Sukkot break - by Michal
We're back! It was wonderful to be in Arad with my grandparents. We played Rummikub, watched movies, had long talks, and even transferred my grandmother to a Gmail account. Not to mention we ate enough food to satisfy a small horse. My grandmother makes suuuuch good meals. And snacks. And tea breaks. You know a good Jewish household: food=love. Jonathan and I are definitely very loved, no doubt about it. Pictures to come, as soon as we download them from the camera.
And thank you to all of you who asked, you're sweet - no, we didn't leave Simcha alone, he was taken care of by a woman named Hila, an Israeli friend of ours. She's the one who introduced us to him originally, so it worked out well. Today we took him to be neutered, and he was one groggy cat when he came home. We felt sorry for him, he kind of doddered all over the place and slept for hours.
Before we left for Arad we went to Mea Shearim one last time. There was a plywood sukkah on every balcony, decorated on the inside only. What struck me most this time though, even more than the sukkahs, was the poverty. It's like I had noticed it, but never quite absorbed it before. The area may be completely, utterly Orthodox Jewish, but it's desperately poor, with raggedy children, dirty streets, mangy cats, etc. It's reminiscent of shtetl life... and it makes me wonder, why is it necessary? I abhor the power that the Orthodox hold in Israeli politics, but I do have a certain amount of pride in them in that they are the ones who have maintained Judaism throughout the centuries. But is it a fair trade, this strict adherence to religion but for such a low quality of life? They would say yes, of course; I'm not so sure.
While we were there Jonathan bought a lulav and etrog http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Species ... which I then promptly forgot on the bus to Beersheva, on the way to Arad. (cringe) Mea culpa!We never did put up a sukkah, either. Forget "next year in Jerusalem" (the traditional phrase to end the Passover seder) - in this house, it's "next year, celebrate Sukkot!"
And lastly, shout out to Debra and Glenna, who now have this blog address. Girl, you're moving to Africa - how far we've come!
And thank you to all of you who asked, you're sweet - no, we didn't leave Simcha alone, he was taken care of by a woman named Hila, an Israeli friend of ours. She's the one who introduced us to him originally, so it worked out well. Today we took him to be neutered, and he was one groggy cat when he came home. We felt sorry for him, he kind of doddered all over the place and slept for hours.
Before we left for Arad we went to Mea Shearim one last time. There was a plywood sukkah on every balcony, decorated on the inside only. What struck me most this time though, even more than the sukkahs, was the poverty. It's like I had noticed it, but never quite absorbed it before. The area may be completely, utterly Orthodox Jewish, but it's desperately poor, with raggedy children, dirty streets, mangy cats, etc. It's reminiscent of shtetl life... and it makes me wonder, why is it necessary? I abhor the power that the Orthodox hold in Israeli politics, but I do have a certain amount of pride in them in that they are the ones who have maintained Judaism throughout the centuries. But is it a fair trade, this strict adherence to religion but for such a low quality of life? They would say yes, of course; I'm not so sure.
While we were there Jonathan bought a lulav and etrog http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Species ... which I then promptly forgot on the bus to Beersheva, on the way to Arad. (cringe) Mea culpa!
And lastly, shout out to Debra and Glenna, who now have this blog address. Girl, you're moving to Africa - how far we've come!
posted by Michal at 4:18 PM
2 Comments:
Hag Sameah! This is the first time in years that we haven't put up a sukkah - things have just been too hectic and we weren't sure if the dog would just chew the whole thing apart. So, for Torah center we got to run the kids around town to others' sukkot for a change.
I want to see pictures of your dog! At least that means this year you had less clean-up to do though... I remember when we were there in 6th grade, there was candy everywhere at the end. :)
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