Benetton

My first Shabbat here was a refreshing and enjoyable experience.  I have the weekends off, you see, beginning Friday at noon until Saturday night.

So Friday I met my sister and her roommate Nati, at the shuk (suk in Arabic, market in English, and tori in Finnish).  I love the shuk!  It is a place you must reserve a lot of time for, because there is no way to accomplish your shopping quickly in a place replete with people, shopping carts and vendors.  The smell of spices, fish, fruit and people join the visual medley of bright colors and people of all shapes, sizes and nationalities in a long narrow corridor lined with stalls.  On my first time there I spent a small fortune at the dried fruit stand!  On Friday we bought fish and flowers.  I'm still waiting for the occasion to buy the rubber chicken and the dragon fruit...

We shared a Shabbat meal at my sister's apartment with her roommate's friends.  There is a ceremony, performed by the matriarch of the family, in this case our hostess Nati, with the lighting of candles, the singing of a blessing and the sharing of bread and wine.   I thought the whole procedure a good way to prepare for the meal and the beginning of Shabbat.  Regardless of the fact that I don't speak Hebrew, I somehow managed to keep up with the main idea of conversations during the evening.

On Shabbat, everything is closed, even the streets.  Everyone comes out to walk with their families.  Sonja and I walked through a very orthodox neighborhood and let's just say that the fashions are not quite like those on the Helsinki streets!  I saw men in long black robe-like coats, white tights, buckle shoes, tower-like fur hats and of course, with bobbing curls at their temples.  Women and children dressed in black and white sported their nice Sabbath outfits.  The cutest sight was of two children, a boy and a girl, both racing little pink doll strollers down a hill as their parents walked nearby.

We met up with Essy and friends from Shevet to visit a German Christmas market in the Old Town, and afterward enjoyed the view and the breeze from a rooftop cafe.  What I liked most, other than being with loved ones, is the lack of hurry on Shabbat.  Nothing is open, no work is done.  You can enjoy the day and rest from what occupies you during the week.

And today begins a new week and new challenges.  We painted a huge painting today and hung it up in the kids' dining room (I'm sure the mothers love how dirty their kids got...).  I have gone through the cupboards and found wonderful toys and activity ideas.  One of my discoveries was a bright red stuffed elephant that looks like he belongs in a United Colors of Benetton commercial.  He has little black beady eyes and a unibrow that gives him a worried or sad look. He now perches on my desk along with Curious George and a couple dictionaries.  They remind me of the task at hand and whisper little inspirations. :)