Saturday, January 08, 2005
Sparks From Israel
The Twilight Zone
I work in an Industrial Area in South Tel Aviv, which is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. At night, I took a break and sat in a corner pizza parlor.
Sitting at another table was a disheveled looking man who had had a few drinks. Across from him sat a large man with missing teeth and grease stained T-shirt from the truck he drove. If I was in my native land, I could imagine the drunkard cursing the Jews about something or other and the truck driver laughing back with a mouth full of pizza. But as I sat there I was startled to hear the man full of booze blurt out the following words in Hebrew:
‘The Song of song’s of Solomon:
Communicate Your innermost wisdom to me again in loving closeness, for your friendship is dearer than all earthly delights. Like the scent of goodly oils is the spreading fame of your deeds; Your very name is Flowing Oil, therefore have the nations loved you...’
The tuck driver added:
‘Upon perceiving a mere hint that You wished to draw me, we rushed with perfect faith after You into the wilderness. But you’re not supposed to recite Psalms in the night.’
The drunk responded ‘That’s not Psalms that’s the Song of Song’s and where did you get that ridiculous idea that you cannot recite Psalms in the night time? My father (rest his soul) read all of the Psalms every Friday night.’
The truck driver replied, ‘Well your not supposed to’.
As the pizza delivery man put his motorcycle helmet on the drunk grabbed his arm. Yossi, he said, my father (rest his soul) read the whole Psalms every Friday night and this ‘rabbi’ here (pointing to the truck driver), said you can’t read Psalms at night, what do you say?’
Yossi took off his helmet. ‘Well, there is a tradition with some people not to recite Psalms between sundown and midnight, however, even those who hold by this tradition read Psalms on Friday night, because Shabbat is considered ‘day’, this is why we don’t say goodnight on Friday night, we say Shabbat Shalom.
‘Oh..the drunk continued. ‘Though I am black with sin, I am comely with virtue, O nations who are destined to ascend to Hevron..’
‘ To Yerushalayim, not Hevron’..said the beer drinking truck driver.
‘No. it’s written Hevron’ said the man with a hiccup.
‘Ahh..your drunk, said the truck driver, ‘you don’t know the difference between Hevron and Yerushalayim’..
As I walked out, they continued to argue. Here in Israel, even the salt of the earth is not salt, but gold.
The Twilight Zone
I work in an Industrial Area in South Tel Aviv, which is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. At night, I took a break and sat in a corner pizza parlor.
Sitting at another table was a disheveled looking man who had had a few drinks. Across from him sat a large man with missing teeth and grease stained T-shirt from the truck he drove. If I was in my native land, I could imagine the drunkard cursing the Jews about something or other and the truck driver laughing back with a mouth full of pizza. But as I sat there I was startled to hear the man full of booze blurt out the following words in Hebrew:
‘The Song of song’s of Solomon:
Communicate Your innermost wisdom to me again in loving closeness, for your friendship is dearer than all earthly delights. Like the scent of goodly oils is the spreading fame of your deeds; Your very name is Flowing Oil, therefore have the nations loved you...’
The tuck driver added:
‘Upon perceiving a mere hint that You wished to draw me, we rushed with perfect faith after You into the wilderness. But you’re not supposed to recite Psalms in the night.’
The drunk responded ‘That’s not Psalms that’s the Song of Song’s and where did you get that ridiculous idea that you cannot recite Psalms in the night time? My father (rest his soul) read all of the Psalms every Friday night.’
The truck driver replied, ‘Well your not supposed to’.
As the pizza delivery man put his motorcycle helmet on the drunk grabbed his arm. Yossi, he said, my father (rest his soul) read the whole Psalms every Friday night and this ‘rabbi’ here (pointing to the truck driver), said you can’t read Psalms at night, what do you say?’
Yossi took off his helmet. ‘Well, there is a tradition with some people not to recite Psalms between sundown and midnight, however, even those who hold by this tradition read Psalms on Friday night, because Shabbat is considered ‘day’, this is why we don’t say goodnight on Friday night, we say Shabbat Shalom.
‘Oh..the drunk continued. ‘Though I am black with sin, I am comely with virtue, O nations who are destined to ascend to Hevron..’
‘ To Yerushalayim, not Hevron’..said the beer drinking truck driver.
‘No. it’s written Hevron’ said the man with a hiccup.
‘Ahh..your drunk, said the truck driver, ‘you don’t know the difference between Hevron and Yerushalayim’..
As I walked out, they continued to argue. Here in Israel, even the salt of the earth is not salt, but gold.
