Heavenly Jerusalem and Earthly Jerusalem

Sunday. Today was a day to glimpse the mystic and historic Jerusalem, the stuff of dreams and legends, and to revel in the earthy realness of a vibrant human city.

We began the day at Mercaz Shimshon, the educational headquarters for World Union for Progressive Judaism. There we met with Rabbi Rich Kirschen of WUPJ and Na’ama Dafni of the Israel Religion Action Center who told of some of the work important work that these Reform institutions are doing in Israel, as well as their own personal stories of life in Israel. Rich is a new immigrant (Oleh Chadash) who is adjusting to a new world. Na’ama is an Israeli of several generations who discovered Reform Judaism as a teen. She described hiding an identity as a “Reform Jew” for fear of being ridiculed.

After a brief tour of the facility focused on the breathtaking view from the new Meeting Hall overlooking the Jaffa gate, we made our way back to the Old City.

In the parking lot we saw a group of young police cadets preparing for a similar tour – a reminder of the very real security responsibilities these young people bear, and the dedication the state has to their learning their heritage – what it is they are fighting for.

Sharon led us to the Zion gate, pockmarked with bullet holes from the Jordanian army in 1948, a time when all Jews were expelled from the Jewish Quarter. As if on cue a group of Jewish children rushed through the narrow gate, clutching bags of mislohach manot gifts of food for Purim. A pleasant reminder that the present imposes itself on the past.

We explored the history of the Jewish Quarter, including the Cardo and the archeological remnants of a Priest’s home from the Second Temple period.

After a long morning of immersion into Jewish history the group was ready for two of the tourist’s favorite activities: eating and shopping. Not always in that order.

A group of us went to the Cardo to shop and very quickly found a store filled with elegant and modern tallit. In short order we had purchased gifts for upcoming Bat Mitzvot, and more significantly tallitot for every person in the group. For many it was the first time to ever own their own prayer shawl. If you see a crop of tallitot at Temple soon, you will know the origin. What a blessed way to remember standing in the steps of Jerusalem.

Then a quick bite of falafel (again!) and and a short visit to the Kotel again where Craig and Sydney put in notes they had carried from home. It was quite different visiting the Western Wall today than on Shabbat, primarily because the plaza was filled with men and women trying to collect tzedakah.

Our day in the Old City ended with a visit to the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount as we saw the rubble from the destruction of the Temple scattered on the ground and tried to imagine the massive and lively space as it was. A new and beautiful museum in the Davidson Archaeological Park featured a short film that tried to reconstruct the era.

Back at the hotel we met with Rabbi Michael J. Schwartz of Rabbis for Human Rights, a coalition of rabbis of every denomination whose mission is to help preserve the rights of others in Israel. I have been supportive of their wor

k in helping to remind us of our Jewish values even in times of great difficulty.

The evening was free and most of us went to Ben Yehuda street for dinner and a bit more shopping. In one store I met a young man, Naor Botach who looked no older than the high school seniors I teach. He told me that he had fought as a paratrooper in the Lebanon war where he felt his unit had been under equipped. He is recently married and fears that he may be called back to Lebanon soon. He asked me to pray for his unit, which I promised to do.

After a nice dinner at Café Hillel, where we met some HUC Students, we headed back to the hotel and some rest. But not before a few of us, Craig, Laura, Bill and I helped Sydney fulfill a dream of having a drink in the elegant King David Hotel lobby.

Dreams and memories made.