Friday, 3 October 2014

I really didn't sleep very well last night and woke up feeling tired but unable to rest more due to the pain, despite the fact that I had taken Arcoxia before going to bed. Hmmm......

Although I didn't go out for a morning walk, I did walk down to recycle the cardboard boxes and to buy challah. Actually, they didn't have the nice challah we like, so I bought small loaves that are basically the same but not actually woven like challah. Good enough!

I was scheduled to teach two 2-unit Berlitz lessons today, but the first (9:15-10:45) turned out to be a no-show. The second was from 11:30-1:00.

After that, we drove down and had lunch at Buddha Burgers. They had a buffet of some nice food, most of it not on their usual menu. We not only ate but also brought home for tomorrow since neither of us will be fasting for Yom Kippur.

In the late afternoon, we took a drive around the short loop (up highway 90, over on highway 40, and back to Eilat on highway 12), something we hadn't done in a long time.

In the evening, we lit Shabbat candles, drank a bit of sweet red wine, and ate challah to mark the beginning of this very special Shabbat (somewhat unconventionally, of course!).

For those of you who may not know, Yom Kippur (the "Day of Atonement") is quite unique here in Israel. The majority of people, even those who are not at all religious, fast, and NOBODY drives! Even the freeways have no traffic EXCEPT lots of bicycles. For kids, this is the big day when they get to ride their bikes in the middle of the street and even on the freeways! They have already started this evening. But Yom Kippur also has another non-religious meaning here: it marks, every year, the anniversary (this year the 41st) of the Yom Kippur war, when the country suffered a surprise attack and was nearly destroyed by invading Arab armies. This traumatic event still weighs heavily on people's mind at this time of year, and for many it may, in fact, constitute the most important significance of this day.

חתימה טובה khatima tova (a good sealing, the traditional greeting for Yom Kippur -- but literally "a good signature" in modern Israeli Hebrew, something which, by the way, NOBODY has here -- all signatures are completely, totally, and, I think, deliberately illegible!)