Elms in the Yard

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Looking Back, Moving Forward

Who remembers the All-of-a-Kind Family series? If you do—and even if you have never read it— you may want to take a look at the following essay, Family Affair:

It is December 1912, and in the front room of a tenement flat on the Lower East Side of Manhattan an eight-year-old girl named Sarah is dusting the piano keys and the lace doilies, the intricately carved heavy wooden table legs and knicknacks from the “old country,” with the greatest of care and even a little bit of enthusiasm. She's playing “find the buttons,” a kind of work-as-treasure-hunt game devised by her clever Mama. The mother of five girls ranging in age from four to twelve, Mama is a master of making life simultaneously instructive and fun in spite of her large family's rather precarious financial situation amid the pickle barrels and clothing vendors of New York’s crowded immigrant enclave. As usual, this particular diversion—one of many in Mama’s arsenal for getting her girls to complete their daily chores without grumbling—proves to be a winner. “I found them! I found them all, every single one of them!” Sarah cries out joyfully as she bursts back into the family kitchen, her dreaded task complete. Dusting will never be the same again.

I knew Sydney Taylor only very briefly, during the last summer she spent at my summer camp, where she had been the dance and dramatics director for many years. At the time, I had no idea that she was the author of a well-known series of children’s books, and she was too modest to say anything about it. It was my bunkmate who told me, asking with incredulity: “What? You mean you never heard of All-of-a-Kind Family?!”

I hadn’t, but I soon fixed the situation by reading all of Sydney Taylor’s books.

The link to the above essay arrived in my in-box only a few hours ago, as I was in the middle of preparing for Rosh ha-Shana—a quick look backward as we prepare to move forward into the new year.

Shana tova to all my readers and friends. May you inscribed for a good and sweet year filled with all blessings.

Friday, September 07, 2007

Out of the Woods, Finally

I had delayed writing this post because I wanted to be sure, but I now have it on very good authority that after approximately half a year of frequent vet visits, oral surgeries, a brief bout with diabetes, medications, injections and more suffering than any cat should ever have to experience, the Lady in Red is finally out of the woods.

Since the vet put her on a prescription cat food (Royal Canin hypoallergenic variety, for those who are interested), Lady has been doing extremely well. Although she is missing most of her teeth—multiple extractions are just about the only thing that help in severe cases of chronic gum inflammation in cats—she is eating and grooming normally, things that she couldn’t do at all when she was so terribly ill. I was very happy to hear that lately she has had a few hairballs—not that I want her to suffer in any way, but hairballs are a “healthy” problem and she’s dealing with them just fine. I’m also told that for the first time in weeks, she has even started playing again. And this is without painkillers or medications of any kind!

I’d like to thank everyone who helped with advice, encouragement and funds. I’m still climbing out of the hole that Lady’s expenses dug beneath me—thanks to your help it shouldn’t take much longer—and I will start sending out the thank-you gifts as soon as I can.

In the meantime, here is a picture from a recent visit to the Lady in Red, showing her well and happy and demanding her due of ~~worship~~ bellyrubs:

Thank you all so much for helping us get through this challenging time, and for helping my old friend get well.

Not Again!

Earlier this week I got a call from a musician from Europe who is currently in Israel. He is going to be producing a CD in several months and was looking for a woman singer to provide harmonies for some of the songs, and he got my telephone number from a mutual acquaintance. When I asked him what kinds of songs he wanted to record, he told me: Religious, spiritual, with Biblical texts. He said that they had been written by a particular songwriter, someone with an Israeli-sounding name whom I’d never heard of.

We made a date to meet earlier this morning, and soon after we began speaking together a tendril of suspicion wound its way into my mind. I had no overt reason for it, since I had never heard of the songwriter he named, but after only a few minutes I found myself asking: “Is this songwriter a member of the Messianic community?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Oh, no,” I said. “I think we have a problem.”

And I told him what I had told the previous two musicians from that community who asked me to work with them: as a professional singer, I do not work with Messianics. Maybe I should rephrase that, actually, since after all there is a difference between working on a project where a Messianic may happen to be a co-worker but not the one in charge, and working on a project where a Messianic is the leader or sponsor. So let me be more specific: I will not record or perform any religious songs that I know to have been written by Messianics, and I will not be involved in any musical project, particularly one of a religious character, in which they have an influential role.

Why not? Because the so-called Messianic movement is actually a missionary group whose goal is to convert Jews to Christianity. In order to do this they use lies, deception, deliberate mistranslation of Biblical texts and fear tactics. (Yes, I said “fear tactics.” If you tell me, even with all the politeness and compassion in the world, that I am going to burn forever in the fires of Hell unless I believe and worship the way you do, you are using a fear tactic to get me to change my religion.) In short, they are trying to make my people disappear off the face of the earth, even if by non-violent means. If I were to lend my voice to such an effort, I would be putting the gift that God gave me to the worst possible use—treason against my own people.

The musician himself does not belong to the Messianic community nor, to the best of my knowledge, is he Jewish by birth. As we spoke, I felt that despite my best attempts to explain why I cannot become involved with his project, I don’t think he really got it. In fact, I got the feeling that he thought I ought to be more inclusive, especially when he said: “But doesn’t God say in the Bible that His House will be called a house of prayer for all nations?”

I said: “Yes, absolutely. Jews do not believe that God will punish people who do not believe and worship as we do. It’s the Messianics who believe that. Ask them. They may be very polite about it at first, but if you insist on the truth, they will tell you eventually.”

I apologized for not having asked the question sooner, which would have saved him the trip to my place. I truly hadn’t meant to inconvenience him. Maybe one day we will work together after all.

But it won’t be on a project of Messianic music.

Salad Days

This past week, the Strauss company recalled a batch of their packaged salads due to contamination.

I confess: I am a salad fiend, and I buy packaged salads. I succumbed to temptation several years ago, figuring that I’d earned a break after several decades of standing over a cutting board.

When I telephoned Strauss’s customer-service hotline, the woman I spoke to asked me to read her the date on the package. When I did, she replied: “Zeh lo be-seder”—that’s not OK. The package of salad I had bought a day or so before (and, thank goodness, hadn’t opened yet) was one of the tainted ones, and she told me to discard it immediately.

She took down my name and address and told me that within two weeks I will be receiving a voucher for a free package of salad. Well, that’s nice, I guess.

But it does make me wish I could grow my own vegetables.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Her Ladyship: In Your Face

Her Ladyship under my skirt. I held the camera toward myself for this one.

This week’s Carnival of the Cats is at Lair’s.

The View from Hebrew U

Last week I went with a friend of mine on a walking tour of Hebrew University’s Mount Scopus campus. The tour ended at the amphitheater, from which one can see the beginning of the Judean Desert, and on a very clear day even part of the Dead Sea. Here are two photographs I took there. (Click to enlarge.)

Sunday, September 02, 2007

How to Lose Me as a Client

Last night I found an invitation to join a social network called Quechup in my in-box. Since the invitation came from someone I trusted, I thought, “Why not?” and joined.

I soon found out why not. To my dismay, this network started sending e-mails that were purportedly from me to contacts of mine, inviting them to join their network.

As soon as I found out what was going on, I deleted my account with them. I do not appreciate a hard sell. I appreciate even less any network that sends e-mails to my contacts in my name without my full knowledge and consent.

Yes, I realize that they might be able to argue that they had my consent. Didn’t I read the fine print when I signed up? It says right here in Paragraph 397.2 that they have the right to blah, blah, blah. Nope, doesn’t wash with me. Nothing—but nothing—gives any organization the right to send out automatic e-mails in my name to my contacts or to anyone else. Do that and I’m gone, and I’ll never come back.

So much for Quechup. Goodbye and good riddance.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Rouse Not the Sleeping Tiger

Well, I didn’t. But I did take a picture.

The Red Wagon

A two-minute film by Yad Eliezer, well worth seeing.

A Little Jerusalem Story of My Own

While I was at work last week, a friend of mine called. He was going to be in the neighborhood and wanted to drop something off for me.

The building I work in has a wedding hall on the floor below our office. Since my friend was headed to a brit milah—a circumcision ceremony—that would be taking place there shortly, we agreed that this would be a great time to deliver the item. I met him in the hall downstairs, received the item, and prepared to head back upstairs to work.

On impulse I asked, “So who’s the family?” Turns out that they are acquaintances of mine from almost my first days in the country whom I hadn’t seen in a long time. I greeted them and got an invitation to stay for the ceremony and the meal! When I told my employer, he gave his permission.

It was a lovely afternoon. I got to see several old friends and greet a new baby, too!

Friday, August 17, 2007

Two Pictures, Three Cats

Here are two pictures, since I missed posting last week:

Look out! There’s a tiger on the loose!

Her Ladyship and Missy form a symmetrical pattern:

The Friday Ark. The Carnival of the Cats.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Wishful Thinking on the Bus

One Jerusalem bus driver uses his imagination to beat the August heat. (Click on the photo to enlarge it.)

The handwritten sign on the lower left-hand part of the windshield reads le-hof ha-yam—“To the beach.”

Friday, August 03, 2007

Flirty Tortie and Her Beau

I was on my way to work the other day when I saw this gorgeous red-and-white cat on a stone wall, adding his beauty to that of the garden behind him:

Then he came downstairs for a happy meeting with a ladyfriend:

“Um, do you mind? We’d like a bit of privacy, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Aw, what the heck. She’s harmless. Let’s pose for her.”

Time to go.

And off they went...

... until the tortie lady discovered that the red-and-white, who has a tipped ear (meaning that he has been neutered), couldn’t give her what she wanted, so she swatted him.

The Friday Ark. The Carnival of the Cats.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Furry Fundraiser

Remember my old friend the Lady in Red, who used to live in the park nearby? As you may remember, last winter she became seriously ill. Turns out that the person who took her in ran up a lot of expenses with her vet care.

When they took her in, I promised to help with the vet expenses... which proved to be much more than anyone expected. Three oral surgeries, a bout with diabetes... the bills ran up. And up. And up.

Lady recovered from diabetes several weeks ago. She is healthy now and the worst appears to be behind us. But the vet bills have left quite a hole in the bank account, and now I could use some help.

(UPDATE: PayPal is now an option, thanks to some very kind friends. The button is at the top of the right-hand sidebar.)

Any amount is welcome. If you would like to help—and if you can—please click the donation button at the top of the right-hand sidebar or get in touch with me at rahel dot jaskow at gmail dot com.

P.S. Thank you, Laurence. Thank you, Meryl. And thank you to the people who have already offered their help. Much, much appreciated.

P.P.S. The Friday Ark. The Carnival of the Cats.

I’ve Been Down That Road Before

... specifically, with this taxi driver.

As Jerusalem’s only female Muslim taxi driver, Mrs Bahr, wearing a white headscarf, cuts a distinctive figure in the city's taxi-driving community.

“People always think I’m Jewish at first,” says Mrs Bahr, who speaks conversational Hebrew.

“But then I tell them that I’m Muslim and they are even more surprised. They say it’s brilliant, it’s fantastic.”

I agree. I was in Majda al-Bahr’s cab a while back, and I even blogged about it. Yup, it’s a small world indeed!

And about the Islamic fundamentalist types who don’t like the fact that Ms. al-Bahr drives a cab for a living: wouldn’t they feel secure knowing that there’s a woman taxi driver out there for the women and girls of their community? At least they know she will never make a pass at them, and with her there will be no testosterone-induced rage at the wheel. What’s not to like?

The BBC article says that she sits on the board of a local transport union, too. Way to go, Ms. al-Bahr. Way to go.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Nice Shirt!

So I’m on the bus headed home yesterday afternoon, and I saw that the man sitting in front of me was wearing a great t-shirt. I asked him whether I could photograph it, and he said yes.

Well, you can’t argue with the truth. Nations and empires that mess with the Jews end up gone. This t-shirt lists most if not all of them.

Take that, antisemites of the world.

(Turns out that the Moriah Bookstore in the Old City carries these t-shirts. There may be other places to get them but that was where the man on the bus got his.)

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

The Jerusalem War Cemetery on Mt. Scopus

Yesterday I headed to Hadassah Hospital on Mt. Scopus for an annual routine test. On the way out, I decided to take a closer look at the nearby Jerusalem War Cemetery.

Although the graves in the cemetery are approximately ninety years old, the cemetery is in excellent condition. I saw a team of gardeners employed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission working there, one of whom helpfully directed me to the Jewish section (located on the far left, second section as one ascends from the street).

The grave next to the Jewish one is that of an unknown soldier. The inscription reads: “A soldier of the Great War, known unto God.” I would have taken more pictures, but as the above photo shows, the sprinklers were on at the time, so I couldn’t get much closer.

Farther up, near the memorial chapel, is a memorial wall inscribed with the names of more than three thousand soldiers who fell in the Middle East whose burial places are unknown.

The cemetery also contains the graves of several Turkish and German soldiers, who presumably died as prisoners of war.

Besides the war cemeteries in Jerusalem (including the Indian Cemetery in Jerusalem, for Sikh and Muslim soldiers from India who fought and fell here), there are other cemeteries in Beer Sheva, Ramle and Haifa. (There is also one in Gaza, but I am not sure how accessible it is these days. It was vandalized in 2004.)

Today is Tisha be-Av (the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av), the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. Today we remember our destroyed Temples and our exiled people, and all the catastrophes that befell us throughout history.

So, my half-dozen readers may ask, what does a war cemetery on Mt. Scopus have to do with Tisha be-Av?

If I remember correctly, World War I began on Tisha be-Av, and as terrible and tragic as it was, its effects lasted far beyond Armistice Day. I felt that it would be appropriate to remember these fallen soldiers the day before the anniversary on which the war started. And, as Treppenwitz pointed out in a post from March 2006, we owe a great debt to their memory.

An easy fast.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Stretching Out

Her Ladyship stretches out one hot summer day, showing her fuzzy tummy.

“What’re you lookin’ at?”

The Friday Ark.

The Carnival of the Cats.

(And yes, I hope to start writing again soon, instead of just posting cat pictures. I have been extremely busy over the past weeks, but things are calming down, at least for now.)