A day at the Kinneret

I recently enjoyed a wonderful day at the Kinneret  - my go to spot for true relaxation of the mind and body - with a good friend. It was just what we needed, an opportunity to completely unwind (or maybe 95% for my responsible friend who directs a school and occasionally had to put out fires from her seat by the beach). We went to a beach I've been at several times in the last couple years and enjoy, Hukok Beach, at the northern end of the Kinneret.
The weather (at the end of October!) was perfect, the beach relatively empty, and the water amazingly clear - when we went in to the water we could clearly see the fish swimming around us - and there were a lot of them. We could also clearly see the stones at the bottom of the lake, even when sitting on the beach.

 

We also saw fish jumping out of the water and got to enjoy birds from up close.

 

We topped the day off by treating ourselves to dinner at a nice Chinese restaurant in Tiberius that I discovered on a previous trip. It was a wonderful and much needed mini vacation.

I need to do something like this more often and am hoping to get in one more day at the Kinneret
before winter really sets in.

Murphy continues to strike

The saga continued. I set two alarm clocks so I'd get up early to get into town, get some cash, replace my Rav Kav (Israeli rechargeable transportation card), and get to the embassy on time. I slept through the alarms (which I never do) and woke up two and a a half hours later. I got out of the house in 20 minutes, much later than planned. After getting into my car I stopped a few houses down to check I had everything - and someone rear ended me. I was in shock continued on a little and pulled over. The person who hit me, stopped next to my car, asked me if I wanted to tell them something, and when I asked if they knew what happened they said they hadn't seen, apparently I'd been behind them. All very odd, but I was still in shock. And they drove off leaving me in shock and with a car I couldn't drive far as my back bumper was pushed into one of my tires. The denial made me feel like I was going crazy, and left me feeling off and confused the whole day, not to mention that I figured I'd be out of pocket for the repairs.

I somehow made it to Jerusalem where a dear and amazing friend met me, drove me to the embassy, waited around for a couple hours, took me to replace my Rav Kav, and drove me to work - she was literally a life saver today. When I got to work my head was still spinning. I did manage to get some work done after sharing my saga - and luckily there wasn't anything urgent or difficult today.

This evening I finally spoke with the person who hit me and they said they were in shock too at the time, and because of that denied it - and they have now taken responsibility for it. So I no longer need to question my sanity or mental state (or at least no more than usual), a definite relief. 

Finally taking a deep breath.

Forget Balfour - revoke Murphy's Law

Forget the demand to revoke Balfour's "Promise" - the time has come to revoke Murphy's Law.
In the last few days I've experienced several coincidences at the most inconvenient time -  so ridiculously many that they've inspired me to finally blog after a long absence.
Tomorrow morning I have an appointment at the US embassy in Jerusalem to apply for a new passport - making it the first day in weeks that time is of the essence in the morning (my work has flexible hours). So of course, this Sunday afternoon my rav kav (a magnetic chargeable card for Israeli public transportation) died. And I haven't been in town since to replace it. Tonight I went to a service center in Ariel to get a new card - but after finding the center (at a different address than noted on any website, including a government website), I discovered that this week the center is closing at 4 p.m. daily rather than 9 p.m. - a change that was of course not noted on any of the websites. So still no card - and while our service might be backwards, our transportation system is actually very high tech and without a card I will not be able to get on any bus. I will be able to buy a 1 trip paper ticket (lacking the usual transfer)  for the light rail at one of its stations - if I can reach one, but the light rail doesn't go everywhere like the buses do, and certainly nowhere near the US embassy. So I need to get the card before my appointment in order to reach it.
Although I don't usually drive to Jerusalem due to the high cost of gas here, I figured why not drive - and then I saw that there's a notice on the US embassy website that the embassy parking lot will no longer be open to the public as of Nov. 6 - just 2 days before my appointment! - and I am unfamiliar with it's location and have no idea if there's parking nearby.
And the cherry on the cake and crowning coincidence: last night I was at our monthly book club meeting and we discussed how the many circumstances in the book we'd just read made it a bit implausible. My coincidences, including this one, have not been on quite the same scale - no reunion of long lost relatives or lions and tigers and bears [Oh my!] to conveniently put an end to a bad situation. However, the list is so long, and the timing so precisely the worst, as to be absurd - and implausible if it was fiction. If only it was!
And the saga continued: Murphy strikes again

Being a parent - a never-ending job

Does your responsibility as a parent ever end? I have two daughters, both happily married and mothers of 4 - and they are wonderful mothers and wives. However, they remain my daughters, and that will never change. I love them, I trust them... and I worry - as all parents do. I am very lucky in that my daughters are truly wonderful and comprehend that I need to worry sometimes, and comment sometimes  - and understand that it does not indicate that I don't love or trust them, but rather only indicates how much I care.

Israel the miraculous

Israel is am amazing country. Israelis work, go out in their free time, and spend time with their families - all the usual. And this is done while surrounded by  - and harboring in their midst - enemies who would like to wipe us out, as I see daily in my work at PMW, where we monitor the hatred and incitement to hatred and terror as reflected in the Palestinian media, which clearly expresses it's hatred for Israelis and desire to completely take over ALL of Israel and turn it into Palestine,  a state which would of course tolerate no Jewish presence - unlike Israel that is a democratic state with equal opportunity for all citizens. For examples of this one has only to look at the composition of its parliament, which includes Druze and Arab members, and the student bodies of its various universities, and to look at the streets and see the variety of people, all of whom seem comfortable and secure walking Israeli streets.

How? I am here and doing it too for more than 30 years, and it still seems illogical when I think about it. A large part of this is of course faith in G-d.  But bad things can happen, even to the faithful; and many Israelis do not consider themselves religious. And yet we continue and thrive. One could say we do so in the face of adversity, choosing to soldier on. But it does not feel that way. Life feels pretty normal. We do of course work hard to protect ourselves, most people serving in the army or doing some form of community service for a few years after high school. And yet there is not a sense of being constantly under siege or in danger - which seems absurd when our existence and continued survival seems like a miracle if you stop to think about it. I think the feeling of family, not only among actual family, but among Israelis in general plays a large part in this. Everyone is there for you and cares about you (and therefore feels free to comment and give advice); we feel very much like one large extended family. And beyond that, Israel is truly a miracle and a miraculous place -as seen by the very fact of its existence today and the return to it of people scattered throughout the world, people who come despite the difficulties, despite the tenuous situation, coming because it is home,  regardless of whether they have ever personally stepped foot on its soil, our only real home.

Can one sleep blog?

Just a couple nights ago a friend and I were discussing how there are a variety of things people do in their sleep - parasomnias - such as sleep walking, talking, eating, and driving, to name a few.

And now I came to my blog page to try and come up with a new post - and lo and behold I discovered a new post that I don't remember writing - not long, but coherently written and succinct: a title, subtitle, and one line, posted last night shortly before I went to sleep around midnight. In my defense I was indeed exhausted...

Life can really suck

What is the toelet (benefit/purpose) of suffering?

Life really sucks sometimes and good people are made to suffer. Why? 

To have or not to have hopes and expectations

Written with love, sorrow, and hope...

People need hope in order to live, or at least to lead fairly happy lives, otherwise life can seem futile. However expectations are different - crossing the line from wishing for something to happen to believing it should and/or will happen. And that can be dangerous  - when expectations are not met it can lead to strong feelings of frustration, and sometimes to feelings of devastation or despair.

But there is often a fine line between the two, such as when it appears something you have long hoped for is going to actually occur. As it seems to draw closer to reality, one begins to believe it will actually become reality, one begins to expect it will happen. Can one and should one try to prevent those expectations from developing? Is that even humanly possible beyond a certain point? Yet that is when expectations are most dangerous - as one draws nearer to an event they hope for and which it begins to seem realistically might happen, if something happens and it does not actualize, the pain and devastation are so much the greater for having allowed oneself to begin to have expectations. By doing so one has opened oneself to the risk of great pain. And yet can or should that be avoided? Is it even possible to achieve great gain without opening oneself to great risk? Hope and even expectations seem necessary - but they are not for the cowardly.

If and when one's expectations regarding something important in which they are emotionally invested are dashed, how does one who has suffered such devastation overcome it and move on? How can they allow themselves to have hope and try again, to open themselves to risk again? How can they not? Great courage is required to move on in whatever direction they choose.

Do you like to be in the spotlight?

Do you like to be in the spotlight? There are people that seem to enjoy it and others - like me - who it makes very uncomfortable. I still vividly remember the Bat Mitzva of one of my daughters that we celebrated in the US. She and I both gave speeches at the celebration. My daughter, who does not particularly like English and does not feel comfortable speaking it, spoke beautifully - slowly and clearly. And then I, a native English speaker, spoke. And I raced through my speech, which as a result was probably largely unintelligible. I couldn't help myself - I felt very uncomfortable and nervous being in the spotlight and in front of a group.
I thought of this today when we had visitors to Palestinian Media Watch, including the father of Taylor Force, an American victim of Palestinian terror in whose name a law was recently passed in the US to greatly reduce any aid to the Palestinian Authority as long as they continue to pay for terror. (And on July 2, 2018, the Israeli Parliament passed a law to deduct the amount of money paid to terrorists and their families from the tax money that Israel collects for the PA and transfers to them - the reason for their present visit to Israel.) Before the visit, the director of PMW went around the office asking people to talk about different items from the PA media that we had translated, specifying the items we should mention. And he asked me to speak about a specific item. So I was actually reviewing in my head what I would say in the hopes of feeling more comfortable. In the end he skipped over me - apparently feeling the guests had heard enough. And funnily enough, I was slightly disappointed (Hopefully that indicates some improvement, a reduction of my nervousness!) - but only slightly.

Bar Mitzva gift

Seforim (books) or something less "spiritual?" Many people give Bar Mitzva gifts that are spiritual in nature such as religious books. But in line with the concept of becoming a man, I think there are other things that are also appropriate - such as a good multi tool, which is practical and helps its owner take care of things around the house, while hiking or camping, etc. - in short a practical gift that can help a young man successfully deal with his surroundings and whatever may come up (and which is fun). In Judaism, the Torah is a comprehensive system, dealing with both spiritual matters and everyday life. And I think that therefore when a boy reaches the age of Bar Mitzva, he needs to be given tools to deal with both the spiritual world and everyday life, including exploring our land and dealing with whatever may arise in his home and around him.

Shabbat alone

Living alone can make Shabbat a challenge. A Shabbat seudah just doesn't feel the same when alone - I consider good company and conversation to be an integral of the experience. I often join friends for a meal and sometimes I invite one of my daughters and their family for Shabbat - or spend it with them, but it's a little challenging, requiring coordination as none of us have more than two bedrooms in our homes and they both have large families already. Or I invite friends over for a meal. But there are weeks when I am exhausted and feel like committing to specific times and getting fully dressed would just be too much. And it is relaxing to just chill. But it is somewhat lacking in Shabbat atmosphere, to put it mildly.

Alternate Realities

The world we live in seems to made up of many alternate realities - people's perceptions of reality vary greatly, to the extent that they perceive the world in completely different ways. What one might consider "unrealistic" can be the reality in which another person lives.

Each person, by how they choose to perceive their surroundings and circumstances (much of which are the result of their own choices), chooses and creates their version of reality.

According to Judaism, we are partners in the world's creation. After the creation of the world, it is written that G-d completed the heaven and earth and rested on Shabbat from all of the work he created to do:

"(1) Now the heavens and the earth were completed and all their host. (2) And G-d completed on the seventh day His work that He did, and He abstained on the seventh day from all His work that He did. (3) And G-d blessed the seventh day and He hallowed it, for thereon He abstained from all His work that God created to do." (Breishit 2:1-3) 

The creation of the heaven and earth was completed, but it then says that God rested from his work, not that he stopped or finished, which seems to indicate resuming it after the Shabbat, indicating ongoing creation on G'd's part. And we in our actions are partners in that ongoing creation, by having children, by refining and protecting the word around us and ourselves - and I would say also by our perception and beliefs which direct our actions, through which we create our realities, and through which various cultures create their realities. What world and what reality do we want to create - and what do we actually create? 

What a week!

I had a very full week, the fullest since my family visited last summer: on top of working  4 out of 5 days, I had 3 evening events - including a wonderful performance by stand-up-comedian Chana Cohen Eloro, spent a day at the Kinneret, and following the third event, a Bar Mitzva, went into Jerusalem to go to the Light Festival in the Old City with friends.

The day at the Kinneret was great, we were a group of women ranging from 1 to mid 60's  - me, two friends, the baby of one of them, and my 6-year-old granddaughter - and all greatly enjoyed the beach  (Chokok - חוקוק) and each other's company. We capped the day off with dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Tiberius, a new discovery with good reviews that exceeded our expectations, checking off every box - good food, good service, pleasant atmosphere, and very reasonable prices - Sin Chan (סין צ'אן). My only regret for that day is that I forgot to take any pictures ;-(

Last night, the final day of the marathon, included a co-worker's son's Bar Mitzva - very nice event, and as expected he gave a great speech with his own uniques perspective, throwing in a twist: how to learn the importance of this period in life - following the Bar Mitzva and before becoming fully independent - from the case of the rebellious son. And he also managed to sneak a twist into his son's speech that had us laughing. I then went into Jerusalem and spent a couple hours walking around and through the Old City, seeing light shows and hearing music - and considering the long day, and long week, I was quite pleased  I only began to run out of steam after 11:00 p.m. On the way out of the Old City we came across a couple interesting sites, a section of a Roman road, and an arch that served as an entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre - the arch was blocked off at some point and another arch was built overlaying part of it:

And now I'm off to go swimming. Shabbat shalom!

A wonderful day at the Kinneret

Had a great day at the Kinneret - one of my favorite places. I went with a lovely group of women, ranging from 1 to mid 60s: 2 friends, the baby daughter of one of them, and my 6-year-old granddaughter, and we greatly enjoyed each other's company. We found a nice beach and spent most of the time in the water, and then ended the day at a Chinese restaurant in Tiberius, Sin Chan (סין צ'או), that  was great and ticked off every single box - good food, good service, pleasant atmosphere, and very reasonable prices. I had seen good reviews for it, and it exceeded my expectations.

Cool, high, or typical American?

When I approached the cashier a few nights ago at our local grocery store, a friend of his was standing next to him puzzling over something. The cashier saw me and immediately said "She knows what it is." After he said that, I of course had to take a look and see what it was - and it was an empty package of pure natural papers for rolling... whatever your heart desires - and it was clear what the cashier's heart leaned towards to. So - A. Can I take it as a compliment that a young hip guy who was clearly into "the keta," as we say in Hebrew, thought I was also into it; or did he think I was into it because he thought I looked like a hippie and/or high; or does he think that all Americans are into it?
And B. Did I manage to retain any slight street cred possibly credited to me when I said I wasn't really into it (primarily because on the occasions I have partaken I haven't really noticed any effect - but I didn't get into that), but did immediately recognize it for what it was and was cool about it?

Changes

This Thursday will be my last day at JDC where I've worked three years, and on Sunday I'll be starting a new job, as a translator for PMW. 

I'm very excited about the new job, both about my position as a translator, and about the company I'll be working for, and I'm looking forward to it.  But as with all changes, it isn't simple. I'll miss the people I've worked with over the last three years at JDC.   And there is no way for me to know for sure how the new job will be until I start. As with all changes, it's a leap into the  unknown, a leap of faith. I think and hope it will be good, but time will tell. 

New and Exciting Job

In a week and a half I'll be starting a new job as a translator and I'm very excited about it. For years I've translated freelance, and often as part of my job. But I never defined myself as a translator, despite the fact that I am really good at it.

I know I am good at translating, and that I have excellent language skills. However in my present position I finally gained the confidence in my skills to fully own them, and to recognize myself as a translator - after all, I needed to recognize myself as a translator before I could expect anyone else to recognize me as such.

In my  position at JDC, I worked for an amazing man, Ralph Goldman. He was a man of vision and a man of action, and played a major part in the building of Israel, and in the guiding of JDC, an organization which helps Jews throughout the world, and works to strengthen all populations in Israel.

I learned many important things from Ralph while working for him. And in addition, I gained confidence in my skills, greatly encouraged by his appreciation. He was not a person to express appreciation or give compliments lightly. When he expressed appreciation of something, you knew he truly meant it.  He had a wonderful command of both English and Hebrew, and was very precise in the words he chose in all of his communication and writing .  Therefore his appreciation of my language and writing skills in both Hebrew and English meant a lot to me, and gave me more confidence in my skills, to the extent that when I saw an ad for a position as a translator, with stated requirement of at least a B.A., I had the confidence to apply despite not having a degree, writing to them that despite not meeting this requirement, I have all the skills they are looking for, and asking they give me a chance. They did, and I got the job.

Thank you Ralph.

Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha'Atzmaut As an Olah

Yom HaZikaron is one of the days that really reminds me I'm an olah, and not a native Israeli. I mourn with the rest of the country for our fallen, but unlike most Israelis, no members of my immediate family have served in the army, and no members of my family fell in service. My girls did National Service, and they have some "war stories" (bullet passing over head as riding bus, living under bombardment of bombs, getting caught outside at night during bomb siren and walking into nearest house - which happened to be Arab, etc.) but it's not the same.

This goes for Yom Ha'Atzmaut too, the other side of the coin. Without the personal connection to the army, I don't think my connection is quite as deep, It's getting there, deepening as the years go on - but the army connection is so integral to the full Israeli experience, to being a full, responsible member of the family.

Perhaps when my grandchildren go into the army I'll finally really feel fully Israeli, feel the full depth personally.

It's all in the attitude.

Today I was stuck in a serious traffic jam on the way to work - commute took nearly two hours longer than usual. A few minutes after getting off I saw a young neighbor of mine and asked him if he was on the same bus. He said yes and then, with a big smile, added "It was cool seeing how long it could take!"

Six!

Seems only yesterday my daughters got married (within three months of each other), and here I am grandmother to six.  A great pleasure, and very surrealistic.

I was sitting a few days ago with my eldest grandchild, playing with playdough, and demonstrated a pinch pot and tried to teach him how to make a coil pot.  Doesn't seem so long ago that I learned how to make those myself in my first pottery classes at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester. Time passes very quickly! 

We also played with blocks, building a large structure under his direction, a creative structure - but we'll need to work on his architectural concepts as I couldn't convince him of the necessity of doors to pass from room to room - he thought we could jump over walls to get from room to room. His father and I questioned the practicality of that, especially for his mother when carrying a baby, but he assured us it would be fine. And I had to admit, it could be fun... perhaps trampolines in some spots to help us jump the walls, ropes for other walls...