Second week highlights! Jewish Quarter Field Trip, Holy Sepulchre, Thanksgiving

 

If you wanted to learn more about someone in the past, what would you do?  Maybe you’d read everything you could about her or him.  You’d gather photos, letters, or journals, and you’d try to integrate their own words with the words of people who knew her or him.  You may need to research what life was like in a distant time and place. 

My daughter Amanda has been researching my great grandma Sarah Taylor South, reading stories and letters and writing in her own words the lessons she is learning from Sara’s life.  

Like many people, I am trying to learn more about Jesus Christ.  Part of that is reading His words as captured in the scriptures. Part of that is visiting the places where He lived and taught to try to understand what the world was like when He was on the earth.  And because I believe that Jesus Christ not only lived then, but also lives today as a resurrected being, I believe that He is capable of guiding people through inspiration or feelings or the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, I also want to learn about how people today hear Him and how He speaks to me.  

Here are some snapshots of that quest for the past week in Jerusalem.

Market Moment

On a bustling Friday morning I ventured into the Mehane Yehuda Shuk, which is a market area in West Jerusalem.  Throngs of Jewish shoppers and tourists were navigating the human traffic jams to buy what they needed for the weekend.  Imagine a din of vendors and customers, halva merchants sharing samples, dried fruit sellers offering samples of herbal teas, the smells of fresh pita and raw fish and fruit juices.  Imagine the bewildering sights of kunafe melting to a crisp over open flames (kunafe is sweet pastry with cheese and honey), buckets of flowers ready to greet the Sabbath which starts Friday at sundown, piles of spices and gummies next to souvenirs like menorahs and kipas.  

I bought some fresh pita ( I asked how much for 5 shekels and the man jokingly said 100, then gave me 5), some rugelach (chocolate croissants soaked in honey) and a small amount of my favorite red dried fruit blend ( I asked for a small amount, the vendor loaded up about a quart, I kept asking for smaller, and finally he handed me about a cup but looked personally disappointed in my choice).  I could buy produce and a lot of other necessities here, but I would have to schlep it all through the crowded street, so this was more of a tasting and sightseeing tour. 

It is easy to imagine the Savior walking through a similarly crowded market street, jostled by dozens of people, but aware of the touch of one particular woman reaching out for healing.  That story took place far to the north of Jerusalem, but this just gives the feeling of that crowded event.  Below is a mural of an ancient Roman shopping area along the cardo street in the old city.  

 

The warm weather and crowds made a fruit smoothie a natural choice.

Near the center, you can find an empty tomb with niches,

Kittens..,

And a view over the Judean dessert into the West Bank and, on a clear day, all the way to Jordan.  This was not such a clear day. 

You can also see the beginnings of the Christmas season!  

The art gallery on level 8 features photographs of the fascinating people that you see every day here.  Here is one of our security guards with his horse.  

I missed the olive harvest in October. The students picked, crushed, and pressed olives using this ancient technology.  Lots could be said about olives and the beautiful metaphor of the olive press.  

Here’s a new thought.  Someone gets to push the pole around, in olden days often a donkey.  Someone else pushes the olive mash back into a pile.  That person is hustling in a circle, madly wielding a heavy shovel, walking backward or sideways, trying desperately to avoid the heavy wheel and go faster than the oncoming pole.  Sometimes life feels like this.  We see this big weight pursuing us or people rushing onward and we feel we have to either keep up or drop out.  Like the ghost of Christmas future, sometimes the specter of regret, disappointment, embarrassment, etc seems so painfully present that we suffer now even though the choice is ours to still avert that pain.  

This reminds me of another time when the choice seemed to be either grin and bear it or drop out. During a field trip while student teaching, I helped a little first grader get on a merry-go round.  It was a modern, safe one, but because of his uniqueness I was worried about overwhelming him.  I suggested he sit in the middle, and he was happier and could participate with his friends comfortably.  So maybe shift our metaphor to find a center, an eye in the storm, where we can be in the crazy but not going crazy.  Just a thought.   

You can see some spectacular sunsets here!  

On a rainy Tuesday my friend Carolee ventured out in an umbrella-attacking windstorm to capture this rainbow.  

I finished my last assignment of my last class of my last semester at WGU for the masters in elementary ed!  Such an exhilarating feeling!  Three semesters of hard work including 60 student teaching!  It felt like a whirlwind and now things feel like a nice steady breeze. 

Someone asked me what I taught during my student teaching with 22 first graders.  I could say I taught reading, writing, and math.  I taught pointing and looking at the word while reading, how to add with a number line, and how to tell the b from the d and + from -.  I could say shoe tying and hand sanitizing and logging in to a computer.  Also how to tie your sweater sleeves around your waist when it’s warmer outside than you thought.  I tried to teach sharing and turn taking and rope jumping and apologizing.  Once I taught a student to not freak out when she heard thunder.  My mom used to tell us kids “You’re teaching” when we were doing something that our younger siblings might watch and copy.  It was usually not said in a positive way.  Her point was that we are always teaching  someone is always watching and bring influenced by what we do, and I believe that is true.  

Time to pick up the pace:  the “Hurva” synagogue was ruined a few times but now is a functioning worship space for Orthodox Jews.  The balcony offers a great view of the old city.  

Remnants of buildings show that this city saw many people worshipping many different ways over the centuries.  The tentative peace right now is precious because it has been absent for much of the city’s history and because of all the pain that has happened and is still ongoing for many people.  

A pleasant day with good weather is a reason to smile!

From rooftop views to basement archaeological museums:The Burnt House and the Wohl archaeological museum.  These museums showcase the foundation of several homes. We saw a foot washing basin, mikvaot (ritual baths), and beautiful mosaics.  These two-thousand year old homes would have been for priestly elite in the time of the New Testament.  They were preserved under the rubble of the destruction in 70 C.E. and rediscovered after  destruction between 1948 and 1967.  Yes, this land has seen lots of destruction.  How fortunate we are that this is not the norm where I grew up.  

I don’t know if Jesus would have set foot in those fancy homes shown above, but they tell us about the concern with ritual purity, anlso show stone vessels that Jesus used in his lessons and miracles—and remind me to be grateful for modern conveniences!  

The next place was the Davidson Archaeological park.  Wrapping around the south west corner of the Temple Mount, these are definitely areas where Jesus would have walked when he visited annually and taught in the temple.  

Ground level has changed over the years.  Mostly in the up direction.  But here the ground was excavated away, leaving this once easily visible inscription high over our heads.   This area is south of the famous section of the western wall. 

Here a section of road bears witness to the Roman destruction of the temple.  Huge stones were cast down from the temple platform high above.  These smashed the street and caved in the underlying water drainage channels.  

Here you can see piles of huge stones left in place. 

The south staircase, once leading up to the double gate of Herod’s temple, is now a place for contemplation and prayer and praise where Jesus would have walked.  Many were healed and believed in and around this area, yet many others believed even as their afflictions continued.  

Here is a view from the Orson Hyde garden on the Mount of Olives.  Every trip to or from the Old City has its downs and ups.  Down the Kidron Valley and up the other side.  Whether by shuttle or by taxi or by foot, the price must be paid in time or shekels or, like this day, in sweat!  Glad to have a buddy to make the trek with me.  

It is always a treat to hear from the local guest speakers that share their perspectives.  Yisca Harani is a Jewish scholar and adviser to the government on maintaining the rights of Christian worshippers at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  Takeaways: the shared space is governed by a document called the Status Quo which codifies how 6 major sects of Orthodox and Catholic Christians will worship together in one church.  It is a study in comprise and finding a few threads of commonality among a host of differences.  

This map shows the complexity of the Status Quo arrangement.  Ms. Harani was drawn to study Christianity for its exotic “otherness” but says she appreciates that Jesus as a Jewish man shaped the world with his teachings, some of which are very similar to her own view of the world and some of which are so different.  She said that she feels very sure that if Jesus were here today, he would be very pleased that she as a Jewish woman was talking about Christianity with a group of students at the “Mormon” University as it is still known here (although neither “Mormon” nor “University” is technically correct. But it’s faster than saying “the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”)

We visited St. Mark’s Church where Deacon Michael shared his love of Jesus, gratitude for the opportunity to be a caretaker of the Syriac /Aramaic speaking community and this location which is traditionally the location for the last supper.  

He invited us to join him in a circle holding hands as he sang the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic.  It was a sweet experience, a very old language brought to life by his fervency, his voice, and the spirit of those words of the Savior.  Nuggets of wisdom:  “Be happy.  If you are sad and bitter the devil will wear you down and destroy you from the inside.”  “Give your pains to God.  When we come to Christ he walks with us in our pains and afflictions.  Give him every day in this life.  Then take care of eternity by giving to the poor and the widows and orphans. Money is a good servant but a very bad master.”

I love to look at old locks and hinges and doorposts holes.  I have way too many pictures of doors!  My dad and I just replaced my front  door handle and lock a few weeks ago, and it took three times longer than I expected.  But it was fun!  Here is the ancient lock for the church of the Holy Sepukchre— not likely to ever be changed because of the Status Quo.  The key is held by a member of a prominent Muslim family who has been the custodian of the key for centuries.  He unlocks it every morning and locks it every night.  

I also love mosaics, and this one clearly tells the story of Jesus’ cruciifixion, preparation for burial, and resurrection.  Sorry the resurrection part is out of the frame.  

Jumping across the street to the Protestant perspective, the Church of the Redeemer has a simple elegance, more of a blank canvas upon which you can project your thoughts and musings rather than the abundance of images and aromas and voices found in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  

Another jump, we asked a local shopkeeper to take us to the Antonia Fortress location, which is now the courtyard of a school at the south end of the Temple Mount platform.  Here Paul would have been imprisoned.  Muslims revere Jesus and the Bible stories but refer to the Temple Mount as Haram al-Sharif -the Holy Stand- or simply call the entire platform al-Aksa, which means the farthest or the highest Shrine.

Back to the center in time for one of those beautiful sunsets.  The beauty is connected to the variety and intensity of the colors, and it has been a week full of varied and intense perspectives, with more to come!

Thanksgiving in the oasis cafeteria!  The chef Mervat has perfected Turkey over the years as well as yams with marshmallows, but she always brings something new, such as rice with craisins and chestnuts baked in a pumpkin shell.  Delicious!  No mashed potatoes or rolls, but also no indigestion or uncomfortably full after effects.  Coincidence?  Hmmm,

Christmas is in the air and in the center!

We had the privilege of seeing our friend Taylor Halvorsen as he accompanied a group around the city.  Larissa and Julia Properzi were former neighbors of the Halvorsens. Frank knows Taylor and his wife better than I do, but I have watched way more hours of his podcast with Tyler Griffen on Scripture Central, so I highly respect him for the many ways he has shared the word of God online.   

Need a little Christmas?  Head to the Christian quarter!

Need some sparkle?  Head to Manila Mall!

Need some Jesus?  Lots of places you can head, but try looking deep inside yourself.  Ask God how he feels about you.  That spark within that tells us we are loved, no matter how little evidence there seems to be, or that there is hope for tomorrow, no matter how today went.  Or the barest edge of a hint that another path might be better, even if it’s harder or requires change. 

 Looking for Jesus is one way to ground myself and center myself on those merry go round days.  If you want to feel a little more Jesus in the coming days, have hope.  Wanting is a huge first step, and God can do a lot with a little desire.  I trust there will be more encounters ahead.