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Published: July 11th 2010
Shalom again from beautiful Israel!
We listened to one of the most thought provoking lectures yet and by a simply outstanding speaker. The subject was Medieval Christianity and Judisam - great explanations about where so many Jewish stereotypes have come from and why they still exist today. Excellent....
We then piled on a very air conditioned bus and met Amir, our tour guide. He took us to Mount Scopus, the Mount of Olives, from where we took in the best view of Jerusalem. He pointed out the placement of the Jewish cemetary and Arab settlements and the significance of both. Call me one day and I'll be happy to fill you in - just know, nothing is random. It's all done for crazy irrational reasons and those reasons are why nothing can ever be resolved in the Middle East. I feel it with my bones - and even though my intellectual side told me so before, there is nothing like being in Israel and seeing things first hand that can convince me otherwise. Ok, enough social - political commentary for the moment. At the top of Mt of Olives stands a man and his camel. Shelly immediately jumped on the
beast (camel) and got the best photo of the day. We climbed back on our bus and Amir took us back through the Jaffa Gate into the Old CIty. We saw our good friend the sandal man and shortly thereafter, we lost Shelly. She went into a shop, came out, followed a "girl with curly hair" and followed her into the Arab market. She was promptly told she was in the absolute wrong place and now, our Shelly is wandering the markets alone. We weren't that worried about her- she's a big girl and she found a taxi back to the hotel. Out of power cell phones also played a BIG part in all this hilarity...I gues jet lag makes one forget to plug in!
We pushed on to the Church of the Holy Sepuchre - a most important place in Christian history - Jesus was crucified, washed and later put into the tomb - all in the spot of the church. Quite amazing. It's a Greek Orthodox church and there are so many priests and Christian tourists so we could ask for specific information. We'll have to go back privately another time for a more thorough tour because Amir
dragged us out and took us through the Jewish quarter called the "Cardo" built on an ancient Roman street. US has old sites from the first settlers, Europe has the old chruches from the first century, but Israel really beats everything...
We made it to the Kotel (Western Wall) where the decency police nabbed one of our colleagues - "Cover your shoulders!" They hand you a rag so you can be decent. Not stylish, but decent. Our new hotel for Shabbat is lovely and right in the heart of town so we can walk places. Remember the old days when shops were closed on Sunday? THat's Israel on Shabbat (Saturday) No stores, no taxis or buses, no business at all. One shops before shabbat and prepares meals for the next day - no cooking on Shabbat. I discovered the Shabbat elevator - no pushing buttons on Shabbat (that's considered work - no work at all) so the elevator goes all the way up and stops at each floor on the way down. Sure makes for a long ride home! Before the sun went down, we went to the Shuk Marchne Yehuda to shop for essential provisions - water, chocolate, etc.
The worlds most crowded street market and right before Shabbat! Wow! It was wall to wall shoulder to shoulder humanity all bargaining and shouting. We instantly lost 6'4" Derek in spite of his giant shoulders and red shirt...swallowed up by the crowd, but he's a big boy and can find a taxi. We watched Israeli's haggle over fish, dates, fruit, nuts. olives. bread, cookies...I needed a GoldStar beer to relax and let it all sink in. Note - don't drink beer with a straw. I had to take a shower when I got back to the hotel. I lit candles with the really observant women with our group and left Shelly watching the World Cup while we went off to Shabbat service at the wall. For those who don't know, the Orthodox don't allow men and women to pray together and put a curtain called a mehitzah in between. At the wall, we stood on chairs to watch the men dance and pray. We watched as a group of young and old men tossed first a soldier, then a rabbi over their heads in joy. All denominations sing songs and pray together, although the really super ultra Orthodox seem to
congregate towards the left side of the wall up close. I was busted by the Shabbat police for having my camera in hand - no photos afer the sun goes down - forbidden button pushing. I'll never get the rules right! We missed the Yeshiva students marching in - next week, I guess, and walked back to dinner in the dark (no cars). I had a lovely chat with one of the rabbis for dinner about bandaids.
After a lovely day of visiting with San Diego friends (and walking many miles - no taxis or buses) our fearless group set off for Ben Yehuda street. If Israel shuts down at 5 on Friday, it sure comes back to life at sundown on Saturday! It is THE place to be..art, Judaica, shoes, kippot,jewelr, food, ice cream. We were busted by the kosher police when we inadvertently sat with our cheese pizza and hot cocoa in front of the shwarma place. We also ran into Dalia from San Diego and said goodbye to our Beth Am pals.
Today, it's the 4th of July in Israel. That's about it for 4th of July in Israel. Our classes included a remarkable discussion
about the "Final Solution" and a tour of the Holocaust Musuem. Powerful. somber, sobering,educational, sad, enlightening, and emotional. I had the "crying" headache and a lot of second thoughts about eh emotional timing of this trip. I missed my father and my family and when we were done, all I wanted to see were smiling children. I know it sounds crazy, but after the emotion, we went to Old City to eat shwarma and hear people laughing and talking and having fun. Aroma hot chocolate really helped.
More later 😊
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Beth
non-member comment
Thanks for sharing!
Oh Kelli! Thank you so very much for sharing all this!This is wonderful information and pictures!