Only In Israel

Coming into the country, the guy at passport control wants to know why I'm visiting. After we get that squared away, he wishes me a "Yom naim and shidduch tov."

Only. In. Israel.

Last time I was in Israel I started keeping a list of things that were uniquely Israel. I'll share them here in a sec, because, why not? But the aforementioned incident took it to a whole new level. More on that in a moment.


Uniquely Israel...

The way the traffic light turns yellow before it turns green.
The way the tender driver gets around traffic by driving on the shoulder.
The girl davening mincha at the bus stop.
The yeshiva guy walking around in a suit jacket, black hat...and a backpack.
The way the sun sets so quickly.
Froop.
Can you take public transportation to almost anywhere.
Everyone's always davening.
Are there so many people living in the middle of construction.
Does it feel like home even when you haven't been to visit in a long time.
Do you see men riding motorbikes with their tzitzis flapping in the wind.
Does a young kid with ripped pants come over to you and say, "Money ani ohev, yesh la?"
Do women walk around with their cellphone held to their ear by tucking it in their snood.
Do you have so many smoking cabins in the airport.
How little children can buy alcohol so freely.
The way it's never really a surprise to bump into someone you haven't seen in ages.
The way everything is decorated for the current Jewish holiday.
The way everyone feels like they can ask you whatever they want.
Do people park on the highway to daven mincha because they're stuck in traffic coming back from a levaya.
Does security at the airport ask so many inane questions they don't care about the answers to but just want to see if you're lying.

Fun times.

Back to the guy at passport control. It was sort of like the woman I met at Kever Rochel. I had finished davening and was walking out. She came over to me and started telling me that she works in shidduchim and can I send her my shidduch details. She started asking me what yeshivos I date when I told her that I live in the states. "Oh, so, you're not listening to suggestions from Israel?" When I confirmed that I'm not looking to marry an Israeli, she told me regretfully that she can't help me, but she wished me well.

They're all trying to be nice, I know. I mean, I had a few people tell me I should extend my ticket so I could date the suggestions they had for me. Hmm. They care; it's sweet. They don't know me, but they want the best for me. We're all brothers. There's less of a concept of personal space. It's a cultural thing. Sometimes it's annoying, but it's also beautiful.

I made lots of friends on this trip. I had so many interesting conversations with everyone who spoke my language, and a few people who did not. I could complain about how everyone was in my business, but I think that would be shortsighted. I don't need everyone trying to set me up with whichever random person they know, nor do I need well wishes from every random person. It is nice though when I realize that everyone feels connected, and we're all in this together.