Is it really Thursday and how can April be over already?

Pomegranate tree on the walk to the center of town

My alarm should have rung... maybe it did... Arlan called me a few minutes later. I stumbled down the street and was a grumpy companion all the way to Macabi Pharm. After that, we got ice cafés, then went to Daggidog and the caspomat (ATM). We took the bus back and Arlan stayed on the bus instead of getting off by his place to show me which stop was closest to the market.

Feline security guard at pet food store

Security guards need love, too.

I did laundry, created a cover for all the damn cords covering my desk, read a little more of The Last Days of Dogtown (I didn't want to finish it), studied a little Hebrew, and watched another episode of Unorthodox. 

Two Russian ladies called me and were quickly able to switch to English when I couldn't understand them. One was from Ichilov and one from Macabi Eilat. 

Arlan came up and joined me while I fed the cats. Both Boudica and Grey Tom expect me and (more or less) trust me. Louie, and eventually his "friends," joined us while we were sitting in the park. I wish I understood cat culture. Initially, all but Louie walked away from their food. They sat apart. Eventually, one, then another, went back to his or her food and ate it, without any abuse from Louie.

While Louie lay next to me, an Israeli couple walking past joked with Arlan about the "exercise" we were taking.

Tonight we say, "Today is twenty-two days, which is three weeks and one day of the Omer."

The highest achievement is not self-expression but self-limitation:
making space for something other and different from us.

A children's craft kit at the the market

Yom Ha'Atzmaut

Bibi is slick.

Tel Arad is, according to the Black Hebrews, the real city of David.

Some of my neighbors gathered for an Independence Day BBQ. (Shh. Don't tell.)

I continued reading Diamant's Last Days of Dogtown. The character development is great, but she leaves you to ponder some actions (or lack of them).

Didn't exercise. Didn't study Hebrew. Didn't read anything serious.

I hadn't known there would be an air show to honor of medical workers, but I saw a video later in the afternoon. (There were three planes and I'd really like to know what type they were.)

Tonight is twenty-one days, which is three weeks of the Omer:

We should never feel anger. But there are times when we should show it.
People sometimes need that shock to help them change their lives.

Memorial Day and the Eve of Independence Day

The Memorial Day siren sounded at eleven o'clock.

I had tidied the studio and listened to a Hebrew video many, many times before the siren. Afterward, I went downstairs to exercise.

I just can't hear whether he's saying "oochooli" or "vachooli."

Since the outdoor gym is still taped off, I tried to do some exercises on the lawn. I was quickly covered in stickers, so I took a walk instead of doing my planned exercises.

Kelly-Ann called at one o'clock for our session.

• Listen to music or podcasts during exercise to keep myself motivated and my mind off the discomfort; keep photos of the exercises on my phone
• Since I have lost interest in tarot during lockdown (??!), she suggested I put on "tarot glasses" and when looking at the world or watching a show, consider what card could represent that situation
• Continue eating right 
• Don't push too hard on Hebrew, immersion and listening are more useful than "studying." (My Hebrew actually improved after I stopped studying last April.) 
• Bring Jewish elements into my personal practice
• Contact Daniil for more editing work, ask him for a referral, and make a list of my skills

In the news:

• Terrorist attack today (Memorial Day) in Tel Aviv. 19-year-old Palestinian stabbed a 67-year-old woman. A bystander stopped him. Both are in the hospital.
• IDF soldiers are tending graves.

I lost track of both the time and what day it was! At 4:30, I realized that I had half an hour until lock-down. I hurried to the store and picked up food for myself and some things Isobel wanted. Then I met her outside her yard to borrow a wine glass.

I didn't finish those two errands quickly enough to also feed the cats before five o'clock. And I only had only one night's worth of dry food left because I couldn't get through on the phone to DaggiDog today.

I considered skipping tonight. I knew the other cats would be okay, but I was worried that Boudica and Gray Tom. I decided to break the rules and went down at 7 p.m. I stayed inside the property instead of walking outside the edge of it, but I didn't need to worry; there were lots of people outside. I doled out half portions because DaggiDog won't be open tomorrow.

At the second to last stop along my route, Boudica approached me for the first time. I gave her most of the canned food and sat with her. Grey Tom arrived when she was still eating. I gave him the can with the remaining wet food and just sat there while they ate. The other cats came to eat the dry and didn't bother Boudica and Gray Tom. When those two were finished, I walked to the end of the property and fed the fat cats. So many greedy kitties! I love them.

Israel's 72nd Independence Day celebrations were televised from Mount Hertzl in Jerusalem. The ceremony always begins with a transition from the sorrow of Memorial Day to the exuberant joy of Independence Day. Because of corona virus, the usual military drills and formations were not performed (apparently a great disappointment to many Israelis) and there was no audience, but twelve torches were lit and celebrities performed songs, some had been recorded before the pandemic.  

A cultural oddity: using canned silly spray is a popular Independence Day tradition in Israel.

Tonight begins 20 days, which is two weeks six days of the Omer:

We tend to become what our friends are.
So choose friends who are what you aspire to be.

Erev Yom HaZikaron

After rearranging some cupboards and doing laundry, I spent most of the day watching Fauda. I fed the cats earlier than usual and spent some time sitting with Boudica and Gray Tom. Arlan and I met just above the park and sat with a cat I've name Hagguduh before walking for a while. Even after dark, the park was filled with people and puppies. The Memorial Eve sirens went off at eight o'clock, People stopped what they had been doing and stood for a minute of silence.

Today is nineteen days, which is two weeks and five days of the Omer:

The effort you put into something does not just change the object: it changes you.
The greater the labour, the greater the love for what you have made.

Sunday

My loud neighbors woke me up. I caught the bus to the center of town. Just after I got on the bus, I realized that I'd forgotten my mask. A lady gave me one and another lady gave me a backup. It was very sweet.

Alessandra and her mom invited me in. Alessandra offered me apple cake and I played with her dogs while we talked.

Then I walked to Breisheet, found everything that I needed and also the two thing my neighbor, Sophie, had asked for.

 

I missed a couple of buses, but eventually got back to the stop by Arlan's. We sat in the park and talked for a while. As I was walking back, a hoopoe on the path. I stood and watched him a while. When he flew away there was a flurry of black and white. A dog without its person was wandering around with a leash dragging behind him.

I did laundry and read some of the book Alessandra had loaned me, Anita Diamant's The Last Days of Dogtown. Brilliant.

In the news:

• lots of protests - many about lock-down, some about new government; i24 focusing on artists' protest
• small businesses haven't gotten the promised reimbursement
• although stores are opening, a few ultra-Orthodox areas have been locked down for a week because of increased infection rates in those areas
• partly because of the corona virus lock downs, the Israeli television show, Fauda, is becoming one of the most watched tv shows in Arab countries
• for the month of Ramadan, government controlled television in Saudi Arabia has begun broadcasting a drama about Jews in Kuwait and the lead character is a Jewish woman
• New Zealand is doing really well

Yoga teachers protest in front of Knesset to have their studios reopened

Arlan joined me for cat feeding. It's fascinating to see how attracted cats are to him. A sliver of the moon and Venus glowed in the sky when we were sitting in the park. There were kids playing laser tag in the dark and a girl learning to ride a bike. Louie was friendly and adorable, eventually we were joined by several other cats, who sat apart from each other.

Except for an additional restriction against visiting military cemeteries, there will be no added restrictions on Memorial Day, which begins tomorrow night. There will be a curfew on Independence Day, beginning at 5 p.m. on April 28 (Tuesday night) and ending at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

Today is eighteen days, which is two weeks and four days of the Omer:

If you seek to change anyone’s behaviour, you have to enter into their mindset, and then
say the word or do the deed that speaks to their emotions, not yours.

Rosh Chodesh

The weather was lovely during my walk this morning. I spent a little time on more productive activities, but by mid-afternoon had fallen back into the YouTube trap.

One video inspired me to look up Rabbi Sacks's thoughts on circumcision.

Several others were quite eye opening and made me want to write a contribution to the Vagina Monologues.

Rose of Dawn is still one of my favorite YouTubers.

After feeding the cats this evening, Arlan and I sat in the park. Today was the first of Iyyar and a sliver of the moon glowed between the branches of the trees.

Today is seventeen days, which is two weeks and three days of the Omer:

We are not prisoners of events but active shapers of them. 
 

Erev Shabbat

I woke up very late and had Israeli salad with tehina for breakfast while watching some of the videos I had found last night.

Then I walked to Canada Gardens. It was overcast and cooler out than had been predicted, 26C/79F. It was pretty windy, so perhaps the sandstorm is just a little late.

At the bakery I bought a couple of desserts for Shabbat. The little grocery store doesn't usually observe the guidelines about how many customers can be in the store, but they did today, perhaps because they're busier on Fridays. I didn't want to wait outside, and since I have grape juice, I didn't go in to get wine.

The school supply store was open, so I went in to give the woman some business. I got some stickers that David's Yiddish school teachers might want to use and an Israeli flag for Memorial Day and Independence Day. The owner of the store was so happy to be open and have customers.

I sat on a bench in the park and meditated for a while.

At home, I prepared for Shabbat and tried unsuccessfully to iron the flag. Then I watched i24 News while drinking a cup of Navajo tea.

I tried to order Rabbi Sacks's latest book. It is not available in the US yet. I can't purchase the UK Kindle version because I bought my Kindle in the US. Most annoying however, is that when the US versions do become available, they will be twice the cost of the UK versions.

Tonight begins sixteen days, which is two weeks and two days of the Omer:

Know your own story, because a story told across the generations is a gift. When you know who you are and why, you can navigate the wilderness of time with courage and confidence.

A Practical Hebrew Lesson!

I spent the morning studying Hebrew, in particular, listening to one very short video in Hebrew, trying to train my ear. That video by Ami Steinberger was the best and most practical Hebrew lesson I've had since making aliyah.

In the news:

• Israel allowed Ikea stores to re-open while other small businesses, such as falafel stands, must remain closed. There is completely understandable "outrage" over the "scandalous decision."
• People in East Jerusalem are flouting corona virus guidelines.
• Ramadan begins Friday. The government has declared there will be lockdowns at night during the month, when Muslims feast after a day of fasting. (Were majority Muslim towns on lockdown during Pesach?)
• There is a plague of locusts in South Africa. (As I understand it, locusts can spread over very large regions.)
• Clinical trials of coronavirus vaccine will begin today in the UK.
• There were many large protests in Israel today. People want to get back to work.

I just found the latest guidelines and was interested to note that it is permissible to leave the house simply for "fresh air." (Also, participating in a demonstration has moved up from fifth to fourth in the list of permitted activities.)

Arlan walked up to my building to join me for cat feeding tonight. Boudica wasn't around this evening. I'm worried about her A very frail, gray cat, who I've seen just once before, limped up to us. I gave him a little of the canned cat food, and once I'd ascertained that Boudica wasn't around, gave it all to him. The other cats were actually quite nice; they didn't try to eat the canned food and accepted the dry food I gave them.

Arlan and I spent time in Canada Gardens. At the first set of steps, we fed Louie and then were joined by half a dozen other cats. We talked for a while before walking down to a bench by the first playground. Louie stuck with us and was generally adorable and mischievous. The air was wonderful. Eventually we walked further down and sat near the store. Neither of us really wanted to go home, but it we each want to get up early tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I hope to be more disciplined and focused. I may have already sabotaged that goal by staying up much too late watching Rabbi Sacks videos.

Tonight begins fifteen days, which is two weeks and one day of the Omer:

There are no fast tracks. Lasting achievement takes time. You can never get
there by the shortest road. The harder it gets, the stronger you become.

_________

Presumably, the Israeli government website will be updated, making the above link outdated, so here are the police guidelines as posted on 21 April 2020.

(Note, Ikea stores generally aren't in malls, so that may be why they're open. And I'm not certain, but it sounds as if Arlan and I may be exempt from wearing masks if we hike together in the hills-- are hiking buddies "regular partners?")

Observe the guidelines – save lives!

In accordance with the guidelines issued by the state leadership and the instructions of the Ministry of Health, the Israel Police is currently enforcing the restrictions aimed at combating the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Israel, along with an extensive public education campaign and guiding the public’s behavior. We call upon Israel’s citizens to obey the police officers’ instructions, to act responsibly and exercise restraint, and to contribute to the common effort to curb the spread of the virus.

1. List of permitted purposes for leaving the house:

• Traveling to and from a workplace.
• Receiving medical care.
• Donating blood.
• Demonstration.
• Legal proceeding.
• Going to the Knesset.
• Administering social services.
• Transporting a minor between divorced parents. 
• Transporting a minor whose parent was required to leave home for an essential purpose.
• Buying goods or receiving services in a location which is permitted to operate.
• Fresh air – an individual or a group of cohabiting people leaving a residence for a short time, and at a distance of up to 100 meters from the residence, in the public space only.
• Sports – activity by an individual, or an individual accompanied by a regular partner, or a group of cohabiting people, at a distance of up to 500 meters from the residence. The activity is not to be performed in a park or at the beach, unless they are located 100 meters from the residence, and not in a playground.
• Circumcision ceremony (up to 10 participants).
• Immersion in a ritual bath (mikveh) – women.
• Immersion in a ritual bath – men (up to 3 people in the building).
• Prayer in an open space, within a 500-meter range from the place of residence or workplace, with the participation of up to 19 people, while maintaining a distance of 2 meters between participants.
• It is forbidden to conduct a wedding outside the place of residence, with the exception of a wedding held in an open space, with the participation of up to 10 people, while maintaining a distance of two meters between participants.
• Funeral (up to 20 participants, in an open space only).
• Number of people permitted to travel together in a private vehicle: Driver + passenger, unless they are people who share the same residence, or in case there is an essential need for over two passengers to travel in the same vehicle.

2. Prohibited locations:

• It is forbidden to spend time in a playground.
• It is forbidden to spend time in a business that is barred from operation.
• It is forbidden to spend time in a public park or a beach, unless it is located up to 100 meters from the residence.
• A distance of two meters must be maintained between people, with the exception of people who share the same residence.

3. Locations or businesses that are barred from operation:

• Shopping mall.
• A shop of any kind (with the exception of a list presented below), except by delivery service.
• Dance club, bar, pub, event venue, fitness facility, swimming pool, water park, zoo, safari, petting zoo, bathhouse, movie theater, theater, library, museum, other cultural institution, amusement park, gymboree/play center, amusement facility, business for non-medical body treatments (including hairdressers, manicure salons and so forth), alternative medicine treatments, concert venues and fairgrounds, watercraft for public use, cable car, nature reserve, national park, heritage site, site offering tourist attractions.
• Retail marketplace (open to the public), market stand, and food stand.

4. Food establishments (restaurants, cafés and more):

Will remain closed, but are permitted to sell food by delivery service only (without takeout), with orders taken by phone or online, and placing the delivery at the entrance to the residence.

5. List of businesses and locations whose operation is permitted – by opening their doors to the public:

• Grocery establishment (supermarkets, grocery stores and more).
• Pharmacy.
• Optician’s shop.
• Shops that mainly sell hygiene products (such as drugstores).
• Repair workshop for telecommunication products and computers.
• Businesses located outside shopping malls, which mainly sell goods or provide services in the following fields: Information and telecommunications, video and audio equipment, computers and peripherals, software and communication equipment, home textiles, metal utensils, paints and glass, rugs, carpets and wall and floor coverings, furniture, home electrical and gas appliances, housewares and other household goods with the exception of toys and games, culture and leisure items, books, newspapers, office supplies and stationary, sports and cycling equipment, musical instruments, music and films on physical media, medical accessories, laundromats, sewing shops and shoemaker’s workshops.
• It is forbidden to operate a marketplace (with the exception of a wholesale marketplace) or a market stand, except for shops or businesses that are permitted for operation according to the above list.
• Aesthetic treatments: A physician is forbidden to operate a clinic or operating room to administer treatment for aesthetic purposes, unless the treatment is required for an essential health need, and subject to the licensing terms of the clinic or operating room.

6. Wearing a face mask:

It is required to wear a face mask in the following locations:

• A building other than one’s residence or another place where one stays on a regular basis.
• Public transportation.
• Assembly in an open space.

People exempted from the requirement to wear a face mask:

• A minor under age six.
• A person who has significant difficulty covering their mouth and nose due to a mental, cognitive or medical disability.
• A person in a closed or separated location, without another person present.
• A person with other cohabiting people.
• A person in a closed location.
• A person participating in a media broadcast who is required to speak on the air.
• Two workers who are in one room on a regular basis, while maintaining a 2-meter distance between one another.
• A person performing individual sports activity with another regular partner, or cohabiting people who perform sports activity together.

It is required to carry a face mask (without wearing it) while spending time in any place other than one’s residence or another place where one stays on a regular basis. The following people are exempted from the requirement to carry a face mask:

• A minor under age six.
• A person who has significant difficulty covering their mouth and nose, or is unable to do so, due to a mental, cognitive or medical disability.
• A person performing individual sports activity with another regular partner, or cohabiting people who perform such sports activity together.

The following applies to the owner or operator of a venue open to the public, which operates in a building in which people are required to wear a mask:

• No entry to the building may be granted to a person who is not wearing a face mask. 
• No service may be given to a person who is not wearing a face mask.
• A notice announcing the requirement to wear a mask on the premises must be hung at the entrance and in other noticeable locations.
• If there is a public address system, an announcement must be played over it at least once every half hour, stating the requirement to wear a face mask.

The World is Still in Lockdown

For some reason, I was awake at 6:30 this morning. I texted John and asked if I could drop off my US absentee ballot registration form and have him scan it.

Here are two pictures taken near Arlan's place:



It was a pleasant morning and I enjoyed being out and about. Surprisingly, John and Mary Jean invited me in. Mary Jean has transformed John's bachelor pad into a lovely home. Although she still has "morning" sickness, she looks very well. They're very happy about having a baby on the way. I am a designated auntie.

John scanned my document and emailed it to me. Later, I forwarded it to Jessica, and asked her to mail it to Arizona for me.

John and Mary Jean left for Misrad HaPnim (Ministry of the Interior), hoping to start the process of getting Mary Jean citizenship. (They were unsuccessful and will have to wait until lockdown is over.)

I picked up some things at Shufersal and, while waiting for the bus, I had an ice cafe from the makolet across from Stock. All the cashiers there know me and I chatted in Hebrew with the one who was working this morning.

At the bus stop, a man and I admired all the dogs walking past (some with humans, some without). There weren't a lot of people out, but you could see that those who were outside felt happy to have a little bit more freedom.

I got off the bus near Arlan's place and we went to the park and chatted. When I returned home, I cooked, read a little, and watched YouTube videos.

After I fed the cats, Arlan and I sat in the park again. It was a beautiful night. We talked for a long time. Among other things, we discussed the US elections we'd voted in; oddly both of us had a hard time remembering the candidates who had run against people who did become President.

My place is within 500 meters of his, so tomorrow night, he'll come meet all the kitties.

In the news:

• 3,000 people died from coronavirus in the US today.
• There was a terrorist attack on a border guard outside Maale Adumim today. Unbelievably, but thankfully, he's conscious and likely to survive.
• Military cemeteries will be closed on Yom HaZikaron and parents are saying they're going anyway.They may change their minds before Tuesday, but if they don't, I feel that police and soldiers won't enforce it. (They also have several days to visit before Yom HaZikaron.)
• The two halves of Israel's new unity government will probably prevent each other from accomplishing anything. 
• About half the testing swabs from China are "disfunctional." So much for our recent testing efforts.
• Countries are seizing ventilator shipments intended for other countries.

Jessica called me on WhatsApp this evening about my ballot. She pointed me to an online voter registration site. I asked her about my name (changed with the US State Department and Social Security, but not with the Arizona Motor Vehicles Department). She sensibly suggested I call and ask, which I did after we spoke.

It was nice to see Jessica's face and catch up a little. Her father and step mother have been stuck inside their New York apartment for weeks, but her bother is with them and his girlfriend is with her parents in another state. Her mother is in a small town on the Arizona-New Mexico border and commuting to Tucson regularly. Her daughter is bored in Columbia; there may be a humanitarian flight in June, but she's a good distance from Bogata, where the airport is. Her husband is enjoying working from home. Her son is content in lockdown. And she is as active as ever. She was very sick in January and thinks she may have already had the virus.

I called the office of the Arizona Secretary of State. The woman I spoke with said that she is registered to vote as the name on her Arizona driver's license rather than the name on her US passport, and she pointed me to a "Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Portal" on my.arizona.vote to register. (She has been making face masks for friends; the one she made for a friend in the Arizona congress has dragon fabric on one side and flower fabric on the other, so she can choose whether to look fierce or soft.)

The website instructed me send an email to register for an absentee ballot since I formerly lived in Pima County. Keeping my fingers crossed that someone is reading and processing applications. 

Today is two weeks of counting the Omer:

Freedom is an achievement. It is a muscle that needs to be exercised daily: use it or lose it.

Yom HaShoah

The siren wailed at 10 a.m. for two minutes. From my window, I saw only one other person, a cab driver who had stopped his car and was standing in the street.

Benny Gantz's speech was better than either Rivlin's or Netanyahu's. Rivlin seemed clueless, while Netanyahu was eloquent but possibly self-serving.

After I washed clothes and opened my door, Sophie came out of her apartment. She invited me to walk in the hills with her.



She knows the names of plants and birds and taught me some interesting things about Eilat. We spoke in Hebrew for a while after I mentioned that I'm having a terrible time learning. It was a warm day, but summer has thankfully been late in arriving, so I don't feel I can complain.

After our walk, I walked through Canada Gardens to go to the store and spent time with Louie. A few combined families were out and the city gardeners were eating their lunches in the shade.



My digestive tract had done something healthy this morning, so I prepared a lunch of veggies, basmati rice, and tehina.

I worked on my tarot book briefly and also studied Hebrew for a very short time, but I'm hoping it's the start of a good habit.

The news today has focused primarily Yom HaShoa and on Holocaust survivors. Efforts had already been underway to preserve their memories and the history before the last generation is gone. There are 189,000 survivors living in Israel today and their average age is 84 years old, so they are very vulnerable.

In the U.S. there are 1,000 new cases of corona virus every day in the United States. In Israel, there have been a total of 181 corona virus related deaths. According to i24 News, there are more people recovering than people contracting it. There are fears of a second wave. The month-long holiday of Ramadan

Also in the news: Trump wants to suspend immigration to the U.S. for the duration of the pandemic,  Israelis have mixed responses to the new unity government, and Saudi Arabia is closing mosques for Ramadan.

Antisemitism was already more noticeable before the pandemic. I expected that conspiracy theories would emerge, but was surprised that they started immediately. I've been trying to ignore articles about it, even though they've been shockingly horrible. The latest: Israel created the virus so it can profit from developing the cure.

However, an Arab member of the Knesset, Mansour Abbas, who is the leader of a religious party in the Joint Arab List, offered a prayer from the Quran in memory of the victims of the Shoah. "I stand here to show solidarity with the Jewish people here and forever." More of his remarks were published in The Jerusalem Post. (I feel better about having voted for the Joint Arab List in the third election.)

Kelly-Ann's internet connection has been poor, so she wasn't able to keep her appointment with me this evening.

It was a cat feeding, Spotify listening, and Rabbi Sacks viewing evening. (Rabbi Sacks was very busy with interviews today.)

Tonight begins the 13th day of the Counting of the Omer:

When you realise that listening to views different from your own is not threatening but enlarging,
you have discovered the life-changing idea of argument for the sake of heaven.