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 | Jerusalem Tradition Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 34 |  |
 | |  |  | Tradition: "Next Year In Jerusalem" | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
Down the generations the Jews have been saying not 'Next year in the Land of Israel' but 'Next year in Jerusalem'... One can create Tel-Aviv out of Jaffa but one cannot create a second Jerusalem. Zion lies within the walls, not outside them. In synagogues throughout the world, when taking the Torah out of the Ark, Jews sing "kee mi tzion tezeh Torah, u dvar Adoshem me'Yerushalayim", means, the Torah will come forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. "Zion", the Biblical name for Jerusalem, is not just the three-thousand-years-old capital of the Jewish people, it is the intellectual , cultural and spiritual center of Jewish gravity. Mentioned over six hundred times in the Bible, it was the city of David the heroic who conquered it and of Solomon the wise, who built the first of the two Holy Temples there. During the many centuries of exile, Jerusalem symbolized both the glorious past of the Jewish people - and their hopes for the future.
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| | | | Tradition: Happy Birthday to the Trees | Tip Rating: | | | | |
TU BISHVAT: 15th of Shvat, Arbor Day , is the "birthday of the trees," usually celebrated in February. Again, this is not a Sabbath-like holiday, so everything is open. The day is celebrated by planting trees. Schoolchildren usually go on outdoor hikes that day and plant saplings. The JNF (Jewish National Fund) sponsors tree-planting ceremonies, also for tourists. Another custom is eating dried fruits and nuts, especially almonds because the almond tree flowers around Tu Bishvat - although the weather is cold and sometimes even snowy (in Jerusalem, at any rate). They grow wild in Israel, and you can see them out in the fields, with their light-pink to white blossoms. Keep your eyes open on the way to Jerusalem in February and March. There are lots of them along the highway. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Tradition: "That a future generation might know" | Tip Rating: | | | | |
YOM HASHOA Holocaust Day - a day set aside to remember the 6 million Jews - including 1.5 million children - who were murdered by the Germans in World War II. It usually falls sometime in middle or late April. The Hebrew date, the 27th of Nissan, was chosen because it falls midway between the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, which began on the first day of Passover, and Israeli Memorial Day. All places of entertainment are closed, but transportation runs as usual and shops are open. A televised state ceremony is held at Yad Vashem on the eve of Holocaust Day, and on the day itself, at exactly 10 a.m., a two-minute siren is sounded. Everything comes to a halt and a hush falls over the country as people stand at attention. Traffic stops and many drivers stand next to their cars until the wail of the siren dies down. Inscribed on these towering rocks at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority on Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem, is a verse from Psalms: (78:6) "That a future generation might know Children yet to be born And in turn tell their children." Leave a Comment
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| | | | Tradition: Mourning the Soldiers | Tip Rating: | | | | |
YOM HAZIKARON Memorial Day - A day honoring Israeli soldiers who have died in the country's neverending wars - over 21,781 soldiers at last count...It is always the day before Independence Day - usually in May, but sometimes in late April. This is a national holiday, not a religious one. Shops are open (although many of them close early) and buses run. Banks and post offices work until noon. People usually work half a day. The ceremonies begin the night before, at 8 p.m., with a one-minute siren, during which the whole country stands at attention. The state ceremony is at the Western Wall plaza, where a torch is lit. On the day itself, the official event is held at the military cemetery on Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem, with local ceremonies around the country. At 11 a.m, a siren is heard again, and people stop what they are doing and bow their heads in a moment of silence. Traffic jams are par for the course as certain main roads leading to Mt. Herzl are closed off. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Tradition: A City Undivided | Tip Rating: | | | | |
YOM YERUSHALAYIM Jerusalem Day celebrates the reunification of Israel's capital city on the 28th of Iyar, which comes out sometime between late May and early June. For 19 years, east and west Jerusalem were divided by walls and barbed wire. Jews were denied access to the eastern part of the city, which was under Jordanian rule. Synagogues and cemeteries were destroyed and the area around the Western Wall was turned into a garbage dump. The Israel Defense Forces recaptured the city on the 3rd day of the Six-Day War in June 1967, and 20 days later, the Knesset (Israeli parliament) declared the two parts of the city officially reunited. Jerusalem Day is celebrated by festive ceremonies (the main event is on Ammunition Hil) and a downtown parade with dancers, music, floats and delegations from all over the world - Jews and non-Jews. People line the streets to clap the marchers on. This, of course, produces a major traffic jam near the center of town and the Old City... There are usually free walking tours, and people make "pilgrimages" to Jerusalem from all over the country. Synagogues hold special prayers. Leave a Comment
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on January 21, 2007
Jerusalem
on March 5, 2006
on July 21, 2004
on April 4, 2007
