Sukkah

Here's the update on the sukkah front. After many adaptations and innovations the sukkah is built. In the end I used thick cardboard tubes that I bought at a clothing material store for support as well as much rope and of course, palm fronds for skhakh. The main support was already provided by the balcony. Take a look and Khag Sameakh/Chag Sameach!

The starting empty area of the balcony...

Lugging the cardboard rolls home

The 10 foot long palm fronds brought from skakh distribution central, Mea Shearim

My friend, Alex, helping build the sukkah

The sukkah almost complete

Sivanne fulfilling the mitzvah to sit in the sukkah

Done!

The Saga of Gilad

On Yom Kippur day, just 4 days ago, I took a long walk around Jerusalem and on the way stopped at various places - one of which was the free Gilad Shalit protest tent in front of the Prime Minister's house. Gilad Shalit is an Israeli who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists more than 5 years ago. He has been held captive in Gaza with no contact with the outside world (this includes no allowed visits from the International Red Cross...).

Gilad Shalit's tent. The chair in the center reads: Reserved for Gilad Shalit. This tent is just part of a whole protest area that lines the entire block in front of the Prime Minister's house, ironically on "Gaza Street." (photo linked from israelitkan.ning.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I arrived the mid-day the tent was empty except for a young mother and her inquisitive daughter - about 5 years old or so. The conversation I overheard between is one that I'll never forget.

"Imma, what is this tent here for?"
"It is a tent that is for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was taken away by a bad army"
"Why did they take him? Did he do something bad?"
"No he didn't do something, they took him because he was Israeli and a soldier"
"Why do they not like Israelis?"
"... It's had to explain..."
"... who sits here in these chairs if he isn't here?"
"His mommy and daddy and family sit here waiting for him, and that chair is for Gilad when he comes home (she points to an empty chair in the center of the tent with a sign on it stating "Reserved for Gilad Shalit")"
"When will he come home?"
"I don't know, sweetie"

My heart broke overhearing this. How does one explain such a complicated, emotional, devastating issue and concept in general to a little girl. I just stood there staring at the dozens of posters of Gilad lining the upper area and teared up.

 --

Why is Gilad a big deal?
On one hand, Gilad is just one person. On the other hand, he's a person.  He's also an Israeli soldier.
He has come to represent much more than himself in Israel and the global Jewish community. He is representative of every person who serves in the Israel Defense Force (most of the country's Jewish population).
He represents everyone's sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, partners, parents, and friends. With a mandatory conscription at age 18 and reserve duty continuing on for decades more, in a country that is constantly in some state of war, Israelis need to believe that their country will be behind them if they, themselves were to be in Gilad's horrible situation.

In this way Gilad's hopeful return is more than just the return of 1 Israeli citizen- it is a return of Gilad to his family and to the nation as he has become "everyone's son" (this phrase used often in the news). It is also the reassurance of faith in the State of Israel's commitment to the protection of its citizens.

Fastforward to last night (October 11, 2011)...

According to the news the Israeli negotiators have struck a deal with Hamas! In exchange for Gilad's release Israel will release more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, nearly half terrorists and some convicted murderers. Nonetheless the Israeli government negotiators seem to believe that this is the best deal that they could have gotten.
Like many in the country I was elated and emotional hearing this news. Gilad's family and supporters across the world have been protesting and pressuring the Israeli government to find a way to free him since his capture.
Objectively speaking- whoa, what a conundrum.
Personally speaking - whoa, what a conundrum.

In order to free Gilad Israel not only had to negotiate with terrorists but also free thousands of prisoners, many of whom will likely go on to cause further harm to Israelis in the future. Catch 22.

A memorial plaque for the victims of a suicide bombing that took place in this place in March 2002 (left). It is just across the street from the Shalit tent.

With that said I'm personally torn. The deal, on paper, is totally unbalanced and some even say reckless on Israel's part. However, I would say that there was no choice, and like I explained earlier, this was about much more than one person, it was about the whole country. And yet, it was still just about one person- this says a lot about Israel's character. And if it were my family, I'd want the same. What a day!

Here's what it looked like outside the Shalit tent today

 

Chag Sukkot Sameach. May Gilad's return to his family and Israel be quick as possible.

Lost in Translation

Yesterday at the Tel Aviv Shuk HaCarmel (market) I wandered past a spice booth selling a whole array of spices... schwarma spice, tumeric, cumin, tandoori, and gross chili.

Yes, in Israel we use "Gross chili" for all sorts of added gross flair to our meals...
Actually, this is a classic example of transliteration, not translation. In Hebrew the spice is called "Chili Garoos" which means crushed chili. I guess the translators did not realize that "Garoos" doesn't work in English like it does in Hebrew (though there are many words that are the same in both languages).
Any Russian speakers want to translate the Russian at the bottom of the label?

We are gonna build a sukkah-

Sukkot is upon us soon here. Every year growing up we built a sukkah in our backyard (and used to throw cornstalks on top to form the ceiling layer, called skhach. See the pic below.)

Taken circa 2004, my backyard, cousins helping in the sukkah raising

This is the first time that I am living in truly my own apartment (and sharing it with two wonderful roommates) I want to build a sukkah and carry on the tradition. But how to do so is the question...

There are pre-made sukkot that you can buy relatively afforadably- but for me this was out of the question. A sukkah is something that must be built and crafted, not simply assembled... a challenge in engineering, if you will.
I've been daydreaming for the last week and currently I'm in my 4th incarnation about how to build the sukkah.

Idea number 1: buy wood, hammer and nails, make a cube frame and hang up tapestries.
Problem: we don't have a car to transport and wood is expensive in Israel (there aren't vast forests like in the US here)
Idea number 2: PVC piping frame (see blueprint)
Problem: same... $$ and lack of car

Idea number 3: take advantage of Israel's arguably most plentiful and inexpensive resource: 1.5 liter plastic bottles! There are recycling cages for the bottles all over town and I thought to use dozens of plastic bottles and stuff them one inside the other (with the help of duct tape and parachute chord of course) to create pillars to form the frame for the sukkah. It would be kind of like a kindergarten project.

To be continued...