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Published: August 12th 2008
Chagall windows
At Hadassah Hospital in their synagogueShalom, everyone. Thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with my journey - its trials and tribulations, its joys and passion. While this visit to Israel has been most memorable, I look forward to returning to a semblance of normalcy in Minnesota. There, my journey will definitely continue...
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Okay, so I’ve humbled myself a little bit in regards to Tish B’Av, this fasting holiday mourning the destruction of the Temple. I have since learned that several tragic events in Jewish history happened on this date or close to it, so observance has come to include those as well.
A group of remaining summer students and staying-for-the-year students gathered last evening to enjoy an end-of-Shabbat-getting-ready-to-fast potluck meal, davening, and then a walk to the “egalitarian” section of the Wall to read from the book of Lamentations and have the evening service. We had a lively conversation while waiting for the gates to open for us to get to the Wall. I better understand what the destruction of the Second Temple means to Judaism and to Jews. It goes further than the actual Temple but reaches across our history where as a people
we’ve endured many tragedies: we’ve been expelled from countries, denied access to Jerusalem, suffered forced conversions, been blamed for many economic and social problems (Hitler wasn’t the first), and so on. I really don’t understand why so many peoples and countries hate us, for use of such a strong word. In any case, the Second Temple was really the last time we as a people were unified and had any semblance of people hood under one kingdom. So, this fast holiday, to me, really commemorates our long history in the Diaspora without a common unity, which probably will never happen because there’s so much tension among the different Jewish denominations anyway. It’s a constant debate here and in the US of what constitutes the “right” way of being Jewish, as if there’s only one way to be Jewish! Oy!
Of course, as I mentioned, Judaism has moved beyond sacrifices but it never occurred to me that a “rebuilding” of the Temple could mean something different. It could be a reunification in some way other than the sacrificial worship and culture that preceded its destruction. It could be a completely new form, a new “kingdom” of the Jewish people, so
Chagall windows
This one specifically is of Joseph. to speak. Something to ponder!
So, in keeping with my new found knowledge and enlightenment, I fasted. Well, until after today’s afternoon service in any case. I started to get light headed so felt I’d done the observance justice by then. Besides, back home in most congregations, Tish B’Av passes by virtually unnoticed. I certainly wasn’t very aware of it. But then again, I’m realizing how much about Judaism I’m not aware of!
Okay, I confess, it was part Jewish guilt and part the fact that most shops and sites were closed today that I fasted. I really picked a lousy time to stay a few extra days in Jerusalem, unknowingly, of course. A friend and I had considered a trip to Safed for a couple days but because of the holiday, we figured nothing would be open and then I leave on Tuesday. This morning, I did manage to get in a visit to Hadassah Hospital to see the Chagall windows. Tomorrow, I make up for this inertia by spending the day at tourist sites in the Old City (and not just shopping!)…
Monday, August 11, 2008
As promised, I spent the day in
the Old City with a friend, Michelle. I got up earlier than I had been getting up since the session finished and went on a Tunnel Tour, something that only opened in the 1990s, I believe. The Western Wall that is exposed today is only a small part of the entire structure that makes up King Herod’s Temple Mount area, the platform that once held our Temple and now holds the two mosques I visited earlier in my stay. Excavating to unearth the remaining part of the Western Wall started in the 1970s but was slow due to all kinds of obstacles - politics, tensions, people living in homes built up against the wall, lots of debris and sewage, and so on. But these painstaking efforts to uncover this important piece of Jewish history has paid off. Once again, I am fascinated with King Herod. I was awestruck to see how perfectly chiseled each mammoth stone was and how he used the existing mountain as part of the base for the platform. We also saw the Herodian Street where a market once most likely sold animals for sacrifices among other business transactions.
I also found out it was Prime
Tunnel Tour
The "rest" of the Western Wall. Notice the one stone at the bottom with rectangle cuts in it - this is one stone almost 2 school bus lengths long. Minister Ehud Barak’s visit to the Tunnels that sparked the second Intifada. I was under the impression, from the media, of course, that he had visited the actual Temple Mount, which is under Muslim authority. Of course people would then be upset, even though many Jews and other non-Muslims had been visiting the area for years. But he had actually visited the newly opened Tunnel Tour that I had taken today as a way to commemorate this great achievement in restoration and excavation. A legitimate visit, in other words. But some Muslim groups saw it as a political move and reacted. Sadly, it’s hard to keep politics out of history and I really wish both sides would quit fighting long enough to see what treasures there are to be found for everyone. Not only are there Jewish artifacts just waiting to be discovered, but also Christian (since Jerusalem had a period of being predominantly Christian at one point) as well as Muslim.
Another sad thing I learned - the Muslim authorities are digging out parts of the Temple Mount area to accommodate the vast numbers of pilgrims they get there and are dumping piles of debris in the nearby
valley. Archeologists are finding many artifacts from these ancient times in the debris but aren’t allowed to enter the actual site to help with anything that might be of significance. But the really sad part is now when something is found during the digging that might be of importance, it is destroyed. My teacher from this last session has an “in” with the archeologists who are working the site and who stage regular protests to the authorities to let them do their job without regard to politics. And the Israeli government is hesitant to step in for fear of repercussions. Sad.
The historical and archeological layers run deep in this city as do the tensions, mistrust, and suspicions. I know there are groups out there trying to bring all sides together and I pray they are heard above the rhetoric and noise of those who want to keep things embattled. Oh, and in case one sees this as a one-sided commentary, there are extreme Jewish groups that have talked about blowing up the Dome of the Rock in order to build the third temple. Now there goes a brilliant idea!! (please note sarcasm…) I can barely fathom what kind
Tunnel Tour
A water channel that Herod cut off in order to build the Temple Mount. of mess that would create… Oyd vay…
It is definitely time for me to come home. Too much passion for me to handle, esp. when it feels like there’s nothing I can do about it. Of course, there are many things I can’t do a thing about and learning to let go of what I don’t have control over has been a process but boy can some things get me simmering!!
And as for the rest of my day? Oh yeah! After the Tunnel Tour, which I did solo, I met up with Michelle and we visited the Tower of David/Citadel Museum. This museum is actually an archeological garden of sorts from the fortress built at the Jaffa Gate, one of the entrances to the Old City. Here we went on a guided two hour tour that took us through Jerusalem’s history from the Canaanites to the modern State of Israel. More history! I enjoyed putting the historical pieces of the puzzle together, even if it was just an overview.
We then spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the streets of the Jewish and Christian quarters. It’s really easy to just wander there. I still get
that beckoning call when I peak down an alley. If I had been on my own, I may have been more tempted to explore some of them. Instead, I took pictures.
Since it is considerably cooler and more comfortable in the evenings than during the day, I started packing. Got most of it done so that I only have odds and ends to do tomorrow. My flight is still on time and as scheduled; flights are known to get canceled lately due to low ridership. I think that is happening back home, too.
My final day here, tomorrow, is going to be rather uneventful so I’ll spare the suspense and write about it now. It’s really rather predictable. I’m going to treat myself to breakfast at the Holy Bagel (still love the name) and do some more shopping. Imagine that…!
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