The Old City of Jerusalem

We woke up in our fifth beds that we have slept in this trip – which will also serve as our last beds that we sleep in before we return to our own beds in New York next week. The David Citadel is a beautiful hotel located right next door to the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion on King David Street, and it is directly across from Jaffa Gate of the Old City. The views are spectacular from many of the rooms, the restaurant, and even the pool. We got a great view of the construction going on of the new mall which actually leads into Jaffa Gate, though we have no direct view of the Old City itself. Having been out late the night before, we were in no hurry to get up, though we did not want to miss breakfast which ended at 10:30 am. At about 10:10, we strolled down to the hotel’s restaurant to enjoy the wonderful breakfast that they serve (and will serve each morning we are here!) When we walked in, I immediately recognized another one of my classmates, Serena Fujita, sitting down to eat, and she quickly motioned for us to join her. We caught up for a bit before deciding to spend the day together in the Old City. We began with a short walk from the hotel to Jaffa Gate. Turning right past the Tower of David and its museum, we entered the Armenian Quarter, and then turned left down a street that would lead us into the Jewish Quarter. We made our way down hill through the winding streets, stopped briefly for a snack, and then continued down to the Kotel (Western Wall) Plaza. I had reserved us spots in the Western Wall Tunnel Tour, so we spent a little over an hour walking underground along the full extent of the Western Wall, into the Arab Quarter. Though I had participated in this tour in the past, I was particularly impressed with the breadth of knowledge that our guide possessed, as well as all of the new digging that had been done since my last visit. When we reached the spot in the wall that was the closest point to where the Holy of Holies (the room in the Temple that held the Ark of the Covenant), I took the envelope which held all the blessings of our religious school students, and I shoved it into a good sized crevice in the wall.

For those who require a little more explanation, the Western Wall was not a part of the Temple itself. The Western Wall is a retaining wall that was used to expand the top of the mountain, making a huge platform in between each of the four retaining walls, on which the Temple was built. Now, 0n the spot where the Temple once stood, is the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim holy site believed to be the spot where Mohammed ascended to heaven. The "rock" itself is the peak of Mount Moriah, the same mountain where Abraham was "put to the test" to "sacrifice" his son Isaac (Akeidat Yitzchak), as well as the spot, some believe, where Noah's Ark came to rest following the flood.

The northern end of the Western Wall is in the Arab Quarter of the Old City. From there we were led back towards the main plaza of the Western Wall. We broke off just before arriving there and made our way back to the Jewish Quarter where we walked through the Cardo, once a major Roman "promenade" that bisected the city of Jerusalem. This was once the main marketplace, and to this day there are still many shops that line both sides of the street. From the Cardo we made our way into the Christian Quarter and visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is a large basilica separated into many chapels, one which contains the site believed to be where Jesus was crucified, and another area that Christians believed to be where his body was laid to rest prior to his resurrection. It's a very interesting place to visit, and even more interesting to study its history and the current Christian religious politics concerning who controls which parts of the church itself.

We began to make our way back towards Jaffa Gate, stopping into a few shops along the way (many of the streets within the Old City are lined with shops like the Cardo), before we exited the city and made our way back to the hotel through the new upscale outdoor mall. We freshened up for a bit, and then we made our way out to dinner at an old favorite, Spaghettim, which I'm sure you can guess their specialty by the name of the restaurant. After dinner we walked up to the Midrachov - Ben Yehuda Street - where we got some snacks and did some more shopping. Over the many years that I used to lead teen groups through Israel, I've managed to make and keep some relationships with some of the Israeli merchants. I popped into one of my favorites on Ben Yehuda Street and proceeded to purchase several items for the synagogue, including mezuzot for the doors in our building that are lacking, some new challah covers for use on Shabbat and holidays, and a beautiful sterling silver etrog box for use on Sukkot.

While on Ben Yehuda Street, we bumped into Rabbi Randy Sheinberg, a colleague from New Hyde Park, and her husband and daughter, and later Dan found us and joined us for the remainder of the evening. By this time it was getting late so we started back for the hotel. We made it halfway down Ben Yehuda Street when we passed by a group of Israeli girls playing guitar and singing some songs. Well, it's unlike Daphne to ignore outdoor music, so of course, she began to dance. The girls immediately took to Daphne, called her over, put the guitar in her hands, and got her to sing for them and with them. (Unfortunately, this was the one time we left the camera in our room!) The girls were very sweet, and Daphne had a wonderful time...but now it was time for bed! We said "laila tov" and "todah rabbah" and made our way back to the hotel and eventually to bed.