We went to three holy sites in two days: the Western Wall, the Temple Mount and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Each one had its own sense of grandeur and beauty, but they also had many tourists (like me) looking at everything and taking pictures. And annoying people who thought that it might be amusing to take pictures of a stuffed baby penguin at said holy sites. (um.. also me)
In any case, I found it troubling that tourists were allowed to come in, make noise and discuss mundane concerns while there were services taking place both at the church and the Western Wall. (Interesting, tourists are asked to leave during prayer hours at the Temple Mount.) This might work as a solution to the other sites, but it might become complicated for multiple groups who wish to use the wall/Church at the same time.
While it is difficult to understand why tourists were allowed to interrupt or observe services, it was interesting to see. Each holy site had a unique beauty that not only resided within the building materials themselves but also the love that many of the worshipers brought to their prayer experiences. There were people in tears at the Western Wall as well as those who had a holy aura about there faces. There was some intense praying going down (or up depending upon your orientation.)
Now for something completely different…
I had my first week of ulpan classes. We are studying modern hebrew from 8:30 – 1:00 each day. (Tuesdays we have tefillah in the morning, and we have had some extra sessions here and there about biblical Israel.) The administration created 4 Hebrew levels (alef, bet, gimel and dalet) All of our classes will be based on these levels. I was placed in level gimel. So far there is a ton of new vocabulary… but I have not really learned any new grammar. :( (although we have touched on some simple grammar… good review)
Level gimel has two teachers who switch off each day so homework is assigned and collected by the same teacher. Thus we get our assignments a day ahead of time. I am finding it difficult to learn to speak and understand spoken Hebrew though, because it is not enough immersion. I am thinking about ordering TV so that I can watch children’s shows in Hebrew. We will see how that goes. I have also heard that people learn Hebrew well when watching soap operas in Hebrew. As the dean mentioned then I’ll know how to say catchy phrases such as, “I am your long lost sister from Argentina,” or “I am carrying your baby.”
Other than that, all is well. Chad is getting ready to go to Croatia with his brother Scott, and we are planning to go to see Batman tomorrow night. We miss everyone, and hope that you are well!!
We hope to hear from y’all soon!
Chad here to add some thoughts in regards to the Holy Sites. I’ve always found different religions fascinating, so getting to see the different sites was a great experience. First, one of the things that amazes me about religion is the importance that is put on ritual objects. Upon entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, people were praying in front of a large stone that had oil on it. Looking up from the stone, there was a huge mosaic that was depicted Jesus’ anointment before his burial. People were putting objects onto the stone to bless them. Objects included items brought from home and also cheap postcards bought down the street. So that’s fascinating to believe that Jesus’ dead body was on this stone before his burial, until you find out that the stone is only about 200 years old and just commemorates his annointment. Hmmm….. The list goes on of Christian sites and objects throughout Jerusalem. The reason that they are holy is that one or more of the churches decided that they were holy. Very fascinating.
Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock was also a great experience. We get there by pure chance as we were actually trying to meet up with some friends and got into the wrong line. We thought we were in the security line for the Western Wall. Instead, we were in the security line for Temple Mount. We called our friends, and they came to meet us. So a slight historical account of Temple Mount. The top of Temple Mount is where they believe Abraham tried to sacrifice Isaac. It is also where they believe Mohammed ascended to Heaven. It was also the location of the first and second Temples 2500 years ago. So needless to say, it has history. It’s also controversial.
So it was quite cool to be up there. The top is a huge place. Someone said it was 37 acres…or something like 15 football fields. During the Muslim holy days, they can fit over a million people on the top. A sight that I’d love to see, but will never be able to. The Dome of the Rock is closed to tourists, so I can’t tell you what it looks like. I respect the reasons they close it, but am still disappointed that I couldn’t go in.
So that is it for now. I will leave you with some pictures from Temple Mount and the walk that we took around the Ramparts of the Old City.
. Just saw some eels, lots of fish, a nudibranch, and a stone fish.
