Yom Reva’ee
Wednesday
27 Kislev 5782
December 1 2021
Happy Chanukah!
It is already the happy 3rd day of Chanukah here in Israel (Image courtesy of rotter.net).
The Souvganiot Of The Evening
Can you ever eat too many souvganiot? We gobbled up these last night in Ramot (read today’s blog below).
The Photo of the Day
Miss Universe contestants at the King David Hotel yesterday (Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post).
As you may not know, despite all of the restrictions that Corona has brought, the Miss Universe pageant will take place in Eilat next week.
The News On The Israel Street
Palestinian terror in the last 24 hours . . .
A Palestinian terrorist armed with a knife was captured after infiltrating into Israel from Gaza.
Another knife-armed Palestinian terrorist was captured this morning at the Al-Jib Crossing by Israeli Border Police.
Numerous “rock” and Molotov attacks occurred in Judea and Samaria at such locations as Luban a-Sharqiya, Al Abud, Al-Khader, on the Gush Etzion-Hevron Road, and near Qalqilya.
So you want to live in Tel Aviv? . . .
You might want to rethink that decision. According to The Economist magazine, Tel Aviv is now officially (as if we didn’t already know it) the most expensive city in the world.
The top 10 on the list are:
1. Tel Aviv, Israel
2. Paris, France
3. Singapore
4. Zurich, Switzerland
5. Hong Kong
6. New York, USA
7. Geneva, Switzerland
8. Copenhagen, Denmark
9. Los Angeles, USA
10. Osaka, Japan
By the way, the cheapest place to live is . . . drumroll . . . Damascus. Your humble servant is sure that you can find a nice cheap bombed out apartment to rent there.
The traffic fatality situation in Israel goes from bad to worse . . .
So far this year, 320 Israelis have been killed on the roads here–a 20% increase over this time last year.
Not all of the fatalities have been ascribed a cause, but those that have include:
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52 pedestrians who were killed while walking across a street
50 who were killed as a result of a person speeding
39 who died when someone recklessly moved from one lane to another
31 who died in a crash caused by tailgating
25 who were killed when someone ran a stop light
25 who were killed when someone drove on the wrong side of the road
16 who died when a driver was passing another car
Without any question, Israeli roads and highways are dangerous places with numerous drivers speeding, weaving in and out of traffic, and tailgating (all the while honking their horns and flashing their lights at the car they are following).
This morning, the wife of the Deputy Mayor of Rishon LeZion was killed in a head on crash on Road 431.
TODAY’S BLOG
There Is Chanukah And There Is Chanukah!
An orthodox man lighting his family’s chanukiya in Ramot last night. Please note that a menorah has seven candleholders, but a chanukiya has eight + a holder for the shamash.
Until you have celebrated Chanukah in the warmth of Jerusalem, your humble servant dares say that you have never really celebrated the holiday.
Last night, we excitedly traveled to the Ramot neighborhood in northern Jerusalem to celebrate the third night with our son, his wife, and three children.
Ramot is a strictly orthodox neighborhood made up of multi-storied houses and 5 and 6 story apartment complexes built with famed Jerusalem stone. Each complex has 50-60 apartments each, and each apartment is home to a family that has on the average about eight children–how many obviously depending on the age of the parents.
It is an extraordinarily noisy, joyful place full of deeply religious people.
At Chanukah, every apartment or home has its Chanukiah or Chanukiyot either in the window or in a glass box beside their gate on the street.
Imagine looking at a 6 story building, with every one of some 50 windows dancing with the light of one, two, three, or even four Chanukiyot–and families warmly huddled around as the blessings are said and the chanukiyah is lit.
Note the oil in the candleholders.
With no candles. At least no candles in the way you are accustomed to thinking of them.
Instead, remembering the miracle of how the Maccabees found oil enough to light the menorah for one night during the Temple’s rededication–only to have the oil last for 8 nights, the families in Jerusalem fill each candleholder with oil into which they place a wick. This way the miracle is remembered and the oil burns for many hours, not for the hour or so that a candle might.
Note the Jerusalem stone on the wall behind the chanukiyah.
And the music and songs emanating from every direction after the blessings are said literally fills one’s heart with joy as we remember the Maccabees’ great victory.
There’s nothing quite like a Jerusalem Chanukah.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.