Spring rituals

A sandy lane in Park Hayarkon.

Hol hamo'ed Pessah , the intermediate days (middle bit) of Pessah. Spring is sprung and the weather is warm and windy. The countryside is blooming and the roads are jammed (someone decided to close half the beaches around the Kinneret leaving thousands of angry families stranded). With chaos on the roads and the countryside invaded by am yisrael , better not to stray too far from the rooftop.

This exodus to the country (or out of the country) plus the fact that nearly all the restaurants are closed, means that the centre of town is much quieter than usual.

At Doron's , a 'photo' that now sells small electrical goods, the salesgirl was talking over the counter to a guy who was apparently one of their suppliers. This man, it turned out, had the misfortune to have married an ashkenazi, a mistake, as every good mizrachi knows, which carries a heavy price:

Salesgirl: "And what, you mean you had to eat gefilte fish?

Supplier : " Yes"

Sales: And what did it taste like?

Supp: "Like nothing, it has no taste"

Salesgirl 2: "I'd never eat it, even if you payed me."

Supp: " It's not just that, it's also the children. Every birth they get so stressed and then every kid has to be a professor. Why does every kid have to be a professor ? Believe me, if you told me that I'd be a shoe salesmen, I'd be a shoe salesman. I'd be happy to be shoe salesman! "

Even though pessah has officially begun, the spring weather is still triggering a cleaning frenzy. If you've got a way to transport old furniture from the street this is a good time to refurnish your student apartment. This morning the tenants on the first floor decided to throw their old sofa from the balcony making a thump that is not good for your heart.

Waiting in line at the makolet (neighbourhood grocery). The non kasher le-pessah shelves are covered with plastic sheeting. A customer asks, "Nissim, is the stuff under the plastic for sale too?" Nissim raised his eyebrows as if to say , "as long as it remains our little secret" and the deal is done. Suddenly, other hands grope furtively under the plastic .