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city story of Haifa

Haifa is the number one port city in Israel overlooking the Haifa Bay along the Mediterranean coast. The city also spans over the entirety of Mount Carmel giving the whole area a very unreal almost fantasy-like appearance with the mountain meeting the beautiful coastline. The city plays host to a number of groups including Jews, Christians, Arabs, Druze, and those of the Baha'i faith which has created a diverse cultural scene in addition to a major center of faith for just about every Eastern born religion under the sun. 

The History of Haifa

In terms of Judaic history, Haifa is first mentioned by name in the Talmud sometime between the 1st and 4th centuries CE. The city is referenced in relation to the murex snail which was farmed in the town near Haifa. This snail was used to produce the purple and blue dyes used for coloring tallit, Jewish prayer...

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Upcoming events


Karmiel Dance Festival

The Dancing Festival of Karmiel is an annual Summer fiesta filled with incessant dancing over the period of three days and nights. Five hundreds dancers from all over the country and the world perform in dozens of shows in front of thousands of visitors. The festival includes more than 80 shows in multiple venues and contains various dancing styles such as classical, modern, jazz, hip-hop, ethnic, and more. The festival starts with a colorful parade of 3,000 dancers accompanied by authentic orchestras. There are a variety of competitions that take place throughout the festival based on choreography, popular dancing, and particular dance sytles such as Jazz. People of all ages from all over are invited to join in this joyous festival and dance away!


Haifa Wine Festival

The Haifa Wine Festival is the largest wine festival to take place in the north, featuring wine, champagne tastings, food stalls offering cheese and deli selections, as well as live music. The event will showcase some 30 local winemakers and serves to promote the local community and wine culture in northern Israel.

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Upcoming days


Shavuot

Shavuot, the feast of weeks, is celebrated seven weeks after the second Passover seder. Although Shavuot began as an ancient grain harvest festival, the holiday has been identified since biblical times with the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. The word Shavuot means "weeks", and it marks the conclusion of the Counting of the Omer. Its date is directly linked to that of Passover; the Torah mandates the seven-week Counting of the Omer, beginning on the second day of Passover, to be immediately followed by Shavuot. This counting of days and weeks is understood to express anticipation and desire for the giving of the Torah. On Passover, the people of Israel were freed from their enslavement to Pharaoh; on Shavuot, they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God. One of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals, Shavuot is traditionally celebrated in the Land of Israel for one day and for two days in the Diaspora. While there is more awareness of the festival in Israel among secular Jews, generally Shavuot is widely ignored by non-practicing Jews. The practice of staying up all Shavuot night to study Torah – known as Tiqun Leyl Shavuot – is linked to a Midrash which relates that the night before the Torah was given, the Israelites retired early to be well-rested for the momentous day ahead. They overslept and Moses had to wake them up because God was already waiting on the mountaintop. To rectify this perceived flaw in the national character, many religious Jews stay up all night to learn Torah. Any subject may be studied on Shavuot night, although Talmud, Mishnah, and Torah typically top the list. People may learn alone or with a chavruta (study partner), or attend late-night shiurim (lectures) and study groups. In keeping with the custom of engaging in all-night Torah study, leading 16th century kabbalist Isaac Luria arranged a recital consisting of excerpts from the beginning and end of each of the 24 books of Tanakh (including the reading in full of several key sections such as the account of the days of creation, the Exodus, the giving of the Ten Commandments and the Shema) and the 63 tractates of Mishnah, followed by the reading of Sefer Yetzirah, the 613 commandments as enumerated by Maimonides, and excerpts from the Zohar, with opening and concluding prayers. The whole reading is divided into thirteen parts, after each of which a Kaddish d-Rabbanan is recited when the Tiqun is studied with a minyan. Today, this service is held in many communities, with the notable exception of Spanish and Portuguese Jews. The service is printed in a book called Tiqun Leyl Shavuot. There exist similar books for the vigils before the seventh day of Pesach and Hosha'ana Rabbah.  

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אתרים מומלצים Sites to see

Sites

Stella Maris Monastery

The Stella Maris Monastery or the Monastery of Our Lady of Mount Carmel for monks is a 19th-century Discalced Carmelite monastery located on the slopes of Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Another Carmelite monastery of the same name is reserved for nuns and is located higher up on Mount Carmel. The complex of buildings, including the lighthouse, is known as "Stella Maris". The Carmelites form to serve and live the Gospel for their spirituality. Their knowledge of spirituality comes from the experiences of the “great prophets” of the Discalced Carmelite Family: Teresa of Jesus, John of the Cross, Therese of Lisieux, Edith Stein. The monastery's main church resembles the shape of a cross. Its dome is decorated by colorful paintings based on motifs from both the Old and New Testament: Elijah rising to heaven, David stringing his harp, the prophet Isaiah, the Holy Family and the Four Evangelists. Latin inscriptions of biblical verses are written around the dome. The altar stands on an elevated platform situated above a small cave associated with Elijah. The cave can be reached from the nave by descending a few steps and holds a stone altar with a small statue of Prophet Elijah. The altar above the cave is dominated by a statue of the Virgin Mary carrying Jesus in her lap and holding the Scapular in her right hand, known as Our Lady of the Scapular. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the patroness of the Carmelites, and as such is known as "Our Lady of Mount Carmel". New embossments dedicated to Carmelite figures are hoisted on all four corners of the central hall. On the western wall of the church is a large organ that is played during religious ceremonies and at special church music concerts. Image contribution: Shmuliko, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons; Iliakriv, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

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Tours of Haifa

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מסעדות בסגנון יהודי RESTAURANTS

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מדריכים בעיר CITY GUIDES

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World Jewish Travel Official April 15, 2024

Haifa, Israel: You Go to Jerusalem to Pray, Tel Aviv to Play, and Haifa to Do It All

Haifa is the number one port city in Israel overlooking the Haifa Bay along the Mediterranean coast. The city also spans over the entirety of Mount Carmel giving the whole area a very unreal almost fantasy-like appearance with the mountain meeting the beautiful coastline. The city plays host to a number of groups including Jews, Christians, Arabs, Druze, and those of the Baha'i faith which has created a diverse cultural scene in addition to a major center of faith for just about every Eastern born religion under the sun. 

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Summary
Welcome to the World Jewish Heritage (WJH)’s first e-book: The Top 100 Ethnic Restaurants in Israel! This e-book is the first of many planned e-books, each painting a different picture of the Jewish heritage experience.
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Summary
A visit and vacation in Haifa is a truly unforgettable experience, including a wide range of sites and attractions that blend seamlessly into the unique and superb scenery visible from every part of town. Haifa’s residents enjoy giving a warm welcome to tourists and visitors and are proud to share the beauties of their city and offer help whenever possible.

Hotels in Haifa

Hotels

Carmella Boutique Hotel

The Carmella Boutique Hotel is a restored historic building in the old, green heart of the Carmel. The hotel offers its guests personal hospitality, unique rooms and the perfect location. Carmella, a concept boutique hotel with a pampering spa, centrally located in the heart of the Carmel, offers a unique hospitality experience. Every item in the hotel has been chosen and placed with thought, precision and great love, from the spacious pampering beds, to the original artwork on the walls, the manicured gardens and the authentic cafe tables. The Carmella Hotel is located in a historic Templar stone building in the heart of the Carmel, on 130 Hatishbi Street. Adjacent to the hotel is the old and green Mother Garden, and the Haifa Zoo. Nearby are several other of the city's attractions - the Louis Promenade that overlooks the beautiful Baha'i Gardens and offers breathtaking views of the bay, auditorium and cinematheque, museums, music clubs, cafes, state-of-the-art restaurants, specialty bars, art and fashion stores. In every application, you will discover something unique that only in Haifa has a multifaceted eclecticism. It is the perfect location to experience the unique spaces of Haifa, and to set off on a stroll through the unique streets, alleys and corners that only those who know the city well know about. A short drive and you are down, in Hadar and the regenerating lower city, in the beautiful German colony and the port complex, which in the evening becomes a center of entertainment and a vibrant culture. The staff of the Carmella Hotel will be happy to guide you through the ups and downs of the city, directing you to the interesting exhibition, festival, show or experience point or experience to the perfect place to have a glass of wine. The magical and authentic atmosphere of Carmela will meet you even before entering the hotel. The beautiful structure, built in the early 20th century by the Templar settlers, almost commands the guests to slow down, a little and enter the period. This is the moment to look at the precise architecture of the period, and the meticulous conservation work done on the site. The hotel's café slides out onto the garden plaza, which is an indoor and outdoor meeting place. The hotel's spa and its intimate and stylish rooms combine the relaxed atmosphere connected to the pampering spa garden of the outdoor jacuzzi and relaxation areas in the hotel gardens. On the walls hang the woodwork of Tamara Morgenstern, a Haifa-born artist who specializes in restoration and preservation. But beyond the design, to the original and restored furniture items, to quiet and green, Carmela offers a personal, intimate and attentive hospitality experience. A sense of home away from home, of relaxed elegance that celebrates all that is beautiful and good in life, to unforgettable memories.

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See the overwhelming reaction from the press, by downloading our free pressbook. Special thanks to Moshe Gilad of the @haaretzcom for highlighting this forgotten but important story in the Galeria section of the newspaper and available to download on WJT.

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👉Link to WJT Jewsih Silk Rad Pressbook and more is in our bio

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The Pressbook celebrates the one year anniversary of the Jewish Silk Road Portal launch, an amazing example of using Jewish travel as a means of cultural diplomacy, whilst highlighting the significant Jewish contribution to the ancient trade route. Kudos to our participating partners from the Kiriaty Foundation (Turkey), National Board of Tourism of #Georgia, National Board of Tourism of #Uzbekistan, and Israeli Embassy of #India.

See the overwhelming reaction from the press, by downloading our free pressbook. Special thanks to Moshe Gilad of the @haaretzcom for highlighting this forgotten but important story in the Galeria section of the newspaper and available to download on WJT.

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