Nostalgia Sunday – Shlomit’s Sukkah of Peace

September 26, 2010 - 8:09 PM by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Art, General, History and Culture, Holidays, Israeliness, Nostalgia Sunday, Politics, Pop Culture, Religion, War 

Composer Naomi Shemer wrote the song Shlomit Bonah Sukkat Shalom (“Shlomit builds a house of peace”) in 1974 as part of an album of childrens’ songs. The date is telling: released one year after the Yom Kippur war, the song expressed hope for a battle-fatigued nation, battered by a difficult political climate and uncertain diplomatic situation. The song has since become a beloved standard for Israeli children and the adults who were once children; in four verses, Shemer manages to encapsulate the traditions of the sukkot holiday and the ideal of better world.

Here is the song as performed at the time by Hanan Goldblatt, Aliza Rosen and Gabi Eldor.

And here is a version sung decades later by kiddie show presenters Rinat and Yoyo, her robot assistant. (I don’t know why she has a robot).

Pop and rock musicians aren’t immune to the song’s evergreen appeal. Perpetual popster Shlomo Artzi has led crowds in song, and rockers Mashina did a full fledged cover…

…plus mizrachi singer Avi Peretz recently pitched in with a Middle Eastern-flavored version.

Shemer was never apolitical in her writing and was certainly associated with Israel’s right-wing, but even she might be nonplussed at the heavy-handed way in which her song was parodied this past week by comedy site LatmaTV. There aren’t English subtitles so here is the gist: the world is accusing Shlomit of destroying the peace process by building her sukkah, which she will proceed to build anyway. (I did say “heavy-handed”, didn’t I?) Oh well, as you watch, bear in mind that there’s no word in Hebrew for “subtlety”.

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Foto Friday – Sukkot in Jerusalem

October 2, 2009 - 12:04 AM by · 5 Comments
Filed under: Art, coexistence, Foto Friday, General, Holidays, Religion, Travel 

The awe-ful part of the Days of Awe are behind us and now it’s time to party! Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, is the holiday when Jerusalem gets itself all decked out…

© RomKri

…and small wooden sukkot, or tabernacles, spring up overnight…

© monti_clif

…dotting the urban landscape.

© Pes & Lev

The Municipality of Jerusalem gets into the act too, with a large public sukka – the perfect opener to this month’s Autumn Nights Festival…

© RomKri

…as well as the annual Jerusalem March, attended by walkers from all over the country…

© monti_clif

…and from all over the world!

© monti_clif

Another event taking place at this time: the International Christian Embassy’s Feast of Tabernacles festival, this year celebrating its 30th anniversary. The festivities begin today with a worship concert at Ein Gedi, continue with a week of prayer and Bible teachings, and conclude with the Jerusalem March on October 6th.

Below is a montage of photos from last year’s Feast of Tabernacles. The photos above are courtesy of the wonderful Jerusalem Shots website – always worth a visit. And here’s wishing a Chag Sameach (happy holiday) to us all!

Feast of Tabernacles 2008 Photo Montage from ICEJ on Vimeo.

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