Geula and Mea Shearim

Cross over Jaffa Road from south to north and it immediately becomes obvious that we have moved worlds. We walk down into the neatly laid out streets between Jaffa Road and Geula.

They were once home to a mixed Jewish neighbourhood but now it is one of the strongholds of ultra-orthodox Jewry.

The centre of the ultra-orthodox commercial world is Sabbath Square (kikar shabbat). In the past battles were fought to close the junction to traffic on the sabbath. Nowadays the junction is closed by rioting when some of the local inhabitants feel like it.

As everywhere, surface appearances can be deceptive. The inhabitants and visitors to this area comprise a variety of backgrounds, allegiances and beliefs. IMHO, the basic activity of the identifying Jew is to argue; with God himself and other Jews, if not non Jews about what he should be doing. Our major cultural book, alongside the bible, is the Talmud. This is a compilation from 2,000 years ago of 72 volumes of arguments spreading over hundreds of years and the geographical area of the Middle East . Subsequent writings referred to the Talmud in the light of changing external circumstances. These continue until today.

The exile of the Jews has caused differing identities and sub cultures to develop over the years in the different environments in which the Jews lived. In returning to Zion, which is a process which has always been going on, these differences become more obvious and the blends between them give new varieties of behavior.

One of the classic examples is the dress code for the men of wearing a big black hat, a white shirt and a black coat. Superficially, everyone in Mea Shearim looks the same, but once you look carefully, there are differences. There are Ashkenazi Jews originally from Europe, but they are divided between the Mitnagdim and the numerous sects of Hasidim. Then there are the Sephardi Jews descended from those expelled from Spain in 1492 and the other Oriental (Mizrachi) Jews among whom they lived and lorded over in the lands of the Mediterranean basin. In addition to them are the other Oriental Jews from Persia, Boukhara and the lands of the Silk route to China.

The Sephardi and Oriental Jews have adopted the out ward black dress of the Asheknazim, but it is subtly different. The tie with the top shirt button undone is a typical example.

Next - American Colony Hotel and Salah al Din Street

Previous - Machaneh Yehuda