My New Home

ז' אלול, תשס"ה

My apartment is, as my apt-mate put it, “a good shell.” It will take some work to make it home, but hopefully it’ll happen. The last few days I have been occupied with getting my bearings in the neighborhood, and trying to find the necessary household furnishings and accessories at halfway reasonable prices. Both activities are still in process, and I’ve been to an interesting assortment of shopping arenas – a mall, a home center, a huge mega-supermarket (on a Thursday night when it seemed as if all the other patrons were buying their weekly supply of food for families of at least twelve), and the shuk (a.k.a Machane Yehuda, on a Friday afternoon when it’s at its peak of commotion).

The nicest part of my apartment by far is a huge front window made up of three panes, which can be opened by sliding either one or two of which behind the third. When it is wide open it makes the front room almost like a balcony (which we don’t have), and makes the entire common space of the apartment airy. There are two elementary schools across the street, so there is the sound of children playing outside all day, and at intervals there is a gentle, four-tone electronic chime which is the equivalent of a school bell here. There is a tree a few feet from the window, so when the breeze blows it rustles the leaves, and the window faces approximately north-northeast, so there is sun in the morning.

Speaking of direction, I had a thrilling realization the first morning. I wanted to daven shacharit, but I didn’t know which way was east, so I pulled out my map of the city. Looking it over, however, I realized that although all my life it had been ingrained in me to daven facing east, so as to face Jerusalem, here in Jerusalem I needed to face towards the Old City, within which is the kotel and har habayit. And that…is north-northeast from my apartment! So my favorite spot in this new home is also becoming my makom kavua, my customary space for prayer.

The buildings are all made of Jerusalem stone, which I think is beautiful, but they don’t actually all look the same. Some are rough cut and some smooth; some are stained and crumbling and others a fresh, bright cream color; some have a preponderance of ugly metal sheeting on the fronts, trisim and otherwise, and others have uniquely-placed mirpasot built deliberately where there is nothing above them, and often with permanent beams over them, in order to accommodate sukkot. The streets in the neighborhood are mostly named after the shvatim and other random Biblical characters, with a few other theme-appropriate ones thrown in, such as Kibutz Galuyot, “Ingathering of Exiles.” So far I’ve only walked along a limited selection of routes, but already I’ve passed four shuls. I’m thinking I’ll try a new one each week…

That’s about all there is to tell at this point. I begin my classes tomorrow morning…I’m sure there will soon be much more to tell and much less time to tell it in!