Mid- October Eye Candy

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If you live in the U.S. of A, you probably know that October is the month we resign ourselves to the imminent arrival of winter and pack away our shorts, sunglasses, and garden hoses.  (And you probably know what "eye candy" means.  I had to explain it to a friend here last week.) Except for a few days for fall break/deer hunt and a little bit of Halloween, we have little else to cheer us up until after the winter solstice. In Israel, however, the weather is beautiful and temperate, and some of the most important holidays mean a week and two days off from school and a festive atmosphere.

Near the Mehane Yehuda Shuk, a market area in Jewish West Jerusalem, a huge tent sprang up with vendors selling the four species for Sukkot.  This is from Leviticus 23:40
"And ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook, and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days." 
 These four species, the etrog or citron, the palm bough (tightly closed is best), a leafy branch from the myrtle tree, and a leafy branch from the willow tree, are waved in the air during Sukkot. The men are required to perform this commandment, and come to think of it, Janice Esplin and I were pretty much the only women in the lulav tent at that moment.

Below you can see the yellow citron, or etrog for sale.  We bought one (I think it was 40 shekels?), and the vendor carefully cushioned it with foam and put it in a box for us.  It looked like a lumpy, prehistoric lemon and smelled nice.  Some people make etrog jam after Sukkot, we just kept it and watched it shrink in size until we threw it away.   The entire set including the branches was 70 shekels; maybe that includes the clear plastic carrier that keeps everything nice.  If your branches get bent out of shape before the waving ceremony,  that's not good.

Tommy is always a good sport.  In the background you can see the long, thin bundles of branches.  

Some fun photos from that week:  The view from the top of the Notre Dame restaurant.

 A lavish spread prepared by the school chef for a parent teacher forum meeting.

This is the new mural at the Anglican school, full of color and light! You can help support the school buy "sponsoring" one of the tiles.  Interested?  Email office@aisj.co.il 

What to do with a week off of school?  Paint!  What do you do when you run out of paper?

 And yes, the paint did eventually come off.  Then we switched to whiteboard markers instead.  Some of the best works of art happen when my girls are supposed to be practicing their piano songs.



Here are two of my good helpers making pomegranate jello.  Unfortunately, we have not mastered the art of Israeli jello.  It keeps turning out as jelly.  We suspect that's because traditional gelatin is not kosher.  Maybe if I could read the label... or the instructions...

 

 Good helpers again, this time bringing laundry back from the laundry room on the other side of the 5th floor.  To cross the lobby requires shoes, which only one of my helpers was wearing.  So Amanda found a way to carry the laundry and the barefooted sister.

And speaking of resourcefulness, Amanda and her friend from school made models of the human digestive system using whatever they could find in the craft box (Thank you, previous JC families, for the leftovers!)

Emily found an interesting use for the extra pipe cleaners...

Have you met Larry yet?  He is a special part of the family and shows up in random photos.  He often takes selfies on Lisa's phone when she leaves it unlocked.  

  

The fancy ironwork of this house by the pita factory caught my eye.

 Here's the sign right before you get to the BYU Jerusalem Center, which most people know as "Mormon University."

Jeanna Huff chases away the mid-October doldrums with amazing quilt designs!  Here is a picture of her happy place on level 5:

 October 24 is the anniversary of the special prayer offered by early LDS apostle Orson Hyde on the Mount of Olives.  He dedicated the holy land for the return of the Jews in 1841 after 18 months of traveling across Europe and the middle east.  Today, there is a park on the Mount of Olives owned by the city.  Stone plaques describe the event.  Many people use the park for picnicking, which means charred rocks and leftover trash...It has a great view of the Old city.

 We gathered with the other faculty families to read about Orson Hyde's life and portions of the prayer.

 

There was a special commemorative ceremony at the Orson Hyde garden to recognize the 175th anniversary of his prayer.  Elder Holland, Elder Cook, and Elder Hamula as well as other dignitaries made the day very special.  We were asked not to take photos of the visitors, but here is a photo of some of our office staff and administrators looking very spiffy.

You can see my (Jill's) head popping out from Elder Holland's shoulder.


More photos and a nice write up on the occasion are at the Church News website.
https://www.lds.org/church/news/church-and-jewish-delegation-gather-at-historic-jerusalem-site?lang=eng

Here is a video about the special occasion:

We felt privileged to be able to participate, even as mere spectators, in this spirit-filled occasion.

 Halloween occurred during the Egypt trip, so we had an early celebration.  Chef Ahmed created a centerpiece with giant white pumpkins, which are sold in the stores accompanied by a butcher knife so you can cut off the portion you need.

We dressed up as some of the major seas in the area.  (Thank you, leftover craft box, for saving Halloween!)

Lisa dressed up as the Dead Sea

Here are Emily and Maddie, showing off their golden calves.

 Lots of Old Testament costumes made an appearance. Here are Moses and Aaron (Ali and Ivy)

 

The Ludlow family dressed up as the four quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem.  From left to right, the Christian Quarter, the Muslim Quarter, the Armenian quarter, and the Jewish Quarter.  

 The BYU students prepared a photo backdrop, treats for trick or treating, and a dance party.  Our kids had a great time.  Ophir Yarden's kids came trick-or-treating earlier, as they needed to get home before the Sabbath began at sundown.

Here is a close up of Emily the Shark (her favorite animal).

Have you ever had one of those Halloweens where you end up carrying or wearing parts of your children's costumes during trick or treating?

This little mime did not say a word for 2 hours all during trick or treating.  Truly an amazing feat for a 7-year old boy!

We laughed so hard at the Holyoaks' costumes.  They stayed in character all night, and halfway through the dance, they showed off their newborn baby doll.