Rafi and I had found a Conservative, egalitarian shul to attend Yom Kippur services. We knew that Kol Nidrei was to begin at 4:45pm, a bit early. We would have to get our pre-fast meal in quickly. After getting up, we ambled to the grocery store to pop in and purchase some bread for breakfast. The lines were very long in the store, with people everywhere stocking up for the pre and post-fast meals, as well as the secular Jews and other religious affiliations who would not be fasting over the next 25 hours buying enough food to last through the supermarket closures. It seemed as though there was a food shortage announced and every one flocked to the supermarkets to grab the remaining items to provide sustenance. A lady behind us in the line to check out asked if she could cut in front of us because she only had one item. Rafi and I also only had one item, our loaf of bread. When we told her that, she said, "Oh" and then said a little quieter, "But I have exact change." It was pretty humorous, actually. We stayed in line as we were and checked out quickly when it was our turn.
Back at the apartment I made Rafi and I breakfast. We then went next door to our neighbor, Lena's, apartment (the one who is letting us borrow her internet while we are here) and gave her the honey cake we bought for her as a gift. Lena seemed very surprised and excited when we knocked on her door and presented her with the cake.
Rafi then began to prepare for playing frisbee with an ultimate group he found online. My plan was to go shopping in Machane Yehuda for groceries for pre and post-Yom Kippur and cook while Rafi was at Ultimate, then we would hurry and change into shul clothes and walk to services to start Yom Kippur. It was about 1:20 pm when Rafi and I left the apartment (and something told me that I should have left earlier) - Rafi to meet his frisbee friend to get a ride to the game, and me to shop in the shuk. We parted ways and I walked to the shuk for my first time alone. I was excited, but knew that I did not have much time. I had written a shopping list so as not to get off track.
When I arrived at Machane Yehuda my first thought was, "Oh no! I came too late!" Many of the shops were putting their produce away, some were already pulling down the metal gates in front of their shops. The fact that there were still many people walking about the shuk and also because I saw that many shops did remain open made me calm down. I walked all over the shuk checking things out at first. When Rafi and I shop here for produce and meat together, we never buy the first thing we see. We walk around to many different stalls and figure out which is the least expensive option before purchasing. I did this also. I even walked through a part of the shuk that Rafi and I had never been to. It was behind the main shuk. Throughout the main shuk and especially in the back section, I noticed that the prices for everything had dropped significately. I was so excited and began to make my purchases, even buying things that were not on my list due to the fact that their prices were so low. I bought 6 or 7 cucumbers, 4 gigantic peaches, onions, green apples, red apples, tomatoes, and other produce for only 14.60 shekels, which is the equivalent to about $4.00. So cheap!!! I guess the vendors were just trying to sell as much produce as they could before their shops would be closed for the holiday. It definitely helped us out though, in terms of spending. On my way out of the market, I was tempted by the lady selling cheap, last minute borekas, but decided against it because we didn't need them. I left the shuk with the shouts of the vendors still ringing in my ears.
All the shops lining Yaffo Road were already closed or mopping the floors and preparing to close to get every one home in time for the holyday. I walked with my grocery tote back home where I began writing a blog about a few days prior. Rafi ended up coming home from his own adventure right as I finished my posting. He seemed like he had a good time at Ultimate. His "ride" to the playing field was a ride on the back of a scooter/moped. I remember that he was nervous about it when he left to meet his frisbee friend because he had never ridden a scooter, moped, or motorcycle. I tried to give him some pointers about how to be a good passenger on that type of vehicle and reminded him to stay relaxed and calm. When he returned that day, he said that it was still a scary experience - not too scary, but still scary nonetheless because you are out in the open with no gear (only a helmet) and nothing really to hold on to. It also made him nervous that he was not in control of this vehicle.
He took a shower while I hurried to make our last meal before the fast. I whipped up some white rice, chicken seasoned with turmeric and paprika, cucumber, and onion. We ate on the balcony and listened to the silence. We had never heard the area so silent and serene before. It was almost eery. What is usually a popular, rowdy street became a deserted area in the last minutes before Yom Kippur. No one was in sight. We tried to eat our meal as fast as was comfortable and to drink as much water as we could to last us over the next 25 hours. Rafi began cleaning the dishes so they would not be stuck in the sink through the whole holiday. I gazed out from the balcony and looked below at some kittens playing below. I had just called Rafi over to come and see them when a loud horn started to sound. It seemed like it was coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. I did not know what it was; whether I should be afraid or not. I ran in to Rafi and he said that it was the Shabbat horn, or in this case, the horn signaling the beginning of Yom Kippur. It was a long sound. We ran to finish what we needed to. I ran to the balcony to grab our honey cake dessert and shoved Rafi's into his mouth as he finished washing the dishes. I ate mine as quick as I could. We guzzled last minute water and as the horn finished sounding, we were still swallowing droplets of water. Talk about using our pre-fast time up to the last second.
After the hurried eating and cleaning, we quickly put our shul clothes on and began walking to the synagogue. We brought our tallitot along in Rafi's tallit bag. It was so nice to see many other Jews, also in their Yom Kippur clothes (mostly white - some head to toe in this color) all walking to different shuls in the area where they would be spending the holyday. It was amazing to feel the sense of community and Judaism while we walked. There were no cars on the roads and occasionally we watched people walking in the roads. There was a point when we stumbled upon some kids on bicycles making a lot of racket, riding around and shouting things to passerby. Although it seemed unnecessary, at least what they shouted was "Chag sameach" and such. We made our way to the shul but we knew we were a little late. Services began at 4:45pm and we arrived at about 5:00. We were so lucky because we were able to sit at what seemed to be the last two seats together in the whole place in the back of the main floor. We also were able to share one of the last copies of the shul's machzorim (prayer book for the high holidays). Whew! We made it, but missed Kol Nidrei by a hair. The service was nice and was a typical Conservative type. Rafi and I returned home after for a little reading and an early bedtime. We had to conserve our energy for the next day.
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