After spending the morning at the Israel Museum, and then grabbing yummy bites to eat among the small restaurants in a (mostly Orthodox) neighborhood - delicious hummus, pita, stuffed grape leaves, savory pastries, ice cream - we headed to the hustle and bustle of Machane Yehuda, the signature Israeli market. Crowded on a "normal" day, it's an absolute sea of people on Friday afternoon as everyone does their final shopping before Shabbat. The main pedestrian thoroughfare and many branching alleyways are a sensory overload with the sights and smells of mound after mound of fruits, vegetables, cheeses, rugelach, spices... Vendors call out their wares from all directions: "Golani!" shouts one ("These cherries are from the Golan!"); "Try, try!" says another of his special nut and spice concoctions (and, yum, we were glad we did).
But even the energy of this intensely energetic place began to wind down as we made our way back to the bus around 4:00 in the afternoon. And as we drove back to the hotel, store fronts were closed and gated, traffic thinned out, people all but disappeared. For now Shabbat preparations are underway - and not just for Friday night, but for the full period of Shabbat. The rests we now take in our hotel rooms are happening throughout the city. Meals are being prepared, children washed and dressed. The bus driver wished us Shabbat Shalom as we arrived back at the hotel room and we wished the same to him.
Shabbat is such a gift, but in the States it can take tremendous WORK to carve out time for rest! Here everything is calibrated for the deep breath of Friday night and Saturday. And as sunset inches closer and closer, I'm breathing deeper already.
Ahhhhh.....
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem.
-- Rabbi SMA
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Rabbi Stephanie M. Alexander
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