A Literary Scavenger Hunt in Jerusalem

For those of you who visit here regularly, you know that we at Life Is Like a Library are super fans of Israel ScaVentures and the Experiential Guidebook, as evidenced by how it much we love to talk about them:

The International Writers Festival 2018 (May 2018)

Yet Another Beautiful Day in Israel (December 2018)

Jerusalem Prizes (May 2019)

Today is founder, director, writer, and all-around neat woman Tali Kaplinski Tarlow's birthday. So, in honor of this auspicious day, and in appreciation for all the adventures I've had since I received a review copy of the Guidebook, here is

"A Literary Scavenger Hunt in Jerusalem" 

(Answers will be available in the next blog post.)

The author of A Tale of Love and Darkness grew up on the street that bears the same name he does.

This institution was established in 1892 and houses millions of items in many languages.

Stop for a coffee in this café named after a book. 

This location at Ma'aravim 9 is dedicated to a distinct literary form.

The Israeli Antiquities Authority Library is housed here. 

English readers looking for second-hand books flock to this store on Ya'avets (off Jaffa Road) whose name includes the Hebrew words for book and another item.

The house of this Nobel Prize Winner for Literature is near the American Embassy on a street with another author's original last name.

Although there is a street with his name, the father of Modern Hebrew lived on a street named after an African country.

In the courtyard of the Holman Hunt House on HaNeviim, there is a small house that was home to this iconic Israeli poet who was inspired by the view of the garden from the window:

Conspiracy of spring
a man awakes and through the window sees
a pear tree blossoming,
and instantly the mountain weighing on his heart
dissolves and disappears.

O you will understand! Is there a grieving man
who can hold on stubbornly
to a single flower that withered
in last year's autumn gale,
when spring consoles and with a smile
presents him with a giant wreath of flowers
at his very window?


T.E. Lawrence and John le Carre stayed at this landmark on Nablus Road that now houses a noted bookstore. 

Israel's greatest modern poet wrote two collections with Jerusalem in the title. 

Laura S. Schor's The Best School in Jerusalem is about this girls' school, currently located in Rehavia.

This building was erected in 1902 and originally housed "The Midrash Abarbanel Library and the Joseph Archives." It now shares its name with its location.

NOTE: This is a work-in-progress. Because of the current "matsav" (COVID-19 pandemic), I was not able to go to many of the places I hoped to visit. Hopefully there will be an update in the near future.

And finally, as you go on your hunt, look for these Real Cats of Jerusalem:

Happy Birthday Tali!
Happy Reading!

Jerusalem Prizes

I attended the the opening event of the Jerusalem International Writers Festival on Sunday, May 12th.  Mayor Moshe Leon presented the Israel Prize to American author Joyce Carol Oates for lifetime achievement in the Humanities. She has authored over 58 novels, as well as poems, short stories, plays and novellas. Her books have been finalists for the Pulitzer Prize, and she has won the National Book Award and two O. Henry Awards. Full disclosure: Of all her works, I have only read We Were the Mulvaneys because it was a pick for Oprah's Book Club, and even though it was sad, I enjoyed it because of the nuanced characters, the family dynamic, and the sense of place in Upstate New York.

So,  a day in Jerusalem is always special for me. As I rode from the Central Bus Station to the YMCA, there  was a petite blonde girl in an army uniform with a big musical instrument case on her back. She got off at the same stop I did, but she walked much faster than I did to wherever she was going. To my surprise (and delight), she was the cello player in the string quartet that introduced the evening. Just another example of what a small world it is and how I feel so connected to my fellow citizens. 

On to the opening ceremony. After a lot of thanks and recognition of dignitaries, which took even longer because there were in Hebrew and in English, the chair of the selection committee explained the criteria for the award and why Joyce Carol Oates is such a worthy recipient. The Jerusalem Prize is awarded every two years to international writers "whose body of work assert 'The Freedom of the Individual in Society'," and in her acceptance speech, Oates proclaimed that "without freedom, there is no art." 

She also spoke of her paternal grandmother, who bought her books, paid for piano lessons, bought her a typewriter, and took her to get a library card. After her grandmother died, Oates learned that she was Jewish and basically erased that part of her life. Oates' 2007 novel, The Gravediggers' Daughter, is based on her grandmother's life and  "her family history that was filled with pockets of silence."

The evening included a tribute to Amoz Oz, the noted Israeli author who died in December of 2018. Oates is also a fan of his, and quoted from Oz's 2002 memoir A Tale of Love and Darkness:

"When I was little, my ambition was to grow up to be a book. Not a writer. People can be killed like ants. Writers are not hard to kill either. But not books: however systematically you try to destroy them, there is always a chance that a copy will survive and continue to enjoy a shelf-life in some corner on an out-of-the-way library somehwere in Reykjavik, Valladolid or Vancouver."

And here is one of my favorites:

"While it was true that books could change with the years just as much as people could, the difference was that whereas people would always drop you when they could no longer get any advantage or pleasure or interest or at least a good feeling from you, a book would never abandon you. Naturally you sometimes dropped them, maybe for several years, or even forever. But they, even if you betrayed them, would never turn their backs on you: they would go on waiting for you silently and humbly on their shelf. They would wait for ten years. They wouldn't complain. One night, when you suddenly needed a book, even at three in the morning, even if it was a book you had abandoned and erased from your heart for years and years, it would never disappoint you, it would come down from its shelf and keep you company in your moment of need. It would not try to get its own back or make excuses or ask itself if it was worth its while or if you deserved it or if you still suited each other, it would come at once as soon as you asked. A book would never let you down."

In Search of Another Prize

I've been having a lot of fun with  ScaVentures Jerusalem: The Experiential Guidebook by Tali Kaplinski Tarlow. Whether hanging out by the windmill (May 2018), or giving myself a mini-mission as I pass through the Machane Yehuda Market (December 2018), I've seen things I don't normally look for, and by doing so, learn more about Jerusalem and Israel.

But my best and most exciting experience was at the beginning of the month when I joined a group of "influencers" to test the "app" of the ScaVentures Guide to Machane Yehuda, better known as "the Shuk Dash." Tali split us into teams and gave us a brief history of the area. In the early 20th century, it was an open field where Arab merchants sold their produce out of crates.  The field was owned by the wealthy Valero family, of Spanish descent, and it was originally called the Valero Market.

Chaim Aharon Valero (1845-1923)

As its popularity grew, the merchants set up huts. After World War I, the British rebuilt the area, and it is that market that we go to today. Armed with a tablet and a map, the teams went off to meet people shopping and selling goods in the market, find different items, and have fun. Lots of sumptuous pastries, piles of interesting spices, fresh fruits and vegetables, and fish are just some of the items on your grocery list that can be found in the market. Alas, there is no bookstore, but you can go to the barber, and there are many, many places to eat serving all kinds of food. 

The beauty of "touring" the shuk this way is that it is experiential. Whether you are holding a raw fish or searching to find the green wall, you are interacting with all kinds of people, really looking around the area, and using the strengths of your team to complete the missions. At first I thought, "How can I spend two hours in the market?" But as the clock ticked down, and we had to return to base, I reflected that I could probably use another hour, and I would still not see all there was to see. 

So here's a shameless plug (on my part, no Tali's) for Israel ScaVentures:

Israel ScaVentures

Shuk Dash


And of course, as Spring has sprung, the Real Cats of Israel are also out and about. This feisty little kitten is trying her paws at soccer:

Happy Reading!

Yet Another Beautiful Day in Israel

One of the great things about Israel is that so many diverse people and cultures come together, and that so many interesting things are readily accessible for reading, sightseeing, and buying. Like myself, the awesome creative women below are immigrants. They are using their talents in different ways to enrich the lives of others, so thank you ladies!

As the weather in Israel turns cold and rainy (which is a good thing), I look forward tackling my TBR (to be read) pile. There has been a lot of buzz about The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner (Orbit, 2018).  Dubbed a "Jewish fantasy book," I was skeptical because I am NOT a fan of fantasy, and I have yet to see a Jewish book in the genre that fully develops the fantasy aspect. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the Jewish content is such an integral and interesting part of the story, and that the fantasy aspect (no spoilers, but there are a swan and a bear on the cover) is also interesting and developed nicely, On top of that, I loved the "YA" aspect of two sisters who are growing and changing and coping with their relationship with one another, "boy problems," and the bigger issues of threats to their community.

I originally reviewed  ScaVentures Jerusalem: The Experiential Guidebook in the September/October 2018 edition of the Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter. I had the pleasure of meeting its author, Tali Kaplinski Tarlow, in person recently. I had noted that "the book can be used in family or groups, and while appropriate for all ages, planning and executing any of the 'missions' would be an amazing experience for a bar or bat mitzvah trip. If one is not able to visit in person, it is an invaluable resource for teaching and learning about Jerusalem in an innovative and exciting way." I have found yet another way to use the book. Since I travel to Jerusalem pretty frequently, I have been doing "mini-missions:" reviewing the book before I hop on the bus, and picking one or two things to learn about and find. Recently, I looked at Route 4 - The Many Faces of Shuk Machane Yehuda - Beauty in Diversity, and look what I found:

See Page 109 to find out what this is!

Yes it is legal, and we love it in Yemenite Soup.

Not a book, but a great accessory for librarians and teachers that is made in Israel. This apron is from the Tracy Lipman Collection, and while Tracy originally created one for herself to use at vendor events and at flea markets, etc., it works well in the library and classroom for holding pens and note paper, scissors, change for the copy machine, etc.

And of one the Real Cats of Israel is worn out after a busy day: 

Happy Reading, Touring, and Shopping!

The International Writers Festival 2018

I ventured into Jerusalem on a beautiful May afternoon, and I was on triple duty. I went to attend one of the sessions at the International Writers Festival. Since it is held at Mishkenot Sha'ananim, I was able to do a test run on a new book by Tali Kaplinski Tarlow, ScaVentures Jerusalem: The Experiential Guidebook.  I also got to have coffee with one of my favorite authors, Anna Levine.

Tali was nice enough to answer a few questions. Originally from South Africa, she " came to the tourism industry from the world of education having been a teacher, curriculum developer and informal educator for around 20 years" before she founded Israel ScaVentures.  The first tour game was the Nachlaot Scavenger Hunt, and from the outset she applied her “ScaVenture method”, and it brought a fresh approach to learning the story of a neighborhood in an experiential way. A ScaVenture can take around 50-100 hours to prepare, it involves extensive historic research, interviewing people, perhaps going on a tour or two, going into the area and getting lost (her favorite part), figuring out the unique story that the area needs to tell and writing up the material in a way that gives the area it’s voice. Tali will integrate the roles of the group members, which is a way of engaging each person directly with the area and the experience.  There is a tab on the website for "proposal." I thought it was where you could "propose" a potential tour, but it's actually a very cool and romantic way that couples get engaged -- looking for clues, and "popping the question" at the appropriate moment.

I reviewed the guidebook before I took the bus into town. There are five routes to explore: the Old City, the First Station, Machane Yehuda, Har Herzl National Cemetery, and Mishkenot Sha'ananim/Yemin Moshe.  After reading a little bit about the history of Jerusalem and how to use the book, I went to the appropriate pages of the book, which is color-coded for each route. Each chapter includes a short introduction, preparation tips, directions to the area via public or private transportation, loads of information about what to see, and lots of places to record thoughts or attach photos later one. Over 30,000 people have participated in ScaVentures.  For more information, you can visit the website. So....off we go!

Since I was on my own, I played all the suggested ScaVenture roles: tour guide, mission manager, prophet (the reader of biblical verses, quotes and other important primary sources), navigator, and detective (also the photographer). Mishkenot Sha'ananim means "peaceful dwellings," but the neighborhood was originally named the Courtyard of Judah Touro, since he provided the funding for the new neighborhood. But the area is closely associated with Moses Montifiore, who arranged to buy the land and built the famous windmill to grind wheat (which didn't quite work out, but that's a whole 'nother story).

The area is still quaint and quiet and includes an auditorium where cultural events are held and a music school. I was able to visit the Windmill and "the short building," which are just two of the eight stations included in the guidebook, but I am anxious to return and explore more of the sights.

Meeting with Anna Levine is always a pleasure, especially in a secluded little cafe. We talked about her two books that are coming out in the near future:  Scout's Honor, a PJ Library Our Way pick about a trip to one of the many caves in Israel (about 15 minutes from where I live!) where bravery and quick thinking will come into play. Then there's All Eyes on Alexandra (Kar-Ben, August 2018), the story of a migrating crane that can't quite stay in the "V formation." Anna went to a writing workshop "inspired by biblical heroines."





I attended "Saving Anne Frank Exhibition Opening and Conversation between Author Ari Folman, Graphic Illustrator David Polonsky, and Deakla Keydar." The title reminds of  a stupid library question: "Who wrote The Diary of Anne Frank?". Ari Folman is the editor of this edition, but an ingenious one. He and Polonsky worked together on Waltz with Bashir, the 2008 Oscar-nominated film where "an Israeli film director [Folman] interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service."

Quite frankly, I have seen many versions of the diary, and so many books about Anne and her family, including graphic novels, that I was skeptical of "the graphic diary." But I was totally blown away by this project. Ari Folman painstakingly went through the entire diary and changed it from prose to conversations. David Polonsky did an amazing job with the graphics, creating detailed and nuanced images of everything from the neighborhood in Amsterdam to the personalities themselves, based on their photographs. This is a graphic novel that has bite and humor and puts the "graphic" in graphic novel with creative layout and great use of color and text bubbles.

Even more interesting, is that the Anne Frank Foundation allowed this version to be published. All of Anne's unkind comments about her mother are included and laid out "graphically," with a scene depicting Anne as uncaring if her mother should die. The "lady parts word" is also included. This is not a comic book, and both editor and illustrator stressed that even though Anne wrote the diary when she was twelve to fourteen (until the family was caught in hiding), it is not a book for children. They also spoke of putting a lot of the content in context, one has to know that a panel with the inhabitants of the Secret Annex dreaming of different foods is taking place during wartime and rationing and in hiding.

Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation (Pantheon) will be available in English on October 2, 2018.

I saw some "Real Cats of Jerusalem" before I took the bus home:

Happy Reading!