It is Wednesday already. It would be ironic to say that time is flying past. We are in a place where time has passed in abundance. On Monday, Walter invited us to join him on a tour he was giving for several Rabbis. We explored recent excavation around the Temple Mount in and under the Old City of Jerusalem. It turns out that the Canonites had considered the Gihon spring that emerges under the area of the Temple to be of quite some importance. They had built defenses of that spring with large hewn stone walls that extended down the valley. These stones weigh tons and were put in place about 2000 BCE, or about 4000 years ago. These Canonite defenses are a fairly new discovery. The discoveries and excavations are ongoing. In fact, I had an opportunity to look at some Herodian ruins that haven’t been opened for public display. We also looked at ruins of the City of David which is south of, and downhill from, the Temple Mount.
I want to add a brief note about Walter. I have had the good fortune to have been on many tours in my life. I have had excellent tour guides. None have come close to the level of sophistication and breadth of knowledge that Walter possesses about Israel. He is familiar with current politics and the historical background. He frequently quotes Josephus as he describes an area, or refers to other texts to provide a backdrop for the historic events. He knows the Torah inside and out and can combine the historic references and read the passages as he goes through the various locations. He also knows the New Testament inside and out and can identify the significant references just as readily as the Torah. If you visit Israel, it would be worth contacting him to see if he has an opening to guide you. Whatever he charges is well worth it. His expertise is unsurpassed in my experience. Thanks again Walter for answering so many of my questions with great patience. (for more Walter info, see: www.walterzanger.net)
I had an opportunity to go to the area around the Temple Mount. The Western Wall is a remnant of the foundation of the Second Temple. What is not known to most visitors is that the stones of the Western Wall were actually put in place by King Herod to extend the Temple Mount foundation, so it is not actually part of the original construction of the temple. The Western Wall is constructed from hewn stones. The largest known stone weighs 400 tons. The Western Wall is a location of worship. It is considered a holy place by many Jews. It is thought that the Second Temple was constructed on the First Temple ruins, and that those ruins were erected next to the city of David. It is also identified in the Torah as the location where Abraham was sent to sacrifice Isaac. There is big, big Jewish history in this place.
Prior to the attack on Israel in 1967 by Egypt and Jordan, Israelis did not think that they would have access to this historic place. They had been allowed to pray there by an edict by the Sultan of Turkey in the 18th Century under the British authority, much to the Arab population’s dismay. Jewish access to this area had become completely restricted later in the 18th Century. The area fell into the hands of Jordan in 1948 when the UN voted to create the Jewish State of Israel. When King Hussein of Jordan joined in with Egypt’s attack on Israel in 1967, the Israeli army responded with a counter attack that cut off the significant Jordanian and Egyptian supply lines. One of those supply lines was controlled by Ammunition Hill. I will discuss this site later, as I toured it and it is worth note. The defensive counter attack by the Israelis moved the border east to the Dead Sea and includes Jerusalem.
I had an opportunity to go to the Western Wall. As I approached the wall, I observed that the men and women approached separately and were placed in separated areas. I walked over to the left side, which is the men’s area, fighting off the overwhelming urge to go into the women’s section. The Wall is an impressive place both because of its mass and also because of its enormous history. Poking out of the stones are caper bushes. Yes, these are the very same bushes that produce the caper flower buds that are pickled and served with lox, bagels and cream cheese. They are tough little bushes and they have nasty thorns that are shaped like fish hooks. Don’t reach in and try to pick one!
Anyway, I’m standing there in front of the wall. I must preface again, that I had just toured the city of King David and walked down to the Siloam pool. This is the pool that is formed by the Gihon spring. Part of the historic sight is now a park, and visitors are able to walk along the path that led into the temple. The wall next to the path is the very same wall as the Western Wall, except is it a little further South and on the other side of the ramp which is where there was a walkway that led from a pavilion to the Second Temple. This area has now been excavated and the researchers have found an arch that extended from the wall a little further South. All of these findings are reflected in a miniature model of the Second Temple that is at the Israel Museum, which I also visited and photographed! Wow!!! After reviewing the history of the place with Walter, seeing the miniature model made the events very powerful to me.
OK, so again, I’m standing in front of the wall. I’m waiting for the glory of my religion to fall upon me. I had open arms, waiting for the light to shine. It didn’t. I am surrounded by people who are tearful at the experience of encountering this profound sight. I saw the religious people standing around praying. I saw them touching the Wall with reverence. I saw them having the sort of spiritual adventure in which I wanted to have the privilege to bask. My hands slid up to my hips and I pouted! What the heck is wrong with me!? Yes, I did feel excited to be a part of the historic place. Yes, I know the connection of this place with my people. Why the heck didn’t the religiosity of the moment spring into my heart and give me the epiphany that I came half way around the world to receive?! I felt spiritually inadequate.
I considered this inadequacy for a long time. I recognized that it reminded me of something that happened a few years ago. I was visiting the Santiago de Campestella while on a trip to Portugal and Spain. It is the location of great Christian religious significance. (Where St. Peter died, I think) and a place of pilgrimage from around the world. There are two pillars in the front of the church that are made of polished stone and people come from all over to touch the pillars and pray for divine intervention. When I saw the pillars, people were lined up to touch the pillars and have their moment to commune with the big three. The pillars have been rubbed so many times that they have been warn in the middle to form a bit of a bow. People would takes scraps of paper and write down their requests for divine intervention and cram them into the little holes that are part of the design in the bases of the pillars.
As I watched people approach the pillars, I could see their reaction to the experience. They were overwhelmed by the spiritual context. The church was dark and there was jewelly dappled light thrown across the floor by stained glass windows. This was their shot to get an E-ticket to the ear of the big upstairs. I found myself wanting to touch the pillars and to share in the spiritual moment. I stopped myself. The notion of my faith came to me in that moment that Jews do not believe in graven images having divine power. Jews cast away the idols of Greco/Roman tradition. Touching the pillars felt to me like a denial of my own faith in God. I had thought that the feeling was engendered because it was a Christian place. I now feel that it is just the notion that a place can be glorified so much that the place gains importance above the spiritual connection. It is the imposition of divine spirit on a place or thing. It felt too much like idolatry for my taste. I don’t believe in a spiritual E ticket.
Don’t misunderstand. There are places that warrant great respect, appreciation and reverence. The Western Wall, as a symbol of Jewish perseverance over adversity and ill will from all around, is an amazing place and warrants such respect. However, I have felt a greater level of spiritual connectedness serving food to the homeless in San Diego than I did standing elbow to elbow with Orthodox Jews at the Western Wall. Jerusalem is not a spiritual loadstone, but it is a powerful place. It contains a mass of people trying to connect with their faith and trying to do good work. I certainly appreciate the efforts of those who come to this place looking to recharge their spiritual batteries so that they can go home to attack their problems more effectively. Perhaps that is the divine intervention. Perhaps amassing the enthusiasm to continue in a positive direction and to grow and do good work is what the divine spirit really is all about. If a person comes here and leaves with a renewed sense of charity or a plan to mend their spirit by moving in a more positive direction, what better epiphany can one have? I have felt moved in that direction and I feel a better person for it. That is all the epiphany I could hope for.
On Wednesday and Thursday I toured various locations with Lee and on my own too. I spent a good deal of time at Yad Vashem. (the Jerusalem Holocaust museum.) It is set on a hill around the corner from En Karem, where we have been staying. The building is designed in the shape of a prism and sits on top of a mountain. As visitors walk through the museum, there are video screens that present clips from what are probably home movies of the various people before during and after the various historical events. The old movies are compelling. There are also interviews with survivors of the various slaughters and horrific events. At the end, there are testimonials by various survivors identifying the dead. They have three million documented Jewish people who have been specifically identified as being killed. They have documentation and estimate that another three million Jews were killed, but that all relatives and records were destroyed so that they cannot be more specifically identified. By the time I had completed the tour, I was whooped. I walked for an hour or so through the Cemetery next to the museum that has the tombs of great leaders of the country and then walked back home. I reflected on the experience as I walked home. Fight for freedom. Don’t let it slip away. Free expression, equality and due process are all fragile rights that can easily be eroded by bad decisions at times of crisis. Baruch Hashem.
We also visited Ammunition Hill. This is a location where the paratroopers had a conflict with Jordanians as the Israelis fought back after being attacked in the 1967 war. Ammunition Hill was a position of power that controlled the supply lines for the Jordanian military. In a conflict in the middle of the night, both sides suffered substantial casualties. The top area of the hill is trenched and would be very hard to approach. The Jordanians sitting in the trenches had an excellent position to shoot down on the approaching Israelis with maximum concrete cover. I don’t know how the Israelis were able to overcome these impressive defenses. It really was a miracle.
It is now Friday, and I am making dinner tonight for Walter, Paula, and a number of their guests. (Rabbis from out of town.) They did not think my initial suggestion of picnic pork shoulder and crab salad would be well received by the Rabbis….though they are Reform. I will come up with something interesting.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Warren, Call me crazy, but I have on my calendar that today is your birthday!! If the almighty TimeMatters is right, then happy birthday gorgeous!! We hope you are having a wonderful time and we miss you...
XOXOXOXOXO
Justi & Barb
Post a Comment