Journey to Jordan

Sunday morning, December 11, 2011.  Up at 5, luggage out before 6, breakfast at 6, rolling at 6:30.  The good thing about traveling in winter is the pleasant weather.  Aside from some wind and rain on Erev Shabbat, we have had nothing but sunny weather.  The difficult thing about traveling in winter is the brief sightseeing day.  The sun is setting at 4 and most tourist venues close at that time.  Hence the early morning.  Our bus is comfortable, with plenty of room to spread out.  Leslie and I each take two seats in the back of the bus, across the aisle from each other.

We are crossing the border at Beit Shean in the north.  Originally, we had planned to cross at the Allenby Bridge.  A security advisory from the government suggested Beit Shean as a better choice.  Allenby is where many Palestinian laborers employed in Israel cross each day.  The touring company decided it was better to separate the tourist crossing to a different location.

Flocks of migrating birds gather in the fields in early morning.  Gilah is taking us up to the border , where we will transfer to a Jordanian bus with a local guide.  She points out that landscaping is not part of the Arab culture.  The communities in Arab villages are not very organized.  Most important is what is inside the house.  Many homes are multiple generations of a single extended family.

Along the road, we see Arab villages,  Israeli settlements, and Bedouin communities.  Bedouins are no longer nomadic, for the most part.  Tents became shanties, then homes, now more and more elaborate.  Israeli license plates are yellow, Palestinian plates blue or green. 

The border crossing was easier and quicker than I expected. We had to load all our things from our Israeli bus onto a shuttle bus in the secure area, then unload again and reload onto a Jordanian bus.  This involved several steps:

1. Israeli passport control and payment of $32 border crossing fee
2. Transfer of luggage to neutral shuttle
3. Jordanian passport control
4. Transfer luggage again from shuttle to Jordanian bus. 

This process saved time.  If we continued into Jordan with an Israeli bus, it would have to be inspected on the way in and out, two hours or more each way.

Our Jordanian guide is Rami, similar to our Israeli guide Ronny. Our bus driver's name is Suleiman, Solomon in English, Schlomo or Schlomi in Hebrew, the same as our Israeli bus driver.

Our first stop was a walking tour of Jerash, ruins of an ancient Roman city near the modern Jordanian city of Jerassa.   The entrance to the ruins is a huge arch called Hadrian's arch, constructed to commemorate a one-month visit by the Roman emperor to the city. Excavated ruins include roads with columns, an oval plaza, temples for Zeus and Artemis/Diana, and a theater in the round.  A Jordanian quartet played a bagpipes and drums performance for us.   Acoustics in the theater were excellent.  I had worn my clogs to give my feet a break from lace up shoes. They were not a good choice on the stone streets of Jerassa.  I got an amazing workout for my legs from walking on the uneven surfaces in the clogs.  My legs were very tired at the end of the day.

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant with a banquet style buffet, middle Eastern salads and meats, fruit for dessert.   The meal was served with lovely refreshing drinks.  I chose lemon and mint.

Next we drove to a Greek orthodox church in the city of Medaba where we saw the oldest map of the holy land in mosaic on the floor. This map was used by the archeologists in Jerusalem to locate the cardo in the recent excavations of the old city. Medaba was the hometown of our guide Rami.

We drove to Mount Nebo where Moses is said to have died and be buried, although we don't know where his grave is. Aaron's grave is known to be on Mount Hor to the south. Mount Nebo was where Moses stood and looked toward the promised land.  God told him that he would die there and not be allowed to enter the holy land.   It was not certain that we would arrive there before their early closing time of 4:00.  We arrived at 3:50. 

I was fascinated with the visitor’s center which was a traditional Bedouin tent made with woven goat’s hair.  The goat’s hair is oily, providing protection from wind, rain, dust.  Multiple colors of goat hair are used.  Today, tents are supported by aluminum poles, stronger, steadier, and more reliable than the traditional wooden poles.

Rami read to us from Deuteronomy about Moses's experience there. Then Rabbi Weiner gave a brief homily about Moses facing toward Jerusalem to pray. He explained that, even though Moses knew he was not going to make it into the promised land, it was still important for him to know where he was heading. Similarly, though we may never make it to our goal, having a goal is important to direct our steps.

Our last stop of the day was a factory that produces mosaics.  Fed by tourist’s interest in ancient mosaics in the area, the government supports the growth of this industry.  Near the church we visited in Medaba is a school that teaches the production of mosaic art.  The factory where we stopped is supported by a private foundation and subsidized by the Jordanian government.  Disabled people are trained there and paid to work four hours a day producing mosaics.  Several images are repeated over and over.  One favorite theme is The Tree of Life, a depiction of a tree in the center, with three gazelles eating the leaves of the tree and a lion attacking one of the gazelles. The store attached to the factory was massive with goods produced in the factory by hand: mosaics, fake painted mosaics on table tops, dishes, also rugs, scarves, dresses, pillow covers.  Salespeople tagged each of us, encouraging us to buy something.

We arrived at our hotel in Amman about 6:30, just in time for our shared dinner at 7. Leslie and I returned to our room about 8:30 and climbed into bed right away, slept until my alarm sounded at 5.  The room was seriously overheated, so much so that even with the door to the balcony open, it was still uncomfortably hot.  I called the desk and learned that they had switched from air conditioning to heat and that they were not able to control the temperature in the rooms.  A little later, they sent up a fan which we kept running all night.  It cooled the room enough so that we slept well.

The Jordanian government is a monarchy led by King Abdullah II and Queen Rania.  Queen Rania was born a Palestinian in Kuwait.  When King Abdullah II and Queen Rania married in 1993, they did not suspect that he would become king.  The Crown Prince was King Hussein’s brother Hassan.  However, on his death bed, King Hussein named his son Abdullah as his successor.  Abdullah ascended to the throne at the death of his father two weeks later. 

The Jordanian flag has four colors: a red triangle commemorating the Great Arab Revolt of 1916.  On it is a 7-pointed star representing the seven verses of the opening Sura of the Kuran.  The three stripes from top to bottom are black representing the Abbasid Caliphate, white for the Ummayyad Caliphate, and a green stripe on the bottom for the Fatimid Caliphate.

Shabbat in Jerusalem

On Shabbat morning, December 10, 2011, Leslie and I woke at 6:30 for an early breakfast with sisters Myra and Maxine from Brooklyn.  The breakfast was lavish even on Shabbat, though some features were missing, such as custom-made omelets.  We walked together to the Italian synagogue near Ben Yehuda Street at 9.  We sat in the women's balcony built directly over the bima so that we had a constant view of the lectern, the Torah, all the prayer leaders, and all the honorees.  There were windows in front of the balcony that could be pushed out at the bottom to afford an unobstructed view of the ark, one end of the sanctuary, and the bimah which was in the center of the room.

Several young boys had the job of undressing and dressing the Torah.  Instead of a simple band or tie around the torah, there was a thick cumberbund-like belt that was wrapped many times around and around the torah scroll, with an ornate cover over that.  Many young children ran in and out of the sanctuary and the women's balcony.  Places began to fill close to 10 or 10:30. We were able to follow the prayers and the reading of the Torah and Haftarah easily with our English siddurim and with the Italian translations in the chumashim.

The sanctuary was ornate and colorful. The men and boys interacted and walked around, moving to face the ark during certain prayers. On two occasions during the priestly blessings, fathers wrapped their sons in their tallitot, placed their hands on top of the boys' heads, and blessed them in an intimate and physically affectionate way.   The priestly blessing was chanted slowly, one word at a time, with an ornate musical motif.

I loved the service, found it accessible.  I enjoyed the pace of the davening and the readers.  Each honoree received an elaborate misheberach which seemed to be just for them.  I found that the time passed quickly.  Even though we were not invited to enter the sanctuary, I felt very much part of the service, viewing it through the windows provided.  When shut, the windows had carved out lattice patterns. There were sticks hinging out from the bottom of the windows that allowed the windows to be propped open at about a 30 degree angle, so we had full visibility of the bimah in the center of the room, the ark, and the benches for the men on each side. Several men looked up toward the women's balcony frequently and I saw some meaningful glances exchanged between one of the men and the woman sitting next to me.  Rabbi Weiner mentioned that these glances to and from the women’s balcony serve as a kind of dating service for the young people of the congregation.

After services we had a lavish Shabbat lunch at the hotel:  20 salads and vegetable dishes, 10 meat dishes, 20 desserts. I limited my eating, filling my plate only once with salads and fish.  I must admit that I tasted samples of six different desserts.  Even with the limitation, I ate too much.  

Several members of the group met Ronny at 3 for a Shabbat walk in the neighborhood. We walked through the Rehavia neighborhood where the prime minister and the president live, and the Yemin Moshe neighborhood, the first created outside the Old City walls by Moses Montefiore, the stockbroker for the Rothschild family. That's where the windmill is located which was supposed to be used to make bread, but it was never functional.  When we visited the King David Hotel, I was impressed with the luxury and elegance and fascinated with the signatures of celebrity guests engraved in the floor.

Leslie and I both skipped dinner and packed for our trip the next day to Jordan, leaving at daybreak. Leslie stayed in the room to rest her feet, and I walked to Ben Yehuda Street with the Currans and the Models for a cup of coffee while they ate supper at The Bleeker Street café.  This was the café we started our stay in Jerusalem five days earlier.   After dinner, we did some post-Shabbat shopping.  I was thrilled to find a beautiful pewter hanukkiah for Louis with a design of buildings from the Old City.  When I was enjoying my tour and learning about the Old City, I thought often of Louis.  I feel sure that he will visit Jerusalem within the next few years.

Yad Vashem, Har Herzl, Machanei Yehuda shuk, Shira Hadashah

On our third day in Jerusalem, Friday, Dcember 9, 2011, we began our visit to Yad Vashem with a walk through the children's memorial, inspired and funded by a Hungarian couple Abe and Edita Spiegel who survived Auschwitz and reunited after the war.  They donated the memorial in memory of their son Uziel who was murdered at Auschwitz along with his grandmother.  I was struck by how much the photos of Uziel looked like my husband Alex's baby pictures, and of course his youngest granddaughter Lena Jane who looks just like him.   They obviously have a similar Eastern European heritage.   Inside the memorial designed by architect Moseh Safdie, it is dark except for five candles which are reflected by multiple mirrors into a million spots of light representing the 1.5 million children who were murdered.  They died not because of anything they did, but because of who they were, the accident of their Jewish birth.

The museum itself had been redesigned during the last couple of years to be a triangular tunnel through which you can see light at the end. However, you could not pass straight through. You have to zigzag through all the exhibition rooms to reach the end. It was an emotionally and physically exhausting experience. I felt embarrassed about my fatigue.  After all, I was riding in a comfortable coach bus, staying in luxury hotels, and eating sumptuous meals every day.  It was absurd to compare my strength and stamina to that of the victims who did everything in their power to keep their families together, and, failing that, everything to keep their body and soul together, who watched each day as their fellow Jews were systematically murdered.  

Ronny did a masterful job of guiding us through the maze, pointing out many of the most poignant photographs and videos. One photograph showed a group of women holding babies, with their hands extended toward the camera, begging for their lives just before being shot.  He told us that 90% of the photographs were taken by SS officers in an effort to document the "wonderful" work they were doing for the world by eliminating Jews.  A famous Dachau album was found that documented one transport being processed into the camp.  One of the survivors was able to indentify many of the people in the album as neighbors in her town.

One video was the testimony of a man who had been a young man in Dachau. He and others were punished by having to stand outdoors in a thin shirt in sub-freezing weather between two electrified wires for many hours. He said other boys eventually fell against the wires in exhaustion and despair, ending their torment. He worked to distract himself with thoughts of his childhood and, after a while, with efforts to control his full bladder. When he finally had to release his urine, he experienced a moment of warmth from the urine running down his legs before it froze into ice on his legs.

He said that with all the fantastical images and memories he had used to distract himself, he was no longer sure if he was alive or dead, dreaming or awake. The SS officer who eventually released him from this torture was furious that he had survived and began slapping him over and over across the face. He said that's when he was sure that he was still alive.

From Yad Vashem, we went to Har Herzl, the Israeli military cemetery, equivalent of Arlington cemetery in Washington. Herzl's tomb was marked with HERZL and no other words. Herzl was a Hungarian Jew who was the father of modern political Zionism and, in effect, the State of Israel.   We saw graves of presidents and generals of Israel who chose to be buried there. Teddy Kollek is buried there.  Others are buried on Mount Zion or with their families.  

When we moved closer to the graves for young soldiers recently killed, we saw more elaborations and decorations on the graves.  At one grave, two women sat keeping watch.   Ronny asked them if it was their relative's memorial day.  They answered that they, the mother and the aunt, come “Kol yom hashishi,” every Friday, for five years.

At lunchtime, we went to the shuk near Ben Yehuda Street. It was so crowded, Leslie and I walked around without buying anything and came back to the room, had some snacks and got ready for Shabbat.

Myra and I walked with Rabbi Weiner down to the German colony to a new congregation called Shira Hadashah, made up of a combination of traditional Conservative men and some feminist Orthodox women. They have a special interest in renewing the music of the liturgy. The harmonies of the liturgical tunes were magnificent, with men's and women's voices blending in four or five voices, complete with descants.  I was happy to have my “pocket” Sim Shalom siddur with English translations, although some of the songs were not a part of my siddur.  I was able to follow the service about half the time, the rest sitting immersed in the music with my eyes closed.  Myra and I helped each other find our place in our siddurim.

This minyan functions as an orthodox congregation, with all the accompanying restrictions.  At the same time, they include men and women in the worship experience as much as possible.  The mehitza was a translucent curtain down the center of the room.  Rabbi Weiner sat on the men's side, Myra and I on the women's.  The lectern was located in the center of the room, divided by the curtain which was cut to fit over it.  The leadership of the Kabbalat Shabbat service on Friday night is always assigned to a woman, the following maariv service to a man.  When the woman was leading, she stood at the lectern, a few inches from the curtain that divided the room.  When the man was leading, he stood at the same lectern where the woman had previously stood, on the other side of the curtain.  During the dvar torah, the speaker stood at the front of the room and the curtain was pulled all the way back, so that the congregation was one unit.  I found this creative use of rules very interesting.  My previous experience with orthodox congregations is that women's voices are not heard.  This was clearly quite different.

Women and men both sang in full voice in impressively harmonic arrangements, obviously the result of much artistic attention and practice.  Rabbi Weiner is acquainted with some of the leaders of the group, who are willing to share what they have developed with us, possibly with an on-site consultation in Pittsfield.

Israel Supreme Court, Israel Museum, and a visit to French Hill Masorti Rabba Chaya Baker

Our guide Ronny explained an important reality in current Israeli political culture.  Arab and ultra orthodox families in Israel are poorer in general because they have more children and they seldom have more than one income. Families that have more than six children get a tax break. This creates a greater tax burden on the middle class.  In previous generations, life was harder but there was a greater feeling of solidarity.  

Our first stop on this sixth day of our trip, Thursday, December 8, 2011, was to Government Hill on the outskirts of Jerusalem for a visit to the new Supreme Court building.  The Minister of Foreign Affairs office is across the street.  Hebrew University is across the hill. 

The area of the court’s jurisdiction is all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories.  The Court has ruled on numerous issues relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the rights of Arab citizens of Israel, and on discrimination between Jewish groups in Israel.  It is unique in that its rulings can intervene in Israel Defense Forces military operations.  The building was opened in 1992, designed by noted architect Ram Karmi and his wife Ada Karmi-Melamede.  It was donated to Israel by Dorothy de Rothschild.

The building is a blend of enclosed and open spaces, old and new, lines and circles.  Approaching the Supreme Court library, one enters the pyramid area, a large space that serves as a turning point before the entrance to the courtrooms. This serene space acts as the inner "gate house" of the Supreme Court building.  Natural light enters round windows at the apex of the pyramid, forming circles of sunlight on the inside walls and on the floor.  Circular shapes are featured in the design throughout the building.

In the afternoon, we visited the Israel Museum.  A quick stop at the museum café featured a surprisingly fresh and delicious salad that tasted like I was standing in a garden eating just-picked vegetables.  This standard of freshness is not at all unusual in Israeli food.  We spent a long time examining the model of Herodian Jerusalem in the courtyard of the museum, and the collection of Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient manuscripts in the Shrine of the Book.   

I was disappointed that our time inside the museum was so short.  There was so much to see:   magnificent displays of every aspect of Judaica as well as impressive collections of art from every part of the world and every period.  When the group was ready to depart on the bus, Rabbi Weiner suggested that I stay a little longer and take a cab or bus back to the hotel.  It was my first time on the trip to venture out on my own, separate from the tour bus.  I took his advice and extended my stay long enough to visit the exhibit of synagogues from Surinam, India, Germany, and Italy that had donated their artifacts to the museum.  It was a memorable experience to step inside each one of these environments that had been so lovingly reconstructed to represent Jewish life in each community.  The beauty of each setting reflected the climate and culture of the region.

I found a cab waiting in front of the museum with a Russian cab driver who had lived for many years in Canada and spoke English easily.  On the short drive back to the hotel, he told me his opinions about various hotels and tourist attractions in the city and gave me a running description of the fashionable neighborhood of Rehavia we were driving through.  He gave me his card and said I should call him wherever I might be if I need a cab.  I was happy to have made this connection.

In the evening, our group went to the French Hill Masorti synagogue in northern Jerusalem to hear Rabba Chaya Baker speak about her experiences as spiritual leader in that community.  The French Hill congregation is one of the flagship congregations of the Masorti movement in Israel.    They endured many years with no rabbi; this is Chaya’s fifth year as rabbi there.  She is married with three daughters.  Her husband’s family was one of the founding families of the congregation, one important reason why she was able to get the job.  In witnessing her energy, wisdom, enthusiasm, and creativity, it is apparent why she still has the job and is serving a growing congregation.

Israel is in a tough situation vis a vis Jewish religious life.  There are secular and religious divisions in schools and in the army.  The official religion of Israel is orthodox, tending toward ultra orthodox, although many people who are members of orthodox congregations are affiliated in name only.  They want the shul they don’t go to to be an orthodox one.  In case they need a rabbi or a minyan for a life cycle event, they have an affiliation.  Otherwise, they are not observant, involved, or engaged by Jewish life and thought.

There are many social issues decided by the religious government that affect every citizen, such as “Who can marry?”  In Israel, the only marriage sanctioned by the government is a religious marriage.  In order to be married in Israel, you have to prove that you are Jewish enough to pass muster with the orthodox religious authorities.  Those who cannot or do not provide such proof are forced to marry elsewhere.  There is a thriving industry of weddings in nearby Cyprus for such couples.

Secular people are resentful about the political power of religious authorities who make decisions that affect them directly.  For example, many families consist of an orthodox father and a reform mother.  Chaya’s husband grew up in the Tali school system which is a quasi-religious school system that serves families who want some religious training in the school, but reject orthodox teachings.

For the last five years, Chaya has been developing programs that expose secular Jews in the French Hill commuinty to different ways to engage as a Jew.  In Israel, Jewish identity *is* in conflict with modern life.  She is searching for ways to build bridges between those who live a modern lifestyle and their desire for connection to Judaism.

For example, humane treatment of animals is a moral imperative taught in the Torah and Talmud.  Hospitality in the Jewish home is strongly connected to Jewish tradition, customs, and philsophy.  One reform Jewish mother reported to Chaya how her daughter had taught her about counting the Omer between Passover and Shavuot.

Chaya’s approach is very delicate, very gentle, reaching out in a way that keeps people from feeling embarrassed about what they know or don’t know.  She connects a Jewish value to a story or a skit in a program that includes children and their parents as much as possible. 

As with every congregation, she battles the concept of a drop-off mentality, pediatric Judaism that is appropriate only for children.  When she has program for children only, she always includes something for them to take home.  Before high holidays, for example, she teaches about the meaning and function of the shofar and gives children and their parents a chance to handle a shofar and try it out.

One program called Modern MIKI has 35 kids and their parents enrolled.  An average of 50 kids attend each function, including those who are visiting and shopping.  Mini MIKI, a program for younger children, has 20 kids.  She has Shabbat activities for children and their parents on Friday night and Shabbat morning, including Kabbalala Hashabbat .

She has created a parent training program to run programming for young children.  Parents who are participating in synagogue activities say, "I can't believe I'm in synagogue!”   Sixteen children are in the synagogue preschool. 

Chaya Baker chooses to use the title “rabba,” a designation of ordination for a woman rabbi.  Many people ask her, “What’s a rabba?”  She answers that it’s like a rav, but it’s a woman.

For one child in the synagogue’s programs Chaya was the only rabbi he had ever known.  When he heard someone mention a rabbi, he asked Chaya, “Mah hu rav? (What is a rabbi?)”  She answered that it's like a rabba, but it's a man.   Score one for Chaya who brought a secular family unfamiliar with Jewish religious life closer to feeling engaged.

Conservative synagogues, schools, and programming receive no government support, whereas orthodox synagogues are supported by government grants.  One conservative synagogue got the court to force the government to finance the building of their synagogue. 

The synagogue in French Hill is the victim of frequent vandalism.  It’s a border neighborhood adjacent to a hostile Arab village and hostile orthodox Jewish neighbors.  The conservative congregation is hated by both groups for different reasons.  It is not always clear who the perpetrators of the vandalism are or what their reasons are.

Many people in Israel identify as Jewish, but are not halachically Jewish.  There are 64 Masorti synagogues  in Israel, 11 in Jerusalem.  Chaya is the only woman rabbi among he 64 congregations.

The idea that “we are one Jewish people” is not helpful in practice.  American support has made life more difficult for the Masorti movement.  American Jews sometimes contribute to religious efforts in Israel that hurt Masorti congregations.  For example, absorption centers in Israel teach Judaism to newcomers.  In the past, reform and conservative congregations have participated in these efforts.  Recently reform and conservative participation was ended because funding for the project was threatened if they continued.

Chaya says, “What about pluralism, freedom of choice?”

Our group asks, “What can we do to help?”  She answers, “Care. Campaign to get people to come back to Israel.   Some financial contributions to programs in Israel are ill thought out.  Be careful to whom you give your money.”  She congratulated all of us for our efforts to travel to Israel and expose ourselves to lots of experiences while there.

Masorti congregations are forced to support themselves with dues paid by members, unlike orthodox synagogues that are supported by tax money. 

At the end of Chaya’s presentation, we chose to pass a hat and made a contribution to her efforts.  Many expressed an interest in addressing the issues mentioned with Arlene and the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires and with our congregations at home.

Learning in Jerusalem

Early in the morning on our first day in Jerusalem, Wednesday, December 7, 2011, we walked across the street from our hotel, the Leonardo Plaza, to the Fuchsberg Center for Conservative Judaism.  The center has been a Conservative congregation since the 1970s.  Rabbi Gail Diamond, Associate Director was our guide and teacher.  The center has recently expanded its offerings of Jewish learning for people of all ages and for different periods of time.  Students can come to the Fuchsberg to study for a week, a month, 3 months, a year, several years.  Early students were young people of or just past college age.  Now the Fuchsberg is attracting more retired people who, for the first time in their lives, have the time and resources to come to Jerusalem to study.

Rabbi Diamond presented a lesson using two psalms and other poetry to explore the concept of place, specifically the place of Jerusalem in time, space, history. mythology.  She invited us to read and discuss the texts with a study partner for several minutes, identify important themes, notice which Hebrew words were familiar, and generate questions.

The Book of Samuel details David’s conquest of Jerusalem, the capital of the Jebusites.  Jerusalem means “City of Peace,” but has always been a place of contradictions.  It is full of information from the past, but also lives vibrantly in the present.  The national bird of Jerusalem is the crane, used for the many construction projects always in the works in the city. 

The city of Jerusalem is rife with controversy between those who want to enforce the rule of strict Jewish law and those who want to embrace the present and future of social issues.  For example, can women's faces be on billboards?  What should be the city’s response be to the international pride parade in the holy city?  These questions must be decided by a religious government.

Psalm 48: Jerusalem is not conquerable because of its height and vistas.  It has only ever been conquered from the north. Sena Horib, an Assyrian king, wanted to conquer Jerusalem and failed.

The morning newspapers carried a disturbing story that created a crisis in public confidence for the government.  Israel’s former president is going to jail because he was convicted of rape.  Women have long been harassed and abused by men in power, but the enforcement of this ruling in support of abused women is new for Israel.

Psalm 122:  Jerusalem is the city of peace but has been full of killing and hatred.  Earthly Jerusalem is corrupt.

Puritans in America went to build a city on a hill in Massachusetts.  Literature is full of references to the earthly Jerusalem and the heavenly Jerusalem.

Lo pashut.  Nothing in Jerusalem is simple.

Rabbi Diamond advised:  Listen to the city while you are here.  What did you hear while you were in Jerusalem? What will you say? Will what you say draw others to Jerusalem and support the constant building/rebuilding of the city?

Our next stop was a tour of the Old City.  We entered through the Zion gate.  As we walked along the Cardo, the center of the Old City, we looked over the railings to view excavations below down to the level of Herodian Jerusalem 2000 years ago.  In other locations, excavations have been completed revealing life from the time of Solomon’s first temple.

We toured the Hurvah Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter, a synagogue that had been completely destroyed.  Only part of one wall survived, that remnant incorporated into the front wall of the sanctuary in the recently rebuilt synagogue.  The synagogue was first built in the early 18^th century, destroyed only a few years later by the Muslims in 1721.  It was rebuilt in 1864 and was the main center of worship for Ashkenasic Jews in the Old City.  The Arabs reduced it to rubble again during the War of Independence in 1948.  The last time I visited the Old City in 1989, I saw the single arch that had been constructed as a sign of the intention of rebuilding the synagogue in its entirety.

We had a lecture from the synagogue’s educational director while sitting in the women's section in a balcony high above the ground floor sanctuary where yeshivah students were studying.  We climbed from there to an indoor and outdoor upper balcony for a rooftop view of the Jewish quarter and a bird’s eye view of students studying inside in the beit midrash.  Looking out over the rooftops of the Old City, we imagined King David’s first sighting of Bathsheba, who later became his wife and the mother of King Solomon.  The rooftop was one of the highest points in the Old City, giving spectacular views in every direction, including the Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mount.

We visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, a colorful and emotional spectacle to observe as Christian pilgrims from so many groups came to offer their devotions.   Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Armenian, Coptic Christians, and others gathered in that place to adore the relics collected there. 

We ate lunch in the Old City crowded with adolescent school groups, touring with their teachers.  One Hebrew-speaking school girl was completing a school assignment to find an American Jewish tourist.  She chose my friend Leslie.  Leslie was thrilled to have this interaction with a local student. 

After lunch, we had some time for shopping in the Cardo.  I found a shop called Mira where the owner was acquainted with Ellen Masters from Pittsfield, a frequent visitor to Israel.  I found a silver dreidel there for Alex’s collection, his only Israeli dreidel with the words Nais Gadol Haya Po, a great miracle happened *here*!

We walked to the Western Wall where we had some time to spend any way we liked.  I was able to observe myself as a Jewish pilgrim similar to the Christians I had observed during the morning.  I felt so happy and grateful to be there at the wall, so much in the right place at the right moment for the right reason.

From the center section of the Western Wall, traditionally used for prayer, we walked south to a new, recently excavated site at the southern end of the western wall and the southern steps leading up to what used to be the Temple Mount.  Now the Al-Aksa Mosque stands at the top of the southern steps of the ancient temple.  The southwest corner of the wall has become a favorite site for conservative and reform Jewish groups to stage mixed-gender ceremonies such as bnei mitzvah.  Notice the remnants of Robinson's Arch in the center of the image below.

At the excavation site, we watched an animated movie about the experience of a poor farmer offering a sacrifice at the ancient temple.  The movie traced the steps in the process of bringing a sacrifice to the temple, including a visit to the mikvah. 

Next we toured the excavated south wall.  We saw several of 153 mikvot uncovered near the entrance to the temple, recalling the sequence in the movie where the farmer had entered into the mikvah before he offered his sacrifice.  We walked on the steps that our guide Ronny said were the exit steps from the temple, another yet-to-be-uncovered set of steps being used for entrance.  Most striking to me were the varying sizes of the steps to the temple, some wide, some more narrow.  With the unpredictable sequencing of wider and narrower steps, the supplicant was forced to step carefully, to become more contemplative as he climbed. 

While we climbed the steps, Rabbi Weiner led us in singing Shir Hamalot (Step by Step) from the blessing after meals.  My former cantor Abe Lubin in Chicago used to say that some messages come only through music.  This was one of those messages:  Slow down.  Take your time.  Contemplate the experience you are having while you are having it.  Consider the steps you are taking, each one bringing you closer to Hashem.  The root of the Hebrew word for sacrifice means coming closer.

In the evening, we returned to the Western Wall plaza for a night-time tour of the tunnels under the Western Wall.  The excavation of the full length of the wall began in 1967, shortly after the Six-Day War gave Israel control over the area.  The exposed open-air section of the wall that has been used for prayer since 1967 is about 60 meters in length, while the entire retaining wall of the ancient temple is 485 meters long.  The recently excavated section to the south was described above.  The excavations on the north end are underground, under existing buildings in the Old City.  These areas have been designed for easy and comfortable access for visitors, with air conditioning, lighting, signage, and other safety measures.

Ronny described a fortress in the northwest corner of the temple platform as the beginning of Via Dolorosa.  From bedrock to the top of the wall is 210 feet.  The temple itself was 150 feet high, yet took only 1.5 years to build with Herod’s vision and resources.  Steps to enter the temple were on the south end.  The area at the entrance included places to change money and purchase sacrificial animals.  Pilgrims coming from far reaches of the land would have to change their local currency to the currency of the city to get in.

Some stones in the wall weighed as much as ten tons.   The largest stones were the length of our tour bus.  Each stone had a frame of one finger’s depth around the edge on each side.  A comparison of the workmanship in the Herodian temple and surrounding Muslim buildings shows the high standards enforced by Herod.

During excavation work undertaken by a team of British Royal engineers in 1871, Charles Warren found a door where the priests entered into the holy temple.  Muslim distrust forced the closing of this door with modern concrete.   Along the underground pathway, the spot closest to where the ancient Holy of Holies would have been was occupied by woman praying fervently.  As we walked to the far north end of the underground wall, stopped for discussion, and returned, the same women were praying the whole time.