Sukot - Headings, Photos, Captions!

Hello again,

So, lots of great stuff here during Sukot, and I thought the best way to share would be mostly pictures with explanation and commentary. I took hundreds of pictures this past week (sometimes of the strangest things) and narrowed it down a bit, but still, this is a long post . . .

I will mention separately (since I actually don't have pictures from this) that I went to Santoros' for Erev Sukot, which was a wonderful time with great people and delicious, home-cooked food.



Lulav & Etrog

Got lulav and etrog the morning of Erev Sukkot in the Shuk (sadly, I forgot to take a picture of the shop where I bought them):

(Some assembly required.)

The Sukah in the Student Village

Somebody moved his bed out here to sleep in the Sukah. 

Lunch and waving in the Sukah on the 1st day.

Downtown Jerusalem

I went downtown Tuesday evening in search of decent bass strings, and also just because it is a neat place.

There is, in fact, a place called "Holy Bagel." 

So true - couldn't resist.  ; )

Sukot, downtown style.

Realized I didn't have wire-cutters for changing bass strings. Thankfully I found nifty multi-tool at the Jerusalem Night Market. 

Old City

I spent most of Wednesday exploring the Old City, a very neat place.

Making our way down . . . 

. . . to the Jaffa Gate. 

Inside - a bustling day.

Flocking towards the Wall.

The Cardo, a main Roman highway in its time.

A very big Sukah.

Nice view on the way down to the Western Wall.

It was totally packed that day.

Interesting ruins near the Wall.

City of David

I went on a free tour of the City of David excavations, which had some intriguing sights and a very knowledgable tour guide.

People - the international symbol for restrooms.  : )

Not the City of David, but a good view of the surrounding area from within it.

This is thought to be part of an ancient palace. 

A wealthy family's home of some 2,000 years ago.

More of the uncovered City of David.

So, this is what it feels like to be sewage 2,500 years ago.

These are actually the foundational stones of the Western Wall. 

This, in its day, was basically a manhole cover.

Back in the Old City

There is light at the end of the tunnel . . . 

I love arches. 

Another Sukah.

Another pretty arch.

The motorcycle seems a bit out of place.

A super-Sukah.

Did I mention I love arches?

My dad would love this place. 

Just a little glimpse of the myriad shops.

On the way back I passed the placed from which I got my Hebrew-English Bible, which was actually open that day. Kind of a neat little bookstore.

And . . . another Sukah.

Food, the Shuk, Etc.

Went to the Shuk Thursday night to get a couple things before the weekend.

The Shuk: always a busy place.

After seeing these chocolate chalot everywhere in the Shuk, I finally got one. So good.

After visiting the Shuk, I felt inspired to do some Israeli style cooking at home:

1. Fry potato strips.

2. Add veggies.

3. Take pita.

4. and hummus.

5. Add hummus to pita.

6. Stuff pita.

I was very much in the holiday spirit and thinking of how thankful I am to have great dorm-mates (who are all traveling internationally over the break). So, I decided to leave them each a little "welcome back" gift.

(Welcome home.)

Tel Aviv

I basically went on vacation to Tel Aviv for the weekend. I actually relaxed, yet still managed to do a little bit of everything.

The Bus

The Central Bus Station, kind of like Jerusalem's equivalent to Grand Central Station.

Inside, heading for the bus to Tel Aviv. 

On my way . . .

The "Na-Nachers" (followers of Rabbi Nachman from Breslav's teachings) are everywhere.

First time I sat next to someone with an assault rifle (an MTAR-21, by the way) on a bus.

Definitely in Tel Aviv now. 

The Hostel

Stayed at this very nice "hostel" - more like a hotel for traveling hipsters.

Didn't really like the idea of sleeping in mixed company, so I splurged on a private room.

The Kehilah

I was able to visit the sister Kehilah on Friday evening. It was very nice, with lots of friendly people. There were two pastors from China as guest speakers that night, which was quite interesting. (The Chinese to English to Hebrew translation was too.) They also had their early Simchat Torah celebration, for which it was great to be there.


The Breakfast

I had heard good things about this 24 gourmet breakfast chain, and there was one right around the corner.

Now this is what I call orange juice - fresh-squeezed and lots of pulp.

White chocolate, espresso pancakes - with actual espresso that you pour on as a topping. 

Wow, they actual have the sense to give you wet wipes after sticky food.

The Beach

The weather was beautiful.

I went swimming for a bit in the Mediterranean.

. . . and played beach volleyball with some friendly Germans.

The Streets and Architecture

Sometimes you just can't get away from America. 

Beautiful bird. 

This was a sad sight.

Tel Aviv's "Great Synagogue."

And its Sukah. 

See the Sukah here?

How about now?

Monument in honor of Tel Aviv's founders. 

Even in Tel Aviv, the Hebrew Scriptures are a big part of the culture.

At least this graffiti has an interesting artistic concept.

I thought my time in Israel would not truly be complete without eating dinner at a gas station in Tel Aviv, so . . .

The Music

The big reason I went to Tel Aviv this reason was to see this concert, which was possibly the best non-classical, live performance experience of my life.
I am kind of glad I did not see pictures of the venue's exterior ahead of time - I may have decided not to go. It looks like a dump, but the inside is not bad, and the show wasn't weird at all - definitely a "there-for-the-music" crowd.

I shot a bunch of video clips (which don't even vaguely do the music justice) and would be remiss not to include some:

(Phineas and His Sons) פנחס ובניו

These guys (and gal) have soooo much energy - especially the bassist.

Stage setup change.

Project RnL

These guys are just plain cool. The songwriter actually stopped to teach the audience how to clap to a song in 4/4 with measures of 7/8 every five or six bars.  : )

They did one of their bassist's solo pieces too.  : )

And both bands joined together to perform my favorite Project RnL song:

The Diaspora Museum

Before heading back to Jerusalem I went to Tel Aviv University to see Beit HaTfutzot (The Diaspora Museum), which was very much worth seeing. They closed early that day, so I had to rush through and I didn't take many pictures [for which at this point whoever is reading this may be grateful : ) ].

I've read this before, but it was still kind of funny, and sad at the same time.

Wow, so cool.

This was very intriguing.

[Diorama mentioned above.]

Groggers haven't changed much over the years, have they?

The campus itself is quite beautiful as well. 

Back in Jerusalem

Staying a couple nights in Tel Aviv definitely made Jerusalem feel more like home. I certainly prefer the later.

Even the pizza place had a Sukah.

Simchat Torah

I went to the local Conservative synagogue again for Simchat Torah. It was nice to celebrate with them, and I even ended up carrying a Torah when someone I had met on my first visit hurriedly passed it off to me mid-hakafah after getting tired.

Rolling the scroll . . . 

I am now thoroughly convinced, though I often just don't take any pictures at all, that I am indeed capable of excessive photo-documentation.  : )

I have been extremely blessed to be able to do a lot of very cool things that I might not normally do, without worrying too much about money. Thank you to everyone whose generosity has made that possible, I truly appreciate it.


Shalom,
Noach

Hi again,

So, no amazing pictures of Israeli landscapes yet (soon, I hope), but I felt the need to make a comprehensive blog post now that I've been here a month and really started doing stuff. So, this is longish, but hopefully not boring.  : )

Thursday night I finally had time and energy to go downtown just to explore a bit, mostly around Ben Yehudah Street. It is very pretty there at night, and Thursday night is a big night for street musicians (kind of like a Friday night in the US, I think), so that was very cool to see and hear.

I got some good food and also picked up a slightly overpriced, but cute, olive-wood travel chess set.

I know many Israelis are into American "culture," but this was almost too much for me to take:

Really?  ; )

I found a cheap bass (about a third of what it would have cost to bring one on the plane with me) on yad2 ("second hand," the Israeli version of Craigslist). So, on Friday I managed to navigate the buses - which aren't so bad when you are not overtired and sick like I was on my first bus attempt - to go take a look and ultimately buy the bass. It was really neat to be able to wish the strangers from whom I bought this, who turned out to be a nice orthodox family, a Shabat Shalom and Chag Same'ach. It's also good to have an instrument in my room.

Friday night I had Shabat dinner with a few other students, and we stayed until 1:00am discussing religion and asking each other questions about our beliefs. I was so tired at Shabat service, but it was worth it.

Saturday afternoon I hung out with some of those students (and others) for a while outside. Though I have been staying away from the cats as we have been told to do, this little guy seemed healthy and is very friendly. He just comes up to people and crawls into their laps, so I let him climb up and I pet him (but did wash my hands afterwards). He took the longest nap on me:

Speaking of animals, coming home the other night, I saw a hedgehog just sitting on the walking path. He was super cute, but unfortunately this was the best picture I was able to get by the time I got to taking it:

Other somewhat random things:

 - Israeli humus is the best and I love it. I have been routinely putting it on grilled cheese sandwiches.

 - I love falafel when made properly.  ; )

 - RavKav cards are really easy to use after you figure out that they really are that easy.

 - The "Green Doritos" are so good - why don't we have these great flavors in the US?!

 - I'm going to get to see the Israel Philharmonic do Beethoven 9, and Matisyahu and Idan Raichel, and maybe Project RnL and פנחס ובניו (Pinchas and His Sons) who you should look up if you don't know them.

I went to the Shuk yesterday to get some grocery items and also Lulav & Etrog, of course. (Pictures of those and hopefully lots of Israeli sukot to come soon.) I also happened across some very cool "Shuk pizza."