July 28: Jerusalem (Tel Aviv)

(1) Upon arriving at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, I was asked by a customs official if I spoke any Hebrew. The best I could muster was the first line of my 1992 Bar Mitzvah Torah portion (Nitzavim -- Deuteronomy 29:9 - 30:20). I replied to the woman, "Atem nitsavim hayom kulechem lifney Adonai Eloheychem rasheychem shivteychem zikneychem veshotreychem kol ish Yisra'el." This translates: "Today you are standing, all of you, before Adonai your God - your heads, your tribes, your leaders and your officers - all the men of Israel." The customs woman was rather startled to learn that Adonai, her God, stood before her with a backpack, having just flown in from New York. Eventually, the Almighty, along with his mom and "Aunt" Lucy were allowed into the country with minimal fan-fare. We then hired a sherut (limo-van) to drive us to Jerusalem. For whatever reason, this took us about an hour and a half (really, it shouldn't take more than an hour). It was an amazing feeling to arrive in this holy city at night, the Dome of the Rock shining in the dark sky from the Old City. (photo: www.terragalleria.com)

(2) Though Jerusalem's Old Town is the major attraction, we would wait until the end of the trip to pay it a proper visit. Of course, we could still see some of its magic at night, baiting us to return with high anticipation. Quite simply, David's Tower wasn't going anywhere in the next week.

(3) We checked into our hostel, a modest place a few blocks away from the always-lively Ben Yehuda Street. Inside, I found these words written upon one of the walls (misspellings, punctuation, and grammar mirror what can be seen in the photograph):

"TO AWAKEN QUITE ALONE IN A STRANGE TOWN IS ONE OF THE PLEASANT SENSATIONS IN THE WORLD. YOU ARE SURROUNDED BY ADVENTURE. YOU HAVE NO IDEAR WHAT YOU HAVE INSTALL FOR YOU, BUT YOU WILL, IF YOU ARE WISE & KNOW THE ART OF TRAVEL. LET YOURSELF GO ON THE STREAM OF THE UNKNOWN & ACCEPT WHATEVER COMES IN THE SPIRIT IN WHICH THE GODS MAY OFFER IT. FOR THIS REASON YOUR CUSTOMERY THOUGHTS, ALL EXCEPT THE RAREST OF YOUR FRIENDS, EVEN MOST OF YOUR LUGGAGE - EVERYTHING IN FACT WHICH BELONGS TO YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE, IS A MERE HINDERENCE. THE TOURIST TRAVELS IN HIS OWN ATMOSPHERE LIKE A SNAIL IN ITS SHELL & STANDS, AS IT WERE, ON HIS OWN PERAMBULATING DOORSTEP TO LOOK AT THE CONTINENTS OF THE WORLD. BUT IF YOU DISCARD ALL THIS, AND SALLY FORTH WITH A LEISURELY & BLANK MIND, THERE IS NO KNOWING WHAT MAY NOT HAPPEN TO YOU."

This was a profoundly deep message for a new traveler, and, time and time again, I would find truth in both its spirit and its warnings - the joy of waking up to a fresh new landscape, and the aggravation of dealing with my expensive portable CD player, an unnecessary luxury that should have been left behind in my normal everyday life. Only recently did I learn that these words, or at least the bulk of them (with some minor mistakes by the wall-artist), were written by the late British travel writer, Freya Stark. Born in Paris in 1893, Freya exemplified the healthy virtues of travel on the mind and soul - she died, in Italy, at age 100. So, sally forth...

(4) Don't be fooled. This wasn't the friendliest dog I'd ever met.