Shachar

Dateline Jerusalem — It has been said that since the destruction of the Holy Temple and the exile of the Jews from the land of Israel, the Land of Milk and Honey reverted back to a barren, arid, scorched desert wasteland. But when its people returned to the land, it once again became a flourishing, and literally fruitful, agricultural oasis.

Dateline Jerusalem — Yesterday it was sunny, hot, and humid, typical August weather in Israel. Yet this is the end of October. My window air conditioner unit has been on 24/7, so noisy that I cannot hear the TV.

Dateline Jerusalem — Glistening Mediterranean Sea waters, turquoise. aqua and deeper shades of blue, with white foam gently rippling as the waves tumbled onto the Tel Aviv shore, converged from three directions and met at the apex of a triangle of wet sand.

Dateline Jerusalem — The statistics are in for 2008. Israel leads every other country in its growth rate at 1.5 percent, compared to 1.188 percent for the rest of the world for the same time period. Yet the population of the entire country is less than 7.5 million people, all squeezed into an area approximately the size of the state of New Jersey (only smaller). In fact, the U.S. is approximately 444 times the size of Israel. California is more than 20 times larger.

Dateline Jerusalem — Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics recently published information about the average urban Israeli household based on surveys of the 14 largest cities in Israel, those with populations over 100,000. Although I always thought I was working for slave wages since I moved here, compared to the rest of the country, I guess I was doing okay.

Dateline Jerusalem — Pink pomegranates? Green oranges? Purple plums the size of large naval oranges or small grapefruit? And those are the fruits I can identify. What about the yellow fruit shaped like an artichoke with green-tipped spiky outer "leaves" that open like a blooming flower that also comes in orange with red-tipped "leaves," their insides similar to kiwi? I cannot even pronounce its name. There are a lot of other fruits and vegetables that I have never seen before coming to Israel.

Dateline Jerusalem — Last year I wrote about my experiences with the national health care system here in Israel. Everyone is required to have health insurance coverage.

I continue to be very satisfied with my experiences, even though it probably would be considered socialized medicine, something I have been much against.

Dateline Jerusalem — Happy New Year! Welcome to the year 5770.

Most of the world thinks we are entering the last quarter of the year 2009. Yet next week, starting on Friday night, the Jewish people will be observing the year 5770. Rosh Hashana, meaning "head of the year" in Hebrew, is the second holiest day of the year for Jews. It is followed 10 days later by Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, which is the holiest day of the year.

Dateline Jerusalem — I've had a busy week. Lots of visitors. The plumber, the electrician, the air conditioner man. Does this sound familiar? In the past I have written about the rundown condition of my apartment. As soon as one thing is fixed, another needs fixing. Just recently I had all three repairmen come to my home. All lights on one side of my apartment weren't working, the toilet had a leak and the air conditioner expelled warm air instead of cold.

Dateline Jerusalem — It is said that if you want to get something done, ask a busy person. That is absolutely true, especially if you live in Israel, where everything is closed on your day off.

Between working and travel time to work (13-14 hours/day devoted to just that), because here the work day is longer and the daily commute often includes both trains and/or buses, I had little time to myself.