Classes for all of us

The Hebrew word "ulpan" means "studio"or "instruction" but it is primarily used to describe intensive Hebrew lessons. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the word: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulpan.  At any rate, today was my first Ulpan class! There are 8-9 women total, all native-English speakers from either the United States and South Africa with one "morah" (teacher) named Karen, a South African woman who made aliyah in the late 1990's. We meet at two different dirot (Randy's on Tuesdays and Kasha's on Sundays), both of which are in Ba'akah about a 15-17 minute walk from our dira. I pretty much have to walk by Aroma, the coffee place, on the way to Ba'akah, so I imagine I'll be stopping for natool at least twice a week! I'm so glad to be in an ulpan finally, although I am bummed I will only be here for the next two months of this one. (Shout out to Fern for organizing it!)

Our ulpan is for 90 minutes twice a week, and it focuses specifically on conversational Hebrew, which really is different than reading or writing Hebrew. While the words, grammar and letters are technically the same, conversational Hebrew is more informal. Today's topic of conversation was Hurricane Sandy, and I learned lots of words that I didn't know before: "p'nahseem" (batteries); "l'fanoht" (to evacuate); "l'heetchanehn" (to prepare); "tachbohrah tzeebohreet" (public transportation); "shemuah" (rumor); and many more. We have "shehurai bayeet" (homework) for next time - to learn at least 12 words from today's class and to write Hebrew sentences with them to illustrate that we know the meanings of the words.

Speaking of homework, we've started working with the WK and the CK on schoolwork from Cambridge. Although we're not particularly worried about the boys' catching up when we return to Cambridge, we're hoping that doing some of the work here will make the transition back easier for them. Both boys are super excited about doing their homework! I think part of it is that they know that they "know" the Cambridge assignments - the work is familiar to them (the assignments are in English, for one thing!). I think that familiarity makes them feel more in control than they otherwise do at school in Jerusalem. (Then again, what do I know? I am just winging it here.) We're making them pace themselves, so that most of it can be done before we return at the end of December and not all done within the next few weeks.

Pentheus started his class last night. He said there were about a dozen other people, none of whom he knew. The first class was interesting, which is good, and he plans to attend the rest of the classes in the course.

This week at school has been pretty good for the boys. Pentheus and I have been alternating days to walk them to school, and the schedule seems to be going well. I continue to be impressed by how much the Szold School is doing for the boys in terms of trying to help them adjust and learn Hebrew. The other kids are so nice to the CK and the WK, and seem to be trying hard to befriend them. I'm not sure how much effort the boys are putting in, but we feel like we can only push them so much. The WK has yet another birthday party this week. (The CK wants to have a "non-birthday party" before we leave for the States so that we can host a party for the other kids.) The WK hasn't found out yet (or at least he doesn't think he has found out yet) whether he made the Szold soccer team, but he has promised to ask the Coach what the scoop is. Here are some pics from around the outside of the school. The first one says "Government School 'Henrietta Szold' Jerusalem":

Aside from school and classes, we haven't done much the past few days. Yesterday the CK and I went downtown to pick up a ring that my sister had ordered, and, of course, we got some gummy candy as well. We wandered around to the different stores and had a good time. Taking buses in Israel is relatively easy, although I admit I have only taken the # 13 and the #18, and every time I get on a bus, I still confirm the destination with the driver. It took me several trips on the bus to figure out how to use my "rahv kahv" (bus pass).

It has to go in the slot in the proper direction; if not, the red light goes on. (I'm embarrassed to admit how many times the red light still goes on...)

The CK and I were talking about parking spots earlier, and we've noticed that instead of just marking spots for disabled people, the spots actually have the license plate of the person who can park in that spot. The CK took the picture but I'm not sure you can see the license plate on the car and the license plate number on the street sign next to it:

Tonight we all went to dinner at the "keekar" (square, as in Harvard Square, except this one doesn't have a name, as far as I know) near the dira. The CK had pizza from Big Apple Pizza (called that in Hebrew, too), while the rest of us had turkey in pita from "Manna v'Chetzi" (Portion and a Half). We've really loved having kosher meat all of the time at restaurants in Israel and will definitely miss that when we are back in Cambridge!

I know I still need to blog about Days 2-4 of our travels earlier in the month. I have started composing parts of the posts in my head, but I think I need just to start typing and adding pictures already. I will try to do that within the next few days.

Finally, here's a neat picture (at least I think so) that I took outside the dira tonight before dinner. It's an almost full moon peaking out between the trees:



The weekend, as we know it.

A couple of posts ago, I wrote about our visit to the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. As you may remember, the issues concerning the Temple Mount are difficult, both politically and religiously, for the Muslims and Jews. In today's LA Times, there is an article about the ban on non-Muslim prayer at the Temple Mount. I saw the article because our tour guide from our travels a few weeks ago put something about the article on Facebook. The article is interesting and brings up a lot of issues:  http://www.latimes.com/search/dispatcher.front?Query=temple+mount&target=adv_all

It's Sunday so the boys went back to school this morning. The CK came in our room this morning to request that if he didn't cry all week about going to school, could we please go out to sushi next weekend. I told him we'd have to see, and that I wasn't sure if I wanted to make that deal. I know we had a similar deal last week except it was to go to Waffle Bar for dinner, but the idea was to get the CK more comfortable with school, not to bribe him every week.

As I mentioned in an early post, the school uniform for the boys is a solid color shirt with the Bet Sefer Szold (Szold School) decal. The kids are supposed to wear blue shirts on days with gym, white shirts on days with a "teckes" (ceremony, or in this case, school assembly), and any color shirts on the other days. Today, when Pentheus walked the boys to school, he noticed that many of the kids were wearing white shirts (and the WK and the CK were wearing yellow and red shirts). Today is the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the assassination of Yitzchak Rabin in November 1995, and the Szold School was having a "teckes" to mark the anniversary. When he saw that the boys should have had their white shirts on, Pentheus ran home quickly to pick up the shirts and then bring them back to the boys at school. The CK's teacher, Meital, commented to Pentheus in Hebrew that she couldn't believe he had gone home to get the shirts and how nice that was. Pentheus explained to me that it's hard enough for the boys to fit in here and that he didn't want the white shirt to be another reason for them to stick out. I'm interested to hear from the boys how the teckes went. I had taken this picture of the bulletin board outside the CK's room but hadn't realized the teckes was today.

This afternoon, I asked the boys how the "teckes" went, and they both said it was good. Apparently, there was a slideshow about the life of Yiztchak Rabin. The WK asked if we could look on TV tonight to see if there is a television show about him, and he wants to go to the Rabin Center in Tel Aviv. (I do, too, so maybe we'll figure out a time to do that.)

Another "small world" example occurred on Friday while I was at Cafe Duvshaneet for my weekly Friday natool. This time I had called Pentheus and convinced him to join me there; in the past almost 3 months that we have been in Israel, it was Pentheus's first time at the Cafe. The Cafe was pretty busy, as it usually is on Friday mornings. When Pentheus and I were finishing our coffees and getting ready to leave, the Friday cyclists were starting to come to the Cafe. As you may remember, every Friday at 9 am, a bunch of cyclists meet at Cafe Duvshaneet. It's always interesting for me to eavesdrop on their conversations, which are both in Hebrew and English, to learn about what Israelis are thinking and saying. (Hmm, guess it doesn't sound so great that I just admitted I eavesdrop. I don't do it be nosy; it's more of a people-watching thing.)

At any rate, as the cyclists were meeting up, there were no tables or chairs for them. I commented in Hebrew that as soon as I paid the "cheshbohn" (check or bill), that we would be leaving. I went inside to take care of the cheshbohn, and when I came out, Pentheus was shaking hands and laughing with one of the cyclists. Apparently, Pentheus had heard one of the cyclists talking to one of the other cyclists and calling him "Pinni" (a nickname for Pinchas, a typical Israeli name). When Pentheus worked in Jerusalem for Digital Equipment Company for 16 months in 1990-1991, he had worked with a "Pinni" and this cyclist was the same guy. Pentheus went over and said, "Pinni?", and when Pinni responded, "Yes." Pentheus introduced himself again by giving his name. Pinni's response? "Oh, you're back!" This totally cracked me up - Pinni said, "Oh, you're back!" as if he had seen Pentheus just a few weeks ago, instead of not having seen him in over 20 years! Pentheus and Pinni caught up for a while. Pinni owns an outsourcing chip design verification start-up company in Jerusalem, meaning that other companies hire Pinni's company to do chip design verification for them (i.e., so that the other company doesn't have to do the verification work). This morning Pentheus received a Shabbat meal invitation for our family from Pinni. Pinni and his family live in Talpiot, near the "Tayelet" (a promenade overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem), which is about 45 minutes walk from our dira. Pinni says he has the best view of Jerusalem in town. We'll probably take him up on the invitation. It would be nice for them to catch up some more and for the kids to see the view of Jerusalem from the Tayelet.

We had a nice weekend. On Friday, after Cafe Duvshaneet, I took the bus to Rami Levy, the big supermarket in Talpiot. I didn't have much of a shopping list, but it's much cheaper to go to Rami Levy and I had the time to go there. I was angry though because the cost of the "nectar" (juice) that we buy at Rami Levy went way up. We used to get 3 boxes of nectar for 9.99 shekels (about $2.50), but now it's much more:

Now it's 4 nectars for 17 shekels on sale; otherwise, it's 4.74 shekels each! I also went to "Big Shop" the department store that is kind of like Target or Kohl's. I bought sweatshirts and hoodies for the boys and had the Szold decal put on them, so that the boys will have something to wear once they can't wear shorts and short-sleeves all of the time.

Friday night we went to Shabbat dinner at Daniella and Dror Keller's. We had a lovely time. Pentheus and I very much enjoy spending time with them. We talked about everything and it is always interesting to hear Daniella and Dror's opinions on things. The rest of our friends in Jerusalem are "oleem" (people who were not born in Israel but immigrated here), and "oleem" typically have a different perspective. We weren't supposed to arrive to dinner until 7:30 pm, and by the time we got home it was almost 11:30. The boys (never mind Pentheus and I) were very tired!

When Pentheus told Daniella and Dror about re-meeting Pinni at Cafe Duvshaneet, Daniella told us something interesting about the Cafe. Apparently, 10-15 years ago when the Oslo Accord broke down and there were widespread terrorist attacks in Jerusalem, the Knesset (Parliament) passed a law that required all eating and drinking establishments to hire an armed security guard to help protect the place. Cafe Duvshaneet refused to hire any security personnel and never had any security presence during that period.

The WK and Pentheus went to Shir Chadash for Shabbat services on Saturday morning, and the CK and I stayed at home. I was wicked tired and took a nap, which felt great! We had lunch meats for Shabbat lunch, and the boys went to Moshava Park for the afternoon. After Shabbat ended, Pentheus and I walked to the park to pick the boys up. We all went to Waffle Bar for dinner. The boys ordered waffles, syrup, and ice-cream, while Pentheus and I had more typical dinner meals. After dinner, we came back to the dira to get the boys ready for bed. We're still not used to school and work on Sundays!

The weather in Jerusalem has been gorgeous. We've definitely left the steamy days of Summer behind, but it's still sunny and high 70's-low 80's during the day. Because it is so nice, Pentheus had the idea that we should pick the boys up from school and have a picnic lunch. I made sandwiches, cut some vegetables, threw in some bottled water and a nectar, and off we went.

The boys were surprised that we both came to get them at school, but they were excited about the picnic. We went to a park behind the school, one where the CK and I had never been. Apparently, Pentheus and the WK had found the park when they had taken a walk on Erev Yom Kippur. The park is in Talbiya, another neighborhood in Jerusalem, between the neighborhoods of Rechavia and the German Colony. The only other people in the park were an Arab family, having a cookout to mark the Eid, a Muslim holiday commemorating when Abraham sacrificed his son, Ishmael. Here are a bunch of pics from the park:

And finally, here are some pictures of us from today. The boys each wanted to use the camera, so there are two pics of Pentheus and me, each with a different boy. And, I loved these photos of the CK and the WK. They may fight like crazy sometimes, but I know this experience in Israel has changed their relationship for the better.

Although we're in Israel, we've been trying to keep tabs on the upcoming storm. To all of you in Sandy's path, please be careful!!

Lots Going on Here

Now that the Jewish holidays and school vacation are over, things here in Jerusalem are really picking up. There is even more construction (which I didn't think possible) going on in the city, and, starting at around 6:30 am or so, we hear all kind of trucks and equipment working. On the way to the boys' school, there are piles of tree limbs and yard waste on the sidewalks, waiting to be picked up by the trucks that then block the street for 15-20 minutes at a time. On more than one occasion, our cab fare has been exceedingly high as we waited behind garbage, yard waste or recycling vehicles.

Oh, speaking of recycling, Jerusalem does recycle, but not nearly to the extent we do in the States. Homes and dirot (plural of "dira") don't have individual recycling bins; instead, everyone carries bags of recycling (separated into paper, cardboard, and plastic) to recycling "cages" around the neighborhood. There is also metal (cans) recycling but those bins are fewer and far between. We haven't seen any recycle bins for non-deposit jars and bottles, e.g., pasta sauce bottles and jam jars.

Things at the boys' school have picked up as well. Everyone kept saying "wait until after the holidays" and they were right. Cheli, the principal, let us know last week that the boys will separately be receiving 2 additional hours a week of Hebrew tutoring during or right after school. There is another boy or two in both the CK's and the WK's sessions, which I think is good. The boys will likely learn more if they are not being tutored together, and having another boy in the session may help the tutoring feel more informal. When I asked Cheli if this were being done especially for them, she indicated that there are always "small group" lessons being given in a variety of subjects for lots of different kids in the school. We are so pleased, as we think this extra time will help the boys integrate Hebrew into their daily lives and make things a bit easier for them. We are not paying anything extra for these tutoring sessions, which is great, too! Because of the additional 2 hours of Hebrew each week, we have cut down the sessions the boys have with their private tutor at the dira after school.

Yesterday afternoon, the WK asked for permission to walk to school by himself extra early this morning, so that he could try out for the school soccer team. The WK set an alarm for 6:45 am to make sure he woke up in time, and he had a good breakfast before he left the house. The WK really had a great attitude about it - he said he knew that he was only going to be there until the end of December, but he wanted to try out for the team anyway. And, the WK said that if he didn't make the team, that would be okay, too. When I walked the CK to school, we saw some of the try-outs, and it looked like it was going well, but what do I know? As the CK and I sat near the soccer court, I heard the Coach (who is the upper grade Gym teacher) give a mini-speech (in Hebrew) at the end of try outs before the group broke up to go to class for the day. When I talked to the WK, I asked him when he would find out if he made the team, and the WK said he didn't know. I asked if he thought that was part of what the Coach said in his speech to the group, the WK said he thought so. The WK told me that he understood a lot of the words that the Coach had said, but that he didn't get any of the actual sentences and wasn't sure of the gist of it. I hope he makes the team - it would be good for the WK to feel involved and invested in school.

The CK seems to be adapting a bit more to school now that he's on a schedule without vacation breaks or travels with visiting family members from the States. It's still difficult in the morning, when there are some whines and complaints about going, but there hasn't been any sobbing or screaming in the past few days. The CK always wants me to walk him to school, but I think sometimes it's harder for him when I am with him. And, we don't want to get into a game of the CK playing Pentheus and me off each other about whom he wants to take him. The new deal is that Pentheus and I alternate days, so that the CK has to act the same for either of us. The CK was still kind of miserable that I didn't take him yesterday morning, but he knew that I would take him today. (And, in the spirit of full disclosure, we told the CK earlier in the week that if he cooperated better and didn't scream/cry about going to school all week, that we would have a family dinner at The Waffle Bar on the Emek Saturday night after Shabbat ended. The added incentive has definitely helped...)

In addition, the CK has been bringing "transitional objects" to school each day to help him get through the day. Sometimes the transitional objects are in concept only - e.g., the invisible squid stuffed animal that the CK and WK "trade" back and forth. (See my "An auspicious start to the new year?" post for more on the invisible squid stuffed animal.) Other times,the CK's transitional objects are more concrete. Here's a picture of some of his favorite transitional objects (not including the WK and me!):

The kids at the boys' school seem to be very warm and friendly. When we walk to school together, there are always numerous kids who come up to them to say "boker tov" (good morning) or, just as often, "goood mohrning" in English, said with an Israeli accent. The WK runs to the soccer court every morning and plays soccer with the other kids. I almost wrote with the other "boys" but then realized that wouldn't be accurate. There is one girl who plays with them (and she is really good). It's unclear to me how much the WK understands what the other kids are saying to him in Hebrew. I think he understands more than he lets on, but it's clear he knows the words related to soccer!

Both boys seem to be more social than before. The WK was invited to a birthday party on Tuesday, and he went to the party. (The WK had been invited to a party for another boy about 2 weeks ago, but he had refused to attend.) The WK had a great time and loved the "goody bag" party favors.

The CK has a birthday party Friday afternoon. From what we can tell, the party is at a gym-time type of place with balls, trampolines, etc. The CK is excited about the party, even thought it's for a girl in his class. I hope he has a good time.

The job of buying gifts for the birthday kids fell to me, and it was harder than I had thought it would be. First, I had to get a sense of what people spend on birthday gifts in Israel. Pentheus had suggested a 100 shekel (about $25) gift card to a bookstore, but we were told by friends that 100 shekels was way too much to spend. The right amount seems to be between 40-50 shekels ($10-12). I bought a puzzle game for the WK's friend, and a cow stuffed animal/pencil holder for the girl who invited the CK to his party.

The boys have also really gotten into "SuperGoal" cards, a kind of trading card game with players from Israeli and other nations' professional soccer teams. A set of five cards cost 5 shekels ($1.25) at the "makolet"  (neighborhood convenience store). With each set, you can "win" another set, or, if you're lucky and buy enough of them, you can trade them in for soccer prizes from the SuperGoal company store in Tel Aviv. It's addictive for the kids, and, to be honest, the game drives me crazy. If I were the principal, I wouldn't allow the SuperGoal cards to be brought to school.

I guess I have been (or will be, soon enough) more social, too. My Ulpan starts next Tuesday, 10/30, and I am psyched about that. It meets twice a week for 90 minutes in Ba'aka, a neighborhood near the Emek. There will be up to 8 other women in the Ulpan. The level is "Daled/Hei" which technically ttranslates to level 4-5, but I don't have a clue as to what that actually means. Guess I will find out next week.

Also, I have been asked by my friend, Jessie Montell (the one who is the head of B'Tselem) to join her book club for the remaining time I am here in Jerusalem. I'm excited to go and to meet with the other women, all of whom speak English. We are reading "Super Sad True Love Story: A Novel" - hope I like the book.

Starting this Monday, Pentheus will be taking a weekly class at Shir Chadash: "CONVERSATIONS ON ISRAEL" This 5-week mini-course will study modern Israeli poets, contemporary philosophers, and traditional Jewish commentators in order to explore different aspects of challenges and dilemmas facing Israel in the 21st Century.  The conversation will include Nachman Bialik and the Netziv, Shaul Tchernikovsky and Rabbi Akiva, the Ohr HaChayim and Amos Oz as well as others. While it's not exactly the type of class Pentheus had initially wanted to take, he is looking forward to it nonetheless.

We were just invited by our friends Dror and Daniella Keller (Uri's parents, the family we had over to dinner in the sukkah when Dad was here) to Shabbat dinner tomorrow night at their house. We are glad to be invited and glad that they feel comfortable enough with us to offer the last-minute invitation. I felt like we were close enough with them to let them know that none of us likes "peetreeoht" (mushrooms), which could have likely been served, especially because Daniella is a vegetarian.

Yesterday, I got my first haircut in Israel. (Actually, to be honest, my very first haircut in Israel was given to me around 27 years ago this month, and it was by Jessie while we were on Kibbutz Ketura. Luckily, enough time and therapy have passed since then that it only took until October 2012 for me to get enough courage to get it cut in Israel again.) My neighbor had recommended "Roberto" who has a solo salon on Emek Refaim. When I called Roberto to make the appointment, I wanted to make sure he spoke English, too, so that there wouldn't be any mistranslation, just in case. Turned out that Roberto and I spoke almost entirely in Hebrew, and I learned a very important new word, "nehfach" (volume, as in, "Wow, your hair has a lot of nehfach!"). I very much like the haircut. With the haircut, I think I look a LOT like my Mom, but as my sister (who is right, yet again) said, "Mom was pretty" so I can't complain!

Old City of Jerusalem and Modern City of Tel Aviv

I’m typing this part of the post from the lobby of the Metropolitan Hotel in Tel Aviv. while I sit here with my sister, Karen, who is desperately trying to finish reading a book on my Kindle before she returns to the States later this evening. I’m having some "natool" and trying to organize this blog entry. It’s been surprisingly hard for me to go these past 10+ days without writing regularly in the blog. I feel like there is a lot about which I want to write, but also fear that if I don’t blog soon about specific details and pictures of our recent travels, I might not actually blog about them at all. (See, for example, the lack-of-late-August post about my birthday and the-lack-of-two-weeks-ago post about my Dad and my visit to the Old City…)

I’ve been to the Old City in Jerusalem 3 times this month. As I mentioned previously, Dad and I toured a couple of weeks ago with Shmuel Browns, a "m'oreh derech" (tour guide, or literally, "teacher of the way") whom Pentheus and I know from when Shmuel and his family lived in Cambridge several years ago.  Shmuel took us to a bunch of places to where Dad and I had either never been or certainly hadn’t been in 25+ years.

We first spent a lot of time at the Temple Mount, a sacred, holy place for both Judaism and Islam. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Mount)  The Temple Mount is also revered by Christians as a place Jesus visited frequently, and some Christians believe it will play a key role in end-time events. The political and religious issues concerning the Temple Mount are difficult ones, to say the least. Because both Israel and the Palestinian Authority claim sovereignty over the site, it is a huge point of contention in the Arab-Israeli conflict. (Note: while I looked at a bunch of sources while I wrote this entry, I apologize in advance for any and all errors on my part concerning the Temple Mount's history, significance both politically and religiously, current governance, etc. It was very hard to describe the Temple Mount.)

Judaism regards the Temple Mount as the place where G-d chose the Divine Presence to rest (Isaiah 8:18). King Solomon built the first Temple here in the 10th century B.C.E., but the Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E. The second Temple was constructed at the same site by the Jews who returned from the Babylonian capitivity, and it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E.  After the destruction of the first two Temples, only the Western Wall (the Kotel) remained standing. The Dome of the Rock, a shrine located at the Temple Mount, occupies or is close to the area where a third Temple would be built. This area is also called the “kadosh kedoshim” (Holy of Holies).  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dome_of_the_Rock) In addition, the Temple Mount is where Abraham's binding of Isaac occurred and where G-d created Adam.
The Temple Mount is widely considered to be the third holiest site in the Muslim faith. The Dome of the Rock is believed to be built over a sacred stone, which was the location of Mohammed’s journey to Jerusalem and ascent to Heaven. The Al-Aqsa Mosque, used daily by Muslims for their prayers, and an Islamic Museum are also located on the Temple Mount. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Mount)

The Temple Mount is governed by the Supreme Muslim Religious Council (the Waqf, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Islamic_Waqf) but has been controlled by the Israeli government since Israel conquered and reclaimed East Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967. For security reasons, the Israeli government implemented a controversial ban on any prayer on the Temple Mount by non-Muslims, i.e., Jews and Christians. (Here's a December 2011 opinion piece on the restriction of prayer. http://www.wnd.com/2011/12/376925/. I don't necessarily agree with everything in the article but wanted to include it in the post because i think it is interesting.)

Because it is an active prayer site, the Temple Mount area is only open to visitors at limited times. For example, on the Wednesday morning that Dad and I went to the Temple Mount, it was open 7:30 am- 10 am and then again for an hour in the early afternoon. We certainly had to go through a lot of security at the Temple Mount – a long line to enter the x-ray machine, plus a guard looking at, and through, all of our belongings. While Dad and I were there with Shmuel, we saw a small group of religious Jews, accompanied by both private Israeli guards carrying guns and two uniformed Waqf authorities, touring the Temple Mount. To be honest, we could sense the tension between the Jews and Muslims. Non-Muslims are typically not allowed to enter any of the buildings on the Temple Mount, although, according to Shmuel, the Waqf guards sometimes make exceptions for non-Jews.  

At any rate, Shmuel spent a long time telling us about the Temple Mount, and it was fascinating. Despite the complicated issues involved, there can be no doubt regarding the beauty of these buildings, especially the Dome of the Rock. Look at the intricate work on the sides of the building, and the magnitude of it as compared to the size of the people visiting it:

It’s funny because I thought (or I guess, assumed) that the Dome of the Rock always had the shiny gold overlay on the dome because that's what I have seen on every postcard of the Old City in Jerusalem. Shmuel explained that the gold cover was added and modernized within the past 45-55 years, and that before then, it had always been silver-pewter colored, like on most other holy Islamic buildings.

Shmuel took us to the rooftop of the Austrian Hospice buidling, where the views of Jerusalem were gorgeous:

We spent some time with Shmuel going down Via Dolorosa (the Signs of the Cross) to learn more about the Old City's significance to the Christian community as well. (http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-via-dolorosa) We went to the site of several ancient Bethesda pools in the Old City, where archaeologists have uncovered enough to enable us to see an entire corner of the huge pool. (http://www.seetheholyland.net/pools-of-bethesda/) One spot in the Bethesda pool is marked as the location where Jesus healed a paralyzed man, who had waited for 38 years for someone to help him into the pool, which had curative powers. According to an ancient tradition, Bethesda is also where Mary was born and where Mary's parents (Anne and Joachim) lived. We went inside the Church of St. Anne, built around 1140 B.C.E.  The St. Anne Church is known for its phenomenal acoustics, and groups of any size can sing in the church, as long as the songs are of a religious nature. While Dad and I were there, we heard several choirs of tour groups sing in the building. Here's a video of one such choir, although my video certainly doesn't capture the beauty of the building and their voices:

(If this video doesn't open on the blog, you can try St. Anne Church, Tour group choir, October 23, 2012 on You Tube.)

While Dad and I were in the Old City with Shmuel, we did not go to the Western Wall. We decided that because we already knew a lot about the Kotel and because we could go there ourselves at any point, that we should use our time with Shmuel to learn about and see other things. But, last Thursday (when we were back from our travels and the boys were back in school), Dad, Karen and I went to the Kotel, so that Karen could experience it for the first time. After going through security, a woman from the Western Wall Heritage Foundation gave Karen a navy blue poncho, so that Karen could cover her shoulders, as women are not allowed to be sleeveless or in short skirts. Dad went to the men’s side, while Karen and I went to the women’s side.  The women we saw at the Kotel varied dramatically. We saw one religious woman, sobbing non-stop and fervently praying, while placing one hand on the Wall. No matter how many times I go to the Kotel, I always insist on touching the Wall and feeling the smooth stones. Some women sat on white, plastic chairs and prayed using the Jewish prayer books provided by the Foundation at a table near the Wall. Still  other women stood on the plastic chairs to look over at the men's side to see what was happening there. 

It was moving for me to see Karen at the Kotel. Karen thought the Kotel was impressive; she hadn’t realized it was so large. To be fair, I’m always surprised by the size of the Kotel as well. It’s amazing to think about how many centuries the Kotel has stood and the many stories that have occurred there.

Karen and I went back to the Kotel on Sunday morning, so that Karen could see it one more time before she left Israel. When we arrived at the women's section, there were many women standing on chairs looking at the men's side. On the men's side at the Kotel, there was a 40-something year old man who had been brought to the Kotel via ambulance. He was lying unconscious on a gurney, surrounded by what looked like his son, brother and other male family members. The man's family was trying to place his hand on the Kotel for what looked like his final prayers before he died, as it was clear the man was on his deathbed. It was a heart-breaking scene, and Karen and I both cried.

Here are some other pictures of our visit to the Western Wall, including a photo of the Dome of the Rock peeking out from behind the Kotel.



After Karen and I left the Western Wall, we returned to the dira to pack up for an overnight trip to Tel Aviv. I had debated whether Karen should go to Tel Aviv this trip (as opposed to spending another day in Jerusalem), but our other sister strongly (and correctly - as always!) argued that Karen should see the modern, bustling city of Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv refers to itself as "Hatapooz Hagahdol" ("The Big Orange" - yes, as compared to the Big Apple of NYC) and is the financial center of Israel. It boasts of big buildings, big nightlife, and big crowds. 

Shmuelik, the taxi driver whom we have used before, drove us to Tel Aviv, and we arrived at the Metropolitan Hotel around 4:15 pm. We almost immediately went to the beach about a block and a half from the hotel to sit on the sand and watch the sunset.

We then went to Yotvata B'eer, the delicious dairy restaurant where Dad, the boys and I went for both dinner and breakfast when we were in Tel Aviv two weeks ago. I love Yotvata B'eer, and Karen and I both very much enjoyed our meals.

After dinner, we walked from the beach to Dizengoff Center, a big mall/shopping center in the heart of downtown Tel Aviv, and then had some gleeda during our walk back to the hotel. Once we returned to our room , we watched television and read. Karen fell asleep relatively early but I had a hard time falling (and staying) asleep. I was up until after 12:30  and awake before 6 am (which made me pretty cranky during the day).

Karen and I had an Israeli breakfast at the restaurant in the Metropolitan Hotel and then set off walking to "Keekar Rabin" (Rabin Square) where Yitzchak Rabin, then Israel's Prime Minister, was assassinated in November 1995. I didn't think the Rabin memorial was marked very well, and I was disappointed in that. I have heard that the Rabin Center in Tel Aviv is great, and I hope to go there before we leave to return to the States. 

From Keekar Rabin, Karen and I took a taxi to Old Yaffo, the port area that is now incorporated as part of Tel Aviv. We stopped by Ayal Shifron's (my old beau from 7th grade) studio, so that Karen could talk to Ayal, but he wasn't there and the studio was closed. We wandered around Old Yaffo for a while, and we poked in a few of the galleries and jewelry stores. I love being in Old Yaffo and think it's beautiful.

We then decided to walk back to our hotel (and to the beach!) from Old Yaffo. It was a good long walk, and I'm glad we did it. For the rest of the afternoon, Karen and I sat on the beach, read, and relaxed. Karen refers to the beach as her "happy place"  and I definitely think she has the right idea!

After several hours at the beach, we had an early dinner at a restaurant on Borgashov Street and got pedicures. I hadn't had a pedicure since before Rosh Hashanah (mid-September), and I was so happy to get one!  Afterwards, Karen and I sat in the Metropolitan lobby for a while before leaving to drop her off at the airport. Karen read fervently the book on my Kindle, and I typed out the draft text for this blog post.

We took a "mohneet" (taxicab) to the airport from the hotel. The flat-rate from Tel Aviv to the airport is 130 shekels before 9 pm and 150 shekels after. It was about 8:55 pm, and the driver offered us a rate of 140 shekels, which seemed fair. It was hard to say goodbye to Karen at the airport, even though I know I will see her in a few months. I am so glad Karen came to visit and happy that we spent time together in Israel.

I took the airport "sheiroot" (shuttle, I guess is the best way to describe it) back to Jerusalem. The sheirut ended up not leaving the airport until after 10:35 as we had to wait until all 10 seats were filled before traveling to Jerusalem. When we entered Jerusalem at around 11:45 pm, we saw 4 or 5 Hassidic men, in full Hassidic garb, struggling to carry a large rose-colored couch across a major Jerusalem street. It was very amusing to me, although I bet it wasn't so funny to them. I got back to the dira after 12:20 am, so I had another late night. I was hoping to go to sleep early this evening but it's almost midnight as I push "publish" for this post!!

Day 1 of traveling. Do you know what a hyrax is?

**Note: I revised this post Sunday morning. We did NOT see the nutria at Ein Gedi; instead, we saw several hyraxes.

This is the longest I have gone since we've been in Israel without blogging and I've really missed it! I haven't been blogging because my sister, Karen, arrived last weekend, and we did a bunch of traveling this week. This entry is mostly going to be pictures of places we visited on Day #1 of our travels, with a bit of commentary, but I at least want to catch up a little bit.

Karen came last Saturday for her first visit to Israel, and I am excited she is here. I wanted to show Karen how we feel about Israel, why we think it's important to be here, and why we are on this 5-month adventure. Saturday night we went to the Emek for dinner, and we ended up at Pizza Italia (traditional Mediterranean food, I know!):

We followed Pizza Italia with "gleeda" (ice-cream) at Aldo, the boys' favorite gleeda place these days.

Sunday morning we woke up very early so that we could leave for Day 1 of traveling. Our tour guide, Cliff, met us at the dira around 6:30 am. We rented a car for our travels, and Pentheus drove that first day. Stop #1: Rest stop on the highway, so that we could do some camel riding. It's a tourist trap (40+ shekels or around $10 per person) but it was well worth it to see Karen and the WK's faces on top of the camels!

Our second stop was Masada, a fortress in the Judean Desert. Karen, Pentheus and the WK hiked 45-minutes up Masada via "the Snake Path" while Dad, the CK, and I took the cable car up to the top. It was at Masada, where in 73 C.E., near the end of the first Jewish-Roman War, over 950 Jewish rebels committed mass suicide rather than become slaves of the Romans. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masada) Almost all we know about Masada is from archaelogical findings and the testimonies of the couple of women and some children who fled before the mass suicide. (And, yes, the sky in the Snake Path/cable car picture really was *that* blue.)

We ate lunch at the bottom of Masada in the restaurant and were off to our next destination: Ein Gedi, an oasis and nature reserve in the desert with waterfalls, springs, and animals. The area is beautiful, and it's unbelievable to see this in the middle of the desert! The water was very cold, and only Pentheus and the boys went under the waterfall. We saw a bunch of animals, including goats, hyraxes, and a wildcat. A hyrax is a well-furred, rotund creature with a short tails. Although the hyrax looks like a rodent, it is actualy more closely related to the elephant! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyrax) 

Our last stop of the day was at the Dead Sea, Earth's lowest elevation on land. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea) The Dead Sea is one of the saltiest bodies of water, 8.6 times saltier than the ocean. The minerals and salt in the Dead Sea are often used for cosmetics and skin products (think the kiosks of Dead Sea products at the Cambridgeside Gallery Mall). Many people (including Pentheus and the WK - see below) use mud from the Dead Sea to soften skin. Dad treated Karen and me to massages, and mine was awesome! Because of the density of the Dead Sea, you can basically float on top of the water!

We returned to Jerusalem before 7 pm that night. Rather than going back to the dira to take desperately needed showers, we went to Burgers Bar on the Emek to eat dinner. I think I've already mentioned how much my family loves Burgers Bar (Pentheus uses the distance between the closest Burgers Bar and him as a unit of measure). Well, Dad joined the Burgers Bar Fan Club because he loved his chicken sandwich.

Coming up next, Days 2-4 of our travels, plus pictures from my Dad and my tour of the Old City in Jerusalem from a couple of weeks ago. For now, though, it's after 1:30 am, and I am going to sleep. Karen and I are going to walk to Machaneh Yehudah tomorrow morning and then go to Tel Aviv for a day or two before she leaves.