Shabbat with the Parents, Round 2

בס"ד

 

Last Shabbat – the last open Shabbat of Nativ – I spent again with Ima and Abba in Jerusalem.  I arrived Thursday afternoon, and we had a chill afternoon at the pool, resting in the room and whatnot.  Abba and I went to Pomeranz to do some book shopping – we both shipped books home.  After that, we went to Emek to have dinner at Luciana, and Brenna joined us.  I walked back to Beit Shmuel with Brenna after dinner, but I was tired so I didn't stay there too late and just chilled in the hotel.

 

Friday morning was our Old City morning – except a lot of the things we were planning on doing didn't happen.  We couldn't tag along on a Kotel Tunnel tour, and the Hurva synagogue required reservations for a tour, which we did not know before.  We just walked around for a bit, and I went into the Arab quarter for the first time.  Ima and Abba wanted to buy a small rug, so we went into a store, where the guy tried to charge them more than they wanted to spend.  He was very nice, and told Abba that he liked his beard and called him Mr. Beard while trying to reduce the price.  But Abba walked out, and the guy came chasing him down the alley trying to get Abba to buy it; he told Abba, "Mr. Beard, you are a very nice guy but a very hard guy."  Abba eventually bought the rug.

 

After the Old City, we took a cab to Machane Yehuda, where we did some candy shopping, and Ima and I went into Marzipan and bought some stuff there.  The amount of candy we bought was ridiculous, but thank God the shuk is cheap.  We then had lunch at Big Apple off of Ben Yehuda, and I bought a shirt there.  We saw Gelb, David, and Mazakas at Ann after that, and then we just went back to the hotel and I napped.

 

For davening Friday night, we went to Shira Hadasha – I thought my parents would enjoy the singing there.  Except, of course, that they really dragged it out that night, doing every dai dai dai and niggun and, in particular, slow niggunim that one could do.  We sat next to Davids Helfand and Singer and I had a good time but it was definitely long.  We left after Magen Avot and had dinner at the hotel, then went for a short walk around the area.  Shabbat morning we went to Yakar, which was very nice (though they didn't do some of the tunes I like) and then once again we had hotel at the lunch.  I napped for most of the afternoon again.

 

Soon enough came Motza'ei Shabbat, and Ima and Abba departed.  It was very nice being with them, but after all I will be seeing them very soon.  I know for them the trip was very nice, and it was the first time in 17 years they had come to Israel together.  Jerusalem was a nice way to end my open Shabbatot here in Israel, only to be continued in the future.

 

Kol Tuv,

 

Judah