The Local Tel-Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo Tours
& nostalgic talks
With Michal Minsky
A journey to the old holidays celebrations lectures
A nostalgic, exciting and funny journey to the customs of holidays and celebrations in young Israel, through original photographs, rare videos and old advertisements.
The lectures are also delivered in English.
The length of all lectures is about an hour.
The history of Shana Tova cards
Nowadays, with the deployment of the New Year we send a generic Happy New Year message via WhatsApp or email, but for decades it was customary in Israel and the Diaspora to send Happy New Year letters that were an integral part of popular culture. The New Year Letters were a platform that reflected what was happening at that time and dealt with issues that were an integral part of the daily life of the Jewish people. In this lecture we will embark on a visual journey saturated with kitsch and glitter and review the history of New Year's letters from their birth in Europe in the mid-19th century to the 90s of the previous century: where was the custom born? What were the prevailing images? What did the Israel Post do in order not to collapse during the new year and how did the singer Madonna fit into the custom?
A journey to 1940's-1960's Hanukkah of yesteryear
What does Hanukkah look like in an age where there is one type of donut and spinning tops do not have an electric motor? Feel free to join me on a nostalgic and entertaining journey of surprising stories about the customs of the holiday, anecdotes about light and darkness and an outing to the Hanukkah celebrations in little Tel Aviv. When and how was the spinning top born? Where was the pancake ball held? On what roof has a menorah building stood since the 1920s, and how has life in the city changed following the establishment of the Electric Company? The lecture will also reveal the secret recipe from the 60s for "donuts from yesterday" and orange pancakes!
Purim of yesteryear: From the days of Little Tel Aviv to the 1960s
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Purim celebrations in Tel Aviv have always been characterized by large parties, Adlaide processions, colorful costumes and the first Hebrew city was washed away with celebrations for several days. In this lecture we will review the Purim celebrations in the city from the 1920s to the 1960s: What have been the popular costumes over the years? Who was crowned Queen Esther the First Yemenite and what happened to her? Who is the gang that found itself on the defendants' benches of the British court due to an attempt to sabotage the Adlaideh processions and how the pair of monkeys and puppies from the municipal zoo are associated with the holiday? Together we will embark on an entertaining Purim journey through the city streets.
From the Feast of the Giving of the Torah to the Feast of Dairy - Shavuot of yesteryear
During the Mandate and in young Israel, Shavuot became one of the marginal Jewish holidays, an important and central holiday, symbolizing the return of the Jewish people to their land and the work of the homeland. The Shavuot celebrations were held nationwide, in rural and urban localities and were characterized by masses of children and youth dressed in white, adorned with wreaths and bearers, who flooded the country with processions, mass dances and firstfruits ceremonies. Who initiated the tradition of firstfruits? How did the agricultural holiday become the milk holiday? How did the festivities in the city differ from the rural festivities, and what did those who did not know how to dance folk dances do? All this and more in a nostalgic and entertaining lecture accompanied by photos, videos and other treasures from the archive.