Snowblind (continued)

The unprecedented December snowfall is fun for a day or so, even with having to improvise cold weather clothing (plastic bags on the feet, socks on the hands for gloves, etc).  The kids are having a blast stomping around in the snow, throwing snowballs and building snowmen (especially Toby as he pelts his sister.)  The snow has a high moisture content and is ideal for packing.

View from the YMCA Tower

We have a lot of standing water in our front porch area because the drain is clogged and I spent Friday morning bailing out snow and water with a bucket and a dust pan.  (Have to use what tools are available because I have not seen anyone with a snow shovel).  Then the sun came out and Michelle and I took a walk towards the Old City. Absolutely beautiful, winter wonderland in Jerusalem but very slow going as the sidewalks are 6-8 inches deep in snow and slush and many intersections are flooded.  We made it as far the as the YMCA on David Ha Melech and went to the top of the tower for the first time.  Great 360 degree views of a snowy city.

It is not all fun and games

But the fun stopped when we lost power at around 2:30 in the afternoon.  There has been a lot of damage from downed trees and power lines and tens of thousands of people are without power in Jerusalem. Apparently about 60% of the West Bank is without power as well.  We also heard that some people in Tel Aviv, wanting to see the snow in Jerusalem, ignored police warnings to stay off the highways and ended up getting stuck on the freeway to Jerusalem for up to 11 hours. Big fun that.

Spending the late afternoon in a freezing, dark house left a bit to be desired but we got out the candles and the flashlights.  Luckily we were invited to Shabbat dinner with friends or it would have been a long night. And then at around 8 pm power was restored (Baruch Hashem!).  So we were spared a cold, cold night huddled under the blankets. But clearly people are suffering in this weather.

Saturday brought more snow mixed with rain. We started to take a walk but did not make it far before the cold, wet weather turned us back. Toby hit Gabriella in the face with a snow ball (totally lucky shot) so she was not too pleased.  Just another quiet Shabbat at the Levin-Meers.

Snowblind

Bob Dylan said it one way in 'You're a Big Girl Now' from his Blood on  the Tracks album:

'a change in the weather is known to be extreme...'

Jerry Jeff Walker put it another way in 'London Homesick Blues':

'Well it's cold over here
and I swear,
I wish they'd turn the heat on...'

Preparing the ordnance

Why am I quoting these obscure lyrics? Because I can? Because I've sung the songs?  Because I drive my family crazy by singing a song when someone says something that triggers a line in my memory? NO!

The reason is because it's snowing in Jerusalem!! A rare event that has everyone pretty excited. It's all over the local news. The first December snow here since the 1950's. Schools closed, big flakes drifting down, definite accumulation, kids having snowball fights, front end loaders doing duty as snow ploughs.  The only negative is that it's very slushy, because it has been raining for the last two days and it is not that cold. Utah powder it's not.

Gabriella to me:
'Dad it's the first time that snow is falling on a house that I have lived in, not just visited.

And then:
'I have never even made a snowman, how pathetic is that?'

(Well, now she can cross that one off the bucket list.)

Of course, if it is cold enough to snow, we are going to be cold, by definition.  Especially with a dearth of winter clothing, central heat that masquerades as central air and tile floors that give you frostbite, if you step on them with bare feet.

Bubby (aka Susan, Michelle's Mom) has been walking around in sandals until today. Why didn't Bubby pack any shoes, you might ask? (A good question but one that I am not prepared to pose at this time, because I know what's good for me.) Admittedly, it is hard to pack for summer and winter. Also, the summer-like weather lasted until virtually the end of November. Michelle and the kids have sneakers but no one has cold weather jackets, hats, gloves etc.  I brought my hiking boots, thinking we might do some serious hiking in the desert (which we haven't done yet but still might), but they have a hole on the top, limiting their utility in snow and slush. But it definitely beats slogging through the slush in running shoes. Actually I am very glad to have my hiking boots, especially compared with some of the clothes I packed. Before we left Michelle said, 'you must have a sports coat for the high holidays...'  (Little did we know that the rabbi would show up in sandals and an aloha shirt on Yom Kippur).  I read an article before the trip describing Israeli society as 'aggressively informal' and now I know what they meant.  But it is great fun to experience snow in Jerusalem.  And luckily I have not had to drive anywhere.

Rashbag Snow

Aspen it Ain't

Winter Sets In

Jerusalem and Tel Aviv finally received some significant rain this week, as a cold front moved in. Not Minnesota or Montana but definitely brisk, compared to what we have been experiencing. We'd been warned about the possibility of cold, wet weather in November and December but until now it has been surprisingly mild and dry.  (Our visitors really lucked out on the weather). But this week the rains finally came, mobilizing the motor oil and grease that has accumulated on the streets over the summer and fall. That first flushing of oil and dirt by the rain always results in highly polluted storm water runoff. (And also reminded me of walking down icy streets in New York winters, especially on those ancient cobbles).

Chow Down that Haute Cuisine

So we took a rain day and headed to the Palmach Museum in Tel Aviv.  Heard an amazing and moving story of how Israel built its armed forces from virtually nothing (in the military equivalent of the blink of an eye) and then successfully defended the country in 1948 against 4 or 5 professional armies.

After the museum we headed for the old port in Tel Aviv which has been gentrified with shops, restaurants and the like.  Very scenic, with crashing surf and the setting sun but once inside the shopping areas, close your eyes and you could be in the Ferry Building or Stonestown. We ended up in our first chi-chi restaurant since we've been here.  I am so used to the downscale places where they put 10 little salads and side dishes in front of you, with a mound of pita bread, before you even get the menu, that I was getting impatient when they left us with the menus for 10 minutes.  Really, give me a cheap shwarma or falafel and humus any day of the week (but you have to love a kid - that would be Toby -  who orders the lamb tortellini and then chows it down).  An enjoyable last day of the holiday break - the kids are back to school on Dec 6 - and they want to go :)

Edible Art - looks better than it tasted

Last Two Nights of Chanukah

Spent an interesting evening on the seventh night of Chanukah with Shifra and Baruch Emanuel, the parents of Chana Goldberg (whose house we are living in).  They live close by and are extremely gracious people. Baruch is a Holocaust survivor who was sent to Bergen-Belsen as a teenager. Towards the end of the war, when it was clear Germany would lose, the Nazis attempted to erase evidence of Bergen-Belsen and shipped the inmates by train to Auschwitz. But at that point the Russian army was approaching from the east and the American and British forces from the south and west. The transport train that Baruch was on never made it to Auschwitz. Baruch's mother died on that transport train. At one point the train was stopped and there was food available for people to eat.  Baruch was too sick to get off the train and that is what probably saved him.  Others gorged themselves and died because their bodies could not digest the food, after the starvation conditions at the camps. When he was liberated Baruch weighed around 50 pounds.  He spent his first years in Israel as a farmer on a kibbutz - no running water, plumbing or electricity.  Today he is in his eighties and plays tennis four days a week! An amazing story of survival.

Sufganiyot Heaven

On the last night of Chanukah we ventured into the Old City with our trusty tour guides - Sharona, Shanie and Meshi.  It was packed with people - apparently it is now very trendy to come to the Old City to see the Chanukiah and the Kotel. (Probably the first time we have caught the leading edge of a trend).  And of course everyone chowing down on sufganiyot. But it was beautiful to see the candles and oil lamps burning low and lighting doorways and windows, virtually everywhere we looked. The Old City never fails to amaze and stir the emotions, no matter how many times we go there.

Oil Lamps in the Old City

The Kotel

Old Style Chanukiah

Gabriella in the Old City

Kosher Shofarot and Orthodox Chanukah

Horns in a basket

On our second day in the Galilee we visited the Roman ruins at Bet She'an and then went to a shofar factory east of the Kenneret and up in the hills.  Kol Shofar, the brainchild of owner Shimon Keinan, is a shofar manufacturing facility in Givat Yoav, Golan Heights. Shimon gave us the low down on how he makes shofars, where he gets the horns, how they are drilled out, shaped and polished, what is the glatt kosher shofar (ram's horn) and on and on. (According to Maimonides a ram's horn is the only valid shofar.  Others say any horn but a cow's horn will do.) Some say curved horns are preferable to straight ones.  (As with many things, if you ask 5 Jews for an opinion you get 6 or 7 answers.)  We saw antelope, orxy and other animal horns at the factory.  Going back to Abraham finding the ram caught in the thicket by its horns, when he was about to sacrifice Isaac, I can be convinced that a ram's horn is the way to go.  (Actually, in the end the musician in me wins out and the horn with the best sound gets the nod :) )  But it was pretty cool to see Shimon make us a shofar right on the spot, all with tools of his own design. His English was spotty at best but Gabriella did a great job of interpreting. We walked out of there with 3 shofarot, one kudu (long and twisty) and two ram's horn.

Horn Wrestling

The Levin-Santalones ended their visit with a night tour of Jerusalem (conducted by the Roths of course), to see the Chanukiah in some of the religious neighborhoods - Nachalat Tsiyon and Me'a She' Arim.  It was a lot of fun to see everyone out lighting their candles, singing songs and generally having a good time.  It was also great to see Chanukiah everywhere, in every window, outside virtually every door. We even got an impromptu exposition on the holiday from one resident outside of his home. A far cry from the Richmond District during Chanukah...

Chanukiah Display

Hanging Out in Me'a She'arim

Chazarnu Le Galilee

We returned to the Galilee for two days with Michelle's sister Sara, her husband John and their two kids. It is definitely fun (but tiring) to play tour guide and now we are going back to places that we love and can show them to our visitors.

We spent the first day in Tsfat, one of the truly magical and mystical spots in Israel. The first time we visited Tsfat in August, we sort of stumbled around and missed a lot of things.  This time we hired a local guide, Dov Bouzaglou.  Dov was an interesting character - long beard, payos, extremely upbeat and friendly (bordering on manic).  He had definitely ingested the Moshiach kool aid.  (He spent 5 years as a rave and party promoter in Santa Monica before coming back to the fold and he was eager to bring us back as well). But he knew everything and everyone in town and it was great to have someone take us around and not have to constantly consult the guidebook to figure out where to go.

Yemenite Wraps

We started at a local cheese factory (Tsfat is famous for its cheese), then moved on to several beautiful synagogues, a wine bar, a candle making factory, several art galleries (one where I got to play some fiddle with the mandolin-playing owner) and an interesting remodel of a house in the old city. We also made an obligatory stop at a well known Yemenite wrap/pizza place - ta'eem meod. Then it was on to a site commemorating the decisive battle for the city during the '48 war (bullet holes still visible in the buildings) and finally to the Crusader fortress at the highest point town. We ended the day at a Chanukah candle lighting (it was the first night) in the old city.  I danced with the men after the lighting (women are spectators only).

Candle Lighting

 My day ended with a first for me - in a mikva.  Now as most of you know, I am not exactly Mr. Observant Jew - in fact I was raised in a secular home and went to a Yiddish 'folk shula' instead of Hebrew school (The Yiddish didn't stick but the Hora steps did).  But this was an opportunity to dunk in the 'Ari's mikva' (the Ari being one of the 'big macher' Tsadikim of Tsfat).  Michelle's mom insisted this was a unique opportunity, not to be missed. Dov waxed ecstatic about what a great experience it was and how I would feel renewed and reborn  afterward.  I had visions of a transcendental and transforming experience in a Turkish bath-like environment - you know, sitting in a beautiful tiled steam room, inhaling eucalyptus vapors while drinking an 18 year old whiskey. Instead I got immersed in freezing, funky rainwater in an outdoor, concrete hole in the ground. (Dov insisted that I dunk myself 5 times to be truly blessed and blissful.)  So I froze my butt off and was ritually cleansed at the same time. But hey, it was a 'unit of experience', as my Dad used to say.

And there you have our day in Tsfat - a wonderful spot and a place I would return to again and again (but I'll take a pass on the mikva).

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