Mevaseret Zion, for newcomers and locals
Places checked against their own sources, this week's Shabbat times and weather, what's on, and the practical answers newcomers ask for.
197 Checked places2 Neighbourhoods & villagesCandle lighting Friday 16:21
Photo: Hagai Agmon-Snir, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab) · Licence (opens in a new tab) · resized and converted to WebP
This week
This week in Mevaseret Zion
א׳ בְּכִסְלֵו תשפ״ז
Shabbat
Parashat Toldot
Friday 13 November
- Candle lighting
- 16:21
- Havdalah
- 17:19
40-minute custom: 16:01
Ben-Gurion Day
- Parsha:Parashat Toldot (opens in a new tab)
- Haftarah:Malachi 1:1-2:7 (opens in a new tab)
- Daf yomi:Bechorot 54 (opens in a new tab)
Readings from Hebcal (Israel schedule); texts open on Sefaria.
Chanukah is coming
Get ready for Chanukah
The first candle is lit at nightfall on Friday 4 December. 23 days to go.
On Friday, light before the Shabbat candles, with candles that will burn until half an hour after dark.
Light the chanukiah
Candles go in from right to left. You light from left to right, the newest candle first, with the shamash.
Spin the dreidel
- Your coins
- 10
- Pot
- 2
You start with 10 coins and 2 in the pot. In Israel the letters stand for נֵס גָּדוֹל הָיָה פֹּה, "a great miracle happened here".
Who are you?
Start where you are
Pick the page that fits you: the first steps, the right places in the directory and the people to ask.
Explore
Everything for life in Mevaseret Zion
Local directory
Places checked against their own source
Every listing links to where its details came from and shows the date it was last checked. Filter by language spoken, kashrut and neighbourhood.
- Home repairs & handymen1 place
- Doctors & clinics2 places
- Urgent care, hospitals & emergency2 places
- Kosher restaurants & cafés35 places
- Groceries & bakeries28 places
- Shuls8 places
- Schools24 places
- Community & youth8 places
- Shops8 places
- Parks, trails & springs1 place
- Yeshivot, seminaries & colleges1 place
- Council & government offices2 places
New in town
Your first weeks in Mevaseret Zion, step by step
The paperwork, the health fund, the bank, the bus card and the arnona office, in the order that saves you trips. Your progress stays on your device.
- 1
Before you land
- Gather original documents
- Check your aliyah file is complete
- Compare the four health funds
- 2
First week
- Install Home Front Command and find your shelter
- Get a Rav-Kav or a payment app
- Open a bank account
- 3
First month
- Register for arnona at the municipality
- Sign up for ulpan
- Meet your absorption adviser
- 4
First three months
- Ask your employer about tax credit points
- Check your National Insurance status
- Decide on health fund supplementary cover
Guides
Practical guides, with the common questions answered
- 01Your first weeks in Mevaseret ZionHow Mevaseret Zion is put together, where the shops and banks are, health care nearby and who to call in an emergency.
- 02The Harel area: the towns and villages around MevaseretAbu Ghosh, Kiryat Ye'arim (Telz-Stone), Har Adar, Motza, Beit Zayit, Ma'ale HaHamisha, Kiryat Anavim, Tzuba and the moshavim of the Jerusalem hills.
- 03Schools and day care in Mevaseret ZionMevaseret's state and state-religious primary schools, the middle school and Har'el High School, yeshivot, and the town's registered day-care centres.
- 04Shabbat, shuls and mikvaot in Mevaseret ZionMevaseret's Orthodox shuls and Reform congregation, its two mikvaot, and the candle-lighting question so close to Jerusalem.
- 05Shopping and food in Mevaseret ZionThe Har'el and Mevaseret malls, supermarkets, delis and bakeries, Abu Ghosh's hummus and how to check kashrut.
- 06Things to do around Mevaseret: the Castel, Abu Ghosh and the Jerusalem hillsCastel National Park, Abu Ghosh's Crusader church and music festival, lookouts, Halilim Park and the Biblical Garden at Yad HaShmona.
The place
A town on the Jerusalem hills
- Above sea level, 10 km west of Jerusalem
- 750 mAbove sea level, 10 km west of JerusalemSource (opens in a new tab)
- Maoz Zion and Mevaseret Yerushalayim united
- 1963Maoz Zion and Mevaseret Yerushalayim unitedSource (opens in a new tab)
- Residents (2024)
- 24,409Residents (2024)Source (opens in a new tab)
Mevaseret Zion seen from the Castel National Park
Photo: Dr. Avishai Teicher, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab) · Licence (opens in a new tab) · resized and converted to WebP
Useful apps
The apps people here actually use
Organisations newcomers use
From our network
Good people I work with
A few organisations from the Consult With Ari network whose work reaches people in Mevaseret Zion.
These are not paid listings, and they are separate from the checked directory.
Common questions
About this site
Run a business or a community here?
Get listed free, or get a website that works
I'm Ari, and I built this site. Listings here are always free and never paid placement. I also build websites for businesses, shuls and organisations. If you'd like one, book a free call or message me.