Jerusalem holidays – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Holiday Lights and Nights in Jerusalem

December 18, 2022December 18, 2022Sharon A

חנוכה –

Hanukkah or Chanukah is also known as the “Holiday of Lights.”

And for the winter holiday season, Jerusalem, Israel fills with lights!

The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens “Winter Lights” Festival is back again.

The colored lights at night are reflected in the pond.

I came back, again and again, to stop and watch as they changed colors.

Brilliant in purple, it was hard to stop taking photos and set out on the trail.

The display is the work of light artist Gil Teichman and his staff, who hung over 2 million small bulbs along a one-kilometer area of the garden using about 25 kilometers of cable.

The LED bulbs used are ecologically-friendly and save electricity.

Background music by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra is heard at multiple locations as you stroll along the garden path.

Actors dressed in illuminated costumes are also there to entertain.

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I admit a favorite this year is the large chanukiah, the Hanukkah menorah, reflecting in the water.

But there are many more lights along the Jerusalem streets.

These new light installations have been posted on poles.

This one with three dreidels, on the top right.

This one has a snowflake and colorful shapes.

These were the older ones at night.

These are from two years ago, I have not found them up now.

The lights at the YMCA are back on again each night, as are many new ones inside New Gate. So much to do this week, will I have time to get there?

One man praying at Western Wall on Hanuka

The large hanukiah is back and ready at the Kotel, Western Wall, to be lit by various officials each night of Hanuka, from Sunday night, December 18 – December 25, 2022. Watch live HERE

Happy Hanukkah from the Jerusalem streets, may the lights spread far and wide for a good week and good year for all.

A video of light projections with Hanuka music to add to the holiday mood.

חנונה שמח

After Hail on Passover, What Next?

April 15, 2015rjstreets

Hail in April,

in Jerusalem, Israel?

Not only was there a hail storm as the holidays ended,

but this was the scene the next day also.

It looked and felt like winter, not spring.

The city looked black and white,

as 4 mm hail stones fell.

But now,

the Passover things are put away,

and visitors have returned home.

The Happy Passover signs on buses have changed,

to wish Jerusalem riders “have a good trip.”

The skies have cleared

and people have returned to the streets,

some of which are lined with flowers.

Two hundred and fifty invited guests associated with OneFamily

filled the main room

at Beit Hanasi, the Israeli President’s Home,

with President Reuven and First Lady Nechama Rivlin,

to launch a new cookbook.

“Tastes of Life” features foods that mothers made for their

children who were victims of terror.

Each mother shares not only a recipe,

but memories of their loved ones that are gone.

Very different,

but still another way to remember a lost loved one,

a new Healing Garden was dedicated by a New York family

in the Hosptial Saint Louis Francais.

In the sunshine, supporters of Kashouvot,

an organization advancing Pastoral Care,

heard the story of Randie Malinsky z”l

who passed away in October

after losing a battle with cancer.

Now hospice patients and families can sit in the garden,

to talk or watch the light rail and the rest of the world go by.

The “French Hospital” was built in the mid-19th century

and stands next to the Notre Dame,

across from the Old City Walls, near New Gate.

It boasts the only strictly kosher nunnery in world.

Also this week for all to see,

the first Israeli flags are flying from car windows.

And the large trucks have gone around hanging Jerusalem,

and large Israeli flags over the Jerusalem, Israel streets.

The radio is playing sad, slow music,

as soon it will be Yom Hashoah,

Holocaust Remembrance Day,

and the beginning of another busy holiday season.

Rosh Hashanah Greetings

September 16, 2012rjstreets

With the year 5772 coming to an end,

Shanah tovah signs are lining the streets of Jerusalem, Israel.

Bikor Cholim Hospital displays holiday symbols on a wall banner.

Yes, they are still in business with thousands of new babies born annually,

but they were only in the news when there were threats that it would close.

Newly planted flowers line the streets,

while thousands of new shoes have been purchased to walk on them.

In the “land of milk and honey,”

this time of year the streets are lined with honey cakes.

Shanah tovah,

may 5733 be a year of peace and prosperity and good health for all!