[img]96|left|||no_popup[/img] Dateline Jerusalem — What a beautiful day. Clear blue sky, a bit windy, but great weather considering it has been pouring rain for a couple days. Today was my first day out of my apartment, other than doctor appointments, in two weeks. I could not have chosen a more perfect day to fill my bronchitis- plagued lungs with fresh, clean Israeli air. As always, I seemed to feel the presence of G-d. Considering Israel is an oasis in the arid deserts of the Middle East, I am constantly aware of the blessings G-d has bestowed upon Israel with the lush green forests, brightly colored blossoms and flowers, sweetly scented citrus trees, and pristine white sands adjacent to the turquoise, aqua waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Israel is like living in Paradise.

I walked to the local bakery where I was greeted on a first-name basis. Because my presence had been missed, in addition to my purchase I was given a kind of cinnamon pastry. Then I was off to the supermarket where again I was greeted by name — and the checker remembered my address when filling out the form for delivery of my groceries. Luckily I met a friend at the market who drove me home because by the time I had finished my shopping, I was beginning to feel weak. Perhaps it was too much to undertake on my first day out. By the time I arrived home, I had received two phone calls from friends who asked if they could do shopping for me. When I was sick, friends shopped for me and cooked chicken soup (the Jewish cure-all) for me, and barley soup, yams, assorted home-made pastries, chicken schnitzel, apricot chicken, potato kugel, potato- and meat-filled pastries, and even challah bread. I was brought bananas, jello, and popsicles to soothe my raw throat. Another friend was on vacation and called just to see how I was doing. Israeli hospitality and friendship are wonderful. Living here is like being a member of one large family.

My Hebrew is no longer non-existent. I can communicate in Hebrew. However, it is obvious to everyone who knows the language that I am illiterate. But I am trying. Today at the bakery I spoke Hebrew, English and Spanish with a little German and Yiddish thrown in for spice. Of course, my sentences were a mixture of all those languages because I was unable to complete a thought in just one. It was as though I had a mental block every time I tried to speak one language because another language came out of my mouth instead. The use of my hands helped things along. I went to the Post Office and told the clerk in Hebrew that I wanted to purchase a large box to ship a package. Only I did not know the Hebrew word for “box” so I drew a picture. The postal clerk understood me perfectly at that point.

What Did You Say?

Although the official languages of Israel are Hebrew and Arabic, English and Russian are spoken and written almost everywhere. It is not unusual to view a television program in English, Spanish, or Russian and have subtitles in Hebrew, Arabic and Russian. There is even an Israeli news channel that devotes the last ten minutes of the show to recapping the news in English. Fox News, CNN, BBC are all in English and can be seen here in Israel. It makes things easy for me to live here without knowing Hebrew.

L'hitraot. Shachar.