So this little interesting character was discovered near the Israeli Knesset, in what is known as the Wohl Rose Garden. If I didn't know better, I'd say it looks as if she is on the moon.

Do you think the owner of this bicycle thought it was a "smart move" to leave it unattended near the most adventurous and enthusiastic creeper in the city? I am always astounded by dramatic irony....

About a week after the Day of Atonement came the festival of booths. Jerusalem became alive with little makeshift shelters or סוכות succot in Hebrew. My beautiful wife and I went on an anthropological excursion looking at all the different types and colours. We witnessed some Jerusalemites fulfilling their religious obligation to sit, eat and sleep inside the succah over night. I didn't have the courage necessary to photograph anyone asleep though.

This is the Kaparot Ceremony during which a chicken is held above the gentleman's head while he makes a prayer. Followers of this tradition believe that it help them receive a fortuitous seal in the Book of Life for the coming year.

When I first started thinking about reviving the photo blog for my city, I decided to take a walk and see what there was to see in the neighborhood. One of the events that I stumbled upon on that "faithful" day was the Kaparot ceremony. This is a tradition that is practiced before the Day of Atonement by some orthodox Jews, but in my opinion needs a little revision. The ceremony involves the use of a live chicken - which is held up overhead, and the person making the blessing reads the verses photographed in this picture. Tomorrow I will show you what that looks like.

This photo was taken on an adventure I took to a particularly religious neighborhood of Jerusalem. In the foreground you can see a father and his two children making their way home before the start of the holiday. In the background you can see (to the right of the stairway) the beginning of a wooden structure or booth - סוכה Succah in Hebrew. Jews build these Succot (pl.) during the Festival of Booths which concluded this evening after sun down. I'll give you a little more detail on why and when booths are built during this time of year over the next few days.

Today, starting this evening begins the gradual closing of the season of Jewish high holy days... From Sunday we will all be going back to work for a long stretch of vacation-less grind up until the Festival of Lights in December.

What's more the autumn winds have begun ushering in the cool reminder that winter will soon be here - at which point every one who says they prefer winter to summer will be changing their tune, and vice versa.

Dearest friends,

It has been ages since my last posting... so much so that I feel a stranger all over again to the intricate nuances of routinely conversing with you in this manner. Be this as it may, herein are the first bold steps to getting Jerusalem Daily Photo back on the road to actualizing its potential.

Jerusalem has also been out of her daily routine now for the past month or so - plenty of time to discard our daily distractions and get a feel for the culture of our city. I can't quite remember which came first, the on-set of the Jewish high holy days or the start of the holy month of Ramadan - either way very few of the city's residents had an occasion to escape the soul searching that characterizes this time of year.

This photo was taken when the bike's owner disappeared to attend to some urgent merry making round the corner...