A Day of Jewish Culture

Well, this girl is intrigued, mystified, and excited to be here in Israel.

I cannot express the feeling I have being here, because it's so much more than a few things.  Being Jewish in the south has had its issues. Now's not the time for story-telling, but I have a strong connection to my congregation and my religion, even if I don't keep kosher or Shomer Shabbat, and that's been called into question, criticized or caused problems.  Here in Israel, I'm amazed at the feeling of not being in the minority. Somehow, being here has felt comfortable, and even though I'm still learning the language, people are welcoming and I've been able to meet people and make connections.  They teach me Hebrew and answer my questions. There's already a rant about learning, so I won't rehash that, but I feel able to ask questions, and, for the most part, I get answers.  Today is a perfect example.

I got up and headed over to Inge's apartment since she was invited to lunch at a friend's house. (Don't ask me all the various relations to these friendships... Michele and I have made it a running joke that Inge knows everyone in one way or another.)  She wanted to walk on the beach first, so we walked from her apartment down to the tayellet, or boardwalk. In particular, she wanted to see the Israeli folk dancing, which is very much like square dancing and/or contra. It's absurdly complicated, but looked like fun.  We were watching for a while and she kept trying to get me to go out and dance.

Now, if anyone who knows me has ever seen me dance, you know I don't just have two left feet, I have two left feet of a highly un-coordinated elephant who trips over air... Especially when it comes to something as complicated as taking a step. And this was pretty complicated steps.

So, Inge asked one of the guys who was pretty much killing it if he was a teacher, and he said he just helped out, but he would be happy to show me the steps.  I was pretty much dragged onto the dance floor, and stumbled my way through a song or two. They gave me some claps for trying, though, and invited me to their weekly class at TAU on Thursday nights... So look out for updates once those start.

From there we went to her friend's house. I had asked what to wear, and Inge told me jeans and a tee would be fine, that her friend had nine kids and I would be playing with them and stuff.  Turns out her friend is part of Chabbad, her husband is a rabbi, and this was their Shabbat luncheon with about twenty something people, not including the kids.

I was wearing skinny jeans and a v-neck short sleeve tee. 0.o

Nevertheless, the family was very welcoming.  Mindy (the mother), was very nice and answered my questions, even helping me with the prayer for washing hands and answering some sensitive questions about booze.  (I'll get to that part in a second.)

So, I walk in to a room of men and women in very Orthodox conservative clothing.  Black hats and suits for the men, elbows and knees covered for the women, and most of the women wearing wigs.  (If you're not familiar with the wigs part, ask me and I'll explain more.) Inge is not particularly religious (as in, not at all), and I explained a few things to her, or rather, did them and she asked me why. I felt extremely out of place, not speaking the language and having never been to a Chabbad... well, anything, really.  The men were davaning and singing in the very particular way that Orthodox Jews do. I don't want to call it wailing, but it is a rather long, drawn-out sort of collection of notes and you really don't hear them draw breath. They had the table set and we started almost when we got there.

The first thing is washing hands.  I remember from when I was little part of the procedure, but Mindy helped me remember the rest of the prayer and directed me a bit, which was nice. Maybe it was because I asked, but I didn't feel like an idiot or like a bad person for not knowing and she was so happy to help.  Later, when I asked why they had bottles of Johnnie Walker Red and Absolut on the table, she explained that Chabbad wants there to be love at the Shabbat table, and liquor helps. I was a little nervous to ask, but she was very nice about explaining. She also gave me the recipe for her tehina, which was INCREDIBLE.  (Her secret is adding honey.)

There was one thing that I was really frustrated/put off by, and that was the separation and elevation of the men.  The men led the prayers (often with the women doing their own thing and not paying attention) and were served first from nicer dishes and things.  In particular, the challah was blessed and cut for the men, and then the "scraps" were passed down to the women.  Every dish was served like this - first to the men, then to the women, in separate dishes.  It was almost like they were a course ahead the whole time.

There were tons of children running around, of course, (Mindy has nine!) and the women were tasked with cleaning, serving, and taking care of the kids, but in more of a "men do their thing, women do theirs" separate-but-equal sort of way. The men talked and stuff and the women were free to do what they wanted. It was interesting, and I don't think I'm expressing myself very well, but I didn't see the difference as oppression as much as freedom from listening to a lecture/sermon and stuff. Mindy was in and out taking care of this child or that, and then the other women (girlfriends or friends or something, I didn't really figure it out) were helping out, talking, doing their own thing.

It was most certainly an interesting experience, and I've been invited back, and I hope that I can make that happen. Next time I won't wear skinny jeans. =]

Lilah tov!

A Day of Shopping

Today's post is 90% pictures. It's sort of self-explanatory. If you have questions, let me know!

First, we go to the artists' market: 

And then we go to the food market!

The shuk has amazing food and is reasonably priced.  Not as cheap as the market in Jerusalem that we went to, but on par/cheaper than the supermarkets here in Tel Aviv. And it's all fresh and amazing!

After shopping, I went over to the apartment because I was grocery shopping for Inge, and then we ended up going to her friend Hilda's for Shabbat dinner. She lives in a very nice old age home, and they had a lovely dinner for us.  Her son, Selvin, drove us and ate with us, and it was a good night.

Dinner was... abundant. First we had Israeli salad (diced cucumbers and tomatoes with different seasoning and sometimes addition of garlic, bell peppers or some other things), fresh challah, and then a selection of egg salad, gefilte fish and smoked salmon (all of which I politely declined... but I did taste it!).  Then came chicken noodle soup with crackers.  The main course was baked chicken or tongue with four sides: mashed potatoes, rice, baked fingerling potatoes, and cubed, sauteed pumpkin (or something...). Dessert was non-dairy cream pie (because of the meat - the whole meal was kosher) and applesauce.  It was really good, and I was stuffed by the end.

So that was my Friday.  Shabbat shalom!

Lilah tov!

Tests and Hookah Bars

Thursdays are test days, so that's always fun. Today was particularly bad since half the test was things we were told would not be on the test, and, when I asked the teacher for an extra thirty seconds to read the question before I was expected to answer it, he called me an idiot.  Not to mention that I fell on my face when I stood up to turn in my test. Literally tripped over nothing and hurt my foot.

Despite all this, I did have a nice evening.  Michele and I went over to Jaffa to check out the hookah bar that Halley's friends took us to a few weeks ago. (I can't believe I've already been here for four weeks!!) I wanted to get a picture of this last time, but I couldn't, so I got it this time.  It's the edge of a crosswalk. 

The hookah bar is super chill, in an older building, and is really relaxing despite the clouds of smoke.

We ordered fries and lemon mint sheesha, along with an iced limonana (lemon mint frozen slushy-like drink). It was... interesting. Hookah makes you really relaxed, and I enjoyed sitting and people-watching. The smoke was a little strong, especially since we were sitting inside and it was all contained.  It was too cold to sit outside, but I think it would be more comfortable. I don't think I'll do it again, especially not in just a pair.  If it was a group, I would probably go but not smoke. I'm glad I went and experienced it, but I didn't really see the big deal. I'm not knocking it if people like it, it's just not something I'd care to spend money on.

Michelle and Michele =]

So it was a fun night and tomorrow we'll go shopping.

Lilah tov!

An Afternoon with Inge

Ooh, Wednesdays... I kept thinking today was Thursday, but our test is tomorrow.

After class, Michele, Jesse and I went to lunch on Dizengoff, which is the main shopping street/mall, before going to get a camera for Michele.  We accidentally ran into Jesse on the bus, so we invited him along. It was nice, but the falafel/schwarma place we ended up at wasn't the best.  Michele couldn't get her camera fixed, so she just bought a new one.

While they were at the mall, I went over to the apartment and helped Inge unpack and stuff.  She certainly knows how to pack... Her closet was full by the time I was done! Michele came over and helped a bit, and then, while Inge took a nap, we went to the Giraffe to study.  We had a study aid or two (orange vodka and cranberry vodka), and learned some slang from the bartender.

Sababa means "great", "cool" or "good", often in response to "How are you?" or "How are things?"
Yalla means "let's go!", often in groups or trying to get friends to go somewhere/leave.

After our studying, Inge took us to her favorite seafood restaurant, Danny the Fisherman, or דני הדייג. I've been there before (we went when Gabe was here), and it's incredibly good. Their assortment of salads to start are delicious, and the views of the harbor are pretty.  Inge got her usual fish, Michele had a mixture of calamari and mussels in tomato sauce, and I had chicken and potatoes. We then split a chocolate lava cake and had a lovely evening.

Inge and Michele get along beautifully, and one of my favorite comments that Michele later told me was that Inge speaks like a 25 year-old.  The stories she tells are hysterical and ridiculous and amazing.  Having dinner with her is always amusing.  I'm just glad we all had a good time.

Now it's time to sleep so I don't fail my test.

Lilah tov!

The Benedict and the Hilton

So, the Benedict is a restaurant that's open 24/7 and serves only breakfast.  It's on Rothchild Blvd, and is a tourist... "attraction." (Read: trap.)

However, Michele wanted to go, so we went.  It was actually really good, and despite being on the expensive side, I think I'll be returning.

First, they bring you fresh bread with butter, nutella, and apple butter. Delicious!

Michele got creamed spinach eggs Benedict. (It is their namesake, after all...)

I had a soft boiled egg, bacon, and a bowl of fruit. All of which were delicious!

After the Benedict, I went to Inge's and we went to meet a few of her friends at the Hilton.  As in the hotel.  It's one of the nicest places in Tel Aviv, and we met in the lobby/lounge to have drinks. The first friend I had met before, but did not know, and her son was there, and he's an almost-professional musician.  He plays the electric violin and is incredibly talented.

It was nice to experience the Hilton and sort of people-watch.  There were quite a few high-end hookers, many wealthy people going to a white-tie wedding, and then super rich Americans in jeans and cowboy boots. It was rather amusing.

Oh! I didn't have anything to wear, so I took this out of Inge's closet. It's from the 60's!  I also happened to stop and buy shoes on the way to Inge's apartment, so I had new, cute shoes, too.

Lilah tov!

A Day in Jerusalem

Whew! What a day!

We started at 7AM at the bus outside of campus.  Getting up that early was just delightful.  After waiting for people for forty-five minutes, we finally left. Our first stop was the Knesset, after driving through the Rose Garden.  They fed us breakfast on the bus, but it was Israeli style, meaning vegetable sandwiches... Most of us just kept it to eat later. Avocado, eggplant, tuna or cheese sandwiches, most with peppers, cucumbers, pickles or olives, are not really appreciated as breakfast foods to most Americans.

Outside the Knesset

The Knesset was a very pretty building, and it had an amazing mural by Mark Chegal on the main foyer.  However, it's pretty much the same as the Capital building in DC or the EU building in Brussels or the UN building in New York City. Basically what you see on C-Span.

Chegal's Tapestries

Next, we went to an overlook on the governor's palisade, which is leftover from the British rule.  From there, you could see almost all of Jerusalem.

More pictures can be found on my Facebook.  Below is one of my favorite shots, though:

From there we went over to the food shuk, where we had lunch (Michele and I got fish and chips), before walking over to the old city and seeing the Western Wall.

I would have taken many, many more pictures, and bought some things, but we were rushed to get to various places and prevented from stopping. We would get where we were going and then have to wait a considerable amount of time, which was very frustrating. I'm planning to go back and see more of Jerusalem.

We wandered around the Western Wall, saw some of the old Jewish Quarter and some of the more historical places that I haven't been before. It was pretty cool. My favorite thing was this map/mural:

Our tour guide said this: "We're on a street that's 3000 years old, sitting on stones that were put here 2500 years ago, following a map that's 1800 years old, that was found 1000 years ago, that was rebuilt 700 years ago, that we're now using today."

I think that's pretty cool.

We also went to a cool museum about the generations of Israel with all of these glass columns that were engraved with the names of the Israeli forefathers. It was really interesting, but I felt we could have spent some of the time better than sitting in the museum.

I prayed at the Western Wall and then we moved on to take gorgeous views of the city from above the wall... Our guide led us up all these steps and we ended up on the rooftops. It was really amazing.

We then went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which was interesting. I appreciated that we went to a non-Jewish site, but there were some complaints among some of the people.  They did not seem to realize that, even though they're in Israel, not everyone is Jewish, and that includes describing our OSP group.  My patience with a lot of the Americans in the OSP is running very, very low, and I can't wait to be in classes with Israelis.

Dinner was buffet at an Italian restaurant with EXCELLENT dessert, and then we all piled back onto the bus for the drive back to Tel Aviv. We finally got home around 9, and I'm pretty sure everyone is headed to bed. Nearly everyone was asleep on the bus.  Michele and I figure that we walked at least five miles around Jerusalem.

Lilah tov!