You can take the girl out of Tel Aviv, but you can never take Tel Aviv out of the girl!
A change is as good as a holiday, right? Like a blink of an eye, I pack up my belongings and return to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem. The contrast between these two cities has earned itself the running joke that you’ll even need a passport to move between the two! People tend to take sides – you are either a Jerusalemite or a Tel Avivi, but not both. Thankful for my time spent in the Holy City working at OurCrowd, I now can call myself a full-time floater appreciating what each destination has to offer.
My status as a ‘floater’ came to fruition last month (September), commuting to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv for work. You could coin it as a shlep (Yiddish for tedious journey), I say it’s been all part of the fun.
September was a month replete with Jewish festivals. Rosh Hashana into Yom Kippur leading into Sukkot! Arguably, the best month to be in Israel. However, before I write about my positive experiences over the Chaggim (festival) period, I must make mention of the Arab Israeli conflict which has erupted in a bout of violence in the last two weeks.
There isn’t a person in Israel that doesn’t feel the heaviness of lives lost to terror – and one doesn’t have to open the newspaper to know it, you just feel the energy here. It is amazing, however, to see how the people here continue to live on. Despite warped international media portrayal, I still feel safe walking the streets, and it’s times like these that I want to stay here more than ever.
Tel Aviv Ya Habibi Tel Aviv
The smell, the streets, the people and the vibe 24 hours a day: all too familiar. Slightly anxious to return to Tel Aviv after having a mild case of ‘Jerusalem Syndrome’, I return to the bubble and feel like I have just come home.
Living here at 22, it was a big ‘balagan’ (Israel term for chaos) – with parties taking priority and a summer that couldn’t get anymore fun. Whilst the nightlife hasn’t changed my mentality has: I am here to ‘talk business’. Seeing this city from a different angle has been exhilarating. Each day I connect with interesting personalities and intelligent professionals working within the startup nation.
When I am not working, I spend long afternoons riding on my bike down the characteristically Tel Aviv boulevards and the ‘tayelet’ (beach-front boardwalk). Beach time comes with package – it’s October and the weather is still gloriously warm and I somehow find myself leaving with a great story every time I sand-off my towel to go home (like that time I was playing in the waves and I left the water with a new business contact and a new app called TimeFlash downloaded to my phone. Only in Israel!)
Nights are spent dining with friends, drinking wine, hosting a meal or going to a cool gig. One night I rode through the city from event to event with my French/Israeli friend. We soon became 6, somehow finding myself in a grungy shed in old Jaffa dancing to Latino music with French Jews.
Overall, I feel pretty lucky to have been welcomed back to Tel Aviv with such open arms by friends old and new. The level of hospitality from (finding an apartment to lending me a bike) has blown me away.
A Jewish New Year
Being a clear minority as a Jew in Australia, (or anywhere outside of Israel), to be in the Jewish homeland for a chag (festival) is wildly entrancing.
I rush down to Shuk Ha Carmel (Carmel Market – Tel Aviv’s central marketplace) to do some very hasty, last minute shopping before the city shuts down for the Jewish New Year. As I decided to host day one Rosh Hashanah lunch at my place, I had to be prepared. Picture this, I am running around the market with a box full of meat, fish and vegetables, a backpack with a watermelon rubbing against my back and bags tied to the ends of it. It wasn’t a pretty sight and despite the humidity, somehow, I managed to get the job done.
For the first night of Rosh Hashana I go to my family in an inner Tel Aviv suburb called Hod Hasharon. The head of the table says a customary prayer over each element of the meal, apple in honey, pomegranate (Israeli addition), even over the Polish Gflita Fish (this one was rather humorous). I did miss my 91 year old grandmother’s chicken soup and was it was so fitting to see an article written about her this year in a Food Blog called Food is Love. Guess I am not the only blogger in the family!
I frantically wake up the next morning and realise I have just invited 20 people to my house for a meal that I haven’t starting cooking for. I make three salads, pretty the place up, display the challot agulout (round Jewish sweet bread to represent a wholesome year) and I welcome my friends who really experienced my delegating skills at their best (or worst). With a gasp of apprehension I look at 20 starving faces and almost had a ‘freak out’ that there wouldn’t be enough food, and of course, there was leftovers for days. It couldn’t have been a more random mix of people but despite this, it was a lovely afternoon.
Yom Kippur
The Day of Atonement, in the Jewish religion, is a time to reflect on the year that has passed and in doing so, fast for 25 hours. Again, I pull together a last minute meal before the fast, rushing to the chicken shop just before the market was closing (with bike braking along the way). We light the candles and welcomed in one of the most meaningful days in the Jewish calendar.
On Yom Kippur, the city that doesn’t sleep entirely shuts down. A zero car policy means the once-bustling streets are now filled with bike riders young and old alongside the spiritual crowd walking the streets draped in white. The silence was magical. We walk to shul for the customary Kol Nidrei prayer, and are amazed to see nearly 15 Australians I know at the same synagogue.
One worth mentioning was a cousin of mine I was only recently reintroduced too, but who made me feel so at home (see photo above).
Caught in a heatwave the next day (and no water for relief), I make my way to synagogue and on the way back, I walk past my friends house, screaming her name from the street and relieved to find her home. Falling asleep to pass the time, I then walk back to shul along the water, which in itself was special. Hearing the Shofar (Ram’s horn) and singing Ha Tikva (The Israeli national anthem) at the conclusion of the service with the uplifting choir, energetic Rabbi Ariel and Jews from all over the world at Beit El on Frishman st was simply breathtaking! I was lucky enough to join my French friend and her family at an American hosted ‘Bagel and Lox’ breaking-of-the-fast feast!
Sukkot
From the solemn holiday to one of the most joyous, Sukkot adds colour and life to the country. Historically, the festival commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were ‘desert dwellers’, and in modern day times you build a temporary shelter and feast within the ‘two and a half walls’. Even in this ‘secular’ city, almost every bar and restaurant embraces this festival. You will find the outdoor area of most hotspots filled with palm fronds to cover the roof sekhakh (literally, covering), and lively decorations to participate in the festival.
I make my way up North with my friends in the most beautiful space in nature to visit an ‘old’ Israeli favourite. We fill our glasses with wine and welcome the festival of Sukkot. That’s what I love about Israel, no matter your level of religious orientation, on each Jewish holiday the whole county adds their own personal ‘spice’ to the flavour of the chag. We laugh, catch up on the golden days, share travel stories and enjoy the beautiful surroundings that this country has to offer.
Goodbye OurCrowd:
With the anticipated Sukkot event at OurCrowd it was only fitting to end my three-month stint with a bang!
I have now delivered my Salesforce project to the Investor Relations team, so for the rest of the month I assisted with the preparation for the Sukkot event. On a beautiful Jerusalem night, 200 investors, portfolio companies and employees gathered at the gorgeous King David Hotel pool next to the sukkah for a fun night of learning and networking.
At the end of the night my team huddle together, bid me farewell and thank me for my hard work. They give me a stunning and very ‘Israeli’ necklace and leave me with such a warm feeling at the end.
Upon leaving I have my usual chat with a workmate and after three months who finally admits “I don’t know what would be better, telling you that I just don’t listen to you when you speak or admitting that I don’t understand a word that comes out of your mouth.” Amazing that Israelis can understand my English yet Americans still struggle (sorry to generalise, but it’s true). I laugh and, in response, I say; “this is going straight to my blog!”
I drive back from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv (all buses ceased to ride at this hour), and I reflect on the amazing 3 months that have just passed at OurCrowd. The exposure I had, the knowledge on the start-up and VC world, the friends, and networks I gained – priceless. I truly thank all the people who made my journey at this amazing company so incredible. Okay Danielle, I will finally give you a mention – you made each day that much better! So thank you.
Simchat Torah:
At the end of the festival of Sukkot the county once again shuts down for the final festival of the year Simchat Torah (which runs in conjunction with Shmim Atzeret). Simchat Torah means ‘Rejoicing in the Torah’ (bible). This holiday marks the completion of the annual cycle of weekly Torah readings. Again, being in Israel you don’t forget when it’s a Jewish Holiday. My friend and I decide to embrace the night by returning to synagogue for a joyous session of dancing with the Torah. Yes, we both had the honour of holding a mini Torah (a first for us both). It was a poignant moment standing on Frishman St when the Rabbi spoke about the recent attacks in Jerusalem and said, “We will not stop singing”.
So…what’s next?
Well you will have to keep reading for that! Lots of exciting things in the pipeline. A new chapter begins and I’m not quite ready to finish the book quite yet… having way too much fun 🙂
Shabbat Shalom from Tel Aviv!
AJJ xx
AJJ’s tips of the week:
- Hottest restaurant: Makom Shel Basar – (The Place for Meat). Arguably one of the best steak restaurants in Tel Aviv, no better place to eat the night before going into a fast.
- Funniest interaction: Sitting with some friends at my house after a heavy synagogue service and in walks all of my neighbours from downstairs like they walked into their own home. My friend with me at the time says, “Who are you Amanda!”
- New discovery: Sitting in on a meeting about Cyber Security, one of the hottest areas to invest in at the moment here, I learn about the concept of a ‘Zero day exploit’ which is one of the most prevalent attacks on the web. Google it!
- Coolest Bar: Teder: A seasonal pop up bar / radio station in Tel Aviv which has now ended! Hipster, outdoor and great music
- Startup to be on the lookout for: Netello – I saw this app demonstrated at the amazing DLD Innovation conference in Tel Aviv. This app Captures and interacts your body in 3D.
amanda's jerusalem journey 