Jerusalem – Page 183 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Special Sukkot Sukkah

September 29, 2015rjstreets

Like every year, the Sukkot holiday is a busy time

in Jerusalem, Israel.

There is so much to prepare,

and great concentration is invested in

every little detail.

I set out to find something new and different,

from the best of sukkot of the past years,

to add to favorite sukkot of Sukkot.

The view from the sukkah on the Tayelet,

the Haas Promenade, was one of the best.

This huge sukkah under construction in the Kotel plaza,

the Western Wall, was impressive.

Large cloth sukkot line many streets.

In the Rova, the Jewish Quarter of the Old City,

in front of the Hurva Synagogue

stands an impressive wooden sukkah.

The sukkah in the atrium of the Inbal Hotel

was decorated elegantly.

I caught the top of this sukkah in Yemin Moshe,

peeking over the roof tops.

There were impressive wooden structures.

some hidden away in the Geula neighborhood.

But where could I find special and different for this year?

I went on a pre-Sukkot photo walk on Friday morning.

We started out in Mea Shearim,

but on the way to Machane Yehuda market,

I made a mistake and turned up the wrong alleyway.

There I found what seemed to be another wooden sukkah,

with a pile of junk nearby.

But sometimes.

one photo does not tell the whole story.

I was told that

people in the neighborhood had collected

all their old wooden doors and dressers and scraps of wood

and given them to a group of young yeshiva men

who were living in their neighborhood,

so they could build their own sukkah.

It may not be the biggest or the prettiest sukkah,

but it is one of my favorite stories.

Maybe the detour was not a mistake after all?

They posted this sign near the entrance:

הרחמן הוא יקים לנו את סוכת דוד הנפלת

May the Compassionate One restore the fallen sukkah of King David.

As the Kotel, Western Wall Plaza fills

with tens of thousands of people for the Birkat Kohanim

and Hakhel prayers this year,

the buses join in wishing everyone

Moadim l”Simcha.

14 Erev Yom Kippur Sights in Jerusalem

September 21, 2015rjstreets

The busy holiday season is well under way.

Before Rosh Hashana the heat and dirt

made it impossible to go outside,

and a few reminders are still around.

Shemitta is over

and public areas are ready for replanting.

Vendors of colorful Sukkah decorations have popped up all over.

But first, Yom Kippur is this week,

and huge crowds gathered nightly at the Kotel, the Western Wall,

for selihot prayers.

Last night there was a full house at the synagogue on the grounds

of Beit Hanassi, the Israeli President’s residence.

for a musical selihot service.

A large crowd was at First Station, Tachana Rishona,

for a special Piyut Festival event,

but piyut and Klezmer music and selihot can be found

in many more locations as well.

First Station has a new display of old paper newspapers

with 70 years of history at a glance.

Lego Land at First Station was quiet,

since there are no more summer late-night outings with the kids,

and it is back to school for ‘meet-the-teacher’ nights instead.

Kikar Safra, government square. is hosting

a huge sing-a-long for the start of the new year,

headlining popular singer Ehud Banai.

There is a new exhibit on women at the Islamic Museum,

and the Tower of David and others are set for the openings of

the Jerusalem Biennale for Contemporary Jewish Art.

Plus, tonight is an open house at the

Jerusalem Bloomfield Science Museum.

Neighborhood festivals are continuing,

like this one on Derech Bet Lehem, Bethlehem Road.

Holiday visitors keep arriving from around the world.

The Jerusalem Parade, celebrating its 60th year,

will take place on October 1st,

and preparations are well under way for this international celebration.

Sukkot is always such a busy time with so much happening.

Now it is time to finish preparing for Yom Kippur.

The buses are well into the mood,

displaying a greeting to be sealed for a good year.

גמר חתימה תובה

Wishing all a good, healthy and peaceful year.

For a few more sounds of the season:

click HERE

Jerusalem before Rosh Hashannah

September 9, 2015September 2, 2018rjstreets

The week of preparations for Rosh Hashanah in Jerusalem, Israel,

begins with a very late Saturday night.

Hundreds tried to pack into Ohel Nechama Synagogue

for special musical selichot service at 11:30 pm,

led by Yitzhak Meir.

It was too crowded and hot for me,

so I went to the Great Synagogue,

where over a thousand people,

came to hear the Chazan who always draws a large crowd.

Then on to the Old City and the Kotel, Western Wall,

where groups of men gathered to read the Selihot prayers.

Thousands of people were there.

Remember this is already after 1:00 am,

and people were still arriving as I left.

But walking through the Rova, the Jewish Quarter,

I heard singing and music.

I followed the sounds to a small synagogue where another

Carlebach-style minyan was going on and on.

There were other large crowds

on the Jerusalem, Israel streets this week,

but you probably did not hear about them.

This bus blocked Emek Refaim Street,

for a neighborhood street fair sponsored

by Yad2, a second-hand selling group.

Huge crowds turned out and the streets were full.

Young and old were able to stroll and shop,

to the music of many different musicians playing along the street.

A man inside this inflated costume performed all kinds of contortions

as a Klezmer Band played in the background.

This puppeteer had an impressive collection of puppets

and put on a show that involved children in the audience.

Many street entertainers performed,

it was a colorful event that went on for hours,

but I had to leave.

I was walking over to Hansen House

for a special event.

A much smaller crowd gathered in the courtyard,

of the Old Leper Hospital,

under renovation as a cultural and tech center.

Six impressive Israeli StartUps presented.

Lishtot, a way to test water quality in two seconds,

won the StartUp Open 2015 competition

of the Global Entrepreneurship Network.

Lishtot will represent Israel in the global contest to be held in November.

And then,

the skies filled with dirt,

with particles too small to be called a sandstorm,

but a miserable haze,

where the Old City Walls were difficult to see.

Hot and dirty air is keeping me off the streets today.

But, before Rosh Hashannah I would rather go

back to photos from earlier in the week to end,

on a much more pleasant note.

שנה טובה

Happy New Year.

Statue of musicians in Mamilla Mall not enough,

here are links for two short videos

of Old City selihot.

Chziki Sofer not only sings Carlebach, he sounds like Reb Shlomo.