All Entries Tagged With: "jewish holidays"

My home this Christmas-Hanukkah season

Christmas and Hanukkah all rolled-into-one round our way. The kids are enjoying themselves though, and had a great time destroying bedecking the tree with tinsel and baubles. And then lighting the Hanukkah candles and eating donuts…

There was a great moment when the mohel (the person who performs circumcisions) came to our place on Saturday to slice and dice my newborn son - the Christmas lights were twinkling away and reflected in his shiny clamps and slicers as he did his thing…

Our house: the epicenter of multiculturalism in the Holy Land!

Picture of the Week XXXI

So Christmas is on the back-burner for the weekend as Hanukkah hits the Holy Land. And Hannukah, the Festival of Lights, means donuts! And, yes, that means this week’s pic is dedicated to the oily, calorie-intensive donuts, which you can find on every high street over the next few days.

The picture is actually a mosaic of nine different photographers, but created by maya lime. She has another superb couple of Hanukkah-related mosaics here and here.

DON’T CLICK on the picture if you want to see the picture full-size in all its mouth-watering glory.

On yer bike - it’s Yom Kippur!

The holiest day of the year in the Jewish Calendar and all you can see is packs of kids on their bikes teeming through city streets (vehicles, except for emergency vehicles, are rarely seen on the roads during Yom Kippur). The whole country might shut down for 25 hours but for the youngsters (and the bike shops that are crazily busy in the run up to Yom Kippur) it’s paradise.

Some might argue that riding a bike on Yom Kippur takes away from the solemness of the day, but generally kids under 13 (Bar or Bat Mitzvah age) aren’t obligated to fast and pray, so it’s become accepted practice for the kids to take to the streets with whatever wheels they can get their hands on.

Some might also argue that if you want to get a glimpse of the future nation of Israeli drivers, take a look at how these kids are driving on the streets. It makes for some scary viewing…

Of course, it’s also become picture opportunity time as empty roads and motorways (except for the packs of kids) make for an eerie setting - check out our Yom Kippur pictures for a taste of what the roads are like in Israel during these holy 25 hours.

Picture of the Week XIX

Only one possible winner this week - the juicy and very seasonal pomegranate. It’s the big Rosh HaShana meal tonight and you’re likely to see a lot of pomegranates, or at least the seeds from one. Pomegranates are important in the Jewish New Year meal because they represent the first new fruit of the New Year, and because there are apparently 613 seeds in one, which ties up with God’s 613 Torah commandments.

This picture was taken by Muhammed Ali from Pakistan, a young guy apparently just getting into photography. He has some great nature shots in his collection, but, not surprisingly, none of Israel.

Happy New Year to all my Jewish readers!

Shavuot in the Galilee

On Friday I drove up north to moshav Sarona, a farming village on the road to the Sea of Galilee. We went up there to visit some of my wife’s family and to celebrate Shavuot, which is usually celebrated in some style on moshavs and kibbutzes throughout Israel. In fact, I doubt you’ll even know it’s Shavuot if you’re in the city (apart from the cheesecake overflow and general food orgy perhaps giving it away), but I can heartily recommend checking out a local kibbutz or moshav if you really want the ultimate Shavuot experience.

In short, tractors get decked up and real men get to drive them, cows and horses get to show off their manoeuvrability (with cowboy wannabees astride), and local residents get to wear white while, er, wowing us with their singing talent. On moshav Sarona it wasn’t any different, except for the amazing views as a backdrop and the kite festival at the end, which totally blew me and my son away. OK, probably me more than my son. 

Some pics:

The only real question at Passover is…

Nutella or HaShahar?

The real question (there are four questions) for Jews at Passover is not why they are eating matza at Passover, but which chocolate spread to smother all over the matza?

HaShahar is the Israeli made spread and has never really tickled my tastebuds, seems too sickly sweet. Generations of Israelis swear by it though, so I guess it’s what you get used to. Nutella has a more refined taste, with that great nutty element, bit pricier though.

For me, there’s only one choice, Nutella.

Hag Sameach! (Happy Holidays!)