The Bahá'í Gardens and Temple in Haifa

One does not just find Jews, Muslims and Christians living in Israel. Also the followers of the Bahá'í fait have strong historical connections to this this tiny country. But in comparison to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the center of the Bahá'í is in Haifa, and not in Jerusalem.

Their religious founder, Baha'ullah, was kept for most of his life under house arrest in Acco, just north from Haifa. This took place in the late 1800's, during the reign of the Ottoman Empire.

You can read more about this little-known and 'young-ish' religion at their site.

The Bahá'í gardens and temple in Haifa is probably the most noticeable landmark on Mount Carmel. The striking golden dome and amazing terraced gardens are very hard to miss!

It is a large tourist attraction in this northern city and the vast gardens and temple itself are open free to visitors, every day until 12 am. Guided tours in Russian, Hebrew and English are also given.

The gardens are kept immaculate - not a leaf is out of place.

I have seen this eagle in many tourist brochures about Haifa. I wonder if he enjoys  his view of the harbor?

In the distance, one can just make out the Haifa bay with Acco on the other side.

The gardens are amazing peaceful and calm in this bustling harbor city.

The cooperation between the followers of the Bahá'í faith and the Jewish authorities and government also shows that Israel is not always synonymous with religious tension.

If you plan a visit, do NOT forget your camera. The Bahá'í gardens are incredible beautiful and photo-worthy!

A young visitor running between the arches that surround the temple.

Bahá'í  symbols on one of the doors.

Garden sculpture, Bahá'í style.

Tourists from all over the world sit on these steps and look out over the Haifa harbor

On last peaceful look before returning to the hustle and bustle of life in Israel 

Haveil Havalim number 397

The politician Yair Lapid looking looking very happy, "suave" and may we say a bit "vain" about the outcome of the recent elections.

"Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity." Kohelet 1 (Ecclesiates) 

A new year and another turn to host Haveil Havalim - a carnival of Jewish and Israeli blogs.The Haveil Havalim blog carnival was founded by Soccer Dad and every week a different blogger takes a turn to host a weekly collection of blog posts.

The name "Haveil Havalim" means "Vanity of the Vanities" and is taken from the book Ecclesiates in the Tanach (the Jewish Bible). If you blog about Israel or Jewish-related subjects, please feel free to join the Haveil Havalim Facebook group or go and have a look at the Haveil Havalim website.

The Weather
As always, life in Israel has not been boring. We have had some extreme weather (rain, rain, lots of rain, SNOW!, lots of rain again) an election (always an extreme event in Israel) and we planted trees. 
Yup, you have read correctly! It was the Jewish holiday of Tu b'Shvat which is celebrated by planting trees. A lot of trees got damaged by the heavy weather and having a day to plant trees for the future generations right after, just seemed so poetic to me.

Just look at all of Ruti Mizrachi's (from Ki Yachol Nuchal) snow photos in A Week in Weather in Pictures. One cannot believe that these photos were taken in Israel!

In the Real Jerusalem Streets, at the post Warm Story for a Cold Week you can see a photo of the damaged trees but also photos of a very special wedding. Go and have a look!


Religious Matters

In the blog Jewish Israel we read about how the Pope is to get a seat over the Tomb of King David. This 'seat' is in a room of a 12th century Crusader structure which is built on top of the traditional Tomb of King David. Many Christians (of various demonations) believe the room to be the location of the last supper but the Catholic church have been trying to gain ownership of it for years.

Life in Israel

Jacob Richman from Good News from Israel has made a new learn Hebrew video about the southern Israeli city of Eilat.

Jacob has also created English/ Hebrew vocabulary sheets with words related to American football at Prepare for the Superbowl.  

At Esser Agaroth we get 2 cents worth of opinion on Ambassador Dan "the Man" Shapiro, the football fan.

My two cents about American football (as someone who was born in South Africa): I think everybody should just go for a nice game of cricket and a lovely cup of tea afterwards...and is American football like rugby or soccer? (grin!)

West Bank Mama in The "Unsung" Heroines tells us why she does not think that a young religious woman should take part in a singing competition on television. This young woman caused a lot of debate in Israel, and the various opinions are reflected in the blog post's comments.

Torah studies

Shlomo from Thinking Torah gives us a Torah lesson in leadership in Learning How to Lead. His lesson is based on Parshat Yitro which is in the Jewish Bible book of Exodus, chapters 18-20.

Shlomo has also created a word search puzzle based on this lesson. Click on Parshat Yitro Puzzle and see how many words you can find that hint at the 10 commandments. (I did not do too badly but I could not find all 10!)


Politics 
Esser Agaroth tells us why he does not want Yair Lapid as Internal Affairs minister in Internal Affairs Minister Lapid? No thanks? 
Newcomer Yair Lapid won a surprising number of votes in the recent election. The New York Times calls him a "suave, handsome journalist-turned-populist-politician."  And no, I did not vote for him...but  I do agree with the "suave" description.

Batya Madad from Shiloh Musings also talks about politics in Interim Arab Terrorism, Israel Needs a New Coalition ASAP.

So many things happening, so many opinions...yes, life in Israel is NOT boring at all.

Hope you enjoyed this issue of Haveil Havelim!

Marina Shemesh

Israeli Beaches in the Winter

What do you do in Israel on a nice sunny winter's day?

You go to the beach of course!

• The water may be too cold to swim in. (Except for a few brave souls whom I suspect of being former Russian immigrants :))
  
• And the lifeguards' huts are all boarded up.
  
• No umbrellas cover the beach cheek by jowl.
  
• And the smell of coconut suntan lotion is absent...

But still the sea is as beautiful as ever. Even more than in the summer I think. There is just something about the cold crispy air that makes the sea bluer than blue.

In the winter the city beaches are as vibrant and packed with people as in the summer. But instead of lying on the beach and eating ice cream or sunflowers seeds, the Israelis are strolling on the promenades eating ice cream and sunflowers seeds.

In the summer this beach would be packed with people

The 'wild' beaches are the best though. The campers have all packed up, the rubbish is finally all picked up and you basically have the beach to yourself. During the weekend you might have to share it with a few joggers or kite-surfers though.

Kite-surfers getting ready the 'fly'.

But go to a wild beach in the winter in the middle of the week and you might just get the feeling that you are stranded on a deserted island.

In this tiny, busy and compact country called Israel that can be quite an exhilarating feeling.

Just me and my footprints.

Safta Yocheved's Bageles (Granny Yocheved's small bagels)

Baby bagels are known as bagele

It may not come as a surprise to you that we eat a lot of bagels here in Israel.

Jewish communities from Poland brought them to Israel, just as they brought bagels to the States, Canada and England. And from there the bagel basically conquered the world. The astronaut Greg Chamitoff even took a few bagels with him abroad the space shuttle Discovery.

When I first came to Israel, I was really happy to discover 'bagel-toast'. Your bagel gets filled with whichever filling you like (tuna, cheese, vegetables, spreads, etc.) and then it gets squashed in a toast maker. The bagel comes out as flat as a pancake - but totally delicious. My friends and I often went out in the evenings to go and have a bagel-toast, especially during the cold winter months.

Bagel-toasts are out of fashion these days and are not found much anymore. I only come across them in those obscure eateries you find in food courts. And they are not as delicious anymore as I remember. Maybe it is an age thing...

Another form of the bagel, is the bagele. Bagele basically means 'little bagel'. Most people just buy them in large packets in the supermarket, but my mother-in-law makes the most delicious home-made bagele. She bakes them for quite a long time, so they come out all brown and crunchy. Perfect for dipping into a steaming cup of tea.

The secret of her delicious bagele are the sesame seeds. She adds a lot of sesame seeds IN the dough itself. Instead of just sprinkling them on top of the bagele itself.

Yochevet's Sesame Bagele

Ingredients for about 50 small bagele:
200 gr of  softened margarine
1 cup of sesame seeds
1/4 cup of oil
1 tablespoon of baking powder
2.5 - 3 cups of flour (about half a kilo)
1 cup of water
1 egg (beaten with a little bit of water)

Preparation:
1. Heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) and line baking pans with parchment paper.
2. Mix all of the ingredients, except for the egg, together to form a stiff dough. Add extra water or flour if you have to.
3. Pinch of a small lump of dough and roll it into a 5 cm long 'cigar'-like shape. And now press the two side together to form a round bagele and place in the baking tray
4. Keep on doing this until you have shaped all of the dough into little bageles. I recommend that you sit and listen to music... this will take a while.
5. Once you have made a baking tray full of bagele, brush each one with the egg-water mix and bake in the oven.
6. The bagele needs about 20 minutes in the oven. They should be more of a dark-gold color rather than a light-gold color. If you take then out too soon, they may still be a bit raw in the middle.
7. Cool the bagele, make yourself a nice cup of tea and start dipping!

In and Around Bat Galim

Bat Galim's architectural landmark - white arches. And yes, of course kids and grown-ups climb on top of them.

A few weeks ago, the municipality of Bat Galim, a neighborhood in Haifa, Israel held an "Open house" for artists. Some of the art was amazing, others less so. Quite less...

But the neighborhood of Bat Galim totally charmed me. "Bat Galim" means 'daughter of the waves" and yes, it is right next to the sea.

A lot Russian immigrants live there, so they add a bit of a 'Brighton beach-feeling'. Mixed that with the  70's architecture, some amazing ancient buildings staring at the sea and the smell of the salt air and I think I have found the place where I would like retire one day!

But have a look for yourself. I think I got some really nice photos that manage to capture the place's charm.

Old, rusty and run-down, but so full of atmosphere! Bat Galim is full of these old two-story apartment blocks.

A seascape in the artist Alex's studio. If he looks out of his window, he will see the Mediterranean sea. Cool place for a person who likes to paint seascapes!

An Eritrean wedding party found a pretty spot in Bat Galim for their wedding photos.

A window that is a mirror to the sea and a wall covered with shells,

The local ice-cream place, note the rounded corners of the building.

A patriotic succa - a little hut that is made during the Jewish Succot holiday.

Some of the more odd art that I came across on the "Open house for Artists".

The view across the bay.

A fisheman's bicycle.

A couple who found a quiet spot on the beach - note the sand that has been raked. Israeli beaches are raked every morning for explosives and other nasty things.

Scandinavian house - architecture from the turn of the century. This old house is a meeting place for travelers from Scandinavian countries.

Some more beautiful art. Each 'shell' costs about a thousand shekels, so my kids could not go near, though they really wanted to touch the shells!

One last look - good bye Bat Galim - thanks for the lovely time!

Haveil Havalim #383

A rose for Ricki

"Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity." Kohelet 1 (Ecclesiates) 

Yup, it is my turn again to host Haveil Havalim - a carnival of Jewish and Israeli blogs.The Haveil Havalim blog carnival was founded by Soccer Dad and every week a different blogger takes a turn to host a weekly collection of blog posts.

The name "Haveil Havalim" means "Vanity of the Vanities" and is taken from the book Ecclesiates in the Tanach (the Jewish Bible). If you blog about Israel or Jewish-related subjects, please feel free to join the Haveil Havalim Facebook group or go and have a look at the Haveil Havalim website.

I enjoy hosting this carnival. All the different bloggers who participate in Haveil Havalim seems to represent the wonderful diversity of people who lives in Israel. There hardworking bloggers who write nearly every day (I am not of them !) bloggers who like to write about politics, and others about their families, some blog about food or religious issues and other Haveil Havalim bloggers enjoy posting photo blogs. This is something that I would also like to do more of.

Not all of the Haveil Havalim bloggers live in Israel, but many do. And as far as I can tell, the bloggers of this issue are all Israeli. So if you want to reading more about the day-to-day life in Israel - start clicking on these links!

At Me-ander, Batya Medad blogs about a visit to the Israel Museum. The story of the German Synagogue is really heart touching. She also tells us about the Ohel Shiloh Elementary School.

Ester at Frugal and Kosher, blogged this week about planting your own vegetables. She gives us some useful tips on where to buy seeds and raises the GMO question. Do YOU think one should plant genetically modified seeds?

Ricki's mom from Beneath The Wings writes about the small daily reminders that her child has passed away. In the blog post, Corrected- Thanks-to Anonymous  she thanks the person who told her that she may still keep her daughter's name in her identity document.

Here in Israel, all our children's names and ID information are noted in their parents' ID's. This part of the ID is called a "ספח" which translate more or less into English as an "annex" or "attachment". This word always makes me smile because our children are indeed our "attachments".
Thank you for sharing these stories of your daughter with us, Ricki's mom. I dedicate this photo of the rose to her. I know that the memory of your daughter will stay as sweet as the smell of this rose was.At Bat-Aliya in the blog post Pain of the Saying Goodbye Variety we read about why is was hard for Rivka to go back to the States for a visit. 

Rivka, we also send you our sympathies. And yes, I agree with you - the hardest part of making aliya is leaving loved ones behind.
Naomi at MyParnasa.com researched and created a list of The Top 11 Websites in the Orthodox Jewish World.The website, Aish.com, that got third place on the list, is probably my favorite Jewish website.In the wonderful Real Jerusalem Streets we get to see some great and amusing signs. Be sure to scroll down to see the "Concrete Cushion Installation!" Concrete cushion? you say ...yes, go and check it out!

Next week, A Soldier's Mother, will be hosting Haveil Havelim, so be sure to go and look at another edition of Haveil Havalim.

Have a wonderful week, or as we say in Israel: "Shavua Tov!"

Marina
Shemesh

Yom Kippur in Israel

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronalmog/

When you look for images on the Internet for Yom Kippur in Israel - you will either see photos of empty highways, cycling children or masses of praying religious Jews dressed in white.

And yes, I guess that what a lot of people experience during Yom Kippur. But it so much more than that. Yom Kippur is the day of Atonement and one can say that the entire previous year leads up to this single day.

In the days following up to Yom Kippur, Jews are supposed  to reflect over the previous year, look at what they have done wrong and set it right. Family and friends are asked for forgiveness for any hurts that you may have caused them, grudges are finally put away and everyone tries to enter to new year with a clean a slate as possible.

According to Jewish tradition, God's writes down each person's destiny for the new year during Rosh haShanah. At Yom Kippur the verdict is finally closed and sealed. Just before and after Yom Kippur people wish each other a "G'mar Chatima tova" or a 'good final verdict'.

The day of Yom Kippur itself is spend by fasting for 25 hours (no food or water) and many people attend synagogue. For many Israeli Jews, Yom Kippur is the only day of the year that they do go to the   synagogue.

The country also comes to a total standstill, the television stations are closed, the borders, restaurants and shops are closed. The entire country becomes a ghost town. Many people do not use any form of electricity. No computers and no telephones.

Of course not everyone is religious and may watch DVDs or cable TV quietly in their own homes. But still, the entire country is quiet. Nobody but nobody drives their car. On Yom Kippur the roads and highways belong to the ambulance drivers and the children on their bicycles.

It is not easy to fast for 25 hours, to not take a bath and to stay away from electrical appliances. But it is wonderful to sleep for as long as you like without traffic waking you up, to chat quietly to neighbors in empty streets and to have some time to just think.

Yom Kippur may be hard on the body, but is is definitely good for the soul. :)

New Year in Israel

Pomegranates are eaten at Rosh haShana to symbolize the wish that people's good deeds will be as plentiful as the  seeds of a pomegranate.

In Israel the new year is celebrated twice. On the eve of December 31st, like the rest of the world, and on Rosh haShana - the Jewish "Head of the Year".

But actually only secular Jews go and party on the 31st of December. And usually it is the kind of people who needs only half a reason for a party! The 1st of January is not a holiday, so the most of us just see the new calender year in by watching a few news reports from around the world.

The real Israeli new year takes place on Rosh HaShana. Usually in September, a few weeks after the children have gone back to school. The entire country takes a break for two days and one spends a LOT of your time eating food!

Many of the food stuffs that are eaten are sweet. To symbolize the hope that the coming year will be a sweet year. My favourite Rosh haShana dish is apples dipped in honey - this is amazingly delicious! One also eats honey cake, honey cookies, sweet challah and pomegranates.

Rosh haShana is festive time in Israel with a wonderful holiday feeling but it is actually a very serious Jewish holiday. According to Jewish religion God decides during the days leading up to Rosh haShana and Yom Kippur who will die and who will live in the new year. This is a time of looking carefully at your life, making amends and deciding where you can improve or work harder in the coming year.

Everyone wishes everybody a sweet and good new year. It is also the Jewish holiday that friends, family, companies, banks and businesses send you Rosh haShana greeting cards.

So here is my Rosh haShana greeting to you, wherever you are in the world:

"May God grant you a happy, healthy and sweet new year!"

Becoming a Hummus Connoisseur

Hummus plays a large role in the Israeli diet. Wherever you may find yourself eating something, from a picnic at the beach, an end-of-year party or a conference in a smart hotel - there you are sure to find a plate of hummus.

There are even restaurants in Israel that ONLY serve hummus and no other kind of food. These restaurants, known as a "hummusia" in Hebrew are very popular and Israelis often argue about which hummusia serves the best hummus. Some people like their hummus with cooked fava beans and/ or boiled chickpea kernels, others insist on a boiled egg in their plate (not me!) and others just want a sprinkling of paprika and a dash of  olive oil.

Which ever way you like to eat it, hummus is very healthy, very filling and a great vegetarian dish. It is made out mashed chickpeas (garbanzo beans), olive oil and seasoning.

A good plate of hummus MUST be accompanied by a few decent pitot (plural for pita bread). One eats the hummus by breaking of a piece of the pita bread, wiping it in the hummus and then popping it in your mouth.Yummm.... heaven!

And for those of you how thinks it  sounds a bit messy - yes, you are right! That is why one is supplied with A LOT of napkins.

I have read in the newspaper that there are a group of "expert hummus eaters" who calls themselves the Hummus Circle. The members of the Hummus Circle travel around the country (probably in their free time) and rate the various hummus restaurants. Sort of like a Hummus Michelin! I think they keep the results to themselves though because I have never seen any leaflet or anything called "The 10 best Hummusiot in Israel".

I may not belong to the Hummus Circle and will probably not travel all around Israel to visit the various hummusiot ( plural for hummusia) but have lived for a while now in Israel and I know a decent hummus when I see...er..taste it.

And today I had the luck to eat a decent hummus, a VERY decent hummus as a matter of fact. A friend who works in Yokneam (in the northern part of Israel) has been telling us for a while now about the virtues of Eliyahu's Hummus. So today my family and I went there for lunch (because it is just too hot to cook) and we were pleasantly surprised.

This was good hummus! I am sure that the Hummus Circle would give it a rating of 10 out of 10. Or 9 out of 10 if they are a nit-picking crowd. The hummus was great, the pita bread was great, my salad was great, the lemonade was very good and the ambiance was wonderful!

The hummusia itself if not very big, so the table are arranged in rows and you just have to squeeze in where there is an open space. Eliyahu is a Braslev Hasid  and the restaurant have some Jewish prayer books prominently displayed,  is decorated with a mandala or two, a painting of camels, some Na Namanan  stickers and also these words that I have translated from Hebrew:

" The place is small,
but our heart is big
Eat your fill,
but think of your friends,
so yalla...."

Yalla is Hebrew for "move it along/ don't take your time/ forwards". Yes, he is that popular! Eliyahu makes such good hummus that he can tell his customers not to linger!

Yokneam has a large industrial park with many hi-tech offices and it looks as if Eliyahu's Hummus is very popular with the hi-tech crowd (judging my fellow table mates). If you ever want to go and eat there, I suggest you go before or after the lunch time rush.

So to tell you where in Yokneam you can find Eliyahu's Hummus?

Of course I will! It is right behind the Paz gas station on the main road through Yokneam. The place do not look very promising from the outside, but just step inside....and you will walk out a hummus connoisseur!

Haveil Havalim Edition 367

"Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity." Kohelet 1 (Ecclesiates) 

I have the honor again to host Haveil Havalim - a carnival of Jewish and Israeli blogs.The Haveil Havalim blog carnival was founded by Soccer Dad and every week a different blogger takes a turn to host a weekly collection of blog posts.

The name "Haveil Havalim" means "Vanity of the Vanities" and is taken from the book Ecclesiates in the Tanach (the Jewish Bible). If you blog about Israel or Jewish-related subjects, please feel free to join the Haveil Havalim Facebook group or go and have a look at the Haveil Havalim website.

Batya Medad at Shiloh Musings says why she thinks the university center in Ariel should be named the Ariel University. And in Me-ander she thinks about her aunt's funeral in New York while she is at a memorial service in Israel in Being Two Places at Once.

Susan Esther Barnes at the Jewish Journal.com posts about not being afraid of death at Afraid of Death? Join a Chevra Kadisha. A Chevra Kadisha is a Jewish burial organization.

In The Real Jerusalem Streets you can read and see some cool photos of Jerusalem and the various reasons why traffic in this ancient city sometimes comes to a halt in the blog post Warning: Traffic Ahead.

The 7th prime minister of Israel, Itzak Shamir passed away last week and the public could pay their respects at the Knesset building. Photos and comments on the ceremony can be seen at Yitzhak Shamir, 1915-2012.

Still in Jerusalem, Miriam's Words posts about Yerushalayim ours FOREVER!

A Soldier's Mother wrote about the Turkish intelligence and the Syrian intelligence.

It is summer time now in Israel and the temperatures are rising! Is it just me or is everybody just being a bit more irritating than usual? :) I give a few tips on How to Survive the Israeli Summer and  at Esser Agaroth you can read about the Top 15 Ways to Act Like an Am Haaretz! (riff-raff).

And that is a wrap! I hope you enjoy reading this week's Haveil Havalim's collection of blog posts.

Marina Shemesh