Cashing a check (ie waiting in line)

I have done my share of waiting in lines in Israel. It's an art.

A few weeks ago, on a Friday morning, I was with Ari in an electronics store so that he could replace his keyboard. Shortly after we got there, the door was locked so that the employees could help the 10 people waiting in the chairs in the store and get home for shabbat. While waiting, we were the last in "line," people kept going in and out. When they went out, they had to knock to get back in. This meant that each time- one of the service providers had to stop helping someone, get up, grab the key and unlock the door. They would then tell them that we were closed to which they would get the response- I was here in line before. That was the right answer and they would be let in. Then there was another guy who was right before Ari who told him that he was going out and might return. When he did return 30 minutes later (we were still waiting), he assumed his place in line-in front of us. This seemed normal, and acceptable.

Two days ago, I went to the bank to cash a check. Thanks to having spent 5.5 months in Israel and acclimating to the Israeli system of lines and waiting, I went right in and asked the only man sitting in the waiting area if he was last in line. He responded yes and I sat down two rows in front of him. My father, who had accompanied me on the errand, was confused as to why I was sitting- there was no line at the teller windows, why was I not standing (and breathing down the neck of the person being helped)? I tried to explain the etiquette of Israeli line waiting.

Here's a guide to how to wait in line like an Israeli...as explained and borrowed from a friend's blog: (Thanks MMI)

1. Ask "mi ha'aharon"? (Who's the last?) When you come to a meat counter or post office line in Israel, ask who is last in line. It often won't be the person who is actually standing in front of you-- it may be the person off in the corner getting stamps out of a vending machine or feeding a baby. This is probably why a lot of Americans get really upset when they wait in line, because they think Israelis are cutting in front of them when, really, Israelis simply have a more casual attitude about what "standing in line" actually means. 

2. If you need to step out of line, remind the person in front of you where your spot is. This was a little odd to me at first. For example, if I were in a grocery store check-out line in the US and realized I had to grab one thing off a nearby shelf, I would ask the person behind me in line if they could save my space-- the reason being that they're the person who would be disrupted when I came back. But for the exact same reason, Israelis rely on the person in front of them to save their spots. After all, why would the person behind you ever give your spot back?? That would be being a freyer! The person in front of you, on the other hand, will defend you if the person behind you complains, and Israelis do have a strongly-ingrained sense of line-standing ethics.

3. Stand really close to the person in front of you. Honestly, I'm not even sure if Israelis do this... my sense of personal space has shifted since coming here so that now I feel no compunction about nudging my shopping card actually into someone else when I try to make it down a narrow aisle in the Super. (Israelis look at me like I'm crazy if I apologize for something like that!) So the fact that Israelis don't actually touch each other in line or (mostly) breathe on each others' necks seems like plenty of space for me. But if you're an American from one of the northeastern regions, you may need to take a few steps forward. If you leave too much space in front of you, you aren't asserting your spot in line and someone may cut. (Watch out for spots in which you might think you're waiting in one line for multiple cash registers-- your body language has to be assertive for people not to cut in front of you then!)

4. Let someone else cut in front of you if you decide to, and be ready to wait for a while. Israelis are generally pretty rushed and stressed out, but for some reason they have a more relaxed attitude towards line-waiting than most Americans. If you come to a supermarket line with just a few items, Israelis with lots of items in their carts will almost always allow you to cut in front of them. Cashiers will wait for five minutes while you go back to get the third bag of shnitzel that will round out your 2 + 1 free deal. The bank teller will make four phone calls about the missing card for the guy in front of you before she looks for your checkbook. Any you know what? I actually think this is kind of nice. I like that when my time comes, the cashier will give me her full attention and let me take the time I need. So what if I wait a few extra minutes in the process. (Or, ok, a few extra hours back when we were applying for our mortgage... waiting in lines in banks is basically an all-day affair.) And definitely, complain loudly if you feel someone is taking advantage of a situation.

5. In some spots (bus stops, train stations, traffic circles, mortgage brokerages) there is no clearly-defined line, so instead you need to push your way to the front. This is where marpekim, elbows, are essential. Push your way up there!