Shabbat Begins

Shabbat is about to begin here in Jerusalem.  I've written before that Shabbat in Jerusalem is different from virtually anywhere else in the world.  The city essentially closes; there's nothing to do except 'observe' Shabbat in some way...even if you are simply at home or with friends.

Many Jews in America may not be aware of a rather low-level news story about parking in Jerusalem.  Essentially, certain groups of Orthodox Jews opposed opening certain parking lots on Shabbat. To his credit, the mayor of the Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, kept one of the two in question open (in an area called Mamilla, near the Old City).  What makes this more than a simple issue of zoning or developement is that these Orthodox groups not only opposed the parking lots, but as well they protested--on Shabbat!  Yes, on Shabbat, they gathered and protested on Shabbat and not only in a peaceful rally.  They threw stones and other things and quite a few were arrested.  

I read in the newspapers that a journalist asked them 'aren't you violating Shabbat by protesting?'  The answer:  'we are desecrating Shabbat to prevent the desecration of Shabbat, just as you are permitted to kill someone to prevent your own death.'  Really?  Opposing a parking lot is the same as preventing your own death?  

Admittedly, this story does not possess the gravitas of, for example, the Mid East crisis itself, but none-the-less it is a slice of life in Israel.

 I'm staying in an area near the German Colony.  The German Colony is called the German Colony because it was founded by...Germans!  Well, Okay, there's a bit more to it than that.  The German Colony was founded by a group of 'Templars' from German, not to be confused with the 'Knights of the Templars.'  The Templars were a Lutheran sect that believed settlement of Israel was a predicate to the second coming of Jesus.  They established a number of  settlements in Israel and the German Colony in Jerusalem is the most well-known.

The German Colony is now one of the more desirable neighborhoods in Jerusalem, especially among Americans.  The neighborhood is lovely...and expensive.  There are lots of ex-pats, from America, from France, from England,  Australia and Canada.  Some of them live here full-time; others own second homes; Jerusalem is their Park City.

Lights have begun to turn on around these streets.  Out the window of my kitchen,  I can see parts of the beautiful hills around Jerusalem, dotted with construction cranes.  The streets below are quiet.  It is a lovely Shabbat...Shabbat Shalom.