Moving Shabbat

The good news is because of Shabbat we were able to get a late start to the day. The bad news is, there was no Shabbat rest for this busy group. And since there was too much excitement (and jetlag!) no one got much sleep.

But it was a most moving Shabbat.

After an enormous Israeli breakfast at the hotel, we walked a short distance to Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. It was a beautiful early Spring morning. We had heard that the past few days have been rainy, and will be again. But in honor of Shabbat the sky was clear and the air was crisp. Several of us had been up early walking or running before breakfast. I took my own private hike around my old neighborhood. But after breakfast we walked as a group to the synagogue for Shabbat morning services.

The sanctuary was unusually full – in fact there was not an empty seat. Jerusalem is the center, and HUC is the center of Reform Judaism. We prayed with groups from Lexington, Dallas, Houston, and Great Neck. I sat next to the President of a Bellingham, Washington congregation and our group met a former member of our Torah Study group who now lives in Houston. In Jerusalem you always meet someone you don’t expect to see.

Services were lovely with my friend Heather (Tamar) serving as cantor. First year rabbinic and cantorial students led along with Rabbi Naamah Kelman, the first woman ordained as rabbi in Israel. The melodies were new but everyone joined in the joyful worship.

We were reminded both of Shabbat Shekalim and of the coming of the new month of Adar. Soon, we were told, there will be early Purim celebrations on the streets of Jerusalem.

After services we took a quick tour of the beautiful college campus and then walked down to the Old City. All the while Dan is giving us horticultual information from his vast knowlege of plant types.

We decend and ascend to the Old City. There is nothing quite like the ancient walls beaconing as you are drawn into the bustling daily life that lies beyond. In that one square just beyond the Jaffa Gate lies a throng of tourists speaking in every language, Hassids in a striking variety of ceremonial Shabbat dress, and Arabs drawing passersby into their shops. In past years the shuk has been quiet, even shuttered. Now it is bustling. A healthy sign!

After lunch on our own (falafel anyone?) we made our way through the Jewish quarter to a balcony overlooking the Kotel (Western Wall) and some of us got our first heart-stopping glimpse of the sacred place holy to generations. Our guide, Sharon, reminded us of the historical significance of the holy site. We walked through winding paths down to the plaza itself. There I reminded the group the group that the stones were just stones – but that holiness is found through the approach of the heart seeking holiness. Generations of pilgrims carried the hopes of family, friends and prior generations who could not make the journey. So we also carry the dreams of those who are not standing with us. We each made our own approach to the sacred space while the Shabbat afternoon prayers swirled around us.

After Kodesh there is Chol and we walked back through the Jaffa gate through the busy Arab shuk. Some walked quickly through and some stayed to shop. The quick step group walked back with Sharon through the artist colony of Yamin Moshe – the first Jewish settlement outside the walled city. There one a overlook we say the mountains of Jordan in the distance and the security wall much closer. Although there is much legal debate about the path of the wall, there can be no doubt that Jerusalem is far quieter and safer than the last time I was here. Near the Kotel we had also seen the ramp to the Temple Mount that has been the source of much controversy these past few weeks and noted how far the work is from the walls. Condoleezza Rice came into town today and is staying close by us. Perhaps there will be some movement.

We returned to the hotel for a very interesting talk by HUC’s David Mendelsson on the changing nature of Israeli Society. We were all a bit tired but the subject was quite interesting. After the talk we made Havdalah together – entering into Chol from Koshesh – which is hard to do in Jerusalem when everything is Holy.

After dinner on our own we took a bus to the Dung Gate, near the Kotel where we met with my relative, Fayge Kahana and her husband Rabbi Nachman Kahana. Rabbi Nachman is the brother of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane. Fayge has been giving Old City tours for many years, but I’ve never been on one. Tonight she gave us a wonderful, animated, spirited tour of the tunnels along the full extent of the Western Wall – well beyond the Kotel. There, in those narrow underground walkways we had our personal spiritual highs – touching the wall of the small alcove immediately below the ancient Holy of Holies. Without all the levels of religious ownership one often feels at the Kotel, this quiet personal moment was deeply moving for all.

I am pleased to see how the group is coming together. Everyone seems to like each other and I see many conversations among people who might not have known each other back home.

I pray the holiness of our first Shabbat in Israel stays with us as we enter to ordinary week in this extraordinary place.