I guess this old building on Jaffa Road, across from shuk Mahaneh Yehuda market, needed a new opening. If you click on the picture you can see the man inside is working with a sledge hammer. But the poor guy with the heavy drill--his long drill bit was stuck in the old cement and stone! He tried and tried but saw no way out.I snapped the picture in stealth mode and hurried off to my bus stop, not wanting to add to his embarrassment. Pirke Avot, the Ethics of the Fathers in the Talmud, wisely said a long time ago: "Do not seek to see your friend in the time of his humiliation."
dooby, what a lovely name for a teddy...am adding you to my list of favourites so i can visit you often. off to be now.
ReplyDeleteHi Dina!
ReplyDeleteWise proverb !
And pretty picture !
Do not seek to see your friend in the time of his humiliation."
ReplyDeleteI love these wise words Dina! Your photo has beautiful blue colours against the white. Have a wonderful week.
"Do not seek to see your friend in humuliation." Yes, it's so obvious, isn't it? However, cannot
ReplyDeletehelp but giggle at your taking the
photo before getting on the bus. A
classic, Dina!
It looks like there are two layers of wall: an inner and an outer. Do you suppose the inner is an older layer, or am I just imagining archaeological treasures because it's your blog?
ReplyDeletethey seams to have a hard time with this wall
ReplyDeleteThat is a very good lesson to learn.
ReplyDeleteimpressive story.
ReplyDeleteI had a question Dina,Is Jerusalem safe to live now?I do not think so...
The life would be difficult there,yeah?
Nice quote from Pirkei Avot. I hope your worker friend finally succeeded. I look at your photo closely and see so many wires. We are such a wired up world (I just came in from photographing sunrise in my backyard...lots of wires!)
ReplyDeleteThe picture is intersting, but the commentary makes it a gem!
ReplyDeleteWelcome Soulbrush. I like your blog too. In Hebrew a bear is dov, a cub is dubon, and the nickname for a teddybear is dooby. Dov can also be a man's name.
ReplyDeleteHello Webradio, Thanks. Pirke Avot is full of wisdom. You can find it on the Web.
Hi Wil. Yes, I remembered that verse of Pirke Avot from when I studied it with my rabbi in 1961, so clearly it made an impression on my young soul then.
Petra Michelle, obvious for considerate people, yes. But there is that word Schadenfreude...
Do you think I was hypocritical, taking his photo? I figured if he did not see me, he would not be embarrassed. I had sympathy for him and I guess that's what I wanted to convey by sharing this photo.
Good eye, Petrea. Right you are. These old and poor buildings near the shuk must be over a hundred years old. I think they used to and still do put up two parallel walls of stones held tight by mortar, then they fill the hollow middle with "fill." I'll try to find more examples of this to post for you.
Evlahos shalom. Right you are. I think if it were modern construction they could have easily knocked a hole in the wall. You can see the man standing on his toes. Maybe the angle of the drill made it hard to get back out.
I thought drills have a "reverse" button, no?
Kay, I'm sure you, as a teacher, have taught that lesson to the lucky students who had you.
Sara shalom. Actually, we are in a comparatively quiet period now in Jerusalem. I feel safe. I grew up in Chicago and in some parts of the city I did not feel safe there, to walk on the street at night, for instance. Difficult life? Not especially. I mean, yes, it is hard to see the injustice in society. And you just get used to the fact that you might be killed at any moment. That makes life more serious and more valued.
Maybe soon I'll do a series on the various security measures we live with.
Leora, you are the Pirke Avot expert. What is the best way to translate chaver as used in P.A.?
Yeah, me too, I hope he got that heavy drill out soon. Otherwise he would have some tired arms or a bent drill bit.
Yes, it's like spaghetti, all those wires on the outside of the old buildings. Not nice to see.
When they built Katzrin in the Golan--as a brand new pre-planned city--all the infrastructure was orderly and all the wires were underground.
Louise, thanks for the feedback. I'm glad the post was good for you. Shalom to you.
do not seek to see your friend in the time of his humiliation
ReplyDeletethat's something we should all remember
Do you mean that old cement and stones are stronger than any modern building materials ? You're an expert, Dina! I believe you ; )
ReplyDeleteI already told you that I like when you give us informations about Hebrew. I remember that in my son's school, I've heard a young man called : Dov. Didn't know it meant something. I find this first name a nice sound.
Is there a modern Hebrew and ancient one, are they really different? or do they share only roots, like Latin and actual French/Italian/Spanish?
That is a good proverb and it doesn't look like that man will get his tool out of there very easily..
ReplyDeleteThat looks like hard work!
ReplyDelete