I felt cool. Really cool. Because this film is amazing. ‘Unorthodox’, a feature documentary, tracks the lives of three teenagers from the modern Orthodox community as they spend their post-high school year studying in Israel. The film follows the teenagers through their journey in Israel and America. The documentary tells this intimate story with personal video diaries, giving us those real life moments that are both raw and profound.

As well as the story of these three teenagers, the documentary weaves together Anna Wexler’s own story. Wexler, the woman behind the documentary who left her modern Orthodox community, reveals her own life story adding a very private layer to the film.

In this exclusive behind the scenes, check out our Q&A with filmmaker Anna Wexler herself and a special Vlog from Producer Shira on the Kickstarter Campaign!

Q: Why did Anna decide to do this documentary?

A: In a sense, this documentary tells my own story. I grew up in the Modern Orthodox community in New Jersey, and as a teenager, I broke away from the religion. I watched as many of my friends graduated from high school and went to spend a year studying in a seminary in Israel. These friends had also grown up in Modern Orthodox homes, but like me, they had rebelled, and were not religious by the time they went to Israel. When they came back from their year in Israel they had completely changed: some of my male friends no longer spoke to me since they didn’t want to get “distracted” by women; others now wore black hats and spent their mornings learning in yeshiva. My friends who were girls were suddenly wearing long skirts and long sleeves. And everyone strictly adhered to Shabbat (no more going out on Friday night) and kosher.

I wanted to find out what happens over this year—what makes people change so drastically, and why do the changes happen so reliably, year after year? Originally I wanted to write an article or thesis about the “year in Israel” but I met a producer who suggested that I make a documentary film about the experience. So as a sophomore in college, I got my close friend Nadja Oertelt on board. We taught ourselves a bit about documentary film and together we set out to follow three teenagers through their year in Israel.

Q: How, if any, has the goal changed throughout the process?

A: I think the goal has always remained the same—to find out what happens over the year in Israel. What changed was that I became a character in the film. All throughout production people told me that this was my story and that I should be in the film, but I stubbornly resisted. It was only many years later, in the editing room, that I realized how much richer the story would be if you watched the teenagers travel to Israel through my eyes, and if Orthodox Judaism was explained through my childhood experiences instead of using onscreen text. In addition, I saw that my story—of leaving the community—could add another layer to the film, and thus the film could encompass a broader variety of personal experiences with religion.

Q: Why did Shira become an Associate Producer?

A: I met Shira when I moved to Israel, and we’ve been close friends since 2009. When I was working on the full-length rough cut this summer, she provided helpful advice and feedback, and when I was working on the trailer this fall, Shira was there at all hours of the night. I would share my screen on Skype and she’d help me tweak the individual cuts. Nadja and I have been thinking about bringing on a third person for a while now, and Shira was always the front-runner in my mind (I don’t think she knows that). When we launched the Kickstarter campaign in December and were overwhelmed with responses, Nadja and I decided that it was the right time to bring on a third person and we made Shira a formal offer. Lucky for us, she accepted.

Shira also has a personal connection to the film—she grew up in a religious home and has been through her own struggles with the faith.

Q: What’s it like filming in Israel as oppose to America?

A: People react to the camera differently. In America, we felt that people tended to be more suspicious—Americans have a deep-seated sense of privacy and personal rights, and they are sensitive to potential violations of those rights.

When we filmed in Israel, we often encountered the opposite issue—people were so enthusiastic about being on camera that they’d wave their hands in front of the lens or stick their faces right into the camera and shout random things. Fortunately, Nadja—who was doing the filming—doesn’t understand Hebrew, so whenever they yelled at her, she was able to block it out pretty easily. I found myself clearing the way and trying to fend people off as Nadja was shooting.

Q: Why should people see this film?

A: First and foremost, it’s going to be a great movie with a fascinating narrative! By weaving together the very different experiences of four characters, the audience will really get a picture of the varied personal struggles that people undergo with fait. This is something that is not really openly talked about, especially in the Orthodox community, where on the whole, it’s not okay to seriously question. Unorthodox will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and it will definitely surprise you—there are plenty of plot twists.

Also, I think that Unorthodox will bring up important discussions about the year in Israel and the Modern Orthodox educational system. On a personal level, I’d really like the film to spark conversation about attitudes towards people who seriously question, or outright reject, Orthodox Judaism. We’ve gotten so many emails from people who are not religious but who are afraid to “come out of the closet” for fear of losing their families and social networks. Right now the approach is largely black or white: you’re either religious or not. The reality is that religious beliefs are fluid—it’s a journey, not a two-sided coin.

Don’t just look forward to the film, make it happen and join their Kickstarter Campaign.

EliShuk...it's for real!

The Mahane Yehuda Shuk is one of my most favorite places in Jerusalem. Almost everything is cheap. You can sample the fruit or the nuts with just a wink of the eye. There are so many different smells you can’t tell the good ones from the fish-head ones. And you get to meet a very unique part of Israeli society, from those that do all their shopping there, to the people that have owned their stalls for generations.

I recently found out that a friend of mine, Alex King, not only has a father-in-law with a stall in the Iraqi shuk, but that he also has the stall online…on Facebook. Not only is this awesome, but I am pretty sure this is the only shuk shop branching out into the social media world.  Alex admits his father-in-law is not the most web savy person, but is just as excited to share his shop online as he is to any customer in the shuk.

For anyone that has out of town guests, tourists or just friends that want to go to the shuk, you should definitely make Eli’s shop a part of the tour. As a part of the online presence, Eli uploads pictures of the latest products and makes sure to give his online audience a special treat with giveaways! Ahhh, now I really have your attention! What kind of treats are we talking about?

Well click hereto score yourself some delicious chocolate coins just in time for Hannukah, and stay tuned for other yummy goods.  And now for a little Q&A about the man behind the stall, the treats and the Facebook page!

Hannukah giveaway

When did Eli’s shop first open in the shuk?
The shop at its current location was established in 1958 by Na’im Shkuri, Eli’s father who immigrated from Iraq in 1951. Up until 1978 the shop sold fruits and vegetables. Since 1978 it branched out into confectionary and in recent years other areas such as electrical goods.

Who is this Eli?

Eli of Eli's Shop

Eli Ben-Na’im was born in Amhara in Southern Iraq. He made Aliyah in 1951 and moved to Jerusalem. He spent his teenage years in Kibbutz Ein Karmel in the North. He served in a combat unit in the army. He has served in all of Israel’s wars from the 1956 Sinai Campaign up to and including the 1982 Lebanon War. He is married, has four daughters and seven grandchildren (with number 8 on the way!). Eli has worked in the shuk since the mid- 1950′s.

Why did Eli decide to bring the shuk shop online?
The shop has been online for half a year now. The Facebook platform was chosen because it offers great social media tools and can also act as a website for the shop, even for people who don’t have Facebook.

All the merchandise in the shop can be seen on the page (in the photo album section) and new products are regularly added.

Sweets for your sweetie!

The page gives the shop a way to communicate with its customers and the wall offers a forum for the customers to post and to talk, fostering a little “on-line shuk community”.

Moreover, all the photos, updates and posts give the user a “taste of the shuk on your computer” which is widely enjoyed by fans that outside of Jerusalem and all over the world.

Most importantly, the page offers fans special deals and discounts from time to time, so click “like” so you can enjoy them!

What is unique about Eli’s shop?
Eli has worked in the shop since it was established in 1958 making the shop probably the last remaining family-run establishment in the “Iraqi Shuk” part of the market that is still staffed by the original founding members. It retains its authentic old-fashioned Jerusalem shuk character. (Most other shops in the Iraqi Shuk are now rented out or subcontracted to hired workers).

To learn more about Eli’s Shop, products click here.

To find Eli click here.

I suck at this!

Wow it has been way too long since we have blogged. I am sure it’s been a difficult few months for you, our readers. How have you managed to live without my adorable sarcastic posts and Rebecca’s incredibly informative write-ups?

So let’s just jump right (or write) in. I’m writing what I am sure will be one of many angry light-rail train posts. Now that the train has been up and ‘running’ for the last few months, I am interested to hear what people think of it. So share your comments with me after you finish reading.

On principal I am not riding it. That and it doesn’t actually go anywhere I need to go.

However, the train and I have met in passing. It’s like a bad date you have to keep reliving, because the person lives a few blocks from you. So, indeed I am not at all fond of this crap train. The train butchered the city with its tracks. It forced stores to close down, has turned the city center into a pretty little ghost town. It causes traffic jams. And some old guy just got hit by it.

But the worst of all? The city is using it as yet another way to rob its citizens. No, I am not referring to the ticket price (as I write this, news has just broken that they plan to charge NIS 6.40 for a ride). No I am referring to the ticket you get when your car gets stuck in the intersection thanks to the new traffic light system, programmed for the train and not the people.

Do I think Israeli drivers are more dangerous than the threat of Iran actually building nukes? Yes I do. But the ones that are getting ticketed at the intersection of Jaffa (by the municipality) are getting fines for fake reasons.

That’s right, the police are standing by waiting for cars to get stuck in the intersection where they then tap on the window, ask the driver to come with them, and give them a big fat ticket. I have heard from several people that the tickets range from NIS 500 to NIS 1,000. I have also heard and even seen for myself that hundreds of people are getting tickets. You do the math on that and you’ll see how the city is planning to get itself out of debt with this method.

Before you get to this evil intersection, you are stuck in a horrendous traffic jam. I believe this is the part of the psychological torture that drives the drivers into the intersection where they get stuck. Instead of having two lanes, all the cars are forced into one lane, thus further frustrating your target ticket audience. Add to it, the many drivers that cut the line of cars by driving on the wrong side of the street, and you have a pretty angry driver that just wants to cross the light already and get from A to B. And I don’t have to tell you that the drivers who are driving on the wrong side of the street, literally meters from the police, don’t get a ticket. Why would they.

The train sucks. Its only lightness is how light it is on any concept of how to truly benefit the city and people. The city sucks for handing out tickets to drivers that don’t deserve them, while standing by and doing nothing about the real issues. With all this sucking, you would think that the whole problematic ordeal could be sucked away into a black hole somewhere.

Thank the mighty Lord, the mourning period of the three weeks, the nine days and the 9th of Av are behind us. It is such a cumbersome time for many of us and it’s always a relief when it’s over.

And now comes the fun part! This Sunday night (August 14, 2011) and Monday is Tu B’Av, the Jewish/Israeli day of love. Long ago it was the day on which single girls went out to the fields dressed in white and danced while the guys checked them out and tried to choose someone to marry. Today things are done a bit differently, though not by much. This year on Tu B’Av in Jerusalem there are sing-alongs, mega speed dating events and other parties around the city.

This post is an overview of some of the events going on around the city this coming Sunday and Monday. But actually, it is really just an excuse for me to tell you about the following event which I attended (and loved) last year:

באב TWO

Where: Beit Yehudit, 12 Emek Refaim, Jerusalem (aka ICCY/Merkaz Tarbut Amim Veno’ar)
When: 8:30 PM, August 14, 2011
Price: 55 NIS

True, the venue doesn’t seem to be able to choose a name for themselves but that doesn’t detract from their events. I attended this event last year and I can tell you that it is one of the most enjoyable events I’ve attended. There was so much going on, and in general there was a great vibe. This year will be similar in that you’ll get to enjoy a concert by a top Israeli musician (Eviatar Banai), eat and drink yummy things, watch love story movies by Maaleh students and sing and dance (so it seems). Read the brochure above for more information (about a lecture, a tish, a pasta workshop and more).

Tu B’Av Mass Speed Dating

Where: Tzidkiyahu’s Cave, Jerusalem (Below the walls of the Old City)
When: 8:00 PM, August 14, 2011 (I think – the flyer is sort of missing a date.)
Price: 25 NIS (90% discount)

Yeah, this is a pretty interesting one. Mass speed dating in a cave for singles ages 23-40?! They mention wine and romance and the next day you’ll get the contact info of anyone where there was mutual interest.

This is organized by a few organizations including Tzi’irim Lema’an Yerushalayim. Check them out on facebook. You can also email info@y-jerusalem.org for more information. There are buses from Binyanei Hauma in both directions.

Let me know if you end up braving it and going. I’d love to hear how it is! (Not sure I’m brave enough to go myself.:)

You must RSVP before.

Tu B’Av at HaGov

Where: HaGov Bar, 5 Yoel Moshe Salomon, Jerusalem
When: 9:00 PM, August 14, 2011
Price: A drink/food

There will be some really nice specials that night, including:

2-for-1 on passionfruit Margaritas! (Of course)
A Fun Joel Platter of finger food for a discounted 39 NIS. (Named after Joel who is behind this event.)
Two main courses and receive a free sweet dessert!
A bottle of sparkling red wine for a discounted 94 NIS.

Jerusalem Wine Festival

Yeah, I know this isn’t specifically a Tu B’Av event but it begins on Monday the 15th when it is still Tu B’Av and it’s also just an amazing event. So, I’m including it here. :)

There are also a bunch of other things going on. For example:

Love story tour of Hanvi’im Street and a sing-along in the courtyard of the museum of the Underground Prisoners (אסירי המחתרות). This is on Monday the 15th. (The event flyer)

BBQ, mingling and art program for singles ages 24-38 (Monday) venue to be announced to people who RSVP.

Tu B’Av JamFest – Ghetto Shul Style in Katamon

Tu B’Av Rooftop Kumzitz by the shuk

Know of anything else that should be on this list? Please email me so I can add it. habitza@gmail.com.

I hope to see you there. There will be comedy sketches, improv, music, beer and even stand-up with the very talented Benji Lovitt.

For details click here. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is what our friendship would look like

A few years ago famous comedian Sarah Silverman took part in a campaign geared towards getting young Jews to make sure their grandparents in Florida voted for then presidential candidate Barak Obama, in ‘The Great Schlep’.

Fast forward a few years later to present day, famous comedian Sarah Silverman is about to partake in another schlep, The Really Great Schlep, as she makes her way to the Jewish Homeland. That’s right, Silverman, obviously a big Jew, will be in Israel on tour and at this year’s President’s conference in about a week.

I am sure she will have an awesome trip, hang out with her family, and see some Jewish stuff while she is here. But more importantly, she needs to come and hang out with me, because we are destined to be BFFs. Is there a way to say that, write that, without sounding creepy or stalkerish?

So, just like Sarah Silverman once campaigned to make a difference, it appears it is now my turn to do the same. Perhaps my campaign is much smaller, really just for me and my friends and my comedy troupe, but I believe it will have a profound  effect on the nation, on Jews as a whole, and perhaps even milk prices.

Sarah Silverman this is my ‘Be My BFF’ campaign and I will do everything that I can until you and I are wearing friendship bracelets, posing in front of the Western Wall with our shoulders covered (thanks to the old lady-shmata-police at the Kotel who hand out dirty scarves to make sure G-d doesn’t get a peep show in the holiest place in the world) and leftover hummus and pita in our teeth.

There are a lot of reasons that you should be my friend and meet me on your trip to Israel. I will now list just a few. Also, I will make sure to tweet it up, Facebook and get my friends involved in my campaign. I will not sleep or eat until you are my friend. Mainly I won’t be sleeping because my eight-month-old son is teething and wakes up every two hours throughout the night. And when I say I won’t eat, what I mean is, I won’t eat too much, except for Shabbat when calories don’t count.

A List of Just a Few Reasons Why We Should be BFF:

We are both Jewish ( I only use this as a reason, because people think when they are setting people up, as long as they have one thing in common, like age, race or religion, that they must be perfect for each other…just trying to cover my bases. And this is kind of like the perfect shidduch).

I have a tiny comedy troupe, in a tiny city, in a tiny country. We are Hahafuch (it means upside down) the premiere English speaking comedy troupe in all of Israel. The only English speaking comedy troupe in all of Israel. We do improv and comedy sketches, making fun of Israel. We would love to have you for practice. Then you can check off “do improv with a bunch of new immigrants in Jerusalem” from your bucket list.

My husband is an archaeologist and can show you a private tour of his dig where they find really old stuff. He can also show you and your family awesome, really old secret places all over Jerusalem that you don’t know about.

I will take you to Bazaar Strauss in Talpiot, which is like a smaller, crappier version of Target. I will buy you anything you want, as long as it’s under NIS 10. It might not sound like much, but you could get a lot of stuff there for that price: underwear (never used, I might add), salad tongs, or half of a Purim costume (I say half because the other half is gone but they are still selling it).

I go to this Yoga-Pilates fusion class that you would love. Not because of the workout, but because the teacher wears these amazing pants, that are so wrong in all the wrong places. It is truly a body and mind challenge to get through the class. But as BFFs I know we could do it together.

I will take you to the Jerusalem Mahane Yehuda Shuk and you can meet a real busta (stall) owner in the Iraqi part, and I can guarantee he will give you some candy and tell you cool stories about his life.  I will then buy you NIS 5 ice coffee from marzipan and get you some of their famous rugelach if you insist. We will look at really pretty vegetables and take another picture, that I would probably make my Facebook profile for life.

You’re invited for Shabbat. I will make sure to have a table of awesome people, even if it means I have to become more than Facebook friends with them and possibly have to pay them. For a BFF, I would do that.

There’s more reasons of course, but I have to leave something for Twitter and Facebook. I will post reasons daily and I hope you will check them out and I will win you over. Like I said I will do anything. I can’t promise peace in the Middle East, but I can promise it like a politician does- which is about the same and worth a Nobel Prize if nothing else.

I know if we had the chance to hang out that it would be just another day in your world but for me it would kind of make my life. I moved to Israel after college and while I love it here, sometimes it’s hard to get through the day. Not because of terrorists. No I’m talking about something more evil than that- bureaucracy. So, I am just saying that you would make a big difference in someone’s life. And that difference will have a huge effect throughout the Anglo-Immigrant community in Israel. That’s a big deal. A really big deal. So on your Really Big Schlep, please just consider taking an hour or two to meet your Middle East BFF.

He wants to be BFFs too!

Also, I have a dog. He’s a Jerusalem mix and knows how to high five and roll over. We rescued him. He does not make white dog poop from the 70′s, but I can have my Israeli husband sing that song to you. He has it memorized.

To hang out you can email here. Or tweet me @FelafelBalls

Can’t wait!

The Impossible Dream
By Ariella Gottesman

Many years ago, I heard a speaker – a self-proclaimed Zionist – taking HaTikvah to task. In her opinion, it didn’t speak to the Zionist dream, the true feeling of the Jewish heart aching to return home, or the mission of Zionism. She suggested that The Impossible Dream from the hit Broadway musical “The Man of La Mancha” take its place as the Israeli national anthem. The very words, she thought, encapsulated everything Zionism and Israel stands for:

To dream the impossible dream,

To fight the unbeatable foe,

To bear with unbearable sorrow,

To run where the brave dare not go…

I was quite taken with this idea as a child, with the notion that this stirring song about reaching “the unreachable star” could serve as a more fitting national anthem for our homeland. I took out the CD from the library and listened to the song countless times, smiling as I internalized the lyrics. It struck a chord within me, far deeper than HaTikvah ever had.

So, why shouldn’t this song represent the Zionist dream? What does HaTikvah really have over The Impossible Dream?

Recently, I hit the books (and the Internet) to figure it all out.  What I discovered was fascinating.

Similar to The Star Spangled Banner, which is actually a four paragraph poem with only the first verse known, HaTikvah has seven other stanzas, which nobody knows.

HaTikvah was originally a nine stanza poem written by Naphtali Herz Imber, a relatively unsuccessful poet, loafer, and womanizer who lived in the late nineteenth century. The original title was actually Tikvateinu – Our Hope – and it was the anthem of several settlements in the 1880s. Imber later died of alcohol induced liver disease, a glorious way for the writer of Israel’s national anthem to pass.

Samuel Cohen later put these rhymes to a Romanian folk song, Carul cu Boi. Though he slowed down the rhythm and refined the sound, when one listens to Carul cu Boi, it is clear that the two songs are related. The tune that makes Jews worldwide rise and put their hands to their hearts means, in Romanian, “Cart and Oxen,” and the original is a dancing tune.

The more I uncovered in my research, the more the case was made for The Impossible Dream to take center stage.

Yet, HaTikvah, with its interesting, and perhaps scandalous, past, still has a unique quality that The Impossible Dream cannot and never will have. This quality fills the heart of the Jew. It makes us smile, it makes us cry, it defines us, and it makes HaTikvah our national anthem.

On May 12, 1948, before David Ben-Gurion read the Israeli Declaration of Independence, the audience spontaneously sang HaTikvah in unison. After the Declaration was signed, the crowd once again rose and sang:

To be a free people in our land,

The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

No one in that room, or anywhere in that newly born country, would have envisioned owning all of Jerusalem. Not under the White Paper, nor under the UNSCOP Partition Plan, nor by any other conceivable course of events. At best, they thought, it would wind up under UN jurisdiction. At worst, it would fall into the hands of the Arabs, who would in all likelihood deny Jews access. Indeed, by the end of the 1948 war, when the smoke had cleared, Jerusalem was still not under Israeli control.

Yet, Jews still dreamed of Jerusalem. Their eyes still looked towards Zion. The city where David camped was still in their hearts. And, in 1967, against all odds, we claimed our birthright.

The Impossible Dream is a wonderful song. I smile and cry every time I listen to it. But it does not focus on Jerusalem.  As such, it cannot possibly represent the Zionist dream because it is impossible to fulfill the Zionist dream without our Golden Jerusalem.

Ariella Gottesman is an undergraduate student at Stern College for Women and the president of the Yeshiva University Israel Club.

Picture yourself somewhere in this crowd!

If you weren’t one of the 10,000 people that ran in the Jerusalem Marathon, Half-marathon, 10k or 4.2k race this past Friday, I am here to tell you that you better be next year. If you want a challenge, if you want to be healthy and if you want to eat pasta like it’s nobody’s business then sign up for the 2012 race now.

I am writing this to you, sore legs and all, to say that everyone has the potential to run in a race like this, and if you don’t do it then you are missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. And to run the Jerusalem track, that’s the cherry on the top. Running through the streets of Jerusalem, hills and all, is an incredible feeling. Running with others who are sharing in your excitement and pain as you climb yet another incline, is so amazing I wish I could do it again this Friday!

Let’s get this straight. I don’t consider myself a runner. I am a woman who became a mommy and didn’t have the time or money to go to a gym with a newborn to take care of. So I made it my goal to get back in shape with a few DVDs (those postnatal workouts with cheesy trainers telling you you’ll be as fit as ever) and a light jog every now and then. No matter where you run in Jerusalem you are bound to face a hill, so I figured a good twenty minute run was plenty and would keep me healthy.

But once I started running I realized I could do the twenty minutes and maybe just a few minutes more. My husband and baby and dog also began to join me for the run. Now it became healthy time and family time as we ran up and down the hills together. When we found out the first-ever Jerusalem Marathon would be in March, we decided this would be the perfect goal for our running challenge. The Half-marathon, that is. Let’s not get too crazy here.

Every week we planned a new route on Gmaps Pedometer and added a kilometer or two to our run. Every week I thought it would be impossible for me to run that long or up that many hills, but I always did it. I wanted to. I needed to. I had to. After every run I would say, “that’s the longest run I ever did,” because it was. And it felt exhilarating. That said, I still feared the big day and running 21.1 kilometers.

The week before the marathon I was pumped. That, and I was stuffed on Purim sweets and too much of a little of everything. As I prepared physically and mentally for the big day, I saw the city also getting ready with posters, flags and turning Gan Sachr into a huge finish line and party zone. I was getting that tingly feeling in my stomach (along with my perpetual stomachache from Purim treats throughout the week).

Then two days before the race there was a terrorist attack— a bombing just in front of the Binyaeni Hauma Conference Center at a bus stop. Dozens were injured and British woman was killed. There hadn’t been a bombing like that in years, so needless to say the city and her people were in shock. The conference center was actually where runners were supposed to sign up for the race, so now I wondered if it was even possible to go there and if the race would happen.

By Thursday the city was slowly getting back on her feet and recovering from the attack. Jerusalemites refused to let the bombing affect their daily life routine, this of course being exactly what terrorists want us to do, and so business ran as usual. My worries about any cancellation of the marathon had ceased and now I looked forward to the big night before the big day, with a huge pasta party being held at the conference center for all the runners.

But then there was really bad weather. I mean it normally doesn’t rain in March here, and now we were getting hail and flooding in the streets. It seemed like the first marathon just wasn’t going to happen or at least wasn’t going to be fun. However, you should never underestimate the power of a holy city. By Friday morning the rain was put on pause and the weather was the perfect setting of cold air a runner needs to keep a good heart rate and not get heat stroke (I say pause because it did in fact rain later that day after the race…holy city people).

With my pasta-full belly, number card placed on my shirt, dirty Red Sox hat, husband by my side and baby in the stroller, we were finally ready to take on the streets of Jerusalem with thousands of other runners. Would I make it to the finish line? Would I take breaks or would I have a break down? My anticipation was met with a gun shot, but not the terrorist kind, just the one bullet to initiate the race. And we were off!

That's a View!

As I ran with the crowd all my worries about bombings, weather and self-doubt disappeared. I was in the moment, a very long moment, but an incredible one. And yes, my baby cried for the first seven kilometers, but we all made it past the finish line with smiles on our faces. The energy of the other runners and the cheers of people on the sidelines was all I needed to get by (that and water and some stuff called gu which has some crazy amount of caffeine and vitamins to give your body a big boost).

The Finish Line is a Beautiful Thing!

So like I said, if you have never run the race, then lace up and make it your challenge for next year, March 16, 2012 because you have a date with Jerusalem. Running is a free sport that can be done on your own or with the family whenever you have the time. True, you need to make the time, but once you do, you will see that you could never live without it.

In fact after my experience I would like to start a mommy running group here in Jerusalem. I am happy to help train mothers who would like to run in general, run a race or just stay healthy. So, if you are interested please email me to get started and together we will get to that finish line!

But lucky for our readers, you can learn through our mistakes and questions as we  navigate the childcare system in Israel. And let us say right off the bat, that we encourage and beg you to add info in the comments section in order to help the new parent community.

It is barely spring, but according to Israel you need to secure a place for your child for the fall. You must sign up before spaces fill up, and that means that even if you don’t know what part of town, or even what part of the country you are living in, well that’s too bad.

Check out our guide below that explains the different types of daycare options in Israel.

Public/Government Run Childcare:

Maon (Daycare)

Definition: This is large-scale daycare run by various organizations (usually women’s organizations).  The government supervises and dictates policy.  You must register for these and be accepted (registration starts April 27, 2011). Full-time working mothers have top priority.

Groups:

• 3-15 months: 1 adult for every 6 children, maximum 15 in a group.
• 15 months – 2 years: 1:9 ratio,  maximum 23 in a group
• 2-3 years: 1:11 ratio, maximum 27 in a group

Opening Hours:

• Sunday-Thursday: 7:00am-4:00pm (though some go as late as 5:00pm)
• Friday: 7:00 am-1:00pm
• Holidays:  Government policy: three weeks in August (of which you pay a full month’s worth of tuition), a week before Pesach and the whole holiday, the other major Jewish holidays and the week of Sukkot.

Prices: NIS1550- NIS 2050, scale-based subsides payments based on household salaries and siblings

What is included: Food (and sometimes sheets)

What you need to bring: diapers, baby wipes, clothes, pacifiers, bottles, (sheet for the bed)

Maons in Jerusalem:

• WIZO
• Naamat
• Emunah

Mishpachton (pre-nursery in someone’s home)

Definition: This is daycare that is run out of a private home.  The government supervises and dictates policy.  There can be a maximum of 5 children (without getting special permission for more)  and  no more than 2 children under the age of one.  If there are more children an additional caregiver must be present.

Hours and Holidays:

• 6 Day a week Mishpachton: Sun-Thur 7:00am-4:00pm, Fri: 7:00am-12:00pm
• 5 Day a week Mishpachton: Sun-Thur 7:00am-4:30pm or 7:30am-5:00pm (although some places are only until 4:00pm)
• Holidays: They must abide by the government set holiday schedule.  This includes taking off three weeks in August (of which you pay a full month’s worth of tuition), a week before Pesach and the whole holiday, the other major Jewish holidays and the week of Sukkot.

Prices: More or less the same price as a Maon, approximately NIS 1550, scale-based subsides payments based on household salaries and siblings.

What is included: Food

What you need to bring: diapers, baby wipes, clothes, pacifiers, bottles, sheet for the bed

Private Daycare:

Mishpachton (pre-nursery)

Definition: Private daycare. Generally smaller groups of babies ranging from three-months to one-and-a-half. There are anywhere from three to fourteen kids in these groups.  There is no government supervision and therefore no maximum ratio of children to adults.  Be sure to check what each one’s policy is.

Opening Hours:

• 7:00am, 7:30am or 8am- 3:45pm, 4:00pm or 4:30pm, generally 5-days a week
• Holidays: They work more or less under the same holiday time frame as public daycare, however they are allowed to make their own holiday schedule, so make sure they let you know in advance. This includes taking off three weeks in August (of which you pay a full month’s worth of tuition), a week before Pesach and the whole holiday, the other major Jewish holidays and the week of Sukkot).

Prices: Tend to be more expensive, ranging from NIS 1900 to NIS 2400

What is included: Food

What you need to bring: diapers, baby wipes, clothes, pacifiers, bottles, sheet for the bed

Metapelet  (in-home babysitter):

Definition: This is someone you bring to your house to babysit full time.  You may also split the cost with a friend and then switch off days at each other’s houses.

Hours:  You make your own hours.

Holidays:  This depends on your metapelet, discuss the topic before hiring.

Price: Expensive..??????????NIS

What is included: Nothing.  Your metapelet may agree to prepare food  if you provide her with the ingredients

More Helpful Definitions:

• Peuton (Nursery School) For kids ranging from age one to two-and-a-half.
• Tzaharon (Afternoon Childcare) When a child is older, between the ages of five-12-years-old (separated by age), they will go to free day care called gan chova which is until 1:00pm. For additional payment, you can keep your child in daycare until 4:00pm.
• Gan: 8-4:00; 3-5 years old; 813 shekels a month 2011; You can see the cut off dates on the Jerusalem municipal website. Prices can run anywhere from 70 NIS(Iriyah with all the discounts) to 800 NIS for private..
• Gan Chova (compulsory kindergarten for 5 year olds) You can see the cut off dates on the Jerusalem municipal website.

15 Questions every parent should ask before enrolling their child in childcare:

1. Did you go check out the place in person, at least once?
2. Is there a contract?
3. Does the daycare operate according to governmental law?
4. What if the metapelet/ganenet is sick? Is there a replacement?
5. What if your child is sick? Are you allowed to bring them?
6. Food – breakfast, lunch, and snack, is it included or do you bring your own?
7. Vacations / Holidays / Summer:  Are they around in August? Jewish holidays chol hamoed?
8. What are the hours? If there are only morning hours, is there somewhere close by that they can go for afternoon hours?
9. Price
10. Child to Adult ratio
11. What ages do they accept?
12. What are payment options?
13. What are the areas where babies play, including outdoors and where do they sleep?
14. Ask the metapelet about her background?
15. Ask for other parents’ phone numbers for recommendations

For Jerusalemites:

For questions and for a list of kindergartens, call the below phone numbers according to the area where you live in Jerusalem

Area 1: Neve Yaakov, Pisgat Ze’ev, Givat Shapira, Kiryat Yovel, Yafe Nof, Ramat Beit Hakerem, Ramot Eshkol, Malcha, Bayit Vegan, Ma’alot Dafna, Ramot, Ramat Shlomo
Tel: 02 629 6768
Fax: 026296599

Area 2: Ein Karem, Ir Ganim, Kiryat Menachem, Kiryat Sarah/Derech Hebron, Givat Mesua, Gilo, Homat Shmuel, Talpiot Havitikah, Baka, Talpiot Mizrach, Mekor Chaim
Tel: 026296767
Fax: 026295897

Area 3: Merkaz Ha’ir, Rehavia, Givat Mordechai, Nayot, Givat Havrodim, Katamonim, Pat, Gonen havitikah, Talpiot, Ramat Sharet, Kiryat Moshe,  Kiryat Wolfson, Nachlaot, Moshava Germanit, Harova Hayehudi, Har NOf, Givat Shaul, Arlozorov, Beit Shmuel, Ir David, Arnona
Tel: 026296769
Fax: 026296582

Here’s a list of Metapelets in Jerusalem that I found during my search:

Have a recommendation or advice, please post them here to help others!

Special Thanks to Elkie for all her help!!!

[photo credit: Anthony J on Flickr]

Thanks to the new Gmaps Pedometer, creating my running routes has been easy— but there’s nothing easy about the actual runs. Every route has hills, it is unavoidable. Not only that, Jerusalem doesn’t have a beach, a lake or a boardwalk (I know there is the Haas Promenade in Talpiot, but really not the same as a boardwalk), that could make the run more visually exciting. Sure there is the Jerusalem Forest, but that is just more of the same, with crazy hills and inclines that my legs, butt and thighs will just not accept. And true, we do have the Old City which is a cool place to run through, if you like thousands of tourists getting in your way, cars trying to squeeze through the narrow streets, and broken roads that make for embarrassing and painful (being embarrassed hurts more than bruises) falls.

But I have challenged myself, body and mind, to run this year’s Jerusalem half-marathon and March 25^th I hope to achieve my goal with thousands of others. While I am super excited about the half, the real deal is the first full Jerusalem marathon taking place the same day. With over 10,000 people registered, it looks like this will be the country’s biggest marathon, so take that Tel Aviv (with your beautiful beaches, boardwalks and HaYakron!).

In prepping for my half-marathon, I ran the first-ever Begin Race a few weeks ago. The run was free and I got a t-shirt, but those are the only nice things I can really say about it. There were a thousand people running three different tracks, 6k, 8k and 16k. We were funneled through Yamin Moshe’s narrow paths (the neighborhood adjacent to the Begin Center), where they were actually doing construction at the time of the race, forced through the city streets where they did not stop traffic or the light rail and best of all you had to run the same route four times. How boring, how dangerous and how about a little warning before the race itself? Not to mention we were with the baby stroller and there were steps in the race.

At the end of the race I saw Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who also plans to run the half-marathon (the full Marathon is his crazy initiative), and I told him my complaints. I’m sure he listened to me like he listens to all his citizens cries (please read that with sarcasm) and will make sure that the Marathon is not as disorganized, dangerous or just plain boring as that run.

As I ran the race I made a list in my head of complaints that I will now share with you. In order to remember them I organized them alphabetically with the first letters.

B: Bottles. Water bottles are dangerous to hand out to runners who want to take a swig of water and chuck the bottle. Needless to say, people were hit, water was wasted and there was a ton of litter on the streets. Stick with cups, yes it still makes a mess on the floor, but at least the water isn’t wasted and it doesn’t hurt when it hits your head. Oh, and runners be aware that people love to throw water on their body, which means if you are running behind you too will also be hit with a refreshing splash.

H: Handicap accessibility, as in there wasn’t any. I did see a blind man running with his partner, and I also saw him run into a low level barrier. Besides steps, there were also holes in the street and uneven pavement.

M: Medics. There were no medics or ambulances that I could see. I know the run is not a marathon but there should be some kind of medical emergency unit for the runners, and as far as I could see there wasn’t.

S: Spit. This is just a warning to all that runners spit a lot and just like the water you may be hit. While spit doesn’t hurt as much as a water bottle, it is way grosser.

T : Traffic. Like I said before, we ran on the sidewalks and in traffic since they didn’t close down streets. A free run indeed, but maybe next time charge us a little to close down the roads and everyone will be happier.

T: Track. The routes were boring and not conducive to hundreds of people running three different tracks. There weren’t any clear signs to tell people where to go, and every now and then there was a volunteer who tried to direct you as you ran by. Good luck if you heard.

OK so my first big race was a challenge more because of logistics and less about physical endurance, but I’m hoping that marathon day changes all that. I have trained for the past two months and run all over this holy, no scratch that, hilly city and I can’t wait to join thousands of runners from all over the world who will share this exciting experience with me. See you on the other side of the finish line!

Got a tip for running the streets of Jerusalem? Share them here!