Traditional Jewish Wedding Dance

Last week, I got an opportunity to witness a Jewish wedding. It was simply amazing! The most fascinating thing about the Jewish wedding is that it follows a series of meaningful rituals and traditions that have been passed on from generation to generation. These rituals and customs reveal the purpose of marriage and are symbolic of the relationship between husband and wife. The Jewish wedding ceremony is truly worth watching. It starts with a procession, in which the family members of the bride and the groom participate. The wedding ceremony takes place under a special canopy, known as a huppah. Signing the marriage contract, called the Ketubah, is an important ritual of a Jewish wedding ceremony. The agreement states the duties and expectations of the chatan (groom) and the kallah (bride). The wedding ceremony is followed by a joyous celebration, called a wedding reception. The true charm of Jewish wedding lies in various interesting cultural activities that are performed during the wedding reception. The wedding celebration is never complete without music and traditional Jewish dance.

Traditional Jewish Wedding Dances

Music and dance are an integral part of a Jewish culture. Singing and dancing are a perfect way to express pleasure and happiness. Some examples of traditional Jewish dances are horah, mizinke (krenzl), Israeli folk dance, bulgar, broiges dance and yemenite. Jewish dances are performed at various Jewish festivals and celebrations. The Jews have included their traditional dances as a vital part of wedding celebrations. Even in the modern times, Jews perform wedding dances during the marriage ceremony to pay homage to their traditions. The couple usually prefer to hire a Jewish band that is familiar with traditional as well as contemporary Jewish wedding music. By ritual, the wedding couple (bride and groom) are the first to dance and the guests are invited to participate. Following are some of the popular traditional Jewish wedding dances:

    * Horah: It is a popular traditional Jewish dance, performed at special occasions like weddings and festivals in Israel and many other East European countries. Horah is a circle dance, performed to traditional Jewish songs like Hava Nagila and Klezmer. The Horah dance is performed in many variations. During the Horah, the guests lift the bride and the groom (considered as 'the king and the queen of the night') above their shoulders. While sitting on the chairs, the couple holds on to the ends of a handkerchief. The guests form a huge circle around the couple and dance in clockwise and anticlockwise directions. They perform various foot movements like kicks and other grapevine-like steps. This is accompanied by bopping up and down as well as weaving. The circle of dancers come in close to the couple and go out again.
    * Mezinke Tanz (Krenzl): It is another famous Jewish wedding dance, performed particularly at the wedding reception. It is derived from the Krenzl dance. Krenzl is a Jewish custom: the bride's mother is honored by a crown at her last daughter's marriage. The bride's mother sits at the center of a circle. She is crowned with flowers and her daughters and guests dance around her on the rhythm of a lively music band. Mezinke Tanz is performed in honor of both parents, whose last son or daughter is getting married. Both parents sit at the center of a circle and the guests gift them wedding flowers.
    * Gladdening of the Bride: This traditional Jewish wedding dance form is performed at the end of the wedding reception. The bride sits at the center of dance floor and the guests and close family members dance around her. They also sing praises about her.
    * Yemenite: A popular Jewish dance that the Jews perform at weddings and other occasions, the Yemenite involves just three steps with a small pause on the last one. It has non-moving hopping and posturing and hence, can be performed in confined space.

Lively, traditional Jewish wedding dance is a symbol of a rich cultural heritage of the Jews. It gives a ceremonial touch to the atmosphere and makes the wedding and reception ceremony enjoyable and a memorable one.

Visiting Jerusalem

"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." (Psalm 137:5-6). Just today, March 23rd 2011 I heard the news about a terrorist attack in Jerusalem. Hoping this too shall pass, like so many often painful and tragic things that happened in that unique place of our globe. I have recently visited Jerusalem for the first time in my life, and yes, I do believe there is something very special and transcendental about the famous city. The very first thing that we saw when entering Jerusalem, or rather when "climbing up" to the Holy city, was the bridge called "King David’s Harp". This bridge is placed on the western entrance to the city. Its shape resembles a huge harp, and this explains its name. According to the Holy Scriptures, King David had among many talents, the one of playing the harp: "David took a harp, and played with his hand." (1 Samuel 16:23).

Another interesting and noticeable thing when visiting Jerusalem for the first time is the fact that absolutely all the buildings in the city are made of the very same type of stone, which is in fact even called "Jerusalem stone". It is a general name that refers to various types of pale limestone that can be found in Jerusalem and its surrounding areas, and which has been used in building ever since ancient times. Anyway, this special kind of rock certainly does give more charm to the buildings and the streets in Jerusalem.

As it is very well known, people of different religions and denominations have a thing for Jerusalem, as many significant religious events took place here. For Christians, it is the place where Jesus Christ was crucified, then buried. And because of that, there is a Christian church called the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is also called The Church of Resurrection. Although it is the headquarters for the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, the holy place is shared by three Christian denominations: Greek Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism and Oriental Orthodoxy. Paradoxically, this place which holds so much significance for all Christians in the entire world is situated in an area which is mostly inhabited by Muslims. For fear of unexpected attacks, many say that it is a dangerous place to visit unless in an organized, safe group.

Another major point of interest in Jerusalem is The Old City. Here you can find Russian Orthodox Churches, synagogues and mosques. I have reached the famous Western Wailing Wall on a Friday evening, so when it was already Sabbath and some of the Jewish believers were praying, some singing and dancing there, in their dark long coats, with their black hats, it was quite an impressive, touching image. I was just so curious what each one of them was praying for at that special place. Hope some of them were praying for peace in this country, and that those prayers were listened.

The tradition states that anyone, regardless of his/her faith, can come to this Wall and hide a note in it, with a special request to God, and they say such prayers go straight to heaven. Anyway, it was so touching to see so many people there, even small children, whispering their troubles towards the sky.

The Israel Museum was another memorable place I’ve seen in Jerusalem. Although I haven’t managed to see it all, it was more than enough to want to come back and complete my visitation. Being a huge fan of the Impressionist painting movement, I just had to see it, and was pleasantly surprised to find a Van Gogh (my favorite painter). Of course, there were more paintings belonging to famous painters such as Pissarro, Monet, Renoir, Gauguin, and also sculptures belonging to the immortal Degas and Rodin.

The village of En Kerem, which is considered in fact to be part of Jerusalem, is filled with an atmosphere of peace, relaxation and natural beauty (flowers everywhere, since springtime was there, trees in fool bloom, cats absolutely everywhere). No wonder it became an artists’ village at a certain point.

Well, I think you can’t be exhaustive when it comes to such a city. And definitely, you need to visit it more than once to discover its numerous beauties and mysteries.

Israel: Food and Recipes

Located on the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, the food of Israel is a mixture of food from various ethnic groups. This place remains to be the world’s only Jewish state. The current types of food found in Israel show influences from different cultures. One can find different tastes for the food of Israel, from spicy hot to the sweet kinds! Today, there remains to be a debate about the original cuisine of Israel. This cuisine is also varied due to the addition of local ingredients. One can also notice the importance of fish in the food of Israel. Israeli cuisine also shows similarities to Arab cuisine. Here, we can take a look at some interesting recipes from Israel, which shall reveal the secret about their very diverse styles of cooking.

Israeli Recipes:

Delicious Salad Recipe:
Ingredients
Cucumbers (3)
Tomatoes (3)
Salt
Green/red pepper (1)
Lemon juice
Green onions (3)
Olive oil
Zaatar (hyssop spice)

Preparation
First, you would need to chop all the vegetables into small pieces. Just before you serve lunch or dinner, season these ingredients with some olive oil, salt, few drops of the lemon juice and zaatar.

Easy Falafel Recipe:
Ingredients
Dried chickpeas (1 cup)
Onion - chopped (about 1 cup)
Salt (1 teaspoon)
Cloves of garlic (4)
Cumin (1 teaspoon)
Vegetable oil
Chopped tomato
Diced onion
Baking powder (1 teaspoon)
Flour (4-6 tablespoons)
Diced green bell pepper
Dried hot red pepper (1/2-1 teaspoon)
Tahina sauce
Pita bread
Finely chopped fresh parsley (2 tablespoons)
Finely chopped fresh cilantro (2 tablespoons)

Preparation
Place the chickpeas with cold water in a large bowl and soak them overnight. Once soaked, place these uncooked chickpeas with the onions in the food processor. Now, add the hot pepper, parsley, garlic, and cilantro as well. Sprinkle some salt on this. Process these ingredients till they blend well. Now, add around 4 tablespoons of flour with some pulse. Sprinkle in some amount of baking powder. Add the flour to get the desired consistency so that it can be rolled into a small ball. Place this in a bowl, cover the same and refrigerate it for a few hours. You then need to mould the chickpea mixture into tiny balls.

Heat some amount of oil for frying in a deep pot. Then add one of the balls to check for the consistency. If it crumbles soon enough, it means you only need to add more flour. Once you get the desired result, fry all the other balls till they turn a shade of golden brown. Stuff these falafel balls into half pita bread. Add the green pepper, chopped tomatoes, onion as well as the turnips. Sprinkle with tahina sauce.

Honey Cake Recipe:
Ingredients
Baking soda (1 teaspoon)
Sifted flour (3 1/2 cups)
Salt (1/4 teaspoon)
Eggs (4)
Sugar (3/4 cup)
Vegetable oil (4 teaspoons)
Baking powder (1 1/2 teaspoon)
Nuts/walnuts/almonds (1 1/2 cup)
Dark honey (2 cups)
Brewed coffee (1/2 cup)

Optional Ingredients
Cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon)
Nutmeg (1/4 teaspoon)
Ginger (1/2 teaspoon)
Powdered cloves (1/8 teaspoon)

Preparation
Sift the following ingredients together – baking soda, cloves, baking powder, flour, ginger, salt and nutmeg. Beat the eggs and add the sugar to it while doing so. Allow the mixture to turn thick. Meanwhile, beat the honey and coffee in oil and add the flour mixture with some nuts as well.

Meanwhile, grease a baking pan (11X16X4) and use some aluminum foil to line the same. To prepare 2 small sized cakes, you can use two 9-inch pans. Pour the batter into the pans and bake the same at 325 degrees F. Bake for 1-½ hours for the large cake and around 50 minutes for the small cakes. Once baked, let it cool down on the cake rack and once cooled, remove from pan.