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Info about Jewish Holidays – September-October 2019
Several Jewish holidays – some of which are full legal holidays in Israel – will take place this year between 29 September-21 October. The Government Press Office would like to provide the following brief summary.
Preparations for the Jewish New Year
The period preceding the Jewish New Year is marked by special penitential prayers, recited before the regular morning prayers, and the blowing of the ram’s horn (shofar in Hebrew) after the morning prayer service. Jews of North African and Middle Eastern origin began to recite these special prayers on 2 September; Jews of European origin began to recite them on 22 September. These special prayers are said daily (except on the New Year holiday itself and the Sabbath) until the day before Yom Kippur (8 October).
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah (the two-day Jewish new year), the observance of which is mandated by Leviticus 23:23-25, will begin at sunset on Sunday, 29 September and conclude at nightfall on Tuesday, 1 October. Both days are marked by special prayers and scriptural readings.
The centerpiece of the Rosh Hashanah service is the blowing of the shofar during morning prayers. (The shofar is not sounded on the Sabbath should either of the two days fall on Saturday.) Both days are full public holidays and, as on the Sabbath, there will be no public transportation or newspapers. In addition, many businesses, museums and other institutions, which are normally open on the Sabbath, will be closed over the holiday. The GPO will be closed on Sunday-Tuesday, 29 September-1 October, and will reopen on Wednesday morning, 2 October.
Rosh Hashanah is also characterized by two special customs. The first is the eating of apple slices dipped in honey, symbolizing the hope that the coming year will be “sweet.” The second involves going to a natural source of flowing water (such as an ocean, river, or spring), reading a selection of scriptural verses and casting pieces of bread into the water – to symbolize the “casting off” of the previous year’s sins; this practice derives from Micah 7:19 (“…and You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”) This ceremony takes place on the first day of Rosh Hashanah (or on the second, if the first day falls on the Sabbath).
The Period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
The ten days between New Year and Yom Kippur (inclusive) are known as “The Ten Days of Repentance”. Jewish tradition maintains that this is a time of judgment when all people and nations are called to account for their deeds of the past year, and when their particular fates for the coming year are decided.
The day after the New Year holiday is a day of fasting known as the Fast of Gedaliah, and commemorates the murder of Gedaliah, the Jewish governor of Judea, who was appointed by the Babylonians after they captured Jerusalem in 586 BCE; the episode is recounted in II Kings 25:22-25. (When the day after Rosh Hashanah is a Saturday, the fast is postponed by one day.) The fast will extend from sunrise on Wednesday, 2 October until nightfall the same day. Special scriptural readings are recited; the day is not a public holiday.
A single Sabbath, known as the “Sabbath of Repentance”, always occurs between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This Sabbath (5 October this year) is marked by a special reading from Hosea 14:2-10, beginning with, “Return, Israel, to the Lord your G-d.”
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur (Hebrew for “The Day of Atonement”) begins at sunset on Tuesday, 8 October, and concludes at nightfall on Wednesday, 9 October. Its observance is mandated by Leviticus 16:29-31 and 23:27-32. The holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur is the day on which, according to Jewish tradition, our fates for the coming year are sealed. Synagogue services – centering on the penitential prayers – will continue for most of the day and include special scriptural readings (including the Book of Jonah in the afternoon). Memorial prayers for the deceased, said four times a year, are recited on Yom Kippur. At nightfall, the shofar is sounded once to mark the end of Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur is a full public holiday in Israel and almost all establishments (including the GPO, on Tuesday-Wednesday, 8-9 October) will be closed. There will be no radio or television broadcasts. Since Yom Kippur is a day of introspection, completely separate from the normal course of daily life – the physical aspects of our lives are sublimated while we concentrate on our spiritual concerns – the day is marked by a full (sunset to nightfall) fast. The wearing of leather, the use of cosmetics, bathing and marital relations are likewise forbidden.
Sukkot
The seven-day Sukkot festival, mandated by Leviticus 23:34-35 and 23:39-43, begins at sunset on Sunday, 13 October and concludes at nightfall on Sunday, 20 October. The first day, from sunset on Sunday, 13 October, until nightfall on Monday, 14 October, is a full public holiday. All seven days of the holiday are marked by special prayers and scriptural readings – including the Book of Ecclesiastes, which is read on Saturday, 19 October. Sukkot is a joyful, family oriented holiday, which follows – and provides a contrast to – the somber, introspective and private character of Yom Kippur. Many businesses and institutions will either close or operate on a reduced basis. The GPO will be closed from Sunday, 13 October, through Monday, 21 October, and will reopen on Tuesday, 22 October.
Sukkot is characterized by two main practices. Jews are enjoined to build, take all of their meals in, and (if possible) sleep in, temporary huts topped with thatch or palm fronds during the festival. These huts (sukkot in Hebrew) commemorate the temporary, portable dwellings in which the Jewish people lived during their 40-year sojourn in the wilderness that followed their liberation from slavery in Egypt. The second main Sukkot observance is the special bouquet – consisting of a closed palm frond, a citron, a myrtle branch and a willow branch – that is held during morning prayers on each of the seven days (except the Sabbath); its origins derive from Leviticus 23:40, many traditional explanations of its symbolism have been cited.
Shemini Atzeret (Simhat Torah)
The Shemini Atzeret (literally “The Eighth Day of Assembly” in Hebrew) holiday immediately follows the last day of Sukkot, beginning at sunset on Sunday, 20 October and concluding at nightfall on Monday, 21 October. Its observance is mandated by Leviticus 23:36. It is a full public holiday. (Even though it follows the seven-day Sukkot festival and is often considered part of Sukkot, it is, in fact, a separate holiday. The special bouquet is not used and the obligation to sit in the sukkot no longer applies.) The day’s prayer services include the memorial prayers for the deceased, as well as the prayer for plentiful rainfall during the coming winter.
Shemini Atzeret, however, centers around its special scriptural readings. On Shemini Atzeret, the yearly cycle of Torah (the first five books of the Bible, i.e. Genesis to Deuteronomy, one section of which is read on each Sabbath during the year) readings is both completed and begun anew. This event is accompanied by dancing and singing, sometimes continuing for several hours; in religious neighborhoods, these celebrations often spill out into the streets. Thus, the holiday is also referred to as Simhat Torah (“Rejoicing of the Torah” in Hebrew).
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- Written by Pamela Hickman
The 56th Abu Gosh Vocal Music Festival will take place October 18th to 21st, 2019. The festival takes place twice a year in and around Abu Gosh, a town located 16 kilometres west of Jerusalem on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway. It will offer a program of 16 concerts suited to many musical tastes and performed in two churches – the spacious Kiryat Ye’arim Church, sitting high up on the hill, and the Crypt – a small, 12th century Crusader Benedictine church set in a magical, exotic garden in the lower part of the town of Abu Gosh. The Abu Gosh Festival has existed in its present form since 1992. People come from far and wide to attend concerts, picnic in the open, sit in on open-air events, buy trinkets, textiles, jewellery and food products at the outdoor stalls set up near the Kiryat Ye’arim Church and relax in the tranquil surroundings of the Jerusalem Hills. The festival features many Israeli groups and soloists, also hosting some overseas artists. For several years, the festival’s promotion and production have been administered by Gershon Cohen. As of 1995, Hannah Tzur has been musical director of the festival. Ms. Tzur, a contralto who has soloed with major orchestras and conductors in Israel, has been directing the Ramat Gan Chamber Choir for 20 years.
Festival-goers with a taste for large choral works will enjoy several concerts at the Kiryat Ye’arim Church, with a number of programs featuring settings of the Stabat Mater text - that of Rossini, with soloists, the Kibbutz Artzi Choir and conducted by Yuval Benozer (Concert No.2), that of Haydn, with soloists with the Ramat Gan Chamber Choir, conducted by Hannah Tzur (Concert No.3) and that of Schubert with soloists, the Ichud Choir, the Orpheus Instrumental Ensemble (director: Guy Figer) conducted by Ronen Borshevsky (Concert No.6). The Batumi Women’s Choir from Georgia, conducted by Zaira Vadachkoria and Gala Vadachkoria, will make its Abu Gosh Festival debut (Concert No.10) and the Stuttgart Chamber Choir, under Frieder Bernius, will be back again with a new program (Concert Nos.1, 4). A unique event for early music aficionados will be Ensemble PHOENIX’ performance of 17th century Neapolitan composer Francesco Rossi's sublime oratorio “La Caduta dell'Angeli” (Fall of the Angels), sung by students of the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music’s Vocal Department (director: Sharon Rostorf Zamir); instruments of the period will be played by members of Ensemble PHOENIX, joined by guest violone player Gio Sthel (Brazil/Germany), all conducted by PHOENIX founder and director Myrna Herzog (Concert No.8).
Concerts in the Crypt of the Benedictine Church are bound to appeal to many tastes. With music from their native Bulgaria, the women singers of the Armena Quartet will be accompanied by bagpipes and guitar (Concert No.15). Offering a program of Georgian and Russian music, the Crypt will be alive with the substantial voices of the all-male Kolan Quintet (Concert No.12). To sunnier shores, Eran Zehavi will accompany singers Shira Ben David and Michal Doron in opera favourites and Neapolitan songs in “Viva Italia” (Concert No.13). Zehavi will be joined by opera singers Yael Levita and Maya Bakstansky in works of Bernstein, Kurt Weil and Gershwin and a selection of movie hits in “An American in Berlin” (Concert No.14). Directed by Ari Erev, nostalgic American evergreens will be the focus of singer Tami Gerassi and friends in “Immortal Hits - Broadway, New York” (Concert No.11). As to Concert No.14, “Electric Guitar Called Love”, here is an event inviting the more curious of us to hear soprano Tal Ganor in a pot-pourri of works by Dowland, Purcell, Queen, Fauré, Elvis Presley and Israeli songwriters as arranged by Yuval Vilner and accompanied by him on the electric guitar!
http://www.agfestival.co.il
Tickets:
Bimot:02-6237000, *6226
http://www.bimot.co.il
Bravo: *3221, 072-2753221
Photo: Armena Quartet (not Ermena quatet)
Boris Metafchiev
http://pamelahickmansblog.blogspot.com
http://pamelahickmansmusicinterviews.blogspot.com
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- Written by Silvia
Over the years, archaeological excavations in the Old City and its surroundings have become an inspiring national endeavor and have generated enormous public interest in Israel and around the world. The Jewish Quarter Reconstruction and Development Company, headed by CEO Herzl Ben-Ari, is working to renovate the Jewish Quarter and make these incredible findings accessible to visitors from around the world.
Trip Itinerary
- A Rooftop Breakfast at the new Ibis Styles Hotel
- Plugat HaKotel Museum (i.e. The Museum of the Western Wall Platoon)
- The Burnt House
- Tiferet Israel Synagogue: Under Restoration
- The Western Wall Elevator: Under Construction
- "Chavayat Hatanach" or The Bible Experience
- Lunch stopover at Hummus Haviv
- The Menachem Begin Heritage Center
Trip Details
A Rooftop Breakfast at the new Ibis Styles Hotel
The Ibis Styles Hotel is the second hotel after Ibis Red to have opened in Jerusalem belonging to the international IBIS hotel brand that is part of the Accor International Hotel chain. The new hotel has a spectacular location. It is located in the middle of the pedestrian mall on 4 Ben Yehuda St. near Zion Square, a few minutes' walks from the Old City, the light rail, Mahane Yehuda market and a variety of tourist attractions in Jerusalem.
The hotel design, led by Aryeh Dvilansky Architects was inspired by the nearby Mahaneh Yehuda Market and is full of cheerful, colorful illustrations. The new Ibis Styles is set in a historic building and has 104 different rooms including standard rooms and family rooms, mini-suites, and rooms with balconies. Children receive a gift kit at check-in and have a children's menu.
On the 8th floor of the hotel, guests can enjoy a restaurant and bar with scenic views, where a large breakfast buffet is served daily from 6:30 to 10:00. You can enjoy the breakfast buffet separately from the accommodation. Every day between 18:30 and 19:30 the hotel has a happy hour in the restaurant. The restaurant itself will be open for three meals after Passover. All meals at the hotel are kosher.
Plugat HaKotel Museum (i.e. The Museum of the Western Wall Platoon)
Around 80 years after it was closed by the British, the Museum of the Western Wall Platoon was opened last year to the public. The museum tells the heroic story of the young members of the Betar revisionist movement who decided to stay in the Old City.
The museum is located inside the original house that was used by the platoon for residential purposes. It tells the story of the young men and women who went to work in the mornings and trained at night in an effort to guard the safety of the Jews who used to pray at the Western Wall. The presentation is about 35 minutes long and tells about their life under the British rule and about one of the most famous heroic activities that they undertook on the Yom Kippur of 1928.
Registration is through the Begin Heritage Center's office.
The Burnt House
The burnt house is the familiar name of an archeological site that is one of the homes of a wealthy Jerusalemite dating back to the period of the Second Temple around the destruction in 70 CE.
The visit includes a view of the house and some of the archeological findings as well as a spectacular film that carries you back in time to the events preceding the fall of the Second Temple. The burnt house has already completed its renovation and the film has been translated into Chinese, Spanish, English, French, and Russian.
Tiferet Israel Synagogue - Under Restoration
One of the landmarks of the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem until its destruction in 1948 was the Tiferet Israel Synagogue. Archaeological excavations began about four years and only recently the restoration work has begun. In the first stage, the construction work is focused on three underground floors that go down ten meters below street level. Once these three levels are complete, the Tiferet Israel synagogue will be restored and is expected to reach a height of 25 meters high.
The Western Wall Elevator - Under Construction
Between the Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem are several staircases that limit access to people with disabilities. The Western Wall Elevator project is designed to create a convenient and accessible passage for the entire population. The project covers a total area of about 2,000 square meters and the cost is estimated at 57 million NIS.
"Chavayat Hatanach" or The Bible Experience
The Tourism Department of the Company for the Reconstruction and Development of the Jewish Quarter, in cooperation with the Bible Experience, is launching an interactive game in the Jewish Quarter. The game presents a series of challenges and riddles that lead you through hidden underground passages and excavations in the Jewish Quarter. It takes about an hour and a half and is conducted with tablets and laminated reality technology that generate a fun modern tourist experience.
Lunch at Hummus Haviv
Hummus Haviv is named after the owner Tzach Haviv, an entrepreneur who has managed two other businesses in the Jewish Quarter and the center of Jerusalem. It is the first hummus restaurant that opened in the Jewish quarter in Sept.2018. The kosher certificate is provided by Rabbi Rubin and with which the restaurant is able to serve tourists as well as some of the ultra-Orthodox residents alike.
The restaurant serves vegetarian/vegan food based on fresh raw materials daily with no preservatives. The hummus is served hot and ground thinly, based on a personal recipe together with gluten free green falafel, homemade fries and Chef Moshe's "Father's Shakshuka" that is unique in its intense flavor. The pita bread is freshly baked at the restaurant. The menu also includes soups, a rice and lentil dish called "Majadra", cooked vegetables and salads to complete the meal. The atmosphere is updated even though the building is preserved as an authentic building of the Quarter and seats up to 40 people.
The Menachem Begin Heritage Center (Tripadvisor)
The Menachem Begin Museum is a building dedicated to the 6th Prime Minister of Israel. The multi-sensory audiovisual experience includes rare films, interactive touch screens and a whole set of reconstructions and original items to take you through a journey into the life of one of the most prominent leaders in the country's history.
The museum is divided into four major periods of his life. The first period starts with Begin's childhood in Europe including his arrest for Zionist activity.
The second period is dedicated to his command of the Etzel and describes some of the main activities of the Irgun.
The third is dedicated to his political years in the opposition and the fourth focuses on his achievements as Prime Minister - the peace treaty with Egypt, the Nobel Peace Prize, the bombing of the nuclear reactor in Iraq, and more ...
The museum is an experience for the whole family and is done only by guided tour. The tour takes about 75 minutes with a waiting period of half an hour in-between tours. The museum conducts the guided tours in Hebrew and English, but you can also receive headphones for Spanish, French, Russian and Arabic.
In addition to the tour about Menachem Begin within the building, visitors are invited to enter the archeological park that lies within the museum's compound. The park is part of a necropolis of burial complexes that dates back to the First Temple period, the days of the Kings of Judah. Other findings include remains of a Byzantine church, rock-hewn shaft tombs from the Roman period and burial ground of the 10th Roman legion. The most fascinating find is a burial cave from the First Temple period in which an exciting discovery was made - a silver cylinder bearing the familiar verse from the Birkat Kohanim: "May the Lord bless you and preserve you." This finding is the oldest biblical text to date.
The park has recently been renovated with appropriate signs and walking paths that connect it to a sequence of parks between Bloomfield Garden and the Biblical Hill. Admission to the park is free between 10:00-18:00, Sunday - Thursday, even after museum hours, but requires advance notice.
For contact details to each of the sites, you are welcome to enter the full article on:
https://www.israel-best-trips.com/single-post/Jerusalem-The-Jewish-Quarter-Makeover-Part-1
Photos by Silvia G. Golan
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- Written by Talma Gotteiner
The Piano Festival is the largest music festival in the country, which for 21 years has already produced several winning combinations and performances that continued afterward outside the festival and were recorded in special albums and video.
This year, the Piano Festival is again taking place at the beginning of winter between November 13-16th, 2019 with a diverse program representing the multicultural aspect of contemporary Israeli music.
The festival's performances will take place in ten auditoriums throughout the city. The central location will take place in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art: Recanati Hall, Kaufman Hall, Asia Hall, Mizna Blumental Gallery, Contemporary Israeli Art Gallery and in the Cameri Theater.
Other performances will also take place at the Noga Hall in the Gesher Theater, Jaffa and the Enav Cultural Center.
Due to the abundance of artistic and musical styles the festival has taken care to balance mainstream artists producing special festival performances alongside indie artists. Multiple musical techniques, a variety of languages, cultural styles, and musical experiments are the foundation of the festival. Spoken, ethnic, indie, pop, rock, and electronic alongside the Mediterranean, beautiful Israeli and Jewish-faith music, classical, poetry combined together for five days of excellent music by the best Israeli artists and creators.
The festival allows artistic freedom to the participating artists and as a result, the audience fills the halls with over 90% occupancy every year! The festival exposes the concert comers to Israeli classics alongside novel surprising productions, special musical formations and even to new musical instruments.
This year, the festival is dedicating a special homage to musician and pianist Alona Turel who passed away in May this year and had been an integral part of the festival throughout previous years. In the concert dedicated to her memory, the best artists who worked with her will perform onstage alongside young artists who were influenced by her. Performers include Chava Alberstein, Nurit Galron, Yoni Rechter, Shalom Hanoch, Dori Ben Zeev, Alon Adar, Meir Yisrael, The Platina, Doron Talmon, Vered Picker, Moshe Levi, Alon Hillel, Miki Shaviv, Alon Olearchik, Yurai Oron, Shmulik Budgov, Nadav Hollander, Ariel Horowitz.
The 21st festival is also paying tribute Nathan Alterman in three special shows: "Ha'Layla Shelach" new songs by Rami Harel and Naama Nachum - a discourse between Alterman and his daughter Tirza Atar, "Magash Haketzev" a special show of Alterman's songs for children and "When Wilensky met Alterman" in which Tzipi Zarenkin and Nathan Slor perform the beautiful hits of Alterman and Wilensky and host Ran Eliran.
Festival Director: Shabi Mizrahi, Deputy Director Culture and Arts Division and Director of the Performance Department
Production: The Department of Performances in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality in collaboration with Hamon Volume and Zappa.
Artistic Director: Etti Anta-Segev
For more details on the festival performances, tickets and prices please refer to the full article on:
https://www.israel-best-trips.com/single-post/Tel-Aviv-Jaffa-A-Preview-of-the-21st-Piano-Festival
Photos by Silvia Golan
- Details
- Written by Talma Gotteiner
The 'Red South' - 'Darom Adom' 2019 Festival Preview
This year the anemones in the South of Israel have bloomed early making this preview tour even better than last. Again the preview tour presented some new participants that will be opening their gates to festival comers this year.
WHEN: Over five weekends 31 Jan 2019 - 2 March 2019
Additional details can be found on the OFFICIAL FESTIVAL'S HEBREW WEBSITE. https://www.habsor.co.il
In general, the festival offers plenty of activities for the whole family ranging from nature tours with actors that greet the children in the fields, markets, agricultural fairs, Bedouin workshops, the Be'eri Mountain Biking Marathon (Feb 8th, 2019), the traditional anemones march held by KKL-JNF (Feb 9th, 2019), the anemone race (Feb 15th, 2019) and much more.
The festival also include live musical performances termed "South Red LIVE" by the best Israeli artists every Thursday and Friday night throughout festival sites. The musicians this year will include Rita; Shlomi Shaban, Asaf Amdursky and Yael Kraus in their performance "Singing the High Windows"; Hadag Nahash will host "Tuna"; Shuli Rand; Maor Edri; "Slightly different"; David and Jonathan - David Broza and Jonathan Geffen; Tipex and more. You are encouraged to arrive on Thursday and make a long weekend of it, in order to enjoy the festival more fully.
Trip Agenda Options
- The flour mill "Kemah Haaretz" in Moshav Kochav Michael
- The anemone field at the Varmulan Parking Lot in Sa'ad Junction
- A creative workshop at Tutsi's Courtyard in Moshav Maslul
- Farm 77 in Moshav Tkuma
- Green Pub in Kibbutz Nir Am
- Kibbutz Yad Mordechai
The flour mill "Kemah Haaretz", Moshav Kochav Michael
The flour mill 'Kemah Haaretz" is a boutique kosher mill in the South serving both bakeries all over Israel.
During the festival, the flour mill will be opened on Fridays for baking demonstrations, tasting and the sale of baked goods. You will be able to see the flour mill, the grinders and receive an explanation of their milling process. Breads can be ordered in advance.
The Anemone Field at the Varmulan Parking Lot in Sa'ad Junction
The beautiful anemone flower photos were taken in this field. This location includes a deck footpath built by KKL-JNF leading from the parking lot to the observation post. The deck is easily accessible for people with disabilities and leads them all the way into the field.
A Creative Workshop at Tutsi's Courtyard in Moshav Maslul
A very sweet couple live in Moshav Maslul. Tutsi (she'll tell you how she got her nickname) and her partner Daniel Moreno a carpenter and chef have opened a very special workshop and gallery full of their handmade furniture and other vintage items. The two of them work with recycled wood, renovating old furniture and custom-made furniture.
During the festival you are invited to one of their workshops to create crafts that you take home. There is one entitled "Talking signs" in which you learn to create a wooden sign. Another workshop called "Everything hangs on it" allows you to create hangars or racks. A third workshop entitled "A story in a box" is for building your own windowbox of spices. Also, during the festival there will be workshops for the renovation and painting of "Shabby Chic" furniture.
You can also buy refreshments on site in case you're hungry.
Farm 77 in Moshav Tkuma
Farm 77 will be celebrating the strawberry season during the festival and offers self-picking of hanging strawberries, a tractor tour, an educational tour of the hothouses with agricultural explanations.
Green Pub in Kibbutz Nir Am
Green Pub is a restaurant-bar where some of the live music shows will take place. As its name suggests it offers dishes for the whole family and a rich bar. Due to its location you can even schedule it as a stopover for a late meal on the way back home to close the day.
Kibbutz Yad Mordechai
During the festival, you are invited to the bee and honey house where you will see a demonstration from a beekeeper, enjoy honey tasting, create a candle craft from beeswax and can even register for a honey cake workshop. Also available are the tractor tour and a guided activity at the 1948 battlefield where the children are able climb real tanks and touch the authentic weapons.
After the activities, visitors will be able to drive to the anemone field in the Karmia reserve near the kibbutz.
For the contact details of all these locations, please refer to the full article on:
Photos by Silvia Golan
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