Furnishings

The apartment stood empty. Strikingly empty considering that my roommate had lived there for over a month. The living room had a non-functioning tv that sat on the floor, alone, facing a corner of the room. Two chairs that lacked four-leg-touch-the-floor coordination graced a small round table that could have easily been a war survivor and, well, actually that’s it. The huge living room felt even bigger, its space echoed as the walls moved farther apart with every word that was uttered in its quarters.

The kitchen meanwhile was not ready in any way for any kind of activity. Well, that’s not completely true, it stood thirsty and hungry for some serious cleaning.
Very telling, in hindsight at least, was that my roommate’s bedroom was actually well groomed. A nice bed, two pillows, a desk, shelves overwhelmed with books and even a couple of paintings.
I quickly began searching for some furniture. My first obvious need was for – you might think a bed, but you’d be wrong, I was searching for cooking stuff. That is the room where the magic happens. I collected odds from family members, an old bowl from an aunt, an unused pot from my grandmother, etc. Still, it was not enough. I then turned to agora.co.il. This is the equivalent of freecycle in the states, a place where people list things they no longer need and give them away for free or in the case here for an ‘agora’. Amongst a birdcage, a few statues of dragons and elephants, a tv that doesn’t work and a coffee table that’s missing a leg, I also found three boxes full of kitchen stuff, and a desk for my room. A good friend moving to the states to get married gave me her bed, and after a bargaining session at the flea market with my uncles reducing the price in half, I had two nice Persian carpets.


The living room still stood empty.



Then one day I came home and my roommate was there, for the very first time. ‘I solved our problem,’ he told me.
‘Please explain,’ I requested.
‘You probably don’t know, but my father is a cinema and tv producer here (I didn’t know this though a friend visiting my flat once remarked that his name sounded familiar), and Monday they finish shooting a sitcom in an apartment. After they finish, I’ll go ‘shopping’ in the apartment and bring us back what I like.’
I, of course, immediately imagine that the sofas from Friends will suddenly adorn my living room.
‘What show?’ I ask.
****
Srugim, the so-called religious Friends of Israel, is a tv series that takes place in Jerusalem and deals with the single life of a group of religious Jews from the national-religious movement. The show deals with different social/romantic aspects in the religious community, ranging from dating as older singles, problems in married life, dating a non-religious person and becoming non-religious (“returning in question”).

Srugim (knitted)-trailer for first season


****
Jokingly, I add, ‘can you bring me some yarmulkas?’