Chasing Lions in Jerusalem

Since Lions are the symbol of Jerusalem, I shouldn't be surprised to keep running into them when in the city. 

Can you identify all of the lions here?  Please contribute your opinions/guesses, stories would be even better, in the comments, thanks.

Yes, It Is Great Felafel

There's a felafel place on Agrippas Street in Machane Yehuda, Jerusalem that touts itself as #1.  I've eaten theirs a couple of times of late and I do agree that they make a very good felafel.

They provide lots of "trimmings," extras, which I don't take.  There are chips aka french fries, chumus, fried eggplant and all sorts of salads, but I stick with the classic felafel balls, salad and techina with a bit of charif, hot sauce.  Last time I was there I did add the Yemenite z'chug and Indian mango sauce.

This is what it looked like: 

Not a bad meal for ns12.

Amazing Timing, G-d is Great!

I guess this would make better reading if there had been some suspense here, but I'm giving you the ending before the story.  Sorry, that the title is a "spoiler."

Those of us Israelis who travel on public transportation on a regular basis have been using these personalized prepaid cards called RavKav, which we finally have figured out how to use. There's one big problem with them, and that's knowing how many trips are left. 

On occasion, admittedly too rarely, I fill them up with two types of tickets.  One type is for the Jerusalem lightrail and buses, and the other is good to take me to and from Shiloh and Jerusalem plus Sha'ar Binyamin where I work.  The Shiloh-Jerusalem tickets always get used up first, no matter how many I pay for, but I can always pay cash.  If I'm in Jerusalem without a valid Rav-Kav I can pay on the bus but not on the train.  And if I buy a one-time ticket at a train machine, I won't get my senior discount.  Another quirk is that if you've paid for a few "series" of tickets they are listed separately on the card, not added in one sum.  When I've asked the clerk at the bus station how many rides I have left, I'm told:

"Three and five and twelve."
The clerk doesn't see the number twenty on his machine.

The train's ticketing/paying machine isn't good at opening a new series.  It just doesn't seem to recognize them.  I've had a few panicky moments when the red "empty" shows on the trains "validation" machine when I'm certain and can even prove I've recently paid.  I even ran off the train to take the next one when I saw an inspector.  And then that very same day I paid with the same card on the bus, and it showed that I had a full series left.

Since I'm always rushing and need to have reading glasses to see numbers on the machines, I never get to check my card.  I very, very rarely take the bus home from the Central Bus Station where I can fill Rav-Kav for both types of trips by using a credit card.  Yesterday, since I needed to buy something from a store in the bus station and I wasn't in a rush to get home, I figured my Rav-Kav was due for some filling up.  There hadn't been any rides left on it between Shiloh and Jerusalem for weeks.

I handed it to the clerk, luckily not one of the usual scowling ones who make these purchases so unnecessarily unpleasant, and asked her how many rides I have left:

"Zero."
"What?  I just used it."
"Well, I guess you came her on its very last ride."
"Baruch Hashem, what a miracle!!"

Yes, my friends, G-d is GREAT!

Best Deal for Aluminum Pans in Jerusalem

As part of my shopping for Passover, I needed to stock up on aluminum pans.  I wasn't happy with the prices of the packaged ones I had seen in the discount supermarket I go to, Rami Levy.  And there was an annoying line in Gindi on Agrippas when I went there.  They were charging a reasonable 90 agarot for the large ones I use a lot.  Sunday night I ended up with just a bit of time to take a quick look in Machane Yehuda after terrible train delays.  But in the end it was worth going there:

Yes, 20 loaf pans for ns10 and 12 large pans for ns10.

The store is right there on Rechov Yaffo. 

Tell them the lady who rushed in to buy the pans, took pictures, when Doda Mazal was there and promised to publish and publicize on the internet really did so.

Kosher Cooking Carnival Nissan Out of the Box

The latest Kosher Cooking Carnival is hosted by Cooking Out of the Box.  It's beautifully illustrated and fuller than a Passover Seder with lots of tempting and interesting posts.

Visit the various posts and check them out.

Next month's edition will be hosted by This American Bite.  KCC is published monthly, according to the Jewish Calendar.  You can submit your link, anything about kosher food, kosher cooking, kosher restaurants and cookbooks, via blog carnival.  If you'd like to host an edition, please contact me, thanks.  And for more information about what's happening with the Kosher Cooking Carnival, you're welcome to join our facebook page.

Striking Out, More Bad Restaurant Experiences

A couple of months ago, I wrote about how my friend and I fled a popular downtown Jerusalem restaurant because their soup was inedible.  She couldn't stand the pepper and I was in pain from the salt.  That's a short time after they had served me soup that was dangerously past its prime.  After my complaints, they stopped serving it.

That friend and I then met again.  She told me of a new restaurant she had really liked.  It sounded good.  They had on display a sample meal which included fish, salad and chips.  There were two different prices, ns35 and ns39, if I remember correctly.  I asked for the cheaper one and requested salad instead of chips.  The waitress said "no problem."  Portions were rather skimpy, and I still felt hungry when I finished, but that wasn't the big problem.  The big problem was that they wanted me to pay ns42 for the meal.  I got angry and told them that I had made it very clear that I had ordered the ns35 meal.

"But you had a side order of salad."
"That was no side order of salad, and you never told me that I'd be charged extra for replacing the chips with salad.  I never would have ordered food here if I had known that."

The boss came out and asked what happened.  I told him.  He asked me what I was willing to pay.

"Thirty-five shekels, which is what I was told when I had ordered."

And I also told them that I'd write about this awful experience, which I'm doing right now.  My friend liked the place and begged me not to use its name.  So, that's it.  I hope they've learned their lesson.  Maybe people who eat the chips find the more satisfying, but I consider it a very skimpy meal.

And another unpleasant restaurant experience with the same friend.  I guess it's good that we won't be eating out together for a bit.  She introduced me to a nice salad place, with good prices.  Actually, the food was good, too.  There's just no place to comfortably eat there.  The big problem was completely different.  Everyone who eats out with me knows that I photograph the food and then I blog about it.  What I started taking pictures the staff went ballistic. 

"No pictures!!!"
"But I want to give you free publicity.  I'm planning on writing only wonderful things."
"No, our boss doesn't allow it.  You have to contact him for permission."

Oy, I'm not doing well in the restaurant reviewing "business."  I wish I could get some invitations from the restaurants which would include free meals, like the Jerusalem Post writers get.

Late Winter, Contrasting Scenes

Living in Shiloh I'm very aware of the seasons.  Now we're on the verge of spring.  Rosh Chodesh Nissan is in two days.  It's amazing how some plants look frighteningly dead.

grape vines in early March, late Adar

And other plants, like the wild flowers and roses are blooming.

I love my neighborhood!

And just a reminder... Women are invited to join us for Women's Rosh Chodesh Prayers.

Women's Prayers at Tel Shiloh
Rosh Chodesh Nissan
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
1 Nissan 5773 8:30am
Tour of Tel & Dvar Torah, Short Torah Lesson

Please come and invite family, friends and neighbors

תפילת נשים
ראש חודש ניסן בתל שילה
יום ג' 12-3 א' ניסן תשע"ג 8:30
יהיה דבר תורה קצר וסיור בתל
נא לבוא, לפרסם ולהזמין חברות, משפחה ושכנות

And don't forget that the Tel Shiloh, aka Shiloh HaKedumah is open for visitors six days a week. For information call 02-994-4019.

Keeping Happy by Cheering for Your Team

I noticed an interesting article in the New York Times, not anything political, which says that it's healthy to cheer on a sports team.  I can see that as very true.  There's definitely a physical response when we're in the swing of cheering together at my son's IFL football games.  It doesn't matter how tired I am, how long and difficult my week has been.  I find myself on my feet, almost dancing as I urge my team, the Jerusalem Lions to victory, even when they fail.

Maybe that doesn't make sense to you.

As the mother of a player, I care about more than which team got more points.  I also worry about injuries.  Or should I say that I care more about the health and safety of the players than if they win or lose. 

Of course that doesn't stop me from urging my team to tackle the opposing player with the ball.  This is American tackle football, though with a Hebrew accent. 

I'm in touch with a few other MoP's mothers of players, and we all agree that it would make us happier if football had tie scores, especially when our sons are on opposing teams.

Win or lose, the Jerusalem Lions always end their games (at least the home ones) by thanking the fans.

And at the very, very end, after one game, the visiting team insisted on doing the Harlem Shake.

And What Are You Reading?

It's funny.  There are weeks when I complete a few books and there are books that take me months or at least weeks to finish.  Generally before my trips to the states I go to a neighbor who gives me "disposable books."  They are books I can leave wherever whenever I finish reading them.  I don't have to return them, so I call them the "disposables." 

During my recent visit I finished all of the books before leaving my last stop, Atlanta, GA, so I had to buy myself a book or two for the trip home to Israel.  My friend didn't have any to give me.  I bought a couple of novels in the bargain box at Barns & Nobles.  I should have only had bought one, since it took me until a week ago to finish Die for Me by Karen Rose, the first one.  I loved the book, but just couldn't make the time to finish reading it.

In the interim I received a slew of new books to review.  As soon as I finished   I quickly read and reviewed Marc Angel's   The Search Committee. 

Then I picked up my most recent review book, Letters to Talia by Dov Indig.  This book first appeared in its original Hebrew.  It was a bestseller and Gefen Publishing House has published the English translation.  I must admit that I am enjoying the book so much, I've been taking it with me to places so I can read it whenever I get the chance.  That's something I never do.  I'll review it when I finish reading it.

And yes, it is that time of the year, when I should be getting my home ready for Passover.  There's still time to read, honestly.  So, what are you reading now?

Special Eggplant Recipe From My Friend

My friend Cris is one of the best cooks I've ever known.  She sent me this recipe:

"Don't know if eggplant is a component of classic falafel, but I do know there is a recipe for eggplant stuffed with falafel.

Most commercially made falafel is actually made from a dry mix. The dried chick peas are ground into a flour to which you add water and spices. The falafel as a filling does not sound terribly appetizing.

Japanese eggplant

My favorite way of preparing eggplant is roasting. Here (in America) I can find long, thin Italian eggplant or Korean/Japanese eggplant that I can cut into slices of about 1/2 inch. If I use regular eggplant I dice it to give me even smallish pieces.

I place pieces into a LARGE bowl and add a copious amount of olive oil, the juice of one or two lemons, salt (must be well salted), lots of fresh ground pepper, then good amounts of paprika or smoked paprika, ground bay leaf, garlic powder, cumin, turmeric, ground cardamom, ground ginger, and whatever else takes my fancy.

(I have a stainless steel masala box that a dear friend brought me from India, and these are my staples.)

I spread the eggplant on a cookie sheet, with parchment paper so it won't stick to the pan.

I roast at about 350 for half hour, then turn over down to about 280 for another hour until the eggplant is very soft.

You can sprinkle with chopped parsley or cilantro and fresh lemon juice at the end.

You can make loads and keep in contained in fridge. One of my favorite veggies and recipes."

Update on The "Squatters"

Not long ago, I wrote that a cat had moved in to drop a litter  and raise her young family on a shelf in the "outer section" of the store, Yafiz, Sha'ar Binyamin, where I work.  There's a whole section of the store which is not really indoors.  The building which had been built for it is much too small, so the display area outside has shelves and hanging places for a lot of clothes. It's not quite closed in, certainly no challenge for a cat to enter.  And what could be a better spot for her to choose to give birth than some clean tee shirts?

Once the kittens grew larger, they were transported with their mother about a mile away.  But then she took them back home.

The other day, some workers succeeded in trapping them and her for a bit to be transported further away.   We quickly got to work, clearing and scrubbing the shelf and filling it with more shirts.  There was this dread that they would make their way back. 

The following day, the cats hadn't yet returned, though I'm not ready to celebrate quite so soon.

PS It was amusing to note the reactions of customers during the time that the cat and kittens had made their home on the shelf. 

"Have you noticed that there are a cat and kittens on the shirts?"

Some said it with joy and others with disgust.  Sometimes we had to stop little children from trying to play with them.

Double "A Penny for Your Thoughts" and It's Havel Havelim Time

Yes, the monetary equivalent in Israeli money of two pennies/cents is Esser (10) Agaroth where you can find the latest Havel Havelim, the  weekly round up of Jewish and Israeli blog posts.

The Esser Agaroth blogger has been keeping the veteran blog carnival Havel Havelim going for a few years now via its facebook page.  That's where you can get all of the latest news re:

• who's hosting,
• how to contribute and
• how to host an edition.

We should all thank him!

Participating in and reading blog carnivals such as Havel Havelim is a safe way of "surfing the net."  And it's also a good way to promote your blogs.

Havel Havelim isn't the only Jewish blog carnival.  There's the monthly Kosher Cooking Carnival, which is posted every Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of the Jewish Month.  It also has a facebook page.

You're all invited to participate in the two Jewish blog carnivals.  Please read them, comment, share, send in links and offer to host, thanks.

Book Review: "The Search Committee," Not Quite "a novel"

Cross-posted on Shiloh Musings

When I was at the recent Jerusalem International Book Fair, I was offered books to review by a couple of publishing houses.  UrimPublications.com told me to just take a few from their stand, which I did.  One of them is The Search Committee- a novel, by Marc Angel.  When I took it, I didn't check the copyright date or I would have had discovered that the book is far from recent.  It was published in  2008.

I'll start with the good...
The book is easy and quick reading, and the main topic is thought-provoking.

Now, why have I titled this "Not Quite a novel?"  Honestly, I don't see it as a novel.  Here's the definition of a novel from dictionary.com:

1.

a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length and complexity, portraying characters and usually presenting a sequential organization of action and scenes.

The book does not have any real scenes, actions, character development etc. And there is certainly no "complexity."

Simply put, Marc Angel,  "Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Shearith Israel of New York City and founder of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals. He is the author and editor of over two dozen books, and this is his first work of fiction," has tried to humanize two extreme trends/ideologies in American Jewish Orthodoxy aka Torah Judaism.  I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't published a lot about the same exact issue as non-fiction.

In Angel's opinion there's a danger to Orthodox Jewry if the "old style" of yeshiva teaching and life style continues.  I found it most disturbing that the time setting of the book actually takes place a generation, over twenty years before its publication, 1986 versus 2008.

Angel pits two very different rabbis as vying for the position of Rosh Yeshiva of an old world style yeshiva which had been established by a rabbi who had fled Europe in the 1930's.  The two candidates are that rabbi's grandson who, no surprise, wants to preserve the yeshiva exactly as it has been, and a rabbi, a ba'al teshuva (one who became Torah observant as an adult) who is much more innovative and whose wife doesn't even cover her hair.

The book is organized in a series of "chapters, " each of which is the speech by a different character, who never is asked a single question, to the search committee.

The basic structure of the book is like a youth group activity.  The group is required to humanize two opposing opinions and debate them in an informal and participatory setting.   I wonder if Rabbi Angel had developed these characters for some rabbi training or teaching endeavor over the years.

It's very clear that Angel identifies most with the BT innovative rabbi, since that rabbi and wife are much more human and developed as characters than the grandson and his wife.  I think he made a very big halachik (Jewish Law) mistake by having the innovative rabbi's wife as going without haircovering.  I would have liked to be in his favor, but that turned me against the character.  Davka, in the 1980's and even a decade earlier, married women's haircovering began to come back and it is now a fun and creative fashion and halachik statement.  Certainly in Israel, and more recently in other Orthodox/Torah Jewish communities throughout the world, many married women have embraced this mitzvah/halacha as a favorite for fashion and self-expression.

I don't want this review to be a "spoiler," so I won't give you the ending, but I will say that I would have had preferred a "surprise ending."

Well, with all of my complaints about the book, I must admit that Angel succeeds in the aim to make me think (and blog) about the issue.  The topic could be the seed for a very good novel, but I guess Rabbi Angel, like myself, isn't really a fiction writer.  Maybe someone can or has taken the basic premise and make/make a very good and suspenseful novel from it.

Lots of Books to Read and Review

A few weeks ago I attended the biennial Jerusalem International Book Fair. 

Jerusalem International Book Fair 2013 (photo Batya Medad)

As has been my practice the past few times, I've gone to a couple of the friendlier and smaller stands and introduced myself as a blogger who does book reviews.  Actually, I'm already known by some of the people.  I even discovered that one of the people who sends me books to review from a publisher is related through marriage.  We've met many times over the years at smachot, "happy events" of the mutual relatives. 

Jerusalem International Book Fair 2013 (photo Batya Medad)

This time I left the fair with a couple of very heavy bags.  I haven't had all that much time to read the books.  One reason is that I hadn't finished a book I got in the states to read on the plane.  But I finally finished it on Shabbat and immediately took out one of the books to review, which is proving quick, easy reading.

Jerusalem International Book Fair 2013 (photo Batya Medad)

I even received a book which my married daughter and the kids took from me on Purim.  They promised to review it in Hebrew, because the book is in Hebrew.

Jerusalem International Book Fair 2013 (photo Batya Medad)

Reviews will be posted when books are read.

PS  I love the book fair and I'm so glad that it's now free.  There used to be a hefty entrance fee.

Jerusalem International Book Fair 2013 (photo Batya Medad)

A Heavenly Walk

Thursday night I was talking to a former walking partner.  There had been a time when we walked together almost daily, but for a large variety of reasons we hadn't walked together for months if not a year or more.  I missed the company.  It's never as much fun to walk alone.  I hate tuning out by listening to classes or music.  I like to make talking a negative calorie social event.  I feel the same about exercise.  I'd love it if a friend would come over to exercise with me.  I used to an exercise teacher.  I taught "aerobics" before it was branded with the name.

So, we made a date to walk the next morning.  Considering that it's post-Purim the season when wild flowers are beginning to reach their peak of beauty, there was only one location I wanted to stroll.  That's the road between my Shiloh neighborhood and nearby Shvut Rachel.  Shvut Rachel is a heavenly walk to the east.

Here are some of the photos I took:

 

 

It was a treat to see the caravans which are across the road from my house from a very different perspective.