srettig24 I prefer to travel to places near the off-season because it’s cheaper. Coming from New Hampshire, I knew that even in the winter in Israel it would be warmer than at home. So I skipped leaf peeping and set out for Israel. I knew it would be rainy but I don’t know if I was quite prepared for all the holidays and interruptions during October!
In two words, Religious Holidays. October is packed with holidays in the Hebrew faith, which leaves the normal schedule of life on the back-burner for a lot of the month.
October 4-5 Yom Kippur
October 9-16 Sukkot
October 16 Hoshanah Rabah
October 17 Shemini Atzeret
It is not ideal to be traveling during the holidays simply because the stores are not open and attractions as well. You will have to stock up on food beforehand. Restaurants will also be closed although Israeli food, a combination of dishes from all over the world are not to be missed! But during Friday-Saturday as well as before and after the holidays you might have a hard time finding a Jewish owned restaurant open.
Sukkot
I wanted to include this photo because so many times when we are in a different country we make assumptions based on our own experiences. The picture above- I thought that this was outdoor seating created during the pandemic. Since in the US restaurant created similar structures for outdoor dinning. So I thought that this was the Israeli version. Wow, was I wrong. These are called sukkah which are used to celebrate the holiday of Sukkot. Sukkot celebrates the harvest but remembers the dwellings which were temporary housing that the Israelites stayed in during their 40 years in the desert. After the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. Inside is large enough for people to eat and sometimes people will sleep in it. During Sukkot people do not work and the holiday lasts 7 days.
Not to mention nearly all stores are closed on Friday afternoon if not in the morning and all day Saturday. Oh yeah- and its not just stores its transportation too.
This is because on the Shabbat Jewish people do not use technology on the weekend so no buses are running. If you rent a car you might be nearly the only one on the road.
