Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] Speaker A: We go to the church to light the candle from the church and to bring it to our homes. And we collected a lot of mummy on this day and also sweets, Kit Kat, lots of things. So it was the day that we waited the whole year to collect and be rich in this day, which means to, to bring the light from the church to our houses.
[00:00:30] Speaker B: This is the inside scoop Jerusalem with.
[00:00:32] Speaker C: Your host, Nicole Jansenzia.
Welcome. Welcome to the Inside Scoop Jerusalem. This is your host, Nicole John Cesian, Italian American, New Yorker by birth, Armenian, Jerusalemite by marriage. Here to introduce you to the previously unheard of by most of us happenings in Jerusalem and to unlock the mysteries of this highly charged city where the bazaar occurs on a daily basis. So you heard in the intro, a little preview from Sosei Krikorian about an armenian holiday that I never even heard of before this year, and I still can't pronounce it. I asked for a little help.
[00:01:23] Speaker B: All right, so first of all, how do you pronounce this holiday?
[00:01:28] Speaker C: Diarrantarach Duran Duran. Diarran tara Daran Tach.
[00:01:36] Speaker D: It's a very, very difficult word.
Sorry. No, I'm trying to think how to pronounce.
[00:01:43] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh.
Do you know me?
[00:01:47] Speaker D: No, no, I'm another. You don't pronounce it properly.
[00:01:51] Speaker B: Okay.
How do you even pronounce this thing?
[00:02:07] Speaker C: Okay, what they said. We will get to that and unpack this surreal armenian observance in the last portion of this episode. But first, let's start with the quotes of the week.
US President Joe Biden was caught on a hot mic saying that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must have a, quote, come to Jesus meeting about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Okay, pause. Biden just said that he told the leader of the jewish state he must have a come to Jesus moment.
Bibi doesn't even know what that means.
I asked some of my jewish friends. They have no idea what this means. They don't even believe in Jesus as the messiah. So coming to Jesus, it's not only unrelatable, it's like borderline offensive.
So here's the hot mic quote from Biden. I told him, Bebe, and don't repeat this, but you and I are going to have a come to Jesus meeting.
So what did Netanyahu say? He said, I'm not familiar with that term, even though Jesus wasn't born far away from here. But I can tell you if that means having a heart to heart conversation. We've had plenty of those. The phrase is used like saying someone needs to see the light. But perhaps see the light would be better than telling the jewish leader he should come to Jesus.
So speaking of stepping in it, quote number two comes from Israel's robotic and dry minister of defense, Yoav Gallant, who recorded a blessing warning for the Palestinians for the month of Ramadan. Here's how it went, partially in Arabic and partly in Hebrew. First, he congratulates Muslims on the month of Ramadan. Then he ominously switches tones and says, we are aware that the month of Ramadan may be a month of jihad. We tell everyone who is thinking of trying us, we are ready, don't make mistakes. Then he switches lanes again, congratulating Muslims and reiterating Israel's respect for freedom of religion. And then he ends with wishing Muslims Ramadan Kareem. Now, I thought that was a little bit schizophrenic and apparently I wasn't alone.
I could always count on the israeli Saturday Night Live Eretz Neder Derett, which took full advantage of the moment. They did a parody of the Ramadan blessing warning Ramadan Kareem and dear Balak, which means you better watch it.
Then they dragged the parody into a warning for israeli kids celebrating Purim, which will be coming up next week, wishing them a happy holiday. But don't try us, don't use your cap guns. Pour him some math. And dear Balak. Then he went on to. Well, this is the character playing galant, the defense minister. He went on to wish Israel's Eurovision representative good luck during the contest in Sweden coming up in May. He warned the judges they better give Edin Golan twelve points, the highest score. Otherwise the israeli army will rain its wrath on Europe.
We came to sing don't try us. Eurovision Karim and Dir balak.
Last but not least, tension soared last week over the ever ongoing debate. Mandatory military service for the haredi, or ultra orthodox Jews. Currently, these communities, which make up 13% of the population, are exempt from serving in the army.
Now, of course, this has risen to the surface now because Israel is in a long term war and its secular population is the one suffering the casualties, with hundreds of soldiers killed and tens of thousands currently serving in active or reserved duty. But as the debate resurfaced last week, the chief sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Youssef warned, if you force us to go to the army, we'll all move abroad. Now, mind you, if he says that they all will move abroad and they take this, they get this exemption somehow from the government and they argue that studying Torah should be placed above army service and actually work.
The rabbi said. All these secular people don't understand that without Kolels and yeshiva's, the army would not be successful. The soldiers only succeed thanks to those learning Torah, Arie Golan, an israeli radio host, said about the move overseas, more or less. Good luck with that. In every other country, they drive cars on Shabbat and they'll make you pay taxes.
But the quote of the week doesn't go to the chief rabbi, who threatened to pull his million strong community out of the country, but to Yaakov Katz, former editor in chief of the Jerusalem Post, who, who wrote on the platform formerly known as Twitter, can I volunteer to buy his one way ticket to leave? Israel would be happy to pay for it. Now, that right there sums up the sentiment of many Israelis.
Okay, so since my last episode, Ramadan began, and just two days into the muslim fasting month, a twelve year old palestinian boy was shot and killed by israeli police while he and some other kids were shooting off fireworks. Police say the kids were pointing the fireworks in their direction, and so they fired at them.
Israel's minister of national security, Itamar Ben Guvir, not only defended police, he called the officer who shot the child a hero. So while it may appear that Ramadan is passing peacefully, it's like roiling under the surface. There have also been several terror attacks, many of which ended with the palestinian assailant killed and minor injuries on the israeli side. So the quiet is somewhat deceptive, as it had been before the month started. But you can listen to last week's episode for better explanation about this deceptive calm and also what we can expect this month.
On the other hand, despite some sort of crowd control and scuffles on day one, now israeli police are allowing people for prayers with very few restrictions. As had been previously expected, an estimated 80,000 Muslims visited the al Aqsa compound on the first Friday of Ramadan for prayers.
That's comparable to previous years, actually.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just approved plans for an attack on Rafa, the southernmost city in Gaza. This is where more than a million Gazans already displaced have sought shelter. And it's possibly the last holdout of Hamas and perhaps where the remaining 130 israeli hostages are being held.
Not sure if this will happen during Ramadan or after, but of course, we will be following this. And as the humanitarian crisis continues in Gaza, where Hamas puts the death toll at above 30,000, US President Joe Biden announced that the US will build a pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies. To Gaza. This could take up to 30 days, so it looks like we're really in this for the long haul. The rationale for this is that somehow getting the aid in by sea will be less dangerous than by land. And, yes, by air. Five kids were killed by a parcel of aid airdropped via parachute by one country into the Gaza Strip. And in two other incidents, Palestinians were killed during ground delivery of aid. In February, more than 100 people were killed when Israel fired on the crowd gathering at the aid convoy. But Israel says its soldiers were only fired warning shots and most people were killed in the ensuing stampede. Then in March, 20 people were killed. And again, the narratives are different. Palestinians say israeli troops fired on them when the convoy of aid entered Gaza, while Israel says it was the palestinian gunmen who fired on their own people. There have also been reports coming out of Gaza that Hamas militants are tightly controlling the distribution of aid and killing people who try to get some for themselves. There have also been reports of a crazy black market in Gaza where a dozen eggs can cost you, like, $100 and a sack of flour can cost you 50.
Now let me take you to the armenian quarter of Jerusalem's old city. On February 26, the church was open for special evening prayers. St. James is lit only by gas lights or the natural lighting that filters through the windows. But it was nighttime, and so it made for this ethereal mood in the church, as the armenian clergy chanted and sang and children were carrying their lit up oranges that were carved into jack o lanterns. After the church service, we gathered in the vaunted armenian parking lot for music, dancing, and a bonfire.
Yes, this event was all at once spiritual, raucous, festive, and dangerous as people leapt through the flames of the bonfire.
And, of course, this happens on different dates in Armenia and the rest of the world. It is on the evening of February 13. But due to the different calendars used in Jerusalem, where things are typically more complicated, it is, of course, on a different day.
Rather than attempt to explain this myself, I spoke with residents who were celebrating on February 26. Here is Sose Creekorian.
[00:12:24] Speaker A: It means Diyaran, I think.
Arach going to God.
[00:12:30] Speaker B: Okay. And do you know what this holiday is about?
[00:12:34] Speaker A: Yes. When Jesus, he was 40 days old, his parents, they took him to the temple. So it is that day. And Simeon Zeruni, he welcomed him. And it was meant that he has to see the son of God and later to leave this world. So it is that day that we are celebrating.
[00:12:56] Speaker B: Okay. And so it's not just in Jerusalem that this happens. It happens also in Armenia, or Armenians all over the world will observe this holiday in Armenia.
[00:13:07] Speaker A: It is called also de rendez, de rentes. De rendez. So, yeah, I think it is armenian thing, because other christians, I haven't heard that they have this celebration, let's say.
[00:13:20] Speaker B: Okay, and what does the fire. And I see there's kids also walking around with little oranges that have been made into, like, jack o lanterns. Like, what do those things have to do with this holiday? Yeah.
[00:13:34] Speaker A: So the fire, it represents light, which is God. So. And at the same time, it comes from the Godstown atheist. So it was the day when the people, they used to pray to the fire. So when christians came, they took the same tradition, and they added to the same time, like, the same timetable of this year, so that the people will have something from the ate ism to Christianity.
[00:14:11] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. That's a great explanation. I had no idea. I've been living here for 20 years. I've been married to an Armenian for almost 19 years, and I never participated in this celebration.
What's the best part?
[00:14:27] Speaker A: The best part, it is when every kid on this day, they have to get an orange, a big orange, or it can be a palm, and we design it by crosses, by other designs, and we make it like a candle. Like a big candle. We go to the church to light the candle from the church and to bring it to our homes. And when I was a kid, we used to go from door to door, from home to home, inside the neighborhood. We used to sing, and we collected a lot of money on this day. And also sweets, Kit Kat, lots of things. So it was the day that we waited the whole year to collect and be rich in this day, which means to bring the light from the church to our houses.
[00:15:15] Speaker C: You can follow Sosay on social media. I'll put the links in the show notes next. I interrupted some of the elders playing rummy cube to ask them about it.
[00:15:25] Speaker B: Do they also observe this in Armenia?
[00:15:29] Speaker D: This is.
[00:15:31] Speaker E: Yeah, they do in the Armenia, according.
[00:15:33] Speaker D: To the georgian gregorian calendar, not the julian calendar. They had done the holiday already.
[00:15:40] Speaker B: So do we go here?
[00:15:42] Speaker D: Jerusalem. We are Julian 40 days after the birth.
[00:15:46] Speaker B: Okay, but do we consider that the birth was January 19?
[00:15:50] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:15:51] Speaker B: So how is this 40 days later? Is it 40?
[00:15:55] Speaker D: It is 40.
[00:15:56] Speaker B: So it's 40 days, but it's also somehow associated with the pagan ritual.
[00:16:04] Speaker D: That means the holy fire.
[00:16:07] Speaker E: They believe the fire.
[00:16:10] Speaker D: In the sun.
[00:16:11] Speaker B: The worship of fire in the sun.
[00:16:14] Speaker D: Fire and sun God. The zoroastrian zoroastrian religion.
[00:16:21] Speaker B: So did this become christianized after Armenia became a christian nation?
[00:16:25] Speaker D: Yes. So after Armenia in 301, they had to keep this tradition somehow.
[00:16:36] Speaker B: Is this. What's the temple? It starts with the g, right? Garni. So was this associated somehow with Garni?
[00:16:45] Speaker D: In Armenia, there are fire worshipers and they have a section where they do the service there, the pagan temple, the pagan holiday.
[00:16:54] Speaker C: And lastly, Aram Kachtorian, who is a tour guide, explained it from a different aspect.
[00:17:00] Speaker E: Simon the just was dedicated in the temple, and Simon Josasti died at old age. In Armenian, we say Simone Zeruni. Simon the old. Yeah.
[00:17:12] Speaker B: Okay. And this is to do with the 40 days when Jesus was presented at the temple, right?
[00:17:18] Speaker E: Yes.
[00:17:18] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:17:19] Speaker E: Yeah.
This is the first. The start of the Lent. The first day, 40 days of the Lent when Jesus was dedicated to the temple. And then after Lent comes the Holy Week. The Holy Week. Holy Wednesday, Holy Thursday, watching of the feast, Holy Friday, Holy Saturday and Sunday. And one week before is Easter, Easter, Palm Sunday.
And then one week after is Easter.
[00:17:51] Speaker B: Okay, so you're saying this is the beginning of Lent? Other people were telling me that it's the 40 days since the birth of Jesus.
[00:18:02] Speaker E: 40 days of Lent, yeah.
[00:18:04] Speaker B: But is it 40 days since the birth of Jesus?
[00:18:08] Speaker E: Yeah, it could be four days.
Yeah. So four days from the birth of Jesus.
[00:18:13] Speaker B: Okay. And it's the 40 days until Lent.
[00:18:15] Speaker E: Yes.
[00:18:16] Speaker B: Or of Lent. Okay. All right. But then also, are the different calendars involved? Like, for instance, are Armenians in Armenia celebrating this on the same day, or did they celebrate it according to a different calendar?
[00:18:30] Speaker E: Yes, they celebrate one week before.
Yes. One week before in Armenia. So we celebrate a bit late. Yeah.
[00:18:37] Speaker B: Oh, that's so interesting.
[00:18:39] Speaker E: And this year, our Easter, and all the Orthodox Easter is on the 5 May, and Palm Sunday is on the 28 April. And for the Catholics, on the 30th or the 31 march is already Easter. So there are five weeks. So it's this year. So it doesn't happen very often. But this year, our Easter is in the first week of May.
[00:19:10] Speaker B: Okay. What does the bonfire have to do with this holiday?
[00:19:15] Speaker E: Okay. The bonfire is that Armenians, they were heathens, and then from heathens they came to Christianity. So that's why. But still they keep the traditional, the. The fire. So in our church, we also will keep the fire. The fire is eternity. Yes.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: Okay. Oh, that's awesome.
And what about the oranges? Does that have any significance?
[00:19:43] Speaker E: Children, they carry oranges, and inside there they put the candles.
It's a tradition in the church and outside yeah, and on the oranges they make crosses and put candles and the lights.
[00:20:11] Speaker C: This was all so fascinating and new to me, even though it's this ancient holiday. I did a few lives from there, so I'll add the links in the show notes so you can also see what was happening here in Jerusalem. There is so much more to unpack about the armenian traditions and history in general and here in the Holy Land. And trust me, I will. So stay tuned.
And speaking of calendars and different dates for the christian denominations, I created a free holiday guide for this spring 2024. In it you will get the dates of all of the major religions holidays this month and an explanation about the separate Easter celebrations of the christian churches and why they are on different dates. I'll add a link to that in the show notes.
Please take the time, if you can, to subscribe to this podcast on your favorite platform and leave a review which will help me get the word out to many more curious souls such as yourself.
Until next time, this is the inside scoop Jerusalem.
[00:21:44] Speaker E: Let your push down, open up, close.
