Hanukkah

Hanukiah at Zion Square

Hanukkah begins tonight. It's the celebration of the Maccabee revolt against the Syrian occupation of Palestine which forced the jews to adopt gentile ways. Read it all in the Books of Maccabees. Every family lights the hanukkiah (9 candle stand). In Zion Square, as in former years, there's a giant hanukiah. And of course, eating sufgoniot is a must.

The weather for the past day was nice and sunny but the nights are cold. 8 degrees. Today the drizzles returned, overcast skies and very cold winds. We expect rain tomorrow and Monday. It's nice. We all know we need the rain because of the drought ... but still it's inconvenient going out when the streets are very slippery. Goodness knows why the municipality paves the streets with smooth Jerusalem stones that are a hazard whenever it rains or snows. This morning I saw mothers gingerly taking step after step over the slippery stones while carrying babies in their arms. One fall would spell disaster for both.

Yesterday's riot in Hebron has raised the security alert of the City again. Cavalry and more soldiers are out and about in the streets. But nothing happened. It's too cold and wet for people to go out. It's winter as usual.

Healthwise I was back to see my doc 2 days ago - blood pressure high, sugar level high, cholesterol high. Must be the sufgoniot. And the headaches are the side-effect of the new medicine I'm taking.  I'm recovering from a second cold now. Was caught again in the rain. With all the nose-wiping, I've developed a cold sore too. Not fun. Spending time in bed reading on my studies. I've got 4 new books to cover - all on classical Greek literature. Everyday it's Greek examples of epideictic literature: encomia, protreptikos .... I finally caught myself speaking greek to the prof. sitting next to me in the refectory. Luckily he also speaks greek. It's all getting too weird. I need a break.