My notes for things to put on the blog are getting longer faster than I wrote blog articles. Google Keep is an easy way to keep the notes … now I’ve amassed a very long list of random factoids and observations that haven’t made it into blog articles because they are mostly “one offs”. Here they are, somewhat categorized.

Shopping and Food

We sometimes get pizza delivery from “Big Apple Pizza” with a map of New York City on the box. That’s funny because in America we got pizza from “Jerusalem Pizza”.

Timing the exchange rate to make purchases is like timing the stock market. Both are terrible ideas.

Have more than one American credit card in case your bank gets uppity.

Most people actually lease their homes from the Jewish National Fund – leases are for 30 years usually and get renewed. Few people actually own the land their house sits on.

There are entire stores directed towards “chad pami” – single use items … plasticware, foil pans, etc.

There are a lot of specialty stores around – and more of them. For example, there are five pet stores within a few miles rather than one big one called PetCo, the only one for miles.

It’s 10 agarut (about 3 cents) per plastic bag at a supermarket. No one cares. They use them.

Some supermarkets sell smartphones. Chinese phones are very popular because they’re good and less expensive. I won’t buy one. China is evil and I avoid it when convenient for me to do so.

Bars of soap. Hard to find – pharmacies sell “Dove” and that’s the only brand. I guess they use liquid in Israel?

Learning Hebrew

The same radio station is on in my car because, like America, there’s not much good on the radio and modern cars make it difficult to change stations. After months, I realize I finally understand the jingle on the radio station.

While I’m starting to remember Hebrew words slowly, I have a very hard time memorizing things. It all went downhill after a play in third grade where I started falling … then I realized it was okay because I was just going through a stage.

The jingle is something like, “speak with me, get comfortable with me, something something for me, always with me. The voice of life.”

On the El Al plane I was ignoring Lior Suchard … seen the safety video way too many times. The typical noise of a foreign language that you don’t pay attention to … suddenly became words that caught my attention. I understood some of what he was saying.

Kids

Sherut leumi – national service – is optional for religious girls. Apparently, they almost all due it though.

Immunizations are given in school.

High schools have “megamas” … don’t call it a “major”. It’s more like a “concentration” so you might find Israelis who know all about Chemistry and nothing about Biology. They had a “fair” with booths advertising each “megama” the way an American Jewish high school has an open house, though without the speeches. Just the fair.

Below is a picture of one of the tables from the fair. At another table – the soup. The soup was good.

Some of the choices for your “megama” are: biology, chemistry, physics, theater, art, and “super-nerdy taking college classes”. Some schools offer forensics. The choices depend largely on the size of the school.

Health

There are few hospitals. The closest to our house is at least a 1/2 hr drive away without traffic. Instead, there’s “terem” for most things … sort of like an “immedicare” center in the United States only about 1/10th the price.

Making a doctor’s appointment is easy.

I went to the doctor for some ’emergency’ care – no doctor there. No x-ray technician. I did get a regular doctor’s appointment for about 1.5 hrs later … didn’t need the x-ray.

Making a dentist appointment using your health insurance (rather than private pay) is more challenging. For some reason, each time you select a child it gives you completely different times and locations. No idea why they do that.

Boardgames seem to be popular. Easy to find a very wide selection in bookstores, general “everything” stores, and … boardgame stores.

Why is the last thing under ‘health’?

Deliveries

HP printers are region locked. I brought three toners with me from the US for this reason … they’re nowhere to be found. Instead, I moved the chip from my old toner to the new one and all is well.

Toner from third parties is 1/3 to 1/2 the price as buying it from HP.

I did, however, find my box of envelopes. So that’s where I put them.

Whenever you get a delivery, they call first. Toner, cat food, electronics … even things from America, e.g. Amazon. Someone calls you first. Just leave it at my house. People are all about “connection” here whereas America is all about efficiency.

Once I got a phone call and picture from a delivery person asking if where he left the package was okay. In America they would leave them in one of about four places around my house … and no phone call.

People pick up packages for each other which are delivered to various stores. No one checks ID and everyone is okay with this.

Needed some documents from America. Cost $175 to send letter via courier (FedEx) that arrived in a few days. People say don’t trust the mail. We barely use the mail at all.

On the Road

Parking cards have been collecting in my car because most parking lots use license plate readers.

A highway was completely closed while machinery was brought across for construction. It was a long time and people just sat patiently in their cars. I thought I was in some sort of alternate reality. How could you block a road this long and how come no one cares?

People are much calmer here than America. Life here is much more relaxed. Few people honk …. they wait. … and pulling out in front of someone is a thing here. That’s just the way it is.

Another time a road was closed because Haredi protestors against the draft were blocking it. People don’t have patience for that. Have your political beliefs and vote though when someone’s son might die in Gaza, don’t sit on their car. It’s rude.

Addresses: sometimes people only give you the name of the place and say put that in Waze. Works better than an address. One bank gave a longitude and latitude.

Another business sent me by Whatsapp pictures of each turn and hallway to reach the office. Good idea.

Everyone uses Whatsapp.

Religion

I sold my Chometz on the Israeli government’s website.

Shavous was very different here – it was one day so it feels like it flew by. I work American hours. Given that it started Sunday night I only missed 1/2 day of work. In America I would have missed two full days.

I miss half a day of work or more every Friday.

My work hours give me a vacation during the day, especially with the months of nice weather and blue skies. Also – no seasonal allergies. What a relief.

You can order anything Artscroll here and pick it up in Beit Shemesh or have it delivered to you. It’s more expensive than in America. Guess they’re importing it.

Purim advertisement on radio: don’t smoke even one cigarette because that could lead to more.

Banks might have seforim. Post offices might have tzedekah boxes. Many, many places have mezuzot – even secular places.

Ever seem someone wearing tefillin getting gas at 3pm? I have.

There’s a shul at the gas station with regular minyanim.

Jerusalem

Har HaBayis is open from 7:30am to 10:00am and again in the afternoon. Go to the mikveh and then go up with a group to the top – stay out of the heichel area itself. Seems to be that no one wants to advertise this though now it’s open a lot of hours for Jews.

Minyanim at the Kotel are often, a continiously, under the tunnel where it’s cooler. Go there when looking for a minyan as there aren’t always minyanim forming in the outdoor plaza.

Parking in Jerusalem is surprisingly easy … in some places … by the Israel Museum / National Library is free parking if you’re going to these places. At the entrance of the city is a big parking lot … about $20 for the day and for lunch, about $15 to $20. Remember: no tolls.

Miscellany

Daylight savings time begins Thursday night here.

“Night” starts at about 10pm here. Anything before that is “evening”.

Many workers now are from Sri Lanka. I watched my first cricket game. It’s weird. It was on Shabbos so I don’t have pictures.

One of the Sri Lankan players was wearing a jersey hat says Jerusalem Warriors on it with an Israeli flag.

The hotter temperatures aren’t so bad as long as you’re not under direct sunlight. We don’t keep our house at a hermetically sealed 73 … or, as some kids would have it in America when I’m not looking … 68. We turn the air on when we’re in a room … or, at least I do, and often don’t need it even when it’s high 70s inside. Lack of humidity.

Office chairs are sold outside. Malls have “pop-up” prepared food for Shabbos, sold only on Fridays. Popup bookstores and clothing stores are there other days. In the underground lot is a secondhand bookstore with many English books, a car wash, and a barber.

My webcam flickers in Google Meet when I turn on an LED light for brightness. I have to change it to 50 Hz to avoid the flicker which I don’t understand because … LED.

“Is it safe?” I asked before traveling to Samaria (“the West Bank” though it’s closer to the ocean than the west bank of the Jordan river). He said, “When I was in New York every mother was holding the hands of their children tight when walking though a large parking lot and you’re asking me if it’s safe here?

A Jew is free to do what he wants in Israel. There are so many more options open to you. This is a Haredi Jew giving an art lecture to a group of high school students at a museum as for one example. Jews have to fill all roles of society in Israel rather than our more selective professions in America.

The Entire Aliyah Diary

Arrival

01. Aug 19, 2024: Preparation In America
02. Aug 25, 2024: First Few Days
03. Aug 29, 2024: Moving In
62. July 17, 2025: I MADE IT

Cultural Adjustment Fun

Cultural Adjustment Difficulties

On The Roads

Shopping

11. Oct 13, 2024: Packages. (חבילות.)
34. Feb 17, 2025: Finding Obscure Things
41. Mar 23, 2025: New Shopping Habits
44. Apr 6, 2025: Pesach Shopping & Osher Ad

Government and Bureaucracy

Politics and Thought

Travel: South Israel

Travel: Central/North Israel

Travel: From Israel to …

54. June 4, 2025: Marseille and Avignon