That's Happy New Year in hebrew. This evening we celebrate the New Year, the beginning of the year 5771 since creation. There'll be prayers at the Wailing Wall so the streets in the Old City will be packed, and probably some streets even blocked off especially in my area where Ramadan crowds are also gathering. Ukrainian Jews are spending the New Year back in their country where they will visit the tomb of their famous rabbi Nachman who died 200 years ago. But signs of the times - ultraconservatism is making alot of headway so much so that now Jewish men wear veils to cover their eyes from seeing profane things ... even in the airport.
Read the news at http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/this-year-in-uman-hasids-don-veils-en-route-to-rabbi-nachman-s-tomb-1.312612
Elsewhere in the city, frames and booths are being prepared for the feast of tabernacles. And for the muslims, the end of Ramadan will be celebrations in the streets in 2 days' time. These few days, it's impossible to find workers ... everyone wants to take holiday leave. Well i remember the riots of Sukkot last year .... hope it doesn't happen again this year.
Meantime my jaw is much better and I can start chewing soft food. As it's holiday season, I can't find a dermatologist to see my suspected melanoma, but I'll have to do it as soon as Rosh HaShana is over and before Yom Kippur. I've another appointment with Dr Arieh after Yom Kippur as well.
Right now I can hear a parrot squawking from one of our neighbour's house. What next? They hardly have room for a family and food to feed their children but they want to keep a parrot.
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