Shabbat again?

Before I describe my exhilarating weekend, I can offer you closure to that previous post describing my search for meat. After a trip to Mount Scopus on Wednesday, a very nice student whom I didn't know, but who was a friend of another student whom I barely know, dropped me off on Emek Refa'im, a street that has, among other fine dining options, a shawarma hole-in-the-wall. Without hesitation, I had one and with it my meatless woes were over. Was it everything I thought it would be? Not really. The anticipation was there, but the result was underwhelming.

So on to the weekend. I decided that I would like to see how the transition to Shabbat is performed on the streets of Jerusalem. At this time of year, Shabbat starts just after 4 pm on Friday. At about 2 pm I attempted to revisit a very nice cafe, but they were closing as I walked in. So I moved on to Cafe Hillel, one of the leading Israeli chains. I ordered my cappucino, and read my book - a critical history of Jerusalem whose author argues that much of the history embedded in the architecture that Jews, Muslims and Christians use to justify their competing claims of authenticity is fabricated. I'll write my book review when I'm finished. Anyway, I sat there reading as it seemed that other patrons were frantically shmoozing and eating exuberantly until closing. I sat there with them until we were all forced to leave. I walked back home with only a few passing cars in sight.