Shabbat Shalom!

I am in Jerusalem!

What an amazing city. There is an energy here that must come only from being in a place steeped in so much history and theology.  Regardless of your religion or what you think about theology, this is THE place.  At its most basic level, this place has shaped billions of lives; a place that has prompted wars and provided solace to those of multiple faiths.  And here I am.  It is hard to believe.

But first...

Yesterday we spent the morning hiking through a stream that fed into the Jordan River. It was a relaxing hike even though the temperature was approaching 105 degrees...

We then stopped at a lookout near the Island of Peace, and could see the Jordanian border.

It's that guard post near the midde of the pic.

We also drove past Jericho in the West Bank. Whoa!

After a few hours we made it  to Jerusalem.  At the top of Mount Scopus we could see all of the city.

A powerful moment!

Everything is made of limestone to preserve the feel of the city. :)

That church way up there towards the left  is on Mount Olivet, where Jesus rose from according to Christianity.  More on that in a minute!

Today we drove through Jerusalem again.  The Old City is made up of four "quarters": Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim.  And there we were in the City of David, where everything started:

So we walked along the temple that was built 3,000 years ago.  After it was built, King Solomon (or was it David?) killed the engineers so the secrets of how it was built could not be spilled.

We through the tunnel first.  King David (or was it Solomon?) had his troops build a tunnel to channel water from outside the city (a liability) to inside the city (an asset!).  Three THOUSAND years ago the walls of this tunnel were hand-chiseled, and we went through it!  The part we went through was a couple miles long and with water up to our knees, and it was two feet wide and five feet high. There was no light except for a few flashlights.  It was so crazy to take this trip that people made thousands of years ago! 

And this scroll was at the end of the tunnel.  Can't read it, but it is old.

When we came out we were very close to Mount Olivet. We could see grave stones on a hill at the top. When I asked about it, our guide told me that some people want to be buried there because they will be the first to ascend to heaven. Pretty fascinating!

As we walked to the Western Wall we could see Gaza and the West Bank on the horizon. It was pretty surreal...

The Western Wall was an incredibly moving experience.  We separated by gender and walked up to the wall, tarnished and old but just as majestic as I'm sure it was 3,000 years ago.  We wrote wishes on a piece of paper and knelt down to press them into cracks in the wall.  How many people had touched this brick before me? What were they praying for?

All these people of all different backgrounds come from all over the world to get to the wall and unite in this space together, and that is amazing. I thought of all the elderly people walking toward the wall -- how many of them had waited a lifetime to get there, and finally got to experience this moment? What about the people who will never make it to the wall? These people, who have been persecuted and dispersed all over the world, come back here for a pilgrimage at this one old wall.  A place constantly under attack, yet one that fills its visitors with peace. 

We walked backwards away from the wall, following the others who venerated it.  To leave my most important prayer in the holiest of all holy places was so powerful. I started crying and looked around me to see that all the other women around me were crying too.

It was a beautiful and happy moment:)

You are allowed to make fun of this picture. It was 110 degrees outside. I also was crying a lot.

:)

Then we went to a Chinatown type of market. There's one way to meet the locals!

After that we had dinner... Shabbat Shalom!!!

Tomorrow we rest, which sounds great to me. I have learned so much. A history buff's dream!

Goodnight all!