Sunday, June 29, 2014

Last shabbat in Israel

I was invited for shabbat in Jerusalem at my friend Anna's house.  This is a haredi family with five children. I have no photographs because turning my camera on would have violated the rules for shabbat. I got to practice some aspects of shabbat that I only knew in theory, and learned some rules for the first time.  I, of course, slept over on Friday night because there are no buses or trains that operate on shabbat.  Anna prepared a Saturday lunch as a bit of a send-off for me, and invited some of my other friends (Gershon and Rina).  Her husband, Avi, gave some insights on the weekly Torah reading after lunch.  We had a peaceful visit, my friends left, and then Anna and I walked over to see her friend Susan, who is also leaving for the States.  On the return walk (with frequent stops to favor my poor foot), we found Avi and the kids in the park.  Anna babied me and gave me supper on the sofa with a tray so that I could rest my foot, the kids returned, shabbat ended, Avi conducted havdalah, and Anna took me to the bus station in Avi's hybrid car.  I caught the 22:30 bus to Beer Sheva, and was so happy to be able to depart the bus near my apartment, because the local buses had ceased running in Beer Sheva, and it's so much simpler to just walk a block home (especially with a sore ankle).  I chatted briefly with the woman sitting next to me on the bus, who is married to a civil engineer!

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