SHABBAT in Tel Aviv

We woke up to an extraordinary morning: sun shining in a beautiful blue sky, the Mediterranean Ocean surf crashing on the rocks by the hotel. It was a 'shechecheyanu' moment. Liza and I went down to a classic Israeli breakfast of 12 kinds of cheese, 10 breads, 9 variations of yogurt, 11 salads, and so on. From there a few of the God fearing TBA tour group went to services at Beit Daniel, the only Reform temple in Tel Aviv.

Services were so interesting. In many ways they reminded me of services I would lead in Arlington, TX 12 years ago: singing the greatest hits of the Shabbat liturgy without all of the silent and mumbled liturgy that's still part of the traditional synagogue experience. The rabbi (a woman I did not know) gave a great dvar torah (I had to ramp up my Hebrew quickly...). There was also a Bat Mitzvah -- a confusing event at that. The family has roots in Israel but live in Seattle. The Bat Mitzvah is fluent in Hebrew but gave her dvar torah in English. We couldn't tell who was related to whom... But despite the confusion on the players in the life cycle event, we were warmly welcomed and acknowledged by the rabbi.

From there we who 'serviced' went on to the Yarkon River Park where, apparently, every Tel Avivnik decided to go, too. The weather is so gorgeous, who could blame them? We walked along the polluted Yarkon with everyone else and made our way to the new happening area here, Tel Aviv Port, filled with bars and cafes and restaurants -- and people.

And now this next bit of time will be a respite to catch up on a little more sleep.

I am so lucky to be here with our temple.

rebhayim

PS Becky arrived, safe and sound. Ask here anything about the Milan Airport; she knows it now like the back of her hand.