Hebron

This past Thursday I went to Hebron with a group from my program. The tour we went on was a religious tour rather than a political one. The first stop was the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

The structure itself is attributed to king Herod in the first century B.C.E and it was added onto by crusaders in the 12th century.

It is the second most holy spot in Judaism because the cave of Machpelah is where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are said to be buried.

Although we were not given a political tour, it was difficult not to sense the tension in the area. Here are some more pictures I took during the trip:

62 and counting

In Israel, they celebrate yom hazikaron (remembrance day) 8 days after yom hashoah. Yom hazikaron remembers the soldiers who have fallen since the conception of the nation. It is a very somber day because in Israel, everyone knows someone who has been killed in battle.

The hag began the erev before with a ceremony at the kotel

The ceremony was very touching (even though I could hardly understand the Hebrew). What I found fascinating about the ceremony was the fact that although it was a secular ceremony, it still took place at holy site and there were still prayers incorporated. It was a very interesting and powerful blend of religion and state. As an American, it is hard to believe that religion holds a place in a national holiday but I believe that it is important in Israel to keep Judaism in political ceremonies.

The observance continued into the next day. I went on a Spring in Jerusalem trip to some important historical locations for the war of independence. We also went to a military cemetery and sat through a ceremony there as well. At 11pm, all across Israel, a siren sounds for two minutes. Although things usually run on "Israeli time" (i.e 5-10 mins late) this siren sounded at exactly 11pm all over the nation. At the sound of the siren, people get out of their cars, stop walking on the streets, stand up and are silent.

The group presenting did an excellent job sharing the significance of the day and teaching the rest of us military history of Israel.

While the mood of yom hazikaron is very somber, as soon as the sun sets, the atmosphe changes to a mood of celebration. As soon as the evening comes it is yom haatzmaut or Independence day. All of Jerusalem became one big block party.

I went to a party at the shuk (yes, the same place I go food shopping)

The celebration continues the next day. Everyone is out having a BBQ, enjoying the day. In Jerusalem, there were BBQs everywhere and everyone is expected to eat meat. I don't know why but you are supposed to eat as much meat as you can on yom haatzmaut. If you don't have a BBQ to go to, people will go out of their way to feed you.

Unfortunately, when these days were over I had to resume my usual school schedule.

We're not in Kansas anymore: Auntie Em's visit to the Holy Land

Auntie Em came and visited me in Jerusalem and we went on many adventures:

Day 1, Monday April 12:

Today is Yom Hashoah (Holocaust remembrance day). This date on the Jewish Calendar is the 27th of Nisan. This day was chosen to remember the Holocaust because it is the day of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising; the observance of this day is not only the destruction of 6 million Jews but it also commemorates the resistance movements during the Holocaust.

Auntie Em and I went to Yad Vashem, the holocaust museum in Jerusalem. What I found most touching about the museum was the message of hope. The museum runs chronologically and when you are in the last quarter of the museum you see some of the horrible images from concentration camps. But then all of a sudden you hear the sound of children singing Hatikvah (the national anthem) and you end the museum with view overlooking Jerusalem and the message that the Jewish people lived on and built a nation. It is important that people around the world say "never again" when they learn about the Holocaust but it is more important that the Jewish people have built a country so that they don't have to rely on that promise of "never again." The land of Israel has guaranteed that promise.

That night Auntie Em and I went to this restaurant called Eucalyptus which is a small resturant in the Artists Colony that specializes in biblical foods. Some foods they served us are specifically mentioned in the bible (like the red lentil soup) but other foods are just adapted local cuisine. Everything was absolutely amazing.

Day 2, Tuesday April 13: I had class all day but Emily went to Tel Aviv and Jaffo.

Day 3, Wednesday April 14th:

After class, Emily met me at Hebrew University on Mt. Scopus to being our afternoon of touring.

I showed her the lovely views from campus and the botanical garden and the beautiful Hebrew University campus.

This is the view from the Amphitheater

Next we walked from the top of Mt. Scopus to the Augusta Victoria Hospital and from there to the adjacent mountain of Mt of Olives. Mt. of Olives has a lot of significance in both Judaism and Christianity. Supposedly, when the Messiah comes there will be a bridge with seven arches that spans from Har habiet (the temple mount) to the Mt. of Olives.

Us walking down from Mt. of Olives next to the huge Jewish cemetery. If you are religious and you have enough money, you want to be buried here so that when the Messiah comes your soul can be first in line to cross the bridge to heaven.

Next we walked down the Mt. of Olives to the City of David which was the original location of Jerusalem from the time it was capture by King David until the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylonian king Nebucanezzar in 586 BCE.

here are some interesting tombs from the second temple time period that we saw on the way:

From the City of David we walked to the Old City and went to the Cardo and the Jewish quarter. The Cardo is an area that shows the level of the streets during the Roman rule during the Second Temple time period. From there we walked out of the Old City and down Jaffa Street to the Mahane Yehuda (the Shuk). We walked around there for a while, I took her to Marzipan and then we walked around the neighborhood Nachlaot for a while. We then headed back to the hotel, changed for dinner and walked to emek refaim in the German Colony for dinner.

Day 4, Thursday April 15:

We woke up early and I met Auntie Em at her hotel from some free Israeli breakfast. We then headed to Takana Merkzit (the Central Bus station) and boarded a bus to Tzfat. We spent the day in Tzfat mostly walking around the Old City and the Artist Colony. We saw some beautiful art and a lot of beautiful Jewelry. We also went to some old synagogues and the Tzfat Candle factory.

Day 5, Friday April 16:

Today we did an organized tour that took us to Massada and the Dead Sea. It was really nice not having to organize the travel on our own because it would have been really difficult to find an Egged bus from Massada to the Dead Sea and back to Jerusalem before Shabbat. It was also really great to have a tour guide teach us about Massada and the area. The first part of the tour brought us to the Ahavah factory where they taught us about their products and everyone bought a lot of things (not complaining). Where we learned about the Zelots and the Revolt of 70CE and the self-inflicted death on top of the mountain.

We learned about the palace that King Herod constructed and how the zelots who went their after Jerusalem was destroyed changed the structure.

We then went to the Dead Sea. We put mud on and floated in the warm (well, not so warm) water. It was quite relaxing and rejuvenating.

We then returned to Jerusalem to go to Shabbat services. After services we went to a small restaurant in East Jerusalem and ate traditional Palestinian food and smoked a shisha with dinner (like everyone else was doing in the restaurant). Out of the strip of restaurants to choose from, we chose the one that it looked like all the locals were eating at; it was a good choice.

Day 6, Saturday April 17:

Today we walked the Via Dolorosa, visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, walked around the Arab Shuk in the Old City and did some shopping. After a day in the Old City and with hours left until Shabbat ended, we decided to go to Abu Gosh. Abu Gosh is a small Arab village outside of Jerusalem that boasts the best Hummus in the world. Abu Gosh is one of the few Arab communities that sided with Israel during the war of independence of 1948. Because of that there are excellent relations with Israel. Saturdays are packed with Jerusalemites starved by restaurants closed on Shabbat enjoying the hummus restaurants of Abu Gosh.

Auntie Em and I also went to this crusader's church that is now a monastery. The original stones were laid down during the second temple time period but it was added on to in the 11th century.

Day 7, Sunday April 18:

We began the day early with a trip to the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock. Although we were unable to go inside, just walking around the Temple Mount area was incredible.

We then said our sad goodbyes and Auntie Em headed back to the States.

WE HAD AN AMAZING TIME!!! I walked her to death but I hope she had fun too.