Day of Atonement

Yom Kippur dawned hot in Jerusalem.  If it is 90 here with some elevation, it's got to be in the high 90's in the Galilee and on the coast.  At least in Tel Aviv you can hit the beach.  Today the lower Galilee has got to be akin to Bakersfield in August.

Looking northeast on Emek Refaim Street

We decided to attend a service in English this morning so we trekked up to Hebrew Union College on David Hamelech Street, where the rabbis and cantors in training conduct services and practice their chops.  (We have been attending Kol Haneshema where the service is in hebrew - more soulful but certainly harder to follow.)

Streets empty again - so weird in a city usually buzzing with life and choked with traffic.  The kids had a great time on their scooters in the middle of the street, Toby doing jumps off the curb. (We are getting pretty lax as parents, not making the kids wear helmets, even as they barrel down the hills.)

The Hebrew Union service was nice, beautiful setting, lovely campus.  But the traditional reformed service leaves me a bit cold - give me the Ati/Ferris folk rock approach every time :)

Still, for atmosphere you can't beat listening to the melodies and looking out the window at the walls of the Old City...

Looking north on David Hamelech Street