Shalom everybody! Right now it's Friday afternoon, and Chelsey is starting to get Shabbat dinner together. Since Shabbat starts at around 6:15 today, we need to have all the cooking done before then so we can be Shomer Shabbat once it begins. Not easy! So as a result, I'm going to write most of the Jerusalem blog, but since this was Chelsey's first time in Jerusalem, she's going to add some thoughts and feelings about her experience as well. We decided to go there on a Tuesday, to combine touring, checking out Galina's apartment, and going to the Jerusalem Scrabble Club. At around 1:30, we walked about half an hour to the Arlozorov bus terminal, where buses to Jerusalem leave every 10-15 minutes. The intercity bus was much more confortable than the buses that we take around Ramat Gan and Tel Aviv, as they had personal lights and air conditioning, as well as padding on the seats.
Our plan was to walk from Jerusalem's central bus station to the Old City of Jerusalem, figuring that it wouldn't be too long of a walk. Lately our capacity for walking is about an hour or so, otherwise we decide to take a bus. So when we arrived at the bus station, we asked one of the security guards at the entrance how to get to the old city. He pointed us in the right direction, but not before exclaiming that we were silly for walking so far. As some of you may know, getting proper directions in Israel is difficult, as most Israelis only have a few words in their directional lexicons: Yashar (straight), Yaminah (right), and Smolah (left). So until the third or fourth person told us to go straight on Yafo street until we arrived, we weren't fully convinced we were going the right way. All the other people thought we were ridiculous for walking as well.
So we finally made it to the Old City, and made our way through the Jaffa Gate. Since it was already 4:45, and we were meeting Galina at 6, we pretty much only had time to go to the Kotel (the Western Wall). We (again) stopped to ask a young kipah wearing man for directions, and he started explaining how there were multiple ways to go, when he was interrupted by a middle-aged woman. Remember this woman. She said that his directions led us through the Shook, whereas her route was much more direct. The kipah wearing man looked a little sheepish. After ambling our way through the narrow paths, through the Jerusalem-stone buildings, we made it to the Kotel. Since men and women are forbidden to congregate together in front of the Kotel, Chelsey and I split up to go to our respective sides. I'll let Chelsey take over here so she can write about her first experience at the Kotel!
Hello my lovely family and friends! Immediately upon arriving in Jerusalem, I realized that there is a reason the song "Yerushalim shel Zahav" (Jerusalem of Gold) was written using those words. Jerusalem is so beautiful! I had been excited to visit the city simply because of its importance to Jews (as well as many other people in the world), but as we walked down Yafo street I realized that J'lem was even better than I expected. First of all, it seemed so clean - compared to Ramat Gan and Tel Aviv where Rafi and I have been staying. The temperature was much cooler and pleasant than that of Tel Aviv which was a major plus factor in our enjoyment of the area. Also, I could easily sense the "Jewishness" of the city which is what I am looking for. There were chassidic men all around with their tzitzit swinging while they walked. Women of all ages walked around the various shops along the street, wearing long skirts and modest tops - I fit right in! Speaking of the shops - there were so many awesome looking clothing and Judaica stores along Yafo. I can't wait to go back once we are living there to make a few purchases. All of the buildings are lovely and made from Jerusalem stone, so even modern buildings seem as if they are from another era. Rafi knew before we took the trip to J'lem that I would love it even more than Tel Aviv, and boy was he right! The walk to the Old City was long, but enjoyable thanks to all of the sights and people-watching we did along the way.
Once we saw the outer wall of the Old City, I began to get really excited! The outer wall is built like a castle wall and is complete with slits in the stone for shooting arrows at enemy intruders. On the gates to the Old City, there are large mezuzot containing the "Shema," a central Jewish prayer. It is so great to see these on the doorways and gates of buildings and areas while walking around! Since we did not have much time, as Rafi has already relayed to you, we had to bypass touring the majority of the Old City so we are definitely going back to explore more. The Old City is literally a city. I had no idea it was going to be so large and cover such an expansive space. People still live in the Old City - it is not simply a tourist destination, but in fact a living city. The Jerusalem stone is everywhere and I did not grow tired of seeing it. It is very easy to get lost in the Old City, with all of its passageways and winding roads. We finally made our way to a stairway leading down to a balcony that overlooked the Kotel square. It was lovely! From this balcony I saw my first real-life view of the Kotel and Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock. It was a sunny day with a blue sky so the view was spectacular. The Jerusalem stone gleamed white. The gold dome was striking and glinting in the sun's rays. The dome is covered in a layer of 80 kilograms of gold, donated by King Hussein of Jordan.
We took pictures from the balcony and made our way down the steps to the Kotel square passing the many beggars along the way. After going through security (we have to go through security for many things here, including bus stations in which you go through a metal detector and your bags go through an x-ray machine) we made our way to the Kotel. The Western Wall was an outer wall of the Second Temple and "dates from the end of the Second Temple period, having been constructed around 19 BCE by Herod the Great" - as stated by Wikipedia. We asked some girls nearby to take our picture in front of the Kotel. The picture is taken in front of the gates surrounding the wall (the gates are there to separate the men's side from the women's side because people come here to pray and in Orthodox Judaism, there must be separation during prayer.
After our picture was taken, Rafi and I parted ways to our respective sides. It is interesting to point out that the men's side is much larger than the women's side and on this day in particular there were so many more women than men at the wall. There were about five men on the men's side, and so many women that the wall was covered with them while others stood back waiting for their turn at the wall or sat and davened (prayed) in chairs. Before entering my respective side, I went to the washing station and ritually washed my hands of impurity. I walked slowly up to the wall, taking it all in. Dark green bushes grew out of the cracks in the wall and I saw a pigeon relaxing in a groove above one of the stones observing all the pilgrims to the Kotel. I was actually able to find a space at the wall relatively quickly because as I walked up, another woman left her place. I walked up and touched the stone and felt the smoothness of it. So many people before me have come to this very spot and touched the rock and poured their hearts out in prayer. It was great to think about all of the history involved in this wall and the numbers of people who have traveled great distances to be here to pray. I rested my forehead on the stone and felt it's warmth from the sun. I relaxed my body and breathed deeply. I said the "Shehecheyanu" blessing which is said to celebrate special occasions - especially events that happen for the first time, or the first time in a great while. Since it was my first time to Jerusalem, and my first time at the Kotel, I figured it would be a good thing to say. I also recited the "Shema." I walked away from the wall backward, so as not to turn my back to the wall, and sat in one of the empty chairs to relax and observe. After what felt like the proper time, I stood and began to slowly walk backward until I was far enough away from the wall that I could turn around and walk away normally.
In all, it was a great experience that I am definitely going to try to replicate on subsequent visits to the wall. Jerusalem is one of my new favorite places in the world! I cannot wait to live here for the rest of our time in Israel (hoping we find a place to live). I'll let Rafi continue with the rest of the day.
Soooooooo, after the Kotel, in which a Chassid convinced me to wrap tefillin and tried to get me interested in going to some retreat up north in Tzfat, we left the Old City to go meet Galina about the apartment. In order to call her, we had to borrow someone's phone again - something Chelsey originally thought would be unsuccessful when we tried it a few days before in Ramat Gan. I picked a young man sitting alone, and he was nice enough to let us use the phone. (We're 2 for 2 for borrowing phones!) Chelsey called Galina while I tried to talk to the man, but he wasn't as outgoing and talkative as Michal, the woman who lent us a phone the first time. Anyways, after calling Galina, we retraced our steps for about 20 minutes until we arrived at King George Street, where we were going to meet Galina. The address she gave us was King George, 8, 9, which confused us because of the two numbers. Did it mean King George 8, apartment 9? We weren't sure. While we were looking a little confused, trying to figure out where the apartment was located, the SAME WOMAN who gave us directions to the Kotel popped up in front of us! We asked her for directions yet again, and she showed us the door to the apartment, which was tucked nicely between some shops. She also made some comment about how the "goy" (non-Jew) in the Old City didn't know what he was talking about. Funny because he was nicely clad in semi-religious-style clothing, as well as a Kipah! Apparently, according to the woman, those who do not know their way to the Kotel must not be truly Jewish.
While waiting for Galina, we indulged in a Shwarma dinner, at the place I used to go every week before Scrabble club. While in Israel 4 years ago, it was originally 17 sheqalim, and changed to 19 near the end of my trip. This time it was only 15 sheqalim! However, it was a much smaller Shwarma than I remembered, so I might have to find a new favorite cheap Shwarma place.
Meeting with Galina was a bit awkward for both of us. How do you approach someone whose boyfriend is in a coma, and whose apartment we're supposed to be taking despite the fact that she's not going abroad anymore? She gave us the key and said she would try to move her stuff out before we moved in, but that she would most likely not finish in time. Quite a dire situation for her. Afterwards, we decided that we should look for new apartments instead of kicking Galina out of her own home. The location and price were pretty much perfect, but it just wouldn't be fair to her given the circumstances.
After meeting with Galina, we walked down Ben Yehuda street for a bit, popping into shops and checking out the Judaica, while slowly making our way to Scrabble club. Chelsey brought along her Nook to read while I played, and also chatted with some of the players and organizers. It turns out that many of them have children or friends who are doulas! Hopefully that means that Chelsey will get some more doula experience during our stay in Jerusalem.
At Scrabble club, I handily won my 3 games, playing very well for the most part aside from one word knowledge mistake. The coolest words I played were HEPATIC, HEPATICA after I hooked the A, and HEPATICAE after I hooked the E! Afterwards we walked back to the bus station, bused back to Jerusalem (I slept most of the way), and walked back to the apartment. It was quite a long journey, but well worth it for a day of touring, shwarma, and Scrabble.
Shabbat Shalom everyone!
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