Blog/October 2017/Oct 13th

October 13th

So this week we were celebrating the holiday of sukkot all week. Between the first day and the last day, Esther and I did a bit of traveling around and festivating. Pictures and videos here. Neither of us did any work to speak of, beyond the absolutely necessary; so not much to talk about on that front.

Our trip to Har Gerizim was probably the most adventurous thing we’ve done in a while. It’s the place Moses was told that the people should stand on Gerizim to say blessings, and on Har Eval to say curses. The mountains face each other, and the ancient city of Shechem (modern-day “Nablus” as the Arabs improperly render “Neapolis”) is between them. From what I know of Nablus, the curses took effect more than the blessings…

In any event, getting there involved a nice pastoral drive through surprisingly uninhabited areas of the Shomron (a.k.a. “Samaria”, as in “Samaritan”). As we wended our way through the twisty mountain roads northward, the surroundings became a bit greener; and at one point we were surprised by a heavy downpour. After that, we were in mist and drizzle and wind and rain until we returned to the Jerusalem area.

On Har Gerizim we visited the “Har Bracha Winery”. Unfortunately, a full tour-bus had stopped there before us, so the place was packed with people. The rain was constant but not too heavy at this point, but due to the rain we stayed inside their building to eat the modest lunch we had packed. Afterwards, we bought a bottle of their wine, and a bottle of the olive-oil they produce there. Then we headed on to the “Har Gerizim National Park” at the top of the mountain.

Once there, we were in full storm-mode. The wind was blowing horizontally, with rain; it was a bit difficult to really see much. At one point, we couldn’t see anything beyond the top of the mountain. So we can say definitively that it’s best to not visit Har Gerizim during winter storms.

Getting back from there, we had to traverse once again the lovely town of Huwara. Since the population of that town rose from 1,300 in 1945 to 5,570 in 2007, it seems to me that the famous Israeli policy of “genocide” is not particularly effective. Perhaps that explains why the inhabitants are hostile towards us? While Esther drove, I kept a close watch on the friendly locals. I would not recommend going there unarmed. Just sayin’.

The return trip was somewhat shorter, since we went a different route which passed through more inhabited areas (but which was less scenic). I won’t speak for Esther, but I was well pleased to return to my home and my sukkah.

Apart from that adventure, we did have guests during the week and we were invited to others’ sukkot as well. All in all, a very pleasant and relaxing holiday. And now, back to the normal grind…

The weather is cool and going to stay that way, B”H!

Esther and I are planning on a quiet shabbat, just the two of us. After all the holiday hubbub, we’ll have:
homemade ḥallah, rotisserie chicken, rice pilaf, pea soup, roasted beet twirls, roasted eggplant, various salatim, and chocolate cake.

Until next time,
shabbat shalom!

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