Gan Yavneh and Shabbat

My plan was to start this blog right away but with some flight difficulties and Shabbat preparations, I am not getting to this until early Saturday evening. I also realize that I have been conceptualizing this blog as something more formal than the group emails I used to send. I am trying to let go of that and will just write as if this was a personal email.

My flight from DC to Frankfurt was delayed and delayed and I was convinced that I would miss my connection to TLV. The good news is that the TLV flight was also delayed giving me enough time to race through Frankfurt and get to the connection as they were closing the doors. I was glad for all the training I've been doing recently as I'm not sure I could have done this two years ago.

Because of the delays, my friend Sherrie was not able to pick me up (how did we ever live before mobile phones???) and I had to take it a taxi to her home. This turned out to be quite an exciting adventure as I had a taxi driver who spoke very little English. I was STUNNED to realize how much I could understand and convey. I could tell him where I wanted to go and he told me that he new the town but not the exact street and I could then say that it was no problem as I had a phone and we would call Sherrie when we got close. All of this in Hebrew…or Hebrew with some hand signals and assumptions that we understood each other. It was quite exciting. On the way to Sherrie's I also learned where he was from and that he had 3 kids and 3 grandchildren, etc etc. It was no major conversation, but I was having such fun and was so proud of myself.

I finally got to Sherrie's home in Gan Yavneh which is a lovely suburb between Ashdod and Rehovot. She has a really nice home with a lovely garden and it is such a nice place to start my trips. It makes it so much more like visiting with family than coming to a foreign country. Because I was tired, we went out for an "early" dinner at 8:30. I had told several of you that I was only going to take Hebrew menus, but I thought since I was so tired that I'd start tomorrow…only this was a small, local place and they had no English menus. So now I have kept my promise from the very start. I must admit that I am only eating on of the first two or three things on a menu, but I have now been out 3 times and have managed to eat quite well…even ordering decaf cappuccino twice.

Sherrie's son Tal has grown up quite a bit since last I saw him. I am not sure how much is the normal growing of a young man from 18.5 to 20 and how much is that he spent last summer in Lebanon and the last few weeks in Gaza. He is in a special unit, so he cannot talk about much, but he is willing to share what he can. It is very strange to hear him speak about this all. I need to process it a bit more before I can write about it.

Friday we went in to Tel Aviv and met mutual friend Irith Browdy for bruch and shopping in Neve Tzedek. (Note to Toby Rubin – I'll send you a separate report on the Ayela Bar shop.) Apparently, Friday brunch is a thing people do – sort of like Sunday brunch in the US. It is always funny to be in a place that is so focused institutionally on Shabbat. We all took naps in the afternoon as my friend Sherrie and her family are not religious, but they still insist on a family Shabbat dinner and they won't start until it is actually Shabbat. Then they suggested a jazz club for after dinner. Yes, folks, I actually went to a show that started at 11…we didn't even leave the house until 10:15. Yes, I did stay up – not sure how.

Today we went to Castel which is the site of one of the major encounters in '48 in order to secure the convoys to Jerusalem. It's a good walk and a lovely spot. Then to the galleries in Ein Kerem – don't ask my why they are open on Saturday and other things are not. No one can give me an explanation that makes sense, but they all seem to be OK with this. It was a cute town and also nice walking in the sunshine although there really wasn't much to see.

Tonight perhaps a movie (English with Hebrew subtitles) and a visit with Sherrie's daughter who has gotten religious, so she would not come for Shabbat dinner and I would like to see her.

As always, I love being in Israel. I may not agree with the policies of the government, but being here is so rejuvenating for me. It is not home – I'm clearly and American/Californian, but it is a place that is comfortable and gives comfort.

Tomorrow to Jerusalem…more from there.

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L'hit,

Randi