Sights, sounds, scents…

A lot has been happening. I want to tell you about my Simchat Torah experience (partly a let-down, partly a big uplift). I want to share my pictures from Tzfat and elsewhere. Most of all, I want to tell you about an amazing tiyyul I went on yesterday, where we spent the day visiting some locations in the periferia — the periphery, the parts of Israel that get (or have gotten in the past) less attention and support from the government. At at a mundane level, I’d love to tell you about my experience with an Israeli bank…

But tonight I’m tired after my first day back at school, plus going up to the center and opening a bank account…so I’m just going to share a few impressions, along with a few photos.

So — what kinds of things do you see when you are out walking around Jerusalem day and night? Cats, of course — we’ve spoken of them. I got a terrible scare when I was passing one of the big green dumpsters (known as tzfardea, frogs, I read) the other night and something leaped out. The poor cat was also terrified…

One sees all kinds of people. I don’t like to intrude on anyone’s privacy by taking their photo without permission, but I do wish you could see the various kinds of clothing I see around town. Modern Orthodox men in kippot, and women with various kinds of head scarves and turbans and loose flowing garments, sometimes frumpy, sometimes very elegant. Haredi woman in wigs and hats and clothing that frequently seems to almost force you to look away, it’s so aggressively modest and plain, but other times is surprisingly stylish. Haredi men and boys with peyot (sidelocks, sometimes curled into perfect corkscrew ringlets), and black suits, black hats of various kinds, black or striped robes or frock coats, sometimes white knee stockings, and on Shabbat, streimels (round fur hats like big wheels of furry cheese). (Some examples by less shy photographers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_religious_clothing#/media/File:Hasidic_Men_on_Street.jpg, https://www.google.com/search?q=Hasidic+clothing&client=firefox-b-1-d&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=JoceNjub4iDgCM%253A%252CcJwHKZycj15ldM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kRmGQATvyaqAfsMF3O_gDZ1K6ZrIQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjP8dbGgbPlAhXsVRUIHT8eAvcQ9QEwCnoECAYQJQ#imgrc=5uaNE0Ej8JrbTM:&vet=1, http://shearim.blogspot.com/2008/10/striped-coats.html)

At the mall, which is a great people-spotting location, you can also see Greek Orthodox priests in long black polyester robes (hot!), and young Israelis both Arab and Jewish in stylishly abbreviated forms of dress. Also, Islamic women with headscarves and long dresses. And, of course, everywhere, also people who wouldn’t look strange in Brattleboro on a summer day.

You also see interesting architecture from various periods – -and a lot of very boring architecture as well. Lots of apartment buildings made of stone, blocky and unprepossessing, usually with balconies and often roof gardens. Sometimes, beautiful old villas with arched windows and lovely gardens. Further out, a jumble of modern buildings which are covered with signs and lit up at night — typical city.

And what do you hear? Well, from this synagogue above, and from all the hundreds of shuls across town, you hear enthusiastic male singing. You also hear this singing from yeshivot, and from private homes, especially on Shabbat. It’s usually in unison, and it’s almost always guys. Sometimes there’s some Mizrachi (Middle Eastern) chazzanut — vocal ornamentation, or some harmonizing. Often, it’s just a bunch of enthusiastic guys bellowing the top of their lungs. If I had to think of an analogy, I’d say it’s like an Israeli version of Shape Note singing.

You can hear birds — bulbuls warbling rather like robins, and parakeets screeching, and crows cawing and imitating other birds. You can hear plenty of cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles. Once in a while you hear an ambulance siren — not often, Thank God. Nowadays, as the fall comes on, you hear thunder from time to time. You also, at least in my neighborhood, hear kids yelling and sometimes crying, people talking on their cell phones, and conversations in many languages. In the early hours you hear the garbage trucks. From time to time you hear the “pop, pop” of fireworks — some people, especially in Arab neighborhoods, like to celebrate festive occasions with firecrackers. From passing cars on larger streets you occasionally hear music, especially Arab or Arab-influenced pop music. Oh yes — and at the beginning of Shabbat and holidays, you hear the city siren announcing that it is candle lighting time. And yet, you also often hear a beautiful silence, especially at night or on Shabbat.

And the smells? I have to say, I’ve never felt so assaulted by scents as I do here. The air is more humid than you might think, and the hot weather has lingered (although today was blissfully cool, breezy, and almost scentless). You smell the rotting garbage in the dumpsters, which seem to fill up rapidly even though they are emptied often. You smell cat poop and dog pee. At night, you smell also jasmine and plumeria, heavily sweet. You smell exhaust fumes, and your neighbor’s barbecue, and the brisket that someone is serving in their sukkah. Now that rain is beginning to come, you smell wet stone.

There is always something to see, to hear, to smell – -and to think about. I promise to tell you about more weighty and significant things, in some of my next posts. And also, to share views of Sukkot, of Tzfat, and more. Stay tuned.