Posted by Sigal Mendelson on March 1, 2010 under Jewish Holidays, News, Traditions | 
Purim costumes were seen all over the country in spite of the heavy weekend rains. What is the origin of the costumes tradition?
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Most evidence suggests that the concept of "masquerading in costumes" (on Purim) is a fairly recent addition to Purim, which was added sometime during the past five hundred years – in Europe. The exact date is debated. The practice probably did not exist in Middle Eastern countries earlier than 150 years ago. Sources in the oral law (or even some mystical works), which describe the validity of "hiding" (as it relates to Purim) are referenced to support this practice.
Dressing up in masks and costumes is one of the most entertaining customs of the Purim holiday. Children in particular enjoy dressing up as the protagonists in the Book of Esther, including Queen Esther and Mordecai; other Biblical personalities such as King David and the Kohen Gadol ("High Priest"), and modern-day costumes from flower girls to indigenous peoples of the Americas to animals to policemen.
Costumes and masks are worn to disguise the wearers’ identities. Mistaken identity plays an important role in The Book of Esther, as Esther hid her cultural origins from the king, Mordecai hid his knowledge of all the world’s languages (which allowed Bigthan and Teresh to discuss their plot openly in his presence), and Haman was mistaken for Mordecai when he led Mordecai through the streets of the capital city of Shushan.
More: http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D
Pictures courtesy of JerusalemShots.com |
Purim in Jerusalem JerusalemShots.com
JerusalemShots.com
Purim Carnival, Jerusalem JerusalemShots.com
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E-H Dictionary
| English |
How pronounced |
Hebrew |
| Costume |
Takhposet |
תחפושת
|
| Debate |
Viku’akh |
ויכוח
|
| Personality |
Ishiyut |
אישיות
|
| Priest |
Kohen |
כהן
|
| Animals |
Khayot |
חיות
|
| Mistake |
Ta’ut |
טעות
|
| Entertaining |
mesha’ashe’ah |
משעשע
|
.
Posted by Sigal Mendelson on February 28, 2010 under Israel history, People, Traveling in Israel |
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The Druze are a religious community found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan.
Theologically, Druze consider themselves as an Islamic Unit, reformatory sect.
A minority of the Druze in the Golan Heights. This area is controlled by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967 and officially annexed by Israel in 1981, but has not been recognized internationally. The Druze living there therefore have a separate legal status from those in the Galilee region, and are considered permanent residents.
The Druze are citizens of Israel. Few of the Golan Druze have accepted full Israeli citizenship, while the rest (majority) are citizens of Syria.
Druze citizens are prominent in the Israel Defense Forces as well as in Israeli politics. A considerable number of Israeli Druze soldiers have fallen in Israel’s wars since the 1948. The bond between Jews and Druze soldiers is commonly known by the term "a covenant of blood".
Five Druze lawmakers currently have been elected to serve in the 18th Knesset, a disproportionally large number considering their population.
Druze in other countries have radically different lifestyles. Some claim to be Muslim, some do not. The Druze faith is said to abide by Islamic principles, but they tend to be separatist in their treatment of Druze-hood, and their religion differs from mainstream Islam on a number of fundamental points.
The main Druze doctrine states that God is both transcendent and immanent, in which He is above all attributes but at the same time He is present.
Druze does not allow conversion to the religion.
Marriage between Druze and non-Druze is strongly discouraged for religious, political and historical reasons.
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Druze Sheik IN Pki’een
Druze teenagers dancing Debka
Memorial Board for Druze IDF Soldiers in Dalyat-El-Carmel
Druze Woman Makint Pata Bread
Pictures & info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druze
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More informationm about Druze in Israel:
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2002/12/Focus%20on%20Israel-%20The%20Druze%20in%20Israel
http://www.europeandruzesociety.com/enter.html
E-H Dictionary
| English |
How pronounced |
Hebrew |
| Majority |
Rov |
רוב
|
| Minority |
Mi’ut |
מיעוט
|
| Prominent |
Bolet |
בולט
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| Citizenship |
Etrakhut |
אזרחות
|
| Population |
Okhlosiyah |
אוכלוסיה
|
| Marriage |
Mizuyeen |
נישואין
|
| Proportion |
Yakhas |
יחס
|
.
Posted by Sigal Mendelson on February 27, 2010 under Archeology, Traveling in Israel |
A beautiful aqueduct, standing 1.50 meters high and built of large stones, has been situated for almost two millennia right under one of the most familiar and traveled places in Jerusalem – beneath the road that leads from Jaffa Gate toward the David Citadel Museum and the shops on David Street.
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The High-Level Aqueduct of Jerusalem, which dates from the second-third century CE, was exposed in excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is conducting, with funding provided by the Jerusalem Development Authority for the purpose of replacing the infrastructure in the region.
According to Dr. Ofer Sion, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The side of the aqueduct was discovered during the course of the excavation. When we removed the stones in its side and peeked into it we saw a splendidly built aqueduct covered with stone slabs where one can walk crouched down for a distance of approximately 40 meters. It is very exciting to think that no one has set foot there for many hundreds of years”. According to Sion, “The noted Land of Israel scholar, Dr. Conrad Schick, described a specific section of the aqueduct in a survey he conducted at the end of the nineteenth century. In 1898 a building was erected in this area which afterward became what we know of today as the Imperial Hotel. Schick’s documentation provided us with the clue that led to exposing this section of the aqueduct”.
The aqueduct is c. 60 centimeters wide and 1.5 meters high. Shafts were exposed at fifteen meter intervals or so that allowed the ancients to check the state of the aqueduct from what was the surface level in those days.
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Entrance to the aqueduct
Photograph: Assaf Peretz, courtesy of Israel Antiquities Authority.
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Up until the end of the Second Temple period, in the first century BCE, Jerusalem’s water supply was derived from the Gihon Spring; however, as the number of residents steadily increased, the city’s water resources proved insufficient. The shortage of water was the principal factor that led to the construction of Jerusalem’s magnificent waterworks during Herod’s reign.
Gravity and very sophisticated engineering were employed to carry water to the city from springs located in the Hebron Hills, which were sufficiently high enough to convey the water by way of aqueducts to Jerusalem. The water was brought dozens of kilometers on its way to Jerusalem until it reached Solomon’s Pools and was distributed from there via two main aqueducts: the Low-Level Aqueduct and the High-Level Aqueduct. The High-Level Aqueduct conveyed water to the high part of the city where King Herod’s palace and Hezekiah’s Pool were situated, the latter being the main source of water for all those arriving in the city; and the Low-Level Aqueduct carried water to the Temple Mount and the Temple.
According to Dr. Sion, “For now, we can date the section of the aqueduct that was exposed to the second century CE, to the time of the pagan city Aelia Capitolina, which was built on the ruins of Jerusalem following the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 135 CE. Presumably, however, the aqueduct was first constructed in the days of Herod, as we know from other places along its route, particularly in the Bethlehem area. Archaeological research has shown that the total length of the aqueduct, which begins at Solomon’s Pools, is about 13 kilometers.
E-H Dictionary
| English |
How pronounced |
Hebrew |
|
Aqueduct
|
Amat Mayeem |
אמת מים
|
| Discovery |
Taglit |
תגלית
|
|
Research
|
Mekhkar |
מחקר
|
|
to Exposing
|
La’khsof |
לחשוף
|
| Length |
Orekh |
אורך
|
| Shortage |
Makhsor |
מחסור
|
| Pool |
Breikhah |
בריכה
|
.
