The Old Are Still Young

Sunday, Nov. 2

Today was another incredibly full day--starting at 8:00 a.m. and not finishing until almost midnight! The bus with the first-timers headed first for Yad L'Kashish, an arts workshop for senior adults who otherwise might not have a way to support themselves or do meaningful work during the day. The facility is fascinating, with many rooms up and downstairs, each dedicated to a particular craft. We saw men and women working on embroidery work, metalwork, painting on silk, and making ceramics. The resulting articles are truly beatiful--despite the fact that most of the workers had not been trained as craftspeople before they came to Yad L'Kashish. Nevertheless, after learning their crafts, they produce beatiful articles ranging from Judaica such as challah covers, kiddush cups, mezuzot, and talleisim, to more general items such as jewelry, scarves, wall hangings, baby clothes, and small household items of all descriptions. Our visit ended with a shopping spree in the gift shop, giving us an opportunity to support a unique organization while bringing home wonderful gifts and souvenirs.

From there, we went to Jerusalem's Old City for a walking tour through the Jewish quarter. We stopped at the Cardo, amazed to be standing on 2,000-year-old pavement, and to see shops in the archways just as they must have been in Roman times.

We saw the remains of the Hurva Synagogue in the Hurva Square, and visited the Herodian Mansions to see how the wealthy Jews lived in the first century. And then we went into the Davidson Archaeological Park at the base of the Temple Mount, where we saw ancient remains of buildings, mikvaot, and sat on the original steps leading up to the doors of the Temple, as our guide explained it all to us. Our morning ended with a visit to the Kotel. After lunch, we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, before getting back to the hotel at about 5 pm.














The repeaters group left the hotel and headed right for the Dung Gate of the Old City. We looked at the excavations below us as we waited in line to pass through security on our way up the ramp to the Temple Mount. We stepped through the thick wall onto the platform beyond, into an unexpectedly park-like area. The top of the Temple Mount has trees, fountains, stone benches and archways, and of course, is dominated by the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aksa Mosque. We walked slowly toward the Dome of the Rock, while discussing the reasons why Orthodox Jews will not go up there (they do not want to risk defiling the sacred precincts of the First and Second Temple periods), and hearing the story of Mohammed's "night ride" to the site, which is what makes it holy to Muslims. The Dome of the Rock itself is quite beautiful, covered with mosaics and of course topped by the golden dome. We spent about 30-45 minutes up there before leaving through an arched doorway which led directly into the Arab quarter and the marketplace.

A short walk from there took us to the Kotel, where we all visited the Wall, and some of us left our prayers on small slips of paper, wedged precariously into the cracks in the stones. From there, we went to Yad LaKashish, and then to the German Colony area to have lunch. We left Jeruselam at about 2 pm and drove south, past sections of the security wall and the town of Bethlehem, until we came to the Elah Valley. There we visited the Ella Winery. Our guide took us through the plant, explaining the wine-making process, before sitting us down for a wine-tasting.

After leaving the winery, we drove for about 10 minutes past the site of the biblical city of Socoh, and stopping in the valley where David met Goliath. Our guide Mike read to us from the book of I Samuel, explaining exactly where the army of the Philistines was encamped across from the Israelites, and how David must have gone down to the stream bed near where we stood to pick up the stones with which he killed Goliath. We could almost see the two armies arrayed in front of our eyes. As we drove back to the hotel, however, a lot of our eyes closed in exhaustion from the long day.
It was not over yet, however--we still had one more awesome experience. At 9:30, most of our entire group went back to the Kotel to enter the Western Wall Tunnel. This is a truly mind-blowing place, a tunnel which follows along the entire length of the Western Wall from the Kotel to the very end. As we walked, we saw stones which weighed over 600 tons, original Roman columns embedded into the walls, we walked on ancient paving stones, and ended by passing through high narrow walls which could have been from a movie set, they were so incredible, and ending at an ancient reservoir built by the Romans after they destroyed the Temple. We came back outside to a mild night, in the Western Wall plaza bathed by lights, and walked slowly back to our buses. It was truly a magical evening.