The Life of a Jew

There's no time for sleep in Jerusalem! At 6 am we walked to the Western Wall

to get a first hand taste of Jewish life during the holiday of Sukkot.

Sukkot is a biblical holiday on which the Jews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem.

Nowadays the Jews make Sukkot (booth/tabernacle)

to symbolize the fragile dwellings in which the Israelites lived for their 40 years in the desert after the exodus.

We went to the wall on the seventh and last day of Sukkot,

when thousands of Jews go to the wall

to whack their willow leaves on the ground 

in hopes of summoning the rains.

It was really a unique experience

to come out of the tunnel to a sea of people

in traditional garb

with their bundles of willow, mrytle, etrog, and palm, all

chanting, praying, singing, dancing or

beating the ground with their willow branches.

 This guy screamed his head off and was pretty intense. Entertaining and quite fascinating to watch such passionate devotion!

 Crowding around the Torah

Orthodox Jews don't cut their sideburns because of a passage in the Bible. We see men with curls like this all the time!

 

As you can see, there are many different sects of Judaism. Some Jews wear furry hats. Some tall black hats. Some, like these little boys, wear kippas.  

 

Don't judge the way I look... I just rolled out of bed