FRIDAY, JANUARY 27
Visit Jerusalem’s Mount Scopus virtually if you’re in Tel Aviv by watching If the Fire within Our Eyes, an art video and exhibition by Shabtai Pinchevsky now showing at the Bezalel Gallery of Contemporary Art (119 Herzl St., Tel Aviv) in the last weeks before the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem moves from Mount Scopus to the city center.
Pinchevsky explores the amphitheater, in use on Mount Scopus since 1925, in the context of a speech. In the address, Pinchevsky implores philosophers to change the world with “fire from our eyes.”
The 2021 video work titled On the Optics of Mount Scopus is in English and is woven together from various historically accurate addresses given at the amphitheater in Hebrew, now read in a neutral voice by the artist. Free admission. Shown until Saturday, March 11.
If you can’t travel to the first Hebrew city, see it on his site: taishabtai.com/On-the-Optics-of-Mount-Scopus.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28
Enjoy a concert with tar player Piris Eliyahu (father of Mark Eliyahu, see Thursday) as he and his ensemble take a magical carpet ride between Hebrew mystic texts and the Judeo-Tat (or Juhuri, spoken by the mountain Jews of the Caucasus) poetry of Zoya Semenduyeva at the Yellow Submarine (13 Harekavim St.)
This is a unique opportunity to enjoy a true master perform. Starts at 10 p.m., NIS 95 per ticket. Call (02) 679-4040 to book.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 29
Watch an online screening of the 2008 documentary Pizza in Auschwitz by producer Osnat Trabelsi and director Moshe Zimerman. The film is about Danny Chanoch, a survivor of Auschwitz who returns to the site (now a museum) with his daughter Miri.
The relationship between father and daughter unfolds as Miri attempts to heal the suffering of her father with a symbolic act – to get a pizza delivered to the museum so he could eat it on his old bunk.
Shown with Hebrew and Russian subtitles. Following the screening at 8 p.m., a Hebrew online discussion will be held at 9:30 p.m. in the presence of Trabelsi and Chanoch. Free admission. Preregister at: en.yonatannir.com/pizza.
MONDAY, JANUARY 30
Watch the 2020 black-and-white movie adaptation of The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis by Joao Botelho at 6 p.m. at the Jerusalem Cinematheque. Based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Jose Saramago, the plot focuses on Reis’s last year of life.
However, Reis is not “real” in the simple sense of that word. He is an invented character created by Fernando Pessoa, who dies before Reis arrives in Lisbon. Poetic and complex, this two-hour film (Portuguese with Hebrew subtitles) will delight anyone interested in the peaks of European literature in the 20th century.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31
Watch the English-language theater production Hard Love at the Khan Theater (2 David Remez St., at 7:30 p.m.). Directed by Aryeh Weisberg and written by Motti Lerner, the show is about a couple, Hannah and Zvi, who end their marriage when Zvi leaves the haredi life behind.
However, when their adult children from their second marriages begin to date, the two are forced to resume their communication. NIS 85 per ticket. The play is in English, with no Hebrew subtitles. Call (02) 630-3600 to book. The play was originally written in Hebrew and was translated by Anthony Berris.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1
Watch back-to-back contemporary dance performances Zazel and Bitter Sweet at the Jerusalem Theatre (20 Marcus St., at 8:15 p.m.) as part of the Jerusalem International Solo Dance Festival winter edition.
Zazel is an homage to the stage name used by Rossa Matilda Richter, who was the first known person to perform as a human cannonball in 1877.
Bitter Sweet is a Turkish-Israeli collaboration between Miriam Engel, Ozgur Adam Inanc of the Istanbul Devlet Opera and dancer Burak Kayıhan. The performance is an innovative dance adaptation of love stories between people and cultures. The one-hour performance has no intermission. Note that smoke is used during the show. Tickets range from NIS 80 to NIS 120. To reserve, call (02) 560-5755.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2
Attend the 6th edition of the National Library’s musical white night event In the Secret of Many Voices, from 8:30 p.m. onward. The first concert is by Mark Eliyahu, a kamancheh (Iranian-bowed string instrument) player who hosts Dudu Tessa and Maayan Linik.
At 11:30 p.m., various artist classes will be on offer, such as a workshop on the spiritual songs of Bob Dylan and a return to the forest of the Baal Shem Tov. Stay for a performance (1:30 a.m.) by Banat el Yemen (The Women of Yemen), an ensemble focusing on the various women’s folk songs in Jewish-Yemeni culture.
If tickets have run out, consider listening to Shiran Avraham’s live version of “Ya Banat al Yaman,” available on the 2018 digital album Shiran (BATOV Records), available at shiran-music.bandcamp.com/album/s-h-i-r-a-n.
Cost is NIS 120 for the full white-night series of events at the National Library. To book, call 074-733-6352.
Throwing a special party? Opening an art exhibition or a new bar? Bringing in a guest speaker to introduce a fascinating topic? Drop me a line at hagay_hacohen@yahoo.com and let In Jerusalem know about it. Send emails with “Jerusalem Highlights” in the subject line. Although all information is welcome, we cannot guarantee it will be featured in the column.
