husband's travel needs are relatively simple, so like many in the modern world he has no big problem commuting to and from work and other activities by public transportation. He actually enjoys the quiet time for napping and whatever. My travel needs are sometimes more complicated, but since there's no car on the horizon at all, I find myself enjoying periodic adventures.

Wednesday is my most complicated day of the week. Of course, it starts off simply enough, because I usually sleep at a friend's apartment Tuesday night. She's one of my "learning buddies," aka chevruta, so we travel together to Matan in her car, where we meet the rest of the group for our Al Haperek studies. After that we stay for Yael Ziegler's class,  "Kings, Prophets and Hurban,"  and then I rush to catch a bus plus in order to get me to Kochav Hashachar to teach on time.

In theory, it's possible to just catch the bus on Eshkol Boulevard if it's slightly delayed, though I frequently miss it. Last week as I rushed out of the light-rail (which I caught on Jaffa Street after getting off the 77 bus) at Ammunition Hill, I spotted the bus already standing at the traffic light. So I took a bus (after waiting a bit) to Sha'ar Binyamin and stood there for at least twenty minutes with a sign saying כוכב השחר KOCHAV HASHACHAR in my hands to attract drivers to that community who wouldn't have thought of stopping for me. It did help,and I got a ride and arrived on time.

So, yesterday, I decided to stay on the 77 until Eshkol Boulevard, although I knew I'd have to run a couple a hundred meters to a bus stop. As I caught my breath at that stop, I saw the 949--yes the bus to Kocahv Hashachar-- approaching. I signaled and got on very gratefully, thanking Gd for my great luck. I paid, sat down and relaxed. Everything was fine until about a half a kilometer from the city-line, the Jerusalem-Hisme border. The bus died.

So, I went out with another passenger to try to hail a bus or a ride at least to Sha'ar Binyamin or Hisme. The other buses wouldn't pick us up, because they are Egged Tavura and the 949 is Egged, so since it wasn't a proper bus stop they couldn't stop for us. Finally a young bearded man stopped, opened the door and said:

"Batya, come on in."

It ended up being a guy who had grown up in Shiloh, was my son's madrich, youth movement counselor, and my daughter had been his. He was on his way to visit his mother and was disappointed that he couldn't take me all the way home.

I asked him if I was crazy to get off at the Alon Road turnoff from Road 60, where there's a proper hitchhiking stop, with barriers and all. I've been asking many about it since there are many more possibilities for rides to Kochav Hashachar than Hizme and Sha'ar Binyamin. So that's where I got off.

Finally a young woman picked me up who was going to Kochav Hashachar and told me that it's a fine place to wait for rides. So now I know that I must find a tremp willing to drop me off there when I have to get to work.

And don't think that getting home from Kochav Hashachar didn't cause stress, too. There is no direct way, so I have to speak to other teachers and get a ride somehow.

Kochav Hashachar is just north of Rimonim and southeast of Shiloh. They are on the Alon Road, and Shiloh is on #60.

The best rides are when I'm taken via Kida/Shvut Rachel which at its worst will leave me a mile or kilometer and a half from my house. But recently, after hectic stressful searches for a ride out, which leave me with little patience to teach my difficult students, I end up with a ride that drops me off at Givat Asaf, the Beit El junction. When there I whip out my שילה SHILOH sign to attract drivers going north. That's what happened yesterday. I caught a ride, thanks to the sign of course, to the Shiloh Junction, where I got a ride to the Shvut Rachel-Shiloh Junction, then another ride to the middle of Shiloh where the stores and Kupat Leumit clinic are. And there I got tired of waiting, started walking up when a neighbor stopped to give me a ride to my door, B"H, thank the Good Lord!!

Back Home! Plus "Only in Israel"

Yesterday, after a relatively pleasant flight home from NY to Israel on El Al, my son-in-law picked me and my bags up from the airport. Since he still had to work, and the Ben-Gurion International Airport aka "Natbag" isn't all that far from Shiloh, he dropped me off at a bus stop in Petach Tikvah that has buses to Ariel (sorry doesn't show in photo.) I ended up taking an 86 to the Ariel University stop, got a ride to the Shiloh Junction, another to the Shvut-Shiloh Junction and finally one to the pool, which is near my house. My bags arrived later, after I'd been to the pool and my son-in-law had given the kids dinner.

The upper line, not shown in photo, lists a lot of buses to Ariel

The Ariel buses are known to be very popular with Arabs, and the one I caught had many more Arabs than Jews on it. At some point, an Arab woman, with a pretty pink scarf got on. There weren't any empty seats, so she stood by the door. I had stood nearby for part of the trip until a nice young woman insisted on giving me her seat right behind the driver. I noticed that the woman had a matching pink Rami Levy bag full of matzah.

I just had to take the picture, and I knew that it was a "one shot deal." The woman next tome me though I was crazy.

"Aren't you scared?" she asked me.
"No," I answered as I put away my phone. "Did you see the matzot in her bag? I just had to photograph them."

Yes, I am really back home, thank Gd!!

For Better and For Worse, A Book Review

An "Only in Israel story" in an "Only in Israel story"...

A few weeks ago, I saw a reference to what looked like an interesting book on facebook. I decided to comment that I'd like to review it. After some fb messages and emails with the author, I discovered that she's a customer of mine in Yafiz, the clothing store where I work. This sort of coincidence is just the type of "only in Israel" story you'll find if you read For Better and For Worse: An Israel Odyssey by Batya Kroopnick.

And I want to make it clear that I would have enjoyed the book a lot, even if I wasn't acquainted with Batya Kroopnick. As far as I understand, this fictionalized story of Kroopnick's life in Israel is fairly close to her actual life. Names of people and some of the places mentioned have been changed, and of course it's not a diary.  But what is most important for the reader are the events, the recent history of the State of Israel and the feelings and reactions of the author.

I like the fact that she calls her life here an "odyssey: a series of experiences that give knowledge or understanding to someone," because life, especially in Israel is certainly that.

Kroopnick begins the book by telling of her main character, Shelly's childhood in America, why she came to Israel and how she became more Torah observant in Israel. When the media likes to publicize books by Jews who left Torah observance aka Orthodox Judaism, it's especially nice to find an interesting and well-written book showing how intelligent and idealistic Jews are attracted to a Torah observant life in Israel.

When I was reading For Better and For Worse: An Israel Odyssey I read it as if I wasn't a "neighbor" in a nearby community; I tried to read it as if I was living in New York. In a sense you can say she about an "Israeli Forrest Gump," because the family Kroopnick wrote about had been involved with everything that has been going on here for over a quarter of a century. Her alter ego Shelly, the husband and children have been part of Modern Israeli History from up close. They vacationed in Gush Katif before the expulsion, and she went to help support Sderot when the Gazans were shooting missiles at it. The older daughter was at the terrible Amona destruction that had traumatized my yeshiva high school students. (I was an English Teacher at the time.)

I sincerely recommend For Better and For Worse: An Israel Odyssey no matter where you live and no matter what your religion. It gives a very necessary view into the lives and feelings of real Israelis in Judea-Samaria, especially when the international and even local media paint us so badly. And more than that, it is a wonderful story of how idealistic young Jews cope with the reality of life in a very turbulent world.

At present the book may be purchased through Amazon, click the titles in the review and you'll get to the right page. The book is also currently in the Mintzer book store in Gush Etzion and also in the Pomeranz bookstore.  Click here for the site that has more information on how to purchase the book. You can get more details by emailing Forbetterandforworse.ilodyssey@gmail.com.

My Ancient Blender

I have a blender which was bought in 1974. I've used it very few times considering all of the decades I've had it. It's my Passover Pesach blender. I bought it for grating potatoes and onions the year my husband did his basic training service in the IDF. The grating was his job, and considering that for three (ending up being four) months I was the only parent for our two daughters then aged a year and two and a half, I was not going to take over that chore for Passover cooking.

In those days there was a special discount store, Shekem, which had a supermarket and department store including electrical appliances. Soldiers' families got coupons to use there, and considering that in 1974, my husband's army "salary" was the same as an 18 year old got to buy a bit of nosh, we needed that discount.

1974 was also decades before discount shopping stores, like Rami Levy had come to Israel. There also were hardly any supermarkets. Most shopping was in a small, local grocery store and the shuk, open market for those who could get to one.

my Moulinex blender

This one came with a small "coffee bean grinder" which my husband uses for grating the horseradish root for the most powerful "chrain" you can ever imagine. I use it for making kugels and "Savta brei."

Only in Israel, Prayers in the Shuq

The other day, while walking in Jerusalem's Machane Yehuda Market, I wasn't quite sure what I heard. It ended up being the Mincha (afternoon) prayer nice and loud on a loud speaker. The small synagogue was overflowing.

As I walked by I noticed men following and answering "Amen" in the right spots as they worked nearby. Some weren't even wearing kippot or head-coverings.

Only in Israel...

That Chessed חסד Kindness Mitzvah Bonus

Financially my job pays as low a salary as any job in Israel legally can, but there are other bonuses. I'm not referring here to the enjoyment meeting old friends and the funny situations we get into, but those unplanned opportunities to do Chessed חסד, a kind deed to others.

Last night at work, I got a call from a neighbor. I didn't know him by name, but he said that he lived in the caravans (mobile homes) just across from me. He needed an emergency purchase from the Rami Levy discount supermarket which is in the shopping center right next to where I work. He needed baby formula. There are things I won't get, but that was something I was willing to get to help a tiny baby. I ran into the supermarket and found the formula he needed and even found some other neighbors shopping who could take it home immediately. I called him to let him know and figured that was it.

Then just as I was leaving work, a few minutes early, because a friend came by to get me and I was no longer needed, he called again.

"According to the date on the can, it has expired. Can you get another with a later date?"
"Sorry, it never occurred to me to check. But so and so  is still working. Call him, and he can probably pick it up for you."

And that's what he did. He told me when he came over a bit later to pay me. That was quite an evening. A whole bunch of neighbors became involved with helping a little baby get food.

While I was riding home with my friend, we both commented gratefully that we were able to breast-feed our children and never had such emergencies. We are both grandmothers now, and just thinking of  the idea of having to try out and choose formulas, bottles, nipples, level of sterilization etc seems so impossible to imagine.

The bottom line here is that I do live in a wonderful community, Shiloh, in which we truly do our best to help each other, thank G-d.

G-d is Great! Amazing "Tremp" Story

First of all, as proof to my statement that "G-d is great" just look at this picture:

No artist could do it better!

And I also must thank G-d for providing me with such wonderful transportation recently.Yes, this picture is the introduction to rides only G-d could orchestrate.

Last Thursday just as I was about to leave the store and sign out from work, someone I know from the Shiloh area came in. I already had my coat on, but I began helping him. He said that I shouldn't bother, he'd manage. I should go home and not worry.

"But I'm not going home."
"Oh, are you going to Jerusalem?"
"Yes."
"Then you can come with us. My wife is waiting in the car."

And I went with them to Jerusalem. When it was time for me to go home, I got a ride to the "city line," aka the Jerusalem-Hizme "border." After a few minutes a car came going to Eli. Just as I was asking if I could get off at the Shiloh Junction, I looked up. Behind that car was the same family that had taken me to Jerusalem. They signalled me to join them, which I very happily did. And they took me home, straight to my door.

G-d is Great!!

Such Goodness חסד "Chessed" From Others, Only in Israel Tremping Stories

Do stories like these happen anyplace else?

I consider it "only in Israel," because where else is hitchhiking so prevalent? Tremping is what we call hitchhiking here in Israel. It's most prevalent in rural and semi-rural/suburban-type areas such as Judea, Samaria, the Golan and Jordan Valley. That's because of two factors:

• Public transportation isn't sufficient in terms of frequency and time efficiency. Sometimes it can take half a day to get from point a to point b by bus, while a direct ride is only fifteen minutes. And some communities aren't serviced at all by public transportation.
• Not everyone has a private car, and if a family does, it can't service everyone in the family.

There used to be signs at the
Jerusalem "city line." 

The culture of giving and accepting rides from friends, neighbors and even total strangers is part of Israeli culture where I live in Shiloh. We have never had a car. My husband mostly takes buses to and from his part-time job in Jerusalem. He is also the type that doesn't mind waiting. I work part-time in Yafiz, Sha'ar Binyamin, and study once a week in Jerusalem. I wouldn't survive without the tremps I get from friends, neighbors and strangers which supplement the buses, which I do take, too.

In theory I could use just buses to commute to work, but especially since I sometimes finish late at night,  my schedule doesn't match the bus schedule and I find waiting for buses less efficient than waiting for rides I combine those forms of transportation.

The חסד chessed, goodness of others is amazing. Not long ago, during the recent Jewish Holiday season,  I did a big shopping in the Rami Levy Discount Supermarket before signing in for my night shift, with the hope that I'd find a neighbor to take my stuff home to be picked up later by my husband. A neighbor took the bags and left them by my door since she had to leave home again before my husband expected to be home. I was very relieved, because Yafiz, where I work didn't have the space for those bags, and it's much easier to tremp home sans shopping bags, especially after 9:30pm. 

After finishing that long pre-Holiday shift I waited by the Rami Levy exit for a ride/tremp and suddenly I saw that same neighbor. She had come to look for me, since she didn't have my phone number. She had finished with her evening plans and was passing by, so she stopped into Sha'ar Binyamin to look for me. Such a wonderful neighbor. 

And the other night, again after a long late night shift, I caught a ride with someone I didn't know at Ofra, which is halfway home. He dropped my off at the Shiloh Junction. I put on my reflector-vest and suddenly noticed that he had u-turned. He decided not to leave me on the corner. He took me all the way home.

People are wonderful and G-d is Great!

I have a lot to be thankful for!

One of My Favorite Unique Things About Israel! aka "Only in Israel"

There's something very unique and Jewish about some Israeli architecture:

The merpesot or balconies/terraces are placed to give each apartment the potential for a kosher succah. Granted that this isn't a building requirement and doesn't exist in every building built, but it is found in quite a few.

Sometimes there is an overlapping, so that not all of the succah is actually kosher. In those cases, women and children who aren't required by Jewish Law to be in the succah are relegated to sit in the covered "non-kosher" section. That's acceptable for those who have no real choice. When we lived in Jerusalem, I ate in succot like those.

At least everyone is at the same table.

Here in Shiloh, we can build large succot with room for all.

Chag Sameach, Have a wonderful joyous holiday!

Psalms in the Station, Only in Israel

The other day when I rushed into the Jerusalem Central Bus Station to get the bus home, somebody thrust something in my face. I replied with a gut reaction of "no." Then a split second later I noticed that a great variety of people, men and women, young and old were standing still reading from T'hillim booklets, the type from the sets which split the 150 into usually 28 equal-size portions.

I didn't go back to get one, because I was afraid I'd miss the bus, but I did take a couple of pictures.

Unlike Israel's south Jerusalem has been pretty much untouched by the war. But we're all one country and one people. And that's why people in the Central Bus Station were saying T'hillim, Psalms.

Quick Nosh on the Road When Tremping

There are lots of fig trees in the Binyamin/Benjamin area, and many are along the roads. There's a very tempting couple right where I wait for a ride outside of Ofra.

Figs have to picked when they are just ready.

I had to climb down a bit to get to it, but there didn't seem to be a car coming. So I wouldn't miss a ride. A young guy waiting had gotten himself a few, too.

It was definitely worth the risk!

I love fresh figs! It's one of those treats I only discovered after making aliyah and living in Jerusalem. Decades ago when we lived in Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem, I remember buying some from an Arab woman who went house to house, building to building.

Two Flags and The Tzaddik (Holy-Man) in Disguise

Considering that I blog more about tremping (hitchhiking,) you should know that I also take buses. It depends on what comes first. Two days ago, when I made it to the bus stop at the Shmuel Hanavi corner in Jerusalem, I discovered that it would be almost an hour until the next Shiloh bus was due, so I took a #143 to the "city line" and had fantastic tremps home. But yesterday a Shiloh bus #148 arrived at the stop at the "top of" Ramat Eshkol just minutes after I got there, so I took the bus home.

I sat in the front seat behind the driver for a few reasons.

• It was unoccupied.
• I like to look out the front window.
• I had to pay the "second installment*" of the fare mid ride, so the closer to the driver the better.
• Officially, those seats are reserved for the "elderly," and now I'm pension age, so unless a couple of passengers incapable or walking further into the bus would get on, it's set aside for me and my peers.

Sitting in front gave me a front row view to all aspects of the ride home.

Everything had been quiet and routine until we just passed Givat Assaf, the Beit El Junction when suddenly the driver stopped on the road. None of us had seen anything to warrant stopping. And if there had, G-d forbid, been a terror attack, instructions are to drive away as quickly as possible. 

Not only did the driver stop the bus, but he quickly climbed out. No, he didn't find a corner to pee, which has happened over the decades. He bent down and picked up an Israeli Flag which he had noticed had fallen down from the poles near the junction. 

He placed it carefully near the flag he has on display in the bus and told us that the Israeli Flag is holy. He just can't abide the thought of one lying on the ground.

And that wasn't all. As we pulled out of the Ofra bus stop and security gate he noticed some people running from afar to catch the bus. And he waited for them. At the same time a woman in a nurses uniform got out of a tremp just across from the bus. She approached and asked if the bus was going to her destination, which it was. She was so grateful. Not only had the driver waited for those who were running to catch us, but because of that a young nurse was able to make it quickly and safely home.

And, no, in case you were wondering, this driver did not wear any of the signs of outward religiosity, not in his clothes, accent, hairdo or head-covering. It's obvious to me that in terms of Derech Eretz,  the Laws of Behavior between man and man, this man lived a "mehadrin" life.

What a wonderful Jewish people we have here in Israel!

*My Jerusalem ticket's "transfer" was good until the Ma'avar Michmas gas station stop, and only then did I have to pay the lower fare to Shiloh.

Wonderful Tremping, With a Little Help From My Friends

The sky may have had been cloudy today, but good people found me and I got home pretty easily, Baruch Hashem, Thank G-d.   Or did I find them...

People always wonder how I travel.  OK, sometimes by bus.  And sometimes by rides and sometimes a combination.  And Baruch Hashem, I make it home.

Today after working, I went into Rami Levy to do just a bit of shopping.  Really, not much at all.  I had only four things, but it was one of those Murphy events.  The cashier was about to switch. She first had to finish with the previous customer, count her money and then let the next one take her chair. And I had to wait.  I was getting nervous, not because I didn't have a ride, but because I was afraid that my ride was going to leave before I checked out the four measly items I had decided to buy.

I had noticed a friend on the next line.  She lives in Ofra and travels by car.  She said/signalled that she'd drive me to there, half way home.  She paid, and I was still waiting. But luckily she had wanted to buy something next door n Yafiz.  I was still waiting.   Finally I checked out and found her wagon.  It all worked out. We left together.

On the road I spotted the 148 which goes to Shiloh.  We passed it, and I told her, so she dropped me off in Ofra near the bus stop.

After a few minutes the bus came and just as I as searching for my carfare, I saw a neighbor of mine get out. Now, why should she be getting off in Ofra when she lives in Shiloh?  Ahh hah!  She must have left her car in Shiloh and maybe she'd be driving home, so I called to her  and asked.

Yes, I had a ride up to my streets!  Wonderful!!

Always surprises....

Historic Jerusalem Building, A Pisher's Guide to Jerusalem #3

Most guidebooks leave out the most important information, the best and most convenient public toilets, 00, W.C.  Having waddled through five pregnancies, raised five kids, residing far from Jerusalem and now at an age when my pelvic floor is reaching the basement, knowing where to find a decent or even barely usable public toilet in Jerusalem is a vital necessity.  That's why I began to post this series:

A Pisher's Guide to Jerusalem #1

A Pisher's Guide to Jerusalem #2

Israel has a lot of medical clinics, and they all must have public toilets.  So if you're desperately looking for a convenient W.C., you can always walk in to use the facilities.  I do a lot of walking in Jerusalem, and sometimes while rushing to and from buses, appointments and classes, take advantage of the public toilets in one of downtown Jerusalem's old historic buildings, the Strauss Medical Center on Rechov Strauss (Street,) in between Jaffa Street and Kicar Shabbat (Square.)

It's a large, historic building which today houses numerous medical clinics of the various Sick Funds and private ones, too.  This building was one of the earlier ones built for Hadassah's medical services in Jerusalem.

In 1929, Hadassah opened the Nathan and Lina Straus Health Center in Jerusalem. In the 1930s, planning began for a new hospital to replace the Rothschild hospital founded in 1888 on Street of the Prophets, Jerusalem.

When I need a W.C. I follow the signs and go up a flight to the Kupat Cholim Le'umit section.  That's the medical organization we are members of, so I figure that I've been paying for those facilities.  Nobody ever asks me what I'm looking for I just look for, which is the way I like it.

And one of those "only in Israel" extras, they have the prayer one is to say after "eliminating" on the wall nearby for an extra convenience.

Use in good health.

Controlling the Panic, Thank G-d

Today is the first Friday in Israel post-Daylight Savings Time.  I have to keep reminding myself that I have much less time to do all the Friday, pre-Shabbat chores.

Usually when I work on a Thursday I take out my yoman, little pocket diary/calendar, and write down next week's schedule. I had been about it a couple of times during my shift, but I was always distracted, and then my boss told me that she still had to go over it and finalize it.

Recently, I've been keeping the yoman,  in a little bag with my equally small and pocketable T'hillim (Psalms) and Mincha Siddur (Afternoon Prayer book.)  I used to wear a second "fanny pack," wearable pocketbook which had them and meant that I always had those little books with me.  By wearing two "pouches" or "fanny packs" I was able to keep my cellphone and ravkav (public transportation ticket) separate. There are those who say that the phone can erase the pre-bought rides.  But recently to take pressure off of my back and pelvis, I started wearing only one.  And being a female, whose clothes don't have pockets most of the time, I need my phone, wallet, keys and camera in the pouch on me all the time when out of the house. And to make things more complicated, now I have to move the little bag around to make sure it's always "with me."  I have my Matan day backpack, in which my Bible studies books "live," and my work backpack which houses things I just need for work and is big enough to hold most of the shopping I do at Rami Levy each time I go to work in Yafiz.

Yesterday I had morning shift.  Now that we're no longer on Daylight Savings Time, I find myself in a rush to find the time to say my T'hillim (part of a group in which we commit to say certain chapters daily) and doven mincha pray the afternoon prayer before the sun begins to go down.  I've been working an hour or more after the end of morning shift recently.  That means that sometimes I have to use my "break time" for those things.  Yesterday I signed out first and then sat down near the exit to start.  But, you guessed it, I couldn't find the bag with those three little books.  I had no way of knowing if I had just left them at home or the bag had gotten lost.  There wasn't enough time to just say "so I'll doven and say T'hillim at home.  I needed to do it immediately.  I had no idea who would have those books, but I did know where I could possibly find them.

There's a small synagogue in the Rami Levy Supermarket.  I ran there, turned on the lights, found some books and quickly began T'hillim. I was planning on staying there until I had finished everything, but suddenly there was an announcement on the loudspeaker for Mincha.  Since there's no Ezrat Nashim, women's section, I took the siddur outside and finished dovening where I had attempted to start, near the exit/entrance.  I then reentered the store and asked a man near the shul to return the siddur for me, did my shopping and went home.

I kept telling myself that I had heard that you can go to the "citypass" Ravkav office and they can reproduce the card if it's lost, because all of my ticket purchases and travel are computerized in their humongous data base.  But, Baruch Hashem, thank G-d I found the small bag on the table.  So I was right. There was no need to panic.

Only in Israel: A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to The Dentist

This may come as a surprise to many, but for my family the Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof isn't thought of as where the late HaRav Ovadia Yosef had lived, it's known as "the dentist's office."  We've been going to a dentist there for about twenty-five years, yes, a quarter of a century. 

Yesterday, I had a dentist appointment, and yesterday was the first full day of shiva, the week of Jewish morning for HaRav Ovadia's family.  I figured that I was lucky in the timing, since during the funeral the roads were packed.  Many people had just left their cars on the side of the highway and walked.

I had accepted the dentist appointment for 4:15pm before knowing I'd be working morning shift. But it was possible to get there on time.  That is if I left work exactly at three and got a ride or bus to Jerusalem immediately afterwards.  I'm sure you've guessed that it didn't quite all happen as planned.  This is a story.  Isn't it?

First of all I left a few minutes late, and then there were no rides.  I finally decided to take a ride to the bus stop by the Ma'avar Michmas gas station, at the junction to Psagot, Migron, Kochav Yaakov and Tel Tzion, even though it's a kilometer in the wrong direction.  It took another few minutes until the bus came, which I took to Jerusalem.  By then I estimate that I was only about ten minutes behind schedule.  I called the dentist's clinic when entering Jerusalem to say that I'd be late.

"We'll wait for you," said the receptionist/secretary.

Photo: GPO

I caught the #74 bus to Har Nof pretty quickly at the Central Bus Station and thought I actually had a chance to be almost on time.  Then we got to Har Nof.  It was all blocked off, a major traffic jam.  Davka Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu chose just that time to pay a shiva call to the Yosef family.  The bus couldn't get in.  Time was slipping away quickly.  I called the dentist again.

"I'll walk.  How do I go?"
I described where I was and got more than directions.
"Tell me when you get to the traffic circle, and I'll pick you up."

And that's what she did.  I called in and kept walking.  She found me and drove met the rest of the way.  And to make my traveling even more siyate d'Shmaya, it ended up that the dental hygienist was driving in my direction.  I didn't have to wait who knows how long for the elusive buses. She took a route that bypassed the traffic jam and gave me a ride to where I could get a tremp in the right direction.

Do these things happen anywhere else?  Only in Israel!

Easy Succot Supply Shopping, The "Arba Minim," 4 Species

At Sha'ar Binymin, just outside of Rami Levy's giant discount supermarket, which also includes a synagogue for convenient praying...

Here in Shiloh a number of neighbors bring in supplies of lulav, etrog etc to sell. I'm so used to the fact that the "arba minim" are as easy to buy as milk and eggs.  I was going to write "challah" as one of the things that are easy to find in stores, but I really want people who aren't in Israel to understand that in most Jewish neighborhoods in Israel these "specialty items" are standard fare.  I know there are some wonderful Jewish communities abroad in which challah is not something you can buy from a store.  You have to bake it yourself.

Israel is a very small country, so if these holiday items aren't in a local shopping area, generally you don't have to travel more than twenty minutes or less to find some.  My husband used to enjoy going to the big arba minim markets in Jerusalem to get in the mood and pick up his four species, but now he buys from some neighbors, the same neighbors every year.  Other neighbors bring in the large palm branches to be used as s'chach to cover the sukkah.  A few days before Succot they drop off the amount ordered in front of each house. 

Baruch Hashem, this is a Jewish country.  It's felt most of all during the Jewish Holidays.

Chag Sameach and Shabbat Shalom