[img]96|left|Shachar||no_popup[/img]Dateline Jerusalem — I am still in the States, and I cannot help but compare Israel and the U.S. I was amazed to find that gasoline averaged about $3.40/gallon in California. Gasoline in Israel is measured by the liter, not gallon, but doing the conversion it is equivalent to about $7.60/gallon.

People in the U.S. do not realize that most of the world, not just Israel, pays a lot more for gasoline than Americans. Then I think back to the days when I started to drive, and gasoline was 27 cents/gallon!

The cost of a car in Israel is about twice that in the U.S. But that is mostly because of the customs and taxes involved in owning one. No wonder so many Israelis share a vehicle with their spouses and take public transportation. Between gasoline, insurance costs, maintenance, taxes and purchase price, one car is a luxury for the average Israeli family. And that car usually is old and small in Israel. While waiting for my ride in Florida, I could not believe how many new cars were picking up passengers in the airport baggage area. Either that, or they keep their cars a lot cleaner and shinier in the U.S. so that they looked new.

California, however, is in desperate need of decent public transportation. There is no comparison to Israel's trains and buses in terms of availability, cost, comfort and convenience. Even taxicabs in Israel outshine those in America, and the drivers do not expect to be tipped!

I was surprised at the amount of kosher food with legitimate hechshers at non-kosher markets in the U.S. And shopping in a kosher market was heavenly! However, kosher restaurants and fast food kosher food places are few and far between unless in an exclusively religious Jewish neighborhood. It is a good thing that the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf is so popular throughout California. Otherwise I would have had no place to meet with friends. It is kosher and actually originated as an Israeli family-owned business.

It has been wonderful so far seeing friends and family, especially those who say they never will visit me in Israel because they think it is a “war zone” there. As far as I am concerned, Israel is a lot safer than the U.S., and the “war zone” is here not there. While in Florida visiting my father, the local news spoke of a bomb being defused in a supermarket parking lot. Then in California there were “Amber alerts” for kidnapped children as well as drive-by shootings.

In Israel, mothers allow their children to walk alone to school and play in parks without constant supervision. In the U.S., mothers are afraid to let their children out of their sight.

Here Is a Sight for Sore Cameras

In Israel, a synagogue can be found on almost every block. Where I have been staying in California, they are few and far between. Because I keep kosher and my family does not, we had to kasher my oldest daughter's kitchen and then buy new dishes, appliances and utensils. They had to be toyvelled in a “dish mikvah” first. Before dishes and utensils can be used, they must go through a ritual immersion in a pool of naturally gathered water. Therefore, a specially constructed ritual pool (mikvah) connected to pure rainwater or natural bodies of water such as an ocean, lake or river is used.

We searched the internet for dish mikvahs as far south as San Diego. When we called them, we got only answering machines. Then we started calling Orthodox synagogues. At one, the young receptionist never heard of the process! We even called the local Jewish Federation. A young man with an Hispanic accent told us he was not Jewish and did not know what we were talking about and everyone else was in a meeting or gone for the day.

So, picture this: My daughter and 5-year-old granddaughter and I drove to the Pacific Ocean to toyvel the dishes and utensils. We were three generations of Jewish women (or girls) wearing dresses and skirts and tights with shoes on, traipsing through the sandy beach as the tide was coming in just before sundown, prayer book in hand to say the necessary blessing for the ritual immersion of the glass and metal silverware and pots and pans, dishes, etc.

My granddaughter was screaming with glee as the water would reach her feet. I said the blessing and my daughter immersed the items in the ocean because I was unable to do so with my bad shoulder/arm. Actually, it might have been recorded and posted to YouTube as people were stopping to snap pictures of this unusual sight at a California beach. My granddaughter and I had a good time. But I think my daughter believes I am a real nutcase! Probably the people at the beach who stopped to take pictures also think so. On the way home, we had to stop to buy new shoes.

L'hitraot. Shachar