Feeling Groovy

I'm wearing my hot purple pants today and wondering if I look totally ridiculous with my tight black top and hot salmon nail and toenail polish. I ask my kids. They are totally honest. They'd tell me if they'd want to be seen alive with me looking this way or not.

I passed my kids' embarrassment test. I didn't have to change my clothing.

After running errands in the heat with Hubby, whose tolerance only lasts until 1:00 pm, I met up with my New Yawk friend - alone - (while Hubby went back home for his 6 hour beauty sleep) who bought tickets to see one of the movies playing at the film festival - a German flick called The last days of Sophie Scholl. But before the cinema, I was in dire need of breakfast and coffee. Even though I have enrolled in the South Beach Diet (I am a bit embarrassed going for these "popular fad" diets, but decided this one was quite a reasonable one), I wasn't going to be able to get to the frying pan until 5 pm today and needed to munch on something. I brought her to the Shuk Cafe, the yuppie coffee shop and dairy restaurant. We found two seats in the crowded place and she again reminded me how rare it was for her to be able to eat kosher food in places like museums and the Supreme Court, where she took a tour the other day. These are things I take for granted these days, after living here 10 years.

I'm watching the young men preparing these wonderful salads and sandiches, right in front of where I'm sitting, watching how they cut the fresh figs so thin, and placing the slices on top of mixed lettuce, together with thinly sliced peaches and plums, topped with shredded cheese and nuts. I felt I was watching Jamie Oliver in person - the presentations of the various foods they prepared were beautiful and it was a show in itself.

My friend, still single and looking (Lord knows - the grass sure is greener on the other side, especially when you're single), she had done her rounds of visiting with various well-known rabbis throughout Israel - for them to give her new insights and to give her blessings for her to find her soul mate and true happiness.

"I'm sure they all charged you a bundle" I remarked.

I have had enough knowledge of various charlatans, and even though they are "well known" - it doesn't mean they'll do the trick.

Sure. Some charged her a pretty penny, others just asked for a donation (but probably not a small donation). She had gone to various kabbalistic rabbis - who do numerology, who read your sephirot (I don't know how to translate this well - perhaps it's like Jewish chakras), those who interpret your names, and read faces. Last night there were dozens of people at the rabbi who read faces. She was there until 2:30 am. This rabbi comes into Jerusalem once a week for an audience. In the end she wasn't that impressed. But she had to see for herself, so she wouldn't regret that she didn't go.

"He asked me if I was Jewish!!!"

"Well, you really have a non-Jewish face" I told her.

"But he's supposed to READ faces!!!! I told him we are descendants of great rabbis and named them. Plus he's in this feud with another rabbi who does similar readings."

"AHA! Anyone who is jealous of someone else, or who's in competition in business and has negative thoughts like these - I would stay far away from them. They're not completely pure if they're feeling that way."

She thought that was totally insightful, and I was grateful that I had my Jerusalem Spiritual Insights intact that day.

"It looks like you are going to have to do the work yourself. You're going to have to find your soulmate by looking into yourself and letting it happen. You don't need to depend on these rabbis".

I certainly didn't. They don't do it for me. Each person can have a direct connection with God, if one really wants it. And with the advice I was able to give, I felt spiritually stronger.

We cabbed it to the movie afterwards, which was about the German resistance movement during World War II, White Rose. I'd never heard of them before, and probably neither did many of the other Israelis at the packed theater. But now we did, and have a better understanding of how difficult it was for any normal German to speak against Hitler and the Nazi government in general, no matter how against the regime they were. The director and producers were there, but I could not stay, having to rush to take a bus back to my place. But I was grateful to be able to spend a bit more time with an old friend.