The Numbers Game

May 27, 2005 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, Immigrant Moments, Life 

Who knew there’d be so many numbers to keep track of? And I’m not talking about useful numbers that I ought to memorize (like the one on my Israeli ID). I’m talking about small, everyday numbers that we use for measuring, weighing, and even telling time. There’s nothing like having to stop and calculate every time you look at a clock to remind you that you’re not where you used to be.

In Israel we use a 24-hour clock. After ten years here, I’m pretty fluent in 24-hour time, but for the first couple of years, I had to stop and think before it would sink in that 16:30 meant half-past four in the afternoon. Even now, I insist on wearing an analog watch, because I don’t want to have to make that minor adjustment every time I glance at my wrist.

The names of the days of the week are actually ordinal numbers; Sunday is Yom Rishon (First Day), Monday is Yom Shaynee (Second Day), and so on. This, of course, comes straight from the book of Genesis, when God created the world. Sometimes the days are not referred to by name, but by a letter, so that Sunday becomes Yom Alef (the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet), etc. Imagine getting an announcement from the school telling you that your meeting with the teacher is on Yom Hay (the fifth letter) at 17:20. It’s enough to make your head ache until you become completely familiar with the system. Having to stop and figure these things out reminds you that you’re not in step with everyone else.

Grades in school are also referenced by letters of the alphabet. First grade is kitah alef and it goes right on to kitah yud-bet (twelfth grade). It’s embarrassing when someone asks you what grade your kid is in, and you have to stop and make the calculations. Of course, as the year goes on you get used to saying it, but there’s always next year, when you have to memorize a new grade.

Probably the worst part of the numbers game is getting used to the Metric system. You buy gasoline by the liter and fabric by the meter. I may know that it is 100 kilometers to my in-laws’ house, but I won’t really “get” it until I know what that is in terms of miles (about 60). And it’s lots of fun to step on a scale and see a number below 100, until you realize you must multiply your weight in kilograms by 2.2 to figure out how many pounds you weigh. Over time, I have gotten used to these numbers, but some of them still don’t really sink in until I’ve translated them into terms I know.

What’s the forecast for today? Partly cloudy with a high of 29 degrees. The middle of winter? No, it’s a lovely summer day in degrees Celsius. What is that in Fahrenheit? Heck if I know; it’s hot but not unbearable. I have never bothered to learn the calculation for temperature. If I really feel I must know the exact temperature, I look at the thermometer (with markings for both Celsius and Fahrenheit) that’s stuck to my kitchen window.

Shopping brings its own hazards. How did I go from wearing a size 7 shoe to a size 38? European sizing in clothing is another adaptation I’ve had to make. In America, I would know right away what size jeans to buy for my seven-year-old daughter; here I either have to ask for help or take a peek at the tag in the clothes she is wearing. If I don’t have a list of proper sizes tucked into my purse, I can’t buy anything unless the intended wearer is with me.

I’ve always had a better relationship with words than with numbers. This constant need to calculate before I can process information frustrates me, and serves as a constant reminder of the “otherness” of everyday life here in Israel. When I reach the point where alot of thought is no longer necessary (as with the 24-hour clock and the days of the week), I feel that much closer to being acclimated.

This has also been posted on my website Postcards from Israel.

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The Bonfire

May 26, 2005 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Holidays, Israeliness, Life 

A little story for Lag ba’Omer

An old man appeared out of the darkness and approached us. At least, he seemed old to my twelve year old eyes. Thinking back he was probably only in his fifties. Small, and dark, with bright, lively eyes, he was wearing a checked flannel shirt covered by a blue doobon coat, like everyone wore back in those days.

We were all girls, half a dozen or so twelve year olds and our fifteen year old scout leader. Most of us had sleeping bags draped around our shoulders. The boys had stayed behind to urinate on the embers of the fire. You didn’t waste good drinking water on a bonfire.

The old man went up to our leader who was noticeably taller and older than most of us, and obviously the boss. He said something to her that I couldn’t hear.

It was the eve of Lag ba’Omer, the thirty third day of the ancient tradition of counting the days of the omer, the harvest time, between the spring festivals of Passover and Shavuot.

During the Counting of the Omer, mourning traditions were practiced, with no celebrations allowed except for this one day, the thirty third – a celebration commemorating Rabbi Akiva and his students, and Bar Kochva’s brave revolt against the mighty Roman Empire. It also marked the date of the death of one of Rabbi Akiva’s students, another great scholar – Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai.

Most of us were pretty secular and we lived in a city that was known for its socialist tendencies, but Lag ba’Omer meant bonfires, and we were all for bonfires.

When we were little, we used to plan our annual bonfires meticulously for weeks ahead, carefully collecting the wood, mostly pilfered from building sites, choosing our spot, and picking out games. For one night a year, the grown ups allowed us to play with fire. It was too good to be true.

Now that we were older, we saw it as a welcome opportunity to stay out all night with groups of friends that included members of the opposite sex. We would sit together around the fire, playing games like Spin the Bottle, singing the old pioneer songs, and eventually, just staring into the flames, as they died down, and then laying our heads on the soft stomach of a friend, dreamily staring up at the stars.

Living as we did, up in the newer neighborhoods of Haifa, we were always in walking distance of the natural abundance Mount Carmel had to offer us – wadis (1), forests, and, of course, rocky open spaces, perfect for Lag ba’Omer bonfires.

This particular night was one of those crisp, cloudless nights that can be bitterly cold. We had planned to maybe sleep by the fire, hence the sleeping bags, but by one o’clock it was so cold that we were already considering calling it a night.

One of the boys came over to say he could hear some rustling noises near some bushes. Seeing that a few of the girls were getting jittery, the leaders decided to pack up and go. It was when we girls started to make our way on the path towards the road, leaving the boys and their leader to put out the fire, that we encountered the old man.

At first, our leader looked taken aback by what he had said to her, but she soon collected herself, grinning at us knowingly, and said to him boldly, in a clear loud voice, mocking an accent you didn’t usually hear in our well-to-do neighborhood, “Not for money and not for love”.

For weeks later I was haunted by her words. I hadn’t really felt threatened by the old man, but still I had admired her for the strong, assured way she had dealt with the situation. Too embarrassed to talk about it with anyone, I gradually managed to work out what she had meant, what the old man had wanted, and what he had thought we were doing out there with sleeping bags in the middle of the night.

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(1) Wadi – an Arabic word for a narrow valley between two mountains or hills.

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Glitz, Glitter, and Glamour

May 22, 2005 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Israeliness, Pop Culture 

Well, it was quite an evening for Israel, between Hanna Laslo winning “Best Actress” at Cannes and Shiri Maimon’s incredibly respectable fourth place finish in the Eurovision Song Contest.

If there had been an award for the nicest body and the bronzest breasts, Shiri would have won. She looked mah-velous — quite the resemblance to Mariah Carey, no?

Seriously, her song was good and she really belted it out well. One wonders, if it wasn’t for the “Israel factor” could she have won?

In the meantime, we’re gearing up for another big day. Everyone is waiting with baited breath for how Judy-Nir-Moses-Shalom is going to do as she greets the visiting First Lady Laura Bush.

Can she reign in her wacky personality enough to do the diplomatically correct thing? Are everyone’s fears justified?

Certainly Laura will be too diplomatic and tasteful to question her about the continually unfolding Madonnagate scandal….

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Sing a Song

May 19, 2005 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, Pop Culture 

Tonight, many Israelis will be tuning in to watch the semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest (the finals will be held on Saturday night). Although I had never heard of this contest until I visited Israel, it has been going on since the mid-1950′s. Each of the participating countries sends one representative (an individual or a group). Two past winners of the competition are well- known even outside of Europe: ABBA, who won with their famous song “Waterloo,” and Celine Dion, who performed as a representative from Switzerland. Even Julio Iglesias (4th place in 1970) and Olivia Newton-John (4th place in 1974) competed in the ESC.

Israel first competed in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973. In the ensuing 32 years, we have won the competition three times, in 1978, 1979, and 1998. Not only was winning an honor and a joy for our country, but since the winner of the competition hosts it the following year, our victories also meant revenue from participants and tourists who attended the contest (note: in 1979 we waived our right to host the competition).

Over the years, we have sent individuals and groups, adults and even once a child (let’s just say that that was not a rousing success), to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. Each year, the song to be sung is played on the radio (over and over) and people enjoy debating its quality and chances for success. They also bicker over the selected performer, who has sometimes been chosen by a popular vote, sometimes by a committee.

This year, the people of Israel voted. A special television program featured each of the Israeli competitors performing their songs. We chose as our representative a lovely and talented young woman named Shiri Maimon. Of course, that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been any controversy. Originally Shiri was to perform her song in Hebrew. That was how she sang it in the TV special, which is what people based their votes on. Now, apparently aware that many of the other countries are sending singers who will perform in English, she has decided to sing the first half of the song in Hebrew, and the second half in English. Some feel she will have a better chance for success if more of the audience can understand the words to her song; others feel that singing in a language that is not her mother-tongue may weaken her performance. It will be interesting to see what happens.

This whole Eurovision process is like a microcosm of the Israeli approach to life.. We love to analyze, criticize, and argue about practically anything – and the ESC is no exception. In May, when the time for the Eurovision Song Contest draws near, people call in to radio talk shows, write newspaper columns, and post blistering messages on Internet forums. Each person has his or her own opinion on every aspect of the competition. But be assured, come ten o’clock tonight and the start of the competition, everyone will be rooting for our Shiri. They will cheer each time she is awarded the maximum number of points from each voting country. They will boo those countries who give her fewer points. And no matter whether she wins or loses, when it’s over absolutely everyone will say, “I knew this would happen.”

UPDATE: Shiri advanced to the finals! Here is a link to her performance last night: Video clip

Cross-posted on my website Postcards from Israel

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Little Earthquake

May 17, 2005 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General 

Well, there’s a little earthquake going on in local politics. My town of Ra’anana’s legendary mayor Ze’ev Bielski, who we faithfully reelected by an outrageously huge margin only recently, has been tapped to head the Jewish Agency.

Those of us who love Ra’anana’s quality of life and have never lived in a non-Bielski-led town are a bit nervous to put it mildly. This happened really, really suddenly — and we can’t really fault Bielski for doing it to us, because the resignation of the current Jewish Agency chairman was so sudden.

And the job is perfect for him — he is the consummate shmoozer, and an effective administrator. What is terrible news for us is good news for the Jewish world as a whole. If anyone can get the Agency’s act together, it’s Bielski.

It’s a big national story, because it looks like our next mayor will be a guy who is even more famous — infamously famous — than Bielski.

His name is Uzi Cohen.

I looked around the web for a full-on description of the multi-faceted Uzi and lo and behold — the best overview was an an entry on Shai’s blog — which links to this profile from the Jerusalem Post. (Reading the profile, it appears that Uzi charmed the pants off of Larry Derfner, a pretty left-wing guy whose natural inclination wouldn’t be to like him. It looks like he couldn’t help it.)

Trying to look on the bright side, it’s not the end of the world for us if he’s mayor — his heavy-duty national connections have served us well in the past, and may do us good in the future. And he sure knows how to make a city look nice. From the Post piece:

Ra’anana, after all, is not some dead-end town, but rather a model of bourgeois living in Israel, much favored by Anglos. It is one of the most beautiful, best-cared-for, greenest, most prosperous cities in the country. Ra’anana even has big, green street numbers painted on all the buildings so you can actually find where you want to go – a unique touch in Israeli urban design.

“All of this is only because of Uzi. He’s a great man,” says Ben-Zvi Yosef, 41, working at “Fistok’s House,” a snack bar on Ra’anana’s main drag, Rehov Ahuza, a block from City Hall.

“He’s responsible for the appearance of the city – for all the parks, trees, bushes, flowers, street lighting, everything. He said he was going to build a lake in the municipal park and no one believed him, but he did it. Whatever people in the rest of the country think of Uzi, people who live in Ra’anana know the real story. You can see it with your own eyes.”

UPDATE: The city spokesman’s office just clarified — Uzi is definitely going to be mayor, but only for 60 days. She wrote: “Elections will be held for a new Mayor within 60 days of the resignation. The newly-elected Mayor will serve the remaining time of the tenure only, after which time elections will be held for both Mayor and City Council. The acting Mayor, Uzi Cohen, will serve as Mayor for the 60 day period.”

It’s going to be a fun few months in Ra’anana…..

MORE UPDATE: The buzz is that Uzi is waiving his temporary 60-day term and it will go to someone else (Link in Hebrew) No one knows who yet. Does this mean Uzi really doesn’t want to be mayor or is it a strategic move? Time will tell…

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