December 24, 2023

Joseph Zitt's [as if in dreams] 2023-12-24

Hi. I'm Joseph Zitt. I moved from the US to Israel in 2017. This is my newsletter about more-or-less daily life in my city in the shadow of war. You can select these links to subscribe or unsubscribe. There are more links at the bottom. Here we go...

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"We don't sell cards, only food." The owner of the international foods store ("Nature from the Whole World")¹ gestures with his free hand. He points out the door, then ahead, then around to the left. "You can get cards there."

We're speaking English. His is quite good. He's proud of his son in California. Most of the conversation that I hear there is in English. The store caters to foreign workers, whose English is often better than their Hebrew.

The owner looks down and goes back to logging something financial in a wire-bound notebook.

I leave the shop and go where he pointed. It's a bookstore. I was just there.

I think for a moment, then turn around and head back into the food store. "Excuse me."

He looks up at me, slightly annoyed.

"I think we may be talking about two different things. I said that I'm trying to get a gift card for here. Were you picturing a card, like a birthday card, that you would include with a gift?"

"Yes. We don't have them."

"OK, a gift card is something different. They have them at other stores. It usually looks like a credit card. I would buy it from a specific store for a specific amount and give it to someone. They would use it to buy things with it at that specific store, until the value runs out. They wouldn't have to spend money, since I would have given the money to the store ahead of time."

"So..." He looks off into the distance, then at me, as if trying to decode a cryptic inscription. "We don't have anything like that. I have never heard of it. What you want to do is to give me money now. I write on a card that it is worth that much money. Someone brings the card in. I subtract the amount that he purchases from the card, and mark the new amount, until he has spent all of it?"

"Exactly!"

"I would have to find something nice to write it on." He starts flipping through stacks and boxes trying to find a proper card. I'm reminded of Yoda.

I have an idea. I open the bag from the bookstore. I have just gotten a lovely but generic card, with no writing in it. The store doesn't have Christmas cards.

I take the card out of its clear plastic sleeve and open it. I pull some money from my wallet. "Maybe we can write it in here, so the Christmas card is also a gift card. She could bring it in every time that she shops, and you could mark the new amount that's left each time."

I hand him the cash. I write in the card, "Merry Christmas! This is a 200 shekel gift card to --"

He tells me the name of the store in Hebrew. I ask him how to spell the first word, then write it down. "What's the name of the store in English?"

"It doesn't really have one. Different people call it different things."

I write down "The International Grocery Store."

"Would you sign your name here? That way, we'll know that the card is officially from your store."

"That is a good idea." He signs it in Hebrew. I write in English, "(owner's signature)" with an arrow pointing to it, then, "To:" and her name, and "From:", and my name.

"Does she live here in town?" she asks.

"She does, up at the retirement community." I use the Hebrew term, beit avot, literally "the parents' house." I point vaguely toward it. There's are others nearby, in other directions.

"Where is she from?"

"The Philippines."

"Perfect! We have all the food that she would want."

I know. That's why I thought of doing this. They don't carry kimchi, though. She loves kimchi. We know of some places in the larger city nearby where she can get it.

I carefully put the card back in the envelope, then in the plastic sleeve.

He looks at me thoughtfully. "This ... gift card is an interesting idea. I will have to see if I can make them for other people. Thank you."

Our local news site has announced the loss of another soldier from our town.² I haven't seen any word about a funeral. It will probably be tomorrow, in the cemetery next door to my office.

Christmas will be even more muted than usual. There isn't a large Christian population here along the urban coast. I have only seen Christmas displays in the large spiral mall in the next town.

There are larger communities elsewhere. I have visited beautiful historical churches in Nazareth. I got to walk the labyrinth at the Church of the Annunciation, and sit for a while in a tiny, ancient space where Jesus himself was said to have preached.³

My family tells me that the Christian population of Bethlehem is down from 87 percent in the 1950s to around fifteen percent now. Tourists are staying away this year, because of the war.

A pastor there said a few days ago, as reported in many media sources, "If Jesus were born today, he would be born in Gaza amid the rubble... Who can sing ‘Joy to the World’ today?"⁴ His church livestreamed a 'liturgy of lament' last night.⁵

A radio station in Bethlehem is broadcasting a sound work, "Christmas in Mourning," today.⁶ It will have happened already by the time I post this, but the radio stations mentioned in the linked article may archive it for later listening.

I'm listening to it as I edit this. It has a wide range of music, from prayerful a cappella vocals to harsh noise to almost-pop. I don't know what anyone is saying other than one person that I heard singing in English, but it's a worthwhile listen.

The article also has Bandcamp links to a couple of relevant benefit compilations.

French President Macron spoke yesterday with the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.⁷ According to the official press release, he "addressed his deep concern at the dramatic situation in the Latin parish of Gaza," and "asked the Latin Patriarch to send a message of peace and solidarity to all Christians in the Holy Land."

In Syria, the Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo says that they have "cancelled all official celebrations and receptions in our churches in solidarity with the victims of the bombing on Gaza." Other churches there are also cancelling or limiting their events.⁸

In Lebanon, the Beirut Christmas markets are thriving, But not a creature is stirring in many towns along their border, where residents on their side as well as ours have fled the fighting.⁹ One village, though, is determined to carry on.¹⁰

In some Jewish communities, there's a tradition, called in Yiddish "Nittel Nacht," of staying up all night but specifically not studying.¹¹

Some American Jews go out for Chinese food.¹²

Saturday Night Live did a charming take on "Christmastime for the Jews," featuring the voice of the inimitable Darlene Love.¹³

And Christmas always reminds me of this version of "Silent Night" by Simon and Garfunkel. I was nine years old or so when I heard it. That they mixed a song with a radio broadcast was mind-blowing. I didn't know that music could do that.¹⁴

We had thought, a little while ago, that our universities might resume classes today. That isn't happening. Most are now scheduled to start a week from today.¹⁵ Our Parliament has voted to cover the costs of degrees for discharged combat soldiers.¹⁶

Waze and, to a smaller extent, Google Maps have restored their real-time traffic reports here. I don't know if that includes a Santa Tracker.¹⁷

We may find out tonight whether flying reindeer trigger Iron Dome. I hope it doesn't. Reindeer shrapnel, if shot out of the sky, wouldn't even be kosher.¹⁸

Happy Crimble, everyone!¹⁹

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You can find me via email, Bluesky, Mastodon, Facebook, and, just out of inertia, X/Twitter. There's more about me and my books, music, and films at josephzitt.com.

The newsletter’s official mailing address is 304 S. Jones Blvd #3567, Las Vegas NV 89107. (I’m in Israel, but if physical mail comes to me there, it’ll get scanned and emailed. I don’t expect that to happen much. If you want to send me physical mail, ask me for a real address.)

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L'hitraot.