Levin-Santalone Visit Continues

Levin Santalones in Ein Kerem

We are having fun with Michelle's sister and her family. Toby and Gabriella get to hang out and make mischief with their cousins and show them the wonders of Jerusalem.  Today we took them to Ein Kerem and they went to Yad Vashem.  Tomorrow we head to Tsfat for the first night of Hanukkah.

While I have been enjoying my Klezmer fiddle lessons, I miss listening to my music. I probably should have bought a docking station for my iPod when I got here but our experience with purchasing 'gear' in Israel is that it is poorly constructed and very expensive.  So I have been relegated to the CD collection at the house, which leaves me with the likes of Shlomo Artzi - 'My Love Songs'.  But there are a few discs of interest so I have been alternating between Queen - Greatest Hits (not my favorite), Amy Winehouse - Back to Black (very good) and, Baruch Hashem, Joni Mitchell - Blue. This latter is a brilliant album, one of my favorites. And I certainly have developed an appreciation for James Taylor's guitar playing on California, All I Want and A Case of You.

Ein Kerem Doorway

More Musings

Gabriella at School

Just had our parent teacher conferences. Ironically not that much different from the ones at Brandeis.  Maybe that should not be a big surprise. Gabriella's teachers love her, no holds barred and don't want her to leave. Toby's teachers take a more nuanced view:) but love what he brings to their classes, even if he cuts up on occasion. Both kids continue to adjust well, have really integrated themselves into their classes and are doing great. Today, Toby cut school to hang out with his cousins who are visiting from New York and Gabriella took the bus home by herself, for the first time. This generated no small amount of anxiety because of our track record of bus mishaps, but all's well that ends well and she made it home safe and sound, Baruch Hashem. She also had her piano lesson all by herself, with her Russian teacher who speaks only Hebrew and Russian. Two very empowering experiences for her!!

Michelle's sister, Sara, her husband John and their two kids (Carly and AJ) are visiting this week, so we get to play tour guide.  So far they have had a tour of the City of David and the Old City, played archaeologist at the Temple Mount sifting project and shopped in the Jerusalem Shuk.  We head up to the Galilee on Wednesday, for the first night of Hannukah, where we will be in Tsfat.  Visits to Tel Aviv, the Dead Sea and Masada and the must-see museums (Yad Vashem and the Israel Museum) should round things out.

Levin-Santalones and Levin-Meers in the Old City

I have been enjoying a Bible history class at the local community center.  The Old Testament really is the greatest story ever told, as Hollywood put it.  We have been reviewing the prophets - I'll tell you what, those guys knew how to lay down an argument :)  No BS or thinly veiled references for them - a lot of doom and gloom, fire and brimstone...but what they were preaching was good stuff and (should) hold true today - take care of the poor, the oppressed and downtrodden, widows and orphans, live a righteous life or you better look out for Hashem.  Or, as one of our modern day prophets (Bob Dylan) put it

'God said Abraham kill me a son,
Abe said man you must be puttin' me on,
God said no, Abe said what?,
God said you can do what you want
But the next time you see me comin', man you better run
Abe said where you want this killin' done
God said down on highway 61'

I don't know why, I've always loved those lyrics :)

Musing on Maturity

Toby and Gabriella have definitely matured during our Israeli sojourn.  The manifestations span a range of behavior, not all of it desirable.  But I guess that is part of growing up.

On the pro side, they have both grown, physically and emotionally

Toby is filling out and has been working out a bit - jogging and doing upper body and abs work. This Sunday he is going to a Bat Mitzva party at a dance club in Talpiyot (the industrial area of Jerusalem) and is (kind of) looking forward to it.

 


Gabriella has really matured emotionally and is a lot more independent. She loves going off to the bakery by herself on her scooter, to get bread and jelly donuts. She is taking the bus with Toby and would do so by herself (if we let her).  She has made some friends at school and is really enjoying herself now - today she gives a talk in Hebrew to her class about making chocolate.  And she doesn't want us to come watch her.  (I can't help comparing to what we would be doing if she was giving a talk at Brandeis - both parents and several grandparents in attendance with video cameras at the ready, to post immediately to facebook...).  Gabriella has also gotten stronger and tougher physically (the Israeli boys in her class complain that she plays too rough in futbol.)

Which brings me to the not so great behavior - the near constant bickering, comparing, physical altercations.  Also they are both getting a lot more argumentative and obnoxious with us (maybe it's from hanging around with their Israeli classmates, maybe just their New York genetics kicking in.) Needless to say, this aspect is not the most pleasant thing to witness or live with.

But ultimately, as one of Josh's preschool teachers once told me, one of the joys of parenthood is that you get to see the best AND the worst of your children. On balance the kids are doing great and (I think) have had a really great experience here.  On the one hand I wish we could stay for a year, because that would really nail down their Hebrew, but I don't know if I can take them becoming even more Israeli :)

Finally the Temple Mount

Dome of the Rock

We've been trying to visit the Temple Mount (or Al-Haram ash-Sharif)  since we arrived in July.  The Dome of the Rock is such a prominent part of the Old City architecture - visible from virtually every direction and view - that it exerts a weird kind of gravitational pull, especially with that golden dome gleaming in the light.  (Wikipedia says that King Hussein of Jordan sold one of his houses in London to finance the plating of the dome with 80 kilograms of gold.)  However, it is not an easy place to visit.  Access is limited and the gates are open only one hour per day - and then not every day. There have also been some violent incidents recently which have triggered even more restrictions.

I gave it a shot today while the ladies and kids were in school.  Luckily I took my passport because you need it for entry. The line was horrendous but I guess I am becoming more Israeli by the week, because I just cut in the front of the line, without even a twinge of guilt.

Dome of the Rock Facade detail  

Non Muslims can enter the Temple Mount site but not the mosques themselves.  Then there are the signs at the entrance warning that Torah law forbids entering the Temple Mount itself because it is a holy site. (This religion business can get awful complicated, especially in Jerusalem.)  But my agnosticism won out and in I went. The mosques are beautiful, even just from the outside. And the views of the Mt of Olives and the rest of the Old City are great. The Sabil of the Quaitbay was built in 1482 as a charitable act to please Allah and has the only carved-stone dome outside of Cairo (according the the Lonely Planet, the traveler's Tanach).

Sabil of the Quaitbay

The Negev

Feeding the Camel

The Negev is Israel's answer to 'Big Sky' country and we spent two fun days down there with the Roths.  We stayed at an alpaca farm near the small town of Mitzpe Ramon which is near the 'crater' (Makhtesh Ramon) that is billed as Israel's Grand Canyon.  (Well that might be stretching it - more like the Grand Canyon of Connecticut) but it still has gorgeous vistas, incredible geology and beautiful desert flora and fauna.  Unfortunately we were a bit short changed at the farm because most of the staff were off on an annual 100 km horseback ride through the Makhtesh - so we were not able to take advantage of everything there, like horseback riding, wool spinning, etc - but such is life...

You Go Girls

Still, the kids had a ball feeding the llamas, alpacas and camel at the farm and it is a very picturesque and unique place to stay - in the middle of nowhere, to be honest.   We all enjoyed a beautiful hike through a wadi (dry riverbed) in the Makhtesh at the end of a 5 km drive over a very bumpy gravel road.  The next day, after the classic Israeli breakfast of eggs, yogurt (vanilla and chocolate), cheese, bread, fruit, labaneh, granola, cereal, humus, pastry and salads (eating really is a national obsession here), we visited an amazingly well preserved ancient Nabataean city at Avdat National Park and then ended the trip at David Ben Gurion's tomb.  He and his wife have a really incredible view of the Negev from their final resting spot.

Future shofarot?

View from Ben Gurion's Tomb

Olives and Life

We have a bit of olive curing going on at #1 Rashbag and it has been a learning experience.  We picked olives at a public park, the Tayelet, which overlooks the city and is a 5 minute drive from the house.  (As I walk Jerusalem I am starting to see that there are olive groves all over the city.)

We researched a recipe. First we cut or smashed each olive and then soaked them in water for 4 weeks, to remove some of the bitterness.  Then we mixed up a batch of pickling juice. I had this notion that the salt:water:vinegar ratios had to be exact or the olives would not cure properly. So there I am, measuring ingredients like I am in some pharma lab.  We had the idea of asking Sharona's Dad, Avner, for his advice.  He is an experienced olive man, makes 10 kilo batches at a time. Avner comes over, with hot peppers in hand, and we show him our jar.  He tastes one (I thought you could not touch them for a month) and immediately starts tearing up the hot peppers and throwing huge pieces into the mix. Then he dumps in two handfuls of salt - so much for my careful ratios.

Two batches of olives

I flashed back to 1986 when I was working for a petrophysics (flow of oil through rocks) company in Mountain View.  I had very little exposure to computer technology at that point (I was one of those people that thought I would break the PC if I shut it down the wrong way.)  The engineers at this company had no problem with pulling off the back of the computer, digging around with screwdrivers, installing memory boards and the like. Sort of the same deal here.

We have been eating a few and they are not terrible and no one has gotten sick; admittedly a low bar but you have to start somewhere :)

On another subject, Gabriella had an assignment in English to write a 'diamond poem' - 4 words that end in 'ing'.  For me she chose shopping, mopping, driving and, of course, blogging - that's my life...

Bethlehem

As many of you know, Jerusalem is pretty darned quiet on Shabbat (except in the Christian, Armenian and Muslim quarters of the Old City).  It is one of the more charming aspects of the city, how it shuts down as sundown approaches on Friday, stays quiet on Saturday and then comes alive again Saturday night. One could follow a 'when in Rome...' approach and spend the day attending services, in religious contemplation, resting and the like.  But for some less observant Jerusalemites (aka the Levin-Meers), the challenge is what to do on Shabbat, especially when Toby and Gabriella are doing their best impersonation of the 'Bicker Brothers'.  It is the only 'day off' we have, since the kids have school 5.5 days a week (Sunday to mid day Friday).

So this Shabbat we decided to venture into the West Bank and visit Bethlehem.  It was a bit nerve wracking driving there in an Israeli registered car (kind of like driving your car into Mexico). And the big red signs warning Israeli citizens about the danger of traveling to Palestinian Authority territory don't help. We did not see many cars with Israeli plates until we got close to Manger Square, the main tourist attraction. Then Michelle and I debated about where to park - lot versus street, can we find a lot, is it safe, could the tires get slashed, it's not our car, what if something happens to it, and so on...but eventually we both calmed down. We found a spot on a busy street, I asked at a nearby gas station if street parking was ok, they said sure, no problem and off we went to the Church of the Nativity to see where Jesus is alleged to have been born (at least according to Constantine's mother Helene).

Church of Nativity Mosaic Floor

The church (originally commissioned in 326 CE) was packed with tourists and pilgrims but we hooked up with a guide, Said, who gave us the low down and got us in ahead of a long line to see Jesus' birthplace (marked by a 14 point star), the Chapel of the Manger and St Jerome's cave.  We also learned a few salient historical factoids - the Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Armenians have been in conflict for years and have separate dates for the birth of Jesus; St Jerome spent 35 years translating the Bible from Aramaic to Latin, while living in a hermit's cell with a skull (to keep him focused and give him incentive to keep working.)  The church itself has a stunning 4th century mosaic that was discovered in 1934.

Birthplace of that wise and gentle prophet

After a quick walk through the Bethlehem shuk (a lot less expensive than the one in Jerusalem) we stopped at a local felafel joint called Afteem (when you get a recommendation from your guide that is also the Lonely Planet's top choice, that is like hitting the trifecta).  It was great - felafel fresh from the fryer, fantastic hummus and a mostly local clientele. We got lost driving back to Jerusalem but the GPS saved the day.

Toby and the Tanks

You have to love Israeli schools :) Toby went to his grade's version of outdoor education on Monday, for an overnight at a kibbutz in the Galilee. It was not totally clear (to me anyway) what they did up there. Toby told me that many kids stayed up all night talking to each other on their cells phones and that at one point a girl came into the room Toby was staying in (with four other boys) and had to be chased out by one of the teachers. (I guess these Israeli girls are fast). Needless to say he was a tired camper when he came home - but they gave the kids the option of staying home the next day - which Toby availed himself to.

Checking out the new ride

So we had some father-son bonding time on Wednesday.  What better way to spend it than visiting Yad La'Shiryon Latrun - the Armored Corps Museum and Memorial to IDF armored corps fallen soldiers.  Quite a collection of tanks, APCs and other armored fighting vehicles, both Israeli and ones captured during the various wars since 1948.  Watch out IDF, you may have a new recruit coming in 6 years, (although his Mom might have something to say about that).

IDF here we come

I have time to play, so Tuesday I wandered around Tel Aviv for awhile and then met Gal for a late lunch at a fish joint in the old Jaffa port. One trademark of many restaurants here is that they put out 10 to 20 small plates of salads, pickled veggies, falafel, humus, olives etc and a stack of pita bread, before you order anything. (That way you pay for appetizers, regardless). I can make a meal out of the small plates - who needs an entree?  But of course we had some fish too and then waddled our way north to the bus station, for the ride home.

And we haven't ordered yet!

Brief Recap, Recent Activities

Dome of the Rock from Mt of Olives

Hi All - a brief recap of some recent activities. I took a fun-filled, if a bit strenuous, ramble from the Lions' (or St Stephen's) Gate in the Old City up the Mount of Olives.  (Smart people start at the top and walk down but I figured I could get some history, culture and cardio work at the same time.)  Incredible views and amazing history in that part of town, although it was a bit hazy...but I won't bore you with a recitation of the various religious sites.

Praying at Mt of Olives Cemetery

Church of the Pater Noster - Mt of Olives

Ended the ramble with some Palestinian pizza deep in the Muslim Quarter - 10 NIS for a 6" pie and all the hot peppers you can eat - the best deal in town.

On 11/2 we met the Israeli Roths in Daliyat El Carmel, a Druze village in the Carmel Mountains outside of Haifa.  I had visions of a rustic ethnic experience but that was probably achievable 25 years ago. What we got was major traffic gridlock. (All the secular Jews looking to eat out on Shabbat).  But the food was great and the shopping was very inexpensive compared to Jerusalem.  And Toby got to wrestle with a Nigerian pilgrim at the Carmelite Monastery outside of town.

Tomorrow I give my second lecture on Emergency Response and Preparedness at a Ministry of the Environment training course and Toby leaves on an overnight outdoor education trip (0645 departure).  Today I bought each of the kids a bus pass, since they are now taking the bus home from school most days (without incident) after our initial traumas. It's all good :)

It's Always Fireworks with the Israeli Roths

A Nigerian Pilgrim takes a shine to Toby