Fun in the park

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Fun at the big annual AACI Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel picnic at a Beer Sheva park.

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Our matriarch Sarah's laughter, then and now

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And Sarah said: 'God hath made laughter for me; every one that heareth will laugh on account of me.'

 וַתֹּאמֶר שָׂרָה--צְחֹק, עָשָׂה לִי אֱלֹהִים:  כָּל-הַשֹּׁמֵעַ, יִצְחַק-לִי

-- Genesis 21:6 --

This was said after God had promised the barren Sarah that she and husband Abraham would bear a son in their advanced old age. 
I am thinking of this statue, called "Sarah," by Rita Paran, based on that Bible verse, because today our City Daily Photo bloggers group is sharing a Theme Day about LAUGHTER. 

Back in 2011 I was walking very early through the still-closed Mamilla Mall in Jerusalem. 
I was shocked to see the cleaning man throw a bucket of water on one of the Bible Stories statues! 
But our matriarch Sarah just laughed.
She seemed quite tickled when the cleaner scrubbed her with his broom. 
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(Linking to City Daily Photo,  Our World Tuesday, and Weekend Reflections.)
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ROAD HEMP

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"Road hump" always sounds funny enough, but this is even funnier.
Tel Aviv humor.
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(Linking to the fun meme signs, signs.)
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Old joke for new Theme Day

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City Daily Photo's Theme Day today is about DETAIL.
It reminds me of a joke from long ago during my school days in Chicago:

The teacher asks a pupil to use the words deface, detail, and defense in one sentence.
The boy answers, "Dat's easy!   De face went over de fence before de tail."
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See other posts on Detail, more serious than mine, at the City Daily Photo October Gallery.
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"COAT ON! TRUCKS CROSSING"

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Believe it or not, I saw this at a construction site next to a busy intersection in Jerusalem a few days ago,  when the temperature was 32 C.

LOL?   Or, oi veh--where's the Municipality's English proofreader?!

Perfect for Lesley's "signs, signs,  a weekly meme of interesting, funny, ridiculous and unexplainable signs (in Canada)  and for Toby's hilarious "A Time of the Signs"  in Israel.
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Non-conformist

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Noticed today  in the yard of an old public building in the Old City.
It made me smile. 
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P.S.  Yesterday I felt moved to post about mailboxes and did,  and now I learn that yesterday was World Post Day!
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Taking the plunge to freedom

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Today is the 7th day of Pesach, the day on which the sea parted and the Children of Israel crossed over from Egypt into the Sinai desert with Pharaoh's chariots in hot pursuit.

Tradition says that Nachshon ben Aminadav was the first to take a leap of faith and step into the sea. Only when the water was up to his neck did God part the Sea of Reeds.
Only then did the rest of the Israelites follow.

Here is how the midrash (Mechilta Beshalach 5) describes it:

“When Israel stood at the Sea, this Tribe said, ‘I will not be first to go down into the Sea;’ and the other Tribe said ‘I will not be first to go down into the Sea.’ In the midst of this argument, one individual, Nachshon ben Aminadav, Prince of the Tribe of Yehudah, seized the initiative, and went down first into the Sea, inspiring the rest of his Tribe to follow...
At that moment, Moshe was deeply engaged in prayer. The Holy One, Blessed is He, said to him, ‘My beloved friends are drowning in the Sea, and you stand in Prayer before Me!’
Moshe said, ‘Master of the Universe, What should I do?’ He said to him, ‘Speak to the Children of Israel, and let them move...’ ”

For the deep meanings of Nachshon ben Aminadav's initiative, please take a look at "Courage and Risk" by Rabbi Nathan Lopez Cardozo and two of the Velveteen Rabbi's posts here and here.

For some humor, I give you a favorite cartoon about baby Moshe:

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Getting a Pullet Surprise

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Look at the size of this chicken egg!
(A normal L size egg is on its right.)

I hard boiled it and what did I get?
A pullet surprise!

The veteran moshavnik in our village grocery explained that this abnormality can happen when a pullet (a young hen) is still a bit confused about this egg laying business.

Or, as Wikipedia explains it in big words, "Double-yolk eggs occur when ovulation occurs too rapidly, or when one yolk becomes joined with another yolk. These eggs may be the result of a young hen's reproductive cycle not yet being synchronized."

Once every household in this moshav ( [former] collective agricultural settlement) was required by the State to have a big hen house for egg production, like the one shown above.
Recently times have changed and this is no longer the case.
When I moved to this village in 2006 about a dozen were still functioning (albeit with foreign workers, not Israelis, doing the work).
Now there are just a handful of loolim, chicken runs.

And the ridiculous thing is that Tnuva Food Industries now has to import eggs from Turkey and other countries.
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(This post, worthy of a Pulitzer Prize, is for Camera-Critters.)
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Clever cat (and a horned altar!)

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In Israel's ancient deserts, boulders have long provided respite from the burning sun, for man and beast . . .
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Oh, wait . . . this was just the Hebrew U. Medical School campus at Hadassah Hospital.
But man, was it hot!
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You might have to enlarge the above photo to find the cat.

Here's the boulder "in situ."
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I never understand why they make the roofs of some bench and bus shelters like this.
It lets the rain or too much sun come through.
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Anyway, it's a fun picture for Camera-Critters, Summer Stock Sunday, and Shadow Shot Sunday.
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And here is something YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS! The blog of Tell Es-Safi/Gath Excavations announced their discovery of a horned stone altar from the Iron Age!
And then the archaeologist, Aren Maeir, made a hilarious aerial photo, using volunteers, shadows, and himself as the sacrificial lamb.
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Tel Aviv Duck Area ??

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This sign was the highlight of my day in Tel Aviv yesterday.
It's at the busy Dan bus terminal which is next to the Mercaz train station.
The numbers tell you which bus route to take to your destination.
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LOL! In translation Namal Tel Aviv came out "Tel Aviv Duck Area"!
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I have seen seagulls in that area, but no duck.
There are 14,000 square meters of wooden DECK there along the Mediterranean shore, but I'm pretty sure no ducks.
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Namal is the Hebrew word for port or harbor.
Oh I get it! The sign-maker's dictionary must have said "dock"!
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And as a bonus, beside the laugh, we get an urban reflection for James' Weekend Reflections.
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Namal Tel Aviv operated as an active sea port from 1936 until the 1960s.
In the 80s it was turned into the trendy Port Zone full of restaurants, bars, and shops.
Take a 3D virtual tour here.
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If you like translation bloopers and typos, you will enjoy "A Time of the Signs," Toby's blog about funny signs in Israel.
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And now I see that Lesley in Canada has a Wednesday meme called Signs, Signs.
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Creating light

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The Hebrew on the black T shirt is from Genesis:

"And God said . . .

[energy formulas]

. . . and there was light."

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Light in the heavens for Sky Watch Friday.
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Z is for Zen GPS and Zen Judaism

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(with thanks to Dave Coverly and his Speed Bump cartoons)

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Denise Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday has again reached the end of the alphabet.

Here we are, at Z .
With all the sad things happening -- Australia's flood, Arizona's shootings, mortars flying over the Gaza Strip fence into Israel -- I need something funny for just one good laugh.

You too?

Try this:

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The Tao of Zen Judaism

from the book EVE by Aurelio O'Brien http://www.evethenovel.com/

If there is no self, whose arthritis is this?

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Take only what is given.

Own nothing but your robes and an alms bowl.

Unless, of course, you have the closet space.

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There is no escaping karma.

In a previous life, you never called, you never wrote,

You never visited.

And whose fault was that?

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Let your mind be as a floating cloud.

Let your stillness be as the wooded glen.

And sit up straight.

You'll never meet the Buddha with posture like that.

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Wherever you go, there you are.

Your luggage is another story.

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To practice Zen and the art of Jewish motorcycle

Maintenance, do the following:

Get rid of the motorcycle.

What were you thinking?

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Learn of the pine from the pine.

Learn of the bamboo from the bamboo.

Learn of the kugel from the kugel.

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Be aware of your body.

Be aware of your perceptions.

Keep in mind that not every physical sensation

Is a symptom of a terminal illness.

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Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Forget these simple things and attaining Enlightenment

Will be the least of your problems.

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The Tao has no expectations.

The Tao demands nothing of others.

The Tao does not speak.

The Tao does not blame.

The Tao does not take sides.

The Tao is not Jewish.

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Drink tea and nourish life.

With the first sip, joy.

With the second, satisfaction.

With the third, Danish.

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The Buddha taught that one should practice loving-kindness

To all sentient beings.

Still, would it kill you to find a nice sentient being

Who happens to be Jewish?

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To Find the Buddha, look within.

Deep inside you are ten thousand flowers.

Each flower blossoms ten thousand times.

Each blossom has ten thousand petals.

You might want to see a specialist.

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Be here now.

Be someplace else later.

Is that so complicated?

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Zen is not easy.

It takes effort to attain nothingness.

And then what do you have? Bupkis.

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Do not take your cloths off and walk naked in public!

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It is a sad day in Israel and no one feels like laughing.

But City Daily Photo bloggers are asked to contribute a funny sign for our monthly Theme Day, so here is one from a monastery in the Jerusalem area. I whited out its name to protect the innocent. The sign was intended to be very serious.
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Click here to view thumbnails for all participants from all over the world.

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Chicken to bring peace

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Homer Simpson and family have just toured the Holy Land, having been invited by their Christian neighor Ned Flanders, who is always trying to redeem Homer.
The episode of their visit in Jerusalem will be televised tomorrow, Palm Sunday, all across America on Fox.
(We in Israel will have to wait for it to come here. )
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"The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed" --great title, eh?
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An average of 100 tourists per year fall under the sway of Jerusalem Syndrome. Some 40% even need hospitalization.
And sure enough, Homer starts believing he is the messiah.
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If you see it on TV please tell me the funny things I missed, OK?
At least I get to read the article http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/03/21/1011264/holy-homer-sacha-baron-cohen-guides-simpsons-through-jerusalem.
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Executive producer Al Jean says that in the end, “Homer tries to unite the faiths through a message of peace and chicken because everybody eats chicken, no matter what religion they’re in.”
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To which I add the advice of Frank Lloyd Wright:
"Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral.”
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Stopgap

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Jaffa Road, a main artery in central Jerusalem, has been torn up for a long time, leaving little room for pedestrians and for buses and cars.

Laying of the track and of the infrastructure for the new light rail is costing millions.
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I find it humorous that in what should be such a sophisticated project they protect the still-open tubes from rain with left-over plastic bottles.

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Idol, Indiana Jones

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It is I-day at ABC Wednesday, and I am happy to hear the breaking news that a new Indiana Jones sequel is in the works.
Harrison Ford (already a grandfather) will continue to play his role. Yay!

"Throw me the idol. No time to argue. Throw me idol, I'll throw you the whip."

(Satipo to Indy, in Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981)

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Piazza Roma benches

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Rome Square?? In central Jerusalem?
I didn't know we had a Piazza Roma.
 Looks like it was dedicated just last May.

It's not the most beautiful setting, but for sitting it's OK. Many benches in a row.
I discovered it last night, just in time for RuneE's Friday bench meme.

The pretty building at the end of Rome Square is the Museum of Italian Jewish Art and the Jerusalem Italian Jews Association.
I was there for their annual Italian Festival. (More in coming posts!)

Nice to have this modern-day connection with modern Rome.

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But I can't suppress a giggle when I think of Roman emperors Vespasian, Titus, Trajan, and Hadrian, who variously destroyed the Temple, plowed Jerusalem under, expelled Jews from our city, and generally tried to make Judaism disappear.
 They must be turning in their graves to see Piazza Roma in the middle of thriving Rebuilt Jerusalem, capital of the sovereign State of Israel.

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Ciao.
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Thou shalt not park

The monastery asked my friend to make a sign to tell visitors not to park in front of the new gate. And he did.
But this is what you get when you ask a religious artist for a no parking sign!
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Ain't nobody here but us chickens

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ABC Wednesday starts again today with letter A.
And strangely enough, what came to mind was one of the first jokes I remember my grandmother telling me as a kid in Chicago.
"Ain't nobody here but us chickens!" is the punchline of the old joke.
It is the answer the farmer hears when he hears a commotion in the chicken coop one night and calls, "Who's in there?!"

Apparently it became a song as well. You can hear all the lyrics sung by a crowd of Muppets in this funny video.

My moshav (a collective agricultural village) in the Jerusalem Hills is on all the sides of a hill, on terraces. Agriculture is impossible. So in the old days the government told the moshavniks in the mountains that they must raise laying hens. Every household had to build and tend a large henhouse, in Hebrew, a lool.
Now the moshavim, like the kibbutzim, are largely privatized. But we still have about fifteen big chicken coops, loolim, in operation. Always big fresh eggs at the little grocery store.
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No complaints

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Shalom friends. Just to clarify--in yesterday's post I just meant to state the facts about my summer season in Israel, as requested by Robin's meme.
Didn't mean it to come across as complaining.

No, really: no whining, no kvetching.
I am perfectly happy right where I am, in the place just right.

But, just for a laugh, this is a good opportunity to share a favorite Zen cartoon. LOL!
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