Ignoring the cynics

One of the consequences of the so-called Disengagement was that many Israelis became very cynical.

You see, we all used to go to various and assorted rallies and protests. (Here’s a beautiful description of the giant one at Shaar Yafo. YZG was there too.)

But by the time that dark summer rolled around four years ago, we had lost our innocence

Our voices didn’t count. Our democratic right to protest was stifled. And nothing we said or did made any impact.

In the weeks and days leading up to the Expulsion, we continued our efforts, knowing in our hearts that it was useless. People said things like, “It’s not going to help, but at least we can say that we tried.”

Fast forward to a few weeks ago.

One of the health funds with a large presence in our neighborhood (I would venture to say that a majority of our neighbors belong to this particular fund) announced that due to budget cuts, they were closing our local branch.

The prevailing attitude was that nothing could be done and that any attempts to fight the decision would be futile and a complete waste of time.

Nevertheless, one determined local activist refused to concede defeat. He wrote letters, collected signatures, and arranged several meetings with TPTB (the powers that be).

And today, to everyone’s very pleasant surprise, the decree was rescinded. The local health clinic will, indeed, remain open.

May this experience help us shed our cynicism, and may we be privileged to realize that sometimes, optimism can win out.

An apple a day

If there was such a thing as a food with an identity crisis, apple kugel would be it.

Indeed, many people claim to be confounded by this dish. Apparently, they find it oddly unsettling: Is it a dessert? A side dish? Neither? Both?

Well, as it turns out, the following recipe - which is a Shiputzim family favorite and comes from my mother-in-law (my contribution was to replace the margarine with oil) - can go either way.

We enjoy it as a light accompaniment to oven-fried schnitzel and assorted salads on Shabbat lunch during the summer, but I can easily imagine someone else* serving it as a dessert.

*Note that I say “someone else”. If I would try serving it that way here in TRLEOOB, the natives would surely revolt… :-)

Oatmeal Apple Crisp

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup + 1 1/2 TBSP oil (I use canola)
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 4 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• Sugar
• Cinnamon

Directions

Heat oil in saucepan. Add oatmeal and stir over heat for 1-2 minutes. Immediately add brown sugar and flour and mix through until flour dissolves. Remove from flame. Put less than half of the oatmeal mixture on the bottom of a baking-paper-lined pan. Place apple slices on top of crumbs and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon to taste. Finally, cover with the remaining crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour.

We like to eat this straight from the refrigerator, but feel free to serve it warm, if you’re so inclined.

Note: These amounts are for the equivalent of a 9x9 inch baking pan. Double the recipe if you’re using a 9x13 inch pan.

!בתאבון

Fun and Games Friday: Extreme Boggle edition

Contrary to popular belief, the Shiputzim family likes to live on the edge. {nods earnestly} Yes. We do. {ignores snickers and snide remarks}

Don’t believe me?

Well, how else can you explain the fact that when we play Boggle, we use an ancient, battered dictionary from the late 1940’s??

I rest my case.

You see, according to house rules, players don’t get points for words that aren’t listed in this dictionary. And the words have to be included in the main section - rather than the so-called “New Words section”.

As the editors explain:

“The New Words section… contains… those new terms that have come into common usage since the end of World War II… each term therein suspended on probation until usage determines whether it should be eliminated or be admitted into the main body.”

Yet, this dictionary is so old and outdated that the following examples are considered to be “new terms” which are “suspended on probation”:

• facsimile transmission
• transistor
• fusion
• fission
• brunch
• geriatrics
• suburbia
• satellite
• racism
• parameter
• brainwashing
• nuclear
• additive

And, so, dear readers, the next time you’re in the mood to take a few risks, please feel free to drop by for an exciting and dangerous game of Extreme Boggle…

!שבת שלום ומבורך

Israeli teenagers - 1; Anglo parents - 0

Parents around the world have discovered that joining Facebook is an excellent way to keep tabs on their kids.

However, if – like me - you’re the Anglo parent of Israeli teenagers, you’re out of luck.

I should begin by noting that the quality of your Hebrew is irrelevant.

You might be perfectly fluent. You might have been first in your ulpan class. You might spend your days lecturing and communicating in Hebrew. Your accent might be impeccable, and people might sometimes mistake you for a native-born Israeli.

In fact, you might even BE a native-born Israeli.

But none of this matters.

You’re STILL not going to be able to understand your Israeli teenager’s Facebook statuses.

First of all, these statuses are filled with made-up words. For instance, Israeli kids write “חחחח” in lieu of LOL and tav-apostrophe instead of the preposition “את”.

Then there are all the deliberately misspelled words. (At least, one HOPES that the spelling mistakes are intentional…) Specifically, teenagers like to add an extra aleph here or there in order to stress the wrong syllables – as in שאווה (SHA-veh), which really should be שווה (sha-VEH - “worth it”).

Roshei teivot (acronyms) also figure prominently, but the catch is that they’re not necessarily based on the first letter of each word. A typical example would be the ubiquitous חבל”ז, which stands for “חבל על הזמן” (literally, “it’s a waste of time” – but frequently used to describe something in a positive light).

Finally, there are all the “blended” words, including kacholavan and classics such as יומולדת (i.e. יום הולדת – birthday).

And, so, dear readers, as you can see, Anglo parents don’t stand a chance against their Israeli kids.

It’s almost as if they speak a foreign language…

_____________

Hat tip: Jameel

Pooling our resources

As you may (or may not) recall, back in February, I wrote a post entitled, “Reason #4734 For Making Aliyah”.

Rather than recapping the post, I’ll simply say that it deals with American tuition costs, aliyah, and carpools.

Yet, as it turns out, I may have misrepresented some of the facts.

First, US tuition costs are apparently way more than I thought. (Maybe some of my American readers can explain how an average family can possibly cope with those truly mind-boggling numbers…)

But it was with respect to the carpool aspect of my original post that I was really being disingenuous.

You see, I bluntly asserted:

“Two words - NO. CARPOOLS. Need I say more?”

After all, writing – as I was – in the depths of the winter, I was able to delude myself that this statement was 100% accurate.

Now, admittedly, a number of commenters observed that where they live, carpools actually ARE a necessity.

However, we’re fortunate to have excellent schools and afternoon programs right here in our neighborhood, and the kids can easily get around by foot or by bike.

Thus, for much of the year, I’m able to pretend that carpools are the exclusive domain of parents in the Diaspora.

But then comes summer vacation.

And summer vacation means swimming lessons.

And since one thing our immediate neighborhood doesn’t have is a swimming pool, swimming lessons mean carpools.

But don’t worry.

Because as soon as this year’s lessons are over, I plan on once again maintaining a blissful state of denial.

That is, until next summer…

News from around the J-Blogosphere

Shavua tov!

The latest edition of Haveil Havalim is available here. Special thanks to Toby for including my summer vacation top ten list.

And in other news, I was privileged to participate in Ilana-Davita’s Mesorah Project. She had the beautiful idea of asking a number of bloggers to explain what “Mesorah” means to them. (The previous editions are available here and here.)

Fauna Friday: Chameleon edition

Look who what came to visit TRLEOOB the other day:

Yes. This is a chameleon.

YZG and some of the Shiputzim children (i.e. not the ones who inherited MY genes) caught the chameleon and briefly put it into a box:

After watching it run around the box for a few minutes, they took it out and let it scamper all over its newfound human friends:

  Those of you who know me in real life won’t be surprised that there are no pictures of ME holding – or even going near – the chameleon…

After playing with it for a few more minutes, the kids finally said goodbye to their erstwhile pet and watched it scurry off into the bushes:

MAG claims that there’s a chameleon somewhere in this picture. Can you find it?

!שבת שלום ומבורך

________

P.S. As always, you can click on any of the pictures for a closer view.