Always Ancient, Always New – Walking Through Jerusalem

Jerusalem is so contradictory. For all its deep, tangled historical roots and self-conscious cosmopolitan air,  it’s still a small town. Sometimes, climbing onto a crowded bus during rush hour, squeezing past old folks laden with bulging shopping bags and tired soldiers talking into cellphones, hoping you’ll find at least a standing space with some elbow [...]

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Happiness is Green-Flecked Teeth

Some folks chew gum. A lot of Israelis chew seeds: sunflower, pumpkin, watermelon seeds. Some people put a plug of tobacco into their cheek and chew away, only pausing to spit once in a while. And of course, we know all about chewing Goober Peas.
But another custom, enchanting-er than that – is wearing out [...]

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Gat

I had meant to post about things needing lots of photos, but there seems to be a problem with uploading media tonight. Meantime, I offer this poem. A word of explanation: gat means an ancient winepress.
Highway 6 slid away under our wheels and
Night dropped down.
We drove on to Beit Shemesh;
Ahead a storm gathered.
Fat drops [...]

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