The rhythm of the city

My second Shabbat in Tel Aviv, and I think I am starting to figure the rhythm of the city.

I woke up at around 7 am and decided to go for a workout. The city was absolutely dead (hate to use the word, but it’s the only one that fits).  No cars on the road, not even cabs or buses. Incredibly, even the cafes were closed. Just a few people out walking their dog.

Even the gym was closed.

So I headed back to the apartment, got showered and headed out to the same synagogue I went to last week as I am too lazy to find another one (there is a marketing lesson here somewhere). This time the temperature was much more pleasant and there were more people present (still not a lot). The rabbi, who is from New York, delivers the drasha in both English and Hebrew but with the high ceilings and my lousy hearing, at any given point I couldn't tell which language he was speaking in. Regardless, his enthusiasm and energy are remarkable and I was glad I went. The congregation is something that Israelis describe as “Orthodox Lite” which means it is pretty close to where I belong in Vancouver (except that there I can actually hear the rabbi) and no one wears a black hat.

In Israel, religion is something that is completely intertwined with politics, in a way that is incomprehensible to me. The nature of the political system delivers one coalition government after another, which creates the need for unholy (pardon the pun) alliances all over, with the attendant compromises. This makes the average non-observant Israeli angry and makes them want to reject religion outright.

 

After shul I met with Malka and Nissim (Malka is my brother-in-law’s sister) and we went to the Port of Tel Aviv. And now I know where Tel Avivians spend Shabbat.

With Malka

Checking out the produce at the Farmers Market

At the Port I saw what must have been thousands of people of all ages strolling about the long promenade along the sea. Apparently, since 1965 the area was derelict and only 7 years ago it underwent a major restoration programme. Now it is full of restaurants and cafes and nice stores and playgrounds for kids.  It was such fun to see so many people enjoying being in the sunshine, sitting in cafes and restaurants and shopping at the Farmers Market (about ½ the size of the Granville Island market).

Lycopene concentrated specialty tomatoes

The weather was sunny and warm and windy (a bit cool if in the shade). I sat with Malka and Nissim at Aroma Café overlooking the Mediterranean and it was great to get their perspective on things. They are smart and funny and I enjoyed hearing about their family and their careers, which seem to be in the heart of Israel’s economic activity (aerospace and export, respectively).

But I am embarrassed to admit I had to be updated on the news as I haven’t been reading the papers. I totally missed the news that 135 rockets had been fired out of Gaza over weekend on Ashdod and Beersheba, the worst violence in a year.  The good news: The Iron Dome missile defense system made about 30 successful interceptions of rockets aimed toward population centers. But there were injuries and people there are suffering from shock and schools and public events had to be cancelled.  (Know that the distance between my apartment and Ashdod is 39.5 km. and the distance between my house in Vancouver and Horseshoe Bay is 32.6 km.)

In Israel, Tel Aviv is referred to as “the Republic of Tel Aviv” or “the Bubble” because it is so detached from what goes on in the rest of the country and the thousands of people walking past us seemed just as oblivious to this serious news as I was.

A few days ago, my mother emailed me a link from the National Post’s Bonnie Stern called Show and Tel Aviv.  She had just returned to Toronto from spending a month in Tel Aviv and posted a few delicious recipes from local restaurants she visited. So I emailed her and she was great at sharing with me her impression of Tel Aviv as well as many restaurant recommendations and recipes from her trip (you can find her e-newsletter here).  Many if not most of her recommendations were located right at the Tel Aviv Port.  Having secured the names of her favourite restaurants in Tel Aviv, my research for when Rafi comes is done!

Later in the evening, I was picked up by Rafi’s cousin’s son Roy and his girlfriend Einav and we met his dad, Avi, and grandmother Lydia at a restaurant in Yaffo. Other than lovely and smart Einav, I had met them all before and it was a real pleasure to spend time with them, especially in such a picturesque spot.

Roy and Einav

Avi and Lydia

With Roy

Roy is from Tel Aviv but is studying at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and Einav is from Jerusalem. They plan to move to Tel Aviv once Roy graduates, and it was interesting to hear their perspective of both cities.

The best part of the evening was that they let me practice my Hebrew and didn’t look at all in pain (like others have looked) as they waited for my little brain to remember words nor did they laugh when I used wrong words (as other have). They *are* family!