The Old City – Page 23 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

More Piano, Like You Would Never Imagine in Jerusalem

December 29, 2015January 20, 2021rjstreets

December 24, 2015, in Jerusalem, Israel.

All was quiet near Sha’ar Shechem, the Damascus Gate.

A short distance away is

Zedekiah’s Cave or as sometimes called,

King Solomon’s Quarries.

This is the opening of the cave in the Wall of the Old City.

For Israelis, who do not have Sundays off from work,

the closest thing to a long weekend is Thursday night

through Shabbat, known as Hamshush.

For the past several years,

Jerusalem has had a December weekend festival

called Hamshushalyim, with hotel and restaurant deals,

and hundreds of cultural events, including free late night ones.

Hamshushalyim ended this year with a unique gala event

in the quarry.

Guests walked down and down,

to the main cave where a piano was set up on stage.

Not your usual venue for a concert,

not your usual dressing room,

and not your usual emergency exit.

Three hundred chairs were set for the full-house crowd.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and MK Ze’ev Elkin

gave opening greetings after a wine and sushi buffet.

Gil Shohat playing and

Nurit Galron singing

made for an unforgettable show in this incredible venue.

When you go please note, caves are warm and humid.

Pianist Gil Shohat complained that the humidity

had affected the piano keys.

But even Chopin would have been pleased

and certainly impressed by this musical performance.

The audience slowly exited along the candlelit path.

The view from the street outside

was of the Notre Dame Center

lit with holiday lights.

In the cool night air,

while waiting for a shuttle bus back to Kikar Safra,

I had time to compare to the Pianos at Jerusalem Theater,

and my first time in the caves during the Light Festival in 2013.

What will they think of next?

Plan a December trip and see for yourselves.

As always, much is happening in Jerusalem, Israel,

but these special events are not considered news.

Hanukkah Holiday Lights

December 15, 2015rjstreets

For the eight days of Hanukkah,

so many lights were burning brightly,

from the olive oil flames of the religious yeshiva hanukkiot,

to the large electric candelabra

at the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem,

across the road from each other.

Many stores and restaurants had candles lit,

inside or in the windows for all to see.

This one Emek Refaim Street was hard to miss.

What was missing were the large numbers tourists

usually around this time of year.

A little Photoshop was needed to fix this photo,

as those street light hanukkiot were hanging in fewer locations

and often not all of their parts were working.

However,

there was no shortage of Chabad hanukkiot

on street corners,

and on top of cars.

One favorite was the large hanukkia burning brightly

at the Tzomet HaGush bus stop,

recently the scene of too many terrorist attacks.

The major annual hanukkiot were

on top of the Knesset,

outside the Jaffa Gate entrance to Old City,

and inside near the Kotel, the Western Wall.

A friend reports that new pink spot light was removed

by the end of the holiday.

This new one in town was my favorite.

The lights on the Old City Walls

were of s’vivonim, dreydles, games and fun.

Of course, the holiday foods and parties were on going.

This BBQ in the Archaeological Park of Old City,

fed hundreds of the security personnel who stand out in the cold

day and night protecting us from the next terror attack.

And there was music,

from a show at the new Arena Stadium,

as well as thousands of family gatherings and community events.

The lights and sounds of Hanukkah

came forth from Jerusalem.

For those who were afraid to walk the streets this year,

next year in Jerusalem, Israel.

No matter how you spell it,

חנוכה or Chanukah,

is a special time you should not miss.

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.