Pilgrimage to IKEA

Most people think that in Israel people make pilgrimages to the holy sites of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. However, I discovered this evening that Israelis also visit Swedish "holy" sites, namely IKEA.

We were on our way to do some grocery shopping at the non-kosher Tiv Taam in Netanya when we decided we'd get a bite to eat at IKEA (fancy, we know). We realized it would be opening around that time because the sun had just gone down, meaning Shabbat was over. We arrived in the rapidly filling parking lot and made our way to the door while holding our noses (for holy sites, this one has the most "stank" we've ever encountered; we think there's a sewage treatment plant nearby). As we approached, we saw a long line waiting to get in to the store, with people queuing up for the metal detectors. I thought I was heading into a concert or something.


Once inside, it was more madness. IKEA, with it's we're-gonna-force-you-to-keep-looking-at-stuff-to-buy crazy maze system, is already somewhat stressful to shop in. Add to it stairways and aisles teeming with Israelis and...well...it was bizarre. The strangest thing about it was that tonight is the equivalent of a Sunday night in the States. The work week starts tomorrow. Is IKEA where I would choose to spend the waning hours of my weekend? Probably not.

This doesn't begin to capture how crowded it was.
(Note: I always wanted to work at IKEA. And,
check out the look that kid is giving me.)

Grocery Stores: From Disappointing to Sufficient

When I first arrived here in Tel Aviv, I found that pretty much all the grocery stores in the city were wildly overpriced and were tiny. I had to go through some trial and error to figure things out. My biggest debacle was taking a store's name at face value. "Meatland" had a glorious advertisement in the local paper and it prompted me to make the special trip out to Ranaana to visit this apparent Mecca for meatlovers. When I arrived after our 20 minute car ride out there, my first question from the outside was..."can this be it?" It was tiny. I ventured in and learned that, yes, that was it. It was the size of maybe a studio apartment. Tiny. And, it was Kosher. Not exactly the land of all meats that I had expected. Anyhow, as you can imagine...big disappointment.

I learned from my mistakes, headed out to some other 'burbs, and finally found some good-sized, clean grocery stores. I have now settled into my shopping groove, which is to go to Tiv Taam (a Russian-Israel owned chain that is NON-kosher) and Supersol. Tiv Taam is a little fancier than Supersol, is open on Fridays and Saturdays, and it has a larger meat selection. It's in some ways like Whole Foods compared to Safeway, I guess. Tiv Taam has a whole area dedicated to fresh spices and grains, a flower section, a booze section...in all, it's pretty nice, as you can see below.

Most exciting of all is the Tiv Taam branch out in Ramat Gan (or thereabouts), which has an awesome grocery cart escalator that makes it worth the trip out there. You roll the cart onto the flat conveyor and magnets keep it in place is it makes its way up/down from the parking lot or store. I rode it several times just for kicks.

Exciting Developments on the Housing Front...

The 3-month housing saga might be over. I think there's a place for me at the Lev Ha'ir -- "Heart of the City" -- housing complex.

Stay tuned...for early February (when the new place will be ready) ...

:)

"Fixed"

Our internet has been pretty spotty and slow and we were advised to switch from ADSL to cable...so, the technicians were supposed to come over today. Kudos to the company for texting a reminder yesterday, for calling to let me know of their impending arrival, and for them actually arriving on time.

The guys came in and did an "85% installation." They got it done, and got most things done well...there were just those little parts that weren't quite right. For example, when the were ready to install the coaxial cable, the were going to run it straight from the outlet (about 3 feet off the ground) into the modem. The would have had the wire basically hanging in mid-air, cutting off part of the room. I asked them instead to tack it to the wall, which they agreed to. Another example of why this install was typically Israeli was when one of the techs went to his truck to get the additional wire they needed, he got 3 feet instead of the 6 that were needed, so they had to splice two short pieces together. Not sure why he couldn't just get one piece that was the right size. And, finally, when he finished and had checked the specs, I asked if it was all good. He said, "it's fixed." I asked, "it's working well, or it's fixed?" He repeated that it was fixed, and then said that in Israel this was like 100% perfect. His colleague interpreted for me by saying, "eh, it's pretty good." So, in short...he was admitting that it was just ok. Great.

I will say, though, that it did mark an improvement...I don't think it was a coincidence that once the internet was working (fast!), we saw this outside the window:

Shabbat Dinner With the Family

I have some family who live about 20 minutes north of here in a small town called Bnei Tzion and they invited me over for Shabbat dinner. I arrived a little after 6:30 and met the extended family. Bilah is my father's cousin. Her husband, Benny, was there as well as his sister (Danielle?) and her husband, Haim. Bilah and Benny have three kids, and two of them--Chen and Eyal--were there with their wives and two kids apiece (Eyal's family actually lives in the house with Bilah and Benny). It made for a very welcoming and very full dinner table.

Before dinner we sat down and had some tea with fresh herbs from the garden--mint, sage, and an herb they kept calling 'luisa' which (when my sinuses cleared following the cold I had been developing) I discovered was what I would call lemon verbena. They offered us cakes, which at first made me think that I may have misunderstood the dinner invitation and were only having dessert. However, soon the table was being set by various family members while Benny, the chef, put the final touches on the meal. We had no idea the culinary delights that awaited us!

First there were Shabbat prayers including passing around challah, dipped in course salt, and wine. I wore the yarmulke, but I passed on the wine so as to not spread my cold. The meal itself began with a course of fish called Princess of the Nile. It was absolutely delicious...light and flaky and swimming in a delightfully savory sauce. Then we had soup, and vegetables and potatoes and salad and paprika chicken, and just when I thought I couldn't eat another bite Benny brought out an enormous bowl of fruit salad, a very refreshing end to the meal. The amount of food Benny prepared for this meal was staggering. Even with 14 people eating, there was enough left over to feed us all again. If we all would have let him, he would have done it, too!

After dinner Benny showed me his artwork, both throughout the house and in the gallery he has downstairs (he maintains a more complete gallery and workshop at Bilah's mother's house). He is a prolific painter, but also makes beautiful metal sculpture--he made the metal bannisters and tables and bathroom vanity in their house. They really were amazing. I have to say that one of the most remarkable pieces of artwork he showed me was a model of Noah's ark that he made with one of his grandsons for a school project. It was a multilevel affair with a retracting ladder, windows, and rooms for people, animals, and supplies. The handiwork was so intricate and detailed, it really blew me away. It could have been in a museum.

The best thing about the dinner, however, was the people. They were so warm and friendly to me. They speak English really well, but sometimes it was cute when they'd say a whole sentence and then look to someone else for that one last word. I can only hope to someday be a tenth that proficient in Hebrew, so it was really nice that we can communicate with them. They also had a knack for humor, keeping most of the room in stitches. The funniest line of the evening was when I asked Eyal about the possibility of him being called up in the army. He said he has some health problems and so he serves in a "disabled" unit. So, he said while he pantomimed wheeling himself in a wheelchair, "if they call me up, it must be very bad for Israel."

I left with bags full of lemons, cumquats, and herbs for tea from their garden....way too generous, but greatly appreciated. I almost forgot to mention the kitties. Their cats were really funny! I'm not entirely certain how many total cats they had, but I interacted mostly with Shmuelech and Fishka, tall skinny tabby siblings (grey and orange, respectively) who tolerate just about everything and are very cute and cuddly. Shmuelech even tried to come home with me by jumping in the car as I was leaving.

I'll be visiting them again soon and will post pics...

Jerusalem again!

The weekend between Christmas and New Year's found me in Jerusalem again. I had to work on a visit from a senior US official, so the Embassy put me up in the David Citadel hotel (where Condoleeza stays when she's in town), just outside the Old City. After spending much of the day in preparations for the Senator's visit, the hotel's well-stocked executive lounge was a welcome dining spot just down the hall from my room.

A few strokes of luck got us on a very exclusive tour the following morning. First, I more or less got off the hook in terms of work for Saturday and second I happened to contact a friend who works at the Consulate in Jerusalem who happened to be taking some people on this tour and some of the intended participants happened to cancel since the tour was originally scheduled for Sunday and had been moved at the last minute to Saturday. So, just like that I had a plan to visit the Temple Mount, Dome of the Rock, and Al Aqsa Mosque which are typically closed to non-Muslims.

The Dome of the Rock marks the place of the tip of Mount Moriah, the place that Genesis proclaims that Abraham prepared Isaac for sacrifice. And, like all places of great historical interest, it was under major renovations inside at the time of our visit. Instead of Abraham and Isaac, we found buckets and scaffolding atop the famed mountain. The interior was still breathtaking and highly recommended. The mosque was also beautiful, with high ceilings and tall white columns and windows allowing rays of sunlight to brighten the expansive space.

After this tour we visited the Western Wall again. It was much more animated this time since it was Shabbat. The men's section was positively filled with devotees visiting the wall. The women's section was about equally filled as the previous visit. The men had various factions separated (by outward appearances) according to manner of dress: there were those in the typical black suits with hats and curls, there were those with the suits and large furry Russian looking hats, those in more modern dress wearing yarmulkes or berets, and those in various long robes and headcoverings. Each group had its own set of songs and ways of worship, and at times it seemed one group would try to outdo the rest by singing louder and more emphatically than the next. One guy in a long robe, seemingly on his own, stood at this makeshift pulpit and was seriously getting down. I mean, this guy had rhythm! And he was letting everyone know about it. We might have a photo of this scene, but it's strictly verboten, so I'm really not sure how it got on our memory card.

After the Old City, I headed over to the Israel Museum and Shrine of the Book to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was really neat to see these ancient remnants. They also have a model of the Old City during the Second Temple Period (when the Jewish temple sat on the Temple Mount instead of the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque...destroyed by the Romans on August 4, 70 A.D.--Not sure how they have the exact date, but whatever...)

On our way back to the hotel, I got a text message that the IDF had invaded Gaza. It marked the beginning of daily uncertainty about the war's future as well as the second time war broke out during a stay in Israel, causing my family here to later remark (jokingly) that it is my fault.

A friend in "modest dress" outside the dome.

The tip of the mighty Mount Moriah...

Inside the Dome (the part that isn't being renovated).

Inside Al Aqsa Mosque.

Western Wall on Shabbat (and during Chanukkah).

Oddly enough, the Israel Museum did not have a coat check, but it DID have a weapons check!


Model of the Old City with the Second Temple on top of the Temple Mount.