Oy, how time passes by.....

  Jerusalem, Israel
Thursday, December 27, 2007

November 13-15

You will all be happy to know that Evette & I are both fully recuperated & are in good health. 

Rascal has been such a gift.  He really was put on this earth to be our dog.  He is so well behaved (most of the time) & very smart.  The vet told us we were misinformed about his age.  We thought he was going to be 6 months old in December, but he will only be 5 months.  Seeing that he is totally house-trained now, I think that is pretty remarkable.  He's pretty popular with the girl dogs in the neighborhood.  OK, also with the boy dogs, but hey, what can you do.  He does have a girlfriend, Dee-Dee.  They play every morning in the park & a few times a week, he invites her for an evening play date.  He thinks she is really cool because Dee-Dee also has 2 mommies! 
 
The weather is really weird.  It is now winter.  In the morning, I wear pants & a long sleeved shirt & a jacket to school.  By 12:30, I'm dying & I come home & put on shorts & a tee shirt.  An hour later, I'm putting on my sweats & then shorts again.  Then, out of nowhere, it thunder & lightning's & rains & rains!   Hmmm...maybe the constant changing of clothes is NOT just about inconsistent climate??
 
November 16
 
Today, we went with Evette's RRC classmates on a walking tour of Tel Aviv, with focus on Art & architecture.  And yes, this time the tour was in English.  We all met in Tel Aviv at 9am at the Cameri: Israel's Theater of Social Responsibility.  The Cameri was established over 60 years ago and was Israel's first Hebrew language repertory Theater.  It is the largest theater center in Israel.  The extraordinary 11,000 square-meter Centre is funded by Israel's National Lottery, and the Municipality of Tel Aviv. There are three theatre halls--a 950-seat Auditorium, a 450-seat Hall, and a 200-seat "black box"; a Cafe-Teatron, situated in a multi-purpose foyer, to be used for theatrical and literary cabarets; rehearsal halls; dressing rooms; workshops and storage facilities; and administrative offices.

The Cameri has initiated and runs, diverse theatrical performances and experiences, aimed at promoting peace and co-existence--between Jews and Arabs in Israel, through diverse theatrical programs, it has brought to the fore, issues pertaining to war and peace and their impact on Israeli society; rendered its plays accessible to Arabic speakers, through simultaneous translation and theatrical productions in Israeli Arab towns and villages; exposed Israeli Jewish audiences to Arabic plays in Hebrew translation, and much much more. The Cameri has been particularly heartened by the immensely positive response to its Peace Experience Project, which brings Jewish & Arab Israelis, to the Cameri, for a shared theatrical experience that seeks to identify commonalities, rather than to emphasize differences which separate and alienate Jews and Arabs from one another.
 
We toured around a neighborhood called Neve Tzedek.  According to www.gemsinisrael.com, Neve Zedek, which means Oasis of Justice in Hebrew was the first neighborhood built outside of Jaffa's walls. The city of Tel Aviv evolved from this new venture. The man behind the construction of the new neighborhood and the undisputed leader of new community, some even referred to him as a Jewish sheik, was Shimon Rokach.

Born in Jerusalem, he was sent to Jaffa, in 1884, by his father, who had obtained the rights to collect tolls on the Jerusalem-Jaffa road from the Turks. His task was to oversee the Jaffa end of the operation.

Rokach was an illustrious public servant, who was active in many different areas. He was one of the first to organize the planting of orange groves in the Sharon and to devise a marketing system for the citrus fruit, which included exports to Europe. He also bought the land that later became Tel Aviv's first cemetery (known as the Trumpeldor cemetery), where many of the city's founding fathers are buried. Shimon and Rachel Rokach had five children. Their son Israel served as deputy mayor of Tel Aviv under Meir Dizengoff and later was himself the mayor.

An Austrian architect designed the Rokach House, which people came from afar to see, because of its unique dome. The house, which was built in 1887, was one of the first ten houses in Neve Zedek. Today it is an acknowledged historic site and museum. But it wasn't always that way.

Over the years as the city of Tel Aviv developed, Neve Zedek saw a downward decline. The house was abandoned for about 30 years and was in terrible disrepair.  It's hard to believe, but this historic house was actually slated for demolition. Lea Majaro-Mintz, Rokach's granddaughter, who is an artist, undertook a legal battle that lead to the private restoration of the house.

Today the Rokach House operates as a private museum that features Majaro-Mintz's works and also serves as a venue for unique cultural events.

We also walked through the lovely courtyard of the Suzanne Dellal Center, the most important dance establishment in Israel.  The gardens & surrounding were really beautiful, as you can see in the photos.  This is Tel Aviv's first movie theatre the 'Eden'. This theatre was opened by Tel Aviv first mayor, Meir Dizengoff, in 1913. It held up to 1100 people in an open air theatre. Today it is a storage area for one of Israel's leading banks.

We ended our tour at the Paddle-ball Museum.  Paddle-ball is a favorite Israeli pastime.  There were hundreds of paddle ball paddles in all shapes, sizes & materials.  There was glass, stone, marble...just to name a few.  There was a 7.5 foot paddle especially made by a carpenter with a monstrous matching ball.  We met Amnon Nissim, one of the 2 founders.  He has been playing competitively since he was a child.  The museum is located inside his house.  It is not a public museum so you need to be invited to visit.  We were among the lucky few. 

It was a very enjoyable day.  I find the eclectic architecture in Tel Aviv very interesting.  You can walk down a street & see not only so many different styles, but one house that looks like if you blow on it, it will be reduced to rubble & the next is beautiful & much more modern. 

November 22, 2007

Happy Turkey Day!!  I cooked all the fixings for our friend from Canada.  It is not possible to buy a whole turkey here.  I looked everywhere.  Of course, I don't know what I was thinking?  We don't have a real oven & we only have a 2-burner stove-top.  How could I have cooked a turkey in a toaster oven?  So I decided not to cook any meat, just the fixin's.  That's the best part anyway, right? I made my sweet potato casserole with real cream, the stuffing & mashed potatoes with lots of butter...Mmmm!  I also made my sugar-free apple pie, but without the crust because our friend cannot eat gluten.  It came out great!! It was a lot of work in our tiny kitchen with just a toaster oven, but you know how I enjoy cooking!

 December 4-18, 2007

Hanukkah was OK.  We were both off from school, but we couldn't really do anything because Rascal got hurt.  Evette took him for his daily play date with his friends in the park & he stepped on glass.  He sliced his paw open in 2 directions.  She brought him home & the blood was pouring out.  So I thought, hmmm, I should clean it with peroxide.  OOOWEEE!  I was unaware that dogs could scream, but they apparently can. We called the vet & he told us to bring him immediately there.  Now, mind you, it is about 7am, we do not have a car, the vet is about 2 miles away & Rascal's paw is sliced open. So, we wrap him up all swaddled in a towel & bribe a taxi driver more than twice what it would really cost to drive us there.  Our poor little guy had to be totally sedated & had 6 sutures put in his little paw.  We were able to bring him home later that afternoon.  He was pretty out of it; he could not really walk or stand up for 2 days because he was so drugged up.  He was pretty scared.  We couldn't leave him alone for a few days.  Oh yeah, & he has a huge cone on his head so he can't chew the stitches.  He keeps knocking into things & can't figure out why he can't fit in his usual places & he can't even scratch his ears or face, so when he tries, he is really scratching the plastic.  We try to help him out & scratch him when we see him trying.  He is, however, on his own when it comes to other areas he cannot access! 

So, the Rascal saga continues...this segment written by Evette:

Well our little Rascal is going to the Vet on the 14th to get his stitches taken out.  How the Vet plans to accomplish that without sedating him into unconsciousness is a wonder to me.  It took Shari and I almost 2½ days just to get the outer bandage off of him (Vet told us it was very important to take off the outer bandage after 4 days, apparently the first stage of healing). 

We could not get near that boy's paw.  We tried everything.  Laid him down on his side and I held his legs while Shari tried to cut.  NO way, he kept flailing.  You'd think he would want the darned thing OFF of him.  We tried reasoning with him to no avail.  Then I tried wrapping him in a sheet, like an Indonesian Sari, trying to immobilize his legs.  Nope.  Tried the Sari AND then laying him down on his side, and me lying on top of him to keep him from getting up.  We were slightly more successful that way. 

Then we both tried laying on him, me on the back half, and Shari on the front half so she could cut, but ultimately it was more terror to the dog than it was worth.  Shari said, "How many pounds do WE weigh, the two of us big women, and what is he - 20 pounds maybe?  And US, two big women, can't get one tiny bandage off of this little dog?"  We both looked at each other and laughed and laughed!  Ultimately however, we knew we had to persist - our little guy's future mobility rested upon our shoulders.

Then Shari came up with the idea of doing it when he was unconscious of what we were doing.  We had to drug him!  Shari did research on the Internet and found out that Valerian Root is a natural sedative for dogs.  Where were we going to get Valerian Root at 1:00 in the afternoon on a Friday?  Everything was already beginning to close for Shabbat!  We raced to the nature store across from the Shuk.  Success!  We thought all we had to do was give him the dose and wait.  So we gave him the dose and we waited for it to take effect.  And we waited.  He was still "rascalating."  "Should I double it?" Shari asked...I was exhausted.  "Yes!" I called out desperately.  We doubled the dose, and we waited.  He got a little drowsy.  We tried cutting again - IMMEDIATELY he snapped out of it and continued to struggle against us.  We were beside ourselves. 

Then we decided we should just give him a rest, before he was entirely traumatized and mistrusting of his mommies.  Finally he fell sound asleep (he was also exhausted from the events), and Shari leaned over and got in one good snip on the bandage.  But no sooner had the scissors sliced through a precious quarter inch of the bandage; than his eyes sprang open and he began to squirm.  It was clear nothing else was going to happen, but at least we had gotten that quarter inch of cut in.

Shari had one sleepless night that night, and most of the next day, waiting until the poor fellow fell asleep, and then sneaking in to snip a little bit at a time before he realized what was happening.  Each one of them tried to outlast the other and stay awake.  Shari- hoping to get in a few snips before she could fight sleep no longer, and Rascal- trying to fight off his suddenly untrustworthy mommy, coming at him with the sharp pointy object that made funny noises and tugged at his bandage.  Poor little bastard began to sleep with one eye open.
Now Rascal seems to be getting along well, all things considered.  He still manages to "rascalate" despite the cone and the paw.  The biggest challenge for him has been chewing his bone.  He usually holds the bone with his paws, and he can't do that and get it inside his cone.  So I usually wind up holding the bone for him so he can chew it.  Is that dedication or what?

So, back to Hanukkah.  Hanukkah, the "Festival of Lights," starts on the 25th day of the Jewish calendar month of Kislev and lasts for eight days and nights. This year Hanukkah began at sundown on December 4. With blessings, games, and festive foods, Hanukkah celebrates the triumphs-both religious and military-of ancient Jewish heroes.

The Hanukkah Story
Nearly 2,200 years ago, the Greek-Syrian ruler Antiochis IV tried to force Greek culture upon peoples in his territory. Jews in Judea-now Israel-were forbidden their most important religious practices as well as study of the Torah.   Although vastly outnumbered, religious Jews in the region took up arms to protect their community and their religion. Led by Mattathias the Hasmonean, and later his son Judah the Maccabee, the rebel armies became known as the Maccabees.

After three years of fighting, in about 165 B.C.E., the Maccabees victoriously reclaimed the temple on Jerusalem's Mount Moriah. Next they prepared the temple for re-dedication-in Hebrew, Hanukkah means "dedication." In the temple they found only enough purified oil to kindle the temple light for a single day. But miraculously, the light continued to burn for eight days.

The Menorah
The lighting of the menorah, known in Hebrew as the hanukiya, is the most important Hanukkah tradition. A menorah is a candle-stand with nine branches. Usually eight candles-one for each day of Hanukkah-are of the same height, with a taller one in the middle, the shamash ("servant"), which is used to light the others. Each evening of Hanukkah, one more candle is lit, with a special blessing.

The menorah symbolizes the burning light in the temple, as well as marking the eight days of the Hanukkah festival. Some say it also celebrates the light of freedom won by the Maccabees for the Jewish people.

The Dreidel
Long a favorite Hanukkah toy, the dreidel once had a serious purpose. When the Syrians forbid study of the Torah, Jews who studied in secret kept spinning tops-sivivons, or dreidels-on hand. This way, if they were found studying, they could quickly pretend that they had only been playing.

Outside of Israel, a dreidel has the Hebrew letters "nun," "gimel," "hay," and "shin" on its four sides. These letters stand for "Nes gadol haya sham," which means, "A great miracle happened there," referring to Israel. An Israeli dreidel has the letter "pay" rather than "shin." This stands for "poh," meaning "here"-"a great miracle happened here."

Hanukkah Foods
Many traditional Hanukkah foods are cooked in oil, in remembrance of the oil that burned in the temple. In the United States, the most widespread Hanukkah food is latkes, or potato pancakes, a custom that may have developed in Eastern Europe. In Israel, the favorite Hanukkah food is sufganiya, a kind of jelly donut cooked in oil. Israelis eat sufganiyot for more than a month before the start of Hanukkah.

Eating dairy products, especially cheese, is another Hanukkah tradition. This is done in memory of the Jewish heroine Judith, who according to legend saved her village from Syrian attackers. Judith fed wine and cheese to the Syrian general Holofernes until he became so drunk that he fell to the ground. She then seized his sword and cut off his head, which she brought back to her village in a basket. The next morning, Syrian troops found the headless body of their leader and fled in terror. (The above info from www.infoplease.com)

Rascal is now back to normal, romping & playing as a little puppy should.

So, I know it's been over a month since my last posting.  My intention is to not let more than 2 weeks pass, but between Rascal's incident & other issues that came up, I did not realize so much time had passed. 

Hebrew word of the day: Hofesh = Freedom