Some Time Off

B"H

It is always good taking some time off and getting one's mind cleared. A friend of mine from Jerusalem came to Tel Aviv and I showed her around. It is a good feeling that finally I am able to explain how life in two different worlds works, as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are different.

Many people keep on asking me why I am in Tel Aviv, as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are so different. For the religious, Tel Aviv seems to be an entire "Yetzer HaRah" (evil inclination) and nothing else. It is hard for me to explain to those people that this is not true and that there are great people around. Nevertheless, the religious in Jerusalem argue that a religious Jew should be living in a religious environment and not surround himself with all kinds of temptations.

This may be true but speaking about myself, I do need a change sometimes. I cannot be totally among the religious and not totally among the secular. I enjoy a change in order not to get depressed and so far, only people experiencing the same are able to understand me. And this is what I tried to show my friend who visited me.

For Shabbat, we came back to Jerusalem and today, we went to Mea Shearim for lunch. And guess what - there I was facing the same prejudices again. One thing may be true: There is no Chanukkah feeling whatsoever in Tel Aviv and I am going to spend some more time in Jerusalem this week.

However, I still enjoy running around between two worlds.