Speaking of going back to school, the CK woke up at around 5:30 am Wednesday and came to snuggle next to me in Pentheus and my room. Then when my alarm went off around 7:15, the CK woke up crying. He didn't scream his typical rant about how he's "not going to school and no-one can make me!" but, poor sweetie, he was sobbing. Pentheus actually walked the boys to school because Dad and I left around 8 am for the Old City tour. (While I felt bad about not going to school with them, I think it ended up being easier for Pentheus to be with them.) Pentheus emailed me after drop-off and thought that the CK had done OK. When I picked the CK up from school on Wednesday, he ran to me and said, "Ima, I didn't cry once at school today. Can I get a present for that?!" I'm not sure a present was in order, but I told him I was proud of him. When I asked him how the day went, he replied, as he always does, "Awesome."
Thursday morning when the CK woke up, he wasn't crying or upset at all. There wasn't any complaining about going to school, and Pentheus and I were psyched. When I walked him to school, however, the CK was singing and dancing, "Only 1 more day to vacation! Only 1 more day to vacation!" so I don't think these three school days between the Sukkot/Simchat Torah holidays and our 4-day tiyul around Israel are any true indication of how the CK is feeling about school. This morning (Friday), the CK did scream the line about our not being to make him go to school, and he grumped around the dira. He ended up being ok when I walked him there. We'll see how the CK is with respect to school after next Wednesday, when vacation ends and there are no more scheduled school breaks until Hanukkah in December. (I also think the CK's mood on Thursday morning might have been helped by the fact that the tooth fairy came that night and left the CK 11 shekels, or almost $3.00. Ten shekels were for the CK, who lost the tooth, and 1 shekel was for the WK, who knocked the CK's tooth out when they were wrestling around.)
My Dad commented that since he was last in Israel (in May 1996), the number of people who smoke has significantly decreased, and I think he's right. When we were chatting with our Old City tour guide, Shmuel agreed as well. However, Shmuel thinks that smoking among teens has increased, despite the fact that it is illegal to sell cigarettes to anyone under age 18. And, many "youths" (ages 18-21) start smoking when they are in the army. After graduating from high school, men typically serve in the Israeli army for 3 years, women for 2. Shmuel said he heard a story that the army actually gives cigarettes to new soldiers.
Remember Cafe Duvshaneet, where I am a "regular"? It turns out that another "regular" is the most famous photographer in Israel, David Rubinger. David Rubinger is the photographer who took the iconic picture of the Israeli soldiers at the Kotel (the Western Wall) after Israel recaptured it from Jordan in the Six-Day War in 1967.
Shimon Peres, the President of Israel, called Rubinger, "the photographer of a nation in the making." (OK, the accolade definitely sounds better in Hebrew.) He was also the only photographer allowed to take pictures in the cafeteria of the Israeli Knesset (the Parliament Building). I am told that Mr. Rubinger frequents Cafe Duvshaneet almost every single morning. I looked up a picture of him on Google, so I will be sure to look for him next time I am there. Mr. Rubinger has a relatively new book out, Israel Through My Lens: Sixty Years As a Photojournalist, which was released on Israel's 60th anniversary in 2008. I'm sure I will buy the book, and it would be cool if he would sign it for me. (I'm not sure I am *that* much of a regular that I can ask him to sign it, but we'll see.)
This morning after I dropped the boys off at school, I saw a "dati" [pronounced /dah-tee] (meaning, religious) woman jogging. She had on a long-sleeved shirt that covered her just below the elbows, a long grey skirt that went down to her calves, a hat on her head, and New Balance sneakers. I am not sure why that tickled me, but it did. However, I got a much bigger kick out of the Hasidic man whom I saw dressed in full Hasidic garb, including the long black coat, the "peyoht" (side curls, for lack of a better description), the fur hat, etc. Here's a Google Image that may give you a better idea of what he was wearing:
At any rate, it's certainly not unusual to see Hasidic men dressed this way in Jerusalem, as there are plenty of Hasidic Jews here. However, it is unusual to see a Hasidic man the way I saw him: on a bicycle, biking down the Emek, wearing a biking helmet under the fur hat, with the helmet strapped under his chin. I'm certain I can't find an image of that on Google, but trust me, it was pretty funny. (There's some more info on Hasidim in my Tuesday, 10/9 blog post "Simchat Torah and Dragonfruit".)
Speaking of Hasidic Jews, today, Dad and I went back to the Israel Museum. You may remember that we were there last Wednesday with the kids during the Sukkot break. I very much wanted to see the "Glimpses into the Life of the Hasidic Jews" photography exhibit that had been too crowded to see last week. The museum was almost empty today, and I got 50% off my ticket because I showed them my ticket from last week. (You get half-off regular adult ticket if you have been at the Israel Museum within the previous 90 days.) The exhibit was fascinating. After a brief written introduction to Hasidicism, there were 3-4 rooms filled with photographs and videos about Hassidic Jews. The introduction to the exhibit was clear to point out that the pictures had been taken quite recently, mostly between 2006-2011. It was important to point that out because so many of the pictures looked like they could have been taken in the early 1900's - that's how much things haven't changed in the Hasidic world.
Early this morning, I went grocery shopping and to Grill Plus for food we'll need for this Shabbat. At 9 am, the car rental company dropped off the mini-van we are renting for our tiyuleem next week. Then at 10, Dad and I went to Borekas Ima, a great bakery in the Ba'aka neighborhood, to get challah for tonight's dinner. We had tasted Borekas Ima's challah at our friends' house and loved it. Today I bought a regular challah and a challah with za'atar! At 10:30, Dad and I are met some Lexington, Kentucky friends who are in Israel for the Hadassah conference next week in Jerusalem. We met at Grand Cafe on Derech Bet Lechem, and brunch there was delicious. The natool at Grand Cafe was especially good. We had a busy morning!
Shabbat shalom.
Is that Shmuel Browns of the Haberman-Brownses, formerly of Cambridge?? Did you know them before or get connected up in some other way?
ReplyDeleteShabbat shalom!