Yom HaZikaron, Mishpacha Echad

photo from http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/ 

Last night when the 8pm sirens began the 24 hours of Yom HaZikaron, our memorial day for remembering our soldiers who gave their lives for this country, I walked down the street seeking a neighborhood tekes (ceremony) and so that I could be outside when the sirens sounded.

In Israel when the sirens go off on Yom HaZikaron, (at 8pm for one minute, then again the next morning at 11am for two minutes) everything comes to a halt. People go out to the street, pedestrians halt, all cars and vehicles stop, even on highways, including buses, and everyone stands for the one minute or the two minutes of the siren. Drivers and passengers get out of their cars and stand beside their vehicles as we remember the fallen. It is a profoundly moving experience.

As the 8pm time approached, I saw many people gathering in the kikar (traffic circle) ahead, and others gathering in the circle around the kikar itself, all of us joining one another in this public expression of sadness and heartfelt mourning. I had never seen this gathering at the kikar, and it was very much an expression of all of us together and especially meaningful.

It was what happened next however that made this one of the most moving of Yom HaZikaron evenings. I found myself a moment later, at the One Family Fund building, where a tekes was beginning. One Family Fund is an organization that brings together all the resources of people, services and monies to support families of victims of terror.  It is dedicated to a lifetime of assistance if needed to those who have suffered such a loss, and there are so many, like the soldiers, who have given their lives for this country.

This night, on Yom HaZikaron, when we remember the soldiers, we also remembered another kind of soldier - those who died, not in uniform, but defenders of our Land just the same.  One by one on the screen, names and faces of those so familiar to us brought us close. Soldiers lost in battle and those lost in terror attacks were remembered together. Family members, sons, daughters, brothers or sisters, stood at the microphone and gave moving and uplifting testimony to their loved ones and to their struggles to move ahead and regain their own lives. It was indescribable...heartbreaking and healing at the same time.

The audience was filled with family members, friends, young soldiers, and as we all know, each of us is a friend and has a personal connection to each one who has died. Not just in thought or spirit, but truly, because we are really a family, it IS someone that we know, or the friend of someone we know. There is always a personal connection. No one is untouched, we are part of one another, we are, Am Yisrael, One Family, Mishpacha Echad.

It was then I realized, like I do every year, that we cannot - not only cannot, we don't have the right, to celebrate the happiness of Yom HaAtzmaut, without sharing with one another, the pain of Yom HaZikaron.

Photo from Onefamilytogether.org

Spring...it tries

Spring...it tries to come. 
Flirting carelessly..
...as if it would happen.

Fiddlers

Our Jerusalem streets abound with artists, musicians, actors - performers of every shape and talent - delighting... or annoying... passersby. Any and every corner can suddenly become a stage, and since Jerusalem is known for it's ..emm, unusual affect on many visitors or even residents, one can expect almost anything. The gig is usually for passersby to throw in coins of appreciation, sometimes to advertise an event..sometimes just for the sheer joy of performing in this supernatural City.

Because there are so many, so often, as a Jerusalemite, one rarely pays much attention, occasionally nodding or noting an appreciation if especially entertaining. Sometimes though, even the most blase among us get caught up in the beat, in the moment, and you might see people breaking into spontaneous dance just walking down the street, should they happen upon someone really good.

Visitors of course are another matter.  Enthralled with anything and everything about this City, they often stand in awe, drawn in, clapping, and of course, snapping picture after picture with their cell phones held high.  As a resident, sometimes it is a little embarrassing...i mean we really are normal, most of us. (I think)

But this fall, I too was fascinated and drawn to two remarkable fiddlers, fiddling, not on the rooftops, but very close, as they stood on a wall near the entrance to the Old City, at the Jaffa Gate. Walking past this spot one or two times a week, as I work in the Old City, I first spotted the dark outline of the fiddlers against the Jerusalem sky, and it was pretty startling. I felt a bit like Tevye, going about my business, and there he was, the familiar tune and the fiddler silhouetted against the sky. I really wished my daughter could have been with me, she would love it !

It was rather remarkable actually.  I mean life is very intense in Israel at all times and while we fake it a lot, there is a shadow of uncertainty hovering over us constantly.  But here was the fiddler, buoying us up, giving us a thumbs up, helping us to get through.  When the fiddler is at the Gates of the Old City, there is a little spring and lightness in my step as I bound up the stairs...in time to his music of course.

The fiddler and his music is a symbol of hope and survival for many Jews...through our history and times of trouble and uncertainty, the fiddler is there. If you remember from the play, as the drama ends and they are all leaving Anatevka, the very last scene is the fiddler, beginning to play, and, at Tevye's beckoning nod, he follows them out of the village. Kol beseder.

In our case, there are actually two fiddlers. Erik Fleshler and Vladimir Bob (Yourochkin) and they go by the musical moniker, Tip Top.Jerusalem. They call themselves The Eccentric Duo, and that they are.

A bit obscure, funky, and funny, Erik and Vladimir Bob are entertainers for free or for hire, here in Jerusalem, in Moscow, or perhaps wherever you need them, if they are available.You can find their page on Facebook, or contact them at TipTopJerusalem@gmail.com.  I think they have other tricks up their sleeve, because they made me a balloon snow bird? while talking with them.  :)

To be honest, I didn't ask a lot about them because I want to keep them in that somewhat esoteric place - Fiddlers on the Roofs of Jerusalem - where the music and the image speak louder than words, where the supernatural and the natural blend as one, and we don't have to ask questions.

L'chaim

Walk in the Neighborhood

Every neighborhood has it's charm and I suppose, it's drawbacks. My current neighborhood in Yerushalayim is no exception, except I can't really think of any drawbacks, to be honest.  Charming, picturesque, and quintessentially a Yerushalayimi kind of place, it is close to, even within walking distance of, most everything I want.  I have to move within a month or so, and my hope and prayer is that I can find another apartment in this same "hood".  

It is known as Katamon, Greek for "below the monastery" - referring to the San Simon Monastery. Katamon at one time was divided into several sub neighborhoods, which still remain.  They are called the Katamonim and the monastery sits in the one called San Simon, adjacent to a huge and lovely public park. 
  

While I still call it Katamon, as habit and tradition dictates, for many reasons I really prefer the Hebrew Gonen, meaning defended, because that tells the Israeli story. 

Katamon in general, and San Simon monastery in particular, played important roles in the 1948 War for Independence and was the scene of several strategic battles and events. Additionally a large swath of the Katamonim or Gonenim was the armistice line between Israel and Jordan prior to the Six Day War ... hence this area was called (he who defends or the defenders) - Gonen or Gonenim.

The Greek church sold some of the land surrounding the monastery to wealthy Christian Arabs, thus at the outset of the 1948 War of Independence, San Simon had become both an Arab neighborhood and headquarters and home for many British officials of the Mandate. This change developed in the midst of the surrounding Jewish neighborhoods, and during the 1948 War itself, the monastery became a stronghold for Iraqi volunteer fighters supporting the Jordanians. 

Death Alley

A fascinating battle was fought here during the '48 War, when the Palmah captured the monastery, turned it into a hospital for wounded soldiers and at the same time, continued to fight a fierce and victorious battle from within it's walls. It was here Raphael Eitan was shot in the head on "death alley" and yet miraculously picked up a gun and kept fighting from within the building.  

All the streets from Jabotinsky to HaPalmach are rich with history from our Wars for Independence and our Land.

Ah...but I digress a little. The "battle" area has been an intimate part of my life and my neighborhood for many years but lately my walks are to the area and gardens next to Hansens Hospital- the hospital which for many years treated patients with leprosy (Hansen's disease).  

It's a place I love to go to when I am just "walking" and not trying to get somewhere, catch a bus, or run an errand.

There is something memorable and extraordinary about this place, a picture of another era painted against the hillside. It should stay forever. In fact, perhaps it will. 

But for now it is still a poignant remnant of the past and perhaps why I like to walk there. The struggle for survival in this Land is sometimes so intense that maybe I feel a connection with the will of those who were here, simply to survive.  I am sure they felt isolated and rejected, a feeling not so unknown to both Israelis and to Israel herself.   

Maybe it because I had an introduction to her already, in 2001, when I visited the grounds with a friend who wanted to purchase the compound for a healing center. 

When I saw it then, it reminded me - and still does - of the childhood book Secret Garden. I fully expected to see Colin, Mary and Dickon in the corner, watching the robin build his nest, planting and playing, laughing and whispering their secret.  :)  

  ...Or maybe i am simply drawn here because the entire area is stunningly beautiful, untouched by recent time...the landscape left alone and natural, especially - and where I walk the most - in the land surrounding the compound itself.

Last month, on a Shabbat, I snuck onto the grounds of the hospital and wandered quietly in the stillness and through the hushed campus, peering into the hallways and alleyways that wound their way into the building.  I am certain hidden treasures of days of old are there, waiting to be discovered. 

 This charming atmosphere won't last long however, as the good news is that the site was finally recognized by the Jerusalem Municipality as a historical site to be preserved.  As such it is now beginning to undergo major renovation, but hopefully not destruction.  It will be turned into a huge Multimedia Art Center, including exhibitions, labs, theaters, studios for artists, a guest house, cafe and restaurant and will be a center for research and development.

Before all these changes take place, I will try to do a photo shoot inside the grounds, for who knows how much of the original charm of the terraced gardens and the grounds will be retained. 

It is said that all the species of Eretz Yisrael are found here and on the adjacent grounds. Looking, one might think so, but I don't know if it is fact or legend.  I simply walk and think and find peace.

But I do know that it is here that fig and olive, rimon and sabra grow side by side and abundant in the hot Jerusalem sun. Grape vines, still trained on yesterday's trellises produce their fruit, providing visitors with a refreshing treat.  Wild roses, tall Jerusalem pines and date palm trees mingle with crab-apples and bridal-like white flowering bushes. 



Scenes from the gardens adjacent to the Hansens Hospital Grounds (the garden is Bustan Lior - the Orchard of Lior - named for a victim of a terror attack in 2004) and other scenes from the streets, alleyways and ganim (parks) en route to them can be seen as a slide show below.  

Enjoy your walk through this Jerusalem neighborhood !!                                     
                                                  

Sabra

Every lifetime has its course defined either by the gods or by us.  We agree or we choose, perhaps a little of each.  Sometimes we may choose in spite of the wisdom of a Council which would advise us differently.

Still .. we come.  Still they allow it.  Maybe our connections are so deep we have no choice even when we think we chose. 

The link between lives is too strong to disregard, at the same time it is often too strong to bear. 

----------------

Entering Israel one sees that the sabra are beautiful and almost majestic, a mirror of the Land. It is said the fruit though prickly is sweet.  Perhaps….or perhaps that is a legend perpetuated by those who simply don’t know what lies inside.  If the truth were known, the fruit is sweet but filled with hard stony seeds - too hard to chew, requiring them to be spit out or swallowed and ignored.  The sweetness, elusive.

I wish I could tell you not to touch the sabra but you will, because your heart is pure and you love deeply.  You will, because it is your destiny.  You will, because in spite of the depth of the pain and enormous sadness, your love is unconditional.  I know. 

You will because, like me, you will remember lifetimes when the fruit of the sabra was fully sweet and you were filled with joy and laughter.

FIRST MIMOUNA !!

Even before I made Aliyah I knew about the Moroccan Mimouna celebration that begins as soon as Pesach ends. I always wanted to go... it looked so fun and festive ! (and it IS !!)   Each year I would try to work out an arrangement, and each year, for different reasons, it never happened.  There used to be a huge celebration at a local Jerusalem park (Gan Sacher.) While I had hoped for a more intimate gathering, the one year I attempted to go to the large public happening, no one showed up ! The police and the television were expecting the crowd, as was I, so in the end, with no one there, television Channel One interviewed ME !! haha..I even wrote about it in my blog way back in 2009 (Chasing the Elusive Moufleta).

For some reason, Mimouna itself remained as elusive at the mufleta that i wrote about ! Until THIS year ! 

But first, what exactly IS Mimouna? While I could go into varied and perhaps more esoteric explanations regarding the origins of Mimouna, very simply it is a Moroccan or Jewish tradition of North Africa, a celebration that begins as Pesach ends. The tradition celebrates the freedom we won coming out of Egypt, the heavens are open for our prayers, and blessings for success and prosperity, for courtship and marriages are kept in mind this night.  Every one is dressed in his or her finest, tables are set with fine china and linen, there is a festive spirit, music and laughter. The hosts normally dress in traditional Moroccan clothing and many men wear the Red Fez of Fez, Morocco. 

The culinary star of the evening is the mufleta - a crepe, spread  and dripping deliciously with butter and honey - the first chametz after Pesach. Many other traditional sweets and delicacies, mint tea and fruit fill the table as well.  


This year, ironically, I was going to skip trying to go.  Weary of never finding a celebration to go to, I said, maybe next year !! But the heavens were smiling on me and as I sat at my computer I heard the unmistakable sounds of Mimouna in my neighborhood.  I even wrote about it on Facebook.  Finally I decided to go out and walk down the street, to get a closer look.  I knew that here in Israel, I COULD just go knock on the door and most likely be welcomed .  What I didn't know was that the tradition of Mimouna is to leave your door open and welcome guests without their needing invitations. 

And that's exactly what happened.  As I drew near the house with all the music (just 2 doors down), I was waved into the home with open arms and special hospitality. I felt like I was the honored guest ! (And in fact I was ! ) As is the custom I was led to the table laden with food, a mufleta was prepared for me, and offered with great delight and fanfare. As I ate it, honey and butter dripping down my fingers, many of the guests came up to me to ask after my well being, leading me to the mirpeset where men were singing and chanting tradtional songs, with the music of the oud blending in with their voices.  It was very sweet.   

That's Mimouna... a very sweet tradition, with sweet food and sweet people.  I am so glad I finally had the privilege of joining in, meeting my neighbors in such a special way.  

I share these pictures with the permission of the family, even knowing it was my first attempt at photographing with my cell phone ! ha! They look more like impressionist paintings than photos but I hope you enjoy  them.  I was even given permission to photograph the women patting out and cooking the mufleta crepes in the kitchen.  

It was a chag sameach !!

The Gates of Jerusalem

I have to admit, I am rather captivated by doors and gates. I find them
artistically beautiful, architecturally intriguing.....and I am certain that if they could speak, they would have fascinating stories to tell.
                                                         
Jerusalem is full of enchanting doors and gates. One of my dreams of owning my own home here in Jerusalem is to have a bright blue fence and gate or door ..somewhere at the edge of town but not too far out..a little garden.  In my dreams for sure.

Most stories about the Gates of Jerusalem are about the Old City Gates (e.g.. Jaffa Gate) or about historical gates of Jerusalem. Some are about the artistic gates of places like beautiful Ein Karem.


This story is about everyday gates in my neck of the woods..an older untouched part of the City..(although that is changing a little...the neighborhood is slowly becoming "gentrified" and soon some of the interesting charm of yesteryear may disappear.)

The area is not economically poor but it is not upscale or well to do either..just common everyday homes and streets of Jerusalem - mostly a community of  Jewish immigrants who fled neighboring Arab countries such as Iraq. There once was a train running just at the edge of the apartment buildings...the tracks and emek (valley) still there. Often on a Shabbat afternoon, I walk the length of it. On Lag B'omer, it is alight with bonfires and at other times, simply a gathering place for fun.  In the next neighborhood those tracks and grasses have given way to beautification; it does look very nice and modern, and I think we are next for the development - one reason I wanted to capture some of the common but charming pictures of my streets before they disappear.


Many of these gates are afterthoughts. In the earlier days it seems there was only a low stone wall at the edge of a property. When it became necessary to gate the property, the arch to hold the gate, the gate itself, and the subsequent fencing on top of the stone wall were all added later and of different materials.

Some gates and walls have been remodeled and are stylish but some are very makeshift - funny and funky. Additionally, there are those that are thought out and symmetrical with the whole landscape and those that are innovative and modern.  Each is unique - almost no two alike and all are interesting.  Each innovative creation (or lack thereof) gives a snaphot of the various owners (though not necessarily the current one).  As I walk though my area, I often wonder what the story was for this one or that one. I surely  wish these gates and walls could talk. oy voy voy...what would we hear??

I have included a few here on the blog main page, but please go to my picasa website for a slideshow and/or album of many more.   Enjoy !

Gilad Gilad - ברוך שובך - Welcome Back !

We are rung dry again as a nation. Torn between moments, torn between emotions. Hetze Hetze - Half Half. Elated that our son and brother Gilad has come home to us at last; distraught that the price paid was the release of terrorists with blood on their hands.

There have been so many articles written, so much debate. But as always, I will write my piece from the inside out. I am sitting at my computer feeling the palpable relief and joy from a day of watching Gilad come home at the same moment as I am hearing the celebratory fireworks of the arab villages around me - those who are delighted in the release of the terrorists. I cannot easily describe what that feels like. Each explosion of their celebration cuts into my heart. The moment feels like an oxymoron.

I am one of those people who believe this was the right thing to do...hands down. It was an enormously tough decision for Bibi Netanyahu. He was surely between the proverbial rock and a hard place, but in my opinion, he showed extraordinary leadership to do what he did. At the same time I understand the grief and feelings of betrayal families whose loved ones have been murdered must be feeling at this moment. Their pain must be terrible, reopening wounds that never heal anyway.  There were 2 terrorists he allowed released that horrified me and I found their freedom to be completely inexcusable. I don't understand his reasoning,, but I am not the PM (thank God) and perhaps there are things I don't know about it.  I most certainly don't agree with everything Bibi does; nonetheless, today I am proud of Israel.

It was, I believe, a window of opportunity that presented itself and had to be acted upon quickly. Hamas was humiliated by the apparent success of Abbas in the UN - they had to do something to bring credibility to their "organization." Even though they appear not to want to be in the "game", nothing could be further from the truth. If they were going to remain one of the players, they would have to capitulate on some of their demands. At the same time, Egypt's military, trying desperately to hold on to power before the Muslim Brotherhood gains a bigger piece of the pie, and before Hamas relocates from Syria to Egypt, had another window opened. Israel HAD to act. We held firm on the big guns that Hamas wanted, and they had to give in. Hamas never gives in. They were desperate...and we had to move in at that moment.

The political right is considerably upset about a perceived victory for Hamas, even Fatah, and terrorism in general. They are certain this will result in more terrorism, emboldened by the release of the murderers, these terrorists, they are certain, will not hesitate to return to their vile deeds. I am neither stupid nor naive. I live here. I have been shot at by Palestinian terrorists, their bullets shattering glass at my feet, pushed off the road by arab terrorists wanting me dead in the ravine; and without going into detail I have been in the hands of Hezbollah in Lebanon. I realize the potential as well as the next person.

But we cannot live on feared future scenarios, nor the exaggerated bravado of terrorists and their leaders. Our strength is in the fact that today we cared enough about one soldier's life to risk. That's it. Today we should be proud. When the Israeli officer goes to battle he does not send his men to fight, he goes first and says "follow me." Don't be fooled by the loud voices that want to distract. Today Israel said "follow me" and whether they voice it or not, the world, even our enemies took notice.

Miki Goldwasser, whose son was murdered by Hezbollah terrorists, said this: "Today is our victory day. The day where we decided that our values and our confidence in the righteousness of our way shall guide us. ..they did not win, and they know it."

In fact, Hamas itself, and Islamists throughout the Arab countries, recognized the strength that Israel displayed, the morality of the value placed on human life, and were envious. Two of many statements issued by our enemy were these: "This is a pillar of Israel's strength - to wage a war to free one man, to free a thousand prisoners for him." and "I wish I were Gilad Shalit; I wish my country cared so much about me"


One could argue about all the fine points. The critics  have screamed to high heaven about how terrible this "deal" was...how could Israel this, and how could Israel that?  ....telescoping in on only one segment of the unfolding drama. Tunnel vision. They are so caught up in their despair and criticism that they fail to see that Israel did a good thing.

But even worse...they are so caught up with their future prognostications of doom that they failed to see the face of one of our sons. Though etched in signs of an awful reality that we will never know...there was an unmistakeable look of wonder on Gilad's face.  There was that smile that must have felt like a dream. Physically weak and exhausted, emotionally struggling to maintain, Gilad's courageous and explicit answers to the cruel and heartless interview forced upon him by Egyptian journalists was the real picture of what happened today.

We can argue all the fine points tomorrow. But today Gilad was kulanu כולנו - all of us..Am Yisrael - the people of Israel ..full of wonder and as if in a dream. We are proud of you Gilad and so happy and relieved to see you home safely.

And I am proud of Israel.  Am Yisrael chai - עם ישראל חי - the people of Israel lives !

The Kikars of Jerusalem

They are called "round-abouts" in Britain, "traffic circles" in the USA, but here in Israel it is a "kikar" (plural is probably kikarot).

Technically kikar means "square" as in Safra Square near City Hall Jerusalem. But ..the traffic circle is well..i guess - silly me...a circle is not a square is it?   ... UNLESS, of course, it's in Israel.

Ok, here's the logic...i think!.  A public square is where people gather, nachon?  so...a traffic circle is really a square for automobiles and autobuses to gather..for a brief moment anyway..... except...well, in the this case it's not a square but a circle... i guess it is easier for the autos to manuever.  ....Simple isn't it?

Kikar Safra Jerusalem (Wikipedia)

We have some famous ones...Kikar Zion at the bottom of Ben Yehuda midrahov (pedestrian mall), and as I mentioned, Safra Square at the Iryia (City Hall) Jerusalem.  Neither of these is a "traffic circle" but are popular large or elaborate squares where events are held.

Kikar Rabin in Tel Aviv (Wikipedia)

In Tel Aviv, there is Kikar Rabin, also a very large public square for events, and with a long history.

However, Tel Aviv's Kikar HaMedina IS an actual traffic circle, an enormous one, lined with upscale boutique stores and restaurants.  And the center of the circle, which could be beautiful, has a few trees but mostly unattractive parched dirt..not even grass.  There are walkways through it; I think it's a location for homeless to congregate and sleep. Really, Tel Aviv you could do better than that at the most famous shopping kikar in the country !!

Kikar HaMedina (Visual Travel)

But really, what I wanted to write about were just the everyday traffic kikars of Jerusalem..scattered as they are throughout the City, in every neighborhood, on every street.  Most of them are good directors of traffic, some have interesting side shows like the one in Giva HaTzarfatit, (French Hill).  Right along side the circle, at the edge of the stone sidewalk one can find an industrial scale..which is working.   People stop by and weigh themselves, their children, pets, packages and you name it. What a riot

Directions are given in Jerusalem by landmarks more than by street names, and kikars play a big role in directions. "Go to the kikar at the bottom of the hill and take a right." Almost all of them are maintained with flowers and trees, are frequently updated with seasonal changes. Some are very beautiful.  I have included a few photos of the kikars of Jerusalem, here and on this picasa link because I enjoy them, and want you to enjoy them too !!

I have featured only a few, some of them to also showcase.the surrounding neighborhood - the street itself, the walls, the apartments with Jerusalem stone as our primary and required building material. Beautiful Jerusalem. From time to time I may snap some more pics of other kikars and post a notice on the blog.

Obviously the next best thing would be to come to Jerusalem and see for yourself!