Wayside Stories in Jerusalem

This morning feels like forever ago. I woke up at 5:20 am with the intention of volunteering with Rabbis for Human Rights but, due to an embarrassing mistake on my part and overbooking on theirs, I returned home at 7 am having done little except take a bus to Liberty Bell Park, buy yogurt at a gas station, and get back on a bus.

I fell back asleep and didn’t wake up again until 10:30 am – the latest I’ve slept in a very long time. I was supposed to have tea with my friend Navah, but a complication with the bus schedule left her without time to meet me. Instead, I convinced Max to eat lunch with me at Carmei Ha’ir (the soup kitchen-restaurant mentioned in an earlier entry.) Anyone can eat there, I’ve been told, and I thought it would be valuable to experience the establishment before announcing that I want to volunteer there. With address in hand – 72 Rechov Agrippas – Max and I headed out.

We turned left onto our street (Rechov Rav Aryeh) and right onto the next street (I don’t know it’s name … I call it the street that Jake and Shoshana live on) and left, where we found ourselves standing, as we always do when we’re going to the shuk, in the alleyway perpendicular to Agrippas (with a clear view of Agrippas’ most popular establishment – Marzipan Bakery.) I had no idea where on Agrippas we were so I looked up to my right: 73 Agrippas. I looked to my left: 71 Agrippas. Wayside Stories anyone?[1]

There is a purple door in the alleyway that could have been the entrance, but I think it’s always good to call before walking through strange purple doors.

We then headed down Jaffa St. to the post office, so Max could mail his ballot. (That’s one more vote for Obama in North Carolina.) It was closed (thank you Sukkot) but in the building where the post office is located we found an entire mall. The mall is fairly narrow, five stories tall, almost completely empty, and very, very bizarre. Highlights of the mall: 5 or 6 computer shops (none of which had Max’s express card but one of which had a very strange smell), a Russian video rental store, a mannequin dressed in a green nurse’s scrubs and a chef’s hat, a pet store with a lot of fish, and a porn shop.

After our strange mall adventure, we went to the shuk to buy food for lunch and dinner. Now, I don’t want to brag, but … I do. I made homemade pita chips (ok, I didn’t make the pita, but I did convert the pita into chip form) and homemade guacamole. I served it all like they do in the Arab Israeli restaurants, with hummus and slices of vegetables to dip.

The best part is, it was incredibly cheap! It’s like Jerusalem for 40 Shekels a Day!

3 Pitas = 1.5 shekels

2 Avocados = 4 shekels

2 Tomatoes = 2 shekels

1 Onion = 1 shekel

1 Cucumber = 1/2 shekel

1 Spicy Pepper = 1 shekel

1 Lemon = 1 shekel

Hummus (2 servings) = 2 shekels

Staples (olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, etc.) = negligible

Total = 13 shekels

Total per person = 6.5 shekels (about $1.85)

And then the city shut down again. It’s Sukkot and like Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and Shabbos, everything stops. It’s peaceful and serene, but Max and I twiddling our thumbs trying to find things to do. We have a Sukkah party to attend on Wednesday, but tonight it looks like a frozen pizza and movie night.

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[1] For those of you who are not between the ages of, let’s say, 18 – 30, there is an anecdote in one of books in the Wayside Story series in which a student in sent to deliver a note to a teacher on the 13^th floor, which does not exist. If you have read or seen any of the Harry Potter books/movies, you can insert an allusion to Platform 9 ¾ if you’d like.)