Israel Trip 2006, Days 6 and 7 (2/25-2/26)
Shabbat brings a special quiet to Jerusalem. There is hardly any traffic. No buses, few cars, people walking. It is a city transformed. And that's the eternal hope - that by transforming our physical space, we might transform ourselves into the promise of the covenant - to be an Am Kadosh - a holy people.
Several of us walked in the morning to Shabbat morning worship at Hebrew Union College, next door to our hotel. This is our Reform Movement's sermon. Reform Jews from all over the world were at the services and we met them at the Kiddish afterwards.
Our guide, Rafi, took most of the group on an afternoon walking tour of Jerusalem. Once again returning to the Old City, visiting David's Tomb (that's King David to you!), and the upper Chamber - legendary site of Jesus' last meal. We all gathered again at 5pm to visit the Jerusalem Open House (www.jott.org) of the Gay and Lesbian Center in Jerusalem. We learned about the upcoming World Pride events in August and their great work with the entire GLBT community including Palestinians and a PFLAG group! A gentle rain began as we made Havdallah at J.O.H. ending Shabbat in a different kind of sacred space. After a quick meal we went back to the Western Wall Plaza in the Old City for a great night tour of the Rabbinical Tunnels. These take us through more than 3000 years of Jewish history and the role of the Temple Mount. We went through Byzantine era streets, Herodian era streets, even seeing layers back to Solomon's Temple and the Bedrash which certainly was there in Abraham's time. The Temple Mount being the place Abraham nearly sacrificed his son Isaac as God commanded.
On Sunday we explored the other side of Jerusalem beginning with a tour of Israel's parliament - The Knesset. Now in recess we learned about the propositional democracy form of government and learned a bit of the political parties and system in Israel.
We then drove out to Ern Kerem to see the masterpieces at Haddasah Hospital - the famous Cagall window based on Jacob's blessing of the 12 tribes at the end of Genesis. Each of the 12 panels are filled with symbolism. We stopped for lunch at Yad Vashom and went around the corner to Mt. Herzl, Israel's national cemetary. But there we saw a new multi-media presentation on the life of Theodore Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism. Everyone agreed it was quite good! Back then to Yad Vashem - Israel's Holocaust Memorial and Museum. They recently dedicated a brand new museum complex, designed by noted Israeli architect, Moshe Safdie.
It was a moving and heartwrenching exhibit. It deeply affected us all as we walked through the display depicting the rise of Nazism in Europe and the murder of 6 million Jews. This museum with the many personal testimonies, artifacts, and documentary pictures/films will certainly shoot down any who would deny the horrors of the Shoa took place. We also stopped at the moving Children's Memorial, remembering the more than 1 million children murdered by the Nazi's during the years of World War II.
We returned to the hotel drained from the Yad Vashem experience. After a quick dinner and rest we went to see a unique concert at the Jerusalem Symphony - Music of Andalusia. A special orchestra and program with solos including an 11 year old boy sung in Hebrew. The religious songs are the words of music of the Sephardic communities of Northern Africa and Spain. The Hebrew as sung sounded almost like Arabic and the music with violas, volins, balalikas, drums, and a tamborine, was unique in its qualities. A superb cross-cultural adventure!
Shalom,
Rabbi Eger
Posted by Lee at February 27, 2006 02:25 PM
