Sukkot holiday – Page 4 – The Real Jerusalem Streets

21 Favorite Sukkot in Jerusalem

October 19, 2016rjstreets

I love Sukkot in Jerusalem, Israel.

Whether it is one large sukka

tucked away in a courtyard,

or many standing on the porches of new buildings.

How many can you count hereת

and here, seven or eight?

Some are small and inconspicuous,

some on roof tops.

The sukka in the Israel Museum next to the children’s wing

is simple, and with branches for supports and on top.

This rooftop sukka wins the prize for

the least elaborate and inexpensive sukka.

A pizza shop put up a white sukka on the sidewalk,

while the King David Hotel

has one large colorful sukka on its veranda.

Outside on King David Street

there is this plain white one.

All you had to do was look up,

to see these on King David Street.

On the porches of the Waldorf Astoria Residences

one sukka even had a bed standing by.

The Jerusalem Waldorf Astoria Hotel sukka in the atrium,

is always a favorite.

Mamilla also has its share of sukkot.

The Old City is in background

of this view from inside the Citadel Hotel.

Its main sukkot were huge,

but if you look more closely

you can see this wooden sukka perched

on a ledge high above these below.

The Citadel also has dining tables in the sukka on top.

Thousands of visitors are here for the holidays,

and the Inbal Hotel also has private sukkot above,

and the elegant atrium sukka below,

and more along the side of the hotel as well.

I also like the sukka at the neighboring Liberty Bell Park.

Every year the Beit Hanasi, the Israel President’s residence

has an open sukka day,

when the public is invited inside.

This year the time was extended to 4:00 pm,

but I was late.

As on Yom Kippur at the conclusion of the Neilah Service,

the gates were closed.

This was as close as I could get to the presidential sukka this year.

However,

I was in Hevron today.

So instead of my annual Presidential sukka photo

here is the sukka of Avraham Avinu,

where Jewish voices

and sounds of prayer and song for Sukkot

were heard both inside and outside the burial places

of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs.

OOPS,

I almost forgot!

Our family sukka is pretty special too!

The multitude of holiday events happening this week

will have to wait for next time,

meanwhile, hope you are enjoying.

חג שמח

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sukkot Sameach

October 2, 2015rjstreets

Busy time and feeling so sad this morning,

but taking a minute to share an old favorite.

שבת שלום וחג שמח

Special Sukkot Sukkah

September 29, 2015rjstreets

Like every year, the Sukkot holiday is a busy time

in Jerusalem, Israel.

There is so much to prepare,

and great concentration is invested in

every little detail.

I set out to find something new and different,

from the best of sukkot of the past years,

to add to favorite sukkot of Sukkot.

The view from the sukkah on the Tayelet,

the Haas Promenade, was one of the best.

This huge sukkah under construction in the Kotel plaza,

the Western Wall, was impressive.

Large cloth sukkot line many streets.

In the Rova, the Jewish Quarter of the Old City,

in front of the Hurva Synagogue

stands an impressive wooden sukkah.

The sukkah in the atrium of the Inbal Hotel

was decorated elegantly.

I caught the top of this sukkah in Yemin Moshe,

peeking over the roof tops.

There were impressive wooden structures.

some hidden away in the Geula neighborhood.

But where could I find special and different for this year?

I went on a pre-Sukkot photo walk on Friday morning.

We started out in Mea Shearim,

but on the way to Machane Yehuda market,

I made a mistake and turned up the wrong alleyway.

There I found what seemed to be another wooden sukkah,

with a pile of junk nearby.

But sometimes.

one photo does not tell the whole story.

I was told that

people in the neighborhood had collected

all their old wooden doors and dressers and scraps of wood

and given them to a group of young yeshiva men

who were living in their neighborhood,

so they could build their own sukkah.

It may not be the biggest or the prettiest sukkah,

but it is one of my favorite stories.

Maybe the detour was not a mistake after all?

They posted this sign near the entrance:

הרחמן הוא יקים לנו את סוכת דוד הנפלת

May the Compassionate One restore the fallen sukkah of King David.

As the Kotel, Western Wall Plaza fills

with tens of thousands of people for the Birkat Kohanim

and Hakhel prayers this year,

the buses join in wishing everyone

Moadim l”Simcha.