Friday, August 20, 2010

From Kotel to Ladder

Yesterday morning I made my first trip to the Old City of Jerusalem, including a brief visit to the Kotel. Because the weather has again become unseasonably warm, I was determined to return to my apartment before the sun was too high in the sky. However, the big news of the day was working WITH the landlord on apartment repairs.

The landlord, an elderly French immigrant, now Israeli, showed up at about 10:30 to do repairs on the shades in one of the bedrooms as well as on the balcony. He corrected my still-poor Hebrew grammar whenever possible, for which I was grateful. At some point, he asked me for a bit of help, I was more than happy to oblige. Four hours and many trips up and down the ladder later, all the repairs were concluded. Between my Hebrew/English and his Hebrew/English/French we were able to communicate and work together fairly well. I'll spare you the intimate and intricate details, but what was the most notable to me was that when something was difficult, he would call out to God. For example, a screw was stuck and his response "Nu, Elohim?!" (So, God?!). What a place, huh?

Hebrew phrase of the day:
Ata tzarich likro gam et ha'otiyot ha'ktanot.
Literally: You need to read the small letters too.
Practically: You should also read the fine print.

Shabbat shalom.

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