A few weeks ago, I spent Shabbat in Har Nof. Har Nof (lit. Scenic Mountain according to Wikipedia) is a religious neighborhood in the northwest corner of Jerusalem. It’s a hilly neighborhood (or rather, located on a hillside), devoid of much greenery but is surrounded by the Jerusalem Forest. I found it to be a rather interesting experience to be in such a neighborhood over Shabbat.

Around midnight on Friday night, as I stood on the balcony of the family I was staying with, I was astounded by the near utter silence. Only the sounds of crickets chirping, and every so often of people walking down the street below, and perhaps the faint mechanical whirling sound of the HVAC systems in a nearby low-rise apartment building could be heard. Likewise, the next afternoon, when most families were presumably enjoying a Shabbat afternoon nap, only the birds and the moderate wind could be heard. It was incredible just to stand there, enjoying the quiet, and it made me realize how much I have become accustomed to the ambient urban soundscape that is ever-present in most places that I find myself. 

Another interesting, and perhaps somewhat disconcerting experience, was the strong feeling of anonymity that could be felt in Har Nof. As a (albeit relatively recently) observant Jew, who at most times has been in a predominantly non-observant or non-Jewish environment, I am at most times acutely aware that my identity stands out in relation to those around me. So to be in an essentially completely observant neighborhood, yet one that exists without the intimate familiarity of the small Shabbat-observing community that I am accustomed to in Vancouver, was a profoundly fascinating feeling (for lack of a more precise term). An identity that I am so accustomed to as something that stands out (though perhaps my hatless head with its colorful knitted kippah still affords me such a status as different in Har Nof) became something standard and prevalent, and with this came a sense of anonymity.

Last Friday, I took the bus into the center of town, from where I walked into Mea Shearim (lit. One-Hundred Gates, though based on a verse in Bereshit - the highly observant community to the north of the Ben Yehudah / Yaffo area). I didn’t spend much time observing the neighborhood - though I did note that pedestrian traffic at the intersection of Strauss and Mea Shearim Street (Kikar Shabbat I believe it’s called, though let me know if I am in error) was sparse at ten o’clock in the morning on this particular Friday - though I don’t know why nor have I experienced other Friday mornings there for comparison. The purpose of my trip was to buy some Jewish books at one of the many Sefarim shops, and I thoroughly enjoyed browsing the extensive selection of books at Manny’s.

Afterwards, I walked back to Yaffo Street and over to the Shuk (”Machane Yehuda”). I also did not spend a significant amount of time here, but will hopefully return (with camera) in the next week or two. The Shuk is such a lively place (though crowded - especially it being Friday I imagine) and I hope to spend more time perusing the various stalls and such. As I walked westward along Yaffo Street, it began to rain - not incredibly heavily but significantly nonetheless. I had never experienced significant rain in Israel (as I have never been here but in the summer months). I remember once feeling a very slight rain in the summer in the North, but never had I experienced rain in Jerusalem. Coming from Vancouver where it rains constantly, the rain for me is strangely comforting and “real”.

I made my way to the Central Bus Station, where I spent a good hour or so trying to figure out which bus to take to my Shabbat destination - I simply could not understand the broken English (or fluent Hebrew) when I asked various people (including several employees) from where the requisite bus was departing and found myself circling the area for some time.

Tomorrow is Erev Rosh Hashana. I will be spending Rosh Hashana here in the Yeshiva. It should be a spiritually impactful experience (or so I am told).

I hope to use this space to post more photos in the near future. I have not had the opportunity as much as I would like as of yet to take a great deal of blog-worthy photos. I will also endeavor to post more frequently.

Ketivah V’Chatimah Tovah / may you be written and sealed for good.

It’s been almost two weeks thus far since I arrived here in Israel. After settling in at Darche Naom / Shapell’s in Beit HaKerem, I spent the first few days getting over jet lag in Givat Ze’ev, staying with the Bermans.

Some web and non-web research tells me that Givat Ze’ev (Lit. Hill of Ze’ev - after Ze’ev Jabotinsky) is a relatively large settlement northwest of Jerusalem. It acts as a suburb of Jerusalem, offering more affordable and larger housing, and is located on the other side of the 1949 Armistice line (the “green line“) and is thus within the so-called West Bank. It is a quiet residential place with temperatures similar to Jerusalem.

I enjoyed a nice quiet Shabbat in Givat Ze’ev with the Bermans, including an interesting Seudah Shlishit (third meal of Shabbat) experience at a potluck with local young observant families. I took part in a youthful and quite spirited Kabbalat Shabbat and Shacharit (morning prayer service) at the local branch of Bnei Akivah (a religious zionist/nationalist youth group). I will still have to get used to the prevalent use of Nusach Sefard (the variant arrangement of Ashkenazi prayers designed to offer a compromise or hybrid between traditional Ashkenazi and true Sefardi prayers).

After spending Shabbat in Givat Ze’ev, I returned to Beit HaKerem and began my studies. Research informs me that Beit HaKerem (lit. House of the Vineyard - a Biblical name) is a well-to-do neighborhood in the western part of Jerusalem. It was established in 1922 during the British Mandate. It features abundant greenery, and one person I talked with likened it to living within a forest. It is located to the north of Bayit VeGan and and to the southeast of Har Nof (the only other nearby neighborhoods that I am significantly familiar with, though there are several other distinct neighborhoods surrounding it) and I’m told it is about a one hour walk from the Old City (and, I’m told, a fifteen minute drive). Beit HaKerem is a largely secular neighborhood. Indeed, the Ha’aretz newspaper calls it “the last secular holdout in Jerusalem” in an article from February 2008 that paints a rather unflattering picture of observant Judaism amid present demographic trends in Jerusalem. The neighborhood is enjoying ongoing development, including a segment of the Jerusalem Light Rail, which is scheduled to begin operating in 2010.

Yeshivat Darche Noam / David Shapell College of Jewish Studies is housed in a medium-sized building located on Rechov Beit HaKerem off Hertzl Boulevard. It contains a large study hall (Beit Midrash) and a library, a dining hall and related facilities, numerous seminar-style classrooms, and dormitory facilities. The grounds are attractive, and include a courtyard of decent size with lush greenery. I was initially attracted to this institution because of its approach that values and respects the diversity of philosophies and traditions that exists within the spectrum of Halachic Judaism and its positioning as a post-university program which also values secular knowledge and work in the professional world. The name Darche Noam could be translated Ways of Harmony (or, as “Rabbi Artscroll” would tell me, Ways of Pleasantness). I am presently quite happy with my choice of institution, though the intensity of learning has been somewhat exhausting (I’m told I will become accustomed to it in short order) but nonetheless so far it has been quite enjoyable.

I have posted some photos below.

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