Friday, May 21: Return to Life Through Contrology was the title of a 1945 book by German fitness expert Joseph Pilates who suggested the best way to stay healthy and strong was to work one group of muscles against the other. Like Moshé Feldenkrais, Pilates strongly believed mind and body are interconnected and preached a holistic approach to treat modern illnesses which included what foods to avoid and even how to take showers. His system, which his US students made world-famous and named in his honor, is offered today, for gratis, at the First Station at 10 a.m. Why not treat yourself to what may very well be the first step to a new you? Other classes such as Yoga and Zumba are offered on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. respectively.
First Station summer free movement classes are meant to take part weekly until October. All classes are held under the Purple Health Badge guidelines.
Saturday, May 22: Writing in the Yiddish monthly Yontev-bletlekh printed in Warsaw in the end of the 19th century, Yiddish writer Yitskhok Leybush Peretz addresses the upcoming holiday of Passover, saying “Don’t tell me to count plagues either! I have forgiven the Egyptians a long time ago.” Now the Khan Theater is adapting his 1909 novel In Time of a Plague at a highly unusual production performed at Hansen House, a location which used to treat lepers when Peretz was alive.The original novel, which describes two characters, a medical doctor and a yeshiva student who are happy (for different reasons) that their town is faced with a plague, has been transformed into a nightly visit at Hansen House where the audience is invited to tour the grounds with costumed actors, both Hebrew and Arabic speakers, who will present them with the mysteries of the place using the plot device of lepers putting on a play based on the Yiddish story. Will a “Black Wedding” between an orphan boy and a girl end the health crisis? The audience is advised to dress warmly and arrive half an hour before the show begins. The experience involves walking between the different spaces and live music will be performed during the show.
A Wedding In Times of Plague is a joint production by the Khan Theater and Hansen House: 14 Gedalyahu Alon St. [Hansen House] 9 p.m. Tickets are NIS 120; NIS 75 for senior citizens. For more, see: www.khan.co.il/eng
Monday, May 24: The magic of Hebrew letters will be explored in depth at this free online Hebrew lecture by graphic designer and scholar Yaronimus who will discuss the DNA of the Hebrew letters with members of the public. This is the second meeting in an ongoing series of lectures held by the National Library. This lecture will focus on how archeological discoveries made in the 1950s and 1960s have made an impact on the typography we read today.
“The DNA of the Hebrew Letter” by Yaronimus will be held online between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. Register via: www.nli.org.il/
Tuesday, May 25: Morrissey suggested in 1991 to “Sing your Life.” Now, residents of Jerusalem will be able to walk right up to the microphone and name all the things they love, all the things they loathe, as the television show X-Factor is seeking talents. Why not you?
The X-Factor auditions will be held at 22 Emmanuel Moreno St., Pisgat Zeev from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Participation is free but call Lior Alon at 050-262-2504 to pre-register.
Wednesday, May 26: YogaPoint offers an online Ashtanga Yoga beginners class and various yoga classes on location at their 23 Ramban St. studio. If you feel that the past few days have been extremely stressful and are seeking to breathe and ground yourself why not take advantage of their May sale? A month-long Zoom pass would cost NIS 99 and a 10-class pass would cost NIS 400. Ashtanga (Eight Limbs) Yoga was introduced to the West by the late K. Pattabhi Jois and attracted many practitioners, among them Sting.
YogaPoint online Ashtanga Yoga Beginners class (fundamentals) 7:15 p.m. (the class is both online and on location) at the 23 Ramban St. studio. To pre-register: (050)-950-9404 (Omer Hagai) or yogapoint.co.il@gmail.com.
Thursday, May 27: Artist Micha Ullman presents his Kabbalistic body-table, where the spheres on the tree of life are filled with sand which flows through the channels, as part of the “Landscapes of the Body” exhibition at the Israel Museum Jerusalem (IMJ). The work is one out of 140 artworks, by a variety of artists and from different cultures and times, which present various aspects of the bod: from acupuncture points in Chinese medicine to German depictions of the body as a house, to a massive 1990s painting of a female nude by Jenny Saville. A free guided tour will introduce some of these works, such as prehistoric fertility figures, to the public at 12:30 p.m..
Guided tours at the IMJ are free but one must sign up for them at the information desk before they begin. On Thursday, the museum opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. Other days are: Tuesday 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Wednesday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. One can, of course, visit the museum at any time regardless of the guided tour. Children (ages 5–17) enter for free on Tuesday and Saturday as well as during the entire month of August.
Tickets are NIS 54 for adults, NIS 39 for students, senior citizens and disabled persons. IDF soldiers enter for free. Tickets must be bought online before arrival. 11 Ruppin Blvd.; (02) 670-8811.
Throwing a good party? Opening an art exhibition or a new bar? Bringing in a guest speaker to introduce a fascinating topic? Why not 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. While all information is welcome, receiving such notifications is not a guarantee they will be featured in the column.