Jerusalem is the home of three religions, and for me most notably, it’s the time I get to indulge my Judaism more than ever before due to the plethora of Jewish culture available to me at all times. Arriving in Jerusalem on the day before the festival of the Pentecost, or Shavout, as it is known in Hebrew, allowed me a chance to see one of the primary Jewish festivals as it is celebrated in the holiest place on earth.
Shavout commemorates the Jewish people’s receiving of the Torah, all the laws and teachings that make up the religion, on Mount Sinai, over 3000 years ago. It is commemorated with a festival that spans one day and night in Jerusalem, two days in the rest of the world. Traditionally, the festival’s customs include staying awake all night studying traditional Jewish texts; eating delicious dairy food such as cheesecake; attending the synagogue; and eating festive meals together with family and friends. In Jerusalem, it is customary to spend the sunrise hours at the Western Wall in the Old City, along with thousands of other worshippers, praying the morning service before returning home for a nap before the festive meal begins. When in Rome, of course, we do as the Romans do, which meant my few hours of snatched sleep on the El Al flight was going to have to last me the night.
The day before a holiday in Jerusalem is always a sight to be hold. Machane Yehudah, the large open air market known colloquially as simply “The Shuk”, is always teeming with sights and sounds and streams of people coming to make their pre-holiday purchases. While every Friday morning sees the place bustling, a holiday is something special. The open air, cobbled streets are full of all types - Chassidic Jews, modern Orthodox women, Israeli soldiers, American students and newlyweds all peruse the stalls and haggle with the Israeli stall keepers. Produce stalls and butcher shops are interspersed with massive bakeries surrounded by metal racks of piping hot pastries, dry goods stores selling a range of random sundries from shorts to backpacks, and delicatessens offering delicious dips, ready made meats, and gourmet cheeses.
We headed to The Shuk on Tuesday morning to enjoy one of their hidden secrets, a heavenly café on a side street, for the freshest, most delicious breakfast in Jerusalem. Clearly we weren’t the only ones with this brilliant idea, so after twenty minutes of waiting for service in a dingy alleyway surrounded by pushy Israelis, stray cats and enjoying the view of a butcher shop that hadn’t yet grasped the concept of aesthetic presentation, we were seated and enjoying a breakfast that only the Israelis know how to do. Eggs cooked to perfection with just the right sprinkling of freshly ground pepper; fresh bread spread with light cream cheese; yoghurt with just the right balance of tartness and sweetness mixed with fresh berries and grated apple; and a gorgeous salad bursting with flavour, colour and sweetness dotted with creamy Bulgarian cheese. The best part, of course, was the hot chocolate. The Israelis make their hot chocolate with steamed, frothy milk and use real blocks of chocolate instead of powder. They also make a white chocolate version, with hunks of milky white chocolate hidden in the depths of the glass. Can you spell heavenly?
After a shuk breakfast and all the myriads of errands required before the holiday, we were dressed to the nines and arrived at the apartment of friends from Australia for the holiday dinner. The wine flowed, the delicious dairy treats didn’t stop coming, and it wasn’t until 2 in the morning that we made our way towards the Old City for prayer and study.
At sunrise, the Wall was packed, with every type of human being in existence. Prayer groups gathered on the mens side, each with their own customs, melodies and style of prayer. Traditional poems are read in some congregations, while others sing melodies that have existed for thousands of years. As the sun rises and the crowd thins, streams of people leave the Wall and proceed up the ancient staircases, through the cobbled streets and home for a sleep and another delicious dairy lunch.
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