Tag Archives: Jewish

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Today is Shavuot, thus Chag Sameach!

Today's photo is from artist Ran Morin and it is his 'floating tree'.

I love this whole idea and the realization of this piece has turned out splendidly. It is certainly a tourist stop on most tours in Jaffo.

From Israel21c.org

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“Ran Morin’s unusual sculpture Orange Suspendu draws thousands of tourists each year who stand beside it and marvel. Like many others who admire his work, Israeli environment artist Ran Morin’s favorite sculpture is a centerpiece of Jaffa’s Old City. Although the artist labors years, sometimes decades, over projects spanning a number of Jerusalem’s historic archeology sites, it’s the orange tree, Orange Suspendu that hovers both in situ and in the mind.

Created in 1993, Orange Suspendu hangs in an entranceway to a cobblestone path leading to galleries and art studios, where it is held about a meter above ground by wires. The unusual city landmark – only seconds away from the Mediterranean Sea – draws thousands of tourists each year who stand beside it, marveling.

This is true even for those who don’t know the history of the famous Israeli export, the Jaffa orange which was packed and shipped from the Jaffa Port starting in the late 1800s, and which continues to be a favorite the world over. The Jaffa orange tree is also a symbol for the local Arab Israeli population, who share the multicultural city with their Jewish neighbors.”

I hope all of you are having a wonderful day, wherever this find you.

Beep, beep!

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You are in for a treat is you are visiting Jerusalem in the next few days, as the annual(now it seems) Festival of Lights is taking place. It is my first year to attend this event and it was well worth it. Mind you, parking is crazy and there are tons of people everywhere, but it is still worth making the trip and fun for the whole family. To me, it just seems like such a neat happening for the city to hold and very exciting to see the Old City in a completely different way. Plus supporting art and anything embracing art is good. There are two shows that aren't included and cost money to see, but otherwise the festival is free. There are also a lot of little things around that you can buy to nibble on and also some lovely lighting fixtures to gaze at, so bring some change! To note: The festival will be closed tonight, Friday 8th, and will resume an hour after Shabbat until midnight. (Good to know!)
"The annual Festival of Light in the Old City of Jerusalem will be taking place between June 6-14, and will be once again adding a stunning and dramatic dimension to the amazing Old City walls and alleyways.If you enjoyed the Old City before, then head on over to this unique Light Festival to see this amazing place in a new light, quite literally!  The action takes place throughout the Old City, but a typically good starting point is Jaffa Gate, where much of the action kicks off. Events will start at 20:00 each night and shut down at 24:00 (Friday June 9th the festival will not be open). This annual festival brings the world’s best light sculptors to the Old City. As well as some of their amazing works on display throughout the Old City, there is also a special daily opera production of Verdi’s La Traviata, held at Zedekiah’s Cave. In addition, the famous dance troupe Mayumana will also be performing at least two shows daily throughout the festival (there is an entrance fee, call 02-6237000 for details). For more details about the festival, see the official site: lightinjerusalem.org.il."
From http://www.israeltrade.org.au/jerusalem-light-festival-2012/,
"Following the success of last year’s Jerusalem Festival of Light, Jerusalem’s Old City will once again form the magnificent backdrop for lighting installations, exhibits and tours in the Light in Jerusalem 2012 festival,  June 6- 14,  between the hours of 20:00-24:00. This celebration of light in an urban setting, the initiative of the Jerusalem Development Authority together with the Prime Ministers’ Office, Ministry of Tourism and the Jerusalem Municipality and produced by the Ariel Company, is once again expected to attract over 250,000 visitors to the Old City over the week-long festival.

 Special attractions (free admission) include artistic light exhibits designed by leading local and international light artists on display in the Old City; street events and performances; tourist attractions; a lighting fair in the Davidson Centre Archeological Garden and four different trails around the Old City following the illuminated sites and installations. This year, the Light Festival will explore the connection between light and sound and the senses of sight and hearing, as well as the special relation that is created when a visual experience enhances an auditory experience and vice versa.

Featured artists exhibiting at the festival come from, among others, France, Portugal, the USA, Denmark, Belgium and Italy.  At the Jaffa Gate, the French TILT group, participating in the festival for the second time, will create a futuristic garden of light in an exhibit that encircles the audience and creates an innovative urban environment using advanced technology. At Zedekiah’s Cave,  Bwindi Light Masks by Italian artist Richi Fererro will feature African masks which come to life using light and a soundtrack that combines guttural Mongolic music with the singing of Bulgarian peasants.

The celebratory lighting installed on the Former Municipality Building in honor of the 1937coronation of King George VI will be reconstructed; a video mapping work on Rothschild House will take visitors on a journey by train from city to nature to sky and another installation will create a dialogue with the Jerusalem stone using illuminated objects to create illusions. El Wad Street will be transformed into a festively lit, lively marketplace, from Damascus Gate to the entrance to the Western Wall."

The festival is open to the public free of charge and appropriate for visitors of all ages. This year's festival will emphasize the connection between light and sound in two unique shows (there is an entrance fee for the shows).  For further information about this festival, visit Lightinjerusalem.org

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TIPS: The tours are lit by their respective colour, with a light rope that directs you through the old city and helps you keep on the path. Just follow this “light rope” and you’ll be okay. Make sure to see all of  the Red (my favorite) and Green lines, but you can skip over the Blue*. As the space was really cramped for all the people and this line was only kind of “meh“. (*Personal choice and suggestion.) There are tons of people around and a lot of security, so there is no need to worry about safety issues. They have made it as safe as possible to attend this event at night, so yalla! It is well worth trying to see the Old City lit up with all this light art installations if you can, as it is really something different and cool to witness.

Y’all have a great weekend!

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http://iquitmyjobtotravel.com/2012/03/13/israel/

It’s certainly not considered kosher, but I love driving around Israel during Shabbat/Saturday. 

Driving in Israel is already something most people, locals and foreign, will warn those wishing to get around by car to reconsider their decision. Even before I started driving here myself and observed others on the road from within a car, I noticed that people tended to drive a bit selfishly and without regard to anyone outside of their own vehicle. (A few of these drivers are okay, but a whole country of drivers with the same mentality is a burden.) Thus after a week of many close accidents with other vehicles (-just because you are on the road and not because you are driving crazy yourself), it is nice to have a break and have the roads all to yourself to enjoy. Thus, ani ohevet et zeh. Momosh, momosh, momosh.  (more…)

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Israel is such an interesting place to live and just when you think you've moved beyond the culture shock and finally understand the local customs, you realize just how much you've left to learn. Read further down for further "Israeliness". Plus, check out a personal little blurb from me down at the bottom. Soak it all in and then have a lovely weekend indeed, y'all. 

I wanted to share this with you, as a part of "Beyond the Scoot", because I found this while searching through the Israel posts here on Wordpress and was really impressed by this video. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mHglfyQOd2s] The music is so beautiful and the footage of the musicians playing only adds to its beauty. It is from kutiman, over on youtube, who has some other great videos uploaded. Also, if you are interested in blogs about "being Israeli", you really should check out one of the best blogs I have ever come across: HowtobeIsraeli.blogspot.com. I cannot recommend this blog enough to those expats here who need a little help with the culture (and a good laugh too). I have be able to cope with some of the more harsh moments of my transition between cultures much easier with the often hilarious words from Maya. There was also a good post about "Israeliness", found here, that list 64 things the blogger loves about Israel (-as this past Independence Day was the 64th 'birthday' for the country). It is a great and humorous insight into the life of someone who has made Aliyah and how he has adjusted to the changes in culture throughout his past five years here in Israel.  Here are a few of my favorite from his list,
  • "I love that the Asian sushi chef gave me the rega hand gesture. How do you say “kibbutz galuyot” in Japanese?
  • "I love the “mmm-bye” farewell greeting used by certain Israelis when hanging up the phone. It’s a cross between 'l’hitraot' and a Hanson song."
  • "I love that instead of worrying about kids developing peanut allergies, parents feed their babies Bamba before the doctor has even finished cutting the umbilical cord."
  • "I love that the Red Hot Chili Peppers are finally making their long-awaited appearance here. I hope they open with 'Californicatzia.'"
If anyone has a blog to suggest or an article (or just really anything) that centers around being an expat, or those who made Aliyah, who is adjusting to the culture and dealing with culture shock here in Israel, please share it in the comments below. I really love reading how other's interprete all of these little cultural happenings and love reading about the confusion created therein. Oh, and the humor from this type of writing makes it worth reading too.

What are Sabras? Sabras is the Hebrew word for the prickly pear fruit. But more interesting to note, sabras is slang for native Israeli Jews. What do native Israelis and prickly pear fruit have in common? Both are tough and thorny on the outside, and soft and sweet on the inside. A few Haaretz articles about certain aspects of "Israeliness" and then other blogs that you might like to click out, 

Oh, the locals. Always a pleasure. Or at least, an experience. 

Always, with peace and with love.
A Personal Note from RoxyVespa: Now that I wrote another rather Israel centric piece (again) and I wanted to write this little blurb to explain myself a bit: I wasn’t aware when I started this blog that I would be posting about the Sirens of the Israel Holocaust Day or that I would want to repost another’s story about their take on Israel Independence Day- which was amazing. I really hope that my few Israel-centric posts every now and then doesn’t push away those who have followed this little ‘ol blog. Oy, I don’t really even know how to address this other than say that my location affects me and apparently this blog. I hope that you won’t mind a few posts that do focus more on Israel and the politics of this place, but I intend to keep those post mostly few and far between. (Other than the posts over the weekend under “Beyond the Scoot”, which is just random stuff that interests me and I want to make note of here.) I’ve noticed that I have lost a few subscribers the last few days and that was a bit hard to take, but I guess all I can say is that politics bleed over into everything here. Even Vespa blogs that were created with the intention to stay away from said topics. I shall resume my vespa talk on Sunday and try to make next week a very vespa-centric place full of vespa-type things. Thanks for those who have stuck around and don’t mind my rambles. I promise to always keep a steady supply of pretty photos, so that is a good plus. Ha. Thanks again youshes (you guys).

And that is it for this edition of, ‘Beyond the Scoot’. Hope your weekend is lovely. Cheers everyone!

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Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut: The Siren יום העצמאות 2012

Two-minute nationwide siren sounds at 11 A.M. to commemorate the 22,993 IDF soldiers who died during their service. Todays’s services came a day after a ceremony for Israel’s fallen soldiers was held on Tuesday evening on the eve of Memorial Day in cities across Israel.

I follow a blog that I have really enjoyed reading and wanted to share their post today about ‘The Siren’.

From Vov, over at Importantlytrivial.com:

“As the double days of Israel’s Yom Hazikaron (Israeli Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day) and Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day) have arrived, I once again find myself reflecting on the meaning of this juxtaposition of official holidays, one representing the ultimate sadness of a people; the second, the ultimate national joy.  Read more

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Happy, Happy Holiday! Or, Friday.

Sorry I haven’t been around much this week, as it has been a busy one to be sure with the whole Pesach thing here in Israel. (As a friend said it best, ‘Tzipporah, 1: Chametz, 0.” Ha. Of course, I didn’t really clean and left many bread crumbs scattered about. So my score would be more like: Me, .3: Chametz, 1,934.7.)

Anyway for ALL of you out there,

I hope you have a happy and lovely Friday and weekend!  Read more

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