The Greenseids' Great Adventure

By Lija

A couple days ago someone told us that "Yom Kippur is the most fun day of the year in Israel." I'm here to attest that this is true. In fact, I think today was one of the best days of our travels so far. And we've had a lot of good days.

A little background information for those of you who aren't Jewish. Jewish holidays begin at sundown one day and continue until sundown the next (or in the case of Yom Kippur, until one can see three stars together in the sky.) And Yom Kippur is the holiest of all the Jewish holidays, which in my experience, has been observed by fasting (neither eating nor drinking), going to shul (synagogue), and watching a long Jewish-themed movie so that mom and dad can sleep away the afternoon until it's time to break the fast. It's always a special day, a different day. Until today, I wouldn't have used "fun" as the first adjective to describe Yom Kippur. But I agree, it is the most fun day in Israel.

Here's what we did:

Yom Kippur began for us last night around 5 pm, when left our apartment for a 20 minute walk to synagogue. The streets were being to get quiet. Even though the majority of Israelis are secular, starting at sundown on Yom Kippur every business is closed and there's a tacit agreement not to drive cars. Like the only cars driving are ambulances and fire trucks.

We were invited to attend services at the Tel Aviv International Synagogue by the kids' newly hired Chinese tutor. She's originally from China and married a German Orthodox Jew, converted, and has been living in Tel Aviv for 6 years. She's lovely and convinced us to give the shul a try, despite it being modern orthodox.

The place was empty. Our tutor arrived with her family a couple minutes later and suggested that Arija and I find a place to sit upstairs, since most of the seats on the women's side were reserved. That's right. Being an orthodox synagogue, it is divided by a "Mehitzah" - a white fabric partition - with men sitting on one side and women on the other plus being allowed to sit in an upstairs balcony. I've never gone to services in an Orthodox synagogue before and the feminist in me bristles at the idea of separation. I have to say it wasn't all bad though. I mean it is bad. I'm not defending it. But from my experience yesterday, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that separating genders results in building a stronger community by encouraging conversation. You can't just talk to your spouse (unless of course your spouse is the same gender, although I doubt there were many same sex couples there.) I kind of liked that part.  What I didn't like was the purposefully obstructed view of the bima, the raised part of the temple where the rabbi stands and the ark with the torah is held. I also didn't like feeling like I couldn't sing loudly, since I wasn't sure if women's voices were ok to be heard. And I missed hearing women's voices being part of the service - I love our two female cantors and female rabbi at home. Here, it was only men leading the service. Those parts felt wrong. But it was an interesting experience.

The service started around 5:45ish and the place was still only half full. But by the time the Sephardic (a Jew from the middle east) cantor started singing Kol Nidre, every seat was full and people were standing in the lobby. And I have to say that there was a great spirit in the place, a great feeling of joy in the synagogue which I haven't typically felt during Yom Kippur services. Usually Yom Kippur is a solemn, serious affair. Here people pounded on their chairs, they danced around, they sang at the top of their lungs (well, at least the men and kids did). The rabbi, an American who established the synagogue about 6-7 years ago, gave his sermon half in Hebrew and half in English. It was fun. It really was. And it was entertaining enough to keep the kids engaged for a good 2 1/2 hours. But by 8 they were getting tired and we decided to sneak out. We had been warned that this synagogue is known for its long Kol Nidre service, often ending after 10 pm.

The walk home felt like a city-wide block party. We only saw one car driving very slowly and instead the streets were filled with people out walking, riding bikes and scooters, and letting their dogs run free. I've only ever seen something similar for a few blocks here and there during national night out in St. Paul, but this was every single street in the city. The kids loved being able to walk the wrong way down the middle of the street and Adam did some break dancing along the way, just cause he could. We even found a tree filled with fruit bats. It was awesome.

We awoke this morning to the sound of birds. Nothing else. No planes, no cars, just birds. The jachnun that was cooking overnight was burnt (Andrew joked that it was proof that god exists) so instead we ate a light breakfast of yogurt and toasted Challah. Yes, that's right. We ate. Because we needed energy for the day, and because we're in Israel so we don't have to fast to still be Jewish. We hopped on our bikes and rode them, along with throngs of other bikers and walkers, down to Rabin Square to meet Andrew's cousin Liron on his bike. And then we rode through the city, about 15 kilometers altogether we think. Let me tell you that riding down the middle of streets is awesome! They're smooth, there's space for everyone, and you only have to worry about running over toddlers, not being hit by a car. It's hard to capture how truly fun it is to ride through a carless city. I found myself saying over and over, "this is so great."

We returned to our house around 1 pm to take a short rest, drink a bunch of water, and get a bite to eat. Then we watched Chariots of Fire (after the kids rejected Ben Hur, which isn't really Jewish anyway...) Around 4 pm, we went out again, this time splitting up so we could let the kids take the lead on where to bike. Arija and I went around Kikar Ha'Medina, a giant circular green space near our home, and then decided to ride on the highway. That's right. Even the highways are empty of cars and are instead filled with people on bikes. What a rush!

We returned to meet Andrew and Adam to "break the fast" with a light meal and glass of wine before crashing for the night. I think that Yom Kippur in Israel is one of the best kept secrets in world travel. It should be up there with the running of the bulls in Pamplona or New Year's Eve in Times Square or the like. But I also like that it's kind of a secret joy. Because we didn't anticipate how wonderful it was going to be, we therefore were able to rejoice in all the lovely, dare I say "sacred" moments throughout the day and night.

Tel Aviv International Synagogue before Kol Nidre started. Note the white curtain separating the two sides.

Andrew and Adam from my spot in the balcony.

Middle of Dizengoff Street.

Typical intersection around 9 pm.

Adam breakdancing.

We found a flock (?) of fruit bats on the way home.

More street scenes.

Yes I took a selfie while riding a bike down the middle of a street without wearing a helmet. And survived, no less.

Wrong way.

Entering the highway.

Riding down the highway.

Someone drew a chalk minion in the middle of the highway.

A girl and her bike.

A good place to rest after a day of biking. :)