בס''ד
Hi Everyone,
Sorry it's been a while since I last wrote. Let me bring you up to date on what's been happening here....
Shabbat with my cousins...on the dairy farm!
Two weeks ago the Yeshiva had its first "out shabbat", meaning the תלמידימ (students) had the opportunity to leave the yeshiva and spend shabbat with family or friends. So, I decided to contact my very distant but very close relatives who live on a חרדי moshav called בית חלקיה Beit Hilkiah near the Mediterranean about 30 minutes south of Tel Aviv. They--Rachel Esther and Eliezer Wyel--were very happy to hear from me and gladly invited me for Shabbat. Rachel Esther is my mother's father's first cousin who, Baruch Hashem, has 12 children who all live in
Israel (mostly in Bnei Brac). I took a coach bus from the central bus station to their remote moshav about an hour from Jerusalem and arrived with plenty of time to explore their relatively
young community and the dairy farm before shabbat came in. Here is a picture of the entrance
to the moshav (sorry if it's a little boring). This is a standard sign you'll see throughout Israel indicating any incorporated city, town, municipality, or neighborhood generally.
Meah Shearim: about as orthodox as it gets in Jerusalem!
I also went to one of the oldest neighborhoods of west Jerusalem called Meah Shearim which literally translates to "100 Gates" but actually takes its meaning from the verse in Bereishis (Genesis) 26:12, Isaac sowed in that land, and in that year he reaped "meah shearim- a hundredfold", God had blessed him."
The residents, mostly orthodox Haredi Jews (for more see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haredi_Judaism) hope that they too will be prosperous and be blessed like Yitzchok.
Anyway, seeing this area was very exciting. Lots of people, lots of stores and great shopping galore! And, of course, lots of religious Jews.
Waiting at the bus stop to go to Meah Shearim.
It's very common to see soldiers (both on duty and off duty in plain clothes) lugging around their automatic assault rifles. It's both a sad reality and a pleasant sense of security at the same time that Israel is always alert and prepared for acts of terror in the most civil of contexts such as public buses and restaurants.
Hi Everyone,
Sorry it's been a while since I last wrote. Let me bring you up to date on what's been happening here....
Shabbat with my cousins...on the dairy farm!
Two weeks ago the Yeshiva had its first "out shabbat", meaning the תלמידימ (students) had the opportunity to leave the yeshiva and spend shabbat with family or friends. So, I decided to contact my very distant but very close relatives who live on a חרדי moshav called בית חלקיה Beit Hilkiah near the Mediterranean about 30 minutes south of Tel Aviv. They--Rachel Esther and Eliezer Wyel--were very happy to hear from me and gladly invited me for Shabbat. Rachel Esther is my mother's father's first cousin who, Baruch Hashem, has 12 children who all live in
Israel (mostly in Bnei Brac). I took a coach bus from the central bus station to their remote moshav about an hour from Jerusalem and arrived with plenty of time to explore their relatively
young community and the dairy farm before shabbat came in. Here is a picture of the entrance
to the moshav (sorry if it's a little boring). This is a standard sign you'll see throughout Israel indicating any incorporated city, town, municipality, or neighborhood generally.
Meah Shearim: about as orthodox as it gets in Jerusalem!
I also went to one of the oldest neighborhoods of west Jerusalem called Meah Shearim which literally translates to "100 Gates" but actually takes its meaning from the verse in Bereishis (Genesis) 26:12, Isaac sowed in that land, and in that year he reaped "meah shearim- a hundredfold", God had blessed him."
The residents, mostly orthodox Haredi Jews (for more see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haredi_Judaism) hope that they too will be prosperous and be blessed like Yitzchok.
Anyway, seeing this area was very exciting. Lots of people, lots of stores and great shopping galore! And, of course, lots of religious Jews.
Waiting at the bus stop to go to Meah Shearim.
It's very common to see soldiers (both on duty and off duty in plain clothes) lugging around their automatic assault rifles. It's both a sad reality and a pleasant sense of security at the same time that Israel is always alert and prepared for acts of terror in the most civil of contexts such as public buses and restaurants.
What I found to be quite striking was the poignant signs displayed prominently at the entrance to Meah Shearim which requested that visitors respect the Jewish laws of צניעות (tzniut) or modesty when entering the neighborhood. On shabbat, it asks people to not drive, smoke, photograph or use cell phones. I thought that was pretty cool, the idea of a place where Jewish law is upheld on a community level and imposed upon even those who wish to visit: not something you see anywhere else in the world except for maybe Boro Park in Brooklyn.
A busy erev shabbos (Friday afternoon) on the main street in Meah Shearim
My roommate and I and some other guys from Yeshiva went to some great bookstores and got our fill of falafel for the week at one of the best falafel restaurants in Jerusalem: Falafel Geula!
My roommate and I and some other guys from Yeshiva went to some great bookstores and got our fill of falafel for the week at one of the best falafel restaurants in Jerusalem: Falafel Geula! Typical dress of Chassidic Jews. Meah Shearim is home to a few large Chassidic groups, namely Slonim, Breslav, Satmar, and Toldos Aharon. It's pretty easy to tell them apart as they each have a unique element of their garb (either hat or jacket or their socks)
For more on Meah Shearim, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meah_Shearim
Night life on Ben Yehuda Street
Named after Eliezer Ben Yehuda, who in the late 19th century almost single-handedly revived Hebrew as a modern spoken language, the street is the heart of the downtown triangle formed with King George Street and Jaffa Road. It's an open-air pedestrian mall, known in Hebrew as the Midrachov, a combination of midracha (sidewalk) and rechov (street). Cafés have tables out on the cobblestones; vendors display cheap, arty items like funky jewelry and prints; and buskers are usually out in good weather, playing all kinds of tunes new and old. It's a great place to sip coffee or munch falafel and watch the passing crowd and that's exactly what I did with the guys from Yeshiva. Many American brands can be found here in the kosher form such as McDonalds, Burger King, and my favorite: Coffee Bean!
Well, that's about all for now. Look forward to hearing from you, whether it be a comment on my blog or updates from your lives back home.
All my best,
Jordan
זוסמן חנן
For more on Meah Shearim, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meah_Shearim
Night life on Ben Yehuda Street
Named after Eliezer Ben Yehuda, who in the late 19th century almost single-handedly revived Hebrew as a modern spoken language, the street is the heart of the downtown triangle formed with King George Street and Jaffa Road. It's an open-air pedestrian mall, known in Hebrew as the Midrachov, a combination of midracha (sidewalk) and rechov (street). Cafés have tables out on the cobblestones; vendors display cheap, arty items like funky jewelry and prints; and buskers are usually out in good weather, playing all kinds of tunes new and old. It's a great place to sip coffee or munch falafel and watch the passing crowd and that's exactly what I did with the guys from Yeshiva. Many American brands can be found here in the kosher form such as McDonalds, Burger King, and my favorite: Coffee Bean!
Well, that's about all for now. Look forward to hearing from you, whether it be a comment on my blog or updates from your lives back home.
All my best,
Jordan
זוסמן חנן
1 comment:
Hope you don't mind, here is a link for Very Modest Swimsuits. Not many people know about these because they are very special Full Cover Swimsuits to protect the ladies' modesty. We are trying to get the word out about these. They can be bought online from:
- modestswimsuits.co.uk
Thank you for your help.
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