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Published: August 9th 2015
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The castle on the top of the hill
How many steps does one need to climb to reach it ? too many So what makes something survive, revive and create? What is in the DNA of a city that vibrancy is so strong that it is almost as if you can feel the spirits of past generations pouring energies from above. Prague !
The 3 hour drive from the Vienna airport to the Czech Republic was actually rather boring, we drove through a non defined geographical area that didn't impress and what i would describe as nothing.
You couldn't be prepared for the sudden change, the oasis of buildings with beautiful designs and unique colors, the cobble stones or the red roofs decorated with gold shining in the sun. We landed on Thursday morning only to arrive in Prague at 5 pm planning to put our baggage down in the room and then walk the streets for a pre run.
We did put our bags down and ourselves and woke up the next morning at 6 in a total blur of where we were and how we got there and realizing that we only had Friday and Shabbat before we continued our journey to the Dolomites - So at 8 we were ready to hit the bricks.
Although we
started our touring at 8 the heat wave that followed us from israel was in full swing at 38 degrees. We drudged up to the Castle which is situated upon steep hill looking for shade and a grande cup of ice tea from Starbucks. A MECHAYA!
Two hours later we were walking through the
Old Jewish Cemetery that lies in the Josefov, the Jewish Quarter Of Prague. The history was fascinating - so if it interests you - keep reading this part. It was in use from the early 15th century (the oldest preserved tombstone, the one of Avigdor Kara, dates back to 1439) until 1787. The numbers of grave stones and numbers of people buried there are uncertain, because there are layers of tombs. The theory is that there are approximately 12,000 tombstones presently visible, and there may be as many as 100,000 burials in all. The most notable personalities buried in the Old Jewish Cemetery are Yehuda ben Bezalel known as the Maharal (d. 1609),
It is not clear when exactly the cemetery was founded. Some claim that the cemetery is over 1000 years older than the accepted date, which is the first half of
the 15th century.
Because the Halacha states that it is prohibited to destroy Jewish graves or to remove the tombstone this meant that when the cemetery ran out of space and purchasing extra land was impossible, more layers of soil were placed on the existing graves, the old tombstones taken out and placed upon the new layer of soil. This explains why the tombstones in the cemetery are placed so closely to each other. This resulted in the cemetery having 12 layers of graves. Sounds like what's happening in Jerusalem.
We couldn't visit without having some beer so off we went to the town square where we drank some beer before we had an amazing shabbat with chased and 200 other guests and where Jeff was in heaven from devaning at the shul where the Maharal prayed some 500 years ago....
So has the Jewish part of Prague succeeded in Surviving and reviving? - After spending the weekend here I really think that the community that lived here so many hundred of years ago was so alive and together that their energies continue and all of us weekenders are enjoying the creative energy they left behind -
LCHAIM!
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Rozi
non-member comment
Thank You!
Thank you for bringing back memories of our mini trip!!! continue to survive, revive and create!