No Mezuzah at McDonald's

I was quite surprised when I first learnt that the franchise owner of McDonald's chain in Israel was Omri Padan. The guy was known as an extreme anti-religious, left-oriented political activist. That could theoretically mean that some 25%-30% of potential customers would not go to McDonald's eateries.

the very first McD  , opened at Ayalon Mall ,Ramat-Gan in 1993

 McD's in my hometown -on  ground floor of  building 

But what do I know? The triangle of business, religion, politics is indeed a very tricky one, and yet it seems Padan (now Dr Padan) has successfully played his cards. McDonald's Israel is an empire.

Anyway, I like the McDonald's concept (all of it - food, system, social experience).
What I do not like when I happen to be there, is the fact that there's no 'mezuzah' sitting on the entrance doorpost . Almost every house and shop in this country has a 'mezuzah' affixed to its doorpost. It's a tradition, a nice  one, if you ask me.

copper made mezuzah on the local Supermarkets's doorpost

A 'mezuzah' is a case, a holder (usually decorative) containing a piece of parchment with  hand-written biblical verses on it. It's supposed to protect and bless  the house and its people. 

case and scroll 

The case comes in various materials:  plastic, wood, metal, ceramics, silver, porcelain - the two last mentioned being more expensive. Everything goes.

ceramics and metal cases

metal cases (aluminium, bronze, copper)

The most important part, though, is the scroll to be placed within the case. 
It must be hand-calligraphed with verses from Deuteronomy that start with "Hear o Israel, the Lord our God,  the Lord is One".

A genuine scroll is usually not sold at a souvenir shop but at a judaica one, and could be quite expensive.
After a while (several years) it has to be checked for faded or deleted letters, spot or crease;if this is found,  the scroll will be considered faulty and will have to be replaced.

scrolls of different sizes

Sometimes, a 'mezuzah' gets stolen; the thieves are looking for authentic, high quality scrolls. Because of that, there are buildings where the 'mezuzah' is placed on the inner side of the entrance door.(In a house or office there's a 'mezuzah' on every door - except bathroom and toilets).

ceramics - inner room

metal- utility room

wood - balcony

As someone has remarked:"if it can't even protect itself from thieves, it can't protect the house either"   Food for thought. Perhaps it was a faulty mezuzah.

Cork ( city, tree, material)

Cork, the city in Ireland, is on my bucket list. They say it sits on an island in the middle of a river (Dee River). It's the second largest city of Ireland and it is highly cosmopolitan. Moreover, it is the starting point of a trip to the port of call for the famous Titanic ship before it left for its tragic end.  

How cool is that?!

Cork - the irish colorful city  (Web picture)

The cork tree (oak tree Queros Suber) is a predominant tree species in Portugal. (There are some fascinating pictures of these trees on the Web worth viewing!).
When I visited Portugal, many years ago, I  knew almost nothing about the tree and its end product. I don't even recall touristic information on cork as important income source for this country.

cork tree (web picture)

Cork, the layer of bark harvested from the cork oak, is a natural, sustainable  material with lots of good uses.
I've got some small cork items at home (coasters, stoppers, pot bottom plates, lids, and even shoes- the inner sole). I want some more, but... there are only few shops that deal with cork in my area, and they are not nearby. Looking on their online sites, I've got put off by the prices. Cork , both the material and the finished items are imported, and thus, not cheap.

cork plant pot

cork magnet with pencil on the fridge door

cork  bulletin board

cork asian figurine with straw hat and necklace

set of ceramics for tea/coffee/sugar with cork lids

cork coasters

the tin side of the above coasters

three cork trivets 

two cork lids and two cork wine bottle stoppers

tiny former honey jar and its cork lid

Cork reminds me of another  natural,  echo-friendly material with practical uses, but... expensive -  bamboo. Bamboo furniture, for instance, is solid, yet easy to handle and  take care of. It is ideal for young couples who move often, and perfect for people of the third age for whom wood is too heavy.
We succomb to plastic in the end .
One should do something about that, so that we choose the right options for both us and the planet.

Anyway, if and when I go to Portugal again, I know what I'll fill my suitcase with.