When I first began this blog I assumed the biggest political/social issue I would have to address was the Israeli/Palestinian question. For several months I bounced back and forth between books, movies and friends on either side of that debate. I concluded as almost everyone else has that the issue is far too complex for my little pea brain to understand, let alone solve.
But over time, I have discovered a much more interesting dilemma, one that I actually can wrap my arms around and come up with some preference. I write of the conflict between living in Tel Aviv and living in Jerusalem. Are there two more different places than these? Berkeley and LA come to mind as do California and Illinois (my home state) But TA and J seem to differ on the molecular DNA level.
When I starting planning the trip a friend said, if you are going to TA you might as well go to London or NYC, why bother about a unique experience and then waste it on just another big, modern city? I thought that was a good argument so I settled on either Haifa or Jerusalem or both. I spent time first looking for and then magnifying my spiritual side. I collected nick-knacks to put in the Wailing Wall, and told my born-again Christian friends that I would send them dirt from the spot where Jesus had walked. I prepared myself for crying at the Holocaust Memorial or getting up the courage to venture into East Jerusalem. It was an interesting exercise, not quite me, but I thought if God wants me in Jerusalem, who am I do argue otherwise.
Just about at that point, I got a nice apartment in Tel Aviv, which goes to prove that either we don’t know God’s plans or worse God has no plans. So I threw myself into TA preparation mode, which generally involves a return to the days of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll, plus shopping malls and the beach. What was I to do with all these Wailing Wall trinkets? The Jesus footprint dust was more easily faked, after all who is going to question the receipt of an envelope filled with dirt and a note that says “Jesus Walked Here!”
As I read more I was reminded of the line in Steppenwolf, “in my breast dwells two souls.” According to the travel books, TA is the city that never sleeps, populated by that type A Jewish Israeli personality that bugs so many people. Lots of young people, many with Uzi’s living and working for the moment. It made me nostalgic for my days in the ‘60’s in NYC (only without the Uzi.) Jerusalem, if the travel books are to be believed was heavy, dripping in historical and religious symbolism, filled with another kind of Jew which also bugs people. So many ways for Jews to bug people, so little time! The apartment ads all say things like, “Kosher Kitchen, walk to Temple.” The Tel Aviv ads say things like, “Free internet/cable, near shopping centers.” The problem for me was obvious, I have both of these "souls" dwelling inside me, as do most of the people I know.
The initial draw of this question is not only how do Israeli’s decide where to live, but more importantly how do I decide. I am reminded of friends who come to visit Berkeley and the first thing we do is go to Pier 39 in San Francisco, then a trip to the redwoods, then Yosemite, then Carmel, then back to Golden Gate Bridge and Park, and at the end of the day, we return to Telegraph Ave. Visitors, especially those from the Midwest wonder, how can you decide what to do when you live in California, there are so many choices. Perhaps the answer lies in one of the opening selections from Castanada’s The Teaching of Don Juan, where a group of guys are going to sleep for the night in a cottage in Mexico, everyone picks a mattress and lays down. A dog comes up on the porch and slowly wanders around finally drawn to a spot, where it makes multiple circles before it finally drops to the ground, sound asleep. The lesson being (I think), you don’t pick the place, the place picks you. The men just walked over to any cot and laid down, tossing and turning for much of the night; the dog approached the porch with an open mind (so to speak) and was drawn to the spot where all the forces of rest and tranquility had come together for that particular dog. Assuming one has the luxury of roaming around in ever tightening circles, the decision of where to drop down and sleep should not be that difficult. I have certainly watched enough dogs sleep in my life to know this is a process I should be good at, or so I hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment