Ramadan began a few days ago. I don’t ever remember it falling during the hot months, but the Islamic religious calendar is a lunar one, not bound by the season. The Jewish religious calendar also is lunar, but different. Our High Holidays generally arrive some time in autumn, though this year they happen to come rather earlier than usual.
I found myself thinking how much more difficult it must be to observe a strict fast from sun up to sundown when the days are so long and hot. Even drinking water is forbidden. Perhaps the body gets used to it, since Ramadan is observed for an entire month. It isn’t a solemn festival. People celebrate with delicious meals after the sun goes down and right before it rises in the morning.
I found our Yom Kippur fast, equally stringent, but occurring only once a year, increasingly difficult as I grew older. And when the weather was warm, it seemed to be harder physically. I also remember what a source of pride it was for me to be considered old enough to observe it; a real rite of passage.
The city put on a street concert last Tuesday night at the Merkaz ha Carmel – the Carmel Center. Streets were blocked all day as they put up a stage, lights, a monster sound system and a huge screen to project the performances. The venue was in my part of the city, and the only way I could get to my chorus rehearsal was to take a circuitous detour through the lower town. I don’t drive here, but my daughter was kind enough to give me ride and it was a chance for us to visit while we sat in traffic. As it was, what usually is a 20-minute bus ride took an hour!
After rehearsal I got a lift from a fellow alto who lives a few blocks from the Merkaz. The concert was still going full blast at ten-thirty, and after being “wanding my way” through the security barrier, I had to thread my way through a mass of happy young people of every hue and ethnicity, eating, drinking, dancing, singing and hugging each other. It hadn’t been announced as a Ramadan concert as far as I knew. I think most of them were celebrating the end of the school year. The venue was blocked at both ends, and I had to pass through another security station to continue on my way. One of the security guards cleared the way for me with a genial 'Laila Tov, Safta' (Good night, Grandma).
As I turned the corner into Hanassi (President) Boulevard the absence of noise and strong lights was palpable and welcome. On the twenty-minute walk home, I noticed that a corner house whose lovely garden I always admired was decorated with fairy lights and a neon crescent-and-star. A couple was sitting and drinking coffee. I wished them 'Ramadan Karim' (Great Ramadan), using my one of my few phrases of Arabic. They thanked me in Hebrew.
Zelda Dvoretzky was born in New Jersey and grew up in New York. She earned degrees from City College of New York and the University of Michigan, after which she wrote copy for the electronic and print media, and worked in public relations, editing and teaching. She retired to Haifa in 1997, is a member of Haifa Writers, Israel, an organization of writers of poetry in English, and the Haifa Chamber Choir. Zelda stays busy learning Hebrew, teaching English, and keeping in touch with grandchildren, family and friends in Texas, California, and, of course, Haifa. zeldahaifa@gmail.com
I found myself thinking how much more difficult it must be to observe a strict fast from sun up to sundown when the days are so long and hot. Even drinking water is forbidden. Perhaps the body gets used to it, since Ramadan is observed for an entire month. It isn’t a solemn festival. People celebrate with delicious meals after the sun goes down and right before it rises in the morning.
I found our Yom Kippur fast, equally stringent, but occurring only once a year, increasingly difficult as I grew older. And when the weather was warm, it seemed to be harder physically. I also remember what a source of pride it was for me to be considered old enough to observe it; a real rite of passage.
The city put on a street concert last Tuesday night at the Merkaz ha Carmel – the Carmel Center. Streets were blocked all day as they put up a stage, lights, a monster sound system and a huge screen to project the performances. The venue was in my part of the city, and the only way I could get to my chorus rehearsal was to take a circuitous detour through the lower town. I don’t drive here, but my daughter was kind enough to give me ride and it was a chance for us to visit while we sat in traffic. As it was, what usually is a 20-minute bus ride took an hour!
After rehearsal I got a lift from a fellow alto who lives a few blocks from the Merkaz. The concert was still going full blast at ten-thirty, and after being “wanding my way” through the security barrier, I had to thread my way through a mass of happy young people of every hue and ethnicity, eating, drinking, dancing, singing and hugging each other. It hadn’t been announced as a Ramadan concert as far as I knew. I think most of them were celebrating the end of the school year. The venue was blocked at both ends, and I had to pass through another security station to continue on my way. One of the security guards cleared the way for me with a genial 'Laila Tov, Safta' (Good night, Grandma).
As I turned the corner into Hanassi (President) Boulevard the absence of noise and strong lights was palpable and welcome. On the twenty-minute walk home, I noticed that a corner house whose lovely garden I always admired was decorated with fairy lights and a neon crescent-and-star. A couple was sitting and drinking coffee. I wished them 'Ramadan Karim' (Great Ramadan), using my one of my few phrases of Arabic. They thanked me in Hebrew.
Zelda Dvoretzky was born in New Jersey and grew up in New York. She earned degrees from City College of New York and the University of Michigan, after which she wrote copy for the electronic and print media, and worked in public relations, editing and teaching. She retired to Haifa in 1997, is a member of Haifa Writers, Israel, an organization of writers of poetry in English, and the Haifa Chamber Choir. Zelda stays busy learning Hebrew, teaching English, and keeping in touch with grandchildren, family and friends in Texas, California, and, of course, Haifa. zeldahaifa@gmail.com
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