[img]96|left|||no_popup[/img]Dateline Jerusalem — “Summertime, and the livin' is easy” — the George Gershwin music from “Porgy and Bess” — was the lullaby that I sang to my children and then to my granddaughter to “hush” and soothe them when they were babies.
Kind of unusual for someone like me, who grew up in the era of such artists as Elvis, the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the songs of early childhood like “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “The Wheels on the Bus.”
Once I heard my daughter singing “Summertime” to her daughter. It brought a smile to my lips and tears to my eyes.
Summertime in Israel is similar to that of Southern California in terms of warm and mild weather. But it also can be like a muggy New York City. The heat of summer is bearable, the humidity is unbearable.
Jerusalem is higher and dryer than Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv, Rehovot, and the central and coastal areas are like living in a steam bath. Be'er Sheva is hot and dry like the California Mojave Desert, Palmdale, and Lancaster. CA. In fact, Israel reminds me a lot of California.
I Remembered Too Late
Last weekend I forgot to turn on the air conditioner, and I was prohibited from doing so once Shabbat began.
My apartment was like an oven because of all the lights left on and the crock pots and plata keeping food warm for Shabbat. I could barely sleep. The only good thing was that I lost my appetite. However, my consumption of water was insatiable.
I stopped wearing make-up when I came to this country. I only wear a sheitel (wig) to cover my hair on Shabbat, hoping that it won't get too sweaty and stick to my head. The rest of the time I cover my hair with a snood or a scarf.
It isn't necessary to use a hairdryer because as soon as my hair dries, it is wet again. When I step out of the shower and try to dry off, it is as though I never owned a towel.
It is said that humidity is good for my complexion to prevent from shriveling into a prune. I had relatively dry skin, but never had an acne problem. Now in my late 50s, I have pimples on my face.
A 30-Year-Old That’s Clanky and Cranky
However, the rest of me is nice and soft from the moisture in my skin. But, sometimes I think I feel clammy when the humidity is great. Last night at 10 o’clock, the temperature was 77 degrees. But the humidity was 70 percent. The comfortable became uncomfortable, and I had to run the air conditioner all night long. The air conditioner is at least 30 years old, energy inefficient, and so loud that I could not hear the TV.
Without air conditioning, I never would have been able to fall asleep.
Some places in Israel it is hard to distinguish between summer and winter, especially if you are sitting in an air conditioned car or bus looking out on the streets. Religious men and women are dressed the same all year round. Men are seen with black hats, fur hats, knitted yarmulkes on their heads, long black robes or suit jackets and women with sheitels, snoods, scarves, hats on their heads, long skirts and long-sleeved, high- necked blouses covering them up. It saves on spending for a new seasonal wardrobe, but it can be very hot and uncomfortable in the summer.
Just as the words to “Summertime” say, the living is easy here in Israel.
Most people are laid back. Government offices are closed for a couple of hours in the afternoon, sort of like siesta time. People sit at street cafes, European-style, under umbrellas or awnings to get fresh air, but to avoid the glare of the sun.
Every block has an ice cream stand with what looks like homemade ice cream in every conceivable flavor. There also are kiosks selling baked goods and Israel's favorite fast food, a pita filled with falafel and french fries, humus, tehina, chopped Israeli salad, fried eggplant, and a myriad of other salads and condiments from which to choose.
Summertime is also tourist season in Israel.
From the beautiful beaches in Nahariya, in Northern Israel almost at the Lebanon border, with its caves and cliffs, to diving off cliffs into the hot springs in the middle of the country, to the beaches in Tel Aviv with their cabanas, umbrellas and glorious blue waters, to the clear water of the Red Sea in Eilat at the southern tip of Israel with its underwater aquarium that is actually the ocean floor with the most unique species of fish seen from on high while para-sailing over the water, to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, which is along the Jordanian border with its minerals and mud and the content of salt so high that it is impossible not to be able to float, the visitors to Israel flock to all the water resorts.
There are others, however, who will climb the twisting mountain trail to the mountain of Masada, starting at 3 a.m., because the desert is so hot the only cool part of the day is at dawn. And of course, the biggest attractions all year round are the holy sites. Somehow praying at the Kotel (Western Wall or Wailing Wall, as it is known) is comfortable all year round no matter how hot or cold, because sitting on that wall is the presence of G-d.
It is truly a beautiful experience in spite of the heat and humidity.
L'hitraot, Shachar
Shachar is the Hebrew name of a California-based attorney and former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy who moved to Israel 22 months ago.
