Tradition, Israel and a Different Trail
The Comfort of Tradition
If you know me or have been reading my blogs here and on Substack, you know I’m probably more steeped in tradition than Tevye.
At Yankee Stadium, I eat the same food inning by inning, as I have since my first game in the late ’70s. I even exit through the same turnstile at the 4 subway station at 161st – Yankee Stadium.
You may wonder what fall foliage has to do with Israel, which isn’t known for it. It does exist in small pockets of the country.
I have done several fall foliage shoots in NYC. My last one was at peak foliage, and I chose to shoot at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG). I have been there dozens of times. It is an amazing spot for photography.
Every time I go, I enter through the Eastern Parkway entrance, walk through the field toward the fountain, and follow my usual path across the gardens. This time, I realized I had been there so many times that I needed a change. Most of the flowers I photograph in the spring have died, so I decided to focus on finding the best fall foliage. I followed a different trail.
Israel: My Usual Routines
That brings me to my pending trip to Israel for a destination wedding. It will be amazing. I will be there for about two weeks, with the wedding as the highlight. I have been there several times. Never enough. As I have repeatedly stated in other posts, you can never travel there enough.
In the past, when I have landed at Ben-Gurion Airport, I followed the same tradition. I get my luggage, head to Jerusalem, check into my hotel, have a quick breakfast, and head to the Kotel (Western Wall).
I am not one of those who travels to the Kotel with their luggage and gets a jump on my prayers. I envy those people. I could not handle this. I don’t want to worry about dragging my valise around. Knowing me, I’d get there, start praying or wander around, forget I have the luggage with me, and leave it there.
In Jerusalem, I usually spend most of my time in the Old City. After a few days there, I often head north to Safed or Tiberias, south to Eilat, or over to Tel Aviv. In each of those cities, I usually spend time at the same places.
For heaven’s sake, most of the time I have dined in the same restaurants, sat at the same table, and ordered the same food.
A Different Kind of Israel Trip
My last time in Israel was in 2022. My mom came, and I was her tour guide. I wound up doing several different things.
Yes, we went to the Kotel. She did a few tours, and I joined her on the ones to the Dead Sea/Masada and Caesarea. I’d done those before, so this wasn’t exactly a break from my traditions.
But in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, I ate at different restaurants. I shopped in different stores and tried different foods. In Jerusalem, I even stayed at a different hotel than usual.
Disclaimer: The one I normally stayed at was being fully cleaned up after serving as a COVID-19 isolation center. But when I get to Jerusalem, I will be staying where I stayed with Mom. I didn’t revert to the old one.
This trip, I will be in addition to Jerusalem, I will spend time in Netanya, and Tel Aviv. I don’t know Netanya as well as I know the other cities. I really don’t know it at all. That’s already a change.
I have been told I must tour the new library in Jerusalem. I am already worried I might not be able to visit all my usual haunts and eat pizza at the same place I always do in Namal Tel Aviv (Tel Aviv Port).
But then, as I hiked through the BBG, I realized that when I get to the Holy Land, it is time to hike different trails.
