Wonder No Longer (Part 1?)

It was so much fun having my cousin, her husband, and their amazingly adorable 3-year old visit Jerusalem.  Evidence:

these folks ask good questions, including the little one. ("...why?")

Besides providing lots of laughs and good family time, they had a lot of interesting questions about the political situation, religion, culture, food, etc.  Around here, "why" questions are often stubbornly answered with, "Just because" or "Because they want" or "Because they can."  But there are some questions, however superficial they may be, that ARE easily answerable.  And interesting the answers are!


For your education and reading pleasure, here are 3 such questions with their answers, thanks to the ol' Interwebs:


Q: How do they make pita bread with a pocket?

LOOK AT THAT POCKET

A: According to wisegeek.com: "This pocket occurs because of the extremely high temperatures at which the bread is baked. Pita bread must be baked in special ovens that can reach over 700°F, (370°C). At these high temperatures, the dough expands very quickly, separating in the middle and creating a large bubble of air inside. When the bread has finished baking and cools, it flattens out but maintains its internal pocket."

Perfect for sticking stuff inside, like falafel, olive oil & zaatar, spam and pickles (yes, really), and Susanne's famous tunas salad.

Q: Why do most of the homes in Israeli settlements have red roofs?

A:  In this interview with Cabinet Magazine, Israeli architect Eyal Weizman, co-author of A Civilian Occupation: The Politics of Israeli Architecture, explains: "It functions in the settlements as a sign. Many times, settlement building codes require that anyone building their own home must build with this red roof because it's a sign that differentiates the 'us' from the 'them.' And I have heard of a residents' meeting where settlers tried to resist the red roof – saying it's a misplaced European element, etc. – while people from Gush Emunim, the main settler body, forced them to build them if only to show Jewish presence."

Red roofs at Pisgat Zeev settlement in East Jerusalem

While searching for the answer, I stumbled upon this super interesting project called Decolonizing Architecture, which inspired another super-interesting project called Manual of Decolonization.  These projects look at how Israeli settlements in the West Bank can (could) be adapted or transformed when (if) the West Bank is returned to Palestine.

One of the steps in the Manual of Decolonization to reclaiming the settlements would be "de-roofing" them - removing this ubiquitous symbol of colonization from the landscape - and reconstructing happy roofs that blend with the landscape, while possibly providing other architectural advantages explained in Italian here.


Q:  What happens to all of the prayers that get put in the Western Wall?

Prayers awaiting imminent removal and burial.

A:  Twice a year (once before Yom Kippur, once before Passover), all of the weathered wads of paper are scraped out, swept up, and buried on the Mount of Olives.  According to an article in VosIzneas.com:

The purpose is to make room so that people can “insert their prayer notes at the Wall without fear that the notes will fall out and be trampled upon,” Rabbi Rabinovich explained.

The notes, many of which contain the full names of family members, as well as requests for health, sustenance, a spouse, solutions for personal problems, and more, are treated with great respect by the workers.  The workers even immerse themselves in a mikveh (ritual bath) before beginning the holy work of removing the notes.

The notes are removed without the use of metal bars or utensils – which stand for warfare and the taking of life (see Exodus 20,22) - but rather with wooden rods.  Following their removal, the notes are taken to the nearby ancient Mt. of Olives cemetery for burial.