Sabra Album – Baywatch edition

Continuing to post pictures that talk about how Israel is such a special and interesting place. These pictures are so unique to Israel that they are part of the popular “Sabra Album” (Click here for definition of Sabra).

For previous versions of the Sabra Album click on: Take 1 , Take 2 ,Take 3, Take 4, Take 5, Take 6 – Marketing Edition, Take 7, 9th of Av Edition and Machane Yehuda Edition.

Going to the beach in Israel is as fun as any other beaches but in addition it is a great and unique cultural experience.

Something unique about Israeli beaches are its lifeguards. They come as sabras as it can get. Their job is to safeguard the physical and moral integrity of all of us, beach visitors. However what is unique about them is their style and approach that is an art as much as it is a science.

Hearing their sweet voices through their megaphone harmonize with the sound of the sea as they approach to visitors saying for example:

(authors of these poems will have to excuse my loose translation)

“KID, HEY, KID WITH THE RED SHORTS, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? WHERE IS YOUR MOTHER? GO TO YOUR MOTHER RIGHT NOW AND ASK HER WHAT YOU ARE DOING ALONE”

“LADY WITH THE WHITE HAT, HOW MANY TIMES DO I NEED TO TELL YOU TO LEAVE THAT FLAG ALONE?! DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I’M SAYING?”

“HEY, YES YOU! GET CLOSER TO THE SHORE! DO YOU WANT ME TO COME DOWN AND GET YOU?”

Beautiful, isn’t it?

Below a photo of what their booth looks like. Look close at the picture. The red flag on top indicates it’s dangerous to swim. And now look closely to the things hanging outside.

From 9 Av + Aug 2010

From 9 Av + Aug 2010

The shorts read “Lifeguard”, it indicates that the lifeguard is inside the booth, and you don’t want him to come down and get you. :)

And below a couple of pictures from typical Israelis spending some good time at the beach.

From 9 Av + Aug 2010

From 9 Av + Aug 2010

Oh, yeah, Happy thanksgiving!

By the way, you can click on the Facebook like on top of the post if you enjoyed the post.

Shlomo Artzi – the Israeli Springsteen

Following my passion for music and in continuation to my concert reviews I wanted to share with you a great concert experience I had some months ago.

Rajel was so kind to invite us to a great concert right in Jerusalem’s gan saker. We went to see Shlomo Artzi.

Shlomo Artzi is kind of an Israeli version of Bruce Springsteen. In fact I did some research and they were both actually born in 1949 a couple of months apart and they both have 3 children. In terms of albums sold they stand 1.5 million vs. 185 million (guess who’s got what?), OK they are not really comparable, but somehow they have many similarities. They both have very poetic lyrics, both are loved by the mass and have had a very long musical career.

I have been listening to Shlomo for a very long time. I might owe him a lot for my Hebrew as much as I owe the Beatles for my English (although I think the Beatles did a better job).

More than two years ago we had tickets to see Shlomo and that same day I had a fever. I guess it was from excitement :), so it had to wait for two years to see him.

The concert was in an open park, we brought our picnic carpet which helped us keep a “private” area as well as some snacks. The concert started and it was very exciting to see Shlomo. He is a very good showman and artist, however he is definitely not at the peak of his career.

Shlomo makes very interesting arrangements to his well known songs that make his old songs once again modern, however many times during the concert he started to recite instead of singing, again and again and again. It’s clear that his voice is not what it was, and quite possible that there was some alcohol influencing his performance as well (but not confirmed).

All in all it was a great night and a great concert. Below some photos an a very short video of the concert.

 

 

The story does not end there. A couple of weeks ago we went to a great musical play.

It was called לילה לא שקט (Restless Night) and just like Mamma Mia is to Abba, “Restless Night” is to Shlomo Artzi. It was a very entertaining play and put together very nicely at the Cameri theater in Tel-Aviv, all based and inspired by Shlomo Artzi’s songs.

The singing was much better and powerful than the concert. The story was not a big deal (just like it was not a big deal in Mamma Mia), but it was funny, well performed and a good restless night.

Apparently there were a couple of famous actors, however we are still not familiar with all the Israeli celebs., nevertheless we did recognize the girl from Kochav Nolad (Israeli version of American Idol). If they would have sold a CD of the show I would have bought it, I guess I will have to wait to see if it gets to Broadway to buy the CD.

If you want to read more about concert experiences don’t miss:

The historical Paul McCartney in Tel-Aviv concert

The Woodstock Revival in Jerusalem

A Night at the Party – Mashina Unplugged !

D's Salve a la Reina en Mexico

Zvika Pick at Israel’s 62 Celebration

From Toyota to Alan Parsons Project

And by the way, the rumors and news of U2 and Coldplay in Israel for Summer of 2010… well… I guess they are not coming anymore even though the weather still feels like summer.

I hope to soon attend more concerts to share with you.

It’s back, and it's better than ever!

Hi loyal readers.
By now I might have lost most of you, but I want to announce that the blog is back and better than ever. With sooooo many things to write that have been going on for the last couple of months. (I don’t promise on updates as you were used to, sorry I cannot keep the pace).
I don’t even know where to start: The greatest Aliyah for us after our own, my parents visit, the high holidays 5771, the Shlomo Artzi concert, a couple of birthday parties, the Bnei Akiva of Mexico reunion in Israel, our recent visit to the Knesset (Israeli parliament), and many more adventures.
So lets get started…
As you can see the Aliyah regressive clock reached to zero, we are so happy and lucky to have my in-laws in Israel. We are very proud of them and wish them lots of success in their Klitah and all the things that will start to take shape. I can already see how they are enjoying it as well.
Welcoming them at the airport was very exciting for all, we could not believe that they were already here. Below are some pictures from their arrival as well as their citizen ID ceremony in Jerusalem in the western wall digs.

May' G’d continue to guide them through their Aliyah as He has done until now and as He continues to do for us.