I was sitting in shul last Shabbat morning thinking about the Democratic Socialists of America and their recent convention. Lest you think I’ve totally lost it, let me explain – assuming you have the patience to bear with me. You see, I have a point of personal privilege – or maybe not. Continue reading
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Go North Old Man, Go North!
Between a rock and a hard place: That’s how it seemed to me. Barbara and I were planning our occasional visit up north to visit The Levines at Har Halutz, and normally, we would go the same way we always had. Head into Jerusalem, take the #480 bus to Tel Aviv, where we would get the train (more accurately, the trains) to Karmiel. But those-who-make-the-decisions had conspired against us (not just us, of course), forcing us to choose between two unpalatable alternatives. Continue reading
You Must Know Ira, Don’t You?
Do they (‘they’ being Brandon and Stephanie of Power Coffeeworks) know their customers, or do they know their customers???!!! I was a little behind schedule reaching their premises this past Thursday. First I had to help Lazer bring up an a/c unit for my office. (I wasn’t going to make him carry the 30+ kilo compressor unit up two flights of stairs by himself.) Then I headed into Jerusalem, getting off the Light Rail at the center of town to drop into Sefer Ve Sefel, the go-to place for gently used English language books. I struck up a lively conversation with the owner, Michael Rose, about the virtues of Raymond Chandler and the differences in quality between him and all the detective story wannabes who have been imitating him over the years. Sure enough, the bookstore had maybe 50 examples of the genre by Michael Connelly and not one – not one! – by Chandler. Vey iz mir. Continue reading
Have a Seat, Ladies and Gentlemen
It would only be right and fitting if I followed my own advice and began at the beginning, but that would mean figuring out where, when, or what is ‘the beginning’ in this particular situation. What I’ll do instead for starters is re-print my article, which appeared in the second edition of ‘Musar Schmooze,’ a new magazine from our shul. Continue reading
Feeling Em-Power-ed
It’s not just the coffee. Readers who have been paying attention over the years will be aware that I’m usually at the Mahane Yehuda shuk Thursday mornings and that I always begin my excursion with a stop at Power Coffeeworks. Those few minutes may turn out to be one of the highlights of my week. You see, it’s not just the coffee; it’s the conversation. There are establishments where you go in alone, you eat and drink alone, you leave alone, and you feel alone. Not so my favorite spot. There, while you’re indulging in your favorite caffeinated brew, you’re free to start a conversation or to join in on someone else’s, and, suddenly, you’re no longer alone! A few of my favorite chats over the last few months: Continue reading
Deja View All Over Again (Part 4)
Having spent the previous morning renewing our connection with the soil of The Land by picking cherries, we would spend our last morning visiting a dairy farm – but not just an ordinary farm with ordinary cows. We were off to visit The Robotic Dairy at Avnei Eitan. ‘Visit the farm and hear how this kibbutz dairy farm transitioned from manual milking with human operation, to fully robotic techniques in which the cows decide when to be milked.’ Imagine that: self-motivated cows. Continue reading
Deja View All Over Again (Part 3)
The next morning at breakfast (the same as yesterday’s), I overheard one of the guys rhapsodizing over our day’s schedule, which included cherry picking, chocolate making, and wine sampling. No wonder he was excited; I was too! Continue reading
Deja View All Over Again (Part 2)
If Day One was head up north and get settled, with some sight-seeing thrown in, Day Two was the real thing, meeting some out-of-the-box people and going to a few not-your-typical-tourist-spots. It began on the kibbutz itself in an abandoned, graffiti-scrawled building. I doubt if it’s common knowledge that prior to the liberation of the Golan in 1967, the entire area was pretty much civilian-less, except for the Druze population. All of the Golan Heights was essentially a Syrian military base. There on Kibbutz Afik is what remains of an officers’ club, commanding a spectacular view of the area. I suspect that few of the visitors to the kibbutz get to see this old structure or get an explanation of what it was. But that’s why one goes on an A.A.C.I. tiyul. Continue reading
Deja View All Over Again (Part 1)
This was supposed to be one article, but it’s much too long (over 6,000 words). No one will have the patience to read the whole thing at one shot. I’d better divide it into sections, this one being part one.
Won’t we be going to the same places on both trips? Won’t we be visiting many of the same sites on the Golan– some of which we’ve already been to? The fortress at Gamla, the reconstructed synagogue at Ein Keshatot, the top of Mount Bental, the DeKarina chocolate factory, the Golan Heights Winery? Isn’t that overkill? Continue reading
Not Just Another Week
Usually, when I’m writing about a series of events, I try to describe them in the order in which they occurred. Easier for me; easier for the readers. Let me break that ‘rule’ somewhat and let you know that the last scene I will be describing was the guys gallumping around our shul on the morning of Yom Haatzmaut, (Independence Day) doing the usual yeshiva-bochur trot. If someone was photographing this event (and somebody did), an attentive viewer would notice that there were a few of the daveners not joining in. One of them was me, for a number of reasons I’ll get to later. For now, let’s just say that I don’t go around holding hands with other guys. Continue reading
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