New CD captures Kabbalat Shabbat in Tel Aviv

August 26, 2011 - 8:56 AM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Music, Religion 

The new CD from Tel Aviv's Beit Tefilah

It’s Friday in Israel and, as sun begins to set later this afternoon, more than 1,000 people will gather at the Tel Aviv Port to welcome the Sabbath Bride. It’s the weekly Kabbalat Shabbat service, run by the Tel Aviv-based Beit Tefilah Israel (“House of Israeli Prayer”), an organization which has set for itself the task of building ” an active Jewish community which speaks to the breadth of the secular public.”

Now, the egalitarian, pluralistic Beit Tefilah has released its first CD with music from their popular Friday service by the beach. The CD has 17 songs which are performed by the Beit Tefilah Ensemble, led by Atalya Lavi who participated as a contestant on the ninth season of “Kochav Nolad,” Israel’s version of American Idol.

The CD – called “A Tel Aviv Prayer” – includes both classic Kabbalat Shabbat liturgical works (such as Lecha Dodi and Adon Olam) and music composed to Israeli poetry (for example Haim Bialik’s Shabat HaMalka). There is even a Hebrew version of the Louis Armstrong song “What a Wonderful World” that substitutes for one of the psalms of Kabbalat Shabbat.

Beit Tefilah isn’t the first Israeli congregation to release an album of its music. Jerusalem’s Jewish Renewal community Nava Tehila did that already a few years back and has started work on a second CD.

The new Beit Tefilah CD is for sale online at http://www.btfila.bandcamp.com. If you want to try before you buy, every song is available to stream from the site too.

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Foto Friday – Elyssa Frank has a TLV secret

May 28, 2010 - 7:45 PM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Art, Foto Friday, General, Life, Sports, Travel 

Photographer Elyssa Frank is passionate about Tel Aviv. You can tell from the albums she posts on her Facebook page MADE in ISRAEL. A few days ago, before the dust storms hit and our skies turned yellowy-white, Frank took a stroll somewhere.

Frank likens the expanse of mossy rocks and sea to the Irish countryside… Mediterranean-style.

And through her lens, the shells that wash up on the shore become jewels…

The album is entitled “Someone shared a beautiful secret with me…” and Frank won’t disclose the location. But it’s easy to spot a few landmarks, like the old lighthouse… and the running path by the Israel Electric Corporation’s Reading power station pretty much gives it away!

Nonetheless, it’s nice to know that between the dance clubs, restaurants and sports facilities there are a few quiet spots left at the Tel Aviv Port.

More of Frank’s street photography is available on her MADE in ISRAEL page (check out the series on the headphone street party that took place last weekend). Portfolio collection viewings available upon request.

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Beach cones

March 25, 2010 - 9:15 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Environment, General, Israeliness, Life 

Let’s call this one A Tel Aviv Diary. While frolicking at the beach playground at the always-lovely Tel Aviv Port, I noticed a stand of plastic blue cones — the size of ice cream cones — on the sand. The kid from the family next to us was using a selection of cones for sand toys, and his father was using one to collect debris — i.e. cigarette butts, popsicle sticks, etc. Meanwhile, I’m looking at the stand and wondering what they’re possibly meant to provide.

As I commented that the beach was looking very clean, much more than it had in the future, this same dad commented that he thought it was looking very dirty, actually, and that the blue cones are actually supposed to be used for holding one’s cigarette butts, while sitting on the beach.

And sure enough, that’s what the sign says. Check it out for yourself. So the effort’s being made, right? Then we went to get real ice cream, but not in cones.

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Tel Aviv is the new Miami

August 29, 2008 - 3:54 PM by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Travel 

Segway in Tel AvivThe Tel Aviv municipality has launched several information points for tourists – except you might have a tiny bit of a problem locating them since they are mobile!

Our friends at Green Prophet report:

The unique, colorful Segways can be found on the streets of Tel Aviv seven days a week from 13:00 – 19:00, particularly in areas of concentrated tourist traffic such as the Tel Aviv Port, the boardwalk or tayelet along the seashore, Jaffa, the Neveh Tzedek neighborhood and Rothschild Boulevard. The stewards on the Segways offer tourists general information and details about events and special happenings in the city, and distribute maps, flyers and promotional material that will help the tourist make the most out of his time in the city.

It seems like Tel Aviv has finally warmed up to the huge potential the city has a tourist destination and the potential revenue that such a destination can bring. The Association for Tourism Tel-Aviv-Jaffa has also recently launched a new website promoting tourism to Tel Aviv (though the video on launch is a huge web design no-no). The site features events, nightlife, restaurants, free walking tours, bus tours and of course Tel Aviv’s incredible and accessible beaches.

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