Carpeting on the corner

.

On the corner of the old building in Tel Aviv's old Florentine neighborhood,  a clever someone glued a strip of carpeting and called it a pinat litoof, literally, a petting corner.
(That's what we call a little petting zoo in Hebrew.)
And of course all of us in the tour group yesterday had to stop and pet it.

Above it: pRay attention to fcorners
Below it: pLay attention to fcorners
Are these terms from something scientific? Anybody know?
.

The writing on the door

.

Everyone knows the verse of Psalms that tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, but today this new graffiti in the Old City rings true as well.

.

Hard times we live in

.
A heavy post for this ABC Wednesday, but today H is for horrible hooliganism.
Hateful messages were spray-painted on these walls before the early-rising Trappists rose for morning prayer.
A burning tire then caused the door to catch fire.
The monks discovered and extinguished the fire before it could spread to the beautiful old French monastery of Latrun.

But the shock and anger to all of us, Christians and Jews and all decent Israelis, is much harder to extinguish.


I can only say SORRY! to the Brothers of Latrun.
I am sorry such cowardly acts can happen in my country.

To read about this spreading phenomenon of "price tag" attacks by right-wing extremists in retaliation for the government removing certain settlements in the West Bank, please see the articles in today's Jerusalem Post and Ynet.

The vandalism and even some outright attacks have been against Palestinian property, against our own army bases and police, and now increasingly against easy-target Christian places.
.

"Price tag" attacks

.
I got lost in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood a few years ago when many parts of Jerusalem were still new to me.
What surprised me that day was that religious kids were playing on swings and stuff in a playground surrounded by three old Arab buildings.
The minaret marked one building as a long-abandoned mosque.

The sign warned not the enter the dangerous building which according to the drawing was liable to collapse.

Even then the doors had anti-Arab sentiments scrawled on them.

A second old building was also locked up.

The third building really raised my curiosity!
Plants growing on the dome.
It was clearly very old and once-grand.

I stuck the camera through the window bars and the flash revealed a neglected interior.

Back home, I could find no information about the place and it remained a mystery for me.
Until today, that is.

Today I read in Haaretz that

The Nebi Akasha mosque, apparently built under the Ayyubid dynasty in the 12th century with additions made under the Mamluk dynasty in the 13th century. It is believed that the mosque was founded on the burial site of combatants in Saladin’s army, though an ancient tradition designates the site as the place where Akasha, a friend of the Prophet Muhammad, was buried.

They also say it was abandoned in the 1948 War of Independence and was recently renovated and turned into a municipal storage facility.

Learning this history was the only good thing to come out of the worrying events of the last few days.
Last night vandals tried to set fire to the mosque (I think it was the newer mosque, the one in my first photo) and sprayed anti-Islam graffiti on it and the second building.

The media did not explain it well, especially the foreign papers; and if you had never been to this small compound/playground, it would be hard to understand.

More about the young right-wing extremists' violence, including an attack on an Israeli (!) army base, can be found here .
The so-called "price tag" attacks.
.
UPDATE: See here how 15 teenaged students later came to help remove the hate graffiti .
UPDATE Feb. 2013:  Fascinating history of the place from a Jewish viewpoint in the blog "Let us tour Eretz Yisroel." 
.
.

Na nach

.
The most widespread graffito in Israel has to be the one about Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.
The mantra (written in Hebrew in the photo) is "Na, nach, nachma, Nachman me-Uman."

For the explanation of this phenomenon please see my earlier post, The Ubiquitous Nachman.

You can see more examples of graffiti in Jerusalem, including inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (!), under my label "graffiti."
.
City Daily Photo community members are sharing their graffiti today for our monthly Theme Day.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants .
.

Urban ugliness

.
Undaunted by the dumpster's name, meaning Mr. Mouse, I went exploring in a back alley bordering on Jerusalem's industrial area, near old Romema.

Utterly unsettling was the graffito prompted by the wooden beam.

Ugh, what was this place??

Who had lived inside?

Unexpected was this piece of unusual urban ugliness!

.

Unwittingly though, it turned out to be useful for ABC Wednesday's U Day.

.

International Mother Language Day

.
We interrupt our walk through the Supreme Court Building in order to celebrate International Mother Language Day!

Click on the plaque to read about the "Father of modern Hebrew."

This house in Jerusalem, on Ethiopia Street, is where the Ben-Yehuda family lived.

.

Eliezer and Deborah left Europe and came to Palestine in 1881. Their first son, Ben-Zion, was born in 1882.

Ben-Yehuda was passionate about reviving the Hebrew language, and he made his wife promise
to raise the boy as the first all-Hebrew speaking child in modern history.
It was hard but it worked.

Legend has it that the little boy with Hebrew mother tongue carved the graffiti in the stone of his house. Shovav--mischievous boy!

Can you make out a crescent moon inside the rectangle, and what is supposed to be a star?

That was the Ottoman Turk flag back then, when the Land of Israel was a part of the Turkish empire.
.

In the years following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 came waves of mass immigration of Jews from 70 different countries, all speaking different languages.

Israel became known as the only country in which the parents learn the mother tongue from their children.
.

Centuries-old graffiti

. Does being old make graffiti more respectable? So many of you had strong reactions to the post of yesterday that tonight I want to give you a nicer kind of writing and marking found on some stones of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

  Remember the tall entrance doors from last Friday? I photographed them from the top of these steep stairs, on what is called Golgotha or the Mount of Calvary. See the ledge on top of the little white pillars to the left?

  I was leaning on this smooth, cool ledge to take the picture of the doors below. Under my elbows I suddenly noticed the graffiti , carved in 1876! . Blogger friend Mediterranean Kiwi of the fine One Day in Hania e-mailed her help in solving the mystery of what is written in Greek: "MNSOT KYRIE is probably something like 'the servant of the lord' KAISAPOYS - this name has to do with the name 'caesar' ATHONITOY - from Mt. Athos (he must have been a monk) GRIGORA - obviously from the name 'Gregory' PELOP---ONHSIOS - from the Peloponese"

  Centuries before the monk from Greece's holy Mount Athos arrived, other pilgrims came up to Jerusalem and showed their devotion by cutting these little crosses into the walls of the church, along the stairs going down to the Chapel of St. Helena.

 

I find it very touching.

To think of medieval folks who made great sacrifices to make the long and dangerous journey to the Holy Land . . . how they must have felt, finally to touch the walls of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre!

It matters little, what (if any) religion you belong to. The feel of a place much prayed in is very touching. Touching our soul.

.

UPDATE April 2021: Research being done on these little crosses indicates that most were

done by a handful of masons who did the work for the pilgrims who asked for it. 
See short video here: 
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-researchers-claim-to-solve-mystery-of-engraved-crosses-at-holy-sepulchre/
.

A different Dina

.
Welcome to our ABC Wednesday meme fun. Today is the day for D.

D is for . . . Dina?
But definitely a different Dina, not me. One who would write her name in thick black ink and add two exclamation marks!!

Believe it or not, this slab of stone was set up in the venerable Holy Sepulchre (the church consecrated in 335 and restored and rebuilt in the 11th century).
Here, and only here, on this slab, is it kosher for tourists to leave their mark for posterity.

Why oh why then, did some have to scrawl their graffiti on the walls just five steps away?

Click on the photo to enlarge and see the scandal on the arch. Shame.

This place is at the extreme eastern part of the cavernous church, a bit out of the way.

.

The inner dark chamber is now called the Prison of Christ. According to a tradition dating to Crusader times, Jesus and the two thieves were held here before the crucifixion.

.

The outer part is the Chapel of the Bonds (or Stocks).

Behind the glass are two holes which some say held the stocks which held the feet of Jesus. Pilgrims find a way to stick their prayer notes inside what for Christians must be a very holy place.

.

Know hope

.

The main streets of Jerusalem are all torn up (see Jaffa Road here), having track laid for the new light rail.
Sometimes even part of the sidewalk gets dug up.
Today I saw these latest victims next to Safra Square.

The cast-iron pillar boxes are reminders of Israel's British Mandate past.
There are quite a few still in service in Jerusalem.

These two uprooted mailboxes let me notice for the first time what is written on the bottom:

McDowall, Steven & Co. Ltd.

London and Falkirk

I see from the Web that this was a firm of Glasgow-based iron founders.
The company's roots extend back to the early 19th century.

Oh, and can you see the nice graffiti next to the heart? -- KNOW HOPE
.

The Ubiquitous Nachman of Uman

.
Today's letter for ABC Wednesday is U. So it should not seem unusual for us to post about the ubiquitous Nachman of Uman, Ukraine.
.
Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810), a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, was the founder of the Breslov (or Bratslav) branch of Hasidic Judaism.
.

" The Breslov approach places great emphasis on serving God through the sincerity of the heart, with much joy and living life as intensely as possible.
Its Hasidim see Torah life as the means to a joyful existence, and their approach to worship is very personalized and emotional, with much clapping, singing, and dancing. . . .
Besides the regular daily services in the synagogue, Rebbe Nachman advised his followers to engage in hitbodedut (literally, "self-seclusion") on a daily basis.
In this distinctively Breslov practice, the individual Hasid engages in a free-flowing verbal communication with God for one hour a day.
During hitbodedut, the individual pours out his thoughts and concerns in his mother tongue, as if talking to a close personal friend.
The goal is to establish a close, personal relationship with God and a clearer understanding of one's personal motives and goals."

(from Wikipedia)

Wiki claims that "A few Breslovers also use a form of mantra meditation by repeating a word or phrase over and over. . . .
A small group of modern-day Breslovers use the Na Nach Nachma mantra, which is based on the Hebrew letters of Nachman's name.
This mantra was not used by Rebbe Nachman himself, but was taught in the 20th century by Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser.
However, this group is not part of mainstream Breslov, and is rejected by most adherents."

I think Wiki is underestimating.
Judging from the ubiquitous graffiti, printed signs, and Na Nach kipot all over the place, there must be MANY who believe in the power of the mantra. In Jerusalem, at least, and in Tsfat for sure.

One of the results of reciting and writing the mantra, so they say, will be the hastening of the coming of the messiah.
.

Every time you add one more syllable: Na, nach,, nachma, nachman me-uman.
.

Uman, in the Ukraine, is where Rebbe Nachman is buried. Every Rosh Hashanah tens of thousands of Breslovers make a pilgrimage to his grave.

If you want to know more about how this mantra was revealed in a mysterious "Letter from Heaven," please read here.
.

Meanwhile, be happy!
.

What we all need

Within the Old City of Jerusalem, the writing on the wall.
With emphasis on the NEED.
BlogBlast for Peace is happening today. Many very original Peace Globes designed by participants on the theme Dona Nobis Pacem.
Although I'm not officially joining, this post is my nod to those idealistic young people blogging for peace today.