Thanksgiving, Chanukah, and Turning 21 in Jerusalem

Hi all,


Wow, it's been over a month (sorry!) since last posting. It has been a pretty busy and eventful time, which I guess explains why. So, this really ought to have been at least four separate, periodic posts, but here's one long one to make up for the big gap.  ; )


Thanksgiving

Celebrating this American holiday, which is generally not a big deal here in Israel, turned out to be quite special.

The Jewish Federations of North America, Hillel at Hebrew University, and Arlene Kaufman through the endowment fund of her late husband Bruce Kaufman have established the tradition of sponsoring an annual Thanksgiving dinner for American students studying abroad in Israel.

A few Australians, South Americans, and Europeans (and Israelis of course) made it all the merrier too.

It was fancy-shmancy at a posh Kibbutz hotel, with delicious gourmet food, some actually quite short-and-sweet speeches, a bit of somewhat odd 'entertainment' involving light up hoola-hoops, some Thanksgiving/pre-Chanukah trivia, and live music.

The band was actually really cool - and, yes, I did force myself to do a bit of dancing . . .

And, I was grateful for another opportunity to dress up a bit.

That Friday night (the day after Thanksgiving), the extended Juster family had there belated Thanksgiving gathering, at which I was very blessed to be their guest. Hanging out with them, playing with the kids, and enjoying home cooked food that almost made that gourmet stuff seem a bit lacking was really wonderful.

I am very thankful for all of that.  ; )  I really am though.



Turning 21

The Kehilah had their men's brunch on the day of my birthday, which was neat. It was a lovely small gathering and a special time. I am so glad I was able to be there with them for that.

Although there isn't anything very significant about this particular age in Israel, in the spirit of being an American turning twenty-one, I decided I ought to have my first beer. So, I did a little research on Israeli beers and found one that seemed like it would be really good. I tried to find it at a couple stores that sells that brand, but they were out. At the second place I discovered that it is a seasonal beer, and was now out of season. So, I thought, oh well. But - I happened to stop into a place in the Shuk just in case, and they of course had several left.

An "Oak Porter" from the "Negev" Southern-Israeli craft brewery.

Nothing like a good beer and a good book.  ; )

I did some random stuff during the afternoon, had a great day overall.

At Shabat dinner, I was kindly bombarded with a few more rounds of "Happy Birthday" and a candle topped doughnut from some friends here.

"Psalms Plus"

The day after my birthday, there was a concert of liturgical, classical music in Hebrew (a concept which was very special to see actually being carried out) presented by David Loden and his choral ensembles, joined for a portion of the evening by the Israel Chamber Orchestra. This was held in the Old City's Christ Church, quite a beautiful venue.

They had quite nifty bi-lingual, unfolding programs as well:

Afterwards, I was very hungry and already downtown, so I decided it would be a good opportunity to make sure I don't leave Israel without eating at a "Kosher McDonald's," of which there is one on Ben Yehudah Street. I came incredibly close to ordering a cheeseburger, but caught myself just in time. As it turns out, McDonald's is pretty much the same here as in the states, even the burger.

Yes, they do have "happy meals" in Israel.
No, I did not get one.  ; )

Chanukah

The first night, I was feeling pretty anti-social and hadn't ended up making any particular plans with regard to lighting the chanukiah. [To be honest, being away for another holiday had me pretty homesick at times throughout Chanukah.] So, I decided to go down town and explore a bit more - and, though I didn't light one that night, I saw chanukiot all over.

First, I went to Gan Sacher, which was very quiet and pretty at night. I took far too many pictures there of course (most of which, sadly, didn't turn out so well).

An intriguing memorial bell which has "Pray for the peace
of Jerusalem" written on it in Hebrew, Arabic, and English.

Lots of sports courts/areas
(hockey, skateboarding, basketball, tennis, soccer . . .) 

And a playground, of course.

And benches . . .

And outdoor workout equipment

Why not take a self-portrait in the middle of the largest lawn in Jerusalem?

. . . and another . . .

That timer setting on the camera is just too fun . . .

There was a bunch of interesting graffiti in that tunnel:

Back on the street, there were chanukiah holiday lights all over! It was a bit like Christmas in the States.

From a distance, the street lamp with added Chanukah
lights looked kind of like a giant, burning candle.  : )

I walked through the Shuk just for fun, and I'm glad I did; it was a very different experience after almost everything was closed, and there were some neat things to see.

Weirdly empty. 

Yep, it's Chanukah.

Not everything was closed though. There were a couple places having Chanukah parties, with good-old American rock-and-roll and everything . . . 

Strange sight, cars parked all along a street usually filled
with people bustling from shop to shop.

 Some shop owners (I'm assuming this is intentional and not vandalism) have beautiful art painted on their shop gates, only visible after closing:

And yes, Chabad chanukiot everywhere . . . 

After that, I wandered around downtown a bit more.

Really, everywhere.

Got sachlav and a sufganyah at the café "Kadosh."

Sachlav: essentially liquid starch with nuts and spices.
Not bad, but I think I still prefer coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. 

Turns out, pistachio filled sufganyot aren't bad.

The end of Ben Yehudah Street had a giant (and pretty) electric chanukiah.

Ironically, this year in Jerusalem was my first time not lighting [or attending a lighting] on the first night. This almost continued into the second night, as I would have gone to a group lighting but got back from class too late. As it happened though, the second night our apartment was ambushed by a bunch of friendly Chabad dudes on a mission get people celebrating Chanukah with give-away chanukiot and candles, step-by-step walkthroughs of the lighting process (whether it was needed or not), and almost excessively exuberant song and dance. I was actually very thankful for that, even if I have issues with Chabad in general, I do have to thank those guys for getting to light the second night and having a chanukiah for the rest of the holiday. It was kind of fun too, even if the two of us who happened to be home then were the two who actually knew the blessings, etc.

Courtesy of Chabad.

The Student Village had a big electric chanukiah on top of the main entrance during Chanukah:

Very cool.

One light out, oh well. ;)

The Student Village also had a chanukiah lighting every night, to which I went a couple of times. They were short and sweet. A kind, humorous Rabbi came each night with sufganyot, wine, and Arak, and led us through the ceremony, with help from one or two of his sons.

The eight days were filled with various Chanukah things all over, and chanukiot everywhere.

Aroma (the Israeli equivalent of Starbucks, but with good coffee) changes the chocolates they give out with take-out coffee to fit the season, so, Chanukah gelt.

First time I've ever seen proprietary gelt.  ; )

Somebody got creative decorating at school!

Yet another Chabad chanukiah. 

Even the buses wished passengers "happy Chanukah."

The Hebrew University library even had nightly chanukiah lightings, complete with live music and free sufganyot. I wasn't able to go due to my class schedule, but I just caught the tail end of one, saw the lit chanukiah, and got a sufganyah.   : )

"Are there any caramel-filled sufganyot left? Jelly-filled?"

 As a result of staying up late both for Bard registration and to finish my Chanukah Art Show project, I lit the chanukiah at 2:30am for the first time. It was kind of neat.

Nothing like PBJ and milk by candlelight.  : )

For our Erev Shabat gathering during Chanukah, a few of us made TONS of latkes.

There are several layers of latkes here, and another container
over on the other end of the table.

I insisted on making one giant one too.  ; )

Which I somehow managed to flip without destroying. 

Happy Shabat Chanukah!

On the Saturday during Chanukah, the Kehilah had their service followed by Chanukah dinner later in the day. This was really great for a couple reasons.

First, it was very nice to get to celebrate Chanukah with all of them. Watching all the kids light the chanukiah (and meander around holding burning candles a little longer than some of us were comfortable with . . .) and hearing them sing the song they had learned was very sweet. 

Second, this meant that earlier in the day I was able to go to Shabat morning services at the Great Synagogue. It was really special, as Shabat Chanukah has longer, especially musical liturgy and they have a guest cantor - so, it was a true gift to be able to attend that.

The last night of Chanukah is my Hebrew birthday, and I got to do something very special for that. I went to the Old City and saw, among other things, the chanukiah at the Kotel. Lots of Chanukah light all over as well.

On the way in, there was beautiful light-art being projected onto the Old City walls from across the street. I overhead someone saying "It's like Time Square at Christmas," and it really was.

(The chanukiah at the Western Wall)

And lots more chanukiot and lights throughout the Old City:

And more Chabah chanukiot on the way home:

The Shuk

I have frequently mentioned the Shuk but, as someone correctly pointed out to me recently, have neglected to take and post many pictures.

So, below are quite a few. I took them around twilight though, so the lighting was not the best for photography.
I think that the pictures are pretty self-explanatory, but I should say that the Shuk is a very varied place. You can find pretty much everything there: the myriad sorts of produce and foods for which the Shuk is probably best known - from fresh fruits and veggies to nuts and olives to spices and baked goods, little shops and small stores, household wares, beverages, candy and snacks, flowers, clothing, Judaica, souvenirs, restaurants of various calibers, even a small synagogue, the list goes on . . . Oh, and street musicians!

By now, when I've finally finished this post (and a lengthy one at that), a bunch more stuff worth posting about has of course already happened. So, I might end up with back-to-back posts . . .

That's all for at least a day or two though. ;)


L'Shalom,
Noach


P.S. My studies, for anyone who's curious about that aspect of my time here, are continuing to go well. I had the opportunity to write a paper for the "From Jewish Jesus to Christianity" class about Hillel and Yeshua. Despite procrastinating on it, I felt very strongly about it, and put in a fair amount of last-minute effort. That paper got me what is probably the biggest, most-meaningful, and humbling compliment ever. I'm doing well in Biblical Hebrew and learning so much fascinating, valuable stuff. I am very much enjoying the music classes as well. Lots of composing and other things to get done in the coming weeks . . . all good stuff though.

P.P.S. I have decided that native Israelis speaking Hebrew is, in fact, the most beautiful sounding thing my ears have ever had the privilege of hearing.