Friday, January 26, 2007

Blame-אשם

Blame
Synergia
Words and Lyrics: Ron Hofmann and Roy Geffen

Only now I discover I am the one to blame,
I think of it and just can not take a breath.
I want to touch you; and you are so far off,
I need to know you are not in pain.

It seems you did it all as you planed,
You wanted more from me, I am so ashamed.
It’s not that I didn’t try; I wanted us to be one
I am on a fly and you just halt me, and then you tell me, I was wrong again.

Only now I discover I am the one to blame,
I think of it and just can not take a breath.
I want to touch you; and you are so far off,
I need to know you are not in pain.

I hoped that maybe you would see the good in me
But you just don’t want what I have to bring.
I thought I was the one that did, but I was the one with a hope,
That you will always be here, stay here, and now you are leaving.


אשם
סינרגיה
מילים: רון הופמן ורועי גפן
לחן: רון הופמן ורועי גפן

עכשיו גיליתי שאני אשם
אני חושב על זה ולא נושם
רוצה לגעת בך ואת רחוקה
רוצה לדעת שאת לא בוכה

נראה לי שאת עשית הכל בכוונה,
רצית יותר ממני ואני במבוכה.
זה לא שלא ניסיתי, אני רציתי כן להיות ביחד
אני עף ואת עוצרת ומספרת שזה אני ששוב טעיתי

עכשיו גיליתי שאני אשם
אני חושב על זה ולא נושם
רוצה לגעת בך ואת רחוקה
רוצה לדעת שאת לא בוכה

קיויתי שאולי תראי את הטוב שבי,
אבל את לא רוצה את מה שיש לי להביא.
חשבתי שעשיתי אבל הייתי זה שמקווה
שאת תמיד תהיי כאן, תשארי כאן, ואת פתאום הולכת

He gives you the sad eye

This is what happens when you try to leave Uno at the apartment

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Making Room מפנה מקום

Berry Sakharof
Words: Berry Sakharof and Dan Toren
Lyrics: Berry Sakharof

I am making room in my mouth for your kisses
Making room around for your silences
Making room for your stress
Making room in my stomach so I can swallow you
I am making room in my mail box for your letters
Making room in my head for your demons
Making room on my cheek for your slaps

So much room and you at your own
You at your own, your own
So much room you can stay over
And if you are all mine
There will be no room for me

I am making room in my closet for your cloth
Making room in the album for your photos
Making room against the light for your shadow
Making room in the dark for your breath
I am making room on the pillow for your hair
Making room in the corner for your slippers
Making room for a place where we can escape to

So much room and you at your own
You at your own, your own
So much room it is hard to breath
And if you are all mine
There will be no room for me

מפנה מקום
ברי סחרוף
מילים: ברי סחרוף ודן תורן
לחן: ברי סחרוף

אני מפנה מקום בפה לנשיקות שלך
מפנה מקום מסביב לשתיקות שלך
מפנה מקום בלב ללחיצות שלך
מפנה מקום בבטן שאוכל לבלוע אותך
אני מפנה מקום בתיבה למכתבים שלך
מפנה מקום בראש לשדים שלך
מפנה מקום בלחי לסטירות שלך

כל כך הרבה מקום ואת בשלך
את בשלך.....את בשלך
כל הרבה מקום את יכולה להישאר לישון
ואם תהייה לגמרי שלי
לא ישאר מקום בשבילי

אני מפנה מקום בארון לבגדים שלך
מפנה מקום באלבום לתמונות שלך
מפנה מקום מול האור לצללית שלך
מפנה מקום בחושך לנשימות שלך
אני מפנה מקום על הכר לשערות שלך
מפנה מקום בפינה לכפכפים שלך
מפנה מקום שאליו אוכל לברוח איתך

כל כך הרבה מקום ואת בשלך
ואת בשלך.....ואת בשלך
כל כך הרבה מקום שכמעט ואי אפשר לנשום
ואם תהייה לגמרי שלי
לא ישאר מקום בשבילי

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Flight CO91 departing TLV at 11:40 PM


10:11 AM, Yaffo, Israel


10:04 AM, Yaffo, Israel


There is no place like home PART II

I spent Saturday in Jerusalem, in the house I grew up in for the last time. I promised my parents I will go through my stored boxes I have not opened for 5 years. The 30 jars of spices I left in a box was clear evidence I was not planning on a 5 year stay in New York, and more like 2 months. Well things turned out differently.





















Having fun is never easy

Itan Tal from the last posting had a house warming party at his new Tel Aviv Loft. Some amazing views. Got to see some friends I have not seen for a while, and made some new once. From there we went to one of the big parties to dance and have some fun. By the end of the night I thought that all I could write about is having fun and meeting people and how sallow that was. The thing is that having fun that night was hard work. There are really many ways to have fun, but it is so easy to be tempted to have fun in a harmful way, to you or others. It is much harder to have fun in a way that brings joy to you and people around you. Sounds weird, but think about it. How much easier is it to drink too much, or take drugs then to go through the night sober. How much easier is it to give attitude or ignore people then give real attention to everyone and smile all night long. I will let you complete your own list while you enjoy some of the photos from Itan’s party.









Friday, January 19, 2007

MEAT MORE (Israeli) MEN

A heart is not judged by how much it loves, but by how much it is loved by others.
--The Wizard to the Tin Man, The Wizard of Oz.

Israeli men meet other Israeli men in one of two places- מילואים / Meluiem / The Reserves, which is mandatory until a fairly late age, or on one dating site called ATRAF, which translates as “crazy fun.” They now have an English version (I was asked by my friend who works for the site to test drive it, poor me.) So if you want to meet an Israeli Stud (I don’t know why you would want to do that to yourself, but that is your own business) you can join for free! Or just go to Eric’s evil, self-esteem-destroying gym.

Photo by the very talented Israeli photographer Itan Tal
Here are some of my favorite in the next categorize:

Speechless for 5.5 years now http://my.atraf.com/leokp
Best body ever! http://my.atraf.com/barakg
Why cover such a hot face! http://my.atraf.com/oren127
The good once are always taken! http://my.atraf.com/freemann
Soon to be seen in NYC http://my.atraf.com/wilddd
Already seen in NYC http://my.atraf.com/danninyc
I wish I was 15 years younger https://my.atraf.com/ilanny
I wish I was 10 years younger http://my.atraf.com/joshxxx
If you ever been out and about, yes he looks familiar http://my.atraf.com/paper

Happy Birthday Ima / אמא / Mom

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

--Khalil Gibran

I love you אמא, Asaf

It’s just like riding a camel PART II

Two other things that are more like riding a camel then a bicycle are driving a shift car and skiing. I always drove shift, but when I sat down in the rental car today and discovered that when the agent at the office asked if I can drive a shift car, it was because he was going to give me one and not just out of curiosity, I should have remembered my own blog entry this week! I rocked by the way, but NO, it is not like riding a bicycle.

Now skiing is the same, it seems like riding a bicycle, but after my third ego crash I should have been reminded again of my own blog entry. So to make things even worst I took an Ashtanga class with the muy atractivo רודריגו at the very new and beautiful yoga studio in the Tel Aviv port called אל היוגה. The combination is deadly! I can not move! So I won’t. Shabat Shalom.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

בתאבון / Be-te-avon / Bonappetit

פלאפל / Falafel, חומוס / Hummus, בורקס / Bourekas as well as Shakshoka and an array of fresh salads and cooked dishes make up the original Israeli kitchen. Strong influences of the Spanish and Italian kitchen together with the closer Arab (mostly Lebanese and Palestinian) kitchen have created a blend that is hard to resist.
























Photos taken at Abu Nimmer an Arab restaurant in the Northern Golan, my sister’s restaurant Shirale and the Ben Yhuda Market in Jerusalem.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Let it snow, let it snow, let is snow????

The Buddhist idea of emptiness or that all things are natural is something I have been struggling with for a while, we are so used to see things as coming from us, we are very selfish creatures and think of most everything as strongly related to us. It’s not a surprise then that reading this line in The Diamond Cutter caused me some anxiety: “The content that we see it in-that is, whether we experience something as pleasant or unpleasant-is not something that is coming from its own side. Rather, it seems to be coming from our side, though not-apparently-in a way we can control at the moment.”

Friends have asked me many times what I think of the practice of Yoga in a heated room, I explained that I believe that the “tapas,” the Sanskrit word for heat or energy, should come from the inside, recognizing the Buddhist idea that the greatest affects come from inside.

This brought me to think of the one element that has the most affect on our body from the outside, considering the fact that the skin is our largest organ, I think the WEATHER might be the one element that has the most affect on our body. Wherever you are in the globe these days I am sure you have noticed the very weird winter we are experiencing, most certainly the result of our wrongdoing to Mother Earth. This is not a smooth transaction but now I would like to talk about the weather in Israel. The Israel Ministry of Tourism describes the weather in Israel as follow:

Israel enjoys long, warm, dry summers (April-October) and generally mild winters (November-March) with somewhat drier, cooler weather in hilly regions, such as Jerusalem and Safed. Rainfall is relatively heavy in the north and center of the country, with much less in the northern Negev and almost negligible Regional conditions vary considerably, with humid summers and mild winters on the coast; dry summers and moderately cold winters in the hill regions; hot dry summers and pleasant winters in the Jordan Valley; and year-round semi-desert conditions in the Negev. Weather extremes range from occasional winter snowfall in the mountain regions to periodic oppressively hot dry winds that send temperatures soaring, particularly in spring and autumn.

In summary, we have it all! Name it, we have it! Israel is a micro-cosmos of earth’s climates. And Israelis know how to enjoy it. Israel is really a micro-cosmos of earth, the divers people bring a mixture of culture that can be found only here, the surprising fact is that Israeli’s total area is only 8,5501 sq mi and its population is just over 7 million people (less then NYC alone.) The distance between the worm most southern point of Eilat and the north mountain of the Hermon is only 345 Mil.

Speaking of the Hermon, which is the highest mountain in Israel at 9,230 feet above sea level, and borders with Syria as well as Lebanon, I went there on Wednesday. It is the only Skiing site in Israel and the guys from Profimex invited me to join them for a day of sun, ski and fun. Considering I haven't skied for about 3 years and I was never that good, I did quite well, though I crashed several time because of my ego, so far for my Buddhist practice…




I spent most of the day with my Dad, my brother-in-law Ilan and Itay Kastel. We also saw the IDF Mountain Special Unit in training, it was really cool! To see more photos click here.







This is where I end my homage to Jeff’s Weather Blog and give honors to my friend Eric:

We have a train! Israel Railways! The first train ran in 1892 from Yaffo (AKA Jaffa) to Jerusalem (AKA my hometown.) It took 4 hours to make a trip that takes about 50 min today. Before the 48 Independence war, trains ran all the way to Lebanon, making is possible to travel between Damasks and Cairo by train. Today there are about 40 train stops, spanning from Nahariya נהריה in the north, to Be'er Sheva באר שבע in the south, this trip can take between 3 and 3.5 hours. Israel Railways uses the InterCity 3 (IC3) train which is a Danish-built high-comfort medium/long distance diesel multiple-unit train. These trains are capable of a speed of 200 KM/H but because of infrastructure of the Israeli rail-ways they only run 160 KM/H. Trains are kind of cool on Fridays and Sundays when you will find mostly soldiers on their way to and from their army camps. What a thrill.

You don’t have to wear red shoes to know there is no place like home



Do you know that feeling when you open the door of the house you grew up in? You have done it a million times and still every time again you are flooded with emotions. That feeling continues as you drop your bag on the kitchen floor (and you might hear in your head your mother saying “don’t you dare leave your bag there, take it to your room!") and as you open the fridge or the cabinets to see if there is something to eat, climb up the stairs into your parents bedroom where the “ho no! no you are not” is sound as you climb into their comfy bed to watch TV. It’s a life long ceremony that is breached only when the house is sold. Last night was the last night I got to take part in this ancient tradition.

The house in רמות or Ramot (link to photos of the neighborhood) where I grew up in and around, was sold a few weeks ago. So as I lied down in my sister’s bed (it was more like crashing as I am still jet lagged) I knew it was the last time I will sleep under this roof. Years will pass and there will be no place on earth where I have spent the night in as many times as the house on Mishoal Moran 17 (maybe except the Roxy,) there will be no place where I have received attention and love as much as this house (clearly not the Roxy.) This is where I learned to love, to be part of a group, to develop relationships (look where that got me!) to give without the expectation of receiving (just like Christmas) and it is still the only place where I fall asleep with not one single worry on my mind.

Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras defines yoga as “yogash chitta vritti nirodhah,” or “yoga is the control (as in soothing, cessation or suspension) of the fluctuation of the mind.” I am not remotely capable of giving an interpretation to this sutra. And still I have learned that being at HOME, wherever home is for you, the house you grew up in, your city, state or country, your small but cozy studio apartment in the 5th floor walk up in Manhattan or a tent after a long day of hiking, BEING at home enables "yogash chitta vritti nirodhah," it might be that because our mind is so restless with thoughts and distractions it is easier for us to work on yoga when we have less distractions, where we are somewhere familiar. Or maybe because working on yoga is scary (as I often say, I don’t really want to know myself, who knows what I will find out!) it is easier to do the work where we feel secure. For each his own reasons, HOME is a very powerful place.

In our home, with the years, my span of emotions shrank from the whole house to just the common areas and my parents’ bedroom. As one is ready to leave the house to the Army, his room is stripped off of everything but a bed, a closet and his cloth, at that point he also gets his own TV. A week after you finish your army service movers are being paid for by the monarchy (as a ‘hint’) and you leave the house. Then my parents get to do what they have been waiting for since you were born, make your bedroom into yet ANOTHER office.

You can see more photos of the house taken in Sept 2006 at: http://www.flickr.com/gp/48634258@N00/02378o



Our house (soon to be someone else’s house) faces a vast forest. It is the Southern border of Jerusalem. Our house is the last house before the valley begins. The other side of the valley is an Arab semi-hostile village called Biet Ixa and a small deserted village with a natural water spring which we used to walk to as kids called לִפְתַא Lifta or لفتا in Arabic, you can see photos of the village and the water spring at http://nakba-online.tripod.com/Lifta-pics.htm. Nebi Samwil north of Ramot was believed to be the place of residence and tomb of the profit Samuel though today we know that is not true. Surrounded by Arab villages and stunning beauty, Ramot over the last 10 years transitioned from a young Anglo-Saxon neighborhood to a religious oriented place to live in, and as all the kids left the house and there was no need for any more offices for the two adults left in it, Mom and Micha are moving on February 15th. So long sweet memories….

(If I was a real blogger I would end this by saying: “Do you want to share your childhood house story? Tell us all about it” but I am not, though some of my best friends are!)

I am meeting with some more Leumi people in Tel Aviv today. Later on I am giving a workshop at Profimex called How Would Buddha Sell Ice to the Eskimos (available for download here) based on the book “The Diamond Cutter: The Buddha on Strategies for Managing Your Business and Your Life” by Geshe Michael Roach.



The weather in honor of Jeff’s Weather Blog and women in the Israeli economy in honor of my feminist mother’s birthday:

The weather is perfect! No rain, not a cloud, cold but very sunny! A real Mediterranean winter.



I had a meeting in the offices of the chairman of the board of directors of Bank Leumi, one of the largest banks in the country. His office is opposite the office of Galia Maor, the CEO of the bank, ranked the strongest woman in the Israeli economy by Forbes. The same day, the First International Bank of Israel announced that Smadar Barber-Tzadik will become the CEO of the bank replacing the current CEO. Both of them, together with Shari Arison who is the riches Israeli citizen and the owner of Bank Hapoalim make an impressive group of women in banking.