Guest photographer's great holy day photos

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A good friend, who lucky for me does not have a blog, has kindly allowed me to show you her great photos of the foot washing ceremony.
She climbed up to the roof to get them!

Please double-click on the pictures to see the many details.
Don't miss the priest perched up on the side of the wall!
And notice the large number of official photographers on the dais.

Both photos courtesy of a friend

This ceremony took place two days ago, on Holy Thursday.
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III washed the feet of twelve of his clergymen, following the example of Jesus who washed his twelve apostles' feet on the day before the first Good Friday.
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Eastern Orthodox Christians are now in the Triduum and tomorrow they will celebrate Easter.

Today they have the ceremony of the Holy Light, which happens only in Jerusalem, only in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, only on Great Saturday.
The Holy Fire miraculously comes down to the tomb of Jesus, the pilgrims believe, and the Greek Patriarch emerges and passes it on to the joyous faithful.
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(See also my post about the Holy Sepulchre getting wired in preparation.)
(See details about the Holy Fire ceremony in the Jerusalem Post.)
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Soon the Easter Vigil will begin.
Easter blessings to all the Orthodox Christians!
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UPDATE The Jerusalem Post now has a video of the Holy Fire. Take a look!
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Taking the plunge to freedom

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Today is the 7th day of Pesach, the day on which the sea parted and the Children of Israel crossed over from Egypt into the Sinai desert with Pharaoh's chariots in hot pursuit.

Tradition says that Nachshon ben Aminadav was the first to take a leap of faith and step into the sea. Only when the water was up to his neck did God part the Sea of Reeds.
Only then did the rest of the Israelites follow.

Here is how the midrash (Mechilta Beshalach 5) describes it:

“When Israel stood at the Sea, this Tribe said, ‘I will not be first to go down into the Sea;’ and the other Tribe said ‘I will not be first to go down into the Sea.’ In the midst of this argument, one individual, Nachshon ben Aminadav, Prince of the Tribe of Yehudah, seized the initiative, and went down first into the Sea, inspiring the rest of his Tribe to follow...
At that moment, Moshe was deeply engaged in prayer. The Holy One, Blessed is He, said to him, ‘My beloved friends are drowning in the Sea, and you stand in Prayer before Me!’
Moshe said, ‘Master of the Universe, What should I do?’ He said to him, ‘Speak to the Children of Israel, and let them move...’ ”

For the deep meanings of Nachshon ben Aminadav's initiative, please take a look at "Courage and Risk" by Rabbi Nathan Lopez Cardozo and two of the Velveteen Rabbi's posts here and here.

For some humor, I give you a favorite cartoon about baby Moshe:

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Shtreimel time

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You know it is Passover week when you see haredi (ultra orthodox) men walking around (like these two in the Old City) in their finest clothes and a shtreimel (fur hat).
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Don't worry. Wiki says that synthetic fur is more common in Israel, because a real fur shtreimel costs thousands of dollars.

It is a week of freedom from normal work or study and many fathers have their children in tow.

At the crowded Western Wall Plaza yesterday I saw a security guard holding a little boy who had got separated from his family.
It was evening and I had to start toward the bus home, so I couldn't wait and see the happy reunion.
Hopefully it happened soon.
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Tonight and tomorrow is the 7th day of Pesach, a holiday; that will be followed by Friday evening and Saturday, the Sabbath. A real weekend!
Chag sameach, happy holiday!
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The Holy Sepulchre in the electronic age

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Coming out of the Holy Sepulchre this afternoon I was shocked to see this man out on a ledge.

First I thought "Don't jump!" and second I thought "Don't break that ledge!"
Especially since the Crusaders built it a long time ago and because it looks this beautiful when you look up to the sky.
(Enlarge the photo to appreciate the stonework detail.)

Then I saw they were only stringing cable and preparing the church for the widescreen coverage of the many ceremonies to be held tomorrow.

Inside, too, men were putting down little ramps so the thousands of pilgrims will not trip over the cables tomorrow.
With a little LUCK the workers will finish all the preparations in time for the Orthodox Holy Thursday.

In the parvis, the entrance courtyard of the Holy Sepulchre, the dais has already been built.
The Greek Patriarch will rise from the red and gold chair and wash the feet of those seated on the two benches.
This in commemoration of Jesus' washing of his apostles' feet on that first Maundy Thursday.
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According to the fine Holy Land Calendar of Christian Feasts & Events 2012 published by the Ministry of Tourism (which you can download in PDF !):

"Highlights of the feast in Jerusalem:
Washing of the Feet--
The Greek Patriarch in courtyard of the Holy Sepulchre.
The Head of the Franciscan Order in the Room of the Last Supper and later at the St. Savior Church.
The Latin Patriarch at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Anglicans, Armenians, Copts, Syrians, and Ethiopians in their respective churches. "

And that is only the morning program!
Go to the calendar to see what will happen in the afternoon, evening and night time.
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UPDATE: Haaretz now has 7 Reuters photos of the foot washing day at the Holy Sepulchre. Click here to see them.
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III did indeed wash the feet of 12 of his clergymen, there on the platform I showed you.
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UPDATE Oct. 2014: A video clip on the restoration and re-opening of the Chapel of the Franks.
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Signing up to save a life

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Walking through Hadassah hospital's lobby a few weeks ago, I was heartened to see so many young people registering to be potential bone marrow donors.

They filled out a form and got swabbed (provided saliva samples).


The March 20 drive was to find a donor for 5-year-old Aviel Bakman.
Maavak LeChaim (Fight for Life) organization had such stands in 34 malls across Israel.

As the Talmud teaches, "He who saves one life, it is as if he had saved the entire world."
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(I'm glad to be able to show an altruistic part of my Jerusalem world for the Our World Tuesday meme.)
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Awake, my soul! I will awake the dawn!

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Happy Pesach to Jews!
Happy Easter to Catholics and Protestants!
Happy Palm Sunday to Orthodox, Armenian, Syrian, and Coptic Christians!

Lots of celebrating going on.

But it is also PsalmChallenge day, like every Sunday, hosted by Robert at Daily Athens Photo and today we are on Psalm 57.

As a treat I offer you Psalm 57 chanted in the Coptic Orthodox way, but in English!



^1. To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

Be merdiful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in thee my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of thy wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.

^2. I cry to God Most High, to God who fulfils his purpose for me.

^3. He will send from heaven and save me, he will put to shame those who trample upon me. [Selah] God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

^4. I lie in the midst of lions that greedily devour the sons of men; their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongues sharp swords.

^5. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let thy glory be over all the earth!

^6. They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. [Selah]

^7. My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody!

^8. Awake, my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!

^9. I will give thanks to thee, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to thee among the nations.

^10. For thy steadfast love is great to the heavens, thy faithfulness to the clouds.

^11. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let thy glory be over all the earth!

UPDATE: Today's Jerusalem Post has a very interesting article about Egyptian Copts who are now here on Holy Week pilgrimage.

Apparently many of them now feel freer to come to Jerusalem since their pope died last month.
The leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt for four decades, Shenouda III was the spiritual leader of the Middle East’s largest Christian community (about 10% of the Egyptian population).
The late pope had issued an edict banning pilgrimages to Israel as long as Jerusalem is “occupied” by Israel.

Most of the hundreds of Coptic Orthodox pilgrims are elderly peasants who for the most part live impoverished lives back in Egypt and their pilgrimage costs a lifetime of savings.

I also learn from the article that the ancient Coptic liturgy is in the language that was the language of Egypt before the Arab conquest of the Nile Delta.
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The Eastern Bunny Trail

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The Easter Bunny (Swiss style) made an eastward detour and arrived in my remote little village in the Jerusalem Hills!

Wishing all you Christians a happy and sweet Easter Sunday.
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Chametz and how to get rid of it legally

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A Chabadnik with his fringe flying, he was in such a hurry!

We posted about the cleaning frenzy Israelis get into the week before Passover, but in general everybody is frantically trying to get all the preparations done before Pesach begins.

I assume the Chabad man was wheeling his little stand (with the picture of the Lubavitcher Rebbe) to a strategic place in or near Machaneh Yehuda market (this was three days ago).
Probably he was going to help people sell their chametz, letting them sign a power of attorney form so that Chabad could sell (actually lease) all their not-allowed-during-Pesach-week food to a non-Jew.

I am not frum enough to be able to explain this well, so if you really want to know, please see the "Chametz Wizard" for a short and authoritative explanation.

Furthermore, in the Age of the Internet, Chabad now helps Jews all over the world sell their chametz online!
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P.S. Here is the definition of chametz, from Chabad:
"Chametz is "leaven" -- any food that's made of grain and water that have been allowed to ferment and "rise." Bread, cereal, cake, cookies, pizza, pasta, and beer are blatant examples of chametz; but any food that contains grain or grain derivatives can be, and often is, chametz. Practically speaking, any processed food that is not certified "Kosher for Passover" may potentially include chametz ingredients."
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Chag sameach/happy holiday and Shabbat shalom!
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The anointing stone, then and now

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Entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the first thing to greet you is a wide modern mosaic that shows the dreadful events of the first Good Friday.

In between the mosaic and the light of the door is the anointing stone, the stone of unction.
Some perceive the marble slab to be the 13th station of the cross, the station before the very last one.
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(This can be a contribution to Monday Murals at Oakland Daily Photo.)
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The Mount of Olives

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Enlarge the photo and see how many churches you can find.

The Mount of Olives as seen from near St. Stephen's Gate into the Old City.

To the left of the arched Basilica of the Agony are the ancient olive trees of the Garden of Gethsemane.
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Holy Week, midweek

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Holy Week in the Holy City, at the Holy Sepulchre.

Soon will come Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Great Saturday, Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday.

Meanwhile . . . it is Wednesday, and Christians wait.
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Libby's cobblestones

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Lovely Libby in the Le Meridien Dead Sea lobby.

While her mom/my daughter registered for the scientific conference at the hotel, little Libby was busy re-arranging stones.
She liked the sound they made when they landed on the floor or on the other rocks. (So did I.)

Had we stayed a little longer than four days, she likely would have built a cobblestone street with those smooth stones!
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Oi, this could have been good for the City Daily Photo group's Theme Day on cobblestones.
But no, actually this post is for ABC Wednesday L-Day.
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Curiouser and curiouser

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Over the years I've seen some strange things at the Jaffa Gate, but never anything as curious as this.
On March 9 a motley group was sitting silently, doing some kind of meditation.
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This too is part of my world, for Our World Tuesday.
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Palms and Psalms

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Happy Palm Sunday to the Christians!

I bring you some pictures from the procession in which nuns and monks, clergy and the faithful, Arab Scouts and a few Jewish police walk together from the Mount of Olives down to St. Stephen's Gate and into the Old City of Jerusalem.
The photos are from 2007 but it is the same every year, with people carrying palm fronds and olive branches. I read that today a white donkey walked at the head of the procession.

It is also Sunday number 56 in Robert Geiss' PsalmChallenge at Daily Athens Photo blog.
So here is Psalm 56.

1 To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

Be gracious to me, O God, for men trample upon me; all day long foemen oppress me; 2 my enemies trample upon me all day long, for many fight against me proudly. 3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust without a fear. What can flesh do to me? 5 All day long they seek to injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil. 6 They band themselves together, they lurk, they watch my steps. As they have waited for my life, 7 so recompense them for their crime; in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!

8 Thou hast kept count of my tossings; put thou my tears in thy bottle! Are they not in thy book?
9 Then my enemies will be turned back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. 10 In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, 11 in God I trust without a fear. What can man do to me?

12 My vows to thee I must perform, O God;

I will render thank offerings to thee.
13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, yea, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God in the light of life.
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You can see my two slideshows, also from 2007:
Palm Sunday at the Holy Sepulchre
and
Palm Sunday procession .
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Stones but not cobblestones

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Cobblestones--today's City Daily Photo theme.

I knew that I love the quaint roundish stones in old European lanes, but Theme Day made me realize I needed the dictionary to learn just what qualifies as a cobblestone.
So, it is "a naturally rounded stone, larger than a pebble and smaller than a boulder, formerly used in paving."
Maybe we don't have cobblestone streets in Israel because we have few streams or lakes that can naturally smooth and round stones into cobblestones?

Instead I give you the Roman Road or Caesar's Way, an ancient way that passes near my village in the Jerusalem Hills.

Whenever visitors plan to visit me in Israel or even just near my village, I warn them to bring serious hiking shoes so they will not feel every sharp stone underfoot.
Even with thick soles, a few hours on the Roman Road is trying.

People from abroad are always surprised how the land of Israel is covered with so many rocks and smaller stones.
I like to think it is because all the millions of Diaspora Jews who have come home to Israel over the centuries, they set foot on holy ground, give a big Jewish sigh, and exclaim the Hebrew proverb, "Ahh, even nagolah me'al libi," meaning "A stone has fallen from my heart!"
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Cleaning in a big way

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Every year at this time Israelis go into a cleaning frenzy.
Pesach/Passover will start next Friday evening and everything must be perfectly clean and kosher by then.

This poor guy in a cloud of dust sort of symbolized all of us, but on a grand scale.
The whole facade of the huge yeshiva in Jerusalem's Mekor Baruch haredi neighborhood was being sandblasted.
I wonder if they are going to do the dome, too . . . .

This I saw (and heard!) last Sunday, but fortunately we are now in the day of Shabbat.
In fact, it is Shabbat Hagadol.
Everyone must lay down his or her mop, dustrag, and squeegee and have a holy rest.
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Shabbat shalom!
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The shadows on the wall are for Shadow Shot Sunday 2.
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From church to mosque, by a Jewish architect

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Continuing our visit to the Circassian village of Kfar Kama in the Galilee (starting with yesterday's post) . . .

Here is a modern map showing the Caucasus.
But back in the 19th century when the Circassian tribes were slaughtered and driven out by the Russians, most of the area bordering the Caucasus was the Russian Empire.
Ibek, our guide in Kfar Kama, told our group that just last year Georgia became the first country to recognize the genocide of 1.5 million Circassians.

Most of the one million Circassians who survived the expulsion and the massacres ended up in the Ottoman lands, as the Turkish Sultan saw them as experienced fighters and thus encouraged them to settle in sparsely populated areas of the Ottoman Empire, including the Galilee.

The new mosque in Kfar Kama is so unusual, don't you think?!
Maybe because its architect is Jewish!

I read this in the Jerusalem Post :
"The original mosque had closely resembled a Circassian church, said Tehowha [head of the museum]. He told us that Circassians had been Christians until they converted to Islam in the 17th century. Then, instead of building mosques for their prayers to Allah, they continued worshiping in churches. Not surprisingly, when they came to this country, they erected mosques that resembled the Circassian churches. In 1970, however, the [more than one hundred year old] mosque here was torn down and this structure put up in its place. "

Our own guide, Ibek, said the shape of the doors of the new mosque recalls the shape of their former houses of prayer.

He said the white stones in the minaret make it visible in the night.
And the 5-daily calls to prayer are done by a real human, not by a recording.

Please click once or twice and enlarge the photos to appreciate the details.

The mosque is Mamluk style.
The majority of the leaders of the Mamluk kingdom were of Adyghe origin.
(Adyghe, meaning "noble," is what the Cherkessim, as they are known in Hebrew, call themselves. )


We spent several hours in the village and in the museum but this is the only woman I saw the whole time, and I'm glad I did.
The Circassian World News Blog, in an interesting post on Kfar Kama, says
"The village's older ladies are dressed traditionally, while the younger generation is modern to the point of being Yuppified."
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(Linking to inSPIREd Sunday.)
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Kfar Kama, a Circassian village

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ABC Wednesday's K is for Kfar Kama, a village in the Lower Galilee.
What makes it special is that Kfar Kama and Rechania are the only Circassian villages in Israel.

Ibek (sorry if I guessed the wrong spelling) took our group on a tour of his village and also explained fascinating things in their heritage museum (which I'll post about in the coming days).

In the oldest part of town, from Ottoman times, were solid houses and walls of the local black basalt stone.

The newer part of this village of about 2,800 Circassian Israelis looks not much different from a village of Jewish Israelis.

It is a long story about the Circassians and I'll tell you more of it in future posts.

Their language is ancient.
The people arrived here in the 1860s after being forced out of their native Caucasus Mountains, the region where Europe and Asia meet.

From paganism they converted to Orthodox Christianity in the 5th century.
Influenced by the Tartars and Turks they encountered along the Silk Route through their region, they became Suni Muslims in the 17th century.

Circassian men are the only Muslim group to do compulsory service in the Israeli army (as per the request of their leaders in 1948).

Kfar Kama has the most unique mosque I have ever seen.
They have amazing customs and traditions which they keep alive, perhaps more than many others in the scattered Circassian diaspora.
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Looking high and low for inspiration

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The inspiration for illustrating Psalm 55 for our Sunday PsalmChallenge was just not coming last week.
Then yesterday the right photo appeared in the Jerusalem sky: this lone man climbing slowly to his solitary crane operator's cabin.
Please enlarge the picture to appreciate his situation.

He was working above the bottomless pit that will someday become our underground train station.

Psalm 55

1. For the leader; with instrumental music. A maskil. Of David.

2. Give ear, O God, to my prayer; hide not Yourself from my plea;

3. attend to me and answer me. I am agitated as I complain, I am in turmoil

4. at the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked; for they bring down trouble upon me and furiously harass me.

5. My heart writhes within me; deathly terrors fall upon me.

6. Fear and trembling invade me; horror overwhelms me.

7. I said, “Would that I had wings, like a dove! I would fly away and [there] dwell;

8. behold, I would flee far away; I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah

9. I would make haste to my refuge from the sweeping, tempestuous wind.

10. O LORD, confound and confuse their speech! For I see Violence and Strife in the city;

11. day and night they make rounds on its walls; Trouble and Mischief are within it.

12. Ruin is within it. Fraud and Deceit never depart from its square.

13. In fact, it is not an enemy who taunts me—I could bear that; it is not my adversary who deals insolently with me—I could hide from him;

14. but it is you, a man who is my peer, my companion, my friend;

15. he, who together with me shared sweet fellowship; we walked amidst the assembly in God’s house.

16. May He incite death against them; may they descend alive into Sheol! For wherever they reside, evils are within them.

17. But I call to God; the LORD will save me.

18. Evening and morning and noon, I complain and am in turmoil, and He hears my voice.

19. He redeems my life, unharmed, from the battle against me; indeed, many were against me.

20. May the Deity, who is enthroned from of old, hear and humble them—Selah—for they never change; they have no fear of God.

21. He stretched out his hand against his ally, he violated his covenant;

22. his mouth was smoother than butter, but battle was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, but they were drawn swords.

23. Cast your burden on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous man fall down.

24. As for You, O God, You will make them descend to the lowest Pit; those murderous, deceitful men shall not live out half their days. As for me, I place my trust in You.

This translation is by Rabbi Benjamin Segal. His commentary and the original Hebrew text can also be found at his blog. Recommended!
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Getting a Pullet Surprise

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Look at the size of this chicken egg!
(A normal L size egg is on its right.)

I hard boiled it and what did I get?
A pullet surprise!

The veteran moshavnik in our village grocery explained that this abnormality can happen when a pullet (a young hen) is still a bit confused about this egg laying business.

Or, as Wikipedia explains it in big words, "Double-yolk eggs occur when ovulation occurs too rapidly, or when one yolk becomes joined with another yolk. These eggs may be the result of a young hen's reproductive cycle not yet being synchronized."

Once every household in this moshav ( [former] collective agricultural settlement) was required by the State to have a big hen house for egg production, like the one shown above.
Recently times have changed and this is no longer the case.
When I moved to this village in 2006 about a dozen were still functioning (albeit with foreign workers, not Israelis, doing the work).
Now there are just a handful of loolim, chicken runs.

And the ridiculous thing is that Tnuva Food Industries now has to import eggs from Turkey and other countries.
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(This post, worthy of a Pulitzer Prize, is for Camera-Critters.)
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