In Israel they have this saying "After the Holidays" or "אחרי החגים". This is because for the period of about a month there are at least 4 major holidays for which everything in Israel closes down. Because of this, there are generally a great many things that people just put off until after the holidays. Even though I have had a fully functional computer this entire time I have been slacking on keeping up with my blog postings, using the excuse that I will post after the holidays so that I can do one all-encompassing post of the chaggim.
Slichot
In Ashkenazic tradition Slichot begins on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah (unless Rosh Hashanah is on a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, in which case it is the week before). We had our services at HUC that night which were led by a few of the different Rabbis and Cantors on faculty, as well as our high holiday choir which included cantorial students and a few rabbinical students. I had only been to Slichot services a few times before this, so it was really nice to get a sense of different types of services that were being led. There were some songs that were sung, a quick group discussion, and that was about it. Since our Slichot services ended relatively early, a group of us decided to explore an additional Slichot service at the Great Synagogue. The Great Synagogue is an Orthodox synagogue, but I decided that it would be interesting for me to see what the difference was between a Reform and Orthodox Slichot service. Needless to say there were many differences, as their service started at 10pm and when we left at almost midnight the services were still going.
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah was an interesting experience here for many reasons. First of all, Rosh Hashanah is the only holiday where Israel also celebrates 2 days (as opposed to holidays such as Passover where in Israel there is only one night of Seder instead of 2 in the Diaspora). Because Rosh Hashanah happened to begin on a Wednesday night this year it meant that stores closed relatively early on Wednesday afternoon and did not open again until Saturday night. You can only imagine the madness that ensued at both the shuk and the grocery store. By the time that we got to the grocery store on Tuesday night I felt like I was going grocery shopping on Thanksgiving day, the store was so picked over. However, we managed to find everything that we needed and managed to make it out of the store in one piece. For Erev Rosh Hashanah Rebecca and I went to a good family friends house, who happens to be the home for the wayward OSRUI alums in Israel. It was great to see old friends, and be reintroduced to people who I worked with at camp many years ago. I would have to say that the highlight of the dinner included an explanation of the Rosh Hashanah seder complete with a singing fish instead of a fish head on our table!
For the first day of Rosh Hashanah, HUC did not have services, but instead encouraged us to go to different congregations around the Jerusalem area. A group of students, including myself, went to a congregation called Kehilat Tzur Hadassah in Tzur Hadassah. Generally, when I think of a traditional Reform high holiday service, it includes everyone showing up on time, dressed in their "Sunday Best" since for many people this is one of the few times a year that they might go to synagogue. In Israel, it is completely the opposite! Most people come to the service half way through, in time to hear the Torah being read of the sounds of the shofar being blown. At the beginning of the service there were no more than about 20 people in the room and by the peak of the service there were maybe 50 people present. The dress code in Israel is generally different than in the States. Here people regularly wear a pair of jean and a top to services, a wedding, or generally for any day events. It has taken a little bit of getting used to to realize that one does not need to wear a fancy dress in order to pray.
The second day of Rosh Hashanah I chose not to go to services in the morning, mostly because it was my birthday and I wanted to be able to sleep in! We went back to our family friends house for an open house Rosh Hashanah luncheon and that night (which also happened to be Shabbat) we had a Shabbat dinner at our place. It was really nice to have a group of our friends gathered together to celebrate Shabbat and also relax after a few days filled with services!
Yom Kippur
There is absolutely nothing like Yom Kippur in Jerusalem! Yom Kippur, which is the Shabbat of Shabbats, is truly treated that way here. Beginning early on Erev Yom Kippur everything began to shut down. By the time that the siren went off to indicate that the holiday had started, you could barely hear any traffic or movement outside. By the time that services ended around 8pm there was almost zero traffic. The city shuts down to the extent that all street lights are set to stay a flashing yellow, as no one would actually have to wait for the traffic to pass. One of the greatest things about the observance of Yom Kippur in Jerusalem is that everybody is out and walking around in the middle of the streets! It was truly amazing to see how so many different people observe this holiday. Since our services ended so early, a few of us decided to walk to the Western Wall to see what the old city would be like on Yom Kippur. I have to say that it was not much different than any other day except for the fact that people were all dressed in white (one of the traditions of Yom Kippur). We also noticed something funny, which was that many of the ultra-orthodox men were not wearing shoes. This was not to make a fashion statement, but rather because leather is traditionally not worn on Yom Kippur. For many people I know, this allows them to wear gym shoes, sandals, crocs, or just generally something more comfortable. However, in the Orthodox community, the alternative shoes that they wear are not supposed to make them feel more comfortable. For this reason there was a tshuvah (response) issued that people should not wear crocs (a shoe staple in Israel) on Yom Kippur. Instead, men just chose to go bear footed throughout the city.
Sukkot
Sukkot in Israel is a great experience (even if I only had one night of it). Beginning a few days before Sukkot hammering could be heard all throughout the city, a telltale sign that people are putting their sukkot up. However, it was not only personal households that put up a sukkah but also hotels and restaurants. It was hard to find a street where you could walk down and not see a sukkah. The morning before Sukkot began we had an optional tour of one of the markets that sells the Arba Minim (Four Spices). We talked about what constitutes a kosher Etrog, Lulav, Hadass, and Aravah, as well as different traditions that people have about how one is supposed to shake them in the sukkah (namely whether one shakes it in all of the directions with their feet firmly planted on the ground, or whether one physically moves to face each direction). We then entered the market and were able to have a look around. It reminded me a little bit of a Christmas market in which everyone has their own booth or table where they are selling their specific items and people look around and take hours to find the perfect thing that they are looking for. As I stood there looking around it became evident to me just how important this holiday is to people, and how much it means to have just the right Lulav and Etrog.
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| Men measuring the Hadassah to make sure that it is long enough and has enough leaves on its stem. |
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| This bag says "Kosher Hadass" and is indicating to people that they have already been checked for the correct length and number of leaves. |
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| Etrogs (Citrons) of all different shapes and colors! |
Blog update and pictures from Spain to come soon!
