""This coming week, winter will return to our area. The rain will start in the north of the country and spread to the center... The snow will start towards Tuesday..." I didn't wait long. I turned off the radio and got out of the car to the Mahane Yehuda market, to document the atmosphere of another fun and sunny Jerusalem winter Friday.
At the entrance to the market, a young artist stood playing Carlebach's songs on a strange gypsy guitar. A boy stood to the side, looking at him curiously, knowing all the lyrics, and joining in.
I left the guitar, and after many minutes, I saw them at the other end of the market, playing Shabbat songs on the darbuka and sitar. And who is standing in the middle singing "Dror Yikra..."? Yes, the same boy, without missing a word this time either.
David tells him: "Smile at him, he'll take a picture of you," and the soldier pointed at me and said: "He'll take a picture of us and publish it? Who'll even see it?" So here's a greeting to the guys from Netzach Yehuda from the soldier from the unit.
In the electrical goods store in the Iraqi market, he also sells original tahini from Mount Gerizim, and dates from Ghol in Jericho. How does it work out in your electrical store? I asked him, and he answered me with a mischievous smile: "All my dates are electrified, don't you believe it? Come and taste it.".
Kobi Illoz was sitting near the Azura restaurant, with his friend. They both hid their cigarettes when I arrived, but they held their beers in their hands, smiled and took pictures. "What about Purim?" Kobi asked, and I answered: Before we get through the rains of the month of Shevat.
On the side, in the corner of the Azura restaurant: Tzachi Hanegbi left here a few minutes ago, trying to make noise. But what caught my eye more than that were the two friends sitting on the side eating Friday's Kuba. Each with his own kippah.
This young artist moved the puppet to dance, sing, and play, to the sounds of Miami Flowers songs. I looked again for the singing boy. But in his place I found three others, who listened and watched curiously to see how the puppet worked.
""Can I take a picture of you?" asked the older man in the cassock. They replied: "No problem, we'll be happy to take a picture." And after taking a picture, he said: "Wait, we don't see your new weapon, the 'Tavor.'" And the soldier on my people replied: "We are the weapon of the people of Israel. Not the Tavor.".
Benjamin Bornstein, once young but already a businessman, stood in the market and talked with friends. He offered them serious business. But now they had come to lighten up. "Well, will they take pictures of you in the market too?" one of them asked, and he shrugged and didn't answer.
He stood next to the Chabad stand, his device in his hand. The smile spread across his face as he flipped through the device. Every now and then he became slightly serious, but then he smiled again. We couldn't ignore it and took a picture of him happily, while everyone around him was rushing to finish their shopping in honor of Shabbat.
Although Tu B'Shvat passed just a few days ago, in the store located on Agrippa Street we found this boy sitting, dressed as a firefighter, counting on his ten fingers the days left until Purim...
Inside the market, Efi Feldman, head of the Bnei Brak branch of United Hatzalah, found the most important time to talk with Eli Bir, chairman of United Hatzalah. In the meantime, everyone was busy and didn't pay attention to what was happening around them. Minutes later they would recognize me, but more on that later. .
They are tourists from abroad. They came to eat pizza at the Mahane Yehuda Market, because there really is nothing like pizza on a Friday: hot straight from the oven, with lots of extra cheese. But how will they know abroad what the real atmosphere is at the market? That's why the husband stood up and filmed the market on video, and of course, the pizza-eating ceremony.
With a shy smile he said: "I don't like it." What happened, why did you get nervous when you saw the camera, I asked. And he replied: "I'm responsible for recruiting Haredim at a recruitment office here in Jerusalem. Do you want ads with my picture to be all over Jerusalem tomorrow?" So not to publish? I asked again. And he said: "Actually, I don't care, let them publish...""
Efi Feldman, who had already finished talking to Eli Bir, was walking through the market with his wife and children. Now we've probably discovered who the singing boy belongs to and who the two children in the big kippahs belong to. How do you get along with this whole huge family, I asked. "Oh, it's not a problem, it's easy. Come, I'll teach you," he told me. And I laughed.
Meanwhile, the Bir family recognized me in the field, one picture with a V on my hands. Wait, what's the victory about? The father was silent - and only someone from the side whispered to me: It's a victory for MDA, where Bir's daughter volunteers, over the father from Ihud Hatzalah.
The mayor of Geula. That's what everyone calls him. His real name is Shimshon. He came to buy some salads for Shabbat, but finished his shopping quickly. "They're calling me to take care of the problem," he said with a smile and left the place.
They parked the car on the street behind, Halhul Street. They were all big, tall, and mostly with a determined look in their eyes. In broken Hebrew, they asked me afterwards: "Where can I still buy challah and wine?" When they heard that everything was still open, they rushed to shop.
I photographed him like this, from a great distance, as he stared sharply at the camera. This is Rabbi Shosho Deutsch, the rabbi responsible for all the Haditch events in the past month in Ukraine. With a look like that, there's no chance that anything bad will happen under his watch.
""Dad.. Dad.. I want strawberries like these for Shabbat. Dad..." The father was busy choosing a snack for Shabbat. When he discovered his cute son walking around with the strawberries, he quickly asked: "Where did you get these? Put them back where they belong. We buy strawberries by weight, cheaper.".
And at the height of the pressure, each with a cart full of shopping and children, they stopped to talk. The children had already fallen asleep from exhaustion, and they talked. Until a call came from the woman... In the background stood rescue worker Dvir Adni, who was captured on camera without a smile, after a few hours earlier his Skoda had been stolen from his home in Pisgat Ze'ev. Later he would tell me that this was the second vehicle stolen in a month.
'"Congratulations," I said to him about the balloon he was holding. He didn't unfreeze it. He looked at me with a sad look and didn't answer. I moved on. Then he came back to me and said, "Thank you for blessing me. I was just worried about how my gifts would be received on Shabbat.".
Eliezer Liani, one of the biggest videographers in the Haredi sector, passed me as he was leaving the wine shop with a fine wine. "Take a picture, take a picture of me, but not the way everyone knows me. Let them see me from the other side too." He posed for the camera, and now you know the likable man behind the video camera lens.
Shabbat is approaching. The company gathers on the street in the open market. Music is still blaring loudly from the wine shops. In the meantime, they dance and sing, and most of all, everyone is in a happy mood for welcoming Shabbat in the market.
The music that echoed throughout the market caught the attention of the child who was in his mother's carrier. His curious gaze caught my eye. I took several pictures, but the one in which his mother is not visible was the one I liked the most.
Haredi photographer Menachem Kahane arrived at the market to film the announcers of Shabbat with the microphone and trumpet. In the meantime, until they arrived to announce Shabbat, he filmed the Jew talking on the phone. The latter quickly ended the call, claiming: "I have to hang up, they're filming me here...""
The candidate of the Haredi and religious parties, Yedidia Meir, arrived at the market. It seemed that he was accompanied by heavy security. Not elected and you are not running, so... and he did not hear the question. He was just happy and content that his little daughter was back in his life, after a cart of sweets at one of the stalls stepped on her foot and caused endless crying and pain.
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