Koimesis of the Theotokos

Procession at dawn

4am and the Old City was woken up by the clashing of gongs from the Holy Sepulcher church. They are not really bells as the Greek Orthodox have never mastered the art of bell making so the tonalities of each bell never match or complement .... just a cacophony of clashing metal. But it was very loud. I definitely heard it and woke up. It was the feast of the Koimesis of the Theotokos ... or as we would call it "The Assumption of Mary". Thousands of orthodox priests, nuns and laity made a procession from the Holy Sepulcher down to the Tomb of Mary in the Kidron Valley, chanting hymns. The Patriarch carried the silver icon of the sleeping Mary and the procession went slowly down the valley while the sun rose above the Mt. of Olives. It was quite a sight. After yesterday's muslim feast of Adha, this followed. It made the Old City very crowded and busy. Well in a way it was a nice break in the August routine of hiding from the sun ... to have a procession in the night amidst the cool breeze. I don't think the muslims were thrilled at being woken up by this din ... but they had kept us awake for the past 4 nights ... so there!

Well I wasn't quite so correct yesterday to say that it was all calm and peaceful. There were scuffles at the Gaza border yesterday with several injuries. In another case, jewish illegal settlers attacked leftwing protesters. And then in a Haifa beach, 3 arabs were allegedly attacked by jews.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/three-arabs-hospitalized-after-beating-by-jews-at-haifa-beach/

Jews after Sabbath
Prayers

Still summer continues and in a few weeks the Jewish New Year will begin and autumn would start. The fruit in the market are already a sure telltale that the autumn harvest is due. Pomegranates ... the symbol of the New Year ... is in abundance. And there's a lovely article on Palm Plaza and it's surroundings that make summer so special. It has many summer activities around it.   https://www.timesofisrael.com/museums-markets-caves-and-concerts-an-ancient-plaza-is-reborn-in-jerusalem/

Well the weekend is upon us and I will not be getting any rest. It's more work than usual. Sabbat Shalom.