Old City

Erev Yom Kippur

rjstreets

Before Yom Kippur, whether late at night or before dawn,

one can attend special Selichot prayers all around Jerusalem.

It can be difficult to get to the Old City due to the huge numbers of people…

every night and all night long.


During the day, beside the usual crowds at the Kotel, the Western Wall,

there are bus loads of girls on school trips.

 This is a special time for tefilah,

prayer

and zedakah,

charity

and also for many, special Torah study and classes.

As Yom Kippur  begins, all regular traffic stops.

At least for one day a year, the signs,

  “Do not murder” on the road

and “Do not drink and drive” are obeyed.

And to end with a favorite sign, the erev Yom Kippur bus sign…

  Chatimah tovah

may all be sealed for a good year.

Friday Riots

rjstreets

Following weeks of drama and hype, doomsday scenarios

and talk of possible riots on the day Abu Mazen spoke at the United Nations,

we had to go and see what was really happening.

 Friday afternoon, September 23, 2011 in Jerusalem was no apocalypse.

Clashes may make the headlines, but on the real streets…

little children walked home from school,

 couples were out on dates and many streets were quieter than usual.

The United States Consulate told its employees to stay away from the Old City

and many overseas year programs told their students to stay away as well.

However, dozen of buses of tourists from around the world arrived all afternoon,

a Kim Clement tour group brought 11 bus loads of Christian visitors

to the Kotel, the Western Wall, and the Old City.

Meanwhile, a young woman sat with her little children in the Jewish Quarter

and little girls went by themselves for ice cream.

In the Arab shuk hundreds of people passed freely all afternoon.

There was no question that security precautions were higher than usual.

Did this tour group notice the ramp to the Temple Mount full of Israeli security

ready for trouble as the mid-day Muslim prayers ended?

But the number of Muslim worshipers passing thru the Jewish Quarter

was much less than on a regular Friday afternoon.

The season’s first rain clouds were gathering,

resulting in cooler temperatures and a few drops of rain!

Who could imagine that there would be more rain drops than protesters?

The police left, certainly relieved that there was nothing for them to do.

 Silwan seemed quiet and still,

as security people went home and Shabbat guests arrived.

A Muslim woman walked by a small group that gathered

 as Israeli Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch was ready to leave.

Israeli Police Chief  Yochanan Danino was all smiles as he got in his car

and seemed not to mind saying a little prayer before he left.

Clashes with Israeli soldiers make headlines,

but on Friday afternoon in Jerusalem

 the stores closed early for the Sabbath… not for riots.

After the Fasts

rjstreets

Not eating or drinking is called a “fast,”

but without water and morning coffee…”slow” would be more accurate for me.

 The Tisha B’Av fast started on Monday, August 8, 2011 at nightfall,

this post should have been out on Tuesday, but even after the fast…sorry–still slow.

 Mourning the destruction of Jerusalem in the reunified Jerusalem

is a unique experience.

 Tens of thousands of people gather at the Kotel, the Western Wall,

and sit on low chairs or on the stones to recite the sad verses of Eicha and Kinot.

For so many centuries,  The Book of Lamentations asks…Alas, how could it be?

Some opt to sit

 alone,

while others prefer to sit in small groups.  Many stay all night.

As the Jewish Quarter closed for the fast day,

 much of the Muslim Quarter was open

with colorful displays of food to break the Ramadan fast.

Colored lights lined the way of most

but not all the alleyways.

For the seventeenth year in a row,

  Women in Green assembled a large group in Gan Ha’atzmaut, Independence Park

 for prayers and speeches, followed by a walk around the walls of the Old City.

This year they shared the park with the “tent city” protesters

and the night with Ramadan celebrations.

 The march was to begin at 11 pm, much later than usual because of Ramadan.

 For the first time the marchers had to watch out for an empty light rail train.

  It was well after midnight when the group arrived at

Sha’ar Shechem,  the Damascus Gate.

Street vendors and Israeli flags filled the sidewalk and on to the street

 and families and more vendors kept coming.

 Security personnel watched the quiet scene.

After passing Herod’s and Lion’s Gates


the end of the route was in sight.

Dozens of idle buses lined the road ready to transport

 the hundreds of people still coming and going after 1:00am.

The Kotel entrance plaza was a busy place all night.

Near Jaffa Gate a new table was set up to sell photos of the Baba Elazar z”l.

While tens of thousands of people were out on Tisha B’Av in the Old City,

a few minutes away this normally busy intersection was deserted.

This year, Ramadan coincides with the month of August,

so devout Muslims will fast all day and at night crowds will gather to eat and shop.

Abu Sharif, a member of the PLO and former advisor to Arafat,

has called for “Friday intifadas during Ramadan”.

Walking around the Walls on Tisha B’Av concluded peacefully.

Last year thousands of Muslims prayed in Jerusalem every Friday of Ramadan.

It is possible to share the streets of Jerusalem peacefully.

 After the fast, as Israelis head to the airport and up north on vacation

…at least the streets should be a little less crowded.

 

More photos of  Walking around the Walls on The Real Jerusalem Facebook Page.