Sorry I have not had any posts lately but we were out for part of a week, then have been busy on vacation with the kids, some interviews, freelance work, and now getting ready for the end of the “Chofesh Hagadol” (large vacation) and the beginning of school.
Just want to start giving all of you a huge thanks for your support and comments on my guest blog post as part of the contest. Thanks to your support I have maintained the 1st place by far (1866 unique visitors) and will hopefully (and probably) get the title.
Not only that but many good things and opportunities have come out from the blog, so regardless of who wins I have already gained a lot.
Now to the blog topic… There are so many things I have been thinking to blog about but so limited time: there are all the things we did during our trip to the north, the continuation of our vacation here in the center, the wonderful world of Israeli banking, the adoption of Tcheli (our new car), ready for “Kita Aleph” (first grade), Israeli’s consumer product and customer service experience, some new Sabra Album pics. and many more. For now I will try to cover some of our vacation experiences and would love to hear your requests for the next topic, please comment.
G’d said to Abraham: "Arise, go through the land, to its length and to its breadth, for to you will I give it" This summer has been a great opportunity for us to do just that. We have such a beautiful country and yet so small. It’s amazing the concentration of beauty and activities one can find here and it’s all less than 2 hours away. A couple of weeks ago we headed north for 3 nights and 4 days and had so many great experiences. Some of the places we visited include Shvil Hatapuzim (the orange path) where the kids enjoyed this small low tech amusement park in the middle of an orange grove with a swimming pool, mini golf, riding cars, boats, etc… we had a great time and then continued our trip north to get in less than an hour to our hotel/inn in Kibbutz Ginosar.
Every day was full of fun. Some other places we visited included:
Luna Gal, Israel’s first water park surely could use some renovations and maybe expansion. The place has a sign in the entrance limiting the occupancy to 3000 visitors, after that the gates are closed. We got there early and there was already an ocean of Israel’s crème de la crème, nevertheless the children had a great time. By the time we left there was a tumultuous people gathering outside the gates screaming at the gate keepers to let them in.
We also visited Kibbutz Ein Gev where we had a succulent lunch but then the fun was just starting as we visited “HaNagaria shel Saba Yosi” (Grandpha Yosi’s wood shop) where the kids were able to paint and ensemble their own wooden toys. After that we rode the mini train that took us through the Kibbutz, its banana fields, animals, etc.
We were all so excited to do our first river tiyul (trip) which for me is the truly Israeli tiyul (we did the Megarse river). It involved walking to a river then walking through the river. It was very nice and the kids enjoyed most of the tiyul. Liora had a funny and scary moment when a meter long fish went through her feet. To be honest and to her credit, the fish was definitely creepy, maybe that’s the reason she screamed the way she did.
Other activities we did included swimming in the Kinneret (sea of Galilee), swimming pool, drumming, bonfire, boat ride through the Kinneret (more on this on the next Sabra Album), and some great fish restaurants.
Visited the Ein Yael living museum where the kids were able to bake Pita bread, make wine with their feet, walk through archeological findings from the roman period, visit a rebuilt ancient roman market street, milked a goat and drank the milk (OK the kids didn’t do it, but I did), made pottery and many other things
Liora started to work last week so I had the entire week to have fun with the kids. And what did we do? We went to the Ramat Gan Safari/Zoo where were we saw a bunch of interesting animals including (and) the Kids TV Start Yuval Hamevulval at his show which for my Mexican readers he is like a cheap version of Chavelo. For a video of the kids enjoying Yuval Hamevulval’s show click here.
We went to Chavaya Vakramim about 15 minutes away from home. There we baked another set of Pitas, made pottery and other arts and crafts, did a 40 minute tour of their many exotic fruit trees and tried some of them, we made tea pouches with all kinds of aromatic herbs the kids gathered. The kids also harvested their own grapes and made our own grape juice with their feet, this time we did get our own bottle, I was able to perform the Ma’aser blessing and mitzvah (Tithe) as well as used it for Kiddush (Wine blessing) twice during Shabbat and then at Havdalah after Shabbat.
We visited Kifzuva which is a small amusement center at Kibbutz Zuva. The kids had lots of fun but I was very stressed because of the amount of people and wild kids running and jumping around the inflatables and games.
The four of us went an afternoon to the Park Hakofim (Monkey Park) and had a blast visiting un-caged monkeys and many other attractions including the bubble pool.
FEEWWWW! I think I deserve a break. I’m glad the kids are going back to School, but I will definitely miss having fun with them. It has all worked out so well. In other (professional) circumstances I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to spend that much time with the kids, help Liora and go through the land’s length and breadth. I’m thankful to G’d for this opportunity and am also thankful for the upcoming opportunities.
I want to give an official welcome to Ariela to Israel and wish her a great year. We are glad to see you here. I'm waiting to hear from the next confirmed family visit to set up the clock again.
The blog post talks about my Job Interview experience in Israel and has received rave reviews. And now…. back to our regular programming…..
Destruction
A couple of weeks ago I blogged about Commemorating Rosh Hodesh Av 5769 and how the first days of Av are of great sadness (technically it’s actually 3 weeks before) getting us to the 9th of Av (last week) which among many other things marks the destruction of the two Batei Mikdash (Holy Temples) and is remembered with a 25 hour fast. This year about 3 hours away from breaking the fast I decided to visit the Kotel (Western Wall) to pray right next to where it happened on 586 BCE and again on 70 CE. Why? Because I live here and I can do it whenever I want! It was an unbelievable experience to be among thousands of people praying and in lamentation. It was also an unforgettable experience to see thousands of people breaking their 25 hour fast at the same time. I thank Liora for preparing a cheese sandwich for me to take with me that every time I would open my bag I would get the smell of fresh baked bread waiting for the clock to turn to 8:05pm. After sundown there was a big bus giving away cold drinks and pastry, however I was not brave enough to get one for myself, I just sticked to my sammich (as they say in Pittsburgh). It is amazing to see how Jerusalem has been rebuilt, alive and full of light. It’s happening! May we witness the reconstruction of the 3rd temple speedily and in our days. Enjoy some of the pictures by the wall and the breaking of the fast.
Yesterday we celebrated Tu b’Av (15th of Av), which marks a "high" to counter the "low" of the Three Weeks leading up to Tisha B'Av. In today’s Israel it has become the Day of Love and a chance for stores and manufacturers to capitalize on selling flowers, chocolates and gifts. During the day and taking advantage of Liora’s day off we went to the City of David’s archeological park where David established the city of Jerusalem aprox. 1000 BCE. It was an amazing experience to see the guide using a Bible to walk us through all of the discoveries, the tour also included going through the tunnels that King’s Yechizkiyahu built to channel the water in defense from the Assyrian threat. We had a great Day of Love, take a look at the pictures below.
Peace & Love – From Woodstock (‘69) to Jerusalem (‘09) 40 years wondering in the dessert, 40 days waiting to receive the Torah by mount Sinai, 40 days of the flood, many times the number 40 figures in our history. This summer it’s actually 40 years of the Woodstock Festival and what better way to celebrate it with the spirit of Peace and Love (love from 15 of Av) than by going to a Woodstock Revival in the holy city of Jerusalem. By the way on August 8 it will be 40 years since the shooting of the picture for The Beatles Abbey Road Album.
I went with my good friend Ari and had a great time and a very unusual experience. The crowd was mostly American, there were babies, children, adults and older people just like in the real Woodstock but on a much much much smaller scale, there were probably a couple of thousand people. You can read about the event HERE. The lineup included some apparently famous guys that interpreted songs from Crosby, Steels & Nash, Hendrix, Neil Yong and The Doors (although they did not attend to the original Woodstock). If I heard right one of the performers did play in Woodstock.
Our sages explain that the temple was destroyed because of hatred among the Jewish people, that night showed a beautiful state of love among so many different kind of Jews (OK, they were mostly American but nevertheless from different religious denominations). The performers were excellent and most probably not under the influence (?) like 40 years ago. I was amazed particularly by one of the groups headed by Lazer Lloyd who has a long beard, black hat, hanging tzitsit. They did Hendrix in an unbelievable way. You can watch one of his videos HERE (for Hendrix lovers only). One of the songs he performed was imitating Hendrix legendary Star Spangled Banner however he did the Hatikva (Israel’s national anthem) instead and was beautifully played, I recorded part of it but the sound quality is not too good (it was too loud) and apparently I was not meant to record it all because the battery died in the middle. Enjoy (I apologize for the sound quality) .
There was time for Mincha prayer (afternoon prayer) in a corner and Lazer Loyd even gave a quick Dvar Torah (short sermon) about Tu B’Av in between songs. For an interview he said "It's not just a concert; it's like being at Mount Sinai all over again". I love this country! The atmosphere was beautiful, full moon, and the night was cooling down. I felt once again part of “the people” just like I did and described on the blog Paul in Tel Aviv. By the way I missed you at this concert Dani and hope you did well on your exam. Enjoy with me the memories of this wonderful Peace & Love experience with some pictures of the event below.
Note that the original post name was "My Big Fat Israeli Job Interview", however it was changed to 5 Israeli Job Search Survival Tips so that readers can understand exactly what the blog post is about.
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