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West Bloomfield • 855-1600

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Audio8

Joseph B. Slatkin
And The Staff Of
Atlas Leasing
Wish Everyone A
Healthy, Happy New Year!

ATLAS AUTO LEASING, INC.

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SELECTION
AN D

SERVICE

9/26
1997

ENO

19 4 • • /1, '19 44/

■

(104",44 4

heirloom,

and gallery

from page R39

Zohar and Jewish mysticism. What is
the lure of meditation and Zen?
Perhaps it is the desire to experience an
existence free from materialism.
Indeed, thousands of young non Jews
from Europe come to Israel each year
to serve as volunteers on the kibbutzim,
doing physical work they would not
dream of doing at home. Who can
explain the ways of the youth?
Tali speaks nostalgically of her expe-
riences: Of her encounters with snakes
in the mountains of Napal; of finding a
monkey in her shower in a remote vil-
lage somewhere; of walking with leech-
es attached to her body. The search for
out-of the-way places. The village of
Pulda, in the mountains of northern
India had no road to it, but it was
reached after an eight-hour trek. The
girls spent four days there. They had
nothing to do — just read and look at
the mountains, and then move on.
Where there is no electricity, one goes
to sleep early at night. They recom-
mended it to the next Israelis they met
and picked up information about other
alluring places.
The usual tourist sites had no
appeal. The girls sought to imbibe the
atmosphere and to understand the spir-
it of the people. They were impressed
by the obvious contentment of the
masses. Despite their abysmal poverty
the natives seems genuinely happy. One
must not apply our western standards.
Costs are minimal. Clean lodgings
are available in hostels for from $3 to
$5 for a double room with private toi-
let and water. If not too fussy, the trav-
eller can get a bed for a dollar a day.
Our backpackers work at home to save
up enough money. Tali was a waitress
among other odd jobs, and then hit the
road. If they run out of cash, many go
on to Japan or Australia where they can
earn money, before moving on again.
Drugs? Some Israeli youth do try
them. A few become addicted. Goa in
southern India, has become notorious.
In the north it is Manali. Contacts
with home? Our wanderers prefer to be
detached, and do not seek out newspa-
pers to keep abreast of the news. Mail
is unreliable as they move about, but
there is always the telephone (reverse
charges) and messages passed on from
family to family in chain connections.
Young Israelis are characterized by
their spirit of independence, their dar-
ing, their initiative, their ability to
improvise, their chutzpah, their rebel-
lious spirit, their native intelligence, all
of which may explain a great deal.
In the meantime, we are glad Tali is
safely back home.

K