Queen of Hearts...and Livers...and Kidneys...

My friend Jesse, who is in a Bible class with me at Hebrew U, struck up a conversation with me about Jerusalem Mixed Grill, and was shocked when I said that I like it. A brief conversation led us to make some plans to grab some of the glorious grill together.

I stayed at school doing work and getting stuff done, and then met Jesse for the bus downtown. A quick ride and then walk through the shuk brought us to Sima's. I just read Someone to Run With (amazing) by David Grossman, and the main character ate lunch with one of his family friends at Sima's, and it sounded really tasty. So I was more than willing to go to shuk-land to eat some mixed grill.

What is mixed grill, you may be wondering. Well, let me tell you about my first interaction with mixed grill. It went a little something like this:

[December 2006. Restaurant in downtown Jerusalem. Table is set with pita and little plates of salatim, or Israeli salads, such as tabouleh, beets, tomatoes and cucumbers, hummus, eggplant...waiters come out with trays with skewers of unidentified meat.]

SBB: Hmm, I don't really know what this is. But it tastes good. This piece here is like fat-free steak!
Classmates: This, I think, is liver.
SBB: Mmmm, liver. Pass me some of that!
Professor: This is mixed grill. [pause] That, on your plate, Sara Beth, is heart. That is indeed liver. That's kidney.
Classmates: EWWWWWWWWWW
SBB: Oh, wow, I HAVE to call my dad! I ate heart and he's a cardiologist! Heart! Cardiologist! Get it?!
Classmates: This is gross. Let's play skewer games.
SBB: OK, after I eat a few more pieces of liver.
[end scene]

Talia holds a skewer of hearts, and I hold livers. Get it? (Davidson Trip 06-07)

I stab Davey in the heart. (Davidson Trip 06-07)

At the restaurant last year, the meat is set up on the skewers in a display.
That's, from L to R, kidney, heart and liver. (Davidson Trip 06-07)

To be honest, I was a little scandalized, but really, I am such a fan of liver, and chicken hearts don't have a stitch of fat on them. Sure, you can identify the ventricles and the occasional artery, but hey, I'm a fan of anatomy!

At Sima's, the uncooked meat is in bowls, not on skewers, and they throw it on the grill as soon as you order. It's really crazy to see a big, pyrex-ish bowl of hearts go by your table. Sima's salatim aren't as good as the salatim at the grill place off of crack square, from whence the above pictures came, but they do serve the mixed grill with mejadera. I love mejadera. Also, our waiter was really awesome, and he was very interested in our choice of mejadera, instead of chips, pronounced "cheeps", Hebrew for "fries".

Our plates of chicken parts were huge, and after eating a piece of liver, about 5 hearts, and 2 kidneys ("a whole chicken's worth!") I decided to take the rest home. After Jesse and I went looking for a CD he wanted (Ehud Banai) and a book we need for class on Wednesday (a Haggadah, and I almost bought a $50 one because it was so lovely), I made my way home.

And I took my hearts with me.

Days 4-7: Of Penpal Reunion and High-End Shopping

Over the next couple of days, I was in and out of Central London, as I spent the greater part of the weekend with my childhood friend Dalia. Dalia and I met in a swimming pool in Fort Lauderdale when we were maybe 11. (No, I am not making this up.) She was on holiday (insert British accent here), and my dad had some doctor convention, so we became friends in the pool, and remained penpals and, later, email buddies. I always said I'd visit her, and she's visited me in Florida before, so I finally came to London to see her!

I went to the British Museum before I made my way to Dals, and I was overwhelmed by the contents of the museum. I liked that it was free, but after roaming around for a while, I realized I'd been to a lot of huge museums recently and I wasn't that into it. A lot of the British Museum's collection is from Egypt and Greece, back when the British kingdom ruled the world / took relics from their native lands.

I also was not on top of my game during this museum visit. I think I was really tired, because I had a lot of stupid reactions to things. For example, I saw the actual Rosetta Stone (as opposed to the fake they had on display in the Egypt museum). You would think this would be exciting for me, but the only thought I had was, "The copy in Egypt is bigger." Ditto about everything else Egyptian there. I was like, I SAW all of this. I'm pretty sure if I had been with my mother or Rafi I would've started whining and demanded they buy me a snack. Another example involves the Elgin Marbles. Elgin took these marbles from the Parthenon in Greece. I, being the fine-tuned instrument you know and love, wandered around for a while, looking for the display case with the marbles in it. There was not to be a single marble-related game, for the Elgin marbles are actually carvings - in marble - that were all around the structure. That was the end of my stupidity.

Ok, so it was pretty sweet to see Cleopatra.

I'm sorry, I expected you to be bigger... [Insert Obvious Response Here]

Taking funny museum pictures isn't so fun without Andrew ES, whom I love more!

Recording my presence outside of the British Museum.

Then I went to see Dalia. I spent the weekend at her place, and we hung around, talking about the last 15 years of our lives. She's pretty well-versed in what's going on with me. We spent a great time hanging around in not-Redbridge, wherever it is that she lives again. We hung around her 'hood, showed me the local supermarket (I love grocery stores), went out to dinner, watched super-nanny, and did lots of other fun things. It was a great weekend!

Dalia and I enjoy dinner in her hood!

On Sunday, Dals and I went into central London to go to Harrod's and Harvey Nick's. These are two chichi shopping malls in London that are integrated into the cityscape, like Macy's on 34th Street. But where Macy's is (sometimes) affordable, Harrod's and Harvey Nick's are filled with super-expensive merchandise. Harrod's, for example, has everything, from fancy food (think Zabar's, but cleaner and bigger) to electronics, from $600 shoes to a pet department. Oh, and they have clothes, too. Dalia and I spent some time eyeing chihuahua puppies, as she debated purchasing a dog. I stuck to my guns, saying that being afraid of dogs maybe should prevent her from buying one, so we went upstairs to electronics, and she got a Wiiiiiiiiii instead. I managed to spend a small amount of money (relatively) on a few (more) paperbacks, so I could have some Harrod's bags. I think, after this trip, I was traveling with 10 paperbacks, and a siddur to do my Liturgy homework, and a couple of pairs of pants.

Look! Harrod's!

At Harvey Nick's, which is apparently known from Absolutely Fabulous, Dalia and I barely bothered with the schmancy clothes and went right to the cafe, where we ordered really, really expensive drinks made out of fancy things like avocado and kiwi (they were tasty, I swear). We also took lots of pictures of ourselves, trying to get the PERFECT profile picture for Facebook. Behold:

Harvey Nick's has some tasty stuff to drink...That Diet Coke was like 10 dollars...

Where'd she go?

Standard SBB.

Not as bad. I like my hair in this picture.

As we were playing around, I noticed these two, crazy-looking people walk in. I pointed them out to Dalia, and she gasped. Apparently, the Cheeky Girls (for real) are the Clay Aiken of England, if Clay Aiken were twins from Transylvania. Their most famous song is something along the lines of "touch my cheeky bum." Barf. Anyway, they looked fake and horrible and hilarious. Things started to heat up when Dalia and I entered into a dare-contest that didn't go anywhere during our snack. After we left the table, however, Dals decided that she wanted me to take a picture of the Cheeky Girls, but when we walked back, they had left their table. Sadly, we thought the game was over...until I saw them walking in the food store, so I played the nerdy tourist and got her in a picture with them. Hilarious! She may have pretended that she didn't care to take a picture with them, but honestly? She LOVED it.

The Cheeky Girls + Dalia.

After the malls, Dals and I went to the O2 center, where we went ice skating. Our hour on the ice was fun, although the skates were the MOST uncomfortable skates I have ever worn. EVER. Anyway, I taught Dal how to skate, and twirled around a couple of times before we made our exhausted ways back to her house.

Dalia's gliding skillfully on the ice!

That is actually my own leg. Flexibility still intact!

Reheated pizza, Peanut M&M's and Diet Coke never tasted so good as we watched TV and played with the Wii. Her internet was down, so I didn't do school as originally anticipated, but no worries. I got my bags ready for my trip to Rome, which commenced the following day. Before Rome, however, I traipsed around London (after a few hours of doing schoolwork for JTS. Really.). The resulting pictures follow here.

London Bridge!

London Bridge, as it turns out, is not falling down.

You are on Shoe Lane. Yes. Yes, I am. (My favorite bus sign ever.)

Last London picture, and I finally get the self-shot + Tube sign in the same snap!

It was really great to see her, and hang out with her parents, who had plenty of tips for things to see in Rome! Thanks to my fabulous London hosts! I hope to see you in Israel, or New York, soon!!!

There was morning. There was evening.
The fouth day.
There was morning. There was evening.
The fifth day.
There was morning. There was evening.
The sixth day.
There was morning. There was evening.
The seventh day.

Ultra All Inclusive!

When I woke up at the crack of dawn on Thursday, I was not pleased. Not only was I exhausted, but I was greeted by a beautiful, peaceful blanket of snow. All of Jerusalem. The serene quiet that comes with a snow storm teased me, saying "you won't get to Turkey." I stuck out my tongue, got dressed in layers, and crunched my way to Rafi's to meet the 6:45AM sherut / shared taxi. Crunchy snow! And it was still falling! It was really beautiful, and probably the only reason I was able to maintain a semblance of happiness with my 6AM wakeup for a 1:45PM flight.

Before I wised up about the rain boots...

Rafi and I waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. 45 minutes, 20 frozen toes, a few snow-art attempts, a hideout in the slightly-above-freezing stairwell, and a bulldozer-turned-snowplow spotting later, the sherut came, and Rafi and I were OFF to Ben Gurion! As a bonus, we got a tour of all-snowy Jerusalem. It was really breathtaking. AND my toes finally unfroze by the time we got to the airport -- about 2 hours early for check-in.

And then, in Turkey, on the coast of the Mediterranean...my feet win!

The separation barrier and snow. We took Road 443, and the separation wall/barrier runs along the side of parts of the highway to the airport.

We finally checked in, went to the terminal to enjoy kosher McDonald's (something I am opposed to in real life, but support in the few kosher outposts in Israel), and then eventually to board our plane. As a Turkey-unrelated sidenote, I find it interesting that while I really dislike fast food (Not you, Subway. I love you!), find it wrong, and fattening, and gross, I REALLY loved going to McDonald's. Maybe it's the I-Don't-Eat-That-Stuff holier-than-thou mindset you get in college / high school when keeping kosher amongst those who do not. Maybe it's the horrible additives that McD's puts into their food, making me crave it. But I ate McDonald's at TLV like I was dining at my favorite New York Italian restaurant (bonus points if you guess correctly in the comments). I guess I can make allowances for a McDonald's that sells Israeli salad and McKebab.

Tel Aviv airport means one thing to kosher kids -- McDonald's.

I'm going to pretend that kashrut (or, in this label's case, Hebrew writing) makes McDonald's less disgusting. Yay, kashrut!

Super Size Me! I'm hooked!

The flight to Turkey was fine, as was the customs experience (here's $20 so you can give me a sticker), and the trip to the resort. Once at the resort, Rafi and I took to eating tons, walking around the hotel and on the other shore of the Mediterranean, and trying to figure out Turkish. We were, at best, wildly unsuccessful. I spent some time in the Turkish bath (amazing), and both of us spent time in the pool (not bad). On Saturday night, we went to a multi-lingual comedy show that was so terrible, words can't even describe it -- in German, Russian, English, OR Turkish. Let's just say any improv night at any given summer camp where we've worked displayed a finer grasp on comedy and creativity. It did really make the whole trip seem like a cruise, though.

As Rafi pointed out, that's Israel in the distance. Can't see Her? That's ok, you can trust me.

Requisite "Look, we went on vacation!" picture.

The best part of the trip? Apart from the visas and the Turkish bath, it was Ultra All Inclusive. Wine? Sure! Cakes? Of course! Italian dinner with 12 courses (give or take)? But of course! Rafi and I enjoyed that -- and the unlimited, FREE minibar.

Another "We went on vacation and we're so cute!" picture.

Ultra All Inclusive means that the minibar is FREE!

The trip back was uneventful (although we did stop in the outside-the-terminal McDonalds for an interesting lunch), and I've been doing schoolwork ever since. Let's hear it for a trip to the lovely land of Antalya, Turkey, where the weather rarely dips below 15 degrees Celsius (where rarely = when I am there).

We went back to McD's, Rafi got a McKebab, and it was AWESOME. Whyever don't they market it in the states?

Maybe the best thing about Turkey. In Turkish, "Stop" is "Dur."

PS -- Turkish delight is pretty repulsive. It's like passover jelly candy, but covered with powdered sugar, instead of granluated.

The Blizzard of Centimeters?

Jerusalemites / Israelis are freaking out because of the upcoming snowstorm in Jerusalem, slated to start tonight. Apparently, Rothberg told all of their students to "stock up on food and supplies" and to prepare for a few days holed up in their apartments. I know that they're not so used to snow here, but this is not a hurricane, although it's so windy, it kind of sounds like one.

I know I'm going to go load up on supplies (chocolate milk, diet Coke, and maybe a cookie or two), as I prepare for the blizzard (a few inches?), and hope that the snow doesn't keep Shiran away from Jerusalem today, or me away from Turkey, as I'm supposed to leave on Thursday. Apparently the roads shut down, and Israel doesn't really plow -- they just have a couple bulldozers to move snow, "the same bulldozers they use to knock over Palestinian houses," as a friend put it.


Not exactly Woodstock, are you, Jerusalem? (March 2007)

Jewish Penicillin - the Myth, the Reality

The past few days can be summed up in a discussion of pharmaceuticals. Jewish Penicillin is a common nickname for chicken soup. Indeed, it does plenty to heal achy throats and cold faces, but when you need the big guns, you want real antibiotics. Israeli Penicillin, as it turns out, is not Jewish at all, but secular...read on for more about my encounter with the myth and reality of Israel.

Two nights ago, I spent Tu B'Shevat, the New Year of the Trees, with my cousins in Har Nof. We studied a variety of Jewish texts at the dinner table, while eating from the 7 species. It was pretty sweet, and as usual, my cousins fed me heartily, with both food and conversation. I loved that they served chicken soup (ahhh, Jewish penicillin), because that's part of a festival meal, which indirectly made me feel better. After the meal, we called my grandparents, and David pulled out his ubiquitous camera to catch the moment on digital film. David also wants me to remind you to hug a tree, and wish it a happy birthday! Happy Tu B'Shevat!

I am talking to people in Boca!

Today I had part 2 of the 3 ulpan exams. There is the class test, the oral exam, and the Ramah / level exam. I did well on the class test (an ulpan-A!), and today was the oral (snerk). I was out sick for a few days, and I missed the announcement about the exam. So, when Melanie and I prepared for the oral exams, we did our dialogue on one of the 4 assigned readings. It was pretty sweet. I was a newspaper reporter from America, looking to help with the 1944 war effort through my writing. Melanie was Hannah Senesh. We were spectacular. Except, we were supposed to dialogue about a wedding. A restaurant. Something easy. And THEN we were supposed to talk, one-on-one, with the teacher, about Hannah Senesh or Mount Sinai or one of the other readings in the book. I hacked my way through my Mount Sinai knowledge. Maybe another ulpan-A? I hope so, as I am extraordinarily articulate...at least in English. AND, I didn't cough, hack or spit in front of the teacher AT ALL! I MUST be getting better!

Today I also started taking antibiotics (as it turns out, Israeli penicillin comes in pills, and not in pots of soup, as I originally thought.) for an apparent sinus infection. Apart from the 10-minute, uncontrollable coughing jags that plagued my day at school, and the pack-a-day (tissue) habit I've had for 2 weeks, I am starting to get (sort of) better. I plan on being 100% in a week, because...

RAFI and I ARE GOING TO TURKEY! Somehow, idle chatter about "going away" became concrete plans when we found a super-cheap deal that is all-inclusive, from flight to (vegeterian) food, for four days in some resort town in Turkey (not Istanbul, not Constantinople). It's supposed to be fabulous. As I expect my cough to be gone by then, I plan on catching up on my sleep, and learning about the finer qualities of the Turkish Baths. Let's hear it for the mighty miracle that is ISSTA!

I Love Tel Aviv Weekends!

Weekend with Shiran!

For the past week, I've been up and down. I was sick. I was better. I was sick. I spent Shabbat in Tel Aviv. I even made my way to a meeting that was ALL in Hebrew (the English cheat-sheet and the preliminary meeting helped me follow along). It's been pretty exciting, and I've had some cultural exposure, in the form of mass amounts of TV watching.

This weekend, I experienced...

...The Shuk in Yaffo. Shiran and I went to Yaffo, to walk through the flea market, eat at a famous bakery, and walk along the sea shore. It was BEAUTIFUL out!

...Shabbat with a Yemenite family. Oh. My. Goodness. The food that I was fed at Shiran's was, as usual, fabulous. Except this time, it was a full two days of food food food food. And it was amazing. When they asked if I wanted rice, and I said yes, I loved being passed a green pepper, stuffed with a meat-and-rice combination. There were cakes. There was tea. There was ravioli. There was fried cauliflower, fish-shnitzel, and a million other things to eat. I love going to Shiran's...and the food is only a small part of the fun!

...Kiryat Ono and Bar Ilan University's campus. Shiran and I went for a walk for a little while. We crossed the highway and walked in Kiryat Ono (reminded me of Village Valley, CA), and then we crossed back over to walk on Bar Ilan's campus (which is in Ramat Gan). It was really nice.

...Sherut to Jerusalem. I took a Sherut back to Jerusalem, because I wanted to go to Ben Yehuda / Downtown, as it is still Birthright Season, and the sheruts go RIGHT to the bottom of Ben Yehuda. After getting on the sherut (easy) and paying the fare (approx. 75 cents more than a bus!), our driver took off, then informed us that they were closing down the entrance to Jerusalem. This meant that we switched to a highway that goes through the settlements, and that was really it. Funny how some security breach happens, and that sends us running for the Green Line. I got back with time to spare, and said hi to the latest Birthright Season installment of friends.

...The Painted Veil. Meital (Shiran's sister) and I went to rent a movie and came back with 2.

Meital has the BEST taste in movies!

We watched the Painted Veil before Shabbat dinner, and we watched the commentary afterwards. The short of it is that the author thinks that's how people view the places they visit and the world they live in. Eventually, the veil was lifted in the movie. Much like the Amichai poem "Tourists", I am trying to work against the "painted veils" or "heavy curtains" through which tourists and visitors view Israel. My painted veil fell off pretty soon after I arrived in Israel...and while it's been hard, it's been a learning experience. Just like in the movie.

...GREASE: I watched the latest Grease, a tryout reality show, installment with Shiran and her family. They sang (in Hebrew) and danced to Broadway show tunes. The translations were fabulous, and the dancing? Beautiful. The best translation was for the song "Heaven" by Sinatra:

English: Heaven, I'm in Heaven.
Hebrew: עדן ,זה גן עדן / Eden, this is the Garden of Eden.

We enjoyed watching the show, and I cracked up during תשעה עד חמש / Tesha Ad Chamesh / Working 9 to Five and השיר שלך / HaShir Shelach / Your Song. I was shocked at the outcome, when the family + Sara Beth vote for best dance was VOTED off of the show. Honestly, I am not big on reality tv, but this was great for me. I read the subtitles, and tried to understand the Hebrew. I sang along with the songs, I danced around the house, and I really wanted my favorite contestants to win.

One of the differences between reality tv in Israel and reality tv in the states is that being Jewish "ain't no thing" as my brother Alex would jokingly say. (Alex shout-out. Woo.) In the states, you see people on TV with cross necklaces, with clock necklaces, but it's kind of rare for somebody to wear a Jewish star necklace.

Alex and I audition for Israeli Grease...ORRRRRR, we do some karaoke. (2005)

But one of the competitors, Asaf, who was sick, and didn't dance at all in his performance with his beautiful partner, mesmerized me. It wasn't his eyebrows, which Shiran thinks are distracting. It wasn't his voice, although he has a great voice, and you couldn't tell he was sick (not like me currently, as I sound like a 30-year veteran chain smoker). It was his small, simple necklace. A small Jewish star, surrounded by his ample chest hair, above his one-too-few buttons left opened shirt. It's Israeli Grease. Of COURSE you can be Jewish! And it's not like you can't be Jewish in the States. But you don't usually see a Jewish star just chilling around someone's neck, when they're trying out for (ick) American Idol.

My birthday and a birth day!

"You're breaking hearts,
And you're breaking guitars,
Today's your birthday,
And you don't even know how old you are."
-Happy Birthday Ralph, AAHP

Last Friday was my birthday, and indeed, I couldn't forget that it was my 26th, since my campers at Darom in 2006 nicknamed me "S-B-B is O-L-D". I had a great time baking, cooking and preparing my apartment to have a big Shabbat dinner and a bigger oneg Shabbat. When Sarah arrived, as my lovely Davidson bed buddy for the weekend, we wandered on Emek to the ATM and through the shuk at Beit Sefer Adam where I managed NOT to buy anything! (Except for lunch).

Before dinner, we attended tefillot at Shira Chadasha, housed at the Shalom Hartmann Institute while they're doing renovations on their Emek Refaim building, I had a chance to say hi and get tons of "happy birthdays" from everybody I know. Then, we collected the group of diners, and walked back to my apartment.

Sadly, the laws of Shabbat prevented me from taking pictures at the event, but here's a little summary of the fun! Over the course of the evening, there were people talking in German, French, English and Hebrew, and I had a conversation with Spanish, French and Italian words as Guillame (from ulpan) and I tried to figure out the correct way to pronounce "Sangria." (My joking answer: "Fruit salad".)

All of my worrying about not having enough [insert food or drink item here] to serve my guests, I was amazed at the amount of food when we set it on the table. Everybody brought more, mainly to drink, but also to eat. Dinner was terrific, and at about 10PM, people started showing up for the oneg. Friends from ulpan talked with visiting Davidson students, while enjoying what I understand is some very fine scotch, while a visiting Davidson/Rabbinical student made a bid for my apartment. There were people from Texas, Japan, France, Israel, New Jersey, Canada, and New York, all in my little apartment in the German Colony.

I spent most of the 28th waiting for my nephew to be born, as I figured it'd be pretty neat to have a twin nephew. Alas, that was not to be. But yesterday was his birth day, and I do know how old he is -- less than a DAY OLD! Pictures will be coming soon, but I'd just like to announce that my 10-lb nephew (that's about 5 kilo, or more than 2times the amount of rugelach I bought in Thursday) was born last night in Washington, DC.

And if that doesn't say happy new year and happy birthday, then I don't know what does!

חנוכה, הוא חג טוב / Hanukkah, Hoo Chag Tov

חנוכה, הוא חג טוב / Hanukkah, Hoo Chag Tov
"Hanukkah, Good Holiday"

This is the second year I am spending Hanukkah in Israel, but the first where I'm really spending it here. Last year, I lit Hanukkah candles all over - in Greenwich, in NYC, at Heathrow, at Kibbutz Keturah in the southern tip Israel. I ate gelt in the airports and purchased presents on three continents. This year, though, Hanukkah is an isolated holiday, contained in the highly political boundaries of the State of Israel.

A Brief History of SBB's post-college Candle-lighting (speaking of college, go TEBOW!):
Lincoln Center Xmas Tree and me, pre-LOL. The real Hanukkah miracle in this picture, which lasted for over 2 years, is that I lived in an apartment with a view like THIS from my BED. (2004)

The good 'ol 18M roommies light the candles in a window that showed them to Broadway and Lincoln Center! (2005)

Lighting at Kibbutz Keturah with the Davidson Trip. (2006)


Leading up to Hanukkah this year, I experienced something new. For the first time, Hanukkah was just Hanukkah. It was not Hanukkah vs. Christmas. I've been standing on this platform for years: Hanukkah is not as big of a deal as Christmas. It's a celebration of victory, of maintaining Jewish life, culture and identity. Hanukkah is another triumph of the Jews against the bad guys: in this case, the Greeks. Christmas and Easter are THE Christian holidays, while Hanukkah is not even mentioned in the Torah!

I'm all about Hanukkah. Clearly, I enjoy the candle lighting. Clearly, I like the donuts (shocker). Clearly, I like singing and, of course, I like presents. This year, however, I like it more. Thanksgiving came and went (with 4 pies), and there was no instant transformation into THE HOLIDAY SEASON. THE HOLIDAY SEASON was in September and October, when Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot took place. THE (Hanukkah) HOLIDAY SEASON started out being indicated gently in local bakeries, where one could find sufganiyot (jelly donuts) on every corner, for a month leading up to the holiday.

Nowhere was a sufganiyah display competing with a tray of candy canes or Santa cookies, or whatever else you may find in a bakery in the states (fruitcake?). Nowhere were the colors green and red screaming at me, with the obligatory blue and white poking out from around the corner, crying, "Don't forget about the Jews, or we'll say you're being anti-Semitic!" There are no marketing geniuses (like the person behind this amazing display in Manhattan) in Israel who are responsible for selling sufganiyot AND making sure that the poor, minority kids that celebrate Christmas have equal displays of candy and presents and ways to make minorities feel less minor.

Like I said, I love Hanukkah. I plan on going to the shuk before tomorrow night to pick up a few dreidels that indicate that the great miracle happened HERE, not THERE. I have eaten more latkes (which is actually Yiddush. Levivot is the Hebrew word. Mind-blowing, I know!) and donuts than I would like to admit, although, as Shakira points out, "hips don't lie." But I love Hanukkah SO much more when it's not the Jewish answer to Christmas, which is an impossibility in the States. I love when candles are lit in restaurants during meals, as all of the patrons pause their conversations to participate in the lighting. I love that my Hebrew teacher handed out chocolate gelt in class, which was tasty and also helped me learn the word for candy. I also love that when travelling through Mea Shearim (super-religious neighborhood) OR Emek Refaim (both religious and secular / my neighborhood) after dark, you can see almost every window glowing with a 9-branch candelabra.

I learned last week in one of my Education classes at Hebrew U that Hanukkah may have occurred around the time of Sukkot (which is the real holiday season, let's not forget!). Can you imagine the marketing implications of a Hanukkah celebrated in October? How pure. How beautiful. How simply Israeli and lovely Hanukkah could be in the States!

Seventh night and the guys still look surprised!

I would like to admit that I also prefer Chanukah when it's earlier in the month. When Hanukkah coincided with my birthday as a kid (OK, and as an adult), it sometimes meant fewer presents. But this year, that is not a problem! Wooo!

There's Gonna Be A Floody, Floody

Shabbat Parashat Noach (Torah Portion about Noah and the Great Flood) Report:

It seems we are incapable of hosting a meal for fewer than 12 people, and Friday night was a dairy-filled celebration of Noah and his ark. Rachel just wrote about the themed dishes created in honor of this week's torah portion, Noa(c)h.

There was a rainbow salad, with red peppers, carrots, yellow peppers, avocado, pomagranate seeds and raisins.

There was also a Noah's ark, constructed out of biscuit cookies, on a base of blue-pudding water, and surrounded by pairs of gummy animals (in Israel, gummies are KOSHER!). The ark had a rainbow of M&Ms on top.

Other bits of the meal included the delightful pairing of cheese and veggies, floating in a sea of red sauce on little pasta-sheets of ark, otherwise known as a veggie lasagna. There was another fine pairing of sweet potato and spices. Challah and fruit salad, wine and water, old friends and new, completed the meal.

And just when you were sure that you were totally full from reading this? Dairy dessert extravaganza at Rafi's apartment for his post-birthday party (someone seems to be celebrating himself for days at a time...it's almost like I've influenced him a little too much.). Many people stopped by, and the cakes and trifles were really spectacular.

The weather is getting cooler, and I very much appreciate it. Here I am, sitting on my couch, in the great city of Jerusalem. I'm sure that some day soon, it will start raining, but before the "floody floody" it's certainly delightful to be in Jerusalem in the fall.

Goodness, Gracious! Great Gluttony in Gerusalem!

Ahh, October 10th. Erev Yom Rafi (The eve before Rafi’s birthday.) Allison and I woke early to take a trip to the Israel Museum…and we took the right bus, but in the wrong direction. The driver yelled at us to get off at the Malcha Mall, so we got off at the mall. We ended up running a bevy of errands and seeing a movie, “License to Wed,” of which my favorite part was the appearances from many of the cast of “The Office.”

After our day at the mall, we came home for a brief rest before the gluttony. Rafi had been planning to have a birthday dinner at Vaquiero, since, um, he got into Rabbinical school. Sadly, he had a full-day trip on the 11th, his actual birthday, so we decided to have the big meal-party the night before.

Vaquiero is a meat restaurant. And when I say meat, I mean MEAT. Vegetarians (Mel, sorry), avert your eyes...Vaquiero serves 10 courses of meat. TEN! ESER! DIEZ! [Insert fist with thumb pointing up, shaking left and right -- the ASL word for ten -- here.] I wasn’t so excited, because when I went in December, three of the courses were turkey, and I hate turkey. But, after inviting rabbinical students east and west, rounding up two only-Davidsons, and completing the 11-person meaty minyan + 1 with an Israeli, we sat down for a lovely meal together. This meal was better than the one we had for my birthday. Here is a list of the ten courses:

1. Chicken wings – I dedicate these wings to Rafi’s early childhood.
2. Empanadas – I dedicate these meat pies to Rafi’s extensive travel in Latin America. (JK, he’s never traveled to SA.)
3. Chorizo – I dedicate this sausage to Rafi’s awkward teenage years.
4. Veal Finger (I called it Kufta kabob!) – I dedicate this veal finger to something something (he made me stop the dedications.)
5. Corned beef.
6. Goose drumstick.
7. Entrecote.
8. Veal wrapped around cinnamon-spiced apricots.
9. Beef stew.
10. Something else that I can’t remember, as I seem to be in a meat-induced stupor, one day after.

There was also lots of salad, bread, and some really sexy potatoes, but we all psyched ourselves up to consume all of the meat with gusto. We did swimmingly, with everybody enjoying seconds of this meat and that meat. Some of us even enjoyed a warm chocolate cake after all of the food! I want to wish Rafi a happy 26th birthday, with many returns of the day. Thanks to everybody who joined us for dinner, and put out for the hefty price tag of a gluttonous meat meal.

Rafi and I smile because of all of the food. Note the shirt I am wearing. I always wear it the day Rafi wears his green polo. Because dressing alike, is, well, not my thing.

Robbie and Rachel didn’t do all-you-can-eat, but they still are totally fabulous!

Eliav and Jeremy are both smiling because Jeremy has REALLY fallen off of the vegetarian derech. Welcome to the club, Jeremy! This dinner is like going from being a teetotaler to doing kegstands before class.

Dan and I love Rafi and stuffing our faces!





Gideon is the champ of the meal, putting away the last little chunk of chorizo.

Allison, Ita and Gideon all smile wide for the terrific dinner.

Alon and Sarah sincerely enjoy their hot (and spicy) meals!

Rafi totally blows (out the sparkler). Happy birthday, Raf!

Hooooe-Sheeee-Aaaaaaah-Naaaaah!

Hoe-Shee-Aah-Nah is part of the Simchat Torah prayer/celebration singing.

While you Diaspora fools are nursing your Simchat Torah-related hangovers, here in Israel I have (part) of a day off between the end of Sukkot and Shabbat. What do I mean? Let me explain...

In the Diaspora, Jewish holidays are 2 days long. That means the chag/holiday parts at the beginning and end of long holidays like Sukkot are two days long, each. In Israel, chag is only one day long at either end. Annnd, when it's Sukkot, the closing Chag days of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are hybridized into one fun day.

Things for Simchat Torah in Israel are a little different than in the States. The getting-drunk-for-the-Torah parties aren't in huge abundance, but the getting-sweaty-while-dancing-and-singing services are in full force. My friend Shiran came to visit, and we all went to Shira Chadasha for the evening Hakafot (that means something like dancing in circles with the Torah). Shirah Chadash was NUTS! I saw everyone I've known, ever. Really. There was my Nivo '04 waterskiing camper, my Wheels Bus D '02 camper, my supervisor from Skills for Teaching and her daughter, a colleague from the Foundation for Jewish Camping. There was also the crowd of JTS and A-Jew (they go by "Ziegler" or "AJU") kids, of course. To round things out, I spent some time talking with my friend Jordana, with whom I went on USY on Wheels '97, and Baylene, from Pilgrimage 99, and pretty much everything from high school.

There were other people there I was excited to see, too. It felt like Simchat Torah on the Upper West Side, more than I'd expected. Next time, I'm getting my eyebrows waxed BEFORE the social scene, not after. I thought it was going to be (relatively) low-key.

After Hakafot, we had dinner at my apartment, which ended up including 12 people! Food was good, and we all had a good time. After dinner, a bunch of the guests stayed up until the wee hours, but I went to sleep. I figured I needed my strength for services the following morning, at Kedem. They were pretty fun and great.

Shiran, Allison and I hung out all afternoon, eating the (amazing) baked stuff from Shiran's sister's bakery job, and enjoying Nurit's visit, late in the afternoon. When the holiday ended at dark, Rafi and I went to a really cute restaurant, where I learned to stop ordering Israeli ravioli (Disappoint me once, shame on you. Disappoint me twice, Israeli ravioli, shame on me.). After dinner, we celebrated our friends housewarming (quite literally across the street), and went to be relatively early, considering the hard-partying nature of my friends.

Today, I prepared for Shabbat...partially by buying challot at the neighborhood amazing bakery, and partially by getting my eyebrows pruned. It was all-in-all an exciting start to Shabbat. And to think, I could have spent today in shul for Simchat Torah...instead of yesterday.

Mixed Bag

Today was pretty uneventful, so I have a bunch of little things to write about that didn't fit into a day trip summation...

1. SuperSol Deal: Today we went to another supermarket in Jerusalem. Our friend Adam attempted to guide us through the supermarket, wising us up to the "secret" stash of nuts by the last register, and showing us which stuff we wanted to buy. Today was my first experience EVER buying chicken from a butcher counter at a grocery store. It was pretty intense...and I felt like a real, normal citizen. Also, I noticed that there were about 5 (yes, five) aisles, featuring Elite Chocolate (you remember this if I've ever given you poprox chocolate).

Things we purchased at SuperSol Deal include a sh'moniyah (that's an 8-pack of Diet Coke. We're moving on up.), schnitzel-grade chicken (proof that there is a God, if you can't find God at the Kotel), diet yogurt (in weird flavors like passionfruit), a wide variety of pretzel/cookie/snacky things, and tomatoes. Tomato-shopping, by the way, is INTENSE here. There was like 4 times the normal supermarket display of tomatoes, and people were sifting through them to find the PERFECT complement to their cucumbers for Israeli Salad.

2. My Dramatic Flair: Allison pointed out that I interrupted her reading of Frommer's to show her (and Rafi) the sign about the Dead Sea being the lowest point on Earth. She's not nearly as stupid as I made her look. But much like the work of James Frey, let's remember that it still made for a good read. (I'm a big fan of James Frey, so if my beelog isn't as accurate as you would like, well, you're just going to have to suck it up and deal.)

3. Lifeguards: The Dead Sea has lifeguards, even though it's virtually impossible to submerge your head in that buoyant, fabulous water. As an on-again, off-again Lifeguard (recertified this past summer), I know that you can drown in only 2 inches of water. I also know that I've never seen a lifeguard smoking on the job. That's right. The ultimate Israeli experience includes a dip in the Dead Sea, and being yelled at by a lifeguard who sports sunglasses, a megaphone, and a half-smoked cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth.
4. Lines: Are you all queued up? Ready to take your place in front of the register at Aroma? Well, don't let the 80-year-old grandma with the cart of vegetables stomp on your foot to get her Ice Aroma first. Israelis are p-u-s-h-y. Allison and I enjoy our fought-for coffees. (She had to stand up for her place in line because of a pushy Israeli. Really.)

5. Nokia: Cellcom, Shalom, indeed. Israel is a world leader in technology. They INVENTED everything electronic (sorry, Al Gore). OK, not everything, but a lot of stuff. So why is it that 98% of cellphones here are the Nokias so coveted by me, pre-cellphone, in the year 2000? (Conan shout-out) I MISS MY SAMSUNG. These non-flip-phones are soooo Sophomore year.

6. My Own Illiteracy: I was talking recently about how if I were in the states, I would NEVER eat this much bread. If only I knew how to order a salad with the toppings that I want, I wouldn't have to get a sandwich. I also would be interested in buying cream cheese, or arguing with a bus driver or a talking to a person on the street, but I just don't know enough Hebrew to do that. My conversational inclination lies fallow, except for when I'm with the crowd from NY.

7. Israeli Soldiers: When I was on USY Poland/Israel Pilgrimage, in 1999, Israeli soldiers were THE hotties. Everyone wanted to hook up with a soldier, and why not, if they were maybe a year or two older than us? Now that I'm 25, I see these soldiers and think, "Oh, s/he's just a child!" These tiny little kids are defending this tiny little country. It's really quite unbelievable. This child-soldier was napping, cradling his machine gun like a baby sleeps with a teddy bear, while waiting for his bus in the Jerusalem Central Bus Station, just before we went off to the Dead Sea.


That's all for now. I'm sure I'll do something exciting soon. For now, just my little ramblings.