Summer is over

Summer has definitely come to an end, how do I know? Here are the signs to look for to know that summer has come to an end.

1. Back to School

Oh yes, the universal sign that summer is over is when kids go back to school. In Israel school starts always on September 1 (unless it falls on Saturday). Batya started Kitah Aleph (1st grade) and is doing great. She likes it a lot, is making new friends and learning at the speed of light. She wakes up and before living her room she is already dressed and ready to roll. She is going to the local religious public school which is relatively new and has seen growth of 50% or more year on year. Batya’s class has 38 kids (thirty eight – just like on checks to make sure there is no confusion on the number), and there are in total 3 1st grade classes with 38 kids, I guess she will be able to make a lot or friends :) and hope she can get 1 minute per day from her teacher. There are a lot of things to talk about preparing for 1st grade such as the expensive school bag that is a must that is bigger than the kids and that have to be purchased also with a set of wheels to carry it.

Ilan is doing very well at his Gan as well. He cried just a little the first day but after that he has not cried again. He is very happy and starting to make new friends.

Liora is working full time at a pre-school with babies starting at 1.5 years. She is working very hard but enjoys it a lot. The three of them are on the same street and all at a 5 minute walk from our home. I just love every morning taking both kids by the hand and walk to school.

Enjoy some pictures of the first day of school.

2. Is the grapevine dying again?

The second time around there is no reason to alarm. We have been very careful with our backyard which has grown beautifully regardless of the reduction in water use mandated by the government (no kidding, because of the scarce of water in Israel there are laws of how much you can use for your garden). We have Passiflora (I think it’s called passion-fruit), oranges, limes, olives and of course the grapevine which gave some tasty grapes this year. Well, about this time a year the grapevine starts to dry up as if it was dying. That scared us a lot last year until spring when we saw new green plants growing. Today it has grown beautifully and it’s ready to rest for the next season.

3. Football season is back

You can see it on the streets, thousands wearing their team’s shirts, preparing for the season opener… Well maybe not thousands, maybe hundreds… Well maybe not hundreds maybe 2? Am I the only one around here who cares about the Steelers? Lets see if I can stay awake for the 2:30am game.

Picture taken today as the Steelers football season opens.

4. Crembos are back, honey is on sale and the Hummus tasting clubs are starting

I’m not sure how to describe them but Crembos are an Israeli sweet candy/snack that comes out only when it starts to get cooler. Why? Because it consists of a chocolate covered… whipped cream, sounds interesting doesn’t it?

Also it’s this time of the year when the supermarkets are filled with everything for your holidays, sales on honey, sales on cake, sale sale sale. Yesterday we even received a gift bag that included a honey cake and apples, isn’t that nice?

This is also a great time for food companies to do all their sampling activity given that everyone is going out shopping to prepare for the eating marathon of our holidays. So yesterday I had a Hummus tasting experience where I tried about 6 different kinds of Hummus (all same brand) a tchina (sesame seed sauce) and some other spicy salads. I never thought you could have so many kinds of hummus until the Hummus connoisseur pointed out the differences to me as I was tasting them. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to try them, it I had to: 1) look at the appearance 2)”on pita” the aroma 3)”in mouth” sensation 4)”finish” (aftertaste); or just dip and eat, since this was my first ever Hummus tasting event I ever attended.

5. The “acharei hachagim” syndrome starts to proliferate

I have written several times about the “acharei hachagim” (after the holidays) phenomena. You definitely know that the summer is coming to and end when you hear it. It means that the month were nothing in this country gets done is going to start soon, so why start something now when you can wait until after a month when the holidays are over.

I’m looking forward to the upcoming holidays being this our second year celebrating them.

I hope I can come up with something creative to share with you in celebration of Rosh Hashanah and that I have enough time to do it next week. Meanwhile enjoy last years’ here which received rave reviews. I recommend watching the video bloopers if you never saw them.

Goodbye 5769, hello 5770. We will miss the 60’s :)

Coming soon a big announcement about the guest blog post contest I participated in. Also, I started to do some field research and will soon present to you a report about customer service in the consumer product industry in Israel, you will be amazed with he findings, I have.

Hey it’s now 1am, I almost made it to the Steelers game.

"Arise, go through the land, to its length and to its breadth..."

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.

See rankings here.

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.

From Trip to North Aug 2009

From Trip to North Aug 2009

From Trip to North Aug 2009

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.

From Trip to North Aug 2009

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.

From Trip to North Aug 2009

From Trip to North Aug 2009

From Trip to North Aug 2009

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.

From Trip to North Aug 2009

From Trip to North Aug 2009

From Trip to North Aug 2009

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.

From Trip to North Aug 2009

From Trip to North Aug 2009

For more pictures of our trip click on this Album link. There is also a video here.

Back in Modiin we also have had a lot of fun with the kids doing many things around the area such as:

Bowling

From Many activities Aug 2009

Going to the beach

From Many activities Aug 2009

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

From Many activities Aug 2009

From Many activities Aug 2009

From Many activities Aug 2009

We had a nice picnic with lots of family in Jerusalem.

From Many activities Aug 2009

From Many activities Aug 2009

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.

From August many activities 2

From August many activities 2

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.

From August many activities 2

From August many activities 2

From August many activities 2

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.

From August many activities 2

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.

From Park Hakofim, Jerusalem & Other August 2009

From Park Hakofim, Jerusalem & Other August 2009

From Park Hakofim, Jerusalem & Other August 2009

We finished the last Friday of vacation all together in Jerusalem to visit the Kotel (Western Wall).

From Park Hakofim, Jerusalem & Other August 2009

From Park Hakofim, Jerusalem & Other August 2009

For more pictures of our summer activities access the following links:
Machane Yehuda, Bowling, Beach, Ein Yael, Family - http://picasaweb.google.com/israel.weisser/ManyActivitiesAug2009#
Safari, Chavaya Vakramim, Kifsuva - http://picasaweb.google.com/israel.weisser/AugustManyActivities2#
Keitana (camp) Batya & Eichal Haatzmaut (Independence Hall) - http://picasaweb.google.com/israel.weisser/KeitanaBatyaEichalHaatzmautJuly2009#
Ilan’s Gan graduation party - http://picasaweb.google.com/israel.weisser/IlanSGanMesivatSiumJuly2009#
Park Hakofim, Jerusalem, Friends -

http://picasaweb.google.com/israel.weisser/ParkHakofimJerusalemOtherAugust2009#

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.

From Destruction to Love (Peace & Love)

1291 unique visitors in less than 3 days can’t be wrong.

Make sure you visit the soon to be award winning (I hope) guest blog post at:
http://jobmob.co.il/blog/israeli-job-search-survival-tips

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.



Day of Love (Tu b’Av)

From Other

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.

Peace, Love & Shabbat Shalom.

5 Israeli Job Search Survival Tips

I promised it for a while.... well here it is.

Here are my top Israeli job search tips based on personal experience. Hope they help you or at least make you laugh!
Read more here:

http://jobmob.co.il/blog/israeli-job-search-survival-tips/#ixzz0NFn3aKoF

I have posted this as a guest blogger.

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.

Enjoy.

Sabra Album Take 6 – Marketing Edition

Welcome to the 6th edition of the Sabra Album. Continuing to post pictures that talk about how Israel is such a special and interesting place. These pictures are so unique to Israel that I’m calling them “Sabra Album” (Click here for definition of Sabra). (You can also visit Sabra Album Take 1 , Take 2 , Take 3, Take 4, Take 5 and Machane Yehuda Edition if you missed them).

Lets use a Marketing approach this time for the Marketer’s enjoyment among the readers. I will use the 4 P’s (Product, Place, Price, Promotion) to make a point in the different photos.

Promotion

From Sabra Album

The store on the picture above is in a very commercial street in Tel-Aviv. The sign on top reads “End of season all year long”.
Good slogan? Well.. you’ll be the judge…
The sign on the left window (partially blocked by the Tel Avivian fake blond guy with the dog) reads “For Rent”
I guess not such a good slogan. It reminds me of the Zohan movie with the electronics store named “Going out of business”. But in this case their season did end.

From Sabra Album

Now here is something I loved when I saw it. I love this country!
The sign at the entrance of the gas station in Jerusalem reads “Promotion: Newspaper (picture) or Challa (picture) with fueling of 180 Shekel or more. On Friday and holiday eve only.”
Not sure how efficient this promotion is. I would say that it gets you to step down from your car and into their convenience store, hopefully you will buy some highly priced impulse item.
On the picture the sign by the gas station and my daughter holding the free Challa we got.

From Sabra Album

From Sabra Album

This is one of the best outdoor execution of a campaign I have seen here in Israel and it’s so Sabra too. What is written on the advertisement at this bus stop could not pass without me placing it on the Sabra Album.
The ad is for a company that prepares high school students for the standardized test (Psicometri) to get to college and it reads “Waking up drunk wearing only a sombrero in Guadalajara and the Psicometri. There are things you prefer to do only once”. (Note that the Mexican City of Guadalajara sounds funny to Israelis given the work Jara which in Hebrew means Sh#@t.)
The other ad reads “War with Iran and the Psicometri. There are things you prefer to do only ones”.
Great concept, great execution, well written for its target audience, and most importantly very Sabra.


Place

From Sabra Album

This picture was taken at a store in Jerusalem’s old city right next to the Jaffa gate and the entrance to the Arab Shuk. If you watch closely, who is the store’s target market?... Wrong! It seems as it’s targeting all! Hanged on the entrance you can find on the left a Belly dancer custom, next to it a Talit (Jewish prayer article), and to its right a set of Kefiot (Traditional Arab headdress). Playing a little Sesame Street: “One of these does not belong with the others”. In strict marketing theory the Talit is definitely out of place, right? Well, the store seems to be targeting tourists from all religions and I would bet that they have been in business there since the Turkish empire. Distribution of all these articles at the same point of sale seems to be working.

Product

From Sabra Album

This store/museum had already its place in the Sabra Album Machane Yehuda Edition. This time I visited Jerusalem’s main marketplace on Friday with Batya and we had to stop by this store/Museum. The store owner (Yeoshua a.k.a Shuki) was glad to talk to us and pose for a picture. One would wonder what does a museum with pictures of prime ministers, presidents, political figures and important Rabbis do in the middle of the marketplace, well the product/service it sells is not really the “Museum” it’s just the environment it creates for its underwear store. What Starbucks cafés are for coffee, Shuki’s museum/store is for underwear, it’s all about the environment/experience you are in. Every time I’m in Machane Yehuda I visit him and chat a little, I always try to buy something however I end up empty handed. It’s just interesting to see the picture of political personalities right next to a rack of tighty-whities.

From Sabra Album

We might all look different, dress differently, come from different places, have different religious and political opinions, however we all have the same prayer and pray to the same G’d.
This picture was taken by the Kotel (Western Wall).
We might all have different packages but in the end we are all Bnei Israel (Children of Israel) inside (just like Intel inside).


Price



1 Kilo of Mango – 7 Shekel
1 Kilo of Cucumber – 2 Shekel 49 Agurot
Hearing the sounds and songs of Machane Yehuda – Priceless
Enjoy the videos below with the sounds and songs of Machane Yehuda on a busy Friday. The guy is singing about “Colorful watermelon, welcome to all buyers thank you very much, plums, peaches, joy of life, cucumbers add a lot to your salad… “ Please note right in the end… that’s the most Sabra part as he stops singing to take on a call…”Alo?.

Shabbat Shalom to all.

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Commemorating Rosh Hodesh Av 5769

The month of Av has been historically a month when the darkest events have happen to the Jewish people. Both the first and the second temple were destroyed on the 9th of Av.
To commemorate the start of this month (and our 1 year Aliyah anniversary) we visited Jerusalem to pray by the Kotel (western wall) for the quick rebuilding of the 3rd temple. We also visited an interesting archeological site called “the burnt house” where a house dating back to 70 AD was burnt most probably during the destruction of the 2nd temple. A funny fact was that when we got there and wanted to enter they said that the burnt house is temporarily closed because of a water leak….
During this visit to old Jerusalem we also enjoyed a delicious and out of the oven pita with Zathar. It is always so magical and amazing visiting the old city of Jerusalem. It’s right in front of our eyes but so close that we can’t see it but we are truly living special times where Jerusalem has been rebuilt and with such livelihood, spirit and beauty.

Enjoy some pictures from our visit including the western wall, the burnt house and the Menorah built in pure gold according to studies on what the menorah in the temple should look like ready for the 3rd temple.

Isn't these amazing? Take a look at the announcement below by the municipality.

Public Service Announcement Regarding Tisha be-Av
Message from the municipality:According to city law, public businesses providing pleasure (restaurants, movie theaters, sports facilities, swimming pools, game areas, bowling, etc.) will be closed on Tisha be-Av — marking the destruction of the two Batei Mikdash (Holy Temples) – from Wednesday evening July 29 at 7pm until 6am Thursday morning.

Years and years have passed and in our modern days we continue with our traditions and laws in our own land. Imagine if your local U.S city regulated this for Memorial Day?

Shabbat Shalom to all and may we soon see the rebuilding of our temple and by them we shall all see you around here.

Soon… a new edition of the Sabra album with a never seen video special and later on "My Big Fat Israeli Interview"

Happy 1st Aliyaersary!

Today we celebrate 1 year since our Aliyah.
I want to share with you this happy moment with a video recounting our last year.
It’s so good to be home!

In case you were wondering how acclimated the kids are, take a look at the video below and you’ll be the judge.