Last Tuesday was another OTZMA Education day. We woke up and boarded the bus at 7:00 am again. After an hour and a half or so ride, we arrived outside the Old City in Jerusalem. We were met there by our tour guide, Ariel Fogelbaum and our security guard for the day, Tal. We entered the Old City and made our way through security and up to the Temple Mount. I had no idea where we were as we went through security... and next thing I know we are on this wooden walkway that overlooks the Kotel that I have seen several times before but never been on. We even asked about it on my birthright trip and we were told that we were not allowed to go there because it is too dangerous. Hmm...
So, we go up and through another gate and are met by the Temple Mount police or the security or authority or something like that. They were very very unhappy men. Half of our group was told that we were dressed inappropriately. After 10 minutes of arguing about dress and modesty (a few guys were yelled at for hugging the girls in our group - NO TOUCHING the guard yelled - we didn't know, oops!!), and several people getting yelled at, we were allowed to walk towards the Dome of the Rock.
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| The Dome of the Rock |
Non-Muslims are only allowed to enter the Temple Mount during specified periods and never on Friday, Saturday or holidays. Any Non-Muslim is also not allowed to pray on the Temple Mount or bring prayer books or any other religious items. From Jordanian occupation from 1948-1967, Jews were not allowed up on the Temple Mount at all, nor were they permitted access to the Western Wall. Since the Six-Day War, Israel regained control over parts of Jerusalem however granted control of the Temple Mount to Muslims although it remains under Israeli sovereignty, with the agreement that Jews and Israelis would have access to the Western Wall at all times.
It was like entering a different world, being up on The Temple Mount. In front of us stood the Dome of the Rock. We were given an interesting speech about The Dome of the Rock and what exactly it is. Apparently underneath the gold encrusted dome, there are a series of caves. The Foundation stone rests somewhere (please forgive my ignorance about it... its already been a week and we get SO much info on these days) in the Dome of the Rock. Under the Foundation Stone, it is said that there is a cave called the Well of Souls. The Dome of the Rock is the third holiest site in Islam and it is believed that this is the place where Mohammed rose to the heavens to receive the word of God. For Jews, the Temple Mount is also a very holy place. From what I understand, it is actually the holiest place in the world as it is the location of the Foundation Stone. When we stand to pray and face Jerusalem, we are actually facing the Foundation Stone, not just Jerusalem and the western wall. It is believed that it is from this location that God gathered the dust to create Adam, the first man. It is also believed that this is the location where Abraham took Isaac to sacrifice him in God's name. There are many references to the Foundation Stone throughout Jewish History and many other significant events are believed to have occurred there. Many religious Jews will not actually go up on the Temple Mount as this area is the Holiest of Holies and it can not be determined with 100% certainty the actual location of the Foundation Stone. Therefore, the entire Temple Mount is off-limits to orthodox Jews.
After visiting the Temple Mount (and essentially being kicked off due to the time restraints for visitors) we made our way through a pathway that leads under what used to be homes that now holds many vendors selling souvenirs and other various items. The pathway led us to the side of the Western Wall.
Once we exited, we were given some free time to spend at the Kotel. I always love this time, although it is frustrating due to the difficulty accessing space at the wall. The women's side of the wall is significantly smaller and many women sit and pray in chairs right up against the wall, making access difficult. That is a completely different issue which I will discuss a bit in my next post about Politics and Society in Israel.
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| The view from the women's side of the Western Wall |
Not only am I personally moved by being in this holy place, I find it even more meaningful how many people there are obviously moved and affected by touching the wall. As those who know me know, I am not a particularly religious person (at least not how the Rabbinate defines religiosity). However, I am very spiritual and do feel a strong connection to Judaism. Standing at the Kotel, I always have a moment of awe touching the stones, realizing that against all odds, we as a Jewish people are still here today with a place that we can call our own. A home for all Jews. I am struck by how many times other cultures and religions have tried to rid the world of Jewish people and yet we are still here. It gives me such a feeling of strength and when I am at the wall, with my hands on the cold stone, I can almost feel the lives of all of the Jews that have been there before me... all of the other men and women who have stood in that spot, touching that wall, asking God for whatever is important to them. Even now, it gives me the chills.
When I was on Birthright back in July, we talked about the Kotel before visiting. As mentioned before, when we pray, we face the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. We face the Western Wall. When I am standing there, I feel almost as if I am channeling the energy of hundreds of thousands of Jews who are standing behind me, facing the same wall, praying. I feel as if I am making that connection for them and I can't help but tear up more often than not. I think it probably also has to do with the people around me and seeing their religious connection to the Kotel. All around, women are crying, kissing, touching the wall, with their foreheads pressed up against the cold hard stones. Some women try to jam their tiny pieces of paper into the cracks in the wall which are filled with the prayers of so many who were there before them. Speaking from experience, it can be quite challenging to get your note, however small, into the cracks of the wall. They are jammed full of prayers. If only women were allowed to pray aloud at the wall and to really experience the wall in a way that might be even more meaningful to them. Every time I go to leave, its difficult to step away. I can't quite describe the feeling... its as if I feel as if I am leaving something behind. With each step that I take backwards, I feel more and more like just me again until I am comfortable turning around and really walking away.
After the Kotel, we wandered around Jerusalem some more. We ate a bagel lunch (how appropriate!) and then we were led to what we were told was "some nice gentleman's home". His house was absolutely marvelous. Filled to the brim with books. Everywhere you looked, Jewish texts lined bookshelf after bookshelf of the small home. The walls were lined with pictures of family and I did not notice until later that this was in fact the family home of our wonderful tour guide. He led our entire group up to the roof. The view from the top was astounding. He told us about how he used to spend all of his time up on the roof, studying, playing and even sleeping on the roof when the weather was nice enough. Their house sits on the edge of the Jewish quarter, I believe they said it is the last Jewish building before the Christian quarter. From the roof you can see the Temple Mount, the Tower of David, the Arches on the Mount of Olives, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Absolutely amazing.
Inside their home, you can see the original arches from ancient times. Floors have been added to the home, which was probably originally just a couple of rooms. Inside one of the presumably original rooms, there were beautiful murals painted all over the walls and inside the arches, which tell some of the classic stories from the Torah. I was absolutely astonished at the beauty of their home and the kindness of their family for allowing us inside to see and even inviting us to return for Shabbat, in smaller groups of course! |
| Original arch inside home |
After a short but rather interesting discussion between our tour guides father, my roommate Tracy and I, we left and headed towards the Christian quarter. As we approached the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the atmosphere changed. Instead of walking through streets lined with vendors selling everything from T-shirts to Kiypot to various jewelry adorned with Jewish Stars, we started seeing more and more of these items adorned with crosses. Now, this is not something that I find bothersome, just occasionally bizarre, particularly while walking down an alley in Jerusalem. I think I just didn't realize before that there is a strong Christian presence in Jerusalem so it was new to me. It was also funny to me that necklaces with Jewish Stars and Crosses were both being sold by the same vendors sometimes. If nothing else, Israelis are businessmen ;-)
As you near the entrance to the Church, the narrow alleyways open up into a large square. FILLED with people. All kinds of people. At different times I heard Asiatic languages, Russian, French, German, Italian, English, Spanish... It felt a little like I imagine the Tower of Babel must have felt like. I couldn't make anything out with all the noise and the chaos.
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| Entrance to the cave where Jesus was laid to rest |
We entered the Church and the first thing that we noticed were people crowded around a stone slab on the floor. Due to noise issues and crowdedness, we went first to a room that houses an altar and a glass encased cracked rock which according to Christianity is the spot in which the blood of Jesus dripped down and flowed onto the skull of Adam (the very same Adam who was created from the dust gathered from the Temple Mount). After a moment here, we walked back outside into the main entrance where it was explained to us that this slab of stone is believed to be the stone on which the wrapped body of Jesus was laid (for burial I think?). People were putting various items on the stone and praying while touching the stone, which reminded me a bit of the way that we as Jewish people pray at the Western Wall. I saw one woman opening souvenirs directly onto the slab before picking them up and putting them back in her bag.
As we exited the main room we moved into another dark room. I was surprised at how dark and damp the inside of the Church was. In this chamber, there is a large structure built around two small caves. According the Christian belief, it is in this cave that the body of Jesus was laid to rest and later disappeared from. Another man apparently built the cave as a burial chamber for himself but then gave it up for Jesus to be buried there. There was a line like you wouldn't believe to walk through the two caves and if I remember correctly, there was at least one police officer present to keep the peace as people waited to enter this holy site.
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| Altar in the room leading to burial cave |
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| Flame inside the burial cave |
In the next room, we saw another burial chamber. According to Christian beliefs, this cave was also built by the same man as a new place for him to be buried after sacrificing his original cave to Jesus. This cave is much smaller and the room leading to it has an old altar in the middle. A small opening in the rock leads to the now empty burial cave, which we went inside, a few at a time. Kind of creepy, with only 2 spaces carved out for bodies and a flame which appears to remain lit at all times.
After exploring the Church a bit more, we went to the spot where it is said that Jesus was crucified. We had waited to go up there, and we were not sure that we would be able to due to the lines and lines of people waiting to pay their respects and pray. Again I was surprised by the adornments all along the walls and ceiling. It was such a strange feeling to be in this place and I wondered if the fairly obvious lack of connection that I felt was the same feeling that a non-Jew would have upon approaching the Kotel. I understand that there is a lot of history in this place and that it is very significant in Christianity and I am very respectful of those who visit this holy site... but it was all very foreign to me. I also find it very interesting that the various sects of Christianity all have control over various rooms in the Church. If only we could all just get along like that...
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| The spot where Jesus is believed to have been crucified |
When it was time to leave the Church of the Holy Sepulchre I was more than ready. Not because of anything against the Church, but it was just so incredibly crowded and it was nice to get some fresh air! For our final stop, we went to the Mount of Olives. Again I reached a point in the day where my brain could not absorb any more information. I know that this is a very important Jewish cemetery with many important and influential people buried here dating back to the first temple period. The view from the Mount of Olives is pretty incredible and it was a nice way to end a long but wonderful day.
This education day was particularly interesting (although exhausting) because I had never realized how diverse of a city Jerusalem is and how holy it is to several other religions as well. I think that it is so important that we are able to coexist and live together in peace with other people that this site is significant to. For the first time in Israel, I felt outnumbered, which was a feeling that I had not had since I arrived here. I remembered what it feels like to feel that way. Its not that its a bad thing, but I think that in Israel sometimes it is taken for granted how many Jewish people live here. Being the majority is not something that we as a Jewish people are used to and I think that we have to remind ourselves that while we are a majority here in Israel, we are certainly still very much a minority worldwide. I also think that every Jewish person should visit Israel and experience the awesome feeling of being surrounded by other Jews in a place that is so important to us historically and to our future. We need to strive to remember this and work to make Israel a place that our future generations can come and feel at home and feel completely safe in a way that the Jewish people have never really known. 
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