David Sedaris keeps a notebook. In it he scribbles notes of things he sees, fodder for short stories. Wish I had done that in Jerusalem. There are so many things to write about but I am having trouble putting it together – it is all jibberish. Thoughts just flood in and I have no capacity to organize them, thematically or otherwise. So I am going to retrospectively take a Sedaris approach to keep the jibberish to a minimum and hope that I’ll make something of it later…

Friday – got to get there before shabbat and all is closed; tired from 5 hour drive; Rose and I rush to market; secure wine, challah; house has candles; post blessing reservations at Adom made; wine opener broken; second wine opener broken; fruit of the vine is tomato; cancel Adom; sleep instead; not what I had imagined for our first shabbat in Israel

Saturday – Israel Museum – Eldad’s awesome education program; is it too late to be an artist?; art world conflicts – schools from TLV v. Jerusalem; sculpture garden link to Zen gardens in Kyoto; mind wanders off to recall the images of the Silver Pavilion (Ginkaku-ji) and the art on Naoshima, the polite culture of the Japanese which I prefer to the Chinese tourists I still think I hear spitting behind me; an amazing lunch with Miri’s cheesecake – maybe I will learn to bake; Netta and life in the military; L&R continue to impress me with their manners and ability to engage with grownups; txt msg – their best friends have arrived at the house in Jerusalem; REUNIONS – Liv and Nan and Leon; hugs and nonstop laughter – if I could I’d stream it in the background for next six days; boy bands 1D/5SOS; get hamentashen and mishloach-manot

Sunday – full day tour with Danny the Digger; one god, three religions; one state v. two state solutions and lots of we-they; wet tunnel, narrow, dark, worth it; antiquities – shekels, oil container and lamp from time of Maccabees; prayers at Kotel; textile merchant with 6th C church he found under his shop; dinner discussions of property rights – examples of those returning home to east Berlin after wall came down; art looted in WWII; meaning of life

Monday – Purim; up early; taxi to wrong synagogue – Great Synagogue is not the same as Great OLD Synagogue; first is the home of a man from White Plains, second is orthodox; oops – women upstairs; seated; ahhhhh Megillah; tzedacha; do it again; women read Megillah at first station; girls listen; break for ice skating; Mehane Yehuda purim reveling; joyful feast at Chakra

Tues – Western wall tunnels; stones are massive; men and women praying (separately) closest to temple; hummus Ben Sira; homework day; more 5SOS

Wed – Yad Vashem; generosity of Scott; warmth of Malkie W; experience is more educational and less gruesome/dark than I recall; girls take it all in; story of Rivka’s courage and the commitment of true love; view out over the city – Am Israel Chai…

Thursday – Masada; nice Kiwi travelers and suggestions for another great walk on the South Island; gondola; En Gedi’s ancient synagogue; floating in Dead Sea; mud scrub; ouch there are rocks in that mud!; shower, repeat; harvest salt; mud for Rachel; drive back and talk abut the walls that separate communities

Friday – marathon; post office worker warm and kind, Bank Leumi teller cold and surly; Liv’s amazing packing skills gets L&R organized; shabbat at Kotel with davening black hats, tourists, military officers singing Am Israel Chai, remembering Malkie’s tour; a working wine opener; two loaves; Rose and Nan light candles; adults bless wine; Lauren and Liv make motzi; have they outgrown the camp chorus or never liked it in the first place?; from pre-K to bat mitzvah to Aliyah; don’t cry

Saturday – 5am departure; 5SOS news alert; hugs and farewells; no traffic

See what I mean?