We Ulpan and Yeshiva students had our 7th and final Jerusalem Course meeting this past week. We’re full of new knowledge of the city and happy that we’ll have a little more free time now, but sad to say goodbye to JJ (even though we’ll still see him occasionally), the best tour guide I’ve ever had.
What we did/saw (To keep this brief, I’m not going to tell what I learned. Everything we did was incredibly interesting and worth researching and, if possible, visiting. Hopefully I’ll get around to posting pics soon.):
· Ir (City of) David- Hezakaya’s Tunnel and 2nd Temple period sewage system.
· Old City- virtual tour of 2nd Temple (learned structure and purpose of different aspects), Kotel
· Christiani-Day- Mount of Olives, Via Delerosa, Cardo, Church of the Holy Sepulcher
· Moslem Quarter- Temple Mount (we were told by JJ where we can go as Jews) and a less known section of the Kotel. This day was incredible, but weird. We learned about Moslem history and theology and the Dome of the Rock. We were just outside where the Temple once stood, but the guys had to cover their kipot with other hats.
· Jewish Quarter- saw a lot of old, interesting shuls.
· Outside city walls- Yemin Moshe, Nachalat Shiva, Nachlaot.
· After War of Independence (1948)- old border issues with Jordan, Goldman Promenade.
I think we all feel even more connected to the city’s history now.
You may already be aware, but in case you are not, Jerusalem is full of synagogues. I love going to different shuls every week, and I’m already picking favorites to which I’d like to return often. Just this weekend, I went to four shuls. Friday night, I went to Yakar, which I loved! It’s small and had very few chairs, but it was a very spirited service during which children were permitted to make as much noise as they wanted. Saturday morning, I went to the Ashkenazi shul in Yemin Moshe, which had an amazing kiddush. After Shabbat, everyone on Nativ went to S’lichot. First I went to the Great Synagogue, which is a beautiful building and had beautiful choir singing, but I felt very disconnected from the service. I left early to join a few other people to go to Kol Rina, which was great. Unfortunately, a friend was feeling sick so I left early to walk back with her and couldn’t stay for the whole service.
There are still quite a few synagogues I want to visit but have not yet had the chance to, but I know I want to go to Yakar and Shira Chadasha again for Shabbat mornings and Kol Rina for Kab Shab, and probably return to these shuls frequently over the next few months. (Although, I’m also eager to get hosted for Shabbatot, in and out of Jerusalem. My madrich is going to help me set up some weekends.) I’ve realized that the synagogues I’ve enjoyed the most are the smallest, plainest, least distinct places. Kol Rina is an old bomb shelter and has stackable plastic chairs, and Yakar is in an easily unnoticed building where you walk into the building and you are already in the room of davenners. But participants at these places don’t need a huge gold chandelier (like at the Great Synagogue) or paintings on walls or extra space in any way to put their neshamos into davenning.
Another thing I love about Jerusalem- at least where we live- is that often when we go out to do anything, we find some cool event just happening on the street. In the past few days, this included a protest, a wedding party that we thought was too loud to just be for a wedding, and a fashion show to publicize a group of volunteer artists. I really should take my camera with me wherever I go.
On a next-to-final note, it is currently raining, and it has been raining on and off since Shabbos. This is incredible for September, as it typically doesn’t rain until winter.
My only complaint about Jerusalem is that there is too much to do to get sufficient sleep.
Trivia: What distinguishes Karaite Jews? They only recognize Tanach as a source of law
No comments:
Post a Comment