Pesach – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Passover — This Year in Jerusalem

April 22, 2019Sharon A

Cold. Wet. Rainy. Hail. Thunder.

These are not words one normally associates with Jerusalem, Israel, on Passover.

The holiday of spring feels more like winter this year.

However, tens of thousands of people crowded around the Kotel, the Western Wall,

and the Western Wall Plaza for the annual Passover Birkat HaKohanim, the Priestly Blessing.

In Talpiot, the bowling alley had a long, long line of people waiting to roll.

Due to the weather, museums with free entrance for children were more popular this year than traditional tiyulim, hikes in the countryside. The Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem was “packed.”

The Israel Museum has a special section devoted to Passover.

There is even a video where one can watch how matzah is made by hand.

Special, distinctive seder plates are on display as well.

This is a 1925, three-tiered silver seder plate from Vienna with three sections for matzah.

The annual Passover clean up of notes left in the Kotel stones was done a week before the holiday.

On that morning I entered the Old City by way of the Jaffa Gate,

and unlike this morning, the plaza area inside was quiet.

It was possible to get this photo without any people.

Next to the Hurva Synagogue in the Rova, Jewish Quarter, this man sat and talked on his phone near the golden menorah.

In the women’s section a young boy and girl had plenty of room to dance.

This is the area that was entirely filled with people today in spite of the cold weather.

In the area where a stone fell last year, blue scaffolding was next to the wall.

And new stairs have been added near the elevator which is still under construction.

The ancient Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery still looks the same.

The wet winter was great for greenery, as seen in this view of Yemin Moshe.

Mitchell Park nearby next to the Artists’ Colony is also full of green.

Wild flowers behind the King David Hotel stand out after the spring rains.

In the Machane Yehudah Market, the shuk, this store covered its counters with foil, and was ready to put out its kosher for Passover food before the holiday.

One of the annual sights and smells of Passover on Jerusalem streets are the piles of fresh garlic for holiday cooking and to be dried out to use for the rest of the year.

And of course, around Jerusalem huge vats of boiling water were ready to kasher metal utensils.

One new and welcomed sight this year was these young men wearing gardener vests and carrying brand new shiny rakes and rolls of garbage bags. Mayor Moshe Lion had announced that the municipality was going to clean up public areas. Too bad I was on my way home and did not take the time to follow them to see their work area.

Chag Aviv Sameach in Yerushalayim.

Happy Spring Holiday in Jerusalem.

Tomorrow is to be warmer and it should start feeling like spring again on the Jerusalem streets.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Holiday

April 19, 2019Sharon A

Jerusalem streets are quiet as homes are preparing for holiday meals.

Spring holidays coincide this year, Ridvan Festival, Lailat al Bara’ah, Easter and Pesach.

Chag Aviv Sameach.

חג שמח שבת שלום

Chag sameach and Shabbat Shalom

Best of Passover in Jerusalem

April 4, 2018Sharon A

The Passover holiday in Jerusalem, Israel, is always a busy time with so much to do.

After days of cleaning and shopping, and a late night seder, what next?

This year I decided not to spend hours in the car along with millions of other Israelis going to lush camping sights and sandy beaches, but rather to stay home and explore what Jerusalem has to offer.

Now to share with you some of the best of Jerusalem for Passover this year 5778.

Where else to start, but with food.

Some restaurants like this new humus place were closed tight for Passover.

But not to worry, in Jerusalem, there was an abundance of kosher for Passover places to eat. This Holy Bagel in the Old City is not only mehadrin kosher, but “KOSHER without fear of legumes!”

With baskets of matza on the table, this potato crust pizza looked good enough to eat. People were standing in lines for seats to taste for themselves.

Pizza, rolls, sandwiches, pies, cakes and more…one of the best places for Passover food is in Jerusalem, Israel.

Mamilla Mall was busy and crowded with local shoppers and international tourists, plus entertainment and performances for children.

Another favorite was seeing the clothing in the Old City, with many dressed in their holiday finest, wearing every type of outfit imaginable.

With so many activities for families, it was hard to decide what to do first, as dozens of museums and sites were free for children. The Tower of David had families walking, touring, and climbing.

From the Tower of David you could see the Old City ramparts walk with tourists going along the top of the walls of the Old City.

Days were warm and the sun beat down midday. But volunteers were in several locations in Old City offering cups of water, free to all who walked by.

The Golden Menorah was moved near the Hurva Synagogue, where tourists were busy taking photos.

This menorah is a photo posted near where the gold one was located. The Western Wall elevator is to be constructed here.

Remember I said every type of clothing imaginable? How about a Betar uniform from the 1920’s?

It was reported 100,000 people were at Birkat Kohanim, the Priestly Blessing, Monday morning.

In the afternoon and for most of the week, the Western Wall Plaza was still filled with families.

All day long tens of thousands of people came and went from the Old City.

This line was not at the security entrance leading to the women’s section, but just a long line of tourists waiting to access the Temple Mount.

The egalitarian section, however, was almost empty. On the right of this photo, if you look very closely, you can see children playing near the stones from the Second Temple.

While so many were in the Old City, other Jerusalem locations were also holiday destinations.