It’s Sukkot! It’s not too difficult to find oneself constantly exposed to the Jewish holidays when one lives in Israel! Wherever one looks, one can see beautiful booths everywhere! It’s an amazing experience of course! So often, when one lives overseas, the only times one gets to see the beautiful “huts” is either in one’s own home or at a friend’s. Here, however, one can see Sukkot just about everywhere – on the streets, on the balconies practically everywhere one looks, in parking bays. ומי כעמך כישראל? “And who is like Your nation Israel?” We are immersed in the beauty of a Chag (festival) going back 3300 years when the Jewish people were taken out of Egypt as they were to be lead into the Land – a journey that would end up taking forty years! As they traveled through the desert they were surrounded by the clouds of glory. To commemorate these mystical clouds that protected us throughout our journey, we surround ourselves with the Sukkot we sit in for a period of seven days! At least – this is according to Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Akiva says that the Jewish people actually dwelt in proper booths, and we commemorate our remembrance of those days by sitting in similar such booths (Sukkah 11b).
Rose Garden
Get Out!!!
There’s a certain “getting out of one’s house” where one could even feel cooped up at times – and spending time outside. It’s temporary – to be sure. There’s the feeling of the fresh air. There’s the feeling that we can look upwards – at the beauty of the sky – the clouds as they fly by as they prepare to release their blessings of rain (much, much needed in the Land of Israel right now!)
In fact, with a six day work week, Israelis well know the feeling of constant work and activity. Activity is good but a six day week can definitely wear one out at the best of times. Often one’s hours of work are full day from very early in the morning to the early evening. Many businesses expect one to work overtime – and even let us know their conditions when recruiting. They might say that they are looking for someone to work for them from 9am to 6pm but that they must also be willing to work after hours. To be honest, these type of adverts are to be found more frequently than are the adverts from recruiters seeking workers for straight 9am-5pm work days. We have a lot to say about this, and hope to speak more about it in future articles. It’s a part of Israeli life – but is it helping us or bringing us to levels of intolerable stress?!
Rose
What to Do During Sukkot?
With the week of Sukkot, one may have more free time (depending on one’s work) to get out and take a break! Of course, taking a break in work is vital at any stage. Too much constant work activity can take its toll on one! Yesterday, we had the good fortune of going out to the Wohl Rose Garden in Jerusalem. This is a beautiful place to go out to and take a walk around. It is 19 acres worth of pure openness and relaxation! Just take a walk around. Think of nothing else in life but the beauty of nature. See the blue sky! Take a look at the deep green coloured grass! Feast your eyes on the red roses, the white ones and the pink one’s too. There’s a feeling of relaxation everywhere, and it’s so important to simply take time-out and “get away from it all!” Spend the afternoon with a braai (South Africans), a barbecue (Americans) or a mangel (Israelis)! Bring some meat or chicken along, your coals and some fire and (taking all precautions) have a picnic. There’s even a Sukkah on the premises – so for the period of Sukkot, you can eat your meal there!
Steps – Aliyah
Making Aliyah – It’s Like Going into The Rose Garden
Much like you’ll see in the Rose Garden – flights of steps taking one to other areas of the garden, so too the process of Aliyah is a step-by-step process. Take things one step at a time. It’s not always easy climbing flights upon flights of stairs (and it’s something one really has to get used to in Israel!), but when one manages to get to the top, one finds oneself surrounded with some real beauty!
Photography
You’ll see some pictures throughout this post that I managed to take. Actually Shoshanah and I are photographers and we love shooting all types of images. Photography is a great way to get out into places like this – in nature – to see the beauty of natural life, and to capture it all on film (or onto your computer anyway!) Don’t forget to print out your images. Today, we’ve lost so much by just leaving our images in digitised form. Print your images out onto large size images 8″ x 12″, frame them, and place them around your home (wherever you can find space!) and let them grace your home with a sense of beauty all around. This way – wherever you look – you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy a part of nature!
As for ourselves, we’ve extended our photography into a variety of other art forms. Do check out more of our own Creations From Jerusalem – right there: www.creationsfromjerusalem.com. Shoshanah’s beautiful art is for sale, as well as some other special art. As for our photography, we sell our images in a downloadable form directly. Our images are very reasonably priced and are guaranteed to bring some happiness into your home or other place giving you a look at Israel, or a variety of other subjects too! Our images are also available in immediate large sizes, on canvas and other materials too, and much like our fridge magnets, can also incorporate additional verses from our Torah! Take a look at some of Shoshanah’s images or my own! Please consider purchasing an image from us. There’s one thing I’ve seen in Israel… It’s that we support each other. We help each other. When we support each other’s activities and business ventures as we should – in an honest manner – we end up opening the channels for others to support us too.
For those interested, I also offer personalised photographic walks in nature. We take a break from the office – and during our walk, spend the necessary time involved in understanding how to use your camera best, how to understand composition, lighting and much more! Get to know your camera, your flash, your subject and your lights! For other fully interactive photographic lessons, both Shoshanah and I offer sessions with your kids in the park. Here we move about quickly, capturing the kids involved in a variety of really fun activities. Those wishing to learn get to take part finding the best type of pictures to take. At the end of the day, everyone feels wonderful and takes with them dozens of beautiful photographs of their children! Do join us!
So get out and enjoy the remainder of the Chag! Take a break. Enjoy the fresh air! Remember, the Rose Garden is absolutely free!
Wishing you a truly happy Chag! Moadim Le’Simchah!
Eliyahu
