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[This originally appeared in the JT News, Sept. 3, 2010]

One of the great things about living in Israel is how easy it is to really “feel” any upcoming holiday. Just take a walk through the shuk and the stacks of honey jars, piles of perfectly ripe pomegranates and barrels of shiny Golan apples all make it easy to anticipate the High Holydays. Radio & TV ads are full of New Year wishes and mailboxes full of heart-wrenching holiday appeals. But paradoxically, all that can be a downside, because it’s just too darn easy to take it all for granted.

In the old country, where you had to finagle time off from classes or work and explain the intricacies of why you were living in a booth for eight days in the chilly autumn rain, getting ready for the high holidays was a more deliberate and serious endeavor. Here in Israel, it’s too easy to take things for granted and can sometimes become just a matter of anticipating a week off work and deciding which trips to take during chol hamoed–the intermediate Sukkot days.

That’s why events like the Festival HaPiyut are just the right antidote.

It’s hard to explain piyutim. Essentially they’re the poetry that adorns various prayers throughout the year. The pre-High Holyday piyutim are the verses Jews recite at this time of year to butter up God. They’ve evolved over the centuries and are generally sung as a community, not by the individual, and for some reason Sephardim have a more finely developed sense of using piyutim than Ashkenazim.

Piyutim are experiencing a revival here in Israel with young paytanim (singers of piyutim) commanding large audiences; a website devoted to the genre as well as a wealth of scholarly research and concert halls filled with devotees.

In the delightful walled courtyard of the Beit Avichai Center on King George Street, several hundred mostly religious people gathered for the opening of last year’s Festival.The event was billed as encompassing three generations of paytanim from Nachlaot, the old Jerusalem neighborhood not more than 7 minutes walk away.

Indeed, the all-male performers range in age from 10 to 80, each one chanting one of the soulful but lively piyutim to the accompaniment of an outstanding group of musicians.

Many of the piyutim are from the 19th and early 20th century–mostly originating in Tunis or Egypt. The music is amazingly complex with changing rhythms and odd beats with darbuka drums, the oud and violins all playing major roles.

The two hour concert draws to a close after two veteran paytanim were honored. One, Rabbi David Raichi, who immigrated from Tunis in 1956, was a long-time piyut practitioner at the renowned Ades synagogue in nearby Nachlaot.

As Rav Raichi drew out his final notes, I couldn’t help thinking of Rev. Samuel Benaroya the late chazan of Sephardic Bikur Holim, my congregation in Seattle, who was a world-renowned expert in every kind of Sephardic makam, and whose personality and ability to pass on those traditions is legendary. His special knowledge of the Ottoman style maftirim would have been a worthy addition to the evening.

[Rev. Samuel & Lisa Benaroya, circa 1985]

Walking home with the melodies and the poetry of the piyutim still in my head, I realize that the journey toward the High Holydays will no longer be so easy to take for granted.Site Feed

Todd Warnick of Jerusalem Central and I were pro-Israel activists together at the University of Washington in the 1970s. Todd made aliya way before me and is one of Israel’s best known (but now retired) basketball coaches…He and I still see eye to eye on political matters. Here’s his latest on the outrageous pressure campaign being funded by (y)our tax dollars…

The problem isn’t necessarily the US Government supporting a 2-state solution – though one would think that this is an inappropriate use of taxpayer money and USAID funds – but look how they’re doing it: a big picture of 7 leaders of the Palestinian Authority with the caption: “We’re Partners. And You?”. This begs the question, of course: Do you think there is a similar campaign at work all over Judea, Samaria and Gaza, i.e. pictures of Bibi, Barak, Lieberman and the rest of the 7 members of the Inner Cabinet that says in Arabic: “We’re Partners. And You?” The answer is rather obvious. More inappropriate meddling by foreign governments in Israel – at least a new law going through the Knesset a la the US Foreign Agents Registration Act would make this kind of funding more transparent.

Here is also the link to the Geneva Initiative web site indicating as well support from USAID, which has provided “US economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years”. As to the story in today’s Yediot Ahronot, p.7:

Big picture across the top of the page (l to r):
Sufian Abu Zeideh, Yasser Abu Rabo, Saeeb Erekat, Abu Mazen, Salam Fayyad, Riad Al-Malki, Jabril RajoubCaption OVER the picture: “We Are Partners. And You?”

Headline: Campaign Funded by the White HouseSubhead: The Geneva Initiative Organization Produces, the Americans Are Paying, the Heads of the Palestinian Authority Star in a Political Campaign That Will be Open This Morning and Will Try to Convince Israelis That Peace is Possible
By Itamar Eichner”We are partners – and what’s with you”? asks the organizers of the Geneva Initiative of the People of Israel in a new (advertising) campaign that will open this morning, and it turns out that the Americans are also joining.
Saeeb Erekat, Jabril Rajoub, Yasser Abd Rabo and the Palestinian foreign minister (sic) Riad Malki will appear from this morning on billboards throughout Israel, in newspaper advertisements and in network spots – and will try to convince you that there is with whom to speak on the other side.
At first glance it appears just like any other initiative of a movement in favor of a 2-state solution, but when you check who gave the main funding for this campaign it turns out to be none other than Washington, D.C. One million shekel (~ $260,000: TW) has been invested in financing the campaign, whose goal is to encourage Israelis to support a Palestinian state, and most of which came from the American assistance agency, USAID – a federal agency that usually funds humanitarian activities in the world, e.g. assistance for victims of the earthquake in Haiti, food supplies for flood victims in Pakistan, and for the hungry and starving in Africa. The organization is active in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, but never – until today – did it ever finance a project that is connected to political organizations and to the peace process in the Middle East. Moreover – this will be the first time that the American Government supports financially, even if indirectly, in an initiative of this kind.
The Geneva Initiative is an organization that promotes a permanent Israeli-Palestinian solution on the basis of the Clinton Parameters of December 2000. “Yediot Ahronot” became aware that it is the organization that turned to Washington with a request to receive financial support for producing the campaign, and it was agreed upon there to respond positively. “We are showing the partners as they are”, said yesterday Geneva Initiative CEO Gadi Baltiansky. “I am happy that those who support a solution of two states are also assisting in passing on the message”.
Sources in the Israeli Foreign Ministry said last night that the decision of the American Government to fund this campaign is in their eyes extremely odd. “This this is fact a campaign of the Palestinian Authority with funding from the US Government”, said the source.
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Take a look at a terrific new blog that will give you a whole new perspective on the significance of the Shomron–Samaria region. Shomron Central will bring you up to speed on

1. The Strategic Value of Samaria2. Shomron Mountain Aquifer – Key Water Reservoir3. Vast Land Reserves – Empty and Uninhabited4. Place of Refuge During Wartime5. Jewish Rights to the Shomron6. Myth and Lies: Occupation, Palestinians, etc.7. Outposts and Hilltop Youth8. SHOMRON SAFARI FUN9. SHOMRON BREAKFAST CLUB10. SHOMRON DISCOVERY TOURalong with some beautiful pictures…Site Feed

Brothers and cousins join the scribe in writing a letter of the Torah scroll.

http://www.demotix.com/news/398271/completing-torah-scroll-jerusalem for the full story with more photos.

The Sephardic Educational Center in Jerusalem’s Old City celebrated the completion of a new Torah scroll last night in a lively celebration of Jews from around the world.

A scribe dip his quill pen into special ink and puts the finishing touches to a new Torah scroll before sewing up the parchment with special thread and dancing with the Torah through the streets of the Jewish Quarter.

Dozens of people from all over the world took part in the dedication of the scroll that was donated by families from Morocco and the United States.

A delegation of Sephardic leaders from Los Angeles and New York took part in the festive event, with many men putting their hand over the hand of the scribe as he finished the last letters of the scroll that contains the Five Books of Moses.

Scribes who are trained in the art of writing a Torah must undergo rigorous training. It takes about one year to complete the writing of the quarter million letters that make up the scroll.

The parchment must come from a kosher animal–usually a goat, bull or deer and generally takes about 80 skins for one Torah scroll.

A special feather quill and ink are used and the scribe must not write anything from memory. After checking the scroll with another scribe, the ceremonial completion is scheduled. It’s considered a great honor to take part in the writing of a letter of the Torah.

The last part of the scroll was sewn together, a cover and silver bells placed on it, and the entire congregation accompanied the Torah under a wedding canopy, dancing through the streets of the Jewish Quarter.Site Feed

Hat tip to ElderofZiyon for this:

Pass this on to Nick Kristof at the New York Times and the “human rights” organizations focusing on Gaza. Ever seen a new mall in Darfur, Somalia, Sudan??Site Feed

I’ve never been in Tel Aviv or Haifa for Tisha B’Av, but my guess is that it probably doesn’t feel too much different than Tisha B’Av in Seattle–a few hardy souls sitting on the floor of their synagogues in the evening and then spending the day itself struggling to keep awake through some talks and appropriate films, while the rest of the city goes about its usual business oblivious to the significance of the day.

That’s not how Tisha B’Av is observed in Jerusalem–the focal point of much of the mourning. Here,as restaurants and places of entertainment close down, thousands take to the streets leading to the Old City and the remnants of the Temple. New traditions mingle with the ancient as Israelis commemorate the tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people on and around the 9th of Av.

In recent years, much like Tikun Layl Shavuot, the all-nighter of learning that marks the eve of the Shavuot holiday, Tisha B’Av has turned into an opportunity for dialogue and reflection on the rifts that continue to tear at the seams of our peoplehood.

For the first time in many years I chose to forego the traditional walk around the walls of the Old City in favor of a new initiative organized by the Jerusalem Challenge. Oblivious to the fact that this was a group targeting 20 & 30-somethings, I found myself quite possibly the oldest participant in another meaningful observance of Tisha B’Av opposite the Old City walls.

The Challenge folks chose to hold their megilla reading and panel discussions in the courtyard of one of Jerusalem’s staunchly secular institutions–the Cinematheque, which was one of the first places in Jerusalem to stay open on Shabbat.

After having spent most of the last 10 days running in and out of the Cinematheque to catch films at the Jerusalem Film Festival, it was a little strange to be sitting on the ground in the forecourt listening to the mournful tones of the prophet Jeremiah’s lament over Jerusalem.

After the reading, English-speakers went off to listen to a panel that included Jewlicious blog founder, David Abitbol; Amotz Asa-El of the Jerusalem Post and
Aharon Horowitz, Co-Director of Presentense. I stayed outside to catch the Hebrew panel that included a Modern Orthodox professor, Moshe Meir; a black-hat rabbi, Eliyahu Linker; an Ethiopian woman who works in immigrant absorption and Dr Ilan Ezrahi, a secular educator and former head of the MASA program.

Against the dramatic backdrop of Mt Zion and the Jerusalem walls and overlooking the Gehinom Valley, the discussion was fairly predictable, but interesting, nevertheless. Dr. Ezrahi recounted how he was completely unaware of Tisha B’Av as he was growing up, and only learned about the day while serving as a staff member at an American summer camp.

For Moshe Meir, whose father had fought and died fighting for the liberation of Jerusalem in the Six Day War, the day has a different significance.

Following the panel, groups set out for walking tours of the Old City, joining the throngs that swarmed the Kotel plaza all night long.

Meanwhile, at the tent set up by the family of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit in front of the prime minister’s residence in Rehavia, Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger read Lamentations for Gilad’s parents, Noam and Aviva and dozens of others who came to show solidarity.

As I walked home through the quiet streets away from the Old City,along an uncharacteristically silent Emek Refaim, the street lights along a stretch of the Greek and German Colony were all dark. Had some city or electric company official flipped the switch to create the gloomy Tisha B’Av mood, or was it a fluke? In Jerusalem you never know.Site Feed

The 15th annual Jerusalem festival that takes place at the Tomb of the Kings in eastern Jerusalem this coming week has a dual price structure.

Tickets for Jews and Christians are 50 NIS per performance. But, “Special discounts for Palestinians only”, are advertised on the festival site.

Now this is an event with a prestigious list of sponsors: The Pontifical mission (the Vatican representative in Israel); the representative office of Norway to the Palestine Authority , the Spanish Cooperation Office, the French Consulate and French Cultural Center & Price Waterhouse West Bank & Gaza office.

Could you imagine any of these organizations sponsoring an event offering special discounts for Jews only?

Oh, and I almost forgot–the festival is billed as an event that will “bring joy and peace to Jerusalem.”

Tomb of the Kings, JerusalemSite Feed

I was born and educated in London, but I’ve been gone for many years. Richard Landes’ analysis of Britain today is sobering..Pajamas Media » The Hidden Costs of Jew-Baiting in EnglandSite Feed

As the fifth anniversary of the Gush Katif pullout approaches-it occurred on the day after Tisha B’Av 2005–I’ve put together some of my photos from those dark days. There were thousands of us who didn’t have the zchut to live in Gush Katif but who had the honor to spend time with the remarkable people of the endangered communities in the days and weeks before and after the evictions.

Click here: YouTube – Remembering Gush Katif: 5 Years On

More photos below from the night of the pullout when busloads of Gush Katif refugees arrived at the Kotel to pour out their hearts: