Lag B'Omer

The thirty-third day after Passover is known as Lag B'Omer. The period from Passover until the holiday fifty days afterwards, Shavuot, is called the Omer and is a semi-mourning period in the Jewish calendar. Traditionally during this time weddings and parties are not held and hair is not cut (as a symbol of mourning).

However, the 33rd day (the Hebrew letter Lamed represents 30 and the letter Gimel represents 3 so L'G or Lag is 33) of the Omer is a day of celebration (attributed to various positive historical events on the day) and weddings and haircuts are encouraged.


Part of the festivities of Lag B'Omer include bonfires. While we were traveling last week, we saw several groups of children with shopping carts full of wood scraps. We wondered why o many kids were carting around wood and then it dawned on us that Lag B'Omer was coming and thus so were the bonfires.

Last night was the start of the day-long holiday and so shortly after sunset, the park began to fill with campfires (there really weren't any fires large enough that we saw that I would confidently call a bonfire) and the air filled with smoke. We walked around the streets of our neighborhood and into the park to see children and families lighting all sorts of wood on fire. Then, we found a big pile of pallets that were apparently strategically provided by someone to encourage fires. From that pile, many kids were filling up shopping cards to build their fires or to add more fuel.


Happy Lag B'Omer!

Matt & Jen Tours Inc.

Jen and I just returned from a five-day trip to the northern part of Israel, a land we had not yet seen. It was an exhilarating trip and while photos and extended stories will be posted soon here on the blog, I wanted to take this opportunity to provide an overview of our trip in the style of literature known as "tour planner."

Day One - Sunday

• Depart from the comfort of your Jerusalem apartment and walk downtown to pickup your rental car; experience what Israelis attempt to call "waiting in line!"
• Navigate back to your apartment to pickup luggage and then depart from Jerusalem toward the north.
• Experience the amazing theme park "Mini Israel," a miniature reconstruction of historic buildings throughout the Holy Land. Arrive a half hour before opening - time at your leisure!
• Explore Tel Meggigo, the ancient town also called Armageddon - according to Christian theology to be the location of the climatic battle between good and evil at the end of days! Walk through the first of many water system caverns on this trip.
• After searching on several wrong roads due to confusing signs, arrive at Bet Alpha National Park and explore the ruins of a synagogue from the sixth century. See the intricate mosaic floor.
• Travel to the incredible Bet She'an National Park, the ancient Egyptian, Jewish, and Roman capital city of the region. Explore the Roman city and enjoy sitting amongst the vomitoriums (hallways, not rooms for vomit!) in the 7,000 seat outdoor theater!
• Drive miles and miles up a one-lane mountain highway to arrive at a Crusader-era fortress at the top of a hill 50 minutes before closing, only to be told that entry is not permitted after 4 p.m.! Drive back down the hill.
• Arrive in the underdeveloped tourist city of Tiberias and visit the tomb of Rabbi Meir. Enjoy a private dining experience in one of Tiberias' finest kosher restaurants. Overnight in Tiberias at the formerly luxurious Hotel Astoria, located nowhere near the minimal attractions of Tiberias.
  

Day Two - Monday

• Depart your hotel for the drive to the mystical city of Tsefat (Safed). Experience the street system, likely developed by Kabbalists themselves to confuse demons or to keep the evil eye out of the Jewish Quarter.
• Explore the maze-like streets of the Jewish Quarter in old Tsefat and look inside several old synagogues tied to famous Jewish scholars.
• Visit the Safed Candle Factory and gaze adoringly at the overpriced pieces of wax.
• Continue north. No, even more north. Nope - still not far north enough. Continue north to Kiryat Shmona, the city that 9 out of 10 Katyusha rockets prefer over any other city in Israel! It's the city you heard about in the news every day last summer - it's a famous place!
• Visit the memorial and cemetery at Tel Hai in honor of the Jewish fighters who died in a 1920 battle against local Arabs.
• Even farther north than Kiryat Shmona is Metula, the northernmost town in Israel. Delightfully charming, this town of 1400 sits almost on top of the Lebanese border! Enjoy the peace and serenity of this adorable town (rated the "Second Cutest Town" by Jen) as the only visitors during your stay.
• Heading south and away from the threat of Lebanese incursion, head toward the Hermon Stream Nature Reserve, a.k.a. Banias or Panias. This beautiful setting of nature trails and waterfalls will delight the whole family!
• More history awaits! Located amid magical mountain scenery on the slopes of Mt. Hermon is the Nimrod Fortress, one of the largest and most impressive fortresses from the Middle Ages in the Middle East!
• Drive south along the border highway through the Golan Heights and stop at the overlook to view the large and impressive Syrian ghost town of Kuneitra or Qunaitra, abandoned by Syria after the Six Day War.
• Stop in Katsrin and visit the archaeological museum there to learn about the history of Gamla, the Jewish town under siege by the Romans.
• Travel to the sacred Jordan River and while on its banks, explore the ancient community of Tel Beit Tsaida.
• Walk along the promenade in Tiberias along the Kinneret, a.k.a. the Sea of Galilee. Participate in a private screening of the "Galilee Experience," a 37 minute multi-media presentation on the thousands of years of history of this historical region. Before buying your ticket, be warned by a friendly salesperson that the movie contains seven minutes about the life of Jesus.
• Overnight in Tiberias.

Day Three - Tuesday

• Travel cross-country to the beautiful Mediterranean Sea coast.
• Visit historic and ancient Acco (Acre), including the Citadel, Underground Prisoners Museum, the Turkish Bath, the Sea Wall, and even the Al Jazzar Mosque!
• Continue south to Haifa and see the key sights there - the Bahai Gardens, Elijah the Prophet's cave, the Maritime Museum.
• Evening at leisure! Perhaps visit the Grand Canyon (a play on words because the word "canyon" in Hebrew means "mall,") said to be the largest mall in the Middle East! See a movie and relax after three days of driving and traveling like crazies.
• Overnight at the once plush Hotel Marom in Haifa.

Day Four - Wednesday

• Drive through the beautiful natural and human-planted forests of Carmel National Park. Stop at the Carmelite Monestary for 23 seconds for the view of the location where Elija the prophet battled the priests of Baal!
• Continue traveling through the park and experience the phenomenon of encountering a large Arab city in the middle of a densely forested national park.
• Spend the morning at the amazing Beit She'arim, an ancient Jewish community that contains dozens of burial caves to explore, including the burial site of the famous redactor of the Mishna, Rabbi Judah haNasi!
• After Beit She'arim, visit the outstanding ancient town of Tsipori. There, you'll explore brilliant mosaics, a Roman theater, a Crusader fortress, and an ancient synagogue.
• Then, drive through the charming modern Jewish villages of Beit Lechem haGililit and Alonei Aba, both located on former Templar sites from the early 20th century.
• On the way back to Haifa, visit the non-grand canyon, a small indoor shopping center.
• Then, afternoon at leisure and be forewarned - if one should happen to take a nap, the maid might just walk right in! Overnight in Haifa.

Day Five - Thursday

• Say l'heitraot (goodbye) to Haifa and drive south to visit what is said to be Israel's most beautiful beach. Discover that it's a little bit more difficult to get to than originally thought and arrive at a secret military installation not found on the map! After being directed to the beach, discover that the beach is not yet open for the day.
• Continue south to Zikhron Ya'akov, rated #1 most adorable town in all of Israel by Jen.
• While there, visit the Aaronsohn House–Nili Museum to learn about the anti-Ottoman spy ring established in the town during World War I.
• Then, visit the First Aliyah Museum, which charts the history of the first wave of Jewish immigration to Israel from the 1800s to early 1900s.
• Continue south along the Mediterranean Coast to Caesarea, the place the tour books say is said to, "feel rather like a tour-bus unloading zone." Enjoy the splendor of an ancient site developed for tourists. Despite the underwhelmingness of Caesarea, do stop by the Roman aqueduct, which is truly impressive.
• Neaing the end of our tour, be sure to be on time for the 3 p.m. English tour at the Alaylon Institute, an amazing historical site that is not to be missed! The institute was the home of a secret bullet manufacturing plant in the years before Israeli independence.
• Heading home to Jerusalem, stop at Beit Hertzel, which wasn't really Hertzel's house anyway and the Burma Road, located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
• Overnight in Jerusalem at home.

Day Six - Friday

• After a week of driving in Israel and never going the wrong way down a one-way street, screw up and do so in the city you've lived in for nearly a year. Have the wonderful experience of an Israeli police officer coming up to your car and yelling at you in Hebrew. Be sure to play the role of ignorant foreigner and just receiving a gentle admonishment. Return rental car. Walk home. Whew!

Completing Our Tour of the Old City

The Roman-era Cardo (a.k.a. an ancient shopping mall) in the Old City

On Wednesday, got an early start on our last major tour of the Old City. First thing in the morning, however, I gave a very-well-received going away sermon at the synagogue.

We saw seven sites in or near the Old City by noon! Our morning started with the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Christian Quarter. The Church is believed to the location of Jesus' crucifixion, as identified by Emperor Constantine's mom in the year 330.

Inside the Church.

Following the Church, we visited the Armenian Museum. The museum building itself is beautiful but the exhibits include many photocopied articles or enlarged and grainy photos. Jen and I were the only visitors that morning and as soon as we'd paid our five shekel admission price ($1.25) the caretaker turned on Armenian music that flowed throughout the museum. As soon as we left, the music was turned off by the cartoon-watching caretaker/ticket seller.

The courtyard of the Armenian Museum.

We then proceeded to visit the grave of Oskar Schindler in a cemetery just outside the Old City walls that appears to be primarily a cemetery of Arab Christians. Nonetheless, Mr. Schindler has a beautiful location.

Schindler's Grave

Schindler's View

Nearby Schindler's Grave is King David's Tomb and we paid our respects there in separate men's and women's sections.

Then we proceeded across the street to the awkwardly named museum, The Chamber of the Holocaust. This museum is underground and quite dark. It includes marble memorial plaques on just about every wall. There are photocopies of photos and articles taped to the walls and display cabinets along with artifacts brought by survivors themselves to Israel. It is said to be the world's oldest Holocaust museum and there is a certain special significance in its jumbled appearance. At the museum there is also a courtyard dedicated to destroyed communities called "The Courtyard of Annihilation."

Our sixth stop on our tour of the Old City was the Four Sephardi Synagogues - all four are connected and were built collaboratively. All four are beautiful and more information can be found here.

Inside just one of the four synagogues.

Our final stop and the big highlight of the day was the Tower of David: Museum of the History of Jerusalem. This is an incredible museum built into an old guard tower on the wall of the Old City. From the top of the tower one can see across the city and to the mountains on the Jordan side of the Dead Sea. It's a beautiful building and has very nice exhibits but after a year of living in the city, Jen and I realized that we should have gone there first and not last - we had visited all of the places that the displays discussed so for us it was a quick tour. I highly recommend visiting this museum upon your first arrival in Jerusalem.

The view of the Old City from the Tower of David. The Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount is in the background and behind that is the Mount of Olives.

Our next up over the next two and a half weeks we're here is a tour of the northern part of the country and at least one more day trip to Tel Aviv!

Leaving the Old City for what might be the last time this trip...

Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut

Yom Hazikaron (Israel's Memorial Day) and Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel's Independence Day) are back-to-back days on the calendar. This year, they began on Sunday night and continued until Tuesday evening.

Yom Hazikaron is observed throughout the country with great solemnity since everyone is/was a soldier or has a relationship to a soldier. Everyone knows a family that has been affected by the death of a soldier in the line of duty or a victim of terror. Yom Hazikaron is the day of remembrance of those who died for the country.

We attended the official national Yom Hazikaron ceremony at the Western Wall on Monday night. We stood on the side of a dirt hill adjacent to the wall in order to see the ceremony of lowering the flag, the speeches by officials (including the Acting President of the State and the IDF's Chief of Staff), memorial prayers, and the emotional singing of the national anthem, Hatikvah. The crowds of people at the Wall reminded me of our stumbling upon the IDF Ceremony at the Wall last August. I didn't really understand all of the words the speakers were saying but I got the gist.

The crowd begins to gather at the Western Wall for the Yom Hazikaron ceremony.

At exactly 8 p.m., as the ceremonies were starting, the sirens sounded nationwide, announcing the start of Yom Hazikaron and causing everyone to stand still in memory for the minute of the sounding of the siren.

On Monday, my Ulpan class was not canceled but it was a shortened day for Yom Hazikaron. It was my last day of Ulpan. Only seven students out of nearly 25 showed up. In fact, only two Israeli Arab students came to class. The rest stayed away either due to the difficulty of getting across town due to security or due to not wanting to participate in Yom Hazikaron. We spent the morning talking and learning about Yom Hazikaron and then, at 11 a.m. was the nationwide two minute memorial siren for Yom Hazikaron. I observed the cars and buses on the street come to a full stop and drivers and passengers getting out to stand in memory of the more than 22,000 soldiers killed as well as those killed by acts of terrorism. After the siren, the teachers held a half-hour memorial ceremony. It was a very nice ceremony and it included poems, readings, and the emotional singing of Hatikvah.

The rest of the day on Monday, Yom Hazikaron, was fairly quiet - traffic was light and many shops were closed. In the evening, we attended a lecture by the parents of Alex Singer, an American who immigrated to Israel and joined the IDF and was killed in Lebanon in 1987 in Lebanon. It was a moving talk and made us feel like we really knew Alex and his family. We bought the book of Alex's letters and drawings, Alex: Building a Life and I'm currently about half-way through. I highly recommend it.

After the talk, we transitioned from Memorial Day to Independence Day with lively services for Yom Ha'atzmaut. The entire country transitioned on Monday night from a time of remembrance to a time of celebration - it's an amazing process and incredible to see. After the services, sung to the tune of many Israeli songs, we had a BBQ at the synagogue.

The country goes flag-crazy for Yom Ha'atzmaut

After the BBQ, Eve, Steve, Jen and I headed downtown to Ben Yehuda Street to see the city's main Yom Ha'atzmaut celebration. There were many celebrants wearing blue and white or even Israeli flags. People carried flashing-light things, plastic inflatable hammers, and some kids were attempting to spray people with some sort of aerosol "snow." However, police and soldiers quickly confiscated the fake snow form those who used it. Jen mentioned that she couldn't imagine being a kid and having four men with machine guns approach you from each direction to take your can of snow. Throughout the night there were numerous fireworks displays throughout the city.

A guy in flag.

On Tuesday, a national holiday when everything is closed, outdoor BBQs are the theme of the day. Gan Sacher Park in the western part of the city was filled with families barbecuing on tiny grills usually just inches from the ground. Many families established tents in the park for their day-long celebrations. In the U.S. the Fourth of July is a popular day to be in the park but most will barbecue at home and then go to the park afterwards in anticipation of the fireworks. In Israel, the fireworks are the night before and everyone remains in the park the following day and barbecues there as well.) Some families even brought couches to the park and we saw one family with not only couches but also a television powered by a generator!

Tables, chairs, couches, and even a TV and generator!!!

A more typical family gathering.

In the afternoon, Eve, Jen, and I went to the area around City Hall for their "Living History" Independence Day event. People were dressed up from periods of the city's history and performing skits or playing music. While there, we discovered the Underground Prisoners Museum - it is a museum that shows what life was like for prisoners during the British Occupation from 1917-1948 in Israel. Also at the prison is the cell of Meir Feinstein and Moshe Barazani who were condemned to hang by the British but instead chose to blow themselves up with a grenade concealed in an orange peel in 1947. It's an amazing story - Haaretz has a summary.

The City Hall displays included a manikin dressed as one of the "ninja" police as we like to call them. The Ninja Police usually ride two to a orange motorcycle and they both carry very big guns and are part of important motorcades (they are very effective at stopping traffic) and they provide security at high-profile events. In a nationwide survey, I'm sure they would be selected as the "Coolest (but most intimidating) guys in the country."

The evening was very quiet with shops and restaurants closed and few cars on the street. It was a wonderful ending to two very important days.

Our own flag display on our balcony. See the neighbor's flag in the background?

Playing Tourist

Since Jen and I are headed back to California in just over three weeks, we have to see everything we have yet to see. We have a list on the refrigerator and are slowly crossing things off, one site at a time. Since our trip to Eilat and Petra, we visited the Islamic Museum, the Time Elevator as well as the Monastery of the Cross.

The Islamic Museum, or more properly the L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art, is in our neighborhood and contains an impressive collection of art and artifacts. It's very worthwhile, especially on these long Shabbat afternoons, when the museum is both open and free!

The Time Elevator is a somewhat-cheesy but worthwhile, Star Tours-style ride that takes the rider through re-enactments throughout Jerusalem's several thousand year history. The monastery, which is in our neighborhood, is said to have been built on the spot where the tree which became Jesus' crucifix came from. Therefore, the valley where it is located is known as the Valley of the Cross.

On Friday, we're planning on seeing a plethora of sites throughout the Old City. We still have eleven things in Jerusalem that we haven't yet seen! (Not to mention eight places in Tel Aviv, too!)

I'll remain in Hebrew Ulpan only through Thursday of next week and then, over our last two weeks, it is time to pack, visit places around the country, and start getting ready to go home! I'm already starting to miss Jerusalem and Israel but definitely look forward to being back in California.

Yom HaShoah, Part 2

As you recall from my previous post about Yom HaShoah, at 10 a.m. on Yom HaShoah, a siren sounds for two minutes and the whole country stops. The blog Jewlicious has posted an amazing video showing those two minutes in the center of Jerusalem. It's worth a watch!

Yom HaShoah

Last night began Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Martyrs' Remembrance Day. I was not aware of the wide-ranging impact of the day on general Israeli society.

I invited myself to dinner with Steve at about 6 p.m. last night and he called me while we were each on the way there to tell me that our first choice restaurant was closed. I reconfigured my appetite but when we arrived at restaurant number two, the security guard at the front door didn't want to let me in because they would close at 6:30 and it was already 6:20. I managed to get in and Steve told me I still had a few seconds to order so I did, and quickly. Steve told me that most stores, including the 24 hour convenience store nearby, were also already closed due to Yom HaShoah. I was awed and impressed that this day was so widely celebrated.

At 8 p.m. the official memorial ceremony took place at Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust museum and educational center here in Jerusalem. Most of our television channels simply displayed a memorial candle but others carried the event live. I watched most of the event and it was incredibly moving, even though it was all in Hebrew. I surprised myself by understanding the gist of what was being said, for the most part.

This morning, classes, work, and business went on as usual until 10 a.m. At exactly 10 a.m., air raid sirens were sounded for two minutes and everyone stopped anything they were doing and stood at attention in memory of the Holocaust. Cars on streets and highways stop and the occupants get out and stand on the street during the siren. It was an incredible experience, seeing the city come to a complete stop. The sirens will sound again next week for Memorial Day, a.k.a. Yom Hazikaron.

While Jen and I lit a 24 hour memorial candle at home, our synagogue here didn't have a special service or program for Yom HaShoah, as is common in the United States. There were some lectures but there was no liturgical program.

Natural Gas, The Hard Way

On the roof of our building sit our apartment's two small tanks filled with natural gas. They're about triple the height of the propane tanks used in the U.S. for barbecues. They provide the natural gas we use for the stove; everything else is operated by electricity. Most apartments have such "balloons" (as they're called) and so there are quite a few sets of these gas tanks on our roof.

It's not a comforting feeling, thinking that an errant lightening bolt or errant Katyusha Rocket could cause serious problems when combined with such tanks above our heads. Nonetheless, there they are.

Our landlord promised us that we would need to replace at least one balloon during our year here. She gave us instructions of how to call and that we needed to ensure that the roof would be unlocked when they arrived.

Well, sometime in January it happened. We could not light the stove. I went to the roof to turn off tank one and turn on tank two and we were able to start cooking. No problem.

The next day I called "SuperGas" (but it's pronounced "souper-gazz") to order a replacement tank. SuperGas said they'd need to come out for a safety check first. So I scheduled that and they came about a week later. The technician found a small leak (what, exactly is a "small" leak when it comes to gas?!?) but repaired the hose. He told us that we would also need a new protective hood for the tanks because we were missing one.

I checked with the landlord who said, sure, order a new cover. So I did and the cover was installed in early February. Then, I had to call to make an appointment for the tank. Interestingly, they couldn't pre-schedule the gas appointment until after the hood was installed. I was told that the tank would arrive a few days later and so I told them I would unlock the roof.

The tank did not arrive and I don't know if delivery was ever attempted. I tried again. No tank. I tried again. No tank. I tried again. No tank. There was a lot of roof unlocking and locking going on but nary a tank to be found. Unfortunately, it was late March and Passover was approaching so that meant I was leaving for the Ukraine.

So, what had to happen? About three hours after I left for the airport to fly to the Ukraine, tank number two expired on the day before Passover - a week-long national holiday. Jen was a trooper and played the role of native Israeli and made many calls to the gas company that day and kept calling until the tank was delivered. And so they were. Now we have two full tanks of precious fossil fuels for our cooking enjoyment. Finally!