The Doric String Quartet at Kibbutz Ein HaShofet

Every other Shabbat morning, there is a concert of classical chamber music at Kibbutz Ein HaShofet. Our friend Ruth had been telling us about these, but we had never quite put together plans to get there until today. We arranged to meet Ruth at the Akhihud Junction so we could follow her from there, since we didn't know where it was.

The performers today were the Doric String Quartet, from London, England. The concert consisted entirely of string quartets by Robert Schumann. Unfortunately, he only wrote three of them, but we got to hear all of them this morning, performed by one of the best string quartets in the world! It was glorious!

The auditorium at Ein HaShofet is a nice, not-too-large amphitheater with acoustics that are just right for chamber music. As Ruth had warned us, the place was packed. Virtually every seat was already filled when we got there about 15 minutes before it started. However, they had also placed chairs on the stage on either side of the performers, and they were still available. What fabulous seats! I was sitting right behind the violist and a little to the left, David was on my left, and Ruth on my right.

Their playing was absolutely wonderful! Not only did they make no mistakes, they made it look easy (which I'm SURE it wasn't!). Much more importantly, however, was the way they played so musically together. It was as though they were one person, and an exceedingly musical one, at that. Every phrase, every nuance, was spot on. If you EVER get a chance to hear these guys play, do NOT miss it!

Here's a link to their website.

Visiting another synagogue in Haifa

As I mentioned in a previous post, I also received information about the other Reform synagogue in Haifa, אהל אברהם Ohel Avraham ("Abraham's Tent"). So, last night we decided to visit it. We got there WAY early and simply sat in the sanctuary waiting for more people to show up. Sure enough, they did, and the prayers got underway within 15-20 minutes of the scheduled starting time (5:30 p.m.).

This congregation seems very Israeli. I think I only heard people talking among themselves in Hebrew, unlike any other Reform or Conservative congregation we've attended here. Usually, ones hears quite a bit of English, and maybe a little Spanish or Russian. I rather like hearing only Hebrew conversations around us, since it made it a truly Israeli experience. At the kiddush afterwards, the main leader, who I assume was the rabbi, came up and greeted us. He asked us where we were from, and it turns out that HE is originally from Khatzor HaGlilit, the town just below us next to Rosh Pinna. He was a very nice guy with a big smile, and I managed to carry on the whole conversation in Hebrew.

The prayers themselves were also very enjoyable. There was a guy who played the guitar very well, unobtrusively but supportively. It was a great spiritual experience. Many of the melodies were familiar to us even though we don't use them at Emet V'Shalom, our home congregation in Nahariya, but there were also a few new ones. All in all, we were very happy that we had gone.

Another trip to Agamon Hula

Today was a beautiful, sunny day here in Israel even though the temperatures are a little low. So we decided to take another trip to Agamon Hula, one of the nature preserves for migrating birds in the Hula Valley. We did the usual and rented a golf cart to make the tour around the lake. Here are a few of the pictures I took.

First, a picture of David on a little bridge. Just to the right of him, you can see the golf cart that we rented. A little further to the right, by the tops of the trees, you can see the snow-capped Har Khermon (Mt. Hermon, the highest point in Israel):

Of course, the main attraction of Agamon Hula is the birds. Here's a nice flock of them:

Here's a group of them in flight. It's hard to get these pictures of moving objects on my camera. Basically, I have to point in the general direction, shoot, and see what I get. Of course, ALL of the pictures I'm posting (except the one of David, above) are cropped somewhat. This one and the next are SERIOUSLY cropped:

Here's a lucky shot of a single large bird in flight:

The birds, however, are not the only animals there. This large rodent (about the size of a cat), sometimes called a coypu and sometimes called a nutria, is native to South America. It was introduced to Israel by farmers hoping to create a fur business, but, alas, in the warm climate it didn't produce the nice fur that it had in its native lands. So, the farmers released them into the wild, and they have become an invasive species. There are LOTS of them at Agamon Hula, and they are rather cute, I think:

A busy week

Last week was a very busy week.

On Sunday, we left home before sunrise in order to get to an appointment for David at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa at 9:15. The appointment was with an ophthalmologist. After that, we headed down to Tel Aviv, where David had an appointment at 1:00 with the dentist. After returning home to Tsfat, I did my weekly shopping at ShuferSal, our favorite supermarket in town.

Monday through Friday, it was one of the busiest weeks I've had in a long time with Berlitz. Lessons are measured in units, each of which is 40 minutes with a 5-minute break. Last week, I talked a total of 39 units, which is nearly 30 hours of actual teaching.

The variety of countries represented is also quite interesting. For example, on Tuesday I taught a student in Slovenia (formerly part of Yugoslavia -- she lives only a few hundred meters from Austria!) in the morning. In the afternoon, I taught a student in Norway. Then, in the evening, I had a student in France, followed by a class with 2 students, one in Germany and the other in Spain. I ended the evening teaching another French student.

Another interesting example is Friday. I only had 3 students, but all of them currently live in different countries from where they were born. The first was a Vietnamese woman who now lives in France. The second was a Czech student who now lives in Slovakia (well, actually the two countries were no doubt one, Czechoslovakia, when she was born!). The third student was a Belgian guy (from the French-speaking part of Belgium) who now lives in Luxembourg.

Besides all of this work, I also spent some time the past week preparing for the end of the current term at my other job, University of the People, and I wrote some Hebrew lyrics for a song that a good friend of mine is planning to record in the States.

So, it was a busy week but quite productive, I think. The coming week will also be busy, at least at Berlitz.