Editor’s note: Due to the ongoing security situation, events listed below may be postponed or canceled. Check before booking, and stay safe.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24
Visit the Bar Bahar (Bar in Mountain) café at the Nahal Sorek visitor’s center and enjoy delicious food while overlooking the stream that lent the center its name. You can also view Nahal Katlav and Nahal Hame’ara. Bar Bahar offers a lavish menu that includes Vescovi coffee, salads, freshly baked pizza from its stone oven, and a selection of whites and reds by Seahorse Winery.
After resting, visitors can decide on what to see next in the vast park. Families can walk to the site of the old Deir Esh Sheikh Rail Station, which used to serve passengers between Jerusalem and Jaffa. Water from Katlav Stream fed the steam engines of these trains. Today called Bar Giora Station, it is an educational spot for rail fans.
Cyclists in good shape can enjoy the Sorek bike path (5 km.), and there are more adventures to those who enjoy walking.
Bar Bahar is open every day from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call (02) 533-3889 to learn more.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25
Marvel at the operatic genius of Giacomo Puccini when you take your seats at the Jerusalem Theatre and enjoy the second act from Tosca, followed by Il tabarro (The Cloak) performed by the Jerusalem Opera.
Baritone Florin Estefan will perform two “bad guy” roles tonight. The first role is of Baron Scarpia, who forgets God because he loves Tosca so much. The second is that of Michele, who is unable to confront the end of his marriage and murders the man he suspects of seducing Giorgetta, his wife. Soprano Yasmine Levi-Ellentuck will perform as Tosca and as Giorgetta.
8 p.m. Roughly two hours and 15 minutes. with one intermission. 20 Marcus St. NIS 160 per ticket. Call 1-700-40-4000 to book. Italian with English and Hebrew subtitles.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26
Enjoy an evening of jazz at Igra rooftop on Davidka Square. Patrons are warmly invited to bring their own musical instruments and see if they find partners to play with.
8 p.m. at 67 Hanevi’im St. (formally Abraham Hostel). Free. For more about Igra, visit tenejlm.co.il/en/.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 27
Visit Feel Beit and watch the documentary film Daytrip, screened as part of the Jerusalem Women’s Film Festival. Director Roni Aboulafia depicts the lives of four Afghani women desperate to escape before the Taliban take over after US forces evacuate. The women are a judge, a police officer, a singer, and a horseback riding expert. They reach out to American-Israeli reporter Dana Herman who, against all odds, puts together a team to get these brave souls out.
Patrons will be able to meet Aboulafia and discuss the film with her after the screening.
8 p.m. 4 Naomi St. For more, visit www.jwff.co.il/en. The festival will continue until Friday, October 31.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28
Watch F in the System, directed by Guy Cohen, an absurdist performance during which one deeply troubled stand-up artist and four actors attempt to take on this entirely messy cosmos. Highlights include a sketch about taking out the trash, which leads to the painful realization that all of us make our own garbage and just pretend it vanishes after the collectors empty the bins. It will be shown as part of the Circles Festival in honor of the late Sara Norman. The festival begins today and ends on Thursday, October 30.
Other shows include the premiere of Three Days and a Child. Originally published by A. B. Yehoshua in 1965 and adapted to film by Uri Zohar two years later, this is a new and bold adaptation by Nir Strauss. The plot is about Dov, a man who decides to look after a three-year-old child from a former lover of his. Dov decides to murder the child, who was fathered by another man, but will he? (Wednesday, October 29, at 8:30 p.m.)
Psik Theater. 18 Mesilat Yesharim. Visit psik.org.il/maagalim-2025/ for more. Hebrew only. NIS 50 per ticket.
* Note: Zikuk (fireworks) Festival at Mazkeka (see Thursday)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29
Sit back in the comfort of your own home and enjoy an English-language lecture on Alexander the Great in Jerusalem. Presented by Ory Amitai and moderated by Prof. Erich Gruen.
Jewish tradition has never been shy about describing the famous ruler of much of the ancient world, but how much of it is grounded in reality and how much is motivated by political or cultural needs? Offered by friends of the American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR), the online talk will be presented at 7 p.m.
Visit www.asor.org/ to sign up. Free.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30
Now is a great opportunity to attend the Zikuk (fireworks) Festival at Mazkeka and enjoy live music. Hindustani Dhrupad singer Jerusalem-based Shira Whitman will perform at 9:30 p.m. Dream Pop band Shen (Tooth) will take to the stage at 11 p.m. Readers might want to check out the band’s third album, Ghost Land, when it is released.
The four-day festival takes place from October 28 to October 31. Free. 3 Shoshan St. Visit mazkeka.com/en/ for more.
Throwing a special event? Opening an art exhibition or a new bar? Bringing in a guest speaker to introduce a fascinating topic? Email hagay_hacohen@yahoo.com and let In Jerusalem know about it. Write “Jerusalem Highlights” in the subject line. Although all information is welcome, we cannot guarantee it will be featured in the column.