And now for something completely different...

We were all in need of a mellow day with air conditioning and no hills -- The Malcha Mall was the perfect choice. It's on the outskirts of town and it's just a big mall - except Israeli style. So, even this was a cultural experience. First, they were having a big indoor farmers market since it was Friday. We bought a challah (you can't usually buy a challah at the mall in Toledo!) and tasted some yummy dips and things. We also had a cell phone victory - as Verizon had updated my phone since our failure at the airport and I could now get Israeli cell service and internet. If you need it, my # is 053-6218191 (from the US 011 972 53 621 8191). We went to a pet store where the featured animals were a chinchilla and a scorpion (are these popular Israeli pets?).

There was a cute play area that Sylvia loved with foam cushions and things. We got a kick out of seeing the dad in his IDF uniform come with his baby. He took the baby out of the stroller and put him in the play area. Then he took his gun off his shoulder and put it in the stroller (also not something you see every day in Toledo!).  We marveled at the variety of head coverings people were wearing and the clear significance associated with each one (wigs with scarves covering them, wigs without scarves, just scarves, hijabs, little hats, big hats, knit kippahs, black kippahs, etc etc). People here are constantly evaluating one another and making assumptions about one another based on their head covering. Ella and I enjoyed watching how the more religious women shop for clothing (essentially, they have a long sleeve undershirt and a long skirt, and then they wear whatever clothes they want (low cut, sleeveless, etc) on top of that. A funny moment was at lunch when Sylvia was coming out of the restroom walking toward the table and wanted to tell me something about her pacifier (very loudly), but she ended up saying the first 2 syllables quietly and just the last one loudly, which left her shouting "fire" in a crowded restaurant. Luckily, no one there spoke much English, so there was no panic :)  All in all, it was exactly the relaxing day we were hoping for.

After a nice rest and a little housekeeping, we took a fairly long walk to Mevakshei Derech, which we had heard was the closest thing to a Reconstructionist synagogue in Jerusalem. It was a very small group (with Abe, Ella, and I they almost had a minyan) -- they said they get a larger turnout on Saturday mornings. It was a nice service, the people who were there were very friendly (they put out some toys for Sylvia to play, with etc), and we enjoyed the visit, and a delicious Shabbat dinner at home afterwards.