I used to organize four monthly reading circles in four different languages - Hebrew for speakers of Japanese, Japanese for speakers of other languages, Yiddish, and Esperanto - on Thursday evenings. Unfortunately, I had to close the last three one after another for a number of practical reasons in the past few months. I am very sorry that I had to do this because these three monthly reading circles gave me precious opportunities to socialize with interesting people who shared the same respective interest with me on a monthly basis, and I really miss them, that is, both monthly meetings and their participants.
I may be a misanthrope, constantly kvetching about insensitive and other bothering behaviors of other human beings, but on the other hand, I am also aware that I have to keep socializing with other people both for my mental health and for my intellectual and spiritual advancement.
Since all these monthly reading circles took place on Thursday evenings, and only one of them still survives, I can allow myself now to start participating in some social gathering on Thursday evenings, which are the only time during the weekdays when I can allow myself not to work, though I have to miss it once a month for the pleasure of the one remaining reading circle.
There are several things I have always wanted to learn systematically. Yoga and some musical instrument (either clarinet or Baroque recorder) are among them. I have been looking for a weekly yoga lesson in my neighborhood. I think I have finally found one, and it takes place on Thursday evenings! Recently I have also started participating in an inspiring weekly musar lecture every Tuesday.
But since these two gatherings are mainly for physical and spiritual advancement respectively, I have been looking for some social events for intellectual stimuli in the areas that interest me. I have found at least one so far called Digital Humanities Israel, and I am really looking forward to its forthcoming events in Jerusalem and Haifa.
I have been socializing mostly with frum immigrants from anglophone countries living in Jerusalem, and I really like them and their culture. But on the other hand, I am not against the idea of start socializing with both sensitive and intellectually inspiring native Israelis I did not meet so far every Monday and Thursday.