Thursday was an early day, but
instead of awakening at 5.30 a.m., I had mistakenly set my alarm for 5.30 p.m.
Thankfully, we had last-minute wake up calls. I quickly said my morning
prayers, ate a few bites and boarded the bus. Imam Patel had returned from
early prayers at the Haram al-Sharif, but was not on the bus. I
descended near the Damascus Gate, grabbed a taxi and returned to the hotel to
find them. I told the driver, a Christian Arab, that he was doing a mitzvah
(a spiritual act) to assist a Rabbi helping an Imam to reach the Haram
al-Sharif. The traffic was terrible, but our driver took an alternate route to
the Dung Gate where we met our group standing in a long line for admission to
the Temple Mount.
Ophir briefed the group about the complex politics of the Temple Mount: the Israeli conquest in 1967, prohibitions against non-Muslims visiting the mosques or praying in the gardens surrounding the mosques. These limitations are linked to Jewish activism: although initially prohibited by rabbis from ascending to the Temple Mount, Jews were later encouraged to re-assert Jewish claims to the area. Adding to the tension has been the Waqf excavations under the Al Aksa mosque. While our Muslim colleagues went to pray, the Christians and Jews explored the gardens. Although neither Christian nor Jewish prayer is tolerated in the area (a political, not a religious, prohibition), I walked around Mosque of the Golden Dome, reminiscent of the ancient ritual of circling the Temple altar, reciting to myself Psalms 15, 48 and 122.
At the Western Wall, we spoke of the Temple built by Solomon, reconstructed by Nehemiah and Ezra, and expanded by Herod. We discussed Jewish yearning for the Temple (Mikdash) and the Wall as the place that represented that dream. After the victory of Israel in the 1967 war, the area around the Wall was expanded and the plaza became the site for national ceremonies in addition to prayer. While men and women pray in separate areas at the Wall, demands for access to this sacred site by Women of the Wall, Masorti/Conservative and Reform Jews have increased in recent years. Individuals proceeded to the Wall with their personal petitions. One of the Catholics with us told me that he offered a prayer that Pope Francis will be a healer. Some Christians placed written prayers into the crevices of the Wall. The Muslim women approached the Wall with great respect and reverence. I offered prayers for healing and improved health for members of my community.
At the Church of Holy Sepulchre, we entered a world very different from the more pristine Wall and expansive gardens surrounding the Golden Dome. The Church of Holy Sepulchre is large, ornate, and filled with the scent of incense. Here we could see the competition between the Ethiopian and Coptic Churches (one locked the other out and changed the locks), learn about the stand-off for control between the Latin, Armenian and Greek Orthodox churches (a status quo agreement from the 1850s governs the operations of the church). The graffiti scratched into stone walls was testimony to the devotion of pilgrims through many ages.
After lunch in the Jaffa gate area, we proceeded to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial. We discussed the changing perspectives within Israeli society about the Shoah, brought participants into the Children’s memorial, and then entered the museum itself. Walking through Yad Vashem with our mixed group of led to many conversations. People left feeling physically and emotionally exhausted.
After dinner, we met with Qadi Iyad Zakhalya, the head of Islamic courts in Jerusalem, Rabbi Ron Kronish of ICCI, and Rev. Hosam Naoum, the Dean of the Cathedral of St. George. They spoke of the distance between religious communities within the Arab community, as well as efforts to use religion to bridge gaps within Israeli society. Our group heard of the challenges facing social integration and added a few more layers of complexity to our understanding of this country. After an exciting day with much learning, we called it a night.
