It’s a wonderful life

September 20, 2009 - 7:33 PM by David · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Holidays, Israeliness, Life, Religion 

holidayIt was one of those pre-Rosh Hashana crunches that most of us have experienced – a bunch of meals to shop for and cook, a house to clean, phone calls to make, and errands to do. That’s why two last-minute calamities almost did us in.

First was the emergency light in the car going on indicating a malfunction in some vital system. The second was evidence that the pipes leading from our bathrooms were totally clogged. Erev chag, Friday morning, while my wife waited for the plumber (who happens to be a good friend in the neighborhood), I took my chances and drove into my garage in Jerusalem, knowing that the window of opportunity to get it fixed in the few short hours they were going to be open were slim.

Sure enough, after rigging up the computer to the engine, Shimon the mechanic said, indeed there was something wrong with the car (gee, thanks) but that they wouldn’t be able to check in depth until Monday, after Rosh Hashana. He advised that I not drive the car until then, meaning leaving it with him.

However, we already had plans at our congregation in Jerusalem, where we drive to on Shabbats and holidays – my wife had an aliya honor scheduled and we had a meal planned with friends. In addition there was still a trip to the supermarket on tap, and various other tasks requiring a car.

I called home and relayed the bad news that we were going to have to cancel our plans and stay close to home for the holiday, and started walking toward a bus to go home. As I passed an Avis Rent a Car, I thought of the old Devo song, “Are We Not Men? No, We Are Devo” and thought, what would an adult do in this situation? Rent a car, of course.

So, ignoring the flashing overdraft in my bank account, I went in and walked out 20 minutes later with a chugging Suzuki sedan with stains on the upholstery.

Meanwhile, back at home, our plumber was solving that problem, and when hearing about our transportation woes, immediately invited us for dinner that night, along with two other families we were friendly with.

So, a few hours after we started with no car and clogged toilets, we had a rent a car, clog free pipes, and a great dinner invite. We brought our food we had already prepared along with us, and had a delightful time. The rest of Rosh Hashana was great, my wife shined on her aliya to the Torah, the Suzuki ran like a bumpy dream, and our bank is happy at getting that additional interest we’ll be paying on the overdraft.

Shana Tova!

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Holiday transitions

October 12, 2008 - 8:19 AM by Jessica · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, Holidays, Israeliness 

paperchains1.jpgHard to believe, but we are already in the middle of the chagim period, the month-long period of holidays that falls every autumn. We’re past Yom Kippur, a.k.a., the Festival of Bicycles, when a good chunk of the country spends the evening and following day in synagogue, while many kids take over the empty streets of all cities on the eve and day of Yom Kippur with bicycles – as well as skateboards, roller blades, skates and scooters. In fact, bicycle sales rise in the weeks prior to YK, with companies advertising Yom Kippur specials.

Then, it was straight into another Shabbat, as Yom Kippur ended on Thursday night, which meant a rush for the supermarket and butcher counter on Friday morning. Unlike the week before, when Rosh Hashanah ended and we went into another Shabbat, there wasn’t quite as much of a fresh chicken shortage, because the week before also coincided with the end of Ramadan, which meant a lot of chickens being eaten out there.

But the end of Shabbat this week brought the annual put-up-the-sukkah evening, when you gather your forces to snap together metal poles and string up the canvas walls. With Sukkot beginning Monday night, it’s another rush into the third holiday of the season, and the longest, at a full seven days. So now we’re thinking sukkah decorations of paper chains, plastic fruits and blinking lights, and one-dish meals that are easier to serve to the crowd.

I’ll let you know what I decide to make, as soon as I get started on the paper chains…

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Getting ready

October 8, 2008 - 9:35 AM by David · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, Holidays, Israeliness 

kippur.jpgThe day of Yom Kippur eve is, ironically, usually quite pleasant.
Most people don’t go to work, the kids are home from school, and it’s almost like a Sunday morning would feel like if there were Sunday papers and football games on TV.

Since there’s no big meals to prepare for, you get a free pass for the morning – watching a movie in bed with the kids, doing some household chore that had been put off, or doing some reading in preparation for the fast and solemn day of prayer.

In the afternoon, though, the complexion noticeably changes, and one eerie element is that you being noticing that almost all the cars on your street are parked, and everyone is home. As it gets close to sunset, people start emerging from their homes, either dressed in their Beit Knesset finest, or for the neighborhoods kids, brandishing bicycles, scooters and any other mode of transportation that they can ride down the middle of the roads with.

After the Kol Nidre services in the evening, it looks like huge block parties everywhere you go, with neighbors and friends hanging out and milling around. It’s definitely one of my favorite moments of the calendar here, and so uniquely Israeli.

Here’s wishing you a meaningful Yom Kippur.

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