A few months ago I saw mentions of a new brewery called Shomron שומרון, and I knew I had to try them out. They're in my neck of the woods, lantzmen, as my grandparents would say.

 Last night my husband and I went to the movies... 

We used to be big movie goers, but in recent years it's rare. Actually, the last time was an occasion like last night. My husband's a retiree from the the Menachem Begin Heritage Center and now volunteers there, so he's invited to some of the staff events. This was a family event in Jerusalem's Cinema City. It included an "all you can eat" dinner in their VIP room, lots of pasta, pizza, salads and more plus a choice between two movies, neither which he had ever heard of. One was described as suitable for kids and the other seemed "childish," too, but we're a generation or two or even three older than pretty much everyone else who'd be attending. We agreed that if we didn't like it, we'd just walk out. Yes, the movie was ANACONDA.

I looked it up on the internet first to get a bit of an idea as to what to expect. It didn't sound impressive at all, but the evening was free. We even travel for free... So we figured there was nothing to lose.

To be perfectly honest, we had no positive expectations... but within a few minutes we were mesmerized...

ANACONDA is a movie within a movie and a comedy. It's fantasy for sure. That's genre #1, but I was reminded of John Belushi, not just because the main character is heavy. If there's such a thing as a John Belushi genre, this would be it... John Belushi in the Jungle.

Apparently an anaconda is a dangerous jungle creature, whether fact or fiction, it's irrelevant. The acting was great; the characters seemed totally real, though it was obviously unrealistic. We recommend it, and yes, there were people who walked out in the middle... 

One more thing... it's a clean movie, neither nudity nor sex. You can take your kids.

PS I took these pictures of the screen while watching the movie. We sat in the back row, and the footrests didn't work in many of the seats. It was still comfortable, lots of upholstery... so different from the Jerusalem movie theaters from way back when.

 

We'll pray together in Ancient Shiloh, exactly where the Biblical Chana had prayed for a son.

To be honest, I'm wary when given a can a beer, rather than a bottle beer, but I must admit that I think that drinking that can of Schnitt's Triple C changed my mind. Please forgive me for not leaving you in suspense...

I'm sure that all of you can relate to my panic when I couldn't enter the Public Toilets in the CBS Jerusalem Central Bus Station on the departure floor.

Maybe I'm visually impaired, but I couldn't find any clear instructions, neither Hebrew nor pictorial on how to unlock the door. That's besides the fact that the space between the bars is awfully restrictive. A couple of people left, but they were too rushed to instruct me. And I did look panicked, besides obviously a senior citizen. 

Miraculously a much younger woman arrived, pulled out a "magic key" from her bag, pressed it onto something and the door suddenly opened for me. I was extremely grateful, to put it mildly. Then I followed the simple logo into the Ladies Room...

Men on the left, and Women on the right...

Thankfully the toilets were clean and reasonably well-equipped. I didn't photograph inside, because I didn't want to annoy anyone, nor have to explain about this series of blog posts. 

I used to consider the CBS to be a convenient and reliable location for those in need of the loo, but now I'm not sure. I'm pretty nervous about relying on them in the future. As you can guess, I was relieved and happy to make my way out. 

 

Like in ancient days we go to the site of the holy Mishkan השכן Tabernacle, where Chana prayed. Yes in Tel Shiloh Hakeduma. I've been inviting women to join me for Rosh Chodesh Prayers for well over twenty years. 

There's lots to do in Ancient Shiloh, an amazing Biblical archeological site, which is easy to get to. There are activities for children of all ages, not just serious stuff for adults. For more information contact +972 2-578-9111 or visit@telshilo.org.il. 

Every Rosh Chodesh a group of women come to Ancient Tel Shiloh to pray where the biblical Chana prayed thousands of years ago. Chana's successful prayer for a child is one of the most famous stories in the Bible. She promised Gd that if He gave her a son, she would return the child to Shiloh to serve Gd and the Jewish People. There was nothing selfish in her prayer.

Last night I attended a fascinating and enjoyable event at which White Rabbit Beer introduced its new truly Israeli beer. Instead of imported hops, the hops are locally grown. 

We all came White Rabbit by public transportation, which is easy from Jerusalem and Shiloh via Ariel. There are lots of buses and even the Tel Aviv lightrail. The special festival continues right now until 4pm. 

If you can't make it, contact them  +972 3-624-2783 and/or info@white-rabbit.co.il.

Sorry I don't have time to make this longer and more detailed.

I definitely enjoyed the new beer and recommend it

White Rabbit Brewery, 12 Hata'asiya Street, Tel Aviv

Photos which don't include me were taken by me. Various other people photographed me. 

There will be two days of Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan, the last of Tishrei and the first of Cheshvan. The women who come to Tel Shiloh to pray together on Rosh Chodesh voted to Pray together on Wednesday, 22/10/2025, the 30th of Tishrei at 8:30am.

We sing Hallel and pray Rosh Chodesh Musaf together, and it's very special. 

There's lots to do in Tel Shiloh, Ancient Shiloh Hakeduma. For more information about Tel Shiloh +972 2-578-9111 or visit@telshilo.org.il. 

Group tying session led/instructed by Eli Poch

One of the most unexpected but totally wonderful phenomena of the Hamas War has been the popularity among IDF soldiers, religious and non-religeous, for wearing Tzitzit, a very unique Jewish ritual garment.

“Tzitzit” – The “Mitzvah” (Divine Command) of attaching “Tzitzit” (a group of threads, attached in a special way, as defined by “Halachah L’Moshe MiSinai;” that is, according to Jewish Tradition, taught to Moshe by G-d on Mount Sinai during his forty days and nights atop the mountain, but not included explicitly in the Written Torah) to a garment with which one covers oneself, as it says in Parashat Shelach (BaMidbar 15:38), “And they should make Tzitzit…” (from the OU site)

In recent years, instead of discreetly tucking the strings in their slacks, more and more Torah observant Jewish men wear them showing proudly, no matter where they are. 

The popularity of the tzitzit among even non-observant soldiers may probably because of the higher morale of the religious soldiers. I don't know for sure what they tell their fellow soldiers about how wearing tzitzit proudly make them feel, but tzitzit has become an accepted part of the IDF uniform for many. They must be tied a certain way, and it's not easy. Actually there are a number of ways to tie them depending on certain customs. Once the strings start breaking or get tangled or untied the tzitzit isn't kosher/acceptable. 

It's obvious that our IDF soldiers aren't very sedentary, yes, to put it mildly. Conditions are "rough" at best, which prove rather "fatal" if you'll excuse the expression, for the carefully and ritually tied strings off the tzitzit. So you can imagine how frequently the soldiers must get new kosher tzitzit. Among the various war related chessed projects, providing freshly tied kosher tzitzit is important. There are now tzitzit tying groups for IDF soldiers all over the country. Men and women can tie them after being trained, of course, and then they're checked by an expert before being distributed.

One of my neighbors decided that she wanted to tie tzitziyot and asked her friends in other communities about it. They told her to contact Eli Poch, who runs project Tzitzit for Tzahal, was willing to travel to Shiloh with the required four cornered garment of especial IDF provided non-flamable fabric four-cornered shirts in a variety of sizes and strings. And he even found time before Rosh Hashannah for his first visit, which I couldn't attend. Thank Gd I made it to the second session, and he very patiently taught us, encouraged us and inspected the finished tzitziyot. 

Gd willing he'll return after Simchat Torah for another session, since it will take a while until we can tie without someone instructing, checking and encouraging...

If you'd like to find a Tzitzit for Tzahal group near you, or start one, you can WhatsApp only +972 54-646-7624.

Here I am tying on the couch, far from the airconditioner...

Unlike my previous Pishers' Guides, the list can be found at the end of the post, not the beginning. 

A couple of weeks ago I was in Jerusalem and entered Machane Yehuda via Shiloh Street. I'm at that age when it's unwise to delay visits to the WC, but I was nervous about trying this prefabricated one. I also know that there aren't many "nice" public toilets in the open market. 

So, I figured that worse comes to worse I could "hold my nose" or flee and search for another one.

This funny looking prefab structure is on the corner of Agrippas and Shiloh Streets. No nauseating odor greeted me, and I found it easy to open the door. The "lock" was pretty automatic after I shut it.

As you can see the instructions are in three languages plus icons on the outside.

Inside it didn't smell either. I was impressed.

As you can see in the photo, the toilet is stainless steel, meaning that it should be easy to clean and relatively unbreakable. It took me a few seconds to realize how the sink worked. I was pleasantly surprised by the warm water.

Now I don't fear entering these WCs. Of course, there can always be problems. Cleaning staff isn't there 24/7. 

What's your experience with these public toilets? If you reply in the comments, then please indicated location and hour.