Tzipiyah.com

One of the awesome things about being in Israel is the saladness: there is such a variety of different people. Depending on where you walk, you’ll hear any of tens of languages spoken, in varying levels of adeptness. And just to look at people’s faces, you can see their variety of origin, custom, and mentality…

One of my neighbours is a cool-looking dark-skinned French Oleh, who has this massive afro, wears Bob Marley shirts, always wears a kippa, and who led the tfilot in fluent Nusach Sfarad the other day.

Another person I’ve met recently is a very sweet man who just made Aliyah from Georgia. He speaks a basic Hebrew, so we can communicate a bit.

My room-mate is an American Israeli, who often goes off to a yeshiva to learn, and who’s big into online gaming.

The security guards at the Central Bus Station in Yerushalayim are Ethiopian Israelis, who chat to each other in Hebrew, and who have the coolest hairstyles (seriously).

I had an in-depth conversation on Jewish philosophy, education, and politics a few days ago with a Torah-observant guy from Germany…

I’ve made friends with some wonderful kids from Iran, and with an earnest, pleasant man from South America.

I saw a French Israeli woman selecting a French Parasha-sheet from a stand, and we shared some remarks about finding Torah sheets in your own language…

I was sitting next to a young man on a bus a few weeks back. He was poring intensely over a Gemara he had with him. I asked him what he was learning, and we launched into a discussion about the sugya he was currently involved in, and the distinction between the opinions there of Rashi and Tosafot. This also led to another general discussion about life and philosophies…

It’s such a pleasure to be exposed to, and to interact with, Jews from such different backgrounds, Jews with such different souls, but Jews who are all a part of this wonderful nation; here, in this wonderful Land.

Have any examples of some different Jews you’ve encountered here in Israel? Or a story about an encounter? Share it in the comments section!