Not Balabusta, Balabasta!

balabasta, noun (Hebrew) - literally "come to the mall,"  a centennial carnival.

Machane Yehudah, Jerusalem's large spawrling outdoor market, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. If you ever want to experience a wondrous mass of humanity the best day to visit the Machane Yehudah is Friday when much of the city descends on the market to buy provisions for Shabbat from pita to fresh fish to hummus and, of course, freshly baked rugelach from Marzipan.

A Sea of Humanity at an Entrance to Machane Yehudah 

I had thought that Friday at the market could never be outdone in terms of the number of people who are present.  Boy was I wrong.  Tonight my RLI colleagues and I joined members of the Hartman Institute's North American Scholars Circle (http://www.hartman.org.il/Programs_View.asp?Program_Id=26&Cat_Id=290&Cat_Type=Programs) for an excursion to to Machane Yehudah to experience Balabasta, - a carnival of sorts replete with street performances, concerts, giant puppets, DJs and bands - held every Monday evening in July to commerate and celebrate the shuk's centennial.  I was amazed to see the overwhelming mass of people who had converged to shop, but mostly to join in on the carnival like atmosphere.  

A Band Plays Atop the Stalls at Machane Yehudah

A Flower Clad Balabasta Dancer Entertains the Crowd

After shopping and watching the entertainment both on the street and above the market stalls my friends, Rabbis David Cohen and Alfredo Borodowski, and I had dinner at my favorite restaurant in Machane Yehudah, Okhlim Bashuk, a neighborhood establishment frequented first and foremost by Israelis.  Every day the resteraunt's menu changes.  You walk up to an array of 6-7 large pots and choose your entree, usually a selection of some of the most mouth-watering Yemenite quisine.  It's Israeli comfort food at its finest.

Dinner at Okhlim Bashuk, Yummy!

We then returned to one of the Shuk's main arteries for more balabasta, but the crush of humanity was so acute that we decided to leave and make our way to the relative quite of Ben Yehudah Street for some shopping, before finally walking home.  After an intense and full day of havruta and study at the Machon (today's subject was Hilkhot Melakhim: Foundations for Political Community) experiencing the balabasta at Machane Yehudah was the perfect way to end a great day.