Advertisement
Published: December 19th 2008
Edit Blog Post
At the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv
"Three things intrigue us when relating to Jewish cultural heritage. The cycle of time. The writing hand capturing time & events. The deleting hand that attempts, time & again, to erase heritage." 037 - Israel - Tel Aviv
11/30/08 - 12/09/08
Sweet and Sour Holy Land
written by Hannah Israel and the Palestinian territories are home and holy site to the 3 major monotheistic religions; Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. How sweet it is to see a harmonious coexisting of these three in a country that has over 4,000 years of wars, possessions, and rulers.
One of our favorite things about traveling is the first-hand education you receive in country. Israel really shocked me though: like the city of Nazareth (known as being Jesus' childhood home) is a Muslim city! The Jews have another city down the road called Nazareth Illit. That the Sea of Galilee has banana trees lining its shore, and in Jerusalem there is more strife between sects of the same beliefs than between the three main religions (who live in very close proximity and are respectful of each other).
My strong desire to visit the 'Holy Land' comes from being raised with a Jewish heritage and practicing the high holy days into my teens. Then later, when I became a Christian, I studied the bible at a conservative Christian college. My blood and beliefs
The Western 'Wailing' Wall in Jerusalem
Legend has it that prayers placed in this wall are more likely to be heard. are rooted in this controversial land, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit while we were in the area.
We planned three days for each of three major area's; Tel Aviv, Galilee, and Jerusalem. Our first days were spent in Tel Aviv, which reminded us both of San Diego. Bronzed fit bodies exercising on the beach, palm tree lined streets, and new beautiful buildings. We went to the Diaspora Museum on the Tel Aviv college campus and spent 4 hours in rapt attention learning everything about the history of Judaism, every rise and fall, exodus and homecoming. It was a great introduction to the country we would be exploring. The ancient port town of Jaffa borders Tel Aviv to the south and we took an excellent (free) walking tour through the newly renovated and extremely artsy area.
Next we stopped in Nazareth which is most famous as the town where Jesus spent his childhood. There is an awesome church called the Basilica of the Annunciation, which happens to be the largest church in the Middle East. Supposedly it sits on the site where the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was pregnant with the Son
of God. Our favorite part about the church is that many countries from around the world have sent mosaics with their interpretation of holy mother and child... so we saw a little baby Chinese Jesus, little baby Thai Jesus, little baby Nigerian Jesus, etc.! USA's mosaic was the most awesome, by the way! Alas, we chose to follow adult Jesus to the Sea of Galilee to check out where his ministry blossomed.
I had the
great idea to rent bicycles and ride from Tiberias to Capernaum, about 16 km one way. As I said before, it was quite a shock to see the sea, which is actually a lake, lined with verdant green banana trees. We cycled to Capernaum where Jesus preached, healed the sick, and picked up many of his disciples. There is a fascinating suspended church over what is thought to be St. Peter's house. Interestingly, all the ruins we saw were dated after the 2nd century, everything except an old boat that was discovered along the shoreline. Although we are relatively young and fit, it takes a special person (read: ass!) to sit on a tiny bike seat all day and we spent the next few
days recovering by walking all over Jerusalem.
Now Jerusalem, the fascinating city with over 3,000 years of intense history and the holiest sites in the world. Jerusalem is where the Jewish temples were built and destroyed, leaving only the outer wall which is known as the 'Wailing Wall'. Jews were worried after the 2nd temple was destroyed that they might step on something holy so they stood (and still stand today) at the wall to offer prayers. Nico and I both wrote prayers that we placed in the wall. Atop the wall is the area known as Temple Mount and the gold plated Dome of the Rock which was erected by Muslims in 688 AD to memorialize the rock where Abraham prepared to sacrafice his son, and Mohammad launched himself heavenward to take his place along side Allah. The whole Temple Mount area was given to the Muslims sometime in the 1960's. Sadly we arrived in Jerusalem on the 2nd major Muslim holiday - Eid, so the Temple Mount was closed to the public and we only got views from afar.
Just down the street is the most famous site/church in the Christian world - the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre - which is said to be the place where Jesus was nailed to the cross, died, and rose again. There are actually 6 different denominations that own a share of the church: Roman Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Coptic, Ethiopian Orthodox, and one other I can't remember.
This was the sour part, the stories of fighting (literally fist fights), jealousy, and turf wars among these groups. Most recently, a group of Greek Orthodox priests got in a fight with Armenian Orthodox priests in the actual church (the news reached us while we were still in Athens)! It seems that it's always been this way, even since the Ottoman Empire. In fact a Muslim family was asked to hold the keys to the church, each morning opening the doors and each night closing them, and that tradition still holds to this day. My favorite thing about the Christian faith is their strong belief in Jesus' examples and teaching 'Love your neighbor as yourself'. How sad that the people who own the most sacred site and proclaim holiness haven't grasped His most important commandment. Then I was gently reminded of another great teaching - “Judge not lest ye
At the Diaspora museum in Tel Aviv
"This is the story of a people which was scattered over all the world and yet remained a single family: a nation which time and again was doomed to destruction and yet, out of ruins, rose to new life." be judged”. We left the church and it's inhabitants to the will of God and went to see another holy man... my step-brother Josh!
Here is a little known fact about me: I have a step-brother who is a Hassidic Jew and lives outside Jerusalem! We hadn't seen each other since we were 15, and his life is very different from mine, but I had to see him and his new family. Josh was married a little over one year ago and just had a beautiful baby girl. Incidentally, they named her Chana. It was really neat to meet his wife, hold their tiny baby, and ask a million questions about their lifestyle.
What an awesome and educational visit through the Holy Land and definitely a worthy stop on our trip!
Next, we head through the West Bank to check out the Dead Sea and Masada, before crossing the border into Petra, Jordan!!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.259s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 10; qc: 49; dbt: 0.1375s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Anne Clark
non-member comment
Beautiful timing for your visit & message
What a beautiful message at a wonderful time. Love to you both, and such a wonder that you have come to these understandings at such an early age. Where will it lead you!