Tuesday and Wednesday March 25th and 26th, 2014
Tuesday was an emotionally powerful day as we finished our time in Jerusalem. We began on the Mount of Olives, which offers an amazing bird’s eye view of the whole city. We stood at the sacred Jewish cemetery and looked out over the Old a City including Temple Mount and The Dome of the Rock, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Eastern Wall, the City of David, the sealed double gate through which Jews believe the Messiah will enter Jerusalem, the valley across which Moslems believe the faithful will pass on a bridge of air at the end times, and the hill through which we traveled in the underground tunnels yesterday. As we stood listening to Avi teach about what we were seeing, the morning haze lifted and the sun broke through, bathing the city in sunlight – spectacular!
We returned to the Old City to explore the Moslem Quarter and then the Christian quarter. Our first stop was a Catholic monestary with beautiful gardens and picturesque ruins. Its church, Saint Ann’s, is a plain, elegant Romanesque building known for its soaring acoustics. Emily stood in the front of the church and sang a gorgeous acappella rendition of Our Father, which echoed sweetly throughout the whole church – so touching! What a neat experience for her. (Singing has been a big part of this trip – Alex and Emily have led everyone in spirited sing-alongs every night, and several times our videographer has asked Alex to sing a song appropriate to the moment for the camera.)
Next, we followed the Stations of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa, where Jesus is believed to have made his final journey from his trial to his crucifixion, carrying the wooden cross on his back. The route is now lined with busy market stalls, but the stations are clearly marked on the stone alleyways. The journey ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which claims to be built on the site of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. The church was incredibly crowded, as it always is, but it is still awe inspiring both for its glorious art and architecture, and for its historical and religious significance. The multi-religious, spiritual nature of Jerusalem was brought home to us again as the Muslim call to prayer rang out across the quarter just as we exited the church.
We left the Old City and drove across town to Yad VaShem, Israel’s memorial/museum to the Holocaust. In another example of Tsipy Magic, Tsipy happened to meet a Holocaust survivor while attending a meeting at Yad VaShem this morning, and she arranged for him to speak with our group. We sat outside among trees planted in honor of “righteous Gentiles” who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust, and heard his story. Sami and his parents were taken to a forced labor camp in Romania in 1941, when he was a year and a half old. Unlike most children his age who were slaughtered immediately, Sami was kept alive as the subject of medical experiments by the Nazis. Although he doesn’t remember what was done to him, he attributes a lifetime of chronic back, head, and neck pain to his experiences in the camp. When the camps were liberated at the end of the war, he and his parents were freed – but he lives as both a survivor himself and as a child of survivors, which comes with challenges of its own. Hearing Sami’s story, and the pragmatism and optimism with which he has moved forward, was moving and inspiring. We parted with warm embraces and tears eyes as we continued on to explore the grounds of Yad VeShem. The tears flowed again as Tsipy showed us the tree she planted in third grade in honor of the “righteous Gentile” who was instrumental in saving her own mother’s life. As a child of survivors herself, Tsipy is passionate about helping people understand the Holocaust and its ramifications. Yad VeShem, especially its Children’s Memorial and the grave containing unknown victims’ ashes, was an intense and sobering experience.
The mood lightened as we drove to Tel Aviv for the final leg of our journey. We spent the late afternoon exploring an artists’ market and the adjacent food market downtown. The modern metropolitan feel of Tel Aviv was quite a contrast to the step back in time that is Jerusalem’s Old City. After a couple hours of down time at the hotel, we headed to the pier for dinner and an evening stroll. Miles of the Tel Aviv shoreline is a walking/biking path lined with shops and restaurants. It was a beautiful night for a relaxing walk on the beach.
Our last day was a more free spirited day in Tel Aviv. We walked around the port of Jaffa, the ancient neighborhood adjacent to the newer Tel Aviv. We shopped… and shopped… and shopped! The relaxed pace was a welcome change after the busyness of the last couple days. We did get some learning in by visiting the museum that celebrates Israel’s 1948 Declaration of Independence. The presentation gave us a better understanding of the extreme patriotism of the Israelis – their history is so recent and so personal. We ended the day with more shopping at the old train station which is now a chic outdoor mall, followed by a big, high-spirited dinner at a fancy restaurant. We also used our last dinner to stop and reflect on the trip and how it has changed us.
In another hour, we’ll head to the airport for our overnight flight home. It has been a fabulous trip, but I think we’re all ready for the comforts of home and our own beds. This will be the last of the email updates – flight updates will come by text.
Thank you so much for trusting us with your kids. They are wonderful, and it has been an absolute pleasure to spend this time with them. See you soon!
Jerilyn