Thursday, July 22, 2010

To Be A Majority Member


Words can never express what is in my heart being here in Israel. To be a majority, after living my entire life as a minority is overwhelming. I go into a restaurant and taste all food put in front of me. I don't have to think about what is kosher and what is not. This morning, the eggs had something strange looking in them, but, I knew I could safely taste them. The meat is awful. I usually avoid eating it but here I feel I must put a morsel in my mouth each time it is presented. I had to hold in a chuckle when a group of priests at my first hotel in Jerusalem wanted bacon with their eggs. The salads and the produce are another matter. They are good beyond words. The hotel doors, the restaurants and the stores all have mizzuzohs on the ntrance ways. People with kippas, and Hassids in the street are the norm.

It took my husband forever to get brave enough to make this trip and now that he is here, he will be the first one to tell you this is the safest he has ever felt in his life. We have been to the Gaza Strip, to the West Bank and today we rode jeeps near mine fields in the Golan Heights. Right now, I am writing this post, overlooking the Sea Of Galilea and looking straight at Syria. Tomorrow we will be at the Lebanon border.
I haven't downloaded the over 2000 pictures I have so far. The picture above was taken in Yad Vashem (Holocaust Memorial). From the air, this area is in the shape of Europe. Each country, in its own area and each town with its own mention on the walls. I need a new blog just to write all I have seen and done.
(Again, glare prevents me from checking spelling and grammar.)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

were you IN gaza? or at the border? (i would think the latter.)
btw - i am really enjoying your posts of this trip!
sara g -
your Israeli reader

Anonymous said...

FYI, not all restaurants, even in Jerusalem, are kosher. It used to be the case that they were, but now there are even restaurants in Jerusalem that serve milk and meat together, as well as pork and shellfish. They may not take you to these places on your particular tour, but they do exist, and no one should think they can walk into ANY restaurant in Israel and get kosher food.

Mrs. B. said...

What a wonderful experience!

Pissedoffteacher said...

Yes, we were only on the border of Gaza and I know not all restaurants are Kosher but it is so easy to find the ones that are. Yesterday, walking in the streets of Tel Aviv, a man gave me some schwarma to taste from his Kosher place. It was a great experience.

Mathman42 said...

We went for a shorter time in February. You must have a great tolerance for the heat even though NY is brutal this year.