by Judy Lash Balint
1. You can’t get on a bus without being poked in the rear a dozen times
with someone’s stray lulav.
2. The sweet smell of etrogim in Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda (Yehuda Market)
is overpowering. Huge crowds descend on the parking lot near the market to
vie for the best lulav and etrog.
3. An enterprising bookstore is offering “Machzor rentals” for tourists who
inadvertently left their holiday prayerbooks at home.
4. You’ve never seen such gaudy sukkah decorations in your life—unless
you’ve been to Wal Mart on Xmas eve. Kiosks manned by bearded Haredim in Meah
Shearim are selling gold, green and red tinsel hangings—exact replicas of
Xmas decorations in the Old Country.
5. Huge piles of schach (palm fronds for the roof of the sukkah) cover
major city squares, and citizens are invited to take as much as they need for
free.
6. The usual throngs are expected at the Western Wall for the thrice yearly
observance of the ancient ritual of Birkat Cohanim–Blessing by the
Priests–that takes place during the intermediate days.
7. Hotels report almost 100 percent occupancy as Israelis join foreign
tourists in celebrating the week-long holiday.
8. Sukkot of every size and description can be seen on balconies, rooftops
and in courtyards in every neighborhood of the city. Every kosher restaurant
in town has one and boasts bigger and better holiday specials to entice
customers.
9. Since the entire week of Sukkot is a national holiday you’ll have a
tough time deciding which festival/event to take part in. There’s the first ever
Festival of Israeli Comedy in Kiryat Shmona; the New Age Bereishit Festival
at Dugit beach; The Tamar music and arts fest at the Dead Sea; Acco’s acclaimed
Fringe Theater Festival and a revival of the Carlebach Festival at Mevo
Modi’in, to name just a few.
10. Touring the country is another favorite Sukkot activity and every
political group is promoting trips to “See For Yourself.” Hevron is a perennial
favorite for Chol Hamoed (intermediate festival days) with a special opening of
the Isaac Hall in the Cave of the Patriarchs that’s normally off-limits to
Jewish visitors.
11. Not to be left out are those Christian friends of Israel–the
International Christian Embassy will bring 5,000 members from 80 nations (including
China and Russia this year) to attend the annual Feast of Tabernacles
celebration. Opening ceremonies this year will take place in the majestic Sultan’s Pool
outdoor space just below the walls of the Old City.
The Christian contingent will also take part in the Jerusalem March, another
annual Sukkot event, dressed in costume of their countries of origin.
Organizers claim that the Christian event will pump $10 million into the
local economy, taking up 15,000 hotel room nights during their stay.
12. Another prominent group of tourists set to arrive are refugees from the
young frum singles scene who make an annual migration to Jerusalem from the
Upper West Side for Sukkot. Discreet meetings of earnest, well-scrubbed,
modestly dressed twenty-somethings take place in all the major hotel lobbies.
13. And speaking of refugees–spare a thought for those 1,700 families
expelled from their homes in Gush Katif in August. Most of them have still not
been rehoused and are trying to maintain some semblance of family life in hotel
rooms and dormitories all over the country. This year they won’t need to be
reminded of one of the essential messages of the Sukkot holiday–the flimsiness
of our physical existence and our reliance on God for sustenance and shelter.
May we all experience the true joy of Sukkot and merit to see the rebuilding
of the Beit Hamikdash.
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Judy Lash Balint is an award-winning Jerusalem writer and author of Jerusalem
Diaries: In Tense Times. www.jerusalemdiaries.com
This entry was posted
on Monday, October 17th, 2005 and is filed under news.