Anytime one interacts with the locals while living abroad there are bound to be some interesting differences. Here are some observations on my recent interactions:
1. Taxi Cabs. Due to an unfamiliarity with the city as well as some important appointments, I have taken taxis more here than any other city I've visited. Not only are there hidden fees (it costs extra for suitcases, more than 2 passengers, night rates, a pre-ordered taxi etc) which are not factored in to the price until one has arrived at their destination, but the taxi drivers don't know where they are going. On multiple occasions I've had to give taxi drivers directions, or watched them pass the appropriate turn off and just asked them to pull over.
2. Shuk. The open air market should be the 8th wonder of the world. I can go to a vendor and purchase a pound of cucumbers and a pound of tomatoes for under a dollar. Two stalls over I can buy fresh pita for a quarter each and just around the corner a dollar will buy me a pound of the tastiest summer fruits you can imagine. Now all I have to do is swing by the cheese booth and sample some salty bulgarian goat cheese before I finish my visit at the best bakery in Jerusalem. 8 blocks of grocery paradise...
3. Apartments. The housing market in Jerusalem is totally screwy. I arrived in Jerusalem two months ago and have been searching for an apartment since then. The English housing websites post only vacation rentals during the summer and pre-holiday periods (which create a revenue of 3 times the usual asking price for the owner) while the Israeli housing websites post rentals the week before there is an opening (meaning you have to act fast so you can beat out the competition) and the rental agents charge an entire months rent for their services. Needless to say, it has not been fun. My roommate Andy and I opted for a combination of options A and B-finally signing a lease 1 week after seeing the ad and less than a week before we were to become homeless Jerusalem couch surfers.
4. Movers. A few hours after we signed the lease we decided to get to work with the furnishings for our apartment by heading to a local yard sale. En route we found some broken down desks, shelves and a working refrigerator (thats right, unfurnished apartments= no refrigerator or oven). We asked the man who appeared to be throwing them away what the deal was and he offered them to us. Noting that we had no way to transport these things he offered to help us move them in his tow trailer for 300 shekel, which we promptly accepted (no haggling on our part) Once we had unloaded the furniture at the doorstep of the apartment, our mover immediately tried to cheat us by arguing about the agreed upon price. We stood our ground so as not to be taken for stupid Americans and eventually he left, and we lost our new friend.
5. Banks. Realizing that Israelis pay their rent in post dated checks a few times a year, we needed to get working on our bank accounts. We headed to the local branch of the national bank (Bank Leumi) where we were told by Daniela Mezuman to come back the next day. We got a good chuckle out of that because Mezuman is the word for cash in Hebrew. Upon our return we set up checking accounts that will allow us to take care of all our financial activities in Israel. The best part of the interaction was the minimum balance for our account. There was none- an Israeli phenomenon I'll have to explain on another day.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Troublesome Temple
I don't like the Kotel.
One of the things my Taglit-Birthright Israel staff manual mentions regarding a student's first experience at the Holy Western Wall is that it might not meet their expectations. The first time I visited, 4 summers ago, this was exactly what happened to me. Nobody prepped me for disappointment. This was supposed to be the holiest site in Jerusalem, how could I not be blown away? I approached with my note, something reflective of my hopes and dreams, and I attempted to find a crack, some small crevice where I could insert my innermost wishes into God's Mailbox. Every time I tried, the note fell to the ground. The mailbox was full to the brim. Like a bin outside of the library, desperately waiting to be purged of its contents. I was frustrated and tried to find somewhere higher up. I remember looking up and trying to memorize my exact location so that I could find it again upon returning.
Three and a half years later, I returned as a Madricha for a group of my students. I joined them in their venture to the wall, but this time I didn't expect anything. I was not disappointed, I just felt that familiar frustration: the beggar women who pester you from all sides for Tzedakah while you attempt to have a personal and spiritual moment; the fact that the women's side is a quarter of the length and therefore much more crowded. Not only do you have to be aggressive to touch the stones, but you have to suppress the internal guilt about the masses waiting for their turn. Then when you really think about it, you realize people are praying at the outermost wall of the courtyard which led up to the Beit HaMikdash. It's not even a wall of the Temple, the Arabs built a Mosque over the really important part!!!
Now that I'm living in Jerusalem I have been actively avoiding the Kotel. For the first time in 7 weeks, I visited the Kotel independently of a Birthright Israel tour. My roommate and I decided to check it out since tonight marks the beginning of the fast day called Tisha b'Av. The 9th day of the month of Av is traditionally a collective day of mourning for the Jewish people because it marks many disasters in our history. Both the 1st and 2nd Temples are said to have been destroyed on this day, as well as the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and a few other historical tragedies. Andy and I have been discussing how we as progressive Jews feel about this Jewish holiday. Should we fast? Definitely not. Do we mourn the Temple? Judaism as we practice it would not exist if the Temple were still in tact. And the idea that it won't be rebuilt until the messianic age also doesn't sit so well. At this point, we've decided to head to Pardes for some study sessions, maybe we'll hear something about the holiday that feels relevant to our modern Jewish lives.
Does anyone have a good reason why progressive Jews should observe Tisha b'Av??
One of the things my Taglit-Birthright Israel staff manual mentions regarding a student's first experience at the Holy Western Wall is that it might not meet their expectations. The first time I visited, 4 summers ago, this was exactly what happened to me. Nobody prepped me for disappointment. This was supposed to be the holiest site in Jerusalem, how could I not be blown away? I approached with my note, something reflective of my hopes and dreams, and I attempted to find a crack, some small crevice where I could insert my innermost wishes into God's Mailbox. Every time I tried, the note fell to the ground. The mailbox was full to the brim. Like a bin outside of the library, desperately waiting to be purged of its contents. I was frustrated and tried to find somewhere higher up. I remember looking up and trying to memorize my exact location so that I could find it again upon returning.
Three and a half years later, I returned as a Madricha for a group of my students. I joined them in their venture to the wall, but this time I didn't expect anything. I was not disappointed, I just felt that familiar frustration: the beggar women who pester you from all sides for Tzedakah while you attempt to have a personal and spiritual moment; the fact that the women's side is a quarter of the length and therefore much more crowded. Not only do you have to be aggressive to touch the stones, but you have to suppress the internal guilt about the masses waiting for their turn. Then when you really think about it, you realize people are praying at the outermost wall of the courtyard which led up to the Beit HaMikdash. It's not even a wall of the Temple, the Arabs built a Mosque over the really important part!!!
Now that I'm living in Jerusalem I have been actively avoiding the Kotel. For the first time in 7 weeks, I visited the Kotel independently of a Birthright Israel tour. My roommate and I decided to check it out since tonight marks the beginning of the fast day called Tisha b'Av. The 9th day of the month of Av is traditionally a collective day of mourning for the Jewish people because it marks many disasters in our history. Both the 1st and 2nd Temples are said to have been destroyed on this day, as well as the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and a few other historical tragedies. Andy and I have been discussing how we as progressive Jews feel about this Jewish holiday. Should we fast? Definitely not. Do we mourn the Temple? Judaism as we practice it would not exist if the Temple were still in tact. And the idea that it won't be rebuilt until the messianic age also doesn't sit so well. At this point, we've decided to head to Pardes for some study sessions, maybe we'll hear something about the holiday that feels relevant to our modern Jewish lives.
Does anyone have a good reason why progressive Jews should observe Tisha b'Av??
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)