The Old City

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We started the day at the Jerusalem Archeological Park. We entered the park through the Davidson Center, where we were able to see some of the artifacts discovered in the area. We were also able to look at on overall model of the City. We watched a movie presentation about what the Temple may have looked like in the time of Y-shua. Then we entered into the park near the southwest corner of the Temple Mount. We were able to see the remains of the street and some of the buildings from the time of the Second Temple period. We were also able to see the corner piece that archeologists believe may once have been where the Levites stood to blow their silver horns based on a fragment of an inscription that was found on these stones.

Then we climbed around to the south side of the walls. Here we saw the remains of mikvahs, ritual baths used to cleanse and purify oneself before entering the grounds of the Temple. From the mikvahs, we climbed the steps towards the Huldah Gates. These steps were built deliberately with unequal lengths so that worshipers could not hurry to the Temple. They were forced to proceed slowly and perhaps reflect on their reason for approaching the Temple. Nearby we could also see the remains of walls from the period of Turkish occupation of the City. There were also many plants around us including: rosemary, hyssop, and hadas (myrtle). Our guide told us that such plants were often allowed to grow around residences and important buildings because although they have a pleasant aroma to humans, they don’t smell good to animals, and so the fragrance of these plants often kept animals away from them and things that they were planted near.

After the archeological park, we entered the Old City via the Dung Gate. It is called this because in medieval times Muslim families from villages outside the City walls used enter through the Dung Gate and dump their garbage there to keep Jews from approaching the area near the Western Wall of the Temple Mount; they believed that doing this would earn them a special blessing. At the Dung Gate, we had to go through a security screening. This is done as a precaution to protect worshippers at the Kotel (the Western Wall, or the Wailing Wall as some call it). All of us were able to visit the Kotel today and have the opportunity to pray there.

I know I have said this before, and probably you think I am exaggerating things, but this is another one of those things that you have to experience to fully understand. It is only since the Liberation of Yerushalayim in 1967 that we have been able to freely visit and worship at this place. That, in and of itself, is a blessing, but there is so much more to it. It is a place full of prayer and supplication to the L-rd, and from the moment you enter the Plaza, you can feel the reverence for the place and for the L-rd that is expressed here. You approach the Wall slowly, waiting your turn to get near it, and then you are able to touch the stones for yourself, perhaps to leave a note in the cracks between them or to wrap yourself in prayer, and the Presence of H-shem. I can’t tell you what it feels like…it is a much too personal experience. When you have finished praying, you back away from the Wall and allow someone else to approach. It is the custom here not to turn away from the Wall because the Presence of Aveinu Malkeinu (our Father and our King) resides here, and one never turns their back to the King. So you back away from the Wall until reach the point where it is acceptable to turn around as marked by the stones of the Plaza.

After spending time at the Kotel, we were able to take a tour of the tunnels under the Western Wall. The Old City used to sit much lower than it does today, but centuries of conquerors have built their cities on top of much older ones. Today the remains of the ancient City are rich, he archeological treasure trove. Walking through the tunnels, we were able to see the ancient foundation stones of the Western Wall from the Second Temple period as well as the bedrock upon which they were built. We were able to the arched domes and pillars built by later conquerors that were used to create the foundations of the city that built above. We also saw another blocked up gate at what is now called Wilson’s Arch that once led directly into the Temple complex.

Following the tunnel, we reached a spot that is considered to be the portion of the Western Wall that is closest to where the Holy of Holies once lay, and here there is a small chamber that is used as a synagogue where only women are permitted to pray. Later in the tunnel, we saw the remains of an unfinished street from the Herodian period, and the cisterns for water storage that once formed part of the moat of the Antonia Fortress. The fortress was named for Herod the Great’s patron prior to the era of the Caesars, Marcus Antonius (or Mark Antony as we call him today. It was situated directly next to the Temple for two reasons. First, the Roman occupiers feared a revolt would occur during the busiest days of the Temple, the three festivals where Jews were commanded to travel to there: Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Feast of Weeks), and Succot (Feast of Tabernacles), and they wanted to be able to immediately access the area to quell any attempted revolt. Second, the Temple was in close proximity to gates that led out of the City, and in the event of an attack on the City, they wanted to be able to use those gates to go out and defend the City.

From the tunnels, we took a walk back to the Jewish Quarter. There we had a quick lunch of falafel (It is kind of a local version of fast food. They do have the kind of fast foods you're familiar with, but really, there is not a McDonalds on every corner here like in the States, and by the way, McDonalds here serves falafels). Then it was off to the Temple Institute. The Temple Institute is a collaboration of rabbis and scholars dedicated to research and education regarding the various aspects of the Temple. They are using their research both to educate people about what the Temple was really like and preparing the implements and articles necessary for the Temple when it is rebuilt. They are going to painstaking efforts to make sure that each item exactly matches the prescriptions and account listed in the Torah. They have many of these items on display where we were able to see them, including the Temple Menorah which is made of 95 pounds of gold. We were also able to see a scale model, accurate to the tiniest detail, of what the Second Temple looked like in the time of Y-shua.

We went from the Temple Institute to the Herodian Quarter. Like the tunnels under the Western Wall, these are excavations of the Old City under the houses that exist above them. We were able to see the house of a wealthy family from the Herodian period (these would have existed during the time of Y-shua). It was built on many levels with an open air courtyard, and the rooms were decorated with plaster walls painted with colorful frescos and mosaic tiled floors. Archeologists believe, given its proximity to the Temple, the artifacts found here and some fragments of inscriptions, that the home likely belonged to a family that was a part of the priestly aristocracy.

After the Herodian Quarter, we walked around the Jewish Quarter again. Our guide showed us some of the Diaspora synagogues. When Jews first began returning the City, they established synagogues were the services were conducted in the same manner and language as they had been in the countries they had left. Today, these synagogues are known as the Diaspora synagogues. As we walked, he also told us some of the history of the Jewish Quarter including the siege and destruction of the Jewish Quarter by the Jordanian army during the War of Liberation and the Liberation of Yerushalayim during the Six Days War. Some of those who died defending the Jewish Quarter from the Jordanian army were no more than 14 years old. We ended our walk at the Hurva Synagogue.

The synagogue was originally built during the 1800s with special permission from the Turkish Sultan who controlled the City. At the time, Jews were not being allowed to construct new synagogues in Muslim controlled areas due to the Law of Omar, a law passed in the 1400s which forbade the construction of any new churches or synagogues. However, there was a loop hole in the law that allowed synagogues and churches to be rebuilt on the site of previous ones. It was declared that a synagogue had previously existed there, and so the Hurva Synagogue was permitted to be built. At the time that it was built, the Hurva Synagogue was the first grand Jewish building to exist in Yerushalayim since the destruction of the Temple.

During the War of Liberation, the Jewish Quarter was attacked and sieged by the Jordanian army. In the midst of fighting house to house, they destroyed many places, but their worst act of willful, unnecessary destruction was when they blew up the Hurva Synagogue. When the City was liberated in 1967, one free standing arch and a portion of one of the original walls were the only remains found of the once beautiful synagogue. They have just recently finished rebuilding the Hurva Synagogue, and they have done their utmost to rebuild it exactly as it was prior to its destruction. Into the new structure, they have incorporated the wall and the arch of the original to preserve them and retain them as a memorial of what happened. The new Hurva Synagogue is tremendously beautiful, with painted frescos, stained glass windows, and the largest Torah Ark in perhaps the world, all painstakingly recreated from photos and art depicting the originals. We were allowed to take pictures inside and even climb to the roof to take pictures of the City. We could even see part of the top of theTemple Mount itself. It was just amazing!

As you can see, it was a day full of interesting and exciting things, and there is still more to do. I have a feeling that we could spend months here and not run out of things to do. Time seems to be rushing so fast, but I am trying to savor every moment that we have, and I am storing up the memories like precious treasures.

Shalom Alechem!

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Comments

[patty]

Your articles and pictures are so enjoyable. It's very inspiring.

[Theresa C]

The Old City
You mention many archelogical escavations and I wondered if these are special religious archeological teams comprised of orthodox archeologists or archeologists given special permission to work in deepl significant locations? Also, the chamber/synagogue where only women were allowed to enter and pray.....why only women? Finally, it often boggles my mind to think about all the wonderfully beautiful, wonderfully historical and wonderfully religious buildings and places that have been destroyed by war......even a war for religious reasons. You are very fortunate to have visited those places in your lifetime. Those are memories you can pass onto your children. Enjoy the remainder of your journey! Theresa C.