Editor’s note: Due to the ongoing security situation, events listed below may be postponed or canceled. Check before booking, and stay safe.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31
Enjoy the annual Jerusalem Open House event and visit the 1917 Musrara building where Black Panther revolutionary Charlie Biton once lived.
Biton is famous for the 1970s “milk heist” – an attention-grabbing act in which he and other Jewish Mizrahi activists stole milk bottles from the doorsteps of wealthy Rehavia residents and left a note saying the milk was taken this one time to feed poor Musrara families who couldn’t afford it. In his day, Biton was a famous radical activist.
The house has been lovingly renovated by its current owners, the Schor family. While visitors are welcome, the family is religious, so the visiting hours today are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Free. No registration needed. This site is one of many offered in the Jerusalem Open House program. Visit batim.itraveljerusalem.com/en to learn more and sign up.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1
Listen to the Bertini Choir perform the German-language oratorio Elijah by Felix Mendelssohn, with conductor Ronen Borshevsky leading the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.
Lauded as an artistic and spiritual triumph when it was first performed in English in 1846, it is the story of the fiery prophet, as described in scripture, set to music. The oratorio will be celebrated on stage in the original German, with baritone Oded Reich taking on the role of Elijah.
The performance is about 150 minutes but, as the Bertini Choir will remind patrons during the second part of the evening, Wer bis an das Ende beharrt (He that shall endure to the end, shall be saved).
8:30 p.m., Jerusalem Theatre, 20 Marcus St. NIS 160. Call 1-700-70-4000 to book.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2
Join a reading group, led by Jerusalem educator Shlomit Boni at Muslala, and explore with others The Art of Seeing Things.
Released by Nine Lives Press, this anthology presents the reader with such diverse thinkers and authors as American naturalist John Burroughs, who lent the book its title, and Byung-Chul Han, a Korean philosopher based in Germany.
The Muslala balcony opens at 5 p.m. The reading group will meet at 6 p.m. In Hebrew. 97 Jaffa St. Free. Call (02) 999-6016 to learn more.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3
Take a stroll and visit Adraba Books in Rehavia. Committed to offering English-language books at affordable prices, the store also offers Hebrew poetry, the latest publications by independent publishing houses that explore Jewish thoughts, and children’s books.
Readers might be curious to pick up the latest release, The Dialectics and Faith of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Joseph Weiss’s remarkable study of the hassidic master, published by Blima Books.
Those hailing from Maine might enjoy reading Atlantis, a study of the American Dream by Ron Maiberg.
Then head out with your new book to the Coffee Mill in the German Colony, where the historical covers of The New Yorker on the wall offer inspiration as you sip your beverage.
5 Ben-Maimon St. Bookstore hours: Sunday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday from 9 a.m. Call (02) 567-1266 to learn more. It is also possible to offer to sell books from your own collection. The Coffee Mill is at 23 Emek Refaim St.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4
Watch Tuesday, After Christmas, an unusual Romanian film by Radu Muntean about an unfaithful man in today’s Bucharest. He is ordered by his wronged wife to maintain pretenses that all is well with their household until the holiday is over, so they don’t upset their son.
Village Voice film critic James Hoberman lauded the film, saying this seemingly simple human affair has “the tension of a thriller.”
8:30 p.m. In Romanian, with Hebrew subtitles. NIS 35. Cinema by Sam Spiegel, 3 Menora St. Visit cinema.jsfs.co.il to book.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5
Visit HaMiffal and take an evening drawing class with artists Noa Pardo and Omer Peri. It is possible to take a single class, or attend the entire 12-session program, which will meet weekly. The activity is suitable for participants of all levels.
7 p.m. 3 Hama’aravim St. Three hours. NIS 1,550 for the entire 12 sessions. Visit hamiffal.com/en/home to learn more.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6
Return to Musrara and visit the Naggar Multidisciplinary School of Art and Society to see the works shown at the Ekva (Trace) exhibition and attend a performance of the sound-work Edvot (Water Ripple) by Aya Lion, followed by a discussion with curator Dr. Yoni Niv about the exhibition.
The group exhibition at the Musrara gallery explores the various ways that humans leave traces behind them in marks on paper, movements in space, or sounds produced and recorded.
Special attention is given to attempts to form a written language (graphic marks on paper) to describe dance movements, such as the Eshkol-Wachman movement notation.
7 p.m. at 22 Shivtei Yisrael St. Free.
✱ Head to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Givat Ram campus and listen to A German Requiem by Johannes Brahms, performed by the Jerusalem Street Orchestra, with the lavish stained glass window crafted by Mordechai Ardon serving as a mystical backdrop.
Baritone Yair Poloshook and soprano Tal Ganorwill will sing, respectively, in this musical expression of grief and hope.
The Germanic aspect in the title of the work is linguistic, as Brahms opted to turn to the Lutheran tradition and not that of the Latin requiem. He avoided any mention of Jesus, to boot.
Audience members familiar with German will no doubt be moved when, reflecting on the hostages who recently returned from their captivity in Gaza, they hear the words of the prophet Isaiah: Die Erloseten des Herrn werden wieder kommen und gen Zion kommen mit Jauchzen – “Those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing” (Isaiah 51:11).
8:30 p.m. NIS 120 per regular ticket. Tickets are offered at NIS 30 as well. Patrons can also pay more than the regular cost to show their support. To book, visit eventer.co.il/brahmsrequiem.
Throwing a special event? Opening an art exhibition or a new bar? Bringing in a guest speaker to introduce a fascinating topic? Email hagay_hacohen@yahoo.com and let In Jerusalem know about it. Write “Jerusalem Highlights” in the subject line. Although all information is welcome, we cannot guarantee it will be featured in the column.