031 The Soul of My Soul

Sep 25

A single-story villa at 19 Bialik Street has just been listed for a whopping 55 million US dollars, making it one of the most expensive residential properties ever offered for sale in Tel Aviv. To put this astronomical figure in perspective, the average asking price of dwellings in Tel Aviv is slightly above one million dollars - quite steep in itself, but this specific villa is up for sale for about fifty times the city average. That’s a premium that even Tel Aviv's notoriously hot real estate market has rarely seen before.

The owner of the property sold the building rights of extra floors to a modern office building in the city, creating a beautiful symbiosis where newer developments help fund the restoration of historic treasures. It's a uniquely Tel Aviv approach to urban heritage, as the younger buildings essentially take care of the older ones, generating resources that make meticulous historical preservation financially viable. Perhaps this is how we should all approach our relationship with the past and expect young people to support the elderly. If it works for buildings, it certainly can work for people.

But this isn't just any villa commanding such a historic price tag - this is the House of Hava Shapira, built for a woman writer, whose life story embodies the pioneering spirit of modern Hebrew literature. The building itself has witnessed nearly a century of Tel Aviv transformations, redesigned from a private villa into a sanatorium - a healthcare facility for people in recovery. It later became the spiritual center for a Hasidic community, and when their lease was up, the building was vacated and stood abandoned for years.

Today, after meticulous restoration work, the villa stands as an elegant two-story townhouse, covering living space as large as 10 roomy apartments in Tel Aviv across the basement, ground floor, and upper level, plus a spacious rooftop terrace and a large landscaped garden. Restored historical elements include the original staircase and 1920s wall paintings. Walking the wide sidewalk of Bialik Street under the green canopies of trees from both sides of the cobblestone road, one can also see the classical European-style facade and the reconstructed stone fence.

Yet it's the woman whose name graces this architectural treasure who deserves our attention. Hava Shapira, born to a Jewish family in 1878 in Eastern Europe, grew to be a literary pioneer in the first decades of the 20th century. She chose the pen name "Em Kol Chai" (Mother of All Living) - perhaps rejecting the negative biblical connotations of her given name in favor of representing the nurturing, creative aspect of the first woman. Writing at a time when women's voices were virtually absent from Hebrew literature, she boldly declared in 1909: "Our literature lacks the participation of half of humanity - that of the weaker sex."

Her path was anything but easy. Married at 17, divorced with her young son taken from her, Shapira pursued a doctorate in philosophy in Switzerland while fighting over custody rights. The separation from her son, Pinchas, was agonizing, and they reunited only when he reached his twenties. Despite facing harsh literary criticism and financial struggles, she continued writing in Hebrew - the language she described as "the content of my life, my inner core and the soul of my soul." She was part of a bold cultural movement giving new life to an old language as part of the national rebirth of the Jewish People in modern times.

Shapira kept a personal diary for over forty years until October 21st, 1941, when she wrote her final entry: "I haven't written Hebrew for about two years and I'm now parting from this diary too... My son is overseas, and I'm going, who knows where? The fate of my people is my fate." She was living in Prague in her later years, a city which fell into the hands of Nazi Germany in 1939. Historians discovered that Hava Shapira was taken to Theresienstadt where she was murdered in February 1943 - a literary pioneer, a self-made woman writer, whose voice was silenced in the Holocaust.

I was thinking about Hava Shapira as I walked past the house on Bialik Street, now with the scaffoldings removed looking ever more elegant. There's something profoundly moving about the fact that she never got to live in the dream house built for her - a villa constructed in anticipation of her arrival to the Land of Israel that never came to pass. Now, a century later, as this property becomes someone else's dream home, perhaps her literary legacy and pioneering voice will finally receive recognition in contemporary Israel. Sometimes the most important stories need the right stage to be heard again.

My name is Tomer Chelouche and I've been guiding tours in Tel Aviv since 2008. I started out of fascination with my family history - the Chelouche family was one of the founding families of Tel Aviv. My ancestors built this city - and I'm telling its story.

The best way to get to know Tel Aviv better is by purchasing one of my audio tours. Here's one way to experience that -

Japanese-New York chef Yama-san fell in love with an Israeli hairstylist at a Manhattan club twenty years ago. This led to his relocation to Tel Aviv, and here he opened TYO restaurant. This upscale sushi restaurant represents the chef's mastery of adapting authentic Japanese techniques to local tastes - even adding cream cheese and mozzarella to salmon sushi, something that might horrify purists in Tokyo but delights Tel Aviv diners. Residing in a brick stone building authentic to the early days of Neve Tzedek, TYO provides an elegant culinary culmination to exploring the neighborhood.

My Neve Tzedek audio tour is best experienced in those magical hours right before sunset, when the golden light bathes the narrow streets of Neve Tzedek. This self-guided walking experience begins at the Suzanne Dellal Performing Arts Centre, where I'll guide you through the courtyard flanked by the historic boys' school and girls' school. The halls that echoed with children's voices over a century ago are the same buildings where top Israeli dancers now rehearse.

I'll show you to the house of my forefathers and lead you to the Chelouche Bridge, built specifically so that Aron Chelouche, my great-great-great-grandfather, could travel safely to Jaffa. You'll discover the secrets that made this area into Tel Aviv's "petit Paris" - from using shutter holders as an analogue dating app to bizarre events that took place in the roofless Eden Cinema. The tour also reveals the rivalry between the Rokach and Chelouche families during the scandalous 1936 mayoral elections, and takes you past the Gutman Museum where I'll share stories of revolutionary Hebrew writers.

Give yourself at least 40 minutes for the audio tour, and you need more than that to fully appreciate this enchanting neighborhood, before settling in for dinner at TYO - a perfect ending to your journey through Tel Aviv's most romantic quarter.

You can make sure you've downloaded my Neve Tzedek audio tour before you head out, or you can download it on the go if you're set with a data package allowing for uninterrupted internet access. There's a link in the show notes to purchase my audio tour -

Picturesque Neve Tzedek: A Tour around Israel’s Petit Paris

If you have any questions - you’ll find all the ways to contact me on telaviv.tours (telaviv as one word, no space, no hyphen) and there’s a link in the show notes for your digital convenience.

This episode airs during the Ten Days of Repentance, the sacred period between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur when Jewish tradition calls for deep introspection and spiritual renewal. These ten days in the beginning of the Jewish Year, known in Hebrew as Aseret Yemei Teshuva, represent a time when the gates of heaven are believed to remain open for prayers of forgiveness and personal transformation. Even in secular Tel Aviv, this period carries some weight - as the city seems to move at a gentler pace, also because the few working days are interlocked between holidays. There's a sense of reflection in the air, I find, as people prepare for Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

For travelers planning to visit Tel Aviv in October 2025, particularly after Sukkot - the last holiday in the string of the Jewish high holy days - you're choosing the best time to experience Israel. The post-holiday period, that starts this year on October 15th, offers perfect conditions - summer heat has finally been lifted, with daytime temperatures settling into the comfortable mid-20s Celsius (mid-70s Fahrenheit), while evenings become pleasantly cool enough for outdoor dining. The Mediterranean maintains its summer warmth for swimming, creating ideal beach weather without the crowds of peak season. Equally important for budget-conscious travelers, flight prices drop significantly after the holiday rush, and hotel rates plummet as the domestic tourism surge ends. Israeli families who packed hotels during Sukkot return home, leaving prime accommodations available at reduced rates.

Now, travelling to other cities, you would normally be visiting an iconic landmark, right? London has its Big Ben, Paris is famous for the Eiffel Tower and Barcelona's beauty is also defined by the Sagrada Família. This is something that Tel Aviv has not yet found - that one landmark to rule them all. The absence of one unmistakable symbol led me to think, if I were visiting Tel Aviv for the first time, what would I add to the list of must-sees? Here’s a list I made for you with six places one must visit in Tel Aviv, leaving the seventh spot empty, so that perhaps one day the city will be adorned with a distinctive landmark to be added as the city’s “seventh wonder” -

1) The White City Bauhaus Buildings Around Dizengoff Square

The collection of over 4,000 International Style buildings creates a visual symphony of clean horizontal lines, curved balconies, and ribbon windows that seem to float against the light blue sky. The buildings rise in elegant three-to-four-story formations, their flat rooftops creating an almost uniform skyline that speaks to the utopian ideals of 1930s modernist architecture, also known as Bauhaus. They also preceded nowadays climate awareness - the small, recessed windows and deep-set balconies were specifically designed to combat the Middle Eastern sun, creating a cool microclimate on balconies and in the ventilated stairwells. The UNESCO World Heritage designation becomes tangible when you realize you're walking through the world's largest collection of this architectural movement, where German-Jewish refugees transformed their European modernist training into a uniquely Mediterranean expression.

2) Rothschild Boulevard

This tree-lined avenue stretches like a green ribbon through the heart of Tel Aviv, its wide central median creating an urban oasis flanked by some of the city's most impressive 1920s eclectic architecture and 1930s Bauhaus buildings. The boulevard's towering ficus trees create a natural canopy that filters sunlight into dappled patterns on the walkway below, while their massive trunks are covered with sprawling air roots. Walking down Rothschild Boulevard in person allows you to experience the rhythm of Tel Aviv life - cyclists gliding down the dedicated bike paths, families pushing strollers beneath the shade of ancient trees, and coffee drinkers sitting next to kiosks in the open air.

3) Neve Tzedek's alleyways

The neighborhood's intimate scale creates an almost village-like atmosphere within the metropolis, where narrow lanes wind between low-rise buildings painted in warm earth tones. The cobblestone streets are barely wide enough for a single car and pedestrians slide from the sidewalk to mix with slowed-down motorized vehicles. Original architectural details from the late 19th century remain visible everywhere - wooden shutters painted in faded blues and greens, ornate iron bars in windows and red-tiled roofs that give the neighborhood an East meets West eclectic character. Experiencing Neve Tzedek in person means feeling the texture of history beneath your feet, smelling the jasmine that climbs over garden walls, and understanding why this area became known as Tel Aviv's "petit Paris" - its human scale and preserved architectural charm create an atmosphere that photographs simply cannot capture. Many do try to capture their own beauty in the background of Neve Tzedek’s stone buildings, inner courtyards and narrow alleyways, making it an instagram-worthy place.

4) Tel Aviv Port's Transformed Industrial Landscape

The converted port area showcases one of the world's most successful urban renewal projects, where massive concrete warehouses and industrial structures have been transformed into a vibrant entertainment district without losing their raw, utilitarian character. The original hangars’ concrete floors, steel beams, and soaring ceilings create spaces that now echo with the sounds of restaurants, bars, and cultural events. Wooden boardwalks connect the various structures, their weathered planks creaking underfoot as they extend over areas that once bustled with shipping containers and cargo cranes. The Mediterranean backdrop adds another layer to the experience, as the same waters that once brought commercial vessels now provide a scenic setting for waterfront dining and evening strolls.

5) Ancient Jaffa's Layers of History

The ancient port city rises from the Mediterranean on a natural hill, its honey-colored limestone buildings creating a timeline that spans over 4,000 years of continuous habitation. The narrow alleys wind upward between massive stone walls that show the construction techniques of multiple civilizations. Artist studios occupy ground floors of Ottoman-era buildings with vaulted stone ceilings, while archaeological excavations reveal layers of ancient civilizations literally beneath your feet. Walking through Jaffa means experiencing history as a living, breathing environment rather than a museum display - you can touch 400-year-old stone walls and climb stairs worn smooth by centuries of foot traffic.

6) The Mediterranean Beaches and Promenade

Tel Aviv's golden sand coastline stretches for 14 kilometers - about 10 miles, creating an urban beach experience that combines the relaxation of seaside life with the energy of metropolitan culture. The wooden boardwalk runs parallel to the entire coastline, elevated just enough to provide views over the beach scene while also creating a path for joggers and cyclists. Each beach has its own character - Gordon Beach bustles with families and volleyball games, Hilton Beach is for the LGBTQ+ community, while the beaches near Jaffa offer a more relaxed, local atmosphere. The promenade experience includes the constant sound of waves breaking against the shore, the sight of the city's skyline rising directly from the beach, and the Mediterranean breeze that provides natural air conditioning even on the hottest days.

7) To be continued...

Thanks for listening and you’ll hear from me again when the next episode comes out next week.Until then - I am Tel Aviv tour guide Tomer Chelouche, signing off and hoping to see you soon in Tel Aviv.