While I decide which way this blog will go

I recently posted this picture entitle My Sleeping beauties on FaceBook.

 

If you are curious why they were so exhausted, watch the video and you will understand.

done

Need I say more?

REFLECTIONS

 Sometimes when planning a trip or vacation it’s so very easy to set expectations so high that disappointment is inevitable. Then there are times when even the highest expectations are exceeded beyond what you think ever possible. My trip to Israel this time falls in the latter category.

 

My expectations for my 2009 trip included having enough time to see friends and family, playing the “tourist” and being able to take many pictures and movies. My writing this blog was a last minute decision but in hind site it became one of my best ideas. Not only will this blog remind me of my best trip ever to Israel but in a small way it is my chance to share the month with my family and friends.

 

By extending my trip to a full month, I never felt rushed to do everything on my list. Having occasional off days made it possible to reflect on where I have been and where I wanted to go next. It gave me time to spend quality time with my friends and family who opened their homes to me. Just one example was spending long hours in conversation with Uncle Ray. I know Ray for more than 25 years but in just one month I learned to appreciate his depth of character and understand how important people like Ray and Roz have been to my sister Jackie for all these years. In addition to their own four children, for twenty five years Jackie and Mike have been children numbers five and six. For two people living thousands of miles from their immediate families this is not something that can be taken for granted. Ray and Roz have such large and generous hearts, it’s now obvious why I felt like another nephew and not a gate crashing tourist while I stayed with them.

 

Each of my previous four or five trips I always spent a few days with David and Avril in Tel Aviv. This trip was no different with one big exception. I coincided my visit with them with their also being on vacation. This allowed us to spend more time together and instead of being “Jackie’s brother”, this time I felt like David and Avril’s brother. Whether we went shopping together or taking pictures together it was a grand time accentuated by laughs and smiles. Avril even smiled each time I subjected her and our friends to watch Calleigh’s “Wass Up” video. Now that’s love!!!

 

If you return to previous entries you will see all the “tourist thingies” I did that month. I’m sure I did at least 75% of the obligatory sights. I’m sure I could write multiple paragraphs about my day at Yad Vashem or my time spent at the Kotel. For those that have been there your feelings are unique to yourself and probably not very different than mine. If you haven’t been there, no explanation will suffice. One way to understand Yad Vashem and the Kotel is to know that one represents the dream of Jews for eternity and the other is the nightmare of the Jews for all eternity. No shades of gray.

 

But one four hour block of time on one day stands out for me. One of the most important if not the most important concept of Judaism is the concept of “TZEDAKAH”. Maimonides defines eight levels in giving charity. The two highest levels of Tzedakah is giving assistance in such a way that the giver and recipient are unknown to each other and the highest form of charity is to help sustain a person before they become impoverished by offering a gift in a dignified manner. I was fortunate to witness and partake in both. Let me explain.

 

Every Friday week in and week out, rain or shine, hot or cold my friend Moishe Tzipper with his friend gather vegetables, fruit and challahs for the poor of Safed for Shabbos. Donations comes from farmers or stores and other sources. They prepare packages to be delivered to people that would be unable to have a Shabbos dinner. They are helped by a group of young children who are learning a lesson that can never be taught in school. They deliver the packages personally so the recipients can maintain their dignity and not have to line up in a bread line. All I did was wash cartons of carrots, run back and forth from the local Chabad food store bringing all their unsold produce for the kids to place in bags and place one or two cloves of garlic in said bags. I can’t remember ever feeling better about myself than that day. Thank you Moishe for allowing me to help. You taught me how to be a real mensch.

 

If anyone would like to help and be part of this miracle, donations can be sent to:

 

BANK NAME: Ban Leumi Israel B.M.

BRANCH NAME: Zefat Branch

SWIFT CODE: Lumiilittlv

ROUTING NUMBER: IL010800

ACCOUNT NUMBER: 97510820042

BENEFICIARY NAME: Shlomo and Shmuel inst.

 

If any of the above information is wrong, I’m counting on Rhonda or Moishe Tsipper to make the corrections.

Back to my Blog (almost)

I do promise to continue this blog but I want to take a time out to present present a video of Itai Kriss playing at Small’s Jazz club in NYC.  Itai for those who may not know is the son of my dear friends Avril and David.

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I know everyone will enjoy the Itai Kriss Quartet

I will return soon

Once I get back my high speed Internet.  In  the meantime, a special thankyou to Aunt Roz & Uncle Ray along with David & Avril for their incredible hospitality.  I really felt I was part of their families and not a  gate crashing guest

Ein Gedi

Returning to Jerusalem from Masada, a stop was made at Ein Gedi for lunch and for a dip in the Dea Sea for those who wanted to experience the sensation of  “swimming” in the Dead Sea.  After a tasty and delicious lunch, the idea of floating in a body of water smelling like rotten eggs was not an experience I wished to participate in.  Instead I chose to play with my camera and to share the beauty of this oasis in the middle of the desert.

For your enjoyment, I share these pictures of Ein Gedi I took.

 

This will be the final post until I return to the States when I will post some of my other experiences and reflect in general on a great month in Israel.

Masada

Naturally I chose to visit Masada on one of the hottest days of my trip and at noon to experience the frying of an egg first hand.  If you don’t know the story of masada. I suggest a quick “Google” rather than my telling the story.  Basicly it’s the story of about 1000 Jewish zealots about 70 A.D. that fled to Herod’s fortress at the Dead Sea after the destruction of Jerusalem.  They survived there for 3 years and rather than submit to captivity to the Roman Legions they choose to commit suicide as “free men and women” than to live in servitude.  Take with me the cable car ride to the top of Masada.

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From the top of Masada, the views are quite spectacular.  Enjoy the views pictured below.

When visiting Israel, make sure a trip to Masada is on your schedule, you will not be disappointed.

The Kotel – some views

Every time I have visited The Kotel it has been a very personal visit and this was no different.  I prayed for the successful recovery to good health for some relatives who are very important to me.  I pray my wishes are granted.

Here are some different views of The Kotel.

What you see when approaching the Kotel from the Jaffa Gate

 

The Dome of the Rock

 

 

The Hebrew Museum & The Dead Sea Scrolls

No trip to Israel is complete without a revisit to the Hebrew Museum.  The museum presently under renovation is limited in it’s exhibits but in addition to the Dead Sea Scrolls is the addition of the exhibit of the old city as it looked 2000 years ago.  This exhibit was originally seen at the Holy Land hotel in Jerusalem but transferred to the museum a few years ago.

An overview of the old city of Jerusalem

This is an overview of the old city of Jerusalem and what it probably looked like almost 2000 years ago before the destruction of the 2nd Temple which can be seen at the far right of the photograph.  The model was constructed at a ratio of 1:50 based on meticulous research of scholars.

Temple Mount

 

This is a photograph of what the Temple Mount probably looked like at the time.  It is believed that within the “Holy of Holies” the original ark resided.

 

Entering the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit

This is what you will see upon entering that part of the museum where the actual Dead Sea Scrolls can be seen.  It represents the lid of the jug in which the scrolls          were found in the caves in Kumron at the Dead Sea.  The scrolls are estimated to have been written about 100 B.C.E. and are exact in detail to the Torah Scrolls prepared meticulously today.  It’s importance and relevancy should never be under estimated today.

Yad Vashem

It’s been a few years since my last visit to Yad Vashem and more than 25 years since my first visit.  Many things have changed since then, a new location, new rules (no photographs inside) and some new exhibits but the history remains.  There is no forgetting the horrors of that terrible time in our history.  Here is the entrance to the museum as it is today.

Entrance to Yad Vashem today

One notable change inside is the video taping of  some survivor’s including their descriptions of the so called “killing pits”.  The brutal killing of many before they even reached the extermination camps.  Their are no words to describe this and I won’t even attempt to do so.  How the world allowed the Holocaust to happen is beyond my comprehension and the words “NEVER AGAIN“  have never been so meaningful in my soul. 

As you walk toward the exhibit devoted to the children that perished in the Holocaust you are greeted by this monument.  Read carefully the bottom line, it translates to 1,500,00 children.  Try to understand how many descendants that would translate to today.  Only then can you truely understand The Holocaust.

When you enter the exhibit you stand in a darkened room surrounded by an endless amount of burning candles and hear a single voice telling you of their names.  The effect is created by a single candle and a multitude of mirrors.  I am posting below a short video of this and I hope it will help my readers to get the effect of this exhibit.  Of course nothing except experiencing it for yourself would be sufficient.

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NEVER AGAIN

Becoming a “Shuk Maven”

Sunday morning following a brief stop at David’s ATM machine, we hopped in the car and headed for Jaffo.  Jaffo is the town situated next to Tel Aviv populated by 50% Israelis and 50% Arabs.  Our first stop was this Shuk similiar to the Shuk I visited in Tel Aviv.

"Regular" Shuk

Stores lined on both sides of the road for as long as the eye can see.  You can purchase here clothing, household appliances and souvenirs of all kinds.

 

 

The Jewelry merchant

This is the merchant from who I purchased an orange Opal necklace for Calleigh from.  The shortened version of the dialogue is posted beneath the picture.

 

 

Me:  How much is this necklace?

Merchant:  195 Shekels

Me:  How much?  You must be crazy

Merchant:  Because it is my first sale of the morning, for you it’s only 150 Shekels.

Me:  Lo toda, still too much

Merchant:  Make me an offer

Me: (Looking to David for guidance)  How about 50 Shekels?

Merchant:  No, that’s less than my cost, how much do you have in your pocket?

Me:  (Taking out some coins)  Here I have 7 more Shekels

Merchant:  Sold, it’s a deal.

This dialogue might have or could have been taken from Donald Trump’s “Art of the deal”.  The end result was I thought I got a bargain.  The merchant thought he had fleeced another tourist and Calleigh will hopefully be excited with her souvenir.  Welcome to Israel!!!

The "other" Jaffo Shuk

After purchasing the necklace and  other bracelets for calleigh we proceeded to the outdoor Shuk or more aptly named a flea Market.  Here vendors purchased for the day floor space and set up tables to show their wares.

Michael Jordan sneakers for sale

Once again the wares were varied.  I bought Gaby’s memorative coin set here along with a floppy hat for myself to protect my balding head from the sun.  If you’re ever in the need for a used pair of sneakers, here is where you should come.

Here's a "bargain"

If we had the time I would have insisted we wait for the customer in the market for the chair posted on the left.  Were I able to “photoshop” the picture below it would have to have a sign reading:  

                                          “B. Cohen’s Department Store.“

513 2nd Avenue?