I seem to be much better – fever down, shivering gone, able to get to the bathroom without hanging on to the wall. so I’ll continue with a less intimate subject in the next post.
June 29, 2021 – self-medication Read Post »
my life in tel aviv
israeli politics, my life in tel aviv
The sirens are going in Jerusalem, and we’ve been promised rockets in Tel Aviv. Me, with my stomach virus, hope I won’t have to leave the bathroom neighborhood for the shelter. but I’m ready.
may 10, 2021 – rockets Read Post »
blog, my life in tel aviv, poetry
have you noticed that technology is not my strongest point? Sometimes I have no idea what to do. Sometimes all I need is a reminder to figure something out. So Tamar Orvell wrote me yesterday that the videos don’t show. So here are a few of the videos Michael Kagan did in recent months of the readings and interviews we’ve been doing. Even I am impressed.
may 10, 2021 – videos Read Post »
blog, my life in tel aviv
The tree in front of our living room window suffered a lot in the past years – all these guys who work for the municipality got the wrong information and cut off the wrong branch, then a tractor plowed into it, and then it started flowering and shedding leaves at the same time. I never thought it would live through the heat waves we’ve been having, the rainstorms, the manhandling, but today I suddenly noticed it has grown much taller, and almost reaches my window. It is as if it knows I love it, and it wants to please me so much it will adapt to all the circumstances, all the punishments it’s been enduring.
Our window flowers and plants, however, are not doing as well. I can almost hear them saying “I don’t have to take this abuse,” as they disappear overnight. We were getting enormous quantities of cherry tomatoes for months, but now there is nothing left. Peppers too. And all the stuff we replanted from the garden at the entrance of our building rebelled as well. Even though we kept the plants in the shade, the unusually hot desert winds and the changes from day to day don’t agree with them.
or maybe they are just echoing what is in my heart.
may 9, 2021 – heat waves and window plants Read Post »
blog, my life in tel aviv, poetry
It was really thrilling for me to translate Emma Lazarus’s New Colossus to Hebrew. Even if you don’t know Hebrew, you’ll get my amazing enthusiasm about the poem in the clip… Let them know if you like it.
It was the first poem that brought me to tears when I was growing up, but the more I studied poetry as a student the more embarrassed I was about loving it. No one seemed to take the poem as seriously as I did. But today, when I heard Biden quote a line from the poem, I realized once again that it was the quintessential poem for me, and I was proud that I always believed in the ideals it represents.
April 17, 2021 – The new colossus Read Post »
blog, my life in tel aviv
What a surprise! For her birthday Rachel Talmi took a few of her friends to the Shalom Asch House in Bat Yam. I have long looked for this house, but it was always closed when I looked for it. Its significance is clear, as Shira Turnov explained years ago, but its accessibility eluded me. This is unlike Asch himself who wrote novels that were not only accessible but incredibly absorbing. They were not part of my parents’ library – their antiestablishment nature, their depiction of Jews as human beings as opposed to shtetl stereotypes, was a bit too daring for them, I suppose. But somehow I got to him anyway. And just before the first lockdown, I saw two of his plays. Scandalous. Wonderful.
Anyway his house was full of all kinds of fascinating things – paintings by great artists, letters from famous people, furniture, and artifacts of great depth. And a writing desk that simply inspires one to create.
Of course there are a few problems with visiting right now – it’s open for a few hours a week and the parking may be a problem. But you can call first.
march 21 – the Shalom Asch house Read Post »
blog, my life in tel aviv
I know I’m way behind, but we have been incredibly careful about meeting with friends – to the point that we almost have lost the ability to make connections with people. Every meeting now with friends is a big deal – we learn so much – the ways our friends have been entertaining and educating themselves – no one says much on zoom, and we don’t really chat on the phone. It’s like we’ve forgotten all that sharing – but we seem to be beginning to exchange information again. Today one friend reminded me that her daughter has a wine-tasting company that sends you different wines. Another friend has flight tickets for next week. But most people believe that as soon as the election is over, we’ll go back into shut down, and everything will be back in the nightmare.
march 20, 2021 – brunch Read Post »
blog, my life in tel aviv
Everywhere in tel aviv tonight the cafés were open and crowded. There were a few masks here and there, but I felt like a dinosaur in my hospital mask. We just rushed past the happy people on the streets, hoping to get by without catching something, hoping someday we’ll be able to join them.
Not that we were not celebrating. We’ve been gradually moving out of our shell for weeks – a bit reluctantly – wishing we’d finished some of the projects we’ve promised ourselves to complete. A few more weeks of cleaning, of writing, and we’ll be set…
or is it only me who feel guilty that i’ve wasted a year.
march 17, 2021 – tel aviv cafes today Read Post »