Religious mustard and other Hebrew acronyms

January 25, 2011 by · 4 Comments
Filed under: Israeliness, Religion 

Hodaya, the most famous "datlashit" from the TV show "Srugim"

In the U.S. and most western countries, Jews tend to identify their religious affiliation through one of the major Jewish movements, be it Conservative, Reform, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Jewish Renewal, and even Secular Humanistic Judaism. Not so in Israel, where one’s religious standing is far more nuanced. In a country that loves army-influenced acronyms, a whole school of literary shortcuts and word play have sprung up.

The two simplest and most frequent appellations are “dati” and “hiloni” – “religious” and “secular” respectively. Within the religious category, however, there is “haredi” (“ultra-Orthodox”); “dati leumi” (“national religious” also known as “modern Orthodox”); “dati lite” (religious but not too stringent, as in “I’ll kiss you and still put on tefilin in the morning”); “masorti” (“conservative” but with a lower case “c” – as in, “we keep kosher but watch a movie after Shabbat dinner”); and a pejorative label used by haredim to describe anyone less frum than them: “reformim” (no translation required).

The strangest? “Hardal” (an acronym for “haredi leumi” – for those ultra-Orthodox who also serve in the army). The funny part is that the word in modern Hebrew also means “mustard.” Does that mean that they prefer spicy condiments on their glatt kosher army rations?

Where it gets really interesting is that there is a whole new emerging lexicon of terms for religion “in transition” that I haven’t seen anywhere else in the Jewish world. For the formerly religious, there’s “datlash” (“dati l’sheavar,” literally “religious in the past”) and its parallel “hozer b’shealah” (“return to questioning”). Going in the other direction and becoming religious, you can say “hozer b’tshuva” (“returning to repentance”) or “ba’al tshuva” (a true “master” of repentance).

A religious person who believes men and women should receive equal rights to be called up to the Torah would be a “datash” (for “dati l’shivyoni,” a religious egalitarianist), while someone who thinks he or she might become religious down the road (maybe after marrying a religious person – these kinds of “mixed marriages” are becoming increasingly common in Israel – would be a “datla” for “dati l’etid” (literally “religious in the future”).

My favorite of all is a new one I just heard from an Israeli friend: “Hashash” (for “hiloni shomer Shabbat” – apparently someone who is entirely secular but also keeps the Sabbath). The word in modern Hebrew also means “fear” or “apprehension” which led my friend to say to me “I have a hashash that you are really a hashash.” Perhaps she would prefer that I was a “hozer b’shealah l’sheavar” – a religious person who becomes non-religious and then becomes religious again.

Confused? Just invent one of your own!

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Sharon and Nimrod invite Facebook ‘matchmaker’ to their Tel Aviv wedding

January 25, 2011 by · 2 Comments
Filed under: A New Reality, Blogging, General, Israeliness, Life, Pop Culture 

Here’s a case of either extreme Israeli chutzpah or a prime example of how we get things done and aren’t stymied by details, class, or obstacles.

Nimrod and Sharon are two young Israelis who met on Facebook and are getting married on Purim day, March 17 at the Tel Aviv Port. Since they credit Facebook with the ‘matchmaking,’ they decided to invite the site’s founder Mark Zuckerberg to the wedding. And they recorded a YouTube invite for the celebrated tycoon.

YouTube Preview Image

You’ve gotta love Sharon and Nimrod’s gumption and their humor as well. “If money is an issue, we’ll pay for the ticket” is the kicker that brightens up the clip and just might get Zuckerberg to accept. Who knows? Maybe he’ll find the match of his own at Sharon and Nimrod’s wedding.

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Evicted artists

January 24, 2011 by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Art, Business, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life 

Photo credit: Jerusalem Post

A friend of mine may be getting evicted — from Hutzot Hayotzer, his Jerusalem workplace. Here’s the story: David Moss, the artist behind The Moss Haggadah and other Judaica works of art, is one of the twenty or so artists with a studio and showroom at the Hutzot Hayotzer artists’ colony, just outside the Old City walls of Jerusalem. Some of them have been in residence since the early 1970s, when Teddy Kollek established the place. Others, like Moss, have been there for shorter periods.

From the Moss Haggadah

But the idea behind the municipality-run colony is that the artists in residence had to be accepted by a city-appointed board, and would pay rent and then stay there permanently. With artists working and selling in the same place, the public could visit, peruse, perhaps buy, perhaps not. But the concept has remained vibrant and dynamic for the last 40 years.

A Motke Blum painting

Last December, tells David, all the artists received eviction notices from the city, telling them they had to be out in 14 days. They immediately began organizing themselves and hired a lawyer, and had successfully stayed the notice for the last year, with the agreement that they would pay 30% more. But the new year brought a fresh round of trouble and eviction notices for the artists, and they were recently told they have 30 days to get out. No matter that there doesn’t seem to be any logical reason for the eviction.

Liliane Landau (ceramics)

While they’ve been told that they’re ‘too old’, one of the group’s suspicions is that they’re being kicked out because of real estate development, another Mamilla or set of luxury apartments for the ‘hood. The city won’t admit to that, says David, instead claiming that the group of artists are refusing to pay rent, although that was never listed in the original complaint. They are, however, claiming that everyone will be evicted and then artists — including those who used to be in Hutzot Hayotzer — will have to reapply, a transparent method for getting who they would want into the space.

For David, it’s all very nerve-wracking and feels sleazy. While he calls Hutzot Hayotzer “a cultural gem”, this entire episode has been completely unreasonable, and it feels to him as if there are very strong economic forces trying to push the present artists out of the colony. Unfortunately, those are tactics that often succeed in this city.

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Goodbye GPS, hello Comodo

January 24, 2011 by · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, General, News, Technology, Travel 

GPS for travel navigation is so… yesterday.

Israeli startup Iway Mobile along with Cellcom, the country’s largest mobile phone operator, have launched what they say is the world’s first complete communications, Internet and entertainment system for the automobile.

The Comodo Console will be sold first exclusively in Israel, but Iway is in talks to sell the product to cellular operators in other countries, most likely France, Russia and China first in line, over the next six months.

Besides English, the operating system is programmed for 20 languages, including Russian, Arabic and Chinese, and more will be added.

Comodo includes a 4.3 inch touchscreen, speakerphone, a rear camera to increase security when in reverse, a GPS antenna and a cellular modem for an always-on connection to the Internet via a 3G cellular network. The driver can listen to radio stations from around the globe.

“There is one world that hasn’t yet been captured by the Internet revolution, and that is the automobile,” said Adi Cohen, head of marketing at Cellcom told a press conference on Sunday reported by Reuters.

To ensure drivers’ safety, videos can be watched only when the car is not moving, and emails can be received but not sent. Text messaging and chatting services are not available, and the 80 applications can be activated with two clicks.

The three-dimensional navigation system warns drivers when approaching a dangerous road or intersection and can alert when the driver is exceeding the speed limit or to problems up ahead, such as camels on the road.

I actually haven’t encountered camels in the road for quite a while, but it’s good to know the Comodo can detect them.
According to the report, the Comodo will cost NIS 109 ($23.5) a month for 36 months, and the service package without the music costs NIS 20 a month and another NIS 15 for the music.

With all that stimulus and cutting edge technology, the big question is whether it’s going to be make Israeli roads safer, or more dangerous.

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Nostalgia Sunday – Jerusalem City Center

January 23, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, News, Nostalgia Sunday, Technology, Travel 

Last week, Jerusalem’s Light Rail project entered the trial run phase. This included changing the city center’s traffic patterns and causing no little havoc. Not at all like what’s been promised in the pictures… but we’ll reach this idyllic stage eventually…


Image: Jerusalem Municipality website

The municipality has publicized the new traffic arrangements but that hasn’t seemed to calm the population’s ire — particularly cab drivers who are now barred from driving on Jaffa Road. In their minds, it should be as spacious and accommodating as it was in the days of these horse-drawn carriages driving towards the Old City…


Image: Wikimedia Commons

Meanwhile, Jaffa Road has been closed to all traffic except for the good old pedestrian kind — not too different from when King George Street was inaugurated.


Image: Wikimedia Commons

King George eventually did get paved and trees lined the boulevard…

Image: Harry Charles Farmer, Palestine 1947

…while Jerusalem’s few cars passed by Froumine House, home of the first Knesset. But those days are long gone and the need for a public mass transportation system is absolutely critical. Do you hear me, irate cabdrivers and nasty Egged bus drivers?

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Everything will settle down by August (we hope) and the first line of the new Jerusalem Light Rail will take us conveniently from French Hill to Mount Herzl, passing the Jerusalem Central Bus Station on the way. Which, by the way, used to look like this. Who says there’s no such thing as progress!


Image: Egged archive via Pikiwiki

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