Day Six: A Time to Rest…or Shop

Today we were to experience Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest. Members of the group dispersed throughout the old city, visiting holy sites and examining the wares of the seemingly endless merchant stalls. We all returned to Ecce Homo for dinner and then heard from a Christianity scholar in preparation for our day focusing on the faith.

(Picture: Daniel with one of the candy canes Bob distributed to the group)

Day Five: Exploring Judaism

Due to some late nights, the dispatches have been on hiatus but are back now!

We began our morning with a discussion with Dr. Mustafa Abu-Sway, who told us about Islam from a theological perspective.

After the morning lecture, we went to an art district, where we met a friend of Bob’s who is a painter and metalworker. We then went to the first Jewish settlement outside the walled city before walking around West Jerusalem. In the new city, we returned to the market for lunch and shopping.

That night, we attended Shabbat services at a conservative synagogue, after which we split off into small groups for Shabbat dinner with families from the congregation.

(Picture: The market)

Day Four: The Temple Mount

As we have had a very late night, this will just be a short dispatch. We visited the Temple Mount today, seeing Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock up close. We were all extremely disappointed, however, that entry into the two sites is now forbidden for non-Muslims. That said, exploring the Mount (although only briefly because guards quickly herded us off) was quite an experience. Several of us discussed the hope of one day returning so that we might be able to visit the interiors of the holy sites after a more peaceful modus vivendi is established.

After the mosque, we toured archaeological ruins south of the Temple Mount. We then had our traditional lunch – this time served in a pita – after which we had an hour of free time to explore the city and do some shopping. We then re tuned to Ecce Homo to listen to Ophir discuss Israeli-Palestinian relations and later an influential professor and community leader about the Temple Mount and the Palestinian perspective.

We then had another quick dinner, after which we went to the home of an orthodox Jewish family. We talked to them both about the current conflict and about Jewish orthodoxy. We just returned, and it is already quite late, so I will stop here. All is well, and we are having a wonderful time.

Please leave a comment!

-Charlie

(Picture: Dome of the Rock with Dome of the Chain in the foreground)

Day Three: Exploring Beyond the Walls

This morning we walked with our Palestinian guide Ali around East Jerusalem, near but outside of the old city. He spoke at great length about the architecture and also the beginning of Arab settlement outside the walls. The morning concluded when we started him on an impassioned explanation of his politics. We pushed him, he pushed back, and an interesting and fruitful discussion ensued.

After leaving Ali, we had another lunch of hummus and falafel in East Jerusalem.

Following lunch we met up with our Jewish guide Ophir again, this time in West Jerusalem. We walked around the modern downtown city center (while modern, all buildings are required by law to be constructed of the sand-colored Jerusalem stone). He then took us through cloistered ultra-orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, explaining their many features and the practices and culture of the residents. Between exploring these neighborhoods, we had a brief period of free time in a West Jerusalem market. Many bought fruit and other snacks.

we took an extended walk back to Ecce Homo, where we ate a rather quick dinner before departing for the Western Wall plaza. There we took a tour of the tunnels below ground that descend to the base of the wall that is not visible from the surface. Along the tour we stopped at a point in the wall nearer the believed location of the Holy of Holies of the second Temple than the Western Wall. Given its proximity to that area, it is a much-revered site.

Upon leaving the tunnel, we briefly entered the Jewish Quarter of the old city for ice cream. While eating, Bob explained the Talmudic and Torah reasoning behind several kosher practices. We then proceeded back the way we had come – through the Muslim Quarter – to Ecce Homo.

Tomorrow we visit the Temple Mount and have other lectures and visits scheduled.

(Picture: Lunch and spices in the West Jerusalem market we visited)

Day Two: Into the Streets

After breakfast at the convent where we are staying, the group took to the streets and quickly met up with one of our local guides. He spent the morning with us, first taking us atop a roof near both Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Dome of the Rock. He there explained Jewish life in the city, the four divisions of the old city and the attitudes of Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem. He also patiently answered a plethora of questions from the group.

Later we went to a site purported to be the tomb of King David. Although Bob and our guide had explained the lack of evidence supporting the idea that David is actually interred there, we discussed the possibility of spiritual truths and how it may matter more to people that they continue a tradition of believing this to be the spot of David’s burial rather than it actually being the spot. In other words, this traditional belief passed down through generations makes the spot holy even if David is not actually there. The tomb is organized like a synagogue and thus divided into male and female viewing areas that are separated by a barrier. The males not already wearing head coverings had to put on a kipa to enter the viewing area.

Above the tomb is a room purported to be the site of Jesus’ Last Supper. That the actual masonry of the room appeared one thousand years after Christ appears to be of little concern to pilgrims, again emphasizing the importance of traditional holiness over archeological proof. The room had also served as a Muslim mosque, as evidenced by the niche in one wall pointing worshipers toward Mecca. That a mosque was built in this holy site venerated by Christians who in turn chose to place their holy site above one of the Jews represents a literal layering of faiths. That is, it shows one faith building off an earlier one.

From the roof of the building we were rewarded with striking views of both East and West Jerusalem. We could also see the separation barrier that has been built by Israel in recent years around the Palestinian territories to deter terrorist attacks. Beyond the tall barrier blocks that snake across the hills east of Jerusalem, we could even glimpse the West Bank.

We next ate lunch at a small restaurant, where we enjoyed hummus and falafel among other local favorites. Afterward, we met another guide who led us around the Muslim Quarter of the city and explained Muslim life and history there. He took us to a part of the western retaining wall for the second Temple that is neither as visited nor as accessible as the part generally called the Western Wall. He explained how what is called the Western Wall was similarly difficult to reach before Israel took control of it in the 1967 war.

Our guide led us up and down the often narrow, almost invariably hilly streets of the old city, taking us through markets, past mausoleums and into local community centers, all the while seeming to know almost everyone we passed. We enjoyed both of our guides today greatly and are glad they will both be joining us again in future days.

After parting with our guide and returning to the convent, one of the other students and I ventured out into the city to experience it at night. We first stopped at a small food stall to buy a few snacks, as we were both hungry. We then proceeded down a main street of the Muslim Quarter to the security checkpoint leading to the Western Wall. We went to the Wall, finishing our snacks there. We then entered the Jewish Quarter, where I tried to order gelato but ended up with some sort of hot milky drink. It was good, but far from what I had ordered. Next we began making our way back to the convent. Though we generally knew our way, we did stop to ask directions at several junctures.

Tomorrow we will venture outside the walls of the old city to explore Muslim life in East Jerusalem with our guide from this afternoon.

(The picture is of Bob and students in the group)

Day One: Arrival

We arrived safely in Tel Aviv this (Monday) morning. We then drove to Jerusalem and saw the city from scenic overlooks before venturing into its ancient heart. Bordered by the Mount of Olives, Arabic East Jerusalem and modern West Jerusalem, sits the Temple Mount, on which stands the iconic Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque. This sight was immediately visible to us, though we were shocked at how clear it became upon arrival to our accommodations. The view from the convent's roof is nothing short of astounding in its proximity to the site.

After lunch, Bob led us around the old city. We passed through all four of its quarters (Christian, Armenian, Muslin and Jewish), saw many business stalls and open-air markets and visited the Western Wall. There, the males donned the kipa skull cap (ours were made of cardboard) and approached the retaining wall built by Herod, the last remaining structure from the Second Temple. We prayed at the Wall and then continued our walk.

This evening we had dinner at the convent and then all turned in for an early night, as we have had little sleep since leaving Williamstown.

(Picture: Dome of the Rock and minaret from the roof of our accommodations at Ecce Homo Convent)