School Shopping

Late last month I realized that I needed to purchase some basic school supplies. In the States, I imagine that CVS (among other stores) are still loaded with all sorts of back to school supplies, deals, tchochkies, lunch boxes, etc… Of course in CVS the back to school displays begin on July 5th and once school starts it will be time for Halloween, which isn’t for six weeks, but I digress.

I headed up to the Hadar mall where I knew I could find the old reliable Office Depot. I was looking for the following items: a multi-subject notebook, new pencils, and a couple new pens, not a very long list. I was greeted in the store with huge displays of notebooks, knickknacks, and sales. The store was mobbed with children dragging their parents from display to display, loading their carts with all sorts of new gear. For a moment, I was transported back to the late summer and early fall evenings when my sister and I dragged one of our parents to the Staples in an attempt to rid them of any retirement funds. Multiple children were also expressing their desire to get new clothing, shoes were popular. The Israeli children are just as whiny and kvetchy as we were, not that I’m necessarily surprised, just an interested observer.

So there you have it, the back-to-school mania is universal, and a perfect opportunity for capitalism to reign.

Driving Lessons

Since arriving in Israel last July, I have repeated numerous times the phrase, "The only thing worse than an Israeli driver is an Israeli driver in training." They fly or creep down my street with the big lamed on top of the car. Sometimes multiple students are in the back seat. The instructor often has a scowl on his face and a cigarette precariously wedged between two fingers as his arm hangs out the window. Perhaps even more amusing are the bus drivers in training who drive large buses with an equally large lamed gracing the side of the bus. Whether buses or cars, they practice stopping, nearly sending their instructors through the windscreen. They practice the dreaded parallel parking maneuver, often bumping hubcaps, bumpers, and the sides of tires against the curb, other vehicles, and the like. Lest you think that I'm picking on Israelis, this is no doubt a world wide experience. However, the lamed somehow seems more infantalizing than "student driver."

On a serious note, today I saw a driving lesson that gave me hope. A very religious Jewish man was tutoring a car full of young Arab girls. There they were, representatives of two very different, and often at odds peoples, working together. If only fixing everything else in this region of the world was as easy as a driving lesson.

Hebrew word of the day; Nahag(et) Hadash(a) (New driver)

Observations

A few years ago, I had the privilege and the pleasure of living in Manhattan while I was learning at Yeshivat Hadar. New York is well known as a center of culture, arts, business, and the like. There is also a significant population of weirdos in New York, as in any city. I developed two theories about weird, eccentric, off-beat people, or whatever label you’d prefer. The first is that there is a certain percentage of people in the world who the majority would classify as “weird,” and because of New York’s population and population density, the weird folk are more visible. The alternate theory states that because of New York’s reputation as a cultural center, people are more "tolerant", and therefore being weird is more permissible. I am not sure to which theory I subscribe.

Now, you’re probably asking what does this have anything to do with my life in Jerusalem? Sorry if you like suspense, because here’s the reason. It is not uncommon to see things here that make you think, or say, “only in Jerusalem.” Usually such happenings are related to some aspect of Jewish life, Israelis, or Arabs. Recently however I saw two unexpected sites. The first was a well-dressed young man walking down the street brushing his teeth, totally unconcerned about the lack of a sink, toothpaste, or any of the typical teeth brushing materials. The second site, a group of older men clad in plaid flannel pajamas boarding a bus. It’s very uncommon to see people covered up, for religious reasons, even during the heat of the day. I am unaware of any religion that wears flannel plaid pajamas in public, in the summer. If you find one, let me know.

Hebrew word of the day: mivreshet shinayim (Tooth brush)