Palm Sunday

Mt. of Olives this morning

Holy Week has started. But strangely quiet. Today a sandstorm is blowing. The sky is yellow and the wind is hot. Small bits of sand are flying through the air and I've got a sore throat as a result. They're so fine they slip through the window sills and door cracks. And Palm Sunday on fall on this  day is significant ... it tells us of the perils ancient pilgrims had to face.

From my terrace I get a good view of the Mt. of Olives where Jesus rode the donkey down to the City. From the photo you can see the sand storm. The road coming down the mountain is deadly quiet. No one on the streets. After lunch only the bishops and a few assistants will walk down the route. The Archbishop has decided to stop at Dominus Flevit, the church where Jesus wept over Jerusalem, to say a prayer and bless Jerusalem and the world with a relic of the True Cross. It will be broadcast live. Click on
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW-JDH96KLo&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1m8GCWJlcImb-imaABcqGFQNZq3B1boZ4r295Eo_svrQyHNQxmUI_HED4

The tiny road where Jesus
rode the donkey

Locally a crisis is slowly looming ... a shortage of viral testing kits. Old Aged homes have become a new hotspot for cluster contamination. Calls for more total lockdown of other ultra-orthodox neighbourhoods. Police are still unsure how to enforce the face-mask law. Campers and beach-goers have been forced to pack up and go home. Ambulances and attendants have been stoned by ultra-orthodox jews when they enter the neighbourhoods to test for the virus. Insurance companies are saying there will be no payouts until after the Passover holidays which is April 15th. So much consternation. So much anger and fear. So much uncertainty. And the jewish Passover begins on Wednesday evening April 8th.  

The Custos has just written an instruction to us, telling us we are living in the actual places of the Passion of Christ. Since christians can no longer come to commemorate these events on Holy Week, then we must represent everyone on behalf of the Church. So know that I'll be praying for you all here in the Flagellation and Condemnation chapels this Holy Week.

Birthday lockdown

Almost empty street

The Sabbath has started and we're hours away from Holy Week. But this year in Jerusalem where everything we celebrate actually happened, the celebrations will be very different because of the pandemic. Only 10 celbrants are allowed for any of the liturgies ... and everyone will have to be satisfied with either watching a live telecast or praying the Divine Office as a substitute. I'm presiding over the Holy Week celebrations but I really hope someone else can substitute me. I've been warned a 2nd time today that as a severe asthmatic, diabetic and generally sick person, it's dangerous for me to be in a crowd .. the crowd being my community. I'll see what I can do.

I had to go to the pharmacy to buy my medicine this morning. That mean wearing a mask as it's now mandatory. Everyone else in the street  was wearing one. Some grocery shops were opened but they left their doors only half opened. A very crowded shop was the bakery. I got 4 pieces of bread as the pharmacy was directly opposite it. At the pharmacist there was a red tape blocking parts from going beyond half a meter from the pharmacist. I had to practically throw my money on the counter as I couldn't reach it with this barrier. 4 police were standing at the corner watching everyone go by. It was a very quick outing for me ... but I got to see the streets after 1 week in my room. It was surreal. Even during the Intifada and wars, it was never like this.

So it's my birthday today ... but i this lockdown there was no celebration. But thanks to the many well wishes sent by social media. It's another day to give thanks. Nothing more.

Weekend

My ranunculus on a cloudy day today

I've lost all sense of time ... after being locked in for 2 weeks and everyday is the same routine. Totally confused. And if I hadn't updated my blog ... it's simply because I couldn't remember. For the past 3 days I've been very busy re-doing the catalogue of our 1,100 titles of periodicals ... from A to Z. It involves typing an entire new list, checking if each one was subscribed, out of print or exchanged from another library. It was arduous and required a lot of concentration as I had 4 lists to counter check. Anyway today at 3pm I completed the catalogue. I only have to print it ... but that'll wait for tomorrow. After that I'll have a new project to keep me busy.

The weather has been cloudy and damp ... but with moment of sunshine. Officially it hit 25 degrees at noon but it felt colder than that. Holy Week won't be bright and sunny, that's for sure. The Orthodox ceremony of the Holy Fire which takes place on Holy Saturday will be restricted to 10 bishops of various orthodox denominations, and the fire will be carried by police straight to the airport to airplanes waiting to jet the flames to various orthodox countries like Greece, Russia, Bulgaria etc. There will be no crowds of pilgrims or locals to carry the fire through the streets. Less chaos I guess ... and a good thing too.

I'm enjoying all the beautiful flowers blooming on the terrace. This year is a bumper crop ... the ranunculus are amazing. The heavy rains in winter has done wonders for the bulbs. But let's hope summer really does come ... I'm missing the sun ... and the end of lockdown.

More strictures

My row of Spring flowers

As the govt tightens the lockdown, we hear that some 700 troops will be deployed to accompany police in enforcing the lockdown. Like I said, some parts of the country are more locked down than others ... like the Old City. Now the Health Minister wants to close off several ultra-orthodox neighbourhoods because majority of the clusters come from those areas. We're still not sure when this will be over ... but newspapers say it'll probably be after the jewish Passover when there is no threat of mass gatherings. The Chief Rabbi just now decreed that the burning of leaven before Passover should not be done in public with a crowd. And for the first time, the Passover meal can be celebrated through Skype or Zoom, no need for physical presence. This is revolutionary.

Farfalle and spinach

And from today we're required to wear face masks when going out ... not that any of our arab residents are going to obey it ... nor the police are going to enforce it on the arabs. The police don't want a confrontation over a small thing. But they might stop people from walking in the streets.

Over a week in lockdown and I've been cooking or making up recipes for my meals. Sometimes I use leftovers and make something out of it. Like yesterday there was farfalle pasta which I mixed with spinach and onions which our cook Nadia was preparing for lunch. I enjoyed that ... and so did JJ and Buddy. They've been having lunch with me all this week.  

As per the govt's directives to cut down workers to 15%, we have sent all our workers except the doorman back home indefinitely. Last night we had a meeting to distribute work among ourselves. My job is to clean the upstairs' courtyard ... which I usually do anyway. Let's hope it rains tomorrow so all the dirt will be washed away and I don't have to clean so much.

Sunrise sunset

Sunrise today

The lockdown is tightening now that the police are enforcing the rules on the ultra-orthodox community. There were clashes when some in the community refused to abide. The police made some arrests and gave out some fines as well. Let's just hope everyone does his part and break the chain of infection.

JJ sleeping

The sun is rising a lot earlier now ... and about 4am the rays of the sun can be seen glowing over the Mt. of Olives. The muezzin starts singing the call to prayer just before sunrise . But usually I'm awake by then ... starting work early. Our librarians are working at home ... since most work can be done online. But I have to co-ordinate all 6 workers' work and liaise with our double-checkers in Milan. Today it was 4 hours of texting and video conferencing in order to check on the work done. It also meant that I had to go down to the journals section of the library to physically double check on the online records and the actual books. Lockdown is no vacation ... I'm working 6 times harder.

Buddy and JJ aren't used to me being home for so many days. JJ is just a teenager by human standards and is extremely playful and naughty. He's quite a handful and I get tired just half an hour with him. But after being 6 days at home, he's getting tired of me as well. Half the time he just sits on my leg and sleeps. At least he's keeping out of trouble.

The weather is very sunny and cool ... around 17 degrees every afternoon. Sometimes I take a walk on our terrace ... the panorama of the Mt. of Olives on the east, the Al Aqsa Mosque compound on the south and the upper part of the Old City on the west is spectacular, The Mt. of Olives is all green from the grass. The lights from the upper city is stunning at night. Lockdown isn't that bad ... it gives a chance to slow down and admire the beauty around us.

Lazarus Sunday

My ranunculus

It' the last Sunday before Holy Week ... what we call Lazarus Sunday because the reading in Mass is about Lazarus' resuscitation. It's quite a poignant message today ... in the midst of the pandemic. At the lowest point in human experience, God comes to revive. Let's hope God's intervention will come soon. It's one severe lesson when we learn not economics or science can solve. All quiver before a microscopic virus.

Well today we learn that the virus is spreading fourfold in the ultra-orthodox community because they refuse to keep the govt's directives of staying home and social distancing. Just yesterday night hundreds gathered for the funeral of a rabbi. And the police stood by doing nothing because, in a statement today, they didn't want a confrontation with the ultra-orthodox. Well they have no qualms confronting other people. This fear of the ultra-orthodox is no less potent than the fear of the virus. The rabbis are all powerful ... even the civil law bows to them. But with this widespread illness now bringing down large communities of ultra-orthodox jews in all parts of Israel, the rabbi who defied the govt's orders as finally issued a decree telling his followers that a minyan (a group of 10 men required for public prayer) is no longer required and men should pray alone. Public reaction is scorn ... too late as more than 300 infections recorded in one community in only one day.    https://www.shemesh.co.il/en/explore/highlights/harav-kanievsky-in-a-dramatic-ruling-no-more-minyans/details?utm_source=wa&utm_campaign=highlight&utm_content=kanievsky&fbclid=IwAR2RKCQFz2PXeUje3W5XAfSDR4GGjeGXV4lmIuIX2VdyqyKgBA2iTlTIAtQ

Purple anemones 

Another news coming out is the suggestion that instead of a total lockdown, only the elderly and sick should be locked down while the young and healthy go out and be infected so they can acquire immunity to the virus. Sounds logical ... but not sure if there will be any twists in this course of action.  

Its the 4th day of the lockdown and there're few photos I can post as I'm home ... actually more in my room ... all the time. But my flowers are blooming so well so that's a bit of good news. Ranunculus and freesias are flowering in every pot. And my old classmate from way back 30 years called to say he's having a barbecue at his home terrace on the Mt of Olives today and asked me over. Obviously their lockdown is less rigid as ours in the Old City. In fact I'm just finding out that many other cities are more laxed than us. But its probably because the Old City is packed with thousands of residents living meters from each other, is a potential epicentre for the virus infection so the lockdown is extra harsh.

Street blessing

Orthodox priests blessing the streets 

Daylight saving started yesterday night but many people forgot about it because of the headlines about the virus and the harsh lockdown we're under. I saw on the fb post that christian religious leaders have gone around the Christian Quarter praying and blessing the area for the virus epidemic to end and people remain safe. Let's hope it works. The Mayor of Jerusalem also gathered all the religious heads ... jewish, muslim and christian ... to the rooftop of his office and held a prayer service. Though they sat at a fair distance from each other, they at the end gathered to take a group photo .... which of course is not allowed in social distancing.

Syrian orthodox procession

With the coronavirus spreading like wildfire all over our region ... many warring parties have stopped fighting in order to avoid their soldiers dying from the virus. Some small pockets of terrorists continue to fight and make live miserable for the poor refugees who are already fighting displacement, hunger and now the virus as well. It is despicable these extremists ... well the virus will certainly overtake them because they're not taking any precautions.

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/across-middle-east-militants-hang-up-guns-to-fight-coronavirus-622375?fbclid=IwAR2QR9eCmYAzUQ_rgGElv08PJdv8mOe69bOmtv8bFBTdtCCbRX8ngSRMCrc
 

And of course sadly, the palestinians who used to work in Israel have now all lost their jobs. And those with small businesses are also at a lost. The MC sisters and myself try to prepare food packs to help out the needy families but because of the lockdown we can't go out to do it. We'll have to wait for another 5 days and hope the lockdown will be lifted.  https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-palestinians-employed-in-israel-left-jobless-without-benefits-by-coronavirus-1.8711119?fbclid=IwAR3H_MGkCFPJTisFtFLjCVZjdF4LcHEa_nWxguTjo8I8N5UxPSsRmL6zWQQ