Friday morning--at the Shuk--May 12, 2006

Shabbat preparation begins early on Friday as families, each with their assigned task or routine, make ready to welcome the most important of Jewish holidays. Most Israelis work only a half day on Friday and many firms, over the years, have moved to making Friday and Saturday the weekend. My absolute favorite thing to do on Friday is to go to the shuk--the main Jerusalem marketplace, located in the City Center--to take photos when I can, but more importantly to savor the sights and sounds of the large crowds clamoring with each other and the vendors to purchase their Shabbat necessities. The shuk consists of a relatively small area, occupying just a couple of blocks, mostly covered by a grimy glass arched ceiling, that is packed with hundreds of small stalls selling everything from fresh pita and challah, olive oil, any kind of olive imaginable, pickled whatevers, fresh flowers, meats, pastries, fresh and dried fruits, artichokes, fennel and every kind of produce imaginable, cheeses, fresh fish that are sometimes still breathing as they are placed on the ice, numerous varieties of nuts, religious articles, grains and aromatic spices. The cacophony of noises and the mouth-watering scents can be overwhelming. Rae-ann walked around with me and just kept smiling--she was enjoying herself immensely, as was I. I suggested that we stock up on some goodies, as I thought we would have a picnic the next day, and planned to take her to a very lovely spot in the Talpiyot section of the city. It didn't take us long, helped along by our various samplings and well practised eyes, to buy a challah, olives, tomatoes, and goat cheese. It was with a great deal of sadness, after nearly 2 hours of shuk immersion, that we were finally able to pull ourselves away and proceed back to the hotel to drop off our purchases in the small refridgerator in our room.