Day one of exploring the Old City of Jerusalem

Our phone rang early this morning... "This is your wake up call, boker tov." Even the hotel wake up calls feel special in Israel!  

After a huge Israeli breakfast (have I mentioned how amazing the breakfasts are in Israel????) it was time for us to officially begin our tour. We met Uri, our unbelievable educator, Shachar, our youth counselor and David, our bus driver.  We sat in a room and spoke about our expectations for the trip.  Some expressed their fear that they would not have a deep reaction to certain sights we see... I can totally relate to this fear based in my own experience as a first time Israel traveler two years ago.  But deep down I knew that this was a fear that was not going to come true.  Israel has a way of sneaking into the very fabric of your soul.  That is why I feel so passionately about bringing our community here.  Just speaking of her is not enough, you must experience it for yourself.  So I sat listening to these fears and came to a realization.  Last time I was here I was totally focused on my own experience as I felt the power of Israel for the first time.  This trip is different.  I am really enjoying taking in watching others being moved by Israel.  It is a very different experience.  

As I think about what I can say about today, I am overwhelmed because we did so many amazing things it would take an entire volume to document it all.  But, I will do my best so you can get a sense of what we are experiencing here in our home in the east.  We began our day with a short walk to the windmill with an amazing overview of the Old City.  This is where we met to sing the traditional Shehechianu prayer that one says when gazing on the Old City for the first time.  As Uri put it, even though for some of us it was not the first time we looked on the Old City, it was the first time this group of individuals looked at this ancient city together, and because of that it felt like the first time.  

This was a special moment as we all shared how grateful we were to be together, sharing this experience.  It was an important reminder for us to allow ourselves to truly be in the moment we were in rather than looking ahead to future moments.  The problem with looking ahead is we tend to miss the here and now.  What a shame that would be for our trip.  This prayer really gave us perspective to be present for this moment.

Uri shared a poem written by Yitzchak Yasimowitz that says:

One does not travel to Jerusalem,

one returns,

one ascends

the road taken by generations,

the path of longing

on the way to redemption. 

One does not travel to Jerusalem, one returns.  It did feel like a homecoming for us all, as Jerusalem and Israel opened her arms and embraced each one of us.  It felt like we were ready to discover the ancient history of this place as well as the newness of it.  Israel is not a museum, it is a living and breathing place, a place like no other, a place I could not wait to share with my family and the travelers from our community who are already like family to me.

We boarded our bus and headed to the Jaffa gate where our Old City experience would begin.

Our first stop was a walk atop the Ramparts of the Old City.  We walked up some steep stairs and walked along the outer wall of this ancient city.  Uri explained that these walls were actually only 5 or 6 hundred years old.  That's all, 5 or 6 hundred years.  While in Israel terms this is not such a high number, for us Californians who's local surroundings go all the way back to the 1970's 500 years feels ancient!

Walking along the walls of the Old City gives us a perspective as to how this wall was used to protect the inhabitants inside.  We then walked in to the Jewish Quarter and went up on the rooftops for another amazing view of this city. We learned about the four quarters, the Jewish, Armenian, Christian and Muslim quarters.  What amazed all of us was the close proximity of these quarters and how so many different religions could find meaning in such a compact space.  

After lunch near the Cardo, which is the old marketplace of the Old City, we gathered in the shade so Uri could give us a history lesson as to a timeframe of Jewish history.  Actually he had us try to put the timeline in the proper order.  Needless to say we were not totally correct...  With some help from Uri he explained each stage for us in order that we might have a context to understand what we were experiencing in a different way.

He then used these four travelers to explain the four types of Jews that lived in the timeframe we were discussing.  We loved the special costumes he had his volunteers wear.

Then we name the trek to the Jerusalem Archeological Park including the Davidson Center, the Southern Wall Steps and Robinson's Arch.

At the Sourhern Steps we learned about how people would make pilgrimages to the Temple three times during the year, once for Passover, once for Shavuot and once for Sukkot, purchase their necessary items to be given to be sacrificed at the Temple and take a dip in the Mikveh so that they would be pure when approaching the Temple.  We saw the arches that marked the entrance where they walked and the arch that was the point of exit.  For me, the most moving part of this was in the middle of Uri's explanation we heard the traditional Muslim call to prayer that happens 5 times each day.  It was broadcast over loudspeakers from different Mosques from around Jerusalem.  During the day we also heard the chiming of the church bells...  Each of these instances is a reminder as to how special this place is to so many faiths.

We then walked around the corner to Robinson's Arch.

Here were able to reach out and touch the destruction of the Second Temple.  Seeing this pile of rubble from the destruction reminds us that this point in our history was supposed to be the end of Judaism.  But somehow, we survived and are still finding meaning at this holy sight.  

How amazing it is that even when all evidence points to Judaism not being able to survive somehow we are here, representing our Jewish community, making the same pilgrimage to this place that our ancestors did.  So many people have tried to destroy us, and yet, we persevere and continue to survive.  How proud would our ancestors be that we are here now, experiencing the places that they experienced.  

Our final stop on this day filled with ancient discovery was a visit to the Kotel, the Western Wall.  After going though security Uri gave us paper and pens to create our prayers that we would place into the Wall.  We each took our own private moment to approach and pray at this most holy place.  Uri explained how many people view this place in different ways, some as merely a pile of useless bricks while some see it as an extension of the Temple.  I tried to remind our travelers that three times during each service, the Bar'chu, the Amida and the Aleinu we turn our hearts and our bodies toward this exact place.  I explained how from this moment forward, every time they turn towards Israel they will be reminded of this day when they were actually able to place their hands on this ancient stone.  Their prayer will be forever changed by this experience.  

I was so moved, this time not by my own experience, but by watching others be moved by their experiences.  I saw fathers and sons linked together as they prayed together at the Wall.  I saw mothers and daughters holding hands as they walked in to the woman's section.  I saw fathers and sons being wrapped in tefillin as they enhanced their prayer through this ritual. I saw people walk away from this experience with tears in their eyes, even my own daughter Carly embrace Leasa, overcome by her experience.  I saw one person in tears not because she found such personal meaning in being at the Wall, but that she was there with her daughters.

Each of these moments brought more meaning to this place for me, and I was privileged to be a witness to these deep and powerful expressions of love shared by people.  

There was a lot of talk after this and at dinner at how meaningful this day was.  I sat back and listened, with a smile on my face because I knew that this was only the beginning.  Our trip is filled with these types of moments.  Israel is filled with these types of moments.  And I can't wait to see the reaction to our next day's activities.  What a blessing it is to be in this place.  There are so many moments where a shehechianu is appropriate.  It feels like in Israel it is after each moment.  I am overcome with gratitude.