Shabbat Shalom, indeed!

I have just had one of the more remarkable cultural experiences of my life. It all started with an unremarkable Saturday evening stroll. Having been inside most of the day today, I decided to take a stroll before dinner. I left the house somewhere between 6 and 6:30 pm, thinking I would head over to Ben Yehuda Street and pick up some lip balm and a couple of other things I needed from a drugstore. I had been in the Ben Yehuda/King George V area a couple days ago and found a 21st Century, Walgreen's-like drugstore there. Things were a lot less expensive than the pharmacies in the Old City or in Old Arab East Jerusalem where the Dominicans live. Arab East Jerusalem feels like an ancient bazaar, Ben Yehuda street felt like a 21st Century shopping district. It's about a 15 minute walk from the house. So I figured a perfect walk to be back here in time for evening prayer and or dinner. Get my exercise and pick up a couple of things I needed. But there was a fly in my ointment...

I know Saturday is the Sabbath in the Jewish community and I know that every Jewish business in the Old City is going to be closed. I know buses don't run on Saturday, but I was not prepared for the extent to which the Sabbath is observed here. I had two interesting experiences on my very innocent walk.

The first had to do with the route I took. I chose what was clearly the most direct route to Ben Yehuda Street. At some part of my walk I clearly crossed out of "Arab East Jerusalem" into a more Jewish neighborhood. This is clear from the dress of the people I was encountering along the way. Now I should say that while my mode of dress clearly bespeaks "American tourist." There was nothing about my dress that could have been called immodest - for once I was even wearing long pants. I passed dozens of Orthodox Jews along my route. They do not greet non-Jews on the street. In fact they will not even make eye contact. Okay fine. I stopped at one street corner to await the change of the crosswalk light. There was a group of Jewish teenagers there as well. As I waited, I became aware that one was staring at me. I made eye contact with him just before the light changed and nodded in greeting - as he walked off the curb he said "shabbas" and spit in my direction! Actually spit! He and his cohort moved off to the left and I just kept moving wanting to get to my destination as quickly as possible. As I made my way along, of course no business were open, but there were also no cars on the street. I knew it would be different at Ben Yahuda Street.

But as I rounded the corner at Zion Square, the beginning of Ben Yahuda, I was shocked by what I encountered. It was a ghost town. I expected to see a tumbleweed blowing by. Not a single person on what had been the busiest commerce district I had encountered outside the Old City. Evey shop was shuttered and the only persons I saw were a old Arab man and a motorcycle cop (the Sabbath police?) I had not been prepared for this level of observance. I knew there were a lot of observant Jews in Israel, but I had also been told that there were a lot of secular Jews. I was expecting to see the seculars out in this busy district even on Saturday. But instead, in my head I heard the theme music to one of Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns and waited for the tumbleweeds. I sat on a bench for a few minutes and then headed for home.

As I walked past one street, I heard voices to the right - I looked and there was a paragon of American culture. The only noise in the neighborhood was coming from McDonald's, which was clearly open. I decided to stop in, buy a Coke Zero and use the restroom before I headed home. As I was about to go into McDonald's, I noticed movement at the next establishment - Oh yeah, The Dublin Pub. I had seen it the other day when I was there. Just as Jewish Sabbath laws could not close McDonald's on Saturday, even in Jerusalem, so also it would not keep an Irishman form his Guinness, even for the sake of God. Hmmmmm. McDonald's or the Dublin Pub, which shall I dart into and make a purchase for the sake of using the restroom? Not even close! I chose a place at the bar and ordered a Guinness.

As it turned out, it was happy hour, so I had to have a second Guinness (it's the law in Irish Pubs everywhere). I also ordered a burger from their pub menu since it had now become clear that I would not get home in time for dinner. The bar was quiet and a few people came and went, but it was much quieter than I would expect an Irish bar to be on a Saturday evening (anywhere!) After my beers and burger, I said goodbye to the nice people at the Dublin Pub and steeled myself to step back out into the ghost town for the nice, quiet walk back to St. Etienne.

But an amazing thing happened during the hour and half that I sat at that bar: the sun set. This meant Shabbat was over. And what I stepped out into was not the dark ghost town I was expecting. Indeed I stepped out into a full-blown carnival. Every shop was now open and fully lighted. Shops selling food, and electronics, and all manner of Judaica, and magazines and books, and hand-made Bedouin blankets - even my Walgreens-like drugstore - they were all open. And every young Jew in Jerusalem was there. And some not-so-young Jews. And Tourists from every country in the world. There were street performers - a harpist who also played the harmonica, a juggler, a guy drawing caricatures, o group of those Brazilian martial artist/acrobats that seem to be everywhere these days, and, most amazingly of all, a group of Korean Singers - "Up-with-people-esque" - who drew everybody into their act. All were clapping and dancing around, not understanding a single word they were singing but joining in the happy spirit of it. All were dancing and clapping, that is, until, after singing, their leader announced, in perfect English, "we bless you in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ..." After that, their party quickly broke up, but they stayed and spoke to anyone who would talk to them - mostly Americans who lauded them for their courage (imprudence?)

I got very caught up in the spirit of this remarkable scene. What a contrast to just a few hours earlier! I got a gelato and watched people for a while. I struck up a conversation with a couple of American young people (Jewish) who were visiting - their first trip to Jerusalem too. They had come here tonight because hey had heard that this was the place to be when Shabbat ended. I watched a woman giving henna tattoos while her companion - a very blond American man - played the Sitar. I listened to a harpist for a couple of songs. I dropped a coin in the hat of the Brazilian martial artist/dancer people. Just as i was ready to head back to the house, a young man and young woman in a coffee house invited me to come in and try a local brew-pub beer - "brewed right here in our shop!" I caved and tried their beer. Their bistro was not crowded but there was interesting conversation at the bar - where I was the "exotic" one because I lived in the USA. I made my goodbyes at midnight and made the 20 minute trek back to Arab East Jerusalem.

I received a cultural education tonight. Shabbat is observed carefully, but it also has its limits. When it is over, the rest is finished and it is time to party - time to get back to work! Even as I left Ben Yahuda Street, there were a lot of people there - even young families with their children - out at midnight. Those children had been quiet all day - now was their time to cut loose. I am headed to bed now and will wake up to the observance of our "Sabbath" - will I observe it as well as the Jews I encountered today (minus the little shit who spit at me.)? Shabbat Shalom!