Tomorrow morning, many thousands of people are expected for the traditional Birkat Cohahim (Priestly Blessing) ceremony at the Western Wall.
Sets of the Four Species for Sukkot - lulav (palm branch), etrog fruit, hadassim (myrtle branches), and aravot (willows) - are being distributed to Jewish tourists at Ben Gurion International Airport this morning. Not everyone can receive one, however. Only those who came to Israel with their own set, and then had it confiscated by customs officers for fear that it would introduce unfamiliar agricultural viruses into Israel, are eligible to receive a replacement set.
Among the Sukkot festivities being held this week are the following:
* A holiday festival will be held in Hevron today and tomorrow. Thousands of people are already there, and will be treated to Hassidic singers such as Mordechai Ben-David and others, as well as tours of the Machpelah Cave and other local sites.
* Hundreds of Haifa residents are taking part in organized tours in Yesha today and this week. The visitors are going to Hevron, Binyamin, and Shomron, in bulletproof buses and with IDF escorts. The Haifa Municipality and other bodies helped subsidize the trips. Aviad Visuly of the Land of Israel Organization in Haifa says that the demand for trips to Yesha, especially outposts and new communities, is constantly increasing, and we sometimes have to turn people away for lack of space.
* The AACI (Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel) Tourism Project has organized 19 walking tours in Jerusalem for the English-speaking public for today through Tuesday. For more information, send email to "dgoldberg@aaci.org.il".
* Simchat Beit HaShoeva celebration tonight in Nofei Nechemiah/Rechelim.
* Simchat Beit HaShoeva celebration in Psagot tomorrow night, together with a new-Torah Scroll ceremony in memory of terrorist victims Rabbi Yossi Dickstein, his wife Chana, and their son Shuvael.
* Simchat Beit HaShoeva celebration on Tuesday night in the Churva Synagogue Square in the Old city of Jerusalem.
* A happeningon Wednesday, featuring a march in the Talmon/Haresha area to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the founding of Haresha.
Sets of the Four Species for Sukkot - lulav (palm branch), etrog fruit, hadassim (myrtle branches), and aravot (willows) - are being distributed to Jewish tourists at Ben Gurion International Airport this morning. Not everyone can receive one, however. Only those who came to Israel with their own set, and then had it confiscated by customs officers for fear that it would introduce unfamiliar agricultural viruses into Israel, are eligible to receive a replacement set.
Among the Sukkot festivities being held this week are the following:
* A holiday festival will be held in Hevron today and tomorrow. Thousands of people are already there, and will be treated to Hassidic singers such as Mordechai Ben-David and others, as well as tours of the Machpelah Cave and other local sites.
* Hundreds of Haifa residents are taking part in organized tours in Yesha today and this week. The visitors are going to Hevron, Binyamin, and Shomron, in bulletproof buses and with IDF escorts. The Haifa Municipality and other bodies helped subsidize the trips. Aviad Visuly of the Land of Israel Organization in Haifa says that the demand for trips to Yesha, especially outposts and new communities, is constantly increasing, and we sometimes have to turn people away for lack of space.
* The AACI (Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel) Tourism Project has organized 19 walking tours in Jerusalem for the English-speaking public for today through Tuesday. For more information, send email to "dgoldberg@aaci.org.il".
* Simchat Beit HaShoeva celebration tonight in Nofei Nechemiah/Rechelim.
* Simchat Beit HaShoeva celebration in Psagot tomorrow night, together with a new-Torah Scroll ceremony in memory of terrorist victims Rabbi Yossi Dickstein, his wife Chana, and their son Shuvael.
* Simchat Beit HaShoeva celebration on Tuesday night in the Churva Synagogue Square in the Old city of Jerusalem.
* A happeningon Wednesday, featuring a march in the Talmon/Haresha area to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the founding of Haresha.