{"id":2017,"date":"2014-08-16T21:05:36","date_gmt":"2014-08-16T21:05:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/?p=2017"},"modified":"2014-08-16T21:05:36","modified_gmt":"2014-08-16T21:05:36","slug":"never-ever-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/never-ever-alone\/","title":{"rendered":"Never, Ever Alone"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Elisabeth Hinze
\n\"Fallen<\/a>
\nAfter weeks of refusing to see the signs, I had to face facts. My favourite (and only) pair of jeans was just no longer wearable. Literally. They simply fell apart. Oh, it had been a long time coming. But still an inconvenience. Because I hate jean shopping. Add to that the fact that I\u2019m in a foreign country and substantially bigger than your average Israeli, well, let\u2019s just say it wasn\u2019t something I looked forward to. <\/p>\n

Yes, I know. There is a war going on. And I\u2019m writing to you about a shopping trip? Actually, yes. Because I do have a point to make. So stick with me for a moment. First, back to said shopping trip\u2026<\/p>\n

A dazzling array of tiny clothing stores line Jaffo street in Jerusalem\u2019s city centre, proudly, like beads on a necklace: bright, colourful and strung together snugly. It\u2019s a far cry from your modern mall. First, there\u2019s your mass-produced, made-in-China fair. But here you will also find gems that you wouldn\u2019t dream of running into at any chain store or boutique. It will be more beautiful and much cheaper. The shop keepers have time. Which they will be happy to spend on you. Provided, of course, that you sit down, give them a smile, listen to their stories about children and grandchildren and times gone by. <\/p>\n

I slip into the first store with a sufficient amount of jeans on display in the window. It\u2019s stuffed to capacity with women, all apparently trying to outspeak one another. I pause for a second. Take a deep breath. And then take the plunge\u2026 <\/p>\n

Mumbling a chorus of \u201cslichah\u201d (excuse me), I wangle my way through the mishmash of grandmothers, mothers, daughters and friends browsing through clothes, fitting on their prospective purchases or loudly giving advice on prospective purchases. I make it to the jean display without any serious collisions and start rifling. With three pairs of jeans in tow I make a run for the changing rooms.<\/p>\n

Which is where the shopping trip turns into an affair. See, where I come from, changing rooms are institutions, mini-retreats from the shopping frenzy. Cubicles large enough for a series of cartwheels, soft, flattering lights, soothing music and at least four floor-length mirrors. Here, in this little shop, there is but a curtain. A flimsy one. I look around in mild panic. Did I miss the cubicles? Nope. It\u2019s the flimsy curtain thing or, well, nothing.<\/p>\n

Seeing little choice in the matter, I duck behind said curtain, making myself as inconspicuous as possible, and pull on the first pair of jeans at breakneck speed. Only to realise that my little hideaway has no mirror. Well, of course it doesn\u2019t, I argue with myself. How dare I begrudge the other shoppers the opportunity of giving advice on my prospective purchase? This is, after all, Israel. Giving advice is a favourite pastime, a hobby.<\/p>\n

I peek from behind my safety curtain, frantically looking for a mirror, hoping against hope to remain unseen, when a lady across the room catches my eye and smiles. I freeze. Where I come from, shoppers rarely acknowledge each other\u2019s existence, let alone interact. It\u2019s simply not done. Clearly unaware of this ethical code amongst shoppers, she crosses the room to take my hand and lead me to the mirror. I\u2019m too stunned to react. She studies my reflection in the mirror. I study her. She\u2019s probably in her sixties, sturdy, motherly. Judging from her religious dress, she\u2019s probably never bought a pair of jeans. Never will. But it doesn\u2019t stop her from giving advice. \u201cLo (no)\u201d, she says and dismisses the pair I\u2019ve fitted on. And promptly waves me back to my curtain to try on the next pair. <\/p>\n

I re-emerge to see that she\u2019s found some reinforcements. A group of women will now give advice on my fashion choices. There\u2019s some murmurs, followed by a loud discussion in rapid Hebrew before the verdict is in, \u201cKacha kacha (so-so)\u201d. <\/p>\n

I can\u2019t help but smile as I pull my safety curtain aside to show my audience the third option. This is what community is like, I think. Never being left to your own devises, never having to fend for yourself. And even if it\u2019s only for a brief moment, I\u2019m thankful that they wanted me to be part of them.<\/p>\n

I do a little twirl in front of my ladies. They giggle. Probably didn\u2019t see that one coming. To be honest, neither did I. Again the murmur, the loud discussion in rapid Hebrew and then the leader of the pack, the sturdy, motherly lady who started all this steps, forward to touch my cheek, \u201cKen, at jaffah chamudah (Yes, you are pretty, sweety). And I feel it. Pretty. <\/p>\n

Like a mother hen she clucks around me as I pay. Others wait with her. Her daughters? Granddaughters? We leave the store together. \u201cThank you,\u201d I croak, suddenly all emotional. She touches my cheek again. \u201cYou are my daughter,\u201d she says. \u201cEspecially at a time like this, you are my daughter.\u201d <\/p>\n

The words ring in my head like a mantra, \u201cYou are my daughter\u2026\u201d Because that is what community does. It gathers the lost and lonely. More than that, it looks out for the lost and the lonely to gather them close. I had no mother, sister or friend to come shopping with me that day. I came alone. And I felt nervous, out of place. Which could simply not be allowed. Not in a community. Not in Israel. Not amongst a people who had to spent a history being treated like outcasts. And so she gathered me close, pulled me into her little circle. She made sure that I would not be alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God\u201d (Leviticus 19:34). <\/p>\n

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By Elisabeth Hinze After weeks of refusing to see the signs, I had to face facts. My favourite (and only) pair of jeans was just no longer wearable. Literally. They simply fell apart. Oh, it had been a long time coming. But still an inconvenience. Because I hate jean shopping. Add to that the fact more \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[136,28],"tags":[75,625,631,357,125],"class_list":{"0":"post-2017","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israeli-culture","8":"category-israeli-life-culture","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-israeli-news","11":"tag-israeli-life","12":"tag-jewish-culture","13":"tag-news-from-jerusalem","14":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2017"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2018,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017\/revisions\/2018"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}