Jerusalem (part II)

Following prayer at the Western Wall, I ventured out to the city for a few hours prior to Shabbat. The plan was to spend until roughly 12:30 in the city, then travel back to Ra'anana to visit with my cousins (both from Jerusalem with their parents and siblings and my cousins from Bet Shemesh) there for Shabbat. My first stop was the Jaffa Gate again, since my plan was to walk to Machane Yehuda Market, Ben Yehuda Street and then Meah Shearim. Here's the Jaffa gate during the day, including the Tower of David in the backgroung:


The view of the new city from outside the gates of the old city is quite pretty. Check it out below:


After walking for a few minutes up and down the hills of Jerusalem, I came upon Ben Yehuda Street. For those who do not know, Ben Yehuda is somewhat of an outdoor mall, with many specialty shops, eateries and a beautiful plaza in the center to eat and schmooze with friends, colleagues, etc:


On Ben Yehuda Street, I found the "Steve's Pack" store, which had the water reservoir for my backpack that I so desperately needed for the last few days here (hot and humid = not so fun). From here, I walked up a few more blocks to the infamous Machane Yehuda Market, where Jerusalemites travel on Fridays to pick up fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, and baked goods L'chvod Shabbat (for the sanctity of the Sabbath). As you can see, its a serious market, with many many merchants marketing to even more customers. A bit of a madhouse, but the produce is amazing, and at great prices...






After making some purchases at Machane Yehuda, I traveled to Meah Shearim, a section of Jerusalem occupied by Chassidic Jews stemming from multiple communities in Europe. I went there to find some specific Judaica, since it is really the best place in the world to find obscure books as well as essentials. To respect their wishes, I did not photograph the block, as per the sign below (which incidentally, I did photograph).

I don't believe they intend to be mean by their asking outsiders to keep out of their neighborhood. Their focus is simply on maintaining the traditions, and limiting their people's exposure to outsiders who might require them to stray from their daily activities. They live a simple life of Torah study and would like to be left alone to this pursuit. While I certainly do not live that way, I completely understand their goals on this level.

After Me'ah Shearim, I rushed back to the Old City to meet Chani for a ride to Ra'anana. On the way, I ran into an Israeli clothing shop "Zip" (www.zipnet.co.il) and picked up a few shirts for the hot climate...

Shabbat in Ra'anana was quite lovely. I played a fierce game of table tennis with my cousin Aaroni right before Shabbat, then went to synagogue with Aaroni, Ephraim, and my new cousin Donny (through marriage to my cousin Baila this past year). The synagogue my cousins go to is enjoyable and efficient, with a service that has singing and spiritual elements packed into a short time frame. After synagogue, we met with the rest of the family (Uncle Mark, Aunt Riva, Chani, Rivki, Boobie, and Baila) and had a wonderful Shabbat dinner, with singing and great conversation.

This morning, we went to synagogue again (starting around 8:30) and returned around 11:15. We had a festive Shabbat lunch - ate, drank and sang. Following lunch, we played an intense game of "Bang", a european (Italian) card game similar to the game of "Mafia" that I used to play with some of my friends on the Upper West Side. At the conclusion of Shabbat, everyone went their separate ways, but I stayed around, since my meeting is now at 9am in the morning with the Israeli recruiting office.

I hope to share some new insights tomorrow with all of you...

Jerusalem (part I)

When I arrived in Jerusalem, it was almost 7pm. The new bus station (Tachana HaMerkazit) is very nice and modern, looking like a pretty fancy mall. The last time I was in Jerusalem, the bus terminal had not yet been built and the old terminal was entirely outdoors. The old terminal had its charms, including an excellent bus-side Schwarma (lamb gyro) salesman/haircutter. Talk about business synergy! The only problem I had with the station was the mislabelled location of the Bank HaPoalim ATM machines, which are on the 1st floor, not the second (after doing an exhaustive search for them on the 2nd floor, where the signs had suggested they were). When I left the station, I took a cab to the parking lot outside the Jewish Quarter of the old city of Jerusalem, because it was the closest place I could be to my cousins apartment before having to travel by foot.

The apartment is on a side street/corridor only steps from the Kotel (Western Wall), with an amazing picture window overlooking the Kotel and access to a rooftop with an amazing view as well. I was incredibly glad to finally be in Jerusalem! Here are a few quick photos of the Western Wall and the Temple Mount at night from the apartment:





After showering and changing into clean clothes, I travelled into town with my cousin Chani, who has been leading tours around Israel for quite a while now (and is subsequently a Jewish History major at Hebrew University in Jerusalem). I had the chance to quiz her on some of the books I have recently picked up in leisure covering topics from the Ethiopian Jewish community and Jerusalem during the 2nd Temple period. It was very nice to see her and hear about her thoughts on these issues and the future of Israel and the Jewish nation. We stopped off for a quick dinner at a Schnitzel (breaded chicken cutlet) place, named Schnitzi, near Ben Yehuda Street (I had the "Spanish" sandwich, which had some chili powder or something... I must say, quite tasty). On the walk back, we went through the Jaffa Gate, near the Tower of David (Migdal David):

As part of my master plan, I had negotiated an unofficial tour/prayer session at the Tunnel Tour at the Kotel with Chani. Since Jerusalem and specifically the Temple Mount has traditionally expanded upwards (with new construction built on top of old construction), the Tunnel Tour allows one to see what the Temple Mount looked like many thousands of years ago, prior to the relatively recent construction of the Dome of the Rock by the Muslims. The plan was to go during unofficial touring hours (prior to 9am) and try to sneak a tour in. Unforunately, the next morning at 7:15am, we found out that only women are allowed in during early mornings, since there are women-only prayer groups in there. Instead of the tour, I decided to pray at the Kotel instead. Here's the Kotel, the opposite side of the Kotel and the "street" to my cousins apartment:

Tel Aviv

Sorry to not get to this earlier, but the last few days have been particularly hectic. To make up for it, I will write a couple of posts to cover each day individually... First Thursday...

Having went to sleep on Wednesday evening/Thursday night at the ungodly hour of 5am, I woke up late on Thursday at roughly 11:30. I immediately went out to explore parts of Tel Aviv that I did not have a chance to visit all that much on my prior visits. My plan was to try to stay indoors as much as possible, since I had been burnt pretty bad in the Haifa/Akko sun the day before.

First, I went to the corner and took a Sheirut taxi (taxi with multiple passengers that mimics the route of a specific bus) to the Tachana HaMerkazit (main bus terminal) in Tel Aviv. I remember spending minutes in this terminal as I switched from one bus from Haifa-Tel Aviv to another going from Tel Aviv-Jerusalem. This time, I had the chance to explore the station for a few minutes, primarily to find out how long my bus to Jerusalem later that day would take (~1-1:30 hours, depending on traffic). The bus station is filled with little shops and fast food restaurants, but still resembles a shuk (open air market) for some reason. Here's a photo to explain what I mean (maybe):




Once I left the station, I immediately felt the difference between Tel Aviv and other parts of Israel. As you'll see in my pictures from Jerusalem, you'll be hard-pressed to find food/drink that are not kosher there. In Tel Aviv, right outside the bus station is a Pork dealer:



I then took a Dan bus (Dan is the main bus operator in Tel Aviv, whereas Egged runs the main lines nearly everywhere else) to Dizengoff St and specifically, the Dizengoff Kinyon (Mall). Dizengoff is a pretty cool space, with levels on inclines that feed into the next level (think a spiral configuration, similar to the Guggenheim museum in Manhattan). Here's a few photos from there:




After spending some time in the shops, I decided to explore the rest of R'chov Dizengoff, ultimately bringing me to this modern-esque sculpture/fountain. It's pretty interesting, so I figured I would take a photo and see what y'all thought:



After taking this photo, I grabbed a fresh fruit juice at this lovely establishment:


At this point, I had been outdoors for some time and the time was getting late. I needed to be on a bus by 4:30 or so, to ensure that I got to Jerusalem by 6-6:30 to meet my cousins Rivki and Chani. Initially, I looked for the same Sheirut taxi that picked me up in Ramat Aviv that morning, but I could not find one (in fact, these Sheiruts travel to major cities from major cities, so there would not be one that travels specifically within Tel Aviv (of course I did not realize that until another 30+ minutes went by. I rushed back to the apartment with a regular taxi (cost 55 NIS or roughly ~$12-14). I got upstairs, grabbed my bags and rushed out to the bus to the Tachana HaMerkazit.

Unfortunately, the bus was held up in some heavy Tel Aviv traffic and I got to the Tachana late. First of all, I did not realize that they would thoroughly examine my suitcase as well as my backpack, asking me to open it, etc. In hindsight, it was dumb for me not to anticipate that, since they had been examining my backpack in every public place throughout this trip. Nonetheless, I held up a group of 10 Chayalim (soldiers) trying to get home for their weekend (Fri-Sat, not Sat-Sun).

When I finally made it to the gate for the bus, I immediately realized that I would be late to Jerusalem. There were about 90 people waiting on line for the 5:12 bus. That bus came and went, with many many people still trying to get on. The 5:24 bus came and went, and I was nowhere near the entrance to the bus. Finally, I was able to put my bag on the 5:36 bus and take it to Jerusalem. Luckily, I was sitting to a young South African computer programmer who was happy to let me borrow his cell phone, so that I could call my cousins and tell them I would be late...

Haifa & Akko

Since I'm up watching the Mets game at 4:30am Tel Aviv time, and its in rain delay, I figured i'd update y'all on my travels. I ventured north today to my old stomping grounds in Haifa. For those of you who do not know, Haifa is a bustling city (3rd largest in Israel behind Jerusalem and Tel Aviv), home to the top technology university in Israel, the Technion, offices/labs of top hi-tech firms (a la Microsoft, Intel) and a major seaport. I woke up at roughly 5am, fresh off my jetlag and set off for the train station.

I must say, the last time I was in Israel (roughly 4 yrs ago) it was common for Israelis to compare taking the train to watching paint dry, since the system was poorly maintained and had few reasonable itineraries for normal passengers. Thus, I assumed that I'd be taking an Egged Bus to Haifa, which could take over 2 hrs. However, to my surprise, the system has been vastly improved and seems to have taken off here, with tons of passengers. I took the direct train to Haifa, and it was a real pleasure (roughly 50 minutes and at times it actually goes along the edge of the beach, with the Mediterranean Sea in full view - its quite a view). Here's a few photos from the station:




When I got to the Haifa Mercaz Rakevent (main train station), I was at the bottom of Mt Carmel, right near the seaport. I immediately took these pictures, one showing the mountain in the context of office space and businesses by the seaport and one prominently showing the Bahai temple and its grounds on the mountain range:



The Technion is near the top of the mountain, so I took a taxi up there. When I arrived on campus, I instinctively went up to my old dorm room, to see whether the building was still there (given that the Technion has grown substantially in the last 8-9 years, I figured it was a 50-50). Context: I was at the Technion for two summers in '97 and '98 on the Scitech program, which offers high school students from across the globe the chance to do engineering research projects (as an alternative to say Harvard Summer School). Well it was there, and the building looked better than when I was there last...








I then decided to walk down to the Student Center and try to grab a quick lunch before exploring the rest of the new campus. At this point, I was physically exhausted, having been in the 100 degree heat for several hours. Unfortunately, the Student Center is being completely rebuilt, much to my dismay:





I spent the remainder of the time exploring the new facilities, including the new Computer Science facilities and other others. Students that I spoke to along the way were all very excited about their futures in Israel of abroad, working in the Engineering discipline. In fact, it felt eerily like MIT, a campus I recently spent lots of time on recruiting candidates for Opera. As such, I figured I'd stop by the recruiting office and ask about recruiting procedures.


Finally, after several hours in Haifa, I decided to travel a bit farther north to Akko, home to the infamous old city markets. These markets are open air and home to some of the best produce, baked goods, fish, spices and tobbacco products in Israel. I took in all the great colors and tastes for some time, trying to cool off from the blistering heat. Unfortunately, the only photos I have from Akko are from etnry into the old city (Citadel and Mosque) as well as the harbor, which is beautiful and on the Mediterranean Sea:






That's it. Looks like this rain delay is serious. Too bad, Tom Glavine's having a great night... I hope to visit Tel Aviv today and spend some time in doors, since I took a real beating in the heat today...

Bruchim Habaim!

Welcome to Israel! Arriving in Ben Gurion Airport no longer has that unique Israeli feel, with all passengers walking onto the tarmac and then into mini buses that drive you to arrivals and extremely long immigration lines. Now, its a fancy airport that seems eerily similar to those of New York, Minneapolis and Cologne (my most recent destinations). Too bad, I guess, although the airport now has dozens of beautiful shops and a prettier exterior.

The flight was pretty interesting. Upon arriving at the airport, I was immediately informed that Delta Medallion cardholders get no special privelages on El Al (even though the flight was a codeshare). Additionally, I was set to sit in the very last row of the plane, in the only middle seat available. Luckily, I was able to adjust that quickly and avoid that fate. The plane was an El Al 767, which is the only model that does not have personal entertainment units for all passengers. On top of that, I was sitting near the front, where a young child had brought a dog onboard. I have never seen this before, but apparently its legal... Finally, the flight was intended to leave NY at 8pm but ended up leaving nearly 2 hrs late. Needless to say, I was confused for much of the ~11 hour flight... Here's a photo of the plane in question (from Ben Gurion Airport - plane with Israeli flag next to a Sun D'or plane):



After landing in Israel, I took a Sheirut (Taxi) to my friend Farber's home in Ramat Aviv (neighborhood in Tel Aviv). It's a beautiful up and coming neighborhood that is steps from Tel Aviv beach, and Tel Aviv University. Here's a few photos:





We went out shopping for some food for a BBQ, and I realized that the mall next door to his apartment is actually one that I shopped in regularly when I was at Tel Aviv University for the summer on an Israel Advocacy program. In fact, the supermarket we went to was the place that Arie and I bought the infamous pony kegs of Heineken that were a big hit with people in our program.

OK then... It's roughly 7:20 in Israel now and I'm exhausted. Hope to enjoy a light evening, get some sleep and prepare for tomorrow's adventure in Haifa...

The Airport

With little more than an hour until boarding, i've decided to write a quick note regarding my thoughts on leaving. I've been avoiding this for quite some time, but I think its finally set in. While this trip sounds very cool and INSEAD will be an awesome experience, I am starting to feel a bit sad to leave NYC.

There were several moments during the last week that really drove home the point that I was leaving for some time. On Monday I met with my client for the final time, and when he said goodbye, unlike previous meetings when he sort of looked back at his laptop and began to work on other things, this time he seemed a bit hesitant to get to his next activity. In fact, the whole meeting was much less focused on "Next Steps", (key Consulting lingo) and much more oriented to the work we had done and our accomplishments. At the time, it didn't really set in that that would be our last big meeting as a team with the client.

Monday night, I joined the Cornell Hillel board of directors for my final meeting. I gave a final report on the state of IT at Hillel (something I have spent the last year perfecting) and was met with applause and many kind words from the rest of the crowd. Hillel is something that has been a part of my life for the better part of 8 years now. It is part of my life, part of every breath. I care. It didn't occur to me at the time that this would be the close of one chapter in my Hillel life.
On Tuesday evening, I had the pleasure to go out with my recent project team for a dinner at Buddakhan. During dinner, I began to notice that a real transition on the team had taken place and that I would no longer be privy to the witty remarks of my co-workers or these fab dinners. A bit weird to be honest.

Wednesday and Thursday, I finally took some time to pack all my things. Even at that point, it hadn't occured to me that packing up all my memories into storage boxes and suitcases would mark the culmination of the collecting I had done over the last 8+ years. At this point, I was starting to sense that my life was going to change dramatically.

Thursday evening, I went to my firm's last social event at The Delancey. What a great venue and what an awesome time... Here's a few photos:

Even Friday, during my last day at work, I did not fully appreciate the fact that I was leaving. My colleagues took me out to lunch and we talked about the next year and my plans. The rest of the afternoon was a total blur talking to colleagues, transitioning work, and discussing my future. The entire day went by incredibly fast, but was not an eye-opener. Not until I went to my dry-cleaner and picked up my last set of shirts did it finally register that this was it. I had never shared more than 5 words with the woman, namely the starch and hangar/box combination I wanted. As I was leaving with my shirts, I mentioned I was leaving the neighborhood to move to Singapore. She began telling me how sorry she was to see me go. What a weird thing to say! I guess we had built a particularly comfortable relationship, since I was there twice a week, every week for a year. Interesting moment to say the least...

That evening and the following day I spent time with my parents, sister and brother in law, niece and grandmother. It was nice to reminisce about the last few years and talk about our future travel plans.

On Saturday evening, I went out for one last time, having invited many colleagues and friends to attend. During a random lapse of judgement, I decided not to travel down with some friends, figuring i'd meet people at the bar... Low and behold, I got there before my friends (of course they wouldn't show up at the immediate beginning. What a funny situation and props to Chia Hsun who came to my rescue... The night was a good time, with lots of friends and co-workers showing up at random points until closing time at Luna Park bar, 2am. From there a small group ventured uptown to Japas38 for a little Karaoke action, followed by an early morning brunch and goodbye. Thanks again for all those who attended... it really meant a lot.

Sunday morning I moved my final stuff out of the apartment and went to my sister's home for a baby shower-eque event. It was great to see family, friends, cousins, etc. even though I was really quite tired. By 3pm we were done entertaining and I was able to collect some odds and ends before eating my final sushi dinner in NYC...

And now, since my flight is being called for boarding, I must go. Thanks again for all those who are reading. I should land in Tel Aviv around 2pm... Check back for more tomorrow.

The Adventure Awaits

These last few weeks have been a total blur... I've been putting off writing this blog, in part because I felt that I had too much going on and in part because I was concerned that this would symbolize the end of my 4 year stint in NYC following Cornell (and my nearly 26 yr stint in New York) as I embark on a new adventure.


Well, the time has finally come. With only 40 minutes to go before I need to leave for the airport, I've decided to note some of my thoughts on life in NYC and my expectations for the year ahead.


First and foremost, I have loved living in the greatest city in the world for the last several years. Where else can you find a grocery store that will deliver groceries at 3am? I have loved living on the Upper West Side and participating in several cultural and spiritual activities in the Jewish Community. Again, here too NYC is unique, with a large, diverse and relatively open community where nearly everyone can find a brand of Judaism that is meaningful to them. I have truly appreciated participating in several synagogue services on the UWS, particularly at Bnai Jeshurun on 88th as well as communal activities, such as the Tikkun Leil Shavuot program at the JCC. While I know the community will not be as large or likely as vibrant in Singapore and Southeast Asia, I do look forward to participating there as well.

Last Sunday, I had the chance to go to the Idan Raichel Project concert at Central Park's Summer Stage. It was am amazing concert, with a great cover reggae band. The brilliance of Idan Raichel is the positive, simple messages in their songs and the use of Amharaic and Hebrew together to bring an exotic flavor to the music. Since last year I've had their music (thanks to iTunes) and hope to continue adding to that collection in Israel and abroad.


My work at Opera Solutions has been an amazing experience. I truly love the people and the work that we do. At my going away party on Saturday night, i'm glad to say that nearly half of all attendees were Operaites. Great people...

Despite the fact that Management Consulting is a particularly difficult business to be in long-term, due to heavy travel requirements and long hours at all levels, I believe my experience at Opera has convinced me that this could be a great career fit for me. At INSEAD, I will need to further assess whether this is the right place for me, but Opera will always be near and dear to me.

My family is going through quite a transition right now as well. My parents are now the proud grandparents of a wonderful little girl (BD 6/28/07 - Charlotte Louise), daughter of my sister Miriam and her husband Mark. I am sad to say that I will miss much of her first year on earth, but I hope to make up for lost time in the future.

Sadly, I will be leaving many great friends from Brooklyn, Cornell and the UWS. Its amazing to look back and see how much my life have changed since my graduation from Cornell in 2003. I will truly miss every one of them for their uniqueness and talent. Stay in touch and come to visit soon.

Well, its time to go now... I will try to drop another note in the airport prior to my flight. INSEAD is going to be an amazing experience and I hope to share it as well as my travels with you along the way. Thanks again for reading...

Over and out...