As Tu b'Shevat draws near ...

 As Tu b'Shevat draws near, it's time to contemplate the wonders of the natural world -- not least of which is the tree. Over a century ago, the American poet Joyce Kilmer summarized his feelings in lines which many Hanassi members will know from their schooldays:

Trees

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

Two of our more creative members, Heshy Engelsberg and Max Stern, have developed other ways of expressing their relationship to the natural world, as epitomised by the plant kingdom. 

Heshy has produced a splendid video, Tu b'Shevat Jerusalem 2025, with nearly six minutes of brilliantly coloured foliage plus trees in close-up and at a distance. You can enjoy it by clicking here.

Max's forte is music, and here you can listen to his unforgettably rhythmic arrangement of the folksong Atzei Shittim Omdim. for a four-part choir and wooden sticks. The lyrics? "And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing up" (Exodus 26:15). Max adds:

When the shittim (acacia trees) were selected for the construction of the Tabernacle in the desert they intoned a song of praise to God. It was their expression of appreciation and thus they sang.

Midrash informs us that the shittim-wood for the Tabernacle came from paradise, whence Adam took it with him when he was driven out. Subsequently, it came into the possession of Abraham, who bequeathed it to Isaac, who bequeathed it to Jacob. When he reached Egypt, Jacob planted a grove of acacia trees and admonished his sons to do the same: 

“Plant shittim trees, then when God will bid you build Him a sanctuary, you shall have in your possession the wood required for its construction.” 

The boards that were made for the Tabernacle out of shittim wood never decayed but endure to all eternity.

Have you registered yet for this year's Tu b'Shevat Seder? Time is running out, so be sure to do so very soon!  For details, click here. To register, call Jeremy on 053 455 8367.

Stones that speak: come visit the Jerusalem Archeological Park

We all know that Jerusalem is a city of great beauty -- but beauty is something that lies on the surface. A superficial inspection will easily tell us if something is beautiful or not.  But Jerusalem is far more than that. It is a city of history, and this history stretches back for thousands of years. 

We know of Jerusalem's past from Tanach and from the writings of our earliest sages, and this knowledge has helped nurture our love of Jerusalem for countless generations when we were hopelessly separated from it. However, now we have our city back, and Ir HaKodesh is speaking to us -- not through words but through the very bricks, tiles and stones with which it was built by our ancestors and others in its multifaceted past.

The Jerusalem Archeological Park sheds much light on Jerusalem's physical past. Though mute, its stones and structures offer eloquent testimony to the life and times of its former inhabitants. We thank our member Heshy Engelsberg for sharing with us this video clip of the Archeological Gardens. It lasts a little under 25 minutes and, if you watch attentively, you will even catch a glimpse of Heshy!

You can access this video by clicking here.

Chanukah in Jerusalem 2024

A special city, a special festival -- and here's a 20 minute video to record how Jerusalem, our eternal capital, has marked Chanukah this year. This is another production by our member Heshy Engelsberg (thanks, Heshy!) and it very much reflects his trademark style. You can enjoy it by clicking here. Warning: this is a highly calorific YouTube clip, with close-ups of some delicious-looking latkes and a number of spectacular full-frontal doughnut shots.

There is also a seasonal flavour to Heshy's Old City Chanukah Tour, which you can access here. This video is shorter (11 minutes 45 seconds) and considerably lower in calorific content. Enjoy!

Jerusalem Street Art: a visual spectacular

Jerusalem is not just a beautiful city; it is also an inspiration for artists the world over. Not all the art is conventional art-gallery material, though. Every wall is a potential canvas for the street artists whose work leaps out at us as we wander through the city.

We don't find much street art in Rechavia, but go down the road to Nachlaot, for example, and you enter a maze of allleys emblazoned with striking and colourful images -- some angry, some humorous, some merely decorative and some quite enigmatic. 

Here, in this seven-minute video clip, our member Heshy Engelsberg takes us on a tour of some of Jerusalem's most striking street images. Thanks, Heshy, for sharing with us.

Looking back at The Sukkot Season

The festive season has come to an end. While the mitzvot associated with Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah have now passed, we are still left with many thoughts, feelings and memories to process. The month of Mar Cheshvan, which will soon be upon us, provides an ideal opportunity for reflection, introspection and contemplation of the impact that Tishrei and its momentous occasions have made on us.

Here, in the first of three post-Sukkot items on the blog that look back to last week's festivities, we bring a short and colourful YouTube clip by our member Heshy Engelsberg, "The Sukkot Season", which succinctly captures the atmosphere in the streets of Jerusalem when our beautiful and eternal capital goes into celebratory mode. 

You can click through to "The Sukkot Season" here.

Festive fun in the sun: Sukkot celebrations in Yerushalayim 5785

Our intrepid YouTuber, Hanassi member Heshy Engelsberg, took his camera round the Kotel and the Mercaz Ha’ir yesterday morning in search of seasonal festivities.  The resulting product gives a true-to-life flavour of Sukkot celebration in the city that, millennia ago, invented the Simchat Beit HaSho'evah -- and which has not forgotten how to celebrate, even in times of trouble.

You can view Heshy's recording yourself by just clicking here. 

Faces of October 7th

Do you know about the StandWithUs Israel Education Center?

You can find the Center in the heart of Jerusalem, less than a mile from Beit Knesset Hanassi and just across the street from the King David Hotel. This establishment now annually hosts tens of thousands of visitors who take part in its educational programs.

According to the Center’s website it welcomes visitors from all over the world, offering them our educational materials as well as the opportunity to learn more about Israel so that they can teach their communities when they return home. The Center adds that visitors will discover diverse content about the key issues related to Israel, from expert written resources to a wide spectrum of sessions, tours and workshops. All of this adds up to a platform for pro-Israel activism and effective tools to counter misinformation about Israel.

Beit Knesset Hanassi member Heshy Engelsberg visited the Center yesterday and saw for himself the Faces of October 7^th exhibition and reflection space. If you want to get a feel for it, Heshy has produced a stunning 15-minute video that encapsulates the events of that tragic date and its dramatic, terrifying impact on ordinary human beings.

You can view Heshy’s video on YouTube here.