Misconceptions about Israeli people are so rampant.  For example, the myth that Jews are white, and not indigenous to the middle east.  Nothing can be further than the truth.  The fotos I will share here can hopefully give a window into the Yemeni Hena — a Jewish “engagement” ceremony which involves singing and dancing in traditional garb, and painting herbs on the hands of the community to prepare the bride and groom for the wedding.

This ceremony has been practiced in the Middle East by Yemeni Jews for thousands of years.  The Yemenis are obviously not white, and like all Mizrahi Jews, when their temples were destroyed long ago, they spread into surrounding desert — places now known as Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Morocco, Iran, Egypt.   They never left the middle east at all.

It was a profoundly joyous — and clarifying — to experience this indigenous, Jewish ceremony in the original Hebrew Language.

In the Old City of Jerusalem, the stones are shiny, polished from multitudes of feet treading, hands caressing, tears falling.  It is humbling to stand in the presence of so much history, and so much reverence.  Every single day is crowded with pilgrims, a crossroads of faiths for Jews, Christians and Muslims, all in one spot, teeming with holiness and resounding with prayer.  It is at the same time ancient, and modern, from high heels and mini skirts, to traditional black hats and peyotim, to khakhi soldiers with automatic weapons.  Here I placed prayers into the Western Wall, and wailed along with hundreds of Jews from around the world.  Please stay tuned for more about my experiences wailing at the Kotel (Western Wall.)