Well, the cooler weather is on its way. For the past 6 weeks (!) it has been a warm & pleasant 29-33degC every day, but just the last few days there have been some darker clouds around and the temp is now around 25. Right now its a bit blowy and grey out and you can smell the rain in the air.
I had no idea that its so dusty in Jerusalem. I realise now that the desert (its real real desert - nuthin baby) is only about 5-10kms east from the heart of jerusalem so after a few days of light wind everything has a fine layer of sandy dust on it, and after some rain our car has splotches of dust all over it.
We've perhaps been taking it a bit easier over the last week, although i still haven't found the time to write an update on our travels.
I shouldn't leave it so long between updates because it is difficult to retrace our steps, and the emails become [even more] long-winded. Last Wednesday (21st) after we dropped the girls off to school I took Rochelle to a volunteer place - Yad Ezra VeShulamit - in Mea Shearim. The volunteer work is a soup kitchen and packing food boxes and then help with children after school. Look it up and make a donation. They do good work. It's run by a guy who himself was destitute as a child and vowed to help those in need when he was old enough. Strangely one of their minor issues about Rochelle was to clarify if she was jewish, because they get a lot of non-jews, jews for jesus,etc offering to help - but they need jewish people especially in the kitchen and with the kids. While Rochelle was there i decided to go off to the Knesset and try to see a session. I got there just at the right time 11am Wed and i very much enjoyed that. Walking in thru the security (the first 'checkpoint' was a guard causually leaning against a wall outside picking his teeth ''why are you here?'', and the second was inside ''who invited you?'' - odd...?). Walking from the security gate to the main Knesset building is quite awesome as you are in a big open and exposed area as you approach. Just before walking into the viewing gallery (which is behind bullet-proof glass) you walk past a guard who is lying down on a couch beside the door. (wish i could take a photo - and he hadn't moved when i walked out an hour later). For most of the hour i was there i was pretty much by myself, and there were only about 12 out of a possible 125ministers attending, but i still got to see some Q&A's and a vote taking place. I didn't understand a thing but it was an experience not unlike being at the Kotel - the Kotel is like the heart of the Jewish people and the Knesset is like the heart of the Jewish land. Both places give me a feeling i can only describe as the opposite of isolation, where you are close and part of something - you belong and its all there just for you.
After the Knesset i picked up the girls from school and took them to get Rochelle from Yad Ezra. We all came in and interacted with the kids while they finished their dinner and played/did homework in a room. There were about 40-50kids there and some of them were a bit relentless asking all sorts of questions and wanting to know English words. They were cute and our girls were very mature and patient attempting to interact. Kol Hakavod.
On Wednesday early evening we went to see the sound&light show at Migdal David (David's Citadel, and by the way nothing to do with King David - silly Herod). This show went for about 30-40mins and it was SPECTACULAR. One of the best things to see here.
Later that night Beth & I went out for a beer - hooray for a drinking buddy.
Thursday 22nd was terrific. While the girls were at school in the morning, Rochelle and i shopped at M.Yehuda shuq for shabbos, and then i bought 6 torches for our tour that afternoon of Ir David! Hezekiah's Tunnel, Shiloam Pool, Gihon Spring - wow. You walk through a 500m [very] narrow tunnel hewn through the mountain by King Hezekiah about 2000years ago. A lot of fun and i still have the pink wristband on - kind of like what you get when you've been on a waterslide ;-) So Ir David was very very good. That night Rochelle & I went out to Hillel St - a super cool area to go on Thurs night for a drink&nargila (hookah). The place to be seen. 'Crack Square' and a shop nearby 'Goa' were particularly funny.
Shabbos was nice with Beth and motzei shabbos (Sat.night) we drove to 'Tel Stone/Kiryat Yearim' (beside Abu Gosh) about 20mins west of J'lem to see one of Rochelle's uni friends Esti(&Eli) and their kids. Lovely 4 storey (!) house with plenty of bedrooms and large backyard. All the kids got along very well and we had pizza.
Sunday 25th after school we went to the Kotel tunnels. We saw a stone that weighs 600tons (4 jumbo jets) and you walk underground the entire length of the Western Wall. From previous reports i could never completely understand where this tunnel went, e.g. does it go under the temple mount? how close to the holy of holies? etc - but now i get it... The 'kotel tunnel' runs beside the entire remainder of the Western Wall (Kotel) which is about 600m. The Kotel that we see is only about 1/6th of the entire Western Wall (which was the wall behind the Temple), and the rest of it has been obscured by 2 millenia of buildings. You don't go under the temple mount.
I'll tell you about the rest of this week soon... Thurs afternoon and we just picked up the girls and now off to Latrun.
P
(see our picasa site below for some great pics)
Latest update from the Steinbergs In Israel...
Blog online: http://steinbergsinisrael.blogspot.com
Web photo album: http://picasaweb.google.com/steinbergpicasa
GoogleMaps Steinberg Israel Tour: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=101845790702321945414.00046ae3bb9b8c8d66f12
Skype Paul username: 'paulsteinberg'
Skype Steinberg Family username: 'prsteinberg'
Jerusalem address: 27 Narkis, Nahlaot.
Telephone: (03) 9015-9718 (local call in Australia)
Telephone: +972-(0)52-3396805 (in Israel)
Time: Melbourne Aust (AEST) minus -9 hours (e.g. Melb 10am=J'lem 1am)
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