Mea She’arim

Mea She’arim ("Hundredfold,” an invocation of plenty), just north of Ethiopia St., is the world’s only remaining example of the Jewish shtell communities that flourished in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. Several thousands of Ultra-Orthodox Jews live here as their ancestors did, preserving with painstaking diligence traditional habits, dress, customs, and beliefs. Although relatively few in number, Mea She’arim’s extremists are vocal and receive a good deal of publicity. The Neturei Kaita (City Keepers), the most extreme sect of the Satmar Hasidim, oppose the Israeli state, arguing that Jewish law prohibits the legitimate existence of a Jewish country until the coming of the Messiah. While most other Ultra-Orthodox Jews hold similar views, Neturei Karta went at one point as far as asking Yasir Arafat to accept them as a minority in the future Palestinian state. These views, however, do not prevent the believers from living in Israel and accepting money and protection from the state.

Signs throughout the neighborhood read, “Daughters of Israel! The Torah requires you to dress modestly,” and then proceed to explain exactly what this means. Whether or not you’re Jewish, take this warning seriously; otherwise, you’ll deeply offend those around. Women should be covered to the elbow and knee and men should wear long pants. Don’t fondle your loved one in this part of town, and always ask before you take photographs. Residents have been known to spit on people who don’t conform strictly to their ideas of modesty.

Mea She’arim is probably the cheapest place in the world to buy Jewish books and religious items. Bargaining is the rule for religious objects; try the stores on the easternmost stretch of Mea She’arim St. The neighborhood also has some of the best bakeries in the city. Most remain open all night on Thursdays, baking haltah and cake for the Sabbath. The bakery at 15 Rabbenu Gershom St. (off Yehezkil St.) bakes good, fresh burekos and chocolate rolls.

The neighborhoods of Nahla’ot and Zikhronot, just south of the Mahaneh Yehuda market, are also crowded and predominantly religious. Residents are mostly Sephardic Jews from Yemen, Iran, Turkey, and Morocco, and, increasingly, artists and students in search of cheap housing. The narrow, winding alleys and tiny courtyards are festooned with laundry and lined with barber shops, blacksmiths, and san-d;d-makers.