The Person Behind The Posts

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Everyday Life: A Photo Blog

I walk around Israel like a kid in a candy store.  There are Jewish messages embedded everywhere.  Sometimes, my husband sees them first and he points out what he knows will delight me.  Here are some favorite scenes from my everyday life in Israel over the past few weeks.

At Elon Moreh, we were greeted by this homemade sign on our cabin door:
"Welcome Rav Elan and Rivkah.  Shabbat Shalom."
While waiting at the Cellcom service center in Jerusalem,
a mother and daughter passed the time reciting Tehillim (Psalms).
The same day, there was an Arab woman and a haredi girl sitting side-by-side,
also waiting for service at Cellcom.  More evidence that Israel is definitely an apartheid country (kidding!)
 All over Israel, there are displays of small kitchen appliances whose chief marketing ploy is to suggest
 that they are American made. I always find this deeply ironic.

On a frozen drink dispenser at a street festival in Tiveria (Tiberias), there was a bumper sticker that says:
"In every Jew, there is Moshiach."

In Israel, people post Biblical verses outside their homes.  In this case, the words come from
Tehillim 102:14-15  "Rise up. Comfort Zion... Because her servants take pleasure in her stones and love her dust."  Especially apt because the house upon which these words appear was built in the middle of an undeveloped area.


This is the house on which the verses from Tehillim are displayed near the front entrance.
In context, they make a lot more sense.

My favorite!  This one reminds customers in this produce store not to forget to say "In honor of the Holy Sabbath" when selecting fruits and vegetables that will be served on Shabbat.




POSTSCRIPT: After this post was published, comments led to this - one more picture, taken on an Egged bus by fellow blogger SaraK, who shares my proclivity for photographing "only in Israel" images.



"To the soldiers of Israel: Go and return home in peace!  We love you.  From the Nation of Israel."


9 comments:

SaraK said...

Love them all, but particularly the last one :)
Did you see the one I posted recently on FB?

Malka Michaela Barshishat said...

Hi Rivkah,
I am originally from Prague Czech Rep. and have been living in Brooklyn , NY for the past 15 yrs. My husband is Israeli. I came across your blog by accident (Or by divine intervention :) . We are in a process of making aliyah w/ our children. I am super nervous. I will keep checking your site. Thank you for all the helpful posts!

Bat Aliyah said...

SaraK - I went back to find your photo on Facebook. Exactly something I would have photographed! I wish there was a way I could link to it here. For everyone else, it was a handwritten sign inside a bus that reads, "To Israel's soldiers: Go and return home in peace! We love you. From The Nation of Israel."

Bat Aliyah said...

Malka: Try not to be nervous. You are coming Home to Hashem and to your people. And with an Israeli husband, you'll be way ahead of most olim :-)

Anonymous said...

You say that the Arab and chareidi women are signs that Israel is an apartheid country...don't you mean the opposite? By being together in the same place with the same conditions it is proof that Israel is a democratic, non-racist state!!!

Bat Aliyah said...

Anonymous - Mine was a tongue-in-cheek comment. But now I'll go back and add clarification.

Bracha said...

Wonder how many times the mother and daughter finished saying the entire sefer Tehilim before their number was called at Cellcom...

Rivkush said...

Bracha, I thought the same exact thing. :)
Rivkah, thanks for the great posts. Loved them!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad someone caught the photo of the sign about the soldiers; I keep trying to take a picture with my cellphone, but it just doesn't come out so clearly. However, it isn't on an Egged bus - it's the Connex #110 from Jerusalem to Modi'in. I see it frequently on my way home to Modi'in, and it always makes me smile. And, um, maybe tear up a bit. If I were a giant mushpot :)