Early and Out

At the end of the long Rosh Hashanah holiday weekend

there were mountains of garbage on some Jerusalem streets,

but sanitation workers were up early and out clearing the mess away.

It took several days for stores to restock their supplies of food and drink.

People stocked up before the long holiday weekend

causing some stores to post apologies for running out of milk.

During the week, customers had to come early before supplies of regular milk ran out.

Daylight savings time ended on Saturday night, as the clock in Israel changes after Rosh Hashanah.

Sunrise is earlier, but the merit of this law which makes the Yom Kippur fast day end earlier

and prayer times later has been questioned  because the holiday season falls so early this year.

Not everything concerned food or fasting this week.

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was at the Beit Hanasi, the President’s Residence

on Wednesday morning.

After the visit, she left with a procession of vehicles, but with little fuss and no noise.

While traffic was disrupted briefly, much of the  increased traffic and honking this week is caused by

some of the thousands of visitors in rental cars trying to figure out how to get out of a wrong lane.

The Clinton motorcade and thousands of visitors passed by the growing Shalit family encampment

near the Prime Minister’s Residence, where TV trucks came early in the morning for a good parking spot

before the meeting of  Netanyahu, Clinton and Abbas on Wednesday evening .

Gilad Shalit is still being held captive in Gaza despite his parent’s extensive efforts to get him out.

Starting early in the morning, hundreds of people walked to the Old City

all day long, until late at night when

crowds of men and women filled the Kotel, the Western Wall Plaza, for special prayer services.

Over the Yom Kippur holiday there will be no car or bus traffic, and businesses will be closed.

The music on the radio before the holiday changes to somber themes

and the bus sign gives the traditional greeting for the days leading up to Yom Kippur,

“G’mar chatimah tovah”, may you be sealed for a good

and healthy New Year.

Two Holidays: Ramadan and Rosh Hashannah

Sitting in the pre-holiday traffic that seem to be everywhere  in Jerusalem,

 it is hard to believe that anyone is home cooking or cleaning for the holidays.

With the long school holiday over and children now in a full day of school,

 working parents are finally a bit less stressed,

unless they were late for pick up time because their car was not moving.

Rosh Hashana, the New Year begins Wednesday at sundown,

 and preparations for the three-day holiday fill the streets.

  Meanwhile, the Ramadan holiday is nearing its end,

for some it was difficult working in the heat and  fasting until sundown.

 For Friday prayers,

 Muslim worshippers

came by way of Mamilla Mall

and from all directions outside the walls of the Old City:

 by way of the Jaffa Gate,

towards the Arab market, the old shuk

some went thru the Jewish Quarter.

Others came alone,

 in groups,

women and children,

young men

and old.

 Over the four Fridays of Ramadan,

hundreds of thousands of Muslims came to pray in Jerusalem.

 A blimp hovered overhead

and extra police were on hand.

   The month of Elul, which precedes Rosh Hashana, the New Year,

is also coming to an end, thousands of Jewish worshipers came to the Kotel,

the Western Wall for selichot, special prayers.

 Thousands and thousands of people were in the Old City for the holidays.

May this example of peaceful co-existence continue

throughout the new year and beyond.

Shana Tova,

a good  New Year

and

 Happy Holidays to all!

Friday at the Market

Quite a roller coaster week! Funerals for the four people  murdered by Hamas terrorists,

a huge end of summer concert in Gan Sacher, Sacher Park,

and the beginning of the new school year.

A girl just off a plane from Eilat, feeling the cooler air as the airport van ascends the mountain road

to Jerusalem, tells the driver as he opens the windows:  “it feels like winter”.

All summer, in spite of the heat, a real Jerusalem experience was spending Friday afternoon in

the Machane Yehudah Market,

the Shuk, which is celebrating its 100th year.

A great place to find the basics:

meats,

cheeses

and fish.

Everything from the pasta

to the people

add color to the the Shuk.

The variety of

sweets,

olives,

and nuts can make it difficult to choose  just one.

Serious shoppers push to get their selections of vegetables,

and then have to decide which bread

or pita

or cake.

Even in the summer heat, the number of boxes,

tourists,

bus passengers,

shopping bags and cars can be overwhelming.

You never know who

or what you will find at the Shuk on Friday afternoon.