Secrets of Israel

When a tourist comes to Israel, they do not see the individuality of the country. They see only the face of Israel and not the heart. When they come to Jerusalem, they head straight to the Kotel, the Western Wall. In Tiberias, it's the Kineret. In Haifa, the Bahaii Gardens are the main attraction. Tel Aviv attracts beach goers and Beer Sheva, the hikers. While these sites are necessary to visit, it is also important to realize the uniqueness of the country.  Israel is more than just tourist sites and "The Jewish State." The first time I visited Jerusalem (both on Birthright and on Career-Israel), the tour guide told a story that until recently I did not completely understand. That is to say, I comprehended the idea, but never put it into practice for more than a few seconds.

A tour group had stopped in front of an important site. The tour guide said them, "see the man on the bench? To his left you will see battlefield on which many men died. On his right you will see the graveyard of those men. Above his head you see a great maple tree. This tree was planted in honor of the men and the plaques that begin starting at his feet were put down to commemorate those men." The man thought to himself. "Maybe someday, the tourguide will say 'You see the tree that grows maple leaves and the battlefield where men died? The graveyard and the plaques? Those aren't important. You see the man on the bench? He is what keeps this city alive."

The point of the story is, as a tourist, to stop what you're doing and look around. Not at the sites, but at the people because it is the citizens of the town that continue to keep the sites as they are. They are the true heart. While I try to absorb the "real" city of where I am, you can't really know how that person lives until you talk to them. I may stereotype the yeshiva boys walking on Yafo Street as boys who sit and study Torah all day, but then when you see a team of them playing soccer and high-fiveing one another, that's the real Jerusalem. The cafes on the beach may be expensive, but seeing families park their blankets on the sand every Shabbat and friends relaxing in the water, that is the heart of Israel.

If I mention "Israel" to you, you will most likely imagine an image of the Kotel and Jerusalem stone. But what about the neighborhoods of Israel? The ones that aren't tourist attraction? The ones where people work day-in and day-out and live in a home. The small towns of Israel also make up the character of the State, not just the famous attractions. The small town of Yavneh is composed of a generation of fighter pilots. They settled in this town because it was an open space for the planes. The random sites on the side of the highway are also important to absorb, but to get out on the side of a highway and click a picture is not climbing inside the "real" Israel. It is simply being a tourist. However, snapping a picture and driving through random streets because they look interesting or stopping on the side of a road because you see an old military base, that's what it means to know the heart. Tourists don't know that the hole-in-the-wall restaurants are usually the best ones. Just the other day, I went to a juice stand off Ben-Yehuda street. It looked a little sketchy, but then again so do a lot of the stores on the that street. I asked for a juice with all different fruits, but I wasn't sure what I was getting. In the end, it was the best juice I've had in Jerusalem.

This juice experience tells me how much I have to learn about this city, but as I learn about it, I keep the heart of Israel with me. Last week, I went to the Temple Mount, where the famous golden dome shines as a symbol for Jerusalem. While waiting in line for security, a Bar-Mitzvah was passing through. The klezmer music echoed off the lime stone and eyes turned to watch the boy make his way to the Western Wall. A few days later, I went to Tiberias to Chamat Gadera, the hot springs. It was surprisingly crowded given that it was rainy and that it was Shabbat.  But either way, this natural jacuzzi was filled with only Israelis so while this may be a tourist site, it is a favorite of natives. (pictures here)

Yes, you read that correctly. There was rain last weekend in Tiberias and rain, thunder and lightening, and hail this weekend in Haifa. This week's storm, unlike last week, was wild. The streets were filled with water as the rain spattered onto the roof. Hail knocked on roofs and indented cars. 10 minutes later, after some chicken soup, the clouds cleared, the sun shone, and the water disappeared from the streets. As if it never rained at all.