Monday, June 1, 2009

Colorful Street People

Yom sheni, 9 Sivan 5769.

It's true that a really nice post could be written about the colorful street people you thought this post was going to be about.  One of these days, I'll be worthy of writing it.  The fact is that I am firmly convinced that the prayers and brachot of some of Yerushalayim's street people have kept my kids healthy, out of serious trouble, and on a Torah path.  (There is one holy lady in Meah Sha'arim whose prayers -- said with my children's names tucked between the pages of her Tehillim for over a decade -- have felt to me like the prayers of a beloved grandmother.  I believe that Hashem surely has counted them as pure love from a pure heart.)

But this post isn't about Leah and her holy ilk.



It is about the joyful metal artwork on Ha-Zehavit Street.  We are privileged to travel this street any time we drive or ride the bus from the Gush into Yerushalayim, via Gilo.  Delightful, colorful and playful characters people the grass strip between the lanes of traffic on this well-traveled road, reminding drivers that there's more to do in life than rush to the office.
 
Avi and I reminisced about the Alte Heimland.  How might such statuary fare in Baltimore, Maryland, or in Lusk, Wyoming?  In Baltimore, these colorful cutouts wouldn't have lasted a month before they were covered with crude graffiti and -- uh -- anatomically-correct Magic Marker appendages.  In Wyoming, the temptation to shoot the cast iron critters full of holes would have been irresistible.  But in Yerushalayim, at least thus far, the only additional artwork has been provided by an errant fowl.

Not bad for one of the most controversial cities on the face of the Earth.

Haveil Havalim #219, the Kakol Hevel Edition is up at DovBear's place.  Give it a read.  Some of my favorite writers pop by to share their opinions on politics in Israel and the US, and on Jewish life.

11 comments:

Jack Steiner said...

Those are pretty cool. I like them.

Dr. Rona Michelson said...

Great post! Thanks for taking the time to photograph them. We have some of them walking to the train in Modi'in and enjoy seeing them there as well.

rutimizrachi said...

Jack: Thanks for dropping by.

Rona: Nice to see you here, too! I would love to see some shots of the Modi'in metal people. And if anybody knows their history, it would make a good read.

Anonymous said...

Makes you want to go outside and play. Wanna?

rutimizrachi said...

Avi: Husbands can get away with comments other people can't.

Yes.

David Eastman said...

eema well done yet again! i love how you could turn simple metal people into a showing of the beauty of Israel. that takes a special kind of eye. keep up the great work!

rutimizrachi said...

Dear Son, you are welcome to drop by any time! Thanks for the very kind words. :-)

sandra said...

Wow, does Leah really have your boys name in her tehillim for 10 years, b'emet? I'd love to meet her. And, I l-o-v-e that picture of you with her. Hope you enjoy the coffee.

rutimizrachi said...

Thank you, Sandra, for the comments and the coffee! I look forward to seeing you here in the near future!

Hasbara With Attitude said...

No mention of your own metallic
décorations so close to home?

rutimizrachi said...

Hasbara: Been there, done that. http://rutimizrachi.blogspot.com/2008/10/fall-colors-real-and-imagined.html