JERUSALEM I

The Shabbat in Jerusalem was a totally unique and new experience for me. It starts a few minutes before the sun sets on Friday and runs until an hour after sunset on Saturday. Everything shuts down, businesses, shops, restaurants and even the public transportation. Only very few non-kosher restaurants stay open but they’re usually hard to find. For most Israelis Shabbat is the most important day in the week because it often simply means that the family is meeting for a huge meal in the evening. To the other more religious Jews it means disconnecting from their usual life and phones, cars and electricity are strictly forbidden. Shabbat is their time to reconnect to God, their family, and their soul. Whatever religion you have, Shabbat will have an impact on your life in Jerusalem. The apartment building, I live in is even equipped with a so-called “Shabbat elevator”. Pushing a button during Shabbat is forbidden so throughout Israel a lot of buildings have these kinds of elevators, which will stop at every floor so that the very religious Jews can get in and out without having to press any button hence use any electricity. Another thing I had to learn quickly was that the streets and especially the markets in Jerusalem will be packed on Friday before the Shabbat starts. My apartment is right next to the Mahane Yehuda market, the biggest market in Jerusalem, so it happens to be my go-to place to get groceries for the weekend. You will see locals going from one stall to another to get everything they need for their huge family dinners. I learnt quickly that if you want to have a peaceful shopping experience you better not visit the market on a Friday because it is hard to even get through to the shops you want to visit. Everybody is in a rush and people don’t like to wait so you better be quickly with your decisions. This whole experience is part of the Shabbat experience but nowadays I try to avoid it and shop a day earlier. As I mentioned before, as shops and restaurants close so does the public transportation system in Jerusalem. Therefore, once Shabbat starts, you’re basically stuck in the city. So, if you want to go anywhere for the weekend you’ll have to plan well in advance. Trains for example don’t run on Fridays at all and the busses take longer to bring you to whatever place you want to visit. The only busses that still run during Shabbat on Saturday are busses travelling to Palestinian Cities such as Ramallah or Bethlehem. Luckily as a foreign citizen you’ll have no problems to travel to these places and the people are very welcoming there. The last thing that is great during Shabbat is to walk to the Old City of Jerusalem. The Muslim Quarter of the Old City is usually still open, and it is a great time to also visit some of the many great sights in the city. It’s great to end such a trip with a visit to the Western Wall to see and experience how the Jewish Israelis celebrate their most important day of the week. Shabbat was and still is one of the most striking aspects of living in Jerusalem. Either you leave Jerusalem and travel to Tel Aviv for the weekend, or you enjoy the quietness of the streets of Jerusalem during Shabbat. Fridays are for me and many exchange students and locals a great time to get together cook and enjoy each other’s company. Through talking to locals and experiencing it myself I now know how I can make the best out of each Shabbat and I know now that it is all about planning in advance to get the most out of Shabbat.

Lara Schmid 28.12.2021