Party Time in Jerusalem

Eliyahu had a birthday celebration today. I don't know how he fit over 150 people into his small flat but he did. I thought it quite miraculous, people squished together on the floor in his living room, with the crowd spilling out into the hallway. When the crowd got too much for me I found refuge in the kitchen. Strange -a house full of Jews and the kitchen empty? But there weren't only Jews at his place, there was a good mix of Palestinians too, plus old friends like Ibrahim. The Jewish crowd ranged from secular, artsy types to Jewish rastafarians and neo-Hassidim -whatever that is but that's what I branded them. A woman called Aliza Hava from New Paltz New York with a glorious voice sang songs of peace. I wondered why she hadn't landed a recording contract - she was that professional sounding. "They say I'm too deep" she told me. True. She's no Ditzy Britney Spears. But isn't there a market for "deep" music?

The Rasta man made a kick-ass pea soup and I had a couple of bowlfuls, while talking to a Palestinian from nearby Sawahare. We were talking about music. He loves classical music and also told me he likes the Betchab Boys. I never heard of them. That is until someone translated what he really meant - the Pet Shop Boys. We both had a good laugh. "Honey, when someone is a total asshole - do you call them a 'brick'?"

Eliyahu's Sufi friend came in - Sheikh Bukhari - who led us in a Zikr. He said Jerusalem is the Heart of the world. If the heart is healthy then the rest of the body is healthy. If the Heart is sick, the body is sick. So we have to make sure the heart is healthy. And thus - the reason for the Zikr. We made several circles and chanted in both Arabic and Hebrew - There is no other God but one God - or something like that. And this went on for 1/2 hour or so. It was pretty wild and I really loved it - we were standing in one spot holding hands and shaking our heads to the left, right and center as we chanted - the tempo of the chant speeding up. It got me into quite a trance until someone nasty in the crowd let off a real horrible smelly toot, which immediately got me out of my elevated spiritual trance-like state.

I met Alex who runs the Jerusalem Laughter Club. This sounds hilarious. They meet every Friday morning next to the Israeli Parliament. What is better than laughing at all those idiot politicians nearby!!! I copped a bit off their website:

"If we can bring peace inside us through Laughter Clubs, by doing Yogic laughter and practising ways and means of sensible living in a group and these small groups multiply all over the world, there will be everlasting peace in the entire world. Laughter is a powerful positive emotion. It creates a postive aura around individuals. When a group of individuals laughs together, it creates a collective community aura. Electromagnetic waves from a group who are laughing every day, form a protective envelope around that area to protect it from evil forces. If these laughter groups multiply all over the country it will change the consciousness of the entire nation. Similarly, having laughter clubs all over the world can build up a global consciousness of brotherhood and friendship."

So get out there and laugh!