The alleys have names...

In Israel, every street, path and alley has a name. Sometimes one street will change names every block making it near imposible to find your way and explaining why when Israelis give instructions, they just tell you to go yashar, yashar ad hasof (go straight, straight to the end). It's far easier than remembering what the street names are. I have had this problem, not so much with getting directions but rather giving them. I too have started to tell people to go yashar or I tell people landmarks. Today, Reut, an Israeli counselor from camp this summer called to say that she was in Jerusalem and wanted to say "hi." I was in a store off of Ben Yehudah Street. You think that it would be easy to explain where I was but the directions came out- "You are at the top? ok, walk half way down and there will be a side street that is sort of big to your left. You will see Steve's Packs on the side. What's that? They sell backpacks. Then you keep going past it and you will see this alley on the right. It has a name but don't know it. There is a set of steps and I am in the store right at the bottom of the steps on the left. " In short, good luck! -especially since I gave you nothing that will help if you could not follow that and have to ask someone else- Um...can you tell me where the alley with the steps and the store at the bottom is?

Today was exciting for a few reasons.
One- Both of my sisters will be here for shabbat dinner.
Two- On the way to coffee this morning with Hannah, we saw a guy who was pushing his son (?) in a shopping cart. The kid looked to be about 8 and was curled up, maybe sleeping, with his feel hanging over the end. I could not understand if the shopping cart was a makeshift wheelchair or not.
Three- I love that while walking past the Prime Minister's apartment on the way home from shopping in the center of town today, the guards by the entrance to the street had the top hit radio station, Galgalatz (army radio), playing. The song that was playing was Noah. I can only assume that they were playing it on this Friday afternoon was because this shabbat we read Parshat Noah. So cool! Love it!

Shabbat Shalom and happy two-by-two-ing!