Redemption

On a very hot day, if you happen to be in a city which can offer you a view of some snow covered mountain (like Granada, with its Sierra Nevada mountains) or a city offering you a view of the sea (like Tel Aviv with its Mediterranean sea) , then chances are you'll psychologically and even physically feel a little better, cooler.

The other day I had some business to attend to on Geula street in Tel Aviv. It was hot and humid, but as I entered the street and saw the sea at the other end of it I felt as if the sea breeze was reaching and caressing me. It was all I needed at that moment.

beach

This street is placed between two very long, parallel streets: a central, commercial, busy street (Allenby street) and the beach street with its big hotels (Hayarkon street) that runs parallel to the sea. It has a mixture of old, new, and renovated buildings , some shops, and two four-star hotels :Abratel and Savoy.

old building at Allenby-Geula corner

Geula street ('Geula' meaning Redemption) has a story which revolves around a former small hotel named Savoy, located at a very short distance from the beach. In 1975 a group of terrorists came by sea, at night, and took control of the hotel, its guests and staff. A counter-terrorism unit was sent to the place. The terrorists were killed and one taken prisoner, but there were also eleven victims in the action: seven guests, the porter of the hotel, and three soldiers, one of them a highly ranked officer .

In 2008, a brand new four-star hotel was built on the place of the old one. Its front bears a plaque which tells the above story mentioning the names of the victims.

Savoy new four-star hotel

entrance to Savoy hotel

commemorative plaque

Regards from Safed

Safed (Tzfat - in hebrew) is a small but special town located in the mountains, in northern Israel. It is a place where the spiritual meets the physical. It takes about four hours from my home to get there by bus , but the trip is very rewarding.

The town is blessed with mountain good air, picturesque landscape, and a highly spiritual and mystical atmosphere. It has historic sites like the Citadel at the top of the city with ruins dating back to the Crusaders and Mamluks, an artists' colony of stone houses in which artists live and work, art exhibitions , a variety of hotels and guest houses to accomodate the domestic and foreign tourists , shopping areas, healthy living centers.

shopping street

The "Artists' Quarter" in the old town is a major attraction of Safed. The cobbled narrow lanes, the stone houses with their artistic doors and windows, and the various art galleries - are very inviting to its visitors.

cobbled alley in the Artists' Quarter


ceramic work of art on the outer wall of a house

artistic door

tourists in the galleries' area

Safed is considered one of the four holy cities of Israel together with Jeruusalem, Hebron and Bnei-Brak. It has lots of synagogues, holy sites, religious institutions , and ,of course, a significant religious population.

The city is famous for the graves of 'tzadikim' (righteous holy people) whose spirits are believed to protect the city (It's Safe in Safed, as one would say).

This time I visited only the cemetery where my favorite tzadik ,rabbi Abraham Fish, and his wife rest in peace.

It is before the High Holidays when we ask for a good New Year. Praying by the tzadik's grave is always a great privilege, especially at this time of the year.

religios pupils heading to the graves

On the way out of Safed down to the main road, I took two pictures that I think are very beautiful and I hope , dear readers, you'll like them too: one includes a distant patch of blue which is the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kineret) seen from above , and the other shows the sun setting behind the mountains.

Sea of Galilee in the background

sunset

See you again next year, dear Tzfat!

Forest of Martyrs and ..Picnics

Two months ago I attended a commemorative event in one of the Martyrs' Forests near Jerusalem. People had gathered there in the early afternoon hours for a ceremony that was planned to start at 16:oo pm. Each participant (there were about two hundred people) was offered a new white cotton cap and a red fresh rose. The white of the caps and of the plastic chairs facing the stage of honor, the red of the roses, the yellow of the scorching sun, and the green of the trees around - that was quite a sight!

surrounding trees

offering flowers to participants

The spot , named the 'Dorohoi woodland' (Dorohoi - a city and former county in north-east Romania) is dominated by a six-column monument - symbol of the six little towns of Dorohoi county whose Jewish population has undergone persecutions during the Holocaust.

the six-column stone monument

young boy at the ceremony

romanian ambassador delivering a speech

Not far from this memorial, there are some long wooden tables and benches - indication that the spot is a popular place for picnics and recreation.
Life with its little pleasures goes on, parallel to what the monument stands for, namely, martyrdom.

long wooden table and benches

The Wrestling Rabbi of Bnei- Brak.

Wrestler-bodybuilder- rabbi- author of religious books - diamond cutter - entrepeneur- donor - businessman - all this in one fascinating figure, that of rabbi Raphael Halperin.

Last week the rabbi (87), a former professional wrestler, died at his home in the orthodox city Bnei- Brak, surrounded , probably, by his large family (12 children from two wives and some 50 grandchildren and greatgrandchildren). May his soul rest in peace!

rabbi Raphael Halperin (Web pic.)

In 1988, Raphael Halperin, a man of many talents , opened an optical store in Bnei-Brak in a charitable attempt to sell eyeglasses at low prices to the many needy residents of his city. (Bnei Brak is considered one of the poorest cities in Israel). This optical store is located on the main shopping street of the city - the rabbi Akiva street - on the ground floor of an old building. A few stone stairs lead from the street down to the store. In front of the store, a huge sign in hebrew -"Optica Halperin" - welcomes the potential customers. Inside, it's quite spacious and the young staff seem to be polite and helpful.

Huge sign : Optica Halperin


the optical store

The rabbi Akiva street, long and rather narrow, is now being upgraded , so everything looks kind of messy - especially the traffic, What immediately attracts a stranger's eye are the many charity boxes of all sizes and shapes scattered along the street, men dressed in black attire, women with long skirts , long sleeves, stockings, head coverings or wigs, and... lots of children. It's very hot and humid outside in August, and I feel particularly sorry for the not so lightly dressed little girls and boys.

big charity box

waiting for traffic lights to change

youngsters in orthodox outfit

little girl- long sleeves-white stockings

'Optica Halperin' has gradually become a chain of more than 120 stores! (with branches even in New-York and Los Angeles ). It still boasts of offering good stuff and service at low prices.

Anyway, its founder and CEO, the wrestler-rabbi Halperin will always be an inspiration to many of us.

Made in Moldova

One of the latest 'hot' things on Youtube comes from Moldova, the small country "sandwiched" between Romania and Ukraine (see web map above) which emerged as a republic following the collapse of USSR in 1991.

The capital of this country is Chisinau and the official language is romanian, known as moldovan. Several other languages spoken here are: russian, ukrainean, gagauz, bulgarian, polish.

Its main touristic attractions are vineyards (the country is known for its superb wines) and remote monasteries cut into limestone cliffs.

I must admit I'm very impressed by the dancing virtuosity of the two moldovan kids in the video clip below, but I'm not happy with their moves which I consider too adult for their age; I'm also not happy with what seems to be a tattoo on the girl's upper arm.

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The video was filmed at a wedding with the tiny couple of dancers as main entertaining attraction.

What say you, dear readers?

Sweet and Spicy

Levinsky spice market is very inviting. The smells here are maddening, you can have a bite of turkish boureka, and sometimes even stumble upon a famous chef in search of some special spice for some special dish. Many come here not just for the products but also for the unique, colorful atmosphere of this place.

The small but rich in stuff spice market is located on a portion of the long Levinsky street ( probably named so after one of Monika Levinsky's ancestors LOL) - in south Tel-Aviv, not far from the New Central Bus Station. The everyday traffic here is terrible , on Fridays - it's all hectic, but.. one survives.

pink of shorts goes well with blue of bag stripes

Levinsky market specializes in a wide selection of spices and dried herbs (local, exotic) , dried fruits, nuts, grains, flour, and Mediterranean delicacies such as: olives and olive spreads, pickles, herring, smoked fish, cheeses, stuffed grape leaves.

spices and dried herbs

dried fruits, nuts, almonds, pistachios, peanuts

customer waiting to be served

olives & pickles

vendor posing for the camera

Among the spice/dried fruit/grain shops there are some small bakeries which specialize in turkish/greek style pastries : bourekas, kadaiff, baklava, pita; shops with cookies and turkish delight (lokum, halva) on their shelves , shops that sell olive oil, wines, coffee /coffee beans, tea blends, flavorings for baking.

bourekas (filled with cheese or potato)

cookies

And amidst all this ...surprise, surprise - two arab women (apparently unaccompanied by men?!) having a bite in an eatery - and...a lovely synagogue near one of the shops (prayers are always welcomed).

arab women in the eatery

synagogue

The Bowl of Rice and Ayurvedic Soap

Sometimes I wonder about remote ,unknown to me places, just because I happen to like and use some product manufactured there. So, I find myself seeking information on 'Andhrah Pradesh', a state in India, mentioned on my favorite ayurvedic soap; 'Harderwijk' , a city in Holland where the finest organic apple puree comes from; Costa di Mezzate, city in Bergamo, Italy, which houses the Molino Nicoli, the company which produces the finest cornflour; 'Oak Brook', a village in Illinois, USA, home to the headquarters of Paper Mate, the company responsible for my most beloved pencil . And other such locations.

Andhrah Pradesh (capital city - Hyderabad) is a large state situated on the southeastern coast of India. Historically it's called the "Rice bowl of India" as more than 77 % of its crop is rice. Although agriculture is the basis of the state's economy, information technology (software industry) and biotechnology (pharmaceutical companies) are at the top of the key sectors active in this state.

Andrah Pradesh State Assembly (web pic.)

ayurvedic soap

Anyway, I'm very pleased with the green bar of soap ( 18 herbs among its ingredients) produced there. It gives me the right feeling of cleanliness and freshness that I look for in a soap.

Harderwijk is a small city in the eastern part of Holland. It's main attraction is the Dolphinarium with its dolphin shows. However, it is also known for 'Natudis' , wholesaler of organic food and natural health products which has its headquarters and warehouse in the city. I like their sugarless 'appelpuree' which is based on the well-known Demeter apple. I buy this product mainly in winter , and it is eaten as dessert.

Dolphinarium Harderwijk (web pic.)

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organic apple puree

Costa di Mezzate is a commune in the province of Bergamo in Lombardy, Italy.This place houses the Molino Nicoli SpA , the company which produces the fine cornflour (gluten free) for polenta, the yellow boiled dish made from this kind of flour.

After trying various brands, I found out that this particular Nicoli cornflour is the best for preparing the polenta or its romanian counterpart, a staple dish called 'mamaliga', so I make sure I always have it on the shelf. 'Mamaliga' (polenta) tastes great with everything - especially with cheese, sour cream, omelette, beans.

Medieval Castle in Costa di Mezzate (web pic.)


cornflour for polenta

Oak Brook is a village, a suburb of Chicago in Illinois, USA. The place has many recreational facilities: polo fields, a golf course, swimming pools, tennis fields.
Mc Donald's has its headquarters here and so does Sanford, manufacturer of writing instruments and art materials. Paper Mate is part of the family of brands owned by Sanford. (In the past, there was another village , Bellwood , associated with Stanford and Paper-Mate). Anyway, as far as I know their products are manufactured in Mexico.

Paper Mate mechanical sharp writer pencil has been for many years and still is my best writing companion. I just love it. I can't live without it. It comes in a pack of six or twelve; yellow barrel, but also in neon colors. It doesn't need sharpening, it has a pocket clip, and an eraser. Its writing quality is great.

Oak Brook center (web pic.)

Paper Mate mechanical pencils

I'm all in favor of buying local products and encouraging the local industry, but that's not always possible. I suppose I can make my own organic apple puree, and I can even find a local cornflour that will suit my taste. There's ,however, nothing on the local market similar to the indian ayurvedic soap and to the Paper Mate sharp writer pencil.(sigh).

No Place for Evil Doing

A 27-year old woman entered a big furniture and carpets store and never came out of it. She got raped and murdered on the deserted top floor of the store. The murderer, one of the workers, wrapped up the body in a thick carpet, and left it there. The victim was found only ten days after the murder, due to the strong smell of putrefaction felt in the building.

It happened some over ten years ago, and it was a big tragedy for the family of the woman, and also for the store, which was part of a very distinguished chain of home stores. The owners had to pay millions compensation to the surviving mother and sisters of the deceased, as the court had found them guilty of failing to assure the safety of the customer. After the tragic event, there were people who refrained from entering 'that place of evil doing', and so the business lost many customers.

I myself never entered that store again until it changed its location. You may call me superstitious or whatever, but I couldn't even approach the place, let alone enter it. I had thoughts about the spirit of the tormented woman as prevailing over the whole place, crying out and warning people of the danger within it.

It took several years till a new location in the area was found for the store (top picture). I happened to be there yesterday. It's a beautiful store with fine home items (furniture, carpets, light fixtures, etc...) . Along with the pleasure of seeing these items, there's of course the sadness of past memories that one feels.

sitting set

carpets

armchair

This time I've noticed something very important. No upper floor! only the vast ground surface, divided cleverly in open sections on various height levels. The lesson has been learnt.