Praying for a peaceful Shabbat,
for all of Israel and the world.
שבת שלום
Western Wall
Chasing Supermoon in Jerusalem
Supermoon, a very hyped supermoon,
was to be seen over Israel,
the largest since 1948.
Feeling much like Don Quixote,
I joined other photographers before dark,
all looking for the perfect vantage point
to get the best shot of the Supermoon rising
over the Kotel, the Western Wall.
Oops–the first glimpse of light
was a tease, as it turned out to be hotel lights.
But there it really was,
the Supermoon rising
over the Kotel, covered by clouds.
The clearest photo of the Supermoon rising
was hardly an epic photo.
Photographers packing up,
a couple walking on the dark streets of Old City,
and the lights of the shops near Jaffa Gate,
all made for better photos
on the unusually warm November night.
Finally, by the time I got to Jaffa Gate,
the clouds had cleared and the moon was high in the sky.
So as the Man from La Mancha chased his windmills,
I chased around the walls of the Old City
to find the Supermoon
appearing over the walls.
It looked like it usually does,
every month on the night of a full moon.
Today on social media there are some epic photos,
plus #supermoondisappoint comments and pictures.
So here you have it,
my Supermoon over Jerusalem, Israel.
I would like to know how anyone got a good shot
without combining two photos.
I did not catch the moment.
Later at home,
I was able to color my moon pink.
If anyone who wants one to look like blue cheese,
I can do that on request.
Lots of hype, lots of hopes,
but my advice is
come visit us any month to see the full moon.
No need to wait for another Supermoon.
Jerusalem: No UNESCO
Absurd.
Beyond belief.
Crazy.
Delusional.
1929 – 1933 – 1947 – 1956 – 1967
1973 –
on the holy day of Yom Kippur,
Arab armies tried to destroy Israel.
They failed.
Over and over they failed.
So they began a campaign to rewrite history.
In Gaza, synagogues were destroyed,
ancient and new, to wipe out Jewish history.
On the Temple Mount,
the Waqf destroyed layers of history,
to expand its control and build new mosques.
The slightest Israeli innovation in the area
was cause for international crisis.
Now, on the day after Yom Kippur,
UNESCO has entered the fiasco,
giving the Arab narrative a stamp of approval.
From a new building on Hanevi’im Street,
on an old Jerusalem, Israel street,
one of the first outside the walls of the Old City,
the view to the left,
and the right may not be familiar.
But
look straight ahead to the Mount of Olives.
The Dome of the Rock,
where Mohammed’s horse took flight,
was built on the Temple Mount,
to insure that the Jews
would never rebuild their temple again.
There are thousands of Jewish graves in the background.
We once heard Rabbi Steinzaltz say,
“Yichus is like a potato,”
the best part is in the ground.
The graves on Mount of Olives
are testament to the Jewish presence in Jerusalem.
In the Yom Kippur service,
the words ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘shalom,’ peace,
are repeated over and over.
The latest UNESCO resolution is absurd.
But as Abba Eban said years ago,
“If Algeria introduced a resolution declaring that the earth was flat
and that Israel had flattened it,
it would pass by a vote of 164 to 13 with 26 abstentions.”
Nothing new under the sun?
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem, Israel.