10 Favorites of Sukkot: Photo Essay

Over the Sukkot holiday, it was hard to keep up

with all that was happening in Jerusalem, Israel.

Every year the Sukkot holiday season is a busy time,

and this year was the same, yet very different.

With the ongoing terror attacks increasing drastically

it was hard to know what to post.

Staying true to my goal of sharing what is really happening,

means that life in Israel goes on.

So I have decided to share some favorites,

  the good things and best events

that did not make international headlines.

 1. The Jerusalem Biennale Contemporary Jewish Art,

hosted 10 exhibitions in 7 locations,

with 200 international artists.

 It alone could be several posts.

The new Polonsky Building at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute,

 was the site of the opening of two international exhibits,

and was a stand-out favorite as a new must-see venue.

2. The annual Kite Festival at the Israel Museum

was fun, but not as large as usual,

 at least one kite had a “whale” of a time.

3. The Tower of David Museum,

is always wonderful at night,

and as an extra for the holidays,

guests were welcomed by costumed actors.

4. At the Kotel, the Western Wall,

tens of thousands of people came for Birchat Kohanim,

the Priestly Blessing, in the morning,

and again in evening for the Hakhel ceremony.

Singing and dancing to the live music,

these families were celebrating,

long after the bands stopped playing.

 5. Open Sukkah at Beit Hanassi,

was colorful and casual this year,

as Israeli President Reuven Rivlin hosted the annual event.

Inside the sukkah, decorations were simple,

and a lulav with etrog were available for the public to use.

Behind the permanent exhibit of the heads of former presidents,

large posters were hung with information about each one.

First Lady Nechama Rivlin stood to greet visitors.

What a shame,

this year there was shade, but no long line waiting to enter

the beautiful gardens that are usually off-limits to the public.

6. One very Special Chuppah

was near the Montefiore Windmill.

Often there are brides and grooms in this area,

so a white chuppah would not get my attention.

A large throne under a pink chuppah with balloons

was fit for a princess, Princess Tamar.

Volunteers from Make-a-Wish Foundation spent hours

fixing every detail to delight a young girl with cancer,

and grant her wish to be a princess for a day.

7. The 60th Jerusalem Parade 

is an annual event on much larger scale.

60,000 people participated,

with marchers from all over the world.

These people had great view along the new route

which went past the King David Hotel to First Station.

Colorful costumes,

large flags,

smiling well-wishers,

graceful dancers,

all were happy to show support for Israel.

(To see Facebook photos: more here)

8. The Sukkah at Kikar Safra was open,

  Mayor Nir Barkat and wife Beverly,

greeted the public warmly,

in the over-sized, biggest sukkah.

But, the Yemin Moshe Synagogue wins for best windows in a sukkah.

While many sukkot have posters of the Old City Walls hanging on the wall,

this one had spaces in one wall open for the view of the real thing.

9. After Sukkot celebrations:

Shlomo Katz performed in one of the many community

Hakafot Shni’yot, this one at the German Colony community center.

The rally near the Prime Minister’s residence,

felt and sounded more like an extended holiday celebration,

but it was a protest calling for better security.

I only found one poster at the rally,

but there were lots of cute babies,

in the crowd of thousands.

Meanwhile,

Kraft Stadium was also the scene of hundreds of people

with live music and dancing.

10. Finally, the popular Umbrellas,

the hottest photo-op of this summer in Jerusalem,

were hung over Yoel Salomon Street.

But as the holiday ended and the rain started,

the umbrellas were taken down,

and piled on side of the road.

They were filthy and had holes,

but I took one home as a souvenir.

Finally,  it is “after the chagim”

the holidays are over, and it is now

time to get back to “normal” what ever that is.

With so much bad new news,

I would like to end with one piece of

 tech start-up nation good news

and from the Jerusalem streets  more sounds of music.