Being comforted on Shabbat Nachamu

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Click to enlarge for the beautiful window details

Shabbat Nachamu begins this evening.

After going down to the depths on Tisha B'Av, mourning the destruction of the Temple and of Jerusalem [in my 9 B'Av posts], we are brought back to the light by Isaiah's visions of a better future.
He tells us that Jerusalem has paid the price for her sin and is now forgiven.

The haftorah, Isaiah 40:1-26, begins "Nachamu, nachamu ami . . ."
God is telling his prophets to console his people:

" 'Comfort, oh comfort my people,' says your God.
'Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem . . .' "

Are they not lovely and welcome words?!

The other verses are equally lovely and well-known.
You can chose your preferred translation of the Isaiah chapter:
"The Message" in modern English or NIV or the translation used by Chabad or the Hebrew with classic old English.

The painted stained glass window is exhibited at Hechal Shlomo museum of Jewish art in Jerusalem.
It was made in England in 1907, one of twelve windows that graced a synagogue in Manchester.
It is based on sketches made by 19th century pilgrims to the Holy Land.

Shabbat shalom!
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Busy pre-Sabbath buying at the market

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Get your fresh cherries, "only" 40 shekels (!) (about $10) per kilo. 
All the other fruits and vegetables are a lot cheaper. 

Friday is a busy day in Beer Sheva's open-air shuk.

The market and all stores close mid-afternoon on Friday and open again on Sunday.

Did you notice, there are almost no women in the photos?
I think they are all at home, frantically cooking and cleaning to be ready for the Sabbath that starts before sundown.
Then the real day of rest begins.
Shabbat shalom, Sabbath peace to you. 
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Warm candles on a freezing night

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Wishing you all Sabbath peace (Shabbat shalom) and a happy 6th candle of Chanuka!
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Flowers and fruit

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Coming back on one of the last*  buses at Friday noon, I saw this man had set up a little roadside stand in the first bus stop at the entrance to Meitar.

A bunch of flowers, a little box of  strawberries or shesek (loquats) would be a nice extra touch to bring home to the family for Erev Shabbat.

I hope some drivers stopped, bought, and brought.

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*Public transportation stops running from early Friday afternoon and starts again on Sunday morning.   Stores close during these times too.

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Shabbat shalom.  Wishing you peace and rest on the Sabbath.

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BTW, the post on the right has an LED display of when the next two buses will arrive (in real time).   It is powered by the solar panel on top. 

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First Erev Shabbat in Meitar

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Shabbat shalom!
This was my first Sabbath eve in my new place in Meitar.
So quiet and peaceful.

Trying to get some pictures for James and his Weekend Reflections meme.
First the Shabbat candles reflected in the oven door. 

And look here!
When the candles had burned all the way down, the little flames were reflected in the hot liquid wax that remained for a long time.
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Shabbat tranquility

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One day a week we hyper Israeli Jews detach and enter into the tranquility of a sanctuary in time.

All because of what Genesis says: "And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy."
In the creation, in the beginning, time was the first thing that God made holy.

The Sabbath has its own architecture of holiness and Jews feel secure inside.

It is said that for the 25 hours of the Sabbath we receive a "neshama yetera," an added soul.

In a few hours the sun will set here in Jerusalem, just after we have lit the candles, and life will slow down.
Wishing you all Shabbat shalom, Sabbath peace.
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City Daily Photo group's theme day today is tranquility.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.
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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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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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Sesame Street?

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Any food with sesame on it is good in my book.

The unusual arrangement of the oblong sesame-covered bagelach caught my eye at this basta (food stand) at Shuk Mahane Yehuda market.

The yellow paper on the wall tells us what time Shabbat began last Friday.
Just a few minutes after 6 p.m.
It is still hot in Israel and it feels like summer still, but the days are getting shorter and shorter--a sure sign of autumn.

Shabbat of Consolation

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The bus goes down down down from high altitude Jerusalem to below sea level Dead Sea.
With reflections of the skilled driver in the mirrors for Weekend Reflections.


A few days ago, on Tisha B'Av, Jews mourned the destruction of the Temples and of much of Jerusalem and the beginnings of our exile.
But God in his mercy does not leave us totally in this doom and gloom.
Instead, on the first Sabbath after Tisha B'Av he gives us Shabbat Nachamu, the Sabbath of Consolation, named after this day's reading from the prophet Isaiah 40:1-31 which begins "Nachamu nachamu ami," meaning "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people."

1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
. . . 9 Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!" 10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. . . .

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Shabbat shalom!
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That drooping feeling

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It's not fair!
Here it is October already and we are still sweating through temps of 36 C (almost 97 F) with 15% humidity today and tomorrow.
And that's in high-altitude Jerusalem where it is cooler than other Israeli cities.
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Even one of the Sabbath candles at a nearby friend's house was drooping.
I know how that candle feels.
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Shabbat shalom. Take it easy.
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A verse to reflect on

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A window in the Great Synagogue of Jerusalem.
Some colors were even reflected on the side for James' Weekend Reflections.

The Hebrew says "Beyadcha afkid ruchi," meaning, "Into thy hand I commit my spirit."

Psalms 31:5a

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Shabbat shalom.

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Reflecting on the shtender

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Perhaps in anticipation of "Weekend Reflections" this old carving was displayed with a mirror behind it at the Jewish Art Museum in Jerusalem's Hechal Shlomo.

The traditional Jewish prayer and study lectern or podium is called by its better Yiddish name: shtender.
Like most Yiddish words, it does not translate well.
When you are praying and studying the holy books all day and half of the night, like the yeshiva "seminarians" do, you really need a shtender.
When you get tired of sitting, you stand; when you get tired of standing, you sit.
The shtender rocks with you. The shtender leans with you. Or, it stands firm when it has to.
It has room inside and on top to hold your many books.
There's even a footrest.
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Soon, just before sunset, it will be time to light the candles and welcome the Sabbath.
The old wooden Jew from long ago joins me in wishing you Shabbat shalom, Sabbath peace.
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Update: I went back to the museum this week and was surprised to see that the man at the shtender was a lot smaller than I had remembered him from my first visit. Funny how things "grow on you."
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UPDATE Jan. 2015:  Everything you ever wanted to know about shtenders at the You're Not Crazy blog.
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Blessing the bread

Welcoming the Friday evening Sabbath at a friend's house. She has the custom of making a communal blessing over the challah.


Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha-olam
Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the Universe

hamotzi lechem min ha'aretz. (Amein).
who brings forth bread from the earth.
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Shabbat shalom, Sabbath peace, to you and all.

Double celebration

Happy Shavuot holiday and Shabbat shalom, Sabbath peace, to you tonight.
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First kosher cheese in Portugal since the Inquisition

Shabbat shalom! I'm just back home after Kabbalat Shabbat, welcoming the Sabbath, at friends' house. The dark bread, olives, olive oil, and goat cheese on our table are the real taste of Israel.
It made me think of this recent article in Haaretz with a funny title:

For first time since Inquisition, Portuguese cheese gets kosher seal
By Cnaan Liphshiz
For the first time since the Spanish Inquisition in Portugal, a dairy product has been given an official kosher certificate. The ground-breaking product is a hard, goat's milk cheese, manufactured by the descendant of Anusim (Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity).

Last year, Jose Braz, owner of the Queijos Braz factory, contacted Daniel Litwak, the chief rabbi of Portugal's second-largest city, Porto, and asked him to arrange a kashrut certificate for Serra da Estrela cheese, which Braz manufactures. Braz believes that his own family were members of Portugal's Jewish community in the 14th and 15th centuries, but like many others were forced to convert to escape persecution by the Inquisition.
"When I spoke to Jose, he told me he wanted to reconnect to his Jewish roots - this was the reason for contacting me," says Litwak, who was born in Argentina. "I was surprised because his brand was doing rather nicely all over Europe. He did not need the certificate to increase his turnover." New York-born Michael Freund, the chairman of Shavei Israel, a Jerusalem-based organization that helps people with Jewish roots become more involved in their Jewish community, who immigrated to Israel some 10 years ago, told Haaretz that Portugal "is seeing a Jewish revival over the past few years."
"Recently, the first kosher wine in Portugal since the Inquisition has become available, then the first olive oil and now the cheese," Freund says. "I see a definite connection between how many of the Anusim are rediscovering their roots and the increased interest."

Cholent weather

A wintry weekend--thunderstorms and temperatures of 2-6 degrees C (or 36-43 F) in Jerusalem and even colder up here on our little mountain just outside the city.
It's the perfect time and weather for that old Jewish classic, CHOLENT!
First defrost your frozen kishke. Kishke used to be made from a cow intestine but today edible synthetic casing is used. It is stuffed with flour or matsa meal, schmaltz or oil, spices, and I don't know what else.

Take a heavy pot and put in beef chunks, potatoes, white beans, barley, onion, the kishke, and an egg. If there is room throw in a ganef knaidle (dumpling). Cover everything with water, put a lid on, and bring it to a boil.

Just before the Sabbath starts (i.e. before sunset on Friday) put the pan in the oven.

Enjoy the good smell and the warmth all night.

Next day, Yom Shabbat, around noon it will be ready to eat.

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Jews are not supposed to light a fire or cook during Shabbat. In the old days in Europe and in Israel, the pots of cholent from the village would be put in the baker's big oven overnight. On their way home from morning prayers at the synagogue, the families would pick up their pan and go home for a heavenly midday meal.

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Caveat: Like the American Thanksgiving Day turkey, cholent is said to contain a sleep-inducing agent. Be prepared to feel a nap coming on.

Shabbat shalom!

Weekend drivers

From the west side of our hill you can look down on this road. It winds through the Soreq Valley. On Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings during the summer it is a Mecca for motorcyclists. Click on the photo to see how numerous they are!
The sound the engines make, reverberating off the steep stony walls of the narrow valley, always seems in sharp contrast to the quiet, relaxed atmosphere of Shabbat.
Religious Jews do not drive on Shabbat and many non-religious stay around home to rest. Public transportation does not run either. So the bikers pretty much have the road to themselves.
BTW, in Israel we do not have Sunday off. Sunday is just the first day of the work week.

(Same road without zoom)

I haven't heard them much this autumn. But today is (and all week was) unseasonably warm, a sunny 24 C or 75 F, and the bikers are out in full force to feel the sun and wind on their face.

On the fringe

Seen yesterday in the narrow lanes of an old Jerusalem neighborhood near the shuk.

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Freshly laundered, just in time for Shabbat. Arba' kanfot (the "four-cornered garment") is also called tallit katan. Religious men and boys wear it all day in order to keep the commandment to wear a garment with tsitsit (fringes), written in Numbers 15:37-41 and Deuteronomy 22:12.
It is worn between the undershirt and the shirt, although some Chassidim have their arba' kanfot over the shirt.
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Shabbat began so early today. The candles had to be lit at 3:59 (always must be at least 18 minutes before sunset).
Shabbat shalom, Sabbath peace to you.
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Sunset and candles

Days are getting shorter. Clouds are returning to the sky! I am ready for the long hot dry summer to change into autumn.
Here the sun sets behind the next ridge. On Friday evening it is important to know the exact time of sunset, because the two Sabbath candles must be kindled at least 18 minutes before.
Shabbat is a day of rest from any work, and creating fire with a match is considered work.

Candle-lighting times for the various cities in Israel are published in the newspapers and announced on the radio. Notices are printed every week and are hung in public places like bus stops.
Shabbat shalom!

Hundreds of nice bloggers are posting their sky and story today at SkyWatch.

Click on a few of their blogs and enjoy.