Holy Exposures

Lag Baomer “Camp Fire” Stories:
Story #1:
It was 1995, and it was our first Lag in Israel as Olim. The kids down the block had a massive fire going, built from construction wood. The flames were at least two stories high, and they were about 10 meters from our apartment – at most! Being a newbie, I called the fire department. The conversation was almost laughable, if it wasn’t so sad. The gist of their reasoning for not coming out to check the fire was that I was an Oleh and I didn’t know how “things were done here”.

Story #2:
It was 1997, we were driving back from my nephew’s Bar Mitzvah, which was held in a Kibbutz up north. Motzash”k was Lag Baomer, just like this year. We drove back from the north down the coastal highway (Highway 6 “Kvish Shesh” wasn’t invented yet).
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1. People are friendly – Our neighbors are the best. People say Hi on the street. Most people know each other by face, if not by name.
2. Relaxed “Chill” Neighborhood – It’s generally very quiet here. Except for weekdays when kids are picked up and dropped off from school, the streets are mostly empty from cars.
3. Great bus service – For those who don’t have cars, it’s extremely easy to get anywhere. Buses to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Inner-city, are constantly running.
4. Enough Shopping, but not too much – We have several makolot (small grocery stores) in walking distance, and shopping centers within a few minutes drive. The haredi shopping center near by offers some really great prices and shopping bargains.
5. Minyanim everywhere – You’re never worried about making your next minyan. We have many shuls (Batei Knesset) for all religious types and customs. People often run into a shul closest to them for mincha, and are treated respectfully by the members.
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How lucky are we to be in a world where the State of Israel exists?
How wonderful is it that over 7 million Jews live here in the Holy Land?
Happy Birthday Israel, and many, many more to come!

Thinking of having an iPad shipped to Israel? Asking your parents to shlep one back on their next trip?
Think twice…

Israel has officially declared Apple’s iPad unwanted for now. Israel Customs has begun confiscating iPads from travellers and incoming mail shipments. Even (and especially) if you go to the red line to declare your new Apple toy, it will still be confiscated.
Israel’s government communications office hasn’t given any specific reasons other than that the USA model includes WiFi support that is not allowed in Israel.

Update: Israel iPad Ban Lifted April 25
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/04/25/why-israel-lifted-its-ipad-ban/
Israel lifted the ban on importing iPads. Apparently, Israel’s Communications Ministry was contacted by Apple’s technology labs to verify that wi-fi technologies present in the device will not affect military or other Israeli concerns.

Bet Knesset Hamerkazi Ha’Ashkenazi – Tefilah Times Summer 5770

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