An Honor from 6,000 Miles Away

An Honor from 6,000 Miles Away

Meryl Yourish has said on her blog that one of her jobs is teaching little Jews to be big Jews—in other words, teaching at her local religious school. I’ve been reading her descriptions of her classes for several years now, and more than once I’ve told her that I would love to be in her classroom.

Well, yesterday it happened.

I felt like saying hi to Meryl, so I sent her an IM. Turns out she was in class and online... and the next thing I knew, my living room in Jerusalem and her classroom in Richmond were linked through GoogleTalk!

Well, I’ve always said that the Internet is miraculous.

It was absolutely lovely. I heard her pupils’ voices and even got to sing one of my favorite songs with them: Uzi Hitman’s version of “Adon Olam.” By the time we said goodbye I was grinning from ear to ear and even a bit misty in the eyes.

Thank you, Meryl. What an honor.

(Can we do it again? I’ll go collect some more songs...)

Missy and Her Ladyship: Friends At Last?

Missy and Her Ladyship: Friends At Last?

Missy and Her Ladyship in a very rare pose, captured in pixels by my friend, their human companion:

Could it be friendship at last?

Check out the Friday Ark and the upcoming Carnival of the Cats, which will be at The Scratching Post on Sunday.

Close, Closer, Closest

Close, Closer, Closest

Seen on the way home from work:

(Click on any image to enlarge.)

Liviu Lebrescu, 1930–2007

Liviu Lebrescu, 1930–2007

A Holocaust survivor originally from Romania, Dr. Liviu Lebrescu gave his life to save his students during the massacre at Virginia Tech, blocking the door to his classroom with his own body to prevent the murderer from forcing his way in.

Both Meryl Yourish and Elisson have written must-read pieces about him and his final act of rescue.

May Dr. Lebrescu’s soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life, together with the souls of the other victims.

Becoming, Being

Becoming, Being

From this...

... to this.

My friend says that this plant, which festoons itself across fences and trees, is a parasitic weed. But it is beautiful and has a lovely fragrance.

(What is it? Anybody?)

UPDATE: It’s wisteria. Thank you, OldRoses and Jocelyn!

Stopping to Remember

Stopping to Remember

Traffic stops on a Jerusalem street during the siren sounded on the morning of Yom ha-Shoah, Holocaust Heroes’ and Remembrance Day.

Shimrit’s Garden

Shimrit’s Garden

My neighbor, Shimrit Ginott, got a well-deserved write-up in The Jerusalem Post’s local supplement, In Jerusalem, this week: The not-so-secret garden.

Once upon a time in the tranquil and otherwise leafy neighborhood of San Simon, there was a plot of land that nobody wanted. Occasionally blades of grass would poke through the broken concrete only to be flattened by rubble from a nearby building site or the odd municipal bulldozer sent to obliterate intrepid weeds.

Today, however, rosemary, irises, wild mint, periwinkle, geraniums, buddleias, lemon grass and olive trees now fill the space, and it's all thanks to the determination of one green-fingered resident.

For the past five years, Shimrit Ginott has spent up to an hour every day revamping this 3,000 square meter area, which lies just outside her apartment building.

Here are some pictures that I took in Shimrit’s garden a few weeks ago. (Click on any image to enlarge it.)

The entrance:

A young fig tree (with an interesting plant in the background):

Red and purple:

Down the garden path:

A riot of flowers:

An anemone:

Tire planter with sign:

The one thing that these pictures don’t capture is all the birdsong.

Cheers to Shimrit! How fortunate we are to have her for a neighbor.

Cats in Light and Dark

Cats in Light and Dark

A calico in the dark:

Her Ladyship in the light:

The Friday Ark is up.

The Carnival of the Cats is heading to Books4Israel on Sunday.

Hide ’n’ Seek

Hide ’n’ Seek

Two tabbies in downtown Jerusalem play the classic game.

Check out this week’s Friday Ark, and head over to the Carnival of the Cats home page to see where the next Carnival of the Cats will be.