Breaking Rules

I'm one of those out of the box thinkers.  There's frequently something just out of tune in the way I see things.  You could say I'm a true non-conformist.  I generally see and do things a bit differently from others.  It's just my nature.  And, yes, it has gotten me in trouble at times and made people find me "odd."

I was just looking at some pictures I took the other day when I was in Jerusalem.  The ones I like the most broke rules.  I took pictures facing the setting sun so things look dark and colorless.

It's rather hopeless.  That's just the way I am...

Here they are:

At The Kotel, The Unexpected is Routine

The other day I found myself in Jerusalem with a couple of hours and nothing to do between appointments.  It was afternoon, time for Mincha, the afternoon prayer, so considering that the very numerous Jerusalem synagogues which fill for the prayer don't usually have their Ezrat Nashim, Women's Galleries open, I figured I go to the one place that is always open to women.  Yes, I went to the Kotel.

It's not that I "worship" the Kotel, the opposite.  I consider it a place of mourning.  We should be praying on Har HaBayit, the Temple Mount.  But there are times, when praying at the Kotel and being part of a large group of sincere Jews in prayer is good for the soul, so I walked there from the Municipality, Safra Square lightrail station.

Once I got into the large open square I saw that there was an army group for a ceremony.

There were also lots of sick and/or handicapped youngsters visiting, each with a counselor to help.

As I was leaving, a large group of kids in Gush Katif orange arrived singing.

You never know what you're going to find at the Kotel.

Airline Seat, If You Paid for it, Is It Yours?

As I prepare myself mentally for my trip to the states, I can't help but to dread the idea of sitting in those tiny crowded seats with much too intimate closeness with strangers.  On a recent trip I had to complain to the attendant because the man behind me not only shook my seat violently every time he got up or sat down, but he somehow managed to even touch my head in the process.  And this guy was in the uniform of an ultra-Orthodox Jew, who should have been making every effort not to touch me.  After complaining a few times in two languages, Hebrew and English, I finally called for help.  The solution was found was that we should change seats.  Since I ended up remaining in an aisle seat I agreed.

In another trip, although I had reserved an aisle seat I found myself sitting between two young men.  I asked the man in the aisle if he would change with me, since I'd be getting up frequently, but he refused, saying he didn't mind.  So, the three of us took our trips to the loo at the same time, like in nursery school.

Those aisle seats had cost the same as middle ones then.  Now the airlines are milking more money out of the desperate passengers making seat switches much more complicated.

Joel Sharkey has written in the New York Times and International Herald Tribune about pressure being put on people who paid extra to give up their seats to those who paid less.  I think it's totally outrageous, and wen the flight attendants join in on the pressure it's worse.  Those who are put in that position should do two things:

1. If they are willing to switch, then they should charge the other person double what it cost them.  If having the better seat cost $20- then someone who wants it should pay $40 in cash to compensate.  It's not like the one in the aisle seat or with more legroom won that better seat with the roll of the dice. 
2. Make it clear to the attendant that you paid for your seat and  you expect the airline to respect and honor that purchase. Mark down the name of the employee who is harassing you to give up your expensive seat without compensation and report to the company after the flight.

People should know that sometimes you have to give up a good seat to sit together.  I had that when flying to Israel with my elderly father.  He was given a seat in the front with more legroom, but I was assigned a seat a few rows behind.  He needed me more than the legroom, so we had the staff change his seat.

Delicious Dinner, "Gourmet Hamburger"

Most people say you should never order hamburgers or anything made with chopped/minced meat out in a restaurant, because you never know what's actually in the meat.  There are a few restaurants that pride themselves and please their customers by grinding the meat in their own kitchen.

HaGov, The Lion's Den, the kosher sports bar & grill on 5 Yoel Solomon Street is one of the few places that serve real home-ground meat in their hamburgers.  My eating partner and I both ordered hamburgers.  He had the Julio, which includes a sunnyside up egg and I had a different one.  I can't remember the name. 

I told them to "hold the bun," since I try not to eat bread, and both of us requested salad instead of chips aka french fries.  It was a delicious and satisfying meal. 

"Regular Excercise," Not Exactly

There are many people who think that you/we must eat exactly the same everyday and exercise the same amount everyday.  I used to do that, sort of, but I don't anymore.

My days vary.  I think it's natural.  Recent up-to-date diet advice recommends having one day when you eat much more as a way to keep your metabolism burning up those calories.  Exercise specialists talk more of giving your body time to recover.  And the older we are the more time we need!

As many of you may know, three and a half years ago I managed to lose over thirty pounds, fifteen kilo, and I've kept it off.  Especially the past year my trick has been to vary both my food intake and my exercise a lot.  I have super-active days and wonderfully lazy days.  Around once a week, if I am served some irresistible cake, I'll have some and even try ice cream.

There are days like yesterday when I overdo the walking with a heavy backpack and days like Sunday when I did absolutely nothing stressful at all.

Of course I try not to be one of those who "treats" myself to high calorie foods a few times a week claiming that it's a rare occasion, because that is a problem.  But on my annual trips to the states, if I can't eat my usual cooked vegetables and the only kosher food is Hagan Daz ice cream, so I eat it.  And I eat the high carbohydrate meals on the plane, too.  For a couple of weeks a year when I have so little control over my life, I'll survive.

Obsessing isn't good, either.  I'm psyching myself up for the trip to the states.

So Which Starbucks is Kosher?

As I gear myself up for my next trip to the states, I must check on the latest kosher coffee news.  It's not that I drink coffee all day long.  At home I brew/perc my coffee in the morning and sip it while on the computer, like right now.  Then as the day goes on, I almost never ever drink any more coffee or even black tea.  That morning caffeine input is all I need.  But when I travel, I need another dose of coffee to conquer jetlag.  It's like medicine.

Hat tip: Tzvee
Even the New York Times is writing about kosher coffee, Starbucks to be precise.  There's a site which specializes in what's kosher at Starbucks.  And that's what's featured in the article.

It's not that I actually like the classic Starbucks coffee; I don't.  Last summer I discovered a coffee there called Caffe Americano which tastes more like the classic coffee  I do like.  It even cost a bit less if I remember correctly.

Most kosher only eaters consider any coffee place serving just plain coffee from coffee machines into disposable cups to be acceptably kosher.  To be more careful, I try to only get coffee which has a hechser, kosher certification on the supermarket shelf. Frequently brands are kosher for the plain coffee but not for the special flavors.

I'd appreciate any info you may have about coffees, thanks.

The Weekly Havel Havelim

This week's Havel Havelim, #367, is hosted by Marina at A Letter From Israel.  There are some very interesting blog posts included.  Bloggers please join us by sending your links and links you find worthwhile reading.  Also try your hand at hosting.  Information can be found on our facebook page.

There are other Jewish blog carnivals, Kosher Cooking Carnival and JPIX.

And I'm just going to add a few more links that aren't in the latest Havel Havelim.  First of all, there was a time when the Bima Ima aka Phyllis had the time to host HH, but now unfortunately she's much too busy  since Superman Sam was diagnosed with cancer.  B"H, he just had a great day.

Part of living in Israel is enjoying the Land.  And those "shiputzim kids" take that mitzvah very seriously.

Read this beautiful Dvar Torah on Parshat Balak from Chaviva.

Ester reminds us how dangerous a negative comment can be.

Elder of Ziyon posted his own roundup.

As the date of my trip to the states rapidly gets closer, I appreciate Tzvee's report about the kashrut of Starbucks.

And for something very different, I've been enjoying the Bible-based stories on ben-zion.com.

Please visit, comment and share the various links.

Fasting "Tips"

One thing I'm not doing is to wake up before 3:50am tomorrow morning to eat/drink before the 17 (delayed to the 18th) of Tammuz fast begins. 

Losing sleep will be worse than not drinking.  Also, if I try to drink, my body will expect coffee and food.  If I don't drink, then at some point it will realized, like a well-trained child, that "this is a day, you're not getting fed; get used to it."

Generally, as the day goes on, my body begins to behave, stops whining.  Of course, I'm miserable.  I hate fasting.  Each year, each fast bothers me more.  I don't know how much is physical and how much is emotional.

I hope to sleep as much as possible tomorrow.  I wish I could store sleep, like a camel stores water.  I also wish I could store water in my body.  It doesn't work.  Most mavens say you should drink lots of extra water before a fast day, but if I do I end up having to pish so much at the beginning of the fast that I'm sure I end up eliminating more water than I've taken in.

Some people manage to function so well when fasting.  I'm not among those blessed ones.  My mind starts going blank if I don't eat frequently enough.  I guess that's low blood sugar, or a warning sign that if don't eat properly I could be a diabetic.  When I refuse to take a shift on a fast day, my employers should be happy.  They shouldn't want a worker who can't work.

I don't faint when fasting or anything like that.  It takes me a long time to "wake up" and function without my water and coffee.  Recent studies say that coffee can "sharpen us," so it makes sense for me to say that my mind is a haze at least in the morning when fasting.  My body slows down, inside and out.

If you feel like I'm describing I wouldn't drive.  If you must take a cold shower to make you more alert.  Yes, except for Tisha (9th of) b'Av and Yom Kippur it is permitted to shower.

If you have to be out when fasting, stay out of the sun.

Eat normally or even slightly less the days before a fast.  It's better to shrink your stomach than to stuff it.   But if you go to bed hungry the day before a fast, you may wake up starving.

Just don't overdo anything.  Each of us is different so try to discover what's best for you.

Cancer Blogs: RivkA, Superman Sam, Heather...

We all blog for different reasons.  One thing that has motivated many of us is the need to let off steam.  My Shiloh Musings blog is for that political "steam" aggravation, letting the world know the truth of what's going on here in Israel, especially Shiloh.  I consider it a public service of sorts, my own way to broadcast for the hasbara  pro-Israel information efforts, even when I'm writing about the mundane.  This blog is more for the mundane and personal.

But in terms of combining the personal and the mundane in a very different mix, there are the "cancer blogs," which are very important for those involved and to put a real face on those who are fighting for life and for their families.

In the jblogging world the first one of that genre is/was RivkA's Coffee and Chemo in which she chronicled her losing battle with what was first diagnosed as DCIS, stage ZERO breast cancer, at age 39.  Even though you already know the sad ending to her story, it's still worthwhile going to the blog and reading her posts.  Cancer may have had destroyed her body, but it didn't damage her spirit.  I met her in person a few times, and she was a truly amazing young woman.

A few short weeks ago, the popular blogger the Bima Ima sadly blogged to us that her six year old son Sam had just been diagnosed with  acute myeloid leukemia.  She and her husband are now chronicling their fight to bring Sam back to full health on Superman Sam, a very honest blog about their feelings and Sam's health.  If you want, please add Sam to your רפואה שלימה refuah shleimah, complete recovery list, Shmuel Asher ben haRav Pesah Esther.

Honestly, I don't go looking for these cancer blogs, but recently a writer of one, Heather, contacted me via comments on my blogs.  She didn't say what she wanted from me,  just that she needed to hear from me.  I kept wondering if I had made a mistake by sending an email to a mystery person, terrified that I had set myself up for a computer virus or something like that.  The fact that she wrote her email with the word "dot" rather than "." did make me feel a bit safer, but still...  It ends up that Heather wanted me to either give her a chance to post on my blog or at least that I'd mention it. 

Heather Von St. James, Courageous mother, wife and survivor of mesothelioma cancer.  Read about Heather »

That's why I'm writing about cancer blogs this morning.  Good health to all and Shabbat Shalom

Preparing for The Pool

Yesterday was babysitting day for the grandkids.  The heat kept us (OK me) in most of the time except for when I had no choice, like when we had to pick of the pre-schooler from camp. 

The kids didn't know it, but my daughter and I had a big treat planned for them.  After she got home from work, she packed them up in the car, drove me home to Shiloh and then we all went to the pool.  Although none of the kids are real independent swimmers yet -the three eldest are all taking lessons- they felt confident and comfortable with various floating devices and two generations of  "personal lifeguards."

That giant green "lifesaver" wasn't used in the pool, and the little one was held by her mother the entire time.

Is It That Awful?

RR's aka regular readers know that I do  my own nails and I do  almost any color but red and classic pinks.  My color wardrobe is mostly in the greens, blues and purples, but sometimes friends get inspired and buy me presents, like this not quite mellow yellow.

One young, about the age of my eldest, friend called it

מגעיל אבל.... mag'il aval..., disgusting but...

After the "but" she added it looks great.  That must mean "though I would never have thought of wearing such a color it actually is fantastic."  She's one of those who grabs my hand every time we run into each other "just to see what color nail polish is on..." my stubby fingers.

The yellow was given to me by a friend, and another recently got me a sort of rusty orange, which really looks fabulous. 

I received this luscious purple from a different friend after admiring it on her nails.

holding an interesting carved rock at Tel Shiloh

Please don't get the wrong idea.  I buy the vast majority of my nail polish.  I'm looking forward to seeing what's on sale when I go to the states.

Patience, Patience

Every  time I look at my little vineyard the grapes look bigger and bigger, but it will take over a month until they are edible.

Most of our grapes are late summer ones, ripe around the Biblical Shiloh holiday of TU (15th) b'Av.  Some scholars say that the holiday is timed for grape harvest.  That means that we somehow ended up with grapes that perfectly suit their location here in Shiloh.

Because we end up with about a month of free grapes I don't buy any.  I can wait until I can pick them from my own private vineyard.  Patience...

Being Two Places at Once

As we all know, that's impossible.  We can't really be two places at once, although some people try with modern technology to "attend" events via skype, live-streaming (if that what it's called) and other modern "hook-ups."

Granted some of you consider me a bit "nuts," but I have had that "being two places at once" a couple of times.  One of them was last Thursday.  By one of those amazing flukes aka siyate deShmaya I found myself in a ride from work (my boss had offered me one of those rare "I need you to work on Thursday, you choose the hours" shifts) straight to the Shiloh Cemetery for Shmuel Efrayim Yerushalmi, HaYaD's tenth azkarah, memorial.

I had been so certain that I'd never get home for it that I hadn't even planned in my mind that I'd be there.  Honestly, it's really impossible to get to every single memorial of every single person I wish to honor and remember.  The custom here is that each family tries to have ceremonies every year on the Jewish date of the death.  As I stood, listened, watched, sadly taking it all in it suddenly occurred to me that it may be close to the time of my Aunt Helen's funeral in New York.

Aunt Helen had just died very suddenly a few days before very soon after celebrating her 90th birthday. 

Aunt Helen, Z"L and Uncle George, Z"L

Aunt Helen was strong and active until just a couple of days before her death.  She was definitely my closest aunt.  It probably began because I lived with Aunt Helen and Uncle George, my father's brother, and their elder daughter Harriet for the week (which was the custom in those days) my mother spent in the hospital after my brother was born.

We also lived in the same Bayside neighborhood until my family moved out when I was thirteen.  Actually, Aunt Helen lived in the very same house for over sixty years until she died.  The neighborhood changed many times, but it always remained a nice pleasant place to live.

Aunt Helen was always a strong "presence," not shy about sharing her opinions and feelings.  When I congratulated her about becoming a great-grandmother, she replied:

"I was always a GREAT grandmother!"

Lunch with Aunt Helen was always on my visit New York schedule.  But this visit will herald many changes in the usual routine.

As I stood in the cemetery listening to the eulogies and messages to Shmuel, HaYaD, my mind kept drifting to Aunt Helen and the fact that I really needed to be at her funeral. At least I was at a cemetery and the bodily remains of the holy souls buried here, including my in-laws who knew her well, would be greeting her in Olam HaBa (the Next World.)

A short while after I got home I got a call from my NY daughter who reported that Aunt Helen's funeral was over and she had just left my cousin's house.  My mind quickly calculated that my feelings were correct.  Aunt Helen's funeral was around the same time I had been at the cemetery.

Yihi zichra baruch

May her memory be a blessing

HH Debut for An Aspiring Mekubal

Sometimes I wonder about the names we jbloggers have chosen for our blogs.  What do they say about us?  This blog's name really was more gibberish than anything planned.  I had wanted "meanderings" but found it "taken," so I shortened it to "meander" which was also taken.  Then I added that little "dash" and invented "me-ander." 

It's a rather pathetic story, isn't it?  I'm sure that if I had really thought about it and searched my sometimes too creative brain for something meaningful and catchy, I would have a much more successful blog, but... too late.

No doubt that Michael of "An Aspring Mekubal" has a much better story about the name of his blog.  And now's the time to get to know the blog, because Michael is hosting Havel Havelim for the very first time.

Havel Havelim is the weekly blog carnival, a floating internet magazine made up of various blog posts, on Jewish and Israeli topics.  At this point we're probably the longest running blog carnival on the internet, so it's especially gratifying and encouraging when I see that new bloggers are joining us and volunteering to host. 

Blogs and blogging aren't dead!  Facebook, twitter etc haven't replaced us.  We're actually now using facebook to coordinate the carnival, keeping track of hosts and fb messaging our links.  Not only hasn't facebook killed blogging, but it is being used by bloggers to communicate and share.  It's the secret of our success! Those experts that claimed we're passé don't know bupkes!

So, before I get too off topic, I'll remind you to check out the latest Havel Havelim, visit the posts and share via all the usual social media. 

Michael, welcome to the club; you did a great job.

Filling in The "Gaps," USA Trip Coming Up

I'll soon be on my way to the USA, OK, in a couple of weeks, but usually those last couple of pre-trip weeks just fly by.

There are visits for which a lot of the social/visiting plans are done way in advance and others, like last year, when I'd call people just that morning and amazingly (thank you G-d) find that they were free exactly when I thought it would be good and convenient for me to see them.

I've sent out a few "I'm coming" notices in facebook and by email and have filled in a couple of "slots" in my calendar.  Davka, the takers have not been my usuals. 

Things may be so tight and time is so short that I haven't even looked for speaking engagements.  I'll have to do that for future trips.

So far it looks like I'll be in NJ, NY, PA and AZ.  That's a lot to squeeze into two weeks when I suffer terribly from jetlag. 

Any takers?  Please contact me if you'd like to f2f, ok...

Israel Museum, Always A Treat

Last week I was at the Israel Museum, one of Jerusalem's most popular spots for Israelis and visitors. 

I really enjoyed the new exhibit about Chassidic Life.  It was very well done with pictures, clothes and more.  I went there with a friend. We decided to celebrate the end of the year at Matan with a trip to the museum.  It's one of my favorite places.  When we were still living in Jerusalem, our two eldest daughters studied art there.  I used to know every nook and cranny, every exhibit and almost every picture.  Granted it was a very small museum in the late 1970's, but it was always a nice one.

It used to be very hard to visit the museum when there was "extreme" weather, too hot or too cold and rainy.  That's because the security check was very far, very, very from the actual building entrance.  You had to just keep on walking and walking.  Now there's an underground passage with special vehicles, like you'd find in large airports.  They have drivers who take the museum visitors who need the ride from one end to the other.

It's very helpful, since museums are hard on the legs.  For those who walk it, there's plenty to see.

And if you want to walk the distance outside, they've covered it, too.

That's all part of the changes at the museum, but some things have stayed the same sort of.

Behind The Scenes...

Some of my facebook friends have been wondering why I posted these clown pictures in the summer.  Generally clowns are part of Purim celebrations late winter early spring.  I've also taken clown pictures in the hospital, because it's very common to see "medical clowns" in all sorts of Israeli hospital wards. 

Things clowns seem rather out of place especially because it's pretty obvious the photos were shot in Yafiz, Sha'ar Binyamin, where I work.

The story behind the pictures is that for whatever reason the Rami Levy administration had decided to entertain the kids the other day and hired these clowns.  I didn't get to see the show, since somebody had to mind the shop, and that somebody was me.  But I did get to take pictures of them as they went off to put on a show, because they used our  "fitting-rooms" as "dressing-rooms."

Sales!

Not that long ago here in Israel, end of the season sale mean a 15% reduction for a short period of time at the very, very end of the season, and then the clothes were stored away for next year.  Styles didn't change much from year to year, so it didn't really matter.

Now Israelis expect sales and they get them.

We've already begun our summer sales, and school hasn't even let out for the big vacation, חופש הגדול chofesh hagadol. 

Children and their parents are happily scooping up all these playsuits, pajamas, nightgowns, t-shirts and shorts with Hello Kitty, Superman, Barbie, דרדסים Dardassim, Smurfs etc only three items for ns100.  No doubt that by the time we're ready to display winter clothes for sale the prices will be even lower, but the choices reduced, too.

I was informed that there are more sales going on now.  I'll find out when I get to work.
And yes, the men's and women's clothes are also sale-priced.  You should see the young men buying bagfulls of gorgeous shirts at half-price...

PS In case you've forgotten, I work at Yafiz, Sha'ar Binyamin branch.

If I Ever Reach The Point When I Can't Dance...

G-d forbid I should find myself unable to dance.  I've always loved dancing.  It's a passion with me, and I get a kick out of seeing my youngest grandchild with the same sort of reaction to music.  But as I get older and know that certian repetive movements endanger my knees, I've begun to look longingly at drums.

I can even imagine myself putting energy into the drums, simple ones like these, which require a similar kinesthetic nature...

Snapping Pictures

Nowadays many people no longer have cameras.  Their phones are their cameras.  And there are ipads which are computers, electric books and cameras, too. 

I take my pictures with a real, ok digital, camera.  Even I gave up on film years ago, but I still look through the view-finder on occasion.  It depends on what I'm snapping.  I shoot pictures the old fashioned way.  I even chose my camera because it felt like a real one. 

My camera is with me six days of the week.  Only on Shabbat is it left home untouched.  With all the pictures I take, I can't remember the last time I printed some.  I send my pictures far and wide via the computer, the internet.  

Family shots are sent off by email and a few can be found on facebook.  And many other pictures are posted on my blogs.  I'm not the only blogger who posts pictures. 

Quite a few years ago, in the days I frequently hosted Havel Havelim, I commented that with all of the fantastic photo-based posts, there should be a Jewish blog carnival specifically geared to them.  And  Mr. Bagel, who is no longer actively blogging began JPIX.  Now Leora runs it.  It appears a few times a year, and here's the latest JPIX.  Please visit and share, thanks.