I have had a lot of opportunities to travel to amazing places, and being a "foodie", I always want to try local specialities and new things. In Greece I ate calamari, fresh feta cheese, freshly caught and grilled fish and authentic Greek salad (no lettuce). In New Orleans I tried gumbo, etitoufee, jambalaya and of course beignets and cafe Au lait. In Hawaii....I named it my "Hawaiian seafood fiesta" (you can read about that in my travel blog).
And now...dining in Israel. What can you say about the food in Israel?
Once again, full of amazing dining experiences and tastes, flavours and
options. Being in Israel, when you have to choose your food options you
have to choose milk or meat because the restaurants are separate (we ate a lot of dairy options) and they were GOOD!
On the first day in Tiberias we walked to a very nice dairy restaurant close to the beach. They had a lot of very nice salad options. I chose one that had haloumi cheese. it is very similar to Saginaki in Greek restaurants, but they don't set it on fire with ouzo. It is salty, and tests best when served right from the oven. Here are pictures of the salad with the haloumi.
The opening program of the trip was dinner at Decks Restaurant. It is an open air restaurant overlooking the Galilee (the Kinneret). We sat in long tables by our city. The food is served family style across the table.
The opening was of course falafel balls, hummus and tahini, following up by an amazing fried onion loaf, salad, shoe string potatoes, and then the most amazing salmon you have ever tried. It came out on these 'hot plates' that had bbq'd sweet potato, grilled mushrooms and grilled lemons.
Here is what it looked like: (Pictures do not do the meal justice)
After the meal they started to play music and the party really started. It was the first night, and the coming together of 170 amazing women for the next 9 days of growth, self discovery and touring of our beautiful Eretz Israel. (the land of Israel)
As I was clapping, singing and dancing, the music changed and a song I have heard hundreds of times came on. I was standing there, and tears were streaming down my face. I realized that I was in Israel. We had already been there a full day, but it wasn't until that moment that I had really arrived, and my feet were planted firmly on the ground. A lot of people were emotional.
In one of my Shabbat posts last week I told you about our pre-Shabbat concert by Rabbi Yom Tov Glaser and the song Letter in the Torah and how it had an effect on me at the concert. The words spoke to me, and my reason for being on JWRP, and trying to figure out the who/what/where/when and why of my life. Everyone that goes on JWRP has their own reason for being there, and is on their own personal journey that they are taking.
Yesterday I had the opportunity with my parents to have Shabbat lunch and my Rebbitzen's house. My parents and I attended services at Thornhill Woods Shul for the first time and it was such a nice experience.
The talk Rebbitzen Rachel was having was about your "purpose" in life. Why are you here, which is your global mission, and your personal mission in life. How to find out what that is, and more.
She discussed that every letter in the Hebrew alphabet has a numeric value and that if you add up all the numeric values in the Torah, it will come to 600,000. That same 600,000 relates explained that these letters correspond to the 600,000 Jewish souls that exist (and we can all have parts of Jewish souls within us (I hope I am explaining this right).
In any case, the class was very interesting to me specifically because I understood why the song had such an effect on me that night at the concert. The song is all about who you are, where you are going, and how do you get there. Which is exactly what Rebbitzen Rachel was trying to explain. That it is a life long process.
Yesterday's Shabbat was a great day. I was able to show my parents a small taste of what I experienced in Israel by taking part in a couple of classes about Jewish learning. I know that they enjoyed themselves as well and will attend with me again in the future. We all had the chance to talk to others, listen and be a part of something.
Here are the words to the song, and then after that is a video where you can listen to the song yourself and see what you think.
My Letter in the Torah
Who am I any way Where am I going to How did I get here And what do
I need to know
What am I supposed to do with my life
Can I start living If I don't
know which way to go
I heard somebody say In the quiet of the night If you close your
eyes You'll hear the answer
I just wanna find my letter in the Torah I know it's somewhere out there
If I could only see
I just wanna find my letter in the Torah The one
that's written just for me
So many words So many pages I keep finding more Every time I
look
Sometimes I need To take a little break Sometimes to connect
I've
gotta close the book
I heard somebody say If you listen to your heart You were born with all
the answers
It's not about the goal, it's all about the soul You use in every move you
make It's not the biggest name, it's how you play the game When you're
getting it together Getting it together
It is going to be hard to put into words what the Shabbat at the Kotel experience was like. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before and until I go back and do it again, never again.
Before we brought in Shabbat (with candle lighting) we were treated to an amazing pre-Shabbat concert from Rabbi Yom Tov Glaser. He is a rockin' Rabbi living in Israel transplanted from the surfing beaches of California. On the outside he looks like any Rabbi - black hat, full beard, pais and black coat - but on the inside a true surfing beach bum at heart.
He started with a song Shabbat Shalom (surprised?) but it was more a song 'in the round' where the left side of the room had one part of the song and the right side another part. Very participatory. A lot of fun. He moved into a few more songs, and introduced a song that was new and available on Itunes (modern times). It is called Letter in the Torah, and it is quite an emotional song about where you may going, what is your purpose - what is YOUR letter in the Torah. I remember the words really hit me, because being on this trip, everyone has a reason to be there.
After the concert was over, we all had the chance to light Shabbat Candles and say prayers for our loved ones, and then it was time....to go to Kotel and really 'bring in Shabbat". It really something you have to see and experience for yourself.
We all went down to the Kotel and as a group tried to move into the centre of the women's section. It was hard because it was wall to wall women, teens on birthright, soliders, and other groups. But there we were - creating our own prayer and song circle, with so many other prayer and song circles. Hundreds of women, singing, dancing, praying and bringing in the Shabbat.
The men on the other side of the separation wall were doing the same thing, praying on Shabbat eve, also chanting, and dancing and connecting all Jewish people around the world welcoming in the Shabbat. I couldn't see them, but I could hear them, and I wanted to see, so I left our area to go out see the men in prayer.
You can see again, hundreds, standing shoulder to shoulder praying for Shabbat - older men, younger men, soliders. It was something to see. Of course it was Shabbat so I have no photos or video, but the memory will be in my memory forever.
I had to take a step back away from the Kotel to take it all in. The Kotel is the last remnant of the Holy Temple, and the holiest site on earth, and there I was, able to share it's glory on Shabbat. If you ever have the chance to experience what I had the chance to experience - you cannot let it pass you by. If you have experienced it in your lifetime, then you know what I mean.
I was excited to celebrate Shabbat in Jerusalem. There seemed to be a buzz in the air in the old city. We had two classes in the morning and then we had free time until we had to be back in the old city for bringing in the Shabbat.
Our morning classes were all about Mitzvahs for women - "Light up your life - the Mitzvah of Candle Lighting" and "A Mitzvah of Body and Soul: Challah baking"
Shabbat is a very special time. It is a time to stop creating and recognize your creator. That the world keeps turning without us.
Lori explained that Judaism is like a tree - it has blossoms, fruits and roots.
On Shabbat you need to remember the blossoms of the tree - your children, challah, songs. The roots of the tree are connecting to G-D. If you don't connect your roots to G-D, your tree will die.
We discussed that the hotel would have a Shabbos elevator (one that stops on every floor automatically so you don't have to touch any of the buttons) and if you didn't plan on turning on and off the lights in your room, you had to decide before you left the room what you were going to do.
Since the hotel had free wifi, I had been on line every night keeping in touch with family and friends at home. I decided that for Shabbat I wouldn't use the Ipod or blackberry. It wasn't that hard and I was happy that I said I wouldn't do it, and I didn't.
We learned from Rebbitzen Raizy Guttman about the mitzvah of Challah making, the significance of breaking off a small piece to say the prayer, and how that piece is supposed to be burned. She explained that the flour symbolizes the earth and the water symbolizes the sky and how the physicality and spirituality combine.
We learned how to braid the dough, and make flowers with the dough to create beautiful loaves of challah that we would enjoy at dinner. It was fun, and everyone participated making their own loaf design to be baked off.
After the two sessions in the morning we had free time until we had to be back in the old city for a pre shabbat concert and Shabbat at the Kotel. By the early afternoon the shop keepers were closing early, going to the shuk - where there are 250 vendor selling fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, nuts, flowers and more. Everyone is getting ready for Shabbat and you can feel the excitment.
We had time for lunch, shopping, buying wine for dinner that night, and then getting ready for Shabbat. The dress code for that night was "Shabbat pretty". It was nice to see everyone getting a little more "spruced up" for our special night at the Kotel.
The Oxford dictionary defines "Journey" as:
noun (plural journeys)
an act of travelling from one place to another:
A long and often difficult process of personal change and development:
I would agree with both.
Last summer a group of friends that I know were going to Israel. They were going with a women's group on a "Transformation and Grow" mission with and organization called JWRP (Jewish Women's Renaissance Project). I wasn't really involved with them when they applied and never thought about going, until they were all there and posting pictures on facebook, that I was envious and thinking I should figure out a way to get on one of these trips.
It was while they were there that another friend of ours messaged me that a trip was open for October 2011 and that she was going to apply. I applied as well. There is a process where you apply, you go for an interview with the city leader from your group, and then you wait to see if you are accepted for the trip. There are qualifications and specifications to being approved for the trip.
I don't want to work backwards in my life's journey, but what I know now, that I wasn't able to really appreciate then, was that I was not "meant" to go on the trip in October. I was going to get my chance and I just had to wait for it to happen for me. When you are disappointed about something in your life, who thinks like that? I didn't at first, but I know that now.
Back in February this year, through another friend (completed unrelated to the women who already attended the trip) I found out she was going to be going on the SAME trip this June. She told me her trip was not full and I should apply. I was hesitant to do so, knowing what I had already gone through previously, but thought, what the heck....this trip seems to keep coming up in my life, I should listen to the signs, and I applied.
I was very lucky to meet my city leader for the interview. She is a kind, compassionate women who saw something in me that allowed me to go on this journey. She accepted me right away at my interview, and within 24 hours, I had booked my ticket and paid my deposit for the trip.
Just have to jump ahead for a moment.
Lori Palatnik is the co-founder of the JWRP and our host for the mission. On our very first day in our very first class with her she told us that the Talmud says it takes merit to come to Eretz Israel (the land of Israel) and whatever we did last Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur has allowed us to come on this trip at this time.
And here I am. I have gone to Eretz Israel and have now returned. I have posted pictures on facebook, but really haven't talked much about the trip yet (I have been sick since I got home).
I hope you will read along with me as I share with you what I learned from my "Transform and Grow" mission to Israel with JWRP. They say that just going to Israel you come back a changed person. I think that is true, on so many levels. Stay tuned folks, lots more to come!!!
This post has actually been sitting in my drafts folder since November of last year. I started to write it, and then wasn't sure if I wanted to post it or not. I am still not sure, so let's see how this goes.
Through facebook re-connects, work friends, friends through different groups, I have had so many conversations about life, loves, loss, hardships. One thing I can say forsure, is that the saying of the "grass isn't always greener" has never been so clear to me than after these conversations. I have always believed that, but it is clear as we are getting older and living our lives and different experiences.
I remember one year after I went on a med cruise with my aunt I was having dinner with a friend and showing her all the pictures. She was happy for me, and envious at the same time, commenting on how great it was that I could travel and see different parts of the world with no worries other than myself. I agreed, but commented, you are married, you are expecting a baby and you have just bought a house. I don't have any of that. At that time, I wasn't living in my condo at that time. She thought the grass was greener in my single yard, and I thought her grass was greener in her married with children yard. I am sure that either one of us was right or wrong. It all depends on what side of the fence you sit on.
I know I am very lucky in my life. I have good friends, I have a job, I have a great relationship with my parents and family, and being an aunt is truly the most rewarding part of my life. Not everyone I know has the chance to see their nieces and nephew on a weekly basis. I am lucky enough to have them close to me and now the girls are old enough to call me on their own and want to see me and their parents can drop them off. It is the great joy in my life.
I have had a job that has taken me around the world (literally) and back over the last 21 years. The industry hasn't been as rewarding as it once was, but I am still fortunate to have been and seen as much as I have over the years, and will always have that. Wherever my life may take me, I will always have my travels. What I have seen and learned over the years has been invaluable. I will never forget any of it. I consider myself very wealthy in the life experiences I have been able to have because of my job.
Never judge a book by its cover....we all learned that, didn't we?
Life changing....every day life is a roller coaster - some days we want to get off the ride and other days, we scream with excitement and want more. Tomorrow is another day - get back in the line to ride the ride again!
I am not a picky eater. I am not, but my mother thinks I am. Trust me, I am not. But...I do like what I like and if I am going to enjoy what I eat, just like the next person I want my food cooked a certain way. I don't like my steak well done when I go to a steak house, I don't like my yolks hard when I order eggs, and I don't like my wing burned when I go to Swiss chalet. I don't think that is too difficult, do you?
For some strange reason, when I go to What a bagel near my condo, there is almost always an issue with my food. I don't know what it is, but it happens there all the time.
Bagel World (also near my condo) has 'flagels' which are flat bagels. They use their flagels to make bagelinis. It is basically like taking a bagel, putting tuna, cheese, onion and tomato and putting it in the panini press and pushing it down into a yummy gooey sandwich of goodness. They have three or four different options of bagelinis to choose from. If you haven't tried one, the next time you are there, you should.
A few weeks ago, I made plans with friends to have lunch at Bagel World. Because the two bagel places are so close together, a mistake was made and we ended up at What a Bagel. I was VERY disappointed because I wanted my tuna bagelini from bagel world.
I look through the menu at What a bagel and see that they have a "tuna melt". Here is how the conversation went down with the server:
Me: The tuna melt - how is it made?
Server: it is an open faced sandwich.
Me: Is it possible to have it in the sandwich press as a closed sandwich.
Server: sure, we can do that.
Me: Can you put red onion in it?
Server: sure, not a problem.
Me: Great. That is what I will have.
So, the runner brings the food for the table, and she brings my tuna melt - an OPEN FACE sandwich with the tuna and then the crispy melted cheese on top. I look at it and say, "this is not what I ordered". She takes it away.
The server comes back with the same plate and I repeat, "this is not what I ordered, you said it wasn't an issue to put it in the press. And as well, there is no onion." She takes it away, and I look at my friends and say, "all they are going to do is close it and shove it in the press.
She brings it back and that is exactly what she did. and the raw onion in a bowl on the plate. I take one look at it and say, "that is not what I ordered and I don't want it." The reason why I didn't want it is because when you make a sandwich in the panini press, the cheese gets soft and melted and if the onion was "in" the sandwich, it would have been cooked. This sandwich the cheese was crispy and hard from being stuffed in the broiler and the onion was raw.
I wasn't trying to be difficult, but if I am going to pay $10.49 for a tuna sandwich, I want it the way I ordered it and the way you said it could be done. I hated sending it back, but I really didn't want to eat it the way it was cooked.
In the end, I ended up with a rye bagel and creamed cheese. A far cry from the craving for a bagelini that I wanted. I still haven't had my bagelini. If you want to meat for lunch and try it out, let me know, I would love it!
Have you sent back food at a restaurant, if so, let me know what is was and why, I am curious.
