Our first day in Jerusalem was spent mostly in the Arab and Christian Quarters exploring the narrow streets and alleyways and walking the Via Dolorosa (the Fourteen Stations of the Cross, which is said to trace the last steps of Jesus Christ). My knowledge of both the Old and New Testament is limited, but I love all the biblical stories and seeing places mentioned in either version of the bible. It is thrilling, and for many, quite emotional.
The next day was another full day in the Old City of Jerusalem. This time, we entered through Dung Gate, into the Jewish Quarter. The Western Wall, or Kotel, in Hebrew, is part of the remaining wall of the Temple Mount built by Herod the Great, and is one of the most sacred places of worship for all Jews from around the world.
In the 1800’s, Jerusalem scholars were already trying to determine the length and measurements of the Western Wall and learn more about the construction. However, not until after the Six-Day War in 1967, did archeologists begin the project of exposing the entire length of the Western Wall. Almost 30 years later (1996), the tunnels were opened to the public revealing a stretch of the wall more than 1000 feet long, exactly as constructed by Herod. It’s amazing when you realize you are walking on the original pavement of the Second Temple period (537 BCE – 70CE).
Before leaving the Old City for other parts of Jerusalem, Shmul, our guide, walked us over to the Cardo with a stern warning--no shopping today!! The Cardo was Jerusalem’s main thoroughfare in the Byzantine era. The stone street was originally laid by the Romans, and then extended in the 4th century as Christian pilgrims began to flock to Jerusalem.
Today, the Cardo is a high-end shopping area featuring art galleries, jewelry stores and gift shops.
It was difficult, but we heeded Shmul’s words and did not shop, concentrating on the historical significance of where we were standing!As we were leaving the Jewish Quarter we made a brief stop at the Davidson Center and the Southern Wall Excavations, considered to be one of the most important archaeological sites in all of Jerusalem.
To date, excavations have uncovered remains dating back to the First and Second Temple periods through Byzantine times to the Omayyad era. The Davidson Center presents a multi-media introduction to the site and provides a perspective to the ongoing excavations.Next on our agenda was Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial that commemorates the six million Jewish men, women and children murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during the years 1933-1945.
Many years ago, on my first trip to Israel, I visited Yad Vashem-- a one-room memorial spotlighting the different concentration camps and the number of people killed in each. Today, Yad Vashem is by far the most comprehensive Holocaust Memorial I have visited anywhere in the world, and, the most emotional. Yad Vashem tells a story of life in Europe from the turn of the century through WWII. The exhibits, the multi-media presentations, the photographs and the videotaped testimonies of survivors are incredible. Once you begin the tour there is no going back --you’re caught in a wave of people, twisting and turning following the displays, much like the Jews were caught on their way to the death chambers.Yad Vashem also commemorates the heroism and fortitude of the Jewish partisans and the fighters in the Ghetto revolts as well as the non-Jews who saved the lives of many Jews. The Avenue and Gardens of the Righteous Among the Nations
honors thousands of non-Jews “who acted according to the most noble principles of humanity and risked their lives to help Jews during the Holocaust.”We had three hours at Yad Vashem and it wasn’t enough time. Before leaving the complex, Shmul made sure we all visited the Children’s Memorial. He said it shouldn’t be missed, and he was right. It’s unique--“hollowed out from an underground cavern, it is a tribute to the approximately 1.5 million Jewish children who perished during the Holocaust.” Memorial candles, a customary Jewish tradition to remember the dead, are reflected infinitely by mirrors in a dark open space, creating an impression of millions of stars shining in the sky. The names of the children, their ages and countries of origin are recited in the background. It’s a somber reminder of mans’ inhumanity to man.
In the same vein is the marvelous bronze of a man in the midst of children. The name of the sculpture is The Hero and it depicts Dr. Janusz Korczak, a physician in an orphanage in the Warsaw ghetto, who chose to stay with the children when they were deported to the death camp at Treblinka and perished alongside them.
Beside the sculpture stands a sign that reads: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).After lunch we headed for our final stop of the day, Bethlehem. Shmul, an Israeli citizen, could not go with us into Bethlehem since it is in Palestinian territory. He brought us to the border where we boarded another bus with a Palestinian driver and guide and drove into Bethlehem.
From looking at all the souvenir shops and taxi drivers, I would guess Bethlehem’s economy is based on tourism.
Our guide, Mohamed, was fluent in English and was excited to learn we came from the Los Angeles area. He had a cousin living in San Diego and had heard wonderful things about California. We reached the Church of the Nativity and were then turned over to another guide, who escorted us into the church.Situated on Manger Square,
approximately 5 miles from Jerusalem, the church is built over a grotto where the Virgin Mary is said to have given birth to Jesus.
According to our guide, the church's large fortress-like exterior stands as a testament to its turbulent history. For centuries, it was one of the most fought over holy places. It was seized and defended by a succession of armies - including Muslim and Crusader forces. It is now controlled jointly by three Christian denominations - the Armenian Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church.The first Church was built over the Grotto of the Nativity in the 4th century AD under the patronage of Emperor Constantine's mother Helena, but it was later destroyed. In the 6th century, Byzantine Emperor Justinian built a new and more elaborate church on the site, and the present structure is basically the same as it was then.
The Altar of the Nativity sits below a silver and gold chandelier.
A stairway on the right side of the altar leads down into the Grotto of the Nativity, said to be the site of Jesus’ birth; a 14-point silver star embedded in white marble marks the exact spot.
The star was installed by the Catholic Church in 1717, removed by the Greeks in 1847 and replaced by the Turkish government in 1853, and bears the inscription, Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est – “Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary.” Of the 15 lamps burning around the recess, six belong to the Greeks, five to the Armenians and four to the Roman Catholics. In another corner of the grotto, down three steps opposite the Altar of the Nativity is the Chapel of the Manger where Christ was laid.
The tour was good. Our guide certainly knew his history and the bible. Once we were upstairs, he showed us the different churches and then escorted us outside to our waiting driver, Mohamed, to take us back to the border. I kept wondering, with all the souvenir shops and a captive audience, why weren’t we stopping. I didn’t have long to wait. We stopped at a shop off the beaten path owned by one of the few remaining Christian families (the majority of the population in Bethlehem is now Muslim). It was a nice store and I’m happy to report our group helped out the slumping economy in Bethlehem. It was a week before Christmas and we definitely made their holidays a little brighter.
It had been a long day. I was happy when we crossed the border back into Jerusalem. I think we could spend an entire month in Jerusalem and not see all there is to see. Join me next week on Masada as we celebrate the B’not Mitzvah of Barbara and Pamela Handel, Stacie and Zoe Kellner.Any questions? Click "comments" at the end of the column and type them in.
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