Israel 7.4.08

Last night we all went to Ben Yehuda Street. The shops are all open late and there are all kinds of people there. It's very festive. It has the feel of Harvard Square, only the whole street is closed to cars, so it stretches up for several blocks. In the open spaces, hippies had a drum circle, while one hippy piercingly and rhythmically blew his whistle, to the annoyance of everyone else. A harpist and violinist played Pachelbel's Canon, but they had difficulty staying together. A juggler juggled and made jokes. Two brilliant violinists played classical and modern music together. A lone guy with a guitar and harmonica sang and played "Gold Digger."

Tourists and local people wandered in and out of the shops that lined the street, or sat and had cofee in open air cafes. Groups of friends sat on benches, just hanging out talking. It felt very relaxed to wander around on my own. At one point I saw a giant cockroach, which they call chukim here. It ran past a girl's foot and she screamed. A man came out of the store with a straw broom and began to slam it down on the pavement in an attempt to kill the insect. I didn't stay around long enough to see the outcome.

I had a proud moment where I was trying to leave a shop and one of the proprietors was blocking my way. I said, "Slicha!" in the proper Israeli way, trying to sound sort of annoyed and aggressive. I did it so convincingly that the man started, and said, "Beva keshah," in an equally annoyed-sounding way. Then he turned and saw me and smiled sheepishly, and said, "Oh, sorry!" and jumped out of the way. I smiled back and answered, "Todah." Everything about that small interaction was wonderful.

The thing I like about the Israeli people is that, although (or perhaps because) they are so rude and direct, they are honest and you know what they really think. Also, they never seem to take offense if you disagree with them, or are direct right back. I like feeling like I know where I stand with the. They are, as a whole, much kinder and friendlier than I expected.

Today we went first to the Israel Museum, where we saw a scale model of the old city at its peak, around 66 CE, just before the rebellion that led to the destruction of the second Temple. Then we went inside to see the Shrine of the Holy Book, which is where the Dead Sea Scrolls are displayed. The story of how they were found was very interesting. A Bedoin Shepherd found them and sold them to a shoemaker, who sold them to some archaeologists. Then the archaeologists raced against the Bedoins to find more scrolls, becuas when the Bedoins found them they would essentially ransom them, sometimes tearing them into pieces, selling each piece for more money.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a word-for-word copy of the Torah, with only one lamed missing. This was th eoldest version of the Torah found, written around 3000(?)years ago. In the same building was the story of the A_________ Codex, which contains all of the vowels and cantorial markings of the Torah. It had made its way to a synagogue in a Jewish community in Syria. It had been believed to have been destroyed during Syrian anti-Jewish riots after Israeli independence was declared, because the synagogue that had housed it had been burned to the ground. But it ended up that it had been smuggled out shortly before, and it resurfaced in the early 1950s and is now housed in the museum as well.

There were also works of art at the museum, including a painting by Lesser Uri, called Potsdam Square by Night. I loved it, and kept going back to see it again. It was a of a rainy street, and had been stolen during the Holocaust and is part of over 100,000 reclaimed works of art. I was also surprised to see Jewish sarcophogi, which were made in 14-13th century BCE, and are over 3300 years old. They were found south of Gaza City and show Egyptian influence in their crossed arms and the faces on them. Unlike the Egyptians, these were pottery and more freeform, and the bodies inside were not embalmed. They reflected the Jewish idea at the time, that the soul is eternal and, at the time, the belief that the soul would have needs in the afterlife. The bodies were buried with jewelry, food, and bowls. There were 50 of these found.

After the Israel Museum we walked to the Ticho House, which is a gallery and cafe owned by a Rashi family. From there, we walked to the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood to see people getting ready for Shabbat. It was not a welcoming neighborhood, and perhaps the most foreign-feeling place I have ever been. All of the women in our group had to cover up in order to walk through there, and even then we received hostile stares and a few comments. I am happy to report that we were neither stoned nor spit upon, both of which I was worried about. I think that part of it is due to our guide, who seems to have a "Don't Fuck With Me" stamp plastered on his forehead. Although it was a negative experience overall, it was very interesting.

We also visited the Jewish open-air market. It was similar to the open-air market in Acco, although I didn't see any cats. Keith and I wandered around and watched people rushing from stall to stall, buying what they needed to prepare for Shabbat. It was so busy and crowded in most parts that you couldn't stop, and instead had to let the throng of people continue pushing you forward. Keith got some excellent pictures. There are so many wonderful faces in Israel.

We were home early to prepare for Shabbat ourselves. I took a swim in the pool and then showered and dressed carefully for services. We wanted to walk to services, but the Reform synagogue was too far away. The singing at the synagogue was beautiful, and it was a mostly American congregation. However, the service had Orthodox influences. For example, many times there were no page numbers given, and lots of times the prayers were semi-silent and mumble-y. I had to keep reminding myself, "You are sitting here welcoming Shabbat in a synagogue in Jerusalem!"

After dinner we met again with Lotem and some Leo Baeck students who will be living in the US for 4 months and wanted advice. It was terrific to connect with them, and to hear the kinds of questions they had, but we were all happy to fall into bed when we finally bid them goodnight.