Anecdotes on Judaism, by Hannah

In Jerusalem, I was able to learn a lot about the religion of Judaism through a Shabbat tour and conversations with tour guides. It was also interesting to hear how the religion is intertwined with the state of Israel.

I think one of the most interesting things I learned about Judaism is the difference between some Jews and the way they practice. First, there are Sephradi and Ashkanani Jews. Sephradi Jews are those with Middle Eastern or African origins while Ashkanani Jews are those with a European background. Additionally, as with all religions, there is significant difference in the seriousness with which people practice Judaism. First, there are orthodox Jews. Within the orthodox there are a range of people from the most ultra-orthodox to the less orthodox, but as a whole the orthodox Jews live very strongly by Jewish law. Most of the ultra-orthodox don't have regular jobs but spend their time studying the scriptures and they get money from the government. Or some of them work in jobs that only serve other orthodox Jews and not just anyone in the community.  Of course, there are Jews that are not that conservative. Besides that there are more liberal Jews who wouldn't consider themselves orthodox but still practice the religion. And finally, there are secular Jews who do not practice the religion but still take pride in their origins.

Along with the knowledge I learned, I had some amazing experiences. One of the coolest things I got to do was go and see the opening of Shabbat (the Sabbath) at the Western Wall. People were dancing, singing, greeting each other, and reading the scriptures. It was really loud and really packed.

Another cool experience was seeing some orthodox Jews protesting that a store was open on the Sabbath. They were shouting and heckling outside a small beauty salon about an hour after the starting of Shabbat. It sounded like they were chanting "shabbat" over and over.  The owner of the beauty salon called the police and the police stood outside the beauty salon until the owner was able to close up. When the owner finally came out and closed up, all the orthodox Jews almost immediately stopped heckling and walked away.

Overall, I am really glad that I was able to learn so much about the religion of Judaism during my trip to Israel.

Jews wear different hats depending on how orthodox they are:

Very orthodox.  These Jews had the "ringlets" of hair that they don't cut, and also the white prayer shawl worn under their clothes with tassels hanging down

Moderately orthodox

Less orthodox.  These kinds of hats come in lots of different styles and colours

These were the Jews outside the beauty salon