October 4, 2012
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LETTER FROM ISRAEL (Part 1 of 4)
This year in Jerusalem
Dear Lois,
Last week our group held our long-awaited study vacation in Jerusalem. Because the traffic situation is horrendous, it was decided to stay in a centrally-located hotel and do most of our sightseeing on foot. Our regulars who use walkers and others who can't walk for hours opted out, so we were only 32.
I'm going to divide the vacation into four "chapters" because we did so much and because Fridel took hundreds of photos.
The first day we drove to Jerusalem (2 hours from Haifa), checked into the hotel, had some lunch, and met everyone as planned at 3:30pm.
We headed for a series of neighborhoods which were among the first to be built (in the 1880's ) outside the Old City walls. Before that Jerusalemites, including Jews, lived within the safety of the city walls. The walls were locked after dark and provided protection from the wild animals and Beduin robbers outside. The conditions for all were unsanitary and crowded. The Jews lived on contributions from Jews abroad who thus helped maintain a Jewish presence in Jerusalem.
That afternoon we visited Nachlaot and Mahane Yehuda. The various Nachlaot neighborhoods were established by groups of Sephardic Jews. (Sephardic Jews are the descendants of the Spanish Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492. They dispersed in every direction: to Holland, making their way to the Americas with the Dutch; to the Levant and Asia Minor to Turkey, Syria, Greece, Bulgaria, etc; to North Africa, and of course to the Holy Land.) The model for each neighborhood was a rectangle of attached houses with a common courtyard and only one entrance from the street for easier defense. The buildings are old but charming; many are being lovingly restored.
Mahane Yehuda is especially interesting because of the main Jerusalem Suk. A Suk is an indoor-outdoor market place. Fridel goes to Haifa's Suk twice a week for fruits and vegetables, but many people buy fish, meat, candies and baked goods, even hardware and paper products. I am not a suk person, but it is handy that Fridel is. Prices and quality are better than at the "super."
From Mahane Yehuda we walked back to the hotel via Jaffa Road (literally the beginning of the road from Jerusalem to Jaffa) and saw the Light Rail. I have not met anyone who has a good word to say about the Light Rail. This project, which was supposed to eliminate congestion, took double the projected building time and tied up center city for years, ruining many businesses. Several bus lines were cancelled and people in the outlying neighborhoods who used to reach any place by bus now have to walk or take cabs. Tickets can only be bought by machines that don't always work. There is a stiff fine for boarding without a ticket, a nasty surprise for out-of-towners and tourists.
Our evening program was, as usual, social.
Love, Marsha
(Marsha and Fridel are coming to the U.S. this week, but unfortunately we won't be seeing them this time. Last time they were here, we happened to be on a trip East and we are able to meet with them for a lovely visit. Look for more on this series on Jerusalem when they get back to Israel.)
Our hotel was on a very short pedestrian street.
Nachlaot street.
Courtyard.
The Suk, outside portion.
Suk, one of the covered "streets."
Suk, more.
Jaffa Road with the hated Light Rail.
Sephardic synagogue with lovely wrought iron and ceramic tiles. On the left is "Eshet Hile," a tribute to the ideal wife and mother. The door features the 12 tribes. On the right is a charity box and a board with times of worship.
Jerusalem street scene.
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