Just For Fun

At My Most Zionist

May 11, 2011

A Dry Bones aliyah cartoon from 1976 (more at www.drybonesblog.com) In our daughter’s 12th grade class on Monday, on the cusp between Memorial and Independence Days, her teacher asked something along the lines of “what was the most Zionist, nationalist moment, for you personally.” Merav was unsure how to answer. Many of her friends referred […]

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Old City Treasure Hunt

March 30, 2011

Jody and her mom Adriane find the shofars at the Beit El Yeshiva Dr. Clue is the world’s leading team-building company specializing in treasure hunt activities. Dr. Clue is also my brother, Dave. He was just here in Israel for our youngest son Aviv’s bar mitzvah and, as his gift, he planned a special treasure […]

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The Pause that Refreshes?

March 23, 2011

Purim in Jerusalem…and all the restaurants are booked solid. That didn’t stop our party of 11 from joining the merrymaking mosaic of Israeli society out to celebrate the defeat of the evil Haman some 2,000 years ago. My wife Jody had the foresight to reserve a table at the uber-popular Caffit café far in advance. […]

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Religious Mustard and Other Hebrew Acronyms

January 26, 2011

Hodaya, the most famous “datlashit” from the TV show “Srugim” In the U.S. and most western countries, Jews tend to identify their religious affiliation through one of the major Jewish movements, be it Conservative, Reform, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Jewish Renewal, and even Secular Humanistic Judaism. Not so in Israel, where one’s religious standing is far more […]

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A Walk on the Wild Side

December 22, 2010

Change has come to downtown Jerusalem It has been years since I’ve been to downtown Jerusalem at night, but it’s the “in” spot for the teenagers in our house. After our sushi dinner last week, my wife and I decided to take a walk around. Frankly, we were blown away. I expected to find a […]

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Covering Pamela Anderson

November 10, 2010

Pamela Anderson with “thrilled” bodyguard in Jerusalem Sunday (picture from Ynet) It took a visit to Israel to finally get Pamela Anderson to cover up. The famously immodest former Baywatch star, in Israel to appear on the local version of “Dancing with the Stars,” visited the Western Wall Sunday evening, eliciting a snarky comment in […]

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The Jody Blum Culinary Institute

September 28, 2010

Jody in the kitchen of her Culinary Institute Growing up, my mother refused to let my brother and me into the kitchen. While this created a carefree cooking-neutral childhood, it hasn’t served me so well as an adult. Whenever my wife Jody goes away – whether for an evening activity or an overseas trip – […]

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Tu B’av Fashion Show Faux Pas?

July 27, 2010

Actress Sharon Fauster emcee’d a Tu B’av fashion show in Jerusalem Tu B’av – the 15th day of the Jewish month of Av – is the closest Israelis have to a Valentine’s Day: just substitute a bit of ribald wisdom from the rabbis of the Talmud for a martyred Roman saint and a lot of […]

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Meet Me at the Mugrabi

July 8, 2010

Mugrabi Cinema in its Heyday When I was hired to record a series of conversations to accompany a course on teaching Hebrew to English speakers, I didn’t know I’d be getting a lesson in Tel Aviv nostalgia. The project was to edit a 500-page curriculum originally developed to prepare U.S. diplomats posted to Israel. Along […]

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Search for the Perfect Knafeh

June 25, 2010

Must-have knafe I’ve never eaten it, but I’ve just got to have it. Kanafeh, that is. It’s an Arab pastry somewhat like baklava, but with the addition of soft goats cheese, an orange coating and sprinkled pistachio nuts. I first learned about kanafeh from a friend who was guiding us through East Jerusalem. He pointed […]

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