Jerusalem photos – Page 149 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

Hanukkah – Holiday of Lights

December 14, 2012rjstreets

Hanukkah is called Chag Ha’Urim, the Holiday of Lights.

At the Kotel, the Western Wall, is one of the most famous hanukiot.

One of my favorite things in Jerusalem at this time of year

is that the usually shuttered windows at night-time

are opened to show the burning candles.

They are wide open to let the Hanukkah lights shine out to the street.

At this yeshiva, there were hundreds of lights burning,

wow, they use a lot of olive oil.

The view in the windows upstairs in the Bet Midrash,

revealed the main celebration.

We not only saw the light, but also heard the music on the street below.

May the special beauty of the Hanukkah lights from Jerusalem, Israel

spread throughout the world.

Chodesh tov and Shabbat shalom

Hanukkah sameach!

Happy Hanukkah!

Counting Chanukiot or Hanukkiot

December 12, 2012rjstreets

Yesterday, 834 people in a hangar in the Princeton, New Jersey airport

set the Guiness world record for the most Chanukiot lit at the same time.

I do not know if we could even get that many people

in Jerusalem, Israel, to agree on anything.

It is even hard to agree on the spelling in English.

Are they Chanukiot or Hannukiot?

This time of year in Jerusalem, Israel,

Hanukiot, special Hanukkah menorahs,

pop up on top of buildings,

and are displayed in windows

in all colors and types.

They are sold at many craft fairs before the holiday

and can be found on top of cars during Hanukkah.

We have done whole blogs on Just Chanukiot in the past

and Chanukkah lights.

So what is new and different this year?

I set out yesterday to check the Jerusalem streets,

but did not get very far before the rain started.

There are those who count every single millimeter of water,

yesterday it came down in buckets.

When it rains in Jerusalem, the sky gets grey and the people go inside.

At one popular destination is the Israel Museum, the garden was empty,

as people looked for shelter and families filled the children’s sections,

where Hanukiot were made of recycled materials.

But I wanted to find the special Hanukkah exhibit

on Hanukiot

from around the world:

simple ones from Yemen

as well as ornate ones from Europe.

Families looked at the various small Chanukiot

and admired the large ones,

while the weather outside also got plenty of attention.

I really wanted to go across the street to see the new

“Fire” exhibit at the Bloomfield Science Museum.

But I was still wet, so I went home to get some hot tea and dry clothes.

Today the sun is shining again, it is a much better day for photos.

Happy Hanukkah!

Nachlaot Finding Past and Future

November 6, 2012rjstreets

Sir Moses Montefiore, a great benefactor to Israel in the 19th century,

is perhaps best known for the Montefiore Windmill.

However, in 1882 he was also involved in building

the Nachlaot section of Jerusalem.

This cluster of small Jewish neighborhoods was one of the first

Jerusalem homesteads outside the walls of the over-crowded Old City.

Stone walls surrounded Nachlaot to protect its residents.

Today one of the openings still displays a testimonial to Montefiore

and the Mazkeret Moshe neighborhood is named for him.

Nachlaot is across from the Machane Yehuda Market, the shuk.

After getting lost too many times on the narrow twisting streets,

I made it a habit to walk around Nachlaot

and not through it on my way to the shuk.

So when the Jerusalem Scavenger Hunts offered a hunt to Nachlaot,

I made sure to be one of the first bloggers to sign up for the special event.

In Nachlaot, you can see interesting street art

painted on the walls,

but you never know what you will find hanging out on its streets.

Old stone streets

and beautiful new homes,

combine to make walking the Nachlaot streets a real adventure.

From ancient stones on the left to modern cable receivers on the right,

it can all be found in Nachlaot.

We followed our map, and not only did we not get lost,

but our team won!

And thanks to the Village Green Restaurant on Rachel Imenu Street,

we enjoyed fresh bread with a cup of soup at the end of the hunt.

There are many tours to Nachlaot,

but this scavenger hunt is fun and educational for all ages.

We found it as good an experience as the hunt last year

in the Old City.

To find more photos of Nachlaot and our winning team see:

The Real Jerusalem Streets Facebook Page.