Israel update #6

9/8/07 Shabbat Shalom!
Only got 6 hours of sleep... which didn't seem like much at all! Breakfast was cold today because it is Shabbat, and it is forbidden to cook. So I had a cold quiche with carrots and peas, and cold cheese cake thing, some feta and tomatoes and cucumbers, the best part- a chocolate croissant! yummy!! On the bus, climbing to 2500 ft to the Mt of Olives. Going to walk down through a Jewish cemetary to Gethesemene to see a Cathedral put in the place where Jesus traditionally wept for Jerusalem. Jesus rode the down the Mt of Olives on a donkye, as a symbol of humbleness.
Mt of Olives used is prophecy in Isaiah (splitting the mountain, etc), expressed the miracles and supernatural with the use of common things to show how different it will be. Prophecy that- all the stone will weep (most everything is stones here!). Use local language and reality to show how things will be. And now we are seeing that local reality, which is immensely helpful when attempting to read the bible. People lived (and still live) from battle to battle, so they lose hope for something in the future. But the bible gives them hopes for the future. Beautiful views from the mountain, can see the Dome, the Eastern Gate, the Old City Walls, Russian Orthodox Church, and so much more.
Then we head down to the cemetary and learn about modern day burial rituals. The body goes in the ground, no coffin, stone case above ground. Written on it is the name and inscription and the date of birth and death according to the Jewish Calendar. [random segue fact: Russian Orth. Church celebrates easter one week later to not coincide with Jewish Passover. ugh]. Hole in box for the soul candle, to remember souls. Across the street is the Muslim Cemetary, build outside the walls of the city, in front of the Eastern Gate, so only the Messiah can enter, prevents others from claiming the land.
Walked to Garden of Gethsemene, on the way saw some authentic bone boxes and the cathdral where Jesus wept, called the sanctuary of the dominus flevit (more beautiful views, especially from inside the church facing out). The garden is now a few olive trees and flowers, but it once upon a time would have been an entire grove of Olive Trees. All the trees were cut down, and used or burned by the Romans, so these trees are not from Jesus' day. It is hard to imagine the actual place where Jesus would have been. The church on the Garden called "The Sanctuary of Gethsemene is beautiful, paintings are wonderful, ceiling mosaics great.
On the way back to the bus I was heckled into buying some jewelry.. started at $15 for one necklace.. ended at $4 for necklace and bracelet. I am SO good at bargaining!! ha!
Next to St Peter in Gallicantu cathedral, where Jesus betrayed and denied Jesus. It was build on top of anicent byzantine ruins of another church, and it is very cool to see the old church underneath the new church.
Next we go to Mount Zion, to see where David traditionally was buried. There is LOTS of crazy traffic here on the tiny roads to the tourist sites. Lots of big tour buses- crazy driving to squeeze into parking. Mt. Zion used to be a part of the old city, but stands outside of the Turkish wall taht was built in the 16 century. As we stand by the wall, we can leave the lovely sounds of buses honking. The sidewalk we stand on used to be a minefield, as it was the Israel-Jordan border. We see traditionally dressed Jews walk by. One is wearing a tahlit gadol (the large scarf) and a tahlit kitan (the small undershirt with tassels (as mandated in Numbers 15 and Deut 6). The stockings he wears are an 18th century Polish holy tradition. We see a church building that has an old Muslim mosque in a room, and a synagogue in another room, and lots of beautiful courtyards.
a good thing to keep in mind: We are told that there are several sites in Jerusalem that are "traditional sites" because Christian people lived under Muslim dominion and needed a building to keep territiory, so buildings were erected on sites traditionally thought to be holy. The Crusader's church is on the ruins of a Byzantine Church, to remember the Lord's Supper, but it is just a memorial.
We go to the Israeli Museum next, to see a model of the Old city of Jerusalem, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. The model of the old city is so helpful in trying to recreate what the old city would have looked like in Jesus' days. The model was built by Hans Kroch, owner of the Holyland Hotel, whose son died in Israel's war of independence. The model took 4 years to complete and is based on literary works, the bible, and archeological discoveries. Our tour guide points out the via delorosa to us, which is the "traditional" road Jesus walked to his death and all the stops he may have made. Starts with the Garden on the Mt of Olives, goes to the Fortress to see Caiaphas, then to Palace to see Herod, then back to the fortress for the cross (one horizontal beam) and thorns, then to Golgotha, the place of the skull, outside the city wall near the road and gate for more passerbys to be warned. Somewhere nearby would be the tomb of Joseph of Arimethea, where Jesus' body was laid. This path has not been excavated and confirmed, so only a tradition. Next we see the Dead Sea Scrolls. I am very disappointed- there are barely any there- just a few columns of a few scrolls... and a facsmilie of the Isaiah scroll!! I feel cheated! I should find a way to study the real ones, wherever they are! I'm at Harvard, I am a "scholar", I can play the Harvard card... I'll find a way :) The few columns I did see were very cool.. parts of the Sons of Light and Darkness scroll, about the end of days, the Thanksgiving Scroll, hard to read, describes divine love, predestination, God's greatness and justice, the Temple Scroll, which includes the laws of the temple- this is the longest scroll with 66 columns (of which 4 were on display) this is either an alternative to or complement to Mosaic law, and the community scroll, with the community's way of life and rules. Now off the Bethlehem.
Bethlehem is actually a part of Palestine, so we had to go through a checkpoint and leave behind our bus, our bus driver and our tour guide because no Israeli citizens are allowed in Bethlehem. This made the entire trip scary. I did not like being on a new bus with a new bus driver and a new guide. I was not of my comfort zone completely.
Bethlehem in Hebrew literally meant House of Food (bet- house/ lehem- god of food). However, the Arabs were mostly shepherds so their main food was meat, so in Arabic, it is translated House of Meat. Jews were mostly farmers and made bread, so they translate it House of Bread. "There is always a struggle."
We go to a store for shopping (I buy some stuff... switch price tags on an item instead of bargaining, haha, and it worked!) and to an expensive and not so good restaurant for lunch ($8 for pita and salads that did not taste good, with baklava that was okay.) It is a kind of scary atmosphere and I don't want to be alone. I think it might be group thought/group fear... because I know some people were really scared.
Then we head to the church of the nativity, with another new bus, driver, and guide. ughhhh! One the way, we see the Field of Boaz.. the same field the Xmas story shepherds would have been in. The church is a 6th century church. It is the oldest church around here because in 1614 the Persians damaged all churches except this one, becausethe outside wall had a mosaic of the three wiseman, who were Persian, so the church was spared! The church is shared by Catholics, Greek Orthodox, and Arminians. To get inside, you mist enter a very small door, maybe 4 or 4 1/2 feet tall. The door is small to keep the horses from going inside from the marketplace outside in the courtyard. Inside is a beautiful old mosaic floor, almost complete! and Mosaics on the walls from the 12th century. We go downstairs to see some beautiful old paintings of the three wisemen and the manger. One area has a beautiful 14 point star that is in the traditional place where the star was shining for the wisemen.
So I have determined that I don't like sites that memorialize an event that may or may not have happened there, or ever. I prefer sites where things actually happened. These cathedrals are nice, but are not that old or spectacular. They do no have as much historical value compared to some other things here. I love the paintings, some of the architecture and statues are cool, but I prefer God's beauty and the ancient beauty of ruins that are in God's beauty (like Masada). Maybe I also need to have a better background in church building history to appreciate them too....but I can go to Europe and see old churches.. I come here to see older ruins!
Interesting convo with Cindy, where I had to articulate my research project, I said basically this:
I don't just want children to learn these bible stories in Sunday School and Youth Group, I want them to act on them! Faith without works is dead, it's not enough to just "know" the stories, the stories should live in you and mold you and change you and create in you a motivation to ACT!
Found out departure information: I will be leaving the hotel at 1am on Tuesday to go to the airport in TLV. Lovely!
Got back early, around 4:30, talked to Chris online, ate dinner: rice, chicken, lamb meatball, and gelato/ice cream, and passed out at 7:30pm.