Holiday Leftovers

This year gender segregation made international headlines,

not the Hanukkah and holiday lights

nor the sights of Jerusalem.

On the last day of Hanukkah at the Great Synagogue,

hundreds of women took over and occupied the men’s section.

This women’s only gathering of prayer and performances 

 called for the unity of all the people of Israel…it did not make headlines.

Dozens of special children’s performances were held.

The thousands of chanukiot that decorated shop windows, 

 lined the sidewalks,

and eateries,

and were displayed on the tops of cars are being stored away for next year.

Traffic was a grid-lock nightmare,

with tens of thousands of international visitors in Jerusalem,

 as many gathered for weddings and various other celebrations. 

Millions of sufganiot were sold

and served over the holiday period.

 105 of the doughnuts were consumed by Elie Klein of Bet Shemesh,

as his ‘Dough for Doughnuts’  fundraising stunt inspired donations

of $14,000 from people around the world for 83 charities.

And not a crumb was leftover from my Hanukkah cookie.

It would be nice if the women’s project, “One  People”

was the headline next year.

Meanwhile, after all the days of  holiday and celebrations…

almost everyone needs a vacation.

12 thoughts on “Holiday Leftovers

  • December 30, 2011 at 2:31 pm
    Permalink

    Thanks for sharing the important things in life! Hope Beit Shemesh goes back to being a sleepy, bedroom suburb (doesn’t seem like it).

    I liked the women’s group at the Great Synagogue – kol ha’kavod.

    Shabbat Shalom.

    Reply
  • December 30, 2011 at 3:48 pm
    Permalink

    great pics. may we always be seen with smiles and feel happiness.

    Reply
  • January 3, 2012 at 5:07 am
    Permalink

    Hi, I just came over from Dina’s blog. Looks like a lot has been going on lately in the streets of Jerusalem. I’ve added you to my blog list so I can see more as you post.

    We saw a car driving down the 405 freeway one night near Huntington Beach with a brightly lit blue chanukiah on top of the car…I’d never seen anything like it before, even here in Southern California. It really lit up the freeway!

    Reply
  • January 4, 2012 at 2:43 am
    Permalink

    Thank you – I feel like my sanity has been restored. I feel refreshed and renewed that reason reigns in most of our beautiful country. Thank you for the inspiring overview of our Yerushalayim. You made my week.

    Reply
  • January 4, 2012 at 3:22 pm
    Permalink

    A belated thank-you for bringing our magnificient Jerusalem into our homes. As usual your photographs are just perfect.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.