Some people are in a race to “keep up with the Joneses”. Some people are in a race to “keep down with the Cohens“. As for hats…

[today’s offering from xkcd]

Seen in Shaare Tzedek Hospital, Jerusalem:

The white outlets are part of the ordinary hospital circuitry.

The brown outlets lead to the grama circuit, an electrical system designed to indirectly close circuits on the Jewish Sabbath — not something you’ll find in common home use, but perfectly acceptable for use for the sick. Also on the grama circuit is the call button, so that patients will feel free to call for a nurse even if they don’t have an emergency (for an emergency, anything will do, of course).

Not shown are the red outlets, on the emergency generator circuit, and often designed to accept hospital equipment only.

How do you use waiting time? Many people “kill time” while in line: watching mobile TV, checking email, sending an SMS message, playing a game. What if you believe that “killing time” is bad?

Seen in a neighborhood branch of the Israel Post Office:

A shelf of Biblical and Talmudic study books for customers to read while waiting to mail a letter, deposit money, or pick up a package.

It’s a small gesture, but one that respects the immediate culture and values of the environment.

 This week’s Israeli government slang verb: le’kandel.

“to run around, be busy, attend lots of meetings, but not actually do anything”

The verb root is derived from the name Condoleezza…

Actually, I’ve always liked her since seeing her photographed in a really professional maternity business suit.

Seen today in Jerusalem:

Haredi snowman (note the hat). How we design something relates to how we anticipate and perceive the norm. Creating a truly new or revolutionary design that breaks from prior references is incredibly difficult (and rare).

[image: Jerusalem Post]

Posted today on Janglo, a Jerusalem information-trading board:

Rabbi David Samson, dean of Lech Lecha, is making available his fleet of Land Rover jeeps and students to rescue cars and people from the expected Jerusalem area snow.

The students will arrive equipped with chains and ropes to pull cars, and shovels to clear paths and driveways. In urgent cases, they will transport persons to destinations in the capital. […]

The Lech Lecha High School is for youth at risk who have difficulty coping with the conventional classroom environment and go on jeep expeditions twice per week to study Tanach [Bible], history, and nature, alongside regular studies.

I was not previously familiar with Lech Lecha, but you can be sure I’ll be finding out more. I’m impressed by the name, the concept, the help offered, and the opportunity provided for the boys to be of service to others. [My applause here.]

Seen in Jerusalem:

Great café; nice decor. The whole facade is plate glass, including the sliding front door (maximizes usable interior space). Someone neglected to put any cushion or spring on that door. It shuts glass against glass. Ouch. I cringe every time it shuts (including when I’m the one shutting it). It already has some chips and dings.

Light is wonderful. Glass lets in the light, and connects the spaces. I’m delighted (sorry) to be seeing more and more glass used in architecture and interior design. Too bad it isn’t yet perfect.

Some of you will have noticed that the arrow in the top sign is pointing the wrong way (it’s pointing to the open direction, not the shut).  

Writing down passwords is typically the weak link in computer security. (Well, that and choosing really obvious passwords.)

My rental car had a code to enable the ignition to activate. The company representative kindly wrote the code for me on my rental agreement. He needn’t have bothered. Two previous renters had written it on the obverse of the sun visor:

Adaptive Path posted some personal New Year’s resolutions. Many of them reflected the self-promotion and marketing at which Adaptive Path excels  :D  but this one really spoke to me:

Last year my resolution was to not buy anything new. I made it six months. Not too bad, but maybe this year I can do better. Some folks who try this get all hard core and make their own soap and shoes. I’m going the less ascetic route and sticking to a basic formula of no flagrantly brand-new lifestyle purchases (such as clothes, accessories or household objects). My version allows unrestricted trips to the grocery and drug store for food and fundamental toiletries. Essentially it’s about remembering that I don’t usually need what I am buying — I want it. And if I do need it there is probably a perfectly good used one out there somewhere I can get my hands on. The flea market, consignment shops, Goodwill, eBay, my mom’s house — are all fun options. It’s about being resourceful. Do I already have one (or several!) shoved in a drawer and forgotten? Most likely. Do I have something that can easily be substituted? Perhaps. Can I borrow one? Probably. Can I make do without? Surely. Can I find one from the seventies? I hope so. I actually found that instead of feeling denied those six months I felt a certain relief. By taking away the option in such a straightforward way the shopping impulse began to fade, which also created space and time for other things. [Chelsa Robinson, via Adaptive Path]

(Six months? Wow!) That’s what I call making a real and substantive difference. It shows discipline and commitment to an ideal. Many people (myself included!) have times where they are forced to avoid buying new… but doing so by choice says a lot.

To ponder: Why is this resolution so easy to admire, and the anti-materialist attitude here not so?

I had occasion yesterday to be in a group comprised of a disproportionate number of very poor women. Not women who think they are poor — most probably don’t think so — but they are.

Notable: lots of very bad teeth. Missing teeth, discolored teeth, teeth headed in all directions.

Why? First, dental coverage is weak in Israel, despite health coverage being all right. So those who haven’t got the money simply don’t have the work done.

That’s the obvious reason. There’s another reason, culturally rooted, and more potent: in haredi culture, people take pride in being non-materialistic. That’s helpful for coping if you’re poor, although it doesn’t incentivize for climbing out of poverty (another story). It also means that in certain haredi circles, women are proud of looking dowdy. Dowdiness implies disdain of trends and fashion, and a focus on more important things than external appearance. This makes spending money on external appearance less compelling than it is in other circles.

Understand that I’m not making any sweeping statements. There are other equally religious haredi circles in which the women’s clothes will make your eyes pop out (”the Europeans”), and others in which the mothers dress down but make up for it on their kids’ wardrobes and decorating their homes. But there is this anti-materialistic group, as well, and seeing it yesterday in a concentrated form (dozens at a time) was striking.

When the secular Israeli media look down on haredi society (and they do), it is generally the stereotype of this anti-materialist segment that they are despising: Bad teeth. Outdated clothes. Shabby “grandmother” shoes on women in their 40s. No makeup. Sagging stockings.

That’s the external appearance.

Internally:

Intense focus on being good, loving mothers — the education of the children comes before everything — including reading books and joining workshops on the subject. Pushing themselves to their physical limits to help neighbors and strangers with a hot meal, babysitting, a listening ear, a relevant referral. Genuine interest in and care for everyone they meet.

When I had the option, I chose to live in a neighborhood with a higher proportion of poor families rather than a neighborhood with a higher proportion of “Europeans”. For one thing, it made me feel rich, whereas the other neighborhood likely would have made me feel deprived. But I also relish the intensity, the purity, the focus on the real things in life uncluttered by recreational shopping, ice coffee, and vacations in the Alps.

It’s a different world, and a refreshing one.

It’s a culture that deserves respect and awe, not disdain and discrimination.