Yesterday's highlights

I know that yesterday's news is old news, especially with immediate gratificaton technology, but it's the best I can do. So much to see and do in a day, and even I have only so much energy.
Those of you who know my habits will be amazed - as am I- that I wake up before 7 am, which is wonderful so that I don't miss any of that exquisite Mediterranean light and sun. Yesterday we went to the open market at Nachalat Binyamin, which is a street that becomes a huge craft market, twice a week, with many different stalls. With artisans from all over the world living in Israel, the crafts displayed are so varied and original,
One memorable encounter was withva woman by the name of Sara, who is a native born Israeli, born into a secular family. One day God spoke to her and she became Orthodox. She lives in Kfar Chabad, which is an Orthodox community. Her husband doesn't work as he studies the Talmud all day, an arrangement not uncommon in that community, and so she is the breadwinner - happily so- for her husband and twin children. She makes exquisite jewelry from bits of glass and shards she finds near the Dead Sea, and says that the spirit of God moves through her every time she creates something. It's safe to say that her pieces are indeed divine and I must confess. I succumbed. But I bought only one piece. When she found out I was single she insisted on giving me the name and phone number of a rabbi she swore would help me find a man. I don't think I'm going to follow up on this lead.
I left the market and walked along the sea on the Taylet, the promenade, and met my cousin Flossie for lunch. She took me to an upscale restaurant for lunch called Moadon Hakzinim, or the captains' club. Many of the dishes on thevmenu contained pork, which the Israelis euphemistically refer to as white meat, and shellfish, which I refer to as bottom feeders. I settled for a chicken stir fry which was delicious.
Joining us at lunch was Aviva, Flossie's friend who lives on kibbutz Ein Harod, in the north of Israel, near Afullah. She was born in Poland. She was a child when the Nazis were rounding up the Jews, and her parents entrusted her to a Polish family who hid her and saved her life. Her entire family perished, but an aunt in Israel adopted her and today she is a happy woman with 4 children and 13 grandchildren, all living within a short distance of each other.
Later that evening at Flossie's house, her husband, Elie, brought out a bottle of Cabernet Franc, made by his cousin who has a phd in agriculture and is an acclaimed amateur winemaker. It was outstanding.
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