Selichot Tour

4 am on the Selichot Tour

Beginning the Tour

Early in the morning on 8/30 (beginning at 3 am), Toby and I had an experience that cannot be duplicated anywhere else in the world.  With his classmates, we went on a Selichot tour of old orthodox neighborhoods to observe the prayers that are traditionally chanted from midnight to dawn in the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah.  What a privilege to  be able to observe this ritual!

Toby's teachers led the tour which took us through the neighborhoods of Zikhron Yosef, Ohel Moshe and Nakhalat Tsiyon.  It included a visit to the Great Synagogue Adas of the Glorious Aleppo Community and the boyhood home of Yitzhak Navon, Israel's 5th president. It was interesting to see how the synagogues were built right into the fabric of the neighborhoods.

 



After 45 minutes of walking through the narrow streets of the old neighborhoods, we visited four synagogues and saw the selichot prayers. (Women and girls upstairs, men and boys downstairs).  The tour ended with a short service at another synagogue, led by the school Rabbi, and chocolate milk and cookies for the kids. At least there the genders were together.

A Day in the Life (of a house husband)

Now that I am fully ensconced as the house husband, with Michelle, her Mom and the kids off to Ulpan and school every morning, I am gaining a much deeper appreciation of the work that stay-at-home Moms do.  (And I still have Michelle helping me every step).

Off to Ulpan

Leave at 0740 to drive the kids to school, derive enormous pleasure from finding a back roads route to avoid the horrendous Jerusalem traffic (with Toby as my trusty navigator).  Parallel park with two wheels on the curb like the Israelis, hit the markets with my market wagon for some necessities, including olives, dried fruits and nuts.  Then back to the house. Yesterday I trimmed hedges and cleaned the kitchen.  Today I am going to head over to the city center to look for an oud teacher.

Last night Michelle and I went to a combination Hasidic rock concert/midrash lecture.  The son-in-law of a friend was the bass player. That was a bizarre experience - smoke machine, light show, insipid pop music with a string quartet, bass, drums, electric guitar and keyboard interspersed with unintelligible (at least to us) commentary about life, the approach of the new year, the importance of August for reflection and Alaska.

As far as all the war talk, it is amazing that in Jerusalem at least, life goes on without much attention being paid to the notion of chemical weapons being used a mere 40 kilometers away from the Golan border.  We got our gas masks, but many people we talked to are convinced that Jerusalem will not be attacked - it would just trigger too much international condemnation.  As racist as it sounds, some people say that Assad would not dare lob any chemical weapons at Jerusalem because they are not accurate enough to ensure that the Arab areas would not be impacted.

First Day of School

8/27, first day of school.  A fair amount of anticipatory anxiety (for both parents and children) shall we say?  But it all went very well.  Very impressive how the kids are adjusting (it might take the parents a bit more time)...but the school seems very open and welcoming with some cool activities, like an early morning (3 am Friday morning) synagogue tour for Toby's class, to hear pre Rosh Hashanah prayers.

Toby at First Assembly

First Day in Official T Shirt

Buying books was another interesting experience - a 50 square foot store crammed with people buying school supplies amid shouting parents and screaming kids.  Very Israeli. Luckily we had some help from a veteran, English speaking parent.




Intro to School

Ein Gedi Nature Reserve

Toby and Gabriella attended their introductory sessions at their new school - the Tali Bayit Vagan School. As I told both of them, what we are asking them to do - ie, go to a new school in a foreign country, not knowing anyone in their class, with a shaky command (at best) of the language - is a very difficult thing.

And I am so proud of how they are responding.  Both of them had very positive experiences with their first day.  It will be interesting to see how things progress.

We are also having an evaluation with a private Hebrew teacher, to see how much supplemental instruction they may need.



Austrian Hospice

The girls on the roof

Getting ready to start school and ulpan but Shabbat evening we visited an amazing spot with the Israeli-Roths - the Austrian Hospice, 37 Via Delarosa, in the middle of the Muslim Quarter of the Old City.   An unobtrusive, heavy wooden door in the middle of the Old City chaos leads to calm oasis with a beautiful rooftop view. One would never know it is there...

Then refreshments in the courtyard to celebrate Michelle's birthday!!

View from the roof

 

Emotional Arc of a Trip

Before we left on our trip, Andy David predicted that we would experience the following emotional arc - initial euphoria (due to the newness of a place), followed by an emotional nadir (due to not being able to figure out simple things that we all take for granted) and finally reaching a plateau (adjustment as we figure things out, like shopping for necessities). He was speaking from deep knowledge, given all of the moving he and his family have done.

The 'slump phenomenon' was crystallized for me in the simple act of filling up the car with gas.  I was unable to figure out how to do it and given the relative helpfulness or unhelpfulness of the pump jockeys, it was a source of frustration for me (and it's my job since Michelle navigates and she hates talking to gas station attendants, even in the states). When a very friendly attendant finally explained the system to me, it made me incredibly happy (unreasonably so), to finally be able to do it myself.

And there you have the move from slump to plateau, in a microcosm. (I guess pumping gas was never all that euphoric to begin with).

Gabriella and Maya in the Herodium tunnel

(For the record, the system is you put the dispenser nozzle into the gas tank inlet, THEN you swipe your credit card, then you enter your license plate number, then you type in the digits 1-9 and enter twice)...

Herodium and Geopolitics

Herodium Excavation

Last day before the Rembrandt clan heads stateside.  Visited Herodium, King Herod's fortress/palace and eventual burial site. The guy was truly a genius at building but also crazy as a loon and a supreme narcissist to boot.  Anyone who builds a spectacular, fortified 'country club' with lush gardens, an amphitheater and hot/cold bathhouses in the middle of the desert has to be suspect...

A marvelous archeological site and only about 15 minutes from Jerusalem.

Getting there is pretty interesting as you pass through 'Area A' which is under the control of the Palestinian Authority. The conflict and complexity of the West Bank situation are clearly on display.

 

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Beginning the Next Phase

Canaanite Wall, 18th Century BCE

Michelle, Toby and Gabriella arrived 7/8.  I followed on 7/20 and for the last two weeks we have been touring around with Michelle's sister Julie and two cousins - Baylor and Maya.  It has been a great way to spend time with the family and the cousins have had a lot of fun together.  We have been from Rosh HaNikra on the northern coast, to Akko, to the Carmel Market and Old Jaffa in Tel Aviv, up to Tel Dan Nature Reserve in the northern Galilee and back down to Tsfat for some mysticism and Yemenite wraps.  Saw some fantastic ruins and sites.

                                                                Rooftop in Tsfat

The history never ceases to astound.  It is hard to imagine that you are standing in a port where Jonah was alleged to have set sail for his encounter with the whale.

And then Sharona and Gal take us to a jewelry studio where, in the course of renovating, the owners uncovered relics dating back 2500 years (Israeli law allows property owners to keep artifacts found on their property - they are displayed in a small exhibit in the studio - amazing stuff).

But now vacation is almost over.  Toby and Gabriella start school on 8/27, Michelle and Susan start their Ulpan class and I am looking into learning either the oud or some Klezmer fiddle (or both).  The High Holidays approach and the seasons will turn. So the next phase begins.

Abraham and the Dead Sea

After a short camel ride with Eliazer, Abraham welcomed us to his tent with sweet tea, Turkish coffee and dried fruit. We also prepared some wood fired pita bread. Abraham told us his history of how he came to the Judean desert and his epiphany about monotheism and the folly of idol worship.

Ended the day at Mineral Beach on the Dead Sea for some mud and a mineral soak.

Yesterday we did the Temple Mount sifting project with the Rembrandts.  Someone made a rare find of a slingshot projectile, tear drop shaped and made of lead, probably around 2000 years old.  Some amazing stuff they are finding in the rubble.

Rembrandts in the Old City

Introduced the Rembrandts to the Old City.  Visited the Western Wall and the markets. Some fierce bargaining with the kids. I made a few shekels busking in the Jaffa Gate.  We also took the Western Wall tunnel tour - amazing Herodian engineering and architecture.

After lunch in the Old City, ended up at the Mahane Yehuda market.

Demographics and the cousins arrive

Went to our second service at Kol Haneshama, one of the leading Reform congregations in Jerusalem. Very progressive, right in our 'wheelhouse'.  Everyone is super friendly and helpful and...older.  It really appears that most of the people in our demographic - ie, professionals with kids in the primary to middle school age range, have moved out of Jerusalem because it is just too religious. The people we've met in Jerusalem so far largely have kids entering college or national service.

We are all happy with Jerusalem for our six months because it is such a magical place and there is so much to do, see and learn about but to live in Israel, it would be the greater Tel Aviv area or bust...

Michelle's sister Julie and her two older kids (Baylor and Maya) arrived today. 

Hot monopoly deal game with Shanie and one of the cousins.

Toby and his cousin Baylor hanging out at the Mamilla Mall, Susan and her daughters

Kibbutz Ga'Ash

Went to visit Gabriella's Hebrew teacher at Kibbutz Ga'Ash.  Beautiful spot north of Tel Aviv, right on the Mediterranean.  Talked a lot about kibbutz life, then headed to the beach for some body surfing.  On the way back Toby and Gabriella found ancient pottery fragments, including a couple of pot handles.

Ended the day at the Western Wall watching Shabbat preparations.  Funny to see the orthodox men jumping out of cabs and heading to the wall right before sunset.

Living Environ

Our apartment is very well located, a 5-10 minute walk to Emek Refa'im Street, full of cafes, restaurants and other shops and about a 40 minute walk to the Old City.  It also has excellent shwarma right around the corner. 

It is spacious, with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, so for Jerusalem it is larger than average.  The building and neighborhood, however, are old and showing some wear and tear.  I am finding Jerusalem to be a "second worldish", relatively dirty city, with lots of cigarette butts, plastic debris and other garbage littering the streets.  (Plastic bags are ubiquitous in virtually every store.)  But I guess the city has been around awhile :)

We put garbage and plastic bottle/cardboard recycling in a dumpster and repositories in the parking lot where we park the car.  No two car garages here!!

Photo of the parking lot below.  Notice the big, concrete dividers in the middle.  Makes backing into spaces an interesting project.  One time we had to help a woman who got her car stuck on the divider.

Ein Kerem

DAN
Spent the morning at the beautiful Arab-built village of Ein Kerem in Western Jerusalem.  It does not feel like the city at all, lovely old stone homes, big trees, quiet, windy narrow streets.  Notable as the birthplace of John the Baptist. 

International Arts and Crafts Festival

DAN

Went to the International Arts and Crafts Festival outside the Old City.  A lot of hype but big hat no cattle, as they say in Texas.  Underwhelming at best.  Still a beautiful night out.

Mahane Yehuda Market

Becoming regulars at the market with our 'market wagon' (2 wheel cart to carry our goods).  But we don't know enough to get the really good deals. (In fact, half the time I have no idea what things cost - Hebrew numbers are hard, for me anyway).  It's always cheaper when Sharona is with us to bargain. Still, the most atmospheric place to shop for food and spices.