Shabbat Shalom

It is better to meet danger than to wait for it. He that is on a lee shore, and foresees a hurricane, stands out to sea and encounters a storm to avoid a shipwreck. 
~Charles Caleb Colton, (1780-1832) British clergyman, sportsman and author.


Above is a picture of Jerusalem at night. I do think it has grown since I lived there.
So I have bumped into two people within the last two weeks who, like me, resided in Jerusalem, Israel. I'm wondering if it is a sign. You know, like I should apply for a job at the Israeli Museum, or something.

Okay, so it is kind of dangerous to live there. For instance, I was prohibited by my leaders when there to ride the buses. This is because some people who reside there blow the buses up.

But ever since I was a small girl at the World's Fair in Canada begging any member of my family to ride the most death-defying ride there, I kind of thrive on danger. I mean, almost getting hit by a car on my roller skates does for me what maybe an hour of meditation does for someone else.

I know it is decidedly unhealthy, and I am working on it. But anyways. The first person I bumped into who lived in Jerusalem was Betsy Diamont-Cohen. If any of you are into child development, she founded "Mother Goose on the Loose". So I was at the Carnegie Library, listening to her speak, and when she talked about living in Jerusalem, I kind of got excited. I bounced up to her at the first opportunity, and we struck up a conversation. I mean, living in a city where people just blow things up totally gives you common ground.

The next person I bumped into was at Taco del Mar. Something about his accent sounded familiar, so I asked him where he was from. Not Jerusalem- Tel Aviv. His name was Ariel, which most people of course associate with a cute red headed mermaid, but in the bible, it is actually another name for Jerusalem. I know this because I worked my butt off studying in that city! It was not all ruins and pyramids and falafel. Oh no. My classes were HARD. So then Ariel asked me if I knew any Hebrew. At this point, I could have handled the question creatively. I could have performed "Hava Nagila", a dance where everyone holds hands in a circle and then lifts up their hands and goes "Oy! Oy" really loud. Or I could have said, "Lo beseder", which I always say when things aren't going well for me. The literal translation is: Everything is most decidedly out of order.

Instead, I went blank, and I could not remember any of the Hebrew I had been taught. I hate it when that happens.

My main concern about moving back to Israel would probably be the absence of a Bliss Spa. I consider the close proximity of one of these as completely necessary to my mental health. I can handle walking up and down really steep hills instead of riding the bus- but yucky fingernails? No.


Danger -- if you meet it promptly and without flinching -- you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!
~Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British politician.