Moonrise, sunset, colors, silence

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The light and colors were beautiful when I went walking just outside of town tonight between 7 and 8 pm! 
I had the whole desert all to myself. 

Meitar Forest is always green. 

The dry season is beginning and all the green grasses have turned golden. 

In the east -- moonrise over Meitar. 

In the west -- sunset. 
And to all a good night. 
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A strange sky

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A strange sunset here in rural Austria.
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(Linking to SkyWatch Friday.)
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Day is done, gone the sun

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Day is done, gone the sun . . .
Sunset last night, 7:45 pm, as seen from my desert walk just outside Meitar.
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Linking to Skywatch Friday.
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Missing the Hills of Jerusalem tonight

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Remembering cool evenings in the Jerusalem Hills, sunsets, jackals, old friends, and the terrace of St. Elisabeth's built by the 12th century Crusaders.
Sigh . . .
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Shabbat shalom from the hot desert.
And thanks to Kristine S. for taking the photo. 
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The desert says good night

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The other evening, around 6:00 pm, I felt a pretty sunset coming on.
 So I walked a block down to the end of Meitar, stepped out into the desert, and looked all around.
To the west the sun was quickly sinking.

To the northeast,  fingers of pink clouds reached out of the South Hebron Hills.
A hand stretched out in blessing, before the fall of night?
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(Linking to SkyWatch Friday.)
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Short days still

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Sunset in the Negev desert.
Just two short blocks from my house in Meitar.
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For SkyWatch Friday.
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Mommy longlegs

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I've heard of "Cast a Giant Shadow" but this shadow  is ridiculously long.

It was 3:45 when I set out for a walk in the empty spaces down where my street in Meitar ends.
The sun was low and by 4:38 it was already down.

I love the desert!
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(Linking to Shadow Shot Sunday.)
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A Negev sunset

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No, it's not a bomb.  Not yet, anyway.
It is just a dramatic sunset over Meitar and the desert a few days ago.
Enlarge the photo to see how the crepuscular ray in the middle "cuts" the cloud. 

A peaceful picture for SkyWatch Friday.
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Sundown

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Sun setting behind the Jerusalem Hills, as watched from Mount Herzl tram station.

It's a far cry from how the sun looked during the awful dust storm Israel had on Monday.
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For SkyWatch Friday.
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The return of the clouds

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The moment of sunset in the Jerusalem Hills!
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So nice to see clouds again after a long hot dry season.
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Finally--I have something for SkyWatch Friday.
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Sources of wisdom

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I'm so lucky to live close to nature, in the Jerusalem Hills.
All I have to do is walk across the street and go a bit down into the woods on the western slope of our hill in order to grab a sunset for SkyWatch Friday.

Lately I noticed that some tree trunks there which burned in a small fire some eight years ago are starting to disintegrate.

At that time, 2002-3, I was working as a residential volunteer in a contemplative monastery of Protestant nuns in Switzerland; and in the library was a wonderful book.
It is Touch the Earth: A Self Portrait of Indian Existence by T.C. McLuhan.

These trees reminded me of what Tatanga Mani, a Stoney Indian, said on page 106:

". . . You know, if you take all your books, lay them out under the sun, and let the snow and rain and insects work on them for a while, there will be nothing left. But the Great Spirit has provided you and me with an opportunity for study in nature's university, the forests, the rivers, the mountains, and the animals which include us."

Earliest Shabbat of the year tomorrow

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The view from our moshav as the sun sets behind the Jerusalem Hills and soon sinks into the Mediterranean over on the west side of Israel.
(The sea is less than an hour's drive from here.)

Sabbath candles are lit every Friday evening, 18 minutes (I think) before sunset.
That means tomorrow candles must be lit at 3:55 pm.
So early! The earliest time of the whole year.

The soft colors of sunset are for SkyWatch Friday.

And tonight is not too early to start wishing you Shabbat shalom.
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Like day and night

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Sundown is so welcome here in the Mideast--a sudden relief from the blazing sun.
The welcome, long-awaited cool breeze of night refreshes the body and soul.
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Here, for SkyWatch Friday are tonight's 8:00 pm clouds over the Jerusalem Hills.
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A smooth and quick transition

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What a difference twenty minutes makes!

The last rays of sun reflected golden on  certain windows of Hadassah Medical Center.

By  5:37 the almost-full moon was shining over Jerusalem and Hadassah in a pinky sky. 
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Good night to all you skywatchers at SkyWatch Friday.
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No, we don't have tornadoes in Israel

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Tuesday's sunset, just five minutes after the orange sun had slipped behind the mountain.
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I saw a bottlenose dolphin jumping through the sky in pursuit of the sun, which by then would have been going down into the Mediterranean.
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Happy SkyWatch Friday.
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Sabbath Eve sunset

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I went for a little walk just now and was rewarded with this hazy sunset at 4:40 pm.
The sun is down, let the Sabbath begin!
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Shabbat shalom to all the SkyWatch Friday friends and to all the world.
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Peaceful winter sky

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Strips of clouds all in a pile, at 4:52 this afternoon, after sunset.
Hard to believe that just five days ago the country was under the worst storm anyone could remember, and now it is so clear and peaceful.
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Shalom to all at SkyWatch Friday.
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Unproductive clear skies

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Another sunset in the Jerusalem Hills for SkyWatch Friday.
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November and Israel still has clear skies and abnormal warm temperatures in the mid or high 20s C.
No rain since last spring.
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Groups, interfaith groups, rabbis, and individuals have been going to mountain tops, onto the Sea of Galilee, or next to graves of long-dead tsadikim to pray (and even fast) for rain.
So far, beseeching God to open the heavens has not brought the much-needed showers.
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Shabbat shalom
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A window, the sun, and Jerusalem

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As you know from yesterday's post, I was at the Hebrew University Mount Scopus campus yesterday; and the prize at the end of sitting through eight hours of lectures was a glorious sunset.

The campus synagogue, dedicated in 1981, is part of the very spread-out Humanities Building.
You can recognize it here by the Chanuka menorah on its roof.
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How would you like to pray facing this view of the Old City and beyond?!

At 5:10 the last rays of sun were bathing the interior with a warm glow.
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Most synagogues in Israel and in the world face the east, toward Jerusalem.
The congregation here on Mt. Scopus had to face west in order to face the Temple Mount (where you see the gold Dome of the Rock), so architect Ram Carmi [remember my posts on his Supreme Court building?] had an idea.
He wanted a picture window in the front, but normally the holy ark containing the Torah scrolls is in the front.
He got around it by "splitting" the ark! There are two arks, one on each side.

And then, especially for James' Weekend Reflections, the sun set behind the far-away western skyline of Jerusalem and was reflected on the outside of the Hecht Synagogue picture window.
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Shabbat shalom.
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Sunset over Jerusalem

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Up on Mount Scopus, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the day of special archaeology lectures began at 8:30.
The lecture hall was big, crowded, and had no windows.
The last presentations were starting at 5:00 pm, but something told me to get up and leave early.
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Sure enough, I went out an emergency exit onto the terrace-roof and found this glorious sunset!
And a panoramic view to the north, west, and south of Jerusalem and beyond.
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The tall mast of the Calatrava Bridge of Strings is visible in the setting sun, way over on the opposite side of the city.
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Finally, summer is ending and there is something besides cloudless blue skies to offer to SkyWatch Friday!
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