Shabbat in Jerusalem!

Welcome back to the Israel Travelblog-a-logue! There was a long and troubling gap in there, but rest assured, Fearless Reader, that we are now thoroughly back in the saddle.

In the first of many ridiculous signs to come, at our outdoor Shabbat circle, a stray cat (the first of many, many stray cats we'd see in The Holy Land) decided he wanted to be the center of attention, surprise surprise.

In Jewish tradition, on a Friday night (the beginning of the Jewish day of rest), the women light the candles. I was once told that the candles represent the willful creation of the universe, over and over, in each instant, forever, and the candle--forever renewing itself--embodies that spirit of continuous creation. (It's also just pretty).

After the ritual washing of the hands, we sat down for dinner. Needless to say, we were all very, very excited.

"Dinner!!!"
Awake clock: somewhere approaching 50 hours. Yeesh.

The breaking of the challah (bread) symbolizes the start of the meal.

In a salute to John Mackey, here's my first ever (!) food shot. Stuffed grape leaves, green beans, mixed olives, carrot-cole slaw, and grilled lamb. A-maz-ing.

Part of Shabbat was our first Israeli sunset. Watching the light fade over Jerusalem was pretty surreal. Holy sunset!


And now, to close out the post, some gratuitous dessert nudity!




Ending the meal with (from left) Brooke, Carly, Karen, and Hannah.